A Lesser Sequel

This is a sequel to Love by Chance, but it doesn't have the main Bl couple from that season. I read up to see what happened to Saint, and it looks like some drama between Perth and Saint's managers led to a weird fallout. Not having Pete's character was a problem. This made Ae into a sad sack for almost the entire season. Perth does a good job with a nothing role. We also never get a clear reason why Pete and Ae break up, though they give you some information you can infer the reason, but you really have to google what happened in the book to actually get a clear picture.

All the relationships seem to assume the first season happened, except Tin and Can get a complete reboot for some reason. They reenact various scenes from the first Love by Chance season for what feels like the word-for-word but under different narrative reasons or locations. It isn't until the start of episode 7 that something new happens between Tin and Can.

I actually really like Can. He is a naive simpleton with a good heart. When he and Tin finally do get together, it is kinda adorable.

The subplot of Kla and No is still bothersome. Kla takes advantage of No when he is drunk one night, and the first season ends with them heading into a relationship because Kla gaslighted No. However, in this season, No realizes what actually happened but becomes fixated on Kla as a love interest. However, he is angry at what happened but also doesn't want to fall for his brother's best friend who is still in high school. There are so many problems with this relationship. Kla's love letters and defense of himself are deeply deeply problematic and reflect an immaturity when it comes to understanding love or romance. This subplot should have been removed or significantly altered.

The plot around Tin's brother, I think, works fine. However, the resolution between Tin and his older brother is too simple and easy.

A lot about this sequel series just doesn't work well for me. The Tin/Can relationship is enjoyable, but I don't like the fact half of the season is just retreading the same ground from the first season.

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Adorable and Interesting Korean BL

I thought the concept was interesting. It creates a great metaphor for homophobia and homosexuality for two young men who come across one another. Monos can see the world only in black and white. Probes are the kind of soulmates of Monos who give them the ability to see color. Monos are said to often become obsessive and violent. There is a subplot about the disappearance of the Monos mother that doesn't go anywhere. I don't know why that is part of the story.

The episodes are short, about 15 minutes for most of them. The last episode warmed my little heart. This is a very chaste BL drama. There are two kisses in the last episode. This is a BL that is more about subtlety of its subject matter than really being romantic.

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Unexpectedly Good

I went into Tharntype with low expectations. I based those on the word of mouth I have seen online. There are problems with this series. The whole subplot of Tar and his rape is not handled in the best way. Moreover, the person who orchestrated the assault of a 10th grader (or possibly a 9th grader, given the timeline) is not punished and is made to look sort of sympathetic in a few scenes. I am including the special episode when I talk about this series.

The chemistry between the actors Mew and Gulf is incredibly good. However, even at the start there are issues with the characters. A gay character falling head over heels for a homophobe is a little hard to believe or take seriously, but you go with it. How the show handles Type's childhood trauma of sexual abuse and related issues is better than I expected. I sort of wish this was used to help examine some of Type's homophobia or even some terrible homophobic stereotypes around homosexuality and child abuse. But the series pulls back from that, in part because Type is not exactly the most self-reflective of characters.

The other subplot with Tar and his step-brother Tum is also in Love by Chance, but it just feels weird and it goes nowhere.

The relationship between Tharn and Type eventually becomes rather cute. I also really like the gradualness in how it works. It goes from enemies, to a one night stand, to fuck buddies, to a situationship, to finally being together. Each step was a natural outgrowth of the previous one.There are still deeply problematic elements to their coupling, but I leave that to the fact the characters are 18/19 years old. Honestly for a lot of people there are some toxic elements when in relationships at that age you eventually out grow, but it takes some time.

Another strength of this show is Type's growth as a human being. He goes from being very narrow minded and an extreme hot head to still being hot-headed but a more mature, caring, and thoughtful individual. Type grew because of his love for Tharn. Tharn doesn't really change much throughout the series. We get to meet Tharn's family a handful of times and they are really cute.

A favorite character of mine was Techno (aka No). He was magnificent comedic relief throughout this season. Much funnier than in Love by Chance.

Major weaknesses of the show? Well, there are characters who stop being relevant halfway through. There are some subplots that feel irrelevant or just drop entirely. The way this show treats consent is also quite the red flag in of itself. The villain doesn't really got portrayed in the way they should have. How this aligns with Love by Chance is also quite a head stratcher in terms of making timelines work, because they do not.

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Heartwarming Story with a tad of Teen Drama Elements

Really sweet and enjoyable. The only problem is every episode is too short. They need time for story elements to breathe and develop. Even merging them into a singular movie doesn’t really solve the problem. The chemistry between the actors is solid.

But this is a sweet little BL. I am starting to like the trope of falling in love with one's bodyguard. However, when that bodyguard is also the same age of you in high school that is a little bit of a stretch. Then again the fight scene to go see his love is kind of exciting.

