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geekygirl24 · 3 years

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Day 2: Favourite BL drama.

This is going to be tricky, so i’ve done a top 11 instead XD

Official BL Dramas

11: 2gether the series (and Still2gether)

This drama honestly surprised me as i didn’t think i’d be all that interested in it when watching the trailer. However, Sarawat and Tine are one of the best BL couples out there. They are just so genuinely sweet and cute, and I didn’t even care about the lack of kiss in the 2gether finale because of it. The other couples are brilliant as well: Dim/Green makes me laugh, Man and Type have that Uptown Girl vibe that I love and bringing back Frank and Drake as Mil/Phukong was brilliant :)

10: Why R U

I never thought i would like seeing Saint in another role other than Pete, but he wowed me in this series. Every couple had chemistry and whilst yes, the storyline and plot was a little weird, it wasn’t unbearable. Saifah/Zon are the cutest though, along with Blue/Champ (even if Blue did get together with Dew). My only issue is that it did go down predicatable BL drama routes and due to COVID, some couples didn’t get the screen-time they deserved.

9: Seven Days

Yes, the hairstyles leave much to be desired and it’s technically a movie... but i love Seven Days to bits. I love the manga and i love the film. Seryou Touji dates the first person who asks him out on a Monday, and usually dumps them by the following Monday. His blunt but handsome senior Yuzuru is the first to ask him out one week and the story goes from there. If you haven’t seen this film, I highly recommend it :)

8: My Engineer

I was really looking forward to this drama from the very first moment, and it didn’t disappoint. Yes, the Bohn/Duen relationship was a little skewed, and the Mek voice dub was weird, but they had conversations about how roles don’t matter in same sex relationships, they didn’t go down the sexual assault line (when Bohn was drunk) and the pairings did develop naturally. I am so looking forwards to Season 2 :)

7: Love by Chance (including Season 2)

I think anyone who’s read my stories knows that i despise the Kengkla/Techno storyline, however, I think that the other storylines more than make up for this. This was the first Thai BL that i watched, and it remains a strong favourite to this day. Ae/Pete were the sweetest couple ever and now with a second season for TinCan, my dreams have come true :)

6: Life; Love On The Line (Life Senjou No Bokura)

Another brilliant BL that was released this year based on a Japanese Manga. Yes, it’s only four episodes and a director’s cut (which i am so desperate to see!), but the story is well-told and painfully realistic. Of course, the added bonus of seeing Hao Ting/Xi Gu at the end was a small factor in how much i loved this series :)

5: The HIStory series

Honestly, I couldn’t pick just one of the HIStory series. I loved the Obssessed storyline in season one, Right or Wrong and Crossing the Line in Season 2, Trapped and Make our days count in Season 3, and i’m sure i will love the couples in HIStory4 :)

4: 2moons2

Now, i’m saying 2moons2 instead of 2moons, because i honestly believe it was better the second time around. I think the casting was better, the fact that they sped up the storyline a little was better and i think the chemistry between the pairs was better as well. Some of the acting the first Pha used to do was awful!

Ming/Kit definitely steals the show though :)

3: Until We Meet Again

Yes, i cried every single episode and yes, if i watch the right edit on Youtube or listen to the soundtrack, i cry again.... but this is one of the best BL dramas ever. I love the reincarnation aspect and the red string of fate bringing them together again. Not one character disappointed me in this series and i would happily watch it all over again, despite the pain.

2: Cherry Magic

Is this really a shock? Everyone loves this one. A new one from this year, Cherry Magic is one of the best BL drama’s i have ever seen. It was sweet, it was funny and honestly, i related to Adachi and his social awkwardness so much! And my asexual ass really wishes you do get mind reading powers when you reach 30 as a virgin.

It did have the Episode 11 curse that most BL’s go through, but it was still amazing!

1: Kinou Nani Tabeta (Edit: Can’t believe i forgot about this one!)

This is honest to God, the sweetest drama i have ever watched. This is a drama that makes you feel all warm and fluffy inside, as well as very hungry because Shirou describes making his food in detail and it all looks so good! No, it doesn’t have the kiss or make out scenes that usually make a BL drama exceptional, but it would be hard to ignore the chemistry between the two. They love each other and that much is obvious

#cherry magic #2moons2 the series #history web series #Until we meet again the series #life senjou no bokura #seven days #why r u the series #love by chance #my engineer the series #2gether the series #kinou nani tabeta

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tobeornottotc · 3 years

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The Problems with HIStory4; Close To You Ep 1-4 (Observation and Comments)

The verdict is out! I actually enjoy History4, as much as there's problematic elements to it, and it does feel a bit like a regression; the acting is great, the chemistry is perfect, and it's not as bad as the trailer made it seem. Like yes, we have a very invasive annoying fujoshi trope, but the characters are written in a way that it makes sense that they fall into this.

The Fujoshi Harassing Invasive Fake Dating Trope:

Cheng is so childish and so up in the clouds, and from a typical sexist, ignorant flawed man perspective, it's like he's always never taken anything seriously because he doesn't see any need to. Also, because he doesn't take anything seriously, he's ignorant and very self-focused and takes things too far; it's his character flaw. The only person who keeps in line is Moren. Who is someone who takes a lot of things seriously but also kind of ignores or avoids feelings and what that entails.

