BL Compilations

better as it went on

Overall: I enjoyed seeing two people working thru their relationship and life challenges. 12 episodes about 23 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not in Japan, Korea or Thailand) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5473/stay-by-my-side-after-the-rain-2025-e01

Content Warnings: past death, past abuse, vomiting, emotional abuse from a parent

Watch Suggestions from 3 on (will try to go back to episodes 1 & 2 later) focuses more on the main leads
- stop episode 3 at 12:10
- skip episode 4
- episode 5 watch 18:20-end
- episode 6 watch 6-10:15 (though I did chuckle at some of the jealousy afterwards) and 20-end
- stop episode 7 at 20:55
- episode 8 watch 6:30-7:45 and 14-end
- watch episode 9
- episode 10 watch beginning-9:10 and 12:20-19:45
- episode 11 watch 5-end
- watch episode 12

What I Liked
- clear premise
- a reserved worrier and an open fly by the seat of his pants dynamic
- communicated/were honest in several episodes, the check in
- sweet moments
- supportive co-workers*
- laughed a couple times
- a supportive grandma
- a supportive mom and sister
- production value

Room For Improvement
- voicing internal thoughts frequently
- threatening stalking/ignoring boundaries was not romantic
- cared nothing for the mom or the co-workers* (did not like how he was forced to come out and he was grateful that they didn't mind their own business)
- not reassuring if the talk was good news or bad news in episode 4
- dead fish lip presses
- (neutral) a character refused to communicate in the beginning but at least it didn't last too long

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all over the place (watch suggestions)

Overall: the series swung from comedy (most of which I didn't find funny), to slice of life, to random steamy parts, to melodrama and ended up not being a cohesive series. 8 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired cut on Glory Day Ent Official YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE_mMXNJViWUKaXdkT7ZgBEaTk35wYbZg&si=tB7zzhUJmFIHnvuD and uncut (longer steamy scenes) on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/sangmin-dinneaw-episode-1-xmk7546rfw

Content Warnings: past death, non con/dub con, violence, blood, manipulation, non con touching played off as comedy, slap played as comedy, past child abuse (shown), depression, sexual harassment, slaps, attempted murder, murder?

Watch Suggestions (focus on sweet/steamy moments)
- watch episode 1
- episode 2 skip 25:40-35:45
- episode 3 watch 7:30-13:50, 19:35-40:50 and 44:50-end
- episode 4 watch 3:15-8, 10:25-12:30, 14-18:40, 28:15-31 and 47:10-end
- episode 5 watch beginning-4:40, 14-14 and 19:45-25
- episode 6 watch 21-22:15, 29:30-31 and 40:45-44:30
- episode 7 watch 31:40-37:45
- episode 8 watch 12:20-14:05, 36:20-38:20, 40-42:40 and 47-end

What I Liked
- countryside setting
- visuals
- the dream massage
- the mom talked to her son and then the apology in ep 1 and the mom overall
- sweet/caring moments
- an established couple
- the language aspect felt realistic, it's not as if every character magically understood the other person's language like we've seen before
- the traditional outfits were beautiful
- non cliche female friend
- good consent in episode 5
- glad the established couple communicated and found a happy medium, though their use of normal irked me (incorrectly implying that people who have sex frequently or have no sex are abnormal)

Room For Improvement
- did a character just murder someone?!!!! he could have gathered evidence and brought it to the police
- the near constant comedy sound effects didn't make things funny
- episode 2 had the fictional so drunk didn't recognize a person but still able to be an active participant in sex
- episode 3 and the manager was cringey instead of funny
- nonsense plan in episode 5/cliche plot point
- exposition dump in episode 6
- two more random characters in episode 6
- a character acted like a toddler in episode 7
- western/cowboy music and white underwear
- the leads only had 4 minutes together of almost 55 minutes in the finale
- nonsense plot stuff: never really explained the reason for not communicating at all even when he was an adult,why didn't he do something first and then re-connect with the alleged love of his life (the order he went in in the series made him look extremely selfish)

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good development

Overall: I enjoyed the back and forth with the leads/their dynamic. 50 episodes between 1-2 minutes each aired on Vigloo app which also has (Match Play, Rule #1 No Dating Rule, Love in the Apocalypse - My Man's Man is from a female character's perspective and I wouldn't call it a BL series)

Content Warnings: punch, blackmail, homophobia

What I Liked
- caring moments
- non dead fish lip press kiss
- stood up/supported partner

Room For Improvement
- background music was too loud at times

How to Watch for Free (episodes are 50 coins each, you can't skip episodes but once unlocked they stay unlocked forever, there are additional tasks to get more coins like following the company on social media)

