Why a rating of 8.6 ... for me this was🌟10/10🌟GOD TIER LEVEL miliary drama This has been the most epic and compelling military and human drama I have ever seen ... the depth and dimension in the script was absolutely brilliant, the production and score and acting was absolutely first class.
For those worried about "propaganda" ... don't ... or get over it, because it is no different to the 'propaganda' other countries put in their military stories and you will miss out watching a first rate production. At its core it is a human drama ... the script, the acting, the production and cinematography were truly superlative.
There were so many poignant and parallel human story lines that were so masterfully woven together against the military backdrop ... so many life lessons ... so many heart breaking tragedies ... the characters were fully fleshed out and so unique ... not tropey or cheesy at all.
It has been absolutely compelling viewing. I have never seen such range and depth of emotion from Yang Yang and the other actors in his 'squad' ... it was like they were the real deal. Acting and producing this series must have been a herculean task and they really pulled it off.
First time watching this drama ... in the cosmic romantic drama universe it shines like a magnificent star. ... even three years after it was released it is still God Tier production 🌟10/10🌟
This is streaming on iQIYI (VIP subscription). Description: Two consecutive homicide cases occurred in the Longshan area, causing huge repercussions in society. The people are in fear and the pressure put on the police is increased sharply. So, a “118” special task force is immediately established, with Li Hui, the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation, and Guo Ming, the captain of the criminal investigation team, serving as the main and deputy leaders. Li Hui, who is about to retire in around ten days, is determined to solve this case before retirement to bring his lifelong career in criminal law to a perfect end. However, behind the two seemingly unrelated homicide cases lies a meticulously-designed conspiracy, and the situation is shrouded in mystery. In order to obtain a huge fortune and frame her half-sister Liu Yu, the jealous and resentful Liu Xinxin frequently switches between the identities of Liu Yu and Liu Xinxin. The new and old criminal policemen let go of their past grievances and join forces to investigate, ultimately resolving the mystery.
😏... smh ... the last episode had me positively hyperglycemic ...
all the evil people repented of their despicable ways and were blessed with the forgiveness of their victims ... together they all forged a better future together ... a future filled with sister/brotherhood, love and happiness ... and everyone lived happily ever after.
I really loved the beginning of this series but sadly it crashed and burned big time ... the crash started slow and then escalated exponentially incorporating just about every trope imaginable ... well not really but they might as well have given they even had to repeat tropes as if the first one wasn't enough. The 180 flip in the last two episodes was beyond ridiculous.
Such a shame for the actors as I think they did very well ... the script was the biggest weakness in this series. The only reason I kept watching was for the ML and the OST ... I looked forward to hearing that each episode ... I wonder who the singer is 🤔
"KIrishima said we should stop the clubs and start to live our life" ... absolutely brilliant movie on every front…
KIrishima said we should stop the clubs and start to live our life
A very thought provoking and cleverly produced film ... each day ... the same time was sliced up showing the different perspectives of each of the characters that 'flowed' in and out of that moment ... how their 'story' changed depending on the perspective ... very clever and very illuminating at the same time.
The film about the zombies ... so symbolic - the movie club's difficulties trying to find 'their place' to film and their script about zombie students eating 'live' students - a very apt symbolic parallel to what was actually happening in the students' real lives ... students trying to find 'their place' in the scheme of things and students trying to live and thrive but becoming victims of the brainless attacking zombies (bullies). This 'movie within a movie' was like a satire of what was going down at the school in Kirishima's absence. Meanwhile Kirishima realising the 'zombification' of everyone decided to leave them to it and go off and do his own thing and live ... not get eaten by the zombified system of social bullying and validation. Kirishima obliquely hinted that in his note about disbanding the clubs.
