Censored Chinese BLs I love for people who don't know what they are or want to find more.
Censored Chinese dramas refer to Chinese dramas that are based on gay source material and are adapted to screen, but due to strict restrictions in China, they must redact most of the gay interactions. Even so, Chinese productions work on a little budget and use workarounds to make the romance as clear as possible without getting taken off air. Some fail, some succeed. All of them make it pretty clear to viewers, though, that these characters are in love.
Also, for non Cdrama watchers, most Cdramas are LONG. I'm talking 30-45 minute episodes for 30 episodes on average, so if you want to start one get ready for an investment. There are shorter ones, but honestly, I think it's worth the investment.
Continue on for examples and recs.
The Untamed (2019)- The big boy. If anyone tells you they watch Chinese bromance, this one was likely their first. It is the most popular among these. It's on Netflix.
Word of Honor (2021) - Another popular one and this one got some of the most in your face gay shenanigans on screen. Also, one of their workarounds was having the actors mouth much gayer lines and dub it over (All Chinese audio is dubbed over in dramas). Maybe they just were at a good time period, maybe because the actors were so popular, maybe the censors were asleep, but we love her. Also, on Netflix.
Guardian (2018)- Another more popular one kinda makes a trifecta with the other two. This one got away with some good moments. I can only now find it on YouTube, but the audio sometimes gets cut off.
Killer and Healer (2021)- This one is a lot less popular than the first three. They got away with quite a bit but got even more cut out, but this one has its deleted scenes available to view online! Available on Viki and Youtube.
Winter Begonia (2020)- This one got a little bigger because of how artistic it is. It had a beautiful setting and costuming. They have a bit of a slow burn, but they definitely have their moments. Available on Viki.
S.C.I. Mystery (2018)- A household name purely because they got away with so much. Including a kiss disguised as CPR, sleeping in the same bed, etc. The budget is TINY, though, so if you can't handle everything looking like a set and poor graphics, this might not be for you. On Youtube.
Justice in the Dark (2023)- Not yet completed and has been on the back burner for a couple of years, but she's back baby, now airing in Japan. Pretty heavy on the gay, thus why they didn't pass censors after episode 8. I have no idea where to watch it. Fans are working on subbing.
Spirealm (2024)- Also one of the dramas that nearly didn't make it. Got put up, taken down, put back up on a different site. But she exists, and it is one of the gayest dramas on this list. I would say it beats out what Word of Honor got away with. On Viki.
Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty (2020)- This drama feels gay most of the time, straight for a short period of time, but they had nice moments, and they had a higher budget, directed by Jackie Chan, so you know the fighting is good. On Viki.
Advance Bravely (2017)- Started reading the book, but I have only seen clips of the show. It looks like it has potential in that older show, cheesy way, but they certainly got away with a lot because they were earlier in the timeline. On Viki and IQiyi.
Stand by Me (2023)- Haven't finished this one yet, but it is up there in chemistry. It was really hard to find, but it is on WeTV. No gifs unfortunately.
Honorable Mentions
Addicted (2016)- A canonically gay drama, the only canon gay drama to be made and released in China pre-ban. It is toxic, I warn you. It was made in 2016, prime toxic BL time. We must honor those who came before, though. It was canceled halfway through. Available on YouTube and Viki.
Meet You at the Blossom (2024)- Another canon BL, this one picked up in Thailand. The actors are Chinese, the language, and the backdrop. Everything behind the scenes is thai. It is also toxic, but less than Addicted, another win for Chinese BL, opening up possibilities.
The rest will not be based on gay source material but feel at the same level as the others on the list.
Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) - I feel that the new Chinese tactic to convey gay subtext and cover it up is to make everyone act equally romantic toward everyone, which in turn is creating polycules, which is lovely for me. This drama is no exception. Available on IQiyi.
Fangs of Fortune (2024) - A much larger and more complicated polycule complete with lesbians and straights. Available on IQiyi.
Silent Criminal (2020) - This one felt like it was supposed to be gay, and they tried to shove a female lead between them to diffuse the tension. Available on Viki and IQiyi.
