Manner of Death (2020)

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.

Leggi di Più

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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Crime, whodunit, punishment, and BL who could ask for more

I'm big fan of Whodunit's and watching one from another country was something I was really looking forward to. I have loved all of MaxTul's previous works and I had read Dr Sammon's book so I was excited to see the series. The series was better than the book although the book was good also.

I wasn't disappointed although I don't know how the legal system works in Thailand for instance letting a victim into the same room as their rapesit was a bit strange for me as it would not be allowed in my part of the world. Even if the victim wanted to confront their attacker.

I knew who the murder was from the beginning but I also knew the series would change the senrio slightly.

I love how they showed the possible murder suspects, that people lie and how one has to learn not to take what one see' or hears at face value. That not everyone is who they pretend to be. That we all need to use critical thinking. It's a case of what do we know for sure and what is speculation how do we prove/disprove it?

I loved how they showed real characters rather than 2 dimensional cardboard cut outs.

I loved the fact this series kept away from the usual and often boring and unrealistic troupes of many Thai BL's.

It was also good to see a different part of Thailand and to hear a different Thia dialect.

Inspector M being shot and recovering so quickly had me thinking was he wearing his bullit proof vest under his uniform shirt? I really don't know or was that other officer such a bad shot? Later when The Inspector 'gets his man' he shots him a number of times before he dies was that just poetic Judgest/licence? To mirror what had been done to him or did he think he might be wearing his bullit proof jacket I'll shot him elsewhere on his body? So you see it did raise some questions in my mind that also made me smile. Maybe I just liked the feeling of 'Serve's you right you treachous piece of rubbish.'

I felt Max and Tul's acting has expanded greatly, I saw Dr Bun and Teacher/Mobster Tan not Korn/knock.

I wondered how they would protray the inner Mind of Dr Bun well, they did a brilliant job protraying the conflicting and intelligent mind of Dr Bun with facial expressions, body language, little teasing come backs. You got to see from Dr Bun persective how the murder was committed and by which potential supsects.

Whan one say about the sexual tension between Dr Bun and Tan other than it clear and present.
Lets look at that particular scene the one everyone has been talking about, 'The make out' scene on the sofa. Lets look at it in context, eg from the persceptive of what we have already been shown: The build up of sexual tension between the two character this has already been established along with an element of distrust/unsureness ( is that even a words sorry.) We also know that Tan is both caring and a violent hooligan when the need arises. Most people can be violent given the right set of circumstances/provocation/environment.
So we have the scene before where we have the thrill of nearly getting caught, while doing a smash and grab on the Inspectors car to steal the laptop. This type of illegal and dangerous action can heighten Sexual tension therefore putting those things together make for excellent 'Make out' session on the couch which is somewhat hot.

The side characters were also interesting I know some people would have liked more time given to them however they are side characters that get drawn into the action. I was thinking of this in the context that the series only had so much time to develop their stories. It if were a long running series where the team and side character have regualar spots then their stories would develop over further series. I'm thinking here about long running series of police dramas, regular whodunit's that we have here in the UK such as Death in Paradise, Morse, Midsummer Murders, or say the USA's Hawaii Five O etc et where side characters have far more time to be fully interduced to the audience.

I was impressed by Putter as this was his first role. At first I thought Sapol (Inspector M) acting was a wee bit stiff but then i realized he was protraying a very that stony faced, standing to attention mencing/intimidating I'm in charge here Police Inspector. I guess for myself that was a cultural thing to adjust to.

Would I recomment it - Hell yes.
Would I rewatch it - Dam right I would, in fact I've rewatched it 4 times already.

Leggi di Più

Setting a new standard for Thai BLs

This show was amazing from start to finish to me. I loved the crazy storyline and the fact that the gay aspect of it wasn't such a big portion of what it was about; Just two guys trying to solve the mystery of their mutual friends's death all while getting close intimately. The plottwists will have you questioning everyone and it's just that thrilling. The side characters captivated me as much as the main and I was invested in everyone.

Acting: If you're not new to most of these actors then you know of their talent and chemistry. You can tell they put their heart and soul into their roles and it definitely paid off.

Production: Hats off to the cast and crew who bought us this series.

Music: Love the suspenseful music for the intro, it got me excited to start the new episode.

Rewatch Value: 100.

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MY Manner of Death? Boredom

I know the year is still young, but this is the most disappointing drama of the year for me so far. I had really anticipated this for months. I love the chemistry of Max and Tul, admittedly mainly in the “Together with Me” series. Well, they DID have some good chemistry in this drama.

