Eternal Butler – Series Review & Episode Guide

Bu Shi is a wealthy university student living under his domineering father's roof. Their relationship soured long ago after his mother left, and they clash constantly over Bu Shi's terrible grades. He has zero ambition and barely tries at school. Despite his father's escalating temper, Bu Shi refuses to submit. He keeps skipping classes, and even when his father threatens physical violence, Bu Shi just mocks him to be provocative.

Bu Shi's father recently hired a high-tech android butler powered by artificial intelligence. Known as Ever 4, this model looks exactly like a human. He's one of only nine robots produced for the Ever Unit Intelligence program. Bu Shi's father spent a fortune and pulled strings to acquire this rare model. He assigns Ever 4 to monitor his son's daily life, so the robot now keeps constant surveillance and reports whenever Bu Shi skips school or misbehaves.

At first, Bu Shi is annoyed by the robot's presence. He distrusts Ever 4 because of his connection to dear old dad. Ever 4 can be strict when enforcing rules. Sometimes, he physically carries Bu Shi during his rebellious phase. However, the android is an advanced machine, not just a simple tool of obedience. He can refuse the father's unreasonable requests. Ever 4 respects Bu Shi's free will and only steps in over genuine misbehaviour.

Bu Shi tries to outsmart his robot companion, sneaking out of the house to skip school. However, Ever 4 is way too sharp and always catches him in the act. Bu Shi grudgingly attends school, but at least he makes Ever 4 ditch that dorky butler costume and wear something trendier before tagging along. Ever 4 follows Bu Shi everywhere, even to parties. Can you imagine showing up with your dad's android babysitter? Awkward! Eventually, Bu Shi gets used to having a constant companion around. He treats Ever 4 more nicely and starts enjoying the companionship.

During a party, Bu Shi gets drugged and finds himself in danger until Ever 4 swoops in to rescue him before anything bad happens. That night, Bu Shi is still high on the drugs and feeling frisky. He discovers Ever 4 has sexual functions, and they become intimate. Although Bu Shi feels confused the morning after, he soon accepts that he has feelings for Ever 4. However, the robot has another hidden feature that complicates everything. His company's owner, Da Qiang, installed a shock system to punish the robot whenever it misbehaves. Turns out Ever 4 isn't supposed to fall in love with a human client.

Eternal Butler is another BL series about artificial intelligence. Sound familiar? Yeah, that's because it's made by the same studio behind Anti Reset. After their first robot love story flopped, they redid the same plot with a new cast. Like the old saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again." To its credit, this series is better than the original drama. Eternal Butler has a more entertaining storyline. It also focuses on Ever 4's cool technology features, making him seem quirkier than an ordinary human character.

Sadly, Eternal Butler still underwhelms me. It takes such an amateur approach to AI technology, handling a complex topic too shallowly. Recently, I watched Murderbot, a western drama about a super-advanced robot. It tackled meaningful topics like morality and sentience, which I wish Eternal Butler (or Anti Reset) had explored. Think about all the interesting storylines you could do! AI replacing humans, robots unable to feel emotions, the ethics of the romance… Why isn't this series doing more with the damn material!? It sticks to cute fluffy scenes instead of becoming the first BL drama to address these big sci-fi questions.

I got my hopes up again, thinking we'd get a complex love story about human-AI romance. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! That said, Eternal Butler is OK if I just view it as cute BL fluff. I liked watching a spoiled rich kid flirt with his smoking hot robot butler. Do they get into wacky situations? Sure. Does any of it make you ponder the deeper questions? Nope, it's mindless entertainment. Plus, I appreciate how the series doesn't shy away from the spicy moments. The leads have many lovey-dovey scenes and often get physical with each other.

Human falls in love with robot! You won't find that pairing in your typical BL drama. Bu Shi & Ever 4 have a unique relationship, but they aren't my favourite. The romance feels clunky, especially when explaining how someone falls for a piece of technology. I need more convincing about their emotional bond before I ship a human with a machine. As for the other pair, they feel irrelevant to the story. Make the side couple more interesting! How about two robots in love? Or what if Bu Shi's dad hooked up with the hot engineer uncle who designed Ever 4? That would spice things up!

Sorry, but the guy who plays Bu Shi (Eden Chen) isn't a good actor. He struggles to emote convincingly. Watching him express feelings is like someone on the toilet straining hard to squeeze something out. It's uncomfortable for everyone involved! His co-star (Kevin Chang) seems fine. Ever 4 is supposed to be emotionless, so he can coast by with a blank expression. Thankfully, the leads share decent physical chemistry. Kevin also fulfills my BL fantasies. The glasses? Check. The butler uniform? Oh yes. And the buff body hiding underneath all those clothes? BINGO!

Later in the series, there's a relationship crisis. Eh, I'm not even worried. The plot is so low-stakes that you know nothing bad will happen. At the end, the story's big message is that "money solves everything". Ugh, that's so shallow. The water in this pond doesn't reach my ankles… That's how deep this BL drama is. Despite all my critiques, I still had fun with Eternal Butler. Hey, it's casual BL fluff with some funny moments here, some romantic scenes there. It's cute, but it's just not meaningful. With a concept as cool as an AI romance, I'm hungry for a more complex story.