Best BL of 2021

I began watching this series before it was completed and had to wait patiently for new episodes. Never have I been so anxious to know what happens to fictional people. I have never seen a story that captivates the unpredictability of emotions so perfectly. The complication of having family drama and the pressure of keeping everyone will be happy at what may seem to be the cost of your own happiness.

The story centres around Pat and Pran and builds so much that I honestly was wondering where they can go, but they found a way to not only keep it fresh but captivating. They are separated both at school and at home, due to faculty wars and family wars, which had me wondering if this series is really a BL because their was no one for them to be in the same space unless they are fighting. Then in the heights of emotions and battles, emotions get out of hand and then that balcony scene happened. I was literally holding my breath. The actors really showed of their skills in this scene, the will they wont they dynamics came to a head. the tension, the intensity, the emotion and the uncertainty had me at the edge of my seat. I was so worried about what was going to happen that I had removed the subtitles and tried to judge what was going on from their actions. This had me broken from the moment Pran walked off and left Pat standing there. I literally could not process it and I had to re-watch the scene with the subtitles only for every word to pull at my heart to have it finally ripped out when he walked off.

When it finally began to look like they got everything figured out, the curtain drops and its back to square one. I felt for Wai the most because he actually was genuinely hurt by his best friend keeping secrets. The writing on this show truely captured the essence of having to keep things a secret for everyone to be happy. While also showing that love has no limits and doesn't require much for you to have all you need. That moment when they returned home because they realise it isn't all about their happiness, made it worth so much more for me because too many times people forget your actions affect others.

This show truly was a rollercoaster of emotions with highs and lows, the best part about it is that, no matter which emotion they had someone right there with them. It was an amazing experience going through this part of their lives with them.

PS: If you have made it to the where the Pat's dad refused Pat's friend gift. Congrats to their parents for possibly turning into adults.

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Friendship goals

This was a light-hearted and funny series, that managed to throw in some serious subject matter. Following primarily the relationships between the various boys of the school track and field team. Giving me a true sense of great writing, because they honestly were perfect friends. Always there for each other, always helped each other... without looking for anything at all in return. This series gave me family and friends, which is totally what I love to see, but they had real natural drama, not the kind that requires a fight and tears, but the kind that has you feeling for the characters because it hits close to home. The actors brought their A game to their roles, making their characters pain, happiness and confusion seem real. The lack of rediculous drama also made them feel like the children down the street, with real problems and the actors brought the personalities to life with ease.

Thankfully it had no cliché drama to speak of, but did touch on some serious issues of poverty and how it affects the children that care enough to know what their parents are going through to provide for them, especially for a single parent household. Bullying was also added to the mix and they did it masterfully, letting it play out naturally giving the audience a sense of placement within the story, making judgements based on what little we know. Teaching real lessons that it's not good to judge a book by its cover.

The ending unfortunately felt really underdeveloped and abrupt. The last couple episodes introduced so many new elements into the best friends lives, but the series ended before we could know what truly happened. However, as disappointing as this was, it was still an amazing series that touched all the right feels.

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Sweet romance

This was a very short series, but it packed so much heart into it. I was able to believe every word and they did this without any of the tropes being over done or even present. The little details of each interaction sold the story.

The story is nothing special, as friends fall in love all the time, but the execution of it in this series was well done. The small details that made the other wonder but could never quite figure out why made it seem natural. They are supposed to be best friends and that seemed to be the main driving force behind everything. It was really well paced with the romance building without being outright, the glances the unexplained annoyances when the other spent too much time with someone else. It was all great and the fact that they had great friends was a nice touch. This complimented everything about the story, as the advice from the secondary friends were always spot on. It was a perfect example of how friends should be with each other in real life.

The acting was spot on from both leads and their chemistry was undeniable. They played well off of each other and really conveyed that jealous boyfriend energy well. This also worked well for their best friend dynamic and the supporting cast was also on point.

