an idealized fairy tale, wrapped in a shallow story
I honestly don't know why this show is hyped so much; I found it mediocre at best.I've seen people recommend this show all the time on tiktok, for it's high quality production and the great "non-cringy" story. While I personally cannot agree with this at all, I will admit, that it can be a decent watch, depending on what you are looking for in a show.
I would recommend this show only to people who prioritize a wholesome power couple with great chemistry and lots of fan service over a plot-driven story with complex characters.
however, if you are looking for an intricate show about time travel and characters with depth, you should probably skip this one.
if you start this show and can not get into it at all after the first 1-2 episodes, you are probably save drop it. the focus of the story shifts a bit about half way in and I found it a bit better after that. but not to the extend that I don't regret watching something else in that time. I was hoping that the reason why this show is so overhyped would reveal itself to me with the conclusion of the show. but I almost feel clickbaited now that I finished it.
What I did enjoy:
- great chemistry between the main actors
- despite different social backgrounds, the couple's dynamic is not defined by it; they meet each other on eye-level
- both main characters are absolute green flags
- the majority story focuses on the couple facing struggles together, and not on becoming a couple being the struggle in the first place
- THE YEARNING!! Tada (the love interest) singlehandedly made it possible for me to finish this show
- amazing (and frequent) intimate/kissing/lovey-dovey scenes
- (for the millennials:) late 90s / early 2000s nostalgia
- amazing acting (even though I didn't how most characters were written)
What I did not enjoy, but I can see that others might:
- this show is in fact super cheesy, but it tries to do it in a gown up way
- idealized and unrealistic display of a relationship: almost from the get go, the main characters show this unconditional love and faith in each other, despite barely knowing the other person or having that level of trust established through shared experiences. pretty much a soul mates trope, without calling it by the name. (in fairness tho: this becomes a bit more plausible in the second half of the show)
- the middle part is purely fan service with almost no story at all
What I did not enjoy:
- the story is very lacking. the bit of plot that exists is pretty much a standard regression story (main character gets wronged, suddenly returns to the past, tries to revisit some life choices or to get revenge). I found really nothing original or interesting about it.
- especially considering that the show is called "Reset", the time travel/regression theme is barely explored. the few occasions, in which the main character consciously makes different choses than in his first life are barely existent and have little impact for the most part. it would honestly take little effort to rewrite the show to a non-time travel story, where the mc just has good intuition or some insight knowledge from a friend.
- furthermore, and this really bothered me, he frequently mentions things from the future or that he went back in time towards the other characters, as if it was a completely normal thing to say. and 90% of the time, the other characters don't address the topic at all (e.g. by being confused, suspicious, labelling him as a crazy person, ect.)
- the LGBTQ theme is not explored either. the issue of being openly gay in the 90s/00s, especially as a person of public interest is touched on a few times, but never an actual topic. if brought up, it is pretty much only out of convenience, if the plot needs to be a bit more dramatic
- especially in the first half of the show, the main character's behavior doesn't make any sense whatsoever. he is supposed to be in his 40s when he travels back in time, but behaves like a barely grown up. with no signs of maturity, rationality or life experience. he (and sometimes the love interest as well) makes irrational decisions, just to artificially create some drama and extend the story by an episode or two
- overall, the characters are poorly written: every single character in the show is either 100% good or 100% bad, the majority of the characters are also super stereotypical. almost no character development across the show.
- most side characters are just there when they are needed to artificially blow up the plot, and are completely irrelevant/not mentioned at all in between. most of them are not an organic part of the story and therefore make the story better in any way.
- villainization of women: while it is common, that BL stories feature only few female characters, 4/5 women in this show (ranging from guest to support roles) are displayed as the embodiment of a villain, without any positive character trait
- while I found the music appropriate for the most parts, some of the more prominent music themes are just super repetitive, to the point where it was straight up annoying. I usually don't pay attention to music in shows at all, so the fact that I noticed this 1-4 times per episode means a lot.
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had great expectations, but it was just an okay watch
overall, this show has a similar vibe to manner of death, in terms of theme and what the plot attempts to do. while this one has an even more intriguing topic, it ended up being a bit disappointing and I don't think I'll rewatch this. I might have enjoyed it more, if I had less expectations going into it.first things first
- yes, there is romance. but if you plan to watch it only for the romance, you'll probably be disappointed, since it's not the goal of the show to emphasize the development of the main character's relationship.
- yes, the topic is controversial and for a grown up audience. I didn't feel that topic of euthanasia itself was a problematic issue of the show. however, if you don't want to reflect on your own standpoint on this topic, or see it explored from different angles (or not at all), this show is probably not for you.
what I enjoyed:
- plot driven, with a sprinkle bl romance that is not just there for some kitschy fan service or whatever
- interesting and serious topic, that has no devinitive right or wrong answer
- characters in all shades of morally grey, with different opinions on the topic
- the controversy of euthanasia is highlighted from the various character's perspectives, highlighting the moral dilemma that this topic can open up
- I'd say there is a slight bias towards one opinion on this, due to the main character's opinion naturally being more prominent than others. but not it's not so one sided, that viewers with a different view won't enjoy watching this at all. the show still tries to leave the viewer enough room for their own opinion
what I did not enjoy:
- the story attempts to mislead the viewer the same way as the characters are mislead. as the story progresses, both the characters and the viewers learn more facts about the various events and the character's intentions. (similar as in manner of death I guess) however, if you pay a bit attention, it's fairly easy to predict the plot from episode 2 or 3 to almost all the way til the end, and thus, the story gets a bit tedious to watch
- the characters sometimes act very out of line with their innate believes (i wont go into details to avoid spoilers)
- there are occasions, where it feels like the scriptwriters didn't look up some key principles of euthanasia thoroughly. which leads to scenes that are meant to reflect a pro-euthanasia situation, but are actually problematic (e.g. accepting the "i dont want a burden to others)" as consent). although this might not be noticeable, unless you have read up on the topic.
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