Wuliang (2020) - I gotta be honest, when I first saw this movie, I didn't get the hype, but after some time I really appreciate the visuals and themes that have stuck with me, I think it was just too short. Unavailable legally without a vpn.
Yin Yang Master (2020) - This movie was very much an enemies to lovers sub plot with a fantastical main plot that looks beautiful. Available on Netflix.
Any Lost Tomb Adaptation (2015-2025) - The ships in this franchise span books, movies, shows, comics, etc. They are visible in any adaptation, so feel free to explore.
A League of Nobleman (2023) - This one is also a nice polycule opportunity. It feels lighter than some of the others on the list, but still very much a bromance. Available on Viki.
Under the Skin (2022) - This one makes me more unsure whether it was intended to even be a bromance at all, but by the second season they definitely blossomed into something beautiful and they are backdropped by some amazing and unique plots and cases. There are also some sweet shipping possibilities within, but I don't want to spoil. Available on Viki.
My Roommate is a Detective (2020) - Now this one was definitely meant to be a bromance, but also a straight romance. Unfortunately, the female lead drove me absolutely up the wall, then when they had another chance with the same two leads and director to do another drama called Checkmate, it was boring, so... start at your own peril and be warned, I am no women hater, she is just... you'll see.
I know of more, but these are the only ones I have at least seen enough to suggest (or not) to other people. I thought all this time spent on this media might as well be used somehow. Hopefully this helps you find a new drama or a new type of drama or dramas in general. Happy watching!
okay so the word on the street is our poor boy He Changxi, Song Yan of the Freaky Face, was reskinned due to controversy (i.e. playing in an upcoming bl) however
1. has he not already starred in some mighty queer works six whole years ago with Edward Guo's Painted Skin and Wuliang? are we to understand that "it's not gay if one of us is a viscera-eating supernatural being with a predatory psychosexual fascination with you AND your wife"
and 2. face-replacing him with Zhu Zanjin for reasons of gay media involvement is... huh. uh huh. Zhu Zanjin, the man behind Jin Guangyao in The Untamed.
this Jin Guangyao?
from this The Untamed?
*that number filtered to be ONLY works labeled as M/M
There are my favorite relationship dynamics as a list.
Opposites attract + power couple
Drama: I Am Nobody / 异人之下
Characters: Zhuge Qing & Wang Ye
Screentime: Minor
I like it when characters are different in a way they could complement one another, but at the same time they are similar in terms of what is important for people to stay stuck together. Zhuge Qing is public, easy-going and wants to be friends with Wang Ye. Wang Ye is mysterious, reflexive and doesn't want to be bothered by other people. But no one can beat extrovert if he decided to be friends with you =) Plus, they are united by their superpowers: they are both powerful sorcerers and their sorcery is very similar in its nature. So they can compete and learn from each other and, if necessary, kick enemy's ass together. ̶A̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶d̶y̶n̶a̶m̶i̶c̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶B̶L̶ ̶v̶i̶b̶e̶s.̶ By the end of season 1 they are OK and together.
Drama: Mysterious Lotus Casebook / 莲花楼
Characters: Di Feisheng & Li Lianhua
Screentime: Secondary
Di Feisheng is a leader of a demonic sect, a former slave and a very straightforward man. Li Lianhua is a former leader of a righteous sect and an extremely sly man with not-so-bad background. But both of them are the best martial artists in Jianghu and went through a lot together. One wants everyone to leave him alone, another wants to be with him together forever. Both of them don't give a damn about everything that happens in the world but they care for each other. B̶L̶-̶v̶i̶b̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶t̶t̶a̶c̶h̶e̶d̶.̶ The ending of the drama is obscure but I'd like to think they both are alive and happy together.
Drama: Blood River / 暗河传
Characters: Su Changhe & Su Muyu
Screentime: Main
Two assassins who grew up from the sect slaves to sect leaders love each other dearly although they have nothing in common: one is a tsundere who is out of touch with reality and tries to live righteously despite his work and another is a birdy and unpredictable penny pincher yandere. But both of them are invincible when they are together. And maybe they are gay, although one of them has a girlfriend.
