Japanese BL/Gay - BL and Gay dramas and movies from Japan

This is so simple--just your basic, lightweight, by-the-book cliché BL manga (here in live action version)--but darn, is it fricking feelgood...
At times, quite hilarious--but mostly just... cute and puts a smile on your face. 

Add to that a  pretty nice production and decent acting--that wraps it up as one of the most endearing BLs of 2020. 

I can't rate it higher than this, since it's just TOO light weight to make an impact, but it's so sweet that I'm not bothered by its silliness and ridiculous innocence.

This is fricking hilarious.  
I laughed my ass off--and I'm not a person that's all that easily swayed past the level of occasional giggles. (But if you aren't one for sarcastic humor, you might not be quite as amused as I am.)

I'm immensely entertained by everything that makes fun of BL, since no matter how much of a fangirl I am--I'm also a cynic... (And too old and hardened to wear rose colored glasses 24/7...) 

We've seen a bit of it lately--with Thai dramas "Why RU?" and "Lovely Writer" (haven't watched the latter, though), but this is different. It really, REALLY shows off all the nonsensical things with BL--outright and literally, not just with a wink. And it's great.
Here--one is allowed to laugh one's ass off at pathetic situations, predictable plots and cheesy stuff :D We're meant to.

It's not mean, not condescending and not judgemental--just sarcastic hightlighting of the stuff in BL that would make anyone roll their eyes if they weren't so caught up in a BL-high. All seen through the eyes of a dude that rivals even me in terms of having a sarcastic view of the world.

It's unique in its storytelling and definitely one of my favs for this year. It becomes a little bit haphazard towards the end, so it doesn't quite hold all the way--but all in all, it's a little gem of a different flavour. Love it.

So... Waiting for this title, I was apprehensive. 

Furukawa Yûki in a BL role? Could work. I've never been a fan, but he did do a pretty good job in "Erased".
How about the manga? Well... it's cute. Mediocre, but cute. 

I finally got my dirty paws on the movie, a while ago.

It's actually really cute, and a good adaptation of the manga :) Furukawa, once again, convinced me that he's actually talented, and not just the annoying dude from sleazy, crappy Shoujo-adaptations. He was pretty fricking adorable in this one :) 

It's innocent, it's grounded, it's simple and it's really, really sweet. Totally in line with Japan's new style in BL--and I really, really love their 180-turn. (Or, perhaps their TWO 180 turns... From plastic manga-crap--to two polar opposites... Everyday love--and dark and twisted...)

I'll admit that I've only watched it unsubbed, so far. There doesn't seem to be any English subs available yet, but they should be out soon. My Japanese is weak, I'm far from skilled enough to be able to pick up more than the rough outlines of dialogue--but I HAVE read the manga, so I'd say I get the picture well enough to be able to rate the flick. 

Definitely worth a watch!

Not sure about the actual BL content, but at least has Gay character(s). 

Old School Japan

Old School Japan

Short.

Old School Japan, based on (at that time super-popular) manga. BL hints are almost all wiped out, if I remember correctly. (Haven't watched it for a looong time, nor will I rewatch.)

Mini-drama. 

As far as I understand; no BL, but with one of the MCs being gay.

Old School Japan. Pretty sure I've watched it but can't remember a single thing... Which would probably mean that it sucks.

Old School Japan

Old School Japan. Classic, but crappy.

Old school Japan. Even crappier than the first movie.

I'm actually not sure if this belongs on the list, at all. It's been listed with "LGBT" and similar tags, here and there--but the synopsis mentions nothing about it. Perhaps the MC swings both ways. When I feel motivated, I'll check to be sure.

One of the crappiest of the bunch of Japanese BLs based on mangas. It's your run-of-the-mill typical Japanese BL. Harmless, meaningless, kind of cute--and totally forgettable.

Based on the lovely manga "Hana wa Saku Ka?" by mangaka Hidaka Shoko (another of my favs). A mellow, gentle little story--and I think the movie managed to adapt the story and the atmosphere of the original work, very well. 

Unfortunately, it would have needed a longer runtime in order to flesh out the story and make it less shallow. In the manga, the relationship develops slow and much softer than here--where it becomes a little bit too haphazard. 

The chemistry between the leads doesn't work for me and that's due to Amano Kousei's non-convincing acting. He does his best but does not catch Sakuragi's feelings for Youichi and feels awkward in their interactions even if Watanabe Tsurugi works his ass off trying to meet him halfway. (In case you haven't read the manga; it's not Watanabe being stiff, it's his character. He makes a good portrayal.)

This... is definitely not for everyone. I, for one, went ballistic when I heard the news about it being filmed. I just couldn't believe that someone would choose THIS title to adapt into a live action. The manga is already in itself provocative and far from an easy-chew. Nakamura Asumiko is one of the greatest mangakas ever, IMO, but her art is not for everyone and some of her stories are heavy and dark enough to make many BL fans shy away.

