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.

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What you expect.

I have nothing exceptionally good or bad to say about this one.
In lack of much else does the sentence - and my chosen headline - sum it all up pretty well; it's exactly what you expect it to be, with the possibility of more chemistry than anticipated.

STORY: 6/10
There was a lot left to be wished for in terms of characters development, fleshed-out story, tied ends and engagement, but it'll get one point above clean in-between for not being a high school drama. I'm a big fan of historical dramas, and for just a handful of 10-minute episodes, did it do alright. It actually didn't feel very rushed, something that even larger productions easily fail at most times, and that's also something that deserves a highlight. That and the openness about their "situation" between the two main characters actually made me very content.
The general plot intrigued me in its cliche glory, and I'm left feeling like I got exactly what I expected.
My one wish would've been if they skipped maybe one of their attempt at drama and took those precious minutes to give other happenings a more sincere closure, as they all felt like they were just left once the gasp-inducing moment was over.

ACTING/CASTING: 7/10
I wish this had been a large-production situation because the two leads held some incredible chemistry? If given the time and opportunity I genuinely believe these two would be in the top 10 pairings, at least on my end. Something about how they held themselves around each other and looked at one another felt very real and carried this series through and through. The majority of the script was quite cringy, but when they interacted it didn't even phase me.
Overall casting was good, no one really shone or stood out but again, these shorter series don't exactly have the room for it. So using that as a grid does a 7 feel about right.

MUSIC: 5/10
It was your general lower budget drama OST, nothing which sent your eyes watering but also didn't go completely bonkers either haha.

REWATCH VALUE: 1/10
Once is enough. You won't get much else out of a second watch besides maybe picking up on yet another loose end.

OVERALL: 5/10
It takes no time to watch, so do please give it that 1.5 h that it takes to get through. While not mind-blowing is it sweet, calm and completely freed of those awkward moments taken from thousand different angles where something painfully awkward happens.

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Wow

I'll come back to flesh this review out once the series has finished airing, but until then: WOW.
Opening episode? Brilliant.
The storyline so far? I'm hooked.
Characters? Adore them.
Music? Hits the spots.

The humour is light but adult, matching the theme SO well, the balance between serious and lighthearted is incredibly centred and just.. I'm down bad. This might just be this year's SHOW and I hope anyone who's side-eyed it so far opens a browser and watches.
My only complaint thus far will have to be that it is, in fact, still airing and I have the patience of a 5-year-old.

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