Affinity

Hooked on you

Mad respect for director Chen Jia Jie, who can create insanely entertaining shows with shoestrings. His Embrace in the Dark Night was already high on my "low-budget gem" list but Affinity is on a whole new level, pushing limits of what you can do with the short format on all fronts. Saying the plot is bonkers doesn't even start to describe the madness going on : it feels like the brainchild of someone who spent too much time consuming various popular genres like trashy supernatural smut, SF and horror video games and movies, and threw them in a blender without much care for logic. I won't lie, I basked in the nonsensical joy of it all, feeling like a kid at christmas gifted with the biggest, most colorful toy available.
The spice level is insane, clearly the censors were asleep or bribed when this went through approvals. I don't know how I will tolerate basic skinship in shows after this, at the end they were fully tongue kissing, something I've only seen in naughty vertical dramas (before the crackdown, not sure it will happen again). The choreography was also insanely hot and creative, I think I've watched the train scene a dozen times and know I will come back a dozen more. On the writing front the plot might be crazy and twisty but it doesn't keep the emotional beats from working, far from it. I had to take a break around a certain time, I was so invested in the characters, their misfortunes made me too upset to continue. I came back to it a few months later and gobbled up the remaining episodes. Yes, it's brainless but it's not heartless, I teared up a few times and was invested in all characters, even the side ones. The year is not over but it might be my favorite thing 2026 has produced.

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Craziest shit I’ve ever seen (I. LOVE. IT!!!).

I’ve watched a lot of dramas, but this one takes the top spot. It’s like watching a car crash —you can’t look away. The story feels like it’s high on crack, but the acting, the pacing, and the atmosphere are so different and addicting compared to everything I’ve seen before. The kiss scenes, the yearning, the craving… amazing!

Is the story logical? No.
Is the communication the best? No.
Do I still think I’ll ever find a better drama? No.

This is a mix of dark romance, forced love, and the craving of the omegaverse, all in one. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it has something really special that I’ve never seen before.

It has left an empty hole in my heart. If anyone in the future finds something just as crazy and amazing as this show, I’d love to hear about it.

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omg what have I just watched?!

i was promised hot romantic drama with action and got weird alien hate/ love relationship with borderline action. thrownin a finger puppet squis, a ghost bird and a dragon that came
out lf nowhere. oh and not to forget the AI bear that opened doors, raided the pantry and then left without looking around the corner. i loved the leads. they are both great and cute and really handled that well. i think they probably read the synopsis and thought how bad can it get. then the bear showed up 😂🤣😂andnit went downhill from there.
but seriously i loved the chemistry between them and you could aee that some of the scenes were real and not acted.
the character of the fl was a bit annoying to me at one point but she redeemed herself. i just wish they would have just written that character with consistency and not this emotionally immature chaos.
the jerking around, holding her down, forcing physical contact on her and all that wasn’t really my thing. but fit the storyline of “marry or die”. same thing my mother keeps telling me.
i found it not bad and hilarious until the helium. you mean I spent my time to watch 40
episodes and cryinb over his fate for helium?! something you can buy at the dollar store?!!!
good thing they waited until the last episode to reveal that because I would have dropped it at that moment. no point in dropping it 4 minutes before the shows ending. well played!!
would I watch it again nope
would I watch season 2? hell ya. this was addicting and fun. but bring back the puppet squid and AI bear !!

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Don't Waste Your Time

This is one of those dramas that gain hype through short clips on Reels, gaining traction and interest from the global community, not local (because Chinese people appreciate plot more than anything). I guess a lot of people use the term "vertical drama" but this is more like a short cdrama from a lesser known production company...

Anyways, I too was one who came in after seeing their reels, which are all snippets of the leads kissing. They're all quite impactful, I give you that. I also thought I'd give this a try because the two male leads have worked on reputable dramas before. Unfortunately, I had to drop this about halfway and that was a stretch.

The plot makes no sense from the beginning-- there's no explanation of this affinity virus and its origins, and the drama synopsis is completely different from what's being shown on screen. The CGI is NOT even remotely good, contrary to those who claim it is... c'mon it's 2026. That orange octopus coming out of nowhere LITERALLY had me laughing out loud. It looks like a school videography project. And don't get me started on the farfetchedness of some other... creatures😂

The leads aren't the worst actors, and I've seen them all on several other projects, but despite all the skinship they didn't even have good chemistry. Their off-screen chemistry was loads better.

