It’s no secret that I love a Bad Bitch/Good Dog dynamic. While some couples have this dynamic implicitly written into their relationship, others state it… a lot more explicitly. These are the ones I set out to compile. Behold.
Thee, Me and Thee
This dog waits in front of the door for you to get home and then follows you everywhere.
Mahasamut, Love Sea
Unfortunately this dog is a leg humper.
Choco, Choco Milk Shake
This is a literal dog. Not much to add.
Sean, Not Me
Ok well this dog has rabies, but he’s still a good dog to his bad bitch.
It is the expression of emotional closeness, the way to say 'I love you' without using the words. It is used to show that someone deeply cares about the other person, to let them feel protected, respected, loved and comforted.
Ball Boy Tactics
Choco Milk Shake
Fake Fact Lips
Innocent
Lover Merman
My Magic Prophecy
Perfect 10 Liners
Revenged Love
The Heart Killers
You Are Mine
Part of my favorite bl-tropes collection, in alphabetical particular order.
You're not the boss of me!!!! I do what I want!!!!!!
please don't hate me, I just couldn't choose only 3 kisses
... sorry #NotSorry
So here are my 15 favorite kisses in no particular order!
Since I couldn't add EVERY single GIF of how these kisses happened and progressed, you should all go check out the full posts these GIFs are from, so you can experience the kisses in their full glory ✨
These 1-3 GIFs really only show a fraction of how good these kisses are.
Brave Boys
Second Chance
Time of Fever
Kinnporsche the series
The Eclipse
Love in the Air
Choco Milk Shake
Secret Crush on You
Never Let Me Go
Love Class 2
Step by step
Monster Next Door
Just ignore that this is from the pilot trailer and not actually in the show.
City Boy Log
Semantic Error
I feel you linger in the air
I recommend pretty much every single of these shows so if you want to know more or just where to watch any of these, shoot me a message!
Good kisses need good chemistry so you're guaranteed that in every single one of these shows.
And finally an honorary mention: Dai and Shun from The Boyfriend, who's first kiss could have been straight out of a BL 🤯
In my quest to discover more free-to-view BL, I've been on YouTube a lot this week. I perused some independent channels and also discovered that quite a few of the production companies upload the first two episodes of some series to garner interest. The apps do that as well.
Choco Milk Shake
This is an older series from Strongberry, which produced Blossom Campus. The plot is a little absurd, but I'm still enjoying it.
Cityboy_Log
After watching some clips, I am watching the channel videos through in order. It's a BL setup as a vlog/reality series, apparently from the studio that produced Semantic Error. I'm up to episode 6.
From WeTV's channel:
Top Form episodes 1 & 2. I watched Dakaichi, so I was prepared.
Shine episodes 1 & 2. MileApo, ApoMile, never disappoint either way. Although I predict the second couple will be my fave.
I Saw You in My Dream episodes 1 & 2. Cute but kind of a snooze.
Knock Out episodes 1 & 2. Um, the shower scene? Hello? Gives me Bangkok Boy vibes; I wonder why boxing is like THE sport for Thai BL. Would like to continue this series.
Me and Who episode 1. This really surprised me. I started and dropped Monster Next Door, and the yaoi-accurate size difference with BigPark throws me off, but this was great. Really funny and the chemistry between the characters is palpable. I'll probably try to finish this at some point.
Knock Knock Boys episode 1. Eh.
From other channels on YouTube:
Dominant Yakuza and Wimpy Corporate Slave episodes 1-5. The short form dramas give you a little bit of whiplash with the pacing, but it wasn't bad.
Gu Jin Nan Qiu episode 1. I dropped this very quickly. It seems like they may be actual literal brothers? And that's too far for me.
From GagaOOLala:
Therapy Game episode 1. Never have gotten around to reading this so I want to see what happens, although the premise I find to be kind of basic.
Punks Triangle episode 1. I read the manga so I already know this will be good.
I started watching the free first episodes on iQIYI, and then I got so engrossed that I caved and renewed my subscription.
Burnout Syndrome. I just started this and I'm excited to see how it develops.
Me and Thee. You can call it a crime, but I've never seen anything that PondPhuwin or WilliamEst have been in. They must be having fun with this one. Khun Thee is a lovable idiot. I'll take Est in a suit any day.
Thundercloud Rainstorm. This is the reason I renewed my subscription. I've never seen a show with such exhilarating sexual tension. At the midway point the characters are irritating me a little bit, but their toxicity still has an electric undercurrent. It's insane for a KBL, especially one starring an idol. Also, they are technically cousins but not blood-related, so while not ideal still toeing the line.
