All That I Have Watched

25 years ago, a young girl, Jin Sun Mi, who was gifted with the ability to see ghosts and evil spirits encountered and made deals with two men. Both of them proved to be tricksters, and they vanished after side-stepping the deals they made. Now, they both reenter her life. Son O Gong, The Great Sage Heaven's Equal, and Woo Ma Wang, Demon King, quickly shatter the world Sun Mi had built for herself, and she must face the destiny the Heavens have decreed for her. This modern interpretation of the classic _Journey to the West_ is full of humor and heartbreak. It explores love in its many forms, loyalty, and redemption.

I often say that redemption arcs must be believable. The ones here are, and there are multiple characters who I do not hesitate to call psychopaths. Sun Mi is also in my mind Autistic coded in her isolation, her notions of justice, her trust that refuses to die, and her rationality. This is not a BL. However, there is LGBTQIA+ representation, and the inclusive way it is handled is laudable for a mainstream Korean drama.

There is so much I love about this drama. The acting, the plot, and the pacing are all spot on. The side characters are all dynamic. The humor is exceedingly Korean. The costuming is beautiful. The sub-arcs exist for reasons even if those reasons don't become clear until the end. Kleenex will be needed at several points. It is not a drama that can be rushed through though.

TW: Death, Violence, Bullying, Manipulation, Verbal Abuse, Child Abuse, Self-Deletion, Non-consensual Enchantment

A group of vampires face the challenge of obtaining death. Short. Sort of sweet in a messed up way.

TW: Self-deletion attempts. Assisted Deletion attempt. Non-consensual neck biting.

I did not enjoy this nearly as much as I thought I was going to. The mono-phobia and self-hate was uncomfortable for me.

Fluffy. Cute. Kissing B-.

Open ended... That Jeong Ha Yeon's father does not know about the relationship and just what they are going to do about that. It addressed that falling in love with a reincarnation is not the same person, which is an issue for me with reincarnation stories even though I love them.

TW: Self-deletion

Ki Jin is a young struggling fashion designer. He is friends with Lee Bin and has been his roommate for 2+ years. Lee Bin is a top fashion model in Korea. He also has a secret crush on Ki Jin. At some point in their school days, there was a messy romantic event between him and Yeong Woo. Yeong Woo is a part time delivery person who is struggling to find a direction with his life but has a positive attitude.

One day as Ki Jin is preparing a portfolio Lee Bin collides with Yeong Woo, and Yeong Woo collides with Ki Jin. A mishap turns to friendship and then romance. There is a well done love triangle followed by miscommunication and retaliation.

What I liked was the positive communication between Yeong Woo and his father. What I disliked was failure to do clean closure in the last 20 minutes. The kissing was very much camera angle, but I prefer that over dead fish kisses. Overall, it was nice but not great fluff.

An x-rated web comic artist hires an assistant who happens to have had a secret crush on him since high school. One of them has a history of crushing on straight men while the other has to process that he is bi. The plot is driven by misreading situations and needing to sort out emotions.

It is pure fluff with a happy ending and pretty cute. Song Seung Hyun is pretty cute...

Aoki, Aida, Hashimoto, and Ida are 2nd year high school students. One day Aoki borrows an eraser from his crush Hashimoto. On it, Aoki discovers the name of Hashimoto's crush, Ida. By mischance, when Aoki drops the eraser, it is Ida who picks it up. This leads Ida to think that Aoki has a crush on him. Miscommunication and first love anxiety follow.

Despite the anxiety this story is excitedly sweet. The acting is well done. There are scarves.

TW: Homophobia by a minor character, physical violence between two side characters

Sena Izumi comes from a family of performers, but he wants to create manga. Ichijou Ryouma is an actor. The first met as children on the set of a commercial. When they met again 10 years later, everything gets complicated.

This is light and fluffy though it presents a more realistic picture of current Japanese culture than perfect BL paradise. The acting is intentionally over-the-top but not bad.

TW: homophobia, internalized homophobia, non-consensual kissing

Miyata and Iwanaga fell in love in high school. Circumstances came between them. When they meet again, can things turn out differently? Iwanaga is determined to have a relationship. Miyata wants to enjoy the life he has created for himself.

This is fast passed with a tightly worked plot and strong dialog. The NC scenes are excellent.

TW: Gaslighting, homophobia, manipulation, work sabotage, emotionally abusive parent 

In high school, Tozaki Keisuke had a crush on Kurata Shosei. It was never confessed, and then Kurata moved away. Years later, they meet again. They begin a relationship, but it is conflicted by Kurata's feelings of jealousy toward Tozaki's boss and ex-boyfriend, Kazuomi Miyata. If the TW is not a deal breaker for you, it is a good watch for the historic context of Japanese BLs.