So... to describe this in one word, I'd say cringe. And not the good kind. The embarrassing kind. 🫣

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Bizarre

So bizarre that my first thought was that I was watching a J-drama. I double-checked the next spoken sentence and ascertained it was, indeed, a Chinese drama. It's dark, dangerous, and deviated from the average drama.

The leads were adorable together. He's the boy your parents warned you about: the bad boy. But not your typical bad boy who did poorly in school and hung out with the wrong crowd. This boy was smart, menacing tall, feral, and definitely detrimental to the well being of those around him. She, on the other hand, was tiny. The ML often picked her up around the waist with one arm and carried her like his own personal Barbie doll with a curtain of glossy black hair. She was kind, brave, and resourceful and an absolute addiction of the bad boy.

The mood was black, and it seemed it was only night in their world. The visuals were striking: the ML and FL fell from the dark sky into a heart-shaped pile of pink balloons (please don't ask why the balloons were there, as logic has no place in this drama, and I'd have to explain the leads landed, miraculously unharmed, on their feet next to a tank containing a murderous mutant octopus with huge ears which was mind controlled by a zombie, at which point the explanation about the balloons hardly matters, right?). Do I care that the plot is ridiculous? Not a bit, because I'm not bored. And the OST was as wild as the action.

I thought I'd picked a tiny filler to watch between the longer dramas, as Viki only showed six episodes. I realize now it has 40 (but only 18 minutes each), which Viki will mete out on a weekly (?) basis. Bah, humbug. Here's hoping the drama keeps its frantic pace, phenomenal weirdness, and ends well.

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From cringe and hilarious to really sweet

This is the first mini drama i have not dropped. At first i was laughing hysterically at how cringe the scenes were (i need you to make out with me to calm me down) (virus A has to marry a virus B by the age of 25 to stop themselves from painfully dying) etc 😂😂 then came the ridiculous cgi octopus and the falling from a sky scraper height and survivng like he was a superhere 😂 then came a dragon for exactly one scene 😂 i cant even say how many hilarious things are on this show but around the middle when he started gaining real feelings for her and fell in love it got so sweet and cute awww. I really like his character development he has grown so much and been so patient with her even though shes always doubting him and stuff. Anyway im loving it now honesty its gotten less cringe too or maybe i just got used to it haha the male lead keeps me watching.
Ok i finished it,it was pretty good, just shut your brain off and gove it a go if youre bored 😊

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Root for Yijun but Fall in Love with the Series

As the taq says, I watch this because I want to support Wang Yijun after he bravely go to YG but they dissapointed him by closer their YG Stage dept and they didnt do a good job to secure a nice project, only his own team do the work.

Have 0 expectation with the series and just treat it as a brain cleanser after watching dozen brain wrecking drama.

The reason why this is good in my opinion
• At first ep they splurged it with resident evil, gotham, vampire like esque with F&F influence on car scene; btw I like the rough breathing scene when Xie being arrested (I know how perverted I am), that hooked me up. After ep 3, I do really said it out loud the Japanese meme when shocked; eh?! Eh??!! EH?!!!! EH~~~~. The vibe change into ABO, bl vibes (baidu even name rank place our 1, 2 and 3 ML in credit rolled after that our FLs), 50 shades of Grey and 365, plus My Demon scene too. Please do watch it when the door close this is a borderline NSFW which so rare in Chinese drama.

I dont agree when people mocking Youku because in my mind they are great streaming app. Just like Shao Nian Ge Xing, Legend of Zang Hai, Falling Into Your Smile which being judge as failure but they insist to air even put them ahead of schedule. Of course still hate when they stop airing Silent Reading because of BP member photo scandal (hope they just edit the scene and continue it).

• No need to think just cruising and chilax. Good for date course and serve as chicken blood; romantic inuedo. A lot of scene potray a smexy inuedo here, like octopus, dragon etc.

• Fake car scene that I approve since we know the plot is a nonsense.

• Maybe their overall acting not so good but, darling~~ I told you, they care about detail in acting. Eyes, face, and body movement of them can seduce you. Cui laoshi played as ML his eyes, so damn killing. He look like Lee Joon when he played a suspected serial killer in Gap Dong. Our ML is brown because sometimes he is green like forest but also red like forest fire. His body is buff too which rare in the industry, DANG!!!!!. Meanwhile my fav Wang Yijun he really has a survivor mental after the reason I write above. The tall and lanky stature potray his charcter the best, Mr. Wu is twisted but good. When you watching with teenager/kids please do advice them not to copy the scene and teach them survival instinct and act. FL can fight ML when he pint her but she just Oh LORD~~~ in real life situation she is the 1st to die.

