Guardian (2018)

Ay China, me vas a hacer sacar canas verdes

Primero y principal, hay que decir "Gracias Priest" tres veces hacia el cielo porque es impresionante las GRANDES historias que esa persona escribe, la verdad que ninguna tiene desperdicio. Y por supuesto que esta se encuentra entre ellas.
Ahora bien...¿A QUIÉN SE LE OCURRIÓ ADAPTAR LA MITAD DEL LIBRO? Ay China China China...amo tu cultura y tu sistema de organización política me resulta intrigante por momentos, pero esa manía que tenés con "recortar" algunas cosas bajo el pretexto de que pueden distraer mucho a la sociedad me tiene medio con los ovarios por el piso.
The Guardian es una historia fantástica: bañada en mitología china, Zhao Yunlan y Shen Wei se encuentran cruzados por un caso que parece aislado a ellos, pero que termina uniéndolos más de lo que pensaban y los lleva a un entramado que bordea entre el pasado, el presente y su futuro.
Para aquellas personas que quizás no hayan leído el libro y no les haya quedado muy en claro cual es su relación por el drama: ellos dos se aman, y muchisimo. Tipo es asqueroso de lo empalagosa que puede llegar a ser su relación a veces de lo mucho que se aman, y por momentos eso te da risa y a la vez te da angustia porque a medida que avanzas con la historia te das cuenta que han sufrido sin sentido y que se merecen el uno al otro.
Este drama me da un poco de bronca que quede tan en una nebulosa a veces la trama porque encima el elenco es de muy buen nivel y se que ellos dos han hecho todo lo posible para mostrar la dinámica entre Zhao y Shen, y por eso se los agradezco.
Si no están acostumbrados a mirar cosas largas, entonces se van a tener que armar de paciencia; pero si vienen de The Untamed entonces ya tengan un poco de manejo sobre como esto funciona y que pueden llegar a esperar. De igual manera, vale la pena verla porque las historias de Priest siempre son apasionantes de ver y si no querés o no tenés tiempo para leer la novela entonces si te mirás el drama solo podés quedar tranquilx que al menos disfrutaste de una visión de una maravillosa historia que vale mucho la pena ver.

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NOT A BL, BUT THE CHEMISTRY WAS UNDENIABLE. (READ THE NOVEL FOR BL)

I came across this drama as I was looking for more BL dramas to watch. So, my first point is EVEN THOUGH THE ORIGINAL WORK IS BL, THIS DRAMA IS ADAPTED TO A BROMANCE VERSION. Well, THEY ARE MORE LIKE SOUL-MATES BUT THEY GIVE OFF BROMANCE VIBES MOSTLY.
If you're into Chinese BLs, you know we always get platonic version of their love. In case of UNTAMED, I knew before watching that it's BL. So, while watching, even though it was platonic, I didn't get the "bromance" vibe because of the chemistry they had. Next I watched WORD OF HONOR. It too, did not give Bromance vibes. It was a BL with soul-mates / platonic lovers vibe. Same goes for KILLER AND HEALER. It did give Bromance vibes to certain extent but we could see they were platonic lovers. But this drama, GUARDIAN, GIVES THE BROMANCE VIBES. BECAUSE, THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE DRAMA, WE COULD SEE THAT IT WAS ONLY ONE OF THE MALE LEADS (SHEN WEI) WHO SECRETLY LOVED HIS CO-STAR (ZHAO YUNLAN) FOR MORE THAN 10,000 YEARS. ZHAO YUNLAN HAD NO IDEA OR MEMORIES ABOUT IT. SO, YUNLAN CONSIDERED HIM AS A BROTHER ( MORE THAN BROTHER TBH, BUT HE PORTRAYED A CHARECTERS WHO IS A CHEEKY, WORKAHOLIC, DOESN'T INVOLVE IN LOVE OR ROMANCE, SO EVEN THOUGH THEY DID LOVE EACH OTHER, THEY VIBE THEY GAVE WAS OF BROMANCE/ SOUL-MATES). BUT BUT BUT, OH WHAT A CHEMISTRY AND ACTING SKILLS THEY HAVE!!!!
THE LEVEL OF COMFORT, CONFIDANCE, UNDERSTANDING AND SENSE OF SACRIFICE THEY HAD FOR EACH OTHER WAS SO PLEASING TO WATCH.