TW: Attempted Sexual Assault by one ML toward the other

I want the time I spent watching this series back, and that is the nicest thing I can say about it. BAH!

Sasaki Hirofumi begins work at a new company and moves into a new apartment. While he is struggling to learn skills to do his job, he meets Tamura Shinji. A workaholic, Tamura Shinji, repeatedly gives Sasaki Hirofumi the cold shoulder. What does it mean? This short movie is perfect if you are in the mood to watch a standoffish ML and a blundering ML stumble into a relationship.

The ending is happy. The acting is decent, and the kissing looks authentic with interesting cinematography for the NC scene. There are no TWs that I can think of.

Neglected 11 year old Tomo goes to live with her uncle when her mother once again abandons her. Her uncle, Makio, is living with his trans girlfriend Rinko. Relationships between them, Makio's mother, Rinko's parents, and Tomo's homosexual friend Kai are softly explored.

The ending is bitter sweet.  The acting is amazing by all.

TW: child neglect, child emotional abuse, suicide attempt, transphobia, homophobia, bullying

The MLs have been friends since high school and are now a closeted couple for two years as college students. Their closeted status and a visiting high school friend causes conflict between them.

It is mostly sweet and fluffy with a happy ending.

TW: Implied homophobia

The two MLs fall in love and are together to the end. Slices of their life are layered over each other with dialog that often fits more than one scene/time. It is about 16 minutes of joy that will make you cry.

TW: Death

This is just amazing. Communication throughout is healthy. The ending is happy. It is super wholesome. One of the things I love about J BLs is that MLs don't act coy about kissing.

TW: The one ML (high school aged) is hooking up with adult males at the very beginning. I get the impression that this is very much a cultural thing in Japan.

Very sweet with a happy ending. Communication at the end was healthy.

If this were not based on a manga, I would not call it a BL at all. It is from 2014 and LGBTQIA+. It is gentle, gritty, and very real. The ending is happy within the constraints of Japanese society. Communication breaks down sometimes, but not in toxic ways.

I am super ambivalent about this one. It was amazing. However, OMG the pain those two children were put through!

TW: Descriptions of sexual assault and an attempted sexual assault. Attempted self-deletion. Adult violence against a minor child. Emotional abuse of a child by adults. Homophobia. Gaslighting.

It was short, soft, sweet, and so nostalgic that I want to cry.

 I may die from the sweetness. They were so adorable, and it was so real.

Overall, it was short but very good. It was short and sweet. The enemy-to-love plot device made sense. I would not say fluffy, because they covered real issues in the MLs professional backgrounds (journalism). I loved that they were post-college professionals with established real jobs.

What I liked best - The kissing was decently done. The intimate scene was very well done with not a pair of boxers to be seen. The friendship between Masayan and Onoe Satoshi was lovely as was the way the seniors at work looked out for Onoe Satoshi and Kaburagi Motoharu. It was all very Japanese culturally appropriate but caring.

TW: One case they cover involves the porn industry and there is a victim who describes in non-graphic detail what was done to her. Then on another case one of the MLs experiences attempted sexual assault. The other ML does victim-blame and does not apologize. That is never OK.

The 4th installment in the Pee Nak franchise takes Tho Min Jun back to the countryside home of his childhood. His mother has asked him to restore the local temple, and his friends Balloon, First, and Noht travel with him. What awaits him though is, of course, complicated by a ghost and childhood promises.

Mike Phontharis Chotkijsadarsopon has once more delivered a fabulous blend of horror, comedy, and gay cattiness. Once again, wholesome messages and both Buddhist folklore and beliefs are woven in beautifully.  

TW: Bullying, Self-Deletion, Vengefulness, Death, Jump-scares, Ableism

Ohm, Deaw, and Bew are three high school friends who reunite their first year in college. Ohm is a spoiled rich boy and a politician's son. Deaw is a photographer, a cinematographer, and a dreamer. Bew is a kind hearted and supportive friend. Each meets and falls for Nene who is the daughter of a high ranking military official. Nene falls for Bew. The dilemma of loyal friendship vs pursuit of love is compounded, because Bew also loves Deaw. How will each find their own happiness, and who will learn to love themselves?

A 2 hour film, the story is told in four parts with each part being from a different main character's perspective. We all see ourselves as the hero in our stories. The plot is tightly written with characters that are so true that in the end one cannot imagine anything happening differently. The cinematography is beautifully done. The acting is outstanding. Parental relationships are strong.

I love this movie for how well it is done, and how much it makes my heart hurt while being mentally engaging. It is one of the few Thai creations with a poly ML. The ending is perhaps bitter-sweet and somewhat open-ended. Ultimately though, I choose to believe that it is happy. I cry every time I watch it, but I would have it no other way.