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A rapist wet dream

This was something else. I don't understand how this qualifies as a romance when there was nothing romantic about it. Don't be fooled, his obsession took the form of sexual assault, which moved to manipulation. Blokes like this are trash in real life, learn to take no as the answer, not as an invitation. Furthermore, don't be playing you crying because you taking advantage of someone and claim it is because you love them so much. That is just crazy.

Story - I think they could have developed it into a proper storyline that seemed to have a build up to obsession, but since it jumped right into obsession... It was not pleasant to try and follow, because it felt as if something was missing the entire time. The ending was just so messed up... That is not love that is just sadness. This is not a story anyone should live in real life.

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An honest failure

This was truly a nice attempt at being a good multiverse of stories, but it failed on so many of them. The stories were just lacking substance and some of the actors just didn't have enough to go on. A few met the mark, but I am an A+ student... So I will leave it there.

Episode 1: Having such great acting talent and not going anywhere was sad. This was mostly because of the rushed sto... well what should have been there story, but it went by so quickly that it seemed like a rumour. It was arguably the best in the short stories that this show offered. I felt a little cheated out of what could have been a great story, a little longer and we could have seen a real start, challenge and resolution.

Episode 2: This was just uncomfortable, like up to now I have know idea if the main lead was having a fever dream or not. It was way too confusing, the acting wasn't stella neither, but at least they are handsome. I think the plot didn't give them much to work with so they just did the best they can.

Episode 3: Was this episode really necessary? It felt like a waste, hurried and pointless in terms of character and direction. I mean what really was the story here.

Episode 4: Was a slight gem within these stories, simple and realistic. It didn't feel rushed and had a nice buildup that made me believe it wasn't to fake. The actors chemistry wasn't amazing, but it was alright, the story was cute enough to be enjoyed.

Episode 5: Definitely the sweetest out of all the stories. The pacing, the story telling, everything was great. The cinematography could have been better, but that's minor. Worth making it through the others to see.

Episode 6: Steupssss. Lost me again with this episode, the story was sad and not in a good way. I can't even say more because it really doesn't have much substance to speak of why I didn't like it at all. I like fantasy games but this was just not it. Get a life bro, you to handsome to be wasting it in your room.

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Amazingly well done

I saw this show as a suggestion within my Netflix's account, wondered why it was there, but I decided to give it a try. Never in my wildest dreams would I guessed how much a grip this show would eventually have on me. I often found myself wondering what will happen next, and that isn't an often occurrence when I watch shows. From beginning to almost the end this series crash landed on my emotions and took me for an amazing ride.

The story...
Was well written to the point of me not being able to guess what was coming next quite a lot, that masterful mystery, kept me watching episode after episode. While it may not have been totally original, it was original enough to make me feel like no aspect of it was repeated in another show. The comedy the action, the suspense, the uncertainty of it all had everyone on the edge of their seats. Wanting and waiting for what is going to happen next. The pacing was also well done, building from a moment of will they wont they, are they falling for each other, or are they just crazy. It was so much fun watching their dance of the sugar plum. The action, the back stories and everything in-between built a series that everyone should watch. The leads dedication to each other's happiness and well being will keep you watching, along with their interactions with the other members of the 5th company. That moment when they were trying to surprise her for her birthday, even I wanted them to still be there. Even the mole is loved in this show.

The characters...
Captain Ri's character was soooo refreshing, to see someone from his background, be so gentle and caring for basically a totally stranger that crash landed on him. While his every move may not have been calculated, it was all for the same goal. Has character was so well built, from his leadership qualities to his family values to his duty. Nothing could have been better with this man. Just take a look as his faithful squad members, that never missed a beat to make sure that he was taken cared of and safe. When you got people that would risk their lives for you, that is when you know that you have been good in life. His chemistry with yoon se and the 5th company members were perfect. You could swear they were all family that grew up and sipped tea together since they were children. He did an excellent job with his role.

