Reset

Same old thing in terms of timing and motive but divergent encounters and experiences every cycle

Warning: Minimal spoilers ahead but still safe to read before watching the drama.

I'm late to the party but man this was a ride! If you haven't seen this drama yet, do it now! This is one of the rare dramas out there that will treat you to a balance slice of its genre coverages. I accidentally clicked an account here in dramalist with over a 100 reviews done. I stumbled upon their "Reset" review. I was intrigued so I checked it out and binge watched for a day straight. Now, I officially caught a vibe. A little paranoid post-binge watching. The ringtone isn't exactly horror but hearing it haunts me and gives me so much goosebumps. The plot is so interesting. No boring parts. Every character mattered. It gets better as episode goes by. Bunch of takeaways for you to bring as you venture life in the long run. OST sounds good enough. Required emotions were nailed by the actors. I'd say "MASTERPIECE". Once you're in, you're legit in. They'll make you starve for more details about their findings and other possibilities. Eventually, you'll find yourself invested in the show.

All cast members are new to me. I personally don't get enticed by C-dramas as they're usually full of cliché. But this one is different. The characters and the story itself got me hooked. I love how the female lead and, eventually the male lead, felt a sense of responsibility to stop the loop. Most likely because their personal lives are also affected. The way they solved the mystery - and the investigation they did will truly entice the viewers to participate and create their own theories. There'll be times wherein letting out a scream or sigh is required. You might also feel hopeless at times, but hey don't worry, you can just anticipate the next cycle if there's more! LOL. Jokes aside, the slow paced romance was sprinkled around just the right amount. It wasn't draggy and cheesy. The way the police officers do their job. The brilliant interrogation that will exhaust the hell of weirdos who try to explain some sci-fi to dead serious cops. After watching this, I'm eager to check more C-dramas. As well as follow the careers of the main leads and some supporting acts. We'll see if they can successfully lock me into their world.

Anyways, don't waste no time reading for more reviews. It's just 40 minutes long per episode with an additional 10 minutes for the finale but nobody's complaining. This is worth your time. A very unique story that comes with a great effort in production. Realistic blood color though a little extra explosion effect. But for real, go now, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the ride!

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Wow, mixed feelings (basic spoilers)

I just bought a projector and would be watching cdrama with my mom for the first time on YouTube. It was really fun. I was trying to find an interesting, highly rated drama to show her.

A low 8. I considered rating it a 7.75… but it is better than that

Story:
-good character development (reminded me of 2023 Fake It Till You Make It)
-themes of empathy, especially online (wish that was further shone)
-extremely suspenseful and easy-to-binge (3-4 ep per night with my mom wow)
-first 5 episodes are bit weird and confusing but we slowly understand
-story itself is really simple, it’s the characters that made it interesting
-yes it can get a bit repetitive, but we slow down to plan and stuff so it’s not like it’s 100% set on the bus
-love how all the people in the drama acted like normal people. They had normal human reactions to things happening. It made the drama seem more real and intimate
-our main leads are not that naturally smart at all. But all of the time loops force them to find out things
-I like how the drama moved on, it got better and didn’t have a saggy middle or end
-the end was mainly pretty well done

-very efficiently written. As someone who wants more meat, I would have liked a bit more. Stretch this to 18 ep to better explain some parts
-some loose ends (Ml’s video game and suspicious police officer with the weird ringtone and biases)
-also why time loop? Did just random time loops just happen?
-romance was lackluster. Slight romance is great but them suddenly proposing girlfriend-boyfriend when it came was really sudden. Actors acted it well, but wish we had more of a buildup.
-some supporting character got better backstories than the main leads. Like, by the end, we still don’t understand their back stories. Like, who really is Li Shi Qing (family, friends, past trauma blah) ? Even the male lead has barely any background

Acting
-great acting by supporting characters, especially main leads
-saw Zhao Jin Mai in A Snowstorm of Love. This is a very different role, showing her versatility as an actress
-first time with Bai Jing Ting. Very good actor
-both did very very well, highlight of drama
-didn’t like Bai Jing Ting’s lip color (his hair in more recent productions are better)
-injuries in this drama were produced with such high quality, it looked so real that I had to cover my eyes at literal paint. Sometimes embers would be on the clothing even
-cinematography was really good

Music
-background sounds were pretty good
-they underused their songs
-some songs the used way more than others
-literally only 3 songs that were ok
-ring tone for the thing was cool

Rewatch:
-now that I know all the plot twists, I’d want to see any details I missed
-because of the plot twists, there’s only so many times you can watch

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A Justice Requires A Big Struggle To Achieve

A science fiction, mystery, suspense, drama. Centered on a girl whom a college student stuck in a metro bus that suddenly expload. She got shock because she's waking up again—after those expload at the same seat of the metro bus. She's figure it out that she is at the time loop event. But, she keeps wondering about how she get out of that metro bus and that damn time-loop-situation.

