“The Miracle of Teddy Bear” Series Review (Ep.5 to 16)

Warning: This review contains MASSIVE spoilers for the ending of The Miracle of Teddy Bear, so be prepared

I really hate Twitter sometimes. While it has useful, real-time information, that sometimes backfires, because you get spoiled about exactly how a show ends unless you see it the minute it releases. In my naïve unaware state, I opened Twitter the day the finale of TMTB aired, and BAM, got possibly one of the worst spoilers of my life.That made me apprehensive to continue with the series because of how invested I was in Tofu and Nut’s relationship, but by this point I was more than 10 episodes in, and giving up on the show now would have been a pity. That brought me to approximately six hours before writing this review, tears streaming down my face as I video called my sister to vent.

Paraphrasing what I’d written in my first impressions for this series- when Nut and Tofu were cute, they were enough to give you diabetes. And that remained true (up until the last episode of course), when Tofu was murdered and Nut ended up with Tarn, his first love. As a twist, due to a similar miracle which had turned him human, he turned into a teddy bear again, thus ending up back with Nut, who remained unaware of Tofu’s proximity till the end.I can’t write an unbiased review of this series because what tied it all together for me, especially due to the constant ups and downs of the drama, were the sweet moments between Nut and Tofu. Plot-wise the end does make sense somewhat, but I still felt deprived of their happy ending. Maybe this is just me trying to reason with myself, but I can in hindsight see why Nut was always going to end up with Tarn and not Tofu. After all, Tofu was quite literally the manifestation of Tarn’s love for Nut, and his entire being came into existence solely to help Nut with his issues. Like he mentioned near the ending of the series, he had to leave because he had served his purpose. The reasoning didn’t help with my tears, though.

Something that I loved in the show, howsoever tough it was to see on screen, was its representation of mental health, showing not only its effects on the person itself, but how it leads to strained relationships with the one you love. Nut and his mother, Na, dealt with not only their respective issues, but trauma from their past as well. The trauma was not used as merely a plot device to be done away with through true love’s kiss or some another magical panacea, but was worked through slowly over the course of the series. Nut’s standoffish and brusque personality which was a result of his past didn’t immediately transform when he got together with Tofu; there were ups and downs, and a visible growth in character, which points to good writing.Apart from the ending, which undoubtedly shaped the majority of this review, the show itself had been engaging. There was an overarching melodramatic plot that involved murder, attempted murder, more attempted murder, another attempted murder, a BL within a BL, and a supporting cast (and voice cast for the animate objects) that did a commendable job.

I don’t think I can give this one a quantifiable rating. On the one hand, the show itself was dramatic and fun (right up until the point I was crying), but on the other hand, my own perception of the show was heavily influenced by the ending. If you want a very bumpy but for the most part enjoyable ride, do check this out!

Rating- 4.5 out of 5