Japanese BL Starter Pack

Japanese BL Starter Pack

It’s been awhile since I dropped a rec list, so I am here today to share one that is very near and dear to my heart—a Japanese bl primer for those who are new to the jbl game. I created this for @neuroticbookworm to help her on her journey when she decided she wanted to start getting into Japanese works. The fandom (on Tumblr and generally) tends to focus primarily on Thai shows because they are the easiest to access for international fans, since Thailand is working its way toward world domination via ql media and wants us all to be able to watch. But there is a lot of great stuff to watch beyond the easy access Thai channels, and Japan is the country where this genre originated, so its shows are important for anyone who considers themselves a bl fan. Japan doesn’t cater nearly as much to the international audience so tracking down the shows sometimes takes some ingenuity and can-do spirit, but that’s part of the fun!

And so, the list! Bookworm is about halfway through it and having a ball, so I figured it was time to stop hoarding it and share it with anyone else who would like to dip their toes into jbl and isn’t quite sure where to start. A few notes: 

I am not here to teach you about the deep roots of the jbl genre or give you a primer on yaoi manga. I am by no means an expert and there are other places to find that information. Start here with this great post by @nieves-de-sugui and then maybe wander over to @absolutebl to read up more on the evolution of the genre.

This list is by no means an exhaustive accounting of every important Japanese bl ever made; it is simply a nice sampler platter of the cream of the crop among various styles you will find in jbl. Watching through this whole list will not only expose you to some fantastic shows, but also give you a sense of what makes jbl unique and how the country’s style differs from others, and point you toward the types of jbl you’ll like most (they tend to put shows in pretty specific style and tone lanes and once you find the ones you like there are lots more where that came from). 

If you’re coming to this post as a jbl lover and you don’t see your favorite here, I promise it’s not because I don’t love it very much; I simply had to make some choices to get this down to a reasonable shortlist. Feel free to leave extra recs for others to find! 

I’m putting these in a loose suggested watch order that will take you through the various jbl lanes in a kind of popcorn style, because I always think it’s good to change it up so you don’t get too stuck in one mode, and it works its way up to most of the extremely Japanese stuff (you will know what that means by the time you finish). But do what’s in your heart and change up the order if you want, friends, I am not the boss of you! 

Cherry Magic (Crunchyroll or grey)

gif by @liyazaki

I believe everyone on Tumblr is pretty familiar with this one, which is not a coincidence—this is one of the most accessible jbls. Not in terms of actual access to watch it, mind you (we’ve all jumped through shady internet hoops to watch it) but in terms of its content and style. Cherry Magic is a classic workplace romcom with a magical twist, and it is charming af. It’s a great exemplar of Japan’s light and zippy comedy lane for bl—a lane in which, importantly, the romances stay chaste even when the actual plot is about sex, or lack thereof. My friend @waitmyturtles would kill me if I didn’t make sure you know that Cherry Magic also has a lovely follow up film. And bonus: there is now a Thai remake airing so if you watch the original you can get in on the discussion about the different adaptations between countries. This is pretty easy to find these days in all the usual places, but I strongly recommend watching it here.

Old Fashion Cupcake (Viki)

gif by @liyazaki

Moving on to a slightly more mature workplace romcom. Old Fashion Cupcake, another Tumblr favorite, is an age gap boss-subordinate romance, and it’s both very adult and somehow wholesome af at the same time. Sure, there is a lot of carnal desire going on here, but there is also a lot of wooing via fluffy pancakes. It’s a tight five episodes and a fantastic example of what Japan, with its extreme technical precision in writing, directing, editing, pacing, and acting firing on all cylinders, can do in two hours. There’s not an ounce of flab on this thing and you’ll want to watch it over and over again.

Utsukushii Kare (Viki)

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Time to get a little weird! Weird is a key feature of Japanese media, and lots of jbls explore unusual relationship dynamics rooted in complex psychology. This is the first show on the list that will likely feel very Japanese if you’re new around here—my advice is to lean into it and finish the show, even if you get uncomfortable along the way. In Japanese media, discomfort always serves a purpose. This is a high school story with a twisted relationship at its center, and I’m not saying any more than that. Don’t spoil yourself and go watch it! This one also comes with two sequels—one short second season and one movie—that continue from the original story. They are less essential but still excellent.

