Choosing the best school and university BL series can be overwhelming with hundreds of productions out there. To help you navigate this vast universe, I have curated a definitive list of the most impactful titles from Thailand, South Korea, China, and Japan. This selection focuses on cult classics and must-watch dramas that explore identity, emotional growth, and the sincere discovery of love. Whether you are a newcomer looking for your first watch or a long-time fan revisiting the legends, this guide serves as the perfect starting point for your journey into the world of boys’ love.
🎁 More recommendations: Film series worth watching
Beyond Clichés: A Journey into Identity and Young Love
While Thailand remains the heart of Boys’ Love dramas, South Korean and Japanese BL series offer high-quality storytelling that captivates global audiences. From the legendary engineering campuses of Thailand to the quiet school corridors of Japan, I am taking you on a journey through the most impactful student-life universes. Don’t forget to share your favorite picks in the comments!
🍭 Please note that this list is organized chronologically, moving from the genre’s foundational classics to the most recent hits. This structure allows you to witness the evolution of storytelling and character development over the years.
Sotus – พี่ว้ากตัวร้ายกับนยายปีหนึ่ง (2016) – Thailand BL
A story of love and identity developing on a university campus, from enmity to love.
Sotus is in the first place among university-themed BL series. The Thai-made series is now among the cult productions and is one of the first examples and source of inspiration for this theme. Despite the time that has passed, today it definitely gives that dynamism and actor-character chemistry perfectly.
SOTUS is the milestone and source of inspiration for Thailand BL series, I can say. Sotus, where engineering students pass through a disciplined system, is a system where upper classes push the new ones and train them to be disciplined mechanical engineers. However, while it is not possible for a love to be born in this harsh system, the impossible happens.
I can briefly describe the subject as follows: Kongpob falls for the senior Arthit and starts a struggle to win both the engineering education and Arthit. It is the first and best example of the theme of fighting for love and running after a partner; the ones that follow will seem like a copy of this series. The series also includes themes such as character development, the slow progress of love, the disciplined world of engineering students, and preparation for life. A warm and sincere BL series awaits you.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Addicted 上瘾 (2016) – China BL Series
A cult BL series with a high school theme, it also includes themes such as family bonds, self-discovery, and acceptance. It is one of the rare Chinese-made series. It is a timeless production among the best youth boys’ love series about school and university that you should include in your watch list.
Briefly the subject: Bai Luo Yin and Gu Hai become stepbrothers after their mothers and fathers marry. Although they do not like each other at first, over time the tension between them begins to leave its place to attraction. Gu Hai’s arrival at the high school where he went to find his stepbrother, falling into his class and feeling an attraction without knowing him at first will take the duo on a journey from enmity to love. While fighting complex emotions under family problems and social pressure, their love is surrounded by secrecy and restrictions.
The Addicted (2016) boys’ love series focuses on the process of two young people discovering and accepting each other, while the 2024 Thai adaptation Addicted Heroin focuses more on social obstacles. I can say that the original production is an important turning point for Chinese BL series.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Make it Right – รักออกเดิน (2016) – Thailand BL
A Thailand-made BL series about school and high school, it will offer a very good viewing not only about youth love but also about growing up, new experiences, and friendship. You should include it in your watch list. Don’t look at it being old; look at it being permanent and cult.
Make it Right (2016) is a Thailand BL series set in a high school environment. Briefly the subject: The BL series focuses on the relationship of Fuse and Tee, the pressure of Frame’s family and the young people’s search for identity. The series offers you a very good subject on youth love, friendship and social pressures. In this respect, it is a layered production with an underlying text. If you want a deeper story of identity and growth than just the story of gay high school students running after each other, you should include this cult BL in your watch list.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Fish Upon the Sky ปลาบนฟ้า (2021) Thailand BL
Fish Upon the Sky is another one of the best BL series about school and university. It is a full series that tells about love, friendship and family bonds with both its energy and character chemistry. It is both an entertaining, emotional and educational drama.
Very brief subject of Fish Upon the Sky: Pi is a dentistry student and in love with Mueang, but his relationship with Mueang is not welcomed by his surroundings. Mork shows interest in Pi and forms an emotional bond with someone he met on Facebook. Meanwhile, a love story will develop between Pi’s older brother Duean and Mork’s brother Meen.
