Manner of Death (2020)

It was good but....

MOD is based on a story so it is what it is, which is a story that I didn't care for. I liked that they both were professionals. Tul did a much better job of acting the part of a coroner than Max as a teacher. (Sorry Max. ) I know they are trying to act and not be to much into sex but there could have been a bit more and more intensity for sure. I love them both and enjoyed seeing them each week, but next time I would like a story with more suspense and intrigue in figuring out the death and less quantity of deaths. Sometimes book stories don't translate well to the screen. I think this was partly true here. I was pleasantly shocked with the ending proposal of marriage, etc. Good Luck next time...I'm sure there will be a next time for you both!

Citeste mai mult

A Refreshing Change

I decided to watch this drama for several reasons. First, I had just finished Together With Me: The Next Chapter and while I didn't love that drama, I did enjoy Max and Tul's chemistry and acting and was curious about how they would be in a very different setting. Second, as cute as the typical college Thai BL's are, I wanted a change and something more mature and with more substance. Since I've always enjoyed crime dramas, this seemed like it might fit the bill. Overall, I would say it did. While I felt the story was at times a little more complicated and convoluted than was strictly necessarily, I did very much enjoy it.

This drama had a lot more depth and covered far more territory than I could have every expected. I wasn't expecting a light and fluffy romance, but I also wasn't expecting some of the dark territory it explored. The subjects of rape, human trafficking, and drug dealing play heavily in the story. The romance, while certainly present, is not necessarily the main focus which I found refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I love a good romance, but having a plot that was overall well thought out and executed and having more depth than just gratuitous kissing scenes was a very nice change. I liked that the show played their hand of who was the actual murderer pretty close to the chest. While I had my suspicions, I was never 100% certain until the actual killer was revealed.

The characterization was overwhelmingly good. Despite a relatively large cast, everyone had their place and their story though there were certainly a few missteps or a few things lacking, the characters were, for the most part, well-rounded which I was truly impressed with. I came for Max and Tul to see how they acted together in a more mature setting and they did not disappoint. I very much prefer their relationship here to that portrayed in Together With Me. I enjoyed the maturity and the vulnerability they both displayed. Their acting together and apart was on point and was definitely a highlight for me.

The themes of the drama were more complex and varied than in most BL's which I also appreciated. The prevailing one to me was that not everyone is as they seem, even if you think you know them. Bun really represented this as he realized the people he was closest to were not at all who he thought they were. Part of what I love about his character is his determination and focus to find the truth no matter the cost. Even after discovering people he knew and trusted were involved, he maintained his purpose of seeing justice delivered. Another theme is that we often have no idea what other people are suffering. Jane, Tan, Natty, and Nam had all suffered either in the past or present, but very few people if anyone knew the true extent of their suffering. I think it really highlighted how common that is, how most people do conceal their pain and sometimes by the time they find the courage or have the ability to speak out about it, it may be too late.

I was surprised at the noticeable lack of any kind of OST. I did like the intro music with the credits. I thought it fit well with the mystery of the drama.

I really didn't have too many issues with this drama. As with any drama, there were certainly some misses, but nothing that I felt negated the good. The pacing as with a lot of Thai BL dramas was hit or miss. Some things were sped up that it would have been nice to have more time to process and other parts were dragged out that could have been skimmed over more. One of my biggest issues was the speed with which anyone injured healed. Shot? Up in a couple days. Beaten almost to death? Walk it off the next day. I understand that due to pacing they couldn't have characters laid up in bed all the time, but it seems like they could have changed something to make it a bit more believable. There were also a few instances where characters were very conveniently in the right place at the right time that stretched belief.

I found this series to be very enjoyable and a very pleasant diversion from the usual. The story was engaging and intriguing and the acting and characters were almost universally fantastic. I'm very much looking forward to season 2 and I will certainly be watching this one again in the future!

Citeste mai mult

Exceptional, Max and Tul Outdid themselves

This drama is one I have been waiting for, because I prefer binge watching so I had to wait for this one and as expected,I wasn't disappointed. Firstly, this isn't the usual college/uni bl which is a relief. The chemistry between the leads and those kisses made me go crazy. Everything about this dramas was phenomenal, except acting of some side characters. The main actors were good, but some characters seemed really robotic to me, I couldn't see any emotion or action in their speech, it was like they were reading directly from the script. That aside and the drama was really a work of art that I appreciate.