At any rate I do not think that their acting was suited for this genre. Especially Tul’s. He was not believable age wise as of a medical examiner, and as far as his acting went he was not believable for playing that character. I think Max fit the characters personality fairly well. I am sure that producers thought that since they had such good chemistry in other dramas that they would really fit well in this drama together. I just don’t think it was the right story for them, or maybe the right genre.

As for the story itself, it had some good twists. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there were a few surprising moments in the last few episodes. I think this would’ve been better as a straight up suspense mystery, without any romance added to it. Overall the acting wasn’t too bad, the music was pretty forgettable. I like the idea behind the story of the medical examiner, just wish they had different stories throughout instead of one main mystery.

Leggi di Più

Terrible crime story

If you are watching this for the BL part only, it's going to be really boring for you. I didn't like the criminal part of this at all. I'm sorry Thailand - you need to learn how to do this kind of shows because there were so many preposterous mistakes. How can a journalist get to the crime scene sooner than a doctor? How can he be allowed to take pictures and not delete them after if nothing else? Watching it i was shaking my head in disbelief.
Stupid mistakes like this made me skip so many parts in the show. It felt so unprofessional and unbelievable.

The romantic part of this drama however is beautiful. The pair has good chemistry, they are lovers, enemies, friends and strangers at the same time. There is no "be my wifey" part or overly emphasized "I'm gay" part - which I appreciated. The characters just fall in love and thats it (as it should be). Also - we finally get to see grown men! Not more engineering students! :D

The story had a very big potential but the execution was very poor. Thailand needs to learn how to pull up a different genre and make it look believable. (Look up Taiwans HIStory 3: Trapped - that's how you make a good crime oriented BL love story!)

Leggi di Più

L'acteur qui tire son épingle du jeu n'est pas celui qu'on pense ...

Evidemment, comme beaucoup, j’attendais le duo MaxTul.
Evidemment.
Mais, pas que.
Le résumé était alléchant et pour une fois, on avait affaire à des adultes, nom de Zeus. Car bon, ras-la-couette des ingénieurs, des lunes et des étoiles de tous crins, voire des shorts bleu de France, hideux et des appareils dentaires haut et bas. (toujours eu peur qu’en cas d’orage, il y ait des électrocutions en masse).
Donc, nous avons une histoire prometteuse et ma foi, rondement menée ; on passera avec bienveillance sur les quelques couacs du scénario, où j’ai eu envie de secouer tout ce beau monde, tellement leurs actions me semblaient énormes (par exemple, tourner le dos à un type qui vient de t’attaquer et que tu as mis temporairement KO, par exemple, tout le monde comprendra que, non, faut pas le faire… sauf Tan)
Le médecin légiste qui sait TOUT faire, amusant aussi (ou alors en Thaïlande, ils ont un cursus spécial ?)
Et puis, une réflexion en passant : mais où sont les parents de tous ces gamins (Nam, par exemple)? On n’en voit pas un seul tout au long des épisodes, à croire qu’ils sont tous émancipés.
Sinon, vraiment, le suspense était bien présent et les acteurs tenaient leur place, à des degrés variés.
Les deux acteurs principaux n’ont pas réalisé une performance de folie, mais ils étaient crédibles.
Et puis tellement choupinous.
Concernant l’alchimie, je suis assez d’accord avec Fan2Dramas : j’ai vu mieux. Le truc c’est qu’il s’agit de Max et Tul et que tant de fans sont persuadés qu’ils sont un vrai couple que forcément, « what a chemestry ».
Bah non ; déjà, ils ne sont pas un vrai couple (désolée de casser l’ambiance, vraiment) et puis ma foi, au-delà de l’alchimie je vois plutôt une très bonne entente entre deux potes qui se connaissent très bien et qui se font confiance.
Et ça, c’est déjà énorme.
En revanche, la déclaration d'amour de Tan à Bun, à la fin, est magnifique. J'en aurais voulu une aussi belle.
Mention spéciale pour Sorawit et That, qui ont éclairé ce drama, que j’ai savouré, après une traversée du désert. Je le reverrai avec plaisir.
Pour en revenir au titre de ma critique, l’acteur qui en a jeté, à mes yeux, est celui qui interprète l’inspecteur M.
Quel talent !!! lol
C’est un comble, le personnage secondaire a largement pris le pas sur les deux main leads.
Je ne reviendrai pas sur ce port d’uniforme impeccable et sur ce visage parfait . Je veux bien avoir de l’alchimie avec lui, moi.
La femme est faible, c’est bien connu.