This one is one of her darkest, and pretty much one that one either loves--or hates. It takes effort to understand these twisted characters and their screwed-up, but profound relationship. They're not likable at all, there is nothing cute about their love, their bond is much stranger than that. So to turn it into a movie was a bold move.

It turned out good. And bad. Some parts were exceptionally well adapted and it catches the dark and menacing beauty of the original story, but other parts didn't work. Some things have been beautified, thus losing much of the original complexity in their relationship dynamics. Also, some balance is lost between dark and light, making the full picture somewhat crooked and haphazard.

But I still love this dramatization of a great manga, because of the parts that truly captures the story--and because there are far too few dark fairy-tales in the assortment of BL.

Short.

Not BL - but has gay characters.

Old School Japan

I haven't watched all episodes in subbed version--(only eps 1-4 were available fansubbed when I watched the drama. I'm planning to rewatch it ASAP...) and even though I do speak some Japanese, I can't claim to understand more than part of the dialogue, when I watched eps 5-8 unsubbed. 

Even so--this drama is AWESOME. It's something unique, showing the confusion and coming of age of a gay teen in a society that does not accept homosexuality--from a totally different angle than anything we've seen before. 

The framework with Queen's music and all kinds of little poetic and philosophical adds (I loved the play between the leads when imagining love stories about the things around them...) gives a unique touch and the narrative voice/storytelling from the MC is done in a great and imaginative way. 

Some people have totally misunderstood the whole thing about "gay dude in a relationship with a fujoshi". Watch the damn thing before you draw conclusions. Wanna bet on how many gay kids have tried straight dating before they figure out what will work and what never will? And their relationship is beautiful--no matter if it's romantic or friends, because their connection is real. The point here is not to promote reprogramming gays, but to show how confusing it can be to accept oneself--and how pressure from society and family can make us try to fool ourselves and do things we don't truly wish to do.

This is definitely (based mainly on the episodes I have been able to watch with English subs) the best Gay themed story to come from Japan, to date. 

Looking forward to this live action--with equal amounts of horror and excitement... 

Release July 17th 2021.

Japanese remake of "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e". See notes in list description. Skip this one and watch the original drama instead...

Not BL--but with a certain story component.  See notes in list description.
Silly, low-budget and quite corny--i.e. a pretty typical Japanese drama for that time. But it has heart and the Shoujo manga on which it's based, is a classic.

Movie adaptation of the Shounen-ai manga series "Hidamari ga Kikoeru" ("I hear the Sunspot") by Fumino Yuki. 

Not that good... there are good points. Some acting is decent--some is not, though. The light and "spring-like" atmosphere of the manga is caught well. But the extremely short runtime really makes things weird and everything is kind of just left hanging, considering that the manga had come much further than what the movie covers, already back then.

Movie sequel to the 2019 drama series "His: I Didn't Think I Would Fall in Love". 

It was really good, actually. Better than the drama. 

Like its previous installment, it continues that "organic" feel--realistic and sombre in tone and expression. It doesn't make a fuss of things, it doesn't stray into melodrama, it just tells the story of two guys and their relationship through ups and downs. Exactly my cup of tea.
The Japanese BL usually goes in one of two directions; either it really stacks up a shitton of enhancers as to reaaaally make the audience FEEL it--or it refrains from all of it, and lets the acting and scenes speak for themselves. This belongs to the latter category. It took me quite a while to react to the fact that there was absolutely no score whatsoever. (Later on, there was a bit.) And you know what--it wasn't needed. It actually even made it better.
When they get it right--no one does realism as well as the Japanese. 

I like cutesy and cheesy BL as well--but what I find most rewarding, are stories like this one. Fairytales can be nice, but what touches me--are the love stories that are relatable. 

Since I love this type of storytelling, I really appreciated the effect that the simplicity of direction and production, brought. The acting is good as well. 

Not to be missed. 

This was a breath of fresh air in the assortment of sweet teen BL. A simple little thing--light, (very) innocent and endearing. 

Japanese BL used to be so syrupy and manga-plastic-fake that I couldn't stand it (but one took what one could get, back in the days when Japan was the only go-to for a fix of boys-on-boys.) But nowadays, their style has started to change a lot.

My preference in BL/Gay themed things--even if I like everything from super-artsy stuff to braindead junk--are the stories of the more mellow and realistic kind, the everyday love stories of normal guys--because I find reality beautiful enough to be worth telling about. If it's too glossy, too shiny, too unrealistic--it doesn't get to me. But when the setting, and the people, are real--I can relate on a deeper level. 

