Lyson

THEIR VISUAL AMIRITE???

Me & Thee is the weakest BL PondPhuwin have ever done, highest budget, but weakest script. The crossed the line of eccentric camp into stupid camp. I still haven't made it past ep 2. But I dunno what your tolerance level is. The rating for all GMMTV BLs is bullshit, they're all rated for actor fandom wars, never for quality. Anyway I like PondPhuwin, their first two BLs were enjoyable, but PondSanta would clear that pair hands down imo.

Oh I disagree about being an anime fan meaning finding Japanese guys attractive. When it comes to cartoon/manga art (and some manhua too, although Chinese manhua artists really NAIL their detail) when picturing what REAL versions of them might look like, the imagination can go WILD. For example. They cast Kenichi Matsuyama as L, and I liked Kenichi just fine in the role, but my own idea of what L would like it more Maxence Danet Fauvel vibes, TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Also, the actor they cast for Edward Elric (<33333333 my favourite manga character EVER) acted the role just fine, but looks, yikes, it was a no from me. I see Edward looking more like Emil Anderson. I even did an edit of Emil Anderson (he's a model and I think he may have died during covid I can't be sure but I hope not) as Edward Elric.https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290693350956507444/ so yeah, I never pictured Japanese guys as my fave manga characters.
I also just realized that both of the Japanese manga characters I listed are both technically NOT canonically Japanese. Maybe that's kind of telling??? You also pointed out you think Kobayashi looked Chinese-y, so I guess that's telling too lol I just don't find most JP dudes or girls to be easy on the eyes. lol And those 2 actors you mentioned, I find neither of them attractive to look at BUT I recalled another JP actor I found kind of attractive recently, I almost forgot him because the BL was forgettable, Soma Satoru! I like him, I love a goofy smile too, on an attractive guy, very pleasant to look at.

Oh you're probably gonna gasp when I tell you I don't like Gong Jun LOL I made it through Advance Bravely well enough, but by the end of it I was tired of his face XD and then you're gonna gasp again when I tell you that besides his role and WW, I don't think XZ really stands out looks wise HAHA. Yeah, different strokes right? But I do know they're both super popular and considered attractive by most everyone. For me, it was Wang Yibo as LWJ and Xia Zhiguang as Ruan Lanzhu, face cards for daaaaays. The proper BL's we've gotten recently, so far only Zhan Xuan REALLY stood out to me looks wise, and recently Chen Jianyi (Lu Zhen here in TMS) the rest haven't been bad looking though. China could easily dominate the BL genre, they already almost do and they've only done censored BLs and a few proper ones recently.

Yes, ignorance can come from the most confusing places, you named the top three rn! They should be BETTER, but they are all going backwards every day little by little.

"But when it's time to pick something to adapt, Korea will choose something run of the mill." ~~ beacsue they're AFRAID and because they KNOW if they do full quality BL, their precious het kdrama genre will fall off so bad. Did you see what The Devil Judge did????? If they'd had the balls to make TDJ actual BL and not walk the fine line, it'd be even MORE popular and successful that it already was/is. (I love TDJ, if you haven't seen it, 100% would recc)

Sometimes you gotta just follow your gut though, so yeah, can't always depend on review counts.

"but I keep trying to tell the poor thing it ain't gonna happen for me." / "Plus in real life, narcissistic manipulators like Fan Xiao rarely change anyway." ~~ love it. LOVE IT that we're on the same page. I refuse to read the comments because I know what I'll see, exactly what you're dealing with. They'll twist themselves into impossible excuse pretzels trying to justify FX's behavior. Do I like FX as a character? Yep, I do, I like him as a psychopath asshole and I still wish he fucked both of them (sorry not sorry) and then continued to be an asshole because that's realistically how it goes, but his relationship is too obviously fucked up and abusive with Shu Lang which makes it ick for them to end up together. If Shu Lang where fucked up too? Okay, maybe but Shu Lang is actually a decent human being from what they've depicted so nah. Doesn't work!
"Shu Lang getting back together with him will just feel like a variation of Stockholm's Syndrome." ~~ you took the words right out of my BRAIN PAN. It's a very power imbalanced, abusive relationship that's now heading into guilting and gaslighting territory. I like consent, consent is SEXY AF, thanks, they can keep the idea of this pair being together, I'll just stick around for the drama until I get bored maybe.

Yes, LOVE how it's been filmed for sure. They're doing an excellent job, it gives us hope for future works!

