A Comical Spy-Thriller, Though Lacking In Character Depth..

‘Terrius Beside Me’ regurgitates the classic trope seen in dramas before when the “ tough and rough” agent ( So Ji-Sub) is launched into an unfamiliar and everyday environment in order to pull out exaggerated comedy and awkward scenarios . In the case of our main lead, this manifests through becoming the clueless babysitter for the two children of his kind-hearted neighbour ( Jung In-Sun). It is undeniable a generic and ‘’subtle’’ setup between domestic blandness and oddly light-hearted fluff, yet amongst the more angst-ridden moments of the show, the balance between action and the bittersweet experiences that the characters are subjected towards often felt lacking in greater characterisation and defining development.

Our main lead and agent Bon is a definitive example of this problem. Undeniably, So Ji Sub is a veteran within the acting field, and his ability to capture the stoic, yet comical brilliance of an agent stuck in the unfamiliar environment of everyday life helping to provide the majority of the comical elements of the show. As a character , Bon is an intelligence agent, used to appearing apathetic, cutthroat and struggling to emotionally reach out to others as a consequence of his traumatic experiences when he was active in the field. Bon’s “ mission” in the beginning of the shown to collect intelligence , also acts as his first chance in a long time to interact with individuals outside of his line of duty. This is what makes the show somewhat endearing in certain comical moments, as Bon learns to develop emotional attachments with the most unlikely characters ( the children and their parents who live in the apartments).

On the other hand, a major problem with the show’s tackling of Bon as a character can be seen through turning a slight blind eye to the evident emotional and psychological problems which arose as a consequence of his backstory. Although it was understandable that the show may have deemed this “ too dark” within Bon’s interactions with the children and it would take some of the more light-hearted moments of the series, it seemed odd and a poor plot point to bring in darker themes of death, torture and emotional manipulation, without the ultimately mentioning or developing upon the consequential effects for the individuals.

This naturally draws us onto the main female lead Ae-Rin; another defining example of a character who had many traumatic experiences , but ultimately seemed detached within her responses. Whilst it is hard to truly fault the brilliant talents of Jung In- Sun, her character’s emotional responses and actions throughout the show felt greatly mismatched towards her actual background as an “ everyday individual” unknowingly caught up in this odd conspiracy.

It is refreshingly noticeable that the show didn’t rely upon the typical trope of Bon and Ae-Rin’s relationship overtaking the main storyline. Instead, the romance between the two characters is noticeably more subtle, however, it soon becomes apparent for viewers that Ae-Rin’s responses and behaviour is oddly misrepresented by her responses to her surroundings.

For a woman who has lost her husband, looking after her children and struggling to find a job early on in the series, Ae-Rin seems to neither bereave, contemplate or be emotionally affected her scenario at all. This is not suggesting that instead Ae-Rin should have a “dramatic mess” as noticeably individuals do respond to grief in different ways. On the other hand,, after its initial use in the first episodes, the storyline never truly brought up or explored the realistic element of Ae-Rin’s actual response or time to contemplate memories with her husband. In fact, we learn very little about exactly Ae-Rin married him, how they met and naturally about her own experiences growing up at all in the series- elements which would have easily fleshed-out the female lead and touched upon the more realistic elements of the show.

There are other minor characters in the show such as Do Woon ( Sung Joo) and his evident lacklustre pairing with the other minor female character and agent in the series Ji Yeon ( Im Se-Mi). Although an undeniably “ sweet” relationship progression between the two characters, their interactions and lack of screen time didn’t really engage or motivate the viewers to feel strong emotions or responses to these characters as individuals.

The other centralised characters of the show also include Sohn Ho Jun as Yong Tae , the reluctant and minor antagonist of the series . Yong Tae is often played off comical relief for a major proportion of earlier episodes, yet he surprisingly has an intriguing backstory and a deeper sense of morality which oddly grounded him at times a lot more than our main characters. On the other hand, Yong Tae’s motives and reasoning sometimes felt a little half-baked. It was supposed to obviously dramatise the plot, but a lot of coherent reasoning behind Yong Tae’s actions often felt lacking in greater depth.

Ultimately the action scenes of the show in between the light-hearted comedy and jokes was often lacklustre. By default, this should have been prominent within an action-comedy, however, the fighting sequences were often lacking in greater suspense, and the outcomes for the leads are fights or dangerous situations was often too glamourised in order to offer a “ less explicit” censorship for the network.

So, is “ Terrius Beside Me” actually worth watching? The show ultimately acts as a fairly sweet comedy with light-hearted moments, fairly decent acting and intriguing plot, however, the more profound edges of characterisation, coherent plot line and unexpected, well-written twists were lacking during the show’s more profound and moving scenes. A generic action-comedy which is undeniably fun to binge-watch, but certainly not worth watching if you’re expected a memorable and profound storyline.

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Park Chan-Wook’s Bloodthirsty Magnum Opus ...

It is hard to truly understand what to expect when first diving into Park Chan-wook‘s 2003 cult-classic “Oldboy”.

It could be considered a “mystery”, a “bloodthirsty revenge- thriller” or even an ill-fated romance story. Regardless of how you look at “Oldboy” , however, it's predominantly a tale which plays out upon to make viewers revel in horror and contemplate the deeper meanings captured in each spellbinding frame behind this film.

Director Park Chan-wook starts with a great premise, and uses it as a springboard for a flawed-yet-compelling
tale of the our main protagonist Oh Dae-su ( Choi Min-sik)’s surreal and nightmarish journey to discover why he was locked up in a single room for 15 years in solitude. As the tale progresses, we are introduced to the thrilling
cat-and-mouse games between and the mysterious businessman , Lee Wu-jin (Yu Ji-tae), with the vulnerable female love interest Mido (Kang Hye-jeong) caught in the crossfire.

“Oldboy “above all of Chan-Wook’s works, might distract from the events depicted, except they are just as unexpected and unpredictable. Since the story is told from Dae-su's point-of-view, the viewer as much in the dark as he is, and we are just as desperate for answers as Dae-Su. Wu-jin proves to be a top-notch villain. For every move that Dae-su makes, his opponent is at least one step ahead of him with violence typically at the forefront .

On the surface, Park’s variety of filmic bloodshed is represented with animalistic savagery. The director avoids glamorising the content and implies violence by cleverly cutting around the acts themselves. But the gory details are unimportant, thus they are not shown. This is a revenge story much more than making viewers want to wince at the implication of nails being pulled out and severed tongues. Finding a difficult balance between method and story, Park instills purely emotional responses in his viewers and it is truly emotionally exhausting.


Choi Min-sik undeniably captures the brilliance of a man consumed by unbearable, unassuageable emotion with the necessary primal drives towards his own survival and revenge. In one of the movie’s most captivating and violent scenes, Dae-su is shown to hold up a hammer with contemptuous emotions lingering upon his face.
A white dotted line then appears on the screen, joining his weapon and his victim's. Then, the cutthroat action emerges. Park Chan-Wook’s camera follows Dae-Su’s sudden race down a narrow corridor as he takes down dozens of opponents, in an extraordinary moment of cinema and the humanised emotions of Dae-Su’s expressions as he begins his rampage down the hall.

Yet, the true humanity of the movie is served in the relationship between Dae-su and Mido. Kang Hye-jeong did undeniably capture the naive innocence of her role as Mido; a young woman caught up between the role as helper, protector and lover of Dae-Su. Undeniably, however, Hye-Jeong’s acting did sometimes come off a little lacklustre in comparison to her costars Min-Sik and Yu Ji-Tae, however, she was still able to channel the assertion to viewers of “ Oldboy” in later scenes that this this is not your typical love story, and later
revelations for viewers will certainly serve to provide this assertion as true. After all, revenge films, like their subject matter, are "best served cold."

Dae-Su’s true opponent , however, turns out to be a suave sociopath called “Lee” played astoundingly by Yu Ji-tae. Lee is the essence of a brilliant villain who seemingly has everything :money, success, a beautiful apartment and a flawless appearance, yet the call for his own profound role as the true antagonist of the film manifests through a final game with Dae-Su which entails his unusual motives.

The ending is an undeniable cliffhanger, leaving viewers confused and pondering upon Oh Dae-su’s decisions. Left with our uncertainties, Park allows the viewer to pass their own judgment, however, there’s no doubt that any answer comes with its own disturbing spin, leaving the viewer in an uncomfortable position no matter what their outcome.

“ Oldboy” isn't for everyone, but it offers a breath of fresh air to anyone fed up of the predictable and tame setups of Hollywood thrillers. This is a movie drenched in a bloodbath of violence, yet it still balances the scales of contemplative and profound story writing with twists straight out of Shakespeare’s tragedies , and a villain established with his own emotive flaws and interests for viewers. A definite watch.

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An Undeniable Classic, Though Certainly Cheesy Within “ Manga“ Tropes .

Despite its two additional seasons often seen to “ milk” the storyline , the first season of “ Gokusen” will still stand strong for many J-Drama fans as a “classic” from its later successful and beloved cast ( not least the “rookie” appearances of J-drama actors who would become beloved household names for many fans such as Nakama Yukie, Matsumoto Jun, Oguri Shun, Matsuyama Kenichi and Ito Misaki). Yet, like nearly all drama adaptations based or derived from manga, Gokusen isn’t entirely “ flawless” either...

Gokusen is a little over-the-top and often tried to emulate anime and manga during fight scenes ,character interactions and tropes , which often came comes off as ridiculous and surreal in a fictionalised , yet live-action setting. Ultimately, Gokusen builds up the contemporary and beloved Japanese trope of delinquents; a concept which is waning in popularity in more recent dramas and movies, but still touched upon something a fundamentally classic message of individualism and the problems faced by youths deemed “ bad influences” by society .

Nakama Yukie plays the beloved role of Yamaguchi Kumiko; a female-teacher with a hidden secret of her family being part of the Yakuza, but someone who inflicts “ tough love” upon her students when giving them life lessons.
In all honesty, Nakama Yukie’s inexperience within previous acting roles prior to Gokusen does become evident within her sometimes awkward expressions, reflexes and cheesy line deliverances onscreen, yet she quickly makes up for this within her brilliance of revealing her true-self to her students when the glasses come off and during the more light-hearted moments of the show with adding a touch of deadpan humour to her lines.

