What A Wild Ride!
This mini-drama is funny, sexy, wild and inventive. I think this may be the first time I have seen a brilliant execution of one of my favorite literary genres: magical realism. Introducing so many fantastical elements into an otherwise normal real world was fun and original. Those elements coupled with the mini-drama “reason for being” where the relationship between the main couple flirts up close to the forbidden had me giggling at times and breathless at others. Relax, accept the story and enjoy!Was this review helpful to you?
Why I Gave This Insanity 9/10
I laughed, I cried, I raged, I scoffed. Look, was this bat shit crazy and at times completely nonsensical?? Absolutley. But it was also compulsively watchable and wholly engaging. One minute you’re screaming “that makes no sense” and the next you’re theorizing on the craziness. This drama never met a trope or genre it didn’t like. Western. Scifi. Action. Fantasty. Drama. Romance. Buddy Cop. Found family. Forced proximity. Fated Mates. Enemies to lovers. Love Triangle. The Quest. Antihero. Damsel in distress (who is a badass in her own right. I said “she is sooo cool!!” outloud multiple times). Enemies join forces. Literally something for everyone. The plot twists would twist and I wouid scream “of course!!” I should’ve seen it all coming, but I didn’t. Because this drama will keep you on your toes. Throw your moral compass and commonsense out the window and just watch it.Was this review helpful to you?
This drama had potential, but…
It hooked me from the first episode, then lost me in the second half with all the dragging misunderstandings and endless conflicts—it honestly got stressful to watch. I guess it just wasn’t for me. That said, the leads had insane chemistry… I stayed for that (and those hot kissing scenes 👀).Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
All the scientific justification just to make the leads kiss.
This is what happens when a drama forces any explanation just to rationalize one man’s instinctive, obsessive pull toward one woman, and the justification on why the drama needs so much sniffing and kissing for our entertainment.Affinity plays like an omegaverse with a mix of guideverse, masked as science fiction with a splash of mythology. We are talking futuristic elements, aliens, virus, biology, and even somehow a dragon that had the best CGI out of everything unrealistic. Each new concept sounds like it will deepen the story, but most of them end up working as elaborate justification. Everything eventually circles back to the same outcome: the ML gravitates toward her again and again, and the narrative bends itself to make that feel inevitable.
And the more serious the setup becomes, the funnier the payoff gets, at least for me.
The worldbuilding talks about dangers and survival, because, hello, there's a literal virus out there. And yet, the center is just a man 'logically' craving a woman, because her presence and touch is his temporary cure. It is basically a reversed Disney princess situation played straight. The bond is framed as something rare and almost fated, and conveniently, it only works between opposite biological genders.
The logic stretches, breaks, then keeps going anyway, and this messiness becomes part of the appeal; it is oddly confident in its own ridiculousness. I guess a bad idea plus another bad idea equals a good watch here, and it somehow works. You stop expecting coherence and start anticipating what wild explanation will come next. One moment it is the virus driving instinctive attraction, the next it is emotional dependence, then mythology enters the conversation, and somehow all of it coexists.
At the core of everything is the ML’s obsession over FL, and FL trying to escape him. The dynamic leans heavily into that. He pursues, she retreats, and the narrative keeps placing her in situations where she becomes the anchor he clings to. It is clearly not framed as a healthy relationship, and it does not really try to soften it. The tension comes from a seemingly predatory pull, where she is like prey caught by the ML. But of course, being a romance-centered drama, they eventually develop real feelings for each other, no matter how toxic the beginning is. His need overrides boundaries, and the story repeatedly reinforces closeness as the solution. Whether it is danger, new lore, or another sudden twist, it somehow ends with her on his lap once again.
It is not a well written drama by any conventional standard. The logic is shaky even in its own rules, and the story sometimes feels like a pile of random ideas stacked together under the guise of science fiction. The unhealthy dynamic between the leads is also not something I'd watch. It is the excuses that became the logic behind ML's actions that make it bearable, plus the obviously unrealistic entirety of what's happening in their world.
But it is undeniably bingeable, very much in the guilty pleasure territory. That is also what I expected from a short web series. It sits right alongside those trashy short dramas and vertical series that you watch for your own satisfaction and entertainment rather than quality. The difference is that this one is as bold as it is absurd, and it makes it feel oddly fresh. It tells its ridiculous story with complete commitment to the fiction, and that uniqueness makes it more entertaining than it has any right to be.
