While randomly scrolling through some anime series trying to find something good to watch, this caught my eye. ‘Link Click’, also known as ‘Shiguang Diliren’ is an original Chinese anime series. The fun part was I didn’t check out the rating first, which was mad high: 8.6. What I didn’t imagine was that I’d be binging it within a day. Yes, it is that great!
Link Click looks like a regular lighthearted, wholesome & romantic anime, but it’s not. In reality, it’s dark & thrilling. The anime is based on traveling in time through photographs. It is one hell of a roller coaster, going from 0 to 1000 real quick. It might remind you of ‘Attack on Titan’, also known as ‘Shingeki no Kyojin’, the way it twists the plot in the blink of an eye.
“Donghua” Series?
There are a lot of people who love watching anime nowadays, but not many of them are aware that Chinese anime series also exist. There are so many hyped-up Japanese anime series, that people don’t get to know about Chinese or Korean ones. A lot of people even related anime to just Tokyo. Even I was one of them when I first started watching.
Link Click or Shiguang Diliren
Link Click is not an adaptation of any manhua. It is written and directed by Li Hao Ling & is animated by Haoliners Animation League. It started airing in Spring 2021, i.e. from April 30th to July 9th, on Funimation. The 1st season contained 12 episodes, (11 episodes and a bonus episode aired as 5.5). Besides, the 1st season ended on an extremely mysterious note, creating a lot of suspense for its audience. Thus, it clearly paved the way for another season.
The 2nd season of Link Click is so far so good. The way it just goes normally then BOOM! Something major happened. We don’t know how we don’t know why. Some new characters are also introduced in this season. Overall the plot buildup is really amazing NOT AT ALL boring.
Plot
The plot of Link Click mainly revolves around the mesmerizing concept of time travel. There are two main characters in the show, Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi. They run a shop that is famous for “a witch who can go into the photos”. Well, that witch is Cheng’s landlady and also his friend, who brings potential clients. So, these two boys can manipulate the past. Cheng Xiaoshi goes into the photos at the exact time when the photo was taken and Lu Guang guides him in that world. But obviously, there are some restrictions, there has to be. To do everything in a 12-hour timeline without changing the major events, to follow Lu Guang’s lead, and lastly, to let the past and future be untouched.
There is no clue how they got this power or how this works. Lu Guang can ‘scan’ the photograph with his eyes, and see if there is something ‘doable’ in it. They mainly do this to release people from their guilt about what happened and thus give them an opportunity to change it without changing the major events. Cheng Xiaoshi is reckless, but I do connect with him more. He thinks emotionally. On the other hand, Lu Guang is an intelligent and witty person, who knows what to do when. The show clearly shows us the point of view of both the main characters, putting us in a dilemma. And so just in this way, the plot keeps building up.
Animation & Soundtrack
The animation of Link Click is amazing. Its art style and detailing are unique. It must be a treat to eyes for someone who hasn’t watched any donghua. The way they have focussed on every minor detail is appreciable. Even the clothing of the characters is very modern, like varsity jackets, and hoodies, which we normally don’t get to see in animes. It might seem not very smooth at times but overall it is gorgeous.
The soundtrack of Link Click is addictive. Usually, people skip the intro and outro of animes, but here I’d say it’s unskippable. The background sound in between the dialogue, sometimes makes the buildup even more interesting. Even the animation of the intro is really nice. There are some animes that put some clips of the season and just them to make the intro, and the audience gets spoiled by those. That is not the case here.
The intro “Dive back in time” really makes you dive into the music. Equally breathtaking is the outro of this season “Overthink”, a rap. P.S.: It really will make you overthink, haha. Besides, that short but prominent sound of call dismissal at the end of every episode is constant. It makes the audience predict the upcoming suspense. Overall, both the soundtracks give chill Lofi vibes.
The Ultimate Judgement
Link Click is overall a delight to watch. Everything about this anime series is absolutely a pure & solid hit, from soundtrack to animation, from storyline to dialogues, everything is just on point. It can definitely, compete with the hyped-up good Japanese animes like Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Revengers, One Piece, etc. Besides, audiences can get a slight change by watching non-Japanese anime that too so good. I’ll definitely rate it 9.5/10.
Happy Reading & Watching! :)
