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The plot is almost like a cat and mouse chase, with a twist: an innocent man confuses himself as a serial killer, leading to a series of events that will help capture the true psychopath. What makes the story a 9/10 though? The characters, smart writing, and a great pace (mostly).
The writer tried to be meticulous. It is an almost absurd premise – before it aired, I dreaded that the whole drama would fall in on itself. Yet the situations that led to the mistaken identity – the mental state of Dong Shik, the people surrounding him, and the little intrusion of happenstance – made me see the possibility of it happening to some poor soul in the real world. After all, it is not all that absurd for someone with a poor mental health (thus low self-esteem) and little emotional support to latch on to an identity that isn’t theirs after losing their memories if it makes sense to them. If the writer can make you accept that, the rest of the story flows really well.
The characters were very fun. Yoon Shi Yoon pulled off Dong Shik so convincingly, it’s beautiful. His expressions, internal monologue, infamous psycho eye-shift, frustration, and – good God – sheer stupidity was a pleasure to witness. Dong Shik was funny without trying; he was so caught up in his identity of a psychopath, he created the most exasperating, slap-your-knee hilarious scenarios. Then there was Bo Kyung – Jung In Sun (the actress who plays Bo Kyung) is small, but she makes you believe she is a police officer who is more than capable of catching criminals, which she most certainly was. She is intuitive, smart, and funny in her own little ways. Then there is Mister Psychopath himself – Park Sung Hoon is so good a playing psycho characters, it’s scary (until I see the reassuring behind the scenes where he is an absolute sweetheart). His psycho laugh is my favourite. He is not a character that has much to add to the comedy, but he most certainly adds to the intensity of the drama by making it darker, which gives it the balance it needed. The ones whose antics and unexpected heroism will make you laugh the most, all while being crucial to the plot, are Dong Shik and Bo Kyung’s sidekicks, arguably one of the best I have seen: Taek Soo and Chil Sung. They did not disappoint. At all.
I want to commend the writer again for giving the characters little eccentricities which were not cheesy and were not wasted (thankfully). For example, Dong Shik’s obsession with horror movies kicked his imagination in various places; Bo Kyung’s hallucinations (which were induced whenever her subconscious detected she was doing something wrong) gave us insight into her thought process and how intuitive she was while using it to move the plot along, and so on.
The only reason I deducted a point from the plot is because it dragged a bit around episode 9 and 10. Furthermore, the last two episodes were enjoyable, but I still feel that they lacked something, though I cannot pinpoint it. Still, the rewatch value is high in this one! And the BGM really gives it a character of its own.
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First of all, the story itself is really interesting, pretty cliche but everything makes up for it.
As you can expect, there’s a lot of plot twists, turns and surprises and is just absolutely unpredictable. Although the outcome of the whole situation is obvious (as show in the beginning), you can’t help but get nervous whenever something significant happens and start wondering whether this is the the situation that leads to the outcome? It was nerve racking, for me, in certain moments.
Yoon Shi Yoon makes the main character absolutely lovable, despite trying to be the bad guy, and portrays the character in such a way, that every episode left me in awe. On a side note, Yook Dong Shik is relatable, in a peculiar way.
Overall, this drama did not disappoint me in the slightest - it exceeded my expectations in every possible way and I will definitely come back to it.
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This review may contain spoilers
I wasn't going to finish this drama after watching the first episode but someone suggested that I should finish watching because it gets better.Well, to be fair I stuck it out because I was hoping as nice as the main ML was he wasn't going to go by the actual psychopath's diary.
I'm not going to go into a whole spiel about this drama. I'm just going to talk about the takeways that happened throughout this series.
First the comedic scenes. There were a lot of comedy scenes but I only laughed a few times. It was because 'in my opinion' some of the comedic elements were too over the top. The constant yelling, screaming, whining, and crying by the main ML didn't help much.
The dumb skills of the two constable officers. The fact that a lot of the times when the main ML did something off the wall these two cops thought it was just adorable when in the real world that person would be evaluated for mental issues or got arrested.
The private detective who'd been a police officer for 20 years which turned into 15 close to the end of the series was horrible at blackmailing. You would think someone with a 20 year skill would be a master of their craft but they made this guy look like a amateur blackmailer.
The second ML was just too creepy. He was the only one that was more believable throughout the series but he did stupid stuff too.
There was one scenario in one of the episodes where the main ML was stuck in a car with charcoal bricks. I guess that's commonly used for suicide purposes and the main ML could've rolled down the windows, or he could've slid to the passenger's side of the car and unlock the door-because the driver side was blocked, but no he just sat there, screamed, cried...did everything but the right thing in order to survive.
The last episode was the reason why my rating is the way it is. It didn't have that closure that I was hoping for. It dragged and it just seemed like the writer didn't know how to end the series so they just put in a little of this and put in a little of that but left out things that I thought would be the icing on the cake.
There were a lot of people who stated that this was the best drama ever. No offense but I've seen better.
