Short and Sweet BL Series

Overall: though I disliked both of their "plans", this was pretty well done for a high school setting BL. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warning: stalking, punches, manipulation, sexism, homophobia

What I Liked
- funny and cute moments
- great to see how Uncle Man was an actual character and not a stereotype
- supportive family and friend group
- good production value
- the self promotion with the location of the audition

Room For Improvement
- what stupid "plans"
- the interaction with Uncle Man and X was a bit odd in episode 3
- bored by the two side plots, with the short run time I think they should have had only 1 side plot
- ending was a bit abrupt and I wish we would have seen and not just heard the final line

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stellar comedy, need a season 2

Overall: this crack comedy made me laugh but it also made me empathize with Aoyagi. 3 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3919/i-became-the-main-role-of-a-bl-drama-2023-e01

What I Liked
- laughed many times, it has an exaggerated style of humor which I can struggle with, but they made it work
- the two managers (I need more info on their background)
- how they differentiated between the acting scenes and other scenes
- characters weren't unrealistically stupid, they figure things out
- sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- who falls asleep like that and then doesn't wake up in ep 1???
- needed 5 more seconds at the very end of episode 3

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a mystery/thriller series that tried something different

Overall: I appreciate that this series had a unique premise. This is more mystery/thriller instead of horror/gore, there are some very heavy topics and things shown. Aired 14 episodes about 45 minutes each on GagaOOLala. Make sure to watch the entire post credits scene in episode 14.

BL content: I'll put this in a spoiler comment

Content Warnings: there are some really heavy topics, see my comment with a spoiler for the full list

What I Liked
- unique premise
- blended different elements well
- acting
- liked in episode 2 how Dan sought communication from Nai
- a few sweet moments (including the friend cuddle)
- production value

Room For Improvement
- unless I missed it, 2 characters should have been shown being arrested by police but the writing seemed to suggest that their own miserable lives were bad enough (but they should have been arrested)
- how much Josh & Nai believed Dan who they had recently befriended stretched credulity a bit
- where was the teacher at the pool???
- I dislike that the school priest tried to force forgiveness
- open ending

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I loved the second couple

Overall: I absolutely adored Ai Di and ended up enjoying their dynamic/story more. Aired 13 episodes about 25 minutes each on iQIYI, GagaOOLala (not in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, or SEA), Viki & WeTV. Later aired on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk2gvyPpHLRfpyBmdMhePR2ntRNk3GqGs&si=hjJj5M5ZwqmJN7Rm Watch the post credit scene in episode 13.

Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, blood, violence, past parental abuse, trauma, non con kiss, dub con sex*, blackmail, manhandling, held against will, 17 year old/22-25? year old** (also teacher/student), stalking, manipulation

What I Liked
- more unique premise
- clear timeline (first scene starts in the present then the rest is 4 years before)
- sweet/caring moments
- styling, especially Ai Di
- secondary couple's dynamic
- cameos of HIStory actors, Be Loved In House actors and Plus & Minus actors
- Bai Zong Yi's family, and liked how they knew about most things regarding his decision/actions
- intimacy/nsfw

Room For Improvement
- overall it felt rushed, this covered a long time span but didn't feel that long, they could have removed some parts like the cliche wannabe girlfriend and spent that time explaining things more/showing time passing
- the ending felt especially rushed with cliche plot points tossed in and one plot point left open ended
- comedy sound effects in the beginning didn't fit with the very serious scenes/tone
- villain should have been smoking a cigarette not sucking on a lollipop (it's explained in episode 9 which was too late for me)
- evil wannabe girlfriend cliche
- I got pretty lost with the the gang plot stuff but I also fast forwarded a bit
- not a fan of manipulation/stupid "plan" between romantic partners
- *with the main couple, one was super drunk/on sleeping pills but it was the fictional scenario where he was an active participant and then seemed sober
- **I really wanted them to have aged up Bai Zong Yi but it actually was important to the plot that he was 17 and I do think 17 year olds can be mature enough to enter into relationships with those over the age of 18 so in this instance it didn't bother me and I didn't take off points, though they could have removed the teacher/student element

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Want Something Sizzling Hot? Look Elsewhere

Overall: Well that was a thing. Though it has similar flaws with most Korean BL (rushed/choppy plot), I'm downgrading it because of the odd/bad ending. Watched on Viki.

