BL Drama Lovers Club

 Mitzi Miao:

Ok, but where were those big production companies before the censorship? I've wtached BLs from before the censorship, they were small\short and low budget shows (Addicted also didn't seem like such a high budget series). Why those companies, that obviously have money from how series like Word of Honor and The Untamed look like, didn't make any BLs before? sorry, but for me it looks odd how those epic, big budget, long Chinese "BLs" came to happen only after it wasn't allowed to make actual BLs anymore. I question their reason to make those series, as it looks very convenient to take gay original material, not to have to deal with the gay part and still get the BL viewers. The real question should be if those series would have even really been made if there wasn't a censorship, but we can't know that. The entertainment business is a buisness, so I doubt if they do it for gay rights or just becuase of the money.

Red herring. We do know why the higher budget titles are being made now. As you noted, Addicted was lower budget. Its popularity attracted both censorship (their typical Whack-A-Mole approach of ignoring things while they're niche) and the funding to make higher budget titles.

Entertainment industries are a mix of in-it-for-the-money execs and creative people. Their concerns tend to be at odds with each other in most regards. I can't speak to China specifically, but the creative side of entertainment especially has tended to be more open-minded towards LGBTQ+ in most countries.

I'll make this point again and then I'm done with this altogether. The end result of bromance drama in China is more room for queer content, even if it has to be queer-coded because its popularity brings attention from the censors. Even if straight women are a big reason why it has enough popularity to get big budgets and attention from the sensors. Stories depicting same-sex relationships made with higher budgets, reaching wider audiences and often made to a very high quality.

 RiqueXinw:

It's on my plan to watch list is it worth the watch?

yes. i watched it back in november 2022 im seriously obsessed with it. it's definitely not everyones cup of tea and is fucked up as others have said but personally i still found it incredible. i watched it only knowing inaba yu (he's in minato shouji coin laundry & given bl wise) but came out absolutely in love with kenshin endo, they both did so well acting and chemistry wise. 

i still think about it everyday, multiple times a day. i cannot stress how much brainrot i have went through because of that movie

 Chun Mo Rionnag:

Consider watching "White Night" if you've not already seen it. Based on a true story. "Method", too, is a good watch if you like mind games.

I haven't seen White night, but I did enjoy Method. Thanks~

 kiyois back scrubber:

utsukare eternal and s2, the end of the world with you, i cannot reach you, if it's with you, my personal weatherman, minasho s2, jack o frost and let's eat together aki and haru were some of the ones i personally really enjoyed

High overlap with my own list on the previous page, so I guess we have similar tastes! Sorry that I mostly just used the Japanese titles - I hope that wasn't confusing. I haven't yet watched "Jack o' Frost" but it's on my top priority list, and I'm highly confident I'll give it ten stars.

P.S. Great name. I would happily be Kiyoi's back scrubber, stalker, whatever...

 p43425:

Anyways, I finished the series and really liked it: an enjoyable comedy which is also quite cute and sweet. (It's just three episodes, each less than an hour - so it's not much of a time investment.)

It already ended? good to know :) I see this one is Crack Up Hen and there is Crack In Hen, does anyone know the difference? are those 2 versions of the same thing or In Hen is a special ep? 

 p43425:

Good question! As I understand it, they're just two versions of the same thing: a TV movie version for TV Asahi ("Crank In"), and a three-episode version for Telasa so that they could air the first episode already on 24 December ("Crank Up"). To the extent there are edited scenes, I assume that the more complete version is the three-episode version, i.e. the one on Gagaoolala - but this is just a guess.

Thanks ^^ 

 kiyois back scrubber:

utsukare eternal and s2

These I really need to watch; I have been putting them off far too long.

 kiyois back scrubber:

utsukare eternal and s2, the end of the world with you, i cannot reach you, if it's with you, my personal weatherman, minasho s2, jack o frost and let's eat together aki and haru were some of the ones i personally really enjoyed

My personal weather man held my attention out of all the ones you listed which made me watch it. It is a thing with Japanese BL and I. I always watch clips and read reviews before deciding to watch; very rarely I will go straight into watching as the series drops. I am kind of developing the same method with Korean BLs after watching Jun &Jun. 

As for Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (Season 1 &2) I have no intention of watching. Slow burns are not for me and based on clips and reviews Minato is going to upset my spirit.

Hopefully this year Japanese BLs will leave me sated.