BL Compilations

A Fun Bromance

Overall: although it would have been better as an actual BL, this was enjoyable overall

Content Warnings: side character death, fight scenes, near death

What I Liked
- the chemistry and dynamic between the 2 male leads was great (hence why I think it would have been better as a BL)
- the intro animation sequence was good
- the funny moments
- the merman as an adorable thug (did not think I'd put those two words together, but just look at his dimples!)
- a montage scene that I actually liked

Room For Improvement
- I know it had source material but I think they should have made this actual m/m romance because the two male leads had such great chemistry. Many things have been straightwashed so I think they should have gaywashed this one.
- lack of consequences for both that high school guy and the 2 adults and that things were just totally good between the son and his dad
- there was a continuity error in the first episode
- cliche family stuff at the beginning

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The Love of the Countryside

Overall: a gentle miniseries (two 20 minute episodes). Watched on YouTube. I'm assuming it's lower budget so I'm grading it on a bit of a curve.

Content Warnings: mild stalking* (his two female friends)

What I Liked
- the countryside setting
- Kinn had some nice flirting moments
- that North's friends were supportive, *they went a bit overboard though
- there was a nice consent hug

Room For Improvement
- wish Kinn didn't take North's picture/post it without consent
- the subs aren't correct which generally is fine but in the first part they talk about significant others and it's translated as Kinn broke up with his girlfriend but it should be Kinn broke up with his boyfriend. Also, the note wasn't translated at the end but in the youtube comments someone nicely posted the translation.
- bad lip press kiss
- I don't like the bowl or mullet haircuts, but I didn't deduct points for that

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I Don't Know What at the End of the World

Overall: based on the title, production name (Temporary Insanity Productions), 4 couples in 8 episodes, the summary and the trailer, I knew this wasn't going to be some standard fluffy series. However, it was worse than I thought it would be. It has an experimental film feel at times, but just total nonsense.  I watched ep 1, 2, 4, 8 & 9.

Content Warnings: character death, multiple suicide attempts, suicide, gore, very explicit sex scenes (I normally don't list NSFW as a content warning but these were very explicit), incest?, homophobia, a slap not between m/m couple, dub con kissing/touching (asleep)

What I Liked
- the overall production value was good
- most actors seemed to do a good job (some lines were really terrible so maybe that impacted acting)
- the first episode had a nice food sharing scene
- there were kernels of potential interesting stories like the addicts relationship
- the nsfw scene in ep 4 (except for the dub con)
- the single shot was a neat idea in ep 8, they could have that be ep 1 and then shown the fallout based on what happened in subsequent episodes

Room For Improvement
- the timeline/plot is confusing because there are flashbacks (or forwards?) to guys frantically running naked in the dark. Also there are flashbacks (I think) during the story.  And in the last episode no one is running around bloodied or naked so wth?
- The asteroid disaster. I can suspend disbelief that no one knew this asteroid was close (because in real life they track them when they are years away), and also none of the countries had any solutions for moving it or blowing it up, but here is what an asteroid 7 days away is doing.
A. an odd rainbow in the sky
B. downpours of something (rocks)?
C. chickens/birds following a guy a long distance
D. earthquakes
They should have just had random strange things happen without an explanation.
- total randomness, 2 random guys at the very end of the final episode saying that an earthquake meant the end of the world (the Philippines is in the ring of fire so I'm assuming they have earthquakes on a regular basis, why would someone say it's the end of the world?), what was with the sticky notes? what was with the location change/fishbowl and the addicts? a merman at the end?
- the second episode, that guy has sex with his adoptive dad, vomit. Also, hid dad had just tried to kill himself and the other two guys were getting it on while he was recovering a few feet away, wth???!!!
- too much tongue, I'm all for more realistic kissing but do people kiss like that (ep 1)?! I like well done NSFW scenes that make sense with the story but I felt as though I was watching porn. And both explicit scenes with 3 guys felt like it was done for a shock factor. And what was that saliva (or something else) sharing in the final episode. We don't need to see that.
- many scenes felt thrown in just for shock factor and did not enhance the story

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A rarely told relationship story

Overall: Though I would have preferred they went about it another way, I was so happy with the way this ended (and it's practically never seen) hence the 8.5 rating. And if you like kissing with tongue, then you will be in heaven. Watched on gagaoolala.