The Wicked Game. I'm hovering right on the finale for this because I think I'll need some mental preparation. Definitely some similarities to Laws of Attraction, if Charn was just a little bit worse. I don't think I'll be able to extend redemption privileges to Pheem at this point.
Mystique in the Mirror. A must-watch. Psychological drama, pulls you into the twists even though they feel somewhat predictable. This series devastated me. I do have personal experience with the themes of the show so it hit me hard, but I recommend keeping tissues nearby.
Goddess Bless You From Death. Sucked me right into the story. Creepier than Khemjira, so avoid if you don't like horror. I really like PoohPavel together, and you've got MichaelTopten in there as well. I saw a comment on one of the episodes with someone saying, "Oh, Pooh can't act, his face is so blank but the other actors carry it" and I was like b*tch where? Are you blind? Just because he doesn't exaggerate his expression doesn't make him blank. His facial shifts are very subtle, which I think shows immense skill at a young age. I will say it did throw me off a little bit that their hair styling, down to the coloring, is so similar to Babe and Charlie. I think we can retire Pooh's mullet. But the light makeup was on point.
Clearly I have a lot to say about a few of these, so I'll be back.
I have been thinking of what kind of bl couple dynamics I enjoy the most but then Topform spelled it out for me. I like a grumpy cat and an eager golden retriever. Other couples with similar dynamics that I have liked are Sang Woo and Jae Yang in Semantic Error and Zhou Shuyi and Gao Shide in We Best Love. In some cases I like a grumpy cat and a guard dog variant like Kiyoi and Hira in My Beautiful Man. Can you please recommend me some bls with similar couple dynamics?
10 Grumpy Cat + Golden Retriever BLs
References: Top Form, Semantic Error, We Best Love
Well, right off the bat currently airing Sweetheart Service (June 2025) is EXACTLY this dynamic. It's a Strongberry shortish weekly on YouTube and you should ABSOLUTELY be watching it.
And now... the list!
1 To My Star
Possibly one of the earliest I remember tumblr getting all excited to see this dynamic in action. There is a scene at the end where our neurotic puppy is waiting for his very grumpy cat to get home, and you can see his ears perk when the door opened. Living embodiment of this trope. (It's a neurotic actor with brand issues hides out with chef with very high walls.)
Speaking of living embodiment, Strongberry also did a reencarnated pets as humans thing where one is a literal dog and the other a literal cat. But the romance isn't between them, so it doesn't really count. But if you want to see it look for Choco Milk Shake.
2 HIStory 2: Crossing the Line
I wasn't sure whether to include this and then I finally decided that yes it really does count. Look at those puppy eyes. This is a sort of sports romance foundation but it's basically puppy floppy younger boy pursues hot nerdy older one Taiwan style.
3 Bad Buddy
This was GMMTV’s flagship BL and it started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Romeo masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end.
Some of the friendship and family dynamics are overworked, but it has great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes.
Once they get to being a couple they do have puppy/cat dynamic in spades, but it takes a while to get there.
4 Takara-kun and Amagi-kun
This on is high school BL and the pursuer of the relationship is the cat character (usual take on this dynamic) but it certainly satisfies. It is a favorite of mine but it is VERY JBL.
I gnawed on my knuckles and squealed a lot with this show. Reserved cool kid must learn to communicate to keep the tiny disaster nugget he’s madly in love with. It is beyond charming: soft and gentle, packed with cuteness and high school angst, thirst, & yearning.
5 Love Tractor
Most of this country-set KBL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy (cat) and his hot young farmer (puppy 100%). Hyung romance, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed, just all my favorite tropes. This show was basically a light-weight Restart After Come Back Home and I’m not even slightly mad about that.
6 Sugar Dog Life
I dithered a bit over this one, but it think it words. The puppy is more a grown up guard dog and the cat is more a scared wet stray kitten, but my goodness does this dynamic work.
This is a phenomenally charming and adorable little romance about a forlorn university kid and the police officer who adopts him. They are relentlessly kind to each other, in fact it’s an extremely kindly show over all (everyone in it is so nice to everyone else including us) so there’s very little tension.
But what it lacks in drive and complexity it makes up for in earnest acts of service and simple affection. These two are basically boyfriends from the get-go, it’s just one of them acts like it and doesn’t realize it and the other one realizes it and has to figure out how to make it a reality. It’s incredibly sweet and incredibly wholesome, nourishing but delicious. Everybody who can should watch this show. It will make you feel better about life.
