BL Compilations

A Realistic Slice of Life Set in a Religious High School

Content Warnings: none that I can think of

Overview: you might like this if you like slice of life stories

What I Liked
- the setting of an all male religious school is fairly unique from what I've seen thus far
- the main character Dominic has (stereotypical) feminine qualities which is rare to see and I liked that he character wasn't played just for laughs like I've frequently seen with trans women or crossdressing men (though this did happen with the fortune teller/assistant)
- the ex girlfriend wasn't some flat evil character, she saw that he changed, they were more compatible now and wanted to give it another try

Room For Improvement (minor spoilers)
- that Dominic lied and said he just wanted to be friends/platonic when almost the whole time he was looking at it from a romance aspect
- was it ever explained why Dominic didn't go to the playground, did he forget? what happened???
- how the ending played out, it felt like Dominic was trying to force Luke...

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a short miniseries with love triangles (or rectangles???)

Content Warnings: none I can think of

What I Liked
- visuals, the actors are cute
- production (like sound, subs, lighting) are actually pretty good for what I'm assuming is a very small budget
- the BTS clips at the end of each episode are fun to watch

Room For Improvement
- the crying itself was fine but when he raises his head it didn't look like he had been crying at all (i.e. no tears, red eyes or nose)
- the kiss wasn't the best but it definitely wasn't the worst that I've seen
- this season ends on a cliffhanger
- I'm watching the 2nd season and you really don't know who to ship or what the endgame is, there are multiple people liking other people

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solid ending

Overall: it was exciting to see Singto and Krist again with a story not about high schoolers or university students; however, one of my most hated tropes is the basis for this series which made me not rate it higher. 10 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube Channel (not available in Thailand, Korea or Japan) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI6nPzMs-RhMalpGr-jA0_3C&si=cEfvTY0ErPMrmQZn and Viu (Thailand).

Content Warnings: non con touching, non con video recording/sharing/outing, attempted murder, blood, manipulation

What I Liked
- great to see Singto & Krist again
- clear premise in the present
- clear flashbacks
- protect mode
- callbacks like with the engineering shirt
- once together their ongoing intimacy, good kissing
- Mix's cameo
- styling
- excellent finale

Room For Improvement
- the noble idiot trope where a person caused much more pain to the supposed love of their life than if they had talked to their loved one and told the truth, we finally learned what happened in episode 7 part 1 which made it difficult for me to enjoy their past relationship knowing how they ended up in the present and (correctly) guessing their rift was based on stupidity (if you're struggling, I suggest start at episode 5 part 3, then skip over where you see angst/anger, fairly smooth sailing episode 7/4 and onward)
- how Tam didn't tell his mom like it was/standing up for his relationship (he had a conversation off-screen with her)
- a character told something that the mom had instructed him not to say

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watching a kicked puppy

Overall: I did not enjoying watching the human version of a punching bag. 12 episodes at 35 minutes each. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/videos/1271432v-bittersweet-love-episode-1 ; GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8038/bittersweet-love-2026-e01 (not available in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Oceania, India, Japan and Korea) ; Heavenly (for S. Korea) ; Tru Visions NOW (Thailand?) and YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbWbIURQcS5I&si=QOYGVjpm8ZqRUHbK

Content Warnings: beaten up, bullying, drugged, threatened murder, dub/non con turned consensual, manipulation, homophobia, threatened suicide

What I Liked
- different time setting (1990-1992)
- actors did a good job with the script they were given

Room For Improvement
- the jerk ML and the extremely innocent ML that everyone treated like crap was not enjoyable to watch, even the revenge was not as enjoyable as it could have been
- weird narrator
- exposition dump/rushed finale

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Thai romcom (watch suggestions)

Overall: it was great to see several actors again, but this style of comedy didn't work for me. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on Viu.

Content Warnings: stalking played as comedy, bullying, vomiting, beaten up, manipulation, non con touching, manhandling, beginning sexual assault (not between the MLs), punch, harassment, attempted murder, blood

Watch Suggestions (if the humor doesn't work for you and to focus on the romance and take out content warnings)
- read the synopsis and skip episodes 1-4
- episode 5 watch 23:45-28:40 and 30:40-end
- episode 6 watch beginning-6:10, 16:40-21 and 31-34:45
- watch episode 7
- episode 8 watch 11:50-13:30, 18:45-20:50, 29-31:05 and 36:30-end
- episode 9 watch beginning-4:45, 7-11:40, 13:20-15:30, 29-35:40 and 38:30-41:20
- episode 10 watch 11:40-14:40, 20-34:20 and 42:30-end

What I Liked
- actors did a good job with the script they had
- good consent, didn't kiss him when passed out drunk
- intimacy
- easy to understand premise
- happy that a bullying survivor didn't quickly forgive the bully

Room For Improvement
- cringey sound effects that were constant
- the overheard and never communicated trope
- two of the other 3 romance stories didn't work, they didn't get much screen time and the former bully's victim was reluctant for too long for it to work as a romance, also 2 were unresolved
- terrible prank at the end of episode 9/beginning of episode 10

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enjoyed the premise

Overall: I enjoyed the premise but wish we saw more interactions with the leads and less of the villain. 50 episodes about 1 minute each. Aired first 3 episodes https://www.vigloo.com/video/15000040?season=15000040&episode=0 and all episodes in the Vigloo app (more info below, it also has Love in the Apocalypse). Note that the final episode 50 is on a different tab in the app.