Not only the story of time-looping for uncountable times, but also the tale of revenge for the beloved one. The justice that sometimes feels gray and doesn't come to the right person. The justice that somehow need requires a big struggle to achieve.

If you expecting this to be science accurate like any other sci-fi time loop theme, then this ain't for you. Not focusing on science matter, instead focusing on mystery itself. The whodunnit, wheredunnit, whendunnit, and howdunnit in the same event. The big questions that keeps coming up as far as the show runs. The layering conflict that many amount of it, but they success to explained it well enough. Like a tangled thread that slowly straightens out

Dare I say the performance of both heroine were utterly magnificent. Both Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai have nailed it. I love how Zhao Jinmai serving her best mimic, her amateur expression, her trembling voice, her frustrate were fit perfectly. And Bai Jingting that portraying as someone who's innocence and clueless of what's going on was match precisely. I love the way he could balancing the dynamic emotion with Zhao Jinmai as the female protagonist. Looking at their acting was seizing me through the screen, like I was dragged by them and joining to be one of the metro bus passenger. The amateur touch at its finest.

Not only profound by the actors performance and the screenplay, they also stunned by the visual and sound design. I love the exploading sound effect, felt majestic and rumbled, also the scoring that insanely odd yet enhance the tension. Reminds me that this is dolby atmos worthy, by the way.

The visual design, eventho they barely use many set places, and mostly used two set places. I'm beyond amazed with the way they serving it with the shaky camera movement which felt amateur, the lighting that felt different of each moment eventho they used the same place. Success craft to giving different ambience in just two different set places. Don't forget to mentioning the CGI explode that felt better than any other chinese drama.

Overall, by those positive things that I mention, they still have the minus one. Sadly they had a couple plot holes in it. But, it's not a bad at all. Instead, this is one of the best sci-fi cdrama I've ever watched. If you love time loop and mystery theme, you might like it. The tension was worth to experience!

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Groundhog Day Meets Speed

In a nutshell, Reset is Groundhog Day meets Speed. If you've seen those movies, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a high-stakes suspense action thriller with sci-fi/fantasy elements. It's one of the most highly rated C-dramas to date and for good reason. It has a great cast and very compelling main characters. I must say my favorite is Officer Zhang. I actually like the actor, he's one of their better veteran actors. It has pretty good writing for the most part albeit some parts leave things to be desired. It has a decent enough pacing with edge of your seat type of tension.

But, and this is a big BUT, I personally don't think it deserves its almost perfect rating and accolades. First of all, 15-episodes is way too long for a story that can be told in just 12-13 episodes tops. If they had made the episodes 1-hour long, 10 episodes would suffice. The story is seriously not that complex to have that kind of length. By the 10th reset or so, I was bored. You can only endure so much repetition of the “same” predicament over and over again. They have to figure out how to diffuse the bomb without killing others or themselves and this goes on until the very last episode. It drove me nuts!

Yes, I know it's already short for a C-drama with most series spanning 30-40 episodes. But because of this, there are filler episodes and a lot of fluff that the series could do without. There's one particular episode that shouldn't have existed because it doesn't add much to the story imho. Some might say that it's part of Xiao Heyun's character development. Okay, I'll give them that. He learns firsthand that violence is not the answer. But do they show him creating non-violent video games later on? No, they don't. So what's the purpose of him getting his hands bloody and feeling remorse for having killed someone? He didn't kill her anyway as things always reset if they don't achieve their mission. That woman ended up in prison and still very much alive. So what was the purpose of that episode of him feeling like utter trash and them being chased by the police like criminals on the loose? Nothing. It achieved nothing but prolong the series. Perhaps, some would argue that it was a way for the viewers to get to know him a little by showing a little character background. That could've been achieved in just a few scenes or so, not one whole episode. Besides, we know next to nothing about Li Shiqing's background, and yet it didn't matter because we got to know who she is based on her actions and how she handles the situation. We already know that the experience has changed Xiao Heyun. He went from zero to hero trying to defend Li Shiqing. We know who he is. So really, there's no need for that episode. This is precisely why I don't normally watch modern non-costume C-dramas, they are ridiculously overstretched. I don't have the time nor the patience to sit through 30 episodes of couples fighting over manufactured conflicts and being all lovey-dovey after all has been resolved just so they can reach their quota of episodes.

