The Eighth Sense - Blog Posts

Favourite BLs with age gaps (4+ years).

Here’s some of my favourite bl dramas where the age gap between the couple is 4 or more years. I chose 4 or more years because there is always a different feel to those who are 4 or more years older. There’s a lot that can be done.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy.

- Minato Shouji coin laundry.

This is one of my top favourite shows ever. It’s a comfort show for me, although I recall the age gap of characters being 9 years put me off at first. Still, I tried the show and I am so glad I did.

The main plot of this show is the age gap. The issues between the characters stem from the age gap. With Shin being 17 when they meet and Minato being 27. I felt that the drama handled the age gap very well.

With the character of Minato, he does not feel creepy for being with a teenager. His character finds Shin attractive and that is where it stops. He is very strict about nothing happening between them while Shin is underage despite all the flirting and seducing Shin tries. Minato absolutely refuses to see Shin in a sexual or romantic way until he is of age despite all the other characters choosing to see their relationship as romantic. Minato continues to treat Shin almost like a younger brother despite it all, even when he gets flustered.

I was very glad to find a show where despite being attracted to a younger person, the character kept to their morals and waited until the person was 18+. Even when Shin has turned 18, minato waits until he has graduated high school.

While I would normally hate a drama with such a big age gap for the usual sexualisation of a teenager, this show didn’t do that. Whenever it started to lean in that direction, minato shuts it down.

Even so the dynamics between the characters was gold and there was a real growth and development for them. (Less so in season2 but we don’t need to talk about that). Shin learned that although he wanted Minato, he grew to respect the boundaries Minato set. While Minato learned to let Shin dictate what he felt comfortable with while also maintaining though boundaries. Throughout all of this the show maintained a light and almost puppy love atmosphere, perhaps to offset such a large agar gap.

I won’t lie and say that there’s not negatives to this show. Such a large age gap between characters itself is problematic. But despite my initial misgivings I really loved this show. The ages and dynamics work well with their characters and the actors did a great job.

Available on Bilibili and KissKH.

- Old Fashion Cupcake

Despite this show only having five episodes, it has a unique atmosphere and really works well in terms of pacing and storyline. It is a comfort show with a simple but engaging plot and it explores a story normally overlooked in BL.

This show is about 39 Nozue who is a boss of a team in a company that he has been working in for over ten years. He is feeling his age and getting stuck into a rut. This frightens him as it is affecting his mental health. When lamenting about how carefree a couple of teenagers look to his coworker, Togawa, he mentions how he’s feeling. Togawa suggests doing things that teenage girls would do (basically as a metaphor of breaking out of their comfort zones and trying new things). This leads them to a series of dates with a lot of desserts and eventually to love.

This story was so enchanting and sweet. While the characters worked so well together. The fact that both were independent adults meant that the age gap never really came into play other than when Nozue was joking about his age. The antagonist being more Nozue’s fear of leaving his comfort zone than their age gap and work dynamics. Also, they had such great chemistry that you forget about all the negatives.

Available on KissKH and Viki.

- The Eighth Sense.

Another all time fave drama of mine.

This drama was beautiful. With a unique and indie filming style and story telling you got a real sense of the characters and the cinematic style really worked.

While the age gap between Jihyun (20) and Jaewon (24-26) being a minimum of about four years (they never explicitly state it but it is said that Jaewon is around four or more years older) the drama revolves around Jaewon’s mental health and how it affects him. The characters grow through their own personal growths and it is only with these changes that they can be together. Jihyun learns to find his confidence and grows to be a self assured young man who knows what he wants, while Jaewon learns to know when to be a people pleaser and when to set boundaries and fight for what he wants too.

The way mental health was portrayed in this drama was the part that drew me in the most. It was not glorified, or brought in for just some angst before being forgotten. It was a real and persistent problem to Jaewon and despite going to therapy, he had bad days and good. It fuelled decisions that he may not have made if he wasn’t feeling so self destructive and low. Even with the happy ending of the drama, his bad mental health does not go away. It remains something that he still deal with but with far more support and in a less toxic environment. It was a realistic portrayal of how things like trauma and depression can follow someone. It may not hang over their heads like a looming storm, but they persist like an annoying strand of hair. You may not notice it at first, then something can remind you and all of a sudden it’s there.

