BL / Gay - New Movies and Dramas 2020-2021

Short special for drama "Innocent". 

It's confusing, the main series doesn't seem to have aired yet, while this special aired already in september 2020.

Short.

Minidrama of shorts.

Mini-drama of shorts.

Mini-drama of shorts.

Sequel season for drama "Kare ga Boku ni Koishita Wake". 

Supposedly upcoming April 2021.

Upcoming 2021. (Probably).

Supposedly upcoming in August 2021. 

Director's cut movie version of drama "Life - Senjou no Bokura". 

I prefer the drama version because I think the format suits a drama better. The pacing and editing feels arranged that way--and I can detect it when it's cut into a movie. But the difference is minute and doesn't really matter.
The movie version does, however, contain a little bit extra. Rewarding! :)

It was good. But it could have been even better with some script changes. 

I'll get to reviewing it when I feel up to it...

BL and horror? Awesome.  Haven't gotten as far as to watch it yet, though...

Upcoming 2021 (probably).

Sequel season to "Love By Chance", this time focusing on the side couples, mainly on Tin and Can. 

I completely trashed this when I had watched the first episode, and totally ignored watching it, until recently. 

I didn't like it very much, but it wasn't as bad as I expected... 

I'll get to writing some thoughts about it, when I feel motivated to do so...

Sequel Special for movies "Love's Coming" and "Love Love You".

Full lenght drama version of the story of Mark and Vee from "En of Love: Love Mechanics". 

Upcoming August 2021. (Probably.)

Upcoming 2021. (Maybe?) (Release date yet to be announced.)

Sequel for 2019 drama "Love Poison". 

No releasedate available as of now.

Upcoming 2021? (Release date yet to be announced.)

This project seems like a reeeaaaally bad idea :S
Don't go messing with classics, right...

Adaptation of the super popular classic BL manga with the same name. 

(Which I haven't read, since it's not my cup of tea. Whether I will watch the movie depends on the reviews, I guess.)

Was supposed to be released 2020, but no further info has been added to MDL since.

Upcoming 2021? (No release date available as of now.)

It's seriously questionable whether I should include this title on the list, or not. I still haven't quite decided. Yuck. 

If you have a serious story to tell--any content is justifiable. But this seems to be 100 % gratuitous catering to fangirls/boys that really should book an appointment to a psychologist.

Was supposed to be released in 2020. MDL has no new info.

Upcoming 2021? (No release date available as of now.)

Hmm. I'm ambivalent about this one... 

I was totally hyped up when I heard about it, and waited eagerly for the release. (I would've liked it no matter what--since I've been waiting a long time to see Max and Tul reunited in BL...)

After a couple of episodes, I gave it a "temporary" rating of 8, but I've lowered that considerably since then... I still haven't finished it, since I just can't say that I think it's very good :S I guess I have to get to finishing it, though...

The genre is tricky to navigate if one has been working in BL (director behind "The Love of Siam" and "Dew, Let's Go Together")--especially when giving a love story equal space. One will have to yield and here it will be the thriller part that gives in to the romance. Which is sad--and awesome--depending on how one sees it.  It's hard to mix and find the balance and it doesn't turn out that perfect here, but perhaps that's because of the original novel, I don't know. I plan to read it. Eventually.
I wasn't expecting thriller quality á la South Korea, so I wasn't too disappointed. 

I'm a bit split about that part above--since we're talking my two fav genres, BL and crime, I don't want either to fall flat. But I'll choose to see it this way; this is a BL thriller. Not a thriller with BL. And then it's fine. And I'm SO HAPPY that we finally get gay content in other genres than sappy romance and/or heavy dramas. So even if I'm critical, just that simple fact makes me love it. At least to some extent.

My final judgement shall fall when I've finished it...

Just a nerdy side note; As a life-long criminology/forensics buff + worked in human and vet care--I spot quite a few annoying little technical stupidities and errors in procedures and whatnot... but... who cares... 

Mini-drama.

Hmm. For some reason, I didn't like this. I enjoyed the other recent Korean mini dramas more, even though they were less qualitative... I'll give a decent rating because it's pretty well produced and there's nothing WRONG with it--it just didn't hit home with me. I get annoyed with unrealistic plot/relationship developments--and here, it's too much for me. Sure,when talking about BL--realistic stories are rare. But as long as it's built up and elaborated from the haphazard meeting/hook-up, it's fine. Especially if it's the sillier kind of BL. 

But this isn't silly--so it becomes awkward. And the relationship dynamics are fuzzy and somehow... the characters keep their feelings and thoughts to themselves. There is no need to write it on the nose, but some kind of outreach, explanation, voicing out what takes place in their minds and hearts--is kind of crucial to make us believe what happens on the screen.
This doesn't. 

It's cute and all that... but it's flat. The characters are flat and the story is told in that shallow and "let's show a little bit of this and a little bit of that, screw the fluidity" kind of way.
Which is a pity, since the plot premise was kind of unique. 

Acting was fair, but not in any way exceptional. 