Yet, refreshingly for a show where the angle of Shin and Kumiko’s relationship became a minor later subplot of the manga , Gokusen scraps this romantic pairing entirely in order the focus on the more didactic messages of the storyline. On the other hand, the show did have the one unnecessary element of Yamaguchi’s character having a crush upon the handsome police officer in favour of playing out an “ adult romance”. Although this is used for comedy rather than depth ( and later becomes a running gag with Yamaguchi developing a “ new crush” in each season), the pairing between Kumiko and the police officer wasn’t interesting or engaging towards the plot, and should have been cast aside in order to focus upon the main storyline.

Parallel to Nakama Yukie, Matsumoto Jun’s role as a rookie remains prominent within certain line deliverances upon screen, however, his role as the stoic heartthrob and delinquent ringleader Sawada Shin still remains one of his most renowned roles in the drama community and is often seen as kick -starting his successful career of acting, with fellow costars Oguri Shun, Matsuyama Kenichi and Ito Misaki into similar stardom.

Even though there are arching story lines, the episodes were often repetitive at times within their setup;
Kumiko’s students get into some form trouble, Yamaguchi ( or “ Yankumi” as she’s dubbed by her students) sticks up for them and ends up showing off her Yakuza inherited/taught fighting skills, and the students learn something either about life or themselves in the process. It is undeniably a generic formula in Gokusen, yet again all odds, there was something surprisingly heartwarming about nearly every episode taking time for viewers to get to know characters as individuals, rather than merely background characters, making the bond between Yamaguchi and her student surprisingly well-developed and consequently making each episode rewarding for viewers in the process.


Gokusen is undeniably cheesy at times within its line deliverances, cliches and contemporary fashion and outfits, yet,there is something prominently strikingly, entertaining and heartwarming about Gokusen. The storyline tackles many themes which are still relevant today ( delinquency, judgement upon appearance and real-life problems for disadvantaged students), the characters are strikingly engaging and the pacing can easily keep you hooked from beginning to end. Although not realistic and often playing out to the realms of fictionalised fantasy, it is easy to see how Gokusen still captivates audiences years after its original release. Certainly worth a watch if you’re looking for something more comical and light-hearted.

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Can You Sink Your Teeth Into This Vampiric Romance?

There seems to be an odd resurgence in fantasy dramas with the vampire trope. I am not one to complain. Vampire shows and narratives can be really interesting for writing if approached well, and Heartbeat certainly had an interesting premise from the offset.


Heartbeat was written by Kim Ha-na and Jung Seung-joo, and directed by Lee Hyun-seok and Lee Min-soo. The narrative focuses on Seon Woo-hyul ( Ok Taek-Yeon),
an ancient vampire who is desperate to become human and end his immortality . Having waited centuries to fulfil the wish of his beloved, Yoon Hae-seon ( Yoon So-Hee) to finally become human, Woo-Hyul enlists the help of his vampire friends Lee Sang-hae ( Yoon Byung-hee ) and Park Dong-seop ( Ko Kyu-Pil) to seal him in a coffin in order for him to finally become human.


In the present day, part-time school nurse Joo In-hae ( Won Ji-An) ends up accidentally awakening Woo-Hyul a day short from the ritual being complete. Now a half- human, In-hae and Woo-Hyul awkwardly end up living together, while beginning to slowly develop feelings for one another. However, nothing is ever simple in this relationship, and soon trouble looms on the horizon for them.


Heartbeat is a fairly lighthearted take on the fantasy vampire story. For the most part, the series is fairly easygoing and comical, playing out mostly as a slice-of-life and rom-com series. The fantasy element submerges from the depths in each episode with a small push to direct the storyline. While there are some more angsty moments in the series ( particularly around Woo-Hyul’s backstory), the series is fairly engaging on this part . However, where this issues lie comes through the second half of the series; especially in the very rushed execution and conclusion.


In many ways, this did offer a fairly good balance of genres. The comical setup highly relied on the polar opposite types of In-Hae as the cynical, cold yet surprisingly empathic individual to Woo-Hyul’s egocentric, , yet, surprisingly kindhearted role in the series. This dynamic did work well for the most part, though admittedly, building on the fantasy element and especially lore, was a little undeveloped at times. ( So many unanswered questions left hanging in the air over the vampires and their existence as well as their state of being.)


The acting of the series is decent. Ok Taek-Yeon really shines through as the main male lead. It could have been easy for Woo-Hyul to have become a somewhat irritating character with his misunderstandings and egocentricity at times, but, Taek-Yeon really adds a charismatic edge to the character through both lighthearted and more serious moments.


As a character, Woo-Hyul definitely grows on viewers. It could have been easy for the show to have fallen into old tropes with the immortal vampire being sullen or brooding for most of the series. While Woo-Hyul definitely has his more morose moments through flashbacks and backstory with Hae-Seon, his charisma definitely comes through with being able to remain fairly allured by the modern world. Woo Hyul is self-absorbed with his appearance and qualities, yet almost maintains a sense of comical naivety, to the point of annoying In-Hae beyond belief ( and leading to his shopping spree incident early on). However, despite often being egocentric, Hyul does show his kindness towards others in small acts even in the first episode .


Perhaps one annoying element of Woo-Hyul’s backstory is that while Hae-Seon is a major part of Woo-Hyul’s life, we do not see a lot else about his backstory and character prior to these events, or even in the short aftermath. Sans the necessary plot points, which could have been used instead to have shown the true impact of Hae-Seon’s influence upon his life and decisions .


Won Ji-An stood out as Joo In-Hae also, offering a fairly strong performance as the downtrodden female lead. Refreshingly, In-Hae is a character, who, similar to Woo-Hyul, is a lot more than meets the eye. She has her own personal demons ( which are touched upon slightly in the series though not to their full potential), and maintains a fairly upfront and straight- laced persona in front of Woo-Hyul. Despite appearances, In-Hae does have a softer side. Viewers see glimpses of this early on ( such as helping one student in the school after being bullied) and throughout the series during key moments. ( For example thanking Woo Hyul for taking care of her after she is bed-ridden from a fever.)


In-Hae does have her own potentially interesting backstory, but like some minor elements of the series, this was often pushed aside slightly in later episodes. This was not bad per say but it did put her backstory on the back burner a fair bit. The majority of In Hae’s development revolves around her potential romances, as well as glimpses into her softer nature.


Both main leads are interesting in their own right, and by far, enact as a major highlight of the drama’s storyline . Ji-An and Taek-Yeon have fairly good chemistry. Their characters have a good balance between being a polar comedic duo, while also learning to rely on one another and help each other out during times of the crisis. It was surprisingly sweet to see their relationship unfold in the drama and gradually develop during the series.


However touching upon the romantic element of the series, it is hard not to bring up the issue of the love triangle trope ( you could even argue love square or even pentagon depending on viewpoint). Having a complex romantic pairing and unrequited is not unusual in Korean dramas, and is a trope which is executed a lot within narratives. They are not inherently bad and can be diverse and well-written, but one problem they can often run into is whether they are truly necessary or well-resolved in the long-run.


In this case ( and for the sake of argument), love triangle/ square comes through Shin Do-sik ( Park Kang Hyun), an old classmate of In Hae and a successful real estate development specialist.


Do-Sik’s role in the series was pretty evident early on; he was to be the potential love interest as the second male lead, and the exact foil of Woo Hyul. Do-Sik is the epitome of the “ nice guy” trope at drift ; he is well-mannered, reserved and constantly looking out for In-Hae while his feelings remain apparent to everyone (except the female lead).


However , Do-Sik spends his time fawning over In Hae or practically stalking her from the shadows to the point of being more than a little obsessive. While in some cases, it is evident Do Sik is concerned about In Hae’s circumstances ( such as walking home drunk late at night) and mental well-being , he spends a lot of time watching her from the background or following her around similar to a lost puppy . Do Sik’s character arc only exists around In Hae, to the point of most of his flashbacks being centred around this too. It is a shame as while is not inherently bad, Do-Sik’s more interesting elements are often put aside and he becomes somewhat flat. The series did seem to possess some self-awareness of Do Sik’s character arc by attempting to involve him more in later episodes, but, a mixture of still being centred around In Hae at the end of the day did draw some further questions on this development as well as his antagonistic role in the series .


Another key side character includes Na Hae-won. Without major spoilers, Hae-Won is connected to the characters in more ways than one. She is a wealthy heiress who has returned from a long time of being overseas. She is an old friend of Do Sik and has an active interest in the old house. Naturally when she hears that Woo-Hyul and In-Hae want to turn it into a guest house, she helps to invest. Hae-won acts as a major driving force ( both negative and positive) within the relationship between the two main leads. It was sad to see the initial hints of Hae Won’s calm persona being driven out the window in the second half of the series, as well as her growing obsession over Woo Hyul. While I understand the series wanted development, it was cliche and sadly undermined her character in the long run.


Additional key side characters include Lee Sang-hae and Park Dong-seop, the goofy vampires and friends of Woo Hyul. Both characters enact as comedic relief in the series and while they are fairly entertaining, it would have been equally interesting to have touched upon how long they have truly known Woo Hyul, and why their friendship does run so deep. Despite this, both characters do show genuine care for Woo Hyul and do come to his aid in key moments.


Ko Yang-Nam ( Kim In Kwon), a catman being, is another key character and ally of Woo Hyul. Yang-Nam very much plays the role of the wise sage in the series. He is concerned over Woo Hyul’s predicament and begins to realise ( for conclusions he has come to even unknown even in the series), that Woo Hyul is in serious danger.