Yoon Se was masterfully built to be a strong and independent woman, that still knew how to be a polite and sometimes petty woman. This made her sooo loveable, that you couldn't help but want the best for her. Given what she endured growing up, she's not broken just bent, but still her family were written to be complete rubbish. You'll see.

5th Company members were all the best ride or die friends you could ever ask for and you could tell it wasn't strictly about them being in the military together. Their personal relationships were some of the best bromances ever written. That moment, when Capt. ri shoed up with those shoes to give to guem. I bet you will cry. These blokes were a joy to watch, their chemistry and physical comedy were amazing.


Wow these people had me. THat's just it, they had me for the entire series, they just had me. They did what they want and they just had me. Thank you for this series. I always say blood ain't nothing but blood, family is what you need to check for.

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Was this real?

I honestly believe that this series was intended to be a joke. No way they were serious when they were making this series. Maybe they wanted to slap a few of us BL watchers in the face and say "take dat"

Story - The story, if it can be called that, did not live up to anything because it was practically none existent. The series began and it ended, whatever happened in-between those things was a failure. They tried, I think, but maybe it could have been a slapstick comedy, but in this series it was painful to watch. The characters had no substance and most of it felt like a child getting into their parents alcohol and having a fever dream. Nothing made sense....

Acting- The acting may have been good, but with the story that was presented, I couldn't tell. Everything seemed overdone or underwhelming. However, it may have just been what they had to work with.

Music - It had music... That's about all I can say. We could hear it but it had nothing to work with.

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Madness

A show about music and the music industry filled with good-looking persons and great music. The acting was solid and every single member of the cast is talented. No doubt about that, they could all sing (it was recorded and lip synced) and they could all dance like crazy. The music was insanely good, every song had meaning, fit the mood and had a purpose. It wasn't just music for the sake of music. I appreciated the singing more than the rapping but that is just my personal preference. The chemistry between all the actors was perfect Everyone played their part well in the collective. They attempted a bromance with some solid I love you moment where the words weren't said but the actors pulled it off.

However, I swear this show pissed me off more and more as it went on. I hopped for so long that it would get better but it didn't. It literally got crazier as it went on and not in the good way. So much of this made no sense, I mean like legit NO SENSE.

Lets get into the bad aspects.
Firstly, lets get into the K=pop world that they created. While it is a known fact that the K-pop factory only values talent that comes connected to a pretty face. It should never be normalised to call someone "Fatty" nor "Skinny" it was literally atrocious, they aren't that bad from my research. People also aren't so desperate to make it in the industry that they turn out to be scum. Miaoli is literally the scum of the earth, No human being should be so despicable, and the worst part about her is that she kept saying that she is doing it to help Yuchi Ke. The worst people are the ones that always say they are helping you but know they are only using you to get what they want, you and Evil are the same person.

Secondly, lets get into the logic of things. An entire person seemed to have disappear and no one is looking for him? Whether he was Bai Ling or Lu Xiang doesn't matter because Bai Ling was dead and they made this clear from the first episode. So where did this extra body come from and why did it not have a name attached to it? The accident also made no sense, because there were two bodies lying on the road, with NO EXPLANATION. People also seem to be easy to kidnap with no one reporting it nor anyone even looking for them... Even when taken from in front a hospital.
Why was this girl pole dancing so much within the series, it didn't even seem to be part of the story development nor to her character development. It was just random, like the fight club they had during training. Pointless and confusing with no contribution to the plot.

Lastly, the final episode had no explanation or completion of anyone's story except for the company's mission to put out ACE. The guys just seem to all debut, but it appeared that the two bodies didn't have to share a soul anymore or maybe they did, I really have no clue because it was so poorly done. There was a disgraced artist who became a director at the company but no backstory as to how nor why. Their were four persons that shared two souls (2x1) and no explanation at all not even a hint.

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Best of its class

Starting watching this due to a YouTube short that highlights the relationships of the best friends. I could have never guessed how amazing this show would be. From the acting to the fight scenes, the annoyance to the heartbreak, it was truly a masterclass in making a great show.

