FlowerWishes

I'm glad to not be the only one who hated Chiaki's reactions and the description of him trembling like someone is forcing him to act is so accurate! Thanks for reading my review!

Sometimes I just like to double check facts and the Counter-Strike thing seemed off so I looked that up and then looked up Caesium as well because I couldn't remember how to spell it and saw its atomic number. My brain was barely functioning due to lack of sleep so I wasn't questioning which element it was at the time but stumbled upon it anyway lol.

I hope you'll remember this comment in the exam instead of the series now! Remember that you saw it in the series and then saw someone correct it an MDL comment!

GOOD LUCK!

I'm about to throw some facts at you:

Here's a snippet of dialogue from this scene where they're studying the periodic table:

"Where's 97?"
"CS"
"Counter-Strike"
"No, it's Caesium"

Two things:

1. Element 97 is Berkelium (Bk) and NOT Caesium (Cs). Caesium is element 55.

2. Counter-Strike was released on 9 November, 2000. We are shown that this is taking place around the beginning of October 2000 so the game wasn't even out yet.

Does this matter to humanity? No.
Does this affect the show? No.
Am I gonna share it and laugh about it regardless? YES!

I completely agree! He was really gross. He stated his intention to basically corrupt Chiaki, wtf! I felt so uncomfortable watching this drama.

I haven't watched the show but I'm curious as all hell as to why it's called "Absolute Value of Romance." Is it just because the one guy is a maths teacher and they thought it sounded cool. Does the absolute value function play into the story at all? Is it implying that all romance yields positive outcomes? I need to know! I looked it up but couldn't find anything indicating why the name was chosen. Someone please enlighten me!

I didn't even know that because I watched 2 or 3 episodes before having enough. I don't think that changes my opinion but I appreciate you letting me know and I appreciate your opinion and how civil you have been. I was honestly scared I was gonna get a lot of backlash and people were gonna yell at me for my opinion so I really really appreciate such a civil conversation. Thank you!

I fully agree with you about the time period, that's why I understand why the characters say the things they do. My problem is that the director told the actor to act in a childish and "dumb" manner which in itself is making a mockery of people who have experienced STBIs. Time period doesn't matter in that regard because someone with a STBI acts the same in 2026 as they did in the 1970s, that hasn't changed with time. They made him act in a way to justify those remarks. If he was not acting in this cartoonish way and they said those things I wouldn't have a problem because I know it's normal for that time period. I think I mentioned the time period in my post. I have a problem with the portrayal of the character and how it was played up for humor. In regard to the facilities, lets not forget that they made this show in 2026 and many people who watch this probably don't know about the facilities situation but instead of telling the audience about what the situation is and why these decisions are being made, they villianize the sister and act like she's heartless. They frame the narrative in a way that would be unacceptable in today's world without giving context and explanations as to what it was like back then. It's not framed as a lack of necessary facilities, it's framed as him needing someone who cares and rehabilitation centers are terrible and means you don't care about your loved one and don't wish to deal with them. There is a massive difference between what is happening on screen and how the narrative is framing it. The acting direction is unacceptable regardless of anything so there's nothing to explain that away for me, sorry.

I have a massive problem with this drama and its representation of amnesia. First of all, let’s get this straight, this man does not have amnesia. People who suffer from retrograde amnesia, the diagnosis given to Fang Mu Yang, tend to retain their procedural memory which is the ability to perform basic living activities.

What they have shown here crosses over into severe cognitive impairment which is not a thing to make fun of. The characters call him dumb and stupid as if it’s funny. I can accept if that’s how it was viewed back then but the director made the choice to have the actor portray the character in a way not aligned to the diagnosis and a way that was made to be a joke most of the time. They’re treating this completely incorrectly and portraying this severe traumatic brain injury as a jokey thing that Fei Ni is frustrated about because he refuses to learn things as if this isn’t something that is a very very long term recovery journey. They made her put on a performance from the storm to have a comedic moment.

He seemingly needs to remember basic living skills yet is completely fine and cognizant and capable of many basic things so which is it?

They want him to be fine enough to be “appealing” as a love interest and able to interact with her in a way that the viewers can find attractive while at the same time giving him this condition that our FML must struggle to fix with a comedic montage. Are you kidding me?

He needed to go to that rehabilitation center, that is if he were showing the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. It’s such a tangle because they say he has amnesia but describe the symptoms as those of a STBI, they claim he has those symptoms but don’t portray what that actually looks like and just make him act and say things in a way they can make a joke out of because they view people with cognitive impairments as a big joke. This is disgusting, truly and honestly.