Rose ( Seung Yoo), a vampire and close friend of Woo Hyul and his friends, helps them out a fair bit on minor plot events, and Ri Man- Hwi ( Baek Seo Hoo), an antagonistic side character, who proves to be a thorn in Woo-Hyul’s side. Other side characters include the tailor Kim-Ok ( as well Young-ki) and his son ( Kim Do Geon), and the butcher Ko Ki-Sook ( Baek Hyun-Joo). There is a running comical subplot about Ki-Sook being determined to run out Woo Hyul and In Hae from the house. In all honesty while I understand this was meant to generate some laughs, it was a little irksome to see Ki-Sook constantly trying to annoy them. The fact that In Hae and Woo Hyul’s guest house could generate serious business and revenue into the area ( including for her business) seemed pretty reasonable to anyone, making it even odder than she was often condescending or rude to the duo with little reason aside from being petty . ( Despite Woo Hyul becoming one of her regular customers.)


The execution of the series was okay with a brisk sense of pacing and action and conflict development in early episodes . Perhaps my one complaint came through the romantic development. Don’t get me wrong. I like a drama to be well-paced, but it seemed the series often tried a little too hard on the trope of “ will they? Won’t they?” without giving us the time or opportunity to see these breadcrumbs in place. The ending seemed to push this romance full force before attempting to throw in a major “ plot twist” in the ending, with major questions arising over this arc development. This resulted in this second half feeling just rushed and anticlimactic and this in the long run, half-baked.


The cinematography was fairly good. It was fairly sleek for the most part and the CGI was okay too. My one complaint is that the palette schemes were a little uninspiring in some scenes and could have easily been used more carefully or frequently to match the emotional effects of scenes or key moments. The OST was fairly decent with some songs such as Hang Seung Yoon’s “ I Revive” being particularly catchy .


Overall, “ Heartbeat” is a decent romantic fantasy drama. The series has a decent plot premise and good cast, but struggled to develop and characterise beyond the limits of cliches and rushed execution. Overall, a decent watch for a binge session.

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The Good Bad Mother; A Good or Bad Watch?

I will be frank in my honest thoughts about this drama; it very much met my expectations. I will be open to saying it
did not exceed them, but it was a reasonably engaging and entertaining watch for the most part.


The Good Bad Mother was written by Bae Se Young ( Intimate Strangers, What a Man Wants and Life Is Beautiful) and directed by Shim Na Yeon ( Hip Hop Teacher, Beyond Evil and Moment at Eighteen). It focuses on pig farmer Jin Young Soon (Ra Mi Ran). Young Soon is left to take after her son and the farm as a single mother after the death of her husband. Her son, Kang Ho ( Lee Do Hyun), is reared by Young Soon to study and succeed, even at the cost of his unhappiness. Kang Ho grows up seemingly unhappy, pushing away his mother and long-term childhood friend and sweetheart, Lee Mi Joo (Ahn Eun Jin), to climb up the social leader as a prosecutor.


However, when Kang Ho is involved in a life-changing accident, Young Soon gets a second chance to spend time with her son. Kang Ho's past soon catches up with him and Young Soon as they find themselves in their sudden change of circumstances.


This is a story we have seen in Korean drama screenplays, where a character is forced to go through difficult circumstances and reconciliation. Mostly, The Good Bad Mother is a melodrama focusing on numerous tragedies but with a more slice-of-life comical edge through the country life trope. One surprisingly profound element of the series came through some of the themes tackled, including disability, illness, political corruption, murder and cover-ups. Admittedly, these themes were only partially addressed to their full potential, but the drama did highlight where characters encountered these issues.



The acting for The Good Mother Bad Mother varied, though most of the main cast was pretty good. Ra Mi Ran ( familiar to some watchers for her performances in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Avengers Social Club and Cruel Intern) offered a fairly stellar performance as Jin Young Soon.



Jin Young Soon is a problematic character to explore. On the one hand, she is very multifaceted; it would have been easy for the writer Bae Se Young to have cast Young Soon in a villainous light or wholly attempted to have redeemed her character. Instead, we get a surprisingly good middle ground with Young Soon; she is neither truly forgiven for her actions nor demonized. This was surprisingly refreshing for a Korean drama. Of course, Young Soon is not without her writing flaws, one of the main issues being that while we do get to see her character develop and her ending is teased throughout, it still felt a little anti-climactic against the backdrop of the other events of the series.



Lee Do Hyun ( a familiar face to many for his roles in Sweet Home, 18 Again and The Glory Part 1 & 2) starred as the male lead and son of Young Soon, Kang Ho. Kang Ho goes through a multitude of character arcs throughout the drama. Without major spoilers, Kang Ho starts as a reasonably callous individual at first glance before developing into a more well-rounded and kindhearted individual through his accident. As the narrative progresses, the drama elucidates that Kang Ho is a character that has more to him than meets the eye, and this certainly proves to be true. Perhaps one element which did feel somewhat absent through Kang Ho's character arc came through a very deus ex machina ending; his trauma is unresolved, he goes through issues and then finds a solution. There is nothing wrong with this formula per se, but considering the amount of tension building behind his character arc, it felt a little odd that these circumstances came so quickly.


Another central character to talk about is Lee Mi Joo—Ahn Eun Jin (More Than Friends, The One and Only and Goodbye Earth) plays the role with a calm yet bittersweet edge. Mi Joo's relationship with Kang Ho and the mysterious identity of her children's father remains one of the major driving forces of her character. One element of her character that I felt I was a little lacking was that while her goals and dreams were built up a lot or explored to their full potential, they rarely followed through by the drama's ending.



Then there are the primary antagonists of the drama, Song Woo Byeok (Choi Moo Sung) and Oh Tae Soo (Jung Woong). Their role in the drama plays out similarly to moustache-twirling villains; they are necessary to keep the conflict going, but aside from that, their characters are rarely explored further. Other noticeable characters include Bang Sam Sik (Yoo In Soo- Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Alchemy of Souls and The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch), the childhood frenemy of Kang Ho and Mi Joo, who acts as the primary comic relief of the drama series. ( However, Sam Sik has his surprising redemption arc in parts of the series.) Of course, there are the villagers who help propel the comedy and more lighthearted moments alongside Song Woo Byeok's henchmen. Young Rak's wife (Park Bo Kyung-Shadow Beauty, Little Women and Moving) remained an amusing character. Her gag of constantly wearing odd face masks for beauty routines and eccentric comments fantastically lit the mood. Her character resolution was a little weird, but it seemed befitting of her character's personality.



The execution of the series had an odd progression. The first episode delved into the setup and conflict, then slowed down until the halfway point. Although this was necessary to help flesh out specific plot points, it did cause a scenario where certain teased plot arcs and characters were left free-falling by the second half of the series. As a consequence of this execution, certain plot events were left unaddressed. The one element of the narrative that was achieved came through pacing. There were a few scenes which were unnecessary in parts of the drama. Still, for the most part, The Good Bad Mother was engaging with its narrative due to being able to balance the elements of angst, lighthearted moments and comedy reasonably well.



The cinematography of the series was pretty stylish. It was not particularly innovative, but there were a few striking scenes, such as when Kang-Ho and Ahn Eun Jin were caught in the rain or the final scene with Jin Young Soon. The OST was reasonably upbeat and dynamic for the most part. Admittedly, there were a few more tracks which stuck out more than others, such as ''A Dreamy Town'' by Ha Jin and ''Talk About Love/ 사랑을 말해요'' by Lee Moon Se, which were pretty good.



Overall, The Good Bad Mother was a surprisingly engaging watch. Although it may have borrowed from many tropes in Korean dramas, the series remained engaging through its equilibrated themes and an intriguing array of different characters and plot. Overall, worth a watch.

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A Likeable Female Lead, But Certainly Cheesy Even By 2000s Standards...

The first thing to say about ‘Vampire Host’ for those curious or who have stumbled upon this drama by chance, is that if you’re easily offended by “ mild” sexualisation , low-budget special effects, dark humour or Matsuda Satoshi‘s questionable acting when he “ transforms” as his vampiric character Suou, then this series probably isn’t for you. All joking aside, ‘Vampire Host ‘ is a show which is a product of its time , but retrospectively it was not an entirely “ dire” drama either. In fact, against its many obvious cliches and tropes which emerged throughout ‘ Vampire Host’ , the two main characters interactions and personalities were fairly captivating for viewers.

As a character, Rion is surprisingly a subversion of typical “ ditsy” or “ girl-next-door” contemporary drama stereotypes of the time ; she’s outspoken, curious and fairly intelligent, being able to point out and work numerous things ahead of Suou when they begin solving crimes . However, perhaps my biggest complaint about Rion as a character was that she had little backstory or interaction outside of necessary main characters , that allowed us to see Rion become more “ fleshed-out”. In addition to this, the scriptwriters’ choice to sometimes sexualise Rion during the “ cosplay” scenes, may also raise some eyebrows for modern watchers . Although it is easy to see the comical side of this rather than the drama actually making more lewd suggestions , it did feel a little out of place for some of these scenes with the notable “ horror and crime” undertones of the show.

The second primary character of ‘ Vampire Host’ is Suou; a mysterious, yet unconventional vampire working as a host in Tokyo. It was oddly refreshing for a drama produced during the heyday period of the vampire genre, to see Suou as an actual individual rather than the stereotypical “ mature and stoic” approach often taken in vampire shows. Suou is humorous , dim-witted ( at times) and easily irked by Rion’s interest in the “ supernatural”; ironically cynical towards the mysterious and ineffable crimes which are thrown their way. Yet, one of the biggest problems of Suou’s character can often be traced towards his ending decision in the series and his overall relationship with Rion .

On this note, it’s probably important to stress that if you are looking for an overt romance between Suou and Rion over the course of the drama , then ‘ Vampire Host’ probably isn’t for you. Although there are romantic undertones between the two characters, the drama is primarily focused upon the mysterious, morbid crimes that the two characters are exposed to over the course of the series .

Although the storyline has a main plot, the episodes were fairly cyclical and repetitive within their structure; a new and mysterious crime emerges, a victim or disappearance occurs which alerts Rion or Suou’s attention , the duo try to find more clues and confront the mastermind before finally solving the case. This is ultimately an easy storyline to follow, yet, the story-plot only introduced in the last couple of episodes, often felt rushed and lacklustre in the grand scheme of Thurber . Rather than spreading out or hinting towards this intriguing storyline in earlier episodes and scenes, the delivered felt more anticlimactic jigsaw puzzle, than something for viewers to happily take away with a sense of completion .


