Show I Recommend to Beginners

When someone I know asks me for a recommendation for their first BL or GL, I always struggle for an answer. So much depends on the person's taste. Do you want Angst? Funny? Mature? High school? University? Spicy? The answer tends to be ‘It can be anything-’... So I have gathered my top recommendations, so the next time someone asks I can just point them to this. 

Angst

If you are looking for a show with all the feelings that will take your heart through the ringer, with great writing and performances I will suggest ‘Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo’ from 2024. It’s only eight episodes lasting around 35 minutes each, so it is ready for a binge watch! 

We follow the story of high schooler Do Hoe who is living with his oppressive and violent father who runs a taekwondo school. The cheerful taekwondo student Ju Yeong moves in with the two, and he and Do Hoe quickly grow close. Do Hoe takes solace in his relationship with Ju Yeong, and watching the two fall in love so young is both heartwarming and scary when you remember the tyrant they both live with. The show spans all the way to their adulthood, as they are separated as teenagers, and at no point does it let up on the angst pedal. If angst is your favorite genre, this is sure to deliver. 9.5/10

My second recommendation is ‘To my Star 2’ from 2022. It is the sequel of ‘To My Star’ from 2019. The first season is 9 episodes lasting 15 minutes each. ‘To My Star’ season one is a romantic comedy of two completely different people who end up living together. Kang Seo Joon is a famous actor whose career is in decline, and ends up moving in with Han Ji Woo a grumpy chef. The first season is everything you want out of a co-habitation romance… and then season two hits. 

Season two is 10 episodes lasting 25 minutes each, so almost double the runtime of season one. Season two explores what happens when you are in fact in a secret relationship with a celebrity. It can be lonely and resentment can build. Then one of them leaves the other leaving only a note behind, and the question then becomes if they can make their way back together. This show put me through the ringer, especially due to the tonal shift from season one, but it is a fantastic show 9/10 - I highly recommend it. 

Funny

Maybe angst is not your thing, and you are instead looking for something lighthearted and funny. My two suggestions would definitely be: ‘Cherry Magic’ and ‘Somewhere Somehow’.

‘Cherry Magic’ (2020) follows Adachi who is a virgin, and on his 30th birthday, he suddenly gains the ability to read minds when he comes in contact with people. This of course freaks him out, but things become even more complicated when he then finds out that his handsome and popular co-worker, Kurosawa, is in love with him! This show is 12 episodes of 25 minutes each, and is just a riot to watch. No one has ever felt the amount of gay panic that Adachi felt when finding out Kurosawa’s feelings for him. 9.5/10 from me. 

‘Somewhere Somehow’ (2025) will both make you cry with laughter, and maybe make you shed a tear from the more tender moments. Kee and Pheem are best friends and inseparable, what they don’t know is that they are both deeply in love with each other! This show spans all the way from their high school years to their adulthood, and follows all the ups and downs of falling in love. This is a silly show with a lot of heart, it feels like a love letter to every girl who has ever fallen for a girl, with all the awkward, giddy, and heart pounding moments that entail. With 13 episodes each lasting a little over an hour, it truly is a wonderful show, 8/10.

Not just romance

Perhaps you are looking for a mature drama, a show that is not just romance but focuses on other topics as well. Well, look no further, as I have two recommendations here for you. 

First it has to be ‘Clairebell’ (2025) a phenomenal drama which, other than the romance, also touches on topics of incarceration, corruption, and the issues inmates face. 

Bell is wrongly convicted of drug possession and is made to serve a 15-month sentence. In jail she is targeted by a group of other inmates, and hides behind the violent inmate; Claire. Bell is not scared by Claire, and instead tries to get to know her better, and the two slowly begin to fall in love. The relationship between Claire and Bell is the core of the show, but every side character gets their chance to shine and their story to be heard. It is only 8 episodes each lasting an hour, and it truly is a masterpiece, 10/10.

Of course my second recommendation will have to be ‘Not Me’ (2021), a show which asks ‘how can you fight for justice in a corrupt system?’ ‘Not Me’ is just one of those shows I will never be done with. While there are two great love stories, the show is also a character study of the main character ‘White’, and how his perspective of the world changes when he steps into the shoes of his brother. 

