Manner of Death (2020)

Excellent intertwining of mystery and romance

In case anyone is wondering, the reason this series has an 18+ warning has (probably) got nothing to do with the BL elements but everything to do with the crimes depicted, which are pretty dark and involve sexual exploitation, including the exploitation of underage people.

I believe there are many BL fans who are drawn to the series because of the promise of BL. Personally, I was somewhat unsure about it (as someone who watches a lot of BL) because the the crime/thriller story in the synopsis doesn't seem to cohere well with the BL genre, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how nicely the main characters' romance is woven into the story involving some rather heinous crimes.

We can perhaps see this series as a thriller with romance in it, like many series that focus on straight relationships instead of a gay relationship. This story happens to feature a gay romance, but perhaps the "BL" label shouldn't be used here. I personally think that not every story with a gay romance in the main plot is BL, which is a genre that has certain quirks. If you are looking for a series that is largely focused on the love between them like many other purely BL series, you are better off watching something else. Nevertheless,, this series has a prominent romance narrative thread that is nicely intertwined with the narrative involving various murders.

The relationship between Tan and Bun (played by Max and Tul) is beautifully developed. The mutual attraction between them from the start is nicely portrayed, with Bun barely able to conceal his disappointment when he thinks that Tan is his female friend's boyfriend. Yet, despite his attraction to Tan, Bun is unable to trust him unreservedly at first because of how Tan is possibly involved in the crimes. Bun's complex emotions towards Tan as the mystery starts to unfold make their relationship interesting. The audience is also, for a while, left guessing what sort of person Tan is. Is the attraction purely sexual? Is it deception? Or is there genuine love on both sides?

Even without the romance narrative thread, the series is already pretty solid as a thriller, with the mystery being unraveled at a nice pace with some twists. A couple of twists are somewhat predictable but they don't weaken the story. One may be incredulous that, in an age of easy digital reproduction and dissemination, people can still think trying to getting back the original digital video of their incriminating acts. However, the flaws of the series are fairly minor. The story is well paced and nothing seems too rushed or draggy.

The strength of the series as a thriller makes the choice of featuring a gay romance commendable. After all, the story can very already do very well on its own with bromance or straight romance. In fact, there is a risk in featuring a gay relationship. It can either be a hit (since BL has a lot of fans) or a miss (since audiences beyond the BL fan base may not like the gay romance plot). The series does target and pander to BL fans, but not in a childish way. There is a kiss between Tan and Bun in the first episode (and even at least one possible side BL couple for us to ship), but the elements made for BL fans are worked quite seamlessly into the story. The final episode also has one of the tenderest gay romance moments I have seen in BLs in the past year or so.

I'm not sure how popular the series is currently, but I wish it will prove to be commercially successful. This will be a good impetus for a higher visibility of gay characters in mainstream productions.

Lire davantage

More of this type of BL drama please!!!

My review is a personal opinion on this drama. It is not in any way shape or form meant to sway you into either watching it or avoiding it. Please make your own personal choice on whether to watch something or not. We are all individuals and have our own likes or dislikes.

I give this drama an 8.9 (thogh MDL only lets me pick wither 8.5 or 9.0...so I went for 9.0) (reason is as follows)...I got to say that Max and Tul did a better job here than in their previous works. I never really liked their other dramas. Anyways, they have improved immmensely, specially Max...that stare alone...gosh he does something to me, which is really interesting because I never cared for him before.

The story is pretty basic and formulaic, which isn't a bad thing at all if done properly. I loved the way it was told and though there was some plotholes here and there, it was enjoyable to watch. Can't denied that all of the actors had great chemistry with each other, not just Max-Tul.

My reason for the raiting is that most of the criminal justice proceedures were so badly done at times. GOSH...there was some things that made me shake my head...but again I'm sure this had more to do with the area the drama was located and the way that local police work, but it was just like...Come on Man, that's not how police proceedure works (even if you are in a different country, basic police investigative techniques are pretty much universal...)

Like no one bothered to do "latent searches" ??? on the rope, on the doors or even at Pued and the reporter's houses?

or having poor victim at the District Attorney's office to confront him about what he did to her and other young girls? No one would put a victim in the same vacinity as her abuser unless they were at trial and if she chose to take the stand...I was like...OMG that's traumatizing for her to be in front of someone so powerful who did so much to her and others. But again, this is a drama so I have to just take a step back and let it play out LOL.

