BL Recs
Here's 18 BL Titles (out of 70+ i've watched o_o full list is here)
- mix of korean, japanese, chinese/taiwanese, thai movies/dramas/webseries
- korean ones are usually either light and cute or just downright angsty and mostly serious
- japanese ones are usually cringey and most are based off mangas, but still cute (mangas are better though so ask me for recs if interested ;D)
- chinese/taiwanese ones have one of the best looking actors imo, some also have great interviews/fan meetings/fan service and great off-camera chemistry, even though the shows may not always be good but the story lines are usually funny
- thai has a huge array of cute/innocent high school series, especially recently the past few years, and actors can be as young as 16, nonetheless they are pretty good and comfortable with acting in a drama of this nature at a young age, still cringey for the most part but can be enjoyable
10/10 stars - my personal faves (top recommendation)
8/10 stars - have a number of "action" scenes o_o
Some good BL channels with eng subs:
- https://www.dailymotion.com/thai4uchannel2/videos
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe9DJXvHIkV0j3XgR2Iu4Hw/videos
Notes:
- cp = couple
- top = dominant, bottom = submissive character lol
- YT = youtube, DLM = dailymotion, MF = mangafox
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1. SWAP
Chinese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
STORY: 6/10 (kinda weird, not a fan of body swapping)
ACTING: 6/10 (i think it's like their first time really acting so it wasn't that great)
ACTORS: 10/10 (they are a match made in heaven, maybe not in this show but irl i swear they are a true cp)
- 25 min. 10 ep (YT) / (DLM)
- about a business ceo or something who meets a lonely courier that resembles his beloved but deceased brother and becomes overprotective of him, i forgot what else but the courier also swaps bodies with some girl lol
- honorary mention bc i don't really recommend the show but i highly recommend the main cp LeoLucas , i love them so much ToT (YT) / (YT)
- both of the actors are very cute and attractive imo, the top (Leo) like in the show is very protective, also very childish but really cares (i mean like a lot, like i think a little too much lol) for the bottom (Lucas) who is like a cute baby/cat/puppy and of course really cares for Leo as well (YT) / (YT)
- they are very close and since filming, they've been living together in order to really build up their chemistry ;)))))))))
- they also do live videos and they've travelled to different countries together which seriously just looks like a real couple on their honeymoon (YT) / (YT) / (YT) -
2. HIStory2: Crossing the Line
Taiwanese Special - 2018, 8 episodes
STORY: 9/10 (light and simple)
ACTING: 7.5/10 (no complaints and two amazing kiss scenes o_o)
ACTORS: 10/10 (all of them are so cute and good looking, i also love their irl personalities)
- 20 min. 8 ep (YT)
- my current fave BL series and is basically live action Haikyuu lol
- both cps have great chemistry on- and off-camera (YT) / (YT) / (YT) / (YT) / (YT)
- main cp is more mature, top is a cold/serious but kind volleyball captain, bottom is a cheerful troublemaker forced to join the team (his smile is so cute ><)
- side cp is my fave and been my obsession for the past three weeks XD they are step-brothers who secretly like each other but shy to admit, top is the protective older brother (Patrick), bottom is the short-tempered but shy (Nick)
- irl Patrick is the youngest (22) and Nick is older (28), they are both so cute and good-looking, they always make eye contact *_*, i love them so much ToT (YT) / (YT) / (YT) / they frkin kiss omg ded (YT)
- Patrick likes to tease people, is playful and very good at flirting but is quite mature (YT)
- Nick acts like he's cool and composed, but he actually gets really shy around Patrick (YT) / (YT) -
3. Falling in Love with a Rival
Chinese Drama - 2015, 8 episodes
STORY: 9/10 (it's ridiculous but it's hilarious i can't my gosh, and the frkin stock music they use is great lol)
ACTING: 8/10 (it's not amazing but i rated high bc i think the acting really goes with the characters and they are not shy wow!!!)
