Yaoi Where Boyfriend Comes Back and Forces Uke

This is the second part of a two part series on BL Dramas through the lens of an American genre author. Some of the terms used in this post are a continuation of the discussion presented in the first installment, PART I: BL Dramas Discussed & Analyzed from a Writer Perspective

As such I recommend you read that article first! Or you might not know what I'm on about.

* Both articles discuss triggers, consent, and sexual acts.

PART 2

BL Dramas: THE LIST

I've chosen and am ranking these series by the ones I think will be most easy to digest for an American queer-identified or queer-allied fan (I talk about my reasons in Part 1). In other words, the ones least egregious in some of the non-con and other sexual stuff are listed first. Don't get me wrong I love many of these, but that doesn't stop me from being troubled by certain aspects.

(Actor names: Thai names are given as chue len + first name. Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese names are given as surnames + first name.)

TOC

1 • SOTUS
2 • History2: Crossing the Line
3 • Until We Meet Again
4 • History2: Right or Wrong
5 • Dark Blue Kiss (Pete & Kao)
6 • 2gether
7 • 2 Moons
8 • 2 Moons 2
9 • My Engineer
THE THARNTYPE UNIVERSE
10 • Love by Chance
11 • TharnType
12 • Why R U
13 • Make It Right
OTHERS OF NOTE
• Love Sick
• Addicted
• Seven Days
Others Talked About

I've put trigger warnings in all of them, and I discuss some of my concerns with each. Hence the reasons this is such a long post.

Some of these characters start life as sub-plots in a mainly het drama. Some of the BL Dramas were so popular they got second seasons, or follow-ups. And some of them have multiple adaptations from a written work.

Where possible, I linked to the official broadcast, and suggest a watching order. As always with YouTube, I cannot guarantee the series will stay live.

1. SOTUS

SOTUS: The Series |SOTUS S: The Series |Our Skyy: Episode 5

• Online:SOTUS Netflix 15 eps (from GMMTV official)
  • SOTUS S YouTube 13 eps from (GMMTV official)
  • Our Skyy 5 1 ep (from GMMTV official)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2016 & Post College 2018
• Sexual Content: Just kissing, and very little of that
• Hashtags: #kongpobarthit #sotus #sotustheseries #SingtoKrist

Tropes:

• Enemies to lovers
• Younger seme/older uke
• Unrequited love, pining
• Love at first sight
• Sunshine one loves the grumpy one

Concerns & Triggers

• Hazing rituals, school sanctioned bullying
• Stalker action by means of relentless cheer and affectionate (if unwanted) care

Summary

Based on an online novel, SOTUS by BitterSweet, this stars Krist Perawat (AKA Kit) as Arthit Rojnapat, the uke character. Arthit is older, meaner, grumpy jerk who goes after his junior Kongpob (played by Singto Prachaya) because Kong objects to the Faculty of Engineering hazing rituals. (If BL teaches you nothing else, it's that in Thailand, if you're in engineering, you're gay.)

The first series follows Arthit succumbing to Kong's relentless pursuit, and them coming out to their friends.

The second series is both flashbacks to their second year as a couple (when Kong takes over as head hazer) and their current-day relationship, which is Arthit's first job and Kong's senior year/internship. It deals with coming out at work and has some interesting insights into corporate culture in Thailand.

There is a one episode look in, as part of the Our Skyy series, which follows Kong deciding to study abroad and Arthit's feelings of abandonment after being the object of his obsession for so long.

Some Thoughts

There is an earnestness to SOTUS that lends it an air of authenticity that other BL dramas on this list simply don't have. There is very little physical intimacy, and almost none of the culturally-understood intimacy (like head touching or forehead/cheek kisses). That, combined with so few triggers makes it easy to see why SOTUS was so palatable to Netflix mainstream. And it's why it appears first on my list. (Although He's Coming to Me might actually be even better now that it's widely available.)

There is much less overacting/slapstick although there are a few cartoon noises and interjected clumsy pop songs. So, be warned, if you can't stand SOTUS for this reason, you won't be able to take any of the others listed here except those out of China or Taiwan.

The surrounding friendship groups for both characters are quite lovely. This is the only example on my list that depicts solid female friendships (with each other and the boys), as well as a lesbian character.

I like the dynamic of the uke being in a position of dominance and social power, it effectively negates any non-con action. Plus Kong is such a sweetie who would never force physical intimacy. However, the flip does occur, with Kong's only option being to follow Arthit around like a lost puppy, which gets kinda stalkerish.

Their relationship, when it finally develops, is very teasing and sweet. The chinks in Arthit's armor are all the more special for how hard they were for Kong to earn. I like to think of these two as the entertainment industry's first acesexual homoromantic pairing.

Bonus nugget of insider info: The general BL obsession with pink milk, engineering, and gear symbols comes from this series.

2. Crossing the Line

History2: Crossing the Line

• Online: Viki 4 eps (part of the History2 feed official eps 5-8)
• Country: Taiwan
• Setting: High school 2018
• Sexual Content: Kissing and not much of that

Tropes:

• Enemies to lovers
• Bad boy tough kid meets strict kindness
• In world shipping
• Younger seme/older uke
• Big'ol love confession
• Sports romance

Concerns & Triggers

• There's a sub-plot of two step brothers getting together that's pretty taboo/odd
• Characters depicted are minors (actors clearly are not)
• Glorified fighting

Summary

Punk ass young trouble maker, Hsia Yu Hao (Fandy Fan), is basically press ganged by two senior students including Qiu Zi Xuan (Zach Lu), into joining the volleyball team.

Full of natural talent, he finds himself reluctantly interested in the sport, but more interested in Qiu Zi Xuan.

Soon enough, he falls madly in love with Qiu Zi Xuan, but the older boy won't do anything in return, because his sister has a crush on Hsia Yu Ha.

Some Thoughts

The plot is thin but the earnestness of Hsia Yu Ha's crush is charming. I liked how this addresses a cornerstone of the queer experience: how admiration for someone of the same gender can be initially misconstrued as wanting to be like them, when it's really wanting to be with them. This BL drama is notable in that it has almost none of the triggers in terms of non-con etc that most BL has.

Basically this is just a sweet story of a boy who falls in love with another boy, declares himself, and then gets rejected… or does he?

Bonus points for accurate volleyball rep (I played in high school) plus a solid understanding of the love confession trope and classic representation of how it works in BL.

3. Until We Meet Again

Until We Meet Again

• Online: Until We Meet Again YouTube 17 eps (from Studio Wabi Sabi official)
  • Between Us (in production spin off featuring side characters)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2019 & College 1989
• Sexual Content: Kissing, hugging, touching, implied demands and off screen sex
• Hashtags: #UntilWeMeetAgain #DeanPharm #WinTeam

Tropes:

• Fated mates, eternal love
• Instalove
• Stern emotionless seme/sweet loving uke
• Forbidden love, tragic destiny
• Minor in world shipping
• Older jaded seme/younger innocent uke

Concerns & Triggers

• Suicide is both pillorized and romanticized, and it is depicted on screen in graphic detail
• Homophobia in the past from family members with the power to destroy the relationship
• Tragedy, lost love for one sub-plot
• Seme's shameful sexual needs injure or diminish the uke
• Saving self for "the one and only" and having no other option but to submit

Summary

Until We Meet Again is the most dramatic drama to dramatize dramatically on this list. It stars Fluke Natouch as the uke character, Pharm (and boy does he have to cry A LOT), and Ohm Thitiwat as the older seme love interest, Dean. (Incidentally, Ohm is possibly the hottest human on Earth – fight me).

It's based on The Red Thread by LazySheep which, I gather, is on Wattpad but otherwise impossible to get hold of in print/translation (for which I am VERY sad).

Two modern-day college students meet and fall in love, but are also plagued by a nostalgic misery and dream memories when they are together. These lead them to realize that they're the reincarnated souls of two past lovers who committed double suicide because their fathers forbade a gay relationship. They have been tied together for eternity by a red thread.

Dean is an older student athlete who has never dated and seems always to be looking for someone. He's stiff and unemotional and estranged from his family.

Pharm is a freshman who makes friends easily but lives alone and has various phobias and panic attacks. When they meet there is an instant connection. Dean begins a slow courtship of the shy sweet Pharm. Pharm responds with food (yes, please). While things are going well for them in modern times, the tragic deaths of their past selves threatens to undermine everything.