Fish Upon the Sky also deals with the relationships of two brothers with gay identities with their families and society. In this respect, it will not offer you an empty fan view. The series balances humor and romance in a balanced way. It will offer you a romantic comedy and youth theme that you will love in terms of touching upon social and personal problems. You should include it in your watch list.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
TharnType The Series – เกลียดนักมาเป็นที่รักกันซะดีๆ (2019) Thailand BL Series
TharnType The Series is one of the cult, school and university themed youth series that tells about the transformation of hatred and exclusion into love. It is one of the best and most loved series of this genre and a timeless series. Don’t let its age mislead you. If you like the fake relationship theme, this romantic comedy full of music is for you.
TharnType The Series is a Thailand BL series about the transformation of homophobic Type’s hatred for his openly gay roommate Tharn into love. Their hatred and fake relationships will turn into love over time. Type will learn to break his prejudices and accept himself. In this respect, as a viewer, you will watch not only a university romance and homosexuality theme but also a story of acceptance and development. The second season of the series, TharnType 2: 7 Years of Love, is about the 7 years later of Tharn and Type’s relationship.
TharnType is among the cult productions of Thailand BL series. While the series deals with themes such as homophobia, past traumas and acceptance, it also tells a story of love and emotional healing through Tharn and Type’s relationship. For this reason, there is a multi-layered story. The series will attract BL enthusiasts with its strong acting performances and character chemistry. You can also watch the relationship between Fiat and Leo, which is discussed in another sub-story in the series, in the Don’t Say No series.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Don’t Say No เมื่อหัวใจใกล้กัน (2021) Thailand BL
It focuses on the relationships of Leo and Fiat, whom you know from TharnType The Series.
A tiny summary for Don’t Say No: Fiat and Leo officially became a couple after their relationship in the TharnType series. Fiat and Leo’s new relationship will become a scandal due to secretly taken photos and videos. At this point, the relationship of the two will get into trouble with family pressure and the opposition of Leo’s authoritarian father. While the Leo and Leon brothers fight with their gay relationships and their families’ expectations, they will have to face their father’s understanding of masculinity and family honor.
Don’t Say No is about the relationship of Leo and Fiat extending from the past to the present. It deals with themes of love, jealousy and friendship. But the real important theme is families’ acceptance of gay orientations and the change of characters. The relationship between Leo and Fiat is built on an intense emotional tension between Leo’s determination and Fiat’s insecurity. Again, it has a good narrative on social pressures. In short, it is not a simple series where people run after each other and takes place in a world of pink dreams; it will offer you a romantic school and university subject within a quite harsh reality. You should watch it.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
2gether – เพราะเราคู่กัน (2020) Thailand BL About University
One of the world-famous BL series among university-themed romantic comedies. A cult boys’ love that is sincere and full of music, telling about a fake love gradually turning into real love.
Tine asks Sarawat to be a fake lover to get rid of Green, who likes him. Thus, the fake lover game begins. Tine and Sarawat’s love game is tested many times with Sarawat’s real feelings and misunderstandings. Rumors that Sarawat has a girlfriend start to strain the relationship. Now the duo, stuck between real feelings and the fake ones, must make a decision.
Although 2gether follows the cliché Thailand BL series formula, it will connect you to itself with the chemistry between characters and entertaining dialogues. You will also enjoy watching the opposite characters of Tine and Sarawat turn into a deepening relationship over time. Sarawat’s patience and Tine’s innocence will leave the place of the initial “fake” game to a real bond. Perhaps you will find the BL romance and idealized love in your dreams in this series.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Gen Y – วัยรุ่นวุ่นYรัก (2020) Thailand BL
Gen Y (2020) is a romantic comedy series about medical student Kit’s efforts to impress engineering student Mark. It is a cute and sincere university BL series with its character diversity and multi-layered structure with its sub-stories.
Wayu is a medical school student and is dumped by his lover. Meanwhile, he will meet Thanu. In the series, Wayu & Thanu and Mark & Kit couples also participate in this love and romance. Kit is medical, Mark is engineering student and Mark makes an effort to impress Kit. Pok and Tong’s university relationship will be shaped by high school tensions and the influence of Sandee and Pharawee. While Wayu and Thanu’s relationship is tested by Pharawee’s return, Thanu’s tension with Padbok adds a separate dynamic.
Gen Y is a complete cult production as a Thai-made BL series. It will offer you the issues of trust, self-recognition and discovering one’s sexual orientation and stepping into a new life in the most sincere way, apart from the classic intrigues taking place in a university environment, and the reason why the series is so loved must be its sincere narrative and the empathy it establishes with the audience.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Semantic Error 시맨틱 에러: 더 무비 (2022): South Korea BL Series About University
Semantic Error is a 2022, 8-episode South Korea BL series. Game coder Choo Sang Woo meets Jang Jae Young while looking for a successful illustrator and character designer. The tense relationship between the two turns into love over time.