COMING TO THE PLOT, In the first half of the series, it's like a fantasy murder mystery solving drama. (Like detective shows). In each episode, there's a new villian and Zhou Yunlan and his team (SID) fights against them. Shen Wei is always mysteriously involved with the cases. Though he helps out the SID team as Black Envoy, he gets into their suspicion as Professor Shen. IT WASN'T THAT INTRESTING BECAUSE EVEN AS A KID I HAVE SEEN MANY SUCH SHOWS OF SUPER HERO VS SUPER VILLIAN. I WAS WAITING FOR THE ACTUAL STORY OF SHEN WEI AND ZHOU YUNLAN TO START. It starts towards the later half of the series. Like I said, the drama has no romance elements between the leads but their chemistry, relationship development was still beautiful. Time and time again, we see Shen Wei's love filled glances and actions towards Zhou Yunlan. But Zhou Yunlan was always playful and more like "hey bro" (Just saying about the vibe he gave). Because even at the point when Shen said Zhou "I have been waiting for you for 10,000 years" in a serious tone, (much like a confession), Zhou just laughed it off, lightning the entire mood. But yes, both indeed loved , cared and respected each other.
I HATED THE ENDING THOUGH. IMAGINE HAVING TO WATCH 40 LONG EPISODES ONLY TO GET A SAD ENDING WITH BOTH MLs DEAD!!!!! SERIOUSLY, WHY DOES CHINESE BLs ALWAYS END IN A DISAPPOINTING WAY? THIS DRAMA AND KILLER AND HEALER HAD SUCH AN UNFAIR ENDING. ITS A FANTASY DRAMA, WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE A HAPPY ENDING AND DIE JUST LIKE THAT? AFTER SO MUCH HARDWORK AND SACRIFICE, THEY DIDN'T DESERVE SUCH AN ENDING. THEY SHOULD HAVE ATLEAST REINCARNATED AND LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER AGAIN. :(
ANYWAYS, IT WASN'T SUCH A WASTE TO WATCH IT. I WASN'T SATISFIED WITH THE ENDING AND LACK OF BL, SO MOW M GONNA READ THE NOVEL VERSION OF THE STORY TO SATISFY MY HEART :)

Updated Review- NOVEL VERSION
OK so m done reading the translated version of the original work by Priest. Gosh!! I LOVEEEEDDDD IT SO MUCH!!!! TRUST ME IF YOU LIKED THE CHARECTERS IN THE DRAMA AND WISH IT WAS A BL, JUST GO AND READ THE NOVEL. THE STORY OF THE NOVEL IS MUCH MORE INTENSE AND INTRESTING AND VERY DIFFERENT TBH. PLUS THE ZHOU-SHEN COUPLE IS ONE OF THE BEST BL COUPLES I'VE EVER COME ACROSS. I WON'T GIVE SPOILERS, JUST READ THE NOVEL. YOU'LL GET A HAPPY ENDING AND YOU'LL FEEL SUPER SATISFIED. T

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Egy próbát megér...

