Webtoon de Hoje (2022)

Great moments rather than a great story.

This could have been a perfect warm, cheerful, positive and destressing show with some fun and quality characters and great messages and dialogues, if it only had a solid direction of the plot. But it turned out to be a bit of a mess, with few gems here and there and a lot of unresolved frustration for me.

At first, they set the stage perfectly. We know who the main characters are and what their goals are. Who they need to fight against and what are the stakes. And then it all gets sidetracked and everything loses focus as we get more and more not well established side conflicts that are resolved in a half-assed manner.

Instead of truly diving deep into these underdogs trying to survive and strive in the company, keeping their webtoon team on board, we got a lot of random side stories and problems that were loosely related to the overall plot. Honestly, it’s the first time when the villain did not have to do anything, because the issues kept showing up even without his involvement. Things started moving forward in that aspect only in the last few episodes. Quite a weird and not engaging plot progression, if you ask me. Overall, there were just too many side plots and characters, so nothing felt truly developed and all conclusions anticlimactic.

The good point in how some messages were delivered was the fact the viewers get the "lecturing" and life lessons WITH the main character, and not delivered BY main character. Thanks to that, it never came across as preachy.

Onto the characters, On Ma Eum was amazing, until she wasn’t. Extremely optimistic and hardworking. What's important - she did not think things would just go well, she believed she could work hard to make them go well. She bet on her work, not luck. While she is a bit stuck in her "positive" world and attitude and fails to instinctually see how other people might have different approaches, once confronted, she tries to understand other people and act according to the new information.
Where her character failed was any and all interactions with Shin Dae Ryuk. Calling her approach as “ignorant” would be a compliment to how it truly went. On the surface it was all cute, nice and uplifting, but by the end, I just wanted this girl away from this child.

Seok Ji Hyung and Jang Man Cheol were amazing seniors and great mentors. I appreciated how I got no romantic vibes from Ji Hyung and Ma Eum. I loved to see their mentor-mentee dynamics. They tried to stir the pot with previews, but I learned not to trust them early on. I think we as viewers are conditioned to see romance everywhere, so even deep, platonic relationships seem to hint at romance for us.

Goo Jun Yeong might have seemed like this asshole cold main lead, but he was actually quite cute and harmless. He was straightforward with what he said, reacted well to people guiding him and took suggestions and advice to heart. He was far more open to new things than I thought he would be. It’s true that he had his ups and downs, but that’s what made him an interesting character.

All that said, with the great cast of the main characters, the one that truly stole my heart was Shin Dae Ryuk. It’s literally a crime how such an interesting character with such a complex background was not more of a prominent figure in the show. That wasted potential just makes me sad, and the conclusion to his story - mad. I don’t say it a lot when thinking about dramas, but this was truly offensive. It was so bad, I cannot even simply dismiss it as an ignorant take.

I don't have that much to say about the acting - everyone did a great job. Kim Se Jeong's existence is just unfair to us all. Not only is her singing just phenomenal, but she is also an amazing actress. She is so natural, no matter what role she takes. Also, the scene stealer, show stealer and hearts stealer - Im Chul Soo.

Production wise - typical kdrama. It was not breathtakingly beautiful, but it had some great moments screenshot worthy. Can’t remember one song, so that sums up the OST quiet well.

Overall, it was a nice watch. You know how there are some books with amazing quotes, but when you have to talk about the plot, you have barely anything to say? This drama is similar.

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Too optimistic for their own good

To be honest, when I look back again on why did I even stick around with this drama, I can't explain it really well. But I sometimes would pick up this kind of slice-of-life drama to watch while airing because it's a good palate cleanser amidst all the other heavy dramas I am watching

But, this drama turned out to be too optimistic, that it became stupid. I notice the pattern of this drama from the start, where they will encounter a conflict that will be settle in such a simple way; with few motivation words and encouragement, with the use of courage and passion. It is the typical positive drama that should have made you feel like everything will turn out okay

Well, they're just too much. And this drama turned ridiculous with what they decide on how to handle Sin Dae Ryuk's storyline. From the start I already predict they will not handle his problem really well because for so many episodes, the breakdown and panic attacks that Dae Ryuk faced are not handled well at all from any of them, especially Ma Eum who should've been the first to realize that Dae Ryuk has a serious mental health problem. Again, the drama is too positive that they even make mental health capable to disappear just like that over some few words

But it get worse, when they decide to pull a plot twist on Sin Dae Ryuk's trauma and made it all a misunderstanding, turning abuse into an act of love and turning an evil abusive mother into a sympathetic mother with serious illness, all in just one episode. That plot alone, along with how they buildup Dae Ryuk's character arc for so many episodes only to crumble him apart like that, made this drama turn from a 7.5 to a 5.5 real fast for me.

And honestly, the WebToon team claimed to care for their artist, but now that I look back, they only care for the comic that those artist are creating, not the people themselves. As I mentioned, too optimistic for their own good, too much of positive vibe and the 'everything will be sunshine and rainbow' made this drama feels so stupid.

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