Content Warnings: there's some manhandling - wrist grabbing, shoving to the ground

What I Liked
- the music
- the original premise of opposite personalities, we have a strict/disciplined guy vs free wheeling/out of the box thinker type guy. (unfortunately it didn't play out as I had hoped)
- that they showed some consideration for one another (not wearing perfume and covering sharp kitchen corners)
- juxtaposition/parallel of the opening scene between the two protagonists
- I did chuckle a couple of times
- that ear nibble/bite

Room For Improvement
- the nonsensical plot: why wouldn't the boss just fire the chef and hire the new one? The chefs should have teamed up at the end and opened their own restaurant together to teach the boss a lesson. There were no people at the fairground, how did the ferris wheel run? How do these chefs have so much free time? Why would the first chef's friends congratulate the 2nd chef???
- choppiness: scenes would just leap from one thing to another, how did they get out of the freezer?
- overdone cliches: "I can explain" (2 minutes of silence and gives no explanation) "I refuse to listen to your explanation (although you had 2 minutes to give me your explanation) and I will never speak or see you again in my entire life even though we work together"
- the flat, cliche evil female character who also has zero repercussions 
- lack of explaining character motivations: why did the 2nd chef sign the contract? He has a really nice apartment so he can't be broke?
- the ending, they didn't talk/date for 3 months, what??? The parallel was nice but we all know they should have kissed at the very end.
- some shaky camerawork
- I felt bad for that octopus

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could have been amazing...

Overall: I would have given it an 8 if they had ended this at ep 6, but I deducted a half point for ep 7. It could have been poignant with exploring more serious topics, but there were several missteps. Aired on Viki and GagaOOLala (depending on your country).

Content Warnings: self harm, harassment/bullying, slaps, held against will, trauma/grief, vomiting, another major content warning that happens off screen in the past

What I Liked
- intro with the music and the animation/style of it
- archery integration and Da Yeol's plotline related to it was well done
- happy Tae Hyun told off his aunt but wanted to see more resolution
- Da Yeol's actions in episode 6/standing up for himself
- production value (but the too light make up and red eyeliner was not for me)

Room For Improvement
- struggled with their initial dynamic, it did get better though
- they tried to cover too much plot and as a result there was not enough resolution (aunt? dad? did Tae Hyun try to work on himself/go to therapy???)
- toilet humor and the comedy sound effects did not mesh well with the serious parts
- time jumps scream lazy writing to me, it should have been shorter and then not have episode 7 or saved that for a second season, speaking of....
- episode 7 was a huge letdown, these are 2 guys in their 20s, I think the production chickened out and catered to the minority of these idol actors' fans which was detrimental to the story/their characters, it felt so unrealistic that it took me out of the story
- the production also modified (unfortunately) that beginning scene in the nurses office from the source material (it was exactly what Da Yeol thought it was), it also made the "friend's" actions in the series kind of head scratching
- not clear how much time passed in the beginning episodes

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runs on vibes instead of plot

Overall: I really enjoyed the beginning with a unique premise and the color themes, but similar to other GMMTV productions, it runs on vibes and poor communication instead of plot or realistic character actions. If you aren't a vibes person, then I suggest watching the first two episodes then skip to episode 8 part 4 and watch from there. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: beaten up, death (off screen), stalking, animal blood

What I Liked
- several cute and funny moments
- the color themes and prop integration
- supportive friend groups
- that this wasn't enemies to lovers but two guys figuring things out
- mentioning societal issues like marriage equality, expensive public transportation
'- several cameos/guest roles: Force, Book, Perth, Mix, Tay
- reference to 2gether/other BL series
- decent kissing in later episodes
- the two side characters and the vet stuff was cute (but they needed more time, had like a 5 second scene in the final episode)
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

Room For Improvement
- pacing was slow, characters went in circles (for 2 years!!!), I think they needed a fast burn side couple
- poor communication for grown men
- characters do not act realistically (the film crew in episode 11 was an example of this), characters do things because that's what the writer said not because it would make sense
- thin plot with a lot of product placement
- poor world building/plot holes
- that whole not name telling thing
- there were a few scenes that jumped a bit much, we were in one place and then suddenly somewhere else (the beach at the beginning was one)
- the cliche swimming issue in the beginning, wish they'd have come up with something else

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started well, went downhill at ep 6

Overall: somehow an awesome slice of life/cooking/comedy series devolved into cliched plot points. My advice is to watch episodes 1-5 and then episodes 11 & 12. 12 episodes about 20 minutes each, aired on GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: past death not shown, non con kiss, slap

