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...

Thai 2016 series Project S The Series: SPIKE! was recommended online as one of the top 60 (!) Asian BL dramas, so I thought I'd give it a look. Being a volleyball-focused series, I was hopeful it could have similarities to HIStory: Crossing the Line, which would have made it a fantastic find, but unfortunately high-school volleyball is their only point of likeness. Summary: A group of four friends in a successful Under 18 boys volleyball team at Thappanya School in Bangkok make a pact after losing a finals match: they will all play again the following year  and get their revenge on the winning team San Sebastian. When one of the boys Singha betrays his friends and transfers to San Sebastian, the team is devastated and must start from scratch to build a new team. The 'spiker' captain Puen must work closely with the new 'setter' Than, and they take an instant and violent dislike to each other. When the team coach falls ill, team manager Best takes a gamble and enga...

Examples of Korean BL haven't been easy to find. I've struggled to find anything other than "No Regret", a fantastic movie in its own right but it's not really BL in the strictest sense. Bromance seems to be more common in Korea, a genre that I always try to avoid due to its cynical use of gay-baiting. Mini-series The Boy Next Door is more bromance than BL on the face of it, but more than anything else, it's a brilliant and really effective satire of BL. Summary: University students Gijae and Kyutae live next door to each other in a block of small flats. They meet out front when smoking a cigarette and don't really hit it off. They feel uncomfortable with each other but at least make an effort to be more friendly with each other. However all their meetings in public end up having the very odd appearance of them being a new couple in love. Their friends and acquaintances are mystified by how close they seem to be, and they all jump to the conclusion that...