Similarities between the two dramas (includes mild spoilers):
- A bad boy king falls in love with an idealistic, kind woman from an enemy nation. He takes her hostage for drama reasons and spends episodes pining over her. Meanwhile the FL has an internal battle that consists of, "I must not betray my country by falling for this hot evil enemy king who would die for me!"
- There's a secondary romance in which the king's shy guard falls for the FL's more outgoing subordinate/confidante.
- Secondary plot about the two respective countries potentially going to war with each other.
Differences (includes mild spoilers):
- The FL in DDH is mature and wise, while the FL in LBFAD is more childish and naive.
- Both have historical settings; however, LBFAD has magic and is set in a fantasy realm, while DDH has no magic and is set in the real world (in fictional countries).
- The side characters and plots were stronger in LBFAD, in my opinion.
- A bad boy king falls in love with an idealistic, kind woman from an enemy nation. He takes her hostage for drama reasons and spends episodes pining over her. Meanwhile the FL has an internal battle that consists of, "I must not betray my country by falling for this hot evil enemy king who would die for me!"
- There's a secondary romance in which the king's shy guard falls for the FL's more outgoing subordinate/confidante.
- Secondary plot about the two respective countries potentially going to war with each other.
Differences (includes mild spoilers):
- The FL in DDH is mature and wise, while the FL in LBFAD is more childish and naive.
- Both have historical settings; however, LBFAD has magic and is set in a fantasy realm, while DDH has no magic and is set in the real world (in fictional countries).
- The side characters and plots were stronger in LBFAD, in my opinion.
Both are sweet, slice-of-life BLs with:
- Consensual, healthy gay relationships in which the characters are learning to be communicative boyfriends
- Beautiful cinematography
- No homophobia (although both couples remain closeted) and no fetishization of gayness by other characters
- Some serious subject matter while still remaining fluffy and having some comedy
Blueming is set in college and has a bit of a higher heat level, while Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai is set in high school and has a minimal heat level.
- Consensual, healthy gay relationships in which the characters are learning to be communicative boyfriends
- Beautiful cinematography
- No homophobia (although both couples remain closeted) and no fetishization of gayness by other characters
- Some serious subject matter while still remaining fluffy and having some comedy
Blueming is set in college and has a bit of a higher heat level, while Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai is set in high school and has a minimal heat level.
The plots are not very similar, but if you're interested in post-censorship Chinese BLs that manage to make it very clear that the two boys are romantically involved, these two are at the top of the list. (Spoiler: They both have confession scenes and the boys agreeing to enter into a relationship with each other.) My Esports Genius Brother manages to be the most overt about this, but His Cat features family support of the boys' relationship. Unfortunately, another thing these titles have in common is poor English subtitles.
Similarities between the two dramas:
- Main characters with traumatic pasts who are healing together
- ML tries to withdraw from the FL because he thinks his baggage makes him an unsuitable partner, but the FL pursues him anyway
- ML has a job involving manual labor and must work together with the FL on a project that brings them closer together
- Strong family/friendship themes
- Main characters with traumatic pasts who are healing together
- ML tries to withdraw from the FL because he thinks his baggage makes him an unsuitable partner, but the FL pursues him anyway
- ML has a job involving manual labor and must work together with the FL on a project that brings them closer together
- Strong family/friendship themes
Both male leads are intelligent, capable, and have a tragic, mysterious past haunting them. They are devoted to unraveling this mystery. Both have been wronged by the female lead's male guardian and have similar confrontation scenes with him. Both female leads are warm and make the male lead believe there can be something good in his life. (Spoiler: W has a happy ending; The Smile Has Left Your Eyes does not.)
They both contain childhood friends who end up falling in love. Both male leads are nice, caring gentlemen.