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This review may contain spoilers
Beauty and the Beast
The reason I watched it was the unique plot. This genetic attraction virus. Destiny, obsession, passion, violence... what should you expect? A bit of everything, a thread that isn't always logical, "romantic" moments, bloody ones, fantasy... and there's even a dragon!?!From what I understand, these two types of people, the Ren (B), are looking for their own Yin (A) to "pack" with and become permanently and inextricably united.
The experiment was launched to transform people into weapons: antisocial, aggressive, and unloving, kept under control with tranquilizers injected with large syringes as an antidote.
This Ren, accused of killing his parents, becomes obsessed with this girl, the sister of this special agent. They will marry, but until they consummate the marriage, their bond will not be irreparable, and that won't happen right away.
After seeing that her brother is against their union and does everything to separate them, she decides to stay by her husband's side, but with the mission of making them get along.
When cornered, her brother confesses to him that he had his parents killed, then kills himself. She blames her husband for not stopping her brother and wants to distance herself from him, but he doesn't want to and holds her hostage.
Then it becomes even more intricate and chaotic. The search for these "fragments," dreams, memories, reality... is chaos.
I started with an 8* rating, but here I've dropped in free fall to a 6*.
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So awful, weird, tropey and strange you’ll be addicted
Hear me out. This thing starts with mushroom hallucinations (supposedly) and continues as if thats exactly what you feel like you’re on the entire show. Lol. The plot has more holes than a sieve and you’ll wonder what the writers and directors were smoking. Its mostly so weird its hilarious, the OTS is all over the place and of you don’t end up hating the FL for being selfish cow of the century, I’ll wonder if we watched the same show. But what ML killed it and this “feels like a short” drama was a wild ride.Was this review helpful to you?
Guideverse series probably written by an AI (but with great actors)
PLOT: In 2051, a virus from another universe created Yin and Ren beings on Earth. The ML, Xie Xin Xu, is a powerful Ren whom Si Yuan (the FL's brother and a member of the Surveillance Bureau) tried to tame (through torture). Xie Xin Xu takes on a new identity and marries Nong Yu, a Yin, the FL, a researcher who wants to find a cure for the virus. But the Surveillance Bureau does everything to prevent the creation of a cure.+++ The two leads are spectacular, with intense chemistry. I've become a die-hard fan of Cui Yu Xin. And I'd love to see him in CL with Fang Jin again.
+++ Effective direction, with good pacing, good effects, and a great OST.
### A very weird storyline that only got through censorship because it's supposed to be sci-fi. The twists (and there are tons of them) come one after another at an unreasonable rate. It's full of nonsense, inconsistencies, and incongruous things. I wonder if the script wasn't written by an AI that threw a bit of Twilight, a bit of ABO Desire, a bit of sci-fi, a bit of Game of Thrones, etc., into a shaker.
### The FL character is unbearable: idiotic, fickle, indecisive, and incredibly selfish. In short, ლಠ益ಠ)ლ ლಠ益ಠ)ლ
=> I only watch it to the end out of curiosity and because the CL is very hot... The weirdest story (but really addictive) I've ever seen
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Série Guideverse écrite par une IA probablement (mais avec super acteurs)
PLOT: En 2051, un virus venu d'1 autre univers, a créé sur terre des êtres Yin et des êtres Ren. Le ML, Xie Xin Xu, est un Ren puissant que Si Yuan (frère de la FL et membre du Bureau de Surveillance) a tenté d'apprivoiser (par tortures). Xie Xin Xu prend 1 nvelle identité et se marie avec Nong Yu, Yin, la FL, chercheuse qui veut trouver 1 médicament pour guérir le virus. Mais le Bureau de Surveillance fait tt pour empêcher la création d'1 médicament.
+++ Les 2 leads sont spectaculaires, avec une alchimie intense. Je suis devenue une hard-die fan de Cui Yu Xin. Et j'aimerai bcp le revoir en CL avec Fang Jin.
+++ Réalis° efficace, avec rythme, bons effets, bons OSTs.
### Storyline très chelou, qui n'a passé la censure que parce que c'est censé être de la Sci-Fi. Les twists (et il y en a des tonnes) se succèdent déraisonnablement. C'est plein de non-sens, d'incohérences, de trucs incongrus. A se demander si le script n'a pas été écrit par une IA, qui a mis dans un shacker un peu de Twilight, un peu d'ABO Desire, un peu de Sci-Fi, un peu de GOT, etc.
