Korean BL ranked

Has literally everything. Yes, it's corny like an early 2010's romance drama. Yes, Chu Sangwoo’s feelings develop too quickly and his inner turmoil can’t be laid out for us like in the manhwa. But they did this in 8 x 25 minutes out of NOWHERE. They gave us KBL taken seriously, they gave the genre a huge push, and they gave me life.

Two grown men with a job? In my KBL??

Toeing the line with how subtle the meaning of some things happening is. Still the best high school BL I've seen so far.

The tension of Time of Fever combined with the toxicity of Secret Relationships, by the same director. Only docking points for a couple of continuity errors, an unnecessary internal monologue, some dubbing post-prod, childish gag sound effects, a sometimes too predictable plot, a rushed ending, characters making stupid decisions or not taking action for no reason, the prosecutor’s personality doing a 180 in the last episode, him somehow appearing to save Chae Ah without knowing his location TWICE, and an obviously AI-generated beach sunset. Yes, despite all this I still give it 8.5, the rest is that good.

Sliiightly too emo for me sometimes and not always a fan of the music choices but otherwise muy bonito.

Wannabe tough/feisty guy crying in front of his one-sided enemy and future lover = me being done for. A heads up for those who read the manhwa: they changed the plot and cut the second couple.

Love the dark drama and Junseo is a cutie but oh my god can we stop with the "I see you're angry at me because of a misunderstanding and now you're leaving but for some reason I won't stop you and explain myself teehee". Also, the main guy never grew a brain or a spine and kept falling for the same bullshit.

Good idea and this close to a good execution. The innuendos and parallels between the main characters’ past and the game they’re developing could have been better and the cinematography is pretty basic. They did amazing one take scenes though!

Some couples fare better than others but still entertaining and heartwarming and aesthetically pleasing (if you know what I mean).

Rushed ending that leaves a few lose ends but I can't resist bully/bullied romantic tension, as unrealistic as it is.

So short but so cute.

Noh Shinwoo leaves rent free in my pocket. Prepare to have your heart broken again and again for him. Pass if you can’t stand blur filter and bright lipstick abuse or grown men playing high schoolers.

A masterclass in tension but that ending can burn in hell.

Best reluctant cooperation out there. Fuck Choo Young Woo for trying to pretend he never acted in a BL though.

I thought I had main couple syndrome, until the second couple started crying and I joined in.

A cliché manhwa come to life (literally) but the acting and the chemistry are so good I didn’t even cringe once like who am I???

And a symbolic 10/10 for managing to make a vampire BL that's not cringe and intentionally funny!

The only drama with that model actor I enjoyed. Story is wattpad-tier and has a plot crater in the middle but somehow it works.

Farmer guy carried HARD.

They fumbled the ending but otherwise most fluid enemies to lovers progression I’ve ever seen.

It’s ok mister director, I’m also in love with Kim Seung Beom’s face. Now fetch me the fight scene choreographer and editor (so I can kiss them) and the person in charge of making sure everything makes sense (so I can slap them).

They filmed it in a way that makes the vertical format okay and the actors are truly not bad at all. Story could have been more developed.

Don't expect any scene longer than 30 seconds a get ready for interruptions like the editor has ADHD, but otherwise acting, production and story weren't bad.

A sandwich of what the fuck with a slice of amazing acting in the middle. Worth it just to hear Milk's voice again.

They skip about 3645 steps but they look damn good while doing it (and I might have cried at the end).

Nothing groundbreaking, but you’ll enjoy it if you like golden retriever x shy nerd dynamics. (Helps that the golden retriever in question can act. And kiss. Wew, can he kiss.)

Flawless technically, but unnecessary drama was shoved in after the first half.

Someone finally give a long, high budget drama to Kim Seong Hyuk JEBAL.

Like most short form dramas, everything is good (plot, script, camera work, music, acting…) except they rush through everything like the camera roll’s on fire.

I would have raved about this 3-4 years ago, before KBL quality skyrocketed.

I can only support attempts at action/thriller/comedy BL, even this flawed.

I actually like this format, it’s like reading four cute little one shots. Technically (cinematography, script, editing, sound, etc.) they’re all good, and story-wise I enjoyed most of them, but I deduct points for sneaking in dead fish kisses and a purposelessly sad story!

I can’t remember watching this for the life of me.

Loved the twisted, psychological aspect of it but acting was hit or miss.

Plot had potential but execution is lacking. I have a screenshot of their kiss at the beach on my phone and I look at it every day.