Content warnings: there are four very sexually explicit scenes - they are all consensual, 1 non con choking

What I Liked
- features an established m/m couple
- when Otoya's dad says Otoya is not a normal man because he's gay, Otoya tells his dad to not say discriminatory things like that
- the bartender's wisdom/lines towards the end
- a sequel to this would be amazing

Room For Improvement
- it's only 1 hour long so things are a bit choppy/jumpy/fast moving. I think they could have maybe removed a character/s and focused more on the central three.
- didn't like the physical violence

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started strong and shirtless (watch suggestions)

Overall: the amount of nonsense in this plot was very high and the visuals only got me so far. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired 2 episodes per week on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4473/the-rebound-2024-e01 and Viu.

Content Warnings: murders/deaths, past death, grief, trauma, blood, punches/fight/beaten up, bullying, alcoholism, kidnapping, non con kiss, dub con kisses (likely consensual but wish they had made it more clear)

Watch Suggestions (the first 7 episodes were fine though I watched most at a faster speed, starting at episode 8 I found myself not enjoying large chunks of needless drama, love triangles, etc)
- episode 8, 10:50-11:50 dub con kisses but pretty sure they were consensual then watch up to 14:30 self pleasure, watch 45 to the end for first aid/kissing
- episode 9, watch 9-10:40 for earbud sharing, 20-22:30 for a side couple first aid, 30-32:30 shirtlessness and hug, 36-37:30 kisses/tickle fight, 45 to the end for a shower scene
- episode 10, watch 45 to the end or could skip the episode
- episode 11, watch 15:30-16:55 for a side couple moment, 19-22:30 for Ryu & Zen, and watch 50-53
- episode 12, watch 18:25-20 and 29 to the end

What I Liked
- the Cafe For All cafe
- how several characters were realistically connected
- good tension/chemistry
- visuals, realistic amounts of skin showing (i.e. not having underwear on coming out of a bath)
- a character actually asked to post a picture on social media and tag another character
- the title as a metaphor for trying again
- supportive grandmother
- hot self pleasure scene in episode 8
- the easter egg that the high school was named after the director
- good that Ryu was proud of their relationship and didn't want to hide it
- good analogy of what a rebound was
- wasn't a fan of Zen evading Ryu's kisses but the last scene was great
- production value (cinematography, editing, ost)

Room For Improvement
- the intro was attention grabbing but generally not a fan of a flash forward/back to start a series
- a character was supposed to be sweet but came across as stalkery and I was super mad at the non con kiss in episode 11
- the teammates bullying their other teammate, there was 1 verbal apology but it still didn't sit right with me
- a character was infantilized, would have been cool if he had had his own romance
- love triangles (there were multiple which was extra annoying)
- nonsense plot stuff: the flashbacks were from 9th grade and they were currently in 10th/11th grade (so they were supposed to be 15/16), not calling the police in episode 4 and later, too tropey (multiple accidental falls in an episode, a lot of near kisses), wearing school uniforms during illegal activities, calling the police when that would get teammates in trouble, a mom's nonsense actions and then nonsense redemption arc, getting super upset when 1 character could easily fly to the other
- telling a significant other they couldn't smile at anyone else wasn't romantic
- the cafe owner and coworker betting on the love triangle/gossiping about it
- too many plot threads not well fleshed out
- comedy sound effects

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pretty well done complex series

Overall: they handled a taboo topic fairly well, though the flashback to when Yuan was a child during a certain scene in episode 11 was cringey. This was a Taiwanese adaptation of a Chinese danmei (Da Ge by Priest). I have not read the novel and reviewed the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on Youku's app, Youku's YouTube channel and Viki.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, punch, blood, past parental abuse, violence/beaten up, kidnapping, coercion, unwanted outing, homophobia, manhandling, vomiting, (some people may include another one, I didn't based on how everything played out)

What I Liked
- a few central characters, got to know their personalities
- how characters cared about each other
- a grittier/more realistic tone
- sweet moments
- a few funny moments
- We Best Love actor cameo as the doctor starting in ep 3
- a well done antagonist, I could see his reasoning but he meddled and was hypocritical though he did redeem himself at the end
- a non cliche female character in ep 6
- one of the few times I was happy for a years-long time jump (end of ep 7)
- sassier/more confident Yuan starting end of ep 7
- intimacy/tension
- production value