The degrees of separation from a single person is more often than not, only ever recognised when they are gone ... this was profoundly shown by the response of the students to the initial rumour, and then reality, that Kirishima was gone. When the rumour that Kirishima was up on the roof spread around ... wow what a reaction from the students. Students who had a direct tie to Kirishima ran up to the roof to find him ... other students ran after the students running after Kirishima ... every single one 'tied', in one way or another to Kirishima ... so fascinating. When they all got up to the roof top what did they find ... a movie enactment about zombies eating students which then, ironically, turned become 'real' when the students chasing after Kirishima (akin to zombies) attacked the students who were filming ... the irony of it all ... so brilliantly done. And of course, the effect of Kirishima's absence on the female students was astounding ... they were so whacked in the head ... the saxophone student ... smh ... just outright weird (imo) ... the presence or absence of Kirishima in their lives was absolutely profound ... it completely altered their interactions with everyone ... fascinating ... they were all like zombies ...
I am not sure what the go was with Hiroki ... I may have to watch it again and think about it ... but I did like it when student camera man (cannot remember his name) aimed his 8mm camera on him ... focusing on him up and down and then saying how beautiful he was ... to me it was as if he was asking Hiroki who are you really ... zombie or a live human ... as a live human you are beautiful ... I think Hiroki was perhaps the most affected by Kirishima's absence but in a more 'awakened' kind of way ... idk ... that is my reaction to it.
IMO this movie was little psychological treasure. I am sure I would get more out of it on repeat viewings ... but I can see that it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
"KIrishima said we should stop the clubs and start to live our life" ... absolutely brilliant movie on every front - the acting, the music, the camera angles, the portrayal of 'time' and the different 'facets' of perspective that relates to a specific time period ... just brilliant.
WOW this was really good ... it was very thought provoking ... Buddha's eight sufferings and how that plays out in human relationships ... 1) Suffering of Birth; 2) Suffering of Old Age; 3) Suffering of Sickness; 4) Suffering of Death; 5) Suffering of being apart from loved ones; 6) Suffering being with the despised ones; 7) Suffering from not getting what you want and 8) Suffering from the flourishing of the five skandhas (matter, sensations, perception, formations, and consciousness which make up the physical and mental existence of each person and in turn give rise to craving and clinging).
All of these eight sufferings got full play in this story and there were a couple of plot twists I didn't expect ... yes, this was a very good story ... and it was also very moving ... and heartbreaking too ... and more then a little bit existential, well I thought so anyway. I loved the sci-fi / supernatural combo too ... it was woven in very well.
WOW ... this series took me to a place that I did not expect. At first I was going to drop it because I cannot stand the ego and viciousness of competitive cooking ... this dark side of human behaviour destroys the flavour of food (even if it was only me looking at it) ... however, the mysteriousness of Kai kept me invested and I am so glad for that mystery, as the final few episodes were the pinnacle ... this turned out to be a very profound human story ... like the food they prepared, this story had so many levels of complexity and 'flavours' that built up a sense profundity that evolved and deepened over time ... and just like the food served ... this series left an unexpected and profound 'flavour' on my mental 'palate' ... it was very well written and very well acted ... 🌟🙌🏼🌟.
I loved the OST as well ... except for the intro OST for the opening credits. I loved the sets too ... the light in the muted rooms ... the contrasting materials ... concrete, wood contrasted by the greens of foliage ... there is so much to this series ... it was a feast for the visual and auditory senses that is for sure ... a shame I couldn't dive into it and actually taste the food ... oh well 😊
This is kind of an oppressing but very interesting movie ... "Downfall" ... it certainly was a downfall ... one word that alters your whole perspective about yourself ... that one word spoken by someone who says "you don't know anything about me, but I know all about you" ... that one word that became as big and deep and seething as an ocean under a dark sky ... an ocean full of that 'word' that ebbs and flows inside you ... taints perspectives ... everything becoming futile and superficial in comparison to it.
When Fukuzawa was on the 'rise', to a degree he could float of the surface of that restless seething ocean of that word, but when he went into 'decline' as a Mangaka, the 'downfall' consumed him ... he desperately looked for distractions ... something ... someone that embraced him like a mother who loved her monster child ... or embraced him like a lover who was blind to the monster within ... only to realise that lover knew he was the monster after all.
I didn't realise until the end, just how much Fukuzawa Kaoru's teenage relationship with the cat eyed girl coloured his perspective on his life, who he was and what his place in the world was. It is sad that we don't come with our own innate sense of who we are and that as children we rely on parents, society, education, religion, politics etc to define that for us.
