Completed
Park Jae Hyun
2 people found this review helpful
Jul 3, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

Just what was that?

Well what the hell just happened here? Lmao.
Throughout this drama, there have been many twists and turns- and when I say many I mean many. There has been a hell of a lot of confusion and questions and headaches.
However, they were all entirely worth it.
This drama didn't need romance, in the same way it didn't need comedy. But they still managed to make us all laugh each and every episode.
Memorist was just a perfectly criminal crime show. The actors were all amazing and thoroughly convincing, they cried real tears and smiled real smiles and laughed real laughs.
The story itself was so interesting and big, there were several back and forths, and 'is this person the killer or are they not' moments.
It was a lot, I confess, but I don't regret taking it all in and trying to keep up one bit.
Memorist, it's been a great experience watching you. I hope you will return for season 2.
Enjoy watching...and don't get too confused.
Good luck!

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Completed
sohxys97
2 people found this review helpful
Sep 1, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Decent crime thriller

Story: Reminiscent of Stranger/Forests of Secrets, from a who-done-it to a bigger revelations with a supernatural twist. This series kept me on the edge of my seat as a result of good directing and editing. I do find the story a bit draggy with too many twist and turns, which I initially enjoyed in the first half but in the latter not so much. The antagonist felt a bit one-dimensional as it is revealed only in the last few episodes, with barely any hints to suggest the character was an antagonist. Characters were okay, I don't think there were much character development especially for the main leads. Is it just me or that YSH tends to play lovable punks (rude, arrogant, tsundere-ish, but with a heart-of-gold and a tragic past) a lot? (I only watched this and My strange hero - which I gave up)

Acting: Is really good, I can't fault anything. Best character is the old weezer that main lead (YSH) likes to annoy. He brought comic relief and a fatherly role to the main lead, which makes the main lead more likeable.

Music: Well, it has been a few months since I watched it and I did not actively search for the instrumental score nor the OST, so, it was not that memorable? But I do remember it elevated the tension, which is good.

Rewatch Value: Err... I don't plan to rewatch it anytime soon, like in 5 years or maybe longer. I don't really think thrillers are easy to rewatch/reminisce the experience compared to comedy/slice-of-life series

Conclusion: I followed this series as it was airing and following it for the first half was definitely fun and exciting. However, after the halfway mark, I got a little frustrated and the character development was a little lacking. But if you are just seeking for thrills, this series should suffice.

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Completed
DeobiMars
2 people found this review helpful
May 13, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10

A kdrama with twist and turns which is mind blowing..

Memorist is an incredible drama. I watched the drama because of the cast (I like Yoo Seung Ho's acting a lot) . I didn't expect the story to be this amazing. To be honest, the plot I read online didn't convince me. But it had 4.9 stars (in google) so I thought I'd give it a try. The first episode made me want to watch more and their acting set this on another level. Each episode had twist in it and who doesn't like twists in the story. I liked the fact that every episode had a name and it was very well kept. One cannot guess the culprit (atleast i wasnt able to). But when you know the climax, you will able to join the dots and it's mind blowing. I really liked it. Infact this is my favourite kdrama. The acting was also very good. It may he confusing at the beginning but once you start watching you will understand what's going on. I strongly recommend this drama. But trust me this drama has one of those exiting ending, the unpredictable ending.

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Completed
Rhea
2 people found this review helpful
May 5, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
The Story is so complicated. I was watching while it was airing out. From Week to week I was impatiently waiting for new episode. I couldn't really predict what will happen.
Acting and Cast. Damn.. Applause! For whole 메모리스트의 team. We have to thank for Yoo SeungHo acting skills again, it was so intense. I felt every emotion which actors/actresses wanted to deliver to us.
Music. After completing drama a full soundtrack album has been released which length is almost 2h. I love the choirs, instruments building tension in Memorist.
Rewatch Value. I wish there was coming soon season 2 with new cases, maybe some scent of romance between these 2 couples and of course a funny scenes in Memorist Avengers Team haha . For now I'm well fed. Thank you.
Overall thank you thank you thank you. 고맙습니다 앟ㅎ.