Overall, I liked the series, although some of the details and characters weren’t elaborate enough, the ending was confusing and kissing. I’d rather not go into detail about the CGI effects, I would just say that they did surprisingly poorly in some places, but there were scenes where it was done well.
Of course, there was a directorial and screenwriting flaw in this series, but a flawless piece never exists. The music ... both the opening and the closing were only divine, the opening music has been a big favorite ever since.
And there were the more meaningful, more dramatic scenes where music was also well chosen. There were weaker episodes, but there were some very emotional, dramatic and already a bit romantic episodes where you essentially showed who was most important to him. There was a sense of camaraderie and teamwork, but sometimes I also saw a pull apart.
I don’t deny I liked the chemistry and connection between the two protagonists (which of course makes everyone “faint.” All the actors did a good job compared to the character, there were only a few characters that became (for me) forgetful (Da Qing, Zhu Hong, the ghost couple, Jin Ling), because they were basically just there, but I didn't experience any character development and they added quite a bit to the story.
What really caught on in this series is the relationship between Guo and Chu. I found myself starting to love them and their relationship more than any other character. Somehow I noticed the contrast more than them and then the process as they fell in love with each other. Real bromance, even a secondary pair. I would have rather put an end to the way Little Guo gets hurt, because maybe he would have been much more "fit" systematically into the story, I think
So, all in all: the end could have been better worked out (like Guo how he became a leader, why he leads new people and not the old team, why Yunlan's father suggested that it might be, Guo saves the world .. I would have been happier if Yunlan and Guo had even talked to each other because Yunlan was dying, last wish, something like that, it could have been a more emotional end to Chu and Guo's completion, it could have been the hug, not in the dream., and..Lin Jing's character was redundant he thinks to bring it back..because he said goodbye..so it was stupid.And that torment on the part of Shen Wei and Yunlan ... argh..etc. So the end is very confusing for me ...
Well, this series isn't necessarily spectator for me again, because of the mistakes mentioned above ... and the excessive torment of the main couple in the end ... and that last scene ... absurd ...!
I prefer to look at the Guo and Chu scenes again because they showed a lot of character development and I was better able to identify with them, and as I may have written before, their relationship is much more realistic and elaborate than that of a “perfect, fateful main couple”.
Sorry for the long writing.Good health everyone.

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Overall enjoyable, with some very strong moments

Some people might think my rating is way too low or way too high, but I have mixed emotions about this show. One weakness is the special effects- however, I usually don’t judge a show too much on this, because of course they do the best they can with the budget that they have. I also enjoyed the show throughout, but sometimes the plot seemed to get a bit off track to me... like the ghost couple were sweet and cute but then they suddenly died and that was that.

However, there were many aspects that I personally found very interesting plot wise; I thought it was quite emotional with Yun Lan lost his sight, for instance. I also thought the hospital games scenes were pretty intense, as well as many of the Underground scenes. I also loved the relationship between Shen Wei and Yun Lan, obviously. It was fun to see Yun Lan regard Shen Wei as a normal meek professor...then to become suspicious of him...then to find out his secret and watch after him...

I was surprised how much I ended up loving the relationship between Guo Chang Cheng and Chu Shu Zhi. I loved their “enemies” (or timid kid annoying and being scared by an angry man) to brothers progression. When Shu Zhi thought that Chang Cheng died, that was really quite brutal and emotional.

The most impactful part of the show for me was the ending. I hadn’t read the novel and didn’t expect the ending to be that depressing. It gutted me on multiple levels; even just from how it was filmed, with Ye Zun suddenly appearing in a different room when he and Shen Wei died. I didn’t even realize they actually died at first. Of course, the two leads meeting in heaven or space time or whatever it was, before continuing on, just broke me. Another one of the most heartbreaking moments was when they showed Yun Lan continuing to live and work with his team- I thought that he had somehow ended up surviving. Then it was explained how his body is just being possessed by that other man, and that he really is dead.

For me this show was never unenjoyable at all, but there were a lot of ups and downs and moments that were just that- enjoyable but not much more. But, this show also had a lot of very interesting, emotional, and impactful parts as well. I watched this a while ago, but even now, the introduction song makes me nostalgic and the closing credits song makes me full on emotional. Overall this show wasn’t perfect, but it was still special.

