A fun story executed very poorly
I was honestly skeptical of people's comments saying how weird this drama was. I mean, how weird can it be?? Turns out, VERY WEIRD.The initial premise was what piqued my interest, but the more I watched, the more I realized that the story was one of the weakest points of this show. 6 episodes did not do this drama justice. There were multiple times where the characters' interactions together happened off-screen, characters appeared then were written off for no apparent reason, and many more problems. There wasn't any time for the story to delve into the side characters backstories and even the main characters. Maybe it was done intentionally to make the viewers even more confused, but I didn't like how that was implemented. Just because it's supposed to be a trippy drama doesn't mean that character development and explanations should be thrown out the window.
I love dramas with some sort of mystery that is explained at the end, or at least an open ending that ends with me theorizing. That's only if clues are hinted at throughout the episodes. In this drama, there are basically no clues whatsoever. I really dislike dramas where the writer(s) deliberately and intentionally hide stuff from the viewers. To me, it's like a cheap gimmick to surprise the viewers. Good writing can make an ending shocking while still having numerous hints sprinkled throughout its runtime.
The acting is by far one of the best parts. Jung Yu Mi does well in the role of a zany, wacky, and tbh a bit creepy school nurse. Nam Joo Hyuk nailed his role as a down-to-earth, normal teacher. I also enjoyed the students' acting, for the most part. They were able to make a number of scenes convincingly unsettling. However, in other scenes, they come across as cringey lol. They're a double-edged sword, I guess.
Eun Young and In Pyo are an unlikely pair, but they mesh together really well. An eccentric person who wants to be normal, and a normal person who wants to be eccentric. Their subtle hand-holding shows their bond. They were, without a doubt, the best part of the show.
At first, I didn't like how the jellies were cartoon-ish. But considering how bizarre this series is, I later realized how good this decision was. The whole cinematography (lighting, camera angles, location, etc.) were of normal quality. I liked the composition of some scenes, for example, when Eun Young talked to someone, the next angle showed her talking to the air, indicating she was talking to a ghost/jelly. I thought those parts were really clever.
The music wasn't anything outstanding.
I enjoyed the strangeness of it all. It's distinct from any other drama. However, the execution was abhorrent. I might watch if there is a second season, but only if the drama has more episodes. As I previously stated, 6 episodes was totally inadequate for this sort of narrative.
aight byeee~
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Just strange
The story was going nowhere, pace was too slow and screenplay was just not worth the time spent watching this.It's probably one of the worst kdramas I have ever seen. It just wasn't an interesting story.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, quite possibly one of the worst kdramas I have ever seen.
If you're thinking of watching this after seeing the trailer, please avoid. Its not half as much fun as the trailer suggests nor does it have an interesting climax. Its just bland!
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...what?
I mean, I gotta respect the fact that dozens of people were like “yep, this sounds crazy, but we are gonna make this show anyways.” And I think it works out! Maybe? Watching it is a weird experience. Yes, this is a show about a school nurse who fights off jellies. The thing that makes this show actually weird is how seriously it plays it. The jellies are bright colored, sometimes cute looking, occasionally truly monstruous looking. The school nurse fights off these jellies using a multicolored lightsaber and squirt guns. But this show does not have quirky, cute music, or even many jokes. The tone is more like what you’d expect from... maybe like a show about a school haunted by ghosts. Except it’s colorful jellies. Occasionally when the jellies take over a student or something the behavior of the students can be really disturbing. But then a jelly will explode into a million cute red hearts. Like wtf is happening. (There is a bit of an ick factor, btw. Pulling the jellies out of people’s skin can look gross. Another person eats the jellies and it’s hella gross.)The main duo are great. I don’t really know how to label their relationship. Reluctant allies turned friends? They have a pretty funny dynamic but in a subtle way. They both have very different attitudes towards these events. The school nurse Ahn Eun-young is my favorite character, and is in the running to be my fave kdrama character of the year. She’s slightly unhinged, blunt, a bit cynical but still working hard to save the day. She’s a very unique character and I like her a lot.
You kinda have to turn off your brain to watch this show because trying to process the weird tone and random stuff happening is a bit much and you’re not really meant to understand it anyways. My main criticism is that they try to ram in some random plot points towards the end and they just didn’t spend enough time explaining the two different secret societies. But it didn’t really seem like it mattered anyways.
I do recommend the show as an experience but I’d have a hard time recommending it as really good.
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This review may contain spoilers
An Honest Review from Long Time Jung Yumi's fan
Review of #TheSchoolNurseFilesㅡ The series kicked off with lively and energetic and We could see the main protagonist Ahn Eunyoung. She has different ability from other children. She is born with eyes which can see "jellies"& allow her to see kind of living creature
On the first episodes we could see an oddball introduction with some humors and intriguing part which Ahn Eunyoung is trying to vanquish the jellies with her toy weapon ( lightsaber and bb gun). I as the audience was waiting for the story telling behind scientific reasons what's going on in every story they told on the screen and sadly we got nothing.However, there are some heartwarming and jolly moment in every episodes. Thanks to Yoo TaeO and Moon Sori as special guest.
