Yeah, heteronormativity in BL is erm, a choice.
Is there a BL where both leads are tall, confident and strong.Yebles:
Does this mean you're looking for stereotypically, traditionally masculine male leads? I can't add anything new that way, but these are some where the male leads are essentially equal and mutually supportive.
Looks like this is a new account - peeked in to see if I could get a sense of what you've been watching for comparison. The only title on it I'm familiar with at all is Depth of Field, and I dropped that mid-way because it felt like it was going to be abusive behaviours solved through the miracle of love and music, and that's an aspect of het-coding I'm especially allergic to.
If you have GagaOOLala - look for movies. The gay is more likely be gay rather than BL gay.
A Boss and a Babe - both tall, both physically strong. Boss-intern but the dynamics of that are subverted by the intern having less than zero interest in an office job. Instead he's an irrepressible force of nature. They're both confident in many respects but also have pain & vulnerability.
See Your Love - some height difference, but the shorter one is stronger physically. Both strong personalities in different ways. Great comedic use of tropes to add energy and shorthand a lot of plot, including bad guys it refuses to take seriously,
Bokura no Shokutaku (Our Dining Table) - very similar physically, both are emotionally vulnerable and lacking in confidence for different reasons, and help each other through that. Assisted by the World's Cutest Kid and Most Adorable Wingman, who adds plenty of energy while the older ones figure things out.
I Hear the Sunspot - height difference but the shorter one has a BIG personality and a loud voice. He takes up at least as much space because of that =D
How about something like He's Coming to Me? There is quite a height difference but it doesn't have het-coded dynamics (director Aof is gay). Also much of the series is their friendship rather than overt romance. They're both confident, in different ways, and also vulnerable.
Some of these might not suit you in this particular moment but they'll all be good for staying away from the frail-coding used to tell teenage girls which boy to project themselves onto that you're understandably fed up with.
Looks like this is a new accountElisheva:
Kind of...I used to watch a lot but got fed up and deleted my original account a couple of years ago!
The gay is more likely be gay rather than BL gay.
I am starting to realize that. I think there is a whole discussion to be had about differences between BLs and gay fiction , with BLs being more heteronormative out of two, I think? I have recently (a year ago!) discovered the existence of MM romance genre in the West and they seem somewhat different from BLs but not completely. Everyone is fawning over Heated Rivalry just like they did about Heartstopper. I have not seen the first (I've read too many hokey romances already! lol) and I did not like the second finding it lacking in chemistry between the leads (but that's just me!) and I would not know in which category to put them: BL, Gay or either?
strong personalities in different ways
That is basically what I am looking for: I would not mind the height difference in BLs if the shorter character is not constantly the weaker and most sensitive one, dressed in ample and soft coloured clothing, with the maturity of a toddler.
Depth of Field
The first JBL I watched in a long time and had trouble finishing (I liked the view of the sea from the school roof): teens who do not look like teens and everything being solved by love is a trope frequently found in Asian dramas in general so no wonder they use it here as well! lol
Thanks for the recs. I'll make sure to check them out. I remember watching a movie called I Hear Sunspots ages ago. I liked it. I hope the drama is just as good!
A Chinese BL?!?!? How is that even possible?
Fewer restrictions if it's not aired within China apparently. Thailand and Taiwan also help with things like giving a series a legal "home.".
The whole situation can lead to interesting MDL entries - Meet You at the Blossom's has co-production between China and Taiwan in synopsis, while listing Thailand as its country. I don't remember enough of the details on how that all worked, but it was the first CBL to use Thailand to get around the censorship restrictions.
There aren't many, but there are danmei to be adapted and money to be made and people who will figure out ways to do it.
I am starting to realize that. I think there is a whole discussion to be had about BLs and gay differences, with BLs being more heteronormative out of two
It's not a popular topic but I am up for that :D And I do think it's an important and useful distinction even if many use BL or GL for ALL gay and lesbian titles.
Everyone is fawning over Heated Rivalry just like they did about Heartstopper. I have not seen the first (I've read too many hokey romances already! lol) and I did not like the second finding it lacking in chemistry between the leads (but that's just me!) and I would not know in which category to put them: BL, Gay or either?
I bailed on Heated Rivalry about 10 minutes into the 2nd episode because the sex scene was so thoroughly het-coded and they'd been working so hard at setting up an (outwardly at least) hyper-masculine, tough, aggressive, pursuing top and a polite, demure, part-Asian bottom. It's the kind of dynamic I stay away from in het series so why should I put up with it just because it's nominally "gay'"? It's a het bodice ripper, just with extra c---- and the warm fuzzies of cooing over gay rights.