Content Warnings: manhandling, sexual harassment, non picture taking/video recording/sharing, attempted blackmail, punch/fight, past abuse/beaten up, unwanted public outing, past suicidal ideation

What I Liked
- interesting premise
- something that gives a plot point away, has to do with their history
- the few sweet moments
- good kiss (in episode 22)
- only took 2 days to watch the series for free (had to watch ads)

Room For Improvement
- needed to narrow the plot and focus more on the leads
- the background music was too loud at times (though the music was good)
- sometimes the flashbacks weren't very clear
- the villain was very stupid and then did a very quick 180
- comment about how he needed to Photoshop the picture before posting because he wasn't wearing make up in it

How to Watch for Free (episodes are 50 coins each, whole series needs 2,500 coins, you can't skip episodes but once unlocked they stay unlocked forever)
Day 1
- watch episodes 1-9 (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 11-20)
- watch 15 ads per day for 30 coins each on the rewards page and do the daily check in for 50 coins (eps 21-30)

Day 2
- watch episodes 31-40 free with ads
- watch the 15 ads to get coins, do the daily check in and watch episodes 41-50

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nice to see continued character/relationship growth

Overall: though it felt more like a season 2 than a movie, it was nice to see more smiles between them. The tone was a bit heavier than the special though. The movie is 2 hours long. GagaOOLala picked this up in September 2023 which is when I watched it (GagaOOLala picked up the whole franchise and the order to watch is: season 1, special, movie, season 2 which is airing October 2023).

Content Warnings: homophobia, past death

What I Liked
- comedy moments
- cute moments
- communication/relationship progress
- familiar characters

Room For Improvement
- the trumpet music doesn't fit at times
- they called that hairdresser guy a wisdom machine when he said you have to be honest with your partner (he called her an ugly hag) but maybe they were being sarcastic?
- felt more like skits/episodes put together than a movie with an overarching plot
- unrealistic that the neighbor hadn't met Kenji in over a year but that's also on brand for Shiro
- the blocks at the end

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a well done m/m reality dating show (ep 7 was the best)

Overall: I believe this was the Philippines first m/m reality dating show and I think they did a good job with it. 8 episodes at about 30 minutes each. Aired on Black Sheep YouTube Channel.

Reality Series Note: with any "reality" series I keep in mind that what the audience sees doesn't necessarily reflect what actually happened. There can be guidelines the audience doesn't know about, parts are edited out or ordered in different ways to show a certain narrative. I read in the YouTube comments that the director said it wasn't scripted, but I always take that with a grain of salt. My goal for reality dating series is for people to have a good time and maybe make a new friend. Any actual pairings at the end of the show are icing on the cake.

Content Warnings: discussion of mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, homophobia

What I Liked
- the intros of the 10 guys to the audience and that they had name tags on most of the series (as someone who has trouble with remembering names, this is very useful and I'm guessing was useful for the participants as well), although it could have been something like a necklace with their name
- that they started with a game and there were two 1 on 1 dates (not really a fan of the twist though but it was okay)
- diverse personalities in the group
- the emcee was great, she was caring and empathetic
- defined pansexuality and emcee said she loved how they were being sex positive
- episode 7 at the pool party was my favorite episode
- excellent that they included a mental health hotline at the end of episode 7

Room For Improvement
- group games: the oil was unnecessary, the guys just met each other and they could have played the game without the oil part, should have had less physical games and maybe some where they pair up, go on a scavenger hunt or something? or maybe group get to know you games like "never have I ever"
- too much group sharing times, it bogged things down, although I think 1 group share is a good idea, I personally don't think it's great to discuss past exes, leave the past in the past
- would only have 1 secret spark exchange or have it more like a phone call or letter where they could write their name, but it's painful to see some guys not receive a spark multiple times
- background noise during the pool party

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Actual communication & character growth!

Content Warnings: bullying, maybe that super bizarre meet cute, 
(minor spoilers)

I watched the first 5 episodes but since I'm not a fan of love triangles (rectangles? pentagons?) or slow burn romances, I decided to wait until it was finished and binge the rest if reviews were good. And I'm so glad that I watched the rest (albeit on 1.5 speed).

