A love that overcomes misunderstandings, rivalries, personality differences and ghosts

'Stay by My Side' begins with an unexpected and involuntary collision between Gu Bu Xia, the Anthropology student and owner of a sports scholarship as he is one of the best players on the university basketball team, and Jiang Chi, the future lawyer and son from a famous family of doctors who has just been transferred to Yong Yu University.
After several setbacks, these two young people, soon declared enemies, begin to live in the bedroom occupied by Bu Xia, since Jiang Chi has been forced to make a living by his own means after defying his parents, who want the boy to continue his steps in the career of Medicine.
Starring Isaac Yang as Jiang Chi, and Hong Wei Zhe as Bu Xia, the romantic and supernatural comedy with an LGBTIQ+ theme revolves around the unlikely romance between these two young college students with major personality differences, marked by paranormal ability of one of the protagonists, which provides a pleasant and fun novelty to the audiovisual product.
Soon the tender, light and happy series will introduce us to the lives of both characters. While Jiang Chi is an excellent basketball player, he does not seem interested in joining the varsity team, not wanting anything to distract him from his studies. Additionally, he works several part-time jobs to avoid being financially dependent on his parents.
For his part, the orphan Bu Xia has been raised by his grandfather, a spiritual medium, in a temple run by his sister Gu Bu Tao (Jin Cheng). After the death of the old man, the shy and insecure Bu Xia hears ghost voices murmuring in his ears, a circumstance that will worsen just as the new roommate enters his life.
Bu Xia, who has lived alone in his bedroom until Jiang Chi's arrival, will soon come to a conclusion: being close to the boy who now sleeps a few meters from his bed brings him peace, as the ghosts feel self-conscious and flee before him. Your presence. The more he interacts with Jiang Chi, the less he hears the voice of those who "pull the chain." That is why he will try to always have him around him..., but he hides the reason from him.
For his part, the law student mistakes Bu Xia's camaraderie as if the boy was flirting with him. "Could it be that Bu Xia has fallen in love with me?" he will ask himself. Jiang Chi comes to think that he is the object of his dormmate's love interest.
As a result, the supernatural element spices up a series with greater originality than the classic college romances, while the relationship between the two boys takes us on a journey surrounded by mystery and intrigue and in which love can overcome misunderstandings, differences in personalities and even outwit the ghost chase.
Likewise, the series will allow us to appreciate how two rivals can come to love each other with such madness and passion, to the point of one of them accepting the transfer of the uncomfortable ability to hear ghost voices that the other suffers.
Vidol, the Taiwanese streaming platform that makes BL series such as 'VIP Only' (2023), 'Anti-Reset' (2024) and 'You Are Mine' (2023), commissions Cai Fei Qiao, known for being the screenwriter of the acclaimed drama 'Unknown', 2024, the executive producer of another classic of the genre: 'We Best Love: No. 1 For You' and 'We Best Love: Fighting Mr. 2nd', and for playing Mrs. Yao, Shun Yu's mother, in 'You Are Mine Special', released in May 2024.
Lovers of the genre will be pleased with 'Stay by Me Side' for its strong BL content, for the tender and constant romantic interaction of the protagonists, for portraying two college sweethearts living the fullness of romantic happiness, for exploring the bond of the physical, emotional and spiritual couple, for their happy ending.
Likewise, fans of BL series will like the complicity of Bu Xia's sister and Jiang Chi, both interested in the young man's well-being and happiness.
I like the character played by Hong Wei Zhe: a boy who shows traits of insecurity and cowardice in the face of paranormal phenomena, who doesn't? But he leaves us with a memorable memory, especially when he discovers that he has fallen in love with another boy, and there he acts not infrequently in a childish and insecure way as well. What sometimes overreacts? His contagious laugh, his innocent eyes, his angelic face redeem him from excesses.
The mysterious and reserved character played by Isaac Yang is equally convincing, especially when he seeks to protect Bu Xia from ghosts and everything that could affect him. He is a lover who gives himself completely to the loved one.
I would have liked the series to delve deeper into the denunciation of possible homophobia (the reasons are not clear), perceived when Bu Xia and Jiang Chi's relationship becomes gossip among the other university students, who will try to obtain invasive photos of the loving couple, or make annoying comments in physical and virtual settings.
Isn't Taiwan the only Asian territory where Equal Marriage or Homosexual Marriage has been approved? Is sexual diversity not widely accepted by the Taiwanese population? Are same-sex sexual relations not legal? Why then consider the fact that two boys holding hands and attracting each other on a university campus or on the street in Taipei a public spectacle?