1
1
labcat
This review may contain spoilers
Good, but censorship results in unfulfilled potential
This series deserves more attention. The story is pretty interesting although it is flawed, e.g. some plot devices are repeated a little too frequently, like the way characters are killed and brought back to life with someone's blood. Certain things like the powerful weapons and the magical blood are not adequately explained, but they don't really mar the story in general.
What makes the story weaker is the censorship of the BL elements. I don't mean that the story would magically be better with BL included. However, the censorship has unintended effects:
- The earlier episodes with moments of innuendo between the two male leads work quite well, but in the later episodes when the relationship is probably supposed to have developed much further don't work so well. The things the characters would do for each other need to be explained by romance or even bromance, which is hardly developed on.
- In censoring the BL. the series commits the mistake of replacing BL with straight romance by making the two characters interested in the same women--unconvincingly too, for they suddenly take an interest in her out of the blue. Tip for anyone making a censored BL: you can imply the BL or remove it, you can turn it into bromance (just no literally between brothers, please), you can even have the characters profess their interest in women, but never ever make them genuinely in love with one (or worse, more) women.
- The clash between the BL that is being hinted at and the two male leads' interest in the same woman can be glaring. E.g. In one scene, Long Yao rushes towards Shi Jing Yao to explain things to him when Shi sees him behaving intimately with a woman. Then VERY soon after, they are showing interest in the same woman. Is that the epitome of denial on Long Yao's part or is that a symptom of multiple personality disorder?
In general, the story related to the disappearance and seeking of a superweapon is good. There are some twists that are truly interesting. There is quite a bit of humor, but things do get serious and exciting as well. The only significant problem is that in some episodes (I think about Episodes 9 to 10 in particular), the editing/going back and forth in time is not always necessary and could have been minimized.
There is a clear hint of a possible Season 2 after the closing credits of the final episode, and I'm hoping to see one. The characters are likable enough and there seems to be potential more. If the production team avoids making the same mistakes that make Season 1 flawed, and circumvent censorship with cleverly suggested BL, it may just be great.
What makes the story weaker is the censorship of the BL elements. I don't mean that the story would magically be better with BL included. However, the censorship has unintended effects:
- The earlier episodes with moments of innuendo between the two male leads work quite well, but in the later episodes when the relationship is probably supposed to have developed much further don't work so well. The things the characters would do for each other need to be explained by romance or even bromance, which is hardly developed on.
- In censoring the BL. the series commits the mistake of replacing BL with straight romance by making the two characters interested in the same women--unconvincingly too, for they suddenly take an interest in her out of the blue. Tip for anyone making a censored BL: you can imply the BL or remove it, you can turn it into bromance (just no literally between brothers, please), you can even have the characters profess their interest in women, but never ever make them genuinely in love with one (or worse, more) women.
- The clash between the BL that is being hinted at and the two male leads' interest in the same woman can be glaring. E.g. In one scene, Long Yao rushes towards Shi Jing Yao to explain things to him when Shi sees him behaving intimately with a woman. Then VERY soon after, they are showing interest in the same woman. Is that the epitome of denial on Long Yao's part or is that a symptom of multiple personality disorder?
In general, the story related to the disappearance and seeking of a superweapon is good. There are some twists that are truly interesting. There is quite a bit of humor, but things do get serious and exciting as well. The only significant problem is that in some episodes (I think about Episodes 9 to 10 in particular), the editing/going back and forth in time is not always necessary and could have been minimized.
There is a clear hint of a possible Season 2 after the closing credits of the final episode, and I'm hoping to see one. The characters are likable enough and there seems to be potential more. If the production team avoids making the same mistakes that make Season 1 flawed, and circumvent censorship with cleverly suggested BL, it may just be great.
Was this review helpful to you?
