A World of Asian "Boys Love" Drama

2019 Thai BL sequel series Dark Blue Kiss (DBK) gets its greatest gift and strength from the charisma of its two lead actors Newwie and Tay, reprising their Kiss The Series and Kiss Me Again roles of sensitive intelligent Kao and hot-tempered tough guy Pete respectively. These two very likeable and popular actors have amazing chemistry, and with this series they've reimagined one of the least sympathetic couples in Thai BL as one of its greatest. But the real surprise here is how unexpectedly great the new series is too. The screenplay is just so good. Summary: At the start of this sequel, set three years later, Pete and Kao's loving and trusting relationship is now well-established, though they remain closeted and discreet in front of most of their friends and family. Perhaps surprisingly, it's Pete who wants to take the next step and come out, whereas it's Kao who resists firmly and won't be pressured. Perhaps this is partly because Pete is already out to his fa...

Indigo Mood is a combined prequel/sequel to Japanese BL drama Pornographer - though the prequel sections make up 95% of this series. It's far superior to its predecessor and is well worth spending time on its six twenty-minute episodes. SPOILERS WARNING: you should definitely watch Pornographer before watching Indigo Mood. Besides the fact that it would spoil Pornographer to watch it back to front (due to the presence of the sequel elements), a lot of its screenplay won't make much sense because it assumes you're familiar with what's been going on between the three main characters. You should also reconsider reading this review, though I'll keep story details to a minimum. Summary: Indigo Mood spends most of its time in the past, before the events portrayed in Pornographer, where student Kusumi had his bicycle accident that launched him into the life of pornographic novelist Kijima-san. It focuses on how Kijima and erotic fiction publisher Kido-san - former frie...

A new HIStory series is about the closest thing that BL fans have to mandatory viewing. Each sub-series has an original spin on the usual BL tropes, and they're generally well-made, well-written and have great casts. The latest instalment, 2019's Trapped, has all of this and more, on paper. So has its great promise and hype translated into another top-tier series? Summary: Policeman Shao Fei has been obsessed for years with finding definitive evidence that gangster Tang Yi was implicated in the murder of both Tang Yi's own gangster mentor and Shao Fei's colleague police officer. He tracks Tang Yi relentlessly, following him everywhere and accosting him in public. This gets him into trouble with his boss and Internal Affairs on numerous occasions. Tang Yi is trying to 'clean up' his gang by removing it from the drugs trade. This draws the attention of other local gangs who suspect his motives, and suddenly Tang Yi and his sister find themselves in danger. Shao ...

Japanese BL short series Pornographer is a not-bad time filler if you're in between other series. Summary: University student Kuzumi accidentally hits a pedestrian while riding his bike. The pedestrian Kijima-san has badly injured his hand, so Kuzumi takes him to hospital. Kuzumi apologises and offers to pay for the treatment, but author Kijima-san tells him to come and work for him for free instead as his book transcriber until his hand is cured. Unemployed and broke, and facing what could be an expensive medical bill, Kuzumi eagerly accepts the job, but he is shocked to learn that Kijima-san writes pornographic erotic novels. This movie-length series of six short episodes is worth watching for its originality alone. We'll almost certainly never see a BL series like this again, using something as transgressive and taboo as pornography as a channel for its characters' desires. It starts off with some decent gentle humour, as we follow Kuzumi into the startling, in-your...

Adorable couple Kongpop and Arthit are back, in the SOTUS second season SOTUS S: The Series  ! I've been very keen to see how their relationship has progressed since series one. And I've been gunning for a Prem / Wat romance! Summary: Arthit has started his new job at an electrical goods company Ocean Electric and is discovering that he is being treated like a university junior again, although in a very different adult world. Kongpop is now an Engineering senior at university and the head hazer. His approach to hazing is the complete opposite of the violence and humiliation of his predecessors; while still being very firm and sticking with ritualised activities, he prefers being constructive, helpful and positive. They weather these new circumstances of their lives together and give each other the strength and happiness to persevere, and of course they get by with a little help from their friends. Even though their social group now knows about their relationship after season...

I came across a short edit of Beloved Enemy and it looked interesting so I thought I would give the whole series a try. Summary: Corporate gun Gu Qing Pei is poached by a huge investment conglomerate to act as CEO. His job is theoretically to restructure the company and look for business opportunities, but in practice the Chairman wants Gu Qing Pei to act as a business teacher to his wayward violent son Yuan Yang. Gu Qing Pei takes on the job but stipulates that he must have total freedom in the way he deals with Yuan Yang, including removing his access to money. Yuan Yang reacts extremely violently but realises that he has essentially been trapped into working with Gu Qing Pei. He enlists the help of his friends to bring down Gu Qing Pei by any means possible, so that Gu Qing Pei will then resign and Yuan Yang can be free again. One of their plans goes horribly wrong, and has serious repercussions for Yuan Yang, Gu Qing Pei and the company. This show ...

As soon as I started watching  Doushitemo Furetakunai  I realised I'd seen it before. It was about a year ago, a Japanese friend had messaged me with a link to the movie, with English subtitles. He said he recommended it but didn't really say why. I remember being moved by it back then, so I thought watching it again couldn't be a waste of time. Summary: Young and gentle Shimo resigns from his job after enduring harassment and bullying from co-workers, after a rumour circulates that he's gay. He finds work in a new company, and is soon attracted to his boss Togawa. Togawa however is crass, vulgar and inconsiderate to everyone in the office, which everyone tolerates in a friendly way, but Shimo sees a softness underneath the surface that intrigues him. The two men eventually become closer and connect through their painful pasts. Shimo, however, is very hesitant to take things beyond a certain point. When work circumstances suddenly change, Shimo is forced to make a dec...