I Cannot Reach You (Netflix)

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Next up, another high school tale, but with a totally different vibe. This show is kind of a revelation in its willingness to tell a story about overwhelming desire—including sexual desire—with young protagonists. It’s rooted in a classic but often misunderstood trope, friends to lovers, and takes the angst of it seriously, giving us a low stakes story that feels extremely high stakes to our leads. It’s also gorgeous and uses a classic Japanese visual style (bokeh) that you’ll be dying to learn more about. 

His (Viki)

gif by @gabrielokun

Time for a break from high school, and we’ll sprinkle in a movie for some added flavor. His is a jbl film featuring a second chance romance between a stoic, introverted man who moves to a remote town to start over, and his ex-boyfriend who follows him there unexpectedly, adorable child in tow. Importantly, this movie does not take place in what we often refer to as the “bl bubble” where homophobia doesn’t exist; the leads’ experiences of being gay men in a homophobic society are hugely important to the plot and themes of the story. It’s a beautiful film and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it. @bengiyo would surely also like me to tell you that this film follows a brief prequel show called His: I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love about the characters originally meeting in high school; I do not think it’s really necessary to watch it but completists can start there.

The Pornographer series (Gaga)

By now you should be ready to get into some classic Japanese fucked up psychosexual material, right? Right! The Pornographer series is told in five installments in this order:

The Novelist, a six episode miniseries

Mood Indigo, a six episode prequel series

Spring Life, a 15 minute short

Pornographer: Playback, a two hour film

Spring Life Continued, a 15 minute short

Confused by that distribution model? So say we all; sometimes Japan likes to make us work for it to make sure we really appreciate its many gifts to us. The story across these installments is about a very difficult to love protagonist, what makes him the way he is, and the also-unhinged-but-in-a-different-way man who finally gets through to him. It’s an extremely satisfying love story and one of the best character arcs I have ever seen, full stop. For this one, you’ll want to just pull the word problematic out of your pocket and store it in a drawer; nearly everything that happens in this story is problematic and that’s the point. Lean in! All of these installments except for the film are on Gaga, if you get that far hmu and I will supply you with the final puzzle piece.

Our Dining Table (Gaga)

You could probably use a break after those last two, so it’s time to shift over to a heart-tugging twofer: family trauma mixed with the cutest shit you’ve ever seen. ODT is an example of another classic type of Japanese show: the food drama (you will see the GOAT in this category at the end of this list). In Japanese culture, food is love, and the act of preparing food for your loved ones is a common path to romance. You’ll love this story about an isolated office worker who meets a pair of brothers, learns to cook as a way of connecting with them, and begins to heal from his own trauma as a result. The image above is a scan from the manga, which @troubled-mind curates to make extremely cool comparison sets like this one. Many jbls are faithful adaptations of yaoi manga source material, so it’s good to have a bit of familiarity with them.

Minato’s Laundromat (Gaga)

gif by @liyazaki

Japanese media loves to explore taboo, and often manages to do it in a way that is surprisingly light and chaste. This is an age gap romance between a teenager and his adult neighbor that explores internalized homophobia, emotional repression, and falling in love across seemingly impossible social chasms. It’s also a great example of old school yaoi seme-uke dynamics that still show up across the bl genre. Also, take my advice: end your journey with this one with the first season and just pretend season 2 doesn’t exist.

Eternal Yesterday (Viki)

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Remember what I said about weird? Time to do that again, but with a heaping dose of grief and pain on top. It’s not a spoiler to tell you this show involves a major character death; a major character death is, in fact, the root of the entire story. This is a magic realist tale of first love turned tragic, and it will hurt and heal you. It is one of my favorite dramas of all time.

Restart After Come Back Home (Gaga)

And now for a break for your poor exhausted brain. This film is basically the jbl version of a Hallmark original movie, about a city boy who goes back home to the country and falls in love with a total sweetheart while working together on a farm. Enjoy it, bestie, you’ve earned it! 