Story : amazing and consistent ( I finished it in less than 12 hours)
Music: soothing
Leads: perfect chemistry (as expected from Max and Tul)
Acting: could have been better
Rewatch: I’m not one to rewatch a drama, but I will totally watch this again

Drama lords, actors and writer, good job with this one

Absolutely amazing.

Citeste mai mult

BEST.BL DRAMA.EVER.

I literally made an account just a few minutes ago to talk about how amazing this drama is

Holy, this drama had really left me regretting that I finished it in a day. The plot is AMAZING like holy you'll never know what happens next until it tells you. The relationships between all of the characters are very well established and it really shows how much details they put into the scripts and production. I'm a big fan of thriller, mystery, crime, and also love BL dramas and this one- It just enhances all of that juicy element into this 14 episode drama that I'll forever remember and cherish in my heart. The thing is, it's not only entertaining, it's also some how educational lol, there are scenes where these meanings of these certain words pop up on the side of the screen and I actually learned some stuff with those. It's also the first ever drama that actually made me cry in tears of happiness... like usually I joke about these things 'Omg its so beautiful i cried' BUT NOT FOR THIS DRAMA LIKE HECK IM DEAD SERIOUS I CRIED.

Anyways, to put it succinctly, just an amazing drama in general <3

(ALSO THE ENDING IS BEAUTIFUL DONT SPOIL IT FOR YOURSELF LIKE I DID IM THE DUMBEST DUMBASS EVER ;A;)

Citeste mai mult

A great under mystery romance that’s worth your time.

I cannot say enough good things about this series. If you like modern mysteries/police procedurals, this is a great one. Full of twists & turns, red herrings, & enough gotchas to satisfy the most hardcore fans. The romance is adult, not porn, but hot and fulfilling. It’s sexy, but about how a good relationship is really sexy sometimes & really dorky at other times. Max & Tul’s performance is outstanding. They own the screen when they are on it, & when they are together, they burn it up. The secondary characters are interesting, & you care what happens to them. It’s not a nice story- rather ugly in fact. But, murder & greed & lust are really ugly. The level of violence is appropriate for the subject matter. The score is good without being intrusive. The best part - all of it. This is a keeper. I hope more projects like this come through. I will support them.

Citeste mai mult

Really Innovative BL

I really enjoyed this series. I loved the innovative storyline. I love crime dramas, and while this series definitely focused on the mystery/suspense aspect, and not so much on the scientific accuracy, or the efficacy of a police investigation, I still loved the original plot! (I’ve seen over 130 BL’s, and it was refreshing that this wasn’t set at a university! Lol!) And. MaxTul. That aspect in and of itself is enough, in my opinion, to watch this! I’ve seen all the drama’s they’ve been in together, and I have loved watching them grow as actors together! It’s awesome how obviously comfortable they are with each other. This series has mystery, suspense, intrigue, a great storyline, and, again, MaxTul making out. I’d love to see more of Inspector M (was it just me, or did anybody else sense something between him and Dr Oat?!) and I personally have been shipping Tat and Sorawit since the beginning of the show... So this series definitely left me wanting more! I loved the ending, although I will say, it did feel a bit rushed. Annnnddd you can never go wrong adding more steamy scenes between Max and Tul.. Just sayin! I definitely recommend this series! It was refreshingly original, and a great show! Go watch it!!!

Citeste mai mult

Instant Favorite

I have nothing bad to say about "Manner of Death". Seriously, at this point, every new drama I watch gets compared to this one.
I think it was refreshing too, to have a BL with a solid storyline and not littered with plot holes. It's also not a school setting, which... thank you for that. A pretty heavy subject as well the more the plot progresses, actually, but again it's so different to what BLs have us used to that it's insanely enjoyable. I wouldn't even call it a BL, but Tan and Bun get enough attention that it still feels right. The side couple is cute too.
Max and Tul's acting is on point, as always. Their chemistry is off-the-charts, that's why we know and love them. The tension between Tan and Bun between what happens in episode 1 and before they're really friends is so good.
I didn't see the twists coming which is awesome. I love these types of stories where it's fun to do a rewatch to see if you notice anything now you know who did what, and then when it comes to "Manner of Death", you can rewatch it again after that just because it's that good.