Overall, it is probably fair to say that ‘Vampire Host’ isn’t something which can be defined as a timeless classic; it is low-budget in terms of special effects, film quality and styling , the cliches can be seen as outdated as well as ridiculous, and the acting is certainly questionable at times as well. Nevertheless, there was an odd appeal towards the series within its intriguing characters and morbid plot focuses. This isn’t a drama to watch if you’re looking for something with actual visual and sensical quality, but it is a certainly a cheesy welcome break from heavier dramas which have focused on these themes in the past .

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Nature of Nurture? The Ultimate Question of What Creates A Monster...

It is a debate which has puzzled, confused and bemused psychologists, philosophists and ethicists for centuries; is it our environment or innate what make us tick as human beings ?Why is it two children raised in different environments and circumstances end up as criminals?

Suspenseful as it is thought-provoking, screenwriter Kwon Ki Young ( Suspicious Partner,Protect the Boss) helps to bring this question to life through the focus us upon selective amnesic and genius criminal profiler Lee Hyun ( Seo-In guk). A sudden return back to South-Korea after years studying in the United States, opens up new wounds when he meets Detective Cha Ji-an ( Jang Na-Ra) in search also of the missing, calculative psychopath Lee Joon Young who both took something precious from them in their pasts. In addition to uncovering this old case again ,mysterious prosecutor Jung Sun Ho ( Park Bo-Min) 's sudden involvement in Lee Hyun's case will uncover some dark truths that perhaps would have been better left uncovered...

With a surprising cameo of D.O. as the younger Joon Young (our surprisingly captivating psychopathic killer), there's little to actually fault about our main cast's delivered performances .Jang Na-Ra and Seo-In Guk were brilliant within captivating the humanity and angst of our individual characters and undeniably Park Bo-gum was captivating within his role as the calculative and mysterious prosecutor with a dark past.

The majority of the drama centralises upon the intriguing cat and mouse games between Lee Hyun and our killer with surprising twists and turns along the way. However, the oddest and probably most out-of-place subgenre within the show of thrilling mind games and traumatic pasts, has to be the romantic element of the show evidently between Cha Ji-an and Lee Hyun. Whilst it did attempt to relieve these more ''noir'' elements by adding the light-hearted edge of romance, the pairing between the characters soon became a little over-centralised in the show. This didn't necessarily take away from the intrigue, but it lessened the impact of the events in particular of the more suspenseful elements of the drama as well as Ji-an's past for viewers. In addition to this, there were some notable plot inconsistencies around procedures and in particular the slightly ambiguous ending . ( It is difficult to say whether this was merely an intelligent attempt relieve Lee Hyun's trauma, or just simply lazy story-writing .)

Overall whilst Hello Monster was flawed by its questionable pairing choices, some inconsistencies and ending, the drama was certainly an intriguing and captivating suspense story with a decent story premise, intriguing characters as well as good performances from our cast. Certainly worth a watch if you are looking for a suspense story with more ethical questions, in particular the belief of ''nature and nurture'' and what makes us human.

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A Scam Artist, A Detective and An Ever-growing Train Wreck Walk Into ‘Café Minamdang’…

On reflection, ‘Café Minamdang’ had a lot of potential to be a good series . Its plot, setup and casting choices seemed to suggest that it was going to be somewhat avant-garde but enjoyable as well as creating potential for some likeable characters along the way for audiences also. However, there are times where reality can be very disappointing. Sadly the eighteen -episode KBS2- Netflix series rarely hit the mark and instead created a show with some very mixed results for the audience.

As suggested previously, this isn’t to say that the concept of the show was bad from the outset. It is important to acknowledge that the screenplay was adapted from “ Minamdang: Case Note”; a fairly successful novel by writer Jung Jae-ha. In charge of adapting Jung’s novel to the small screen were Screenwriter Park Hye Jin and Director Go Jae Hyun. ( Viewers will likely know these familiar names from productions such as ‘ The Emperor: Owner Of The Mask’ , ‘Smoking Gun’, as well as ‘ Black’ and ‘ Dinner Mate’ respectively.)

The narrative of the series predominantly focuses upon scam-artist and former-criminal profiler, Nam Han-joon (Seo In-Guk- ‘Reply 1997’, ‘ High School King Of Savvy’ and ‘ Doom At Your Service’). Pretending to be a shaman at his main base of operation, Café Minamdang, Han-Joon’s talents for decoding body language and micro -expressions has given him the ability to swindle people out of pocket easily and without causing suspicion. Especially thanks to the expertise of his little sister and hacker Nam Hye-joon (Kang Mi-Na- ‘ Dokgo Rewind’, ‘ Hotel del Luna’ and ‘ Moonshine’).

However after snooping around in a hit-and-run incident involving the husband of one of his clients, Han-Joon becomes acquainted with Detective Han Jae-Hee (Oh Yeon-Seo- ‘ My Husband Got A Family’, ‘ Love With Flaws’ and ‘ Mad For Each Other’). Developing a small crush on the investigator, Nam Han-Joon begins to play a cat-and-mouse game with Han-Jae-Hee, leading to many unforeseen consequences for both the detective and the scam -artist .

A lot of viewers have understandably remained divided with one major component of ‘ Café Minamdang’ among many others; its tone and mood. Of course, it isn’t unusual for a show to want to offer leverage between tense and melodramatic moments with more lighthearted or easygoing scenes. However what was noticeable for audiences with regards to Park Hye Jin’s writing, came through some of these underlying moods feelings overly inappropriate at times. To explain this in more depth, ‘ Café Minamdang’ did have its darker and tense moments which while exciting were often heavily overshadowed by strained attempts to offer " comic relief"; even when discussing serious or grave matters or when it didn’t always feel necessary to a moment of scene. However while while forms of comic relief can sometimes work well in this scenario, ‘ Café Minamdang’ often heavily relied on a physical and wacky form of comedy ; commonly found in Korean dramas and productions. Naturally, it isn’t necessarily that this comic relief was bad per say. However, it never seemed to truly flow well against some of the subject matters tackled.

As for the acting and casting choices of the series, Seo-In-Guk’s performance as the main lead is fairly solid here. Although it is fair to say that his onscreen character will either be loved or hated by viewers of equal measure .
Nam Han-Joon was an interesting male lead in his own right. scam artist with a particularly unconventional method of scamming people out of pocket, the male lead had a lot of intriguing elements to his character from the outset. However, where writing issues did become noticeable can often be said to be found through his overall character-arc.

Throughout the course of ‘ Café Minamdang’, there were few and far moments between where viewers truly got to see Nam Han Joon be held accountable for his self-absorbed personality or feel conflicted with his past and current actions. Later episodes admittedly did offer some justification for his current-self and vulnerabilities through his backstory but even then this often somewhat rough around the edges. Instead, a lot of the male lead’s personality traits were often played out for laughs and were rarely interspersed with opportunities for viewers to understand a lot more about Han-Joon.

Similarly, Oh Yeon Seo delivered a decent performance as Seo In Guk’s onscreen counterpart and female lead Han Jae-Hee. Oh Yeon Seo’s performance is admittedly a little wooden at times but this wasn’t entirely the fault of the actress per say. Instead a lot of the blame can probably be put on the writing decisions for the female lead.

Similar to male lead Nam Han-Joon, Han Jae-Hee had a lot of potential to be an intriguing character in her own right. ( Especially as someone involved in a particularly astute field of work such as crime investigation and the male lead’s initial advisory.) However, instead of the female lead having her own moments in the spotlight to be explored as a complex character with her own motivations and flaws, Jae-Hee was often subjugated to the role of being overly fractious, whiney and frivolous character; rarely changing, being explored beyond her surface level or being developed even into later episodes of the series.

In addition to the main characters of ‘ Café Minamdang’, it’s hard not to acknowledge some of the reoccurring side character also. In particular, there should be a special shout-out given to actress Kang Mi-Na. Although her onscreen persona was rarely given her moments to shine in later episodes, the actress delivered a surprisingly charming and lively edge to Nam Hye-Joon.

Acting aside, it is hard to forget one of the show’s most bizarre elements; the superhuman-like abilities of some of the main characters, especially in early episodes of the series. Admittedly, ‘ Café Minamdang’ was never truly aiming for hyper-realism with its setup and premise. However it still seemed inexplicable in a mystery-comedy series to see some of its main characters being able to suddenly run at breakneck speeds and scale buildings without any hassle. Perhaps the show was aiming to play this off for some parodical moments but instead, this often led to some slightly head scratching moments without enough context being given.

One of the major points of intrigue for ‘ Café Minamdang’ came through its crucial plot point of the “cat-and-mouse game” between detective and scam artist. Although there were moments which could be fairly entertaining, it still often seemed that the screenplay’s attempts to build up this “ hype” took a lot longer than expected. While the first few episodes of ‘ Café Minamdang’ did require for some necessary spoon-feeding for viewers towards establishing the identity of main characters as well as the main plot-arc, the tedious duration of episodes at times in addition to some unnecessary plot points could’ve been avoided with harsher writing decisions and editing. ( For example rather than attempting to pad out episodes with a surplus amount of comic relief or unnecessary subplots, the series could’ve used the time in-between to develop characters, intensify the mystery element of the storyline and heighten relationships between characters as well as using these writing points, as a tool for improving the continuity of the narrative in later episodes.) As a result, the final part of the series felt somewhat underdeveloped and lacked a satisfactory feeling of completion for many viewers.

Stylistically and under the directing leadership of Go Jae Hyun, ‘ Café Minamdang’ was fairly conventional for a Korean drama. The quality of filming was decent enough and while there were certainly a few nice moments of cinematography ( especially with contrasting palette schemes such as with natural and vivid hues ) , perhaps it is fair to say that there were was nothing particularly standout with regards to the stylistic approach either. (Perhaps it didn’t help that even for the slightly theatrical and fabricated worlds of K-dramas, the settings and set designs for ‘ Café Minamdang’ felt a bit counterfeit as they rarely felt "lived-in" by the characters.)