What I Liked
- funny moments (the undressing, the van driving off, that look and the crow sounds at the end)
- realistic reaction to an accidental fall and catch
- cooking/the food looked delicious
- Mahiro's friend/coworker (wish we had seen more of that love story in the present)
- the villagers (much rather have had more screentime with them)
- Mahiro supportive of the naked dining
- managed to subvert something in ep 11 but it was due to (yet another) miscommunication

Room For Improvement
- they used cliched plot points including poor communication in order to drive the plot (and how in the final episode do they still have terrible communication skills)
- I ended up disliking Mahiro, wish they showed more in the flashbacks so we'd understand Mahiro better because he seemed very selfish and immature
- Souta was too dumb, at first I thought it was a bit endearing but they pushed it into the unbelievable area
- the pacing could have been better, I think 8 or 10 episodes instead of 12, plot went in circles, why on earth did episode 12 start 1 week after episode 11
- the non con kiss and slap both felt dated and not needed
- comedy mostly vanished
- odd things: why is the house just sitting there for 6 months? why did he have that band aid, they could have easily shown him find it as he went through those boxes, the boss and wife took a train how far for dinner? that potential buyer was oversharing to fit the plot, what was with that thing with the grandma? at the end
- based on the title, I expected a certain scene and I'm disappointed we didn't get to see it
- so she's all good now with dating the boss???

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A comedy that lost its way

Overall: I've seen the anime and also the Japanese live action series, so I have a couple things to compare it with. I have not read the manga it's based off of. AIS Play has released the episodes on their YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: non con touching (ripped off his shirt), non con repeated kissing (sleeping), homophobia, blood with an injury, body policing (don't eat that or you'll get fat), manipulation

What I Liked
- there were some crack comedy moments, especially in the beginning episodes
- the kissing/steamy scene was done pretty well (but I didn't like the overlap)
- at first I liked that Anda's brother was taking care/looking out for Anda, but then it just felt like he was infantilizing Anda and taking Anda's agency away
- I'd like to see the actors in other projects

Room For Improvement
- really wish they had removed the non con kissing, it was so uncomfortable to watch
- the relationship between Anda's brother and Jet was odd, I thought it was something and then suddenly it's something totally different? I wish they had a bunch more crack comedy moments between them.
- useless added love triangle
- gay for you trope
- cliche ending drama
- they should have kept Anda terrible at drawing and used that as a part of the comedy
- it has silly sound effects which aren't really my thing
- the cliche evil manager

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two green flags, could have been a 9.5

Overall: the leads were mutually interested, sweet and flirty so this could have been a 9.5 with some changes. Series got better as it went on. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI. Star Hunter Entertainment also produced: Big Dragon, What Zabb Man, Gen Y, My Mate Match and The Moment I Need You

Content Warnings: non con recording/sharing, cyberbullying, past death, homophobia, sexual harassment, transphobia, manhandling, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- dynamic between the leads including: mutual respect, communication, ongoing physical affection (although Krom needed to work on his communication skills, even at the end)
- sweet/cute moments
- a few funny parts like the bubble tea catch
- supportive friends (although the 1 friend put his friend into unnecessary pain with his "plan" in episode 4)
- worked in anti-smoking messaging in a less preachy way, also added other messages however the 'respect a person's privacy' was undermined by Krom's friends taking video/sharing without permission and spying on them
- the interaction with his fans in episode 3 made me tear up, very sweet
- a trans character that felt like a real person instead of the stereotypical characters that we normally see
- excellent dreams
- good intimacy
- conversation about preferred position, willingness to adapt to a partner's needs
- avoided ep 11 curse

Room For Improvement
- too many comedy sound effects that actually detracted from the comedy (seemed less prevalent in the second half thankfully)
- the second couple needed more screen time and he needed to mature more
- several exposition dumps, the voice overs were used too much to tell the story
- too much time spent on the talk show stuff in episode 3, overall this could have had tighter pacing
- nonsense stuff: why didn't his (obviously not American) coworkers use AI translate apps/websites?, someone else filling a person's prescription, an allegedly good friend letting a very drunk person go off with that guy, not coming up with an obvious solution to the problem shown at the end of the series, etc
- how much time passed was unclear at times
- showing a character texting when using the bathroom

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enjoyable content but frustrating to watch

