Our knees hurt and the music is too loud. Ben, NiNi, Shan and friend of the pod Turtles talk Gelboys and Heesu In Class 2.Episode transcript available here.00:00 Welcome00:55 Introduction08:36 Gelboys: A Portrait of Modern Youth17:32 Gelboys: Technology, Loneliness and Distraction30:58 Gelboys: Our Not-So-Fab Four40:30 Gelboys: Perspectives On The Ending44:28 Gelboys: Final Thoughts and Ratings53:17 Heesu In Class 201:00:41 Heesu In Class 2: The Story Is Storying01:09:55 Heesu In Class 2: Friendship, Family, Queerness and Acceptance01:24:57 Heesu In Class 2: On Seungwon01:28:06 Heesu In Class 2: The Galloping Disk Horse, Final Thoughts and Ratings01:38:31 Outro: Things Are Dire
Prestige TV is gay now! Historical bottom dementia is on the menu as we tackle two different era-spanning toxic romances. Ben, NiNi and friend of the pod Captain Hands talk Interview With the Vampire and Fellow Travelers.Episode transcript available here.00:00 Welcome00:55 Introduction02:25 Interview With The Vampire12:27 IWTV: The Vampire Mythos17:28 IWTV: The Best Bits21:35 IWTV: Claudia26:55 IWTV: Queerness in the Story36:19 IWTV: Gay Paree41:24 IWTV: Final Thoughts and Ratings51:16 Fellow Travelers01:04:44 Fellow Travelers: Hurt People Hurt People01:13:22 Fellow Travelers: The Saga of Hawk and Tim01:21:20 Fellow Travelers: Final Thoughts and Ratings01:28:38 Outro: More Toxic Tales Please!
FINALLY SOME GOOD GL. Ben, NiNi and Twig talk Fragrance You Inherit and Fragrance of the First Flower.Episode transcript available here.00:00 Welcome00:55 Introduction03:16 Fragrance You Inherit08:34 Fragrance You Inherit: All About the Relationships17:46 Fragrance You Inherit: Sakura's Coming Out21:50 Fragrance You Inherit: On-chan24:21 Fragrance You Inherit: Final Thoughts and Ratings29:08 Fragrance of the First Flower37:14 Fragrance of the First Flower: A Friend and a Foe45:22 Fragrance of the First Flower: Life Life-ing Is Good Drama!52:49 Fragrance of the First Flower: Final Thoughts and Ratings57:04 Outro: Lesbians!
In Part 2 of our Untamed discussion, Ben, NiNi, Shan and Bookworm talk our love for Jiang Cheng, our hatred for Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao, and why we will always hold out hope for more Chinese BL.Episode transcript available here.00:00 Welcome00:55 Intro: More Notes From The Future01:45 The Second Life09:23 The Second Life: The Fallout of Wei Wuxian's Choices16:52 The Second Life: Meng Yao's Dastardly Deeds26:52 The Second Life: The Tragedy of Wen Ning32:35 The Second Life: Two 'Fools'37:41 The Second Life: Various Random Musings48:18 Page to Screen (and Audio, and Anime, and Stage, and...)56:59 Afterlife: The Impact of The Untamed on BL and Fandom
It's 'the biggest goddamn BL in the world', and we're finally going to talk about it. Ben, NiNi, Shan and Bookworm talk The Untamed. In Part 1 of our two-part episode, we talk censorship, the journey from MDZS to The Untamed, and the first half of the story.Episode transcript available here.00:00 Welcome00:55 Introduction03:55 Censorship in Media: A Global View12:37 The MoDaoZuShi Phenomenon24:33 The Big Picture33:36 The First Life40:07 The First Life: Thoughts and Impressions46:21 The First Life: WangXian and Other Fucked Up Love Stories01:01:17 The First Life: Various Random Musings01:11:02 Outro: Notes From the Future
It’s our 3rd Annual Very Important Internet BL Awards and we’ve changed up our whole shit! Ben and NiNi talk the best things we watched all year. Episode transcript available here. 00:00 Welcome 00:55 Introduction: It's Awards Season Once More 02:09 Acting! 08:00 Ships Ahoy! 16:31 Immortal Technique 29:05 Top Tings 41:43 Special Class Awards 43:11 Special Class: Honourable Mentions 47:36 Special Class: Mark Pakin 6th Man Awards 51:13 Special Class: Standout Queer Narratives 01:06:00 Outro
It’s our holiday special (because it's a holiday somewhere in the world)! Ben, NiNi and assorted friends of the pod look back on 10 years of BL as a genre and talk 10 shows that define the genre for us. Episode transcript available here. 00:00 Welcome 00:55 Celebrating the BL Canon: A Retrospective 02:08 Blueming (2022) | KR | dir. Hwang Da Seul (Megan) 07:35 Dark Blue Kiss (2019) | TH | dir. Aof Noppharnach Chaiwimol (Shan) 13:59 He's Coming To Me (2019) | TH | dir. Aof Noppharnach Chaiwimol (Captain Hands) 17:00 His (2020) | JP | dir. Imaizumi Rikiya (Twig) 21:12 Light On Me (2021) | KR | dir. Lee Yoo Yeon (Kyra) 25:40 Make It Right (2017) | TH | dirs. New Siwaj Sawatmaneekul and Cheewin Thanamin Wongskulphat (Turtles) 33:29 The Miracle of Teddy Bear (2022) | TH | dir. Paajaew Yuthana Lorphanpaibul (Pluem) 39:52 Theory of Love (2019) | TH | dir. X Nuttapong Mongkolsawas (Bookworm) 46:15 The Untamed (2019) | CH | dirs. Steve Cheng and Chang Ka Lam (Shan) 51:42 We Best Love (2021) | TW | dir. Ray Jiang (Twig) 57:59 Ben and Nini's Drive-by Faves
