This review may contain spoilers
So good yet so bad
I'm profoundly and inconsolably torn about this series, and it's driving me nuts.
As it is an ongoing title, with only episode 4 just having aired as I'm typing this, and me not having seen its prior version nor read it, might writing a review right now not be the most fruitful. But as said am I so torn that I need to vent my mind somehow somewhere.
The STORY is my main, big issue so far. Actually, every trope which has, in previous series, had me drop them is present in Love Mechanics; the persistent pursuit of someone who's been very clear that they're not interested, unbalanced power dynamic during intimacy AND non-consensual intercourse, jokes about previously mentioned situations as if it's nothing serious. Sprinkle that with the weirdest and back-and-forth phasing, too much screen-time for certain scenes and too little for others, and unclear relationships. The list goes on.
I can admit to being on the picker side but I can overlook a lot of things in favour of a good plot, but that's also it - LM's plot isn't anything special: Two students catching interest in one another, one already in a straight relationship and the other dealing with whether they're fine being a side piece or not. Some overly dramatic incidents on top (a car crash and the escape of a weaponised and delusional, mentally unstable patient) which are brushed off and forgotten within minutes just... it's a lot yet absolutely nothing at all.
I've also yet to figure out just how much Vee and Mark knew each other before their first night together, as it's seemingly hinted that they're barely acquaintances with Vee only knowing Mark as the boy who isn't leaving his friend alone, yet does no one care when they seemingly out of the blue start to spend a LOT of time together. Which I naturally read in as that they’re not that estranged. This alone makes me incredibly frustrated as I can't tell whether the phasing of their relationship, banter and the reaction of people around them are to be expected and developing accordingly or not.
Nothing makes sense to me folks, nada. My hope rests in the coming episodes.
So why am I even watching it, if it's all so bad? Yin and War's ACTING. Their chemistry, how they portray emotions, how they make me buy every little thing between them (or around them) even as there's not a single horizontal line of the story to be found, has gotten me in a neck-lock. Each episode is roughly an hour but they make it feel like 10 minutes.
The way these two look and interact with one another onscreen reminds me of PPBK in I told sunset about you and it's breaking my mind.
Yin has me feel for Vee although he's the one causing every heartache so far, and War lets Mark show every emotion that he's feeling and shows us the struggles of being someone who falls in-love fast and hard. I'm rooting for them even if it's so clear already that the best for both would probably be to NOT get together; a new sensation which I rarely experience. In that sense am I a little conservative and never see the point to why one would want to fight for something that's barely begun yet is already causing so much pain and confusion. But I WANT them to get together. And seeing as they haven't followed the regular BL pattern, already turning the knife around a good few times while just releasing episode 4, do I fear the absolute misery heading our ways.
MUSIC and REWATCH value? The music is alright, nothing has really caught my attention but more importantly hasn’t it been throwing off the vibe of any scenes besides maybe ones. Rewatch value is and will probably remain very low, as I - as said - don't like how a huge portion of this drama has been made. But each to their own.
Overall will I class this as a huge guilty pleasure. It's beautifully made, the lead cast is incredible and the storytelling is horrid. I'm glued to the screen, can't wait for the next episode and I'm infuriated over it.
As it is an ongoing title, with only episode 4 just having aired as I'm typing this, and me not having seen its prior version nor read it, might writing a review right now not be the most fruitful. But as said am I so torn that I need to vent my mind somehow somewhere.
The STORY is my main, big issue so far. Actually, every trope which has, in previous series, had me drop them is present in Love Mechanics; the persistent pursuit of someone who's been very clear that they're not interested, unbalanced power dynamic during intimacy AND non-consensual intercourse, jokes about previously mentioned situations as if it's nothing serious. Sprinkle that with the weirdest and back-and-forth phasing, too much screen-time for certain scenes and too little for others, and unclear relationships. The list goes on.
I can admit to being on the picker side but I can overlook a lot of things in favour of a good plot, but that's also it - LM's plot isn't anything special: Two students catching interest in one another, one already in a straight relationship and the other dealing with whether they're fine being a side piece or not. Some overly dramatic incidents on top (a car crash and the escape of a weaponised and delusional, mentally unstable patient) which are brushed off and forgotten within minutes just... it's a lot yet absolutely nothing at all.
I've also yet to figure out just how much Vee and Mark knew each other before their first night together, as it's seemingly hinted that they're barely acquaintances with Vee only knowing Mark as the boy who isn't leaving his friend alone, yet does no one care when they seemingly out of the blue start to spend a LOT of time together. Which I naturally read in as that they’re not that estranged. This alone makes me incredibly frustrated as I can't tell whether the phasing of their relationship, banter and the reaction of people around them are to be expected and developing accordingly or not.
Nothing makes sense to me folks, nada. My hope rests in the coming episodes.
So why am I even watching it, if it's all so bad? Yin and War's ACTING. Their chemistry, how they portray emotions, how they make me buy every little thing between them (or around them) even as there's not a single horizontal line of the story to be found, has gotten me in a neck-lock. Each episode is roughly an hour but they make it feel like 10 minutes.
The way these two look and interact with one another onscreen reminds me of PPBK in I told sunset about you and it's breaking my mind.
Yin has me feel for Vee although he's the one causing every heartache so far, and War lets Mark show every emotion that he's feeling and shows us the struggles of being someone who falls in-love fast and hard. I'm rooting for them even if it's so clear already that the best for both would probably be to NOT get together; a new sensation which I rarely experience. In that sense am I a little conservative and never see the point to why one would want to fight for something that's barely begun yet is already causing so much pain and confusion. But I WANT them to get together. And seeing as they haven't followed the regular BL pattern, already turning the knife around a good few times while just releasing episode 4, do I fear the absolute misery heading our ways.
MUSIC and REWATCH value? The music is alright, nothing has really caught my attention but more importantly hasn’t it been throwing off the vibe of any scenes besides maybe ones. Rewatch value is and will probably remain very low, as I - as said - don't like how a huge portion of this drama has been made. But each to their own.
Overall will I class this as a huge guilty pleasure. It's beautifully made, the lead cast is incredible and the storytelling is horrid. I'm glued to the screen, can't wait for the next episode and I'm infuriated over it.
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