When an adaptation of the Korean webtoon “I, A Gangster, Became a High Schooler” was first announced, fans were initially excited to see this live-action take of this queer body-swapping love story.
Further hype was also generated when it was announced that Yoon Chan Young, best known for his role in “All of Us are Dead”, was announced to be playing Kim Deuk Pal, one of the series’ leads. The webtoon tells the story of Kim Deuk Pal dying in a car accident and waking up in the body of Song Yi Heon. As Deuk Pal lives in Yi Heon’s body, Choi Se Kyung, who was Yi Heon’s crush, questions whether this is the real Yi Heon or not.
However, BL fans’ reactions quickly took a turn when word began to spread about the live-action adaptation removing the story’s BL aspect, with some fans claiming this move was done in order to appeal to audiences who are intolerant of the LGBT, such as Twitter user @4ngelz777, who had this to say:
So they’re going to waste a good plot with potential for it to appeal to the homophobes…ok
— ange ⚢ (@4ngelz777) March 27, 2023
Other netizens expressed that they no longer had any plans to watch the adaptation due to its removal of the BL aspect such as Twitter user @aaljonraikan, who tweeted this after hearing the news:
So they’re going to waste a good plot with potential for it to appeal to the homophobes…ok
— ange ⚢ (@4ngelz777) March 27, 2023
Overall, it’s clear that many fans of the BL series are disappointed by this news. As of the moment of writing, No3 Pictures, who will be producing, have not responded to fan outcry, so it remains to be seen if the removal of BL aspects will be reverted in response.
