Love in the Apocalypse (2024)

short but packs an emotional punch (watch suggestions)

Overall: from the title alone we know this isn't going to be a typical romcom. I would have rated it higher if they had taken out the needless drama and just centered it on the two characters. 40 episodes about 2 minutes each on the Vigloo app. Episodes 1-3 are here https://www.vigloo.com/video/15000018?season=15000018&episode=1 ; 1-5 are free in the app but on August 5th 2024 Vigloo made all 40 episodes free to watch for 24 hours which is when I watched it (did not need to make an account, just downloaded the app and watched it, there weren't any ads).

Watch Suggestions (if you want to remove most violence/in my opinion needless drama)
- stop watching at episode 11 1m55s
- skip episodes 12-13
- watch 14-15 if you'd like to see one protagonist fight otherwise skip
- skip episodes 26-28
- episodes 29-30 are flashbacks
- skip episode 31-32
- end episode 34 at 1m30s
- skip episode 35
- skip episode 39
- watch episode 40 at 44s to the end

Content Warnings (if you watch all episodes): attempted murder, kidnapping/held against will, violence, past trauma

What I Liked
- the mom was awesome
- their relationship development/sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- needless drama, they should have just focused it on the 2 protagonists as there was enough drama with the set up
- it pulled me out of the realism that there were almost never any other people around
- open ending

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Might be a contender for best BL to have come this year

Going into it, I had no idea just how invested I would become into the story.

For the most part, there is a happiness to the scenes with the characters getting along despite the whole world going to end part. But that's the thing, there's always this sort of bitterness because of the fact, and the characters also show this.

The dynamics between the characters are great too. Who knew that a healthy relationship is great television! I love how they communicate with each other, it feels so satisfying to have characters that actually listen to one another.

The acting is top notch. I'm glad they didn't just use some rookies whose first gig would be this, because there's a lot of emotions to display that will be difficult to portray. Both main characters show a great understanding of their roles, and their emotions.

The cinematography is interesting, it follows this "reels" format which I've seen first trending on douyin some years back and it seems to have caught on since for higher value productions. Sometimes the shots switching can feel jarring, but most of the time it felt natural.

The budget is surprisingly high, and I never once felt like it was lacking or that something felt out of place.

Overall: 9/10.

Go watch it, and experience the emotional rollercoaster I did.

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