Day 1
- watch episodes 1-7 (free on the app)
- can watch 10 episodes free with ads, I unchecked the auto unlock, clicked off of that box and another box popped up saying "view ads to watch for free 0/10" (I did that for eps 8-16)
- watch 15 ads per day for 30 coins each on the rewards page and do the daily check in (eps 17-25)

Days 2 & 3
- watch the 10 episodes, do the daily checking, watch the 15 ads per day (should take 2-3 days in total to watch for free)

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short but packs an emotional punch (watch suggestions)

Overall: from the title alone we know this isn't going to be a typical romcom. I would have rated it higher if they had taken out the needless drama and just centered it on the two characters. 40 episodes about 2 minutes each on the Vigloo app. Episodes 1-3 are here https://www.vigloo.com/video/15000018?season=15000018&episode=1 ; 1-5 are free in the app but on August 5th 2024 Vigloo made all 40 episodes free to watch for 24 hours which is when I watched it (did not need to make an account, just downloaded the app and watched it, there weren't any ads).

Watch Suggestions (if you want to remove most violence/in my opinion needless drama)
- stop watching at episode 11 1m55s
- skip episodes 12-13
- watch 14-15 if you'd like to see one protagonist fight otherwise skip
- skip episodes 26-28
- episodes 29-30 are flashbacks
- skip episode 31-32
- end episode 34 at 1m30s
- skip episode 35
- skip episode 39
- watch episode 40 at 44s to the end

Content Warnings (if you watch all episodes): attempted murder, kidnapping/held against will, violence, past trauma

What I Liked
- the mom was awesome
- their relationship development/sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- needless drama, they should have just focused it on the 2 protagonists as there was enough drama with the set up
- it pulled me out of the realism that there were almost never any other people around
- open ending

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a heartfelt reality dating series

Overall: my goal for reality dating series is always for them to make friends and have minimal heartbreak, any couples are icing on the cake. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: ep 1 briefly mentioned a partner's death

What I Liked
- the friendships
- guys were genuine
- dinner conversation starters where they all answered (such as hobbies) but they also were free to ask their own questions (such as how one guy asked how many exes everyone had although I personally think that's an irrelevant/not good question to ask in the very beginning)
- how they had a date that was both kind of their choice but kind of up to fate
- smart decision to not let them say their age or occupation right away. I think people get fixated on those things when in reality personality, values and goals are much more important compatibility-wise
- the country/mountain setting
- the episode with the guest
- episode 9 was very heartfelt
- production value

Room For Improvement
- felt very similar to His Man (with the phone calls) and I would have liked if they had forged their own path
- dragged out the whole eliminating someone for too many episodes

Comparison to other m/m dating shows
1. Boy Romance (Taiwan, currently airing)
2. His Man seasons 1 & 2 (South Korea). Excellent production value though a bit repetitive with the number of phone calls.
3. Bromance (Thailand) is also on Gagaoolala. This is the typical Bachelor/Bachelorette set up with a bunch of people competing against one another to be with the 1 bachelor. I didn't like this because they could have all been hitting on each other and we have multiple couples! I got kind of bored and skipped a bunch.
4. Love House seasons 1 & 2 (Vietnam) on YouTube (most have English subs, this is ep 1 of season 2 no subs though https://youtu.be/TKzT_nHfVTA ). I liked this set up more than Bromance because the guys could all pursue one another. I didn't like the "secret couple" aspect and dividing them up based on sexual position seemed odd (can't they discuss that in private???) Season 1 was also the most brutal "rose ceremony" I've ever seen in any dating reality show. Season 2 was better.

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another solid entry in the What Did You Eat Yesterday franchise

Overall: Shiro and Kenji returned with a familiar cast of supporting characters. 12 episodes 30 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala. The suggested watch order for the franchise (all on GagaOOLala now) is: What Did You Eat Yesterday season 1, What Did You Eat Yesterday New Year's special, What Did You Eat Yesterday movie and What Did You Eat Yesterday season 2.

Content Warnings: mention of past death

What I Liked
- very similar vibe to the past installments, talked about finances, shopping and cooking food, life issues that they work through
- enjoyed Gilbert's character again (several characters from past installments in the franchise), episode 6 was one of my favorites
- funny parts (like when they first learned about Gilbert's age lmao)
- Kenji's supportive mom and sisters
- that the other parents came around, would have been nice to see a final scene with all 4 of them though
- talked about the partnership system, and difficulty of getting the same rights as other couples

Room For Improvement
- that younger guy at the hair salon irritated me and the owner guy (didn't feel empathy for him)
- wanted to see a tad more explicit physical affection (even a quick kiss on the cheek would have been awesome)
- unrealistic that Shiro's grocery store friend wouldn't have met Kenji in 5 years

