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labcat
This review may contain spoilers
Schizophrenic series that tries to be so many different things, sometimes succeeding
What a mix of genres we have in this series. Perhaps we can call it a sports (e-sports) drama since it is focused on competitive gamers, but I'm not sure how accurately it depicts the sport. The series is also a youth drama that seems to be encouraging young people to follow their dreams and persevere despite the odds. Yet, it also has an important sci-fi-ish inter-era communication element (not time travel, the main character clarifies, presumably for the benefit of censors): a main character from 2019 manages to communicate with someone in 2008. The even has a crime element to it.
The motivational moments are not really badly done, but they can get a little too heavy at times, even reeking of unabashed patriotism and propaganda. I am not into gaming, and, for me, the game scenes are a little too prolonged at times. They work best when they are meant to reflect the relationships and feelings of the characters outside the game. Don't worry that the scenes would look like recordings of games though. Drama series conventions have it that world of the games in the story feature the actors of the characters in their respective gaming roles,
The part of the series that keeps me watching is the inter-era communication element. It may not be the most fascinating concept ever, but the series manages to use it well, starting with the 2019 character trying to save his brother by getting his 2008 friend to prevent an accident. It takes quite a few episode before this inter-era communication thing gets really interesting, however, because the series tries to be so many things at once.
The youth/gaming drama parts are, to me, less interesting, but this is somewhat compensated for by some nice characterisation and the development of the characters' relationships. The 2019 Xiaobei and his relationships with his brother and parents are movingly depicted without being sappy. The unity and tensions of the gaming teams are also nicely portrayed. There is even a bizarre comic scene involving a character who is sent to a fake rehabilitation center by his family--his teammates try to rescue him and chaos ensue in the center. The rescue mission is filmed by the game scenes, with the characters having different weapons and fighting one another.
Coming of age woes, the struggle for recognition, parental disapproval, romance, bromance, time "travel" .... This series seems to have everything. But I think the narrative would be tighter with a focus on the inter-era communication storyline. The gaming parts can be toned down. To be fair, the story is relatively coherent despite a few inconsistencies and plot holes, but the quality is not that consistent. Or at least it cannot be everyone's cup of tea for everything it tries to be. (I don't usually care about the numbers when I review, but I would give the parts I like at least an 8/10 overall, but the other parts perhaps a 7 - 7.5/10.)
The motivational moments are not really badly done, but they can get a little too heavy at times, even reeking of unabashed patriotism and propaganda. I am not into gaming, and, for me, the game scenes are a little too prolonged at times. They work best when they are meant to reflect the relationships and feelings of the characters outside the game. Don't worry that the scenes would look like recordings of games though. Drama series conventions have it that world of the games in the story feature the actors of the characters in their respective gaming roles,
The part of the series that keeps me watching is the inter-era communication element. It may not be the most fascinating concept ever, but the series manages to use it well, starting with the 2019 character trying to save his brother by getting his 2008 friend to prevent an accident. It takes quite a few episode before this inter-era communication thing gets really interesting, however, because the series tries to be so many things at once.
The youth/gaming drama parts are, to me, less interesting, but this is somewhat compensated for by some nice characterisation and the development of the characters' relationships. The 2019 Xiaobei and his relationships with his brother and parents are movingly depicted without being sappy. The unity and tensions of the gaming teams are also nicely portrayed. There is even a bizarre comic scene involving a character who is sent to a fake rehabilitation center by his family--his teammates try to rescue him and chaos ensue in the center. The rescue mission is filmed by the game scenes, with the characters having different weapons and fighting one another.
Coming of age woes, the struggle for recognition, parental disapproval, romance, bromance, time "travel" .... This series seems to have everything. But I think the narrative would be tighter with a focus on the inter-era communication storyline. The gaming parts can be toned down. To be fair, the story is relatively coherent despite a few inconsistencies and plot holes, but the quality is not that consistent. Or at least it cannot be everyone's cup of tea for everything it tries to be. (I don't usually care about the numbers when I review, but I would give the parts I like at least an 8/10 overall, but the other parts perhaps a 7 - 7.5/10.)
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