Also, I might have missed this so if there's anyone who can explain this to me, I'd appreciate it. Based on what I've seen and understood, they never really explained why Xiao Heyun was experiencing a physical break down the more time resets. He just mentioned that it was affecting his health because he had reached his limit and time had stopped moving up with every new reset. So what? Li Shiqing didn't feel any side effects from that. Why was she fine and he wasn't? It doesn't add up. This is my beef with many sci-fi/fantasy C-dramas and novels/manhua, some have logical explanations but some don't. They are not consistent. I would've been more likely to accept things as they were if they had simply employed magical realism and not explained some things logically. It's like you're just supposed to suspend your disbelief when they can't offer a logical explanation for a phenomenon or conflict they've inserted. They could've made them both susceptible to side effects of the reset but written Li Shiqing to be more physically fit than Xiao Heyun so she is able to handle the effects better.

To be honest, I was somewhat disappointed with some of the writing in this. While I do appreciate that they took the time to build up the minor characters as they are needed to help the mains execute their plan, I don't like the fact that they gave very little importance to the other passengers like the old woman and the bungee jumping guy. They were part of the whole and had roles to play in the endgame. But they were treated as fodder. I expected so much more from this drama as it is highly rated, but it could've been a lot better than what it was. I am normally more critical of series that are critically well-received because my expectations are considerably higher than usual.

Overall, it's a good drama, I can't say that it isn't. I would still recommend it to anyone who likes this type of genre. However, I would've enjoyed it more if it had better writing and fewer episodes.

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Amazing plot BUT....

Disclaimer: I do not usually watch chinese dramas and I must have seen about 3 out of over 400dramas I'd completed so I am writing this as a complete ignoramus as far as the c-dramas usual tropes are concerned!

Reset comes highly recommended so I decided to give it a go.
I am a sucker for a good time travel/time slip/time loop story which are notoriously difficult to write without plotholes or illogical events!
No such problem here! They managed to write a believable plot, create complex characters, introduce a strong and smart FL, present beautiful songs (mostly in english! Why is that?).
What we have here is "Groundhog Day" on a bus where two people get stuck inside a time loop and must find out who the culprit is, why is he/she commiting a crime and stop him/her without casualties! It is just a nailbiting rollercoaster ride of a plot!

BUT I wish another country had made this drama which had been completely ruined, IN MY EYES, by chinese official propaganda!
I come from a former socialist country and I can recognize brainwashing when I see it! And I had been brainwashed in my childhood! Here, I could see the same slogans on the walls, the same fidelity to state and party proclaimed all over the place, the same, selfless people fighting for the greater good of the society! And of course: the police, here to protect everyone but you have to tell the truth they want to here, police commissioners thoughtfully looking at slogans on the wall for inspiration, all present surveillance making sure everyone understands that they can run but they cannot hide anywhere! Unbearable!
There are CCTV in Korea and the police dramas use them a lot but not to this extent!

Anyway this is a great drama if you can look past propaganda! I could not and therefore my note is rather low!

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Masterful storytelling that doesn't fool around and delivers the punch straight to your face.

I don't usually write reviews until I've finished the entire thing, but with this one I'm only 4 eps in but I'm thoroughly impressed and couldn't stop myself from saying something.

Incredibly realistic and relatable. Characters behave exactly how a real person would, if they encounter a situation like this, and the show doesn't shy away from showing us each an every thought process they go through which is very organic instead of having leads who are either super smart or super stupid.
However, this is exactly what makes the show difficult to watch, at least for me. Not because it's particularly gory or thriller-y but because IT'S TOO REAL! It made me feel second hand stress and panic because the characters were doing exactly what I would do and.... holy moly the impact it causes.
Therefore I would say you'll need some guts to watch this, unless you aren't particularly sensitive to that sort of thing. Me? I had to pause like every 15 mins because I was anxious watching the characters' desperation. Also the police being strict and serious with their job... and there can be very few nightmarish things to a civilian than finding yourself on the wrong side of the Police, and them not believing a word you are saying. It's no joke.
Shudders.

