This review may contain spoilers
I'm surprised that I love Are You Human Too way more than expected. Despite many wtf moments in terms of logic, this drama is emotionally truthful and thematically consistent. There are several themes to tease out, but I particularly enjoy how questions about identity occur in the setting of a conglomerate family, a dehumanizing environment where what matters is one's 'usefulness' to the authority figures they serve. The concept of a 'stand-in' or a 'replacement' is central to Nam Shin 3's early journey but also mirrored through Seo Jong Gil and Ji Young Hoon. Alternatively, the pain of having no agency over their actions is central to Nam Shin 3 at the end and human Shin. I like that we could peek at how human Shin has been treated through the way he treats Nam Shin 3, and it's unsettling to hear him say Nam Shin 3 has no right to disappear considering the flashback of him escaping home and what Chairman did after he fell into a coma. Despite the parallelism in their circumstances, each of these character finds or reclaims their identities in different ways that suit the characterization. Watching this drama is almost like self-indulgence. The writer discussed topics I'm interested in, built character arcs the way I wish she would and wrapped up their journeys nicely to convey messages that exceed my expectations. Maybe I like it so much because it feels so personal? When So Bong told Nam Shin 3 that she will protect him no matter what despite being weaker and not nearly as smart as he is, I thought that's one of humans' most admirable trait and wished that this line is more than just cute banter. It's nice to see the journey of a vulnerable yet resolute protector plays out through Nam Shin 3 (at the end), So Bong, Mom, Young Hoon and even human Shin (at least to his hyung).
Overall this drama makes me think long and hard about some meaningful, emotionally resonating themes. For that, I'm more than willing to look over its flaws, and actually feel guilty of writing a review that is all over the place. Then again, I'll excuse my laziness by saying that the review is somewhat similar to what I think of the drama. Kinda messy but never devoid of sincerity!
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Awesome !)) 10 out of 10 ! This is the most touching series I have ever watched!
I watched all 18 episodes in 2 days ..)Definitely recommend to watch and also to rewatch ! ))
So strong and deep acting by actor Seo Kang Joon, so strong emotions .. to tears! literally! and the scene where Suwon worries about the robot and sees his death .. so touch the soul (( .. so sorry for NamSin 3 at that moment and Suwon herself .. this is the strongest scene (one of the most) , tears are pouring ... I cried !
Perhaps a good performance by an actor is one in which he merges with the image and makes the viewer worry about the fate of the hero .. Seo Kang Jun did it 100% ) I couldn’t tear myself away from him ahah, of course I really liked the image of NamSin 3 in his performance )) very soulful .. and so realistic for the image of a robot .. and his cute smile)) ..
I really liked this drama!)
super touching, super romantic, super crazy with sad moments (there are a lot of them), and moments of sincere, almost impossible love between a human- robot (I can’t call him just a robot)) and a human ..
this drama will make you worry from episode 1 to the end .. you will be so passionate about the fate of NamSin android that you will worry about him and follow his development, wondering how far he will go in his improvement, how he will change further away from the rules .. and what he will go for those he loves...
You will be interested in how the first meeting between NamSin android and NamSin human will take place and what kind of relationship will develop between them .. you won’t guess right away!
All subsequent series I was worried that NamSin android would not be turned off .. he "became a human " so much that I wanted to extend this character as long as possible)!
In my opinion, Sin android is much more human than the people around him .. he is more human than all of them! .. and even the fact that they thank him .. they still perceive him as a robot (logically he is a robot) but still, with feelings and emotions like people .. he is more humane .. I felt so sorry for him in places, it seemed that at some moments he cried if he could .. but his look always expressed more than words ..
By the way, in the end, he did cry, at the end)) it was so .. touchingly cute and sad to watch .. I think that he learned to experience emotions himself in relation to others, much earlier...
at least there were many moments in his gaze where he seemed to experience pain, sadness and joy, love towards Suwon but did not tell her about it directly .. but right at that moment where he cried, everything was expressed in him .. all the pain of separation, about the events that took place, experiences and the joy of meeting with Suwon! ( I want to believe that he had surpassed himself and learned to experience emotions and feel ...) It was so strong!
I think he deserves a warmer attitude ..
Seo Kangjun.. wow! Oh great actor!)) so handsome .. impeccably handsome ahah and how he expresses emotions .. you can’t tear yourself away from him the whole series! He so subtly conveys the whole gamut of feelings! Already nemaaagu))) he perfectly expresses deep emotions without special facial expressions where it is needed .. those who love all these things (intrigues, facial expressions, a game of emotions ..) you will like to watch him .. you will not be torn off later! Ahah
All the actors did their part well, I think.
