Comedy With Cheap Humor and Racism

I like to watch shorter series in-between the bigger ones, so I decided to check this one out while waiting for more episodes on my other dramas. I thought the premise sounded quite promising. It's not every day that you see polyandry in a C-Drama, and a parody of the genre on top of that. I knew the drama was low-budget going into this, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad. It's bad for other reasons.

Parodies do not need to have any significant plot, but this drama really didn't have anything special going on, and everything is quite forgettable. I don't like to use the word cringe, but some of the humor is very lowbrow. The cutaway gag + music is used way too often and becomes very grating as you go on.

And then there's also the elephant in the room; the episode featuring a black character. What were they thinking when they decided to add a black woman to the cast, only to use her in and extremely racist context, making her a nanny character and joking about bleaching her skin?! She cries in joy when the other characters gift her with giant box of skin-whitening pills???

This was definitely the moment that ruined everything for me. I consider this drama to not be worth watching. There are plenty of comedy series out there that don't need to resort to racism to be funny.

Read More

There's nothing "happy" about this divorced life

I know this is categorized as a romantic drama and not a comedy, but this is way too depressing. In 5 out of 6 episodes, the main character is being harassed for being divorced and dating a new guy. Another dude is so offended at being rejected by her that he decides to ruin her life to the point of her being scared of him. The FL is constantly met with defeat and to me it seems that she gains nothing in the end. She has a boyfriend, sure, but her work situation and personal relationships have taken permanent damage which doesn't seem worth it.

For a series this short, the risk/reward was too unbalanced for my taste.

Read More

A unique premise, but otherwise all over the place

I want to start this review by saying that I did not know how there would be more seasons. I did not know the webtoon and how long it was. I thought this would be all there was.
Yumi's Cells is a comedy/romance drama, so there needs to be some uncontrollable force asserting itself every episode to keep the plot going. However, unlike other series that use force majeure, the FL creates every single problem.

What I'm about to say might sound harsh, but I cannot believe that a 32-year-old behaves like this towards a partner. I'm not saying that she's wrong in all instances, but it's just how she decides to handle things. She's not in her twenties anymore - she even proclaims how they were stolen from her by her ex! Another woman getting too close to your partner should be treated calmly and with a discussion with your partner about personal boundaries, not by becoming controlling and causing the "rival" to quit her job. That is highly unprofessional and immature behavior. Again, Yumi is allowed to feel intimidated by this; many would, but acting like a child will only make herself look ridiculous.

Yumi and Wung are very different, and I think the series is much too focused on his faults than Yumi's. I know it will be biased because the only perspective we get is her own and her cells'. They both have some baggage to deal with, and they are not equipped to help the other. The drama tends to stand with Yumi as she's had a nasty breakup earlier as if that justifies everything a person does.

This drama seems so drawn out sometimes, but blink, and you'll miss some significant change in the plot. Some events seem so out of the blue this way, and even those you can predict happen in weird ways. The last three episodes gave me whiplash.

I don't want this to end on a negative note. So I will say that I love the cells and their commentary. Many people in the live comments thought they were annoying, but they made the show much more watchable for me. I would have loved it if the cells were the focus of the drama, and Yumi's life only showed up once in a while. But that would have been more of a cartoon, I guess.

I don't know if I will watch season 2. I'm just afraid that it will be a rinse and repeat plot until the end.

Read More

One of the Best Rom-Coms I've Watched To Date

This one really knocked it out of the park. I was taken in by the cute and borderline silly premise, and to be honest I did not expect too much. However, I was blown away by the quality of this show, especially the acting. Not only do the FL and ML have amazing chemistry and a relationship that gradually grows during the story, but the supporting characters are absolutely charming and well-written, and I was happy that they got to have their own stories told too.

I know that dramas generally receive a lot of praise for being realistic, but I feel that this drama touches on some things that I have not seen in others (Spoiler-free):
- Characters who have made grave mistakes are held accountable. Some learn and grow as people, but they are not treated as if they have never done anything wrong.
- Some people grow apart naturally. You might have had a very good relationship with a person several years ago, but time changes people, and not necessarily for the worse. Sometimes your memory of them might be skewed, and you realize that they are not the person you remembered. Characters like these are not demonized in this drama..

