It’s the last day of Pride month, and I figured I’d post a few good gay and BL Asian dramas and movies that I’ve seen. I know when I first started watching Asian dramas, it was really hard to find anything good in the genre. Thankfully, a lot has changed in recent years. What have you watched? What would you recommend?

N.B.: this is not a “Top” list or anything and the shows aren’t listed in any particular order. Also, a few of the dramas on this list I wouldn’t classify as BLs, but queer/gay stories. Simply put, BL’s are often gay dramas written by women for women. They tend to romanticize and eroticize gay love stories for a mainly female audience.

[1] his – I Didn’t Think I Would Fall In Love. Queer drama. Japan.
A positive depiction of gay characters—a rare find in Asia. It’s rare that you’ll find a character like Nagisa who gives you insight into his experiences coming to terms with his sexuality.

[2] Long Time No See. Queer drama. South Korea.
An action drama that manages to have pretty good action and queer storytelling at the same time.

[3] HIStory2: Boundary Crossing Queer drama/BL. Taiwan.
This drama straddles a thin line between being a Queer drama and a BL. The BL elements are strong, but not for the typical negative reasons. The “sexy” is there, but the is also a slight bit of depth as well. The chemistry between the two leads is a rare sight in BL or dreamland.

[4] Mood Indigo. Queer Drama. Japan.
First thing’s first. This is a mature drama with an R rating. Now that that’s out of the way, this drama gives us an exploration of sexuality not often depicted in Asian Queer dramas.

[5] Where Your Eyes Linger BL. South Korea.
Oh, the angst. This drama is full of it and it’s quite believable.