Dean and Pharm must determine exactly what happened, and why, and learn to forgive their families and each other, before they can heal and move on together.

Sub-plot: Swimmers flirting

Pharm's protective friend Team, and Dean's master of the side-eye tatted-up bad-boy BFF, Win, start a possible relationship which is supposed to continue in a forthcoming BL series Between Us.

Since I love WinTeam, and consider this one of the better sub-plots in all BL, I'm hoping Between Us happens. Win's tattoos and piercings are fab, and it's awesome to see an uke character like Team be all protective of Pharm, and tough with his seme. He's so cute and fierce.

Also, notice Team drops the P' with Win when they are alone together, but uses it in front of others? Interesting, no? He is, indeed, as Win says naughty.

Some Thoughts

First and foremost, we all need someone in our lives who looks at us the way that Dean looks a Pharm. The adoration is strong with that one.

Although, to be fair, I only really look at pastry that way.

You can feel Pharm and Dean's need to love each other, and you really believe they are reincarnated.

There is so much crying in this series and so much pining it can get a bit frustrating. Dear Thailand, could we please see more of Fluke where he doesn't have to be sad or depressed all the time?

The suicide thread is a big deal and runs throughout, so if that's a trigger for you, do not watch this.

That said, Until We Meet Again, is probably the best, most cohesive, and well written stories on this list. The plot is so good and well paced and perfectly twisty.

What's weird is how different Dean and Pharm's current personalities are from their past selves, Korn and Intouch. That threw me a little. I wish Pharm had just a bit more of Intouch's gumption.

Dean is impossibly kind and gentle with Pharm, but that does lead to the trope of "sex with the innocent uke makes him impure." Dean is clearly ashamed of his sexual desire for Pharm and unlike most BL, the story is aggressively anti-dub-con to the extent of being anti sex. As if sex somehow cheapens their love, and Dean wanting to screw Pharm is a big'ol sin. I wanted Pharm to have more agency, even if only sexually. It would have fixed some of negative aspects of their power imbalance.

Despite its flaws, Until We Meet Again is possibly my favorite BL drama on this list.

It's wonderful to see Dean's strained relationship with his siblings and grandmother get repaired by Pharm and his cooking. What's even better is how supportive and fun Pharm's two besties are. Speaking of, Win and Team are adorable, and I really hope the spin-off happens.

This is one of those dramas that will put an ache in your throat for hours, so yeah, if you're into that, go for it.

Also the food, the FOOD!

Food is a vital thread connecting Pharm to his past self, and it's his primary love language. There is a scene where he feeds Dean a purple dumpling that is hotter than any sex scene ever filmed.

Pharm is an amazing chef and we get to see him cooking Thai meals and decorating Thai sweets. Also we learn about the meaning and history of many of the desserts.

Oh, and there's no Faculty of Engineering theme in this one… who knew?

A quick word on Dean's linguistics.

He doesn't say much, in fact he's as close to monosyllabic as you can get in Thai. He uses almost no polite particles, few honorifics or personal pronouns, and heaven forfend he ever Wai. In fact, by all accounts, Dean should be considered one of the rudest characters in BL (when actually that award probably goes to Type or Ae). However, he's considered more like a curt aristocrat by the narrative ~ stern, like he can't be bothered with trivial social mores, or aloof, like it's not really his society to participate in.  It's fascinating that Dean is not considered utterly intolerable by everyone. But the way side characters reference his attitude is partly based on his linguistic identity.

Bonus points for casting an out gay actor in a leading role, for an in-narrative self-identified bisexual character, and for discussing condom use. Also for an actual cohesive solid plot structure.

See BL? I knew you could do it!

4. Right or Wrong

History2: Right or Wrong

• Online: Viki 4 eps (part of the History2 feed official eps 1-4)
• Country: Taiwan
• Setting: College 2018
• Sexual Content: Kissing, topless sex scenes that fade to black

Tropes:

• Student/teacher
• May/December (12 year age difference)
• Single dad/manny
• Grumpy seme/sunshine uke
• Out gay uke/gay-for-you seme
• Found family
• Old fashioned courtship

Concerns & Triggers

• Uke experiences self hatred for his gayness
• Child neglect and abandonment treated casually
• Older seme in his early 30s but younger uke is only 19

Summary

Adorable sweetheart gay boy college student, Fei Sheng Zhe, with some confidence and self hatred issues meets the battle-scared cynical professor of his dreams, Shi Yi Jie. Turns out, they actually have met before, a couple of times and in different ways, until suddenly Fei Sheng Zhe finds himself the manny to the professor's little daughter.

Shi Yi Jie is a divorced archaeology professor with a 7-year-old daughter, Yo Yo, who he's trying to raise by himself (badly). After absorbing Fei Sheng Zhe into his family, he finds himself falling in love with the boy.

Shi Yi Jie is a little startled to find he's enamored with a man, but he's analytical and scientific and doesn't have an easily ruffled personality, so he goes with the flow.

He decides Fei Sheng Zhe is perfect for him and starts formally courting him. He goes to Fei Sheng Zhe's mother to ask permission and even agrees to a test of celibacy until Fei Sheng Zhe turns 20.

Then his ex wife shows up.

Some Thoughts

This one has some of the most Western sensibilities in terms of a classic American gay romance novel. It basically made me squee with the cute from about episode 4 onwards. It's a bit rough going at the beginning but once the family dynamic is established and Shi Yi Jie's neglect of his daughter is explained away, I loved it.

I didn't even mind when the ex-wife shows up because she's a perfect plot device for Fei Sheng Zhe to get his confidence back and claim his man. I love it when the uke's lack of agency works against him and he has to step up and be more than just a passive partner. In Fei Sheng Zhe's case, he remains sweet and submissive, but it's established by the story that he will not be letting Shi Yi Jie walk all over him for the rest of their lives. Yes!

And when the sex finally happens, it's very clearly mutual and super sweet. So, yeah for that, too!

There's also some great dialogue.

Most of the time, because of translation, subtleties in dialogue are missed. This one has its issues but also some really well written moments that come across in captioning. There's a scene where (very gay) Fei Sheng Zhe is part of a drama club and doing a romantic scene with his female BFF:

Fei Sheng Zhe: "Do I really have to kiss you?"
Actress BFF: "Yes!"
Fei Sheng Zhe: "But, you're a GIRL!"

All in all, I left this series with an "aw, my babies!" feeling and hearts coming out my eyes. I think it falls short of a lot of BL lists because it satisfies so few traditional BL tropes, but also because only one half of the couple satisfies the criteria of boy.

But, gah, it's SO CUTE!

"I don't have to pay for your regrets."

Bonus points for ready made family of adorableness.

5. Dark Blue Kiss

Kiss Me Again |Kiss the Series |Dark Blue Kiss: The Series |Our Skyy special

• Online:Kiss Me Again Pete & Kao Cuts – Youtube 3 eps (from GMMTV official)
  • Kiss the Series Episode 14 – YouTube 1/2 of ep 14 (from GMMTV official)
  • Dark Blue Kiss: The Series  –YouTube 12 eps (from GMMTV official)
  • Our Skyy special (GMMTV official)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2016 – 2018
• Sexual Content: Heavy kissing, sexual innuendo, implied sex, lots of shirtlessness
• Hashtags: #PeteKao #DarkBlueKiss

Tropes:

• Enemies to lovers but also friends to lovers
• Bad boy meets kind nerd
• Secret love/hidden relationship
• Rough flirting of the pigtail pulling type

Concerns & Triggers

• They punch the stuffing out of each other, especially early on
• Pete is a real punk at the start with major anger issues
• It's implied that Pete's relationship with Kao basically saves Pete from bad things
• The poor little rich kid slander plot in Dark Blue Kiss is actually one of the better villain concepts I've seen in Thai BL, but it is really rough going content-wise in terms of child neglect, slander, and cyber stalking

Summary

You really need to at least watch the Pete/Kao fan assembled clips from Kiss Me Again or Dark Blue Kiss (their actual BL series) will not make sense.

Their sub-plot in KMA follows their journey from outright enemies in high school, to on-again off-again friends freshman year of college, to secret lovers. They are, indeed, in the Engineering Department.

Dark Blue Kiss picks up during their third year of college with Pete and Kao still together, out only to Pete's dad and their close friends. Pete (Tay Tawan) brash and take-no-shit seme wants to be out, but Kao (New Thitipoom) sweetheart uke wants to remain closeted. Which effectively leaves him open to sexual blackmail.

