End of the Year BL Review !

~ Favorites of 2023 ~


1. Favorite overall series of 2023
I think it has to be My Beautiful Man 2 because although not perfect, it’s the series that I buy into the most. The main leads are the most believable as their characters and I buy into their story, their motivations, their actions, their lives and their love for each other.

2. Favorite smooches of 2023
The ones that got me in the feels is the kiss under the towel from Stay By My Side, all the kisses from Akk/Ayan in Our Skyy2: The Eclipse and the kisses during the NC scenes in My Personal Weatherman.

3. Favorite NC scenes of 2023
In terms of NC scenes that I really liked and felt the chemistry during these scenes, it has to be My Personal Weatherman.
In terms of the most well executed NC scenes (realism, angles, lighting and acting), it’s The End Of The World With You.

4. Favorite main couple of 2023
It’s got to be Hira/Kiyoi (My Beautiful Man 2) and Tharn/Phaya (The Sign) because I think they embody/sell their characters and their chemistry/love the most. I have other main couples that I like in general (Our Dining Table, You Are Mine, A Breeze Of Love, Jun & Jun, Kiseki: Dear To Me, My Personal Weatherman, Cherry Magic (Thai), The Eight Sense) but none are as palpable in their portrayals as these two couples.

6. Favorite side couple of 2023
I have a few: Sand/Ray (Only Friends), Chen Yi/Ai Di (Kiseki: Dear To Me) and Gemini/Fourth (Moonlight Chicken).

7. Favorite actor of 2023
BL: I don’t think I have one. Someone would really have to stand out for me to class them as my favourite. Someone who has pleasantly surprised me is Babe (The Sign) but I haven’t seen enough from him yet to say whether or not I would class him as a fave but I do think he’s one to watch.
NON-BL: I don’t think I have one but there are a few regulars that I enjoy watching: Lee Dong Wook, Lee Jun Ho, Yoon Sang Hyun, Ahn Hyo Seop, Kang Tae Oh etc.

8.  Favorite actress of 2023
BL/GL: I don’t have one but Sammy from GMMTV always makes me laugh. I really like watching her on screen.
NON-BL: Song Hye Kyo (The Glory Pt2) - she is phenomenal in this role.

9. Favorite Thai series of 2023
Right now it’s a tie between three unfinished series: The Sign, Cherry Magic (Thai) and Last Twilight. After a pretty abysmal first to third quarter of the year, Thailand came through with some solid offerings in the last quarter and these three were/are the cream of the crop. Special mention to Shadow, who like The Sign, is bringing something new to the game and executing it well.

10. Favorite Japanese series of 2023
Japan has been the most consistently good bl provider of 2023. I think there are only one or two JBLs that I didn’t enjoy last year. This means I have a few favourites: Our Dining Table, My Beautiful Man 2, My Personal Weatherman and I Became The Lead Of A BL Series.

11. Favorite Korean series of 2023
The Eight Sense and Our Dating Sim. They were the most solid KBLs last year. There were a few others I really enjoyed (A Breeze of Love, Star Struck, Unintentional Love Story, A Shoulder To Cry On) and a few guilty pleasures (Jun & Jun, Why R U? (Korean) ) but overall they weren’t as solid.

12: Hottest Actor of 2023
I don’t usually think along these lines as all these handsome/ beautiful actors are just beautiful and handsome to me. None really stands out above the others. Last year however, Team (Sam from Twins the series) had me in a bit of a chokehold ? because I just couldn’t get over how someone could have the babies of innocent baby faces and the body of a Greek God. ? Like, who made him and why does God have to do me like that. I didn’t know what to do with myself. ??

13. Hottest Actress of 2023
Again, I don’t really think/notice actors or actresses along those lines but I do think actresses are very beautiful.

14. Series you wish to watch again for the first time
I would love to discover the feeling I had watching The Eight Sense, My Personal Weatherman and A Breeze Of Love again for the first time. Especially with better subtitles.

Honorable Mentions:

* Favorite Taiwanese series of 2023
Kiseki: Dear To Me is my fave. I do have guilty pleasures (Stay By My Side and You Are Mine) but Kiseki stood out the most to me.

* Favorite Chinese series of 2023
Stay With Me - This is how you do a remake and do it well.

* BL Series that took me by surprise in 2023
The Day I Loved You (Philippines) was surprisingly heartfelt and enjoyable for a low budget series. It reminds me of an indie-hit. I hope to see more from these actors and this production company.

* Iconic scenes of 2023
That scene in Jun & Jun - you know the one. ?
The lube scene from Stay With Me
And any scene with Neo as Boston in Only Friends. I don’t think I’ll ever see him as anyone but Boston now. ?

* Favorite soundtrack of 2023
BL: The Day I Loved You (Philippines) - Sweet & Wild by YANCO
NON-BL: The Way You Shine (Taiwan) - Loving You Is… by Shi Shi


~ Least Favorites of 2023 ~

1. Least favorite overall series of 2023
Very unpopular opinion but it has to be The End Of The World With You. I dislike when obviously capable writers/director/showrunners don’t do better. In my opinion (and my opinion only) I think that the creators of this series not only betrayed the story they were trying to tell but they also insulted the intelligence of the audience. And I think this one disappointed me the most because it was a technically well executed series but the heart of the series: the character portrayals; were the opposite of whatever story or character development version they were trying to tell us/sell us. I can look past this for more rookie studios but not the ones who should know and do better.