Certainly one of the few major and surprising highlights of the series came through its OST. ‘ Café Minamdang’ offered viewers with a surprising array of genres from the surprisingly catchy rap track “ Ghost Buster” by Jo Gwang-il and the beguiling alternative pop song “ Stay Awake” by Nam Young-joo though there were some tracks on the OST which were a little unremarkable also.

‘ Café Minamdang’ started off on a potential high note with an intriguing setup, an impressive cast and characters. Seo In Guk and Kang Mi Na delivered fairly consistent performances but even they couldn’t save the series from crashing and burning as it ran its course. Despite a talented cast and some entertaining moments here and there, ‘ Cafe Minamdang’ felt greatly overshadowed by its flaws ( especially narrative execution and character writing) rather than its strengths.

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Will ‘ Ghost Doctor’ Truly Haunt You?

Rain is back. This time in a melodramatic medical-supernatural drama which whilst casting its net far and wide towards a wider audience demographic , isn’t without its flaws either.

The plot is set mainly around a working hospital. Previously mentioned Superstar singer-actor Rain stars as Cha Young Min; a first-rate doctor who is renowned in the hospital for his prodigal skills. However despite his impressive clinical acumen, Young Min is notorious for his cold personality and acerbic tongue directed towards colleagues and patients alike.

Nevertheless, everything changes for Young Min when he’s involved in a fatal accident. Whilst his physical body is rendered in a comatose state, Young Min discovers that he is now stuck as a living ghost anchored to the grounds of the hospital.

Perhaps by a whim of fate, Young Min stumbles upon a shocking revelation: he can possess the body of amateur resident doctor Ko Seung Tak ( Kim Bum). The grandson of the hospital’s founder,
Seung-Tak is nearly Young-Min’s polar opposite. He’s laidback, disengaged with his duties as a doctor but secretly cares deeply for the well-being of his patients and wards.

As Young-Min and Seung Tak are forced to share the same body, they begin to help one another grow as well as unravel suspected foul-play in their midst…

Screenwriter Kim Eun Hee is likely most known for her previous works ‘ Winter Sonata’ (2002), ‘ My Fair Lady’ (2009) and ‘ Live Up To Your Name’ ( 2017).

Similar to her previous repertoire of melodramas and cliche-ridden narratives, ‘ Ghost Doctor’ isn’t inescapable from its shoehorned storylines or some character archetypes. The villainous motives and goals of the antagonists could feel somewhat monotonous, whilst the attempts to influx subplots with romantic chemistry between the main leads and their potential love interests could feel vapid also.

Of course this isn’t to entirety critique Eun Hee’s screenplay. Whilst there were noteworthy niche moments , there were some refreshing takes upon niche character tropes; Seung-Tak ( as the “ affluent heir”) standing out in particular.

In addition to this under the directing reigns of Boo Sung Chul ( ‘ My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho’, ‘ The Heirs’ and ‘ Your Honor’), ‘ Ghost Doctor’ is able to maintain a crisp narrative with enough bromance, arbitrary medical knowledge terms and vocabulary and comic relief thrown-in order to keep viewers entertained.

Whilst there are notably moments where the series could darken quickly under the weight of the established supernatural and medical subtext, the series rarely delved deeper beyond a basic plot-level into these issues. Naturally this allowed more opportunities in order to offer lighthearted respite, but did provide fewer narrative moments in order to truly diverge further away from niche setups or tropes also.

Then of course there’s the discussion surrounding cast choices. Indeed, the casting choices of a-listers Rain ( ‘ Full House’, ‘ I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Okay’ and ‘ Please Come Back, Mister’ ) and Kim Bum ( ‘ Boys Over Flowers’, ‘ Mrs Cop.2, and ‘ Tail Of The Nine Tailed’ ) as the main leads will likely remain one of the major attractions of the drama.

Kim Bum and Rain offered fairly solid performances throughout. Whilst overblown script moments and dialogue was admittedly apparent at times in ‘ Ghost Doctor’, the duo’s onscreen bromance was one of the surprising highlights of the series.

Costarring alongside Bum and Rain was singer-actress Uee ( ‘You’re Beautiful’, ‘ Ho Goo’s Love’ and ‘ Marriage Contract’) as main female lead and Young Min’s old flame from the past, Dr.Jang Se Jin.

Whilst Uee’s performance was decent, her character’s development was admittedly greatly restricted by plot. Angst-ridden opportunities in order to explore the seemingly egocentric Young Jin’s backstory, gave way to notable inconsistencies between wasted character development moment for Se-Jin, as well as notably lukewarm chemistry between Uee and Rain onscreen.

Alongside Uee, there is also idol-actress Son Na Eun ( ‘ Twenty Again’ , ‘ Cinderella and the Four Knights’ and ‘ Dinner Mate’) as Seung Tak’s potential love interest Oh Soo-jeong. Na Eun’s onscreen chemistry with Bum was admittedly sweet in parts, but slightly inconsistent; lacking screen time in order to explore Soo-Jeong as a sentient character, as we as delving deeper into their potential relationship.

However, a shoutout must be given to supporting cast members playing the meddlesome “ ghosts” Im Bo Mi ( Yoon So Hee- ‘ Sword And Flower’, ‘ Witch’s Love’), Choi Hoon Kil ( CIIPHER’s Choi Seok Won- ‘ Phantom School’ ) and Hwang Kook Chan ( Han Seung Hyun- ‘Haechi’), with actor Sung Dong-il( ‘ Miss Hammurabi’, ‘ The Cursed’ and ‘ Pawn’) particularly standing out as mysterious ghost at the hospital, Tess. Yet similar to other characters in the series, the subplots and backstories surrounding the ghosts were only brought up when necessary; compacted and intriguing side stories, but nevertheless restricted within the compacted narrative.

‘ Ghost Doctor’ notably differs greatly between its first-part and second-half. The first-half spent time tried to build up dilemmas and characters, whilst the second-half attempted to heighten and intensify the obstacles set out for the main leads.

Naturally this did emerge as a double-edged sword for the execution of the narrative. It allowed some time for viewers to get to know characters and setups, but it could often feel as though by the halfway point , the intense and climatic buildup were somewhat fizzled out and disengaging for audiences .

Conniving Vice President Han Seung-won ( Tae In Ho) served as one of main antagonistic forces of the storyline. Whilst his limitations to fulfil his
role as one of the main plot obstacles are explained, Seung-Won was the epitome of “villainy for the sake of it”; heinous and manipulative, but rarely possessing an edge of fleshed-out characters, or decisive motives along the way.

As a consequence the latter-half of the series admittedly felt somewhat rushed and disorientated in parts. The attempts to drag out certain plot points and scenarios often led to the second-half feeling stretched too thin. The antagonistic and potential climatic buildup felt bedraggled in later episodes by an attempt to quickly wrap up events also.

Under the directing reigns of Boo Sung Chul, ‘ Ghost Doctor’ notably possessed a glossy tone. It did become apparent at times that the editing for the series was somewhat amateurish in parts. During certain episodes of ‘ Ghost Doctor’, a seemingly professional and slick sequence could be suddenly be debased by the presence of unsystematic editing in-between scenes and sequences.

Of course this isn’t to say that the cinematography was unwatchable or entirely mediocre. The filming quality was still professional, if a little uninspiring at times with limited camera angles and tones rarely standing out.

The accompanied OST offered viewers with an array of dulcet soundtracks . Whilst some of these tracks could admittedly feel a little generic, there were a small number of impressive compositions placed during key moments and scenes, such as CNU ( of B1A4)’s vocal and instrumental version of ‘ Fly Away’.

‘ Ghost Doctor’ is highly reminiscent of the offbeat series of supernatural and fantasy K-dramas which arose in popularity during the 2010s. Naturally anticlimactic and limited writing opportunities did serve as one of the drama’s prominent letdowns . However, whilst the ending certainly delivered a sweeter tone for viewers, lacklustre romance and certain writing moments may be disappointing viewers also. Certainly a decent binge-watch.

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The Mad Pastel Infused Survival World Of Hwang Dong Hyuk…

Hwang Dong Hyuk’s’ Squid Game’ is a world where the corruption of capitalism and moral decadence takes allegorical form in the vivid pastel hues of the game arenas.

The “ fight to survival” genre is nothing new in the world of dramas. ‘ Squid Game’ itself comes off as a weird fusion between ‘ Liar Game’ (with the unusual twist of South Korean childhood games) joined together with the blood-stained violence of ‘ Battle Royale’. However the series isn’t without its own unique twists. Even before stepping into the nightmare-fuelled pastel world of Dong Hyuk’s ‘ Squid Game’ prominent messages about South-Korean society from social prejudice, xenophobia, racism, sexism, misogyny and hypocrisy litter their way onscreen.

Actor Lee Jung Jae could vary between overacting with certain line deliverances, as well as oddly heartfelt as main character Ki Hoon . Ki Hoon has hit an all-time-low in life and spends his time between struggling to get out of debt, avoid gangsters and get time to spend with his daughter. When Ki Hoon is given the chance to participate in the game for ₩45.6 billion by Gong Yoo’s brief cameo as the mysterious and suave diplomat for the games , he soon runs in with childhood friend Sang Woo ( Park Hae Soo) and believes the opportunity to compete to be too good to be true. However Ki Hoon is given a new perspective upon life through games and his seeming amorality becomes replaced by feelings of remorse and guilt towards his past actions.

As the series progresses the series reveals that many of Ki Hoon’s competitors (and even the game guards) have their own personal moments of flaws, strengths and ulterior motives for being involved in the game. Ki Hoon’s old childhood friend Sang Woo ( Park Hae Soo) stands miles apart in Ki Hoon’s eyes initially as an alumni of Seoul National University ( one of the top South Korean universities) due to being an intelligent as well as an analytical individual. However Sang Woo has his own reasons for joining the game due to being heavy in debt as well as his risky bets. Alongside Sang Woo and Ki Hoon is kindhearted immigrant Ali ( Anupam Tripathi) who feels indebted to Sang Woo in particular after helping him countless times, however, Ali hides his own reasons for joining the game also. Together their last close ally is an elderly gentleman No.1 ( Oh Young Soo) who despite seemingly joining the game as a death warrant for his illness, No.1 has a lot more to him as a character than initially meets the eye.