As for Jena.. well, why hang on to someone who doesn’t notice you?.. Nooo, even after a kiss with another, she’s ready to live with him.. she’s more like a cyborg than NamSin ahah
in the end, she broke firewood but still tried to save him ..
As for NamSin's mother .. a little selfish desire was to make a 2nd son for herself so that later .. turn him off? when he finally finds the 1st .. is he a toy? Why then it was necessary to endow him with feelings if you were going to hurt him .. I’m sure if he recognizes the emotions of others, he would also be hurt if he found out in the beginning (after all, artificial intelligence is generated and can also feel about himself (probably?)) ..) this is cruel... really sorry for him..
The mother turned out to be not so bad .. in the end she saved him, which pleases) ..
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i really want to enjoy my days back and back ,
i appreciate all the Korean drama industries about their efforts for us.
Story of drama "years later Gil Nak-won is now Han Jae-yi, an aspiring actress" was incredible .
i also have some interest in other countries drama's like ,
Me and my family also have some interest in pinoy drama . that i love to watch here (https://dramatichub.com)
i am note a professional writer but i try my best to show you guys my inner feelings for your effort for us.
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In fact, for once I would have wished that this drama had more episodes/another season because there are so many things that this show could explore but in the end it was always about a perfect robot learning about his own agenda and place in the world and widening the scope would probably detract too much from what we really care about.
I enjoyed the fact that even characters that usually don't grow (like Ye Na) really changed across the drama and while I wish the resolution would have been a bit different I can see why they did it this way. The villains though were sadly not the strongest part, sometimes (or often) drifting into almost cartoonish categories, but they don't drag down the story and while their send off isn't entirely satisfying it at least seems like a somewhat natural conclusion.
All in all a great show that I will probably rewatch, especially because it gave Seo Kang Joon the room to showcase his abilities, and showcase them he did. He wasn't quite Tatiana Maslany, but who is, and he certainly elevated the material given to him, which is not something I thought he would be able to do when I started this show.
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Let me get this out of the way first
I have concluded that he is the most beautiful handsome gorgeous person in the whole world I have ever ever seen...
Back to the review
Acting:
Amazing, from the villains to the heroes, everyone's acting was on point especially Seo Kang Joon's. His acting was superb! The change between his roles was smooth and just mesmerising. Second award has to go to Yo Oh Seong!
Storyline:
Great sci-fi futuristic concept. The story was well written, action and romance scenes and the futuristic graphics were amazing. Each episode leaves you craving for another one lol so do not watch it when you have exams.
I had predicted 3 different outcomes, the end was one of my least desired outcome. Just be warned that you might not be happy with the ending, I am content with it but I don't see it personally as "happy ending".
But it will definitely take you through an emotional rollercoaster, most times like me I hope, you will be screaming kyaaaaaaaaa!
The soundtracks fit the drama.
Overall you won't be disappointed with the drama, it's now one of my personal favourites. Be warned, you will be head over heels for a tin man.
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While I always try to both enjoy the story and look at the logical side of the dramas that I watch, I tend to be more emotional and that's how I was for the most part while watching the plot unfold. This drama started out really good and I think it introduced twists with the right timing to keep us engaged in the story and I think we all fell for NamShin III's charms, because who wouldn't? It was hard to resist all of his soft, sweet smiles and all his gestures even though some of them were literally programmed. However, it became very chaotic when human Nam Shin got involved. I think midway through the drama, the writers got a little confused on whether they should focus on the AI logic more or continue on making NamShin III seem more human.
As for the plot development, I think the company politics got stretched way too long when I think most of us were more curious about the development of human Nam Shin and his relationship with his mother and NamShin III. Human Nam Shin's character could've been written better. He had a good background and I could understand why he turned out the way he was even if he almost became a *SPOILER* murderer. Because let's be honest, some antagonists have painful backstories on why or how they became evil and even though human Nam Shin isn't exactly the antagonist, he somehow became one. Although some of you might disagree with me, human Nam Shin was the character that I wanted to give a hug the most even though I could not accept the crime he almost committed. He was the one who experienced the most pain until the end and I couldn't accept that his hatred has suddenly subsided just because the story was coming to an end. I'm sure we've had evil protagonist/antagonists characters before with a painful past that were written with better character development. They introduced his pain but forgot to let him heal and only remembered to do so on the last episode.