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Fantasy Cencored bL

Menceritakan seorang pria bernama Zhao Yun Lan yang merupakan ketua SID ; sebuah grup yang membasmi mahluk astral atau entitas asing yang berasal dari dunia bagian dalam. Di sisi lain, Shen Wei merupakan kesatria berjubah hitam yang merupakan (polisi) yang berasal dari dunia bagian dalam yang menangkap, membawa dan menghukum mahluk dunia bagian dalam yang melakukan kejahatan dan kriminal di dunia manusia. Shen Wei dan Zhao Yun Lan bekerja sama dalam melakukan pekerjaan ini - tetapi ada yang Shen Wei sembunyikan, apa itu? saksikan series ini. Dari segi CGI sudah cukup bagus dan bisa dinikmati oleh indra visual kita dengan baik walaupun tidak se-spektrakuler Marvel Studios misalnya. Dari segi cerita sudah cukup detail dan mudah difahami walaupun ada beberapa episode dibuat terlalu rumit, dan berbelit-belit. Dari segi romansa, hanya menampilkan adegan bromance dan romansa puppy-Love ala-ala friend zone. dan dari segi latar, ternyata cukup baik karena menampilkan beberapa romansa China Town yang unik. Ada main role lain yang menjadi penguat bL romance yaitu Gao Changchen dan Chu Shu Zhi ; keduanya memiliki karakter yang unik dan sangat berbeda satu sama lain membuatnya menjadi menggemaskan dan sangat menarik untuk diikuti kisahnya, mereka berdua merupakan anggota SID yang sering ditugaskan bersama. Apakah series ini rekomended? saya tidak dapat membuat simpulan.'

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Good actors maketh not a good show without good execution of the story.

The graph of my interest in this show will definitely resemble the cracks left by an earthquake if I ever plotted it. So why/how did I finish 40 episodes? Because this show is strangely addictive. Even if you want to bash your head or pull your hair out for forty minutes, you are eager to see what happens next (no matter how cliché or absurd you know it's going to be) and that is this drama's strength. And that comes from the marvelous performances of the cast, who make you believe in their emotions when the story doesn't. Because the story doesn't do anything here. The only one holding all the cards is the writer/director and we see the scenes they wish to show us, how they show us and when they want to show us. That is this drama's downfall. Maybe the three directors took a thread of the story each and went their way with them and faltered when it came to tying them all up. Add in poor screenplay and editing and this is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

Yet, the story is engaging. The main plot is scattered in pieces somewhere in between all the mess that happens but manages to take an integral part in the episode so it doesn't feel like we are wavering away from what we embarked on. The cases could have been better written or at least better presented. They often began in the last one third of an episode and continued till the first one third of another. I can't reason out why, unless it was dole out some cliffhangers and make the audience wait. Well, it worked. Episodes 10-20 are easily the best in the show. Midway through, you can take guesses at how each character's ending is going to be so it's not that shocking when the end does arrive. There are heaps of things we could have done without, though.

The actors are all amazing and the characterisation is one of the few good things, be it the two leads, SID, the humans or the Dixing-ians. I like how everyone has their quirks unrelated to the job they do. Those at SID are well sketched, but not well shown. In that respect, Zhu Hong, Sang Zan and Wang Zheng are the weakest. They appear when the directors want them to appear instead of always being a part of the group even if it's just standing in the background. Wang Zheng's story was drawn out a bit too much, and the Crow tribe leader's too little. Still, everyone is given a chance to tell their story and that keeps the plot going when the writers have used up their repertoire of cases.

Music is good and I'll only re-watch the edited portions of the two main leads for their sparkling chemistry. It's there right from the moment they first make eye contact with each other and I rewinded plenty of their sweet scenes to gush over them. This was a BL despite the lack of explicit or implicit words of romance between the leads and despite the love triangle they tried to build. I mean, if someone did for me what Shen Wei does for Yun Lan, he is definitely going to be tied to me for the next seven births as well. Shen Wei is open but silent about his feelings and Yun Lan openly and silently enjoys all the teasing he gets. Their love for each other is scattered in the story just like the plot has been. However, I'm disappointed that some of the most emotionally charged scenes are haphazardly placed at the end, which in itself is a mess.

In a nutshell, this show left me wanting for some actual BL scenes so much that I watched two others in succession but I still remember how the cat behaves like a cat even in his human form and how Guardian was reminiscent of a bad cross between Power Rangers and Supernatural. It's worth watching for the two leads, though.

