❝ Firstly, You only get 12 hours ❞
❝ Secondly, follow my lead and change nothing❞
❝ Thirdly, past or future, just let them be ❞Story & CharactersLink Click is not your usual show juggling various elements but a simple straightforward show with no complexity. If you understand the premise, you understand the story but its progress is not so predictable. I'm no expert in judging a story's caliber but my common sense tells me it is simplistically interesting and geniusly executed. Let me elaborate further, the story is intriguing due to its unique plot but at the same time, it is simple to understand and follow. My explanation may sound vague but this is something you have to watch the show firsthand to know exactly what I'm talking about. But moving on, time-traveling is a common concept by now and plenty of shows have experimented with it, but only a handful of animes have accomplished to properly demonstrate its potential to a greater extent. Link Click is not a Sci-Fi anime, instead it uses superpowers to mimic time travel and what makes it interesting is its character dynamics and the way it lays out the story. Character dynamics can hugely affect a story as characters are directly responsible for the events happening in the show which can lead the story to bend from minorly to drastically (common sense).As such, Link Click's story highly relies on characters and has a unique approach when it comes to fleshing out the characters which might seem shallow on the first look but you'll see the depth if you pay close attention to it. Before that, a short introduction of the two main characters would be nice. Lu Guang is a cool-headed, smart and logical person with a less-talk personality while Cheng Xiaoshi is like your typical shounen-ish main character who puts his emotions before logic and yea, the clumsy one among them but he is a kind person at heart and cherishes his friends. Further, they are good friends and partners in the work. Moving on to their character development, it is neither drastic nor prominent and almost feels like nothing has changed in them. The story is highly paced which is always moving which seems to hinder the character development, but Link Click finds a way to showcase its characters to some extent while juggling alongside a fast storyline. Given the number of episodes, it covers a lot story-wise but falls a bit short on its character development. Cheng is the only character with a decent background and it's safe to assume that he is the most fleshed-out character among all, Lu Guang sitting second to him. For the side characters, I have to praise this show cause we merely see them for 1-3 episodes but they leave a prominent mark. It presents the side characters in such a way that viewers can empathize with them which makes them hard to forget.Although Link Click falls short on character development, it covers that with an intriguing storyline full of surprises and cliffhangers. Trust me, you won't even feel that something is missing while watching the show. Actually, there isn't anything missing if I'm speaking with just the sheer experience I have of this show because sometimes the analysis doesn't matter, you just enjoy the show and that's what matters. I love to get caught off guard and it has a load of surprise elements; One moment you know what's going on and the next thing you know is that you don't know a sh*t what's happening. One of the major qualities of a good show is that it captivates the viewers into wanting more of it and I find this show to be best for binge-watching for that very reason. Believe me, every episode ends with a cliffhanger of criminal level (small heads up pfft). One another fascinating thing is that it connects some of the prior events which bloom out into fine mysteries, enhancing the story's caliber. So if I have to give a score to the story and characters combined then it'd be 10 out of 10 hands down.Art / AnimationAs I mentioned, the art style is different from your usual anime but not vastly different. First, let's talk about character designs, it's stylish and cool-looking. I am not very versed with donghua culture so I'm not sure if every donghua art style looks similar to it but I do like it cause it feels fresh. The character's art is not too detailed, it's around just fine which works well in my opinion. The background art is different too considering the setting is in china and it's detailed to some extent, but not absurdly. It's fine and all however, I do have a lil complaint which is its consistency. Throughout the show, there are quite a few times that the characters seem to look like how they are not supposed to look, but aside from that, it's all good. Coming towards its animation, it's good but not great, however, better than most of your usual seasonal shows. My favorite scene animation-wise is the basketball match where they absolutely nailed the choreography, the players' movements are fast, clean, and on-point, and the camera movement makes it even more cool looking. Further, I love the visuals for the opening song where the characters do the hand dance (idk what it is called exactly), it's smooth and cool. So yeah, there are no criticism for the visuals, it's an adorable eye candy.SoundHere we are at the sound section, one of my favorite. Let's start with the opening and ending song, the opening song is in English and is a total vibe. I love that song, it is upbeat and a total banger with all those instrumental parts, especially loved the electric guitar part. As for the ending, it's a rap song and has a darker vibe to it than the opening song. I love how every episode slowly approaches the ending song as the instrumental part begins and the vocal strikes as the episode ends. There are a lot of soundtracks in it and I love every single one of them, especially the emotional ones. Putting vocal soundtracks during the scenes was a brilliant maneuver cause we don't see vocals in background music that often which is both unique and well done in this show. As I mentioned earlier, my ears aren't used to hearing Chinese words so it took me a while to get accustomed to it. Aside from it, I find no problems in sound department.EnjoymentLink Click is a show that puts enjoyment above everything and totally nails it. Link Click's every episode hits like a truck and the episodic cliffhangers are just perfect for the engagement. The thing that makes it enjoyable is its restlessness because the story is always moving somewhere and soon as one arc is done, it immediately throws another one at you. It's a non-stop journey, one that is both amazing and enjoyable. Its small genre composition is just a tip of an iceberg as it has a lot more to offer, I'm talking about humor, action, and mystery. These elements do not appear as prominent as the actual genres but they do contribute in the amplification of the entertainment factor in the show. The dramas are intense and it sucks you into it as you start to empathize more and more with characters which feels like a rollercoaster ride of emotions, which is both thrilling and entertaining.My Overall Thoughts on itThere isn't much left to say but I'd like to share some of my final opinions on it. Link Click is one of a kind and it's undoubtedly one of the best shows, if not, the best show I have watched this year. I absolutely love this show and I had a fun time binge-watching it. Speaking of which, it's rare for me to binge-watch a show unless I really really like it and Link Click happened to be just the right show for me. It's the first ever donghua which I have watched and it certainly had changed some of my prejudiced opinions on Chinese shows, granted, it has set the bar too high as well. I have watched a decent number of shows and I have come across lots of good and bad shows, but only few great shows. Does 'Link Click' belong among those few great shows? Absolutely, in other words, a masterpiece. It's a masterpiece from every angle you look at it and deserves every bit of praise. Lastly, I'd recommend this show especially to those who loves fast paced storyline filled with superpowers.☆ ☆ ☆