Citeste mai mult

Thai BLs CAN be different! Who knew!

Well well... what a pleasant suprise!
Thai BLs can be different? What a discovery! You mean to tell me not all Thai BLs are set in schools/universities and not all Thai BL characters are engineering or medical students? Who knew!

There are several things that make Manner of Death a "must watch":
First, Max and Tul. Enough said...
No, really, the chemistry between them is off the chart, so much so that now that Max is dating Mook, Max's fans started getting angry on social media because of that and Tul showed some support for both in some interviews you can find on Youtube. They have worked together on several series and it shows, they are confident with each other, willing to commit to a sexy scene (unlike Plan and Mean who look like they are suffering instead of kissing, especially Plan), and feed off of each other to improve the scene. Their acting is not flawless but they do complement each other and are a strong couple plus their sexy scenes do not look forced at all.

Second, great support characters.
Great as inspector M, Foei as prosecutor Pued, Mint as Rungtiwa, MD as Oat, Bhu as That, Meiko as Jenjira, Putter as Sorawit, even A as Por, Wantanee as Nam, ChaiTouch as Gun and the other senior actors playing the head of the police department, the judge, and the nurses at the hospital, play a vital role in making this a successful series. They help Max and Tul by building convincing characters that are not just there just to be there. And everyone is connected in the end and each character finds a resolution. This is different from other BL series where you see a character for one or two episodes only to never be seen again without any clear idea of what happened to that character. Or you see a character that is only there for comedic relief or to scream or "ship" the main couple but do not provide anything more than that. Manner of Death was able to integrate the cast more effectively and everyone serves a role and has a purpose in this story.

Third, good writing.
Often times I get annoyed with the poor writing we see in plenty of BLs, with the characters not communicating properly leading to many unnecessary arguments/fights, or plenty of tears and confusion. Or sometimes we get super crazy or completely impossible stories that make absolutely no sense at all but if you take that weird story out, then you have no BL. Here, you have a good story of human trafficking, prostitution, murder, corruption that becomes the thread that Max and Tul's characters have to follow to solve this case. In the process, good writing puts some twists in the story and makes the whole cast shine. I can argue that sometimes Great's character (Inspector M) was better than Max or Tul's characters, but that is what good writing and a credible storyline does to a series. Plus, the author and the director correctly decided when it was time for Max and Tul to have a sexy moment and it was ok given the situation they were going through in the series. The scenes look natural and not like Y-Destiny or WhyRU when you had actors just getting shirtless for no apparent reason.

Of course, the series had some not so good moments like some of the actors, especially A, Mint and the head of the police department, exaggerating their lines or their expressions which made look a bit crazy or fake. Tul's character was a bit naïve sometimes and Max's character was a bit too cocky as well in some situations. Plus, I would have like to see a bit more development with Bhu-Putter and even the hint of Great-MD we got in the final episode as potential side couples but with this being a different BL I don't feel too bad about this. Some of the punishments the bad guys got were a bit disappointing like Rungtiwa being killed by Por felt like an easy solution for her instead of having the real killer of her own sister suffer a bit more in jail.

But, in the end, Manner of Death brought 14 quite entertaining episodes especially because it was not the typical Thai/GMMTV BL (Tonhon Chonlatee, Fish upon the sky, 2gether the series, etc.) or the typical low-budget Thai BLs we've seen lately (Love at 7-11, Love Poison, Hometown's Embrace, I am Your King SS2, etc.), and just because of that, we should appreciate it.

Citeste mai mult

Good despite the flaws.

Did I like it? Yeah!
Did I love it? No.
It is a good and innovative series for a BL. No romantic rape and no toxic relationship for the main couple. That's good! So good to see Thai series shooting in different locations, specially alfresco. The mysterious atmosphere is amazing! We can see that the production and direction could take advantage of northern Thailand landscape which improved the cinematography.

The first part of the series is a bit slow, specially the episodes 2 - 7. After that, the series' pace accelerates and the story is quite intriguing.