White and Black are twins, and were separated quite young. They each go off to live very different lives without contact to the other. When White comes back to Bangkok he finds out that Black has been attacked and is left in a coma. Wanting to find out what happened to his brother, White takes on his identity to figure out who hurt his brother. It is after taking on Black’s identity, that the privileged White finds out that Black was involved in a gang that had been fighting against the corruption in Thailand. The show spans 14 episodes, each lasting 45 minutes, and is truly one of the best, 10/10. 

High School

Perhaps young love is your jam, and you want a high school romance, if that is the case I have two recommendations for you.

‘Our Youth’ (2024) is the high school romance. A straight A student and a delinquent fall in love, what more could you want? Whilst it is not a lighthearted show by any means, it is fantastic at showing the heightened emotions of young love. 

Minase Jin is an exemplary student, who dislikes Hirukawa Haruki, a delinquent, and leader of the troublemakers in school. Minase is content with living his life as a spectator and has no interest in getting involved with Hirukawa. One night however Minase finds out Hirukawa’s secret, and the two soon get entangled in each other's life. This is a beautiful show and one I think everyone should watch, and it’s only 10 episodes of 25 minutes each, 9.5/10. 

On the complete opposite side of the high school romance spectrum, we have ‘My School President’ (2022), a fluffy, funny, high school romance with a great soundtrack. This is such a good show if you just want something light hearted and funny, and gives you all the good feelings. 

The student body president, Tinn, has a secret crush on fellow student Gun. Gun is the head of the music club and lead singer in his band Chinzilla. Tinn is told by the principle that he needs to shut the music club down, which makes him number one enemy of Gun. Tinn then learns that Chinzilla has a rule that none of the members can date until the band wins the ‘Hot Wave Music Contest’. So now Tinn is trying his absolute best to help Gun win the contest and keep the music club alive. 

The show has the best vibes and the sweetest moments, 12 episodes each lasting about 55 minutes, 8/10.

University

Maybe high school romances are a bit too young for your taste, and you are instead looking for something that takes place in University, then look no further, here are my recommendations for you:

‘Semantic Error’ (2022) No beginner BL list is ever complete without ‘Semantic Error’, this is just such a great recommendation for people to get into the genre. It’s only 8 episodes lasting each 25 minutes, so it’s a quick watch, but man does it leave an impression.

Chu Sang-U is a computer student, who always wants things done in a proper way. When one of his fellow students doesn't contribute to a group project, he removes the student’s name off the project. Turns out that student is Jang Jae Yeong, who now without those credits can’t go study abroad. Jae Yeong swears revenge on Sang-U, but the two also soon start working on a project together and are forced to cooperate. 

This is such a fun show, 8/10. 

The next entry is ‘Bad Buddy’ (2021), which is a fantastically funny and romantic show. If enemies-to-lovers is your jam, then this one is for you. 

Pat and Pran have been neighbors their entire lives, and not only do they detest each other, their families are enemies as well. During university, they join rivaling faculties, and they are enemies at school as well. Until… well they grow tired of it, and start to work together and become friends… and maybe something more? But how could they ever work when all their friends hate each other, and their families as well? A true Romeo and Romeo story.

 12 episodes, around 55 minutes each, give it a shot. I promise you that you will enjoy it, 8.5/10.

Spicy

Enough with the school romances! Maybe you are interested in something spicier, a show with some sauce. I have looked through my lists and brought you two of my favorite ‘spicy’ shows. 

My number one pick is ‘Roller Coaster’ (2025), a lesbian drama with engaging story lines, great characters and scenes that definitely made me blush. 

Pure and Air were heads over heels in love and planning a life together, when Air due to family pressure decides to get married to Lamp. Air plans to one day leave Lamp, and get back together again with Pure, but Pure doesn’t know if she should wait. Whilst processing her heartbreak Pure meets Loft, and the two start a physical relationship. 

This show is truly a roller coaster (pun very much intended), and it will have you hooked from beginning to end. 8 episodes of 46 minutes each, 8/10. 

A show that legit has a ‘sultrier version’ is definitely one for the spice list, here we have ‘4Minutes’ (2024). ‘4Minutes’ is a mind bending show that had me speculating from episode to episode when it aired. It was such an entertaining, if not slightly confusing at times, I would still highly recommend it. 

Great is a university student, who suddenly gains the power to see four minutes into the future. He uses this power to alter the result of many events, without knowing if there will be consequences. He then meets Thyme, a resident surgeon, and the two soon begin a relationship. 

8 Episodes of 45 minutes each, 8/10 from me.

Hopefully one or more of these shows caught your attention, and let me know if you watch any of them, and what you thought!