What’s your read on why most of the Thai historicals we have gotten / are getting are time travel (and/or reincarnation) stories?
Do you think this is largely out of a desire to make the protagonist more relatable and/or the world more accessible? Or is it more born from cultural (including religious) interests/preoccupations? Or perhaps it’s a combination of both, or something else entirely?
Historical BLs! AKA Where are my gay ninjas?
I question your premise out the gate. I believe you're experiencing recency bias. There are as many if not more "pain old historical" BLs as time travel/timeslip/reincarnation ones. Especially if you accept those without HEAs. Even if you focus just on Thailand.
(A note: the specific ask was for Thai BL, so those are highlighted, but statistically still holds.)
Timeslip or Reincarnation
Until We Meet Again - Thai 2019 (light on the historyness)
Tinted With You - Korea 2022
Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go - Thai 2023
I Feel You Linger in the Air - Thai 2023
Century of Love - Thai 2024
I'm The Most Beautiful Count - Thai 2025
Interminable - Thai 2026
Love Upon a Time - Thai 2026
Love Destiny - Thai 2026
(I suppose Director Who Buys Me Dinner and First Love Again, maybe even The Story of Bi Hyeong could fill the Reincarnation trope but these showed so little of the past. Thus I dithered over whether they really qualify for the historical part (ah the fine line between reincarnation, red thread, and fated mates). Still, even with them, my point stands.)
Just History
Nobleman Ryu's Wedding - Korea 2021
Love in Spring - Korea 2022 (but is it BL?)
To Sir, With Love - Thai 2022
After Sundown - Thai 2023 (there is fate involved but is is reincarnation?)
Man Suang - Thai 2023
Kill to Love - China 2025
Love in the Moonlight - Thai 2025
Memoir of Rati - Thai 2025
Shine - Thai 2025
Interminable - Thai 2026
Journey With You - China 2026
When Light Fades - Thai 2026
The Edge of Horizon - Thai 2026
I can't remember / did not watch
Diary of Heong Yeong Dang - Korea 2014
The Male Queen: Han Zi Gao - China 2016
Till Death Tear Us Apart - China 2017
Behind the Shadows - Korea 2023
I do believe these are mainly just historicals.
I did not classify as historical, but a case might be made (all China)
Mermaid's Jade
The Untamed
Word of Honor
Meet You At the Blossom
To answer the question as to why timeslip is popular...
First I simply think it's just a popular trope vehicle for historical romances right now. Like... globally. Time travel romance is a whole sub genre that's been around a while, but I've seen it rise over the last 10 years: first in lit, then in the romance TV sphere, now in queer spaces. (Blame Outlander?)
As distinct from time travel non-romance narratives, which I don't engage with, so cannot comment on trends.
Why popular with storytellers?
Timeslip has the same advantage as portal fantasy or isekai, the "fish out of water" trope. This trope is both useful and powerful because the audience sympathizes with the protagonist, since they would be in the same confused state. (Audience insert.) And it allows the story to "explain" to the reader/watcher what is happening and why.
A "regular" historical requires more audience trust and knowledge of the time period, place, and history which, when one is exporting as soft power to a global audience, can alienate that consumer base.
Explaining anything requires dexterity and screen time, so it can also easily fatigue the audience out the gate... heaven spare us all from introductory voice over monologues.
(Also there's a part of me that wonders if Thailand, in particular, feels compelled to take a true historical into the sphere of lakorn more throughly? And that just isn't as popular outside Thailand.)
Not that I think BL producers are weighing up the pros and cons like this before optioning a script. I'm just trying to get my thoughts in order.
I feel like prior to 2014 we got just plain old historical set het romances most of the time out of Asia, particularly in the Cdrama space and early yaoi (1990s-early 2000s). (WHERE ARE MY GAY NINJAS JAPAN!!!!???)
But now we get more timeslip (and cultivation/fantastical historical dramas from China and Korea). Although Korea LOVES a historical rom com, and frankly, so do I.
So it's just that right now, when BL has enough money and interest to finally start doing historical stuff, timeslip historical romances are already popular so we are getting them along side normal historical romances. (It's whats available to be adapted, among other things. Romance fiction usually churns trope trends fastest.)
Love Destiny is a great example of this. The original het version was 2018 (book 2010), wildly popular, and hit all the notes of what was big at the time in the genre. Now we are literally getting a BL remake because BL is wildly popular and supported by the government.
I personally have no beef either way.
I'm just as excited by Love Upon a Time as I am by Love in the Moonlight. It rides on the ending either way. And HEAs are always going to be a challenge with historical BLs.
Generally speaking, a "regular" historical means the HEA has the boys ending up together but probably still closeted. But a timeslip means the one who travels must either make the choice to stay in the past (same HEA as a regular historical) , or meet the reincarnated version of his lover in the present day, but leave that lover initially behind without him.
Either way historical BLs and HEAs have an issue.
In the case of the first, the closet must be justified to a modern audience or glossed over in an unrealistic way.
In the case of the second, the reincarnated lover (and his present day life) must be given enough screen time for us to believe he remembers and can love again. AND the one left behind must not suffer too much, or suffer in the right way. (My issues with I Feel You Linger in the Air are manifesting.)
Or... it can all be a dream. (Largely regarded by modern audiences as a cop out and pretty rare these days.)
I guess, in all honestly, I am just really really glad we are getting any historical BLs at all.
And I want my gay ninjas, Japan.
(source)
This post is dated end of July 2026. Not responsible for updating with historical BLs that come after. However, the Spreadsheet of Doom will stay updated, so you can always ask in a comment.
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