I need to compliment Bhu and Putter for their cute and adorable relationship as Tat and Sorn. I simply loved them. I want a special movie or something only for them.

Max is very good as Tan, but I didn't like Tul's acting that much. I really like him as a Thai star and celebrity, but I still think he needs to improve.

I believe that the murder plot and the romance were not well connected. Everytime I saw Bun and Tan together I had the feeling that their scenes were a bit off.

I didn't like either that they made Rungtiwa a love-revenger. I would prefer if she did what she did for money. So everything is about a crazy b*tch who was dumped by his lover who decided later to date his younger sister? Too much soap opera drama for me. Being a b*tch because of money would be more appealing and even realistic.

There are some holes in the main plot either. For example: nobody checked the cloud storage before? That ending was clearly a deus ex machina.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this series very much and I hope we can get more BLs like that in the future!

Please, no engineering students anymore.

Citeste mai mult

Great acting, lots of SUSPENCE

Okay Max and Tul, as expected, had amazing chemistry and totally carried the gravity of the plot. Every time they do a drama together you can just feel the inevitable, inescapable draw between their characters, and this drama is no different.

That being said, it is very different in other ways. Can we say "Yay!" for actual politics? And murder? And human trafficking? And police corruption? And Max's character still not knowing how to cook? Gah!

It comes off much less as a BL drama and much more a Lite Suspense Thriller with sexy gays. But there is a LOT of gay going around, so technically, yes, it's a BL. It wasn't a college story, so that was nice. Plus, this Drama has the most impressive villains in it I've ever seen in a Thai BL, along with several really effective plot twists.

Most of the other cast members did a really good job as well! Seriously, they accepted a challenging story and made it thrilling to watch. The only exceptions were the actresses who played Nam and Dr Faii. They alternated between overacting and dead-eyed. Especially the actress who played Nam, who seemed to occasionally be playing Ophelia from Hamlet. On Quaaludes. Yikes. But it was worth it to experience the other actors. As a Max and Tul vehicle, I'd count it as a win.

On the issue of production value: Oh, it's a good thing MyDramaList doesn't have a star rating for that. It would have tanked the overall score. The main problems with production were probably the result of budgetary constraints. I think there were exactly three set buildings used in the whole show. And they all get used for multiple plot locations, without redressing the sets in some cases. So a couple of times I had to re-watch scenes just to resolve confusion created by lack of unique sets. There is a scene involving a surgery and wow, I actually giggled during that. The absurdly low quality of the set and implausibly inadequate props shredded the 4th wall. Seriously guys, it needs to look at least a little bit realistic for a surgical theater.

Film angles and steadiness at times had issues. Though that may have been an artistic choice. It looked like they had a shoulder camera and ants in their pants.

Numerous scenes were shot as 1/3 static side shots on interlocuting actors. It's not something you generally see in film because it's DEAD boring. The storyboard artists and the director needed to have actually had lunch with each other to discuss dynamic alternatives.

The one setting that consistently delivered was the wild jungle scenes. The natural setting was astoundingly beautiful. The entire, overall feel of nature was wonderful.

My major plot complaints?
1) All I'll say is no one survives falling that far. Newp. Not even into water.
2) Surgery doesn't work like that.
3) And lastly, if my boyfriend ever set up a marriage proposal under the circumstances that appeared at the end of the drama, I'd feed him the engagement ring. It was the single most tone deaf marriage proposal EVER!

But it was a romp of a story to bring out Max and Tul in, and to give their fans a something very different than the usual fare. I've watched it all the way through twice and there are moments I absolutely loved. Most of them are the cloak and dagger stuff, but the fragile moments of love trying to bloom in patently hostile circumstances was really well done too,

Max and Tul have incredibly believable on screen attraction. You can just feel it. So, Overall the series had some really breathtakingly good moments, just because of Max/Tul. This will take you on a wild ride.

Citeste mai mult

A unique series with a newer approach to BL

¡¡Disclaimer!!
This review is not meant to encourage/discourage you from watching. It is simply based on my personal opinion/experience while watching.


This is probably one of my favorite Thai bl series out there, definitely not THE best series but it's up there, for me at least. This is honestly such a breath of fresh air. While it might have had it's flaws it was still way better than most of the Thai series I have seen so far that are rated R and that says a lot in itself.