One of the most watched and loved stories that has a separate place among South Korea BL series. Characters do not only discover love; Jang Jae Young will learn to trust and be extroverted, while Choo Sang Woo will learn to be softer and loyalty. You should watch this masterpiece with a university and youth theme. You can also look here for the movie version.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Takara-kun to Amagi-kun 高良くんと天城くん (2022) – Japan BL series
A tiny subject of the Japanese-made high school love themed series: Popular student Takara has a secret relationship with quiet Amagi. While Amagi is uncomfortable with the restrictiveness of this relationship outside of school, Takara will confess his feelings.
Takara and Amagi meet through a school project and discover their different worlds. Over time, the distance between them decreases, their bonds strengthen and the series will continue with their conflicts and accepting each other as friends and potential lovers. This tension and curiosity will connect you to the series.
Takara-kun to Amagi-kun (2022) also deals with a gay student’s struggle with social pressures and his secret love, it’s not just a high school love. The series tells very well how Takara’s introverted nature and Amagi’s extroverted attitude shape their relationship and the emotional development of the character. For this reason, it is one of the BL series you should watch.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
A Shoulder to Cry On 소년을 위re해줘 (2023) – South Korea Youth BL Series
A Shoulder to Cry On (2023) is a South Korea-made BL series about the emotional journey of archery club athlete Lee Da-yeol and opposite character Jo Tae Hyun. The series, which is a minimalist production, will offer you a sincere first love story through themes of youth, family and identity. A high school and school themed series that you will like.
Archery enthusiast high school student Da Yeol works for his promise to his father and his dreams. Other than that, he is almost like a robot, he seems lost within himself, he has closed himself to the outside world. He meets Tae Hyun in the infirmary. Later, Jo Tae Hyun enters Da Yeol’s radar with his traumatic past and introverted personality. But this will not be an easy relationship.
While Lee Da Yeol falls in love with Jo Tae Hyun, he will also have to face his own repressed feelings. This confrontation is one of the main elements that will draw you as a viewer to the series. While trust is built between Lee Da-yeol and Jo Tae-hyun, social pressures such as friendship, jealousy and misunderstandings also come into play. But they will overcome all of these. You should watch the cult youth BL series that you will definitely love with character development and difficulties experienced on the way to love, with conflicts resolved towards the finale.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
The Eclipse คาธ (2022) Thailand School Themed Youth Series
“The Eclipse” takes place in Thailand’s Suppalo Boys’ High School, which is managed with strict rules. The school’s discipline policy has created almost a small authoritarian universe within a regulation disconnected from the outside world. When students participate in a mysterious student community called “The World Remembers,” they come face to face with the school’s oppressive management.
Suppalo Boys’ High School in Thailand is known for its strict rules and the curse circulating among the students. Some students form a secret group called The World Remembers to oppose the order. Akk is the student president responsible for ensuring the school order. A new student named Ayan challenges Akk’s rules and the friction between them turns into a personal conflict. Ayan has come to the school to investigate the secrets of the school and the death of his uncle.
Akk is committed to the rules as the school’s head of discipline. With Ayan’s arrival, he faces the mysterious events in the school and the truth behind the “solar eclipse.” You should definitely include the series with the “FirstKhaotung” partnership in your watch list. Not only high school and youth love, but also mystery and supernatural themes distinguish the series from others.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
My School President – แฟนผมเป็นประธานนักเรียน (2022-2023) Thailand High School, Youth BL Series
My School President is a Thai-made youth and BL series about Tinn and Gun’s high school love and passion for music. One of the “cult” candidate high school, youth series with GeminiFourth duo’s acting and character chemistry.
A conflict starts between Gun, the leader of a failing music group, and Tinn, the new school president, due to the right to supervise club activities. This friction will change over time. Tinn and Gun’s contentious relationship starts to turn into a romantic bond as the series progresses. The series is a youth BL series that you will like with its music, high school environment and humor.
While Tinn and Gun make plans to save the club closed by the school principal, they discover the love between them. You can be sure that the series is not only love-oriented, but will also offer you a very good story in matters such as friendship bonds, self-discovery, and emotional maturity.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
10 Perfect Liners – สายรหัสเทวดา – (2024-2025) Thailand BL Series About School, University and Youth
Perfect 10 Liners (2024-2025) is a Thailand BL series with university and youth themes. The series, starring the “ForceBook” duo, tells the relationship between members of 10 Perfect Liners, a popular group.
Members of the university group called “Perfect 10 Liners” consist of charismatic and popular students. Wine’s participation in the group and his relationship with Faifa trigger events. The story, starting with the transformation of Arm and Arc’s social media tension into love, continues with the relationships of Yotha-Gun and Wine-Faifa.
