This review may contain spoilers
Terrible comic adaptation
[Minor spoilers for comic]
As someone who’s read the webcomic after watching both tv seasons, the show is bad as both an adaptation and on its own. There are many more counters in the comic. Comic actually has two Korean teams, and they both work together to defeat Ji Chungshin. Yujin, Hansuk, and Beomchan are nowhere to be seen in the show. I would’ve loved to see more counters besides the main cast. The other counters they have in the show get killed off immediately. In the comics, two Chinese counters survive instead of all of them dying.
The counters are also much weaker in the show than in the comics. In the comics, Motak is the strongest counter in all of Asia, and Ms. Chu is one of 5 healers in the world. All of the Korean counters have psychokinesis by the end of season 2 in the comics. Counters only need an hour of sleep a day. They don’t need to sleep all night.
A bunch of storylines in the comic are resolved much more quickly than the show. The show stretches out stuff for so long, and even add pointless storylines.
- Motak doesn’t have a girlfriend in the comic, she was added to the show to be fridged.
- So Mun immediately decided to be a counter in the comic, show So Mun had to sleep on it. Comic Wigen immediately offers to let So Mun see his parents in Yung
- Motak never goes back to being a cop, he has the captain just give him info on cases.
- There are 8 Korean counters in the comic, not just 5
- Evil spirits cannot transfer to new bodies in the comics, that was dumb of the show to do.
- Ji Chungshin is a villain all throughout Season 1 of the comic, and he’s much more ruthless and scary.
- Pilkwang is only a minor villain in the comic, but the show makes him a main villain in season 2.
- Ma Juseok is actually introduced in the comics much earlier than the show. He’s also not a family friend of So Mun, they don’t know each other in the comics. His wife and kid died 7 years before the comic started, not during the story. Comic Juseok was already in prison for killing two scammers
- Hana’s family died because her mom got scammed by the Baekdoo real estate scam in season 2, just like Ma Juseok
The Yung spirits that the counters work with are all different races and ethnicities. Wigen is supposed to be German, and speaks German in Yung and So Mun can understand her. All spirits can talk to each other no matter the language they speak. Wigen speaks German, but So Mun hears it as Korean.
They made So Mun such an arrogant prick in this show. So Mun in the comic is actually pretty humble, and he usually only fights when he has to. Comic So Mun actually apologizes to hosts when he hits them too hard, or he accidentally gets thugs to shoot each other.
So Mun’s friends have bigger roles in the comic, and they actually find out that So Mun is a counter and Ms. Choo doesn’t erase their memories.
The comic is also much more violent and the injures are brutal. So Mun even gets his hand chopped off by Ji Chungshin, and So Mun throws a knife into his Chungshin’s eye. People lose limbs, break their arms and legs backwards, get their eyes gouged out, etc. The violence in the show is so tame.
So Mun’s CD player in season 1 has a payoff in the comic. In the show, it’s just something for the bullies to steal from him.
Jeokbong in the comic was actually useful and immediately agreed to be a counter, show Jeokbong is so annoying and useless. In the comic, Jeokbong was just as fast and strong as So Mun. But the show made him the weakest one.
The comic has such good build up and is suspenseful throughout. So many twists and stuff that I didn’t see coming. The show is so predictable and boring. I can’t wait for Season 3 of the comic to finish so I can read it.
As someone who’s read the webcomic after watching both tv seasons, the show is bad as both an adaptation and on its own. There are many more counters in the comic. Comic actually has two Korean teams, and they both work together to defeat Ji Chungshin. Yujin, Hansuk, and Beomchan are nowhere to be seen in the show. I would’ve loved to see more counters besides the main cast. The other counters they have in the show get killed off immediately. In the comics, two Chinese counters survive instead of all of them dying.
The counters are also much weaker in the show than in the comics. In the comics, Motak is the strongest counter in all of Asia, and Ms. Chu is one of 5 healers in the world. All of the Korean counters have psychokinesis by the end of season 2 in the comics. Counters only need an hour of sleep a day. They don’t need to sleep all night.
A bunch of storylines in the comic are resolved much more quickly than the show. The show stretches out stuff for so long, and even add pointless storylines.
- Motak doesn’t have a girlfriend in the comic, she was added to the show to be fridged.
- So Mun immediately decided to be a counter in the comic, show So Mun had to sleep on it. Comic Wigen immediately offers to let So Mun see his parents in Yung
- Motak never goes back to being a cop, he has the captain just give him info on cases.
- There are 8 Korean counters in the comic, not just 5
- Evil spirits cannot transfer to new bodies in the comics, that was dumb of the show to do.
- Ji Chungshin is a villain all throughout Season 1 of the comic, and he’s much more ruthless and scary.
- Pilkwang is only a minor villain in the comic, but the show makes him a main villain in season 2.
- Ma Juseok is actually introduced in the comics much earlier than the show. He’s also not a family friend of So Mun, they don’t know each other in the comics. His wife and kid died 7 years before the comic started, not during the story. Comic Juseok was already in prison for killing two scammers
- Hana’s family died because her mom got scammed by the Baekdoo real estate scam in season 2, just like Ma Juseok
The Yung spirits that the counters work with are all different races and ethnicities. Wigen is supposed to be German, and speaks German in Yung and So Mun can understand her. All spirits can talk to each other no matter the language they speak. Wigen speaks German, but So Mun hears it as Korean.
They made So Mun such an arrogant prick in this show. So Mun in the comic is actually pretty humble, and he usually only fights when he has to. Comic So Mun actually apologizes to hosts when he hits them too hard, or he accidentally gets thugs to shoot each other.
So Mun’s friends have bigger roles in the comic, and they actually find out that So Mun is a counter and Ms. Choo doesn’t erase their memories.
The comic is also much more violent and the injures are brutal. So Mun even gets his hand chopped off by Ji Chungshin, and So Mun throws a knife into his Chungshin’s eye. People lose limbs, break their arms and legs backwards, get their eyes gouged out, etc. The violence in the show is so tame.
So Mun’s CD player in season 1 has a payoff in the comic. In the show, it’s just something for the bullies to steal from him.
Jeokbong in the comic was actually useful and immediately agreed to be a counter, show Jeokbong is so annoying and useless. In the comic, Jeokbong was just as fast and strong as So Mun. But the show made him the weakest one.
The comic has such good build up and is suspenseful throughout. So many twists and stuff that I didn’t see coming. The show is so predictable and boring. I can’t wait for Season 3 of the comic to finish so I can read it.
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