Again the main weakness of this series is that each episode is too short so all its strengths don't have time to sit with the audience. It just breezes past major plot points because each episode is 10-12 minutes in length.

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An Adorable Comfort Watch

This was such a comfort watch. This is the BL series that launched the popularity of this sub-genre on the international stage. This series isn't highly innovative. The leads are attractive, but their chemistry on screen is solid.

The initial premise of the show is a bit problematic. It starts with an aggressive, flamboyant queer character chasing a straight man to be his boyfriend. The rather stubborn, flamboyant character named Green can't take a hint or a no. Tine then looks for someone to be his significant other to deter Green. Initially, Tine thinks of finding a girl as his fake girlfriend, but to no avail. Tine, with the brain trust of his close friends, comes up with the popular Sarawat as a fake boyfriend.

It is obvious Sarawat likes Tine fairly early on. I thought that was initially a little weird. However, as the series progresses, we learn that Sarawat has had a long-time crush on Tine. These flashbacks, which give greater context to Sarawat's and Tine's earlier interactions, are fantastic.

Tine eventually falls for Sarawat, and the relationship becomes sweet. There are a handful of kisses, and sex is only implied. It is not the best BL series I have seen yet. However, it is highly enjoyable and seems like a great comfort watch.

The side BL couples could use a little more development.

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An Unexpected Delight

I went into this expecting a slasher TV show with a BL element. DFF is precisely that in the first four episodes. However, the show is weakest when it sticks to that expected premise. I usually binge BL shows, but this one took me until the 5th episode to get into. This show has a BL element but is not the central focus. It is similar to the popular BL show Not Me in that way. If you are looking for a romance like many other BLs, this is not the show for you. You also must endure through the first four episodes to get to the really good stuff in the middle of the series.

Once you hit episode 5, it becomes a high school bullying story. It then evolves into a high school queer love story, a crime drama, a problematic relationship with an older man, and the various ways people are culpable in driving someone to the edge. The character who suffers from all this is Non.

This is not a happy series. There is no happy ending, no redemption, only pain, sadness, death, and tragedy.

I enjoyed this show because it did something VERY different within the BL context. Barcode did an incredible job as Non.

A major drawback to the series, aside from waiting until almost halfway to build up the story, is the way it tells its story. It feels like it borrows from the Rashomon formulation of going over events from different points of view. Still, it fills in the gaps of missing information with each character we focus on rather than seeing the same scene from another perspective.

The ending scene is ambiguous, a mixed bag. I am just glad this series broke out of the box of BL tropes and formulas. However, it did fall into a lot of slasher tropes and formulations. You can see influences of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and even your standard Friday the 13th or Halloween movie. I would be surprised if none of those movies influenced the people behind this show.

Definitely worth a see. I would have rated this higher if not for the first 4 episodes being rather subpar.

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A Truly Lovely BL Among College Friends

This is a BL that emphasizes romantic love equally with the love that comes with great friends. There is little plot to speak of, but each episode is just a feel-good time. At the end of each episode, I kept wishing my college experience was similar to these kids and had romantic entanglements that were as healthy and nice as theirs were on screen. They had 4 BL couples, a record as far as I am aware. The show heavily focused on 2 of them, a 3rd one getting some good air time but honestly not enough, and the 4th one didn't come together until the last episode.

The couples? Phum & Peem (actors: Pond & Phuwin), Q & Toey (Winny & Satang), Fang and Tan (Boom and Aou), and the last one is Chain & Pun (Marc & Poon).

For me, this show's real stand-out actor and character was Toey, played by Satang. He played the energetic underclassman to perfection. He was so adorable, kind of innocent, and mischievous at the same time. I loved every minute of him on screen. When Toey and Q finally get together, it is truly adorable. Winny & Satang were good in My School President, but they were even better in We Are. The series spent a lot of time on Toey trying to get Q to admit his feelings through a series of hair-brained schemes of getting Q jealous so he'd finally do something.

Tan was just....he was over the top with golden retriever energy. Fang was a reserved statue. BUT this is a great example of opposites attracting and balancing each other out. While Fang doesn't express his love for Tan frequently, the camera always shows us how Fang takes notice of Tan, of his actions and behaviors, and shows his affection through smaller acts of kindness. There is one scene in particular that shows Fang talking to Tan because he feels upset and isolated. Fang just needs to unload, and Tan goes from being a goofball to being a serious supporter and confidant. It is a small but truly beautiful scene.

