To be honest, there was never a point of this show where I was sure if I liked it or not. But there was something about it that kept me from dropping it all the way until the end! I think there's an interesting premise here, but I'm not quite sure it was executed well. An over-reliance on montage and rushed/choppy story made it hard to buy into the romance. Honestly, sometimes it felt more like a cautionary tale about unethical experimentation than a love story, but I was kind of into the vague horror of that! I don't think it was bad, but I don't think it was what I expected or wanted either. In honor of this indecision: 5 stars, dead middle.

-The Full Review-

STORY:
I found the story to be simultaneously the strongest and weakest point of this show. For it's strengths, it definitely had a message that it believed in strongly. The conversation around history and humanity was quite interesting, and I liked the way artificial intelligence complicated Chu Yiping's perspectives. There was a very compelling quality to the way he rationalized Ever 9's humanity, and a satisfying conflict with his Uncle.
For it's weaknesses, however, the love story was... odd? I don't want to say it wasn't clear or believable--I actually really enjoyed the unique ways these two people connected. But we aren't given enough time with them to truly feel that relationship or the strength of it. Too much is left in the montage, so a lot of the most emotional scenes feel fairly unearned. I would have liked to see some better pacing here.

ACTING:
Ah. I guess the problem here lies with the lack of progress. I think both actors were good at the more robotic side of the character--the early days when they were stiff, awkward, and uncomfortable. But I would have liked to see these characters pushed a lot farther as the relationship progresses. We never really get a proper sense of this astronomical change in Chu Yiping that the other characters talk about. And we only ever get glimpses of a natural humanity that could have sold the relationship. It was alright.

PRODUCTION:
The production quality was so hit and miss during this show, but I think my biggest issue was that it missed on things that should be easy. It's fine and understandable if a low budget production has some less-than-impressive special effects! It doesn't really upset my enjoyment of the series. But when there's sloppy make up? You can't afford to take two minutes to fix his foundation? I think it made some of the scenes feel more amateur than they actually were and distracted from the story.

In all, I can't really say I would recommend this show. But I don't think I would discourage someone who was interested in this concept from checking it out. I would say, it stays pretty constant--so if you aren't feeling the first episode or two, you might want to drop!