Random cred; The far-from-acceptable dancing by the MC, was edited quite cleverly and smoothly and almost pulled off fooling an experienced and critical eye.
Tech work was quite nice with some extra lovely shots. 

And above all; Cred to South Korea for developing their BL, and managing to dig out a path of their own, with a distinct flavour that differs from the Japanese and Taiwanese productions, even though they have similarities.

Umm...

Upcoming drama with the much beloved pairing of Jimmy and Tommy ("Why RU?")...

I'm not thrilled... I do like the guys, and they do have nice chemistry as actors--but their physical interaction is soooooooo bad that I can barely watch them in those kinds of scenes :S
Perhaps it could work if they do some advanced make-out-workshop or something... lol... 

No releasedate available as of now. 

Was supposed to be released in May 2020, no idea what happened?

Special episode for drama "Mr. Heart". Nothing much. Behind-the-scenes kind of interview thingy that bored me half to death but I guess it fills its purpose. 

Short mini series of the super sweet and innocent kind. Had some small flaws, but I really liked it. (And I'm a sucker for all sports BL--which is weird since I absolutely hate most sports IRL...)

Upcoming 2021? (No release date available as of now.)

Sequel drama for the "My Bromance" movie. 

In general, MDL ratings are crazy because nutty fans are too trigger-happy with the "10"s. I thought the case was the same here. 

It wasn't. This one deserves a top score.

It's that good. 

What really impresses--is the production. This is CLASS. The difference between this, and 95 % of other BL dramas--is that between heaven and earth. And class is about careful and talented work from the crew. Standard tv-shows vs. movie quality. Here, you have quality techs (sound, light, visuals etc), seamless editing and well planned writing and directing that create dynamic scenes and shots. 

But everything else is great, too. (If I had paid attention to the director--I would have guessed. This guy made "SOTUS"... The music gave me a "SOTUS" feel. I checked. And yeah, it's Lit Samajarn...)

The cast is excellent--compare ALL these guys to most BL actors. These dudes can ACT. Most are great and really make their characters come alive. And as icing on the cake; hot. (Especially Lay... so beautiful...) 

OST/score is not awesome at all times--but always fitting. Sometimes; great. I seldom like mushy love songs, but the ending (also in instrumental score) theme got to me. Love it. 

The storylines of four (!) couples, all fit in the time given, which is rare. I.e. = well planned. One couple is superfluous, but have their charm, still. All others are equally endearing and interesting. 

The is corny, yes--but this is true BL, and it's executed so well that it works even for crass BL fans like me. The humor is often (really) silly, but it's tongue-in-cheek and doesn't take itself too seriously. It even seems like it's going to angle the whole top-bottom-trope a bit differently; sarcastically. (Yay!)
The syrup is cute--not unbearable, and all guys have superb chemistry. 

It's light and cheesy, but sweet--and makes you fangirl. Hard.

Sequel season to drama "My Engineer". 

Upcoming 2021. (No exact release date is available as of now.)

One of the titles I look forward to, the most. Which is a surprising thing to hear from ME... lol... In general, I'm not exactly a fan of the cheesy, cutesy things--but I can't help but to adore "My Engineer"...
It might be because of King and Ram.
I'm actually pretty sure it's King and Ram.
No... it's DEFINITELY King and Ram... lol...

Special episodes connected to the drama "My Engineer".

Behind the scenes episode connected to the drama "My Engineer".

Short.

Sequel for short-film "My Friendship".

Upcoming 2021? (No release date available as of now.)

This was pretty "meh". So "meh" that I can't be bothered to write anything in particular, really. Forgettable, run-of-the-mill, definitely not comparable to recent Thai gems from 2020...

Was listed as upcoming November 2020, but the release info has been removed, so I guess we should expect sometime in 2021, I guess...

Short.

Upcoming May 7th 2021 (?) 

No release date available as of right now. 

Hong Kong-remake of the Japanese "Ossan" franchise. Could be interesting if one is a fan of the sweet, innocent and quite unique "Ossan" story. 

Upcoming June 2021 (?)

Upcoming 2021 (?) No releasedate available as of now.

Mini-drama.

Upcoming 23rd of April 2021.

Upcoming 2021. (Probably.)

Uhm. Horror-parody-something, featuring gay monks? :D Wtf... I think I'll have to watch it just because of the insane description. 

Has a previous installment, but I have no idea whether there are any gay characters in that one.

Mini-drama. 

A very pleasant surprise! 

I'm usually hesitant to most of these short dramas, since the descriptions--and often the titles (as in this case) sound "bleh" to me, but when I get to actually watching them--every now and then, I find something I like. 

It's light weight, silly and not exactly heavy impact BL--but it's really entertaining and the acting is great. Especially Yu as Zhou Shu Yi, just OWNS the scene whenever he's on screen. I love him, he's so charismatic that he's absolutely irresistible.
The chemistry between these two guys is absolutely awesome. In S2... WOW.
Worth watching even for just that.

A simple, straight-forward story and production, with a lot of humour and heart, that's really likable--despite a ridiculous conclusion to S1 and an incredible time-jump to S2. 

Me like. A lot.