It's obvious that the source material is going to lack a lot of the criminal justice perspective because the writer according to many comes from a medical background and not a police/dectective one, so I can forgive them for it.

I also didn't like that they didn't really wrap up the prostitution/trafficking/abortion arc of the story. I thought addressing this head on would have been a great opportunity to highlight the real problems that are happening not just there but in the world.

Lets talk about the CHEESY ending...sorry LOL...I'm just not a romantic person so the cheesiness was overkilled for me...from the surprise engagement to the cliff scene...BUTTTTTT, it was really fitting for them. So despite my dislike for it, I thought it worked for the story.

I do hope there is a special episode to see more of Aem/Oat and Sarawit and the other kid. I thought they were very cute.

Conclusion? I say watch it if you like mystery/crime dramas with a touch of BL. This was pretty decent and I can see myself watching it again. Minus the cheesy stuff... ^_^

Lire davantage

Neither a Great Thriller, nor a Great Romance drama.

Completed - 3/17/2022

I was hoping to watch a more mature BL drama, that’s not just a rom-com of high school or college students. Thus, “Manner of Death” became my choice. A crime/thriller romance drama sounds exactly what I am looking for.

Unfortunately, I am a little disappointed. I am not sure if I am not used to Thai acting, or the acting of the cast doesn’t live up to my expectations. I do not find the acting of Max and Tul, the two lead male characters, to be convincing. If I have to pick, I think Tul as Dr. Bun did a better job than Max as Tan. The drama likes to have close-up shots of the actors' faces for viewers to focus on their facial expressions. Unfortunately, the camera stays with the actors for a little too long (5-10 seconds, maybe) and their inability to convey emotions is more observable and makes me feel uncomfortable. At times, the music accompanied these close up shots made feel like I'm watching an American daytime soap opera. Of the cast members, I would say the actress, Meiko, who played Jane, is the best of the bunch, followed by maybe Great, who played Inspector M.

The chemistry of the two leads was pretty good in the first half of the drama, before they officially got together.. But when the second half focuses more on the crime investigation, the chemistry took a dip. The transition from crime investigation to the leads being flirty with each other appears out-of-place with a very sudden tone change. There aren’t enough sweet or sexy moments to satisfy the romance-at-heart, and the longing and tension from the first half of the drama are gone.

I like the general plot of the drama, a medical doctor who wants to uncover the truth of his friend’s murder. But I don’t think the execution is quite there. Our leads seem to have 9 lives, as they get hurt all the time, recover quickly, but they never die. There is a mix of predictable and unpredictable plot twists. I don’t know much about Thailand’s forensic/medical work, so I don’t want to say they are wrong. However, it does seem somewhat minimal and easy when Dr. Bun does his autopsy work. Overall, this is neither a great thriller, nor a great romance drama. It’s just OK.

Other Observations:
1. Inspector M’s uniform is really tight, showing his fabulous body. He’s the hottest guy in the drama.
2. The actress who played Jane is really pretty, both in casual wear and when she’s all dolled out.
3. Bad CPR alert!
4. Seems like a low-budget production.
5. do enjoy scenes of the small town.
6. Music is not bad. I like the theme song.

Lire davantage

Incredible mash of thriller and bl!!

Honestly, I have no idea where to start with this show. The entire series is wrapped around ONE murder case and the events that follow around the main character. If you love watching thrillers, murder solving, and adventure, this bl will 100% be your favourite. I enjoyed watching this show and had a good time. I would recommend this show to anyone that likes this genre. There is a lack of dark-themed Thai bl, and this story was incredible. Everything in this show followed a perfect order, and everything made sense. Nothing was out of place. This show is so underrated. The relationship between the characters was SO maturely developed that it was shocking to watch. I did end up watching this show after "Not me" because I thought it was something similar of that sort. No, this was very different. A lot of people will enjoy this show. 100% MUST WATCH!!!!

Lire davantage

A Dry, Tone Deaf & Disrespectful attempt at Mystery/Thriller with BL mixed in

First of all, Jane is the MVP of this show and she is the REAL main character in this story.