While I adore the overall story, there are some points, specifically towards the end, that do not sit well with me. In Episodes 25-26 one of the characters is continually harassed by another character, and I honestly felt like the whole thing was in very bad taste. But anything for love, I guess.

Besides the one negative comment I had, this drama is extremely well-made with a good balance of laughter and crying (at least from my perspective). The FL's acting is phenomenal when she needs to be emotional. There's no holding back, and I love her for it. Definitely worth a watch.

Read More

Starts off strong but is goes downhill by the third act

This drama ticked all the boxes: good character dynamics and a plot that tackles some pretty hefty themes without any over-the-top depictions. Act one was especially good at keeping my attention and building the story, and the second act fully developed most of the characters while exploring their motivations. All of this build-up to the reveal of the big bad, and then it goes downhill from there. I feel like the expectations created during two-thirds of the plot are very different from the end result. Instead of a cold and calculated serial killer with strict personal morals, we got an unhinged maniac. What was his deal anyway? He couldn't be with his girlfriend and decided to murder everyone because being sad is bad? The nurse was much better written to be honest and was overshadowed by the idiot in a white suit.

On another note, this drama is the first one where I liked the soundtrack. So I'm saving the ending theme for later.

Read More

Superfluous Plot and Questionable Ethics

I know I may be nitpicking here, as all dramas has its own flaws, which essentially boil down to differences between Western and Eastern cultures.

Firstly, while the overall premise is very entertaining, I can't help but feel that the whole "vampire" trope could have been left out, without the plot being too affected. Early on in the series, there were several times where I forgot that the FL is a vampire, only to be reminded of it when the plot needed it. I know this is based on a webtoon, so I can't comment on it's faithfulness to it's source material.

Secondly, I personally feel like there are some very questionable ethics at play here. Sometimes I feel like the vampire plot point was only shoehorned in, so the FL could harass the ML as much as possible. She wants to be with him so she can feed from him, and to do that she must manipulate him as much as possible. Not only does she want to "cure" the ML from his mysophobia, she also contacts his estranged mom against his will. There's also pet abuse (a goldfish dies from clearly improper care).

There's also the love triangle which makes me slightly uncomfortable, because the other love interest is a massive creep, who not only keeps private photographs of the FL, but also feels that he has the authority to make decisions for her several times.

Overall, this series feels... weird. I'm definitely going to watch the second season to see where everything ends up, but my hopes are not as high as they could have been.

Read More

Very Well-Done Character-Driven Plot - But Disappointing ML

I must say, this series surprised me immensely. I started watching this drama because I needed a breath of fresh air between episodes in my other series. However, I soon began watching this drama 'full-time,' and for a good reason too. Where do I begin? The first episode introduces us to a female lead (Young Won) who quickly establishes herself as a well-written character. She's driven, energetic, and sweet - but also has her doubts, which fleshes her out pretty nicely for the viewer. The drama also introduces us to the rest of the cast, who have their quirks and backstories. Then, we meet the ML (Ja Sung), and boy, is he something.

Ja Sung starts with all the boxes in the 'make-a-prick' list checked. He's inconsiderate, rude, manipulative, and a millionaire landlord on top of it too. This drama does take the route of 'FL does all the emotional labor,' so beware. The writers try to make him grow as a person and brush his miserly personality off with a below-average childhood (who could have seen that coming.) Sorry, but in my eyes, Ja Sung's circumstances do not justify him being such a nasty person to those around him.

The supporting characters make this story. They're entertaining and drive several b-plots, which are almost better stories in their own right. Although rational thinking would have prevented some of these situations, everything goes well together, but this is a romantic comedy, so something should happen. Most of them are also absolute dinguses initially, but we see them grow as people through the episodes. This character growth works for the supporting characters, not Ja Sung, because they're way more relatable. You will never convince me to have any sympathy for a man who is that rich. I will not apologize for this.

And then there's the ending, which seems to have split the reviewers. Without spoiling anything, I think it was very mature. We got to see where everyone ended up, for better or for worse. In my honest opinion, everyone got an ending that they deserved.