Kao has to work tutoring high school kids to help support his mom and sister. His mom's boss asks him to tutor his son, Non, who develops a huge crush on Kao. Meanwhile Pete and Non are in the same online competition and instantly hate each other.

Non figures out Pete is Kao's boyfriend and starts a campaign to undermine Pete and steal Kao from him. Kao doesn't see it. Pete gets increasingly jealous.

Non ends up claiming publicly that Kao seduced him (which has pedophile connotations), destroying Kao's reputation and income, and putting Kao's mother's job at risk. All because Non has taken things too far and can't admit he's gay to his homophobic father. Of course, Pete comes to the rescue and Kao finally comes out.

There is a second plot line featuring café owner Sun, Kao's sort-of ex boyfriend, trying to get bad-boy Mork to change his ways.

Some Thoughts

I flipping love Pete and Kao. They're one of my favorite pairings in BL. There's better sexual chemistry with some of the other couples (yes, Tharntype, of course it's Tharntype, isn't that everyone's best?) but these two are so darn cute together. There's a very puppy love teasing thing with them. It reads really well on screen as a college LTR.

They are more "equal" in their relationship than most BL couples, partly because Kao may be the uke but he doesn't take any of Pete's crap.

Also I LOVE LOVE LOVE their friendship group. Gah, they are all just so adorable.

And Pete's dad. OMG Pete's dad is beyond sweet, and so is Kao's mom when he eventually tells her.

I can't comment on the café sub-plot because I'm utterly unable to watch it for a really weird reason: the actor who plays Mork looks SO MUCH like my ex from college I actually find it unbearable. It's not that I hate my ex or anything, it's just creepy weird in a nails-on-chalkboard way.

Bonus points for little use of clumsy pop songs and cartoon sound effects. Across the board the acting is much smoother than many BLs. I actually really LIKE the intro music to Dark Blue Kiss.

6. 2gether

2gether: The Series

• Online: 2gether: The Series – YouTube 13 eps (from GMMTV official)
  • Still 2gether AKA 2gether the Series Season 2 (from GMMTV official)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2020
• Sexual Content: Kissing, lots of sexual innuendo, implied off-scene sex, shirtlessness
• Hashtags: #tinesarawat #2gether #brightwin

Tropes:

• Fake boyfriends
• In world shipping
• Easygoing clueless uke meets demanding gay AF seme
• Pining and obsession
• Instalove
• Embarrassing public declarations

Concerns & Triggers

• Over feminization and predator-representation of "out" femme gay
• Drinking and over drinking with sexual intent
• Forced coming out
• Bad singing
• Overuse of cartoon noises
• Egregious product placement

Summary

Tine (Win Metawin) is being pursued by an older flaming gay boy, Green. For various contrived reasons, Tine just can't just say,

"No, go away Green."

Because he wants to date girls and Green is cramping his style, Tine and his friends decide the best thing to do is to fake date the hottest boy on campus, Sarawat (Bright Vachirawit). Because obvs only a fake gay relationship will convince Green to go away (?!). Unfortunately for Tine, Sarawat is totally gay and totally into him.

Wat (the seme) is this introverted musician who kinda hates how popular he is with the ladies because, ya' know, hella gay, and has been pining after this boy he met at a concert for, like, evs.

Lo, said boy shows up, demands he pretend to fake date, and Wat is gonna fake it 'til he macks all over it.

Tine spends the whole series just oblivious af and rolling with the punches (sometimes literally) until he accidentally finds himself in love with Wat at which juncture they promptly move into together.

There's a sub-plot of Wat's frankly awesome friend Man, King of Bi, getting the hots for Tine's bitchy older brother. And another with his younger brother flirting with the campus bad boy.

Some Thoughts

Okay so the fake boyfriend trope is so flipping contrived, and Wat's cold/hot/awkwardness is unexplainable and unexplained but (and you knew there was a but) Wat is so gone over Tine it's kinda adorable.

This one is the campiest, most over-acted, and most ridiculous on my list, yet somehow it's become a favorite. It has a lot of problems with representation, but… argh, I still like it.

At first, because the Green thing is SO ANNOYING, and Tine so passive, I couldn't even watch it, but Wat won me over.

2gether basically hits every BL trope there is with a club, dresses it up in a frilly apron, and then drags it around singing at it:

• care and illness/injury tending
• lost in woods
• hair touch, tousling
• teasing with sexual intent
• confessions (and more confessions)
• food = love
• unrequited pining
• arms around the shoulder in public (gasp)
• love songs as public declarations
• secret love songs as public declarations, again, and again, and again
• possible ex girlfriends showing up at the worst time
• caring when injured
• and… REPEAT in Still 2gether

Okay yeah, the plot is cray-cray. But I kinda love watching this for Wat's googley eyes, and Tine's utter obtuseness.

Plus it's nice to get a Thai drama where one of the boys is just clearly completely gay and all over his love interest both sexually and romantically. (Usually, it goes one way or the other and is closeted gay for you.)

Bonus points for condom representation, even if it is a gag gift.

7. 2 Moons

2 Moons the Series

• Online:2 Moons the Series – YouTube 12 eps (ripped only)
  • Gen Y the Series – recon, reboot, spin off-ish (ripped only)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2017, college & high school 2020 (for Gen Y)
• Sexual Content: Kissing, sexualized tickling
• Hashtags: #2Moonstheseries #PhaYo #MingKit #MarkKit

Tropes:

• Willfull misunderstanding
• Instalove
• Older experienced seme/younger innocent uke

Concerns & Triggers

• Uke can come off as innocent to the point of stupid
• Uke has a collection of photos of Phana that is stalkerish bordering on psycho
• King of awkward pauses
• Casual references to rape as humorous
• The music is really bad

Summary

Based on a three book series.

Phana/Dr Pha (so called because he is a med student) fell in love with a boy in high school but let him slip away. Years later that boy is a freshman at his university. Dr Pha is "Campus Moon" AKA hottest dude on campus.

Wayo, the love interest, is picked to represent his department in this year's Moon competition. Pha doesn't recognize him and they clash, although Wayo has also been in love with Pha since high school.

The 2 Moons series of books follows three pre-med best friends (the Wild Doctors) and their gay relationships. The main plot, the "2 Moons" of the title, features Dr Pha/Wayo. Their's is a bog standard dominant demanding older smarter hotter seme falls instantly in love with, and in pursuit of, younger innocent uke. There's some miscommunication to start but basically it's a fated obsession on both sides.

This first installment starts a sub-plot of Wayo's BFF, Ming, who's a total womanizer but decides to go after Pha's bestie, Kit, anyway. I like this better as a story. Kit is a prickly snarky asshat of a uke who resists being pursued by younger playboy Ming. My favorite 2 Moons sub-plot of Forth and Beam isn't picked up until the second series, 2 Moons 2. This cast and iteration lost the rights to the series, but does a somewhat spin off of Ming and Kit, as Mark and Kit, in Gen Y. (Think soap operas, it's complicated and illogical.)

Some Thoughts

This show is fluffy as all get up, the main relationship is basically just cute and pining.

I like some of this first installment better than the reboot, 2 Moons 2. But if you only watch one, watch that one instead. I think there's slightly more chemistry between Wayo and Pha in this one, but that thread is my least favorite and the least interesting. Although Dr Pha wins first in class on the longing look of longing long-time, this version is very slow moving, but definitely more romantic in the long run than the second installment. (See what I did there?)

Bonus points for the adorable, enduring friendship between Wayo and Ming. And P'Forth, everyone's favorite no matter who portrays him. Why are Thai engineering departments so good at giving us a tatted-up gay bad boy with a heart of gold? (I think we should make Win an honorary engineer.)

Oh and PinkMilk's captioning is great, if you get their version. The extra MST3K commentary is most amusing.

