Twelve

Twelve

Well my opinion will be totally different - but nothing new cause I like more dramas coming this year which I have watched. First thing which in my opinion is important to point out is that this one was overhyped. People hyped it so much before the release - even before trailer - simply because of "expensive" cast (yeah I hate that, just say good or popular actors, expensive really annoyes me). Because of that hype people were dissapointer, they expected something what never was even promised.
In my opinion - as someone who had a lot of going on, watched it without any expectation (but yeah I watched because of Seo In Guk, Park Hyung Sik and Ma Dong Seok) and needed something to relax - I simply enjoyed it.
Also important to point out is that it had a little different filming style? It was totally as playing a game, this is how fighting scenes lookes and how story moved - and that can also be a reason why some people did not like it. Personally I love it. CGI was not as bad as people say, outfits were good (pretty realistic), plot some people will like some not, you just need to check for yourself - but if you expect dissapointment then there is no way to avoid it. The only thing which I can agree which would work probably better for general public was to make it a movie (although personally I prefer series). It can work well with second season but open ending/cliffhanger is also good.
I have nothing bad to say about acting - it was good, in the end we had really good cast. To not spoil anything I will talk about my favourite actors/characters:
1. SIG - I did not expected his character to be ...hmm guffy? but still really liked him here
2. PHS - well he never was a villain, he lost his way but still did nothing really bad (one more thing which people found dissapointed only because they expected some crazy bad guy - reminder that you also did not really like his villain arc in Burried Hearts....)
3. MDS - he is so cute eventhough that he played a tougth guy
4. Lee Joo Bin - this girls is literally killing this year!! (first Lee Dong Wook as love interest, now PHS. Also SIG as a friend) She's getting all the hot gyus, go girl!!! but I have to admit that I expected a little more action for her character, a little more badass
5. Kang Mi Na - she played perfectly a "dog" angel, she was totally giving a puppy and loving vibe, love her reunion with SIG (but same company and were giving sibling vibe - so I think we can see it a lot)
6. Sung Yoo Bin - and the one I did not know but caught my attention, I just like white haired characters (what can I do), he also gave a little of Suga vibe (so again, my bias, what can I do).
To sum up - do not only read reviews or tiktok opinions, always check for yourself and go with clear mind, to judge it without any prejudgments.

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why so much hate:((

i really do not understand hate that this drama is getting from people. maybe plot isn't the best and isn't showing anything new. war between good and evil and saving people from monsters/demons/ending of the world is something very popular in fantasy k-dramas.
actors did really good job, I actually started this show because od Park Hyungsik and Ma Dongseok and I do not regret it truly. I had so much fun while this binge watch.
also big plus for setting romance more at the background of the plot, this causes that action and battles between zodiacs and demons were more enjoyable, not thinking that its just because of love 🙄🙄
last two episode were a bit chaotic because of number of threads to develop and finishing them all tho and this little "apocalypse" after opening Hellmouth was something unnecessary in my opinion, they just lost their time
i wouldn't tell that my needs are that low that I enjoyed this particular show, maybe the thing is that I've been watching kdramas for over 10 years and I see development in the context of creation and the final product over the years...
in conclusion its definitely not "10/10 would recommend" show, but for sure "7/10 check it out" 8 eps are enough for this plot

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The expectations ruined it for others. I went in blind, and I actually enjoyed it.

I watched with zero expectations because I hadn’t seen the cast or trailer beforehand. I think that’s why I ended up liking it so much.

All the people who hate it probably had a different vision for what the drama should be, so they could only judge it against that.

I really liked the comedic aspect . I think they did a great job mixing action and comedy. I watched it in just two days and stayed interested from start to finish.

The elite casting choices were chef’s kiss. I was never a huge fan of Hyung Sik before, but I actually loved him in this. The story could have been executed a bit better in some parts, but overall, the idea and experience were really enjoyable. I’d definitely love another season.

P.S. Don’t mind all the hate it gets. Just don’t go in with sky-high expectations, and you’ll probably enjoy it too.