Alongside our main team is seemingly merciless North-Korean defector Kang Sae Byeok ( Jung Ho Yeon), violent gangster Jang Deok Soo( Heo Sung Tae), the foul-mouthed and vocal Han Mi Nyeo ( Kim Joo Ryoung) and sardonic outcast ( introduced not until later episodes) Ji Yeong ( Lee Yoo Mi).

Aside from the actual players there is also police detective Hwang Jun Ho ( Wi Ha Joon) who infiltrates the games as a guard in hope of finding the fate or whereabouts of his missing brother. There were many unexpected twists and turns with characters which will certainly keeps viewers on their feet.

However after the halfway point the screenwriting of ‘ Squid Game’ undeniably hit a slight rut. It wasn’t particularly that suddenly the drama felt slow-placed or lacked logic, but there were multiple occasions where plot moments often felt unexplained or lacked more depth. For example there is a brief subplot involving illegal organ donations of deceased players which whilst wrapped up quickly, questioned a lot about how the guards had established this trade for so long behind the frontman( the head honcho)’s back. Additionally there’s also greater questions about the guards and how they became involved, the VIPS ( aside from some questionable acting), how no one has ratted the existence of the games out and ultimately whether the game operators keep tabs on the surviving winner.

However the drama was undeniably quite profound and heartfelt at times . It wasn’t afraid to present the destruction of childhood and the dog-eat-dog world of South-Korean society. Whilst there were some flaws with the series failing to wrap up certain storylines or character arcs, the cinematography of director Hwang Dong Hyuk’s visionary setting is subtle towards more prominent messages, foreshadowing and hints towards the fate and motives of characters.The OST is composed wonderfully by Jung Jae Il who combines original pieces for the series with traditional Korean and orchestra instruments to create an emotional ambience during scenes. In addition to original pieces several classical music pieces were included with one of the most subtle homages being paid through ‘An der schönen, blauen Donau Op. 134 (Johan Strauss II)’ during several scenes. ( For those who don’t know this piece was also used in the controversial game-changer to the survival game genre, the 2000 Japanese movie ‘ Battle Royale’, which helped to inspire the series and is likely a nod and a wink to the film.) The acting front was admittedly a little wobbly at times but fairly good otherwise . Overall ‘ Squid Game’ is a fairly entertaining watch with prominent messages, intriguing characters and twists which will keep you on the edge of your seats. It is not one for the lighthearted.

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Aliens, Friendships and Corny Comedy: The Three Formula Ingredients of ‘ Glitch’.

Aliens,aliens, aliens: any k-drama fan will know that since ‘ My Love From The Star’ came riding on the hallyu wave, there’s been a certain infatuation in Korean popular culture with narratives focusing on supernatural love interests and smoulderingly sexy paramours from out of space. However ( as the title would suggest), ‘ Glitch’ is an odd anomaly in the equation of science-fiction in the Korean drama industry . The female lead is not in love with some hunk from the far reaches of the galaxies, nor is she an aspiring actress attempting to “make ends meet” or swept off her feet by the “ one”. Instead, viewers are made to question one major thing; is the little green man that the heroine begins to see in dreams real, or is she finally losing her mind, and how can an old friend from the past help with her boyfriend’s disappearance ?

Written by Jin Hansae ( ‘ Extracurricular’) and directed by Roh Deok ( ‘ Very Ordinary Couple’), ‘ Glitch’ tells the story of mundane office-worker Hong Jihyo ( Vincenzo’s star Jeon Yeo-been). Thirty years- old and still living at home with her parents, Jihyo is used to taking part of her daily drudgery at the office. However, Jihyo has a secret: after her boyfriend Lee Siguk (Lee Dong-hwi)’s disappearance, she has been receiving surreal visions and dreams of a small green alien.

Unsure of whether she is losing her mind or onto a possible lead, Jihyo enlists the help of old school friend Hong Bora (Nana), a hostess for an online show about outlandish conspiracy theories about aliens. Bora agrees to helping Jihyo as they attempt to find out answers to Siguk’s mysterious disappearance.

As proven with the chosen director and writer, ‘ Glitch’ is a show which aims high with its concept and ideas: its not afraid to be unconventional with its mystery sci-fi elements, unusual female characters ( especially those who enjoy smoking and are fairly indifferent to romance) , and an odd camaraderie which comes into place between them. Nevertheless while certain elements of ‘ Glitch’ can be perceived as purposefully fun with its genre-switching or surprisingly relevant with its address ( including towards the current issue in Korea of pseudo-cults and repressed mental health), this is admittedly where one of the show’s flaws can often be underpinned: the issue of the drama’s presentation as a comedy.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that for a show about crackpot conspiracies and little green men in visions that comedy does play out a lot in the show. Naturally, it would be wrong to try and make out that for a show where this is highly relied upon, that it’s unwatchable or overly bad. ‘ Glitch’ is fairly quirky and witty with its style of comedy; things falling off walls, slapstick moments and bon mots exchanged between characters ( especially in the UFO enthusiasts club) . Fun at times but certainly variable for individuals also. However, the comic relief also brings about the issue of being heavily relied upon in large chunks of the narrative even when it was not always necessary or required. Although this issue will be explained further by tying into the problem of pacing for the show, ‘ Glitch’ struggled to get its feet off the ground in early episodes. The running theme of craziness vs. reality is a concept that has been tackled a lot in tv shows, but writer Jin Hansae almost seemed to be caught in a slight rut with how to lift this further by propelling events or exploring characters early on. Indeed, while there were many interesting plot points and characters ( including with regards to relationships and past trauma), attempts to enforce laughs in episodes often led to the major moments of suspense and tension feeling somewhat undermined and dissipated at times.

Nevertheless, it is hard not to talk about the show without bringing up the main cast. As mentioned previously, Vincenzo breakout star Jeon Yeo-been plays the main role as heroine Hong Jihyo. Jeon’s performance is fairly good. Although the actress admittedly feel a little enforced with her line deliverances ( although often as a result of her written dialogue), she did add a surprisingly likeable charm to Jihyo which made her character who you can grow to like in the frame of the narrative. ( Even if her character wasn’t always given the same opportunities to grow and develop also,)

One of the surprising stars of the series was Nana as Hong Bora; eccentric, somewhat over-the-top yet surprisingly sincere, there was something oddly captivating about Bora which made her a likeable character against all odds. She certainly had her grating moments as a character at times, but Nana really helped to embody an extra sweetness which will likely melt your heart .

Ryu Kyung-soo delivered a fairly consistent performance as Kim Byung-jo; a character well-rounded in his intentions but slightly less memorable in comparison to the dominating presence of the female leads. ( Especially with regards to his unrequited feelings for the heroine.)

As mentioned previously, ‘ Glitch’ heavily relies upon the essence of slow-pacing. This isn’t always necessarily a bad thing per say as it did allow for opportunities for suspense to build and for numerous questions and intrigue to build in the viewer’s mind. ( Including the notion about the two female leads’ broken friendship, the manifestation of aliens and the actual, true fate of Lee Siguk.) Nevertheless while slow pacing can be a blessing for a series, it does admittedly have its foibles; especially when it boils down to the issue of keep viewers hooked. A noticeable problem that has arisen a lot with ‘ Glitch’ comes through the dilemma of the series failing to really get going in the first few episodes or picking up the pace in certain scenes to enliven the elements of suspense and tension to their fullest. In particular, where major plot moments could’ve done with an element of quick-paced deliverance or shock value, was sometimes largely absent from the series. ( Especially with regards to the ending.)

The aesthetics of ‘ Glitch’ are surprisingly tactful. Director Roh Deok seemed to have a keen eye for engraving the show’s inspiration from naughties sci-fi classics. Through flashbacks to the era, warm and effervescent neons and hazy urban scales with a surprisingly familiar warmth (that starkly contrasts the cold and brutalist settings of sci-fi tales), ‘ Glitch’ is surprisingly stylish with its artistic approach. ‘ Glitch’’s OST wasn’t entirely bad per say but it was hard to really pinpoint any particularly mesmerising or standout tracks either.

‘ Glitch’ was an odd drama on reflection: it was evident that attempting to appeal to a wide audience of fans ( from sci-fi, comedy and mystery) but it often felt as though it struck a lot of loose chords along the way. ( Especially as the comedy felt somewhat enforced in parts also; including with awkward moments and dialogue exchanges too.) Nevertheless, the series did have an interesting premise and fairly good performances by our main cast as well as some stunning aesthetics. Perhaps the one thing ‘ Glitch’ could do with on reflection would’ve been better character writing as a lot of the characters ( including the heroines) rarely felt fleshed out. However, for those looking for something entertaining on the surface level and a quick binge-watch, then ‘ Glitch’ is likely to hit the mark exactly.

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Strong Girl Nam Soon; One of The Worst Dramas of 2023?

While it is wrong to entirely compare the prequel and sequel as they do focus on respectfully different characters, due to the heavy similarities and world building between them, I will be using the original to compare the quality in writing and decisions taken by the screenwriter. ( Be warned this is going to be a long review.)

Strong Girl Nam focuses on a pretty much carbon copy setup to its predecessor, give or take with some new storyline and characters to make it “ different”. The main heroine is Kang Nam Soon ( Lee You Mi), a girl with super strength who grew up in Mongolia. Desperate to find her birth parents, she journeys to South Korea where she encounters billionaire and her biological mother Hwang Geum Joo ( Kim Jung Eun) and grandmother Gil Joong Gan ( Kim Hae Sook). Both women possesses superstrength as traditional with the matriarchal line of the family.

Despite a complicated reunion, Nam Soon’s happy ending is far from complete when she becomes involved in a drugs case and helps out Detective Kang Hee Sik ( Ong Seong Wu) who is gradually developing feelings for Nam Soon after his encounter with her early on. As Nam Soon becomes more involved in this mysterious case, she also encounters the elusively mysterious entrepreneur Ryu Shi Oh ( Byeon Woo Seok). Will Nam Soon be able to live happily with her family or she is in too deep with the investigation?