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Completed
Min_min_u
3 people found this review helpful
May 1, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

A very confusing yet thrilling drama

I won't say this drama is the best, but it's still very interesting and kept me waiting for each episode. It was really confusing at times but by the end everything was explained well so I don't really mind all the confusion. It just made the drama even more thrilling. It kept me on edge throughout and made me use my brain to its maximum capacity. All the plot twists and the possibility of anyone, even the least expected ones, being the villain made me pay attention to every little detail and not forget anyone. I don't think any other drama had me use my brain this much.

Not only the story but the actors were really good as well. Yoo Seung Ho and Lee Se Young did a great job portraying their characters. All the other actors did a good job as well. I especially liked Lee Se Young's character a lot.

The chemistry between Lee Se Young and Yoo Seung Ho was really good even though there was no romance. That's another thing I liked about this drama. There was no romance at all between the main characters. I wouldn't have minded if there was but I think it would've been a bit out of place to squeeze in romance between all those chaos. And I also liked the dynamic between all the other characters as well. They made the tense atmosphere a bit more light at times.

The OSTs are probably the only thing that didn't really make much impression on me. It was not bad though. Just not my favourite. It still did match with the thrilling atmosphere of the drama.

I know this drama may not be for everyone but if you are willing to work your brain and sit through total confusion and twists and turns every episode for 16 episodes you might probably like it.

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Completed
Stormborn
3 people found this review helpful
May 1, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
Memorist is a great show to watch during this long quarantine days. I watched it weekly and its cliffhangers really left me hanging. It gives shocking revelations and it is a show that made me think. It is refreshing since, almost all of my kdramas watched centered on romance plots. Some watchers wanted a romance plot however the show was able to stand without it (maybe the're are tiny bits of hints). There is great chemistry between YSH and LSY, and honestly, sometimes I kinda wished there's a romance plot.

The overall acting in this drama is so good. YSH is always good in playing the handsome hero. LSY gave a different performance this time. I watched her in Hit the Top, in which I love very much, and gave a different performance in this one. I've read some hatred on her character but I love my strong, independent women characters. I understand she has to act that way because she is in a high position at a very young age (she's a genius). The two cop characters beside dong Baek are also funny and was able to give lighter emotions to watchers. My personal favorite is Jin Jae Gyu. He's so good, I was so creeped by his premonitions and how he delivers it.

I may not rewatch this for a while since, watching the show weekly not knowing the shocking revelations gave me excitement to watch it.

Overall, I recommend this drama if you want a break from romance centered plots and want something darker and mind blowing. I'm glad I watched the drama during quarantine.

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Dropped 8/16
lena
9 people found this review helpful
May 15, 2020
8 of 16 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 4.5
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
4.5 is not the lower this drama could go. Honestly, if it wasn't for the acting I would have given it even less stars. 'Memorist' is a whole mess and it surely is overrated, at least from my point of view.

I won't write a long review for this one even though I have a lot to say mainly because just remembering what a hard time I had watching the episodes makes me want to finish as soon as possible. As you can see, I dropped 'Memorist' and I have good reasons.

I thought a lot about finishing it, since it was airing it wouldn't be hard to watch two episodes a week, right? But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't watch dramas as a duty but as a pleasure and this wasn't enjoyable at all. The episodes seemed to last three hours when they were only an hour long, the female lead was so annoying that I almost always wanted to punch her in the face, and the characters in general weren't developed at all; I can say this sure enough because I endured to watch 8 episodes of this mess only to be able to tell. When did we get to know the characters? We didn't. It was all about crimes and even they were badly written and didn't make sense.
The leads were so plain I don't know how I could watch them go around for 8 hours. I don't usually watch crime dramas but when I do I surely enjoy them, and this wasn't the case. For a drama to be compelling there has to be more than just one element to focus on, just like we get some crimes/tragedies while watching a romance-focused drama. This drama doesn't have anything other than crimes and corruption everywhere. I'm out.

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Completed
Rren03
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 3, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

What an Extraordinary twist!

At first, I expect that this series will be like the others that I already watch but the more episodes you watched, the more interesting it gets. I mean solving the puzzle is really amusing specially the real identity of the culprit. There's so many twists in this story and you will not understand the whole story until you reached the final episode. Of how they were all connected and the puzzle will be solved. It amaze me that it was really a great story.

I am really fond of how aggressive Dong Baek is, and he actually fits to be a cop because in Remember, I watched him as a lawyer. He is really a good actor and also Han Sun Mi. They make a great combination ever.