Room For Improvement
- (neutral) I generally don't like series that start with flash forwards but I understood why they did this
- confused in the beginning as to who was biological siblings, adopted siblings and friends (Iikely compounded by the use of brother as a term of endearment/closeness and not reserved for biological siblings)
- the timeline/character ages took some effort to piece together
- Li Li was supposed to be in high school before the time jump in episode 7 but she acted like a middle schooler (went into a random guy's car as an example, also she outed another character), even at the end when she was 23 she felt like a high schooler
- should not have done the flashback montage in a scene in episode 11
- cringey the coworkers talked about their sexual positions at work
- introduced a very serious plot point only to never resolve it, also didn't feel that the gang issue was clearly resolved either

Timeline Notes (the series wasn't clear where we were in the timeline/ages, feel free to correct me)
2008 (eps 1/2 flashbacks) - they first met in 2008 because that was the first date on the wall with the heights, Yuan age 7, Qian age 14, Li Li age 8
2016 (eps 1/2 present) Qian graduated university at the end of ep 2, Yuan age 15, Qian age 22, Li Li age 16
2018 (ep 3) Yuan is age 17 & Qian is 24, note that Yuan skipped a year or two so he's in university already at age 17, Li Li age 18
2019 (eps 4-7) Yuan turned 18 in episode 4, Yuan age 18, Qian age 25, Li Li age 19
the series eventually mentions that the gap was 4 years as I guessed
2023 (end of ep 7 up to the end of ep 12) Yuan age 22, Qian age 29, Li Li age 23
2024? (end of ep 12) Yuan age 23, Qian age 30, Li Li age 24

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Happy Modern Day Romeo & Juliet

Overall: they did many things right but there were still some flaws/things I wish had been different. (minor spoilers below) Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel. Later released on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/39522c-bad-buddy

Content Warnings: fights, slap (not between m/m ship)

What I Liked
- Ohm and Nanon's acting, amazing, great chemistry well done kiss scenes
- the tropes that were subverted such as cute food sharing, the "gay for you" trope
- the protagonists actually communicated with each other, they apologize to one another, care for each other, the great examples of consent, really a wonderful relationship to watch
- there is a mix of seriousness with humor (Pat's flirt skills were top notch)
- we got the backstory/set up right away, it was clear when there were flashbacks
- the director's cameo
- avoiding a super cliched/stupid ending
- some pretty well done product placements

Room For Improvement
- I think there were maybe too many flashbacks/songs in the final episode, I wanted a good scene with each of the parents.
- Wai's redemption arc was so stupid. He should have been groveling but Pran apologizes to him?? He does the bare minimum for being a decent human and all is forgiven, I disliked this whole episode. For me, what Wai did is pretty close to unforgivable.
- the four parents lied to their children and put them thru so much distress. They owe Pat and Pran huge apologies and none of them apologized to their children. Also, they appear to know their children are in a romantic relationship at the end but then don't tell them so they have to keep sneaking around, wth???!!! Grow up (to the parents, especially Pat's dad, go an apologize to Pran's mom)
- there is never a reason to slap your child, never a reason to slap anyone unless in self defense
- the plot/editing was pretty choppy from episode to episode a few times. I thought 'did I miss something when we were in a different location possibly different day?'
- time passing wasn't clear and felt rushed. I remember once I saw a "Sophomore Year" at the beginning of an episode, weren't they Freshmen, so a year plus had passed? This should have been 2 seasons or more, 1 in high school and 1-2 in college/beyond. 
- they were fixated on the husband and wife terms which seemed unnecessary, can't two guys be husband and husband???
- that Pat's sister was doing Pat's laundry, do your own laundry
- technical issues or delayed subs with the YouTube premiere (I'm super excited that it's on YouTube, but at this point GMMTV should have the staff/knowledge how to make a glitch-free premiere with the English subs on)
- the title "Bad Buddy", something with Rival like "Next Door Rival" would have been a better title

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interesting to see cause and effect