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Una bellissima bromance - potenzialmente splendida BL - in un contesto di scarsissima qualità

Questa serie mi fa venire in mente quelle trasmissioni televisive dove rimettono in sesto le case malandate e dove, guardando il rudere di turno dicono "questa casa ha del potenziale", mentre immaginano l'abitazione da sogno che potrebbe diventare. Ecco, con Guardian ho avuto la stessa impressione...peccato che il potenziale intravisto poi non si sia concretizzato e il rudere...beh, è rimasto un rudere.
40 episodi sono tanti, tantissimi, se la qualità non merita. Sono stata ligia per la prima metà e poco oltre, poi ho cominciato a saltare intere parti a piedi pari, concentrandomi sull'unica cosa meritevole di tutta la serie: la bromance tra i due protagonisti.
Bromance davvero molto bella, che sarebbe stata una BL ancora più splendida, sia per la caratterizzazione dei personaggi rispetto al contesto, sia per la chimica tra i due attori. Il resto, però, è davvero un po' da dimenticare. Faccio anche fatica a infierire, più che altro mi sovviene una compassionevole pena. La serie vuole connotarsi come un fantasy, ma la mente che ha imbastito la trama è evidentemente una mente o povera di strumenti o inesperta rispetto al genere: il filo conduttore - se così possiamo azzardarci a chiamarlo - è imbarazzante, le situazioni al limite dell'assurdo, con questioni tanto importanti da condizionare quasi il destino e la pace nel mondo gestite come scaramucce tra ragazzine. I cattivi più potenti che si siano mai visti si fermano andando a consultare i libri, portentosi oggetti magici dagli indescrivibili poteri si rintracciano facendo delle ricerche banali che sanno di gita scolastica, più che avventurose e complesse missioni alla ricerca di oggetti ben nascosti e custoditi. Insomma, è davvero un po' tutto all'acqua di rose, uno sforzo di fantasia minimo con un risultato che non può non lasciare perplessi (immaginiamoci un fantasy ideato da un bambino di 8 anni, la cui complessità e coerenza non possono non avere evidenti limiti...ecco, abbiamo inquadrato perfettamente la situazione di questa serie). Anche gli effetti speciali sono un po' basic, appena accettabili, del resto il drama è del 2018, con un ventennio in meno e i limiti della tecnologia dell'epoca sarebbe stato più che comprensibile, ma in un prodotto nato praticamente l'altro ieri, anche no. Come dicevo, l'affinità e il legame tra i protagonisti è l'unico punto davvero apprezzabile della serie ma, anche questo, nella seconda parte mi è sembrato un po' calare (forse non tanto rispetto al livello di interazione tra i due quanto alle scene a loro dedicate, in molti episodi davvero scarse se non assenti, a favore di altri eventi assurdi che - in cuor loro, ma solo lì - probabilmente puntavano a sviluppare e dare un senso alla trama). La sufficienza la strappa la bromance, tutto il resto sarebbe affondato come un masso in un lago. Consigliato? A stralci. Cosa mi lascia? Il desiderio di rivedere l'idea di base di questo drama, in una nuova serie fatta come si deve...

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I'm not ready.

For the past 18 months I have watched and re-watched Guardian three times. Every time I stop watching I'm theast four episodes. I once saw a spoiler that broke my heart and really put me off, because it screamed, "TRAGIC ENDING".

I think I'm ready now, for that ending. Although it will be painful and give me puffy eyes, I'll still watch it. I have to and you have to if you're reading this review.

Everything leading up to the last few episodes is amazing. The characters are funny and sweet and caring and such a lovely little family, that I'll make the finale all the more special. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are soulmates and Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu really worked hard to show that to the audience. Even though this is hella censored (what with the obvious script changes when character's mouths, voices and words don't match and along with the bts parts that should have been added to make the show 10x better), they did the best with what they were given.

It's time to say goodbye.

If you read this review: watch the show or don't watch the show. Idk. Idc. But I know I'm gonna re-watch everything for the 4th time and finish it. Then come back here and write all about it.

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Amazing!! Masterpiece

Amazing! No nonsense. I love this drama more than Untamed because of the plot ehhe. There is always a supernatural case that they solve in every episode which brings the characters closer together and reveal each of their strengths and weaknesses.
Nice effects, visuals, and costume (especially Shen Wei`s outfit. Looks cool).
Actors are well-picked especially Zhu Yilong. Bruh he also acted as Yezun, Black Cloak envoy and Black cloak`s younger version. One can see the difference despite having the same look.
The ending was so sad. I cried a lot. Was not able to move on until the next day.
Worth watching.
Masterpiece