Sequel movie for the drama "Pornographer". 

Short-film sequel for drama "Pornographer".

Sequel to movie "Present Perfect".

Short.

Mini-drama.

Short.

Mini-drama.

Special for mini-drama "Roommate".

Something rare; historical BL. Generally, it's not my fav theme--but I'll definitely take a look since I'm really impressed by the direction Korean BL has been taking in the past years. 

Upcoming spring 2021.

Special episodes connected to the drama "Why R U?"

Totally "meh". Cheesy, superfluous and basically just a bunch of extras to show off the second couple from the main series. However, I do get why they made these specials, since their story was kind of haphazard in the main show. 

I'm annoyed by the extreme clumsiness between Jimmy and Tommy. They're not crappy actors, but their physical scenes are painfully embarrassing to watch.
Compare them to Saint and Zee, as Tutor and Fight, in the main series... They're supposed to be the same age, but the former come off as elementary schoolers and barely reach the level of "cute"--while Saint and Zee conjure up smoking hot tension and interaction. And no--it's not about "Yaoi" vs. "Shounen Ai". It's just about awkward vs. relaxed acting. And perhaps kissing skills... lol... 

Sequel for the 2019 movie "Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute".

Oh boy. 

I'm hesitating between 5,5 and 6. And to be honest--that score would be lower if it weren't for the decent production. 

I'm a die-hard fan of Yamashita Tomoko, the mangaka behind the original work. It's not one of her best, but I do love it and own every volume. So it hurts to be this ruthless :S

This was bad... A bad adaptation of the manga--but also a bad movie in itself. Probably even worse for someone who hasn't read the comic... 

Bad casting choices (actors are okay but their interpretations are way off from the original characters), stupid changes in story and script, a very important character is wiped out entirely, focus is almost exclusively on visuals (which are nice, including decent SFX) and the fluidity and continuum of the story is just ignored completely... It's one hot, choppy, jumbled mess... 

The writing is the biggest issue--the movie has no coherency, no depth or exploration of either story nor relationships--which makes both shallow, unconvincing and random. The characters in the manga are fairly well fleshed out but above all, their relationships are thoroughly cemented. Here they were, like... "Huh? How? When?" From "hello" to "destined" in zero time, without an explanation. The manga is a slow story, here it's crammed into an hour forty. Doesn't work out...

And it was a huuuuuge mistake to erase the comedy and try to make it "creepy". The result becomes ridiculous instead :S The original work is nutty, insane and over-the-top, but it's self-aware and has a lot of humour.

Oh, about the romance/bromance? Almost gone. Mainstreamed.
Sure, it's vague in the manga, but it is there--mostly through innuendoes and slight stuff that gives a very slow development from "inexplicable attraction" into bromance into romance. (I'd be very surprised if Yamashita Tomoko doesn't make the outcome romantic.)

Adaptation of the manga by Mizuta Yuki. 

WARNING: Not for the faint of heart... This is GRAPHIC. Basically--very forceful BDSM porn, but with a story. So this piece would be very uncomfortable for the sensitive.
Subber's insert in the beginning; "Watch with headphones"... Yes. I strongly suggest you do... (Unless you live in sound proof surroundings, your neighbours are deaf, or you don't have an issue with people who overhear, labelling you a porn fiend.)

I expected to dislike this--maybe even hate it. I didn't. I really liked it. 

It's so graphic that I literally choked on my juice. And I am definitely seasoned when it comes to X-rated BL... Visually very daring, but even more so, it's the content that'll make you go "oh-my-gawd".
Yes, it's gratuitous--it's a porn-party deluxe, but it does fill a purpose and it's the core of the story, really. Two lonely and broken perverts crossing paths. 

Normally, I condemn all the rape that sadly is a staple in BL, but here it's placed in a context, and depicting a story of sexual kinks. But it takes an open mind to understand and accept that there are people who don't fit the frame of what's considered normal.
It takes maturity, a willingness to figure out these two--and perhaps experience of being screwed up, as well as a bit of a perverted streak--in order to appreciate the portrayal of a far from "normal" relationship. 

The acting impresses the hell out of me. Perhaps not due to overwhelming talent--but anyone brave (and crazy) enough to take on these roles--and convincingly pull them off--deserves respect...
The direction, visuals and other tech stuff--is neatly and quite aesthetically done, and the result is an eye-poppingly outragerous, yet sensitive story--mesmerizing in its super strange appeal. 

Was supposed to be released 2020, but nope. Then it was 2021. Now the release date info is removed. BUT... it says "16 episodes" and if that info is out--it would mean that it's likely to be released this year.

I have absolutely no idea whether this'll be any good at all.
But the title, the age rating (18+) and parts of the description--makes it an interesting title for me... :P (I think I'm completely and utterly BL-damaged...)

Supposedly it was upcoming 2020 but now the info about release date is removed. 

Sequel to drama "Skinship". 

Upcoming April 24th (?)

Short.

Supposedly has gay character(s).

LGBTQ theme, with one of the MCs being gay.

Mini-drama.

No releasedate available as of now.