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Eleven signs were harmed in the making of Tiger’s screentime

Watching Twelve honestly feels like Ryan Reynolds in his Green Lantern era. Big ambitions built on a cool concept, but get buried under weak world-building and dull lore. Green Lantern flopped because it threw CGI and lore at the screen without earning emotional investment, and Twelve makes the same mistake, just with prettier actors and zodiac powers (or not). Sadly, there’s no Deadpool on the horizon to save it.

It reminds me of the DC's early, failed attempt to replicate the MCU, rushing to assemble heroes without laying the necessary groundwork for their individual stories. Twelve falls into that exact trap, just on a smaller, K-drama scale. There's potential, yes. The cast? Solid. The core concept? Intriguing. But the execution? Disappointingly shallow, flat.

It wants to be Marvel level, but ends up feeling like Wish.com MCU. The emotional weight doesn’t land, the pacing feels random and weird, and it often confuses flash with depth. And look, I wasn't even expecting deep, layered storytelling. Most superhero shows get by just fine on simple plots built around cool characters. Heck, I wasn’t asking for logic either, I mean, we are watching a flying human crow as the main villain after all.

But what I at least expected was the bare minimum, a story that is easy to follow, entertaining to watch and characters with clear reasons to support their quest, just like what every other good superhero content is all about. Also, for the plot to respect the theme/title of the show, which was ultimately the reason why we hit the play button. What’s most shocking is the lack of polish, especially considering it’s produced under Disney, home of Marvel and a studio that’s supposed to be an expert at this genre.

The biggest ick I have from the start is how hard it is to tell which angel represents which zodiac sign. The zodiac concept had so much potential. You have 12 characters rooted in one of the most iconic themes in East Asian folklore, but the show does almost nothing with it. Outside of maybe 2–3 obvious signs (like Tiger and Pig), there’s little thought put into making each angel’s fighting style, personality, speech pattern, or presence reflect their sign. It becomes a shallow gimmick rather than a meaningful identity, and that’s such wasted potential. It feels like the most basic world-building detail they should’ve nailed with such a theme. (I only found out later that their names are literally the names of the animals in Korean, and they thought that was good enough lol)

I came into Twelve genuinely excited. I love supernatural/superpower dramas, and the premise had so much promise. I kept hoping it would improve, that it would eventually tap into the emotional or thematic depth the story hints at. But….

Honestly? This is so much worse than Uncanny Counter Season 2, and I hated that one. Easily the lowest rating I’ve ever given a K-drama. They really said “Twelve” but gave us Tiger and the Cameos. I felt cheated into watching this and I think I’ll be avoiding superhero K-dramas for a long while after this.

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THE TWELVE! (But really, eight plus one)

DISCLAIMER, I decided to edit this review to provide more thought on my initial blunt one.

If you enjoy the superhero genre, hard hitting action scenes, with a hint of mythology... a comedy, a tale of ill-fated lovers... product placement - well, then Twelve is somewhat for you!

One quick PRO, before all the CONS below - they chose a good cast.

To start, Twelve is a drama that ultimately fails to deliver on a basic plot. There is no end, middle or even a proper beginning to Twelve. The overarching goal remains unclear, even after viewing all 8 episodes. And, this is mainly due to the choice they made to omit most of the story. I kid you not, most of the tale is hidden from you. You are introduced to many flashbacks, but they are not at all linear - in most cases, they tell part of a part of the story (it sounds better than it actually is).

Secondly, the story is convoluted and filled with tiresome subplots. As mentioned above, the story recalls many parts of the story - at all odd times. Information that would have made sense three episodes ago, are introduced late. All the while, new characters and concepts are introduced, without any supportive context - so you, as the audience - are often left reaching.

Thirdly, Its characters are inconsistent in their capabilities, and motivations. Somewhat related to what was mentioned above, characters are - in a word, confusing. This may be highlighted by the confusing narrative, but there are moments where you are left wondering - why is that? what is that? or - is that how that works? Nothing is explained in its entirety (again, partially due to the poor pacing), but even when things are explained - they don't remain consistent.