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This review may contain spoilers
I found out about this drama recently and fell in love with it immediately, however, while I was watching I noticed that most episodes went by very slowly which made it somewhat boring to watch and just felt like a drag. Would've been better if it ended on episodes 8-10.I found the characters okay, I feel like Yook Dong Sik would've had so much potential if he teamed up with Seo In Woo and didn't act like a total dimwit most of the time... There were times when I just couldn't bear watching Yook Dong Sik at all due to all the idiotic stuff he kept doing.
I found Bo Kyung a really smart and intelligent character but there were times when she would take so long to notice an important piece of information that could've saved her and the viewer SO much time, and watching her going back and forth with all the investigations over and over again made me really tired and disinterested sometimes.
I loved Seo In Woo's character, he was absolutely perfect from top to bottom. When he found out that Yook Dong Sik had his diary in episode 4 I knew that if he wanted to he could've ended him right away instead of just messing around and creating some long plan for 12 episodes straight. I feel like he would've been better off as the MC instead of Yook Dong Sik for several reasons.
In my opinion, this drama did a semi-good job of balancing thriller and comedy together. I found the jokes very funny but there were a lot of times when a scene could be dark and have a lot of suspense but then would get absolutely ruined by some joke. Like I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for something interesting to happen and BOOM a joke comes and destroys the whole moment
Overall I really liked it, and would definitely recommend it to other people !! would've given it a 9 if it wasn't for all the jokes and long meaningless scenes.
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First of all, kudos for not adding romance in this one. The relationship of the main character and the leading lady was pretty great, with nice chemistry and amazing dynamics. Their pairing was pretty clever and entertaining.
The performances were fantastic too. Especially the leading actor was phenomenal, and probably one of the reasons to watch this drama.
Also, the cemody elements were plenty and they kept them up till the final episodes, although, I have to admit that they were less and less as the drama progressed. The thriller and action scenes were really good too, especially the mystery-criminal case was very entertaining.
So, overall, eight out of ten.
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I'll skip an overview of the premise and jump straight to the meat of the controversy: the plot. Psychopath Diary is, essentially, a black comedy. It's really important to keep that in mind as you watch it because if you go into it expecting a dark, psychological thriller or a fascinating take on the premise, you're going to come out of this show having watched something you weren't looking for. This show is a comedy. It never wants to be more. There's character growth, there are heartwarming moments and a lot of really fun, engaging interactions within a cast that somehow managed to keep me, personally, loving every character. But the gritty psychology that a lot of people went into the drama looking for is not here.
I do agree that, had the writers taken a different route, the drama could have been so much more interesting. The plot plays it safe, for the most part, especially at the end. But if the drama went down a darker path, it wouldn't have been the story they were going for. Yoon Shi Yoon is an actor that relies on comedy and exaggeration. I think he plays his 'psychopath mode' role very well, but he's not the actor that would have been chosen had they intended the series to be a dark thriller. He's too bubbly, too likeable for a role like that. But for what the drama IS, a cute, heartwarming comedy with a thriller premise, they couldn't have chosen anyone better.
The cast is amazing. Everyone played their roles well, I fell in love with all of the characters, and even when the writing takes a few dips here and there in quality, they manage to make it enjoyable enough that I don't care. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any actor that felt jarring or any performances that were done poorly. This drama introduced me to Yoon Shi Yoon who I've found to be thoroughly enjoyable in the other roles that he's played. It was also the first time I saw Park Sung Hoon in a drama and he was amazing as a serial killer, so I'll definitely be taking a look at his other roles. Jung in Sun as Bo Kyung was the perfect compliment to the trainwreck that was Dong Shik. But aside from the main cast, everyone did a great job too. My favourite part of this drama is by far the amazing actors that brought it to life.
The plot, with its interesting premise, is both a strength and a weakness. It promises a lot of things at the beginning that it doesn't deliver through to the end, which I know is the biggest complaint that people have and I fully agree that it's an issue. But what it does give us, so long as you're able to go with the flow, is a fun story with a lot of long-standing jokes, character bonding, and a good look into who this pushover salaryman Dong Shik is and how he grows into a stronger person. So, I'm able to somewhat forgive its faults in favour of the enjoyment that I got out of it.
TL;DR: Psychopath Diary is a fun, engaging comedy with thriller aspects. It is NOT a psychological thriller. Going into the drama knowing that is critical to your enjoyment of it. The writing is nothing revolutionary, but it's enjoyable. The cast is amazing, everyone is fun to watch, and the soundtrack is perfect. But if you're looking for a drama that tackles tough issues like what makes a person who they are, how pressure and misconception can change someone, or a good man's slow descent into murder, you'll have to wait. The drama you're looking for isn't here yet, but maybe with Psychopath Diary paving the way, we'll see it in the future.
Until then, enjoy watching this stupid, pushover salaryman as he tries to keep his life together.
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The cast 100/10. Could not have casted the characters better myself. The emotions were extremely well presented. The story itself was carried out perfectly. The suspense as well as the non-cringeworthy humor was portrayed with utter brilliance.
