My Name

The only thing I'll remember is Han So Hee's fierce fighting skills

Props to Han So Hee for doing her own fight choreography and making it look so believable. It is so nice to see an actress willing to do her own stunts and willing to show a not so pretty image. Not only was Han So Hee great at the action, but she was great in the acting as well. I think other actresses should take note. A huge pet peeve of mine is when they cast a FL who's supposed to be tough, but then it's so obvious they are weak or not doing their own stunts or they just want to look pretty. Not here. Han So Hee prepared and delivered...Girl, you got my respect!

The rest of the cast was also great, esp Park Hee Soon who was charismatic as the gang leader. Unfortunately, the story was not as good as the actors' performances. It was too predictable and too much of the plot was based on the ignorance and obliviousness of the police . I think better direction was needed here with the editing. More than once, because of the way a scene was shot, I often asked my self "Why don't they just run the license plate?" The holes in police procedure were too obvious and you just can't do that in this day and age where thousands of cop shows have taught us the basics. Audiences aren't stupid so once you stop treating us as such, you'll most likely have a better drama.

But despite the flaws, I still would recommend to anyone looking for some good action scenes, esp from a female lead. At only 8 episodes, it's a quick watch and worth it just to watch So Hee.

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Han So-Hee broke her image of romance actress!

What a role for Han So-Hee. Like Song Kang with Sweet Hone, she chose a role that is the complete opposite of Nabi in Nevertheless. Her acting is incredible and the scenes of fighting WOW! My Name follows the now classic 8 episodes drama concept by Netflix.

Why you should watch it?
The drama has an incredible cast! Story and production are at the Netflix entertainment level (meaning good). Action scenes are well choreographed and the drama is entertaining.
For Ahn Bo hyun acting and visual (and abs Are bonus scenes). The story started really well. Everyone loves a plot like Nikita’s ! This is a pure action / revenge drama!
You can expect torrid scenes with Ahn Bo Hyun and Han So-Hee. It was rare to see any explicit hit scenes in kdrama yet it seems that it became the trademark of Han So Hee with Netflix.

Why you shouldn’t watch it?
You can guess the outcome of the plot as soon as episode 3. The 2 last episodes were full of incoherences and the end is a botch job, like most the Netflix 8 episodes concept. You expect a season 2 but at the same time, the concept was already pushed too far in season 1 so I don’t have high expectations for the second part.

Now some incoherences bothered me in this drama :
**ATTENTION SPOILERS **
Episode 4 - Gangjae could have used the phone he took from her to e pose her identity. Yet, nothing.
- Detective Pildo could hear what Gangjae told her while torturing her yet that episode made him convince she is on their (cops) side.
Episode 7 - the scene at the hospital when she hides her blood with her foot .... but then the detective doesn’t see any traces of blood when she walks away :/
- After she kills Taejeu, she retrieves her goods but isn’t bothered by the missing phone she uses to call Choi Munjin.
- She could escape the police building so easily ... she was seen at the back door ... but none stopped her. She passes by Pildo on her motorcycle but no one stopped her either “-“

Finally, a miss for me in Han So Hee transformation was Her perfect white & aligned teeth. She is an orphan who grew up in a gang fighting to survive. Despite all the scars, her teeth are perfectly intact & shining brightly! It so didn’t fit her character. Am I the only one who was bothered by that ?

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Heavy-Handed Cynicism

Wonderful cast, direction, and writing—even though I'm not a fan of gang fight scenes and hate the ending. The cast are all so good they kept my attention throughout, and I cared about all the leads, esp. HSH’s Ji Woo—a ferociously tragic heroine so tough and strong she commands respect; I hope the actress rakes in the awards. Both male leads are compelling in their roles as well, and I admired them, too.

However. There are plot holes such as no depiction of her police training and how she became a Detective. But most of all, the ending is cynical and cruel. Absolutely pointless within that plot and for that character, and I was left angry and broken-hearted. The relentless horror this protagonist endured doesn’t ever let up even at the end—-for no reason but freaking ironic tragedy, which for me made an excellent series soulless at the end. It deserved better: they all did.

