BLs with the most interesting & unique premises
I like me some pretty standard romance trope foundations. We Best Love is one of my favorite BLs, and there is absolutely nothing unique about the story. But there are a few BLs out there that really do have something DIFFERENT going on with their narrative. Not just different as BLs but also different as romances. So much so that I would pull them out of the BL universe, and put them up against the best romance dramas and romcoms on the basis of concept. And I don’t say that about BL often.
For a reader of genre fiction the premise of this world is a very in your face allegory, but in BL we NEVER get this kind of thing. Magical realism isn’t completely absent from the BL cannon, but this type, were it’s a blatant representation of the homophobia experienced in a hostile society is really fascinating and rare. Especially as we get to watch Korea dance around its own social norms so dexterously. I’m reminded of Star Trek’s “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” (1969). Like that episode, from an outsider/future perspective, Color Rush probubly could be regarded as clumsy, but also like that episode it’s important in context: for what is says about the time it was made and the culture it’s sitting inside. Both shows got to be brave BECAUSE of their SFF elements. As a long time geek about high concept genre narratives tackling subversive materials in interesting ways, I am HERE for Color Rush and will never not support it.
First Love Again - I just love the gay twist on the tired reincarnation trope, it’s a clever new way to get at bisexual awakening and identity crisis, it was just that the shortness of this series didn’t allow for it to be adequately developed and Korean social norms didn’t allow it to to be full explored and focused on. Review here.
Love Class - a university class focused on relationships is an interesting twist on fake dating and forced proximity tropes, but ultimately I found that aspect the least successful thing about this show (it probubly would have been better as a longer treatment with more time spent in the classroom and on the assignments). Review here.
Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding - Korea is famously fond of a crossdressing historical, this was our first man crossdresses as a woman version and one of the first blatantly BL historicals. I really enjoyed its almost fairy tale execution. More are coming, so it’s about to be rendered mundane in retrospect, but at the time it came out it was revolutionary. Review here.
In general, Korea really enjoys high concept romance with a strong POV that’s sometimes considered a bit in your face (on messaging) by mainstream western audiences (but which is very successful when applied to genre, see Squid Games or Uncanny Counter). So I expect to see more and more from them in their BL too. Fingers crossed.
Fated mates (or soulmates) and reincarnation aren’t unusual. in fact they’re particularly popular as they activate both long term pining and reunion romance narrative foundations. (Not to mention being the ultimate version of “the only one for me.”) However, the way UWMA handles the red thread trope, and the cleverness of its interweaving past/present story structure is entirely unique and vitally gay, not just in BL but in fiction. I’ve never read anything as tidy and well executed. It’s a genuinely awe inspiring narrative structure.
Cutie Pie - this one is noted for taking the SUPER classic romance trope, arranged marriage, and doing a BL based on it. Is that absurd? Yes. Also turning ARRANGED marriage (by its nature disallowing choice) into a propaganda piece for marriage equality (all about choice) was very much an “oh, Thailand” moment. But hey, it’s utterly unique as a BL, and likely to remain so. Review here.
Ingredients - look it’s a weird long form advertisement Gold Blend couple style only gay, in lockdown, and hella domestic. Yet we loved it. But as a premise, pretty fucking unique. As a narrative? No there isn’t one really, but do we care? Nope. Review here.
Love Sick - it is unique for its time and IMHO the world’s first gay YA soap opera. Sure we got gay soaps (Queer As Folk, L Word) but not set in high school. Certainly more are happening now with Heartstopper etc.. but Love Sick happened in 2014. Never forget, never surrender. Everyone should watch this show. It’s messy as all get up, but it holds up, and it’s a great example of emotional chemistry. We unquestionably watch these two boys fall deeply in love and then have to deal with the fallout.
Lovely Writer - the first BL that stuck to its guns as a BL and still decided to take the BL industry and fandom to task, there were others coming out around the same time (Call it What You Want) and since then a few have been doing this in more subversive ways (Not Me, Bad Buddy, Secret Crush On You) but Lovely Writer was the first super successful attempt. Review here.