Lastly, the product placement... In a tale so poorly executed - whether it be the writing, special effects or shot choice - they did an amazing job for its sponsors (?) Action scenes? yeah, I remember some. Dramatic acting? Sure. But the product placement - absolutely unforgettable. They design it not to be - and, that's no joke. They specifically chose moments where characters are "out of world" - almost fourth wall breaking - speaking a dialogue, one could only find in a commercial.

This was a story about angels and all I remember is the coffee candy.

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A MESS

If I'll have to summarize this drama in one word, that would be MESS.

When I saw people posting about Twelve, I was initially very intrigued. The concept of the zodiac angels living like humans while trying to regain their powers was very interesting and unique. I love fantasy and mythology so I decided to watch the drama from the day it started airing.

Looking back at it, I almost want to laugh at my excitement and curiosity.

The first two episodes were lukewarm to say the least. The plot didn't seem as interesting as I had expected and the characterisation wasn't engaging enough for me to care about the characters. Still, I decided to remain optimistic. It was only the beginning and the story needed more time to unfold properly. Although Twelve didn't have the strongest beginning, I still had hopes because the story had some interesting traits and I believed that as the series would go by, it would improve.

Alas, the show just went downhill and crashed harder than the Titanic.

The first red flag which indicated that this would be an unpleasant journey was the fighting scenes. Let me tell you that when I watched Tae San fighting these thugs for the first time, I was baffled. Messy choreography. Weird angles. Tacky editing. I felt like I was watching a project made by amateurs and let me tell you that I've seen fanmade videos on YouTube about different franchises that put Twelve to shame.

When you describe your drama as action heavy, one would expect something better than these chops of fighting scenes. There were times when it was so painfully obvious that the actors did not hit each other, it was honestly so laughable how unconvincing it was. And don't get me started on the bad guys getting beaten one by one, waiting for their turn patiently instead of attacking together.

The direction and production added more salt to the wound. There were times when I almost wondered if the showrunners were mocking us and if I was part of a social experiment. At least that would made a more interesting plot than the one we had. I am confident that all the budget went to the actors and the rest received dust. There's no other way to explain what I saw on my screen.

First and foremost, the costumes they showed in the flashbacks were absolutely tragic. For a fantasy series, they didn't even bother try out more effort and creativity in the clothes. I've seen cosplayers with much better attires and with clothes that do not look like cheap Shein products. The armors were so bad, the clothes were so mismatched and the wigs were so comical to look at. During some more serious scenes I just couldn't take the characters seriously because of the way they looked. The most prominent example is the scene where the 8 angels mourn the death of the other four. Aside from the bad editing, I couldn't bring myself to care and instead of focusing on the heaviness of this moment, I had to surpass my laughter every time the camera would focus on one of the Angels in these ridiculous costumes. The CGI, albeit not horrible in some parts, left some things to be desired. O Gwi's wings could have definitely be better, they looked bizarre sometimes, especially when he used them to fight.

The lack of a powerful and epic OST was another element that failed to elevate the emotional impact of Twelve. You need a good soundtrack in order to create emotions and Twelve failed to provide us with anything memorable. I'm currently watching The Untamed so I feel spoiled because every episode cause euphoria in my ears so the discrepancy between this and Twelve is very funny. There is a scene where Tae San opens Hellmouth and the background music is a hip hop track. What are we even trying to do?

When we're talking about fantasy, the visuals play a fundamental role in order to establish your setting and magic system. But I was willing to cut them some slack. Some fantasy series might not have the best effects but at least they offer an interesting script.

In Twelve's case, the story was even worse.

When you're making a drama with 8 episodes, one would expect more straightforward storytelling. With short dramas, you cannot afford to waste time. But it's clear that the budget was cut short because neither the story nor the characters delivered what was promised.

It's a serious crime to create a fantasy universe and put barely any effort to expand it. We are thrusted into this world as if we have any prior knowledge about it. Aside from the small intro from Episode 1 and some information via poor dialogues and awkward flashbacks, we never really get to learn many significant things regarding the Angels and God. And what about the Angel's identities? I had to read the description of the actors from my drama list in order to understand which Angel represented each animal. Aside from the most obvious ones (Tiger, Pig, Monkey, Snake, Dragon) the rest weren't that clear. Had I not read the information, I would be stuck trying to figure out the animals Mal Sook and Jwi Dol were supposed to be.