What I Liked
- hold onto your hats because...characters actually communicate with each other, whaaaaa???? Not perfectly, but there is a bunch of effort and it's so nice to see characters looking for clarification and communication. 
- characters actually apologize for mistakes they made and try to learn/grow from them
- attention to detail with the production/production value. I can tell thought was put into things (such as a character is mentioned to have red ears and his ears are actually red).
- Shi Woon is the best boy, I liked many characters but Shi Woon is a goofball who isn't stupid, more of this please
- the parallel with the cat
- finally a supportive and kind teacher who isn't flirting or hooking up with a student
- some great lines including "steal what, Tae Kyung is not mine just like Da On isn't yours"

Room For Improvement
- that absolutely awful meet cute with the you know what and referring to his butt, no way. The writers must have thought this was funny but it was totally not funny and awful to watch. 
- I know it's based on a game but I wish they would have made the names more unique from each other, because I kept getting confused about which person was being talked about
- It can be slooooooowwww, like those 2 minute lingering glances after a catch and fall, talking slowly, walking slowly
- once again we have the female character who make a terrible decision but at least this one has character growth
- the 2 kisses, especially the 2nd. I give them 1 shocked kiss but when 1 person doesn't move their lips/pucker and the other is making an effort, it looks so awkward. I blame the director/lack of workshopping. Looking at the BTS, neither actor had done an on screen kiss. The actors should have been given some direction/information in a smaller group setting before going to film it.
- the last episode left many things unanswered and felt rushed but perhaps there will be a season 2

Speaking of, I'm looking forward to a season 2 or a spinoff (but don't make me get rid of one of the things on my What I Liked list).

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trippy bait & switch

Overall: the promo pics showed 4 guys on top of each other, half naked and oiled up. I thought this would be a sci fi romance, but there was more het romance than m/m romance and the sci fi was confusing. Aired on Viu in a few countries like Thailand, no other release.

Content Warnings: murders/deaths, suicide, blood, attempted murder, held against will

What I Liked
- would like to see all the actors in something else
- different premise
- landscape/setting

Room For Improvement
- a series can have plot twists but should still make sense in earlier episodes
- the riddle thing was kind of lame

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a confident King goes thru the ringer

Overall: I give the production large props for tackling several realistic issues; however, there were too many plot threads for them to develop them all well. Aired 8 episodes about 30 minutes each on ANIMA Studios YouTube channel. Here is the playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMPz9QG8YAxIjGoPfHFugXYAbumaqC0Cj&si=4tZjYcP2X4JCgqlO

Content Warnings: past suicide, grief, hate crime, blood, homophobia, transphobia (including repeated dead naming), manhandling, non con picture taking, unwanted public outing, slap (the series needed more trigger warnings on the intro screen as I could see many things being very triggering for some people)

What I Liked
- the intro with some historical information included, integrated historical people in with the present
- an outspoken character that felt like a real person and not a stereotype
- queer representation including a trans female character (and something else but it's a spoiler)
- characters used stereotypes to determine who was queer and then called themselves out about it
- addressed realistic issues like homophobia/transphobia
- some sweet moments and the flag/scene at the end was excellent
- supportive friends, grandma & a dad
- production value

Room For Improvement
- hope that friend was fine in episode 1 when the dean was yelling at them and a character did something suddenly, would have been nice to see a check in about that
- odd that the first thing the grandma says to a grandson she presumably hasn't seen in awhile is to ask what his preferred sexual position was
- the water rescue trope where it was so shallow it looked like he could stand
- a terrible "plan" related to the pool
- what the mom did in episode 4 that isn't really addressed
- in episode 4 it wasn't as emotional as it could have been because they at first weren't clear what happened in the past and they hadn't established that character
- too many plot threads/antagonists, weren't able to develop all of them really well
- in episode 5 it wasn't clear what Lili told her friend
- as much as I hated Marco's actions, Lili saying "nobody loves you" went too far, maybe it was a translation error
- kind of making fun of getting consent in episode 6
- I understand why King said, "it's okay to be (spoiler)" but he should have checked in with that character first (ep 7)

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Content Warnings: violence, tragedy (not between m/m)

Watch it for Pitch/Bank if you want, but unfortunately the potential was definitely not reached.

