It starts off weakly and builds really slowly, but at the same time I want to encourage people to watch it because it's a thought-provoking queer story and the romance is beautiful!

The last 3rd of the series (Ep 9-12) was a gem! The first 2/3rds were mostly slow, sometimes boring, and with an annoying secondary couple. The episodes are only 20-30 mins though so it was bearable with some fast-forwarding. Ep 9-12 were more tightly written, thoughtful and insightful, well acted, and extremely emotional.

The series sensitively explores a topic I've never seen in a show before. I knew beforehand what that topic was and my curiosity about that character, and the way he was well-acted, kept me watching through the first 2/3rds, and I'm really glad that I did! The last 1/3 was both heart-wrenching and heart-warming and ended very satisfyingly.

The cinematography was beautiful at times and the music was ok but not memorable.

TOPIC SPOILER and explanation below.

I know that translation can be difficult when there aren't exact matches for words, but I think 2 things are worth mentioning.
1) The English translators use the term "disease" when it isn't one; "condition" would have been more appropriate.
2) They didn't actually use the term intersex anywhere so I would have been a lot more confused with Amber's brief explanation if I hadn't read it in spoilers beforehand!

It's obvious to the audience early on that Amber has some kind of connection with Wen Wen, the childhood friend of Le Chien and Yu He. I had trouble getting into the series but the reviews were so passionate about it that I intentionally read some spoilers and learned that the character Amber is intersex. Intersex people genetically have both male and female chromosomes and often some combination of male and female internal reproductive organs and external genitalia. This is sometimes not noticeable until a child reaches puberty and their body starts to develop differently than expected. That's why Amber and his family thought he was female until puberty (genetic gender and gender identity are different things.)

The magnitude of what Amber and his family had to navigate mentally and socially, and how it effects his friends too, is really eye-opening and thought-provoking.

Side note: I strongly disliked how Yu He handled the information over time, but it's realistic too; I'm sure there would be some people who would make the same decisions in the situation she was in. I personally had a hard time forgiving her though.

I'm really glad I stuck it out and watched the whole thing; I feel that overall it was time well spent.