I only liked it at the end
This drama took me almost the entire show to get into it. I kept leaving and coming back for lack of better options (at least these two MLs were pretty good looking, hehheh). Only at the end did I start to like it, just in time for it to be over.
This show features three distinct mysteries in three closed systems, tied together by an overarching plot. The three contained mysteries are done fairly well, with a straightforward structure (a menu of characters from whom to pick) and enough clues to follow along. They were enjoyable to watch, though I might have liked it better if fewer people died. The overarching plot is also a decent story. If you like a show where you can solve mysteries alongside the characters, this one is for you.
My main issue with this show is characters and relationships.
We’ll start with Jian Buzhi, the eponymous (Chinese title) ML and the main character. When I think about how I feel about Jian Buzhi… I just come up blank. He doesn’t have much personality; it’s just fun to watch him solve mysteries.
Zhao Wohuan, the SML (not love triangle SML, just less important male lead SML), is such a puppy. He’s endearing, but just a bit too dumb for me to like that much. At the same time, his fighting development was so unrealistic. I felt almost offended at how quickly he skyrocketed to the top… what a dump on everyone else who worked so hard for so long.
I thought both MLs were acted well. Jian Buzhi looked so happy whenever he solved a mystery, it was adorable. And Zhao Wohuan’s actor captured the puppy feel well. I just didn’t quite like the way they were written.
Relative to the two MLs, the FLs are much less central to the story. Zhan Shiqi (I’ll just call her 17) is the main FL. I found this show for having a strong FL, but she ended up being my least favorite character. I think she’s trying to be an ice queen beauty; but she’s trying too hard to be cool, like she herself thinks she is badass. Too much glaring.
Besides being too cool, Zhan 17 doesn’t have much personality. The bits and pieces of character development she does get are incohesive. Her only notable feature is her whole thing about… wanting to wear pretty clothes? That’s pretty vain, especially for a punchline. On top of it all, I thought her styling was bad (fabulous feather dress aside). Something about it didn’t look good with all the glaring, and this actress has looked better in other shows.
I’ll consider Ming Yue the SFL, although she doesn’t play a huge role. I didn’t care too much for her for most of the show, but at least she’s not around that much.
So I didn’t quite connect with these characters, but the feeling was compounded by some poor relationship building. The bromance between the two MLs was cute- I do love a good bromance- but it came out of nowhere. It was so strong that I mostly forgot it was built on nothing, but once in awhile I’d do a double take and wonder how we got there.
The main romance was even worse. There were a couple overly dramatic scenes and then suddenly they were mooning after each other. Their relationship was founded on nothing, I couldn’t imagine why either one liked the other, and the scenes between them were cheesy. They both needed more personality for this to work.
The romance wasn’t critical to the story, so I did my best to ignore it. But at one point when it got in the way of the bromance, I was so angry I actually stopped watching for about a month. This situation never resolved well; later I learned that the director had deleted some key scenes. Either way, I didn’t buy into their relationship and I didn’t like 17, so I could only do my best to overlook all parts involving them.
The second relationship is based on the SML’s desire to protect a weak and helpless female. The reasons for attraction are all male chauvinist; the only saving grace was that it’s not actually true. Even so, I found it cringey and couldn’t root for it- until I ended up surprised by how well I liked its resolution.
What this show does well, is side characters. New side characters are introduced throughout the plot (eg all the candidates within each mystery), usually with interesting backstories or premises. And happily, several of them stick around or come back after their case is over. This was a huge plus; I don’t like getting attached to characters just to watch them disappear.
Like the bromance and romances, a lot of the friendships became too dedicated too fast. That said, by the end I found myself liking this show quite a bit, and I think it’s because the side characters got more development and I was invested in their stories. The male doctor and female doctor were probably my favorite characters overall.
On the flipside, many other side characters revealed a tragic backstory and then simply died, leaving me feeling sympathetic and sad. And I was looking forward to humanizing all the assassins, but they just kept dying. Lives were a bit too cheap in this show.
In terms of execution, this show was a smaller production, not very high budget. For example, there is only one song- which I happened to really like. A lot of the scenes also conveniently occur in deserted settings, obviating the need for extras. I think they found a good forest and worked it (it’s a nice forest, I agree). Budget is what it is, and I think they did a great job skimping on things that matter less.
I also really liked the fighting style. It’s full of flashy spins and well-done wirework, but I liked best that the moves are clean and solid rather than just having a lot of them in a flurry, like some other shows. Using daily items as weapons is a unique premise, but I think it’s just too hard to make an umbrella look deadly. The actress’s performances weren’t bad, but I thought the umbrella fights looked fake. And what could that umbrella possibly be made out of to be so indestructible?
Overall, I think this show does some things well- especially given their limited budget- but other things less well. Other people seem to really like the character development, so it might just be me personally not connecting with them.
P.S. I know the names are supposed to be ironic and funny, but who would ACTUALLY name their kid 不知 (Don’t Know) or 我還 (I Return)?
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The show ends in a fairly satisfactory and happy way. All is resolved, no further hard-hitting deaths. The answer to the overarching mystery is also a nice plot twist.
I only say “fairly” satisfactory because it ends on this cliffhanger hinting at a second season, which never came. It looks intriguing, they suck me in, and then… poof. How annoying.
My interest in this show picked up towards the end, I think partly due to the side characters getting more airtime, and partly because I liked how the second couple’s relationship (which I didn’t care for until the end) was resolved. I was afraid Ming Yue would lose her head like some lovestruck girl, but it was nothing that cliché. Their final scene was quite sweet, and I would have liked to see where it went from there.