TW: Gaslighting, Manipulation, Abortion, Entrapment, Substance Abuse, attempted Self-deletion, Violence between MLs

This is one of the best BLs ever. There is some stuff about it that I really don't like, because I am against even the slightest hint of self-deletion victim blaming. However, my heart hurts too much right now from watching it to do more than curl up in a ball and sleep.

What sets my teeth on edge about _Cutie Pie_ is Lian calling out Kuea for trying to present himself as what he thought Lian wanted when Lian literally made himself into what he (and his parents) thought the perfect partner for Kuea would be. Pot calling the kettle black, Lian. However, for me, Lian tracks as much like Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in _Pride and Prejudice_ in many ways. Thus, his lack of personal insight is in character. Lian has some major flaws with the worst being self-justification of bad behavior and being an inconsiderate lover.

ML1, Guy, has had a crush on his best friend and is his shadow. To cope with the loneliness of one-sided love, Guy plays video games. The group he plays with decides to have an in person meetup, and this leads to the discovery that one player is not a female and is in fact a male mafia member. Enter ML2. The complexities of going legit and romance follow. I am an Italian American who thinks that two of the top American gangster movies are _Oscar_ and _Johnny Dangerously_, so this was my type of gangster movie.

What I liked best - The spicy scenes were well done. No underwear to be seen. The MLs both showed emotional growth.

TW: Massive amounts of simulated bloodshed and violence

If anyone needs anyone needs 13 episodes of exceedingly silly fluff with a competing love interest who refuses to go away because <checks notes> both MLs are cute and the writers just wanted to max out the MLs screen time, My Bubble Tea is amusing. There is some healthy emotional growth and communication by the end too.

I don't know if I should call the ending happy or slap both of them and tell them to get therapy.

Throughout the drama I felt like gouging my eyes out so that I don't have to watch these two immature adult males bicker with each other and their friends. UGH! I have never been so happy to stop watching a drama and go back to a work report before. Are Thai men really like this?

It is a very good watch if you enjoy emotional darkness and the sound of Jeff Satur's voice. However, unlike most Thai creations, it packs a lot of emotional punch in a short period of time.

TW: Cheating. Homicide. Drowning. Ghosts.

_≥75℃_ is really just 5 tea ads, but it is splendid.

The tone is overall upbeat. Leng and Junior are funny.


There is a happy ending... Including Master Mon being OK.

TW: Many people end up dead by the end. Both leads have traumatic flashbacks. We see flashbacks to many ghosts' traumatic deaths. Death. Blood. Self-deletion. Murder. Child Abuse. Abuse. Drugs. Dubious consent.

Charn is a jaded lawyer renowned for getting his high paying clients out of legal binds. He by chance one night meets Tinn a martial arts teacher. Before they can exchange numbers, they are separated. They are brought back together by the death of Tinn's niece. The case surrounding her death makes them opponents, but when Charn is removed from the case, he changes sides.

The entire show is marked by an element of crazy I expect more from Taiwan's productions than Thailand's.  It really irks me that MDL lists this show as G. Other sites have it as TV-PG, and I really think the rating should be closer to 15+. It is graphic.

TW: Repeated graphic bloodshed. Violence. Death. Murder. Death of a dog. Physical abuse. Mental and physical abuse by a parent of an adult child. Arson. Abduction.

Set in the MAME universe, I have a love/hate relationship with this drama series. It follows two main couples. Pete (Saint) is the son of an affluent family. A closeted homosexual college student at the International College, he randomly meets Ae (Perth), an Engineering Student. Their relationship follows a chance encounter to romance arc. One of Ae's friends is Can (Plan), a Sport Science student. This brings Can into the sphere of Tin (Mean) who is another International College student and Pete's friend. Can and Tin's relationship follows an enemies to romance arc. The plot plots. The chemistry sizzles. The dialog is solid. There are many side characters including ones played by Sammy & Sood Yacht.

Neurospicy coded characters:
Pete - Autistic; the super sweet and perpetually clueless type
Tin - Autistic; the got burned by being too trusting and loyal and now trusts nobody type
Cantaloupe 'Can' - ADHD & Autistic; clueless, trusting, hyper, & always hungry
Ae - ADHD; always active & super forgetful

Ethics Issue: Perth was 17 when this drama was filmed though he was 18 when it aired.

TW: A disgustingly dirty room, ableism, verbal and physical violence of one ML against another, assault & battery, Gaslighting, attempted non-consent sex, blackmail, bribery, bullying, classism, colorism, damage or sabotage of other's property, dubious-consent kissing, emotional incest between step-siblings, extreme profanity, forced outing, gambling addiction, homophobia, internalized homophobia, lying, manipulation, non-consent kissing, non-consent sex, non-consent video recording, physical violence in self-defense, pornography addiction, post sexual-assault nightmares, robbery/theft, sexual harassment, sibling abuse, smear campaigns, stalking, substance addiction, trauma bonding, use of black magic by one ML on another

Wine is a student with a complicated personal life. Tee is his childhood friend and love interest, but Tee breaks things off with him claiming never to have loved him. Boy is a businessman who also claims to love Wine and has set him up with an apartment. One night, Wine meets another youth who is starving. The youth is suffering from amnesia, and Wine decides to call him Night. What does it mean to love someone? How much is too much? What is reality?