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start it halfway thru (watch suggestions)

Overall: the first half of the series was a mess (not just the subtitles). I enjoyed the last couple episodes quite a bit more than the beginning ones. Based on the book “What’s the Nong?” by I’m Mynt. I haven't read the book and reviewed the series based on its own merits. 6 episodes about 45 min each (uncut, episode 1 cut was 36 minutes but I'm not sure what the missing 9 minutes was). Aired on iQIYI uncut https://www.iq.com/album/dogbro-2025-rpuy7moou5?lang=en_us and episode 1 on YouTube (worldwide) cut https://youtu.be/0TOqjvji-aQ?si=37NWzGrBuFDkjy25 and later released starting at episode 2 on Mentkorn YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wgVfR_PAAs

Content Warnings: manhandling, fight, trauma

Watch Suggestions (for uncut iQIYI version)
- episode 3 watch 29:10-end
- episode 4 watch 15:30-19:15, 33:50-37 and 41:30-end
- episode 5 watch beginning to 16:45, 24-28 and 31-end
- watch episode 6

What I Liked
- cute dog
- once the characters got together they showed mutual want and ongoing intimacy
- showing a condom box/condom wrapper on the floor was nice to see

Room For Improvement
- exposition dump to start
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny
- characters were hot and cold
- love triangle
- cliche ex girlfriend and that thread of flea powder down her throat was not funny
- (neutral) the YouTube subs and iQIYI were difficult to understand
- (neutral) the dog having a voice

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a golden retriever and a black cat

Overall: though some things were a bit choppy/unanswered, I liked the leads' dynamic and the support characters. 9 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/videos/1176697v-to-my-star-episode-1  ;  WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/zimmvbpia14gqrp-To-My-Star/l00358wgxfm-EP1-To-My-Star  ;  iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/to-my-star-episode-1-1154cnpl6qc?lang=en_us  ;  Viu https://www.viu.com/ott/th/en-us/vod/329301/To-My-Star

Content Warnings: stalking, non con picture taking, blackmail

What I Liked
- different personalities
- caring moments
- the manager, the assistant and the journalist
- that a character admitted his feelings as soon as realized he had them
- production value (music)

Room For Improvement
- didn't explain the reaction to glass breaking
- the scandal/his plan with it could have been more clear
- noble idiot trope/refused to communicate (to avoid angst, stop at 14min in episode 7 and pick it back up at 11 minutes in episode 8)
- one villain had too few consequences
- the random English speaking journalist, how did she know where he lived?

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well done coming of age/romance vertical series, needs an international release

Overall: I really enjoyed their different personalities and how they changed to be more compatible with each other. Official platform is the app Shortcha which is only available in South Korea. 50 episodes 1-2 minutes each. I saw it with parts unsubbed or rough translations so my rating might change in either direction with an official translation.

Content Warnings: punch, non con kiss, manipulation, non con picture taking/sharing, unwanted outing, slap, homophobia

What I Liked
- chemistry
- their dynamic
- how they had different personalities/goals but then they each changed because they wanted to and became more compatible with each other/their goals aligned
- caring moments
- the antagonists had their reasons, they weren't the typical cartoonish villains with nonsense reasons/actions
- it didn't seem as if everything was patched up with the mom which I liked and it felt realistic

Room For Improvement
- I was confused at the beginning with the punch, that was a flash forward that took place about halfway thru the story
- I wasn't sure about the sister/her reasoning and then change, perhaps better subtitles would help with that part

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similar tone to the series

Overall: I think fans of the series would enjoy these 3 episodes which were about 38 minutes each (there were iQIYI promos and then behind the scenes at the end of episodes, episode 3 had a musical number after the initial end credits). Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/your-sky-of-us-episode-1-tfd7uw8or4?lang=en_us

Watch Suggestions (to get rid of 2 annoying characters in episode 2)
- watch episode 1
- episode 2 watch 16:25-18:20, 20:05-35:30, 41:40-end
- watch episode 3

What I Liked
- in episode 1 I think it was the first time I've seen that plan where it didn't emotionally hurt the main lead
- kept a similar tone to the series (romcom)
- established couples
- sweet moments
- funny moments (the slide part made me chuckle)

Room For Improvement
- it was very tame and with so many established couples I expected a bit more spice
- didn't get into the side couples relationships as much as I would have liked
- the friend trying to ruin a surprise was supposed to be funny but she was being pretty selfish
- episode 2 with the nonsense of love rivals but at least it was resolved quickly
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

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crack comedy that didn't work for me

