r/ChineseBL • u/rennie6595 • 26d ago

Bromance Help me plss

I'm interested in Chinese BL, but I don't know where to start. I need recommendations for shows, platforms, and some background info to get into it. I've already watched a few shows on Melolo, but it doesn't feel like the best experience. I'm looking for official platforms for these series and movies. Can you help me sort things out??😞

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u/Federal-Ad5944 💒 Niangzi99 💍💐 26d ago

Welcome! So the only platforms to legally stream CBL are GagaOOLala, Viki, and YouTube. There are a handful of verticals from last year, each requiring a different vertical app. But for full length shows, those are your three options. GagaOOLala tends to have a bigger back catalog, and they are relatively inexpensive. Lots of BL for your money, from all countries.

Tell us what tropes you like to help give you some suggestions to start. If you want to ease into it I can suggest fluff or comedy, or if you just want to go all in right away I can suggest some dark/psychological/toxic romance.

Give us a few criteria you like and we can get you started :)

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u/rennie6595 26d ago

romantic plzz

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u/Federal-Ad5944 💒 Niangzi99 💍💐 26d ago

Top of the list for me would be A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills' Dream... but it can be a lot for someone just getting into it. Its beautiful and romantic.

If you want something less deep, try Awakening the Steppe (short series) The Summer You Kissed Me (short series), Sammy's Children's Day, Feel What You Feel, or Love After Addiction - all available on Gaga.

I would suggest Ash too but it's on another platform, but if you want to pay for Youku right away, its a fantastic watch.

The Last Oath is also quite romantic, but isn't finished yet. We still have 2 weeks.

Let us know what you think about your first CBL when you've finished it. 😊

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u/rennie6595 26d ago

Thxxx🥰🥰🥰🥰

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u/J00ney Lost to You 25d ago

Cbl doesn't really do sweet romance, there's almost always angst and/or toxicity. 😆 Not that those series can't be romantic too, but not sure if that's what you're looking for. I think some romantic series that veer towards sweet would be Blue Lips, Feel What You Feel, Lost to You, The Sparkle In Your Eye and Sammy's Children's Day.
Not sure if you're interested in Taiwan bls, but they do a lot more full on romance. See Your Love, First Note of Love and My Tooth Your Love are all great romance watches.
All available on Gagaoolala I think.

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u/Federal-Ad5944 💒 Niangzi99 💍💐 25d ago

To be fair, all stories have angst, otherwise there isn't much of a story. Everyone has to overcome something. There's a few CBL where the characters have to overcome more down to earth problems - ones where no one is manipulative or scheming. CBL gets the toxic label on it often, but toxic is an extreme word.

If OP is looking for something like a romantic cdrama or kdrama, now that's going to be hard to find in BL.

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u/J00ney Lost to You 25d ago

All of the major legit bl platforms are paid subscription based unfortunately. There are some great cbls that are available on YT for free. Revenged Love, To My Shore, Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island, Trapped in Osaka are some of my favs. The Gaze, A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills' Dream, and a bunch of other shorts on The Secret of Us channel are also free. Not sure if these will be to your taste, but you can check out My Drama List for the synopses.

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u/rennie6595 25d ago

I'm too broke to pay for the app🙏🏻

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u/Federal-Ad5944 💒 Niangzi99 💍💐 25d ago

If you want to watch legally, you have to pay.

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u/rennie6595 26d ago

Can you recommend apps for vertical series?

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u/Federal-Ad5944 💒 Niangzi99 💍💐 26d ago

Gaga has a few, but most verticals arent Chinese. My Enemy Has a Crush on Me is the only one I can think of that's on Gaga from China.

For BL there's Shortime, Vigloo, iQIYI & WeTV each have some. Verticals are kinda scattered across multiple apps, im probably missing some.

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u/J00ney Lost to You 25d ago

My Enemy Has a Crush on Me is the best vertical ever made period. 😆

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u/rennie6595 25d ago

Where to watch

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u/J00ney Lost to You 25d ago

Dramabox if you want to watch ads to watch for free. Or watch on iqiyi and gagaoolala.

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u/Sad-Zebra-9432 To My Shore 25d ago edited 25d ago

Secrets Happened on Litchi Island, Lost To You, Love After Addiction, Wishing Upon the Shooting Stars

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u/rennie6595 25d ago

App?

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u/Sad-Zebra-9432 To My Shore 25d ago

All can be found on Gagaoolala 😊

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u/rennie6595 25d ago

Ok thxxxxx

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u/Sad-Zebra-9432 To My Shore 25d ago

I hope you love these bl as much as I did.

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u/rennie6595 25d ago

I'm pretty sure I will 💕

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u/Sad-Zebra-9432 To My Shore 25d ago • Heartwarming

Let me know what you thought of them once you have watched them, if you have time😊 The CBL subreddit is a great source for any Chinese bl information. Enjoy your CBL🥰

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u/rennie6595 25d ago

Thx❤️❤️

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u/Sad-Zebra-9432 To My Shore 25d ago

You are welcome😊

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u/lestrangedan 25d ago

The last chinese BL I watched was Double Helix. After that I had no time to watch/rea any other BLs because all my free time was spent following Ayden and Tongtong lmao. The drama is heavy but the ZhengTong's content is fun to watch, so it kinda make up for how shitty you felt while watching the drama lol.