If you kinda want to watch it, go! No regrets.
Whoever directed this, needs a raise! I'm not sure why but something's different about the tone of this drama compared to all jdramas I've watched. It's somehow beautifully shot but I can't really point out how because I'm not an expert regarding cinematography. They do use a variety camera cuts and positioning that sets this a level higher than your usual romantic jdrama.The main lead actors were so convincing too! Their characters were carefully made and nothing the characters did felt too far from who they are. The supporting actors were not too far in terms of performance. My least favorite being the young coffee guy but even he brought charm to his character. The supporting actors playing the immediate family members of the leads were pretty good too.
For the story, I think it comes with a person's personal taste but I mean no story is in danger when the characters are well-aligned.
This jdrama is at a high place in my list of jdramas I would recommend first timers and just anyone else.
Edit: just found out that the screenplay writer for this is the same as the one for Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo aka Itazura no Kiss which is really well-paced too for an adaptation of a messy-paced manga
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Now for a more detailed review:
This drama feels dated in the sense that it follows a lot of the common tropes of kdramas which was pretty standard in 2018. I'm not saying it's completely unoriginal but it does fall into that simple kdrama plot. It doesn't tackle a lot of issues and is very straightforward. Don't misunderstand, I am not saying that the drama is boring. Although the end or outcomes are predictable, it still gave a lot of misdirects and suspense through the process.
I still enjoyed it a lot because everyone in the cast bring so much to the drama from out main leads down to the least significant random palace server, book vendor, or small-shot scammer. They all give so much life to their characters and I think it is also because all the characters, down to the smallest roles, were written with care. The chemistry within the cast (not just the main leads) was very convincing.
I can definitely see myself rewatch this drama because it has a lot of clever lines. The comedic timing of the actors in this drama are great.
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Acting 10/10 from the main and supporting characters. It was great! Whoever casted the actors knew them well and that they would be amazing as their characters. Shison Jun's surprised me the most because I haven't seen him play this kind of character. And I've always impressed by Arimura Kasumi's and Kamiki Ryunosuke's acting. They were very convincing even if some moments felt rushed.
Music was good too. Im giving it a 9 because it heightened my emotions especially at the end. A lot or all of the lyrics were in English which I found distracting at first but it was so sweet and matched the tone fine.
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama I enjoyed watching from start to finish? Finally!!! I'm not sure if I could have survived watching this if it was still airing but it was an amazing binge. The only binge I've enjoyed this much in a long time.
I found all the business related scenes really entertaining to watch because of the ethical dilemmas so yey for not boring me with business jargon and politics! I think having web portals as the business was really interesting since we use the Internet daily.
Each main character had their own color and the character development for each one was fun to watch. Even Ga gyeong's character, which is arguably less fun than the two, gets your full attention.
The supporting characters also brought so much life to the drama.
The acting was better than I expected.
I really couldn't hear most of the music because I watched this in low volume but those that I did hear were amazing and I put a few on my playlists that would instantly bring me back to the scenes in the drama.
My biggest complaint is how much screentime we have with the main couple because it would have been better to have as much screentime with the camaraderie of the task force, and the romantic realtionships of the two other characters. But the good parts largely outweighs the not so good :)
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