Great idea, just needed more budget, including to hire two good main actors and not just one.

Went off track towards the end but overall decent. I was 100% rooting for the second lead though, so that was a bummer.

Ayo second couple syndrome cheeeck.

The acting is a bit stiff  when it’s time to kiss, but the plot is so cute and the dialogues are actually well written!

The bad dubbing will make you rip your hair out. Has surprisingly good emotional and kissing scenes for such a wacky story.

An unserious guilty pleasure.

The editing is not as rushed as other short format series and the musical actor dude was lowkey cute but the story was a bit too cliché and the couple's chemistry was so-so.

Acting and humour have been downgraded compared to season two, and it feels like some scenes are missing… how can Sooan be mad at Hyunjae then peck him in the next scene with no development in between? Also, the way they wrote Khun made him kind of a bipolar asshole instead of a complex character. Too bad because all the actors are cute and gave it their all.

Editing gave me whiplash, which is a shame because the story had potential.

I know they did their best with what little they had but... those continuity errors will give me nightmares. :'(

Another good actor sadly paired with a wooden plank. Didn't help that the character the plank played as had basically no charm/personality. But hey, they made the infamous "saliva string" fanfic cliché come true!

The dating video game dev studio of “Our Dating Sim” mixed with the affection meter of “Love for Love’s Sake” and a whole lot of “say what now?”. Still worth it for the younger lead’s cute face and the petal kiss.

Cute but couldn’t fully enjoy it because one of the mains is lowkey a paranoid, insecure asshole.

Desultory.

Half of the scenes are genius, half are terrible. Made me burst out laughing but also yawn.

Broke my heart in 20 min, yay.

With a better format, plot and intimacy coach this could have been the new Semantic Error.

It’s cute but also weird.

Falling in love with your dead dog’s spirit was not on my BL plot bingo card. Not a total mess thanks to Milk.

How to Squander a Decent Premise and a Great Actor for Dummies.

Everything was fine until I was asked to believe a deep-voiced, botched man is a high schooler.

Me (leafing through notes): chemistry... no... engaging, credible plot... no... competent acting... no...

Err... they had a budget and a banging height difference?

Having seen reality TV shows with one of the main actors in it, I KNOW he hated to "stoop down" to BL. And I know he’s doubly mad that the result was mediocre.

One good main actor, one bad main actor, and a plot that deserved better.

Nothing original, too much blurring filter and one of them has a permanent poker face... should have left it at the Close To You's short story, where the cinematography is better anyway.

The “I actually liked you all along” trope but without the usual cute supporting evidence.

The comedy was surprisingly on point in this one, but otherwise it's just another reel-format KBL with all the flaws that implies.

Five minutes into the drama before I realise I’m in fact not watching the trailer. Maybe lay off the coke a bit, editor-nim. Too bad because the casting was flawless.

The plot was okay-ish, but too much blurring filter, sluggish editing, and hit or miss acting drove it into the ground.

It's hard to believe the studio that made Where Your Eyes Linger is now making this kind of stuff.

Very short, very cheap, very forgettable.

The first episode made me think this was the KBL revolution we had been waiting for and then it fell flat on its face.

Too much blurring filter, sound quality tanks during internal monologues and the characters talk like they have a train to catch. Story is nothing new and the couple's dynamic brought us back 10 years (lots of wrist grabbing and wall slamming when the "top" is jealous). And of course, short format means no time to soak in the emotional scenes!

One good main actor, one bad main actor, and a plot that fits on a square of toilet paper.

Nonsensical and so low budget it hurts. But. BUT. They truly look like they’re dying to kiss each other the whole time.

They filmed this whole thing in one (1) singular rental apartment and my god does it show. Kisses are 10/10 though.

I only remember stiff acting.

Preeetty sure that’s a student project.

The most gay business model Kpop group acts in a BL that denounces the gay business model.

It’s obvious no one wants to be there.

I get what they attempted to do, but not everyone can pull off Japanese style comedy.

Five conversations and a stiff kiss.

Everything so amateur I couldn't bear to finish it.

So, so awkward.

Straight (pun intended) to the ranch!

I can still hear the cheap costumes rustling at night...

What the HEeeell ?

Maybe the skinship tutor is canonically sociopathic, maybe it’s robotic acting~

I’m sorry but no. You can’t show me a better looking and better acting dude pining after the protagonist, outright say there’s hope for him, then leave him in the dust and expect me to leave feeling satisfied.

Also that YouTuber actor needs to stop with plastic surgery.