Some Personal QL Highlights Of 2025
another year has passed, and i am continuing my tradition of writing up a retrospective of my ql highlights. as always, only shows that finished airing this year are eligible!
this year had so many highlights that i decided to split up the "best show" category into several subcategories because i honestly couldn't decide.
this might come as a surprise, but despite the stiff competition, i'm giving this title to pluto. this show qualified for my 2025 retrospective only because its final episode aired in january, and nothing else has managed to beat it! i just love the unapologetic soapy-ness of this show and the sensual chemistry of namtan and film.
my magic prophecy has this one in the bag: this show was a 10/10 from start to finish, it was amazingly written and had some absolutely SUPERB acting; after the disappointing offers of 2024 i was really happy to see gmmtv bouncing back in such spectacular fashion! also, this show had the cutest kiss of all time 🥹
oh, knock out, you were a knock out. here's what i wrote in my notes: it's fucking insane it's so compelling it's so good SO WELL-WRITTEN oh my god ALSO THE BDSM IN THE SPECIAL EPISODE IS SO IMPORTANT TO MEEEE 😭😭❤️❤️ this show was gripping, incredibly well-made, had some of this year's most memorable sex scenes, and on top of that, the mawinitt storyline was one of my favorite side couple stories of the year.
another category with a hell of a lot of competition, but one show stood out from the rest: love in the moonlight. this show had me by the throat week after week, i literally cried, the acting was next level and when sasin and saenkaew finally got their happy ending after all the torment, it was both a profound relief and incredibly sad—i would have wanted to be tortured by this show even longer. it hurt soooo good.
i am giving this title to the show that i have already rewatched about 3 times this year alone: perfect 10 liners. every time i finish a rewatch i immediately want to start yet another rewatch. this show is everything to me: fluffy but with substance, characters who are Adorable but who aren't cardboard cutouts, so cute it's rotting my teeth and so emotionally gripping that i'm moved literally every time. as i have said elsewhere, they put some kind of insane drugs into this show, on every rewatch i'm giggling squeeing curling my hair kicking my feet, this has literally become my comfort show to end all comfort shows and i can't even decide which couple i like best because they're all amazing.
this is a new category, and it exists purely because of memoir of rati. thee, the capital r Romantic that you are. i have never seen a show that so firmly focused on romance as its main element—the political struggles of the characters and the time period, the family issues, the cultural divides, are all just background elements in the Big Romance of the main characters. i was swept away by the fantasy in the best possible way!
my stubborn, you weird little show, we expected nothing from you and yet... would i call this show "good"? debatable. but it kept surprising me with its choices, like when it gave us the best breakup scene of all time. juin verbally tearing sorn to pieces in episode 9 was so incredibly satisfying. who would have expected this porny nonsense with a crack premise to be actually well-written and for the sex scenes to contain actual character development? this show delivered in ways absolutely no one thought possible. (not to mention that the first special episode was basically just softcore porn with a little bit of fluff sprinkled on. iconic.)
lover merman. this show started off as a fun mermaid romcom and then in the finale, we had a main character almost dying for half an hour, a "your parents were murdered by my father" reveal, two characters competing over which one of them got to make a blood sacrifice by killing himself, sexual assault during said blood sacrifice, a funeral that left so many questions unanswered and then a sudden happily ever after. i have never seen anything as out of left field in a final episode and the rush of emotions it made me feel is unmatched. lover merman, you were unpopular on tumblr but you will always be famous to me.
oh the next prince, we expected big things from you that you simply were not equipped to deliver. unfortunately, while making the most expensive bl ever produced, it seems like the producers forgot to hire competent writers and your potential was squandered on a previously unseen scale. your one saving grace is the ramilpaytai sex scene in episode 8, which was one of the best sex scenes of the year.
speaking of sex scenes: charn and jet fucked their way into my heart on khemjira. their first time in episode 7 was emotionally charged, awkward, funny, passionate, sweet, and so so so endearing. if there's one thing domundi consistently does well, it's sex scenes. (sadly, i'm hitting gif limit here, so no more gifs for most of the other categories!)
there was some very stiff competition in this category as well, but we've got another domundi entry taking the first place here: teerak's and muenfah's charm on your sky burned itself into my heart in the best possible way. these autistic4autistic babies literally had regular check-ins with each other about where their relationship was heading, and you know i am all about that paperwork. (in the beginning, they did literal actual research and paperwork for their fake relationship. MADE FOR ME.)
kimkenta, you only had about 10 minutes of combined screen time on pit babe season 2, but in that little time you absolutely stood out. i am still rotating these blorbos in my mind. strong fanfiction to follow. (just give me 3-5 business years.)
what would this list be without mentioning harmony secret. this show didn't manage to win in the best gl category purely because i thought it tapered out a bit towards the end, but the incredible chemistry of lookmhee and sonya is legendary. in this show, they were on fire playing business rivals turned lovers, and brought us absolutely explosive sensuality.
since i sadly can't award a best toxic yaoi title this year, i am hereby giving the wicked game a title i can wholeheartedly bestow: offroad's fits in this show were absolute bangers and every single one of his suits made me melt with adoration. the 70s vibes were immaculate and made that man look even more gorgeous than normal.
you might be wondering why i didn't give best fashion to mu te luv: diva deva mata, and that's because i don't think i appreciated the fashion on this show for the fashion aspect, but rather for the character design aspect, if that makes sense? those 4 girls had the most distinct styles and outfits of all time, served some incredible looks that were always rooted in their characters' sense of style and self-presentation, and slayed the house down. (i am making an exception for the "must have finished airing in 2025 rule" here, because the diva deva mata segment was completed before the end of the year.)
Most Anticipated Shows of 2026
you maniac had me at "let's not waste time". i just recently became a fan of est and i cannot fucking wait for this one. HOWEVER, a show i have been waiting for a lot longer and which has the potential to become my absolute favorite in 2026 is magic lover. i am all about campy fun and domundi put all three of its standout couples of 2025 into that show, so if the writing matches the talent in front of the camera, we could have an absolute banger on our hands.
and finally, fluke nattanon utterly blew me away in mu te luv. not only did he steal the show in his own segment, but his performance also stands out when looking at what gmmtv put out over the course of the whole year. fluke's performance was absolutely spectacular and i am hoping we'll see him again sooner than the gmmtv 2026 line-up suggested.