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Good cast, good script, fast pacing - what's not to love?

BEST CDRAMA I've seen so far! My top 1 of my top 3 list. Run, don't walk to see this. If you only see one cdrama ever in your life, this is the one. First off, the pacing is faster than the normal cdrama, which makes it almost on par with western movies. and the leads: Zhao Jinmai and Bai Jingting are absolutely convincing in their earnest attempts to save all the passengers. (I predict both will have long careers ahead of them and are the future of Chinese cinema.)

The suspense feels real as does the frustration of the leads in having to repeat the cycle again and again. (Some loops are unintentionally laugh out loud funny as they try different approaches to save passengers on the bus only to get thwarted), They could have reduced the number of time loop cycles but you start to root for them and then feel as frustrated as they must feel as they repeatedly fail to stop the bomb on the bus from going off, which is both riveting and heartbreaking.

You also learn the side stories of the passengers on the fated bus, even that of the perpetrators which are funny and sad at times. For once their side stories are interesting and not filler and they make you root for every passenger on the doomed bus (even the motive for the criminal masterminds is explained in a way that makes their pain relatable). The Police Chief and his crew as side characters get a lot of screen time and serve a dual purpose in helping to promote the police department in China!

This drama needs to be seen by more international audiences. Netflix would do well to pick up this series over another costume period piece.

Overall rating: 9.5/10

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interesting concept, good execution, but strange premise

This drama is a good take on the Groundhog Day concept, which reminds me a lot of the series "The Long Night". The reason is both of these are well acted, well packaged short dramas with a tendency to glorify the police force. And both of them have the same weakness: as suspense/ plot driven dramas, the 'big reveal' is a bit of a letdown therefore making the rewatch value limited.

To the screenwriter's credit, the short number of episodes are not repetitive despite returning again and again to the scene of the crime. The first couple of times the FL Liu Qingshi and ML He Yun are just trying to figure things out and they do so in a mostly logical manner. However after that they begin to explore the backstories of the people on the bus and this brings some diversity into the story. Everyone is well acted particularly Tao Yinghong as the spot on intense asian mom and our very natural and convincing FL. Bai Jingling as the ML is fine but I think his best role is still later in Destinied.

Weaknesses: I did feel that some of the side stories drag on, such as the anime boy Lu Di and the watermelon man Ma Guoqiang. But the biggest weakness is similar to the Long Night. The whole drama works to make the cast look like noble and self sacrificing people especially the policemen. But in order to do this they make the villain's motives quite unnatural. In this case, they make the villains very mentally ill. The other obvious drawback is that a lack of shortcomings in the lead characters makes them feel underdeveloped. Combined with the fact that this is a mystery drama, this means the whole thing can become viral a la Squid Game (which it did, in China at least) but then not be worth a rewatch.

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This is fine

It's a fine drama. I was emotionally involved in the story from the beginning almost to the end. The tense moments were tense, the protagonists were likable, and the attention to detail was high. However, near the end it slipped a bit.

Here's why.

I think the choice to focus on the motives of antagonists and the related case was bad. First, because their motives and the case were predictable, and they themselves weren't likable or sympathetic people like narrative wants us to feel. Second, because it dragged on too long, the last 2-3 episodes are about that rather then the loop and how to break it.

I also think that portrayal of police was too idealistic, all police officers were dedicated, kind, willing to risk their lives, zealous in their devotion and the phrase "trust the police" was told multiple times, then we were shown on multiple occasions that trusting the police is always the best idea. It felt like propaganda.

The ending "slideshow" showing the endings of various passengers was idealistic too, like what kinda guy would be happy to see his estranged former criminal father suddenly show up at work with a bunch of dirty watermelons? And the boomer parents cosplaying for the cat guy, I just laughed at that.

Also, speaking of the cat guy. He "rescues" cats from the street by putting them in cages and locking them in his small room in darkness. Tbh death is probably better then such rescue.

And the romance between main characters, literally zero chemistry.

Finally, the reason why time loop happened wasn't explained.

So I can't rate it higher then 8/10. There are much better time travel and time loop works of fiction around.

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