The Red Thread, Vol. 1
Trigger Warning: Depictions of violent suicide.
The Red Thread of Fate is an East Asian myth that says two soul mates who are meant to be together are tied to each other by an invisible red thread. This thread can stretch through boundaries of time, space and lifetimes.
In The Red Thread, Vol.1, a sweet but skittish college freshman named Pharm finds himself irresistibly drawn to the tall, handsome captain of the swim club, Dean. Dean feels a similar pull. Both young men are plagued by dreams of a romantic couple that they do not know and bear emotional scars from some unknown trauma.
This love-at-first sight story is pretty trite, but the romance narrative is sandwiched between flashbacks and the dreams of both boys. Of course the question of whether these two will remember each other from a past life is a moot point. The translation feels a bit stilted. It is packaged and sold as a Japanese manga (and in fact, was published in Japan). But other than a few throw away lines, the setting is not fully explained. The names are Thai, and Pharm is a member of the Thai Dessert Club at college.
There is next to no exposition, which makes it a little tough to figure out who is who based on the dream sequences and flashbacks. Other characters are set up as possible romantic rivals, but it is established pretty early on that this is a queer romance story. The dialog is flat and even the romantic scenes have little spark to them. The chapters feel barely strung together, leaving the reader lost between one scene to the next.
Since it is very obvious from the opening scenes that the two main characters are going to get together, there is little to do but wade through each interaction and decide when they will figure out their past lives and love and sort out their current feelings. Although the explanation of their past life trauma is not fully explained in the first volume, their current lives seem to offer very little in the way of obstacles for their future.
The art is adequate but not outstanding. The characters all have distinguishing characteristics and they are all attractive with typical indicators of a Japanese style Boys Love romance.
The manga is set in Thailand, where the series was also adapted into a live-action television show, and where same-sex marriage has only recently been legalized.
The Red Thread is appropriate for older teens, but there are certainly better LGBTQ+ romance manga out there for this age.
The Red Thread Vol. 1Â
By Lazy Sheep
Art by Hibiko Haruyama
Yen Press, 2023
ISBN: 9781975364090
Publisher Age Rating:Â 16+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18)
Creator Representation:Â Thai
Character Representation:Â Thai, Gay
