Backstreet Rookie (2020)

I LOVED it! Ignore the criticism as the story in here is full of good principles and pure love..

LOVED IT.! ? i really cannot understand why this drama has created so much controversy,but i understand nowaday many people get personally offended for so many reasons, and that is fine, we are all free to have different opinions. Talking about stereotypes, well i myself come from a country that is represneted around the world by many stereotypes, but i dont get offended by it! If you feel personally sensible about a topic, just dont watch this drama, easy like that, as nobody is forcing you to watch this drama!
I have enjoyed every episode of this drama, ok, i love the ML Ji Chang Wook... he is so good, funny, cute, sexy, owwwww love him in every roles i ahve seen so far, Healer has been my favourite one,,, but backstreet rookie is too funny to miss! His character here is one that everyone would fall in love with... romantic, loyal, altruistic... and handsome ?
He cherish the most important things in life, family, the loved one, the sense of community.. and protects his principles even if it means to look weak from the outside... to others perhaps that dont share his principles.. but who cares?
His close friend DalSik is hilarious, well represent many of my friends with dreadlocks, naive, still virgin regardless appearances, happy about silly things-he is a very positive character and i am satisfied with the way things have turned unexpectedly for him!
I like this drama because for once it is portraying real people, easy going, versus the bad guys, which in this story were the Corporate directors/the rich- i particularly like this as nearly every kdrama i watch, the main characters live in penthouses, they change outfits 2-3 times per episodes... and i am not sure this reflects real life for the majority of Koreans..? Are you all extravantly rich? If so, easy , i might decide to move to Korea!
Jokes aside , a big well done to the production team, i understand you went through many troubles for this show, so thank you for being able to make everybody happy, and less offended! From my end , i LOVED every bit of it!
I am just concerned this will be available on Netflix in UK next week... and i am pretty sure you will get lot of attention , and complaints about some stereotypes, as in here they are very sensitive about everything... good luck with that x

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Great, lighthearted kdrama

I was a bit surprised when I saw that this kdrama had such a rating considering most of the reviews I read were saying it’s a great kdrama - and then I got to the reason why.

If you ignore the SJWs opinions, this tv is great, it’s light hearted, it’s fun, it’s emotional.. the whole package. Just like many other reviewers, I appreciated the fact that they didn’t take themselves too seriously and that it didn’t go over the top with drama and/or ridiculous scenarios like some other kdramas, I loved the fact that for once I got to see a real person’s problems like struggling with money and the desperation that came with it, and I loved the fact that they didn’t force the couple dynamic and we got to watch it develop instead.

I do think this tv show deserves a lot more love and praise than it did but oh well .. loved it!

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I can’t believe I watched this entire thing. The things I do for Ji Chang-wook. Ultimately Backstreet Rookie was a fun, easy watch, and I did like it, but I can’t ever see myself recommending it to anybody.

There were a few main reasons why people were skeptical of this show before it even aired. The age gap between the leads didn’t really bother me at all. But I can’t really ignore Um Moon-suk’s character, Han Dal-shik. He reinforced really terrible racial stereotypes, and I honestly can’t believe this character made it into the drama. Ultimately I did find him funny, and Um Moon-suk had me laughing a couple times, but I couldn’t help but cringe every time there was a fly buzzing around his head.

Other than that, I didn’t have many problems with this drama, because I wasn’t expecting anything at all. I just wanted something watchable, and that’s what I got. I wasn’t disappointed by it, like others seemed to be. You lose less when you go in with zero expectations.

I do think Backstreet Rookie had potential though. It’s a wacky and cartoonish comedy and I liked the directing style, and most of the comedy and references land well. I especially liked the over-the-top fight scenes in the first half, but as the fights take a back seat, this show becomes little more than a rom-com with characters that I couldn’t really imagine together.

When Backstreet Rookie is a comedy about a convenience store, it’s funny albeit aimless. When it tries to do romance, it fails. Ji Chang-wook and Kim Yoo-jung are adorable together as boss/employee or mentor/mentee, but as a romantic pairing, they fall flat. The show has an undeniable charm though. I like the leads, and I even liked most of the side stories. There were some really sweet character moments in between the comedy as well.

The Cast:
There’s a part of me that wishes I didn’t watch this, because I can feel myself falling out of love with Ji Chang-wook. I haven’t seen any of his projects in full since Healer. But after watching this, some of his facial expressions stand out to me more than they did before, and I’ve started questioning his skills as an actor. I think I’ll probably just (try to) stop watching his projects and wait til I hear good things. In the meantime, I’ll rewatch Healer again (and again and again). That being said, if you really like Ji Chang-wook, this has a lot of him, and he’s pretty adorable.

Kim Yoo-jung gives a good performance, but I didn’t buy this relationship because of her character. I blame the cartoonish writing for that mostly.

In other news, I aspire to like Han Sun-hwa. I recently finished Marriage, not Dating, and she does hate-able second lead fine, but it’s boring. I wish her character was more than irritating.