The story, to me, focused more on portraying how humans can do extreme measures for greed, hatred and revenge. Almost all of the characters had their own flaws and faults, even NamShin III, which was good. I just wish that they could've reflected on these more towards the ending. I don't think the grandfather realized how much pain he caused to human Nam Shin and his mother and I don't think what happened to him was enough. Young Hoon, Dr. Oh and the others that tried to help Shin should've reflected more on how they did things. Sure, they wanted to help him, make him a better person and heal his heart, but they were using the wrong methods, which only ended up in everyone getting more hurt emotionally. Soo Bong was also into NamShin III a bit too much that she sometimes didn't care if another human (Shin) was in danger (maybe because that's human nature? idk).
I like how Are You Human Too tried to both show the negative side of humans and how a robot seemed to have more humanity in him, but I think they focused more on making NamShin III the good one and human Shin the evil one that they wasted a character that could've been someone that viewers could also relate to. They tried to show two sides of the story but failed to have a good balance in between.
Lastly, I just want to say how talented Seo Kang Joon, as well as all the other actors and actresses that played in this drama. I hope they get the award/s that they deserve.
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This review may contain spoilers
Story: The plot was good as it contained the elements of a good series. It gave me the hype to watch every episode because the mystery itself was beyond my expectations. However, there is one lacking, the ending. The whole series was already perfect, but the ending seemed to be rushed. Warning: SPOILER ALERT: The ending would be better if we were able to see more of Nam Sin and AI NamSin3 making up and getting together; the M City made successful by them; Kang So Bong’s Relationship with AI NamSin3, Nam Sin, Young Hoon etc.; and the story behind AI NamSin3’s recovery. I get that if the Kill Switch was activated, the robot will explode or give an occurrence of destruction within its reach, but I still want to fill my curiosity with answers as to what really happened during the year after the incident.
Acting/Cast:
The actors were fit for their roles, especially Seo Kang Joon as the Human Nam Sin and Robot NamSin. He outstandingly portrayed two roles, two personalities which made me think that he is good whether what role they give or what personality they want to come out from him. It gives him a brand of a good actor. Additionally, even though the villain Mr. Seo gave me the nerves while watching the episodes, I still congratulate him for his exemplary acting as the antagonist.
Music:
The music was okay. Some songs were good enough to make your heart flutter. Some songs were also good enough to feel the moments of grief, anger, and happiness.
Rewatch Value and Overall:
It’s worthy to rewatch this series because it’s enjoyable. You will feel a lot of emotions as you go along the episodes. Just as I said, the storyline was on point, acting/cast was great, and the music was also good. I give it a thumbs up.
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This review may contain spoilers
( I don't consider what I'm writing as spoilers since I'm not spoiling anything, but to some it may be so that's why there's a warning.)Story's Message-
I think perhaps someone else noticed this before and may have written it in their reviews ( I haven't read anyone else's). When I was watching this drama, I felt there was a message being delivered and it seemed very clear to me. The robot (NS III) represents what humanity fails to do. If you take the supernatural abilities away from the robot, and look at the personality it has, it represents what you would consider an actual decent, perfect human being. The robot is shown to be selfless and even if it has suffered because of terrible humans, it still did not stop to help other humans. At one point when he was traumatized because of what a human has done to him, he was reluctant to help all humans but went back on track and helped humans when they needed to. He followed what his rules were. As humans we still harm one another yet this robot does not and this robot helps humans selflessly, while majority of us humans cannot do that. Throughout this drama, you see most type of humans.
-Humans blinded by monetary greed.
-Humans blinded by love/loyalty and are willing to do anything for that person.
-Humans with deep wounds that take their anger out on people. (Humans seeking revenge as well)
-Humans wanting attention and doing anything to receive the attention they want.
The list could go on. But around them, there is this robot who is clear minded. The robot has people precious to him as well, but doesn't lose sight of who he is. NS III doesn't take revenge or his anger out on the human race for tormenting him. You could argue it's because he cannot feel anything, but as his development continues it feels like he does have some sort of feeling. I think the story's message was something along the lines "that no matter what you're going through, don't lose sight of what you are- a human being; and to come back to being a human being."
I also feel as if there's also another message in the drama. When someone stands out in society or is different than the majority, we tend to pick on that person and make them miserable. In this case it's a robot. But you can replace this robot with someone else from our real world. Cases where someone decided to break tradition or something normal and was hated or mocked at for being different (excluding psychopaths & sociopaths).