8. 2 Moons 2

2 Moons 2 (reboot + further adventures)

• Online: 2 Moons 2 – YouTube 12 eps (from Mello Thailand official)
  • 2 Moons 3 in production?
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2019
• Sexual Content: Kissing, topless fooling around for the main characters, full on sex for Forth and Beam (fade to black)
• Hashtags: #2Moons2 #PhaYo #PhanaWayo #ForthBeam #MingKit

Tropes:

• Misunderstanding
• Instalove
• Older experienced seme/younger very innocent uke
• Also playboy bisexual younger seme/jaded older uke
• Also friends-to-lovers, sexual chemistry first, relationship second

Concerns & Triggers

• Wayo can come off as innocent to the point of stupid
• Wayo has a collection of photos of Phana that is stalkerish bordering on psycho
• Casual references to rape as humorous
• Some very predator behavior
• Dub-con due to alcohol, possible sexual assault
• In world shipping
• Cliff hanger ending

Summary & Thoughts

2 Moons 2 recasts and then re-films 2 Moons on a compressed time line. Then the second half picks up more of the sub-plots and side characters and advances the story arcs into three romances occurring simultaneously. But basically the first half is exactly the same as the original 2 Moons, only as cliff-notes.

As such, I can't avoid a direct comparison.

I like the Wayo actor slightly better in this one, but Dr Pha better in the first one (both actors have now left BL). Either way, these two take up the majority of the screen time but have the least chemistry and least interesting story arc.

I'm mostly indifferent on Ming/Kit casting since I like their characters and story better either way. But if you pushed me, I think I like these two actors better than those in the first installment. Prickly little Kitkit is so cute, and Ming a touch less sleazy in version 2.2.

However, 2 Moons 2 wins for me because I like Forth/Beam so uch. In fact, their sub-plot (which only comes to fruition at the end of this series) is my favorite from both 2 Moons adaptations.

Incidentally Forth… Engineering Faculty, here we go again.

Forth/Beam also the most modern feeling love story, in that they're both brokenhearted, get drunk, end up in bed together, and have sex. Then bad-ass-squishy-center Forth decides he really wants to have a relationship with Beam and starts flirting hardcore in this teasing aggressive way. It works very well as a friends to lovers dynamic, and puts them on a more equal footing from the start than most BL. Although Forth is PUSHY.

All three romantic pairings end up basically together at the end of 2 Moons 2 but there is a cliff hanger for the Wayo/Pha relationship at the very end of the last episode, with sexual assault implications.

There is supposed to be a 2 Moons 3 although the actor playing Wayo has left the franchise. I'm hoping it still happens and that we get more of Forth and Beam. And, since I'm being all demanding of the BL universe, why not make them verse? Come on, break ground in a GOOD way Mello? You can do eeett!

Bonus points for a great portrayal of complexity inherent in the friends to lovers trope for Beam and Forth.

9. My Engineer

My Engineer the series

• Online:My Engineer the series – YouTube 14 eps (from My Engineer Official)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2019
• Sexual Content: Kissing
• Hashtags: #myengineertheseries #BohnDuen #RamKing #MekBoss #TharaFong

Tropes:

• Misunderstanding
• Rake changing his ways for the right guy
• Grumpy/sunshine
• Also tortured seme/sweetheart uke
• Also friends-to-lovers
• Also enemies to lovers (maybe)

Concerns & Triggers

• Duen can come off as innocent to the point of stupid, but is also a complete brat
• Dub-con due to alcohol, possible sexual assault (turned into a joke)
• Some very predator behavior
• In world shipping
• Cliff hanger ending on two sub plots

Summary

Consciously playing on the trope that any given Thai engineering department is full of gay boys, this follows essentially two groups of friends. One group of all freshmen and mostly pre med, and the other all second year engineering students (natural-muh).

The primary couple is bad boy womanizer campus heartthrob Bohn and his earnest pursuit of bratty Duen.

Secondary couples include Duen's over-protective, reticent, tattooed friend Ram and his sunshine boy, King. There is also a friends to lovers plot between two of the engineer BFFs, Mek and Boss. And an unfinished enemies to lovers plot between Bohn's rival, Fong, and his love interest Dr Smolder, Thara.

Thoughts

If 2gether hit every BL trope there is with a club, dressed each one up in a frilly apron, and dragged it around singing at it, then My Engineer put them in moon god robes and surrounded them by thousands of Y-fans screaming and hurling little pickles.

The Bohn/Duen thread is fine, a pretty standard seme/uke. It's a bit exhaustingly hot/cold constant misunderstandings and jealousy. Ultra pushy Bohn does all the pursuing and Duen all the "oh noes, I couldn't," "no, don't speak, don't speak," plus requisite dashing into the forest alone. But at least Duen fights back on occasion, and his friends are sweeties. While it's always fun to see a bad boy go soft for the dorky nerd of his dreams, Duen is a little too much of a whiney damsel for me, and while it has some sweet moments, I think some of the sub plots are better.

The Mek/Boss BFFs falling in love sub plot is mostly pat longing looks, but cute enough.

I liked the Fong/Thara sub plot, it's more mature, and better acted, but was given very very little screen time.

The Ram & King sub plot is my favorite, and they were given a cliff hanger ending. Ram's not-speaking thing is a bit overdone (maybe because Thai is not the actor's first language?) but King is utterly adorable. His love language is lecture notes and potted plants. I mean, come on.

This was by far the best conceived and acted story arc. These two had the most chemistry among the four couples. (Although, what is with Ram's family's accents? His mom speaks English with a strong French accent and Ram speaks Aussie.)

Pretty much everyone loves them best and if the producers know their bread/butter situation, they will have a more primary role in the next season (should it happen).

The best thing about this couple? No clear uke/semi dynamic.

There is supposed to be a follow up season in 2021 with the same cast, but love in the time of Covid is hard, even for Thai engineering students. I'll watch it if we get one, if only for Ram and King.

Bonus points for at least addressing how ridiculous the idea is that one half of a gay couple always has to be the top.

The TharnType Universe

My final BL dramas all take place in the same universe with tons of crossover characters.

The only major crossover character we see on screen in the core entries is Type (played by different actors). However, his relationship with Tharn is represented and discussed in almost all of them, so I'm went with "TharnType Universe" as the catchall name.

In world chronological order is:

1. Tharntype
2. Tharntype Special
3. Make It Right
4. Love By Chance
5. Love By Chance 2
6. Why R U
7. SiafahZon Story
8. Tharntype 2

But for various reasons, I don't suggest actually watching them in world order.

All of these are pretty problematic so I am presenting them in the order I watched them.

10. Love By Chance

Love by Chance

This one released first. But in world chronology, it followsTharnTypeby a few years. Type appears as a "senior" (AKA not-freshman) side character in this series, but is played by a different actor than inTharnType& Why R U.

• Online:Love by Chance – YouTube 14 eps (from Studio Wabi Sabi official)
  • Love by Chance 2 – a retcon reboot spin off featuring secondary characters (Viki behind a paywall)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2018
• Sexual Content: Kissing, topless fooling around, almost full on sex with a fade to black
• Hashtags: #AePete #LoveByChance #TinCan

Tropes:

• Discovering identity
• Friends to lovers
• Care and protection

Concerns & Triggers

• Depicted gay bashing
• Blackmail
• Aggressive consensual flirting
• Some very predator behavior in the sub-plots
• Non-con rape due to alcohol sub-plot = very bad

Summary

Based on My Accidental Love Is You by MAME12938, the main plot of this story is actually one of my very favorites, unfortunately there are distressingly messy sub-plots.

Ae (Perth Tanapon), a freshman in Engineering (of course) and also a football player, accidentally tumbles into Pete's life (Saint Suppapong) and then refuses to get untangled.

Pete is a freshman at the International College (private, expensive, and taught in English) and Ae is in the Engineering department (yep) of the Thai program (which IC kids treat a little like being in community college).

There's a lot of class and language use differences with the two main characters. I know I missed a ton of nuance not speaking Thai myself. I ended up researching at lot of stuff for PART I of this blog series on race, class and language because of Love By Chance. What I learned was fascinating and I really enjoyed this aspect of Ae and Pete's relationship.

Pete is a smart rich shy boy who knows he is gay and is having all sorts of issues with an abusive ex, blackmail, domineering friends, and life in college. He physically runs into and then gets adopted by Ae, a rough and tumble boy from the other side of the tracks with a heart of gold.

Ae is super sweet and caring and decides what Pete really needs is a BFF/bodyguard/butler, and Ae is the boy for the job. Ae comes off as gray/demi/ace and admits to never really being interested in anyone sexually or otherwise.

As his friendship with Pete becomes more loving and intimate Ae finds himself really wanting to look after Pete and be with him all the time. Eventually Ae is surprised to find he's sexually attracted to Pete, when he's never been attracted to anyone before (so I'm going with demisexual).