The fact that the main character was sitting on a goldmine - a cornucopia of evidence, you can say - and didn't know about it, until the very. Last. Episode.
Infuriating.
This drama was more amusing to watch then it's original purpose of being dramatic/well written/properly portrayed or respectfully represented. Either will do.
The overhead shots of the town (city? village? countryside? no idea! there's only two police officers in that whole police station! *shrugs*) showing the misty forest mountains is the prettiest this drama will get.
The women carried this drama (specifically Jane and Rung - mostly Jane). Even if Jane was a like the other females in this drama - victims of plot devices - Jane's secret sleuthing solved everything. All she needed was for someone to expose the truth to the public with the evidence she painstakingly collected!
But no.
Those who want to help her in her just cause, spends majority of the drama asking the wrong questions and turning their backs on the wrong people. Again.
(Seriously! The trope of being 'stabbed in the back' was overkill and annoying. Too many people in this drama were caught by surprise by someone sneaking up on them. It's old, stop it!)
Nam had the most character development out of everyone surrounding her and she spends most of her screen time on drugs. The acting is questionable and the scene of Jane's death was the best scene with the best amount of talent. The music was appropriate for once in that scene but anytime else... I just watched some moments on mute.

The couple....
I think I had an issue of liking this relationship because of Tan's gaslighting and deceitful habits towards Bun and Bun's general habit of saying one thing about who is he, and then acting in a contradicting way.
He's not a likeable person (to me at least) and he's quick to anger and relies on pettiness so much that it's not helpful at all to the mystery of his supposed-friend's death.
Both lovers need to work on their communication and conversation skills because following along in their 'flirtatious banter', made me pick up my phone to play a game until more of Jane's story was on screen. (Poor Jane, for being surrounded by average brain, spineless criminals.) Inspector M and Sorn were the only redeemable male characters in this drama.
I'm of course bias, so take my review for a grain of salt but the show was tone deaf and disrespectful about such a heavy topics like the sex trade/underage sex/r*pe/prostitiution and human trafficking that endangers soooooo many people (men too) and the drama brings it up in between 'the honeymoon phase' for the main couple: causally and irreverent. Same for the medical and professional practice of Forensics, Physicians/Surgeons and the Police.
Yes, the law is corruptible but before the show so obviously told us law enforcement wasn't to be trusted, the breach of confidentiality and conduct was repeated too many times to be intentional.
The drama had a small budget probably, but it doesn't excuse the production quality and lack of character depth in the show.
The BL exists, I'll admit that but this show could have been better if the mystery/thriller aspect was separate from the BL love story. In this particular instance, the two genres I was so looking forward to, did not mesh together well.

I felt like I brought my scuba, deep sea, diving gear to a kiddie pool at five-years old birthday party. Not impressed.

Lire davantage

not your cliché bl series

before watching this i had no idea who maxtul were, even though i was a part of the bl community for quite some time. man their chemistry is NO JOKE. it all felt so genuine, not a single scene where it felt like they were acting. i am a hardcore maxtul fan now!

coming to the series, I LOVE IT period
i really wanted them to make a bl which is not based on the clichéd university romcom, but one with a serious plot. honestly, i have NO complaints for this series. ZERO. ITS ALL SO PERFECT. That and Sorawit were the cutest out there, i couldn't handle how fluffy their couple was aghhhh. sorawit was an adorable little baby. i am not going to write about the other charaters here because i dont want to add the 'spoilers' tag

in conclusion, JUST WATCH THIS DRAMA TRUST ME YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT

Lire davantage

ENJOYED THE PLOT!!!

I have realised for some time now that Max is very adaptable and will always perform very well [especially under a director who knows what they are doing] and he did not disappointed in MOD. He stole the show. Period! Episode after episode.

I'm happy he and Tul got the opportunity to do a serious drama that addresses serious matters. I can honestly say, for myself and others alike, Manner of Death is a fresh offering in a BL. The plot was so good! While it gave fan service… it does not dwell on it, which doesn’t seem to please many people who were clearly hoping each episode would contain R-rated stuff. Too bad! Too sad! There lost!

ENDING: The way Tan expresses his love for Bun... literally the purest, most sincere declaration of love I have seen in BL ❤❤❤


Salute to MAX and TUL ✌✌

Lire davantage

Most Action-Packed BL Ever

Manner of Death was such an adventure to get through. I felt like one minute I knew where the story was going, and then the next, I had no clue. This kept me on the edge of my seat throughout my binge-watch, I legit stayed up till 4 in the morning cause each episode would leave off on a cliffhanger, and I just felt like I had to keep going. Manner of Death is definitely one to remember for its crazy adventures and deep-rooted plot.

