-Aprillen-

I'm cautiously intrigued by this one. A supernatural suspense BL sounds like it could tick all my boxes.

Yes, the one redeeming factor about Ton's behaviour is that it's portrayed as buffonish and comical. It's a bit inconceivable that Ai and Nhai wouldn't have tried to educate him about homophobia before, since it's not in fact intrinsic to being straight, but then of course they wouldn't have been able to squeeze comedy out of it.

The brothel thing made me so uncomfortable. It's obvious that none of them want to be there, and Ton is forcing them because of his own insecurities around his sexuality. I get the point they're trying to make, but to me it's more cringey than funny. Even if Chon had been straight, he might not want his first time to be with a prostitute, and forcing him into this situation is really insensitive. (Also there's an underlying message that visiting a brothel is a totally normal and unproblematic thing to do.)

Look under "Recent Discussions". There's a topic there with links to all the episodes.

Seriously, I feel like I only just now understood what a 10 really means.

If this doesn't wipe the floor with all other dramas at the awards circuit, I will be very surprised. And I don't just mean the BL category. I mean ALL OTHER DRAMAS.

Please, everyone! Let us put any reveals about the ending behind spoiler tags!

I was so afraid that this series would break my heart, that when it ended like it did I was shaking and crying in pure relief. I would have loved it however it ended. But now it has my undying devotion. I don't think I've ever cried this much when watching anything, at least not in the past decade. But they did it. They managed to give us a happy ending without making it feel trite, or cheap, or like a compromise. It was beautiful, and perfect.

I feel like I have been through a wringer. But a perfect, beautiful wringer made of starlight and gold.
Before I started watching this, I thought it was far too expensive to watch legally. Well, guess what -- I ended up paying for every episode, the last one as it dropped so I could watch it directly on Vimeo, and the previous four retroactively. Because if anything deserves my money this year it's this series.
Continued below...

Same -- but I decided to throw them money for the other four eps too, because I could afford it, and they deserve it.

Oh, thank you! I was getting anxious because I was reloading the page and there was nothing!

Sometimes we are allowed to be shallow :)

Yes -- I feel like BL (especially in Thailand) had almost started to stagnate a bit, and then 2020 came along... and whatever else dumpster fire this year has been, it has been amazing for BL . Not everything we're seeing right now and in the future is going to be great, but it feels like it's evolving! With so much BL content, creators are going to want to set themselves apart more, try for something unique, and that opens up for a much wider range.

People are absolutely correct that ITSAY is a fantastic series -- but I agree, I would NOT call it a BL.

I have watched a lot of the Filipino BLs, and yes, some of them are pretty groundbreaking, while still adhering to the BL genre. They range from really great (Gameboys, Gaya Sa Pelikula) to kind of awful. And some of them are labelled BL even though they very obviously aren't (possibly in an attempt to capitalise on the BL trend). But when it comes to Thai BL, I am rather hoping for Manner of Death to expand the framework and set a new standard (BL with a different setting and an actual, you know, *plot*). ITSAY is never going to be that standard, although I do hope we will see more series of that level of quality with LGBTQ+ content.

So guys, I just went and threw money at Nadao/Vimeo to watch this legally, and will do for episode five when it drops. Because this is not just something cute and ultimately meaningless I will watch to distract myself a little from real life and then forget about. This series will stay with me for a very long time (even if the legal videos won't). It's probably the best thing I've watched all this year, and I don't even care that I don't know if I will sit there at the end crying with joy or with grief -- I just know that I will be crying. But however it ends, I'm now pretty confident that I can trust Nadao to not screw it up. Whether hopeful or devastating or bittersweet; it will make sense.

I will make sure I have tissues at hand -- and whisky, just in case it breaks my heart. I am ready.
(I am not ready.)

Who would understand love
We might not know each other by the first time we met
But love at first sight will stay in our heart forever
When we found each other
It erased all the pain
You are the true love that I have been longing for

But love is complicated and might not be how we wish
If we were meant to meet, why do we have to be set apart?
If we are set apart by the skyline, I'm glad to break through
If we are set apart by a mountain high, I'm not afraid
If we are set apart by time, I'm pleased to wait
But if we are set apart by destiny, I have to give up, don't I?
Don't I?

In the end of a love novel
Normally, it brings back anyone who has been apart
To see each other again and say "I love you" one more time
But in my reality, our love can not be like that
No matter how hard we try, there is no way we can be closer

If we are set apart by the skyline, I'm glad to break through
If we are set apart by a mountain high, I'm not afraid
If we are set apart by time, I'm pleased to wait
But if we are set apart by destiny, I have to give up, don't I?
Don't I?

If we are set apart by the skyline, I'm glad to break through
If we are set apart by a mountain high, I'm not afraid
If we are set apart by time, I'm pleased to wait
But if we are set apart by destiny, I have to give up, don't I?
Don't I?
If we are set apart by time, I'm pleased to wait
But if we are set apart by destiny, I have to give up, don't I?
Don't I?

(Taken from the translation in the offical MV)

Yes, BL is basically gay romance drama written for a female audience. I would love to have a combo, though: romantic LGBT+ dramas with happy endings. (Although it seems that not even things labelled BL get a guaranteed happy ending...)

It's called fanservice.

Admission, identity papers, a whole set of clothes, school uniforms, etc, allwithout letting her brother or mother know... Yeah, there are a few plotholes. But it's charming enough that I just roll with it :)
(She should really have bought a separate phone, too...)

All of them are subbed now!