I highly highly recommend this drama to not only avid drama watchers but also those in search of something to tick all their boxes. The ending? Very fitting.
There is not a single thing I could have changed in this drama, from start to finish.
Also, a special thanks to Woosung's OST.
Truly, I appreciated all this drama had to offer and will definitely be rewatching somewhere down the line.
To those considering watching this, I am urging you strongly to go and find the first episode. (Kissasian is your friend as long as you close the pop ups).
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Story:
When I saw the teasers and read the summary, I was both intrigued and skeptical. The amnesia aspect had me worried right off the bat, I was especially worried about how they would give Yook Dong Shik his memories back (if he was to get them back at all). Luckily, I didn't mind too much how he got his memories back, I was a bit frustrated but the show managed to ease my frustrations pretty well with the execution of the plot. The premise of the show had me very intrigued as I saw many potential plots that could arise from it, some darker than what we got, but essentially I was pleased with the final outcome.
I enjoyed the comedic aspects, I felt there was a relatively good balance between the comedy and the overall seriousness of the plot. The story does drag a bit around the middle but otherwise, I think it's pretty well-paced. The ending was what I expected but I felt the last episode was both well done and a bit lackluster but still an enjoyable last episode and conclusion to the story.
Cast and Characters:
The actors did a good job. My favourite performances came from Yoon Shi Yoon and Park Sung Hoon. Yoon Shi Yoon did an amazing job portraying his character. The only other drama of his that I've watched was Flower Boy Next Door and I enjoyed his performance there so when I saw he was cast for Psychopath Diary, I got even more intrigued and wondered how he would portray the character and I was not disappointed. I enjoyed Yook Dong Shik and Seo In Woo as characters, they had pretty good character arcs that had satisfying conclusions.
Shim Bo Kyung, played by Jung In Sun, was a kind of a 'there' character. There were moments she has amazing detective/deductive skills and others where she suddenly can't connect basic dots because the plot required it, but luckily, I enjoyed her character. I know most people found her either annoying or frustrating but I found her enjoyable as the more grounded-in-reality character amidst Dong Shik, an amnesiac who thinks he's a serial killer, and Director Seo, a serial killer. Jung In Sun works well with what she has and she also does a good job.
The rest of the cast did pretty well, I have a special place in my heart for Heo Sung Tae's portrayal of Chil Sung.
Music:
I liked the music a lot because it fit the show and its themes well. The Rose's 'Wanna Be Bad' is a gem and the song that played at the end of majority of the episodes was my favourite as I felt it really captured the vibe of the show.
Rewatch value:
The show has good rewatch value, especially for the comedic scenes and hijinks the characters go through. I'll probably rewatch this months from now when I'm in the mood for some dark comedy.
Overall:
The show works well, the cast is phenomenal, the pacing is alright and the conclusion is satisfying. There's no romance and I was fine with that because I personally thought that a romance arc may derail from the main story. That being said, I know guys had different expectations for how the plot would develop (I was one of those people for a while) and yes, the show could have gone in a more deeper and/or darker route but if it did the genre and tone of the show would have shifted greatly which was not the intention of the show from the beginning judging from how comedy sets in right at the beginning.
All in all, this was a great show and I had a fun time watching it and I recommend it to those who want to watch a dark comedy crime thriller.
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This drama is basically a comedy with a tint of dark humor
When I first saw this drama I was hesitant to watch it but after awhile I decided it to give it a try. For me the drama started slow and then after a few episodes it started picking up the pace. I found it quite funny and interestingOne of the things things I mostly enjoyed was seeing how the ML grew as a person. We started with him being a push over but after he found the diary and started believing he was a psychopath be started standing up for himself more. Not only that this helped him break out of his shell after he finally realized he wasn't the killer.
At some point I sympathized with the villain since in my opinion his ways had a lot of influence from his childhood and the way he was taught by his father.
Although this wasn't a romance drama we got a slight romance vibe between the leads which i liked.
Overall I would recommend watching this drama, although its somewhat predictable you will enjoy the time you spend watching it.
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However, the middle of the drama was a little bit slow and even irrelevant. In fact, only some scenes were relevant during the middle of the drama. A couple of episodes in the middle felt like they were filler episodes. Overall, the beginning was good even though sometimes slow but it was made on purpose for the story to make sense so I can't complain, the middle in contrary was unecessary slow, and the ENDING was absolutely explosive, fire and epic ! So it's worth to watch until the end, I promise.
The cast was very well chosen. I have zero complain about the two main male actors, which were fabulous. Also the actor who have playedJang Chil Sung became my favorite character in the drama, he was very funny, I would even say he was the funniest character/actor and even his personality was so great that it's impossible to ignore it. These three actors did such a fantastic job! I was also very surprised by Jung Subin's acting which was remarkable, seriously.
The music is great, it goes with the drama perfectly so even if it is not the type of music I usually listen, there could have not been better osts for this type of comedy thriller drama.
In simple words, if you like comedy, if you like thriller, or if you BOTH, then go watch right now !
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