This is a gentle little coming-of-age love story, set by the coast--in the Kamakura area, the surfing Mecca of Japan. The setting with surfing and the ocean, was something I've longed to see. There are quite a few surfer-BL mangas and I love surfing and especially I love the ocean. (One of my all-time-fav BL movies is a surfer one--the US indie flick "Shelter" from 2007. A simple, low budget little thing, but it's lovely.) We can all agree on that the sea always has had a special place in love stories. It's romantic, period. Here, it also gives a feel of youth and freedom. 

The production is simple, but sufficient and enhances the realism. The acting is very good from basically everyone but Kura Yuuki (Nagisa) has something special. (And the kid is ridiculously beautiful.)

The story is a bit oddly paced so it becomes too rushed in the conclusion--and the focus isn't really where it should have been, a lot of the time. Which is the only reason I don't rate this higher. 

A movie sequel was released this year, too. I'll be eagerly waiting for a subbed version.

(Yes. It's on the right list. It's a Japanese flick.)

Old school generic Japan.

Old School Japanese kind-of-classic. Adapted from the manga with the same name, by one of the most popular BL mangakas of that time, Fujiyama Hyouta.  I do like the manga, but the movie is pretty crappy. Mostly due to really weird miscasting and acting.  

Mini-drama.

Sequel to drama "Kare ga Boku ni Koishita Wake". 

Doubtful whether it belongs on the list or not. I haven't watched it and I doubt I will, but supposedly the BL content is very, very small and perhaps rather should be called Bromance.

One of the most charming, and different, gay themed dramas from recent years--a great example of the super-refreshing new path that Japanese BL/Gay has chosen to explore. Straight-forward, more realistic every-day type of stories, far from the fluffy and silly junk they've churned out previously. (Other titles would be "Fujoshi Ukkari Gei ni Kokuru", the "Ossan" series and "My Brother's Husband"--the latter I unfortunately haven't been able to get my paws on. Yet.)

This is SO charming, SO lovable, SO down-to-earth and just... cozy.
Feel-good.
Like a nice, hearty meal. ("Kinou Nani Tabeta?" = "What did You Eat Yesterday?")

Special for the drama "Kinou Nani Tabeta?"

I literally went "OHMYGAWD!" when I saw that this is coming as a drama. YES! YES! YES!
Based on an absolutely lovely one-shot manga--and this mini-drama turned out quite lovely, too. A bit of a different flavour compared to the earlier years of Japanese BL--fully in line with the freshness and "closer to reality makes it more beautiful, not less so", that they've delivered during the past couple of years. 

Sweet, quite simplistic and lacking all that over-the-top melodrama/exaggeration in acting and direction, that used to wreck far too many Japanese productions. An EXCELLENT choice of manga to adapt to a Live Action--and an excellent result, as well. It managed to catch the air and feel of the original work, bringing it to life with dedicated and believable acting and script.

Yay!

(Btw; If you read comics and decide to read/have read the one this is based on--do not miss out on the larger work which this one has more or less copied. "Complex", by Manda Ringo. Get through the first, messy part--and you will be rewarded with a knock-out of a BL...)

DO NOTICE the extremely gratifying cameo in the end--our (at least my) beloved boys from Taiwanese BL-drama "HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count" make a quick appearance! :D (I literally shouted and jumped up and down). Without spoiling too much--it was somehow a little bit of comfort to see them in an "alternative universe" as opposed to the actual drama...

Compiled movie version of "Life - Senjou no Bokura" mini-drama.

Live action-adaptation of the super popular classic BL manga with the same name. 

(Which I haven't read, since it's not my cup of tea. Whether I will watch the movie depends on the reviews, I guess.)

Upcoming June 5th 2020.

Based on Marukido Maki's manga "Indigo no Kibun" which in both comic and drama form is a sequel to "Pornographer", but chronologically a prequel. 

Warning for VERY explicit content. (Or a plus point--depending on your level of tolerance for R-rated content...)

Mini-drama. 

Supposedly very good, but I haven't gotten as far as to watch it.

Doesn't have the best of ratings, but I think it's a fairly decent adaptation of the classic BL manga "Doushitemo Furetakunai" by my House Goddess Yoneda Kou.
It's low-budget and simplistic, but a good effort. Definitely one of the more qualitative of Japanese BL movies.  

First version of the "Ossan" series, a shorter special. Also see the two drama versions plus special plus movie.

Second version of the "Ossan" story, here in a drama version as opposed to the previous version, a shorter special. Me like!  

Third version of the "Ossan" series--it's strange, you have the same story repeated over and over but in this drama you have a different setting compared to the earlier one. But the same story and MC.  

Special for the second drama version of the "Ossan" series.

Movie sequel to the first of the two full lenght drama versions of the "Ossan" series.  

This is pretty close to flawless, IMO.
I can't quite give a 10 because I wanted a bittersweet conclusion rather on the bitter side than the sweeter. And for perfection, it would have needed just a tad bit more time in order to fully flesh out this hypnotic little tale. But for the short runtime and episode count--this is nothing short of remarkable. I guess a 9 would do but at the same time, I', itching to praise it even more than by rewarding it with "just" a 9.

