So many parallels between #TheDevilJudge and that other magnificent 2021 Asian“Bromance”#KillerAndHealer.
Down to the ending scene with both couples staring heart-eyes at each other from a distance, just because 💁🏽♂️
Captivating plot, savage twists, well-drawn female villains, criminal masterminds, men who would die for the man they love. Intimate touches, emotional hugs, caresses - lots. Both couples look after a daughter together and care for a fat white cat
Both leads are lawmen on a radical course to deliver justice in lawless times, irreversibly changing the lives of all who love them. Their love stories begin in conflict because of differing moral visions about justice and the value of human life
Both leading men’s psyches are profoundly shaped by shared themes: trauma as child orphans; daddy issues; cruel injustice; found family. These all inform their sense of responsibility to defend and protect the weak-by any means necessary
All the BL literacies - codes that empower BL fans to “queer” normative romance tropes, were present, providing cascades of “moe”. The way the male leads’ character arcs explicitly target their evolving masculinity especially in the way they treat women as equals, is to be applauded.
Female villains are the other significant characters to get the BL treatment in The Devil Judge and Killer And Healer. Compellingly drawn, with a supreme sense of their own righteous power, they exercise bold, autonomous choices, including knowing when to withdraw from the game
Is there anything left to say about the 🔥🔥 chemistry between the touchy-feely leads whose only weakness is one man? Killer And Healer and The Devil Judge master what is often neglected in more explicit contemporary BLs, that much of the power of liveaction BL is in leaving room for imagination
Killer And Healer has the edge because unrequited female love is well handled - unambiguously and elegantly allowing the woman to continue her own journey, dignity and agency intact. Killer And Healer mlm couples are devoted to the men they love with no narrative deviation
Both are original screenplays BL fans loved so much they demanded the continuation of these amazing characters in their lives. The Devil Judge got a Manhwa.
Killer And Healer got a Canon Novel, an Audio Drama and an Official Post-Finale 26-min video with the explicit scenes that were too gay for censors
Killer and Healer is on YouTube and MangoTV. The Devil Judge is on Netflix and Viki