KingC

Here ya go! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GXRQjMnymH4

I watched the trailer and didn't understand a thing. I got the gist that the four guys are Mr. Time who are trying to help the girl. Plus, they are like the revenants? Not sure. But, there is very little info about it. (It was also shot from late 2017 to early 2018.)

It's a decent KDrama. But, personally, I felt that the writer focussed on the characters and other social issues a lot. They were well depicted, but something about the games felt waay off for me. The "thrill" just wasn't there and I was interesed a lot more on Guard No. 29 than the lead characters. That subplot had the right feelings for a "survival game".

Even 24 episodes is dangerous since they'll rush the plot to get to the end. It's good that it's not 36 cause as you said, they'll drag out the plot and make it uninteresting. So far, I'm satisfied with the pacing as of EP16. And according to a reviewer, it did actually get filmed abroad, including France! And this being a webdrama means that they need not spend any effort for it to reach foreign market. Pretty sure that it's freely available for everyone in Youtube and iQiyi. (Unless Youku intends to sell the rights to Netflix or any other international streaming services.)
The production team went to great lengths to bring originality to the story. So, I really hope they don't disappoint.

Apparently, it went through two rounds of editing as the first version displeased the director. And they might've tried sticking to what was only necessary since with 24 episodes, they can't afford to lose the quality of storytelling. The drama as of now is focussing on 7 characters based on Chen Mei Ru's fanfiction, but they keep deepening the story without adding unnecessary characters or filler, which I highly appreciate. Well... this is a CDrama and there are ten more episodes to go. I've been let down several times during the last bit of any drama, so I'm bracing myself.

100% agree with this. The original novel ended exactly at EP34; which is why it sort of looks like the ending of the drama/college life. Shi Yi coming back or their working life is not a part of the book, so what we see after that are written for the drama. Guess the writers didn't know any creative way to push the story forward, unfortunately.

There is not much focus on romance. It's more Bromance.

I made those comments almostmonth ago when English subtitles were still not released. Unless you scrolled to the end of this thread, they are buried for sure. Many users whom I had discussions with don't come over here anymore it seems. Now that the subtitles actually got released, they didn't manage to change my "fixated opinion" as I had hoped, but rather soldified my disappointment and disbelief at how they tried waaay too hard. (And failed, when it comes to me.)
And yes, I deleted the comment and instead merged it somewhere else. (Since the drama will complete airing today with subtitles, I left my final opinion about it.)
I don't usually do this, but in ARRTI's case, it was a good drama with potential, but didn't live upto what it could've been. Memorable and warm? Definitely! The best youth drama ever? Sadly, nope. Reply 1988 and Lovely Us still took that spot, unfortunately. (It's difficult to find like minded people unless I go on Weibo or douban.)
- -- There is a small arrow pointing downwards right next to the like button. We can edit or delete our comment through that. I hope it helps.

The last two episodes are plain mediocre. Had they stopped at EP34, it would've been a BE, but still had the real bitterness that made this drama a standout among many in it's genre. The slice-of-life feelings and warmth are totally gone.
Had they planned to go for a happy
and realistic ending, they shouldn't have overdramatized anything and let the characters stand up for themselves. Maybe Shi Yi could've left much earlier and we could see some response from XJ's end that makes some of us sympathize with her. But, the story dragged more than necessary and stuck to the book till EP34. What a wasted opportunity. Otherwise this could've easily been a a perfect drama.

This drama reminds me a lot of the Hollywood movie Enchanted. I laughed a lot, but also feel terrible for the female lead. The Babylonion legend itself seemed not-so-nice.

It's undoubtedly one of the better, if not one of the best, youth/slice of life dramas out there.
Many of us got to know the book's ending waay before the drama completed airing to keep low expectations and brace ourselves. We were also told that a lot of stuff and personalities got changed.
Viewers who got spoilt for the drama version were actually happy with how things turned out. (Yes, there were arguments/spoilers and whatnot by a few 'critical' viewers, but they are quite the minority.) So, rest assured, don't be too guarded and enjoy the remaining episodes. :)

I'm sorry you got spoilt. But, don't worry, there is not much in the novel, which was short and straightforward.
(One change I noticed: It wasn't Cheng Lang whom she told the truth to. But, Tao Tao. Feelings identified; bag stolen; Shi Yi doesn't respond to messages; she awaits his return to speak the truth; the final chapter is from Shi Yi's view, where he is at the airport and finally deciding to let go, which is when we readers realize that XJ was too late. The book ends with her final monologue in EP34.)
The live action added more drama for the sake of drama in the end. Hence, more chanced of spoilers. (Though, it's clear that the scriptwriter took the liberty to spin their own twist, but kept a close eye on the novel, which had a bitter end. They tried to change some stuff, but the same emotions got conveyed in EP34.) On the other hand, there are still two episodes left, but clips have been flying around since last month. So, it's almost impossible to avoid spoilers.

The book ends exactly at EP34, right down to the last line; minus all the extra scenes added and the misunderstanding part. Now that explains why there are three or four ambiguous episodes.

The number of people rating it matters.
https://kisskh.at/64987-time-machine/statistics

Majority of the viewers rated it an 8 or 7. Hence, why the score is only a 7.8 after everything.

I think the "time travel" part is not everyone's favorite. If we are not able to get a hang of it or dislike it, there is a high chance that the drama becomes not-so-enjoyable.

She does like 2ML, but it's said that he barely is able to see any of his friends as he was busy with his majors and all. So, she just carried her highschool love to college, but it only lasts for a year.
About why they focussed 27 episodes of FL's romantic life with the 2ML as a constant figure....That's the scriptwriter's decision I guess. My personal opinion would be that they should've wrapped up or atleast given hints of wrapping up the 2ML arc around EP24 or 26 to make room for better communication and development between the ML and FL after a timeskip. The relationship between both grew realistically strong by the 20s, but the pacing of the drama was off.

My favorite Korean BL out of all the ones I've watched! It was not just some random romance, but explored each character and their struggles. Really liked it. :)

Douban rating hasn't come out yet. But, the reviews are mostly positive (saw several 4-5 stars out of 10, also some three stars, but some people might've directly rated it without writing a review too).

You'll see it in today's episode. FL never confesses to the 2ML because he likes somebody else. She helps him with his confession and all as a good friend, but cries about her feelings for him in EP27, stopping Shiyi from confessing to her. Then, there is a timeskip. I guess she forgot about him by then. (But, it is implied that he realized she liked him in one of the future episodes.)

Youku has a lot of good dramas like Don't Leave After School, A River Runs Through It, etc. But, they do zero promotions for it, nor do they upload it for all countries on their official channel. I don't expect any of Youku's dramas to hit the top. Most of them go buried, particularly Youth dramas like this. Eg: Lovely Us from iQiyi (which gives very similar vibes to ARRTI) from last year is critically acclaimed, but nobody knows of its existence.