2. Least favorite Thai series of 2023
From the ones I watched, Dangerous Romance would fit this category but if I’m being really honest I enjoyed all the Thai series I watched last year to some degree. If I didn’t enjoy them I would have dropped them and I didn’t drop any Thai series last year. There are some that I have not started watching yet because at first glance I don’t think they’ll be that enjoyable for me but I plan to give them a try at a later date.

3. Least favorite Japanese series of 2023
End Of The World With You

4. Least favorite Korean series of 2023
All The Liquors

5. Least favorite main couple of 2023
The leads from Only Friends

6. Least favorite side couple of 2023
I don’t think I have one, or at least, none that come to mind.

7. Series you were excited about but was poorly executed (I want to change ‘poorly executed’ to ‘a disappointment’)
Dangerous Romance - it started off well but fell flat once Chimon and Perth’s characters got together and had to do more intimate scenes. It was clear Chimon was uncomfortable with more intimate scenes/touching/kissing and it really affected the rest of the drama.
The Promise - I know this was probably a skincare/perfume AD turned into a series but they could have done so much better with it. It had leads with pretty good chemistry and a good premise but they needed to tighten up the production issues (choppy editing and background sounds) and their execution of the story.
Love Tractor - This was just meh for me. It had all the right ingredients but ultimately didn’t really do anything with it.
Tokyo Is… - I wish they did more with it and expanded a bit more as sometimes having a story that is abrupt and unfulfilled changes how audiences view the story and the intended intentions don’t come across as successfully.
Only Friends - Although I think this was one of the better Thai BLs last year, I can’t say this was a series I particularly enjoyed. I was expecting something completely different. Something more depraved and indulgent even, but it was not that. Still it was good.
Love Class Season 2 - I’m all for sequels and remakes but the pre-requisite is that they have to be good. This series had elements that were good but overall more bad than good. The first couple of episodes I think were really solid but like a lot of dramas in 2023, it falters in the second half and they just couldn’t stick the landing.
The End Of The World With You - As mentioned above, I had higher expectations/standards for this series and felt like they betrayed the story. I just couldn’t watch it without feeling like I was being gaslit into believing something about the narrative and the characters that I just wasn’t seeing/that wasn’t coming across well.

8.  A side couple that was more entertaining than the main
Sand/Ray (Only Friends)
Gemini/Fourth (Moonlight Chicken)

9. Series you dropped immediately
I didn’t drop it immediately but Minato’s Laundromat 2 is the only BL series I dropped last year and it came close to beating out The End Of The World With You for being my least favourite JBL of 2023. But I intend to give Minato another watch and complete the series before forming a more definitive opinion.

10.  Fast-forward Worthy BL
Unfortunately, a lot of BLs last year were ffw worthy. If it wasn’t some of a series, it was all of it and I wouldn’t limit this to only BLs either. 2023 had a real problem with pacing/consistency in general. Even series I enjoyed lost my attention more than once throughout and I had to fast forward through the parts that weren’t keeping me entertained.

Honorable Mentions:

* Least favorite NC scene(s) of 2023
Unpopular opinion, but I found the NC scenes in Bed Friends where they were role playing so cringe. Like, erase-from-my-memory-because-I-can’t-take-the-embarrassment-CRINGE. Sorry. ??

~ Anticipation of 2024 ~

1. Most anticipated overall series of 2024
BL: Anti Reset (Taiwanese),  The Vampire Project (Thai)
NON-BL: A Shop For Killers (Korean) and Queen Of Divorce (Korean)

2. Most anticipated Thai series of 2024
The Vampire Project

3. Most anticipated Korean series of 2024
Wuju Bakery

4. Most anticipated Japanese series of 2024
Although I Love You and Perfect Propose

5. Most anticipated new actor of 2024
I wouldn’t know until I see them in something.

Same answer for questions 6 - 10
I don’t have one


~ Random Questions ~

1. One series where you would change the actors
(Don’t come for me) I would change out Gemini from My School President and replace him with someone else. I adored him in Moonlight Chicken but he just wasn’t doing it for me in MSP.

I would also swap out Ping (My Gangster Oppa) for someone like Apo in (KinnPorsche). I think Meen is the better actor of the two and would pair better with someone like Apo. That way Meen would have a partner who can match him.

2. A couple that should’ve/could’ve been
Meen and a more formidable partner in My Gangster Oppa. Can I clone Apo? Then he’ll be able to take on and successfully execute darker and more grown up themes.

I would have liked to have seen Ping paired with Winner. Winner and Ping seem to have more natural chemistry. I would have liked to have seen a light-hearted series with Winner and Ping as I think this might be where Ping shines better.

3. BL couple you would’ve liked to see
Pran/Pat. I just enjoy them on screen.

4. How many series have you seen in 2023?
I’ve seen 51 bl series released last year and I watched 64 bl series overall last year.

5. How many series did you drop?
I dropped two series last year. One bl (Minato’s Laundromat 2) and one non-bl (The Real Has Come)

6. How many series did you give 10/10 to?
I didn’t give any bl series 10/10 last year. And the only non-bl series that got a 10/10 from me last year was Moving but I did give out a few 9s and 9.5s. The highest I rated a bl series last year was 8.5.