It was an exhausting week with updates dropping at every corner, we had a hard time keeping record of all the excitement that is in store for the upcoming months. With rumors surrounding the upcoming GMMTV lineup, the last few months of 2024 are going to be pretty hectic.
Monthly Archives: September 2024
Our Favorite Japanese BLs So Far (2024)- Part II
2024 was indeed the year of Japanese BLs, with dramas and movies dropping left and right. With the constant outflow of adaptations, it was a difficult task to catch up with them all. Still, Japanese BLs are slowly evolving beyond the conventional boundaries and bringing us realistic stories that aim at portraying queer culture; they are diversifying, and we are reaping the benefits. Today, I will be listing my personal favorites, gems that I found in the pile of stones!
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“Tadaima, Okaeri” Series Review (Ep.5 to 12)
“Tadaima, Okaeri” is an anime set in the Omegaverse, a genre where characters have secondary genders like Alpha, Beta, and Omega. I am a big fan of Omegaverse, no matter what other’s say. I have read the manga and was surprised that it would be turned into an anime. So, I immediately watched the entire series and it was full of cuteness and love. “Tadaima, Okaeri” is a lighthearted and wholesome show.
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“Under the Oak Tree” Series Review (Ep.1 to 10)
This series, without wanting to sound hyperbolic, is in an instant classic category and in essence prototypical. It is one of the most remarkable BLs I have ever seen or perhaps will ever see. It is that good. It is certainly unique. True to Vietnamese BLs, it is a series that digs deep into the internal onuses of humanity and its various components of human passions. I have stated this before and shall state it again. Some of the finest, if not the finest BLs come from Vietnam. They tell deeply insightful stories of humanity that have heart and aspiration and tell it in a way that underlying it all is still the message of hope. And they tell these stories in ways that if we listen and observe, can help us change to become better individuals. The narratives are just remarkable.
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“Kidnap Series” First Impressions (Ep.1 to 3)
The first three episodes of Kidnap are a mixed bag of hurt/comfort foregrounding a relationship that begins with a kidnapping.
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“Mr. Mitsuya’s Planned Feeding” Series Review (Ep.3 to 7)
There’s something truly magical about finding love in the most unexpected moments, especially when you thought that chapter of your life had already closed.
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“Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko!” Series Review (Ep.3 to 8)
“Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko!” (Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru) is an office romance between Ayaka (Kato Shiho) and her superior Hiroko (Mori Kanna). It starts off with Ayaka’s attempts to woo Hiroko and to get her to notice Ayaka’s feelings. Her initial attempts end up in comic failures because Hiroko presumes Ayaka is straight and her gestures don’t have any meaning behind them. As the show proceeds, we find that Hiroko’s supposed obliviousness is actually a defence mechanism of wilful ignorance that she puts up to shield herself.
Continue reading “Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko!” Series Review (Ep.3 to 8)
BL Mini-Bytes
We are eons away from those days when BL/ GL media from the Asian subcontinent were difficult to access. With the kind of outreach that streaming portals have today, queer media is much more prevalent and accessible now. We got some striking series joining the roster soon, so buckle up your seatbelts!
Our Favorite Japanese BLs So Far (2024)
I’ll be honest, very few Japanese BLs disappoint me. They tend to range from slow, comforting stories to narratives that either touch on important topics or border on the controversial. But no matter what story you get, there is almost always a deeper meaning woven into the series, one that may stand out in the moment or may hit you later after the series has aired.
So, it isn’t easy narrowing down a list of favorites. Rather than focus on what makes one drama better than another for me, I’ll list the dramas from 2024 I find myself recommending the most to others.
“Live in Love” First Impressions (Ep.1 to 3)
“Live in Love” follows the story of Kla (Hearth Chindanai Dechewajeekul) and Cake (Junior Chokkorn Deotrakul), two occasional streamers, who meet online by chance, and Kla falls in love at first sight with Cake, who also begins to develop feelings for him. The show is set during a pandemic, which might be to justify the online nature of the relationship (and title), however, all the pandemic related precautions are quickly disregarded. The setting of the show is quite confusing, and the online relationship could have been justified in much simpler ways, that did not need to drag in the over-played pandemic tropes that people would much rather move past. The show has a lot of redeeming qualities and started out simple and grounded, however, by episode 3, it seems to want to be more than it’s supposed to be, which is a fluffy comfort BL.
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The BL Xpress 