Link Click was a delight that came out of nowhere. A friend recommended this show to me, so that was my first introduction. Additionally, it looked intriguing, it’s quite short and I wanted to branch horizon further with Chinese animations. In general, my exposure to Chinese animation was ‘The King's Avatar’ and ‘To be Hero’ series. That is the extent of my exposure to this medium. The last reason is that I’ve been more interested in consuming Chinese media, as I have been reading The Three-Body Problem series by Liu Cixin.

The introduction is simply incredible and gripping. This is one of the greatest examples of an effective pilot. It sets up the stakes involved beautifully, conveys the dynamic of the cast, it’s cleverly directed (by Haoling Li) and written exceptionally well yet to the point. The series is never convoluted, it's simple, which is part of its attraction. As you can have that emotional connection with the cast and understand the gravity of the situations involved. Time travel is tricky as it can get convoluted easily, but that’s not a problem here.

Firstly, the animation done by Studio LAN is gorgeous. Which in hindsight should have been expected from the studio that delivered ‘To Be Hero’ with the same director involved. From the big set pieces to subtle body animation, all around the production value is simply incredible. The structure of the series is very clever. It’s somewhat like an anthology yet there’s an interconnected element to the main plotline that ties everything together masterfully. The characterisation is surprising, and fantastic for its length. Haoling Li overall utilised his time with extreme efficiency without feeling a lot of potential depth was lost in the process.

The music simply slaps. The segway to the ending song (Over Think) at the end of each episode was genius. The cliffhangers are incredible (yet never cheap) and having the ending song overlayed with that enhances that experience. Allowing the viewer to consume all that just transpired as you are listening to the ending song. I’ve never listened to Chinese rap, so it was a unique experience, to say the least. Though for the ending song I preferred the Japanese version of that song, but both are excellent.

The themes it tackles are what you expect from its premise: memory, conscientiousness, guilt, hope, the inevitability of certain fates and a laundry list of others. The main subject it explores is the butterfly effect and it’s done very well. The consequences of potentially breaking certain regulations. In terms of the ending, I thought it was simply amazing. It closed all the major plotlines and leaves some room for season 2 in a very interesting manner.

In Conclusion, this is an excellent supernatural mystery/thriller. Anybody who enjoys that genre will adore this experience. I generally don’t binge-watch, but this was a special case. It’s such a riveting rollercoaster ride that you can’t escape once you’re on the ride and an emotional ride all at the same time. This was a truly passionate project and I hope season 2 is just as good. Lastly, I would recommend the Chinese dub as it was the original language and it's good to branch your horizon. That said some of the Japanese dub I listen to was great, so you can’t go wrong in either case.