Overall: good production value and the butterfly effect was well done in the beginning. Spoiler comment for the type of ending in a comment. Aired on GagaOOLala uncut (everywhere except Thailand) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5653/rearrange-2025-e01 ; FRT Entertainment uncut for channel members (everywhere except Thailand) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf0Ij-W39_Y ; FRT Entertainment cut (everywhere except Thailand) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzVKK8acXVw and TrueVisions Now for Thailand. Later aired uncut version on FRT Entertainment channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq3f25OcvY30IS9eB8sosoehrZRdIRu78&si=v43m1N2816JUuMXh

Content Warnings: deaths, grief, suicidal thoughts

What I Liked
- how a character was more forthright the second time
- how they showed a character beaten down by life without a voice over (showed his expressions, what his apartment looked like, context clues)
- showed the butterfly effect
- side couple dynamic
- supportive parents (and even the antagonistic parent had his reasons)
- production value

Room For Improvement
- was a bit confused in the beginning with the timeline
- a main character was kind of stupid but I tried to empathize that he was likely really struggling and wanted another character to be happy
- some nonsense plot stuff, don't quite buy that something major changed due to the small changes that they listed
- neutral on the finale, wish they would have done a 20 year time jump
- neutral on the blocked kiss in the finale, an actor was 17 but then they either should have had no kiss or cast an older actor vs a blocked kiss

Note: I'm not sure how long they all knew each other, but it seemed under a year so it doesn't seem like a character knew something about another character's mom (it's generally not something people talk about), so I don't think buying her something was malicious

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accidental call meant to be?

Overall: I was happy that the series was focused on the leads but then a third character took up too much time in the finale. 4 episodes about 10 minutes each. Aired on Sukfilm's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwSn_EksTEo-gNZJbq4wMIVb&si=ZTVhgoz20VrTZQUS (members have more/longer kissing scenes and apparently a short scene at the end of the finale) The production company Sukfilm has also made: Blue Boys, Seoul Blues, Never Fair

Content Warnings: threatened suicide, non/dub con kiss

What I Liked
- intro
- the flashback made his response in episode 1 make sense
- acting/visuals
- acknowledged that they just met, end of episode 4 was nice (just needed more screen time for them)

Room For Improvement
- that major things kept happening when one was very drunk
- a character took up way too much time in the finale
- cliche a character lied and another character walked away/misunderstood (though at least it seemed to be cleared up fairly soon)
- abrupt ending

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incompatible people try to make it work

Overall: I had no issue with the blond guy's love life style as long as he was upfront with partners about it; however, even by the end, I wasn't convinced their relationship would work long term. 4 episodes about 8 minutes each. Aired on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BSona1dmx5eiWUyxj-bvOfDnEZ7fTY4&si=TrsBkG51QPqIQldd

Content Warning: dub con touching, drugging, manipulation, non con recording

What I Liked
- intimacy
- visuals
- sweet moments
- that they showed something on the floor in episode 2 (perhaps a record number)

Room For Improvement
- nonsense stuff: why is the one guy so obsessed with another guy that he just met, in episode 1 why did he put on gloves only to not use/have them, why is the other guy so attached in episode 2 to someone he just met
- that was way too much manipulation for someone he had just met
- not convinced they were compatible even at the end
- disagree with the title
- (didn't take off points) the English subtitles were not timed correctly

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a jumbled mess with unlikable protagonists

Overall: I think AI could have written a better/more coherent story. The 3 stars are for the actors who did a decent job with one of the worst scripts ever. 8 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/album/sn15dzsy7fcd8nl

Content Warnings: slap, mental health struggles, blood, beaten up, punch, past death/grief, threatened suicide, past murder

Watch Suggestions
- watch episode 1
- episode 2: part a watch 3:15-5:30 and 11-end (GL?)
- skip episode 3
- episode 4: part a watch 8-end, part b beginning-9:35, part c beginning-7
- episode 5: part b watch 5:55-6:15
- episode 6: part c watch 6:30-7:20
- episode 7: part c watch 13-15:50
- episode 8: part a watch 11:30-end

What I Liked
- initial premise was easy to understand
- it was random but what happened in the bathroom stall in 1B
- good that the sister didn't let a stranger in to the house
- supportive female friend
- that in the past the police were actually called and there were actual consequences (not the cliche, 'oh I think he learned his lesson') for the illegal office activity