Aside from the poor world-building, I'm still trying to understand the reason why the series was called Twelve when four angels remained dead for the most part. If you wanted to create a series about the twelve zodiac signs, you should at least give information about all the angels and integrate them into the story. Had we seen more of the four angels and how they contributed to humanity's safety, it would have made more sense and it would have added more depth in the dynamic among the Angels. Such thing never happened and instead we basically got deceived.

The structure of the story killed every remaining possibilities of development. Everything felt so hectic and not in a good way. The pacing was painfully slow, sometimes it was as if time had stopped. I have no problem with slow-paced dramas, some of my most favourite series are actually slow-paced (Beyond Evil, Through The Darkness, Black Out). However, in these shows the pacing was necessary in order to explore the characters and the story and prepare for the built-up. In Twelve, that simply never happened. There was no deeper exploration regarding the characters, the story remained monotonous and the payoff was definitely not worth it.

The editing contributed to the amateur image of the show. Was there even an editor in the first place? I seriously doubt that. They left so many unnecessary moments uncut. Some scenes dragged so much, they felt like they lasted for hours and hours. Give me one reason why it was necessary, according to the director, to show every single Angel's reaction when something significant happened.

The four angels die? Zoom into every Angel's face and show their reactions. One by one.

Tae San arrives during a dangerous situation? Make each Angel exclaim "Tae San". One.by.one.

The Angels are fighting enemies or getting beaten? Show them fighting. ONE.BY.ONE.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!? At one point I started taking guesses about the order of the Angels' appearances! Moments like these are the reason why the pacing was so off. We wasted too much time in insignificant scenes instead of using it for more meaningful storytelling.

The usage of flashbacks killed even the few hyped moments in the series. They were so random and the majority of them did not even contribute anything to the plot. Instead of using them meticulously in order to give further information without ruining the pacing, the writers put them in the most bizarre moments. For example, Episode 3 ends with a flashback which came after.a.supposedly.dramatic.moment. They could have chosen to end the episode then but nope, they had to ruin the mood with this good-for-nothing throwback.

I cringed so hard when the series tried to become comedic. It was so painful to witness all of these attempts to add some funny elements. As if it wasn't enough to sit through this wannabe epic fantasy tale, they tortured me with poorly written humor too. Let me tell you that I laughed harder at the scenes the writers did not intend to make funny. I wasn't like with them, I was laughing AT them.

And now the characters. Oh boy, where to begin? To put it frankly: I gave zero f*cks about them. It appears that the writers would take it for granted that the viewers would sympathize with the Angels simply because they were the good guys who had been wronged by humans. Surprise surprise, this is not enough. When the writers do not bother to put any effort in the characterisation, I am not obligated to side with the heroes. I couldn't bring myself to feel anything about these people. They didn't even have proper personalities. Some of them had interesting traits but they were never utilized. A pity if you ask me, especially since they are supposed to represent the zodiac signs so there were many opportunities to incorporate that in their personalities.

Among the Angels, the one who was highlighted a lot was Tae San, portrayed by Ma Song Seok. Which makes sense considering he was involved in the writing process too. Too bad he couldn't invest in his character. Tae San was supposed to be this sympathetic leader who has fallen into depression after the tragedies he has experienced and yet I couldn't bring myself to care. Not in the slightest. The writing of his character was so messy, instead of coming across as badass and yet vulnerable, he became comedic. Instead of having so many scenes about him or his interactions with the grandma, the screen time should have been shared among the rest of the Angels in order to flesh out their characters just a little bit.

The story tried very hard to convince me that the Angels are a family. I'm sorry but I was never sold. Whether it was the acting or writing, the chemistry among the Angels was bland and barely existant. They never gave me the vibe of a family that tried to stick together and help each other. It was like watching a bunch of coworkers. Instead of showcasing their bond more through actions, the writers tried to sell it via poorly written scenes. The worst part was the scenes with the characters having discussions while eating. They failed so much to capture the domestic feeling.