Overall: this was a well done short series but having to install an app which is not available in all countries and watch in such short chunks was frustrating (see different watch options below). Aired 64 episodes less than 2 minutes each. I watched episodes 1-5 on the TopReels YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9f1q9tF6gKx3gxFXFjxdfmSZtHIlrWDa&si=JmwUArr3ARBWhrBh (they also have episodes 6-9) and then the rest on the TopReels app https://topreels.com/

Content Warnings: non con picture taking/posting, stalking, blackmail, manipulation

What I Liked
- clear premise
- sweet moments
- mystery aspect
- production value (thought they framed things well for the vertical format)

Room For Improvement
- the addition of the (realistic) drama was good but too much time was spent on it, wanted more with the leads
- episode lengths were just too short for a drama, wish they released longer combined episodes or even a 2 hour movie version
- no or not enough consequences for two characters
- Siwoo had an odd lack of reaction to learning something about Doyun, wanted them to have even a short conversation about it
- the Top Reels app is likely not available everywhere in the world and it is kind of frustrating (see below), they should upload on their YouTube channel with geo restriction/set up a membership option for their channel so everyone can watch the series preferably with some or all episodes combined

TopReels Different Watch Options/Costs (as of April 2024), bonus check in/7 ads reset every day at noon EDT
All - watch the first 0-5 on YouTube or app which are free (can watch 6-9 on YouTube but will have to re-watch 7, 8 and 9 because you can't skip to certain episodes in the app). All paid episodes 7-64 cost 2900 coins in total.
1. $24.99USD - buy the 2500 coin and 1000 bonus, if the bonus isn't all given at time of purchase, you will need to watch a few ads or watch over 2 days
2. (1-3 days) $21.99USD - buy the 4400 weekly pass (2000 coins immediately and then 2400 with daily logins) to watch episodes 7-64, will either need to watch a few ads or watch over 3 days
3. (6 days) $7.49USD - watch episodes 7-16 for free with ads, do the bonus check in and watch the bonus ads to give you episodes 17-19 (then need 2300 coins), Day 2 do the bonus check in/ads 20-23, Day 3 same thing 24-27, Day 4 28-31, Day 5 32-35, Day 6 check in/watch 4 ads then watch episode 36, 37 then buy $7.49USD first time recharge to get 700 coins and 700 bonus to watch all the way to the end
4. (13 days) Totally free option will take you about 13 days to watch all 64 episodes, need to do the daily check in (unfortunately resets back to 10 after day 7) and the 7 daily ads every day, on the last day you need to check in and watch 2 ads in order to get enough coins to watch the final episode (assuming you've done the check in/ads every single day previously)

App Pros
- there is a totally free option, it just takes longer
- didn't need to create a login, remembered where I left off
- episodes remain unlocked once you have unlocked them so you can re-watch episodes
- episodes will auto-unlock/play once you have enough coins

App Cons
- the daily check in bonus resets after day 7, should keep it at 50 coins after day 7
- the 7 free daily ads and check in bonus were not enough, people should be able to earn at least 6 (I'd say 10) episodes each day since the episodes are so short
- you can't skip to certain episodes, must watch all episodes in order the first time
- have to wait 30 seconds in between the 7 daily ads
- it was a bit buggy, I closed the app a few times and re-opened it which seemed to fix the "ads not loaded" message

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got better as it went on

Overall: this was in the 'close but not quite' category for me, there was just something missing overall. Aired on Viki and GagaOOLala, 8 episodes about 25 minutes each.

Content Warnings: attempted/beginning sexual assault, past sexual assault/non con mentioned, manipulation

What I Liked
- clear set up
- bartender and two bosses
- showing how people aren't always who they seem to be
- the funny and sweet moments
- the best insult ever: smutty alien
- that Onoe Satoshi confronted Kaburagi Motoharu about something that was bothering him instead of letting it drag on

Room For Improvement
- wasn't totally sold on their dynamic, I think we needed a bit more explanation about Kaburagi and earlier on
- Kaburagi's words and actions after what Onoe went thru in episode 3 was not the right time/place
- Onoe was a bit too much of a dumb dumb at times

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Awesome m/m couple 10/10 - need their own series!

Overall: I'll divide this up into three couples but keep things general to not spoil things. I didn't like the commercial breaks (without the commercials) in Viki and wish they would have edited those out. On the plus side, the styling was on point especially with Mark. And I liked that differences such as ages and income were addressed.