Although the series is a 24-episode long production full of clichés, superficial relationships and repeating dialogues, it is among the BL series that are candidates for being “cult” as it will offer a unique experience with its themes of friendship, peer relationships and learning about life. You should include it in your watch list.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Love Mechanics – กลรักรุ่นพี่ (2022)
Engineering student Mark harbors an unrequited love for the school’s popular student and experiences a heartbreak when rejected. Vee is the school’s charismatic student and starts to show interest in Mark. When the duo, who started living in the same dormitory, kiss and get close on a drunken night, their relationship becomes complicated. Love Mechanics is a successful Thailand BL series about school and university that impressively handles themes of youth, love and finding oneself.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Enchanté – ใครคือ…อองชองเต (2022)
Thailand BL series Enchanté is a 10-episode youth love story. You will like the harmony of the “ForceBook” duo and the entertaining production. Theo returns to Thailand from France and starts studying literature at his father’s university. After his grandmother’s death, he reunites with his childhood friend Akk and enters a search to meet the mysterious “Enchanté.”
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
You’re My Sky – จุดหมายคือท้องฟ้า – (2022)
You’re My Sky is a 2022 Thailand BL series, a youth drama built on friendship, commitment, dreams and personal courage. The series, touching upon the place of gay relationships in society, tells the story of three different couples. A high-quality youth series. Tupfah and Torn’s relationship at the university will be tested by the decision Tupfah made for his professional basketball career.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Be My Favorite – บทกวีของปีแสง – (2023) | Story of Rewriting Love by Taking Back Time
Be My Favorite is a 12-episode Thailand BL series that handles themes of time travel and youth love. Botkawee is an emotional and introverted young man. While harboring a platonic love for Pearmai, he tries to deal with his love for Pisaeng and family problems. Thanks to a sphere that can travel in time, he learns that Pear will marry Pisaeng in the future and Pisaeng will fall in love with him, and the adventure begins. A romantic comedy with university and youth themes, you should not miss it.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Something’s Not Right – 무언가 잘못되었다 – (2025) – South Korea BL Series
8-episode South Korea-made university, school, youth series. Do Ba U and Ji Hun have a close friendship as childhood friends and university students. However, Do Ba U has fallen in love with Ji Hun and expresses this jokingly. The webtoon adaptation South Korean series offers an emotional gay love story with youth and school themes. The acting in the series is above average, the inner worlds of the characters are reflected well.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
School Trip: Joined a Group I’m Not Close To (2025) – Japan BL Series About School, High School
The Japanese BL series called “School Trip: Joined a Group I’m Not Close To” is about high school student Hioki Asahi’s participation in a popular student group and the love behind it. Ordinary high school student Hioki Asahi’s life changes when he falls into the same class with the school’s four most popular students. Asahi, who joins the quartet to form a group of five, is met with surprise upon the request of Tsukasa, the most handsome member of the group. While Hioki Asahi gets close to his group friends, he receives special interest from Watarai Tsukasa. Tsukasa falls in love with Asahi and a romantic relationship begins between them.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Doctor’s Mine (2025) Thailand BL Series
Doctor’s Mine is a BL series set on a Thailand university campus, with youth and first love themes. Engineering student Knight wants to win back medical student Mild, but he struggles due to mistrust and conflicts between them. Per and Kan get together on New Year’s Eve and then distance themselves from each other. Natcha shows interest in Kan but cannot find a response, while Kan’s ex-girlfriend does not leave him. Tum and Tonklah participate in the search for real identity and trust in complex relationships. Even though I added it to the list, it is quite a cliché youth BL series about school and university.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Duang with You (2026)
Duang with You is the Thailand BL series with university, campus, youth theme you are looking for. Subject of Duang with You: The life of Qinn, who studies in the music department of the university and is quite popular and just as cold and tired of fans and interest, will undergo a change with a student from the music department. Duang, a student in the painting department, resorts to various ways to make Qinn fall in love with him, whom he saw and fell in love with at the school music festival, and to win him over.
However, since Qinn is not an easy nut to crack, he does not compromise on his harsh attitudes. No matter how harsh and ruthless Qinn is, Duang is just as persistent. Will Duang, who tries to win the heart of the man he likes by determining various strategies, be able to achieve this?
The series offers a quite cliché love story. The viewer had already watched the best examples of this theme before. The series, which does not go beyond the theme of making oneself loved by force or making the popular student who does not give him the time of day fall in love with himself, will give you plenty of comedy.
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