Emma
Link Click Season 1, Episode 1 opens with the rules. 1. You get only 12 hours. 2. Follow my lead and change nothing. 3. Past or future, just let them be. And with a low-five clap, they’re off.
Qiao Ling enters the photoshop, immediately bickering with Cheng Xiaoshi. Calling her the landlady, he reminds her that he’s not leaving until his parents reappear. Lu Guang isn’t up for any silliness so Qiao Ling reports their mission: acquire a gaming company’s corporate financial data. But the CFO keeps everything secure, so they must use his assistant, Emma, to gain access.
Using Emma’s most recently posted photo, the guys get clapping. Instantly Xiaoshi finds himself in Emma’s body where he can hear Lu Guang providing instructions. Xiaoshi tries his best to act Emma-like and get a glimpse of the files. He doesn’t get very far, forced to dodge her slimy boss. Lu Guang reminds him to never stray from Emma’s previous actions but luckily her mother calls and he slips away.
Emma’s mother spends the call scolding her with her dad adding that she should find a boyfriend. As he’s about to eat Emma’s dinner, he spots a maggot. Then her boss returns, giving her tasks to complete before 9am yet it’s already after 10pm. Drudge.
Lu Guang reminds him to finish the work by the time Emma would have or the past will change. They can’t lose the opportunity as tomorrow at 10am, it is their last chance to get the data.
Xiaoshi instantly falls asleep, dreaming Emma’s dream of childhood with her family. But still dreaming he morphs into himself with his parents gone. Waking up, Lu Guang reminds him that when he becomes someone else, he’ll inherit the same feelings and memories.
However, Xiaoshi is left thinking of his own parents, wondering if they’ll return. After Lu Guang falls asleep and in a fit of sentiment, he texts Emma’s worried mother. The next morning, Xiaoshi sets up the meeting room. Lu Guang directs him to upset the CFO’s cup and as she cleans his lap, his wife walks in accusing Emma.
Xiaoshi gets slapped to the floor, knocking off the laptop with him, where he gets a look at the data. Through his eyes, it’s automatically transferred to Lu Guang’s phone. Mission complete. The news reports arrests at the company due to fraudulent financial data. Xiaoshi, no longer angry at what he had to endure, wonders if doing something different would really change the future.
Emma struggles to find a job after her boss is arrested. She notices a message to her parents and a reply. Racing to meet them, she meets a man who offers her a ride. Meanwhile, Lu Guang reminds Xiaoshi to never ask about the future. And with that, Qiao Ling appears with another job.
Lu Guang catches the evening news – a body is found, potentially suicide. The face may be Emma’s.
The Episode Review
Link Click (Crunchyroll) jumps straight into an assignment at the ‘Time Photo Studio.’ It lays out the basics of what the guys can do – enter a photo to live-observe the past and extract information. But they must be careful to not change anything, as Lu Guang will continue to remind.
It’s too soon to tell how a hand clap gives them this power but it’s an anime, so we believe. Actually, it’s not an anime, but a donghua – Chinese, rather than Japanese – produced by Studio LAN and Haoliners Animation League, who also produced the clever The Daily Life of the Immortal King.
The entire 11-chapter season (plus 1 extra) is available on Crunchyroll with subs or dubs, but you’ll need a paid subscription to watch the dubbed version beyond episode 3. To be fair, it’s better in language, as with most anime. Feel free to dispute this in the comments below.
Link Click has an interesting premise where the protagonists have found a way to turn their special powers into cash. We don’t know much else yet, but it’s pleasing to jump right into it and gather facts as we go.
The concept of the ‘diver’ experiencing the host’s feelings and memories is the tricky bit. Think Xiaoshi is able to slough it off once he’s back in his own body? Or will every experience colour his own life? So far, he can barely resist making the tiniest of changes. If he had remained in Emma’s body longer, would he have been trapped inside?
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You can read our season 1 review of Link Click here! |
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Episode Rating
(3.5)