Shiguang Dailiren Fanwai Pian: Biwu Zhaoqin

for anyone wondering where they can watch this special, it was in fact released within the anime it is episode 5.5 on crunchyroll and other streaming services that have the show. The plot main plot follows a man trying to quite literally win the approval of the father of the woman he loves. The story is pretty barebones. It does what it has to do and it's executed really well. Basically the bread and butter of Shiguang Dailiren at this point is telling short, succinct, and emotionally satisfying stories. If you liked the previous episodes you won't be disappointed here. The art and sound are consistent with the mainline stories. Nothing much to say. However due to the martial arts nature of the special there are quite a few entertaining fights that look and feel pretty good. The characterisation is pretty on point. The episode is short, and most of it is the two protagonists of the show essentially reliving key points of the main guy's life, exploring his motivations and intense determination. The character arcs are all resolved satisfyingly just like the plot. Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. It came at a time when the main show was trying to be serious and intense, so the special served as a kind of return to the first 2/3 episodes which were also just short, simple, and satisfying stories.

I won't spoil in this review, but I recommend you skip this special. It isn't good and isn't related to the main plot at all. You can expect the same level of quality all previous episodes had during the first half. The setup was good. Then the 'twist' is revealed and it turned into the stupidest story of the year. The message it tries to convey isn't bad, but the story unfolding like it did lacks logical sense. The resolution to the entire dilemma was both confusing and underwhelming. I still have no idea why things ended like they did. I think more context is given after the conclusion in the form of letters. Sadly, these are not translated. Nothing stops you from watching the episode, but if I could go back I would tell myself to skip it. Maybe watch it when you're done with the anime.

This is a common practice I've noticed with Chinese ONA series, doing an X.5 episode somewhere in the middle of the show. Not sure why they do this, if it's some way to say the episode is optional or just a way to make it harder for database sites like MAL to track without creating extra separate entries like this one, we may never know. It does give me the opportunity to review an individual episode rather than the series as a whole. Link Click is already a very episodic series, so the setup here is very similar to any other episode. The story has a brilliant twist I won't spoil, but it does a great job leading you on the entire time. The ending is a happy one, but still someone poignant when you consider how many years were wasted on the pursuit of love when they could have just been together the whole time. It's supposed to show his sheer determination but I think the morality of it might be a little skewed. It's a great standalone story, and even in isolation would have been a good watch with just a little knowledge of how the time travel mechanics work for context. I think it's really an embodiment of all the themes from the main show. Living for the future, not dwelling on the past,the power of love and familial connections, all of that. Good watch 8/10

Regarding one of the other reviews stating it isn’t essential to watch I heavily disagree as the characters play sort of a moderate role in s2 and would leave you confused if you weren’t to watch it - other than that this is a beautiful episode showing how strong love can be and showing the difficulties of living the ideal life that one would love to live - the visuals of siwen climbing up those stairs for yearssss to prove himself to the girls father all to get her hand in marriage brought a tear to my eye - seeing the girl never give up after so long and still be there waiting for him knowing he would always show up is beautiful - also seeing that actual student who wanted to marry her give up when siwen never even dared to give up shows the difference in fabricated love and actual love - overall a great change of pace from the previous heartbreaking case that it left off with😭

This episode was pretty good, but nothing too special for this series. If anything, it almost feels a bit outlandish, focusing on a love story that's sweet at its core, but executed in a way that makes it feel like it comes out of some martial arts story. It's not bad that the show is branching out a bit, even if it means it's trying to do a plot that makes less sense the more I think about it, and one that leaves a couple of loose threads that make me wonder why they had certain plot elements in the first place. Still, this is Link Click, and it includes some surprisingly solid fight scenes and has a decently satisfying ending. It may not be the most memorable thing this series has produced, but it has some swagger, and if you enjoy the season, it's worth watching.