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I somehow managed to finish the drama even though I thought about dropping it a few times.

Story

There was no story. Nothing happening. But honestly I don't know what story can be made starting from the premise of him owning a store and her working there. I feel like the same thing were happening over and over again. Always more bullies appearing and the FL having to deal with them (we got it, she knows how to fight). The relationship between SFL and ML was way to dragged...the story was focused more on them than the story between FL and ML. I found it strange how after a 2 years relationship the ML was so chill about their break-up...I mean everything moved on so fast as if nothing happened, he suddenly didn't care at all about the SFL. I get it that the relationship between ML and FL was slowly developing, that's ok , but I am kind of disappointed with the ending. Ok...the was no proper kissing (probably because of the age difference between the actors...it may have been awkward), anyway...it would have been nicer if they "officially started" their relationship a little sooner, not in the last minute of the drama. There were some side stories , like the one with the dad and his first love Jang Mi...what was its role?Overall it was bearable, even though the plot was not the best, it had some funny things and silly moment, some times a bit cliché but it's a kdrama, clichés are normal. JCW may or may not be a reason I haven't actually dropped this drama.

Characters

From the beginning I did't like the FL character. I don't know why she had to be clingy and why was she hitting on the ML knowing that he has a girlfriend (I really think that the SFL and ML relationship started to worsen because of her...I know they already had their problems but still... I feel like the FL got in between them). There wasn't any character development...every single person was the same at the end as in the beginning, why? And there were to many characters with no role, without whom the drama could have been the same (like FL' sister who was only causing trouble, Puppy, JSJ, the dad's friends...). I feel like there were so many characters just so that the writer could drag a little the story and create more action around the interactions between the leads and the supporting characters. I almost forgot about ML's friend...I don't get his character, something feels disturbing about him, why did the writer choose him to be like this?

Actors/Cast

I can say that the casting was well made. The actors were good and some of them well known. The acting was on point, I can't complain about that. What I didn't like was the characters, but the actors did a great job portraying them.

Overall this isn't a drama I could rewatch...sorry for those who actually liked it. It becomes boring at some point and that's it. I suggest watching something else, except you are a big fan of JCW or KYJ, than you can give it a try, but don't have to high expectations. I also am a fan of JCW and I am sad to see what dramas he is choosing lately...I am waiting to see him in a great drama again.

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Lighthearted romantic comedy with flaws.

First of all, I started and continued it because the cast appeared on running man.
But this drama has received a lot of negative response. Why? because first of all it is based on a questionable adult webtoon. Of course the drama is not going that way. But the female lead does get touchy with the male lead, who has a girlfriend, since the start. Plus in the first episodes she is a high schooler but is not your average student. She can be described as being a "bad boy" (but with the non-romanticized meaning of it). On the other hand the male lead is a real pushover, he doesn't seem to have much pride and does everything his girlfriend says and not only that he doesn't think much of the "touches" the female lead does. Any other would have taken advantage of it but kudos to choi dae hyun for not doing anything. Anyway he is quite an average male lead of an adult webtoon. lol There is also male lead's friend who is none other than an adult webtoon artist! It's quite rare in korean dramas so it had met a lot of controversy.

But once you go past the controversies and the image that source material may have left, this is just an average light-hearted romantic comedy, nothing more and nothing less. :) the western popular dramas are usually much more "adult" than this one.
Personally I really love strong and fighting people in dramas. So that was mostly what kept me watching. Saet Byul, our female heroine is extremely strong. to the point it gets ridiculous. lol So it's like a slapstick comedy with her beating up bad people. But later you get to know all the characters from a different perspective.
You get to know that ml is a thoughtful boyfriend, with quite a strong sense of justice. That fl lead is a child that had a lot in her life but thinks a lot about her friends and sister. Does everything to protect them and suites the ml much more. That the questionable ml's webtoon artist friend is actually really sensitive and can't draw adult scenes and his webtoon is just mostly romance. That ml's family may seem very "country bumpkin"-ish, but are very thoughtful, love each other a lot and stand strong for each other.
As this drama was made by the stuff who made Fiery Priest, it has a lot of funny references also.

So it's just an average light hearted (slapstick) romantic comedy. A bit draggy in the middle with funny ending. So 6 for me is the best i could give this lol :) And mostly because i really love fighting!

So If all the negative feedback is keeping you from watching this drama, and you fear it will be controversial and inappropriate just give it a try. It is not "adult" at all. And the characters also are not particularly strange.

I never rewatch dramas so i put a random number there. Music was not very special so i just put 6 there. For me there wasn't any character that was especially interesting so i didn't put 10 for acting. the whole story was also normal so i put 6 :) but this all doesn't mean it's bad. It's a an okay drama for me :)

So if you like romantic comedies you can give it a try :) and decide if you like it or not.

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Light, wholesome, fun. Worth it.