What I Liked
- a nice concept of a bodyguard/protectee
- humor mixed with action
- some cute fluff moments
- Pitch/Bank as the side couple
- Sky's dad's acting
- production value seemed fine

Room For Improvement
- that sponge bath was too invasive
- Gun's sad/angry acting, this was just painful to watch and it's partially the director's fault
- many plot holes/non-logical things such as: why wouldn't Sky's mother pre-donate her own blood (especially when she was pregnant as there can be complications), why couldn't Sky donate to her (granted he couldn't do as much as he was a child but still...), why wouldn't Sky pre-donate his blood since it's so rare, why would you put one of the only blood donors in an extremely dangerous job, why did the writers have them be in the art department when Sun can't draw and that's easily found out by the university, why did Pitch get a personality transplant, how did Pitch/Bank become boyfriends
- how Sky used those two women which I was worried about from the beginning, they should have cut out their characters and focused more on Pitch/Bank
- lack of character growth from Sky especially
- I absolutely hate time gaps and this was no exception, the ending felt very rushed

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a wild tourism ad (watch suggestions)

Overall: we have a tourism ad (sightseeing, taking pictures, eating) with some very explicit NSFW thrown in. Kiseki chapter 2 (my review https://mydramalist.com/759779-kiseki-chapter-2) is the first one though you don't need to watch it to watch this. 8 episodes about an hour each. Aired on GagaOOLala (worldwide except South Korea, Thailand, Japan) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5312/season-of-love-in-shimane-2025-e01 ; uncut on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/w7dp20ytapqvued/w4101uahlor-EP01%3A_Ai_no_Kisetsu_in_Shimane ; full version for members on 9NAA YouTube (I think the full version on YouTube is also cut) ; cut on YouTube (not available in SE Asia) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96wlltW_5o and also on Viu (likely Thailand). The production company 9NAA made: Kiseki Chapter 2, Venus In The Sky, Check Out, Skinship and I Am Your King.

Cut vs. Uncut - watch uncut not on YouTube because episode 3 was 53:48 on Gaga but only 46:12 for the full version on YouTube which was the same run-time as the two parts on YouTube.

Watch Suggestions (focuses on cute/steamy parts)
- episode 1 watch 14-17:50
- episode 2 watch 3:50-4:35, 12:10-14.35, 23-23:50, 33:10-38:35, 47:40-end
- episode 3 watch beginning-3, 6-9:15, 20:30-25:30, 44:45-end
- episode 4 watch 25:10-45:30
- episode 5 watch 6:10-10:20 and 29:30-end
- episode 6 watch 3:20-6:45
- episode 7 watch 21-26 (or thru 32:40), 39-43 and 51:05-1hr3m25s
- episode 8 watch 3-the end (steamy scenes around 13 minutes)

What I Liked
- scenery
- P has fantastic acting with his eyes, he conveys: jealousy, flirtiness, love and so much more
- steamy parts (hoping they had an intimacy coordinator this time and I could have done without the black socks on his feet in episode 3)
- role playing in episode 5, talking about what the other person likes
- consent in episode 7
- the product placement at the end of episode 7 was hilarious
- episode 8 was nice touring/doing date things around Bangkok

Room For Improvement
- it was pretty slow paced and I found it difficult to get through even watching at a faster speed
- love rival/jealousy
- did not need the bathroom scenes in episode 1, nor the other times they mentioned their bodily functions/toilet humor
- comedy sound effects did not make things funny
- odd in episode 7 why one guy never took his sweater off
- I normally like natural kissing noises but it was too loud in episode 7 (the first NSFW scene)

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repetitive

Overall: the franchise had a fun premise, but it has dragged on too long without progression. 6 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6018/a-man-who-defies-the-world-of-bl-2021-s04e01 (not in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan or Korea)

Content Warnings: slap (played as comedy), fight

What I Liked
- they did a short intro so people don't need to have seen the previous 3 series to understand what is going on
- I did chuckle a few times like at the high pitched sneezing in episode 1
- the intro music open which has a different theme for each season
- was supportive of his brother in episode 3
- for once I was happy we didn't see a kiss at the end

Room For Improvement
- it was a fun premise for season 1 but I want to see some relationship progression, at least with his brother's romance (there was a little in episode 3 starting around 13m30s)
- I don't think the writers intended it but Mob came across as a bit homophobic, though he did talk about how you didn't want to be the main lead
- Mob was selfish when he created a love triangle (and I wish it had resolved differently since all three were nice guys)
- was bored with the napping stuff in episode 2 and did not enjoy the toilet humor at the end of the episode
- two characters that got together were abrupt
- the high school or romantic interest was odd

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cringey characters/plot with some sweetness and spice

Overall: (after a couple of days knowing each other) "Why don't you stay and complete this place. Complete me. Give me a new life." There is some truly cringey dialogue, but it's a fast watch and had some enjoyable moments. Two episodes about 1 hour each. Airing on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/lvdxvdkso18fdfe-The%20Renovation

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- good intimacy
- resort setting
- the last few minutes of episode 1 came out of nowhere but it was fun (also a couple scenes in ep 2, one after the first end credits)

Room For Improvement
- character dumps and the voice overs (it made a little more sense once we discovered his job but I still didn't enjoy it)
- didn't care about the characters or want them to be together in episode 1
- tropey, 2 sponge baths in 1 hour
- nonsense dialogue, the flowers in the bathtub
- not a fan of characters who play games like towards the ending of episode 2

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