Then there is the arguable main couple with the two most prominent lead actors. Phum and Peem were less interesting to me than Q & Toey or even Fang and Tan. But again, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing at Peem and Phum. Phum has this hard exterior, but he is often holding a stuffed animal when he's alone at home. Phum has a strained relationship with his father and felt abandoned when he was younger, so he has this harder exterior. But in the end, Phum is very soft on the inside. Peem doesn't want to fall for this "buffalo" but can't help it. I kind of wish they would get together sooner, but there really wasn't much of a barrier between the two of them. Peem was just reluctant to admit his feelings and get romantic with Phum for unknown reasons.

Now, the friend group of all of them, plus Toey's friend Matthew (played by JJ Jutamas, one of the twins at GMMTV) and Beer (Phum's best friend), was also really something to watch. Halfway through the series, Peem says how grateful he is to have them as his friends and that he loves them. When Peem is having a hard time or is disappointed, his friends show up at his bedroom door to hang out and watch a movie. Peem has a wonderful aunt and two loving parents, but he has his own chosen family that loves him like they would a brother. What I appreciated about this element the most is that BLs often take any emotional connection between characters and build it into a romantic plot. This is a BL that greatly emphasizes platonic love between friends just as much as the romantic and sexual love that comes with one's special someone.

Did the series need 16 episodes? Probably not, but I loved each one. I am sad to see the series over, even though it is longer than many BL series. It lacked the drama and breakups that come with your typical BL. This was a light-hearted good time from start to finish.

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A Rom-Com Crime Drama with a Gangster-Cop Love Story

This is a BL that is more about its plot than it is about the queer romance of the two leads. I mean the twists you can see coming from a mile away. However, the acting is first-rate. The redemption arcs are well done. This story in the anthology series jumps between a serious crime drama and a truly hilarious rom-com. The side BL couple is just so much fun. I don't think they are necessary to the plot, but I love the eccentric Jack and the super naive/innocent police officer dynamic. The naive cop is a grandma's boy, has never dated anyone, and still has stuffed animals in his bed. He also will just walk on his hands in a scene just because its fun.

I also liked this show because it definitely moves beyond stereotypes, especially the queer stereotypes.

This series arc in the HIStory anthology was truly a blast.

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A Fun but Muddled Mess of a BL

I am a little surprised to how popular this BL series is. The popularity could be the result of how sexual this show is and how different it is from your typical BL. I really enjoyed the first half of this series. However, halfway through, the series seems to lose its steam and the plot. When Kinn and Porsche became a couple and had BL couple-like moments that were cute, it felt completely out of place. Moreover, the main couple became less interesting than the character of Vegas.

A major problem with this show is that the characters are not consistent with who they are throughout the series. I don't mean characters have moments of growth. Porsche changes throughout the series, as does his little brother Porchay. On the other hand, characters like Vegas and Kinn are sociopathic earlier but then become broken teddy bears after a couple of episodes. It just makes sense and feels like a fan-fiction kind of logic.

Vegas, in particular, is a character who makes little sense. He is shown as a soulless, violent manipulator. Yet, after torturing Pete, he becomes a vulnerable, broken little boy with him. Vegas's father is cruel as well, but then he meets his sister and becomes a crying sack of shit.

By the end, we have twist after twist after twist, adding unnecessary complexity to the story to create a clean ending.

I was interested in the relationship between Porchay and Kim. I found Kim to be interesting, but an underdeveloped character.

Vegas and Pete became an irrational but interesting couple that I wanted more time with.

Tankhun was a load of fun in every scene.

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TayNew Are Amazing in this, better than Dark Blue Kiss by a Mile

I laughed A LOT throughout this series. The main couple is great, but it is the return of TayNew (or Pete and Kao from Dark Blue Kiss & Kiss Me Again) on screen. Their chemistry is fantastic. I recently watched Dark Blue Kiss for the first time, so some scenes and moments remind me of the two of them in that series. However, I liked this series's more adult environment and approach to relationships.

This series addresses issues of being in a rut in one's life, chasing one's goals, finding love later than is culturally expected, and being willing to learn and embrace new things. While younger people may enjoy this BL series, this one really hits home for the middle-aged crowd (or at least those of us in our 30s who don't want to be called middle-aged or uncles quite yet).

Our main couple has so much depth and emotional weight. The side BL couple also has a fair amount of cuteness and emotional heft. I kind of wish we had more time with Rock and Pai. They were utterly adorable, but that would have detracted from the main couple.

The romance between Achi and Karan is amazing and brings out the green-eyed monster in me. Karan is so caring and understanding. Achi I could connect with his shyness and uncertainty about himself. There is very little spice to this series. Honestly, Dark Blue Kiss had more spice to it than this series. Yet, this is the best project I have seen TayNew do together. I would love to see them in more of these kinds of stories.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed A LOT, got teary-eyed in a couple of scenes, loved the chemistry, and felt sad when I watched the last episode because I wanted to follow more of their story.

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