Tokyo in April Is… (Gaga)

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

You’ve probably noticed by now that emotional repression and failed communication are big themes in Japanese works. This second chance romance has plenty of both, and it’s a great example of a kind of muted emotional style that Japan does so well, where the surface of the story seems almost placid and calm even as deep emotion roils underneath. This one (and Eternal Yesterday above) are part of a special line up of jbls on Japanese channel MBS called Tonku (Drama) Shower. The shows air one after another in the same time slot on Fridays (in Japan, perhaps Thursdays for you depending on where you live) and you truly never know what you’re gonna get, but they’re all interesting. Warnings on this one for sexual assault and trauma. 

The End of the World With You (Viki)

Time for sexy and weird again, but even more so! This has to be one of the most unique bls ever made; it goes to some truly divine and strange places, and it feels incredibly queer while doing it. Made by the same screenwriter/director of the Pornographer series with a lot of the same sensibilities, but in a more heightened apocalyptic setting. This one has existential angst, a road trip, a redemption tale, and a variety of interesting side characters in the mix.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Gaga)

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of the list and your reward is watching one of the best bls of all time, and a perfect slice of life food drama to boot. WDYEY now has two seasons (along with a couple specials and a movie that fall in between) because the universe clearly loves us. You can now get it on Gaga for easy access but I’m partial to the versions over at @kinounaniresource for better subs. Wherever you watch, settle in to get cozy with Shiro and Kenji and make sure to always eat before you hit play.

vetted campaigns from today. let's keep supporting these families with all we have! they are suffering catastrophe upon catastrophe.

july 4th:

Hanaa Jad Al-Haq, her husband Muhammad Hammad, and their two-year-old son Yousef (£580/£20,000) - @hanaayousef, verified by @/ibtisams

Eyad Sami, his wife Amal Mahmoud, and their four children (CHF5,756/CHF20,000) - @eyadeyadsblog, verified by @/90-ghost

Samer Abu Ras, his wife Shurooq, and their three young children (kr59,896 SEK/kr450,000 SEK) - @samerpal, #196 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet

Nael Khalid and family (amount unknown) - @islampalestinegaza, verified by @/90-ghost

Iman Alshaer, her husband Riyad, and their six children (€6,709/€25,000) - verified by @/sayruq

Hanaa Alshaer, her husband Jaber, and their four children (€10,200/€18,000) - see above verification; this campaign is for the same extended family

Nada Saftawi and her three children, one of whom needs hepatitis treatment (€11,233/€16,000) - @halaelhissi, @nadasaftawi, verified by @/ibtisams

Israa Al Azaiza and her family, including several children and her father, who needs treatment for heart disease ($1,931 CAD/$48,000 CAD) - @israa-azaiza, #236 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet

Karam Al-Nabih and his mother, who needs medical treatment (€8,806/€20,000) - @karamrafeek, verified by @/nabulsi

Wafaa Alnhal's family of 15, including four children and a newborn (the family has lost multiple members, including Wafaa's young niece) (€24,385/€50,000) - @wafs-posts, #171 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet

Newlyweds Noor and Alaa (both have lost multiple family members) (€2,355/€25,000) - @nouralaagaza, verified by @/90-ghost

Hadeel Adnan Abu Nasser and her family of 12 (they've lost her father and brother; Hadeel is responsible for everyone) (€1,525/€20,000) - @hadeelgaza, verified by @/90-ghost

Helping Mahmoud Hamam and his family to rebuild their house ($515/$25,000) - @ma7moudgaza2, #149 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet

Khaled Altaban's evacuation and education (£20/£10,000) - @khaledaltaban, verified by @/90-ghost

Khalil Abubaker, his five siblings, and their parents (€1,300/€30,000) - @khalil95, #187 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet

The Al Zaeem family of seven, including four children and their sick grandfather ($18,745 CAD/$50,000 CAD) - @malkzaeem, @yosofzaeem, verified by @/nabulsi

Widow Safaa Abubaker and her two little children (€798/€15,000) - @safaamo, verified by @/ibtisams