Like with Cutie Pie, Thailand has done a lot of classic romance tropes first in BL: the reaper lover (Dear Doctor), lots of body swap (Great Men), kink (DSN), time loop (Triage), it’s just these tropes are ubiquitous to romance in general and I’ve kind of always expected them to transition to BL. You see, they often work better with a bit of queer coloring them up for range. Arranged marriage, on the other hand (outside of a historical cross dressing sitch, which probubly wouldn’t work for Thailand given their period clothing options), none of us really expected this one. Honestly it’s why many of us are patently waiting for Thailand to give us the gay Boys Over Flowers. Making popular Asian romance tropes gay is what they do best.
Speaking of clever. The premise on this (what amounts to a very simple) contemporary YA romance, is so perfectly tight and unusual that there’s an “idea theft” scandal around it. (An author wrote an English language book that is clearly derivative. Before we get into it, you can’t copyright ideas, and if you see the tropes tracked in this blog I hope you can see why. There are no new ideas, there are only twists on old ones.) Review here.
Cherry Magic AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii - another magical realism take, like Color Rush, but without the allegory. Still it’s utterly charming and unusual, although of a style we see in manga and het Japanese romcoms a lot.
Silhouette of Your Voice AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru - probubly one of the first BLs to tackle disability, ultimately (I feel like) the source material (manga series starting with I Hear the Sunspot) is successful but this adaptation is not. It’s sad because the cast is great and the premise solid, it just didn’t push itself enough.
Japan doesn’t really like high concept so much as they love exploring the boundaries of romantic subversion, kink (particularly fetishes), and just plain weirdness. Trying to describe Japan’s relationship to the romance genre (especially romcoms) to someone unfamiliar with their oeuvre is exhausting. I usually point people at the popularity of Kimi Wa Petto and back away slowly. I recently watched Ase to Sekken and the degree to which I enjoyed it I think says more about my willingness to swim through the mires of Japan’s quirks than it did about the success of the show. Which is a long way of me saying, I’m not sure how good I am at judging Japanese stuff anymore, since I seem to be firmly stuck in the weeds. But I can confidently say that even with BL, Japan is more likely than not going to push your expectations and limits of what romance actually even means. The best example of this in BL form is Utsukushii Kare. If you watch that, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
This is a BL that tackles subject matter that usually makes said BL fall out of BL-dom by becoming too queer and realistic (and often depressing). The fact that DNA brought it around and made it end happily (and made it very BL) is part of it’s uniqueness. Because it’s a twist, I can’t really talk directly about it but trust me, it’s pretty darn unique in the arena of BL. And you’re safe, it is a BL with a very happy ending.
Now, there are a few queer dramas out of Japan and the west that tackle this particular subject matter more directly. But I don’t want to spoil anyone by naming them, because they are all known for what they rep. If you want recs I can put some in the comments.
Innocent - short but VERY unusual take on romance in, around, and (in certain ways) WITH an extreme neurological disorder, and yes it’s happy in its way (and more honest about mental health than usual for Taiwanese or Chinese romances) - or romance in general, for that matter (and yes I am looking at you, The Tuxedo)
Papa & Daddy - less a BL than a slice of gay life, I’m mentioning it because it’s so different and so very queer - the narrative, however, is still pretty pat
Taiwan actually has the social capacity to push this more than any other country, but they don’t have the funds or the industry. I’d LOVE to see them put a love rivals to lovers tope on screen, for example. Speaking of which…
Two boys (jock & nerd) learn that they are both dating the same girl. At first they hate each other, but then they decide to get together and take revenge. In the process they fall in love with each other instead. This is a classic love rivals to lovers story, which by its nature MUST be queer. It’s my favorite trope of all time and it’s so rare to find in use. (Waves and Jack & Koh in Gen Y 2). To my knowledge this short is the first time it’s been put on screen ever, maybe.
