#recommended bl

[absolutebl]

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:

Top 10 Grumpy/Sunshine Pairings in Thai BL 

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.

(source)

[heretherebedork]

Have you ever wanted to desperately crave pancakes but in the softest, queerest way possible while watching a coming of age style narrative about a man approaching forty and his deeply thirsty but also gentle coworker who has a fantastic hamster cheek agenda?

Then you need to watch Old Fashion Cupcake!

And if you need more reasons... how about the story of an adult queer man rediscovering his joy in life by playing as a teenaged girl to give himself freedom to enjoy sweets on the advice of his younger coworker and watching them flirt and grow closer and get nervous and talk and cook for each other and be miserable when they have to pretend to fit into the heterosexual expectations of society?

How about a beautiful story about growing into a queer identity no matter what age you are centered in the idea of shared food and time and feeings?

How about a gorgeously told story about falling in love with someone who already loves you but being afraid to express your love because it goes against the life you've always expected and he's handsome and a decade younger than you and free and happy and you don't want to trap him with you but you still love him so much and he loves you and you don't know what to do?

How about pancakes and parfaits and candy and homecooked meals and a perfect pierced egg yolk and food as connection, food as love, food as lust?

Just... watch Old Fashion Cupcake, okay?

@absolutebl we can convince the world.

[unpopularopinionbydemand]

Cherry Blossoms After Winter series review ✐∗  ˖࣪ ༻

Same review on MDL!

Rating 𓄷 8 - Wish I would've watched while it was airing. Some minor issues, but overall, it was a lovely watch.

Spotlight Aspect of CBAW 𓄷 Set & Scenery (superb)

Recommend ? Definitely recommend this K-BL. It's super cute, and if the story doesn't do it for you, the height difference will.

Review:

CBAW is an unexpectedly decent K-BL, and it could even be labeled better than that. I've noticed with K-BLs to keep my expectations below surface level so by doing so, I won't lose any hope I had. Even with CBAW, I read the manga (my first one ever) and I still watched the live adaptation and thought it was on point from its book form (kinda). CBAW took me only a day to watch, it piqued my interest, and kept hold of it throughout the episodes.

Let's Dive In.

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Cherry Blossoms After Winter is a live adaptation of the manga following the same name. The basic synopsis is that Haebom lost his parents, so his mom's best friend takes him in as her own where he would live with Taesung, his best friend who indicates that he doesn't want Haebom to be his brother. Years passed and they're now seniors in high school navigating their strange feelings for one another. It's obviously a lot easier to tell a story full of detail in a book than it is in a dama, but in my honest opinion, I believe they did an impressive job at following along with the manga, even having the same lines said from the book. Add that on top of perfectly casted actors and you've got yourself an A+ K-BL.

What needed some work: I'm the type of person who usually doesn't read original work before watching the live adaptation, however, I wanted to give it a go here, and now I've unlocked a new hobby (great, something else to take up the time I don't have). But for the people watching without having read the manga, there are a few things that would seem very off and weren't given enough time for a thorough explanation. Like why Haebom just lets these bullies abuse him (and why they just vanish all of a sudden), or why Taesung is so standoffish and the reason Haebom thought he hated him. There are some other smaller implications, but those were the larger ones that needed more of a story behind them. If I wouldn't have read the manga, I would be partially confused throughout the series. Just a few fixer-uppers would've done the job.

I had to get used to the cinematography of this series that I've never (at least can't remember) seen in any other K-BL, let alone any BL. For a while, it looked like I was watching a vlog on Youtube and it kept throwing me off my wagon. Some of the scenes shot are a little shaky, I'm sure that's how they wanted to interpret the moment being shown, but if it's not fluent throughout the series, then those small moments when they do happen, it's a huge eye-catcher, and a bit of a bothersome. While the sets and the scenery were absolutely breathtaking, the color-grading and editing could use a lot of work. There were so many scenes that just got cut off in the midst, and it happens quite often, causing a stir of annoyance. There were a few very subtle ad placements that I appreciated for their subtleness, but by now, I can tell an ad from an actual motivated action.