7 We Are
This is one of those meandering ensemble pieces staring PondPhuwin that was divisive on tumblr but I happen to really enjoy. Not only does it satisfy this dynamic, it explicitly calls it out in the show. Also the side couples are mostly variations on puppy/cat.
It is long and was slow to find its stride (I didn’t get into it until ep 6) but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. Essentially this was a series of vignettes covering one year of uni for a queer friendship group finding love, new friends, and laughter. It’s not being harsh with us or it’s characters the way some offerings of this ilk have been (side eyes Friend Zone and Only Friends) nor did it tumble into Gen Y chaos. Will it blow your mind? No. But it left me smiling and made me belly laugh quite a bit so I'm going to recommend it.
8 Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu
On the entirely other end of the spectrum if you want something quite dark and harsh, this is you jam. Essentially a story about two lonely boys from opposite sides of the track who fall madly in love in high school, despite the fact that one is neglected (cat) and the other physically abused (puppy).
This has a rough premise (all the trigger warnings) BUT is an oddly lovely little show. Darker than is my personal preference but sublimely stylish, turns out sometimes that combo works for me (see The 8th Sense). The word that springs to mind is “refined.” I enjoyed the restful distancing feel of the beuatiful filming style, Japan's signature utter thirst, and some ostentatiously poetic dialogue. So edgy pretty.
9 Your Sky
This time Thailand made the cat the pursuer but my goodness can he pine for gold. This is on the grumpy/sunshine end of the puppy/cat spectrum but I think it qualifies.
This is a relatively simple yet endearingly old fashioned story of a fake relationship between a sunshine sweetie and an older reserved rich kid who slowly fall in love. It's soft gentle low stakes leans on everything I love best about Thai BL, no damage no trauma. It’s a warm fuzzy robe of a show that will not hurt you, featuring some of the greenest flags I have ever seen in the genre.
10 Addicted: Heroin
You thought I would let this one slide? Nope. It's a harsh version of puppy cat but you better believe that's what this is. Look, when Chinese BL was good it was very dirty good and when it was bad it was censored. This is the model for that statement: rich kid falls madly for the genius poor kid in his class, starts an aggressive pursuit, includes kidnapping for love, obsession, stepbrother trope, plus some cheating. I love this BL because of what it could have been. But be aware it is UNFINISHED. Just stop watching it after The Sex Scene. Okay?
Other good BLs that I considered but ended up rejecting for various reasons to do with whether puppy/cat was a driver of the narrative or exactly fit:
Our Dating Sim
Long Time No See (his assassin name is literally Wild Dog) speaking of assassins...
Word of Honor
Love is Science? the BL cut is worth tracking down, it is totally this dynamic our cat is a refined out cultured gay man and our puppy is a chaos bisexual. Even ardrobe is on point for these two. But it's a BL subplot in a het age gap romance. So it didn't make my top 10. Although in my heart it's up there.
Puppy Honey (see above)
PeteKao in the Kiss series (see above)
Gameboys
My Day
Restart After Come Back Home
HIStory 4: Close to You
Kieta Hatsukoi
The Tasty Florida
About Youth
DNA Says Love You
Plus and Minus
A Breeze of Love
Bed Friend
Destiny Seeker
Love Mate
Sing My Crush
Stay By My Side
Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo
Meet You At the Blossom
Monster Next Door
My Damn Business
The Time of Fever
This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans
Business As Usual
No Dating in Boarding School
Perfect 10 Liners
Secret Relationships (one of the dynamics)
Similar older post:
SarawatTine in 2gether
MingKit in 2 Moons 2
TanOil in Friend Forever
MarkKit in Gen Y
RamKing in My Engineer
PhuKao in Oxygen
PickRome
List is up-to-date as of mid 2025, not responsible for BLs featuring this dynamic that air after that date. Feel free to add more in the comments.
If Revenged Love were adapted for Korea or Thailand, they would def consider making the story that his backseat, cage-fighting snake came to life and seduced him.
I stumbled upon this delightful gem of a Korean BL recently. It's short but sweet, beautifully produced and brilliantly cast. With 11 episodes each spanning 10-15 minutes in length, it's a charming, fluffy and cosy 'slice of life' drama that will tug at your heart strings. The story follows main protagonist Jeong U who one day finds his two pets (Choco his dog and Milk his cat) have returned to visit him in human form. Hilarity and sweetness ensues.