I don’t know how no one has talked about this before but I stopped watching after a couple episodes. If he had the symptoms they claimed he had (not the amnesia, the STBI symptoms) even though he wasn’t displaying those symptoms, he should have been in a rehabilitation center where he could receive round-the-clock care and have trained individuals helping him relearn those skills. His sister isn’t heartless for wanting to send him there, that’s where he would need to go. It is wildly irresponsible for this textile worker with no relevant training to be allowed to do this without any professional plan in place. It’s just revolting and the problems are like giant webs in how they weave together.

I can’t keep talking now because I’m getting so mad.

TLDR: A disgusting and offensive representation of those with cognitive impairments as well as a misunderstanding of what amnesia is and lack of understanding of the serious topic they are discussing.

Just have to point out that Akira is supposed to be highly intelligent and good at school and yet when tutoring Kanata, he walks through the solution to a problem in which he claims that (1/4)^3=-64 (a quarter cubed is negative 64). The question was x^3=-64. The answer is -4, Akira. What in the hell is going on!

Exactly! I blink and we're somewhere else with some other people and someone is getting killed and I don't know who they are nor who the person who just killed them in the open is. It's a mess!

I have never seen a show this bad take itself so seriously as a high class work of art. This shit thinks it’s so good and it’s even worse for that. The “writers?” Fire them. The makeup artists, both normal and special effects? Fire them. The hair team? Fire them. The director? They should not be spared either.

I don’t even know how ridiculously high the number of characters we’ve been introduced to is but I can only remember the names Chang Ning (they say it a lot), Cai someone (The aunt, her name is also said a lot), Zhao (forgot her surname all together even though I know her aunt’s surname. I worked out that it was her aunt on her father’s side but it’s just gotten lost), Lingbo (they say her name a lot), and that’s about it. I recognize some other faces but can’t place most of them. The lore? Cai someone killed a demon sect leader and suffered for 13 years then died. This Cai someone is our FMC’s aunt. There are six sects, not sure what the structure is of this governmental type thing. I don’t know the positions of 99% of the characters. I can’t tell you anything about this story after having watched FIVE EPISODES OF IT! So much has happened and yet nothing has mattered because they’re all individual scenes with no interconnecting scenes so I have no context to fit them into. Every time there’s a scene change I’m just like “What is happening? Why is this happening? Who are these people? Why are we here? How did we get here? WHAT IS GOING ON?”

I want to write such a long rant about how bad this show is but I don’t know if I have the patience for that. The abysmal quality is completely separate to the merits of the story because I DON’T EVEN KNOW THE STORY! That’s how bad this show is. I have watched five episodes and know nothing. Things just happen. They suddenly have a gravestone all set up and engraved without even having to change clothes just because. It just happened.

Damn, they set up that tombstone hella fast. It's engraved and everything and they didn't even need to change clothes. Wow!

Thanks so much for the facts! I appreciate you sharing your theories! I was wondering which of the numerous theories the writers decided to go for in terms of their naming choices. That's all. But thanks for your info!

Thank you! I was wondering what the justification was in the show. There were a couple theories I could come up with but I wanted to know what their reason was. Like I said, I don’t plan on watching it so thank you for solving the mystery for me!

Why is it called Pluto Charon?

I don't plan on watching this so I need your help because this is bothering me. Why is it named after Pluto and the biggest of its 5 moons, Charon.

I gathered from the calendar thing that Yang You is Charon and Chen Shi is Pluto so are they trying to say that Yang You, just like Charon, stays closed to Chen Shi. But like, what? Why Pluto and Charon. I mean maybe they were stuck with Pluto because they couldn't use Earth and the only other planet aside from Pluto that has a small number of moons is Mars but its moons, Phobos and Deimos, mean 'fear' and 'dread' respectively so I guess they didn't want either of those. But then again, Charon is named after the mythological ferryman that transports souls on the river styx in hell in Dante's Inferno, so I don't know. Either way, it sucks to be Pluto's other moons I guess. Oh, and what do Pluto and Charon have to do with a total lunar eclipse?

I'm so confused!

I also went on a bit of a tangent there. Enjoy the space facts!

He was not five years old, if he was then they cast a 10 year old to play a five year old. Also, Sek said in 2010 that he had a decade left meaning he would be 10 then if he were to die at 20ish.

Sek said in 2010 that he only had a decade left which would mean he was 10 at the time. To support that, he looks 10 but that's besides the point.

Can someone please explain to me how Khem was 10 in 2010 but turning 21 in 2025? How did no one on the writing team notice that FOUR YEARS WENT MISSING!

Tou just comes across as incredibly manipulative as well. Why is he allowed to be mad at Jun Xi because he doesn't have feelings for him. He is not required to like you just because you like him. Jun Xi did absolutely nothing wrong but now he has to go and chase after Tou and feel shitty about himself because Tou does not understand that Jun Xi is a human being and has his own feelings and wishes which are not to be decided by Tou and what he wants. UGH