The School Nurse Files doesn't carry enough to convince the audiences with scientific reasons. They didn't flesh out into a decent story. It's really a shame because there are some a nice ideas but ended up with cliffhangers plot. Here some parts need to be answered. Ex) In the fish market, They didn't tell us who she is. What kind of operation they did? What kind of medical treatment they do? Who did they have that ability? Is there any community among them? They didn't explain anything briefly among the people who understand even can see jellies. Beside a bizarre writing with no details explanation, the story goes in piles of different directions. The series is directed with independent mind so it looks absurd. The inconsistency in editing turned into confusing. The series is no more than just selling a concept...sadly
Apart from plenty weakness they have. this series has an excellent cinematography and CGI like in fairytale world 💫 and the jelly floating everywhere and blobs around the screen. It looks squishy and amusing. the sound effect and BGM also great. The preformance of all casts are good but not at their best. Jung Yumi personally I could only see her in romcom or melodrama movies/dramas, but she steals the show with a bubbly spark, funny and energetic.
OVERALL:
#TheSchoolNurseFiles is a bizzare and confusing fantasy series with unsettled packed plot. There is no scientific form or explanation to anything going on the screen. As the result, it loses some interests to continue the series. The series ain't going to wrap up with explanation. A lot of unpacked files here and there, also cliffhangers ending of each files. It has nothing to expect more than disappointing plot and editing. Though the series looks charming with weird plot and genuinely has a heartwarming performances.
I can only give ★★★ maximum and I don't think it's good enough for rewatch value. If you are ready for weird, absurd and abstract plot, this series might be your cup of tea but you might find easy to give up the series and pretend it's doesn't exist.
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The School nurse files is beautifully weird
This is the weirdest Korean drama I have ever seen in my whole life. I had no clue what was happening in episode one and two, I am being so honest here I didn't even understand many parts but from episode three things get understandable and make more sense.An Eun Young is a new nurse teacher at school. She has a special ability to see jelly-like monsters that are made from the residue of human desire and she can also eliminate these jellies. Hong In Pyo is a Chinese language teacher at the same school. He has a special energy. In order to protect the students, An Eun Young and Hong In Pyo work together to eradicate these jellies. I love Mr. Mackenzie (Yoo Teo), he appears from episode three, from then things get very interesting.
So the school was built on an ancient burial ground. There is a hole where the air flows. This place contains so many energies. The energies feed off children's laughter. As they are feeding on the energies, jelly-like monsters are created. The Grandfather who wanted to channel those energies the people were worried about Mr.Hong and safe happiness changing the world. Control the breathing hole and change the luck and you will have the power to rule the nation. That was the plan designed by Safe Happiness. To those who are strong, the place will appear normal. However, it draws in the who lack energy. That's why people keep jumping in
The CGI team did a great job in VFX. The jelly monsters looked so real and also the special effects and other graphics are excellent. It is something to be praised cause it's really good. Coming to the writing, The drama is very trippy, it's as if someone wrote this drama doing acid. It's quirk and fun. also, the music is really good. Lesbians! Lesbians are everywhere! Episode 6 is bloody the best episode in this drama. Must watch! It opens up social issues and I love it. We see a lesbian couple and we see a lot more crazy things happening in the school. My favorite episode is three and six.
Overall, The School nurse files is beautifully weird. It's very trippy and hard to understand, proceed with caution cause your in for some next level supreme existential crisis. I really loved, to
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Weird, wacky, wonderful
This has the vibe of Anne Hathaway's movie Colossal which I loved. This show is polarising; you either love it or hate it. I loved it so much I watched it twice; the second time to unpack the little details and the crazy that I missed e.g. the creepy facial expressions, the bonking jellies, the knots . It's not a romcom but Jung Yu Mi and Nam Joo Hyuk make hand holding sexy! It's so cute to watch her try to fight destiny. I got covid19 vibes too, as she's a frontliner fighting an overwhelming and unknown threat. Really apt show for 2020, which has been weird all around. Hope there's a second season.Was this review helpful to you?
WTH did I just watch ?
What a wild ride. Absolutely quirky, strange, fun, crazy, and hopefully soon to be a cult classic. Honestly I have never seen a kdrama quite like it, I was just amazed at the whole concept. Jung Yoo Mi was awesome, she brought the character of Nurse Ahn Eun Young to life! The special effects were very cool, the story was out of this world. I have to say when I first started watching this I was like WTH did I just watch lol, which was a very good thing. This drama left it open to expand the story past this season and I hope people watch it so this amazing story can continue. Makes me want to read the books sooooooo bad but unfortunately they aren't translated into English 😭 Anyway, do yourself a favor and watch this, you won't regret it!Was this review helpful to you?
wildddddd
this was wild - I enjoyed it so much. beneath the bizarre there was a lot of unexpected depth and some really touching moments. the youngins in this cast were a delight, I look forward to their future performances. Jung Yoo Mi was amazing as always, I have yet to be disappointment by her. Nam Joo Hyuk seems to grow with each role he takes on.I understand this may not be for everyone, but I do recommend that you give it a try. I honestly didn't even watch the trailer so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I didn't even realize Joo Hyuk was in the cast, I was just going based off of Yoo Mi but I really did love it. The music was incredible, cast was phenomenal and story was so strange and I loved every minute. the six episodes were the perfect length - would have loved to watch more but satisfied with what I got.
