Here are my top 10 picks for BLs that satisfy a cute criteria. Which is to say, mostly up beat and happy with very little angst. No violence or triggers. Just oodles of adorable softness and comfort. (No one who knows BL will be shocked to see stuff from Korea on this list as this is currently their speciality, although all the ones from Japan might surprise you.)
Cherry Magic (Japan - indie subbed) AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii - the sweetest, fluffiest, most charming bit of office-set adorable ever, full of found family and slapstick, the characters are utter spazzes, but so cute about it. All angst is self confidence based, nothing really distressing ever happens.
Restart After Come Back Home AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de (Japan - indie subbed) - this one is perfect if you just want a beautiful loving movie, and one that is well filmed and lyrical. The only drama is family conflict of the silent grumpy kind - will baby take over Dad’s furniture business or not? OH THE PERIL of it all. (sense my sarcasm, okay? there is NO peril)
Seven Days (Japan - grey in 2 parts Seven Days: Monday - Thursday, Seven Days: Friday - Sunday) - one of the best live action yaoi mangas ever made. The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat, there’s still more kisses than Cherry Magic. Popular first year Seiryo has a policy of going out with any girl who asks… for one week. On a lark, third year Yuzuru tests to see if that policy also applies to boys. Seiryo agrees that it does. Along the way they accidentally fall in love. All the angst is just teen confusion.
To My Star (Korea - Viki) - is a touch quirky, but utterly appealing once it hits its stride. It’s the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams. Famous actor (adorable bundle of neurosis) takes refuge in the house of a reserved chef and is immediately smitten by Mr Tall Dark & Glowering. The chef is also smitten but refuses to admit it to himself or anyone else. What angst is there is so confusing and low grade it hardly matters.
Wish You (Korea - Netflix or Viki, you want the movie version) AKA WISH YOU: Your Melody in My Heart - low stakes high pining romance about a pianist who falls in love with a busker who is on his way to being the next big idol. It’s about singing but this drama is very quiet.
Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korea - grey) - Cinderfella in drag. Boy assumes his sister’s identity and marries another boy, together they have to hide this from the in laws. Unbelievably soft and very 12th Night esk. Too absurd to trigger anything and there is no angst, just a bit of family conflict wicked step-sister style.
HIStory 2: Crossing the Line (Taiwan - Viki) - super low stakes sweetest story of the bad boy who falls hard for the senior on the volleyball team and then works to earn his love. You know it’s Taiwan so the kisses are great but in this case it also ends well. Only trigger is that the side couple is the stepbrothers trope, and some don’t like that.
Oxygen (Thailand - YouTube) - softest seme in the universe sings his affection to the older boy at the cafe. Let the slow burn courting commence. There is a tiny bit of angst at the end, and one storyline is naff (the doctors) but this is high production Thai softness so I forgive it.
2gether & Still 2gether (Thailand - YouTube) - this show is ABSURD. But if you can suspend your disbelief and get through the first few episodes it is delightful to watch Sarawat pine after Tine and the levels to which Tine will go to remain willfully oblivious. Is that angst? Not really, just ridiculous.
You Are Ma Boy (Vietnam - YouTube) - is there angst? Nope even what could have been angst (a gay idol) doesn’t materialize, it’s just cuties in a cafe confusing each other with cat & mouse games. The side het couple is a touch disturbing, tho.
Newer offerings that might also satisfy:
Semantic Error
Cherry Blossoms After Winter
Love Stage!! (Thai version)
Rainbow Prince (for Disney fans)
See You After Quarantine?
Kieta Hatsukoi AKA My Love Mix Up
Honorable mention:
En of Love: Tossera (Thailand - YouTube) - younger boy wants to court older boy and does and… that’s it. No really that’s the WHOLE STORY. There is actually no angst, drama, or, indeed plot. But are they the softest bois ever to BL as a main couple? Yes they are. ( @heretherebedork would be most put out if they were not in this post) They don’t make the top ten because really there just isn’t any story here.
Ingredients (Thailand - YouTube) - if all you want is two soft boys being domestic, cooking together, cuddling on the couch, cat sitting, and babysitting - just put this on and be cozy. Doesn’t make the top 10 because it ends with the main characters parting (promising to reunite) so be wary of that. I still find it a very comforting watch.
Step For You (Korea - YouTube) - microfilm from Strongberry about a reporter from the student newspaper who has to interview an older dancer and falls in love with him. 30 minutes of fluffy and time well spent, but it’s too short to make top 10.
Stupid Boys Stupid Love (Vietnam - YouTube) - 3 couples, BL, GL, and het in high school navigating friends to lovers. Very soft friendships, no angst, just teens, hormones, and HEAs for everyone. Would make the top 10 but it’s very scattered and low quality, cute tho, and so nice to see some good GL in the mix.
What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Japan - grey) - middle-aged gay couple who live together, one of whom loves to cook and the other who loves to eat. That’s it. That’s all that happens. There’s a bit of a coming out segment but it’s so low key. It doesn’t make the main list because I don’t see how it qualifies as BL under any criteria. But it’s very comforting and very gay.
No one should be shocked that there is so little from China or Taiwan on this list as both of them specialize in high angst plots in their BL.
The video, described by @holyfunnyhistoryherring, is a captioned tik tok by @thatrobinhood, showing a white guy with short brown
hair and a longer beard, wearing a bathrobe, holding a drink and talking
to the camera. He says, “So I was at a tractor-pull one time (yes, I am exactly
the kind of redneck that goes to tractor-pulls) and this guy showed up,
I guess with his boyfriend, um, I’m not a 100% sure. But he was
wearing, uh, pink cowboy boots. He had homemade cut-of jean shorts, he
had a, uh, flannel crop top, and he had a pink John Deer trucker hat.Anyway,
one of the rednecks behind me was looking at this guy and he’s like ‘I
don’t know why anybody would come to a tractor-pull dressed like that’
and the other redneck who’s behind me goes ’listen, if he wants to come
to a tractor pull dressed like that, it’s his God given right.
What the fuck do you think freedom, Earl?’ and now I really want a pride
bumper sticker that says ‘What the fuck do you think freedom means, Earl?’”
The flags are the rainbow, bi, lesbian, pan, trans, and ace flags. The bi and ace flags have a different font from the others, but they each have “What the fuck do you think freedom means, Earl!?” written over them with uppercase black text.
society in general expects us to have it all figured out by 20. we’re expected to always have goals/dreams, they pressure us to the point where if we’re not being productive we don’t feel worthy of being happy. and when we hit the age of 30 they start saying that we’re old, when really?? 30 is young. so young.
that’s why i’m extremely thankful to the revolutionary drama cherry magic for giving us a 30 year old protagonist that hasn’t figured himself out yet. in fact, he’s only now starting to learn how to deal with adulthood and finding goals for himself, in his own time. that is relatable to so many of us young adults that usually feel like we’re failing in life when it’s actually very common to not have your shit together in your 20s!!
we don’t always know what we want, we don’t always have goals but that doesn’t make us less valid. we’re not running out of time, that’s just a capitalist excuse so we won’t spend too much time taking care of ourselves and more time making money for them.
but it’s okay to still be figuring yourself out!!!! i think that’s really important to show, especially in the japanese culture.
so thank you cherry magic for normalizing being a messy adult cuz we all can relate to that 💖
