Gaycation is a mix of a travel show and a deep-dive documentary that feels incredibly personal. It follows Elliot Page and best friend Ian Daniel as they head out to explore what life is actually like for LGBTQ+ people in different corners of the globe. Instead of just hitting the tourist spots, they really get into the nitty-gritty of the local cultures in Japan, Brazil, and Jamaica. The first season is made up of four main episodes, each about 45 minutes long, and it wraps up with a heavy special episode about the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. In Japan, the pair hangs out in Tokyo , looking at the weird mix of high-tech living and old-school traditions. They check out a place where you can actually rent a friend, party in the tiny bars of Ni-chōme, and even see a "friendship marriage" at a temple. The most intense part is when a young guy uses their cameras to finally tell his mom he's gay, which shows how much pressure there is to just "fit in"...
The story starts with Kien, who is looking for his own place and stumbles upon an amazing deal—a huge house with super low rent. It turns out the place is so cheap because it’s haunted by a ghost who committed suicide there seven years ago. At first, the ghost tries to freak Kien out, but Kien isn't having any of it. After the ghost pulls a few pranks to mess with him, they eventually set some ground rules: if Kien wants the haunting to stop, he has to show some respect and leave out some food offerings. As they start talking, Kien finds out the ghost has no memory of who he was and is just looking for a way to move on to the afterlife. To do that, he needs to get forgiveness from the people he hurt the most by dying. Kien takes it upon himself to uncover the ghost's past and help him find peace. Along the way, Kien starts falling for the ghost, and the feeling is mutual, even though a human and a spirit can’t exactly be together. Kien eventually digs up the truth—as a teenager, the ghost was caught with another boy by his parents, and their cruel reaction led him to end his life. Kien manages to get the parents to apologize, which finally lets the ghost move on with the hope that he and Kien will find each other again someday.
The show also features a fun side plot with two soul reapers, Unparalleled Black and White, who are trying to take the ghost to the underworld but are blocked by a special talisman. These two and their lady boss bring a lot of the comedy to the series. The fantasy parts are delightfully strange, especially the unique way Kien carries the ghost and the talisman around inside an umbrella. Everyone's backstory is important here, too—we learn that Kien was abandoned by his mom as a kid, only for her to pop back up later for her own reasons. In a crazy twist, it turns out Kien’s adoptive mother is actually the birth mother of the ghost! Kien’s friends add some lighthearted humor as well, and I have to admit, one of his friends was so good-looking that I kind of wished he was the main star. Since the show focuses so much on the supernatural stuff, the romance feels a little thin. I really wanted to see more sweet moments, like them flirting or actually falling in love. While the ending isn't exactly "happy" in the usual way, it isn't sad either; it’s more about everyone getting a chance to apologize and find forgiveness.
While it might not be a masterpiece—mostly because there are just so many ghost-themed romances lately—it still has some really touching moments that stay with you. (6/10)
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