I don't have any strong opinions on any of the actors in TMS tbh, I think they're all doing fine but I can't say any of them have made a major impression on me. Only Chen Jianyi, and that's just visual (because at this point, he is my live action Xie Lian) did I already show you that he's my Xie Lian? I've made it official. hehe

"It's like the actors get married and have to work with their spouse forever." ~~ ugh yes, it's horrible, and they're required to do stupid fan service and do some pretending like it's 'real' to keep mentally unwell fans from losing their weak minds. I hate it. SO MANY BL actors would be FIRE with other partners. It's such a waste.

Pond and Santa are friends and they're in JASP.er (a music group) together. They're also both in Me & Thee, but Santa is a minor role. He could have easily been a MC lead across from Pond though, they'd look so good together in a BL.
https://www.tiktok.com/@aestiniia/video/7549560161317293330?q=pond%20santa&t=1766027536600
GMMTV is so fast asleep on the potential for these two, probably just how it taken a BL with Gun acting across from another ML for people to see potential there. Mixed pairs is dumb.

It's definitely renewed, and yet Boots (which was so damn good) is cancelled, no second season. Netflix is so ass.

Did you? I think someone else on Twitter also called it that. Either way, it struck TRUE. lol

"Maybe because I know I'll see lots of abs LOL" ~~ LOL, everyone has their draw cards in shows! hehe I like sports in shows, as long is it's integrated well with the storyline and is visually interesting.

Eh, if I see 10 reviews I think 'oh this company has 10 very dedicated employees bumping their products' LOL I don't trust it. With shows, ratings as low as 7 won't put me off because I know how ridiculous fans can be with their downvoting wars. The ratings on MDL hardly matter at all tbh, I always look at the cast, read the synopsis and watch the trailer to decide. Or of I really like a pairing, I'll watch it because of that, but if it turns out to be shit, I won't go rating it up because I like that actors, shit is shit. It is what it is.

"whereas KBLs have both a bland plot and execution" ~~ which is wildly weak when their action/suspense/thriller dramas are so lit. Like, what's wrong with them? Oh, homophobia. right.
Oh yeah no I'm honest about what I like to see, me saying "I don't find Japanese actors." is my business and idgaf what anyone else thinks, if they find them attractive that's great, but that's not my business just like me not liking them is my business. It's called aesthetic preference. lol Even rn, there's only one Japanese actor I think is attractive, that's Kobayashi Toranosuke from I Hear the Spot. A visual list? Haha, it's the same for me:

China
Thailand
Taiwan
SK
Japan

Although Taiwan and SK could go head to head, but China is still first and JP is still last for me.

When it comes to western shows I know EXACTLY what I like and I'm even pickier than with Asian shows. Trust, there is no question about it, I could not be persuaded to watch ST even if you tried lol. Just like no soul was ever able to persuade me to watch Supernatural, no matter how much hype it got. Not my vibe. And I say that even though I like Jensen Ackles, still no from me. I commend your self control all the same!

Oh I'm just watching TMS at this point because Fan Xiao's unhinged behavior is entertaining. The actual dynamic between them now is abusive and that hardly interests me. Even if the end up together, it makes no sense to me, because that's a very unhealthy relationship. I like a red flag character, but within in reason. When abuse and non-con are the basis of it, I don't see how it could be acceptable that the should end up together. The way things are rn, Fan Xiao has done less horrible shit to Lu Zhen. The acting is great though, and I like everything about the way the show is filmed and directed, it's great. The storyline is interesting too, I just don't have any investment in them ending up together, it's meh for me. Are you rooting for them?

Thanks! Addicted was not for me, too rapey imo, I'm not into rapey/dub con between MLs, it's also the reason I'm barely taking To My Shore seriously, too much dub con stuff going on. Not my vibe yk? Watching To My Shore for Fan Xiao's unhinged behaviour at this point, very entertaining lol. I watched Addicted years ago, before I had an account on MDL, so I never added it to my list. I have added Egoist to my PTW, thanks for the recc! JPBLs usually bore me but this is a LGBTQ movie so I'm expecting it to be better XD are my hopes too high?

Anything on my list you haven't already watched, I'd recc, that's what this list is, not all the ones I enjoyed, but the ones I enjoyed that I think BL gen pop would enjoy.

I drop shows every other day of the week, sometimes within 5 minutes. That was not the point of my post. I was looking for some insight into whether the content of this show is worth continuing to watch . I have had some clarifying answers.

I appreciate you taking the time to write this, but yeah I am aware of these things. I went into this expecting a camp comedy, I was tracking this BL's release for a while since I like PondPhuwin.

But as I mentioned, there is line, a line where intentional camp crosses into simply seeming stupid, that's happened too many times in just one and a half eps I've seen. It makes the character of Thee seem cartoonish and not just hilariously eccentric, the latter being more what I was expecting after seeing the trailer. As a result all the characters around him tolerating his cartoon level behaviour also just seem ridiculous and so imo it starts to fall apart.

