This review may contain spoilers
Cinematic Perfection
I can't believe I haven't written a review for this series yet even though I've seen it at least 5 or 6 times now. (I'm honestly not exaggerating on that 10 for a rewatch value.)
This series was just so well done in every aspect, it's hard to pick where to begin.
The story was unique and *gasp* it made sense! And while there was never (spoiler #1) any explanation on how or why Joe's soul ended up in another body, honestly, it didn't matter in the end. Enough happened that made me completely forget about "how" and "why" in a trade off of emotional twists and turns that completely wrecked me.
Now, I'm not usually one for angst... but after seeing this, I realize I'm not one for immature, teenager angst that is more frustrating than entertaining and almost always easily avoidable. *This* angst had me hooked on the line from the get-go and I couldn't break free until the very end. (I mean this in a good way.) The roller coaster Joe goes through as the parallels of his past life run alongside his new life are just so well done and portrayed that we feel like we're getting all the dizzying airtime right along with him.
Speaking of.. this was a rare case of phenomenal editing and visually stunning shooting. The way they took opportunities to either show Joe's reflection in a subtle but "remember, this is what he looks like to everyone else" kind of way was so well done. It was neither in your face or "blink and you miss it." And it wasn't too often as if they thought the audience would forget or be stupid about it. It was handled very well at peak plot points to hit us right in the heart with the reminder and it was hella effective.
The acting.. honestly, if I want to be a bit picky, I could knock off half a point for some of the supporting cast (Looking at you, May, Sol and Tharn) but really, they weren't all that distracting and I think it actually helped their characters a little bit to be "less than polished" so I can forgive it. But everyone else? Such great performances by literally everyone else. (Spoilers ahead) My god, I want a guardian angel like Wut... He really was the best grounding support to Joe who really needed it. And when he found out the truth and punched Joe before hugging him, that was a full on weeping moment for me even though I don't shed tears on series that often. But the combination of his hurt, his relief, *our* relief that someone finally knew the truth, and Joe's surprise and anguish was just a combination of emotions that basically reached in through the chest and squeezed the heart.
Even Tong was such a convincing a-hole that we just love to hate on him. Really, every time he showed up on screen, everyone in the watch party was like "Go away, Tong." And Up and Poom in the lead roles were nothing short of perfection. Whenever Joe lost his sh*t, it was heartbreaking and when Ming did yet another SMH thing or said something that made you want to slap him, it was perfectly delivered, none-the-less.
As far as Joe and Ming as characters... they really had so much going on while not being overwhelming to the audience. It was not hard to keep up even when a new development was introduced as everything boiled down to two (spoiler-y) simple concepts: Ming fell in love with Joe's back just never realized it was Joe until it was too late and; Joe was a simp for Ming from the get-go which made him powerless to stay out of Ming's orbit. Ming's personal growth and character development was so satisfying, it was one of the best I've seen in series ever. Even when he was painted as a villainous a-hole, we can't help but love the idiot. And he gets a redemption arc that feels natural and makes me forgive everything from the past after seeing it through his perspective. (Also, rewatches helped understand his actions more and more but not in a "I missed that the first time around" kind of way. More like a "Ahh, these were hints where if you know, you know" kind of way.)
Anyway, I could probably go on and on about this series but for the sake of not breaking down every scene with why I love it, I would just say do yourself a favor and watch this series. But, forewarning, it is not for the faint of heart... this will hurt but it will also heal. The payoff is definitely worth it in the end.
This series was just so well done in every aspect, it's hard to pick where to begin.
The story was unique and *gasp* it made sense! And while there was never (spoiler #1) any explanation on how or why Joe's soul ended up in another body, honestly, it didn't matter in the end. Enough happened that made me completely forget about "how" and "why" in a trade off of emotional twists and turns that completely wrecked me.
Now, I'm not usually one for angst... but after seeing this, I realize I'm not one for immature, teenager angst that is more frustrating than entertaining and almost always easily avoidable. *This* angst had me hooked on the line from the get-go and I couldn't break free until the very end. (I mean this in a good way.) The roller coaster Joe goes through as the parallels of his past life run alongside his new life are just so well done and portrayed that we feel like we're getting all the dizzying airtime right along with him.
Speaking of.. this was a rare case of phenomenal editing and visually stunning shooting. The way they took opportunities to either show Joe's reflection in a subtle but "remember, this is what he looks like to everyone else" kind of way was so well done. It was neither in your face or "blink and you miss it." And it wasn't too often as if they thought the audience would forget or be stupid about it. It was handled very well at peak plot points to hit us right in the heart with the reminder and it was hella effective.
The acting.. honestly, if I want to be a bit picky, I could knock off half a point for some of the supporting cast (Looking at you, May, Sol and Tharn) but really, they weren't all that distracting and I think it actually helped their characters a little bit to be "less than polished" so I can forgive it. But everyone else? Such great performances by literally everyone else. (Spoilers ahead) My god, I want a guardian angel like Wut... He really was the best grounding support to Joe who really needed it. And when he found out the truth and punched Joe before hugging him, that was a full on weeping moment for me even though I don't shed tears on series that often. But the combination of his hurt, his relief, *our* relief that someone finally knew the truth, and Joe's surprise and anguish was just a combination of emotions that basically reached in through the chest and squeezed the heart.
Even Tong was such a convincing a-hole that we just love to hate on him. Really, every time he showed up on screen, everyone in the watch party was like "Go away, Tong." And Up and Poom in the lead roles were nothing short of perfection. Whenever Joe lost his sh*t, it was heartbreaking and when Ming did yet another SMH thing or said something that made you want to slap him, it was perfectly delivered, none-the-less.
As far as Joe and Ming as characters... they really had so much going on while not being overwhelming to the audience. It was not hard to keep up even when a new development was introduced as everything boiled down to two (spoiler-y) simple concepts: Ming fell in love with Joe's back just never realized it was Joe until it was too late and; Joe was a simp for Ming from the get-go which made him powerless to stay out of Ming's orbit. Ming's personal growth and character development was so satisfying, it was one of the best I've seen in series ever. Even when he was painted as a villainous a-hole, we can't help but love the idiot. And he gets a redemption arc that feels natural and makes me forgive everything from the past after seeing it through his perspective. (Also, rewatches helped understand his actions more and more but not in a "I missed that the first time around" kind of way. More like a "Ahh, these were hints where if you know, you know" kind of way.)
Anyway, I could probably go on and on about this series but for the sake of not breaking down every scene with why I love it, I would just say do yourself a favor and watch this series. But, forewarning, it is not for the faint of heart... this will hurt but it will also heal. The payoff is definitely worth it in the end.
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