Room For Improvement
- the slap made me not want a character to be in a romantic relationship
- the series was all over the place with many different vibes, plot threads and characters
- barely any relationship development with the main couple
- flashbacks were not always clear
- almost cartoony villain though the random thirst shots were nice
- why on earth did Ryu apologize in episode 7???
- the finale was awful, so Arm drove drunk, did a hit/murder and run and faced zero consequences other than being sad for a couple years that his barely lover broke up with him?!!!! not just 1 but 2 time skips and how nice for Arm that Ryu got amnesia and forgot that Arm killed his mom?!!!!!!!
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

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music based vertical series

Overall: I enjoyed the music aspect, but they needed to narrow the focus more on the main leads/their relationship development. 35 episodes 1-2 minutes each, episodes 1-5 are free on the Shortime app and you can watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/i4ve-gyjRR0?si=6sSwQwvm__DDlLI0 Aired on Shortime app which also has: Please Teach Me, Falling For My Boss, The Secrets of Male Students, Influencer Love and Buddy Boy. App information is below. My referral clink is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.

Content Warnings: non con touching, professor/university student, grooming?, manipulation, self harm, blood, child abuse, trauma, mental health struggles

What I Liked
- started off in an exciting way (though I wasn't as happy when I learned who the characters were/their dynamic)
- caring moments
- good kissing

Room For Improvement
- the shift in feelings was a bit sudden
- should have cut the love triangle or the past trauma
- bad redemption arc for a character

My Watch For Free Plan (updated Feb 2025), should take about 3 days
My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.

On the Rewards (popcorn bag icon page)
- check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
- turn on notifications = 30 (1 time bonus)
- create a login = 20? (I did create a login because otherwise you only get 1 Always Win box instead of 3 per day, I think this was 20 popcorn)
- do the 3 random popcorn from the daily Always Win box = 30 (I'd normally get 5-15, around 30 in total)
- Watch Ads, watch all 10 ads each day, have to wait 30 seconds in between ads = 110

When you run out of popcorn while watching, you can watch 5 episodes each day with ads

Note that there are other 1 time bonuses like following on social media

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A Short Horror BL Movie

Content Warnings: it's in the horror genre so there are a few jump scares/gory make up (as someone who doesn't like horror I found it okay to watch but not right before going to sleep)

Overall: not my favorite short from Strongberry, but an interesting entry in the horror genre

What I Liked
- tried to do something different and incorporate the horror genre
- the acting and production value was fine
- a very nice nsfw scene
- cameo from the actor in Some More

Room For Improvement
- it was rushed/choppy especially with the ending, definitely could have used a longer run time

(fyi you can purchase this on their Vimeo channel)

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unique premise with engaging characters

Overall: I was hooked with the characters' dynamics and the unique world building, but it needed a few more episodes to more fully flesh out the plot. 8 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI and GagaOOLala (country dependent).

Content Warnings: there are several including some major ones, see my review comment for a list under a spoiler tag

What I Liked
- realistic parts, didn't shy away from things like homophobia
- that Myung Ha wanted Yeo Woon to be happy before the penalty was known
- world building (though some parts were rushed)
- sweet moments
- funny moments (that snack shop scene)
- the side character classmate
- being forthright in episode 5
- ongoing physical affection

Room For Improvement
- although the episodes were longer than normal Korean BL, there were many plot threads and some felt underdeveloped/rushed i.e. they didn't clearly explain why a character's personality did a 180, also they kept talking about modeling but didn't explain it until episode 6 and I thought there was a subtitle error (and they also had 2 other characters model and 2 characters' names were similar, which added to my confusion), overall this needed to be a 16 episode kdrama length and then would have been 10/10 (or reduce the number of side plots/characters)
- was a bit confused on who the villains all were at the beginning/their relationships to the characters

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cliched plot with cute moments

Overall: this series has a few cliches which I really struggle with hence my rating. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, non con touching, stalking, vomiting, past death, grief

What I Liked
- cooking
- cute moments
- remembering the same event differently in ep 2
- being upfront in the past to that woman who liked him
- Yoon Seo Bin's cameo in ep 5 & 8
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

Room For Improvement
- the non con
- many cliches/nonsense things such as: the "plan"/approach, poor communication, that conflict in ep 7/8, a restaurant owner with a lot of free time, the "I can explain" but refusing an explanation
- the work scenes dragged

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