I've never been so confused...
What a weird experience this was.
First 10 episodes I'm sat here thinking: "Wow, this is amazing," only for it to turn into a massive trainwreck.
There's a lot a of great things to be said about the first ten episodes!
While I was expecting something a bit darker for some reason, instead of real hate to start off, it's childish and hilarious bickering. The two main leads have great chemistry and great acting. The story is interesting enough; I was even thinking that despite being a step-brother story, a trope that I hate, it wasn't bothering me at all because of how it's set up. It was easier to watch in part because it's not a tight-knit family, they don't get along so there's less stakes if they do want to be together. The soundtrack is great, it's non-invasive and not overused and when there is music, it's a really pleasant guitar or piano tune that I genuinely love.
And after episode 10... well... I actually have no words.
Gu Hai gets a personality transplant that even great chemistry can't fix. Up until this point, he was very overly affectionate but it was still somewhat palatable and funny, keeping in mind that for a BL made in 2016 I knew to be prepared to not let myself be bothered by the more problematic aspects. I can't even say that Luo Yin "looks" like he wants to run away because he absolutely does! He's so uncomfortable, even more than before, and it's just not possible to enjoy at that point. And honestly the story just stops making sense. The step-brother aspect never becomes relevant; we don't even get to really see anyone react.
I actually didn't know that it was censored until it actually is very obvious scenes were cut and after watching those scenes, oh boy, it's even worse than I could have possibly imagined.
That being said, the whole story behind the series, what happened to the sequel, and the actors being separated and struggling to find work after the ban is heartbreaking.
First 10 episodes I'm sat here thinking: "Wow, this is amazing," only for it to turn into a massive trainwreck.
There's a lot a of great things to be said about the first ten episodes!
While I was expecting something a bit darker for some reason, instead of real hate to start off, it's childish and hilarious bickering. The two main leads have great chemistry and great acting. The story is interesting enough; I was even thinking that despite being a step-brother story, a trope that I hate, it wasn't bothering me at all because of how it's set up. It was easier to watch in part because it's not a tight-knit family, they don't get along so there's less stakes if they do want to be together. The soundtrack is great, it's non-invasive and not overused and when there is music, it's a really pleasant guitar or piano tune that I genuinely love.
And after episode 10... well... I actually have no words.
Gu Hai gets a personality transplant that even great chemistry can't fix. Up until this point, he was very overly affectionate but it was still somewhat palatable and funny, keeping in mind that for a BL made in 2016 I knew to be prepared to not let myself be bothered by the more problematic aspects. I can't even say that Luo Yin "looks" like he wants to run away because he absolutely does! He's so uncomfortable, even more than before, and it's just not possible to enjoy at that point. And honestly the story just stops making sense. The step-brother aspect never becomes relevant; we don't even get to really see anyone react.
I actually didn't know that it was censored until it actually is very obvious scenes were cut and after watching those scenes, oh boy, it's even worse than I could have possibly imagined.
That being said, the whole story behind the series, what happened to the sequel, and the actors being separated and struggling to find work after the ban is heartbreaking.
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