Read More

High aesthetic value - favorite FL

This drama has some of the prettiest background designs I've ever seen. The blend of CGI and stage design is so smooth I have a hard time knowing what's real and what's not. The world is thought out and immersive. I also like the costume design for all the animal spirit characters.

The female lead is self-assured and competent, if not manipulative. This characterization works very well for the story; she is easily my favorite character. The only con is that she overshadows the male lead, who is there to be pretty but gains some action relevance later in the season.

Check this out if you want to watch a series with profound lore, well-written female characters, and gorgeous aesthetics.

Read More

A drama with a lot more ‘oomph’ than most

I admit I decided to watch this drama after finishing The Untamed. I was very impressed by the wuxia genre and the potential for deep storytelling. However, and my western worldview might cause this, the series falls into the same pitfalls that I also experienced in The Untamed.

For one, I felt that the series could have been somewhat shorter or at least used some of its scenes for other things. It's also very tiring in the long run. There's this paradox where heavy, informational scenes are drawn out so much that I'm begging for a break, and then when we do get some relief, the scenes feel empty or out of place. There is so much exposition that they tend to drown out each other. There's a sweet semi-plot twist near the end that I didn't even notice until the timed comments pointed it out. I'm just so busy getting caught up in everyone's relations and agendas that I get confused or miss things outright. However, this is probably more of a genre than a specific problem with the series.

What this drama is excellent at, though, is making all the characters very interesting. I'm very picky about b-plots, but honestly had not much of a problem with those in WoH - disregarding the extreme info-dumping.

I won't move into spoiler territory, but I feel that this is a reasonable warning: if there are certain tropes you hate, especially when it comes to endings, you might want to prepare yourself during the last five episodes. It is overall a bittersweet experience, and I was honestly angry at some points because who wants to be disappointed after spending several days on this series?

These are all of my major complaints. However, I do have a lot of praise. This drama has some of the best costuming so far. I cannot help but look at Wen Kexing's outfit in every scene. The costumers spent a lot of time was spent of designing his costumes. The series has a lot of CGIs that are pretty obvious, but it's used to create some gorgeous landscapes and special effects. One thing that blew me away was the fighting scenes! They're so much better than other dramas I've seen. I'm afraid that I won't find anything nearly as good in the future.

If you can dedicate the time needed to watch this drama in its entirety, I think it would be a gratifying watch.

Read More

A Pleasantly Mature Storyline

Considering that this drama is relatively short, it manages to accomplish quite a lot. I appreciate the different topics that it covers, and the way it handles them too. Every character we meet is sympathetic and relatable, and deals with genuine, and serious, problems. The plot is serious without delving into angst-territory.

I became interested in actor Lee Soo Hyuk after seeing him as the villain in Scholar Who Walks in The Night, and I must say that he does a splendid job here. He's terrific in brooding, supernatural roles. I look forward to seeing him get more main character roles. The others do a great job too, and elevate scenes significantly when needed. I must applaud the actress Choi Su Jin and the girl playing her young counterpart. Their dynamic in their respective episode was amazing to watch.

Overall, in a drama that is about movie length, we get a great story, good synergy between actors, and lovely visuals on top of it. I loved the look of everything in the store!

Read More

Struggles Halfway Through - But Otherwise Decent

I love the supernatural, especially vampires, so it was obvious that I would check out this drama. I liked the idea of a female character (Yang Seon) gaining some form of economic independence, by cross-dressing and selling illegal books for a living - and a handsome vampire (Sung Yeol) whose turning was very traumatic. I was interested in seeing how these two characters would introduced to another, and how their lives would intertwine.

Somehow, I feel like they are not very compatible, even later on. Yang Seon is, to put it mildy, an idiot. I know female characters are usually written this way, but it becomes very infuriating as the series goes on. It makes sense for her not to know anything in the beginning, as she's just a regular person with no knowledge on vampires or their existence. However, this continues to be a thing throughout the whole drama. The viewers and all the other characters know everything, while Yang Seon struggles to keep up. The immediate moment she learns something new, the viewer is introduced to a new "secret," so Yang Seon is behind once again! It's stupid! If I hear her say "sunbaenim" one more time...

