A World of Asian "Boys Love" Drama

2016 Filipino online BL series Hanging Out is one of those fantastic programs you come across by chance, usually from a recommendation online or through word of mouth. I'd certainly never heard of it before seeing it in my YouTube recommendations a few months back, and I'm so glad I did. It's the very first Filipino BL I've seen, and it's such a breath of fresh air after the unadventurous repetitions of Thai BL. Summary: In one of the funniest 'meets-cute' out of all the BL series I've seen so far, aimless cynic David meets the dashing and charming Adrian at a surprise party that he was never invited to. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, there's an instant connection between the two men, though they are both very tentative and afraid to admit to it. Adrian's friends notice the sexual tension, but their unsubtle gossipy speculation about David might scare off the already jittery new guy. Despite his reservations, David is immediately ...

I've stuck with my Taiwanese obsession by watching feature-length movie Artemisia . I went into this movie cold, not knowing anything about the storyline except that there was a gay-themed subplot. SPOILERS ALERT: I give away some of the ending in this review, beware. I've marked the section with spoilers so you can avoid them if you want to. Summary: A middle-aged widow leads a lonely life and struggles to fill in her days. Her two children are in their thirties; her closeted gay son looks after her, and her daughter studies in France. She also regularly looks in on her elderly mother, a malicious, cantankerous woman who is a chronic miser. She secretly longs for a large family, all living together, but is increasingly resigned to the fact that it probably won't happen. She finds it extremely difficult to understand her children and the way they live their lives. Knowing her temper and conservatism, her children generally give their mother plenty of distance from their...

Taiwanese BL series Dark Blue and Moonlight is something of a mixed bag and a struggle to like at times. But it's at least more human than so many other dramas I've watched lately - it's both ugly and beautiful, dull and fascinating, camp and restrained. Summary: Aspiring artist Hai Qing notices a beautiful man Yan Fei at his local swimming pool and surreptitiously takes a few photos with his phone. However Yan Fei spots him, corners him in the locker room and the two share a long kiss, the sort of kiss that changes your life. The passion and deep connection between the two men is immediate and profound. It's love at first sight. Yan Fei gives Hai Qing his phone number, but Hai Qing almost immediately loses it through no fault of his own. Will these two men, whose destinies are now so closely bound together, ever meet again? They pine for each other and never forget their bond, but move on with their lives, believing they will never see each other again. Hai Qing mee...

Thai series GayOK Bangkok doesn't really count as BL for a number of reasons, but I thought I would include it anyway, as it's a good counterpoint to show up the differences. Summary: The series follows a group of six young gay friends living in Bangkok, over the course of about a year or so. Pom is a self-proclaimed nerd in a good job, but he is struggling to find a partner because of his insecurities about his appearance and effeminacy. He lives with his vain best friend Arm, who enjoys the single life and sleeping around, but he doesn't have much interest in anything other than himself. Oaff is in a happy long-term relationship with the much younger Big, although Oaff is starting to suspect Big of infidelity. Satang, who is katoey  and identifies as female, is caustic and bitchy, but is also staunch and loyal, delivering advice to her friends with gobsmacking savagery. When Arm and Pom run into a long-lost acquaintance Nat at a cafe, Pom plucks up the courage and invi...