So now I'm struggling since it's pushing even my tolerance for this kind of genre, but I'll keep going eventually, maybe I'll pick it back up once it's completely aired.

Yeah, 3 episodes are the general deal breaker limit. I'll have to push through ep 2 at some point. Hope the balance is better because up to now, they've gone too far with the cheesy camp comedy for my taste, I like comedy and I can accept a bit of camp, but there's a limit. Hanging in there rn only because I like PondPhuwin.

I don't have any interest in that pairing. I have no interest in anyone in this show besides PondPhuwin and an individual liking for Santa.

Guys, I'm a fan of PondPhuwin and I'm struggling to get through ep 2, any motivation to continue despite the excess campness?

Keen

I will try, I've watched Gun and the other guy in Not Me before, I can probably make it through an ep or two and like you said, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised! What you said about Dew and Gun makes me think of how I wish Thailand wouldn't strictly stick to fixed pairs. Pond and Santa would be so fucking hot together in a BL. And there are others too, who would be GREAT with another partner. I don't mind repeat pairings, but fixed? It's a waste.

I don't even know who wrote it, I just know the dialogue doesn't flow well, it feels way too stiff and forced, but it's a hit right? I think it's been renewed for a second season, so fans will be happy about it.
"I mean, what you're saying makes total sense from a writing standpoint, but even with sports romances people are still mainly coming for the romance" ~~ it's interesting you mention this, just yesterday I posted a comment explaining to someone who asked here on MDL, what is the difference between BL and LGBTQ and this is one of the main things I mentioned. That BLs will sideline plot and sensible writing flow for romance to cater to fans. And that's why when I saw someone online call HR a BL I didn't disagree because it absolutely is. It's not the same as SKAM and Young Royals and the other LGBTQ shows, it's actually written like a western BL.
I'm a person who can watch a show like a typical BL and accept what it lacks, but if it includes a proper storyline, proper character development and world building that adds to the romance and over all story, it's even better imo. For someone who doesn't like sports, and like most BL fans, I guess the fact they skipped the hockey will work out better for their viewers.
Could be budget, could be they can't play hockey to save their lives XD lol who knows.

Wow, our BL quality list is pretty damn similar. I think I can't put Taiwan above Thailand because they make too few BLs to really rate. It's like buying product online that has 5 star rating but only 10 raters versus a product online that has a 4.7 rating but 2000 raters. lol

I want to stab whoever thinks introductory narration is necessary in every single Japanese BL, please get an original clue it sucks. I can't say I agree about Japanese BL content, it's always so bland and dull to me, I get bored in record time. Also Japan and SK have the lowest success rate on delivering good chemistry between actors and even basic kisses. As for the short format BLs, I rarely even bother to try those, waste of everyone's time! On a very shallow note, I also think Japan's actors have the weakest aesthetic/visual/face cards in the whole industry. Just my opinion. SK is second on that for me, so when I add all those things lacking together and usually I can't make it to watch. Nothing to hold my attention.

Yeah, Thailand is always trying, and some are managing to step up.
I also hope we can get MORE proper Chinese BLs, no one does character and world dev like they do.
Oh yeah, hell no, I will drop something even after 3 min if I don't like it. People who can't drop shows must suffer a lot lolololol

I'm one of those people who never ever watched Stranger Things, it's not my vibe.

Happy to help :3

BL as a genre caters to a different audience, not necessarily in age but it certainly attracts mostly females who prefer a high 'romance' factor to dominate the over all story, regardless of genre or attempted plot. It also follows a specific tropey format that is generally unserious, over the top and most BLs prioritize certain 'youthful' and 'perfect' character visuals/personalities and repetitive plots, because the fanbase prefers those things as a focus. Basically, a lot of BLs are more on the unrealistic side, it's also only 'gay' on a shallower more flowery level. Not all BLs mind you, quite a few of them in the past (early days) and recently do try to be more serious, which has been nice for a change.

LGBTQ+ as a genre is more realistic regarding the aspects and dynamics of homosexuality in real life (this does not include whatever sub genre it belongs to), and the audience they cater to may be varied or specifically for people of LGBTQ+ community depending on the story content, which also used to vary more than BL (but BLs have been branching out). The shows are more serious and focus on either the plot or the character development in turns or separately, or both at the same time, but it doesn't follow a tropey formula and it usually delves into deeper and more complicated issues either directly about homosexuality or relating to it and how it affects the plot over all.

Yes, Levi is the right one, I searched it. It was his 'I'm so done with everything' vibe. lol made him likeable.

