A World of Asian "Boys Love" Drama

Certain aspects of Thai BL series Two Moons really mystify me, I definitely think it's worth a review, I'd love to hear your comments about it as well. Summary: Quiet and unassuming Wayo commences his studies at a university which his high-school crush Phana also attends. Wayo is surprised when he is elected by his faculty to participate in a university-wide popularity contest as a "Moon" (ie, the most popular male student in his faculty).  Being very handsome and popular among all the students, Phana had been chosen as the university Moon when he was a freshman, so he and Wayo come into more regular contact as a result. They don't get along at first. As his senior, Phana is dismissive and harsh with Wayo, who is hurt by such mean words from his crush and so he responds with contempt and disrespect. Wayo's irrepressible friend Ming supports Wayo and urges him not to give up on Phana. As preparations for the Moons and Stars contest continue, Phana begins to ...

I've just watched Thai film  Bangkok Love Story and I want to get my first impressions down "on paper", I might come back to them later for a second pass. (Edit: I've since realised that the translator on the youtube video I watched has given the characters Chinese names for some reason. Apologies if this gets confusing.) Summary: Assassin-for-hire Yun barely eeks out a living from his job, and has to support his mother and brother Wu who are both terminally ill. Fed up, he decides he will quit and take his family with him to hide out in the country. He is given one final assignment to kidnap a young military officer Shi. When handing over Shi to his employer, Yun is horrified to discover the truth behind the kidnapping and things turn very ugly. Yun and Shi have to escape together and hide out in Yun's squat. Facing certain death at the hands of Yun's employer if they go outside, the two men are forced to live together for an extended period, and soon fall...

I'm going to cheat here and leave Asia, to pick up a French film I really enjoyed recently, Being 17 , directed by the master of teenage sexual awakening, André Techiné. The film is currently available on Netflix. Summary: The story focuses on a year in the life of two isolated unpopular high school students, intelligent Damien and sullen withdrawn Thomas, living in a small town in southwestern France. They detest each other without really understanding why, and regularly get into fistfights. When Thomas's mother falls ill, the local doctor - who also happens to be Damien's mother, Marianne - attends to her. This connection between the two families eventually sees the two boys thrown into each other's company more often, increasing the violence. Thomas's grades at school rapidly deteriorate, not helped by him having to commute three hours a day for school. Marianne proposes a solution that horrifies both boys: Thomas can come and live with her and Damien in town u...

If I have a guilty pleasure when it comes to BL, it's Chinese series Advance Bravely . How can something so slight and vacuous be so entertaining? Summary: Xia Yao is a young and supremely beautiful waif, from a very wealthy, very powerful family. He used to be a ladies man but he's recently become more solitary and stay-at-home, earning him the nickname 'The Monk', which he loathes. He is pursued relentlessly by the 'goddess' Yuan Ru, whom he rejects repeatedly to no effect. She is entirely unfazed by anything he dishes out at her and will stop at nothing till she marries him. She enlists the help of her older brother Yuan Zong, a highly skilled former special forces soldier who now operates his own successful bodyguard business. The brother and sister are from a very different background to Yao, having grown up poor and then left motherless at a young age, with Zong having to take on the responsibilities of raising his baby sister. He obviously knows well hi...

It's time to take a deep breath and consider how to review what's the best - and my favourite - BL drama I've seen so far, the Thai short serial  Grey Rainbow . It's apparently hard for most reviewers to be objective about it, it provokes both intense love and deep abiding dislike. I'll do my best, but I doubt I'll be the one who manages to resist subjectivity. SPOILERS WARNING: This review goes into a lot of detail about the narrative of Grey Rainbow including some specific plot points and dialogue. It looks more closely at general themes, however there are some specific details about the epilogue. It does not give away important revelations about the climactic ending. Do not read this review if you don't want any clues at all about what the story entails. Summary: Roommates Porsche and Nuer have been attending university in Chiang Mai for four years, and are best friends. Porsche thinks he might be gay but is overcome by self-loathing and tries to rep...

By all accounts, Ai no Kotodama is one of the great Japanese BL dramas, and a benchmark for everything that followed it. So of course, I had to watch it. Summary: Otani and Tachibana have been in a loving relationship for four years since graduating from high school, and live together happily although discreetly. A former high school friend, Yuki, suddenly appears again in their life, and unwittingly destabilises the boys' relationship. Otani knows that she and Tachibana were very close in high school and feels himself becoming jealous of their renewed closeness. At the same time he feels oddly drawn to Yuki himself. Feeling overwhelmed and threatened, Otani lashes out at Tachibana and inadvertently risks publicising his sexuality. Will his insecurity, distrust and jealousy destroy his relationship with Tachibana? I love how this movie starts way beyond the point where most BL dramas end - with the guys in a well-established couple. It just demonstrates that you can create a f...

So now it's time to step back into what I consider a more standard BL drama - the Thai series SOTUS . Summary: Handsome intelligent Kongpop begins his freshman year at a university, majoring in Engineering. A clan of Engineering seniors soon enforces a strict oppressive regime of hazing, ritualised gatherings and discipline on the new students. The main hazer Arthit is particularly brutal. Kongpop, horrified by the pointless cruelty, rebels against the seniors and vocally opposes them at their gatherings, sometimes even mocking them. This incenses Arthit, who singles Kongpop out for ongoing humiliation and punishment. Kongpop soon sees the point of the hazing and what the senior hazers are trying to achieve. As his rebellious behaviour mellows, he also begins to reconsider his feelings towards Arthit. He delivers sweet compliments to Arthit very casually, and which soon increase and intensify. Arthit is mortified and pushes Kongpop away repeatedly. Can Kongpop convince Arthit tha...

As soon as I started watching  Doushitemo Furetakunai  I realised I'd seen it before. It was about a year ago, a Japanese friend had messaged me with a link to the movie, with English subtitles. He said he recommended it but didn't really say why. I remember being moved by it back then, so I thought watching it again couldn't be a waste of time. Summary: Young and gentle Shimo resigns from his job after enduring harassment and bullying from co-workers, after a rumour circulates that he's gay. He finds work in a new company, and is soon attracted to his boss Togawa. Togawa however is crass, vulgar and inconsiderate to everyone in the office, which everyone tolerates in a friendly way, but Shimo sees a softness underneath the surface that intrigues him. The two men eventually become closer and connect through their painful pasts. Shimo, however, is very hesitant to take things beyond a certain point. When work circumstances suddenly change, Shimo is forced to make a dec...