The solution ... idk ... in the case of Fukuzawa the only solution was to rise again ... but it wasn't really a solution ... more like a stop gap measure ... which came crumbling down again with that passionate outpouring of his long term Mangaka fan.
I think there was a lot of symbolism in this movie ... the ocean in particular ... it definitely was one of the main characters 😊 ... the vastness of that ocean ... the vastness of the sand dunes that lead to it ... the seasons coming and going ... there is a kind of purity in those scenes, a constancy that contrasts with the chaos and accumulated clutter, and rubbish of living, the bullshit uttered by sychophants ... how do you ride that kind of ebb and flow of living? Very interesting movie ... Saitoh Takumi really does these kinds of roles well ...
That was the fastest 24 episodes of anything I ever watched and every second was BRILLIANT ... I loved the script ... the green screen beach ... there are only two things I didn't like ... well three ... the ex-girlfriend, the fujoshi and ... damn ... that ending 😱💀.
Given what they got away with in this series ... I hope there is a season 2 ... because these actors knocked it out of the ball park ... brilliant brilliant brilliant 🙌🌟10/10🌟🙌
Bahaha not them making the female classmate and little Duo into Fujoshis so discreetly. It's so obvious what the…
Absolutely agree with you there. I think the scriptwriter (same one as the original Addicted:Heroin) has done a truly excellent job under the censorship circumstances and the actors have done a first class job too.
This has been the most epic and compelling military and human drama I have ever seen ... the depth and dimension in the script was absolutely brilliant, the production and score and acting was absolutely first class.
For those worried about "propaganda" ... don't ... or get over it, because it is no different to the 'propaganda' other countries put in their military stories and you will miss out watching a first rate production. At its core it is a human drama ... the script, the acting, the production and cinematography were truly superlative.
There were so many poignant and parallel human story lines that were so masterfully woven together against the military backdrop ... so many life lessons ... so many heart breaking tragedies ... the characters were fully fleshed out and so unique ... not tropey or cheesy at all.
It has been absolutely compelling viewing. I have never seen such range and depth of emotion from Yang Yang and the other actors in his 'squad' ... it was like they were the real deal. Acting and producing this series must have been a herculean task and they really pulled it off.
It is a standing ovation from me 👏👏👏👏
Two consecutive homicide cases occurred in the Longshan area, causing huge repercussions in society. The people are in fear and the pressure put on the police is increased sharply. So, a “118” special task force is immediately established, with Li Hui, the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation, and Guo Ming, the captain of the criminal investigation team, serving as the main and deputy leaders. Li Hui, who is about to retire in around ten days, is determined to solve this case before retirement to bring his lifelong career in criminal law to a perfect end. However, behind the two seemingly unrelated homicide cases lies a meticulously-designed conspiracy, and the situation is shrouded in mystery. In order to obtain a huge fortune and frame her half-sister Liu Yu, the jealous and resentful Liu Xinxin frequently switches between the identities of Liu Yu and Liu Xinxin. The new and old criminal policemen let go of their past grievances and join forces to investigate, ultimately resolving the mystery.
I really loved the beginning of this series but sadly it crashed and burned big time ... the crash started slow and then escalated exponentially incorporating just about every trope imaginable ... well not really but they might as well have given they even had to repeat tropes as if the first one wasn't enough. The 180 flip in the last two episodes was beyond ridiculous.
Such a shame for the actors as I think they did very well ... the script was the biggest weakness in this series. The only reason I kept watching was for the ML and the OST ... I looked forward to hearing that each episode ... I wonder who the singer is 🤔
A very thought provoking and cleverly produced film ... each day ... the same time was sliced up showing the different perspectives of each of the characters that 'flowed' in and out of that moment ... how their 'story' changed depending on the perspective ... very clever and very illuminating at the same time.