Ben, NiNi and Shan discuss a weird year for QL and look ahead to 2025. Episode transcript available here. 00:00 Welcome 00:55 2024 Headlines: Industry Consolidation 06:49 2024 Headline: Self-Censorship 13:52 2024 Headlines: Vertical Format Micro-BLs and Other Shit We're Anti 20:14 Festivus Airing Of The Grievances 36:51 2024 Fan Awards 55:49 QL Resolutions 01:04:45 Affirmations and Hopes for the Future
Korea swung big at the end of the year and hit it out of the park on both the queer romance and queer life drama fronts. Ben, NiNi and Shan talk Let Free The Curse of Taekwondo and Love In The Big City. Episode transcript available here. 00:00 Welcome 01:15 Introduction: Let's Talk Hallyu 06:01 Let Free The Curse of Taekwondo 12:36 Taekwondo: Themes and Patterns In Hwang Da Seul's Work 21:54 Taekwondo: The Separation 33:28 Taekwondo: The Reunion 38:22 Taekwondo: On Hyeon Ho 44:57 Taekwondo: Final Thoughts and Ratings 52:33 Love In The Big City 58:46 Love In The Big City Part 1: Mi Ae and the Film Adaptation 01:06:50 Love In The Big City Part 2: Umma and Young Soo 01:17:05 Love In The Big City Part 3: Gyu Ho and Kylie 01:28:31 Love In The Big City Part 4: Habibi and the T-aras 01:40:28 Love In The Big City: Final Thoughts and Ratings 01:48:25 Outro
More takes on the office romance, now with bonus miscommunication! Ben, NiNi and Ginny talk Ayaka Is In Love With Hiroko and At 25:00 In Akasaka. Episode transcript available here. 00:00 Welcome01:16 Intro02:52 Ayaka Is In Love With Hiroko10:45 Ayaka: A Split Narrative17:20 Ayaka: The Negatives24:25 Ayaka: Final Thoughts and Ratings29:08 At 25:00 in Akasaka35:34 At 25:00 in Akasaka: It's the Characters for Us43:18 At 25:00 in Akasaka: Hayama and Shirasaki49:05 At 25:00 in Akasaka: Filmmaking and Production53:25 At 25:00 in Akasaka: Final Thoughts and Ratings58:45 The State of J-BL
The pulps are evolving in what seems like two distinct directions, and we have some thoughts on that. Ben, NiNi and friend of the pod Twig talk We Are and Knock Knock, Boys! Episode transcript available here. 00:00 Welcome01:15 Introduction05:56 We Are: Branded Pair Background14:37 We Are: A Rorschach Test of a Show30:47 We Are: Final Thoughts and Ratings38:21 Knock Knock, Boys!48:39 Knock Knock, Boys!: Sex Positivity55:51 Knock Knock, Boys!: Our Fab Four (and Jane)01:09:58 Knock Knock, Boys!: Final Thoughts and Ratings01:14:54 Importance of Pulps as Labs
It's a mailbag episode! Episode transcript available here. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Introduction 00:02:10 Inbox: Surprises of the Season 00:07:07 Inbox: Does Categorization Matter? 00:11:42 Inbox: BL Fatigue? 00:15:51 Inbox: The BL Bubble 00:30:26 Inbox: Sex On Screen 00:41:07 Inbox: Fave Sex Scenes 00:51:24 Inbox: Worst Sex Scenes 01:04:24 Bonus Round: Best Sex in a Bad Show 01:06:54 Inbox: Critical Philosophy 01:18:31 Outro
Queer truth is on back on the menu, just as we were starting to get FAMISHED. Ben, NiNi and Shan talk Marahuyo Project and No One Cares For An Old Man's Underwear. Episode transcript available here. 00:00 Welcome 01:15 Introduction 08:40 Marahuyo Project: A Queer Activist's Story 20:24 Marahuyo Project: On Queerness 30:16 Marahuyo Project: Our Characters 42:09 Marahuyo Project: The Christina Story 48:52 Marahuyo Project: Parents and Children 54:54 Marahuyo Project: Final Thoughts and Ratings 59:48 Ossan no Pants 01:05:18 Ossan no Pants: Our Characters 01:26:30 Ossan no Pants: Key Character Arcs 01:36:49 Ossan no Pants: Furuike and That Fucking Guy 01:45:25 Ossan no Pants: Final Thoughts and Ratings 01:51:18 Importance of Variety in Media Consumption
Summer didn’t give us a lot to say, but we ALWAYS got something to say. Ben, NiNi and Shan talk a highlight of the season, Twig reports from the field, and we award summer’s Girl Who Tried. Episode transcript available here. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Introduction 00:02:21 Twig’s Dispatch 00:14:24 Spotlight: Tadaima Okaeri 00:20:34 Girl, You Tried 00:27:08 Celebrating 50 Episodes