•Makeup, hairdo and costume buffing their character setting like our ML Xie his everyday wear 20's something old man wear and sometimes so beasty, meanwhile Wang Yijun played our Mr. Wu his clotch are so rigid and pristine knowing not only he is an older brother but a leader in his work.

• The OSTs 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I love it hyping the scene especially a romance one.

If I resume, the drama is rare as jade in drama land. Lack of logic plot and nonsense didnt bother me at all which I always roasting until crispy like chips. Just need to endure another 10 eps to conclude my review

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FEVER DREAM WITH ALL THE PLOTS YOU WANT WITH YOUR IMAGINARY MAN!

LIKE SO LET ME CALM MY HORMONES FIRST. First of all this drama is for enjoying, don't find any logic. Its just just like a teenager imagining plots before her sleep obviously with her imaginary Ceo. BUT MIND I TELL YOU, THIS FUCKING EATS. At first the visual. HELLL YEAH 😝 I am still recovering from episode 6-7 like OH MAH LIFE?!?! This are this shits i want with my future husband. HELLL YEAH. SMASH. Ok coming to the plot it is kind of like omegaverse. Like similar. So yeah Like that 😝. Anyways fl and the ml's chemistry is CHEMISTRYING LIKE THE CHEMISTRY BE DOING LAB WORK WITH PERFECT RESULTS. DO I LIKE IT HELL YEAH WOULD YOU LIKE IT? IDK WHO CARES ABOUT IT. anyways apart from them i found some chem between the brother and the ml like (ik im weird but cant help but yeah bromance eats) and also i want more scenes with the bro and his girl(they seem to give good chem but i think they need more scenes) their first meet was good likke yessss. Soo apart from acting and story line the songs are 10/10.yesss like wattpad coded, so girlies a new theme song for your nightly delulu. So the rewatch value is not much regarding the plot but.. BUT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO WATCH WITH YOUR BESTIES GO FOR IT, BOTH BE DELULU TOGETHER. OK BYE THATS IT😘

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Un imperdibile delirio allo stato puro

Drama che non è semplicemente assurdo all’inverosimile, ma persevera tenacemente nel raggiungere livelli di irrazionalità paradossali e inimmaginabili. Mica roba da poco, eh!
La “storia” – se così possiamo chiamarla – ruota intorno a un’ambientazione futura dove parte della popolazione è affetta da due varianti di un misterioso virus – tipo A e tipo B – che, nel secondo caso, induce a comportamenti pesantemente asociali, aggressivi e potenzialmente omicidi. Nel concreto, il tutto si traduce in una serie di scene dove comanda il testosterone. Ormoni impazziti ed eccitazione alle stelle portano il protagonista a braccare senza sosta la FL in una sorta di preliminari estenuanti ed interminabili ma poi puntualmente interrotti, così da lasciare i protagonisti frustrati e repressi (ufficialmente lui, lei all’inizio subisce ma è palese che prima o poi la trama la renderà più che partecipe).
Al di là di soddisfare lo spettatore smanioso, non vedo francamente altra ragione sensata, ma del resto la logica non fa parte del vocabolario di questo drama.
Non bisogna cercare di capire, solo imparare a sorvolare. Perché dicano una cosa, perché facciano un’altra, perché la scena prima sia così e da lì come si agganci a quella successiva… E’ tassativo non spremere le meningi, nemmeno un pochino: non c’è risposta, non c’è senso. Ci si mette il cuore – e il cervello – in pace e via.
Dopo varie situazioni totalmente prive di continuità abbiamo quindi i due che stringono un matrimonio di facciata per i più improbabili motivi, ma non importa: ciò che probabilmente interessa allo spettatore coinvolto da questo drama – se davvero ne esiste uno - è di veder capitolare i due protagonisti nel rapporto sessuale che li vincolerà a non si sa bene quale patto esclusivo, ma dovrà restare – ahimè – a bocca asciutta per un bel po’. Arrivati a questo punto mi sembrava si fosse già andati abbastanza alla deriva nell’universo della follia, ma no, abbiamo a che fare con una sceneggiatura che non conosce misure né ritegno, ed è pronta a varcare nuovi orizzonti che nessuno – per fortuna – ha mai varcato prima. Quindi ci aggiungiamo il fratello di lei che, presentato come figura positiva, si scopre essere probabilmente il più malsano dell’intero gruppo. Vogliamo fermarci qui? Sia mai! Ecco dunque l’entrata in scena di uno squinternato ex compagno di prigionia del nostro ML a rendere il tutto ancora più surreale. Il menù dei vaneggiamenti prevede poi come portata successiva i sogni/viaggi all’indietro nel tempo, cui segue un brusco ritorno alla realtà dove nemmeno una pallottola nella schiena ferma il nostro ML dal pomiciare qua e là. Pensate che sia troppo? Macché! Signore e signori, ecco a voi Jurassik Park! In quest’accozzaglia delirante perché non può spuntare un povero cucciolo di dinosauro? Ma certo che può! (in realtà trattasi di un drago - inverosimile comunque - ma personalmente mi ha ricordato più un dinosauro... Poco male, l'effetto non-sense dell'intera situazione di fatto è lo stesso)
Dico davvero, episodio dopo episodio la mia ammirazione per lo sceneggiatore che ha avuto il coraggio di mettere nero su bianco un tale concentrato di follia non ha fatto altro che crescere. Di tanti drama pessimi, sconclusionati, assurdi e al di fuori di qualsiasi schema logico che mi è capitato di vedere, questo di certo lo ricorderò per sempre. Ci vuole – a suo modo – una menzione d’onore, insomma.

