My Top 5 Favourite BL Dramas - so far
I am taking a break from watching and writing about BL dramas for the moment, but in the meantime, here's an overview of my top 5 favourite BL dramas that I've seen so far.
Remember that I've only been watching BL for about 5 months, so there's still a long way to go and so much more love to share. And please let me hear from you if you have your own Top 5 or some viewing suggestions, or even just an opinion about my own list.
#5: Seven Days. The high quality of this ethereal two-episode series from Japan is, in my view, unsurpassed by other examples of Japanese BL. Its greatest asset is its finely-tuned screenplay, which passes through each of the seven days with a gentle quiet beauty that's distinctively its own. If only all BL dramas could be this well-written and directed.
#4: Together with Me. Korn and Knock are the greatest couple in BL, with the best sexual chemistry in BL. They are also the hottest. There, I said it. And they finally get the top-tier BL treatment they deserve with this excellent Thai series.
#3: No Regret. This is more 'cinema' than BL drama, but I'm going to include it as my #3 anyway, because it's so good. The unconventionality of this Korean movie will divide viewers. But beyond its provocations and stark bleak themes, this is a gay love story for the ages. There's simply nothing else like it.
#2: Red Balloon. This exceptionally well-crafted Taiwanese BL drama may be short, but it's so finely structured that it generously gives more to its audience in its short running time than any other BL drama I've seen. It's hard to think of a more perfect example of BL done well. It combines the usual BL high school drama together with the future repercussions of the boys' relationship on their adult lives. As a result, Red Balloon is jam-packed with romance, comedy and tragedy, and it will all stay with you long after the last episode has ended.
#1: Grey Rainbow. Anyone who has read my blog at all will already have guessed my number one BL drama. There's no contest. Thai mini-series Grey Rainbow is in a league of its own, and it's at the top of this list by doing what no other BL drama I've seen has been able to do: it places gay love and BL romance within the context of the human condition. Its depiction of the romantic beauty and intensity of boys' love and its emotional rollercoaster is unrivalled. But even better than that, it sets its BL ideals and narrative within an overarching framework of LGBTQI recognition, Buddhist philosophy, family relationships and mature, ethical behaviour. It's enormously ambitious, and when it gets it right, it's transcendent. I won't lie to you and say that it's perfect though. In fact, when it's wrong, it's utter rubbish. Its notoriously bad ending is a catastrophic affront to the art of screenwriting and a savage slap in the face to anyone unfortunate enough to watch it. It is, quite simply, the absolute worst ending in all of BL. You might very well be screaming at your TV screen in disgust. But believe me when I say that you'll be screaming at your TV *through tears* AND feeling your heart getting ripped out by what you've just witnessed. This drama might very well be able to show you what it means to be human, just by showing you what it means to be struggling as a young gay man.
Remember that I've only been watching BL for about 5 months, so there's still a long way to go and so much more love to share. And please let me hear from you if you have your own Top 5 or some viewing suggestions, or even just an opinion about my own list.
#5: Seven Days. The high quality of this ethereal two-episode series from Japan is, in my view, unsurpassed by other examples of Japanese BL. Its greatest asset is its finely-tuned screenplay, which passes through each of the seven days with a gentle quiet beauty that's distinctively its own. If only all BL dramas could be this well-written and directed.
#4: Together with Me. Korn and Knock are the greatest couple in BL, with the best sexual chemistry in BL. They are also the hottest. There, I said it. And they finally get the top-tier BL treatment they deserve with this excellent Thai series.
#3: No Regret. This is more 'cinema' than BL drama, but I'm going to include it as my #3 anyway, because it's so good. The unconventionality of this Korean movie will divide viewers. But beyond its provocations and stark bleak themes, this is a gay love story for the ages. There's simply nothing else like it.
#2: Red Balloon. This exceptionally well-crafted Taiwanese BL drama may be short, but it's so finely structured that it generously gives more to its audience in its short running time than any other BL drama I've seen. It's hard to think of a more perfect example of BL done well. It combines the usual BL high school drama together with the future repercussions of the boys' relationship on their adult lives. As a result, Red Balloon is jam-packed with romance, comedy and tragedy, and it will all stay with you long after the last episode has ended.
#1: Grey Rainbow. Anyone who has read my blog at all will already have guessed my number one BL drama. There's no contest. Thai mini-series Grey Rainbow is in a league of its own, and it's at the top of this list by doing what no other BL drama I've seen has been able to do: it places gay love and BL romance within the context of the human condition. Its depiction of the romantic beauty and intensity of boys' love and its emotional rollercoaster is unrivalled. But even better than that, it sets its BL ideals and narrative within an overarching framework of LGBTQI recognition, Buddhist philosophy, family relationships and mature, ethical behaviour. It's enormously ambitious, and when it gets it right, it's transcendent. I won't lie to you and say that it's perfect though. In fact, when it's wrong, it's utter rubbish. Its notoriously bad ending is a catastrophic affront to the art of screenwriting and a savage slap in the face to anyone unfortunate enough to watch it. It is, quite simply, the absolute worst ending in all of BL. You might very well be screaming at your TV screen in disgust. But believe me when I say that you'll be screaming at your TV *through tears* AND feeling your heart getting ripped out by what you've just witnessed. This drama might very well be able to show you what it means to be human, just by showing you what it means to be struggling as a young gay man.
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