ACTORS: 10/10 (only bc i love them so much ToT)
- 20 min. 8 ep (YT) / (YT) / (DLM)
- basically about a guy who got dumped by his girlfriend so he takes revenge by trying to make her new boyfriend fall in love with him
- one of my faves because it is hilarious, the "action" scenes are no joke (watch uncut version or clips of uncut *_* bc they took out all the juicy scenes from cut version lol), the actors have great on- and off-camera chemistry
- real life ship name of the cp is QingYu, they are very close and comfortable with each other, they have quite a number of interviews/shows/fan meeting videos on youtube
- top is very dominating in the show and acts a little bit like that in real life but he's actually just a sweet papa bear (his nickname is Papa too XD)
- fan channels with eng subs (YT) / (YT)
- freakin amazing photoshoot like wtf it's unreal??? the bg music is so awks tho sorry looool (YT) and omg this pocky kiss im ded (YT)
- also they have a song together lol (YT)
- the side cp is also very cute -
4. The Boy Next Door
Korean Drama - 2017, 15 episodes
STORY: 9/10 (amazing, it's so funny omg)
ACTING: 9/10
ACTORS: 10/10 (they are so cute and good-looking)
- 6 min. 15 ep (YT)
- about two dudes who live right next to each other and always end up together by chance, they really take focus on the awkwardness of situations lol
- one of those shows that doesn't take itself too seriously, very light and innocent
- the bottom is the same actor as the baseball guy from zombie movie Train to Busan
- don't have much to say but highly recommend this one XD
- also cute/funny behind the scenese (YT) / (YT) / (YT) -
5. Addicted
Chinese Drama - 2016, 15 episodes
STORY: 9/10 (seems innocent but the romance gets quite intense??)
ACTING: 8/10 (the kiss scenes - there are so many - like omg wow)
ACTORS: 8/10 (their all quite cute and good-looking imo)
- 20 min. 15 ep (YT) / (DLM)
- one of the most popular chinese BL series from what i see and a lot of people's favourite
- high school themed with 2 cps
- basically about two step-brothers (seems like a common theme in BL XD), the top is very aggressive (like borderline "rape" omg lol), the bottom is a little moody/reserved
- second cp is very cute and innocent, my god one of them looks like a puppy
- didn't watch a lot of interviews bc i wasn't a fan of the main leads' personalities (i found the top kind of arrogant) so i wasn't as invested to it outside of the show, but the second cp is really cute irl too
- one of the OSTs is sang by the bottom (YT) -
6. A Round Trip to Love
Chinese Movie - 2016
STORY: 7/10 (very angsty and intense, i think it got a little weird towards the end lol)
ACTING: 7/10 ("top" is quite aggressive, "bottom" is a little awkward but not bad)
ACTORS: 9/10 (based on looks, i think they are quite beautiful)
- >1 hr movie but there's also A Round Trip To Love 2 (YT) / (DLM)
- basically about a boss of a company and his subordinate, they loved each other before, now they are secret lovers, some serious stuff happens lol
- steamy bath scene and bondage scene!!!
- both actors also sang together for an OST (YT) -
7. Method
Korean Movie - 2017
STORY: 9/10 (wow! this one is kind of dark and intense)
ACTING: 10/10 (um amazing)
ACTORS: 8/10 (the actors are great, but not full rating just bc i wasn't invested outside of the show, nonetheless it's great casting)
- >1 hr movie (DLM) / (DLM)
- the story focuses on the dark side of method acting (which is a technique where the actor completely gives himself up - emotionally - to the part he plays)
- the top is a much older veteran actor, the bottom is an idol, and they were chosen to act together in a play
- the bottom is cute though, he looks like an actual kpop star even though he's just an actor irl -
8. Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet
Chinese Movie - 2016
STORY: 7/10 (quite standard storyline for BL i think)
ACTING: 7.5/10
ACTORS: 10/10 (i love them irl bc they are so cute and have great chemistry)
- >1 hr movie but there's also Irresistible/Uncontrolled Love 2 with happy ending and bad ending versions (YT)
- about a young master who adopts a young orphan, the young master leaves and they both grew up, later they reunite and the orphan falls in love with the hot tempered master who is actually homophobic
- the top kind of scared me in the movie bc he was so aggresive but he's actually so sweet irl lol
- also they are so amazing together, they (very naturally) act like actual husband and wife XD irl ship name is RuiWen, they even have a show called "Wudong" for fans which follow the behind the scenes of their daily life and a documentary "Honeymoon in Paris" loool (YT)