You're the second person to tell me I should give Burnout Syndrome a try despite not liking the actors and you know what, why not. I was originally going to skip Shine because I was never previously very caught up in the Mile Apo trend and I didn't know Son and Euro, but that was a pleasant surprise. So I'll put it on my PTW list. I'm not watching much BL rn, but after two similar explanations and reccs for this show, I'm guessing something about it must stand out, so I'll keep an open mind.

I can't even deal with the 14 year old girl fanfiction dialogue in HR. And I'm in the minority, but I'm one of those people who feel if you base a show on plot based in sport, showing the actual sport being played at least occasionally is a good idea. Maybe because I don't mind watching sports but I feel like it helps with world and character building a lot. If someone writes 'he's one of the best players of a generation' and then I never see what makes him outstanding, I'm already losing interest yk? I can't just be TOLD the character is so great, I need to see it depicted or I can't take an interest. I can't think of how to explain it. Not only about sports, but in any genre.

#justiceforDaouOffroad frfr

Thai BLs drop the ball often, but I still personally rate BL quality/entertainment/visual aesthetic value as
China
Thailand
Taiwan
SK
Japan
I generally finish or mostly finish BLs from China and Taiwan (which isn't difficult since there are so few) and for Thailand, I take a chance on most of them, whether I drop them or not in the end. But SK and JP I usually drop on the first ep, sometimes 10 min in, or skip them entirely based on synopsis or actors. If 10 JP BLs air in a year, I drop about 8 of them. SK too, I drop many. So I guess I definitely would rate Thai BLs fairly well when I think I about what I prefer to watch. They try, they really do. They need a lot of improvement, but they still TRY to be more and do more every year. But OVERALL, I drop a lot of BLs in general. We all have our preferences though.

Oh yeah, I can guess why they chose to do the scene without showing him again, but that's what the point of doing editing afterward in post production, they should have noticed in the editing process that the scene didn't work so well like that, pretty sure almost every viewer did not forget Lu Zhen was right there, and so it interfered with the emotional focus.

I was picturing him in my head sitting there giving those two the bombastic side eye like "Guy... I'm still here." 🤣

LOL episode 8 was LIT. Love the angst. Nice acting too.
Lu Zhen (Chen Jianyu) is soooooooooooooooooooo pretty.
Also, did Lu Zhen just dematerialize or teleport out of the room at the end? lol

Just bringing this back around since i recently found my dream casting for Xie Lian to go with my dream casting for Hua Cheng.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMVSsshWoAAcNSV?format=jpg&name=large
https://x.com/lyson_pain/status/1787884087631298778/photo/1
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G7AZcCoXIAAvVf8?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G7n0m_gXAAAB_CG?format=jpg&name=medium

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

But he didn't pick up all their full names, when he refers to them in the aftermath mentally or addresses the ones he does talk to who do not know who he is, it's only by first name. So whatever full names he gave them in his head don't count imo >;D

Yeah, true, different things resonate with different people. I don't remember the characters clearly, I just liked the one guy, the short one with the -_- face. I don't think he was a MAIN main character in AoT, but he had aura so he was more memorable for me. You ever watch Black Clover? That wasn't a bad anime...I didn't finish it either though, should probably get back to it sometime.

Top Form was not bad production wise imo, good budget, not bad acting. I didn't care much for either actor looks-wise, but the problem for me was the 'interest' factor was not high, I got bored very quickly. I always ask myself 'do I care what happens to this pairing in this show?' and if the answer is no, I dip.

I am not watching Burnout Syndrome XD I don't like any of the actors so I asked myself 'do I care what happens to the pairing/s in this show?' and the answer was a resounding no, so nah, not on my card. But enjoy!
"It's the only Thai BL I've found interesting this year (aside from Gel Boys). The directing, script, and acting are all really good. And the OST elevates every scene. " ~~ you basically just described how I feel about Shine, right down to Gel Boys. heh. Every You, Every Me and The Bangkok Boy weren't too bad either though, a nice deviation from the usual Thai output.

Haha I can believe you lowered your standards man because nope, not for me. It took me 3 business days to watch half of episode 1 of Heated Rivalry and I still didn't finish it, I dropped that show. I will not be returning. I just finished watching Twinless, a life drama lowkey LGBTQ film, which I was keen for for a while, and it was good, satisfied with that watch. I haven't watched any new BLs tbh, just watching TMS weekly and I finished The Wicked Game (worst production and sfx team ever, so bad, DaouOffroad deserved better) and I'm laboring (really struggling) my way through Me & Thee, just for Pond really, and for the occasional scene with Santa, (possibly will drop this too eventually the camp cheesiness is off the charts), but the BL you mentioned, Thundercloud Rainstorm, is on my PTW, so I'll get to it eventually.

Xia Zhiguang and Chen Feiyu are in this. I'm seated.