"Hello Monster" or "I Remember You" is not only one of my favorite kdramas but one of my favorite shows period, of any genre or country. I went into this with little knowledge or expectations- from the description of being a psychological thriller, I expected a show like "Train"- which is also very good but has a much darker tone. Instead, this show began as primarily fun, quirky, and exciting. The music, style, and pace initially reminded me of "Sherlock". It definitely delves into some darker content but overall maintains this mood. To me it was a perfect mix of touching, funny, dark, emotional, and exciting. It also raises a lot of questions about nature vs nurture, intentions vs actions, the line between good and evil, and the good and bad in all of us...it was very thought-provoking and provided few easy or "right" answers.

What really makes this drama special is the characters. The characters are layered, complex, and really fleshed out. The male lead is quite similar to Sherlock Holmes on a surface level; but once we get to know him and the other characters, we see how they struggle with the light vs darkness within. I also really loved the female lead- she's smart, persistent, awkward, reckless, and compassionate. The villains are amazing- some shows and movies provide a bit of a viewpoint from the villain, so we can understand why they do what they do- but I've never seen it done to this extent. This show makes you love all the characters, even the ones that you shouldn't love. The good characters are capable of evil, and the villains are capable of good. This show really goes into their motivations and psyches and makes each person relatable.

The acting was really great. The antagonists were dangerous and scary one moment- they literally sent chills down my spine- and relatable and fun the next moment. This was my first Seo In Guk drama and now I'm a big fan of his. While all the acting was amazing I especially wanted to comment on Park Bo Gum and DO Kyungsoo, who were only 22 years old at the time but totally matched the acting level of their more experienced costars. Park Bo Gum convincingly exuded the maturity required to play an aloof lawyer while DO excelled too (I won't say what type of role he played even though it's revealed in the first episode).

I would definitely recommend this show to pretty much anyone. While intense, it's not scary or violent. I've heard some different opinions about the ending, but I thought it was perfect. This is one of my very top shows now and it'll take a long time to get over these characters that I grew to love.