I'm tired of bl shows getting the formula for chemistry wrong.
Chemistry is not long pauses and stares. Even if the eyes are soft in-between those long stares, it's literally just stagnant if there's no build up in characterization.
Merely shoving long eye contacts with soft music doesn't do the magic. At least, not for me. I can't call names but there are lot of BLs that just stuck to this format and people ate it up, calling it chemistry.
Where's the ride or die energy? Where's the clash of interests and harmonization?
Where's the tension? And the micro-expressions that capture and resonate with those tense cues? Masking the lack of a proper emotional buildup with the tag "slowburn romance" is not the way to go. There's just nothing to work with here.
Body language... Something as simple as leg positions and the triangle effect. The slight crinkle under the eyes when they smile...the complete change of expression that'll make you know there's a difference when this character is in love.
I eat bromance up because the yearning is unmatched, and it kinda gets me angry because there's a whole genre meant to be for something more intense yet all that's in the media is ship selling and parasocial entertainment.
It's sad because while I can name a few interesting BLs, they easily can't hold a candle to my least favorite bromance series. I've seen more angst in The Devil Judge and Beyond Evil and more emotional buildup in Tail of the Nine Tailed: 1938 than I've seen in any bl show.
My annoyance now is that I want something intense and chemistry-packed and there's nothing to watch. China is withholding their good ones and other agencies are just queer baiting in their straight shows.
I'm so tired.