- the top sang the OST (YT) but the bottom is actually a singer too i think bc he has many songs -
9. Dark Blue and Moonlight
Taiwanese Drama - 2017, 12 episodes
STORY: 7/10 (basic storyline but the main characters are a very frustrating XD)
ACTING: 7/10
ACTORS: 10/10 (actors are kind of hot imo *_* and very close with each other)
- 30 min. 12 ep (YT)
- a company director (who is in a relationship) and an art student meet at a community swimming pool and fall in love at first sight but they never got in contact until a year later when the art student is already dating another guy
- a lot of people actually complain about the main characters bc they basically -- spoilers -- cheat on their partners and i was also getting annoyed but the "action" scenes are actually quite good so i just kept watching XD
- so there are four guys and they are paired up in the show, but during interviews i find it crazy how close every one is bc even the two rejected guys get paired up with each other despite having no contact at all the actual show -
10. Matching! Boys Archery
Korean Drama - 2016, 8 episodes
STORY: 9/10 (cute and quirky)
ACTING: 9/10
ACTORS: 9/10 (attractive ToT there's a guy for everyone)
- 15 min. 8 ep (YT)
- has a similar feel to The Boy Next Door as it is also a webseries
- about a webtoon artist who becomes part of an archery club to get some inspiration for a story
- the girl in the show is literally me lool, if you ship people, then you can relate XD -
11. HIStory: Stay Away from Me
Taiwanese Special - 2017, 4 episodes
STORY: 7.5/10 (light and cute story)
ACTING: 7.5/10
ACTORS: 7.5/10
- 20 min. 4 ep (LINK)
- there's three stories but i just chose this one bc it's the most normal lol
- basically about two step-brothers (once again XD), one is a superstar and the other one has a fujoshi friend who tries to push them together
- the superstar actor is so cute uggghh *_* i think he's also a model and he's friends with Patrick from the History2 series -
12. Antique Bakery
Korean Movie - 2008
STORY: 8/10
ACTING: 9/10
ACTORS: 8/10 (they're all pretty well known)
- <2 hr movie (DLM)
- just threw this in for something sweet/light/fluffy
- basically about four men working at a bakery -
13. Love Sick
Thai Drama - 2014, 12 episodes
STORY: 8.5/10 (it has that youthful and fresh feeling you get with most high school dramas)
ACTING: 7/10 (the actors are quite young so the acting can be awkward but i think they did a pretty good job overall)
ACTORS: 7/10
- 45 min. 12 ep and season 2 which has a lot more episodes (YT)
- high school drama about a guy who asks his friend to be his fake boyfriend to get out of dating his dad's friend's daughter
- just put this one in bc this was actually the first thai BL drama series i've watched around two years ago, i think it's pretty popular and was the catalyst for a lot of other thai high school BL series
- it's actually so cute and i became really attached to the story
- the soundtrack is also really good and many of the actors participated in the songs, i get emotional every time i listen to them -
14. 2 Moons
Thai Drama - 2017, 12 episodes
STORY: 8.5/10 (so cute)
ACTING: 7/10
ACTORS: 8/10 (very cute and attractive ToT)
- 45 min. 12 ep (YT)
- basically another high school BL drama, except it's in university lol
- the bottom goes to the same university that his crush (the top) goes to
- the main cp is really cute, but i think the second cp is even cuter XD -
16. Udagawachou de Matteteyo
Japanese Movie - 2015
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17. Long Time No See
Korean Drama - 2017, 5 episodes
STORY: 7/10
ACTING: 8.5/10
ACTORS: 8/10 (they're beautiful T_T)
- 15 min. 5 ep (YT)
- the top is a bl author (also a hitman) and the bottom is a fan of his stories, they finally meet irl and fall in love, but they are both hiding their actual identity from each other
- the story was okay, but they are super cute together omg -
18. Guardian
Chinese Drama - 2018, 40 episodes
STORY: 8/10
ACTING: 8/10
ACTORS: 9/10 (my god they are so attractive)
- 45 min. 40 ep (YT)
- this one is what i am currently watching, i didnt think much of it but i actually quite like it, it's a proper drama with an actual storyline lol
- it's a fantasy themed bromance drama about the chief of a special investigations division and a university professor who both end up working together to solve strange cases
- i don't usually go for fantasy but omg the main cp is so attractive, i love their personalities and the way they look at each other wow, it's just bromance but it's very cute