This portrayal of mental health and its effect on a character was raw. The romance interwoven between it was sweet and lovely to watch. This show really captures the viewer, though due to its unique style some may say that it feel disjointed.

Still, this show is unique.

Available on Viki and KissKH.

- Love Tractor.

A city boy goes to a countryside village to clear up his grandfather’s will and meet a young man who falls head one heals for him.

This drama is very cute and has a real ‘back to basics’ atmosphere. SeonYul (27 if I remember correctly) is a city boy through and through. At first this return to the countryside and all its old fashioned ways disgusts him, yet as time passes he begins to love the community and the peace it brings him. While YeChan (20-23 if I recall) is utterly smitten with this new face and takes great joy in helping him learn countryside life.

Is the plot complicated? No. Are there cliche tropes? Yes. Is YeChan a bit of a himbo? Definitely. (He’s more than just a himbo but he has his moments and we love him for it).

Either way this drama is cute and wholesome with two guys falling in love in the countryside. The age gap is barely ever mentioned other than a few stray comments. It’s not much of a plot point and doesn’t pose a problem between the characters.

In all, while simple, this drama was refreshing and an easy watch.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- History 2: Right or Wrong.

Where Shi Yi Jie, a divorced teacher in his thirties with an eight year old daughter meets Fei Sheng Zhe, a college student in his early twenties. What starts as a simple child care job for Sheng Zhe becomes more as he slowly rebuilds and joins the little family.

I am not going to lie, at first this age gap and the power dynamics put me off. Yi Jie is a teacher at Sheng Zhe’s college, while not his lecturer for long (for one class which Sheng Zhe only had for a semester) the power dynamics that are involved put me off. Yet when I started watching this drama I found that despite Yi Jie being the older one, Sheng Zhe is the one who takes the lead in everything. Yi Jie is a bit of a wreck of a man before Sheng Zhe turns up.

He’s a workaholic with bad habits who often misjudges time and is late to collect his daughter. As the drama progresses Sheng Zhe convinces Yi Jie to take better care of himself and enables the father and daughter to bond more. What could have been a toxic mess turns into a wholesome found family with the pair raising the daughter together.

Any age gap toxicity was made null simply by their characters. Sheng Zhe being mature enough to handle the issues that could arise and Yi Jie allowing him to take the lead.

It is a sweet drama that does not shy away from the difficulties of maintaining a job while being a single parent with a messy divorce. Another great show by History.

Available on Viki or on Bilibili.

- History 3: Make Our Days Count (Second couple).

While the main couple of this show are both the same age. The second couple, Sun Bo (18) and Zhi Gang (26-30 though his age is never explicitly stated) have an age gap of around 8-10 years.

Again, much like other shows the romance between this pairing is mostly pursued by the younger.

Sun Bo works at his cousin’s gym part time where he develops a crush on regular and small time business owner and openly gay man Zhi Gang. He doggedly pursues the older, to which Zhi Gang refuses due to age gap issues. As a character, he is jaded by his past relationships and does not believe that a young man still in high school would want him. Eventually Sun Bo wears him down and they get together. (But not without a sex scene in the gym first. Which definitely surprised me on the first watch). However, despite all the angst between them, while the main couple end in tragedy (I still cry) these two make it into a lasting and healthy relationship. In history 4; Close to You (set around five years after MODC) they even make a cameo and get married.

For a couple that had the potential to be toxic and unhealthy, they actually surprised me and I grew to love their dynamic. Sun Bo is all enthusiasm and ‘follow your heart’ while Zhi Gang is a bit too restrained. He has experienced the downsides and consequences that following your heart can lead, especially when it comes to gay relationships and homophobia. The plot follows Sun Bo as he encourages Zhi Gang to take a chance on him.