Eventually, Ae decides that if Pete is it for him, he better seriously pursue him. At this juncture Pete tries to put the breaks on because he believes that if Ae has a choice, he should choose to love a woman. That way Ae won't have to go through all the misery Pete's been through as an out gay boy. Of course, Ae is having none of it.

Sub-plot: Can/Tin

Tin (seme) is an entitled prick with a poor-little-rich-boy abusive home life and huge chip on his shoulder who becomes weirdly obsessed with Can (uke) – outgoing, chatterbox, ADD, eccentric. Can has no idea how to handle it. Can is occasionally whiny and annoying but also hilarious.

Sub-plot: Tar/Tum

Technically, in world chronology, this follows Tar's sub-plot in Tharntype and it is a (step?)brother-lovers thread. Younger brother/uke, Tar, returns from France still broken from being raped in high school, and still refusing to tell his beloved older brother/seme, Tum, about it.

Finally, Tar tells all.

There's definite brothers maybe wanna get it on thing here. Are they step brothers or are we getting all Flowers in the Attic? I don't know. I think maybe there is a language barrier issue that's indicating to Thai watchers the exact nature of the boys' familial relationship that the caption person didn't realize NEEDS TO BE MADE CLEAR to the rest of us.

Or there's just, you know, casual incest going on with this sub-plot.

Sub-plot: Techno/Kla

This is the biggest problem child in the TharnType universe, like worse than possible incest (okay, maybe not, eh, anyway). Techno is this happy-go-lucky party-too-much sweetheart who gets maybe-it-can-be-said-seduced but really just raped by Kla, into a relationship? Nuh uh, honey.

Kla is a sexual predator regardless of the fact that he's a minor. He basically f**ks Techno when Techno is blackout drunk and couldn't possibly consent. Also, Techno's younger brother is selling his older brother's ass to Kla.

This thread is unredeemable.

Some Thoughts

Ae's sexual awakening aspect is handled well, and I love seeing demi represented on the screen (openly acknowledged or not).

I like that even though Pete is definitely a submissive, he is the one with more sexual experience. Ae, as the seme character, is sort of bumbling along, eventually doing actual research into how to have gay sex. It's adorable. And yeah, education!

This is the only BL drama on this list that addresses lube as a necessity. (Although, condoms are repped in Until We Meet Again, Why R U, TharnType, and 2gether).

Lots of other standard uke/seme tropes are flipped. For example, a lot is made of the fact that Ae is shorter, poorer, and less well educated than Pete.

There's fun glimpses of different kinds of family life in Love By Chance, too. Although Pete comes out to his mother, Ae considers but does not come out to his family.

The sub-plot with Tin and Can is intriguing, although the actors don't have great chemistry together, I still want them to get their HEA. However, it's left as a cliffhanger that's picked up in Love by Chance 2. AKA A Chance at Love this spin off focuses on Can/Tin as the primary couple, but rewrites and retells their narrative as if their original sub-plot didn't exist. Meanwhile the other sub plots continue, including Ae/Pete breaking up(!). I found this second installment very uneven.

Incidentally, Saint, who portrays Pete, goes on to portray a different character in the same universe, Tutor in Why R U. Just to confuse matters.

Bonus points for depiction of researching how to have gay sex properly and lube use. (The ONLY example I've yet encountered.)

11. TharnType

TharnType: The Series

Technically speaking, in world chronology, this series comes a few years beforeLove by Chance, withTharnType Special occurring at the same time/afterWhy R U.

• Online:TharnType: The Series – 12 eps (ripped only)
  • Why R U: Episode 2 part 1 – (ripped only)
  • TharnType Special (ripped only)
  • TharnType 2:7 Years Of Love (ripped only)
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2019 (in world 2015, 2018 & 2020)
• Sexual Content: Kissing, blow job, basically full on sex without being actually porn
• Hashtags: #TharnType #TharnTypetheseries

Tropes:

• Homophobe who's closeted
• Enemies to lovers
• Care and protection
• Bad boy uke/caring sensitive out seme
• Grumpy uke/sunshine seme

Concerns & Triggers

• Verbal gay bashing with little redemption
• Possessive behavior, including violence and sexual claiming
• Uncorrected conflation of gay with pedophile
• Aggressive dub-con touching and more
• Bargaining for sex, trading favors for sex
• Childhood abduction and abuse described and somewhat depicted
• Non-con molestation when drunk

Summary + Thoughts

Ooof, where to start with this one?

So Type (Gulf Kanawut) is a tough, hot tempered, immature jock, with some serious emotional control issues. He's also a raving homophobe who is openly verbally abusive towards gay men. This all stems from being kidnapped and abused as a kid.

(The narrative makes no effort to separate being a pedophile from being a gay man, which is just one of its many issues.)

Freshman year he's assigned this crazy-hot roommate, Tharn (Mew Suppasit), and guess what? Tharn is openly gay.

Let the fireworks commence.

So there is a lot of fighting and abuse hurled and punching/kicking each other. It's pretty clear that Tharn has it bad for Type from the start, despite his jerk ways. Why, tho? Just because Type is super hot, I guess. (Although I would like to point out that neither is in the Faculty of Engineering, or all their problems might be solved.)

Tharn is clearly going to get Type ass-up if it's the last thing he does. Oh and I mean ass-up. Don't think Tharn is the good guy here. Pretty much by the end of the first episode he is leaving hickeys on Type's inebriated homophobic ass (not literally) and arranging things so Type thinks he's been f**ked while black-out drunk. Because that's hilarious. Yet Tharn is praised by Techno (later to be drunk raped himself in Love By Chance) for not actually taking advantage of Type – because Tharn is such a gentleman.

Seriously?

Tharn starts aggressively teasing Type because he thinks they've got that kind of relationship going. Type starts pranking him back, if not sexually responding, until one day Tharn pounces and starts making out with Type. Tharn obviously expects Type to either succumb or just kick his ass. Instead, Type breaks down and regresses, then starts having nightmares.

Remorseful, Tharn realizes Type is dealing with serious trauma and switches tactics to becoming relentlessly gentle and nice, secretly caring for Type through illness, feeding him, that sort of thing.

Then, suddenly, Tharn basically forces a blow job on Type. FYI, BJs in yaoi are payment/penance submissive acts performed by the seme in order to woo the uke. They have a ton of subtext and are almost never depicted in BL dramas, so this scene is super significant in many ways, but still… consent is REAL sketchy here.

After that, Tarn presses Type to explain why he hates gay men when he clearly likes both Tharn and the BJ.

Type confesses what happened to him as a child in detail. Tharn backs off but falls utterly in love with Type and continues to dole out affection and friendship and flirting.

And then, suddenly, whoa boy, Type is like:

"Tharn, let's have sex."

It's weird.

So then they start (still arguing, and Type still being a homophobe) sleeping with each other on the regular as fuck buddies. It's hot and yeah, Tharn is an unequivocal top, (with one possible exception later on), but still…

What. The actual. F#$k?

So Tharn ruins Type for girls. Type tries to have a "normal" relationship with a chick, but can't get it up, so comes crawling back to Tharn. Because apparently Tharn is so good in the sack that Type falls in love with him.

They become covert boyfriends.

Everything is lovey dovey until wham bang there's some contrived reason why Type has to break up with Tharn and pretty much destroy Tharn's heart. Turns out Tharn's psycho bandmate stalker Lhong keeps ruining Tharn's relationships. Type can't come up with a better plan to expose him.

Type's plan works. Lhong is outed as insane. Type and Tharn are finally officially together. Slowly more and more people learn they're boyfriends. They totally adore each other.

And… the end!

In TharnType Special we get a series of reflective HEA on three years of a relationship.

The couple also has one really sweet appearances in Why R U episode 2 as they've kinda become the model gay couple for the whole campus.

I'M CONFUSED TOO.

TharnType 2 picks up 7 years later with them both working and still mostly closeted. Tharn wants to marry Type and the drama begins again.

Sub-plot: Tar/Tum

This installment covers the fact that Tar (Tharn's sweet uke ex-boyfriend) was set up to be gang raped by Tharn's stalker, Lhong. Tar then dumped Tharn because Tar was too messed up to deal. He refused to tell Tharn why or what happened. Also he's somehow still being manipulated by Lhong. Tar had a mental breakdown and his brother is overprotective and blames Tharn (but doesn't know what really happened).

