Created by ‘Studio S’ and combinedly produced by ‘Binge Works’ & ‘Studio N’, “Today’s Webtoon ()” is a coming-of-age office drama with urban settings based on famous 2012 Japanese manga series “Juhan Shuttai!” authored by Naoko Matsuda which has been previously adapted as a Japanese drama with the same title in 2016. Written by debutant writers Jo Hyun Joo & Cho Ye Rang and directed by Jo Soo Won, the drama was broadcasted on SBS TV.

The story follows the lives of a webtoon editorial team that is on the verge of being dismissed due to mediocre performance in profiting a top IT company, NEON, which acquired it 3 years back. It begins with On Ma Eum (Kim Se Jung) and Gu Jun Young (Nam Yoon Su) joining the team as new recruits and soon becoming PDs in order to assist different artists. As the drama progresses, we see them struggling do their individual tasks and worrying about the team’s issues along with others, as everyone attempts to save their positions while also putting best of their efforts to comply with the artists.

Ma Eum is a former Judo player who could never look back after a hiatus following a major accident, while Jun Young is a fresher with high qualifications. Jang Man Chul (Park Ho San) and Seok Ji Hyung (Choi Daniel) are the Chief Editor and Asst. Editor of the team. Other familiar faces in the drama in major roles are: Yang Hyun Min, Ha Do Kwon, Im Chul Soo, Kim Gab Soo, Ko Chang Suk, Hwang Young Hee, Kang Rae Yeon, Ahn Tae Hwan, Kim Do Hoon, Jeon Hye Yun, Hal Yu Ri, Baek Suk Kwang, Jang Sung Yoon, Son Dong Woon, Baek Hooo Hee, Nam Bo Ra, Jang Hye Mi and Yoon Seo Ha.

Plot development is not very unusual, rather follow a feel-good flow in the premise of the office. The pilot episode created a good impression for me and the follow-up was nice. The basic elements and simple issues used to portray the odds and evens of a office worker in a webtoon editorial team and their interactions with the artists were in fact beautifully introduced and explained. The progression was smooth for a long time. I was honestly tip-toeing from the very beginning bc the comments on MDL were not very kind, but I enjoyed it till the 9th episode. However, the visible regressive changes in the flow and the quality of the story took place and that’s where you know that the writers are gradually losing it. By the 11th episodes it actually becomes boring and few aspects becomes weary and exaggerated. The ending was okay.

IMO, the debutant writer duo has done their best and it is natural and okay to be average on your first attempt, though the others in the production team could have guided them for better. The script is like half good and half bad; the first half was actually likable with good amount of creative efforts but the second half fell through badly. This is because the writers were free-minded at first but realized around the interval the manga has too much left to be told in another 8 episodes. I don’t know how good the original work is but I think I’d have not liked it much if the basic plotline of the story is actually like this. Nevertheless, the screenwriters have done a good job pouring the Kdrama essence into it.

Maker of many modern dramas of both light and intense genres, Jo Soon Won PDnim took charge of an office setup for the first time but the feel-good essence is surely preserved. The premise has been well-developed and the screenplay is well-executed. The urban vibes of the show with mostly light hue was very much suited. The sound production and screenplay editing were decent. So the directorial values remain consistent throughout.

There are 5 OSTs in the drama…
# “I FLY” by Jihyo
# “Bring it on” by Layeon
# “Today You” by O.WHEN
# “How is your day” by Kim Tae Woo
# “Walking Girl” by Kim Ye Ji

Unlike a lot of watchers who’re on this drama, I am very glad with the amount of romance. They never mentioned romance or tagged the show with romcom at all, so it’d have been okay with none of it. But its appreciable how there are several dynamics to portray workplace likings, love, attractions, confusion, infatuation, admiration, etc.
All these came in different versions and shown between different characters. Also, funny how some were mad about the makers confusing the audience with the first male lead to be paired with On Ma Eum, but no! the show wasn’t about it and their concerns were not to find lovers. The kind of chemistry Ma Eum has with the two male leads separately was beautiful; one being friend and the other being a superior. And, the way it was shown to have been both admiration from working together and attraction from spending time together, was actually realistic in many ways.

The main problem with the show was they introduced so many contexts but they failed to finish them in their due times, instead exaggerated each of them till the very end. The situations that could have been dealt with immediately and solved in a blink of moment, were unnecessarily and horribly dragged to a point that it became shabby and shoddy by the end. Extending Shin Dae Ryuk’s story and giving unnecessary twists just to fill the gaps was something I hated the most. Even Ju Young’s back story was a inessential element.

Typical tropes like family reunion, terminal illness, public opinion as well as appeasement, etc. did annoy me at points, provided that all these were accumulated in the 2nd half only. Some scenes were unnecessarily longer than required,

Final Remarks… Not a must watch but ypu could try either for the leads or if you are fond of feel-good office dramas, but don’t expect a lot because it actually turns choppy in the latter half. Anyways, I would not discredit the entire effort and the fact that it was simple and decent for 9 episodes, my overall rating will be a fair 6.5.