This show is well-made, it is like a 48 hour movie, the quality of the scenes, the costumes, the lack of dubbing. Visually stunning. And the action sequences are amazing. However, this show lacks heart. You don't really get to know the characters, you are confused about who they are since their actions go back and forth. You're told one character is a prodigy, extremely smart, yet they never shows that; instead, you think that character is an idiot since that character just keeps getting kidnapped/tortured/kidnapped again/drinks tea that is obviously laced with something (if he does that, how is he smart??). We never really see that character use that supposedly amazing brain.

I got frustrated watching this, waiting for it to be a masterpiece, but instead I just felt like it was so slow. The first 10 episodes were great, the buildup good, but then it dragged to no end. Endless dialogue with pointless characters saying the same things, an endless loop of chasing/captured/chasing/captured. Who knew someone can survive running at least 100,000 steps, get a finger cut off, drown, fight at least 500 people, and there's still a half day left for them to keep doing that? Like I said, I really wanted to like this show, I kept telling myself during the action sequences "wow this is so good" but then I wanted to poke my eyes out from boredom and frustration in between because the plot and script is so messy. This is not an action-packed story as advertised. This is a beautifully shot, let's talk then fight for like 10 minutes every couple episodes show with far too many flashbacks that make you wonder why they decided to put that important information so late in the show running as a flashback instead of in a neat sequence.

ALSO, SOMETHING THAT BOTHERED ME TO NO END is when something big happens to a character, when you don't know whether they are dead or alive, THEY DON'T SHOW HOW THEY ESCAPED THAT SITUATION. They just show in the next episode they're walking around like nothing happened with NO EXPLANATION how they survived/got there. We needed those connecting scenes rather than the boring-ass Right Chancellor talking his head off for 20 boring minutes every couple episodes.

Overall, it took me 3 months to finish this, it was draggy, and I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never did.

plot - 6/10
pacing - 6/10
cinematography: 10/10
costumes - 10/10
acting - 9/10

Major issues with the show: there are too many characters, too many flashbacks, and the pacing is all over the place. Some episodes are amazing/my eyes couldn't leave the screen. Others are a chore to get through. I ended up skipping a lot during the last 10 episodes because I just wanted to be done with this show.

**please know this is my personal opinion; you can love the show, just don't hate me for being disappointed in it**