WRITTEN BY ASH I REVIEW BY ASH AND ESTELLE
Mr. Kill is a series produced by GMMTV that managed to show us the extent of their talent, may it be on the acting’s side, or on the production’s side. The series’ main cast is composed of Dew Jirawat Sutivanichsak, Tee Teeradech Vitheepanich, Neo Trai Nimtawat, Off Jumpol Adulkittiporn, and Singha Luangsuntorn. While it is not classified as a BL, it clearly belongs in the Bromance category, on top of being a high quality crime drama.
Mr. Kill does not follow the codes GMMTV is known for, the series was here to surprise us, to captivate us with their creativity. And this starts from the characters’ introduction withKaye (Dew Jirawat), a well-known mangaka uncomfortable with making public appearances, and who seems to struggle to meet each month’s end despite his popularity. His place is a mess, quite small at that, even his clothes don’t come from the latest high end brands. Early on, the public understands that Kaye is being exploited by his company. But in the midst of his banal and boring life, murders will arise, planting seeds of chaos and turmoil, while everything points at him being the culprit behind it all.
Inspector Phat (Tee Teeradech), entrusted with the case, learns from his sister Prew (Singha Luangsuntorn) that the murders he’s trying to solve seem to be based off a manga uploaded online years ago. The work is under the name Nekros, and its author is no other than Kaye himself. Immediately suspected,, he quickly ends up tracked by the police unit, allowing us to unveil another part of Laye’s life: his past. If his life is so pitiful today, it’s because he still has to pay for his bedridden father’s debts, and hospital bills, after he was accused of taking part in the Thai Bank Investment case. From beginning to end, the story never really developed what this case was exactly about, but it did not affect the understanding of the ongoing story, and this is what makes Mr. Kill such an outstanding work. It is one of those shows where nothing is missing.
Of course, the story misleads us multiple times throughout the show, allowing for the grand reveal to still surprise us. Yet, when the truth is unveiled, it is not what the public focuses on anymore. Beyond the murder case based on Kaye’s manga, Mr. Kill is spreading a message deeper about human nature, its limits, and shows us how we often look for someone to blame in a system where there is usually more than one person behind it all.
The series smartly portrays how everybody ends up being both a victim and a culprit in the story as we are seeing the story through the eyes of various characters, allowing us to understand them and their motives better. The series does not try to paint a Black or White canvas, instead, it would rather play around with shades of grey until it becomes a complex, yet realistic work mixing emotions, reflections, fiction and reality, with a sublime moral as a key to the story.
The series grows stronger thanks to the acting as well, who each gave their all to bring their own character to life, whether they are good ones, bad ones, or in between characters. Through tension, love, friendship, hatred, or sadness, every actor was able to communicate their character’s emotion with sharp exactitude, allowing the public to really experience the story. But what remains most striking is of course the vibe and the evolution of the case, developed with realism and precision throughout the whole series. Where some productions, especially within the BL genre, failed to go through such scenarios with plot holes or a lack of credibility, Mr. Kill checked all the boxes and established itself as a pillar in the crime genre. The bromance aspect of the series did not discredit the development of the story or its characters, which was particularly enjoyable.
Ash’s Review :
To be quite honest, I would not hesitate to give this series the title of “Series Of The Year”. Because it’s a drama that was able to shine in the middle of other ongoing shows. It is the kind of production quality I was expecting from a big label such as GMMTV. The agency already showed us in the past what they were capable of, good scenarios, training actors to play their role perfectly, but often times something was missing, Mr. Kill finally broke this chain. It is the perfect combination put in one single show, a real gem that will certainly elevate the agency’s brand image, both now and over time.
But I do have to admit that as I was writing this review, I got to know that the scenario is an original one, not a simple adaptation. As the word ‘manga’ appears on the title in the poster, I assumed it was an adaptation, and as a big manga fan myself, it did seem like the kind of storyline, with a coherent case and a clear attention to detail, you would find in that media. But as I learned that it was an original production, I end up asking myself why GMMTV does not put as much effort into their other series ?
I can understand that there are external factors for each and every production: budget, crew, actors with different schedules, but despite it all, I find it hard to believe that the company could not invest more in their other projects so as to make other shows of such quality. While their most recent releases have improved much from the past, I’m thinking especially of Ticket To Heaven or When Oranges Fall, I still feel a difference with Mr. Kill that I can’t quite explain with words, and it does bother me. Because I believe this imbalance is what causes BL production to still be regarded as ‘Low budget’ despite everyone’s effort to make the genre evolve and develop over the years. But this is starting to touch upon another subject.
Getting back to Mr. Kill, I was pleased to see Dew, which I already saw and loved in Burnout Syndrome or Leap Day. It took me some time to recognize Tee, which I got to know and appreciate in We Are or, more recently, That Summer. Beyond the bromance material of the series, I do believe both actors have an incredible chemistry that allowed such a beautiful direction of the drama. Each one of them managed to scale their emotions so as to remain true to their character, and that is something I am highly admirative of. I already knew Neo as well, who never fails to amaze me with all the different kinds of roles he plays, but I was, once again, stunned by the actress who plays Preaw. If I already thought she played extremely well, I was shocked to learn she just turned seventeen, meaning she was still sixteen at the time of filming. Her skills are beyond impressive for her young age, and I’ll be looking forward to her future projects.