This show features three distinct mysteries in three closed systems, tied together by an overarching plot. The three contained mysteries are done fairly well, with a straightforward structure (a menu of characters from whom to pick) and enough clues to follow along. They were enjoyable to watch, though I might have liked it better if fewer people died. The overarching plot is also a decent story. If you like a show where you can solve mysteries alongside the characters, this one is for you.
My main issue with this show is characters and relationships.
We’ll start with Jian Buzhi, the eponymous (Chinese title) ML and the main character. When I think about how I feel about Jian Buzhi… I just come up blank. He doesn’t have much personality; it’s just fun to watch him solve mysteries.
Zhao Wohuan, the SML (not love triangle SML, just less important male lead SML), is such a puppy. He’s endearing, but just a bit too dumb for me to like that much. At the same time, his fighting development was so unrealistic. I felt almost offended at how quickly he skyrocketed to the top… what a dump on everyone else who worked so hard for so long.
I thought both MLs were acted well. Jian Buzhi looked so happy whenever he solved a mystery, it was adorable. And Zhao Wohuan’s actor captured the puppy feel well. I just didn’t quite like the way they were written.
Relative to the two MLs, the FLs are much less central to the story. Zhan Shiqi (I’ll just call her 17) is the main FL. I found this show for having a strong FL, but she ended up being my least favorite character. I think she’s trying to be an ice queen beauty; but she’s trying too hard to be cool, like she herself thinks she is badass. Too much glaring.
Besides being too cool, Zhan 17 doesn’t have much personality. The bits and pieces of character development she does get are incohesive. Her only notable feature is her whole thing about… wanting to wear pretty clothes? That’s pretty vain, especially for a punchline. On top of it all, I thought her styling was bad (fabulous feather dress aside). Something about it didn’t look good with all the glaring, and this actress has looked better in other shows.
I’ll consider Ming Yue the SFL, although she doesn’t play a huge role. I didn’t care too much for her for most of the show, but at least she’s not around that much.
So I didn’t quite connect with these characters, but the feeling was compounded by some poor relationship building. The bromance between the two MLs was cute- I do love a good bromance- but it came out of nowhere. It was so strong that I mostly forgot it was built on nothing, but once in awhile I’d do a double take and wonder how we got there.
The main romance was even worse. There were a couple overly dramatic scenes and then suddenly they were mooning after each other. Their relationship was founded on nothing, I couldn’t imagine why either one liked the other, and the scenes between them were cheesy. They both needed more personality for this to work.
The romance wasn’t critical to the story, so I did my best to ignore it. But at one point when it got in the way of the bromance, I was so angry I actually stopped watching for about a month. This situation never resolved well; later I learned that the director had deleted some key scenes. Either way, I didn’t buy into their relationship and I didn’t like 17, so I could only do my best to overlook all parts involving them.
The second relationship is based on the SML’s desire to protect a weak and helpless female. The reasons for attraction are all male chauvinist; the only saving grace was that it’s not actually true. Even so, I found it cringey and couldn’t root for it- until I ended up surprised by how well I liked its resolution.
What this show does well, is side characters. New side characters are introduced throughout the plot (eg all the candidates within each mystery), usually with interesting backstories or premises. And happily, several of them stick around or come back after their case is over. This was a huge plus; I don’t like getting attached to characters just to watch them disappear.
Like the bromance and romances, a lot of the friendships became too dedicated too fast. That said, by the end I found myself liking this show quite a bit, and I think it’s because the side characters got more development and I was invested in their stories. The male doctor and female doctor were probably my favorite characters overall.
On the flipside, many other side characters revealed a tragic backstory and then simply died, leaving me feeling sympathetic and sad. And I was looking forward to humanizing all the assassins, but they just kept dying. Lives were a bit too cheap in this show.
In terms of execution, this show was a smaller production, not very high budget. For example, there is only one song- which I happened to really like. A lot of the scenes also conveniently occur in deserted settings, obviating the need for extras. I think they found a good forest and worked it (it’s a nice forest, I agree). Budget is what it is, and I think they did a great job skimping on things that matter less.
I also really liked the fighting style. It’s full of flashy spins and well-done wirework, but I liked best that the moves are clean and solid rather than just having a lot of them in a flurry, like some other shows. Using daily items as weapons is a unique premise, but I think it’s just too hard to make an umbrella look deadly. The actress’s performances weren’t bad, but I thought the umbrella fights looked fake. And what could that umbrella possibly be made out of to be so indestructible?
Overall, I think this show does some things well- especially given their limited budget- but other things less well. Other people seem to really like the character development, so it might just be me personally not connecting with them.
P.S. I know the names are supposed to be ironic and funny, but who would ACTUALLY name their kid 不知 (Don’t Know) or 我還 (I Return)?
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The show ends in a fairly satisfactory and happy way. All is resolved, no further hard-hitting deaths. The answer to the overarching mystery is also a nice plot twist.
I only say “fairly” satisfactory because it ends on this cliffhanger hinting at a second season, which never came. It looks intriguing, they suck me in, and then… poof. How annoying.
My interest in this show picked up towards the end, I think partly due to the side characters getting more airtime, and partly because I liked how the second couple’s relationship (which I didn’t care for until the end) was resolved. I was afraid Ming Yue would lose her head like some lovestruck girl, but it was nothing that cliché. Their final scene was quite sweet, and I would have liked to see where it went from there.
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