A World of Asian "Boys Love" Drama

It's interesting to note that the highly original Taiwanese BL melodrama The Ambiguous Focus is in fact a sequel to Kinematics Theory. Can this predecessor be even more fascinating than the sequel? Summary: Childhood friends Zhang Zhe and Zhang Nan study mathematics at the same university but they are completely alienated from each other and fight constantly. On the surface, Nan is an arrogant bully, content to rely on his good looks, amazing physique (and goddamn, yes, it is indeed amazing) and his swimming prowess to get by in life. Zhe is a bookish nerd and top student but he's too introverted to make friends. But these boys are longtime friends and understand each other much better than their personalities suggest. Zhe sees Nan's morality and desire for independence under the cocky bluster, and Nan knows he can rely on Zhe's support and loyalty through any difficulty. They soon come to a truce and agree to help each other out. Their mutual support and reliance hel...

I was drawn to watch new Thai series Kiss Me Again solely on the basis of the actor Newwiee, one of my BL favourites and a fun charismatic performer. He didn't disappoint, although that's about the limit of the interest to be found in this series. It's a prequel to 2016 drama Kiss The Series. Summary: A disparate group of five university students unite together as friends. Two of the boys in the group, bad boy Pete and intelligent sensitive Kao, don't tell the others that they know each other better than they are letting on. They hate each other, after a series of violent incidents that has set them at odds. One of these incidents ended up with them accidentally kissing. While it's clear that Kao wants to talk about his confused feelings for Pete after the kiss, Pete pushes him away angrily, leading to more violence. Their friends eventually realise that something is wrong between Pete and Kao, leading Pete to lash out at Kao even more violently and destroy the gr...

Japanese BL mainstay from 2007 Takumi-kun Season 1: And The Spring Breeze Whispers is one of the most famous BL dramas ever made, and still gets glowing reviews online whenever it comes up. It's based on a manga, and this comes across on screen. Summary: Quiet and solitary high school second-year student Takumi Hayama suddenly finds himself the centre of attention, when the most popular senior in school Giichi Saki ("Gii") rescues him from a cafeteria fight. Gii makes it clear to everyone that he is now Takumi's protector, which earns poor Takumi some notoriety among the schoolboy gossips, and some enemies too. Gii and Takumi are also allocated the same dorm room. Handsome Gii very quickly makes it clear that he is in love with Takumi. This mortifies Takumi; he can barely tolerate anyone touching him, due to a horrific childhood trauma. Will he be able to overcome his traumas and distrust, to be able to love Gii in return? There's not much to this drama, with...

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...