It took me a while to finish this one because after the first episode, I didn't find myself hooked into it. I picked it up again recently when I've run out of shows to watch and it was actually worth it.

It's very, very light and wholesome and chaotic; I found myself tearing up and giggling a lot. The graphics actually annoyed me a few times, more so in the first episode, it felt cringe HAHA but it's actually quite tolerable along the way.

Definitely something to watch when looking for a no-brainer and something fun.

[minor spoilers ahead, be warned]

I guess my only comment is that I hope there could've been more about Seung-joon's character; I feel like I didn't get much closure with his story and he just suddenly disappeared. Same with the bullies, were they just off the hook like that?

All in all, however, the show was fun and has definitely earned its spot in my rewatch list.

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EXCELLENT SURPRISE

I wish that more dramas could have the same quality in story and acting.❤??
The plot has sense, you can believe the way things happen , in love, family an work. The acting of the mother Kim Sun Young, is perfection , I can't beleive she is not an international example , many american actresses with many Oscars can never be as good as her. ??
The writers gave her an excellent character to play and thanks to her this drama is much more than just another drama. You will not forger her even if maybe you don't agree with all her decisions.
I watch for JCW but discover her and the mail female lead, very good and beautiful Kim Yoo Jung!
I am glad that all the characters have their own story , thanks to that they can talk in a clever way about different important subjets like bullying, idols trainee, workplace, family and love of course.
Big applause to all the team of actors, writers and director.... I wish they could make a season 2.??

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Reading Reviews Will Definitely Ruin It For You

I finished watching this series yesterday. I tried binge-watching this one,and it only took me one day to finish. It's so underrated. I hoped JCW and KYJ received awards for their stellar performance in this drama.
The concept of a budding romance inside a convenience store with JCW and KYJ as the lead characters made the drama engaging. The first two episodes are slow-paced, but it's understandable because the rest of the episode compensated it for me.
Before watching this series, I also read the reviews and searched online for the controversies surrounding it. It's no big deal for me ,and it didn't stop me from trying to watch this drama.

JCW and KYJ's chemistry is excellent. There are times when I laughed so hard ,and I also cried. The characters are relatable in some way, and this drama gave me the slice-of-life blues even though this drama is a rom-com genre.I just caught myself engaged and enjoying this series, and I felt like an hour per episode was just 10 minutes per episode.

All I can say is, don't hesitate to try watching this drama. It is refreshing and can give you a good time. You can drop it if you want to if it doesn't fit your standards.
I didn't want it to end,but all things must come to a close for it to leave a mark. This show did it for me. I became a fan of KYJ and JCW from their dramas Love in the Moonlight and The K2,and I'm glad I tried this one.

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Fun but unsubstantive

There was something quite charming and enjoyable about this drama, crazy visual effects and all — it's the kind of show you can watch without using any part of your brain. Once you did, however, you find that there's a lot lacking especially when it comes to plot and substance.

As much as it pains me to say this, the humor is almost on par with that of Melting Me Softly — it's loud, obnoxious, and zany, and most of the time it misses the spot. A few characters seemed to exist just for the laughs, but they really just ended up annoying and one-dimensional and seemed to serve no purpose. The worst culprit was DH's sister.

There are a lot of things that definitely made me uncomfortable, especially how race was handled. I understand that the people behind the drama said the webtoon artist was supposed to represent how people can come together around love for a culture, but his personality had not much to it other than being dirty and liking to draw x-rated cartoons. It also just felt incoherent at times, especially if it was used for humor which, as I previously mentioned, often fell flat.

I'm a fan of any romance that shows people slowly falling in love with one another in everyday situations, but I really just didn't FEEL it in Backstreet Rookie — honestly, I much preferred the dongsaeng-style relationship that SB and DH had, for multiple reasons. They dragged on the ex-girlfriend plot for far too long, and they also added in a "childhood" connection that made any sort of romantic plot seem even weirder with the age gap.

I also didn't like SB's sister, Eun-byul, who I felt like made so many bad decisions and never owned up to them, instead having SB run after her apologizing. I felt like I just really wanted more substantive conversation between the characters.

With all that being said, one thing that I did love about this drama was the theme of family (which may be why I preferred DH and SB being that). SB and DH's mother had the most heart-warming scenes together and the most touching conversations, and it was definitely something I wanted to see more of.

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Easy watch but problematic portrayal of a side character

This isn't the best drama by any means, but it's a fun and easy watch!

The dramatization of everything especially the fight scenes in the first few episodes were hilarious. The ridiculous dreams of Dae-hyun, too.

I'm just annoyed with how they portrayed Dal-shik, the dreadlocks were so ??¿¿ Like why in the world did you portray him as someone who is dirty, with flies always following him around ??? Honestly, absolutely unnecessary. From what I've read about comparisons between the webtoon and kdrama, his character wasn't even like that. Aside from Dal-shik's character, everyone else did okay and good.

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