The writers seem to prefer to use Yang Seon as a plot device rather than a character of her own. This is especially evident halfway through the drama, where everything becomes very chaotic. Plot points are introduced and resolved within the same episode, and they do this several times! Yang Seon learns something new, she gets herself into danger, Sung Yeol saves her. Rinse and repeat for multiple episodes. I'm normally very good at staying focused, but at some points I was just looking at the screen once in a while to catch up while doing something else. The only redeeming episodes were the last 2-4 as the plot seems to pick up again.

Besides my furious disposition towards the FL, I actually like all the other characters. Sung Yeol and his crew are well-written characters. Gwi is a well-rounded villain and quite entertaining on his own. Sometimes, just being evil is good enough when it comes to writing. There is some very good character development that I feel makes this drama worth a watch. This is not the worst vampire-themed series I've seen.

I agree with others about the music choices. Be ready to hear the same three tracks used in every scene.

Read More

A Short Refresher

This is exactly the kind of thing you would watch to refresh your palate in-between dramas. The drama runs approximately 120 minutes total, so it's like watching a movie. It's way too short and fast-paced to evolve into anything substantial, but that's to be expected of something like this. There's romance instantly, and all conflict is solved within the drama's run. They also went for a lot of plot developments that definitely would have fitted well in something longer.

I also liked the focus it had K-beauty and youtubers - something we don't see too often in dramas.

Overall, a nice watch.

Read More

A Quite Funny and Pleasant Experience

This was very enjoyable to watch, and a quite nice introduction to the genre (this was my very c-drama and Asian drama). The comedy is spot on, the acting and chemistry among the characters is great. It was nice to see a role reversal that did not feel forced, and was not quickly forgotten, as the female lead's role has a very big effect on the plot and her relation to other characters. Romance and plot between supporting characters was also very well-written and memorable.

The costuming and music was absolutely stunning sometimes. I'm usually not a fan of dragged out slow-motion scenes, but there were some moments where these were well-warranted.

However, this has a tendency to drag out its episodes. While a lot of the drama surrounding the royal palace is very exciting, I feel that it took them way too long to resolve everything - not in the series time, but in the amount of episodes they made dedicated to that.

Read More

A Slightly Flawed Must-Watch

I will say, The Untamed is an extremely beautiful and well-written series. I am not normally the type to watch long series, but this series has a deep plot and characterisation that keeps you entertained and curious throughout the episodes. That, I will give them.
Most, if not all, characters are memorable and they all have their own beginnings and endings throughout the series. The background and costume design is absolutely stunning, and you can see how much time and work went into creating this series. Some complain about the CGI used, but I have personally seen far worse.
My only gripe with this series are various plot points + cultural aspects of the series that I personally disagree with. These may be minor to most, but I still feel the need to mention them, as they brought down the score for me.

First, the censorship of several queer relationships which were present in the source material.
Second, almost all major female characters die. These include: Wen Qing, Jiang Yanli, Yu Ziyuan, Qin Su, and Ah Qing. On top of that, aren't Wen Qing and Jiang Yanli cultivators? We only get to see Wen Qing do something badass, while Jiang Yanli dies in the most "women in refrigerators" way possible.
Third, and I admit I'm being petty here, but the Yi City Arc felt somewhat out of place. By this point, we know Xue Yang, but have most likely already forgotten who Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan are. Their story felt weirdly rushed ad slightly unsatisfying by the end.
Fourth, also petty, Meng Yao is absolutely demonised for killing his father. It is absolutely horrible how he orchestrated the murders of so many people, but the series seems to put most of the weight on the patricide. Personally, I feel that Meng Yao was completely justified in murdering his father.

I felt that I needed to provide reasons as to why my score was lower than perfect. This series is really good, and definitely worth watching, but has some minor flaws I felt dragged my score down.

Read More

Mature and well-handled drama with some pacing problems

This drama has some pretty phenomenal writing and maturely tackles many serious issues. I was pleasantly surprised since I went into this only knowing it was a romance series with a love triangle. The depiction of abusive relationships was handled with a delicacy that I've been missing in Asian dramas since they tend to play it up for the audience.

However, there were times when the writing lost some traction, and two characters in particular suffered from a lack of attention from the writing team (Jung Ji Eun and Woo Gwang Nam). It's a shame since the rest of the series is so well-executed.

Read More