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Completed
Park Min
1 people found this review helpful
May 6, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

There was an attempt

The beginning was unbelievable boring, it took about halfway through the drama before it started to be "decent" enough. I miss the days when thriller/mystery didn't feel the need to pad itself with side cases to keep viewers attention. I always find this structure to be flawed even when these side cases are slightly related to the main one. In the case of this drama, I would prefer if it was a constant confrontation with the main villain instead of sprinkled hints and tons of flashbacks. Speaking of villains, none of them interested me, was kinda disappointed after 16 episodes of teasing of the masked villain. Low-key kinda like an anime villain. The villain identity felt like a last minute decision instead of a calculated one. The young leads were fine but a bit bland, I would prefer more rigid actors which would suit the drama better.

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Completed
JangManWol
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

Great plot

it was a great plot, no doubt. The sequence of events occurring in the drama kept me on the edge most of the time. but I think that the story progressed way too fast. At some point it was becoming difficult to keep track of the events. Dong Baek's past was given very little screentime, infact, we had to wait until the end to know about his special ability. Well, the acting was great, both of them were fabulous, also I think Sun Mi deserved a little more recognition, she was an absolute talented girl. Also, I would have liked a little more depth in Sun Mi's past but anyway, whatever they've shown wasn't bad either. I greatly recommend this, if you all love thriller dramas

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Completed
silverstarlet
1 people found this review helpful
Feb 5, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

You think you've figured it out, but no?

It was a wild ride honestly. We go on full ride from Dong Baek's perspective to figure out the real culprit. The case goes from a psychotic killer then leads to bigger cases. It was like a puzzle pieces that we need to put together, it makes me confused but the suspense was quite intense.

Just when I thought I've figured out the real culprit the story just keep makes me doubting my believe. Since it dwelled with memory it makes me even doubting the ML and the memory shown in the drama. It keeps you wanting to know more about the story, the culprit and the truth behind.

Overall i'm satisfied with this drama even tho I hope there's just little romance hint between the ML and FL but it's not happening lmao. It was still great anyway, I suggest you to give this drama a chance.

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Completed
Ashe
1 people found this review helpful
May 27, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers
TLDR: A fantastic drama that is worth the watch!

Overall, extremely impressed with the show. It's certainly one of, if not the most, well-written serial killer mystery k-drama I've had the pleasure of watching. Unlike most other dramas that reveal the killer relatively early on (with the latter half just focused on finding evidence / catching said killer), this drama continuously keeps you guessing–every character is a potential suspect, and no one is free from suspicion until you learn the Eraser's true identity the very last episode.

The story was also incredibly compelling. Dong Baek's powers are badass, and the ways it's used is so cool. It's also been a while since I genuinely felt so bad for a character–Dong Baek's past (death of his mother, guilt from the death of his best friend), coupled with the burden he has to carry from all the memories of crimes, really struck me. He's just a poor soul :(

Admittedly, the drama does become messy with all the twists and turns it tries to plot. There's a huge ensemble of characters, which makes it sometimes difficult to follow. The show sometimes feels like it's just revealing pieces of information one by one instead of allowing you to figure it out yourself, as a mystery drama should (SPOILER: for example, there are no hints about Dong Baek's past / the existence of his sister until the very last episode, beyond the fact that the Eraser has similar powers).

Some plot points are also retrospectively strange given the final reveal. For one, what was the point of the Eraser sending a painting of the angel with the claw hammer to the cult leader, if it was just to taunt her own brother? Or of the two women in plaster casts, to taunt Sun Mi? (Or maybe I'm just missing something....)

Acting-wise, Yoo Seung Ho and Lee Se Young did an absolutely fantastic job with their roles. Yoo Seung Ho is probably born for these hard, badass detective roles tbh, and Lee Se Young kills it as a takes-no-bullshit officer. The Avengers team (the two main + the two sidekick police officers) make an absolutely adorable team. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no romance between the two main leads. Not to say the leads didn't have chemistry (they did–a lot), but it was incredibly refreshing to see a drama where the leads just work in a professional capacity.

Not too many sung OSTs, but the instrumentals were all great! A lot more than I thought there were, and gave the drama a great ambiance. Would recommend a listen to OST: Sad Song.

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Memorist (2020) poster

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  • Score: 8.4 (scored by 15,051 users)
  • Ranked: #838
  • Popularity: #315
  • Watchers: 39,169

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