Tar flees to France at the end of this series after confessing all to Type. Type and he form a friendship because Type understands rape/abuse first hand. In Love By Chance this thread picks up with different actors.

Sub-plot: Techno/Kla

We see the beginning of Kla stalking Techno. It's not as skeezy as in Love By Chance, as nothing happens. The same actor plays Kla, different actors play Techno.

TharnType Special has a look in on Tin (all HEA over Can, so we know that worked out okay) and a visit from Pete (but no Ae).

Some More Thoughts

Look, I know, right.

Didn't I say there were tons of problems with this one? Not the least of which is the plot. (What plot?)

Here's the thing, the chemistry between the leads is insane. The way the look at and touch each other is flipping genius. There is a reason the internet basically went crazy over them and will not believe the actors aren't actually dating in real life. (It helps that the actors, Mew and Gulf, are pretty happy to play along. They know which side their bread is buttered on… in this case, both. In fact, there is no bread, it's ALL butter.)

Look. Okay. It's just… They are profoundly hot on screen together.

Tharn clearly just adores Type so much and Type is such a little shit to him, and then such a big ol' ball of angsty loving shit to him, and on screen they are SO GOOD together.

Also Type is not even remotely submissive, in fact I would hesitate to say this has a uke/seme dynamic at all, more of just a plain old top/bottom. In that regard, it makes this whole series feel more modern.

Type's love confession is fantastic. I mean, it's genius from a writer perspective.

So, bah. You've been warned, but, yeah CHEMISTRY WORKS.

Sigh.

Bonus points for a uke who is, eventually, really into sex and bottoming. Oh and condoms. Again, gag gift, but still… implied regular condom use, so thumbs (er) up for that!

Extra bonus points for breaking the internet and making modeling history: Mew and Gulf appeared in the February 2020 issue of Harper's Bazaar Thailand, the first BL couple to do so in the history of the magazine. The number of BL fans trying to read the article caused Harper's website to crash. Since then multiple BL actors have appeared in Thai modeling campaigns, on billboards, in TV commercials, and in print.

12. Why R U

Why R U

Technically, in world chronology, this followsLove By Chance 2.

• Online:Why R U – YouTube 12 eps (ripped only)
  • SaifahZon Story – 3 episode follow up
• Country: Thailand
• Setting: College 2020
• Sexual Content: Kissing, topless fooling around, groping, basically full on sex without being actual porn
• Hashtags: #WhyRUtehseries #FighterTutor #zaintsee

Tropes:

• Instalove
• Discovering identity
• In world shipping
• Enemies to lovers
• Hot then cold, pining
• Coming out

Concerns & Triggers

• Aggressive consensual flirting
• Cheating (with/on girls)
• Very bad singing
• Gaslighting
• Homophobic father
• This is actually the least egregious in terms of triggers set in the TharnType universe, but unfortunately its also the most cheesy awkward, which is why it's last on the list

Summary

Zon (Tommy Sittichok) learns about BL and the fact that his sister Zol is basically shipping everyone on his campus and writing about it. Suddenly, he starts seeing gay relationships everywhere and gets freaked out that he might want one, and maybe has a crush on musician Saifah (Jummy Karn). Or is Zol just writing this into existence?

Meanwhile, second year Tutor (Saint Suppapong who also plays Pete in Love By Chance) and third year Fighter (Zee Pruk Panich) have serious angst and chemistry and history. Everyone kinda knows they should be together but for some reason Fighter is super hot/cold and resistant to the idea and Tutor is sick of his bullsh**.

Fighter has had a crush on Tutor since Tutor was a freshman but he hazed and teased him instead of actually doing anything about it. Possibly he's a closet case and resents Tutor for making him want, or maybe he's just bad at flirting. Fighter has a homophobic dad and other issues (like being apparently unable to button up his shirts), plus, you know, a girlfriend (beard?).

Fighter's near constant GAY PANIC every time Tutor gets close is, pretty much, hilarious. And Tutor is a real pushy uke. I get the feeling Fighter's unequivocal hots for Tutor is actually considered a flaw in their ability to have a romantic relationship.

The separation near the end is very contrived but eventually they work it all out, through lots of sex, and hooray, HEA.

Oh, and are they in the Faculty of Engineering? Sure are.

Some Thoughts

The Zon/Saifah plot is weak, awkward, and occupies too much screen time at the beginning and almost none at the end.

Seme with a bossy uke be like: Wait, what have I gotten myself into?

However the Tutor/Fighter story is hot if utterly confusing and the actors have great chemistry.

Frankly anytime Saint (the actor who plays both Tutor and Pete) gets all heavy lidded and seductive you know someone is going down – probably the nearest toppy boy.

He's actually such a different personality as Tutor that I had to look it up to make sure it wasn't different lookalike actor siblings or something. So yeah, ACTING!

Storywise I like an aggressive uke with agency and secretly suffering meets confused emotional seme. (I just wish I had  a better handle on WHY Fighter is suffering so.) However, the plot is incomprehensible.

Why is Fighter such a jerk? Why is Tutor so mean to him at the break up? What did Fighter's dad hope to accomplish? Is Fighter actually just totally gay and everyone knows it?

Nevertheless, it's still sexy and it has a toothsomely sweet ending with an implication that Fighter actually lets Tutor top him… ooo how shockingly gay of him! Verse in the BL verse, who knew that could happen?

Bonus points for a falling in love musical montage '80s rom-com style, condom use, consent (!), and a demanding uke who is as into sex as the seme. These two get the most fan made music videos, and with good reason.

13. Make it Right

Make It Right Seasons 1 & 2

This may or may not exactly fit into the TharnType universe but it does have one set of cross over characters, and for that reason alone I'm sticking it here on the list. This can be considered this universe's answer to Love Sick. It's not as good, but covers similar ground.

• Online: Make It Right – YouTube Season 1 12 eps, Season 2 14 eps (ripped only)
  • Why R You (character check in) – ep 2 part 2 (ripped only)
  • Make it Live on the Beach (follow up mini series) – YouTube 5 eps (ripped only)
• Country: Thailand 2016-2017, 2019
• Setting: High school
• Sexual Content: Just a little kissing for the main couple, topless simulated sex for others
• Hashtags: #TeeFuse #makeitright

Tropes:

• Friends to lovers
• Secret romance
• Solid surrounding friendship group

Concerns & Triggers

• Parental neglect
• Characters are minors and look it
• Very messy plot
• Cheating (with/on girls and with/on guys and more)
• Sexual blackmail
• Self harm attempted suiside (pills)
• All the consent issues

Summary & Thoughts

Make It Right follows two boys, Tee and Fuse, and their extended (increasingly) queer friendship group and multiple relationships. Tee and Fuse are semi-friends who fall drunkenly into bed together in episode 1. There is some attempt at consent, but Fuse is drunk and Tee should know better. Fuse has a girlfriend and is not pleased with the resulting situation. Tee is the type of seme who feels responsible and emotionally attached after "dirtying" his uke, and when Fuse lashes out at him, ALSO feels really guilty about drunk fucking him without established consent (thank you!). This is the only one on my list that specifically addresses dub-con due to alcohol, and Tee spends most of the first series guilt ridden about it.

Fuse is basically a really easygoing cheerful dude. He's also an idiot, who, it turns out, can't resist Tee and basically strings Tee along (for sex) while deciding whether to break up with his (plutonic) girlfriend… for about 20 episodes. Tee just lets Fuse walk all over him (sigh).

So far as queer representation goes, Fuse is touted as gay for you, but Tee clearly really likes boys. But, there are a ton of sub-plot characters who identify as gay or bi, some of them are out, and one of them is femme. It's kind of nice to see that get some rep in BL.

Tee and Fuse have the best chemistry of any of the couples, and the least sexitimes, they barely kiss (it's kinda weird and might be 'cause the actors are minors) but some of the other pairings are cute (like Frame and Book) ~ if you can get over all the triggers and other issues.

The Tee and Fuse check in we get in Why R U is lovely. It's nice to know they stayed together and went to college still a couple.

Bonus for condom use made sexy in Season 2 with Frame and Book, and for Frame (at least) acknowledging he likes all genders (even if the lens shows this as slutty).

Others of Note

I'm pretty sure these push too far into the extremes for my readers to enjoy, or the quality is just too poor, or they don't have great endings. I'm listing them for the sake of record keeping and because they carry weight in the BL community.