Overall: had the crack comedy/overacting feel but I did not laugh as much as I had hoped. I have watched all of the previous Ossan's Love live action series/movies but tried to review this series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI63DZX1W9UTHeCiGDumJxch&si=gtEBAtl0tBrY42OU ; re-aired in April 2025 on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40922c-ossans-love-thailand

Content Warnings: non con kiss, non con picture taking, harassment, past death, threatened violence, fight, blood

Watch Suggestions (if the comedy isn't working for you and to center on the m/m sweet moments)
- episodes 1-3 (likely won't be re-watching to suggest timings)
- episode 4 watch part 1: 5:30-7 and part 4 1:30-5 and 12:55
- episode 5 watch part 2 1:40-end and part 4 12-end
- episode 6 watch part 2 6:30-11:20 and part 4 8:40-end
- watch episode 7
- episode 8 part 1 watch beginning-8 and 9:45-16 and watch part 4 7:40-end
- episode 9 part 1 start at 2 minutes, part 2 beginning-3 and 5:35-7, part 4 8:15-11:25
- episode 10 part 3 watch 9-end, part 4 2-9:30
- episode 11 part 4 watch beginning-13:40
- episode 12 part 3 watch 18:30-end, watch all of part 4

What I Liked
- seeing Earth & Mix again and that they switched character types that they normally play
- chuckled a couple times like the monk scene in EP 1
- Moonlight Chicken character cameos and other references in ep 2
- sweet/caring moments
- cameo from original series
- musical number at the end of episode 12

Room For Improvement
- didn't laugh at most jokes
- love triangle with too much focus on the boss
- Mo had zero spine so it was difficult to root for him/their relationship
- in episode 4 the daughter was too old to be acting like that so it came across as cringey/annoying instead of funny
- lip presses
- the time skip
- trope at the end of episode 11

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short & sweet

Overall: this was really well done for an indie production, hope we see more series from them. 3 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on 1Camera Studio YoutTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0HYZ-k2RyDMdysEo5OhQNMn9BaPl-B6&si=N372KF0mLKkUpE6M

What I Liked
- centered on the 2 male leads
- supportive female friend (non cliched character) and male friend
- illustrations for the intro
- funny how the friend instantly shifted his attention in episode 1
- good communication in the final episode
- nice way to end the series

Room For Improvement
- voice over exposition dump
- not clearly explained in the flashback why he didn't see him
- I didn't really take off points because this was their first series attempt and I'm sure had little to no budget but somethings they could improve on production wise would be microphones rubbing against clothes, needed more light on their faces in the last scene (even night scenes need light on the actors' faces)

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could have been amazing

Overall: after almost 6 months and no official international release, I was beyond excited to finally be able to watch this (see the MDL comments). Unfortunately, the characters changed and the plot let me down. About 1 hour long. 2 years later, WeTV released it officially https://wetv.vip/en/play/7kf6k2sjtuvcekk-I_Feel_You_Linger_In_The_Air_(Special_Episode%3A_Scent_of_Memory)

What I Liked
- some sweet moments
- flashbacks to the series (except for the rap because that was still extremely cringey)

Room For Improvement
- if you had a few minutes or a few hours with the love of your life for perhaps one final time, what would you do? Play a virtual reality game? Check your phone and ignore them over lunch? Do a dance and post it to social media? I was extremely disappointed in the plot of this special. In the first few minutes we should have gotten how much they loved/missed each other and a minimum of a passionate kiss.
- cliche interrupted kiss
- dead fish lip press
- nonsense stuff, ie. why would Jom try to wake himself up from something so amazing, why would he turn something on he should know would scare Yai, where was Yai (also by himself) while Jom was preparing that surprise
- the tonal shift around 40 minutes didn't make sense when Jom seemed so glib up to that point

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came for the m/m romance, stayed for the rest (need a spin off/season 2)

Overall: I heard about the m/m romance (I was worried at the beginning but then really enjoyed), but overall liked this series that looked at love, sex and our complicated relationships with other people. 8 episodes. Aired on Netflix.

Content Warnings: death, grief, past parental abuse, homophobia, beaten up/fight, sexual harassment, non con video recording/sharing, cyberbullying, drugging, body shaming, alcoholism

What I Liked
- mix of comedy with poignant parts, there are some truly breathtaking moments when nothing is said but everything is felt, not even sure how to describe this
- realistic problems (though it's definitely fictional since a family wouldn't have all those issues at the same time)
- some mystery/characters thinking they know everything, but not having the whole perspective/information
- production value (music was excellent, interesting camera shots)

Room For Improvement
- I found myself bored by some of the plots, in particular the younger sister
- the fact that everyone was pretty awful at communication, wanted at least 1 or 2 characters who said what they wanted

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