A World of Asian "Boys Love" Drama

2019 Thai BL series TharnType The Series is a prequel to game-changer Love By Chance, so it has high expectations to live up to. It focuses on soccer team manager Type when he was a university freshman, and his gradual realisation that he's in love with a man. Played by Earth Pirapet, Type was my favourite character in Love By Chance; impatient, crass and blunt but also kind and generous, I loved him for his unconditional support of his friends and teammates, and for being a loving partner. It was a minor role with very little to do, so creating a prequel around him to develop his character better is already a winning decision. MINOR SPOILERS WARNING for the end of this review. Summary: University freshman Type is horrified when he hears a rumour that his new roommate Tharn is gay. An unrepentant homophobe, he wants Tharn out of the dorm room as soon as possible, so he sets about finding ways to torture Tharn with annoyances that range from pettiness to vandalism. Shaken by Typ...

The latest instalment for HIStory season 3, called Make Our Days Count (MODC), is a marked improvement on Trapped, though still not up to the high standard of other sub-series in season two. It's a high-school BL drama, with a distinct preference for keeping it young and light-hearted but with just enough seriousness to give it some sense and purpose. Summary: Top student Yu Shigu has had a difficult life. After his parents died in a car accident when he was younger, his aunt had taken him but she has been struggling financially ever since. With the idea of making his relatives' lives as easy as possible, Yu Shigu studies extremely hard at school and works part time, hoping for a scholarship to university. When we meet him just before exams, his health is deteriorating rapidly because he has been pushing himself too hard. He keeps himself almost completely separate from all the other pupils, which makes him appear haughty and unapproachable. When rebellious layabout Xiang Hao...

Rejoining the boys from Make It Right in their second season wasn't a hard decision to make. There was more than enough of value in the first season to make it the right choice. But was it really worthwhile in the end? SPOILERS WARNING: there's a lot of detail about the plot of season two in this review. No secrets are revealed, but you should still reconsider reading it if you want no surprise reveals or if you haven't seen season 1 yet. Summary: Fuse and Tee are still in a relationship limbo, with Fuse still unsure about what his relationship with Jean means to him. Frame and Book are closer than ever and virtually live together, but this season severely tests them with some horrifying trials. Fuse's best friend Lokmo meets effeminate and openly gay Yok and is instantly smitten. Yok's mother is still up to her devious tricks, with a view to turning Yok straight. She takes a different tack and enlists Lukmo's ex Praew to be Yok's faghag. For all intent...

I came across references to  Make It Right - Season One in an online forum that was ranking the best Asian BL series ever made. It was right up near the top, so this encouraged me to give it a try. This review only looks at season 1, I'll review season 2 later once I've watched it. Summary: After he finds out his girlfriend has been cheating on him, high school student Fuse has a big night out with his friends and gets very drunk. His friend Tee helps him back to his own place to stay the night, and they have sex. Tee is enamoured but Fuse is very confused. The push and pull of a blossoming BL romance ensues. Fuse is also pursued by hero-worshipper Rodtang, which makes Tee jealous. Fuse's brash womanising friend Frame is secretly using gay dating apps. An anonymous hookup turns out to be his classmate, nerdish Book, which turns both boys' lives upside down. Make no mistake, this is a cookie-cutter BL high school drama. It brings nothing original to the table, and s...

I stumbled across Waterboyy The Series while randomly searching Youtube for BL. Initially I thought it might be related to the Japanese movie 'Waterboys' from 2001 with Satoshi Tsumabuki - of which I've only seen parts - but it's actually a Thai BL series based on a 2015 Thai movie Waterboyy. Summary: Captain of the university swimming team Waii is very handsome and popular with all the students, he even has an online fan club. He commands respect, but unfortunately he has a headstrong inflexible personality and doesn't tolerate differing opinions or ideas very well. He's dating fellow student Fay. His father Tee is the coach of the swimming team, and was once a great swimmer who appeared in the Olympics. New student Apo has transferred to the university specifically because of Coach Tee's reputation. He's an excellent swimmer, which puts Waii on his guard. Coach Tee places Apo in Waii's dorm room, much to Waii's dismay. Apo's quick intell...

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 ...

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...

I'm not entirely sure but, after having thought about it,  HIStory: Stay Away From Me (HSAFM) was probably the first BL drama I watched. Summary of the plot: Two guys become step brothers and are forced to live together when their respective parents get married and go on an extended honeymoon. One of them Feng He is sensitive, intelligent, gay and shy, the other Cheng Qing is a very famous star with pretty boy looks who is vain, arrogant and a bully. They don't hit it off and their life together in their flat becomes increasingly difficult. Eventually they each being to see the good points in each other, which soon turns into unanticipated feelings. I didn't really enjoy this series at the time, though I kept up with watching all the episodes until the end, but I see now that it was probably a really good introduction to BL. It has a lot of the elements of the BL formula and uses most of them well. It's not particularly original or well made, but the production and...