My Demon (2023)

Borrowed Brilliance: My Demon's Struggle to Forge an Original Path

When this show started, i wrote a review stating a new iconic show was in the making. Little did i know that this show would end up copying every other fantasy drama each of which had carved its own place in viewers hearts.

In this show, apart from the chemistry between the leads and their visuals there is nothing to look forward to. Regarding the storyline there seems to be none, the writer merely copied scenes from various fantasy shows creating a mishmash of fantasy elements.

While watching, you will be reminded of every fantasy show made in Korea after Goblin. It starts copying storylines from Goblin, whole OST having vibes similar to Goblin's intro. The trope of a beggar lady turning out to be a god is another thing copied from Goblin and even in episode 15, the show replicates Goblin's ending by making Guwon disappear.

Now lets talk about Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. The entire storyline is basically a reversed version of SWDBS. Here ML Guwon becomes a bodyguard to protect FL CEO Dohee from her adopted family. This mirrors SWDBS, where FL Bong Soon becomes ML's bodyguard to protect him from his family. Both main characters have supernatural powers but the difference is that in SWDBS Bong Soon uses her powers when needed whereas here Guwon, even as a demon cant use his powers when its crucial. The serial killer plot was also entirely borrowed from SWDBS. While both tracks took different approaches they still induced a strong sense of deja vu when watching that specific storyline. The assistant character and the subplot with thugs are also directly copied from SWDBS.

Next is overused past life trope. Last year many shows applied this trope and while some were webtoon adaptations making it necessary, this show being an original one still included the cliche past life trope when it wasnt needed. The past life trope is borrowed from various shows like SYIM19L and Kokdu with a significant influence from Kokdu's version.

Adding to that, they didnt stop at copying fantasy shows, they even borrowed scenes from makjang shows like Penthouse. The way Noh Seok Min survives a massive fall is reminiscent of how Joo Dan Tae miraculously survived a building collapse in Penthouse. Additionally, the car blast involving Dohee seems like a throwback to Logan Lee's car bomb blast from Penthouse.

In addition to the above mentioned shows, this one also echoes/plays out similar plots to series such as Doom at Your Service, Heartbeat and Destined with You etc.

Now lets discuss the characters. They werent properly written. Firstly Guwon, the demon, couldnt use his powers when needed even against a mere human enemy for 14 episodes straight. Some may argue he lost his powers but even if thats the case, he could have utilized them with Dohee's help. Even after his powers returned he didnt use them to catch the villain. For instance, in a scene where they send Joo Seok Hoon to the main villain's house they could have easily gone there using Guwon's magic but they didnt. When Joo Seok Hoon returns without information only then do they go to the villain's house. However, by then main villain has removed the demon book and hidden it elsewhere. Even when the main villain's body disappears after falling from the clock tower, Guwon doesnt use his powers to catch him. Later main villain tries to kill Dohee and to save her Guwon sacrifices himself. The writing seems questionable.

Moving on to Dohee, the young CEO, she is generally good except for when she gave up the chairwoman position due to fear of the main villain. Its perplexing, having a demon by her side, yet fearing a mere human. However one could argue she is right considering the apparent uselessness of the demon's powers.

Joo Seok Hoon, SML of show, is considered by many to be the main villain but he turns out not to be. Unfortunately he ends up being most useless character in the drama merely serving as a love sick puppy for Dohee. Its puzzling why an actor like Lee Sangyi took on this role when there is little for him to perform.

The main villain, Noh Suk Min is another poorly written character. He is your typical negative villain with a backstory of being greedy for property. While i understand he is meant to be negative, the writer takes it to the extreme portraying him to the point of being willing to kill his own son. I also dont understand why he was even after Dohee when she willingly gave him the chair position. In the end, the way he survives a significant fall is one of the most illogical aspects of the show. Moreover his decision to burn his face for some unknown reason is also quite illogical.

Besides these four main characters, the others werent well written. For example the demon's obsessive lover, Jin Gayoung lacked depth. The office characters were mostly useless and brought in for lame comedy that hardly made anyone laugh. The love angle between Dohee's assistant and Guwon's assistant was also cringe worthy. It seems the writer aimed for humor but it ended up being more cringe than entertaining.

Cinematography is initially impressive but production values appear fake after a certain point. The portrayal of super rich characters offices does not align with the expected opulence of conglomereate's offices.
The music department fares decently with the main OST, True by Yaori being a standout.

In conclusion, the show lacks originality in both execution and writing with poor logic and character development. My disappointment led me to revise my original rating from 9/10 to 7/10 and that is solely for the chemistry between the leads.

Read More

Not My Demon

Listen. Don’t come at me. But this ain’t it.

The storyline is childish and disappointingly lacking. They set up this promising premise of a demon, losing his powers, falling in love, and learning to live as a human. Should be interesting, right? WRONG.

The demon here is an idiotic loverboy who can’t use his brain even after existing for thousands of years. The FL is this gorgeous looking fireball who is supposed to be smart, cunning anf cutthroat. Key words are “supposed to be.” You get an annoyingly weak and pretty FL who does nothing but let the villains get the upperhand while eating cake with her pretty husband. Then, on their free time, they’ll put in some effort to catch the bad guys. SHE HAS A DEMON FOR A HUSBAND AND THEY DIDNT SOLVE ANYTHING OR EVEN SAVE THEMSELVES.

Y’all. The brain cells I lost watching this …

Don’t get me started on the useless side characters. From the overly dramatic and clownish villains, to the side couples, to the office workers and the gang members. They were just fillers to get this to 16 episodes of showing the gorgeous leads. That’s all.

To sum up:
Even on 1.5 speed, I could not wait to finish this damn series. What a joke to the actors. Who wrote this script? A 12 year old Twilight fan?

- What demon? He was a hopeless romantic with a side hustle involving fire.
- what murder mystery? Just crazy people playing with fire.
-What villains? Just cray crays over acting and shitting their pants over nothing.
- What chemistry? Just 2 gorgeous people looking gorgeous while doing gorgeous things together.
-What deep insightful message were we supposed to get out of this? Never trust a Netflix show with pretty people.

Read More