Despite my misgivings it was lovely to see this couple get together and develop as characters. I loved both couples in this show and both couples made me cry at various points.

Available on Viki and KissKH.

- You Make Me Dance.

This drama, though short is sweet and adorable. There is a movie version of it available as well.

The plot covers Song Shi On (20-23), a university student studying contemporary dance, who is in debt. He has no family to depend on and no friends. Jin Hong Seok (27-30) works as a debt collector and has to go and collect money from Shi On. Instead of collecting money, he instead helps Shi On practise for an audition where he can get paid the money to repay his debt. While doing this, they fall in love.

Despite the age gap and power dynamics that could come to play in this show, the romance is equal and actually very sweet. It is two people, one who gave up on their dream and one who is fighting for his, bonding and living together. It’s a very short drama but ultimately about finding kindred spirits and the age gap doesn’t pose a problem. It’s actually very easy to forget the age gap between them as each of the character’s experiences mean that they are almost on equal footing.

Wholesome and sweet.

Available on Viki and KissKH.

These are all I can think of so far. May add to this list later. Hope you enjoy.

My top BL dramas with sex scenes.

Basically my fave sex scenes and why.

- Unknown.

Starting slow. Real slow burn found family drama but when they get together, the scenes are sexy. It’s all about consent, it’s between two people who love each other and it’s a real build up of what has been years of pining. Not a full sex scene, it almost gets there, but what we see is amazing.

The couple itself is really sweet and the plot is well paced and slow burn is burning. The drama as a whole was great and I loved how the characters grew and developed.

However, drama has violence, child homelessness, drug addiction, child abuse, gang violence, and kidnapping.

Available on Viki or KissKH.

- Blueming.

This drama was lovely. With a real lovely slow burn romance that builds to an artistically filmed sex scene. While you don’t see much, just silhouette, you know what they’re doing. It’s intimate and so loving and more of an art scene than just sex. That’s one of the things I love about this drama. There is a real sense of intimacy and love between the characters. If you want to film a sex scene that doesn’t detract from the plot, then this is how you do it. It fit so well and was so visually aesthetic that it was my favourite part of the drama.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- The Eighth sense.

Another beautifully shot scene. This one was intimate and fun and loving. The two characters laughing and just enjoying being by themselves without any pressures. It establishes a real bond and love between them that persists through later struggles in the show.

The scene is filmed beautifully too. The camera placement and cinematography makes it more than just a sex scene. It ties it all in with the character development and the plot, giving it a real intimate and unique feel to it.

One of my fave shows of all time.

Available on Viki, and KissKH.

- Between Us.

The side story to Until We Meet Again but about the second couple from that show, Between is about Win and Team. The drama is more about overcoming ptsd and trauma with love and support. There is one sex scene that fades to black before the proper scene but there’s enough shown that I have included it in this list.

The filming of this drama was engaging and worked with the characters. The plot focused more on the developing relationship of the characters and their own personal growth in response to their relationship than it did on any physical aspect to it. It is a wholesome drama that can be watched without having watched the first drama.

I have rewatched this a few times.

Available on YouTube and Bilibili.

- Love in the air.

This drama is split in two. The first half is the main couple, a typical top and sub bottom type. The second half is a Dom bottom with a pleaser top. Both couples’ chemistry is on fire and their scenes are very sexy. (I was so surprised by their scenes the first time I watched it. I was not expecting them to be so explicit).

But other than the scenes the drama itself deals with some good character development. Especially with the second couple where it explores a character with SA trauma and his subsequent trust issues.

For a drama that at first looks seems cliche and full of tropes (which it is) it actually explores them while also making some of it quite easy to watch. It doesn’t lessen the darkness of some scenes but it doesn’t overly explore it either. The viewers know what goes on without having to see the scenes in full detail. I liked this style of filming though a few of the sex scenes were no necessary to the plot.

Available on Viki, YouTube (but censored) and KissKH.

- Only Friends.

I am building up to the messy dramas slowly.