La seconda parte, purtroppo, non tiene alta nemmeno la bandiera dell'originalità: premesso che l'unica cosa che mi spingeva a continuare la visione era appunto vedere quale nuova assurdità avrebbe regalato l'episodio successivo... Persino l'effetto "trash", si è pian piano afflosciato. Ok il multi-pairing, ok la dipartita di fratello e pseudo-partner (la scena di lui che la trova in fin di vita e invece di chiamare i soccorsi la accontenta accendendole le candeline della torta rientra a pieno titolo nell'album dei "pazzi" ricordi di questo drama). Per il resto si scade un po' nel banale tra amnesia/sogni, lui che - con il suo ormai fedele maglioncino azzurro puffo, che si intona a quello rosa confetto di lei - da irrecuperabile anaffettivo diventa un salice piangente negli ultimi episodi, lei che dopo aver ottenuto il tanto desiderato amore di lui fa dietro-front e prende le distanze, il terzo incomodo che davvero non sa di niente e sembra essere finito lì nel drama per caso... Niente, l'incredibile fantasia dello sceneggiatore sembra davvero essersi esaurita, suo malgrado.

Musiche: forse l’aspetto più innocuo di tutto. C’erano, si sono sentite, hanno fatto il loro senza promuovere ulteriori danni.

Cast: l’attrice femminile accettabile, le è stato assegnato il ruolo di una ragazza a tratti senza cervello, perennemente in balia degli eventi, con battute e prese di posizione illogiche…. Che altro poteva fare di più di quello che ha fatto? Nella sconclusionatezza del personaggio, l’ha comunque portato in scena. Lui, invece, antipatico come pochi. La parte del figo gli riesce davvero male, lo sguardo senza occhialini che vuole essere intrigante suscita solo ridicolo imbarazzo mentre la versione con occhiali da vista mi riporta alla mente l’insopportabile e spocchioso antagonista da lui interpretato in “Lighter&Princess” (mi fa quasi male citare uno dei miei drama preferiti nella recensione a quest’obbrobrio). Forse il maggiore punto di forza dell’attore in questa serie è il dimostrare di saper ansimare, anche tanto, all’occorrenza: questo glielo possiamo riconoscere. Detto questo non sto qui a parlare del livello di recitazione dell’uno o dell’altra, di espressività o talento, poiché la scelta di accettare una parte in una serie di questo tipo mi pare dica già tutto quello che c’è da dire al riguardo.

Tirando le somme, gli riconosco di essere un drama volutamente trash e che di certo non passa inosservato. Non colpisce per la qualità ma per l'originalità di scelte tanto folli e assurde quanto sicuramente nuove. L'ho guardato con curiosità fino alla fine, ma questo è quanto. Tenendo il metro di giudizio della qualità di una buona storia ovviamente non ci sta per niente dentro. Particolare, certo, ma se fosse il pioniere di una serie di drama di questo tipo mi ritroverei a guardarli? Penso proprio di no, salta all'occhio proprio perchè al momento è una novità. Effetto "be different" in tema stramberia, se vogliamo.
Detto questo... Lo consiglio? Guai a perderlo! E’ un’esperienza che va assolutamente fatta almeno una volta nella vita.

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