The film about the zombies ... so symbolic - the movie club's difficulties trying to find 'their place' to film and their script about zombie students eating 'live' students - a very apt symbolic parallel to what was actually happening in the students' real lives ... students trying to find 'their place' in the scheme of things and students trying to live and thrive but becoming victims of the brainless attacking zombies (bullies). This 'movie within a movie' was like a satire of what was going down at the school in Kirishima's absence. Meanwhile Kirishima realising the 'zombification' of everyone decided to leave them to it and go off and do his own thing and live ... not get eaten by the zombified system of social bullying and validation. Kirishima obliquely hinted that in his note about disbanding the clubs.
The degrees of separation from a single person is more often than not, only ever recognised when they are gone ... this was profoundly shown by the response of the students to the initial rumour, and then reality, that Kirishima was gone. When the rumour that Kirishima was up on the roof spread around ... wow what a reaction from the students. Students who had a direct tie to Kirishima ran up to the roof to find him ... other students ran after the students running after Kirishima ... every single one 'tied', in one way or another to Kirishima ... so fascinating. When they all got up to the roof top what did they find ... a movie enactment about zombies eating students which then, ironically, turned become 'real' when the students chasing after Kirishima (akin to zombies) attacked the students who were filming ... the irony of it all ... so brilliantly done. And of course, the effect of Kirishima's absence on the female students was astounding ... they were so whacked in the head ... the saxophone student ... smh ... just outright weird (imo) ... the presence or absence of Kirishima in their lives was absolutely profound ... it completely altered their interactions with everyone ... fascinating ... they were all like zombies ...
I am not sure what the go was with Hiroki ... I may have to watch it again and think about it ... but I did like it when student camera man (cannot remember his name) aimed his 8mm camera on him ... focusing on him up and down and then saying how beautiful he was ... to me it was as if he was asking Hiroki who are you really ... zombie or a live human ... as a live human you are beautiful ... I think Hiroki was perhaps the most affected by Kirishima's absence but in a more 'awakened' kind of way ... idk ... that is my reaction to it.
IMO this movie was little psychological treasure. I am sure I would get more out of it on repeat viewings ... but I can see that it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
All of these eight sufferings got full play in this story and there were a couple of plot twists I didn't expect ... yes, this was a very good story ... and it was also very moving ... and heartbreaking too ... and more then a little bit existential, well I thought so anyway. I loved the sci-fi / supernatural combo too ... it was woven in very well.
I loved the OST as well ... except for the intro OST for the opening credits. I loved the sets too ... the light in the muted rooms ... the contrasting materials ... concrete, wood contrasted by the greens of foliage ... there is so much to this series ... it was a feast for the visual and auditory senses that is for sure ... a shame I couldn't dive into it and actually taste the food ... oh well 😊
When Fukuzawa was on the 'rise', to a degree he could float of the surface of that restless seething ocean of that word, but when he went into 'decline' as a Mangaka, the 'downfall' consumed him ... he desperately looked for distractions ... something ... someone that embraced him like a mother who loved her monster child ... or embraced him like a lover who was blind to the monster within ... only to realise that lover knew he was the monster after all.
I didn't realise until the end, just how much Fukuzawa Kaoru's teenage relationship with the cat eyed girl coloured his perspective on his life, who he was and what his place in the world was. It is sad that we don't come with our own innate sense of who we are and that as children we rely on parents, society, education, religion, politics etc to define that for us.
The solution ... idk ... in the case of Fukuzawa the only solution was to rise again ... but it wasn't really a solution ... more like a stop gap measure ... which came crumbling down again with that passionate outpouring of his long term Mangaka fan.
I think there was a lot of symbolism in this movie ... the ocean in particular ... it definitely was one of the main characters 😊 ... the vastness of that ocean ... the vastness of the sand dunes that lead to it ... the seasons coming and going ... there is a kind of purity in those scenes, a constancy that contrasts with the chaos and accumulated clutter, and rubbish of living, the bullshit uttered by sychophants ... how do you ride that kind of ebb and flow of living?
Very interesting movie ... Saitoh Takumi really does these kinds of roles well ...
Given what they got away with in this series ... I hope there is a season 2 ... because these actors knocked it out of the ball park ... brilliant brilliant brilliant 🙌🌟10/10🌟🙌