Drama: The Blood of Youth / 少年歌行
Characters: Xiao Se & Ye Anshi
Screentime: Secondary
A leader of a demonic sect who has an ultimate martial knowledge and a former best righteous martial artist, who is suffering from decease and can't fight anymore. What can unite them? The answer is: the similar mindset. They both had a great power and lost it, they both are shouldering great responsibilities which don't make them happy. Despite the fact that they should be on the opposite sides in Jianghu world, they are still good friends. M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶B̶L̶-̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶,̶ ̶a̶l̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶X̶i̶a̶o̶ ̶S̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶i̶r̶l̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶.̶ There is a small extra ep at the end of drama, when they meet each other again in a very romantic way. Just search for it.
Drama: The Legends / 招摇
Characters: Lu Shiqi & Qin Qianxian
Screentime: Minor
She is from a demonic sect. He is from a righteous one. She is immune to the impact of spiritual power. He is the one of the most powerful people in terms of spiritual power. She is dumb, straightforward and pure-hearted. He is blissed yet sensible and burdened with difficult moral choices. They could be an ideal Yin-Yang couple. But they have BE, because it's "The Legends", everyone should die in here Т_Т.
Pride and Prejudice + power couple
Drama: The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity / 晴雅集
Characters: Bo Ya & Qing Ming
Screentime: Main
This dynanics is similar with the previous one, but here we are focused on how they ended up together. Bo Ya has prejudice against demons-yao and believes all of them should be executed. He meets half-demon-sorcerer Qing Ming who helps him to overcome his prejudice. Finally, they become friends (or̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶) and together they win over the evil forces. At the end they are separated but there is a hope they meet again.
Drama: Wuliang / 无量
Characters: Po Xiao & Feng Ren
Screentime: Main
People of different social status both seek to get a magical sutra. During a road trip they exchange opinions on the sutra and how to use it and change each other's mind. In the end it turns out that they together saved the world and can be finally together. As friends, of course.
Drama: Oh No! Here Comes Trouble / 不良執念清除師
Characters: Pu Yiyong & Cao Guangyan
Screentime: Main
Pu Yiyong looks like lowlife, studies very bad and hates Cao Guangyan, who is self-confident, smart and thinks low of Pu Yiyong. But a mysterious case with ghosts forces them to interact and they find out, that together they are a perfect team. Honestly speaking, this little series couldn't develop this topic as good as I hoped, but it's a really interesting story, so you can watch it for the ghost detective plot and get this type of relationship in addition. It's a Taiwanese drama, so BL-jokes and dalliance with a viewer were huge, but it didn`t help much. Still a nice dynamics and a good drama.
Us vs the World
Drama: The Untamed / 陈情令
Characters: Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji
Screentime: Main
I don`t like the novel, but I like drama exactly because here I can see this dynamics. In the past life of Wei Wuxiang Lan Wangji was not strong enough to go against the whole world to protect his friend (well, in the novel they are lovers, but it kills the main idea of this dynamics by turning it into "I do it all just to get into your bed", which is meh), and his friend died. Suddenly, 16 years later, he gets a chance to choose once more: to be a part of society and watch once more his friend dying or to be with him against everyone this time. The moment he chooses to be with Wei Wuxian against the whole world I felt cathartic pleasure. The drama ends up on a little bit obscure but positive note.
Drama: Word of Honor / 山河令
Characters: Zhou Zishu & Wen Kexing
Screentime: Main
A former king's assassin who is at the brink of death and just wants to live the time left in silence and a birdy master of the most skillful criminals find each other, find out that they are brothers-in-teachings and decide to fight against the world together just to live in silence and enjoy each other's company. When one thinks it's his last second of life, the other comes to help him even if they both can't beat the greater number of enemies and will die for sure. Catharsis! The drama has a small extra ep where they are together and all right.
