26
49
2
1
3
1
3
1
1
1
2
3
Not what it seems but a deep look into one’s psyche with morals/ethics and relationships explored
This is incredibly long and will get into spoiler territory in the form of a super long comment on the review. I ABSOLUTELY ADVISE YOU TO ONLY READ THE “SPOILER” MARKED COMMENT BELOW AFTER WATCHING if you want this one human’s explanation for their interpretation. This is a show that has a lot of stuff to chew on and will get a lot of different interpretations, many resigned to just not getting it. Wait to see if you ARE one of the resigned to confusion sorts before these reviews get fully read for your own sake!
This is not a dystopian-set BL to me. I went in not knowing anything which served me well since I expected nothing whereas many seemingly thought it’d be a spicy BL. It isn’t. It does showcase gay behavior, sure, straight behavior, too, those behaviors instrumental in understanding it BUT NOT what the storytellers made this to deliver us. They aspired to something bigger, what may be the ultimate human dystopian hell, no spoilers up here.
Things to avoid: 1) wanting a BL, 2) refusing to let the story unfold without the degree of good faith effort required 3) getting obsessed and unable to let go of early theories that you love but maybe don’t fit anymore or resigning yourself to just not getting it 4) jumping on a social bandwagon of rage to complain quickly instead of thinking about the ideas presented that while not new ideas certainly have quite the different lens through which to see and think about them.
I confess I feel a bit uncomfortably preachy in defending the work’s strong points that for me did outweigh the negatives by quite a lot even as some things got visually mundane and some riddles mentioned by another reviewer felt lame (but understandable later even if I might choose other questions except for the last “missed” question in the fight with the “chaos/creator/controller” woman in that dark space early on… the reason behind the final one, the REAL reason, really hit home later as someone familiar with the things happening as weird as that sounds for any dystopian setting). With a kind of calm, “observation mode” sort of viewing of this, most can get a far better grasp of many coherent options for what is happening here (and hey, maybe BellA’s review or mine can help guide lost souls to the finish line).
I saw some early scathing comments blaming the script when under a third of had aired at the time as well as the whole “actors who can’t act” copied and pasted hostile comment seen almost everywhere. These are certainly not the best cast members in the nation, but assumptions early on reflect mostly on the ones not allowing them to deliver their parts. This is a case wherein actors absolutely SHOULD NOT be consistent in character delivery, and these kids, all new faces to me, managed bizarre, challenging roles pretty well, the story much bigger than their ages&experience give them the full opportunity to understand with a quick read. The confusion felt by people when watching IS INTENTIONAL. To be fair, when are (good) dystopia-set works clear as a meticulously maintained budget balance sheet? I also think the production and editing teams did well overall.
This is one to watch WITHOUT knowing anything cause if you know the big picture, you will really lose out on the important thing here, the experience of viewing with your mind engaged, not just taking anyone’s word for it. It is brain food. It is a tad philosophical. It is deeply psychological but not in a way that will make you feel immense emotions about THEM. It is not as casual a watch as most prefer. Specific experiences that made it easy for ME to be immersed won’t apply to most, and maybe it isn’t laid out plainly enough to grasp the mindsets presented easily. I suggest you watch in order and critically without skipping/fast forwarding (just take breaks if the dialogue tires you, or drop it if it isn’t your thing and you don’t have NDD like me). I slept twice and watched other stuff between viewing sessions, and three sessions seems ideal, two if you have loads of mental energy winter weather doesn’t afford me. Don’t watch when your body or just your brain is tired or you’ll miss a LOT in a couple of seconds many times over, so many times I nearly missed important parts before having the sense to take a long break myself.
A couple of theories have been given that I really enjoyed reading! I decided to, when a response got too long, instead put that here. There’s a more simple option (one of many I entertained) that I haven’t yet seen in a review. It may not satisfy some though I don’t think the base story being more simple makes the exploration of the human mind through storytelling any less intriguing—and bless their intern/grunt worker for consulting an expert to at least not totally botch it like they did Leap Day (along with bad science, writers abandoned anything they didn’t know how to properly close like the drawings). For that, I send you to the comment I will post below.