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Contains Spoilers

The best story and cast. Everyone was perfect for their roles. I knew the end even before I watched it, but, it was too addicting and sad. Even if Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan died in the end, I was glad that they will meet again, in reincarnation. I want Ye Zun to reincarnate along with his brother, so he would live his life with his brother, even if couldn't, in his previous life. Just a little bit of misunderstanding led to tragedies of ten thousand years. I feel sorry for Ye Zun, too. He doesn't deserve such life. He just wanted his brother by his side. And the bond of Yunlan's team is what is was heart-touching. They were ready to die for each other, but, they lost their leader in the end. I can't describe in words how I felt while watching it. It was so heart-breaking in the end. But, some not every story have a good end.

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Me ha gustado mucho Guardian. Buscaba algo que ver después de The Untamed, algo quizás similar, y encontré esta serie entre las recomendaciones. La verdad es que no tienen nada que ver.
Mi aspecto favorito de Guardian puede que sea la actuación, concretamente la de los actores protagonistas. Es algo que señalan todos y que realmente creo que es remarcable. La actuación de otros secundarios también está muy bien, aunque a veces el guion fuera un poco cortapisas. Por otra parte, creo que la historia es muy original, y se entretejen en ella un cúmulo de relaciones muy variado y que nos da la oportunidad de explorar a casi todos los personajes. La OST es buenísima.
También hay aspectos negativos. El CGI es mediocre, tirando a malo en algunas escenas. La trama a veces no se sostiene por ninguna parte: se repiten cosas que no hace falta reiterar y se obvian aspectos esenciales (aunque lo paso por alto, sé que hay muchos loopholes y cambios respecto a la novela), los personajes femeninos están construidos de una forma un tanto decepcionante, pasando muchos por el filtro masculino y con obvios tintes de misoginia; el guion, como ya he dicho antes, a veces es muy forzado y coarta actuaciones potencialmente buenas. Por supuesto, la censura también es algo a considerar. Pero creo que, dadas las posibilidades que tenían, han sabido manifestar la relación entre Shen Wei y Zhao muy fielmente, a pesar de todo.
He citado más cosas malas que buenas, pero en general le doy un 9/10 a la serie. Y esto es porque la he disfrutado mucho y he llorado un montón con el final, y vaya, creo que los aspectos positivos compensan los negativos. Al final, lo que importa es que te entretenga y te conmueva. Y lo ha hecho, sin duda. Tengo ganas de darle un rewatch, pero mejor cuando me recupere emocionalmente.

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Una splendida occasione mancata

Qualcuno si risentirà di quanto sto per scrivere. Pazienza.
Non ce la faccio... adoro i due protagonisti ma è un po' poco per sopportare 40 episodi di questa poltiglia. Mi fermo a 26 e un po'. La logica è sconosciuta, la recitazione degli altri protagonisti è spesso caricaturale (per regia, non per mancanza di abilità), le cosiddette indagini sono risibili, gli effetti speciali hanno poco di speciale, i costumi sono mediocri, la musica si risveglia solo di tanto in tanto con un paio di bei pezzi... Il resto è profonda, profondissima noia e irritazione.
Avrei voluto vederlo finire,ma nemmeno per il bel faccino del professore riesco a sopportarne un episodio di più, figuriamoci altre 9 o 10 ore. Magari tra poco arriva qualcosa di epocale, è un po che l'aspetto, la grande rivelazione di 10.000 anni fa, il segreto del bel professore e del cosiddetto detective. Rimarrò con la curiosità.
A parte la censura assurda del governo cinese, che costringe gli sceneggiatori ai salti mortali, l'impianto del libro non può essere poi così diverso. Anche se i protagonisti si facessero due moine di più, non basterebbe a riscattare la pila di assurdità della trama, per cui nemmeno posso consolarmi andando a cercare una traduzione in inglese del libro.
L'avventura di Guardian, per quanto mi riguarda finisce qui, con tanti rimpianti per qualcosa che avrebbe potuto essere molto, molto meglio, e che invece si è rivelato poco più di un cumulo di assurdità e recitazione caricaturale. Salvi l'opening e la coppia principale, unica luce in questa oscurità. Troppo poco. Bye.

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