Onto what I loved: The casting for CBAW was probably as accurate as I could imagine. Jinuk did an incredible job as Haebom, playing almost perfectly into his shyness, bubbliness, and everything in-between. I just wanted to pack him in my pocket and protect him for the rest of his life. Hui did an excellent job as well playing into Taesung's character. I'm also glad they decided to not make his character as stoic as the one in the manga, and this Taesung actually has some personality. Yonghee is hands down the best-casted character, and Gun did a fantastic job. Everyone else was really good too, even down to the guest roles.

The plot is handled very well and follows the exact same story. Obviously, some things are different (like Haebom working in a flower shop, or the friends all going on a camping trip) but their implications helped to move the plot along, and they were good anyways. Again, the story is about as accurate as they could've gotten it to the book, and it was fun catching all these different moments that I remembered from my read. The time jumps can be easily missed for someone not truthfully watching, but I think even those were done pretty well. The writers do a superb job at connecting the feelings and emotions of the characters in the story, which boosted its ability to give me the feels for everyone involved.

The chemistry wasn't as strong as it could've been between the main leads, but they still were able to give us a real relationship that wasn't full of forced touching and kissing. From the cuddles scenes all the way up to their more intimate scenes, both actors did a great job at making it look natural. I felt more of a connection closer to the end, but in the midst, it felt a bit lacking.

Not very important, but the height difference gets to me. Taesung was a whole ass head taller than Haebom. When he bent down to hug or even when Taebom reached up to hug, it was a-fucking-dorable. God, I can't explain to you how much height differences mean to me.

Ratings:

Story: 8 - Loved the story, also loved how accurate it was to the book. All the characters were genuine, everything flowed nicely, and I wasn't dissatisfied with any of it. I'll take off one star for some of the jumpy cuts and another for some of the weaker storylines.

Acting - 9.5 - Superb acting. everyone did an excellent job, but Jinuk was the best. Gun also put on a very strong performance that outshined the others.

Music - 5 - didn't pay much attention to it, meaning it wasn't distracting. Good.

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[absolutebl]

BLs to Recommend to Your Queer Friend

I put these in each bracket in levels of accessibility, as in “how easy I think they are for a non-BLer to enter into” without explanations of genre needed. 

Bleeding Heart Romantics 

Semantic Error

Bad Buddy

A Tale of Thousand Stars

Earnest Queer

The New Employee

My Ride

Drama Llama Indoor Kids

Our Dating Sim

Cherry Magic

My Love Mix Up

Repressed Arthouse Aesthetic 

Old Fashion Cupcake 

Love Life On The Line

Restart After Come Back Home

Hot Mess Gay Babies

The Eighth Sense

Moonlight Chicken

Hawt Mess Kinky Fuckers 

Bed Friend

KinnPorsche

My Beautiful Man 

Bonus Round: 

Adventure bois with a side of queer

Manner of Death

Not Me

Long Time No See

3 Will Be Free

He’s Coming To Me

From @mestizashinrin who asked me: 

“recommend a queer person to first start in BL”

(source)

[absolutebl]

hello! i recently attended a panel on live action BL, and they recommended your blog for all things BL. i'd love to get into more queer shows to watch. this is oddly specific, but do you have any shows with a strong plot where one or more of the love interests is famous? anything else goes. (bonus points if they knew each other before they/either of them became famous, it's a favorite trope). thank you, and have a good day!!!

Top 10 Celebrity BLs!

I love oddly specific questions. I'm the human BL recommendation algo, and I'm ready! Although like most algos I sometimes get it way wrong. I will do my bestest.

Hello, WELCOME!

BLs with a strong plot where one of the love interests is famous, bonus for the "known since childhood" trope

I fixed your request, since in BL we just can't expect strong plot and "strong" plot is super objective anyway. I put these in order of my personal preference and noted if it breaks your criteria.

Ready? Here we go!