To give the shown one thing it could have been a pretty interesting premise.The first few episodes were interesting in setting up the rough concept of the series and did introduce our characters as potentially intriguing . In particular; the notion that there could be more representation of women across different generations was really fun also. The series’ major problem early on though came from not really knowing what it wanted to be. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon had fun balancing out mystery whodunnit, comic relief and romance in a way which worked well and gave the characters some room for development. Strong Girl Nam Soon tries doing the same but,unlike its predecessor, really struggles in balancing it out.

It would be understandable if the show was leaning more towards lighthearted fun, but the irony of the matter was that for the most part, the mystery element of the series was arguably just as dark in concept as the original. The series did attempt to offer some more “ dramatic tension” in scenes relating to the drug case setup, but a mixture of overreacting and being overshadowed by the comic relief sadly didn’t give the storyline that much of a punch.

Speaking of comic relief, the series is definitely indecisive . There are certainly a few jokes which occasionally land quite well ( one of my favourites being when Gil Joong Gan schools the cops and encounters Park Bo Young’s cameo), but for the most part, the series seemed to struggle with a mixture of gradually tiresome gags ( particularly directed towards male characters for no other reason other than trying to poorly imitate the situational irony from the original.)


Acting-wise was a pretty mixed bag with a mixture of overreacting and pretty wooden dialogue and characterisation . Byeon Woo Seok probably shone through the most in the series with his performance ( without spoilers) as a more ambiguous character, though was not given full justice either by reduced screen time either . Lee You Mi and Ong Seong Wu are both good actors, but the writing really didn’t give them a lot of justice.

Characters are another major post which has to be discussed. Kang Nam Soon was arguably one of the most underdeveloped character in the series and that is saying something for someone whose name is involved in the titles. Fundamentally, Nam Soon embodies the “ girl with a kind heart” trope. She is somewhat naive to the world but is ultimately out to do the right thing.

The problem is that Nam Soon doesn’t have a lot of focus or personality as a character. This is really ironic considering how much potential surrounds her. After all, there was so much possibility to talk about her experiences growing up in Mongolia more and her adopted family ( a notion Nam Soon quite happily seemed to forget in favour of the plot setup), possible complicated feelings surrounding her family abandoning her ( as well as evident insecurities surrounding her mother in particular) and of course trying to control her strength or experiences in the past. For the most part, Nam Soon pretty much breezes past with the idea of super strength or just happily moving on from a separate life and another culture (which hardly seems bothered by ) into another.

She always seems to win fights and rarely struggles with any major difficulties aside from a few “ tense” moments ( especially later in the series) which are rarely delivered afterwards. To give its prequel it’s due, one major development for the heroine was learning to control her strength and insecurities around it . While both characters have grown up in different circumstances, the lack of flaws or awareness Nam Soon actually possesses of her own situation or character , made her pretty one-dimensional in a way which shouldn’t have been the case. ( Her ending was particularly a bit of a last minute conclusion which just didn’t make sense considering her personal experiences and background.)

The next major character to talk about is Nam Soon’s mother, Hwang Geum Joo, who arguably had the most screen time for some inexplicable reason. ( More than the actual heroine.)There are some mixed feelings with this character. On one hand, her storyline was so heavily drawn upon it was had not to focus on her in the show. However, Geum Joo rarely struggles to be as likeable as the show wants her to be.

This seems to a major problem with some characters. The show wants us to like them, but in reality, it’s hard to really digress what it is about them which meant to be so intriguing when it was forced on viewers.It is a shame as Geum Joo had a potentially very interesting story; a woman who has made it in the world, living a separate life from her husband and son , struggling with the loss of a daughter and running a business could have all been excellent writing points to give her flaws.


It seems as though the series was heading in the direction at one point, but the writing had other ideas, by presenting Geum Joo somehow prevailing through it all as a “ cool vigilante” or rarely being questioned for her actions. For example, Geum Joo is meant to be a “ motherly” figure but is rarely involved in the lives of her children . It’s never really explained exactly why Geum Joo has a somewhat estranged relationship with her son, something which could have been developed a lot more, especially when Kang Nam In ( Han Sang Jo) pretty much hit the nail on the head in saying Geum Joo spends a lot more time with Nam Soon than him. While the show wanted us to feel pity for her, I couldn’t help but agree with Nam In’s point more . (Although not when we rarely see Geum Joo interact with the daughter she’s seemingly been searching for desperately beyond the first few episodes really.) More importantly, what was going on between mother and son to hardly be involved with one another to that extent ? Is this a bond which has just fallen apart naturally or has something caused it? Simple coverage on these matters could have been used well for her development, but were instead neglected and gave her little development onscreen.


Gil Joong Gan is more of a minor character in the plot but as the matriarch of the family, she does have a sideline plot involving a potential love interest. She has a good heart fundamentally; but her constant role in interfering and interesting or being used in the romantic setup does begin growing a bit grating. Her romantic setup did seem quite sweet initially especially as we seen an “ opposites attract” scenario, but Joong Gan’s lack of empathy at times, non consensual decisions and near-obsession over him did start becoming a little tiresome.


Kang Hee Sik has risen a lot of debate by watchers in being more of a background character than a male lead as he’s pretty forgettable. Hee Sik is made to embody the “ good detective” trope. He is kind-hearted and brave and committed to his job. Evidently his encounter with Nam Soon makes him develop feelings and that’s all there is really is to say about him. Hee Sik could have been a really interesting character considering his involvement in the case and going into more depth about his personal drive for becoming a detective. Instead, he’s pretty much really there for a potential romance with Nam Soon and a bit of dramatic incitement .

Romance in the show js a bit of a hard one to go over. The main leads do have some chemistry in more comical moments , but there wasn’t really enough buildup due to lacking character development overall. The ending conclusion was expected though felt a little old-fashioned in deliverance.

Speaking of main characters, there’s of course Ryu Si-O, an antagonist in the series and a major mystery. Ryu Si-O was arguably one character the series did get right in maintaining mystery and ironically had better chemistry than the male lead with Nam Soon. Sadly the writing didn’t give him full justice.

The series struggled a lot with having too many side characters and not enough time. For example we have Secretary Jung Na-Young’s ( Oh Jung Yeon) potential romance going on, Ri Hwa-Ja / Lee Myung-Hee ( Choi Hee -Jin) criminal backstory, vagrants Ji Hyun-Soo ( Joo Woo-Jae) and No ( Kyungri), and then HSC Finance Triple’s storyline and then the Drug Gang on top. There was too much going on in the background.Rather than trying to focus on just a few, the plot attempted to cram in multiple subplots without a lot of development or further conclusions.


Pacing wise the series takes a bit of an odd turn. The first few episodes were fairly brisk, but the halfway point really tried rushing through the rest of the series without a lot of thought over execution. The plot reveal on the “ big bad” was meant to be a big surprise but felt more like a last minute throw in due to feeling rushed and somewhat out of place .

Cinematography and settings were a strong point for the series though. Music was a little out of place, particularly the ending credits.

Overall, Strong Girl Nam Soon really struggles with coming of its predecessor’s shadow. It had so much potential to be a well-written series about lost family and coming together to uncover a case, but a mixture of poor writing decisions, characterisation and plain characters and poor pacing made the series feel like it could be arguably be one of the worst shows of 2023. While the series may appeal to some in its own way, it’s fair to say most kdrama fans are going to probably stick with its original over this. Overall, a poorly-written drama with few redeeming features.

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A Captivating Time-Travel Thriller...

Although the element of time travel caused controversy after its release, OCN’s ‘ Tunnel’ should not be mistaken as a ‘ cheap imitation’ or a ‘ copycat ‘ of tvN’s successful production ‘Signal’. In fact, apart from the tenuous links between both shows being loosely based on the real-life South Gyeonggi serial killer case( and of course the element of time travel fantasy) ,the storylines are derisively different.

Tunnel focuses upon a 1980s detective called Park Gwang Ho ( played by Choi Jin Hyuk). Desperately trying to catch a serial killer murdering women in hope of protecting his wife , he chases the killer through a tunnel, and when he comes out the other side he finds he’s been transported 30 years into the future and is in 2017. As the killer he’s been chasing resumes his killing spree in this future time zone, Gwang Ho assumes the identity of a young policeman and works with new colleagues, including his efficient partner detective Kim Sun Jae (played by Yoon Hyun Min) and their icy criminal psychology consultant Shin Jae Yi (played by Lee Yoo Young), who will hopefully help him to catch the killer.

Perhaps the greatest thing to note about “ Tunnel” is through its ability to develop characters without airbrushing over their intrinsic flaws over the course of the series.

Although Choi Jin Hyuk is a brilliant actor, his character Gwang Ho undeniably appeared as a little off-putting
for viewers to truly warm-up to at first. Gwang-Ho is austere, abrupt and sardonic ; very much a product of his time. Often, he often locks horns with the younger and tech- savvy detective Jae Yi over his old-school methods.
Ultimately, however, Gwang Ho has a kind-heart and strong moral drive- a man of duty who is desperate to get back to his wife. Perhaps the one thing which often struck me as a little odd about Gwang Ho as a character can be found within his interactions with the modern world. He does undeniably struggle with the sudden changes thrown in front of him, yet certain reactions towards technology often seemed a little lacklustre. Yet is still remains that as a main character, side characters such as Kim Sun Jae (played by Yoon Hyun Min) and Shin Jae Yi (played by Lee Yoo Young) notably had greater character-depth.

Sun Jae went from an aloof and reserved detective, to a resound team player who learns to finally heal his emotional wounds in the process . His partner Gwang-Ho is his complete opposite, leading an oddly comical rivalry between the two characters. Refreshingly, however, Sun Jae wasn’t pushed into this stereotype as the ‘' comic relief''- he is a character with his own profound and interesting backstory, which naturally slots in without feeling disjointed or odd at all in the overarching storyline .