Story/plot :
Departing from the usual school/collage life story line, the story is about a doctor, bunnkit, who moves to this little town that he used to live in when he was younger, and is immediately hit with the mysterious case of his childhood friend, janejira, whom he believes was murdered and that her case wasn't just suicide. The first suspect, whom bun seemed to develop an attraction to, is jane's coworker and close(?) friend, Tan. The two don't seem to get along at first with tan being the very mysterious and dark guy which resulted in bun being overly suspicious of him. One night, bun is attacked and threatened by someone to conceal the truth about jane's death being a murder, to which he refuses to do and insists on digging deeper into this case. The police decides to conclude the case as suicide, so bun starts investigating on his own with the help of tan, who's trying to prove his innocence. The two uncover a bigger scheme going farther than jane's death and into the territories of human trafficking, illegal sex and drug use all being done by the least suspicious people (who were kinda obvious? Idk it just seemed so obvious to me who the villains were since the very beginning) and as time goes by the two form a very strong bond which later blossoms into deep love and trust. This is , very roughly, the summed up plot, I have emitted the biggest spoilers from this summary as I didn't want to take out the fun and mystery of this series. Now, onto my thoughts on the plot. This is by far one of my favorite plots of any BLs (the untamed, of course, being fisrt place, followed by color rush, where your eyes linger and nowmanner of death being my newly formed guilty pleasure) despite lacking in the delivery of some parts and the unanswered questions left hanging out there. I'm a huge sucker for mystery/thriller/medical related shows and this honestly is such a big step forward for Thai BLs plot wise, and I'm really looking forward to similar concepts in the future. Now what I didn't seem to enjoy about this, was the way the case was handled, like some things dragged on for way too long and one of the antagonists' ending (I'm not saying who) really irritated me because Ik shit like this doesn't actually happen irl, but yeah, this was my biggest problems regarding the plot. There were many things that didn't make sense and some things where really predictable but not in a good way sooo, yeah, I kind stopped paying attention to the plot after a while lmao.


Acting/cast:
I must admit I had never seen any of max's or tul's works before so I didn't know what to expect from them. I wouldn't say they were that great at execution, especially max who seemed awkward/stiff in some scenes, but regardless, they played their characters surprisingly well and the tension and chemistry between them was pretty good. The character whom I have, surprisingly, found myself falling in love with was doctor fai I believe her name was? Although she was such a minor role I just couldn't help but fangirl over her and I just really liked her character's personality. The characters that I have hated the most were rungtiva and peud, no surprise in that, their actors did very well in portraying them. Overall the acting was good, not that great but definitely better than average.



Music:
The music sadly was kinda forgettable for me so I had to rate it kinda low, so to any fans of the music, I'm sorry lol. It just didn't grab my attention and I couldn't find myself enjoying it as much as I thought I would so, yeah there's that


Production:
They've put quite the thought into this one so props to them for investing in it and making it into the final product. I don't have much to say here honestly sooooo, yeah.


In conclusion, this is a really good series and I actually really enjoyed watching it. I will say tho, I rated it a bit higher than it deserves because honestly I'm not a fan of romances which include sexual themes, I'm more of the very subtle romance but I do like stepping out of my comfort zone every once in a while, so instead of rating it lower because of my very specific preferences, I gave it an extra star. Whew! This was long, sorry if you had to read this till the end lol, I'm writing this with my eyes half closed cuz I'm really exhausted so I apologize if my english looks like gibberish instead.

Citeste mai mult

Exceptional

Absolutely innovative in the BL world as well as in the mystery/crime genre (I guess it is not the most common setting).
Everything about this project is top quality. Firstly, the story is interesting full of excitement but no exaggerations in terms of twists or too unbelievable situations. Secondly, the cast is top notch. We are all here for brilliant MaxTul but we are getting much more than just appreciating another grand action of theirs. Many characters are interesting with distinctive personality. Third, the scenery and architecture in every episode is stunning. The music has also been very appropriate so far. Hope to hear some more addictive track I will relate to this series even after watching. Looking forward to see the remaining episode with more love scenes hopefully.

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