I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
Namwah is a university student, who along with her friend is obsessed with shipping imaginary couples. Then we meet Gap, a lead singer of a boy band, who are struggling to promote their band, because truth be told, they are not really the best. After an accidental meeting for the fangirls, Gap stands in midst of cheering crowd and announces himself as a fanboy. Namwah and Gap become friends, because Namwah wants to use him to ship one of her favorite couples and Gap can use her to use her brother's song studio for practice. Her brother is a famous and rich music producer. When she meets all the band members, Namwah observes several suggestive interactions between the guys and starts mentally shipping a few of them together. The friendship between Gap and Namwah slowly starts taking an interesting turn with their feelings for one another, while a whole lot of time is also spent showing us various couple combinations within the band and with Namwah's brother. However, Gap feels guilty about deceiving Namwah, especially since he isn't a real BL fan. To be honest, at this point there were so many characters and so many couples being shipped; that I completely lost interest in the series and didn't care much for the characters.
Despite the show being high on production values, very cheerful and upbeat, I just couldn't get myself into it. The series felt silly, and I understand the target audience are the teenage girls, yaoi crazy fans, who are all about BL world. I secretly think myself of that world too, but a lack of coherent actual BL story; just didn't get me invested in this show. It came across as slightly frivolous, unable to transition from a childish comedy into a mature drama. The show maybe tried to show the thin line between being fans and crossing the line to obsession, but it doesn't do that very well. Stalking celebrities and invading their privacy is the wrong thing to do, but it never takes itself seriously. The fact that our lead girl would literally shove her camera on just anyone's private moments is just not cool. Also the so called straight guy Gap pretending to be gay, appropriating himself in a genre that he really doesn't understand also did not sit well with me. His and Namwah's relationship is built on deceit and opportunism. The side actual BL stories felt shallow and as I said, I had completely lost interest in the characters by then. I can see how and why there are and will be many many fans of the show. It has a zany story, goofy characters, and good closure for the ending. But the BL drama is too casual and lightweight. I'm left with tepid feelings.Its one of the genres, which I categorize as guilty pleasure, and I have normally found myself like such teen shows, but somehow this time, its just too much even for me. (3/10)
Comments
It seems kinda trending topic lately, the idols handling their fame and fandom crossing the line. Plus the managers and companies expecting profit and setting rules. And I couldn't agree more, someone has to show that the idols are - first and foremost - human beings who 1) just work in the frontline of the showbiz and 2) for chrissake eat, shit and sleep just like the rest of us.
What I liked the most was the dynamics of the band. One of my best friends is leaving his band due to some serious issues and difference of opinions and thanks to this series I actually understand his current situation a lot better and hopefully I can be a better friend. It's painful to watch and hard to listen, but it will get better. AND when I told him about the series he actually went looking for Evening Sunday music videos on Youtube :D That's new. Found one and liked it - that's surprising. So, would the inner teenage girl of Sailor Maan please kindly accept our mutual gratitude for recommending this series :D
Somehow this time it wasn't my cuppa tea :)
And since you liked this one you can try one of my favourite "teenage girl inside" BL series: Great Men Academy. Add just a magic unicorn and a wtf 1st episode and you're set. Golu needless to say you should skip this one lmao (I don't want me to hate me for real...)
Can't wait to have your thoughts on it!