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this is not a kdrama it's an Indie movie
This show is so EFFING WEIRD!!!! I love it so so so much. I love how it reminds me of Wes Anderson/Jordan Peele/Zombieland/The End of the F***king World. It's so weird and so whack you're just gonna be so engrossed into the weird world of fantasy and satire. If you love both indie films and kdramas, this is the PERFECT blend.Plot-wise, there definitely was some lacking. I saw a comment like this and I really agreed with it:
"there are 2 things; one, the director had a vision of weirdness they wanted to express so this felt like an independent film rather than a drama, and I feel like the plot lost substance trying to achieve that vision.
and two, I don't know what they teach to all korean writers but they cannot explain their plot in less than 16 eps and they need 100 side plots to distract people from the main plot, so in this it felt like they had a 16ep plan that got reduced and they just picked random events fit the drama"
It felt like the impact could be more had they extended the length of the drama since we only had 6eps. They have a really interesting setup and premise, the characters are also immensely complex and unique, it would've been such a great opportunity to elaborate it as a social commentary or to use it to discuss political issues. I think some were actually covered throughout the 6 eps, but the impact could've hit harder had they explored these underlying themes a little bit more. It being only 6 ep, the viewer ends up spending most of the time wondering what's going on. A little bit of a waste, but... still enjoyable.
The cast is stellar...This has got to be NJH's most mature role that suits him the most. I actually thought he would act as a student and when I found out his character would be a teacher i was like whaaaat... but he unexpectedly pulls it off so well. NJH has an aura of maturity in him that was never really seen in his other teenage roles, and I'm so glad he chose to act in such an unconventional show despite being a Hallyu Star, it really suits him. He complements Jang Yu Mi so well!
Have always been a fan of JYM so this was just a treat. Her character was freaking hilarious and NJH offsets her craziness really well. The side cast of the students and the teachers were also so amazing, it really gives you the creeps.
the cinematography --- UGH so amazing. The music --> a blessing to my ears.
Overall, a really memorable show that you can't help but love and constantly think about. love it~
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Unique but confusing
This drama is anything but conventional – we see a mix of quirky characters in a high school that suffer from a range of dilemmas from potential love interests to typical teen angst to sometimes even more dark and serious issues that help bring this otherwise bizarre drama back to reality. Personally, I don't think I've seen such serious messages conveyed in such a unique way and I think this has a lot of that has to do with the special effects that were used. They really helped add to the oddness of the drama and in a way helped add a bit of brightness to this overwise quite dark drama.Our main lead is BB gun-wielding, jelly fighting school nurse who is eccentric and unusual most of the time, which I personally loved, but I could see her being over the top for others watching. The rest of the cast and characters also had many loveable and sometimes odd personality traits, which really helped create depth in the storyline of this drama.
But honestly, I was confused a large part of the time. With this drama being only six episodes I think there was an obvious rush to cover as many aspects of the story as possible which unfortunately left behind many plot holes. The only good thing about this drama being short was that I didn't feel that it dragged at all, but I think that was because there wasn't a chance for this drama to get a bit boring because they were already onto the next topic.
We also get some resolution at the end of this sometimes confusing drama, but it wasn't exactly how I pictured this ending. I felt that a lot of things were left unsaid, but maybe they are planning a second season in the future to cover up the holes they created?
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A required taste is needed
Even though visually it was amazing with the special effects and the OST was actually quite addictive, I really couldn't buy into the story for this one. I honestly just found it really uninteresting despite the great cast. However, I do think that there is definitely a sort of audience that would enjoy TSNF, especially those who watch fantasy dramas on a regular basis. I unfortunately however am not one of those aforementioned people.Not sure if there will be a season two but if there is I will still check it out, mainly because of the visuals, and the cast.
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Good Enough
" The School Nurse's Files " was pretty quirky. It was like a magical realism book that you read and you don't know what's happening most of the time. But the main reason why I'm rating this with six stars out of ten is because the story felt rushed and unfinished. If this one has a second season, then the drama will probably worth seven stars for me. However, for this one, the story had potential, but it was moving too fast and a few things were actually explained, making things hard to follow and confusing.Other than that, the CGI were really good and didn't ruin the drama at all. The performances were also spot on, something that could have destroyed it, as the plot is pretty character centered.
So, overall, six out of ten.
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