Drama: The Legends / 招摇
Characters: Li Chenlan & Lu Zhaoyao
Screentime: Main
Them, again! The first half of the drama they have enemies-to-lovers dynamics, but then, when they find out the truth about Zhao Yao's death and about feelings for each other, they turn into Bonny and Clyde and go annihilate the righteous guys who are in fact not-so-righteous. And it makes me feel cathartic, too. A very catharsis-causing dynamics, indeed! It's little obscure, but they will be fine at the end of the drama.
Drama: Dong Lan Xue / 东栏雪
Characters: Shen Yan & Chu Ningyuan
Screentime: Main
Two bad guys work together to get power in the palace. And get involved in romantic relationship during their power gaining. Nice story with an open ending.
Drama: Derailment /脱轨
Characters: Qi Lian & Jiang Xiaoyuan
Screentime: Main
It's a little story inside a big one about transmigrators that you can read in another of my posts. It lasts something like 1,5 eps of the drama but is a nice story itself. A lonely bellicose boy from a rich family runs away from home where no one cares for him and lives on the street. A lonely girl from an extremely poor family and being bullied by classmates tries to survive in this world. They meet each other and understand that it's easier to fight their fate together. Nice story, it's a pity that this one is too short and not a main plot of the drama.
Descent
Drama: The Spirealm / 致命游戏
Characters: Ruan Lanzhu & Ling Jiushi
Screentime: Main
It's a really rare but interesting dynamics (and it is a huge spoiler to this drama itself, so beware): the god-like creature (a monster of the 12th door in the novel "Kaleidoscope of death" and a VR-virus in its adaptation, "The Spirealm") has to keep company to a mere person. During their journey, a god-like creature finds out that said mere person is not really mere, and unexpectantly develops feelings for him, which cause his "descent" and allow him to be a little bit less ethereal and a little bit more human. I like the drama more than the novel, but the lore and the story are great in both of them. The novel has HE and the drama ending is controversial: you can consider it as BE or as delayed HE, but it's heart-wrenching, powerful and logical.
Also you can see:
Asian dramas and relationship dynamics (Pt. 2)
Modern Asian dramas and well-fulfilled topics
Asian dramas and my favorite types of characters
Asian dramas and Love tropes
Enemies to Rivals/Lovers recipe
They didn't make it, but I remember them
They didn't make it (and didn't even try), but I remember them
a non extensive list of gjm's cinematic universe (tm) references (excluding recurring actors bc that would actually take all day)
starring: wuliang (2020), yin yang master: dream of eternity (2020), my journey to you (2023), fangs of fortune (2024)
in my journey to you (2023), the concept of the wuliang heat is something that was mentioned in his 2020 short film wuliang albeit in a different form (无量流火 vs 无量心经). even the sword wielder body tattoo is similar to the one we see in wuliang.
in fangs of fortune (2024) in ep 1 we get a callback to gong shangjue and shangguan qian's epic romance in a scene that very closely mimics one of the scenes in mjty. we hear the gsj x sgq theme music in the background and they even mention the bay flower (another name for laurel) in the fof scene.
(on rewatch, i literally gasped when i realised the dude e shou was seducing was the piece of shit that started the riot against zhuo yichen in tianxiang pavilion in ep 25)
as many people have pointed out, zhuo yichen's wings in fof are very reminiscent of boya's wings in yin yang master: dream of eternity (2020). it's even got a similar(ish) context; one of the Boyfriends temporarily obtains wings to fight against the Big Bad. (even the wing designs are pretty similar)
this One Specific line both zhuo yichen and po xiao (wuliang) say after their boyfriends die (or supposedly die):
and
while what they say isn't completely the same, the sentiment and the way both of them say ‘但你没有’ is pretty dang similar and as soon as i heard zhuo yichen say the line i was instantly brought back to po xiao.
the doomed lovers in mjty (ai mi and zuo ye)!! oh how they make my heart hurt. in mjty, yun que tells yue-gongzi that when people die, they turn into insects or animals and go visit their loved ones. after this flashback, a little bird flutters down and lands next to yue-gongzi, the implication being that it's yun que.
and then in fof, ai mi's character is a bird 妖 (yao - demon/monster). how the turn tables.
and thus concludes my epic list of surface level observations lmao