9/10 is my rating. This iis a 2023 South Korean fantasy romance drama with x, 70 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Rembrary (Kim Min-kyu), is a high priest battling evil to keep the Devil from returning to power. Mid battle with the actual devil, he is transported from this alternate world to modern South Korea in the body of Woo Yoon-woo, a failed idol in the process of making a comeback. Yoon-woo aspired to be an actor but was debuted as the visual for boy band Wild Animals. Rembrary is completely confused by this sudden switch but quickly finds that the dark forces have also come to this world and are embedded in the music industry. Kim Dal (Go Bo-gyeol) was a former talent manager for a girl group and became extremely depressed and guilt ridden when one of the group members committed suicide. She feels beholden to Yoon-woo as he gave her hope during one of her darkest days. She follows the band closely and when she notices they are struggling she prizes the job of their manager determined to give them the professional and emotional support to avoid any more tragedy. At first she goes along with Yoon-woo’s “delusion” he is a high priest from another dimension and convinces him the best way to achieve his goals is to become a successful idol. And the thing is the real Yoon-woo has also been transported to Rembrary’s world but he doesn’t want to leave. Who wants to go back to being a failed idol with a non existent acting career? So the real Yoon-woo strikes a bargain. if Rembrary becomes a successful idol, and in a whisper voice, that Rembrary dldn’t hear, a successful actor, he will swap back with him. The situation makes for a very comedic setting, but also a slow build romance between the manager who is going crazy, trying to manage this delusional idol, and the high priest who doesn’t usually give in to worldly concerns.

Review
Overqll this is very good. The leads have a lot of chemistry and their relationship is believable. I love the idol genre because it is such a unique life choice so glimpses into it are always interesting. The relationship between the group members is compelling and getting to know a bit about each makes it interesting. Highly recommend to those that like romances and the idol genre. It ends happy.

Spoilers*
The god aspect was a bit chaotic and did not make complete sense. I felt as frustrated as he did when it turned out that after decades of fighting evil, Redlin was selfish and evil Herself. With that it would have made sense if he was a true god but her having made him from a part of herself made less sense. In the end there is just no God or devil in that world? If she wasn’t a true God then what? There just never was? How did she come into being if there was no divine in that realm? That seemed like a big, important part of that world. He goes to Redlin to confront her and she tries to kill hIm and steal his divine powers but is stopped at the last second when Kim Dal essentially offers up her soul to destroy Redlin’s power. But then he goes back for seconds? That made no sense. The he is back as an idol and is just going to hang out? I mean he got a mission of rounding up the remaining evil elements but it didn’t show him pursuing that. I was disappointed we didn’t get to see “Wild Animal“ perform. They achieved success but we really did not get to go along for the ride much. It seemed more focused on his divine goals but that was so ill defined that being the greater focus was disappointing. Kim Min Kyu really just carried it because his acting and visuals made even the most chaotic plot points watchable. The Grim Reaper was confusing as he was supposed to be there to keep him from interfering in human lifelines but he winds up doing very little of that. He mostly seems to take the road manager thing seriously like okay I am not a reaper I am just doing this now, But then he is but then he isn’t. And how, even when their fame was growing, were they able to just go out without being recognized? They are popular enough to win an award but where are the groups of screaming fans every time they emerge? How many times are Min-kyu and Kim Dal going to walk out on a balcony and get all affectionate knowing there could be scandal. Just have your emotional moments inside. He would say he wanted to be a successful idol or actor and put a bunch of effort into it for a minute then be like never mind I am doing the divine thing now. Then the end, the God says Kim Dal will be punished because she won’t remember those she loved but there she us right there doing the same thing and it only takes her a brief direct encounter to remember. That made it feel rushed like there could have been at least one episode with her not remembering but things triggering her memory. I liked the premise just wish it was written in a more logical manner.

#KimMinKyu
#GoBogyeol
#LeeJangWoo
#HeavenlyIdol