Helping Tawfik Satoom continue his education ($278/$20,000) - @tawfiksatooom, #238 on the operation olive branch spreadsheet

Mahmoud Khalaf's family of eight, including several children (€10,420/€30,000) - @mahmoudkhalafff, verified by @/nabulsi

Seham (injured and needs medical treatment), her husband, their two children, and her mother, whose wheelchair is damaged and unusable ($4,074/$50,000) - @seham1003, verified by @/el-shab-hussein

Siraj Abudayeh, his wife, and their three young children who've lost their treasured home ($3,346 CAD/$82,000 CAD) - @siraj2024, #219 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet

Mahmoud Al-Sharif, his pregnant wife, and their three children ($157/$60,000) - @mahmoud-sharif, verified by @/90-ghost

not yet vetted:

Tamer Abu Deeb and family ($397/$20,000)

Muhammad Atalla (who urgently needs surgery after being shot with an explosive bullet) and his family of 11, including his sick father and a newborn (€275/€82,000) - @mohammed-atallah

Evacuating Bilal Abed Rabou and two family members, as well as continuing his education (€115/€80,000) - @bilalassadabedrabou

Amjad Al-Shaltawi and his family of 11, including his two young children (€653/€97,000) - @amjadshiltawu

i know this amount of links can look like a lot, but please push through for the sake of these families and individuals. they want to live and be safe.

THEM BEING THEIR CHILD’S FIRST WORD - TEXTING THE LOVE AND DEEPSPACE MEN

Warnings : child’s gender unspecified, all of them spoiling their kids, reader is gender-neutral!

Genre : domestic tooth-rotting fluffff

Additional notes : WE ARE SO BACK BABY!!! Thank you nonnie for bringing back my obsession with them as dads. I’m VERY unwell about them🙏🏽 To anyone else reading this, my requests are still closed!! These are just old requests I had in my inbox🫶🏽

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Masterlist

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Golden (son) Part 1

Prema SMAU

Part 2

In which the male!reader is Prema Racing‘s golden boy and (kind of) Oscar Piastri‘s grid kid. This is my first time doing smth like this so let me know if you‘re interested🫡

(Pls ignore the bianca pic, I embedded it before the twitter shit happened)

User1

Found this on Twitter, they‘ve literally been family since y/n joined Prema😭

>user2: good to know logan hasn‘t changed all that much

prema_team

We are happy to announce that y/n l/n will join us for his first F2 season! After winning the F3 championship with us last year, the team and y/n hope to continue that streak in 2024.

>frederikvestiofficial: Happy to have you mate🤝

>oscarpiastri: Let‘s go! Always told you you could do it!

>User1: Ariana what are you doing here

>User2: he and y/n were at the same boarding school&were close when Oscar was still at Prema

>McLaren: Our developement driver, everyone!

>ynofficial: Love you admin ❤️

ynofficial

@/ prema_team @/ frederikvestiofficial @/ kimi.antonelli @/ olliebearman Glad to call all of you losers my family for the next year

>kimi.antonelli: why do fred and olli get the flattering pic

>ynofficial: bcs they‘re older than me and I have at least some respect for them

>olliebearman: awww you do like us

>ynofficial: shut up loser

>user1: not the picture of kimi😭

>user4: might have to start watching f2, I‘m hyped for y/n ngl

>prema_team: The best team💪

McLaren

Oscar is staying on the sidelines today as @/ ynofficial does his first testing in our car! Y/n told @/SkySportsF1 that he deeply values Oscar guiding him through his first time driving F1 machinery and praised him for always looking out for y/n.

>ynofficial: a professional racing driver being so excited that he forgets his helmet and has to borrow @/ oscarpiastri‘s helmet? More likely than you think

>oscarpiastri: Anytime mate

>ynofficial: thanks pastry boy

>olliebearman: Had so much fun doing the sim work with you! Make us proud❤️

>ynofficial: this is why you‘re my favorite

>frederikvestiofficial: :(

>kimiantonelli: :(

>oscarpiastri: :(

>arthurleclerc: :(