Love Sick

Love Sick AKA Lovesick The Series Seasons 1 & 2

This might be thought of as the BL drama that started Thai BL. It was the success of this series in Thailand that convinced Thai production companies to film more BL series and monetize them on YouTube. The hand holding bookstore incident is iconic.

It's an afterthought on this list mostly because it's just SO LONG and the video/captioning quality is so bad. But I really like it.

• Online: YouTube Season 1 12 eps (or go for the 5 hr BL cut), Season 2 36 eps! (ripped only)
• Country: Thailand 2014-2015
• Setting: High school
• Sexual Content: Just a little kissing
• Hashtags: #PhunNoh #lovesicktheseries

Tropes:

• Friends to lovers
• Fake boyfriend
• Secret romance
• Solid surrounding friendship group

Concerns & Triggers

• In world shipping (light)
• Characters are minors and Noh looks it
• Very slow moving
• Public singing for love
• Cheating (with/on girls)
• Later episodes in season 2 are badly captioned to the point of incomprehension

Summary & Thoughts

Love Sick follows two boys, Phun and Noh, and their extended high school friendship groups and many relationships. Phun, the rich son of a politician, is a model student with a girlfriend and can't quite figure out why he's suddenly obsessed with Noh. Noh is a goofy, easygoing, sweetheart, easily influenced by his friends, and a total gentleman. The two boys fall unexpectedly and deeply in love with each other.

This is touted as gay for you, but it's actually a pretty decent representation of bisexual discovery, identity crisis, and sexual awakening.

Neither of them handle their burgeoning romance well. Both of them are already dating girls. So there is cheating, rejection, tons of confusion, and pining.

"It's a terrible feeling not knowing where the line is between us."
~ Noh to Puhn in Love Sick 2

There is nothing more than kissing (implied fooling around), and even that takes forever. But the leads have good chemistry and their friends are, on occasion, laugh out loud funny. This one is probably more realistic and less idealized than lots of other BL dramas on this list. It is way less tropey and lacking in camp. Also quite well acted.

The first installment features multiple couples (soap opera style) with Phun and Noh as the main plot, with het side -plots.

The second season drops most of the het stuff and picks up some BL side-plots for Noh's friends. It's very slow moving, messy, but has a somewhat happy ending. The captioning use of gendered pronouns and terms, makes it impossible to know whether Phun actually comes out to his father or not, and that's a critical plot point in the final episode.

Note:

After rewatching Phun's coming out scene a few times, and knowing a little more about Thai pronouns I'm reasonably sure the entire thing is actually gender neutral. So when you watch try mentally substituting they/them for all she/he/her/him. Also substitute lover/partner for boyfriend/girlfriend (we are in faen territory again) and the whole thing will make more sense.

Both Phun and his dad are alluding to the fact that Phun is dating Noh without actually specifying it. Thai pronouns allow for this because they speak in third person singular gender neutral (in English we would say singular they/them).

In Thai, self-gendering is obligatory (the word "I" has gender attached to it and changes depending on the speaker). So the 7+ ways to say "I" in Thai are all translated as "I" in English. But there's an opposite comprehension issue with he/she translations. While third person can be gendered, he/she Thai pronouns are most likely to be gender neutral.

Note the highlighted Thai words above for he/she are mostly exactly the same? Regardless of whether the person being talked about is male or female?

The Reminders series has a check in with Phun and Noh as seniors in college. And while it's fun to see Noh with hair, the couple isn't treated well by the narrative and it left me ultimately disappointed. If you just wanna see what the two actors look like grown up, watch this music video instead.

Frankly, Love Sick would probably be much higher on my list were is not so long, the video so crappy, and the captioning so challenging.

Bonus points very little uke/seme dynamic and no consent issues.

Addicted

Addicted web series – Heroin

• Online: YouTube 15 ep + deleted scenes (ripped only) & Viki uncut version has better subtitles
• Country: China (I know, right?) 2016
• Setting: High School
• Sexual Content: Heavy petting, rough kissing, one very hot fade to black sex scene

Tropes:

• Enemies to lovers
• Bad boys
• Poor little rich kid
• Class struggles
• Taboo relationship (both gay and step-brothers)

Concerns & Triggers

• Ambiguous ending
• Main characters physically fight, haze, and bully each other at the start
• Kidnapping for love
• Cheating (with/on girls)
• One is poor the other rich and this is, somewhat, played for laughs
• Divorce paints mother as a whore
• Characters are minors, actors are clearly NOT
• There is tons of subtext in terms of gay = perverted & unnatural
• All initial sexual encounters are rough/rapey/demanding, however the one actual sex scene is not and is incited by the uke (but is probably what got this show banned)

Summary & Thoughts

Probably the best known and acted Chinese BL. Don't worry, there is no drug use in this series (I was scared too) the subtitle "heroin" comes from the way the seme becomes addicted to the uke, plus a combination of their character names.

Bai Luo Yin (Xu Weizhou) lives in a poor part of town with his careless but loving father. When he's 16, his estranged mother remarries a rich high-ranking military official. Meanwhile, Gu Hai (Huang Jingyu) has always hated his father and resents his new step-mother.

The step-brothers are unexpectedly placed in the same class in high school, without knowing each other's background or their connection.

At first they hate each other, but Gu Hai realizes all his angst and physical violence and emotional feelings towards Bai Luo Yin are actually obsessive love (hello, classic seme). Then he decides to pretend to be poor, move in next door, and pursues Bai Luo Yin. (Oh, and Gu Hai has a girlfriend. Also, master of the pining sigh.)

Three episodes before the season finale (right when they stop fighting and start living together), this drama was removed from all Chinese streaming sites by order of SAPPRFT. This series is now inaccessible to Chinese viewers. Rumor is that China has banned the two actors from appearing on screen together (possibly because they have excellent chemistry).

The cut sex scene from the final episode 15 is available as a deleted scene on YouTube or as part of the final episode on Viki. I suggest stopping after watching that as the defacto ending.

If you, like me, become obsessed with candied hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida) AKA Bing Tanghulu as a result of seeing this show, it apparently tastes like a crabapple coated in red colored candied caramel, here's a recipe.

Bonus points for the music in that sex scene, which is KILLER and perfectly chosen. Oh and for the fact that Xu Weizhou looks a bit like this generation's Jonathan Rhys Meyers, because come on, who doesn't want that?

Seven Days

Seven Days

Japan started the BL movement. They did so with live action yaoi manga adaptations in early 2010-2015. Filming style, dialogue, plot all came directly from yaoi as they basically used popular manga for story boards (they still do this today, see Love Stage.) Thailand, responsible for the second wave of BL and what we think of as the genre today, does come from yaoi and we can still spot yaoi it in the narratives, but is stylistically very different. If you want something that bridges the gap, Seven Days will do it. New Japanese entry, Cherry Magic is more modern BL and Restart After Come Back home possibly the most classy BL movie but Seven Days occupies a place in my heart that cannot be shaken. It's pure delight.

• Online: Youtube 2 ep (ripped & fan subbed only) Seven Days: Monday – Thursday & Seven Days: Friday – Sunday
• Country: Japan 2015
• Setting: High school
• Sexual Content: Kissing

Tropes:

• Secret relationship
• Friends to lovers
• Game of love

Concerns & Triggers

• None that I can think of, the hair is kinda weird but that's typical of Japanese live action manga

Summary & Thoughts

Super popular freshman Seiryo will go out with the first girl who asks him starting every Monday. But he always breaks up with them before the week ends. He has the reputation for being a great boyfriend though, for that ONE week. On impulse, third year Yuzuru decides to see if that policy also applies to boys, so he asks Seiryo out. Surprised, Seriyo nevertheless agrees and, like he always does, tries his best to fall in love.

Yuzuru is sweet-faced and beautiful, but his personality is the opposite. He's honest to the point of insulting, changeable and moody, and has the tendency to alienate people. His girlfriends have always dumped him because once they get to know him, they don't like him anymore. Seiryo, however, adores Yuzuru's bluntness. He always knows where he stands with him, and he likes being ordered about. He makes this fact clear to Yuzuru, who starts to fall in love with Seiryo because of the joy of being liked for who he really is.