Characters & Acting& Drama Overall-
When I was going into this drama expecting there to be romance between a robot (NS III) and a human, I will admit I was a bit weirded out. I wasn't sure how it would play out since I never watched a drama where a robot and human are a couple. I have to say this drama wasn't so bad with its romance between a human and robot. I actually didn't mind it so much, I found it very funny and adorable at the same time. That being said, I did wonder about some technicalities-- the physical and emotional aspects of the relationship which they didn't show much because it may have been complicated. A robot cannot feel anything which was mentioned several times (and it's common sense) but at the same time you see NS III's development as if he were a human being. The show's characters also have this confusion that we viewers have: "He is a machine, but acts as if he were human and develops as if he were real". How deep does that development go in a relationship? We slowly see through NS III's actions that he cares for the person who loves him, but he cannot verbally communicate about his feelings until near the end where he did. I just wonder if that development for a robot would go to the point to have a sex drive? I have seen cases in reality where some people have these dolls that look like human beings and some of these people do claim to have sex with them so I know it's possible to somehow have sex between a robot and human. They didn't want to explore this in the drama so I'm fine with that. I was just curious because it's a robot that is like a human instead of a doll and if it would develop to that point. But, the drama's main focus wasn't that so I let that thought slide and not let it affect my view on this drama.
I think this drama did a great job of developing each character whether it is the protagonists, antagonists, and people in the middle/side. I'm glad that the story decided to develop the human NS character as well because most stories with a good twin/evil twin tag don't really focus on developing both the characters. It usually focuses on one of them. And this story may have focused on the robot NS a lot, but it didn't leave the human NS character empty. The one thing I will say is that I did not like how they progressed the human NS character. I'll leave a comment in this review with a spoiler tag to go in depth with the characters. I do feel the drama was a bit rushed and some things could have been cut out to make a better ending.
The acting was also wonderful. I don't think anyone in the drama overacted. SKJ did a wonderful job of portraying two distinct characters. I was honestly shocked because this is my first drama with him and had lower expectations.
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I’m in love
I honestly went into this show with no expectations, considering I’m not usually into these kinds shows. But this show really wowed me I was drawn in on the first episode all the way from beginning to end. The chemistry between the main characters worked really well and made it so loveable. The really good acting made the characters stand out and the soundtrack and story were so good. I binged all of it in one day and felt really sad to see it finish. Overall I absolutely loved the show. I recommend this to people who like a bit of sci fi with a cute lovable main couple.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Amazing!
I Freaking loved this Drama. I was really excited when I saw a clip and realized it was a syfi drama with (robot/AI Love). I don't know what it is but I really love these types of dramas and this one was Amazing! I was immediately hooked from the first episode, my heart went out to Oh Rora, as a mother I cannot imagine what she went through. I just had this foreboding feeling that she was going to experience so much more pain later on. Our ML or MLs were absolutely Fantastic! Like I'm just so wowed by Leo Kang-Joon's acting. He did such a wonderful job of playing Nam Shin the Human and Nam Shin the AI. It was seriously like he was two completely different people. I absolutely hated Nam Shin the Human and Loved Nam Shin the AI. I was completely blown away by just how great a job he did with the two characters. The story was unique while at the same time predictable, it kept you watching for more. And I don't mean predictable in a boring way I mean predictable like you knew since this incident happened what was going to follow type of things. An exciting type of predictable. This Love is an all consuming one! Our FML was also wonderful , she really grew a lot throughout the show. I also loved how much humor was in this. It was crazy how you would be on the floor laugh so hard and then just a bit latter you'd be clutching your chest! I highly recommend this. I finished it from start to finish all in one day!Was this review helpful to you?
Though you have to forgive the inconsistencies in how the robot was depicted and/or acted in some situations.
The male lead is so good-looking.
I found the female lead's character interesting in the earlier episodes but annoying towards the end, especially when she became overprotective of the robot than of human life. Probably because she's too much in love. But such love affair is too weird and creepy.
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I loved how thought-provoking Are You Human Too? I had so many conflicting thoughts throughout the drama about robots, AI, and humanity. My main issues were that the last few episodes disappointed me and there was a lot of wasted potential with several characters. Yeong Hoon was my favorite character, and I would have liked to see more of his relationship with Nam Shin. Ye Na had the potential to be different than the cliched obsessed-with-male-lead character. Even So Bong's character towards the end seemed a vast departure from her character in the beginning.
I confess, I was more interested in and loyal to human Nam Shin's storyline. I feel like his character had the potential for so much depth, and we saw a bit of it through flashbacks but he deserved so much more because all that he had to endure for 20 years. The final episode felt too rushed to me.
Also, I loved the OST song by VIXX.
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