The only characters which managed to capture my interest even a little were Won Seung, Mirr and O Gwi. Won Seung was fun to look at and I was curious to see if his character would have been explored more considering he was marketed as one of the main ones (spoiler alert: he didn't receive any development). Mirr and O Gwi seemed to have interesting backstories and I wanted to learn more about them. But of course the poor writing had to ruin everything.

Can someone give me one good explanation about why Mirr was written as such a weak Angel? She was supposed to be the only one to retain her powers and yet she struggled more against the bad guys. I swear to God, for the majority of the series she was either sleeping or she was a damsel in distress. Shebarelt had any personality. I feel sad for sounding so harsh but unfortunately this is the plain truth.

O Gwi was one of the biggest letdowns. I tried to remain hopeful and believe that we would see more of him but once again, I was deceived. It's so funny how hard they tried to market him as the main threat for the Angels, only for him to barely have any significant scenes in the first episodes and then be turned into a wannabe misunderstood antihero. There were so many layers that could have been explored but clearly the writers did not care. We learned almost NOTHING regarding his backstory and his motives were presented in such a superficial way.

When the plot is not plotting, what is the best solution in order to make it more interesting? You guessed it: romance. And which characters did the writers decide to pair together? Of course the heroine with the villain, Mirr and O Gwi. The problem is that when you're writing romance, you ought to make it believable. I'm sorry but Mirr and O Gwi gotta be one of the most fraud couples in the history of kdramas. They barely had any meaningful interactions. The one kiss we got cannot even be described as a proper kiss with the way it was filmed. Tell me, why should I care about them and their story when the writers did not bother to explore it? "Oh, but you don't understand, it's a tragic love story and they wanted to be together even though everything was against them and..." AND NOTHING. You cannot write a romance in such a shallow way and expect me to care. You are not writing tropes. You are writing a love story. We never learned how they met each other. We never saw them interacting as a proper couple. We got a shitty montage of some of their happy moments as if it came straight out from a fan made YouTube video from the 2010s. And last but not least regarding this subplot: I apologize, but the actors did not have chemistry. I'm sure that both Park Hyung Sik and Lee Joo Bin are good actors but they were unable to sell the chemistry between them. Their interactions seemed so wooden. I know that this is partially fault of the writing but something was off with the actors too.

I feel so grateful for not being a fan of any of the actors prior watching the series. Had I been a fan, I would have built higher expectations regarding their screen time and characters, whereas I went blindly into the series and spared myself from a bigger disappointment. I am desperate to learn about the actors' paycheck. Did they read the script before signing up for it? Were they happy with the final results? If I were them, I would have stormed out the setting the moment they'd make me wear one of these poor excuses of wigs. It's such a pity that their talent got wasted in this mess of a show.

The acting was not horrible. But it was poor because the writing itself was poor. The actors did not have many opportunities to showcase their range more and their performances came across as awkward. The delivery of some lines was unconvincing, it was as if the actors themselves couldn't feel the characters or the story. The only moment throughout the drama where an actor delivered a performance with some emotional impact was on Episode 6 when Won Seung mourned the death of a particular character. Kudos to Seo In Guk. The rest of the actors were unable to showcase their full potential but that is the fault of the script. Park Hyung Sik carried the character of O Gwi on his shoulders but even he wasn't enough to save this mess of a plot.

At sixth grade, me and two of my friends made a short film for an English project. Our amateur movie, filmed by my dad's phone and edited from a free computer app was more consistent and entertaining than Twelve. Whatever it was supposed to deliver, it simply didn't. I didn't want to drop it because I am the type of person who refuses to give up on series but I am so happy it was 8 episodes only. I am very sad that such an interesting concept got wasted on such a lackluster execution and I hope that none of my favourite actors will get to work with these writers and director.

A message to kdrama producers: good casting does not guarantee good writing and good numbers. Audiences are not as naive as you think. If they realise that what they're watching is poorly made, they will give up. That explains the reason why viewership plummeted after the first two episodes. May this be a lesson to everyone, viewers and creators.

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Star Power Can’t Save Twelve From Becoming a Black Hole of Boredom

Did… did they just blow the entire budget on the actors’ fees and leave nothing for production or writing? Because I’m genuinely flabbergasted at how Twelve managed to fumble so catastrophically when its premise practically wrote itself.