Content warnings: homophobia, fat shaming, bullying scene in a flashback, a few slaps, non con/dub con in one scene were a romantic partner is avoiding/said he did not want a kiss and the other person continued

M/M Couple - Best Boys (note: this official video is just their scenes ep 1-10 https://youtu.be/lIdngsUoa1M, but if you watch just the official cuts after that you'll miss out on important context/characterization, so watch the whole thing and fast forward parts you aren't interested in)
- character growth!!! Mark has some major character growth as he starts out as homophobic. He is impulsive but wears his heart on his sleeve.
- communication, it was great how especially Mark sought communication to resolve issues
- for the other half of this couple, loved defying stereotypes with the rescuing Mark scene and you can see the reason why he is really nervous/doubting their relationship
- favorite line "even though I like guys, I still have my standards"
- for the bad, this hovered very close to the "gay for you" trope
- their relationship was very rushed/not enough screen time (need their own series)

Older M/F Couple
- two sweeties, was a bit sad we didn't see any of them in the final episode other than a picture on the wall at the very end

Main M/F Couple
- started off really sweet and I was enjoying their story but then two unnecessary love triangles popped in and I became bored. Also the flashbacks weren't my thing. The age gap with the one set of flashbacks also disturbed me a bit as he was 10 and she was 18, granted she was thinking platonically, but he was thinking romantically. I disliked the overall fat shaming vibe. At one point the extremely thin FL steps on the scale and screams about too much bubble tea. Also the nickname little piggy when he is an adult seemed very condescending. Random pet peeve but I cringed every time I saw that self portrait.

Other characters that I enjoyed were the independent Joanna, the mom (who grew on me as she wanted the best for her daughter), Ou Wen's colleague Yan Wu Chun Feng and the married couple/daughter.

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historical masterpiece (uncut version is better though)

Overall: I applaud the writers for giving us this series. I read the book but reviewed the series on its own merits. Aired on YouKu app, GagaOOLala (uncut), YYDS YT channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoqdmwJPCU35AqHWHKLdr5RWqQhBiVl61 (depending on your country) Check out these 2 official movie cuts which center on Yai & Jom
Part 1 of Jom & Yai’s Epic Love Story https://youtu.be/Tt5-Wa5z3RE
Part 2 of Jom & Yai’s Epic Love Story https://youtu.be/vT-HG57Nt7w

Content Warnings: (there were major content warnings that I will put under a spoiler), manhandling

What I Liked
- sweet moments and excellent chemistry
- finally we had well written female characters instead of cliche stereotypes, these women acted/felt/reacted how real women would
- strong messages without being corny, they showed the unfairness of wealth disparities, they addressed something that happened in episode 3 as traumatic and not romantic, we almost never see this between a married couple in fiction though it sadly happens in real life and then they showed the trauma of what can result from that circumstance
- unique premise
- that Jom had agency
- intimate scenes were done extremely well
- the cut version still made sense though the uncut did give additional context that I liked (I've the uncut only since ep 2 and watched both versions of ep 12)
- production value

Room For Improvement
- Jom was a bit frustrating in the first half though he really went thru a lot, I blame the editing for unnecessary long pauses
- the ending was extremely rushed and not really clear of what exactly happened, they could have condensed some of the side plots/scenes in the first half of the series to more fully show the ending
- that mustache was awful and not needed in ep 1
- Jom should have said quietly what the year was when he learned who that ruler was as international fans don't know the date (but it's in the series summary)

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a solid rom com

Overall: this was an enjoyable rom com and with a few changes I would have given it a 10/10. If Mek annoys you the first episode, please keep watching. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: non con video recording/posting, non con/dub con kisses (sleeping), blackmail, punch

What I Liked
- Mek's parents are adorable and the discussion of blended families and marriage equality line were absolutely amazing
- funny moments
- sweet and caring moments
- managed to balance four couples pretty well but I think if they had cut it to three it would have been even better
- an established couple
- some character growth with Mek but I did still get annoyed at him a few times in the final episodes
- the ending was lovely
- realistic and continuous physical affection (instead of 1 kiss at the very end)
- Jeff Satur's OST/singing

Room For Improvement
- the chancellor was stupid/not funny, I wish it had been the guys' idea like in the original pilot and they removed the chancellor character entirely
- the cliche drama point at the end with Mek/Kim
- Kim didn't grow as much as I had wished
- the sisters were involved a bit too much at the beginning but then they oddly vanished at the end
- unknown time passed in the time jumps

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