This is a collection of reviews of BL-series and movies from Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore, Japan, Cambodia, and Vietnam, some of which I have already published on mydramalist.com. The series I am reviewing here are not...
2022 has been an extraordinary year with respect to Asian BL series, which is why I want to list my favourites here – as a recommendation to those who are not so familiar with this genre, and as a reminder for those who love watching BL series as much as I do.
This list is subjective, of course, and if you think that I have forgotten to mention your favourite series, or if you have anything to say about the series listed here, please feel free to leave a comment.
Before I enumerate my favourite BL series, I need to mention a series that isn't BL, but whose lead characters are a gay couple, "To Sir, with Love" (Thailand). It is set in a wealthy Chinese family during the time of the Japanese occupation of Thailand. Thian, the heir of the Song family (Film Thanapat) falls in love with poor Jiu (Jam Rachata), and before they finally come together, there is a lot of murder, betrayal, jealousy, hatred, but also love - all this in beautiful pictures, with surprising plot twists, and brilliant acting. There are 17 episodes of 70 minutes each, but there is not a single boring episode.
Now here are my 15 favourite BL series of 2022
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15. Papa, What is Love? (Philippines)
This is a gay series rather than a BL series. Rex Lantano, one of my favourite Pinoy actors, plays Tupe, a young man who helps Richard (Arnold Reyes) in his household and becomes his lover, but then falls in love with Richard's son Greg (Anthony Flores, a very handsome and talented young man in his acting debut). The uncut version, which I would recommend, can be found at gagaoolala.com and heypogi.com.
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14. Till the World Ends (Thailand)
The series follows two groups of young men (and a dangerous girl) during the last days before the moon is going to crash into Earth, which is to be understood metaphorically, as the series isn't a scientific lecture. It rather shows how different people react in an extreme, life threatening situation – the "bad guys" aim at killing as many people as possible, whereas the "good guys" Golf (Best Anavil) and Art (Art Pakpoom) experience their first gay love, which is, however, based on Golf's lie about how they met. I must mention the fine actress Nui Suporn who plays the lovely Sis Mam and one of my favourite Thai actors, Michael Kiettisak as Gus, Golf's brother. Writer and director Aam Anusorn, the creator of the groundbreaking series "Call it what you want, seasons 1 and 2", succeeds in delivering political and social messages disguised in a BL series.