Let's Dive In.

I want to start off by talking about the plot. When we look back at other BL plots, they're usually not very deep or complicated, but in this series, I felt like each moment was mapped out perfectly. From the first episode to the last, everything fit like a glove. The only thing I had a hard time with was keeping up with the many characters they had, and how each of them impacted the plot. These big revelations would happen, and I would completely be lost because I wasn't sure who they were talking about. Towards the end though, I was able to remember names with faces. Another thing was that they kind of dragged on at times in the first few episodes, so I had to force myself to watch, but I was hooked by about episode 7 or 8. I think that the plot was my favorite part of the series. Very well done.

Let's move onto the actors/characters. While I do love Tul and Max together, I will say that I wasn't really pining for them to get together in this. I don't know if it was because they only got so much time with each other outside of the very hectic plot, but most of the time, their moments felt forced. Their intimate moments were good, don't get me wrong on that (epically the handcuffing on the stairwell, idk why but I loved that so much), but everything felt either rushed or without explanation; why did they like each other? The proposal during the last episode was good, except why did Tan ask Bun to marry him when they hadn't even been dating? It felt off and not usual, but the proposal itself was clever and sweet. Let's move on to the somewhat side couple That and Sorawit (It took me a moment to realize his name was That lol) I liked how sentimental and caring Sorawit was towards Nam and That. He served as kind of everyone's helper and kept getting himself into messes that he had no business getting into. The same goes for That. While I liked that he was kind of tough and was there to also help, they were just kids and kept getting themselves in mixed-up situations. While there was no confirmation of this couple ever, they were teased throughout the series and at certain points they were cute, but most of the time they just felt like close friends. Moving onto the third(?) pairing, Dr. Oat, and Inspector M. I really liked Inspector, at first I was so sure that he was going to end up being the bad guy, but I was way off. The actor Great is overly attractive which made me pine for him to be with literally anyone, guy or girl, and they teased that a bit at the very last episode with Dr. Oat, but it was obviously way too late. I'm pretty sure Dr. Oat had a crush on Bun, but it was never said so we'll never know. Both those characters were perfect for this story, and maybe we can get a spin-off with them (????).

Let's move onto the darker parts of this series. While there was an 18+ warning at the beginning of each episode, I still felt like there should've been something else to warn of how gruesome this series was going to be. I'm not a person that gets triggered by stuff, but some of these scenes were hard to sit through. Watching Jane get hung twice was not easy at all, I couldn't even watch the second one. I definitely think there needs to be multiple warnings.

I really liked how this show focused on human trafficking, something that happens all around the world but is not nearly talked about enough. Most of the time it is with people in high places, so seeing the captain, judge, commander, and whoever else all in high place running this human trafficking ring wasn't surprising (sadly). These revelations were incredible though, and I loved the way I was shook after each person was announced to be part of this ring.


Overall, Manner of Death was a fantastic watch, and I highly recommend this. All of the actors put on an amazing performance, but I want to really give Mint and Meiko an extra pat on the back. These women put on a beautiful performance and I really hope to see them in future series. The OST also went perfectly with this drama, and at times really did have me spooked out. This is for sure something people should watch (warning if you're sensitive to gruesome scenes and heavy topics though).

Lire davantage

A Bit Disappointed

Ah, when I saw the trailer for the drama, I was super excited to get started because so many have dubbed it as a 'serious' drama that is the best out there in terms of Thai Dramas.

However, I was a bit disappointed with things. - It was a good drama, but I was far from impressed.

The plot was amazing, very interesting and very intriguing. However, they were full of holes that even the blind could see. And that was why I was so disappointed because for once I found a Thai drama that wasn't so bad in terms of the casts' acting and voila, I was presented with many hard-to-dismiss plotholes.




[[[[[ SPOILER TIME, AVOID READING PASS THIS SENTENCE IF YOU HATE SPOILERS ]]]]]

Here's the plotholes that I couldn't digest blindly:

1. When Jane's body was found, Tan was said to be her boyfriend when he was not. He found her body and they simply assumed that he was her boyfriend. (Seriously?! I don't how the police do their job in Thailand, but they sure wouldn't have just 'assumed' instead of investigating right?)

