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labcat
This review may contain spoilers
The BL part was great but not the story related to the title
The title refers to a supposed curse in a school that misfortune would befall students who break the school's strict rules. The effects of the curse are rumored to be especially powerful during a solar eclipse. Is there a supernatural element here or is there a sinister human hand behind the scenes? This premise is so intriguing, but it ends up being the weakest part of the story. I would have appreciated a nice story about some sinister person controlling the mysterious events behind the scenes, perhaps in the fashion of The Gifted. In fact, the series did give me The Gifted vibes at the start--imagine how nice it would be to have something like The Gifted with a BL plot.
Unfortunately, the story about the curse fizzles out. First, you sense something amiss when there is barely any real development with regard to the curse for many episodes despite the frequent allusions to it. It quickly becomes clear that this isn't a supernatural drama (which is fine) and that there are human forces behind the misfortunes that befall misbehaving students (which is also fine). Unfortunately, the writers seem hesitant about developing the plot with regard to the curse.
Ultimately, the rumors about the curse are merely an excuse for the BL story. Yet, do we need an excuse for the BL story? The story of the main couple, the head prefect of the school and a seemingly rebellious student who defies the rules of the school, is fine. The part about the curse makes the story seem original at first, but it fails to deliver. The writers have done a pretty good job developing the main characters, and the effort spent on the virtually meaningless part about the curse could have been spent on the characters' backgrounds and personal struggles instead. For instance, Thuaphu (one half of the second BL couple) is an interesting character who is unfortunately underdeveloped. His relationship with his stepfather seems interesting and could have been given more attention. Really, we don't need a premise like a curse. The students' struggles with the school authorities could simply be there without some reference to a curse.
To make matters worse, it is rather laughable that the school, despite being supposedly an institution with archaic, oppressive rules that are strictly enforced, frequently has a few students protesting about its rules. And the protestors do not get into serious trouble with the school authorities. So much for being an oppressive environment that emphasizes discipline in a way that is out of sync with the contemporary world.
As a mystery, the story does come with at least one red herring and a couple of twists. But it is a little too late and too ineffectively delivered. In fact, I wish that the red herring had not been a red herring. It involves a student who aspires to be a prefect--the story could have been more interesting if he had been the one behind the apparent fulfillment of the curse.
Despite the disappointing plot about the curse, the BL parts are nicely done. They may not be really original, but they are better than the average set-in-a-high-school BL. The personalities of five of the main characters (the two couples and one of their friends who is interested in film) are nicely developed and distinguished. If only there had been a stronger story holding everything together.
Unfortunately, the story about the curse fizzles out. First, you sense something amiss when there is barely any real development with regard to the curse for many episodes despite the frequent allusions to it. It quickly becomes clear that this isn't a supernatural drama (which is fine) and that there are human forces behind the misfortunes that befall misbehaving students (which is also fine). Unfortunately, the writers seem hesitant about developing the plot with regard to the curse.
Ultimately, the rumors about the curse are merely an excuse for the BL story. Yet, do we need an excuse for the BL story? The story of the main couple, the head prefect of the school and a seemingly rebellious student who defies the rules of the school, is fine. The part about the curse makes the story seem original at first, but it fails to deliver. The writers have done a pretty good job developing the main characters, and the effort spent on the virtually meaningless part about the curse could have been spent on the characters' backgrounds and personal struggles instead. For instance, Thuaphu (one half of the second BL couple) is an interesting character who is unfortunately underdeveloped. His relationship with his stepfather seems interesting and could have been given more attention. Really, we don't need a premise like a curse. The students' struggles with the school authorities could simply be there without some reference to a curse.
To make matters worse, it is rather laughable that the school, despite being supposedly an institution with archaic, oppressive rules that are strictly enforced, frequently has a few students protesting about its rules. And the protestors do not get into serious trouble with the school authorities. So much for being an oppressive environment that emphasizes discipline in a way that is out of sync with the contemporary world.
As a mystery, the story does come with at least one red herring and a couple of twists. But it is a little too late and too ineffectively delivered. In fact, I wish that the red herring had not been a red herring. It involves a student who aspires to be a prefect--the story could have been more interesting if he had been the one behind the apparent fulfillment of the curse.
Despite the disappointing plot about the curse, the BL parts are nicely done. They may not be really original, but they are better than the average set-in-a-high-school BL. The personalities of five of the main characters (the two couples and one of their friends who is interested in film) are nicely developed and distinguished. If only there had been a stronger story holding everything together.
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