This is a high fantasy Kdrama about the twelve Chinese Zodiac signs living as humans to battle a literal devil, played by none other than Park Hyung-sik. Let me repeat that: Park Hyung-sik, with all his charisma and range, is cast as the ultimate villain — and somehow the show still manages to be mind-numbingly dull. That’s not just wasted potential; that’s malpractice.

On paper, this premise should be unstoppable. It’s epic. It’s mythic. It’s the kind of setup that demands spectacle, rich worldbuilding, and pulse-quickening stakes. Instead, what we get is the narrative equivalent of lukewarm soup: bland, watery, and inexplicably boring.

And boring is the biggest crime of all.

Fantasy doesn’t have the luxury of being dull. Slice-of-life dramas can coast on vibes; fantasy needs momentum and awe. Twelve delivers neither. Two episodes in, and I’m not even remotely hooked. That’s a red flag for an 8-episode series, when you’ve already burned 25% of your runtime and still can’t convince me to care, it’s over.

The pain stings sharper because of the star-studded cast. You don’t assemble names like this and then wrap it in what feels like a film student’s summer project. That’s the vibe here: all the gloss of big casting announcements, but the execution of something thrown together on a shoestring, hoping the actors’ charisma alone would carry it. It’s jarring, like watching A-list actors perform Shakespeare in a high school gym with folding chairs for props.

Even the supposed central hook (Zodiac warriors versus the Devil) feels smothered under bad pacing and directionless storytelling. When your audience is asking by episode two, “Wait, are we getting pranked?” you’ve lost the plot. Literally.

I went into Twelve hyped, expecting a late-summer action fantasy to sink my teeth into. Instead, I’m left gnawing on disappointment. The production feels cheap, the writing lifeless, and the direction uninspired. It’s the uncanny valley of K-dramas: all the big pieces are there, but the soul is missing.

To put it bluntly, Twelve is such a mess it somehow made The 8th Show look like Citizen Kane. And that’s saying something, because The 8th Show was my first and only 1/10 drama. Yet compared to this, even The 8th Show feels like it at least tried to be something. Twelve is just… there. A hollow shell of what could have been, a drama so devoid of energy it manages to turn Park Hyung-sik’s devil into a snore.

If the devil in Twelve is supposed to represent ultimate evil, then maybe the real villain here is X+U Studio, for daring to waste this cast, this premise, and my time.

Final verdict: Twelve is proof that not all star-studded fantasies are worth chasing. Sometimes, the constellation is nothing but burned-out stars.

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Editing a Mess, Wigs a Bigger Mess

the story itself isn't terrible, but the execution is a mess... the editing feels rookie, the structure is all over the place, and there are wayyyy too many random characters for such a short show. it legit feels like i got dropped straight into season 3 with zero buildup or character development...how am i supposed to care about anyone?

im on episode 6 and will finish it (it's not bad enough to drop), but what a wasted opportunity...

side note: Park Hyung Sik saved this for me, he fits his character well (and is also not too bad on the eyes😋). I think hes story alone would have worked better.... but I doubt we're getting a spin off now 😫

side side note: i really cant get over the wigs! awfullIII... do better lol

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Wasted potential

Twelve was the first drama that i decided to follow real time after having joined the kdrama bandwagon in nov-dec last year. I liked PSH from Dr. Slump and also Ma Dong-seok's involvement got me really hyped. I did like the theme of eastern zodiacs and the universe they intended to build with it... but unfortunately it doesn't land. The show lacks in direction and screen presence of actors required for a fantasy. IMHO that is the biggest flaw. The writing with repeated scenes and dialogues does not really establish any real connect with any of the characters. The ritual stuff they do appear cartoonish, the character of Samin is a bore, repeated fight scenes drag out. Writers couldn't get the viewers to root for any of the characters incl Tae-san. I was fascinated by PSH's look but that's that... he serves looks but has hardly done anything substantial yet. Maybe i'll simply watch an uncut of his scenes much later :/ I feel bad for the actors for they deserved better with a hyped up show but unfortunately, it is what it is.

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