S01.E01: What Guy Are You

[Guest]

Quote

Jin Wang starts his sophomore year, hoping to make the soccer team and "level up" his social status, all while impressing his crush. But his plans are derailed with the arrival of a new foreign exchange student named Wei-Chen.

Dropping May 24, 2023

[Camera One]

I was hoping more people would watch and discuss this show.

Anyway, I thought this was a good premiere episode, establishing the premise and introducing relatively likeable and complex characters.  I liked the mix of drama, adventure and humor.

I did think the CGI world at the beginning was a little underwhelming to look at.  Everything looked too red.  

There was room for growth in Jin.  I liked the mom, though the dad seemed thinly drawn.  The dinner felt so stiff and formal.

I liked Wei-Chen as well and it was interesting how Jin commented on his confidence.  I'm interested in seeing how their friendship develops.

The way the trailer was cut with scenes from this episode and probably audio from future episodes, I thought Jin was going to find out about Wei-Chen in the hallway fight scene, but he didn't.  

I also thought Jin was starting at a new school, but it seems like he has always gone to this school.  I don't understand his relationship with the various kids.  I guess he was just acquaintances with most of them?  

They didn't really address his shoplifting that jean jacket.

Edited May 26, 2023 by Camera One

[arc]

You know, it wasn't until his mom called him "Jin" with her accent that I realized he's named for the book's author, Gene Luen Yang. And his Chinese name is Jǐnlún, per wikipedia. (Wikipedia also says the book isn't autobiographical.)

10 hours ago, Camera One said:

I was hoping more people would watch and discuss this show.

I'm disappointed Disney put this all out in one binge package rather than a weekly release. With the pedigree it has (cast, creators, book), I would have thought it would do better with weekly release.

10 hours ago, Camera One said:

They didn't really address his shoplifting that jean jacket.

And he somehow managed to get the tag off without ripping anything or exploding the ink packet! And just with brute force. Also, how did he even get it out of the store with that security tag? Wouldn't it have set off the alarm?

[Guest]

I thought they did a really good job showing the issues of living as an Asian teenager in the US. Which also makes it a little challenging for me to watch at times. The mystical elements were interesting and a nice reprieve. 

I really liked how they took advantage of the differences in how English and Mandarin are read for the opening. 

On 5/25/2023 at 6:25 PM, Camera One said:

I liked the mom, though the dad seemed thinly drawn.  The dinner felt so stiff and formal.

It felt very true to life for me growing up with an Asian father. 

On 5/26/2023 at 4:39 AM, arc said:

I'm disappointed Disney put this all out in one binge package rather than a weekly release. With the pedigree it has (cast, creators, book), I would have thought it would do better with weekly release.

I agree. I will be very disappointed if this doesn’t find an audience. 

[Stardancer Supreme]

So you mean to tell me that Jin is the only Asian person going to this school? I really didn't like the way that the principal spoke to him. I didn't like the way most people talked to him.  Brought back flashbacks of high school, which isn't really a pleasant place!

That "Beyond Repair" show was hella cringy, but totally representative of the shows we used to watch. 

I'm amazed that Jin didn't hurt himself smashing the back of his head into the trophy case...

 

[jacehan]

I enjoyed the representation of Jin’s partial understanding of Chinese - that was clever and effective.