Leggi di Più

GO WATCH THIS SERIES RIGHT NOW! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

I really don't know how to explain how I feel.
I already watched it two times and I want to watch it again and again. It's like a story that never ends for me.
it is a mix of romance and crime, but there is absolutely no lack of that pinch of comedy necessary to make everything lighter.
Max (Tan) and Tul (Bun) proved to be the perfect actors for this series, managing to enact the chemistry that binds them in real life and the one that binds them in front of the cameras.
They also proved to have great mastery of their acting skills, allowing their harmony to bring lightness even in the most raw and violent scenes.
Saying this I just want to encourage everyone to watch this masterpiece.
Thanks for the attention.
L.S.

Leggi di Più

Everything you could ask for in a mature, crime-themed BL

Max and Tul are back and they have more than delivered. I want to describe this series as a BL romance dressed in noir, but that would be overly reductive. In fact, an important point to note is that the series still holds its own even if Tan and Bun weren’t romantically involved – I’m glad they were, though, because their palpable sexual chemistry just made it all the better.

The series starts off with a murdered girl. A whodunnit premise drives the narrative, but this soon evolves to something far more complex.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the characters inhabit a sinister reality where nobody can be trusted fully. Sometimes, they are also forced to straddle legally and ethically grey boundaries. All these factors, plus cliff-hangers and twists, provide for surprisingly propulsive episodes that keep you wanting more.

Read my full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2021/11/29/manner-of-death-2020%ef%bf%bc/

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Primeiro devo dizer que a classificação é para + 18, por conter assassinato, estupro, trafico e trafico humano.

Gostei do estilo mais adulto e criminal, com muitos mistérios, segredos e cenas eletrizantes. Mostrando a feiura humana e sua insaciável busca de poder a qualquer meio. Toda parte da autópsia e das cenas de crime são bem trabalhadas, mas às vezes pecava em detalhes, nada que estragasse o clima.

O romance acontece em segundo plano e de forma gradual, talvez por a cronologia não ser tão rápida e nem aqui escapa do clichê ter se encontrado uma vez na juventude e morar juntos, mesmo assim não destoando do estilo.
No começo fiquei muito curiosa sobre quem era o assassino, mas com o tempo o envolvimento do doutor Bun e Tun e até mesmo a corrupção nas várias esferas, principalmente policia, me fez desfocar. Isso para mim é algo raro, mas não significa que se perdeu, ao contrário, só acrescentou. Geralmente não curto romance em investigativos, mas aqui ficou perfeito. Max e Tul tem uma boa química, isso é inegável.

A revelação final seria uma grande surpresa se não fosse por uma página colocar spoiler sem aviso e infelizmente acabei vendo, porém segui até o fim para entender a “causa da morte”, claro que sem este spoiler teria aproveitado melhor, mas mesmo assim foi redondo até o fim. O tempo todo me perguntava como fechariam o final, mas foi concluído com maestria.

Aliás este final, quase mata Bun do coração, eu amei, foi realista e também doce. Foi bom ter um BL com uma temática diferente, espero que haja mais ainda no futuro e com certeza espero um dia consegui ler o livro.

Leggi di Più

Another MaxTul banger (all puns intended lolol)

Before I go on about the drama itself I'd just like to say that I don't really consider Manner of Death a BL....sure, it does have a BL couple in it, but their relationship isn't the focus of the show. I understand the appeal of categorizing it as a BL because of the cast and, maybe, because of Thailand's censorship. But oh well...I digress.

MaxTul gave us an great drama, once again! The show begins with the story of a new doctor, Dr. Bun (Tul), moving into this small town. He was clearly tired of the big city and wanted to go back to his childhood town. Upon arriving there he meets up with high school friends and that's when things take a turn for the worse.

One night out the Doc kisses a complete stranger - I'd like to say it was def love at first sight hehe - Tan (Max). They soon meet again in a bday party filled with the most important and powerful people in town. Dr Bun realizes the men he kissed is somehow involved with his childhood bestie after seeing them "together". GASP!

At that same night Dr. Bun's best friend, Jane, dies and the Doc decides to do everything in his power to solve her case after realizing something fishy is going on. The police are shady (surprising, no? lololol) and so is a lot of the people in power in town. That's where the drama plot begins....everything goes downhill after that party and a few other people die.

Dr Bun and Tan get together to solve the string of crimes/murders and start to get more involved with each other and with the whole mess. And there's a LOT OF IT! Drugs, sexual assault, human trafficking, murder, betrayal, and much more!

MaxTul definitely have a lot of weight when it comes to acting....they really stand out from the rest of the cast. Well, actually Inspector M (Great) is also great, loved his character. If you like murder-mysteries with a touch of gay, this is the show for you. I liked it.

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