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Series that will make you watch in one sitting.

At first, I was curious about what this series was like and wanted to see Han So Hee's acting, and then I fell in love with the intense story and characters in this series.
The story is interesting, maybe some people will be able to guess who the culprit is, I also guessed he was, but instead I got carried away by the story and turned to support him because I thought he was a good person, and suspected the team head.
I like warm scenes like chamomile tea, at least in the heart of a gangster there is a soft side that is rarely shown.
The action scenes were very intense, I praised Han So Hee's acting because she acted very well in this series. The facial expressions she shows are also very slick, how it feels to desperately seek justice for his father, the expression of revenge against his father's murderer, the expression of sadness when the loss of loved ones, and the disappointment of being betrayed by a trusted person.
I watched it in one sitting, I was curious about the next episode. Thank you for this series, because this just 8 episode, so I think you can rewatch it anytime.

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Amazing story, production, and ACTING!

This drama blew me away and definitely exceeded my expectations. I looked forward to Han So Hee’s acting when the trailer was released and after watching her in this action/crime genre, she did AMAZING!
The whole plot was very smooth and there wasn’t any point in the drama of dragging out the story. Every moment was important and captivating.
This drama is filled with intense action and incredible emotions! I watched the whole drama in one sitting because it was SO good. There were a lot of twists and turns that were shocking even if it was somewhat predictable or not.
In the end, I was filled with a huge and intense emotion with some sadness but it offered a realistic outcome.

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Outstanding if harrowing

I've only just find it hard to find fault with this series, though I've just finished watching it, and if I really thought about it I might, but why would I search it out?
Exceptional writing and direction provide an unpredictable plot (well, mostly) extremely well paced. Acting is outstanding from all present. Characters are mostly pretty well rounded and not simply caricatures. Evil walks in human form and retains an element of mystery even until the end.
It IS very gory, and if you don't like realistic fights then don't watch this. That said, one flaw, perhaps, might be the way characters can sustain grievous injuries and still hit their opponent just as hard with apparently no weakening. That's a piece of nonsense, but something of a trope so can be forgiven. Fights are forceful and balletic.
The fact that these events are awful is as they should be. This world is not a nice place to stroll : it is not pretty, it is not gentle, it is not clean, but it manages, just, to be human.

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Solid. Try to watch it on a binge.

Interesting short series. It could have dragged on with fillers (e.g. more about the budding love story, more about the past of the dad, more about stuff in the high-school, more about this and that), but the author and/or movie maker decided for the more compact version.
Some stuff is predictable (e.g. who killed the dad), though one must wait a sec to find out the motive behind.
Gladly, I didn't see much product placements. I am sure that people better versed than me in that field would have noticed more than the few cars, and other items, which I noticed.
Last but not least: for several episodes one is left wondering what the title means until ... (won't spoil it).

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Gangs, Drug Lords, and Revenge

Going into this show, I was a huge fan of the director because of my love for Extracurricular. This show is a great follow up. First of all it's bloody, violent, and vengeful; and I'm almost impressed with how much I enjoyed it. The acting is top quality: this the 3rd drama of Han SoHee that I've seen and she is just amazing at playing her character with conviction and goes above and beyond what you expect. Park HeeSoon is beautiful to watch and I loved every single scene with him in it. Lee HakJu stole the show, honestly I loved his grey character and how he portrayed it, he had me scrambling trying to figure out who's side he was on.

Some criticisms I do have: fight scenes start out great but later on shaky camera is induced and it starts getting a little messy. Plot was great but can be predictable, I already figured out a lot by the 4-5th episode. The relationship between JiWoo and PilDo, loved the friendship but didn't really want the romance (it felt kinda shoved in and more like a pity thing).

Overall it's heart pounding binge that will keep your attention for at least a few hours. Can't wait to see more from Kim JinMin!

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An explosive tempest

I was really looking forward to this show because of the trailers. I did have my doubts because of the last show I watched Han So Hee in - Nevertheless, which was very underwhelming. I also thought this show might become like Vincenzo which had a shallow humorous tone that belied what felt like a serious storyline.

