About BL Watcher

BL Watcher is run by a secretly obsessed fan of BL dramas, yaoi anime and manga, LGBT movies, and gay visual novels. I watch the best BL series from around the world, mostly gushing about the cute relationships, but also getting emotional over the heartbreaks. If you've discovered this BL blog, you don't need me to explain the appeal of the genre. In fact, you're probably just as much of an intoxicated BL fan as I am.

Join me, my friend, as we descend into this beautifully gay world together! 🌈

What is BL? 👬

BL stands for Boys Love. BL is a term that describes TV shows, movies, anime, manga & games focusing on male relationships. This genre appeals to those interested in watching fictional romances and love stories between two men.

BL has gained mainstream popularity in recent years, especially in East Asia. There are Thai BL, Japanese BL, Korean BL, Taiwanese BL, Vietnamese BL, among shows from many other countries. The language of romance is universal. A classic love story is interesting to watch from anywhere in the world.

For BL fans, we appreciate the compelling relationship drama. It's exciting when the characters go through emotional highs and lows in their quest for love. The adrenaline of a well-told love story is what makes BL so riveting to watch.

My BL history 🏳️‍🌈

I started watching BL from a long time ago, back in the pioneering times of my middle school days. As a lonely adolescent, grappling with the complexities of my sexuality, these little fictional gay love stories were my refuge from the real world. They crystallized the feelings that I couldn’t quite understand at the time and couldn’t share with anybody else.

What we recognize now as ‘mainstream BL’ isn’t as popular back then. My options were limited to reading hidden subtext between male characters on TV shows, watching indie gay movies with tragically sad endings, and reading amateur slash fanfiction on the internet. Oh yes, my youth was filled with lots and lots of fanfiction.

I envy the generation today, who are offered a variety of BL shows, BL films, and BL games of every genre. These past couple of years have seen an explosion in the popularity of BL dramas, especially in East Asia, where I originally hailed from. There are so many wonderful LGBT stories nowadays, which I wished were available back when I was growing up.

Although I am older (and not a lot wiser), I still maintain my passion for all things BL. I could be in my thirties, fifties, or seventies, but I’d never grow tired of a good old-fashioned gay love story. 😛

My BL fandom 😚

Watching BL is more than just a hobby for me. This is a personal passion that shaped many years of my life, especially during a time when I was still figuring out my sexuality. Seeing these fictional characters fall in love was like an escape for me, sparking my imagination and contextualizing my fantasies. Most of all, BL validated the feelings that felt so confusing during my youth.

With that said, now is probably a good time to include a scandalous disclaimer. I’m actually not the obsessed BL fanatic that I claim to be.

Yes, I like the genre a lot, but my fandom comes and goes in phases. There are stretches of time when I get really passionate about a popular BL series or a new gay movie that gets a lot of buzz. But there are also times when my interest fades, and I don’t do the best job keeping up with the latest shows or news. I’m kind of a bad BL fan, I know, I know.

This is probably one of the reasons why I started BL Watcher. I wanted a place to organize my thoughts and compile lists of the best BL series to watch. Without writing down what I watched, it’s so easy to lose track and lose interest. I’m hoping this blog will make it easier for me to catch up on new BL dramas, while sharing my random thoughts with other fans of the genre!

My personal identity 🤫

You can simply call me BL Watcher! I like using they/them pronouns.

I apologize for not disclosing more information about myself. I will try to be as open and transparent as possible while writing this BL blog, but I do want to keep an air of mystery about myself. I just don't feel that comfortable sharing some personal information about myself.

Still, I’m pretty friendly! Feel free to leave a comment on any of the blog posts, and I’ll more than likely answer back. I would love to discuss these BL TV shows and movies with all of you. If you have any good BL recommendations for me, I am definitely interested!

My reviews ✍🏻

One of the frequently asked questions is how the review system works. Please allow me to clarify my evaluation criteria.

Firstly, all the reviews are based on my opinion. You may agree or disagree with my review scores. I don't claim to have 100% correct judgment. My tastes are also quirky. If I give a low score to your favourite BL, it's simply my opinion. I'm only one person and don't represent the community. There are many diverse views from other fans. Please don't take offence to the low scores. They aren't meant to insult you, the actors, or the production team. My scores are subjective, reflecting my feelings after watching a drama.

Secondly, the review scores use letter grades as an evaluation metric. Think of it as a report card or a tier system. Anything with an A+ is the best tier. Afterwards, a drama with an A is the second-best tier. A- and B+ are the third-best and fourth-best tiers. This continues until we reach the F review score. Any drama that received an F means it is in the worst tier. Sorry!

Here are the numeric equivalents to the letter grades:

• A+ 98% – 100%
• A 93% – 97%
• A- 88% – 92%
• B+ 83% – 87%
• B 78% – 82%
• B- 73% – 77%
• C+ 68% – 72%
• C 63% – 67%
• C- 58% – 62%
• D+ 53% – 57%
• D 48% – 52%
• D- 43% – 47%
• F 0% – 42%

My social media 😳

I'm a lurker at heart, but I plan to be more active on social media and other websites in the future. Interacting with other people about BL gives me a little anxiety, so I'm not ready to swim in the adult pool yet. Right now, I'm just more focused on building the BL Watcher website and writing as many reviews as possible.

If you like BL Watcher, the best way to support me is to follow my Twitter and Instagram accounts. Admittedly, I'm not very active on social media right now, but I'll feel less alone and alienated with one more follower. It will be like a silent token of support that you enjoy what I write, review, and recommend on BL Watcher.