Story wise, it had some clichés, but it was vastly outweighed by the impeccable writing and execution. The twist of superheroes being punctuated by regular family drama and passion gave the the best dynamic ever. I loved seeing how their relationship evolved and how they protected each other at all costs. Mae connection to her other world partner was heartbreaking to find out but it made me want to protect them even more. Having mo tak story be intertwined with their destiny was also an unexpected touch. You all did him dirty though, I mean come on, he now finds out about the ring thing and has to go a funeral. I was constantly guessing and hoping that things wouldn't happen and found myself screaming at the TV, like if that would make a difference. That is the sign of a great show.

Moon was a bit to irrational for an 18 year old, but I'll excuse him because he has been through a lot. He started off as a major liability but redeemed himself. His relationship with his besties is the stuff of fairy-tales, it was so refreshing to see how much they genuinely loved each other. That rooftop scene between the three of them was gold, it's always great to see friends holding each other accountable. Even them taking care of the bully was done right.

The acting and chemistry between everyone, even the main spirit was amazing. His evil smile, his evil giggle... I was here for it. Lee Hong did an amazing job, to the point where I felt sorry for him when they reveal how he got that scare. They honestly made no mistakes in the series can't wait to see season 2.

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Flaws and All

This was a refreshing change of story for the BL world. No triple takes of basic moments that don't deserve it, No bully that fall in love, no ridiculous high school drama... My only negative is that the final shot could have been anything else. Literally ANYTHING ELSE.

The cast for this series did very well in portraying their characters and their characters were well written. I say this because they were all flawed, which made them human. While this can be considered unhealthy by some, their brokenness is what made their love seem worth it. They had moments of fear where they acted out, moments of insecurities were they withdrew into their shells. They lived, learned and eventually found the courage to let themselves live.

Give it a watch and remember while watching that nobodies perfect. Even if you want to treat them like a king.

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Amazing

This show was by far one of the most touching and inspirational shows I have ever seen. Giving you everything you need in a few hour long sessions. They had sports, and yes dance of any kind is a sport. At least it is for those that are dancer, not for those that can dance. This story is a true testament that it is never too late to follow your dreams, but it will not be easy.

Lee on his own, has his own daemons to deal with but it never seemed to break him, however, his heart does get broken because of Sim. This well paced and well written relation development, touched my heart. Showing all you really need is one person to support you and you can achieve anything. No dream is impossible, and they both had dreams that they were fighting for. Sim's family honestly made me sad, for they (especially the eldest son) were so absorbed in their own image, that they didn't realise that they can only be held accountable for what they do. Also, no two person's happiness are brought by the same thing.

I was happy to see all the characters development that took place during the series. Telling the story of family, friends and strangers that become family, like no other. The last few episodes broke my heart when he got on that plan but the anxiety I felt was at peak when I studied how it may be if they returned but everything is forgotten. Lee and Sim had the best chemistry between them, setting the stage for their teacher student relationship to grow into something more like family.

These men acted their everything off, I believed every moment of their performances, not to mention Lee (Song Kang) is drop dead handsome, but I am so glad that he is an exceptional actor also. Everyone did an amazing job here and I was happy to be taken along for this emotional roller-coaster ride.

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Maybe the series was Mis-titled

Another great story with that forbidden plot twist. The premise of this story seemed a bit off where body switching was involved, but the execution was very well done. The story did very well to bring the confusion and uncertainty of life to the forefront. However, the end result was still a little unnecessary in my book. Simply because the title was Shippers, I didn't think they needed such a bitter sweet ending.

The chemistry between the Kim and Way seem to be almost natural, even before Kim's body switch. Their basic interactions always seemed to be what best friends are to be. Being their for each other in every situation, coming to a boil at even put their lives on the line for each other. I don't think I have seen the level of pure love that these characters have for each other achieving their happiness, in any other BL thus far. I mean they all have a love story, but having it totally unselfish where they actually plan to not be together because it is best for the other. That is real love...