2. When it was revealed that Jane was actually killed and didn't actually commit a suicide, we were never presented with the events where people close to her were investigated. (Seriously?! I thought the first course of action would be to question people?!)

3. When Bun was attacked by an unknown guy at his home, his first thought was to go stay with the most suspicious guy within his reach simply because he helped fend off the attacker. (Seriously?! No suspicion, simply letting yourself enter an unknown territory when you haven't even figured out what's happening. For God sake, the guy even owned a gun at home!)

4. Rung and Jane. Rung said that she loved her sister but she sacrificed her for the sake of her business, saying that she had had to do it as well before this so Jane should do it as well for the same reason. And Jane agreed. And why, even for the sake of the said business, Rung was willing to kill her own sister. (I have nothing to say about this, that is just too fucked up, beyond saving.)

5. The falling at the cliff? (or was it into a river?) event? The police conducted a search and couldn't find both Tan and Bun when they were just there at the bank. (Unrealistic level: Out of The World)

AND THERE WERE SO MANY OTHER SCENES AND EVENTS THAT I COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO NOTE DOWN. AS WELL.

Lire davantage

A Good Change of Pace

It's really nice to see another crime series with a gay couple, or couples, as part of the story.
There is a great sense of flow throughout, that leaves you room for thought after each episode over who's the culprit, who's involved, who's innocent, etc. This is a type of series that focuses on the journey rather than the destination. The ending does make it all worth it for sure, but I found myself enjoying episode after episode, and that's a rarity.
Of course, acting gets a high rating - all of the actors and actresses do a tremendous job at portraying their character. The story has great twists and turns woven in that keep you on the edge of your seat.
It's a very deep and dark story that exposes a lot of underground secrets. Once again, the execution is well done. Only minor hiccups throughout.
There's a nice amount of suspense, sprinkled in with some spice, and a dash of sweetness. A real treat to watch.

Lire davantage

show de quimica

O quão difícil vão ser meus dias pelo resto do ano sem toda segunda feira poder ver esses dois, ano passado quando a serie estreou eu estava muito feliz, sou muito suspeito pra escrever uma review sobre porque sou fã demais dos dois. Essa serie é única, foge muito do que é um bl convencional, fico muito feliz pelo fato dos bls estarem evoluindo e saindo da formula de sempre ( hetero que não é tão hetero que se apaixona por um gay, ou colegial, ou aquela chatisse imensa que é um corre atrás do outro a serie toda pra no final ficarem juntos). A historia e o roteiro da serie é muito bem trabalhado e bem escritos, é extremamente interessante e é impossível assistir um ep e dropar. a execução não tem nem falhas, todos os atores desde do main role até os figurantes são extremamente bons, atuaram super bem, a forma como os casais foram desenvolvidos e até um ultimo casal que ficou em evidencia foi bem divertida e gostosa de se assistir, mais uma vez o max e o tul entregando uma aula de química e mostrando como se deve atuar em uma drama yaoi. A historia trata um assunto que eu acho que deveria ser abordado com mais frequência que é o trafico de pessoas, de mulheres menores de idades, eu acho que é um assunto que deve ser mais ainda abordado. O casal secundário é fofo demais e mesmo não tendo uma interação maior como beijos, eles foram muito bons! a ost é boa.... não é uma das melhores e nem conseguiu ser tão boa quanto a trama mas com certeza é algo a se deixar passar. Em geral é uma serie incrivel, max e tul como sempre deram um show de química e atuação. Espero vê-los em outras series no futuro, eu com certeza vou reassistir em algum momento e é isso.

Lire davantage

It is bad, very, very, bad

I wasn't going to watch this drama but silly me decided to listen to the reviews which somehow are mostly positive. I am 11 episodes in and each episode just gets worse and worse, it is so unrealistic, full of plot holes and very badly written.
Most of the reviews said they were happy that the story had moved away from the university setting and that the writers were trying something new and exciting, this would be true if the writers knew anything about crime, doctors, police, coroners and autopsies.
This drama seems to have been written by a child after watching a few episodes of Scooby Doo and thought that a BL murder mystery would be a good idea.

Lire davantage