### Le personnage de la FL est insupportable : idiote, versatile, indécise, super égoïste. Bref ლಠ益ಠ)ლ ლಠ益ಠ)ლ
=> On ne va jusqu'au bout que par curiosité et parce que le CL est très hot ... The weirdest story (but really addictive) I've ever seen
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Review about Affinity
THE TENSION BETWEEN fml and ml gggooosh, it’s smth else, the chemistry😻🔥🔥 maybe yes the stroy can be a little bit cringy but God, they have so much chemistry, they are not even a slow burn, they are gaaas, like, definitely will watch it again and again. It is short cdrama which make it easy to watch, but only 2 episodes a day and only with 18 minutes, it is sooo unfair, It is not enough. Every day iam waiting for 2 episodes and this is sooo hard. I hope we will have happy ending and all of these sweet moments will not be just sweet moments and we will get hot scenes very soonWas this review helpful to you?
Perfect Guilty Pleasure
Affinity was genuinely a mess, but a good mess. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine now, I keep rewatching scenes.I really cannot explain it well but I definitely recommend watching. Switch off your brain and let your eyes openly feast! (not on the cgi though..) I saw people raving about the kiss scenes and I thought to myself, “They can’t be that good.” WOW, I was wrong. First episode, it’s nothing special but you keep on going and it’s like you’ve hit the lottery of steamy and spicy dramas. Fang Jin and Cui Yu Xin have absolutely electric chemistry. It’s impossible to take your eyes away from the screen when they’re both on. Please, the kiss scenes are so intense and so good.
I’ll be honest, the storyline is interesting towards the start but it does derail about half way through. Still, you’ll keep watching because it’s addicting. 40 episodes at 18 mins, sizzling chemistry between the leads, it’s easy dopamine!
The main leads can definitely act though, both of them really surprised me. Fang Jin especially deserves more recognition and I hope to see her do more dark romance roles, she suits them. Again, I’ll say it again, but they can definitely kiss!
ML is extremely toxic and honestly consent and boundaries aren’t really a thing towards the start. (They are later). FL isn’t completely against him though, considering their relationship dynamic. She’s more unsure. But you can see their chemistry. In the end it’s fiction, none of this is real and I hope no one would condone this irl. But for a fictitious guilty pleasure after a long day, it is perfect!
Character development is obviously not 10/10, but it is quite good for a drama with this type of production. The OSTS are super catchy and addicting, I hear one playing in my head.
Overall, a 8.5 from me. Rated based on my enjoyment of the romance aspect! 6.5-7.5 purely based on storytelling because the ending was rushed, and there were plot holes. But this type of story is definitely strange and once in a while type thing, still worth expediting.
Obviously, it’s not the best drama you’ll ever see. It’s far from it, but it’s definitely worth watching (at least trying)
Try a few episodes, not much to lose considering they’re short. DON’T involve logic, otherwise you won’t enjoy the ride, and be prepared to rewind to get a better view a LOT.
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Nuclear Chemistry with a Plot Dumpster Fire
This drama is the most steamiest French kissing, lip biting, butt grabbing CD I have ever watched! Can't believe it passed Chinese censorship! The leads had to have had some lip balm and mints in their pockets because every episode is full of kissing. The actors must have attracted to each other, because it did not look like acting to me!! Beware that the ML is 100% red flag... manipulative, calculating, possessive, pushy, obsessive and absolute crazy about the FL. The ML's only soft spot is FL and the FL is strong minded in her own way and refuses to be left behind on adventures and falls for the ML on her own terms.Now on to the dumpster-fire of a plot. It is one of those dramas that you walk away wondering "What the heck did I just watch"? One episode could be fantasy with a dragon and then the next car chases/gun fights, the next adventure quests and the next sci-fi, but romance is the central them in all episodes. It has a vertical drama feel, so expect shorter episodes with chopping episode integrations. The nuclear chemistry between the leads made this drama extremely watchable, but without them, the plot would have made me question the writers sanity. I have never watched anything like this drama and can 100% recommend it for drama fans of steamy red-flag romance.
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There are no words that can explain how incredible this masterpiece was!
OMGI YOU'RE WONDERING WHETHER TO WATCH IT OR NOT, STOP WASTING YOUR TIME! GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW! I PROMISE YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!
I just finished this drama, I thought it was gonna be some kind of dark romance with trash plot but OMG HOW WRONG WAS I.
Now imagine THE PERFECT romance drama with a possessive male lead, but with a trashy plot (there are many dramas like that) BUT WITH A PLOT EVEN BETTER THAN THE ROMANCE.
With great acting and plot twists on every turn, this is truly an emotional rollercoaster! As a person who has watched 100+ dramas I can say I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT!
Just, great job to all the people involved in this amazing project!
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