The main cast, seemed to have a chemistry that was undeniable, making the high school theme work well, and while they had some odd aspects that I didn't understand, the high school drama wasn't much of the focus. Making the dynamics between the boys, not just Kim and Way, but also Kim and his brother, had me cheering for the boys to have a happy ending. The more we learnt about Kim's life made him more human and we got to see the depth that he cared for his friend and his brother.

Because of all of this, I think he deserved better, let the shippers have their ship and get to sail on it too... but if the ending is a tease about something to come, I hope it does come soon.

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Highly Recommended

I may have came for the BL story, but I stayed for the murder mystery. I was soo happy to see that there was a legit story that was not only very well fleshed out, but so captivating and just happen to have a BL sub plot. So lets get into it.
The main storyline is centred around the murder of who I thought was a main character. This then drives everything that comes next Without going into any spoilers, this series will have you constantly on your toes. No high-school melodrama, no one trying to find themselves(not that I mind those stories), but it was refreshing to see just good ole grown ups trying to be good people and a good friend (mostly).

Nothing made sense and I suspected everyone at one point, however, the one that turned out to be needed the most slaps. Like, how dear you be the killer. Never has a show been so well written than I didn't know who the killer was right off the back. This was honestly a masterpiece, the relationships that developed seemed to be effortlessly done. Everyone had me wondering if they were going to get together or not. Punctuated only by the level of corruption, the main story line will have you wondering from start pretty much till the end.

The main actors had so much chemistry with each other, and I don't just mean the two leads but practically all of the main characters. Tan, Bun had one of the most developed back and forth of he lil sketchy but is he genuinely in like. Their rollercoaster of emotions was a highlight of the series. That and Sorn were right behind being my second favourite to watch onscreen, I mean I still don't know where their relationship stands but on the back of that bike must be real hot (in my head). Sorn was literally that friend that everyone should have in their lives, sweet (inside and out), caring, loyal and brave-ish. That man who dared to watch that adorable face and point a gun to it. SHAME ON YOU... Inspector M, had me wondering if he trying to make people commit a crime from the moment I saw him in that uniform... Boi!!! somebody better make a side story with somebody on that body, boy or girl, I don't care he deserves some love and less bullets. Pued didn't have much screen time but I had his back and so did his brother.

You really should watch this series to see what I wrote about.


PS: Sorn and Inspector M need some more gigs, I love watching their talent (no that is not an innuendo)

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Cute at least

The disclaimer at the beginning of each episode is to be taken to heart because there really isn't any substance here.
Never the less, I actually still enjoyed it, it was simply some cute moments between Team and Win which was enough to keep me watching. No story or anything to follow just moments to make you smile. The episodes are extremely short, so I didn't feel like I wasted any time on it. The both actors are good, which gave them some authenticity and they are written in their same character space as in Until We Meet Again, so it made them familiar. Team also still has that "don't touch me there" feeling to him, so it was funny and cute in combination. This made me happy to see that they didn't just write them to be overly sexed up. Pure cuteness with a tad of fan service.


It held true to the disclaimer.

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Short but still captivating

This story within a story isn't a new concept, but their story is new to me and it was totally worth watching. They balanced reality and some mystery magic well, because as far as happy endings go, they can be happy in a sad way or happy in a happy way. This story offer both, which honestly had me wanting to cry, laugh and smile all at once, all while being punctuated by some slight action.
The two main leads literally just fell into each other's lives and in true drama fashion, caused drama. Their playful antics and general silliness made them a joy to watch on screen. I was thrilled to realised that they had begun to care for each other by midway through. The chemistry between them was undeniable, and the bromance that was ever present to the end was heart warming to be honest. I mean the sacrifice that was made to have everyone happy at the end was true genius, I didn't see it coming but was glad and sad it came.

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