The first quarter of 2023 was indeed interesting, atleast in terms of BL dramas. Seemingly, we had more qualitative content as against qualitative. Breaking through their repeative routine, the BL industry is now opening up to formulas that are new and inspiring. In today’s feature, our authors will be talking about the shows that left a deep impression on our psyche!

MychelleLove’s Favorites

I haven’t watched a lot of dramas these past six months. Since I love sweet non-cringy drama, so I took a break. However, Korea did it again and impressed me with these three dramas. They made me squeal in excitement and to me that is important; all of them being excellently directed and well acted.

A Shoulder to Cry On

Le Da Yeol (Kim Jae Han) is very passionate about archery but is somewhat of a loner in school. Then along comes Jo Tae Hyun (Shin Ye Chan), who to me, is a case of opposites attract. I loved how they gave each of them a back story and how they were very similar in many ways, but also very different. Tae Hyun was adopted and has a very traumatic past. Da Yeol has only cared about archery and winning, not really knowing why he has been doing it. For me, this was a very beautifully scripted story of two people, coming from such diverse backgrounds learning to grow beyond their past.

I loved the way Tae Hyun always got under Da Yeol’s skin. He annoyed him relentlessly and that was the most adorable thing. I think one of my favorite scenes was in the nurse’s office at the very beginning. It was done very well and the look on Da Yeol’s face once they were caught was priceless. I felt Da Yeol’s emotional turmoil, as others believed he tried to “make out “ with Tae Hyun. The music simply intensified the scenes, and I loved the way Da Yeol and Tae Hyun slowly started to understand each other and begin a beautiful friendship that morphs into something deeper in future.

I honestly think this was the most beautiful, well-scripted drama I have seen in a very long time. Some scenes made me cry as I felt the sorrow and hurt experienced by Tae Hyun; some parts made me laugh as these two were complete opposites that fit like a puzzle.

I am so glad I watched this one and I will definitely rewatch it many times. The OST fits this series to a T.

All the Liquors

Here is another Korean drama that made me squeal again. Han Ji Yu (Kim Jun Hyung) is a free-spirited fun soul who loves food and alcohol too much (but that is his charm for me) and we have Park Hi Hoon (Won Do Hyun) as the owner of an excellent restaurant with a twist- “No Alcohol allowed”. I loved watching these two collide. The chemistry was on point for me. The way they first met was more than comical. Ji Yu is a cute drunk and Hi Hoon is a cold, no-nonsense kind of person.

I love the storyline as it has Ji Yu jumping through hoops to get Hi Hoon to sign the contract with his company. Their chemistry explodes on screen and I loved their interactions. From their first meeting to the end, everything was beautiful to watch.

The OST for this series was amazing and fit the series perfect. It adds to the connection between each scene.

I watched as they start to like each other and honestly, I think Hi Hoon fell first but was so unsure of being rejected due to his childhood issues. Hi Hoon and Ji Yu fit like a glove, they complement each other; one was carefree, and another is stoic. Ji Yu makes Hi Hoon look at things in a different light. Hi Hoon became more confident as the show goes on. I was very happy with the ending, as it was how it should have been!

Our Dating Sim

Our Dating Sim was my most favorite one this year. This one increased the squeal factor to 100 times. Lee Wan (Lee Jong Huk) and Shin Ki Tae (Lee Soung Gyu) are high school friends. Lee Wan confesses to Shin Ki Tae and seeing the shocked look on Ki Tae face, he runs away, leaving his camera behind.

What I liked about this show is that gives you an understanding of the relationship between these two in high school and how it changes as they meet seven years later by coincidence. This one had me guessing from the beginning. I thought it was a revenge plan for Ki Tae; he was confessed to and never got to say his piece. I was really mad at him for bullying Lee Wan. Then I watched as Ki Tae’s attempts to find Lee Wan were shown. As Ki Tae makes efforts to win Lee Wan’s trust, they reconcile, and their connection is rebuilt. Between the casual touching of hands and creating ways so Ki Tae could be alone with Lee Wan, the storyline was very interesting to watch. The actors have an explosive chemistry and these two were a perfect fit. They are meant to be. Just by looking at the way they interacted with each other, their love between the two characters was so obvious.

I was so happy watching this one as the drama was sweet, cute and fun-loving. The one thing that did shock me was how much Lee Wan leaving, as he did in high school, affected Ki Tae. He was very scared of not being able to see Lee Wan again and that he would disappear from his life again like he did 7 years ago, this was to the point that if Ki Tae could not get hold of Lee Wan, he would start panicking. I was happy with the ending for this show as well. OST was excellent and complements the romance perfectly.

PotatoBLChild’s Favorites

While I did want to watch a lot of BLs this year, quite a few things got in the way, so there were barely two or three that I’d finally got to watch. One of them made the list for sure:

A Shoulder to Cry On (Mar 2023)—A Guilty Pleasure

I had been waiting for this for the longest time for two reasons—a) I had already read the manhwa, and b) two members from one of the idol groups I follow, i.e., OMEGA X, were the main leads. This show, along with many shows that we’d seen in KBL since 2022, really drove home the fact that we’re going to get magnificently well-produced KBLs from now onwards. As idols who knew each other very well because they’d already spent so much time together (plus good acting skills), Jaehan and Yechan did a decent job portraying Lee Dayeol and Jo Taehyeon respectively. The script also cleaned up quite a few issues with the manhwa that seemed disturbing for many readers—issues with consent, abuse, bullying, and the like were still there but were definitely toned down in the live-action version. And enemies-to-lovers is an addiction, so there’s nothing more to say. I would call it less of a favourite and more a guilty pleasure because, at the end of the day, it did get a little disappointing here and there. Plus, the ‘cleaning-up’ doesn’t excuse the issues with the manhwa as well as the story in itself (especially the bullying), but I was still pretty excited about it because of the boys.

We will be back next week with the third edition of this feature. So till then, keep watching this space as we bring you more updates from the Asian BL World!