In the end, I land at an 8.5. I found the story intriguing, the acting solid even with many “faces” to portray, and it is well worth a rewatch I may give it to match the different bits together that I was happy to see merged as it came to a close. I do wish there was an eighth episode for reasons I’ll get to in the spoiler comment. If it had an 8th episode to do what can otherwise only be accomplished with a careful rewatch, I’d rate it even higher, maybe, but the 8.5 accounts for me being able to catch plenty in a single time viewed and my ability to go back as many times as I want.
This is not a dystopian-set BL to me. I went in not knowing anything which served me well since I expected nothing whereas many seemingly thought it’d be a spicy BL. It isn’t. It does showcase gay behavior, sure, straight behavior, too, those behaviors instrumental in understanding it BUT NOT what the storytellers made this to deliver us. They aspired to something bigger, what may be the ultimate human dystopian hell, no spoilers up here.
Things to avoid: 1) wanting a BL, 2) refusing to let the story unfold without the degree of good faith effort required 3) getting obsessed and unable to let go of early theories that you love but maybe don’t fit anymore or resigning yourself to just not getting it 4) jumping on a social bandwagon of rage to complain quickly instead of thinking about the ideas presented that while not new ideas certainly have quite the different lens through which to see and think about them.
I confess I feel a bit uncomfortably preachy in defending the work’s strong points that for me did outweigh the negatives by quite a lot even as some things got visually mundane and some riddles mentioned by another reviewer felt lame (but understandable later even if I might choose other questions except for the last “missed” question in the fight with the “chaos/creator/controller” woman in that dark space early on… the reason behind the final one, the REAL reason, really hit home later as someone familiar with the things happening as weird as that sounds for any dystopian setting). With a kind of calm, “observation mode” sort of viewing of this, most can get a far better grasp of many coherent options for what is happening here (and hey, maybe BellA’s review or mine can help guide lost souls to the finish line).
I saw some early scathing comments blaming the script when under a third of had aired at the time as well as the whole “actors who can’t act” copied and pasted hostile comment seen almost everywhere. These are certainly not the best cast members in the nation, but assumptions early on reflect mostly on the ones not allowing them to deliver their parts. This is a case wherein actors absolutely SHOULD NOT be consistent in character delivery, and these kids, all new faces to me, managed bizarre, challenging roles pretty well, the story much bigger than their ages&experience give them the full opportunity to understand with a quick read. The confusion felt by people when watching IS INTENTIONAL. To be fair, when are (good) dystopia-set works clear as a meticulously maintained budget balance sheet? I also think the production and editing teams did well overall.
This is one to watch WITHOUT knowing anything cause if you know the big picture, you will really lose out on the important thing here, the experience of viewing with your mind engaged, not just taking anyone’s word for it. It is brain food. It is a tad philosophical. It is deeply psychological but not in a way that will make you feel immense emotions about THEM. It is not as casual a watch as most prefer. Specific experiences that made it easy for ME to be immersed won’t apply to most, and maybe it isn’t laid out plainly enough to grasp the mindsets presented easily. I suggest you watch in order and critically without skipping/fast forwarding (just take breaks if the dialogue tires you, or drop it if it isn’t your thing and you don’t have NDD like me). I slept twice and watched other stuff between viewing sessions, and three sessions seems ideal, two if you have loads of mental energy winter weather doesn’t afford me. Don’t watch when your body or just your brain is tired or you’ll miss a LOT in a couple of seconds many times over, so many times I nearly missed important parts before having the sense to take a long break myself.
A couple of theories have been given that I really enjoyed reading! I decided to, when a response got too long, instead put that here. There’s a more simple option (one of many I entertained) that I haven’t yet seen in a review. It may not satisfy some though I don’t think the base story being more simple makes the exploration of the human mind through storytelling any less intriguing—and bless their intern/grunt worker for consulting an expert to at least not totally botch it like they did Leap Day (along with bad science, writers abandoned anything they didn’t know how to properly close like the drawings). For that, I send you to the comment I will post below.
In the end, I land at an 8.5. I found the story intriguing, the acting solid even with many “faces” to portray, and it is well worth a rewatch I may give it to match the different bits together that I was happy to see merged as it came to a close. I do wish there was an eighth episode for reasons I’ll get to in the spoiler comment. If it had an 8th episode to do what can otherwise only be accomplished with a careful rewatch, I’d rate it even higher, maybe, but the 8.5 accounts for me being able to catch plenty in a single time viewed and my ability to go back as many times as I want.
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