To My Star

(Korea 2021 Viki)

Hwang Da Seul directing this show about a neurotic actor (actual puppy) who takes refuge with a grumpy chef resulting in sparks, cooking lessons, and LOVE! It’s is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams. I adore this show so much. Limited use of BL tropes makes this feel more of a sweet contemporary gay romance between an actor plagued by scandal and the chef who accidentally adopts him, but the gentleness will appeal to fans of the BL genre.

Doesn't have much plot and they did not know each other before, but my only 10/10 on this list.

Cosmetic Playlover

(Japan 2024 Gaga)

It's a classic office BL about the older workaholic who loves his job and the younger upstart who unexpectedly loves his boss. It’s a hyung romance where everybody is extremely earnest and sweet and pretty about everything. Except our seme, who is slightly unhinged and a little obsessed in all the ways one likes best from Japan. Utterly charming unexpected gem of a show. What fun!

The seme was once a famous model but left the business for harassment reasons. Again, light on plot and they didn't know each other before.

Lovely Writer

(Thai 2021 YouTube)

Thailand criticizes itself and the BL industry while simultaneously giving us classic seme/uke with great chemistry in a one-two punch of “we love it, but are we supposed to? and must we think this hard, yet enjoy it SO MUCH?” This show won’t appeal or make sense to those who don’t already have at least some Thai BL watching experience.

What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is re-exame what Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters.

This one satisfies all your criteria, but if you are new to Thai BL you should watch others first.

My Beautiful Man AKA Utsukushii Kare

(Japan 2021 Gaga)

One of the most Japanese BLs to release in the last decade, as weird and as messed up as any 2000′s yaoi: emo af and hella warped, entirely true to itself with no attempt made to modify its POV for modern sensibilities or current BL fandom. It used seriously old school problematic and kinky tropes, like whipping boy, for a truly uncompromising piece that also manages to hit up themes of communication, consent, and self acceptance. It’s a wonderful BL but uniquely dirty and harsh, in the best possible way - Japanese cinema, uncompromising. I lost my mind over the ending.

For actual celebrity status you will need to watch all 3 installments (this is the first season). But it has the tone I think you're after. They kind of are kids when the story starts so this is following them pre-fame into adulthood.

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho

(Japan 2023 Gaga)

This style of live action yaoi really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but are so repressed they don't realize they're in love. It's higher heat than we usually get from Japan's HEA stuff, and that aspect is also very well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" trope which is only exacerbated into undiluted frustration by the fact that they're already fucking.

It's great, but watching requires more patience than usual, even for Japan. That said it's also bruisingly romantic. Emphasis on bruise.

This one where they have known each other since college, and the plot is... odd and maybe absent, ya know, Japanese BL.

* ThamePo

(Thai 2025 YouTube) Watch this first! Also if no longer on YT check Viki, iQIYI, or Gaga

The boyband idol romance I've been waiting for from Korea, only Thailand did it instead. Quintessentially Thai and very GMMTV with good production values, great chemistry, and a solid support cast. It also was a hung romance mostly driven by external conflict and a found family reunion trope so I didn’t mind (too much) when that romance thread felt secondary. I loved it (except, of course, the singing).

This is it. This is the one you're probably looking for. They didn't know each other before, tho.

Unintentional Love Story

(Korea 2023 iQIYI)

OMG the plot! Uke forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the PAIN in those gorgeous eyes. Gah. Okay, so: A boy loses his job due to trumped-up corruption charges accidentally discovers his ex-boss's favorite artist, now a recluse. Evil manager offers him his job back, if he can convince the artist to rejoin society. Instead, they fall in love.

I found the artist a bit stiff and reserved but Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is a fucking GIFT - he carried this show (which I do not expect from the idol element). He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes, just drown in the emoting abyss. The external conflict, social tension and pressure is complex and beautifully executed, plus Korea gave us legit side dishes (NOT a love triangle, hally-fucking-luya).

Everything but the childhood. The best plot on this list, but the celebrity recluse bit might not be the kind of fame you want. Still... I loved it.

Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart

(Korea 2020 Viki)

Set in the music industry featuring a talented singer and the pianist who falls in love with him (and his music), subtle and achingly adorable. High production, low heat, short run, very tame, and Korea, so all the pretty. Slow burn and lots of pining.

He isn't quite a celebrity... yet. And they didn't know each other before.

* Love Stage!!

(Thai adaptation of Japanese original 2022 YouTube?)

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy (now famous actor) falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy. Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about this story is that the climax is about coming out as a celebrity couple as well as gay. I like the examination of the nature of celebrity versus privacy, and the contrasting kinds of closets.

And I love that they depicted two couples with two different versions of this choice. A solid and enjoyable show.

Winner winner chicken dinner. This one satisfies ALL your criteria.

Also, if you like it there is a Japanese version, an anime, and the original yaoi.

My Stand-In

(Thai 2024 iQIYI)

Stuntman Joe dies on the job and wakes up in the body of another Joe with an entirely different life. But Joe just starts repeating the mistakes of his previous self - love, work, play. Including falling back in love with rich kid (now famous) actor Ming who used and abused him as nothing more than a toy bf in the past.

I enjoyed the experience of watching this show, I looked forward to it every week. I thought everybody did a great job with it and in it, and I liked that is was something substantially different for Thai BL. But it was divisive and left me feeling more sanguine than happy. It's not really a revenge narrative (what I wanted) nor was it a romance (what BLandia expected). I spent most of this show just very very sorry for poor Joe. But if you like your celebrity gays messy, it doens't get much messier than this.

The plot is... different, and they knew each other before just not in childhood.

BONUS

Deep Night

(Thai 2024 iQiyi)

It's about a host club and all the gay boys in it and some stuff that's not important because… PEOPLE OF EARTH WE HAVE A HONEST REP OF POLY IN A BL. Stand up and raise your hands in prayer to the Thai BL gods because sure as shit no one else was ever going to give this to us. For that alone this show gets 8/10 from me. Bonus Lesbian moms and great kisses.

Okay so the celebrities are the top performers at the club and there is no plot, but I have decided it ranks, so there.

Sirs Not Appearing In the Top 10

FC Soldout - almost made it, washed up actor + up-and-coming football player

First Note Of Love - washed up musician and talented young composer

Happy Ending Romance - it's just, not really a BL, celebrity author and betrayal!

Happy Merry Ending - dito

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto - the famous person is a professor/author, reunion romance that is about lost childhood love

Behind Cut

Ocean Likes Me

Vice Versa - in one reality one of them is a famous actor but that's not the point

At 25:00, in Alaska AKA 25 Ji, Akasaka de - you might like this one

City of Stars - this might be a good one for you if you're willing to try a Thai pulp, satisfies most of your criteria

First Love Again - he's a famous novelist but that's not really relevant

I Became the Main Role of a BL AKA BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank In Hen - it's in the title

Kabe Koji AKA Kabesaa Doujin Sakka no Neko Yashiki-kun wa Shounin Yokkyuu wo Kojirasete iru - this is an idol romance, but also no real kisses

My Esports Genius Brother - very very odd, no plot, and it's China censored so... oddly I have a soft spot for it anyway

Oh My Assistant - famous writer again

Pit Babe - famous sports star and a wild plot

You Are Ma Boy, EM LÀ CHÀNG TRAI CỦA ANH - idol romance with a cafe boy, it's adorable but very Vietnamese poor quality, stil an old favorite of mine

Kiss X Kiss X Kiss - the "idol series," these are shorts from Japan, 3 of them feature idols in a band together having a secret affaire

Codicils

Shows that feature a celebrity but I rated 6/10 or lower are not on this list. But add more in comments if you like.

I left celebrity chefs off this list, because I think that's not quite what you are looking for.

This is up to date so far as I and my spreadsheet of doom can determine as of March 2025. Only included completed BLs as of that month.

(source)

[absolutebl]

hi!!! do you have favorite bl movies (maybe with happy endings too)?👀❤️

Top 10 BL Movies

(as of end of 2024, in no particular order)

My personal favorites will always have HEAs (or at least HFN). I don't love ambiguous endings and I hate sad ones. I'm going to include the Korean stuff that has been recut as movies, because I can.