I recommend this for anyone who likes vampires, psychological thrillers, or head f*cks. It is also good for anyone who thinks Fluke is just a cute & fluffy BL actor with big pretty eyes.

TW: Assault, blackmail, blood, bullying, cutting, dub-consent bondage, homicide, homophobia, internalized homophobia, manipulation, mental health, needles, rape role-playing, sexual exploitation, torture, violence

Part of the MAME universe, this is the story of Type Thiwat and Tharn Kirigun. Their freshman year of college they become roommates. Type is a hot head with a history of childhood sexual assault. Unaddressed, this has led to his being homophobic. Tharn is an open and proud gay. The discovery of Tharn's sexual orientation sets Type against Tharn and triggers a harassment campaign to force him to move. Over time, they develop a situationship and then a relationship.

The acting is excellent and the overall plot is interesting especially for those who watch other dramas from the MAME universe. Body language is well done with intimacy in touching beyond kissing such as hair and ear stroking.

However, the script and directing isn’t as engaging as other MAME dramas. There were warm-fuzzy moments, but there was very seldom comedy or humor. There are multiple places where the plot requires main characters to act out of character. Though there is strong chemistry between the MLs, it is unclear from the script where hate turns to love and why.

Further, there is systemic misogyny and heteronormative tropes. It has multiple plot lines that conflate pedophilic themes with homosexuality. Being a child sexual predator is not a sexuality. It’s child abuse and part of a pattern of violence. All other TWs aside, many LGBTQIA+ people will find this upsetting. It should have been addressed in some way.

TW: Ableism, verbal and physical violence of one ML against another, assault & battery, blackmail, bribery, bullying, classism, colorism, damage or sabotage of other's property, dubious-consent kissing, emotional incest between step-siblings, homophobia, internalized homophobia, lying, manipulation, non-consent kissing, non-consent sex, non-consent video recording, physical violence in self-defense, post sexual-assault nightmares, robbery/theft, sexual harassment, smear campaigns, stalking, verbal abuse

Dom and Yiwa have been dating for over 7 years. Before they marry, Yiwa, a social influencer, wants to grow her social media accounts. She gits help from an AI program, May-bot. May-bot was created by a high school friend of Yiwa and Dom, Wang. Is the world ready for the influence of May-bot? Is May-bot ready for the world?

The plot is somewhat predictable, but the acting is solid. Overall, it is fluffy with positive messages. I especially liked that there was LGBTQIA+ representation that showed real cultural dynamics.

TW: Homophobia, racism ,and classism

Three new college graduates each receive carrier and life advice from a mysterious life coach. The over the top acting here makes for an odd and sometimes uncomfortable watch. That being said, the LGBTQIA+ representation here is good with one character being in a relationship with a ladyboy.

This is a continuation of the Love by Chance series, and focuses on the relationship between Can and Tin. There are two things one should know.

1st: Don't Watch The First 6 Episodes!!! They are not new material, and they will drain your soul. Start at Episode 7.

2nd: The timelines between all events in LBC1 and 2 do not line up, and it's frustrating. I do not know what they will do to fix it should LBC3 ever happen. It is also unfair that they completely fail to explain what has happened to Pete in the drama. There are references to some of the events but no explanations. The following happens between the events of LBC1 and LBC2 per the novels. Pete's childhood friend, Deli, outs Ae’s relationship to Pete's father in Germany who causes problems for Ae and Ae's family. Ae is almost jailed and thrown out of school. Pete is kidnapped and almost raped. Tin helps with all situations. Pete is forced to move to Germany with his father and to cut off all contact with people in Thailand. Ae is devastated.

With that understanding, most of the plotlines pick up at episode 7 where they ended in episode 14 of LBC1. Tin just got rejected by Can. Tar is back in France. Kengkla and Techno's situationship is what it is.

The acting is good. The dialog is excellent. This is a highly memeable drama. The plot is sustained by several trivial but fun subplots. These 7 episodes lean more toward fluff though a good deal of emotionally heavy content is still present.

TWs: Ableism, assault & battery, attempted Gaslighting, blackmail, bribery, bullying, classism, colorism, damage or sabotage of other's property, emotional incest between step-siblings, forced outing, homophobia, internalized homophobia, lying, manipulation, non-consent sex, post sexual-assault trauma, sexual harassment, sibling abuse, smear campaigns, stalking, substance addiction, trauma bonding, verbal abuse