BL or Boy Love is starting to gain mainstream audiences nowadays and the year of 2017 has quite a number of outstanding and memorable series dealing with this topic. This list includes those series which have strong BL characters as well or which deals with gay relationship as a whole.
1. SOTUS
Arguably the best BL series of 2016. I have included it on the 2017 list since it ended on this year. I have not included the sequel Sotus S as it is not yet finished as of this writing. SOTUS which is an acronym for Seniority, Order, Tradition, Unity, and Spirit is the main focus of the series which saw us dive into the world of Engineering Students wherein the freshmen are literally powerless and they must follow the seniors. We are introduced to perhaps one of the best BL couples that we will have in Kongpob and Arthit and we saw how the constant fights and bickering developed into a relationship that is full of emotions and truthfulness. The two main leads are aptly played by Singto Prachaya Ruangroj and Krist Perawat Sangpotirat. Character development and story view are few of the strong points of this series which merits it being No.1 on my list.
2. Together With Me
This story takes place before the events of 'Bad Romance: The Series'. It is focused on Korn and Knock and how they met and all the obstacles they had to go through before they officially became a couple. Sweet and simple, this series focuses more on the development of a colorful relationship with someone new in one's life. What makes this series strong aside from the great portrayal of Max and Tul is the focus on the main characters with very little side story to deal with. We are treated and shown the beauty of how the relationship came to be and it alone has drawn audiences to love them.
3. Waterboyy
This series moved away a bit from the teeny bopper themes of usual BL series. Although the show still is about students in a university, it also tackles the rigors of being in school organizations like the swimming club and how certain relationships are built among each other. We are one more treated to a conflict of characters wherein one of the main leads has a current girlfriend but does develop an affection with one of his guy teammates. The series injected a bit of sexiness which can be attributed to the fact that it deals with a group of swimming collegiate athletes. Waii and Apo as the main character may not be the full focus of the series but still gave us all chills specially with hot Thai actor Earth pairing with one of the handsome young BL actors in New (Thitipoom Techaapaikhun).
4. 2 Moons
Sweet, funny and well thought. 2 Moons focuses on the story of Wayo, a freshman at a university that and his long time love, Pha - a second-year student at the same school.. Pha is extremely popular and the Campus Moon of last year but does not seem like the attention. When Yo gets the opportunity to become the Moon of his facility, he realizes he gets to see Pha more. Although, their relationship starts quite rough since Pha seems to pick on Yo. The actor portrayals of Bas Suradej Pinnirat
and God Itthipat Thanit are also spot-on.
5. My Bromance
Carried over from 2016, this series is a rehash and adaptation of a Thai movie of the same title. Although not as strong as the film, it still delivers us great moments between the characters and also focuses on some issues with the LGBTQ community including homophobia and family acceptance is also tackled. The two main characters Bank and Golf also showed great chemistry and over-all a great watching pleasure.
6. Bangkok G Story
Bangkok G Story deals more on a adult theme with more emphasis on sexiness and over-all pleasure of having sex with same gender. Despite it being covered as a comedy over-all, we are also shown a certain portion of a good love story between the main characters G and T which started from just plain friendship and then eventually growing into something more. Not as strong in terms of storyline but it surely is one of the guilty watching pleasures of 2017.
7. Make It Right 2
A sequel to the good Make It Right series, we continue to see the development of the relationship between Tee and Fuse. It greatly shows how teens undergo the stages of uncertainty in their lives and from there they try to explore new things outside of their comfort zones. It shows that love can develop and is not merely a thing that is felt on the get-go.
8. Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey 2
The main focus of this series is not really the primary BL couple of Pick and Rome but even with limited time onscreen, we are treated to one of the upcoming BL couples in Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat and Off Jumpol Adulkittiporn. We are hoping to see more of this cute guys in the future as they portray the roles in such innocence and purity that you will easily believe that they are real life partners.
9. I Am Your King
One of simple BL series of 2017. I would have to say that I fairly enjoy it even though I felt the character development was a bit rushed. And with the theme of school and "puppy' love in focus again, I felt it has nothing much more to offer outside the great performances of its young cast. It also shows the importance of a core group of friend and how they successfully hurdled challenges of friendship and relationships.
10. HiStory: Obsessed
The year also showed a big development as not only Thai series came into forefront. This Taiwanese drama is a part of the 3 mini-series of HiStory but has shown the most promise off the gate. It shows a different side of BL with the inclusion of mystery and time travel to its core storyline. It also shows us how important each day is with our life and we must value if there may be second chances given to us.
11. HiStory: Stay Away From Me
The second of the three Taiwanese BL Series from the HiStory compilation, Stay Away From Me deals with an often taboo topic on same gender relationship or in relationships as a whole. We are shown how the complexity and difficulty of love with a step brother is and how one's life is affected by such emotions.
12. My Dear Loser: Edge of 17
Again, this series is a good one as a whole but the BL part is only a side story to the entire series which puts it low in this list. The story may also feel a bit long and cheesy but the Bl side never fails to impress and In and Sun performed fairly well with their characters.
13. Beloved Enemy
This is not a full-pledged BL series as it somehow only touches on the idea of male to male admiration and infatuation. This Chinese drama is the strongest of the Chinese series with BL and LGBTQ characters but although the series veered away from the usual university set-up seen on most Thai BLs, we are still treated on bickering moments between the two leads wherein one is show as the more arrogant while the other seemed to be the kind-hearted one.
14. History: My Hero
I am not a fan of its storyline as it only partially touches on the BL portion. After dying, a young girl's soul takes over the body of a lonely boy to try to be with her boyfriend once again. However, she has one week for her boyfriend to fall in love with her new body or else both her and the boy's body dies. But kudos for being different.
15. Prison Playbook
Korea rarely deals with BL stuff on their series and this is a welcome development for all fans. Although this is not the usual series as it deals more with darker themes and tones, it still showed us a few good moments of bromance as a whole.
The rest of the good 2017 series are as follow:
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