1 Seven Days

Japan 2015

AKA Seven Days: Monday-Thursday AND Seven Days: Friday-Sunday

This is a cheat as it's 2 movies, but that's still less run time than your bog standard marvel tent pole these days, so it counts.

One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes. The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

2 Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine

AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? AKA Vending Machine Sabi Koi

Japan 2023

This movie is utterly adorable, impossibly awkward, and kinda old fashioned. About a cute nerdy little office worker (he's out!) who has a big'ol crush on the tall hulking vending machine guy. They fall in love. And that’s it. And it’s charming. There’s some first name eroticism (because Japan) and there's emphasis on communication (so not Japan) which turns this into an organically loving and talkative relationship. There’s a bit of an age gap and our office cutie may or may not have a muscles fetish (the hot bod, not the shellfish) because (if I’ve told you once I’ve told you 1 million times) Japan always goes kinky. And you know what, I loved it.

3 Restart After Come Back Home

AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Japan 2020

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning.

4 His

Japan 2020

His is about being a grown adult and still struggling with coming out. It addresses the consequences choosing a life disingenuous to identity. Nagisa turns up on Shun’s doorstep with his precocious daughter in tow. This is a touch confusing to Shun since they were each others first love and Nagisa broke his heart. Shun has retreated from society, rejecting the world before it can reject him because without Nagisa he never had a reason to fight. Nagisa went the opposite, pretending to be something he was not, ending up with a daughter he adores and a wife who hates him. This movie is beautiful and the setting is unique and interesting but I'm not wild about the ending, it's HFN (happy for now). Honestly, I think I mostly liked this because I have a mad crush on Miyazawa Hio (Shun).

5 After Sundown

AKA Saengrawi

Thailand 2023

It's from Mandee and horror (neither really my thing), yet I liked it. It's oddly sweet and wholesome, for a ghost story. Phloeng and Rawee enter into an arranged marriage for confusing prophetic reasons. Twists of fate demand that they solve the mystery of a past that is haunting Phloeng's family and harming Rawee. Honestly, it makes no actual sense, but it's kinda historical, and very pretty, so I enjoyed it more than I should.

Korean BL that aired as shows but are cut together as movies & great

In some of these cases the movies are better than the originals, in some they are exactly the same.

6 Color Rush

2021

A unique paranormal twist elevates this classic high school drama into a pitch-perfect allegory for the queer coming out experience and one of the best BLs of all time (I will fight you on this).

7 Semantic Error

2022

The ultimate enemies to lovers, also the prettiest. Sexy older boy discovers pouty younger boy has outed him as a slacker, starts out bullying him, accidentally falls madly in love instead. Korea hits it entirely out of the Parks by doing a university BL with everything we expect from BL just done exactly right. Korea's signature quality executed perfectly with added bonus good story, great pacing, stunning visuals, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL.

8 To My Star

2021

Hwang Da Seul directing this show about a neurotic actor (actual puppy) who takes refuge with a grumpy chef resulting in sparks, cooking lessons, and LOVE! It’s is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams. I adore this show so much. Limited use of BL tropes makes this feel more of a sweet contemporary gay romance between an actor plagued by scandal and the chef who accidentally adopts him, but the gentleness will appeal to fans of the BL genre.

9 Long Time No See

2017

This originally aired as a series but I have only ever seen it as a movie. So I'm counting it.

Catfishing assassins on either side of a turf war fall in love not knowing they are on opposite sides. Or do they? Suspenseful plot, good fight sequences, mature characters, hot sexitimes, and even hotter beating the shit out of each other and kissing while covered in blood (this came from KOREA?), plus an HEA. One of the greatest hidden gems of the BL genre.

10 Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart

2020

Set in the music industry featuring a talented singer and the pianist who falls in love with him (and his music), this is subtle and achingly adorable. High production, low heat, short run, very tame, and Korea, so all the pretty. Slow burn and lots of pining.