Moren is very gentle and sweet with his friends whilst on the surface, he seems cold and distant, but he tends to be very comfortable and have fun, like the childish part of him is brought out by Cheng. They compliment each other so well. There's something about the way they like each other so unconditionally despite being so opposite to each other, they do care a lot, and they have a very ignorant homophobic mindset because of how they've been raised in society, so they don't know a lot about queerness and what it means, so that's interesting to see them learn their feelings and grow from that.

I like their domestic vibes and how they are when they're just together alone; it's not entirely romantic or in your face that there are feelings; it's very soft, and very based and focused on the depth of friendship that they've developed, and I think that's so cute and adorable to see. The only thing I don't like about their storyline is the fujoshi trope; she's not always there; she's hidden but her presence always reminds me of why this trope is so problematic because she should be called out for her invasiveness. She should be taught about why what she's doing is not okay; maybe she does, later on, do so but I can't tell how serious this writer wants to be with this show. She may have genuinely just wanted a typical old BL style novel like show in the past that we used to read that doesn't address problematic stuff.

The show is very light and funny with these twos story so she may not want it to be so serious, which is why I'm trying to be careful when analysing the show. My thing is the fujoshi thing needs to be addressed because her actions aren't okay more than Cheng and Moren. The trailer for the show is wildly exaggerated and made me dread watching the show. Still, although Cheng is sometimes quite touchy and can fall into that line of harassment, it's been called out by Moren in episode 1, and everything in the trailer that seemed problematic with harassment for them isn't like it is. It's just them joking around and being Moren and Cheng. Moren may feel weirded out by some situations, but it's not against his consent, is what I'm trying to say. Cheng is not meant to be a perfect character; his flaw is his childishness, and how he doesn't take things seriously, so he comes across as rude, invasive, loud etc. But for them, there's nothing so far that is as bad as what the trailer suggested it would be. Maybe, later on, I'd change my mind.

The Stalker Obsessesive Step Brother Trope:

For Jie and Xingsi. It's different. It's the same issues with stories about obsession, possession and trauma tropes. People will not like Jie because the reason why he does what he does, is because his character outline is based on a mental disorder (that isn't even diagnosed, but it's clear he's on a sociopathic spectrum), he's emotionally shut off, so he doesn't have any feelings, doesn't know when he's gone too far or when he is doing something to others that are seen as problematic. All he focuses on is his feelings for XingSi because he's the only person who makes him care.

Not goanna lie, their storyline has toxic elements, and it is weird that the show wants to humanise his actions and make him seem pitiful. For me, he is pitiful, and I do understand why he acts the way he does, but I think others would have an issue with him. I think it's hard to accept the storyline because it is romanticising toxicity and dependency, but I kinda after being freaked out by him; I've come to kind of understand why they write his character the way they did for him and Xingsi. The theme of these two's story is conforming to societal pressures vs being free and accepting your self. So they kind of help each other with the other's problem/issue.

You can decide if you want to see that as romantic or if you are so turned off by Jie's insensitive actions. For me, this is a typical toxic storyline that makes sense to me why they'll be together. For example, when looking at Jie; Obviously, he's been nurtured into developing parts of being sociopathic to deal with the pain of his childhood. It's not an excuse to let him get away with his actions; I'm just saying I understand his character outline. He doesn't trust people; he doesn't let anyone in. So he's automatically someone with sociopathic tendencies, very possessive, can be aggressive if he isn't sure he trusts what's happening, alienates himself and doesn't care for how others view him. But he's someone who kind of helps Xingsi deal with his own secrets; Xingsi is someone determined to be responsible/right in society; hence he hides himself and his actual wants and needs to please people.

So Jie, with his own twisted ways, is always a catalyst to helping Xingsi find out what he wants and for Xingsi to come to terms with being brave and showing who he really is to people. In a way, Jie, because he's so emotionally uncaring about what others think of him, is the antithesis to Xingsi; he is freer because he's not hiding who he is or conforming to what others think is right/wrong he only cares about his own freedom/happiness. So he provides that way and escape for Xingsi to be himself and stop pretending or acting to please people and society. That's what the writers are trying to achieve with them. Jie is then also taught about feelings and emotions because of having Si as someone he does care for automatically and does want to change for and be gentle to whilst Si learns to accept himself /stop conforming to societal pressures.

They follow typical old BL novels in the past; they have problematic issues and toxic stuff around them to discuss, and they're very flawed; they are written to help each other deal with their flaws/issue by falling for each other. Is it right to romanticize that storyline? Maybe or maybe not, we need to do better stories for BL; that's something we know, it's not okay to always have toxic or problematic storylines, but if you know me, I also enjoy the past BL tropes as well. I like toxic storylines because they have so much interesting character dynamics that are wild to explore and analyse. They usually are very angsty and dramatic, and they have a good plot. That's something I never try to hide away from, I don't agree with when people say you shouldn't write toxic storylines or add problematic characters, but that's an argument for another day etc., I just want it to be called out when its a toxic thing/problematic trope like give consequences and show them learning why its wrong, or have them go through a character development.

It's not going to make me judge the show so badly or stop watching it when I actually enjoy the friendship, characters and lighthearted, funny vibes the show brings every Sunday. Like it makes me smile and laugh when I'm watching Cheng and Moren, and it makes me think when I watch Xingsi and Jie. So yeh I enjoy the show and I'm not ashamed to say it.

#history4 #history 4 #history 4 close to you #history 4: close to you #taiwan bl #bl series #bl drama #reviews #analysis

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