School's in at GMMTV, but we gotta put two series in detention for not fulfilling the assignment. The actors were charming, but the finishes were...rough. Ben, NiNi and Ginny talk 23.5 and Only Boo, the merits of high school stories, and the specific challenges of telling stories about queer high schoolers. Episode transcript available here. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Introduction 00:02:18 23.5: Early Reactions 00:14:18 23.5: Supporting Characters 00:21:27 23.5: Frustration with the Writing and Execution 00:33:42 23.5: Final Arc and Ratings 00:38:42 Only Boo 00:48:06 Only Boo: Popping the Bubble 00:58:42 Only Boo: If You're Gonna Do An Idol Story, Commit 01:05:06 Only Boo: Final Thoughts and Ratings 01:08:45 Outro: High School Blues
Second chance romances, long-term pining, and their roles in queer narratives are our JAM, so we gotta talk about how two Japanese BLs should have been 10s but absolutely flopped for us. Ben, NiNi and Twig talk Love Is Better The Second Time Around and Living With Him. Join us to break down what it's like to watch a show fall apart in real time. Episode transcript available here. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Introduction 00:02:38 Love Is Better The Second Time Around: What Worked 00:13:31 Love Is Better The Second Time Around: What Didn't Work 00:23:32 Love Is Better The Second Time Around: Final Thoughts and Ratings 00:26:54 Living With Him: How It Started 00:36:33 Living With Him: Where It Went Wrong 00:44:40 Living With Him: Final Thoughts and Ratings 00:52:03 Why The Queerness Matters
It's been awhile since we checked in on Taiwan, and the latest offerings have really run the gamut in terms of quality. Ben, NiNi, and Shan sat down to discuss the state of Taiwanese BL via two recent shows, Anti Reset and Unknown. Episode transcript available here. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Introduction 00:02:11 Anti Reset and VBL 00:13:13 Unknown the Series 00:20:16 Unknown: The Pseudo Incest Trope 00:27:53 Unknown: San Pang, Li Li, and Family in the Narrative 00:35:48 Unknown: The Ending Stumble 00:43:32 Unknown: Adapting the Da Ge Novel 00:46:15 Unknown: Final Thoughts and Ratings 00:51:53 Whither Taiwanese BL?
In our Spring Lagniappe, Ben and NiNi and friend of the pod Twig answer some questions, drive-by some pulps, and award the season's 'Girl, You Tried'. Episode transcript available here. [https://www.tumblr.com/the-conversation-pod/751828830310760448/spring-2024-lagniappe?source=share] 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Inbox: Comparing Cherry Magic Adaptations 00:10:17 Inbox: Remaking Het Romances into QL 00:16:04 Catch Up Corner: Young Royals season 3 00:21:23 Catch Up Corner: Man Suang 00:25:12 Catch Up Corner: DNA Says Love You 00:29:23 Twig's Dispatch 00:38:35 Winter Round Up 00:44:45 Girl, You Tried 00:47:35 Look Ahead
Japan is churning them out almost faster than we can keep up, so we dedicated a whole grab bag episode to give them the attention they're asking for. Ben, NiNi, Ginny and Shan talk what's working and what's not in Japanese BL as we discuss Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun, One Room Angel, Perfect Propose, Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro Ka, I Want To See Only You and I Became the Star of a BL Drama. Episode transcript available here. [https://www.tumblr.com/the-conversation-pod/751105923599204352/mixed-nuts-part-2-thoughts-on-yaoi?source=share] 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Grab Bag Part 2: J-BL 00:02:22 Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun 00:11:29 One Room Angel 00:18:54 A Note on MBS Tunku Shower 00:26:01 Perfect Propose 00:49:27 Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro Ka 01:04:44 I Want To See Only You 01:10:55 I Became the Star of a BL Drama 01:26:16 Outro
BL is really leaning into genre in a big way, and we're too big nerds to let that go uncommented upon. Ben, NiNi, Ginny and Shan talk some successes and failures in genre blending over the winter season in Playboyy, 7 Days Before Valentine, Dead Friend Forever and Love For Love's Sake. **TW for Dead Friend Forever: discussions of violence and gore** **TW for Love For Love's Sake: discussions of suicide and self-harm** Episode transcript available here. [https://www.tumblr.com/the-conversation-pod/750570714469367808/spring-grab-bag-part-1-genre-shows?source=share] 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:15 Grab Bag Part 1: Genre Shows 00:02:37 Playboyy 00:18:42 7 Days Before Valentine 00:29:35 Dead Friend Forever 00:50:03 Love For Love's Sake 01:13:39 Outro