Meanwhile, Seiryo thinks it's all just a game to Yuzuru, but he's falling in love too. Despite the fact that both want it to last more than a week, they're afraid to break the magic between them by asking for more. Generally, I don't like a story driven by miscommunication but this one is honestly wrought, since they are both young and nervous and playing a one week game that, in the end, neither wants to play. The ending is lovely and it's probably my favorite early BLs.

Others Talked About

This is by no means a comprehensive list (and I stopped updating in 2020). In many cases I simply skipped to the final episode to see what the end was like (and then didn't watch because SAD). Or I read the comments and knew I would not enjoy the drama. In other cases, I don't have platform access or the video has no eng sub.

The ones I've  listed here are ones I enjoyed or at least thought were okay.

• Amore (YouTube) – Philippines, messy house of gays boys, everyone loves Joey. DNF
• As If You Whisper (Vimeo) – Korea, musicians fall in love which impacts their chances of fame
• Bangkok Love Stories (Netflix) – Thailand, mixed couples soap series including 1 BL thread that is decent and has an HEA
• Cherry Magic – Japan, it's SO GOOD
• Color Rush – Korea, one of the best BL's ever made, certainly the best out of Korea. Just WONDERFUL.
• Counterattack Web Series AKA Falling in Love with a Rival (YouTube) – Taiwan?, very bad captioning
• Gameboys web series (YouTube) – Philippines wonderful little series of two boys falling in love online in the time of Covid.
• Gen Y the series – Thailand, hot mess with soem good threads and fun parody, but certainly not beginner level BL.

LOVED IT:

He's Coming To Me (finally on YouTube GMMTV offical!) – Thailand, PNR of a boy (Thun) who falls in love with a ghost (Mes). It's actually really good and features the actors who play Kong in SOTUS and Frame in Make it Right. They are great and both boys identify as gay in the narrative. There is even a good honest coming out sequence for Thun. The plot is also excellent, a favorite of mine.

• Hey Rival, I LOVE YOU! (YouTube) – Vietnam, two boys courting the same girl discover she'd two timing them, plan to get revenge, fall in love with each other instead.
• History1: Obsessed (Viki) – Taiwan, uke dies tragically for love and then gets a chance to do it all over again
• History3: Make Our Days Count (Viki 10 eps) – Taiwan, good but VERY SAD

LIKED IT:

History 3: Trapped (Viki 10 eps probably) – Taiwan, ambiguous ending, but if you just don't watch the very last scene, this is actually good. That said, it is also not BL, it's gay romance. I have it on the list because it's classified as BL online, but this has none of the hall markers of a true BL drama.

• • It's not boys, it's fully grown men.
  • There is little to no seme/uke dynamic.
  • It's not set at a school.
  • It has none of the tropes, archetypes, or triggers of others on this list.

It's just a decent gay romance mixed with mystery and action. I recommend it. It's about a police investigator trying to solve a cold case who falls in love with his only witness, who happens to run a crime syndicate. Tropes include: enemies to lovers, cop/criminal, grumpy/sunshine, cat & mouse, and bad boy with a heart of gold. Bonus: All the plaid suits you could ever want.

• I Told the Sunset About You – Thailand, more a queer coming of age romance than a BL. High quality and very well done, think Call Me By Your Name, but rough going from a queer identity perspective. It felt almost too honest, but it might possibly be a work of actual genius.
• Ingredients the series- Thailand, so flipping cute, cook falls in love with musician roommate, they part ways at the end but it's still sweet.
• Love of Siam movie (YouTube) – Thailand, ambiguous ending (early Thai BL)
• My Bromance (YouTube) – Thailand, movie and also multiple series with different actors,  second season My Bromance 2, step brothers fall in love, tragic ending (so far).
• My Day – Philippines, super cute chefs being all adorable.
• My Gear and Your Gown – uneven pacing but cute, enemies to lovers, high school to college.
• My Tee AKA 'Cause You're My Boy (Youtube 12 ep) – starts out as a fun high school take on fake boyfriend trope (also in world shipping, parental homophobia) but goes pear shaped into a sad ending (fixed in an episode of Our Skyy). It has some interesting takes on gender dynamics, condom use, and sexual communication but also contains undefined time-lapse and flashbacks which make the narrative hard to follow.
• Oxygen the Series – Thailand, sweet and soft with great communication but one poor sub-plot

EXCEPTION ALERT!

Puppy Honey 1 & 2 (YouTube) – Thailand, actually this series started as a het romance with a BL sub-plot. But Pick and Rome got so popular they kinda took it over. I recommend it because Pick and Rome as a couple are so cute. It is quite gentle and low heat. It has lots of tropes that I love, and no triggers: grumpy/sunshine, Rome (the uke) is shy and innocent but also playful and confidently gay, Pick's coming out crisis is handled well and never touted as gay for you, and they are good at communicating in each other's love languages. The two actors Off and GUn have played a couple in several series now and they are clearly good friends and comfortable with each other. (The Papii thing kills me.)

• Roommate the series (YouTube) – Thailand, short 5 episodes (15-20 min each) plotless but sweet drama of roommates falling in love. Could have been great with some character dev but… got Covidized, maybe?
• Theory of Love (YouTube) – series in which film students pine a lot, happy ending, same actors as Puppy Honey
• Tonhon Chonlatee (YouTube) – Thailand) childhood friends reunite and fall in love, this is Thai BL trying to be woke, it's only somewhat successful but the cast is GREAT.
• Together With Me, Together With Me The Next Chapter & Bad Romance (YouTube 13 eps each) – Thailand, the infamous (in BL circles) Korn and Knock romantic thread which goes bonkers in plot ways that seems to have driven fandom bananas (see #KornKnock). If you choose to enter this minefield it does, eventually end happily, but there is tons of cheating and weird personality flips and it's all rather insane, more of a soap opera than a BL. Also these dudes are ADULTS.
• To My Star – Korea, like all Korean stuff a bit short and underdeveloped but so good, actor suffering from a scandal hides out with a very grumpy chef and falls in love with him.
• The Untaimed (Netflix) – China, epic fantasy based on a BL story (yaoi?) with all the gay taken out, so it's just a sad bromance, ugh, it could have been SO GOOD
• Water Boyy (YouTube) – Thailand, movie and series with different actors, swim team friendship turns to love, sub-plot of student/teacher with creepy huge age difference, ambiguous end
• We Best Love – Taiwan, SO GOOD.
• Where Your Eyes Linger – Korea, bodyguard mafia, it's fine
• Wish You (Netflix, as a movie, was a series) – Korea, two musicians meet and fall in love while trying to break into the industry (features k-pop idol Song of Imfact). A bit instalove but terribly sweet.
• You Are Ma Boy (YouTube) – Vietnam, pop star falls in love with a barrista, fame causes issues.
• YYY the series and YYY2 – Thailand, extremely campy sitcom, with ambiguous ending fixed with an EXTEMELY weird follow up covid project.

AFTERWARD

You'll note that my personal preferences do not include Korean or Vietnamese BL? I've seen some of these but in many cases I'm not wild about the story telling style and a lot of them have intentionally ambiguous/sad endings.

There are a few other out of the Philippines that I'm going to give a try. But I'm kind of stuck on anything filmed in Thailand right now, because I am fascinated with the language. It's my favorite new thing to study.

Reminder

Unless attached to a longer series, I did not include movies or short films on my list. Also, I did not tackle anything for which BL was not a main plot or did not have, at least, the spark of a happy ending.

So if you're a BL fan and you notice that some big titles are missing, that's probably why.

Top Picks

1. Best chemistry? TharnType
2. Most palatable & underrated? He's Coming To Me & Seven Days
3. Favorite plot & cast? Until We Meet Again
4. Best character development? Arthrit (SOTUS series)
5. Not BL but still great? Poly suspense adventure 3 Will Be Free& Gay Romantic Suspense drama series Manner of Death
6. Best concept and allegory for the queer experience? Color Rush
7. Favorite Taiwanese BL? We Best Love
8. Favorite Pinoy BL? My Day
9. Favorite Korean BL? To My Star
10. Favorite Vietnamese BL? You Are Ma Boy

Okay, I'm done now.

Happy watching,

Miss Gail

Tags: Gail Carriger Recommends, Video

Yaoi Where Boyfriend Comes Back and Forces Uke

Source: https://gailcarriger.com/2020/07/12/bl-dramas-discussed-analyzed-from-a-romance-writer-perspective-aka-y-drama-yaoi-drama/

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