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labcat
This review may contain spoilers
Excellent story, beautifully unraveled
How do I even begin to praise this series after all the praises that have been heaped on it?
Perhaps I should start by mentioning how unassuming it is. It doesn't try too hard to impress. Instead, it tells a very solid and well-constructed story without convoluted plot twists. It also doesn't organize the story according to cases, as many "forensics" series do. This means that we have 36 episodes of an increasingly complex mystery and as truths are revealed, more needs to be discovered. This culminates in a interesting climax. I particularly love how the series does not pretend that it has impressive plot twists or is revealing things that are totally unexpected. It strength is that even when there are events we see coming, we remain engaged because we want to find out more about these events (such as the real identity of the ultimate villain of the series).
The series is also likely to appeal to viewers because of the very likable characters. The romance and friendship between the characters are given just enough attention to make us care about them but the moments showing their relationships do not stray from the plot. I particularly like the friendship between Xiao Jinyu and Jing Yi as well as the relationship between the brothers, Xiao Jinyu and Xiao Jinli. (I bet many are fantasizing an alternative universe in which Xiao Jinyu and Jing Yi are a BL couple, and there are a couple of moments to tease us about it.) Occasionally, I find the coroner's lines a little repetitive: she's always mentioning how she finds certain things very strange, for instance. But this is not a major issue. After all, her expertise is in examining the bodies and she complements Xiao Jinli's brains by providing critical information with her expertise. This makes the series rather unique. Rather than focus on how a single detective figure manages to solve all the cases, the teamwork here is made very believable.
It's rare these days that we get an interesting story told without resorting to plot twists that stretch the limits of credibility. The Imperial Coroner manages to do this. It doesn't aspire to be too many things but it punches way above its weight in whatever it is doing.
Perhaps I should start by mentioning how unassuming it is. It doesn't try too hard to impress. Instead, it tells a very solid and well-constructed story without convoluted plot twists. It also doesn't organize the story according to cases, as many "forensics" series do. This means that we have 36 episodes of an increasingly complex mystery and as truths are revealed, more needs to be discovered. This culminates in a interesting climax. I particularly love how the series does not pretend that it has impressive plot twists or is revealing things that are totally unexpected. It strength is that even when there are events we see coming, we remain engaged because we want to find out more about these events (such as the real identity of the ultimate villain of the series).
The series is also likely to appeal to viewers because of the very likable characters. The romance and friendship between the characters are given just enough attention to make us care about them but the moments showing their relationships do not stray from the plot. I particularly like the friendship between Xiao Jinyu and Jing Yi as well as the relationship between the brothers, Xiao Jinyu and Xiao Jinli. (I bet many are fantasizing an alternative universe in which Xiao Jinyu and Jing Yi are a BL couple, and there are a couple of moments to tease us about it.) Occasionally, I find the coroner's lines a little repetitive: she's always mentioning how she finds certain things very strange, for instance. But this is not a major issue. After all, her expertise is in examining the bodies and she complements Xiao Jinli's brains by providing critical information with her expertise. This makes the series rather unique. Rather than focus on how a single detective figure manages to solve all the cases, the teamwork here is made very believable.
It's rare these days that we get an interesting story told without resorting to plot twists that stretch the limits of credibility. The Imperial Coroner manages to do this. It doesn't aspire to be too many things but it punches way above its weight in whatever it is doing.
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