That is basically what I am looking for: I would not mind the height difference in BLs if the shorter character is not constantly the weaker and most sensitive one, dressed in ample and soft coloured clothing, with the maturity of a toddler.
It is MUCH easier to avoid pastel pre-teen girl-coded BL than height differences. Feel free to poke through my Completed and custom lists for more titles if you want (I use custom lists as 'diaries' with brief thoughts on what I watch) and ask me about any of them. We might find we have somewhat different boundaries for this, but in general I understand what you're getting at and want to avoid.
teens who do not look like teens
And then there's Thailand with its "What is age anyway?" casting across its genres <3 =D Clothing and hair are the most common age signifiers, especially for high school and uni students. But if those aren't available, they'll just say the age at some point and carry on. Other aspects of Thai story-telling really work for me, so it's been worth it to accept and adjust to this way of doing things.
GMMTV has moved away from high school and uni settings and is focused on selling its soul to chase shippers' fantasies and slots on Viki. The actors may be playing more age-appropriate characters but quality has tanked and LGBTQ+ is an increasingly inappropriate tag for many of their recent series. I wish they'd go back to actors in their 20s playing chaotic boys - that was an accommodation I could make if they felt like young men. But all of this soft focus women's fantasy 'gay' romance? I just can't, and it's not something I'm willing to accept or get used to.
/rant over =D =D =D
/rant over =D =D =D
There, you got it! That's why I stopped watching Thai BLs a couple of years ago: pandering to teen/young women fantasies (18+content!) without a solid story behind it, made me switch over to JBL . But there as well, the really original and though provoking content is hard to find now days. I loved stories like Jack O'Frost, My Personal Weatherman, Love is Better The Second Time Around, My Beautiful Man, The Cornered Mouse Dreams Of Cheese....great levels of toxicity! Some adult drama BLs. ;-) I tried to watch some recent JBLs but dropped them during the first episodes: unlikeable characters and loads of clichés!
It is true that sometimes we all crave cute and sweet but that becomes boring very quickly...
"What is age anyway?"
Thailand has often crossed the line in what is decent making "mature" content with underage actors. I know, young people experiment with life and that is normal. But it does not sit well with me using them for fiction.... GMMTV, just like the other Thai producers, have gone over to the dark side: quantity over quality in order to make a quick buck. I wonder how many of those young actors are going to have an acting career beyond a few racy BLs they made?
Japan is on the other hand using actors in their late 20s to play teens and the age difference is showing too much for the story to be believable. It struck me the most recently when I watched Our Youth because the story was in two parts with a 10yr time skip: the actors were convincing as adults but not as teens!
@Elisheva Ticket to Heaven is upcoming school setting BL with Gem Fot. The drama has the similar ehm storyline with Your Name Engraved Herein, I believe, from the first trailer. Should be released sometimes this year after like another 5-7 GMMTV BL titles (didn't pay much attention). It's definitely not a rom-com though. Unlucky Bae is set in wait, college perhaps. And it should be released somewhere in Q1-Q2 maybe after another 2 titles. It's another GMMTV rom-com. It has Mac who used to star in a few Thai PBS' dramas. He's in GMM now. Ah, I hope I pay more attention but I can't remember another 2026 titles that's set in school or college.
But doesn't it impact the actors negatively? Wouldn't they be blacklisted in China for going against the official talking points?
I think the new government policy has not yet applied, there's rumors about it being applied the month right after Revenged Love concluded and ABO Desire halfway aired, but apparently it's a false rumor.
Anyway, Revenged Love recommended by emeraldarrows is also Chinese BL. Not sure about height difference. It's good and booming, so popular that both main actors gained massive popularity and topping weibo follower gains in number 4 and 5 or well, I'm sure they're somewhere in the middle.
Thailand has often crossed the line in what is decent making "mature" content with underage actors
I've heard of some - from years ago - I've chosen not to watch, just like we (youth workers) were careful to help young people set boundaries on what they talked about in the presence of adults. I'm not aware of any recent ones. But that's not what I was talking about with What is age anyway? casting.
I wonder how many of those young actors are going to have an acting career beyond a few racy BLs they made?
BL gives work to a lot of young men who wouldn't otherwise have any acting career. GMMTV's focus on ships is stagnating the development of several who could though.