My Lascivious Boss - it’s fake identity, but the queerest take ever. Look we have gotten some falling in love with a cross dressing “boy,” but I wouldn’t call it ubiquitous. And mostly they deal with a trans identity. This one is about drag, and falling in love with a drag persona. In that regard, i think this is a first, certainly the first pure romance based on this premise, and unquestionable the first BL. Review here.
Honestly, Vietnamese BL has a lot of unique qualities married to premise, it’s one of its charms (in addition to their ultra high domesticity). It’s just that there is so little VBL, it’s hard to make firm judgement calls on taste and trends.
This is notable for being not just the first lockdown romance we got in BL but one of the first lockdown romances the world got at all (on screen). Certainly plenty were written. But a combination of speedy production and engaging cast made this (originally intended as a fun webs series) get picked up for wide distribution pretty much instantly. Not everyone wanted to experience love in lockdown, many viewers who might have watched didn’t because they wanted escape from reality. But plenty of others wanted to watch the possibility of love in lockdown. They wanted the see two adorable boys find love virtually in our times, and then end happily, so they had hope for themselves. And this show did THAT perfectly and with such an honest queerness it found a home in people’s hearts all over the world, well beyond BL fandom.
Also from the Philippines?
Rainbow Prince - the first high production Disney-style BL. There have certainly been gay musicals before (see Were the World Mine) but this one set out to be very BL about it. Was it successful? That depends on your tolerance for such cartoony things. Mine is low, and i don’t love musical theater or singing feelings, so for me they didn’t manage to limbo under it.
Like Taiwan, the Philippines has the capacity for greatness in regards to unique premise and story but not the capital. I’m hoping Rainbow Prince was successful enough to give us more, but I’m afraid it was not and might be taken as a bellwether for them to retreat to less experimental safer (cheaper) arenas of BL.
Sirs Not Appearing on The Above List
I just know someone is gonna jump into my comment thread and mention some of these. Now, I don’t entirely consider many of these BLs but as there is a case to be made. And as they are on my spreadsheet of doom and certainly tangential to the genre, they get shout outs.
Gay romantic suspense is common in the romance world, basically it’s own sub genre. But this is the first time I’ve seen it coupled to the BL market. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s successful as a show in balancing the two, neither the suspense/mystery element nor the romance elements were particularly well done by modern standards, but it’s still a REALLY fun show. The action sequences are decent, and the chemistry cannot be faulted, even though the show depends on MaxTul’s established chemistry rather than bothering to establish it itself. You read me going though the rollercoaster of figuring out this show here.
I talk a lot about why I don’t really think this is BL but, like it’s forerunner (3 Will Be Free), it is a very special and unique take on… everything. The romance is underdeveloped and secondary to the plot, but that plot is not quite strong enough to carry a show. Still, what it’s trying to do is very interesting and what it accomplishes as a queer narrative is kinda remarkable. Like Manner of Death, though, it’s lazy about establishing the romance arc, relying on OffGun’s established chemistry to make the couple pop off the screen. And they do pop. Review here.
I feel bound to mention the excellent 3 Will Be Free, which is so unique and different I really don’t think it qualifies as BL at all. It is excellent though, I highly recommend it.
Parallel fantasy world, or what amounts to urban fantasy with superhero elements and a police procedural foundation is actually not uncommon in gay romance (we’ve even got police procedural before from China as a censored bromance see S.C.I Mysteries), but I’ve never seen it on screen before in this guise. Of course it’s China so its censored. Still it’s a very interesting series. I don’t love it the way some do and, as with everything not-het out of China, be wary of the ending.
Untamed and Word of Honor probubly also should go here. I just don’t personally consider either of them that interesting or unique since I’ve seen both the setting and the romance pairing archetypes quite a few times before. Also, since they were so censored and caused such scandal within China, I don’t see them impacting the BL genre going forward, and I don’t think we’ll get more like them for a long while, if ever. They are unique because of oppression, and that makes me sad to think about.