I was needlessly worried. This was a great show. Han So Hee was great, carrying it on her back like a woman determined to get justice and revenge for how bad Nevertheless was, never mind justice for her character's father. Her backstory felt a little rushed in the first episode but that was until I realised this was an 8-episode show. Then it made sense to explore her grief and love for her dad throughout the show rather than condense it in the opening act. Instead we were served to a fast-paced, intense show that explored heavily the theme of betrayal and finding solace in anguish. Han So Hee's character was someone who was a prisoner of her pain. Her partner, who turned out to be one of the standout characters of the show, was the epitome of grief that had healed through time.

What sold the show for me was that the antagonist was likeable, a sympathetic man of fleshed out motivations and desires. You can understand where he comes from. And in a show that deliberately centres around the morally ambiguous choices of our protagonist, this makes it a lot more emotionally enriching to watch.

The music complemented the show very well, I thought the close-up camera shots really fed the intensity and character-centric feel of the show. All in all, a worthwhile watch.

Hats off to Han So Hee, she was sensational.

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Um Drama Sem Enrolação e Muito Bem Produzido

Centrado em uma história de vingança, My Name consegue desenvolver bem o enredo sem se desviar do ponto principal da trama, só por este fato já merece destaque. Acho que o fato de ter apenas 8 episódios ajudou neste quesito.

O drama é tão sem enrolação que por um momento até pensei que fosse uma série americana, o tamanho dos episódios e a quantidade de episódios é perfeito para uma maratona. Este K-drama entrega tudo o que prometeu no trailer: cenas de luta bem produzidas, uma história fluida com um bom desenvolvimento e ótimas atuações. Han So Hee mostrou muito bem seu potencial interpretando papel.

Apesar de não gostar de nenhuma música da OST todas elas se encaixaram perfeitamente com o drama. Se você gosta de ação não pode perder este drama.

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One of the Top Thrillers out this year

I was hooked on this drama from the trailer and it did not disappoint. I can say this will easily be one of the top thriller all time for me (and I have seen atleast 15 k-thrillers). Since it is directed by Extracurricular's director, I can see the resemblence in how there is a gruesome tinge and blood everywhere.
The best part was the strong female lead; the drama also slightly touches upon women in different male dominating industries. If I were to tag it : strong female lead, gangster, detective, mystery, gruesome, psychological, subtle romance, and twisted villain. One thing I really liked was how the drama is extremely balanced, with none of the sub-themes overpowering the others (you know how gangster dramas can be really cringey, this is not.)
The story for me was new but also predictable at the same time, (I guessed the killer in the 3rd ep) however, the details and mystery add a lot to viewer experience for this show. It has wintery vibes, giving the perfect chill to this drama.
Nothing could top the acting and I loved how the director gave so many more clues so we can draw our own conclusions alongside but it can get confusing at the beginning and trying to follow the cases at some places.
It is short so you can binge watch it in a day or night easily.
I'm definitely adding this to my top thriller recommendations for this year.

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Worth the dirty bloody ride.

I generally get sad about shorter format kdramas, because I'm always disappointed when they end because it feels like losing all my friends whose lives I was super invested in. My Name, however, was exactly the perfect length for the story. They could have made it a 16 episode drama, expanded on the cops' lives, expanded on the romance, played with our emotions more...but that would have detracted from the core story they were trying to tell. I appreciate that they chose to do this in fewer episodes, and I think they accomplished the storytelling in those 8 episodes very well.

That said, the story isn't exactly original or unique, it's interesting enough that it doesn't feel super derivative, but overall it's a pretty pedestrian story we've all seen retold many many times. The actors were exceptional though, especially the female lead. The determination and desperation she baked into every interaction the character had was expertly done.

I can't say I expected parts of the ending, it was pretty dark, but I think it was also appropriate for the story. The overall ending and twists you could guess from episode 1, but some of the ways it played out were unexpected. The OST was also really well put together and timed perfectly for the scenes and events.

Overall, it's definitely worth a watch. It's excellent...it didn't resonate with me on an epic level, but it was still quite exceptional.

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