Finally, what I will take away from Mr. Kill is that it is everything I like. It fits right into that short list of drama for which I have nothing to complain about, because everything fell right into place, and this was terribly satisfying to watch. Every week, I was impatiently looking forward to the next episode, with an apprehension that the story would miss something at some point, and it never did. Even the smallest question I could have got an answer along the way, and with such care I must say. I will keep a good memory of this series for sure, and I will actively wait for GMMTV to produce another powerful and qualitative show, as Mr. kill was. Until then, we’ll meet again next month for a new review!
Estelle’s Review:
There are probably very few genres where my expectations are as high as thriller and crime. Raised with shows like NCIS, Criminal Minds, or Mentalist, which’s case could occupy me for several hours a week, without ever growing tired of it. Since then, this passion for this type of story, may it be series, manga or novel, never really faded away. Give me a good murder, a few suspects and enough hints to start making up theories, and you’ve got all of my attention.
It is also for this very specific reason that I started watching Mr. Kill with a lot of reserve.
A few months ago, GMMTV already gave a try to this genre with Dare You To Death. And I was particularly frustrated with the way the case was handled in the show, whether it is in the writing of the story, or of its character and the decisions they make throughout the series.
So when Mr, Kill started, I almost expected a similar pattern to repeat itself, yet, I’ve never been so happy to be wrong, because Mr. Kill did many things right, starting with its case.
Throughout the show, I doubted one character, then the other, before a new element came to shake all of my theories. The series gives us hints and misleads without giving the sensation that each element is here only to delay the final reveal. It especially plays with us without trying to trick us. Some hints make sense after a few episodes, and the directing plays a part in the development of the case. Lighting, framing, or camera angles all contribute to build how we see each character, and sometimes even give us answers we're unable to comprehend before reaching a certain point in the story.
This care for details also appears in the visual identity of the series. The drawings of Nekros are beautiful and really bring to life that story within the show, while the sound design supports the enticing and thrilling atmosphere, yet it doesn;t always try to let us know that something is coming. The action scenes are also especially well-executed: the choreographies are understandable, dynamic, and captured well enough to really enjoy the final product.
But such a carefully built case still would not work without the support of a good cast.
I already knew Dew Jirawat from F4 Thailand, then Burnout Syndromes, where his acting struck me even more. Yet, Kaye allowed me to discover another side of him. From the first episode, Dew manages to make his character almost impossible to decipher. A look, an expression or even just a reaction is enough to make us wonder whether he is the one we think he is, and I honestly doubted his innocence more than once along the show.
Face à lui, Tee Teeradech a probablement été ma plus grande découverte, car c'est la première fois que je le voyais dans un rôle principal. J’ai adoré Phat parce qu’il fait partie de ces inspecteurs que j’aime retrouver dans un thriller, quelqu’un qui observe, réfléchit et sait remettre ses hypothèses en question. Mais la série lui permet également d’être beaucoup plus maladroit lorsqu’il quitte son rôle d’enquêteur, notamment avec sa sœur, ce qui le rend immédiatement beaucoup plus humain.
The dynamic between Kaye and Phat works especially thanks to the chemistry between Dew and Tee. Their relationship relies as much on dialogues as it does on shared looks, hesitations, and the trust they slowly build. It is a bromance, but I can totally get why a majority of the audience wanted to see their bond go further than this.
The rest of the cast was just as strong. Meeting Neo again is always a pleasure as he always switches the type of roles he plays, while Off Jumpol gave me the performance I was hoping to see from his character, which I had a sweet time hating on.
But the other true surprise for me remains Singha Luangsuntorn in the role of Preaw. Her way of changing her facial expressions, the rhythm of her dialogue and her aura really impressed me. And discovering her young age after watching the show only strengthened this first impression. I truly hope Mr. Kill is just the starting point of a long career for her.
Finally, what sums up best my experience watching Mr. Kill is the impatience I felt every week. I did not only want to go back to the actors or wanted to see the scene teased on social media. I wanted to know, to understand how the new clues would change my theories, unveil which one of my suspicions would be false, and see just how far the series would make me doubt things. As someone who watches many thriller and crime shows, it is probably one of the best compliments I can give a production.
Yet, a frustration remains behind all this enthusiasm, but it is less in regard to Mr. Kill than it is to GMMTv. Because after seeing such a well developed story, I cannot not think about Dare You To Death and wonder why the two productions proposed by the same company, released just a few months apart at that, and both belonging to the same fiction genre, ended up being so drastically different in their quality.
Mr. Kill proved that GMMTV is capable of producing a good thriller with a credible case, a detailed direction, true action scenes, a strong visual identity, and an amazing cast. And of course, that made me wonder why this ambition to produce such high quality works often seems harder to find once the BL romance becomes a major point in the story.
Especially in this case as Mr. Kill could have easily been an excellent BL series, had they decided to push the bond between Phat and Kaye a bit further. Their chemistry and their evolution could have allowed it, but it’s not what the story was meant to be about, and it didn’t need to be so. Because before anything else, Mr. Kill is simply a really good crime series. A series that respects its audience enough to allow them to reflect on its direction as a real storytelling tool and relies on an undeniably strong cast.
And if this series ends up without its cast, directing, original soundtracks or artistic work winning any award show, I would sincerely have a hard time understanding why. Because Mr. Kill is not only one of the best surprises from GMMTV this year, but it most and foremost showed me just how far the agency is ready to go to give a production what it needs in order to be successful. And now that we know what they’re capable of, I will certainly have even higher expectations for their future productions.