This drama though. This one is for the ones who love soap operas. There’s cheating, betrayal, sex in weird places, recording and taping without consent, alcohol and drug abuse, fist fights, and manipulation.

Basically a group of friends get caught in the messiest drama ever. There’s lots of sex and lots of character development, not always for the better. There’s three main ‘couples’ and they are all involved with each other in a messy way.

Let’s just say that watching this weekly was like watching a bit of a train wreck and seeing who are the survivors.

Well acted, very well filmed but chaotic as hell. It will make you laugh, make you angry and might even make you cry.

In all of it the lesbians are the least dramatic characters.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- 4 Minutes.

If you thought the drama above was messy, this was worse but in a different way.

This drama has you second guessing everything. With a complicated slightly sci-fi plot line, the sex scenes as used more to show power and influence and control between characters than they are to show romance.

There’s so much going on with the viewer guessing character motivations and plots that the sex scenes get pushed to the side quickly. They’re there, and very explicit (especially the first one) but plot wise they are nothing more than a basic shock or display factor.

Either way, those actors did a good job. I had trouble watching them cause they felt too explicit.

Also especially here for Bible having a bottom era.

The show was well filmed too, even if I was confused by everything half the time.

Despite the confusion and the ending with way too many unanswered questions, I did really enjoy the show and the sex scenes did make sense in the plot. They were also filmed really well and I loved the lighting.

Available on KissKH.

- Kinnporsche.

Came out before 4minutes but with Bible playing a top character this time (the duality of this man). This show I both love and hate. Open ending, too many side plots that weren’t explained, lots of unanswered questions. Every relationship was toxic in some way. Anyway, I loved it. Great lighting, well filmed and stylised. Amazing acting.

Though the sex scenes, especially between Kinn and Porsche, were too frequent and in too many weird places. (They’re exhibitionists. You gather that after the first time). They were well done scenes.

However, this drama is not for the faint of heart. There’s dubious consent, freaky kinks, kidnapping, bdsm (between Vegas and Pete and there was no communication during it but it was such a well filmed scene), manipulation, violence, death, torture, kidnapping, and abuse.

This drama was definitely for the depraved. (Me and others like me).

We’re never going to get a season 2 and I am so sad about that.

Available on Viki, and KissKH.

Here you go you depraved souls. I mostly watch dramas for the plot. I can’t help it when dramas like KP happen to have sex as their plot.

Oh well.

Enjoy.

I am completely not normal about Love for Love's sake.

It brought up so much pain, so much emotion and trauma that I'd buried deep inside for the sake of my sanity. It opened up this small chest of sadness I carry with me at all times, and all of the things I thought I had worked through spilled out. Tae Myung-ha is a character I relate to on such a visceral level, from his perpetual weariness to his self-destructive tendencies. I relate to feeling like you're older than everyone else around you, like you already know better, like there is no point in trying.

In the very first scene we already get the feeling that something is wrong with Myung-ha. That question from Sunbae - I swear to god, I've had people say the same thing to me, and I answered in the same dismissive and sarcastic tone. Yes, I am drinking like I want to die, but, unfortunately, it's not working. So I'll go on drinking like that to see how far I can go before I keel over.

When my girlfriend said she loved me for the first time, I held her and caressed her cheek but I was screaming internally. I was doing my best not to run away. I swear to god I could hear the error alarm going off in my head. I accepted the fact that her and I have very differing views on what love is, and I tried so hard to prove to her that she didn't actually love me, that it was just infatuation, that it was too soon, that she was yet to know the real me, so she couldn't love me, right? Then I realized that I was hurting her, because throwing someone else's feelings in their face is a cruel thing to do, especially to my girlfriend, who has issues with expressing her feelings.

I still don't believe her. And I am trying so hard to accept the fact that people love me in the way they do.

One of my friends once told me that I needed to rely on others, that she loved me and cared for me, and that I needed to accept that. Refusing to accept someone's love for you can be just as hurtful as not being loved at all. Other people love you, and it's important to show them you appreciate their love.