A true piece of art in both visuals, acting, directing and overall production. The story is so hypnotic that I couldn't tear my eyes off the screen. Told in a clever and impactful way, it blurs the lines between reality, fiction and fantasies.
A drama I will rewatch many times--for the experience, rather than reasons like loving the couple or story or whatever.
I found myself breathing so quietly that it was inaudible, subconsciously trying to not disturb the atmosphere. Let's not even mention during the erotic scenes--your breath will hitch all together... Though, the whole thing is erotic from beginning to end, but during the actual action scenes, then. Graphic, but tasteful. 

It's not for everyone. Someone prude would probably die from a seizure. (I'm everything but prude--but that level of dirty talk made even me blush a couple of times...)
Someone too young is not mature enough to fully understand the complex feelings and urges handled. Someone who wants entertainment should look elsewhere. Because this is a qualitative cinematic experience, not something to watch in order to pass time

It's immensely fascinating, gorgeously executed, the acting is phenomenal. It's a gem.

Also watch "Mood Indigo" ("Indigo no Kibun"), a prequel (but released after this) probing into the past of the characters.

Movie sequel to drama "Pornographer". 

Short-film sequel to drama "Pornographer".

Old school Japan.

Not BL, but a gay MC. Adapted from award-winning manga.

Super-crappy adaptation of a crappy, clichéed yaoi manga. The actual physical BL content is so tame that it's ridiculous, if I remember correctly.

Oh boy. 

I'm hesitating between 5,5 and 6. And to be honest--that score would be lower if it weren't for the decent production. 

I'm a die-hard fan of Yamashita Tomoko, the mangaka behind the original work. It's not one of her best, but I do love it and own every volume. So it hurts to be this ruthless :S

This was bad... A bad adaptation of the manga--but also a bad movie in itself. Probably even worse for someone who hasn't read the comic... 

Bad casting choices (actors are okay but their interpretations are way off from the original characters), stupid changes in story and script, a very important character is wiped out entirely, focus is almost exclusively on visuals (which are nice, including decent SFX) and the fluidity and continuum of the story is just ignored completely... It's one hot, choppy, jumbled mess... 

The writing is the biggest issue--the movie has no coherency, no depth or exploration of either story nor relationships--which makes both shallow, unconvincing and random. The characters in the manga are fairly well fleshed out but above all, their relationships are thoroughly cemented. Here they were, like... "Huh? How? When?" From "hello" to "destined" in zero time, without an explanation. The manga is a slow story, here it's crammed into an hour forty. Doesn't work out...

And it was a huuuuuge mistake to erase the comedy and try to make it "creepy". The result becomes ridiculous instead :S The original work is nutty, insane and over-the-top, but it's self-aware and has a lot of humour.

Oh, about the romance/bromance? Almost gone. Mainstreamed.
Sure, it's vague in the manga, but it is there--mostly through innuendoes and slight stuff that gives a very slow development from "inexplicable attraction" into bromance into romance. (I'd be very surprised if Yamashita Tomoko doesn't make the outcome romantic.)

Adaptation of the manga by Mizuta Yuki. 

WARNING: Not for the faint of heart... This is GRAPHIC. Basically--very forceful BDSM porn, but with a story. So this piece would be very uncomfortable for the sensitive.
Subber's insert in the beginning; "Watch with headphones"... Yes. I strongly suggest you do... (Unless you live in sound proof surroundings, your neighbours are deaf, or you don't have an issue with people who overhear, labelling you a porn fiend.)

I expected to dislike this--maybe even hate it. I didn't. I really liked it. 

It's so graphic that I literally choked on my juice. And I am definitely seasoned when it comes to X-rated BL... Visually very daring, but even more so, it's the content that'll make you go "oh-my-gawd".
Yes, it's gratuitous--it's a porn-party deluxe, but it does fill a purpose and it's the core of the story, really. Two lonely and broken perverts crossing paths. 

Normally, I condemn all the rape that sadly is a staple in BL, but here it's placed in a context, and depicting a story of sexual kinks. But it takes an open mind to understand and accept that there are people who don't fit the frame of what's considered normal.
It takes maturity, a willingness to figure out these two--and perhaps experience of being screwed up, as well as a bit of a perverted streak--in order to appreciate the portrayal of a far from "normal" relationship. 

The acting impresses the hell out of me. Perhaps not due to overwhelming talent--but anyone brave (and crazy) enough to take on these roles--and convincingly pull them off--deserves respect...
The direction, visuals and other tech stuff--is neatly and quite aesthetically done, and the result is an eye-poppingly outragerous, yet sensitive story--mesmerizing in its super strange appeal. 

Second part of installment, see part one for comment.