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[absolutebl]

What is some cerebral Thai bl? The ones that have a lot of symbolism and narrative and all that. I'm especially interested in complex characters, even better if I have to watch it a second/third time to get it all. Thank you so much for your time and patience! :D

Hum, you mean chewy? Not Thailand's forte but there are a few.

Cerebral Thai BL with symbolism, narrative, & complex characters

I Feel You Linger in the Air

He's Coming to Me

La Pluie

My Only 12%

Make a Wish

Moonlight Chicken

My Stand-In

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Your Soul

Ghost Host Ghost House

Triage

Two Worlds

Great Men Academy

It's Your Funeral (or theirs)

Love of Siam

Present Perfect & Present Still Perfect

I Told Sunset About You & I Promised You the Moon

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

The Miracle of Teddy Bear

Yes but also really...... don't

Absolute Zero

My Dream

Something In My Room

The Luminous Solution

Grey Rainbow

Till the World Ends

Hope some of these are new to ya. And I hope you like some of them!

[absolutebl]

I'm a bit lost on what to watch right now, but I have this huge gaping hole in my chest that needs to be filled with some good BLs. I absolutely adore Old Fashioned Cupcake, To My Star, We Best Love (the drunk confession scene had me reeling). I'm not a huge fan of Thai BLs, because of the way it's shot and the humour, but I did really enjoy Not Me, 1000 stars and Bad Buddy. Do you have any recs?

Prestige BL to watch RIGHT now

You said you absolutely adore:

Old Fashioned Cupcake

To My Star

We Best Love

And are not a huge fan of Thai BLs but enjoyed:

Not Me

1000 Stars

Bad Buddy

This leads me to conclude you like "prestige BL".

My Recs for Prestige BL:

Our Dating Sim, Korea Viki - might be a bit soft for you, but truly great

Our Dining Table, Japan Gaga - soft and a little slow but quality

Blueming, Korea Viki

The Eighth Sense, Korea Viki - this one, THIS ONE, this one you will LOVE, go watch it RIGHT NOW, thank me later

The New Employee, Korea Viki

Unintentional Love Story, Korea iQIYI

Roommates of Poongduck 304, Korea Viki

Tokyo in April Is..., Japan Gaga

About Youth, Taiwan Gaga - you don't list any high school stuff but this is BL so I had to include one

DNA Says Love You, Taiwan Gaga - really, trust me, make it through the first 3 eps, it's worth it

My Tooth Your Love, Taiwan Viki - the premise seems odd but it's very endearing and quite complex

A First Love Story, Korea YT - this is a Strongberry short but if you haven't seen it it's very much your style

Older stuff that May Be Your Style

Addicted: Heroin, China Viki (If you haven't seen this, it's and early BL that kinda paved the way to the style you like, so worth watching for that reason alone)

Life: Love on the Line, Japan Viki (go for the director's cut)

Restart After Come Back Home, Japan Gaga? Viki? (not sure who has this one but I think you'd enjoy it)

Long Time No See, Korea Gaga? (Strongburry's first longer offering and it's wonderful, well worth tracking down)

Where Your Eyes Linger, Korea Viki

Like In The Movies, Pinoy YT

Airing right now, Sept 2023

Might be right for you and would allow you to join in the chatter here on Tumblr

Kisseki: Dear to Me, Gaga (Taiwan, mafia, so far very good but just started)

Dangerous Romance, YT (Thai but two of GMMTV's best actors)

I Feel You Linger in the Air (historical, it's really great, Thai, hard to find in USA)

Only Friends, YT (not quite BL, very queer messy gays, Thailand's answer to Queer as Folk)

If you are willing to try some Thai BLs I suggest:

Moonlight Chicken (review here)

He's Coming to Me

The Eclipse

And if those work you could try more from this list:

20 Thai BL's With GREAT Acting

I've just started watching Thai BLs and I don't know which ones would be worth getting thru the bad acting. Could you please recommend me so

Hope this gives a few things you haven't watched yet!

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