On the other hand, Jae Yi was a character who noticeably did not change by new revelations coming to light, but rather coming to accept the truth in the process . She is still an eccentric professor in the ending of the series but she is certain upon confronting her past and identity. Her relationship with Sun Jae can be seen as a little and awkward in the grand scheme of the setup of the show, due to the striking personality differences between both characters and its presence in a thriller drama . Nevertheless their relationship did arguably over an intrinsic sense of closure for Jae Yi, as she is able to escape her fears of the past.

In addition to the odd alliance and partnership between the trio, there is the more light-hearted dynamic between n Kwang Ho and Sung Shik (Jo Hee Bong) who was a rookie detective under Kwang Ho is the past, but in the present, he is Kwang Ho’s team leader and now older than him. Of course, this naturally to an onslaught of confused reactions when they begin reverting back to the terms they once used in the past, leading to moments of comical gold as the rest of their team look on in confusion.

The writing, while it took its time laying down some groundwork, intrinsically lead to an interesting storyline. The identity of the killer and the antagonist is naturally the tuning point of the show, however, this was let down slightly by the problem of pacing. This is arguably the show’s greatest weakness due to interesting storyline being reverted by a sense of slow pacing and lacking speeds parts, however, when the show does pick up in certain moments, the aspects of ravaged grief and humanity can easily overwhelm the viewer.


Ultimately, ‘’ Tunnel’’ had a brilliant cast and an intriguing premise, however, it is important to note that this series verges upon heavy-hitting issues typical of any noir such as murder, fatalism and psychopathy on top.
The bittersweet ultimatum of the show will probably leave viewers slightly torn and the pacing does not always help to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Nevertheless, the characters of the series are a life line for keeping viewers interested and whilst not intrisically flawless, ‘’ Tunnel’’ is certainly a good watch.

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A Sweet Fantasy Web Series, Though Sadly Lacking...

My 20th Twenty is pretty much what the title suggests; Kang So Won ( Choi Yu Ju) was turning twenty during the millennium ( 2000). However, after encountering a bitter witch ( Go Soo Hee )who takes offence at So Won's actions, she is cursed to remain at the age of twenty forever.


While sounding like a dream come true to remain youthful, So Won finds her situation turning into a living nightmare. Her friends and those close to So Won cannot remember her after a year. She is forced to move from different jobs and places after a year ( due to the spell) and remains like a living ghost.


Now chronologically in her forties, So Won is desperate to try and find a lead about the witch and finally break her curse. After several mishaps, she meets cold and stoic Min Kang Hyun ( Jung Su Bin) and the kindhearted Jo Sang Wook ( Dawon). Despite bearing a close resemblance to her first love, Kang Hyun is the opposite of him in both temperament and personality. However, as the series progresses and So Won finds herself chasing further leads, she becomes more involved with the two youths.


For a short web series, My 20th Twenty has a surprisingly interesting premise: a girl is cursed to remain twenty forever, it is not all it cracks up to be, and she finds love along the way. It is simple, yet sweet. Naturally, it is fair to say the series was never going to be a tour de force example of flawless writing and execution. The characters are fairly cookie-cutter from other drama and pretty much ticks all the boxes you would expect from a short romance series; the oblivious, yet charming female lead, the stoic male lead and the bubbly second male lead, jealousy, and a hidden secret somewhere in the midst. It is a fair cliché series with characters only playing their roles to be assets to the short plot.


The acting is better than you would think, shockingly. Naturally, there are some more questionable and cheesy acting moments, but the main leads delivered fairly well, with all things considered.


The execution of the web series was one of its major downfalls. It would naturally be a rush, and try to fit in as much as possible into such a short time. Still, the heavy focus on the romantic factor for most of the narrative often left the more intriguing elements of the female lead's quest to find the witch in the background, leading to a rushed resolution. The ending was fairly sweet but was a byproduct of this writing direction.



Overall, My 20th Twenty is a fairly lighthearted and sugary web series with a romantic factor and a surprisingly interesting premise. Sadly, time restraints, a restricted budget and writing did mean the series felt a little easy to forget from short web dramas with similar plot scenarios and setups. Overall, it made an easygoing binge-watch, but little else.

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Reviewing In Retrospect; ‘ Hana Yori Dango’

Four years after the Taiwanese hit series ‘ Meteor Garden’, Japanese network TBS finally commissioned the rights for adapting their own series based upon mangaka Yoko Kamio’s ‘ Hana Yori Dango’.

Despite the critically-mixed 1995 Japanese movie sharing the same title, TBS’ ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ marked the first domestic and televised production adaptation of Kamio’s manga onscreen .

After the unimaginable success across Asia of ‘ Meteor Garden’, ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ was undeniably left in its predecessor’s shadow. Nevertheless whilst perhaps ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ did struggle to attain the same international success as the Taiwanese adaptation, the Japanese series was well-received domestically as well as amongst small circles of international drama enthusiasts at the time.

The series marked the breakthrough roles and the array of talents from several young and familiar faces in the Japanese acting industry ( especially Inoue Mao, Matsumoto Jun and Oguri Shun), as well as gain successful popularity through a sequel season and a movie adaptation also. However despite the drama’s praiseworthy reception for being one of the most “ underrated” adaptations, ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ cannot escape from its flaws either.

Similar to its predecessor( ‘ Meteor Garden’) and its source material, TBS’ ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ reimburses the “ Modern Cinderella” tale with “ mundane” main female lead Tsukushi Makino ( Inoue Mao). Makino is an ordinary middle-class girl who attends the elitist and and private Eitoku Gakuen through an acclaimed scholarship. However despite the prestige for attending the school, Makino is regularly sickened by the materialistic beliefs and principles of her wealthy classmates. Determined, Makino pledges that she’ll keep her head down until graduation.

However despite her obstinate decision, Makino’s plans are soon scuppered when she ends up befriending Sanjo Sakurako ( Sato Megumi). Sakurako ends up on the wrong side of the notorious Tsukasa Domyouji ( Matsumoto Jun). The conglomerate heir of one of Japan’s richest families and the ring leader of the school’s notorious clique, the F4, Tsukasa is renowned for his merciless bullying tactics . In particular, Tsukasa is associated with sending his signature “ red card”; the recipient being instantly labelled as a social pariah by the rest of the school.

Unable to sit back and watch her new friend suffer, Makino declares war on the leader of the F4. Nevertheless despite Tsukasa’s red card and bullying schemes , Makino finds comfort and determination to carry on through her crush on mysterious and suave F4 member, Hanazawa Rui ( Oguri Shun).

Meanwhile Tsukasa’s growing contempt and fascination for the female lead soon provides to complicate matters further, as Domyouji Tsukasa finds himself falling in love with Makino Tsukishi. As Makino finds herself torn between her complicated feelings, Tsukasa’s estranged and fierce mother Domyouji Kaede ( Kaga Mariko) proves only to complicate matters further…

Adapted to the small screen by a small screen of different directors ( Katayama Osamu, Ishii Yasuharu and Yamamuro Daisuke) and screenwriters ( Takuma Takayuki, Fujimoto Yuki, Takahashi Natsuko and Arai Shuuko), ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ has often been cited by aficionados of the franchise as one of the most “ faithful” adaptations to date. ( Although the series does notably adapt and tweak certain events from the manga in order to expedite storyline.)

The series is notably lighthearted and niche in parts. The comical elements of the series rely heavily upon sociocultural and sociolinguistic jokes which whilst offering certain comical relief , can be harder to grasp for audience members unfamiliar with Japanese culture.( One of the most notable gags in the series found through the original manga joke surrounding Tsukasa’s malapropisms, the “lessons” taught by Makino’s father [ Kobayashi Susumu] to her younger brother Makino Susumu [ Tomiura Satoshi] , as well as Tsukishi’s boss and dumpling store owner Sengoku Sachiyo[ Kato Takako]’s “eventful” past with famous celebrities.)

Nevertheless despite some over-the-top jokes within ‘ Hana Yori Dango’, the narrative could surprisingly take a wistful edge at times also. Domyouji’s estranged relationship with his mother is brief yet subtly tumultuous for audiences, whilst the throbbing teen-angst surrounding Makino’s feelings and Hanazawa Rui’s unrequited love for his sister-figure Todo Shizuka ( Sada Mayumi), is given a bittersweet presence within the events of the narrative.

On the other hand it’s undeniable that ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ isn’t a storyline inescapable from predictable and shoehorned tropes. The events surrounding the female lead’s “ dilemmas” as well as the archetypes of “ niche bullies” or “ twists” often led to predictable outcomes. As a consequence, it was apparent that ‘ Hana Yori Dango’’s heavy reliance upon themes surrounding bullying, assault and blackmail were
quintessential for the events of the storyline, but were given a ham-fisted approach by the writers.

Despite Mao Inoue debuting as an actress around the age of five, ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ is still considered one of Inoue’s breakout roles playing main female lead Tsukishi Makino. The young actress’ performance is admittedly slightly exaggerated in parts with certain line deliverances and comical dialogue exchanges often falling flat at certain times . Nevertheless, Inoue Mao was able to carry on through her performances during some of the drama’s more sincere and heartfelt moments with a dynamic charm.

As a character, Tsukishi Makino is notably headstrong, resilient as well as kindhearted. Whilst it is important to respect that other incarnations of the character are variable and independent from one another, it is notable that Makino’s inability to bend so easily at first to the will of Domyouji Tsukasa gave her a slightly more tactful and resilient edge at times than other versions. On the other hand similar to numerous counterparts, Makino could often feel as though she was somewhat dulled by her greater character drives and goals outside of her “ potential” love interests.

Costarring alongside Mao was Matsumoto Jun. A member of the famous ARASHI boyband, Matsumoto Jun’s performance as Domyouji Tsukasa was admittedly heartfelt as well as somewhat dull in parts. Jun’s comical or lighthearted exchanges could sometimes lack finesse. On the other hand Jun’s prior acting experience in dramas such as ‘ Gokusen’ seemed to come to good use during heart-wrenching moments of the series, by adding an angst-ridden charm to his onscreen persona also.

Domyouji Tsukasa is an interpretative character for screenwriters and directors alike. However Tsukasa’s character archetype has notably fallen into two categories throughout past adaptations; fractious, jovial and angsty, or satirical, brooding and unpredictable. As it happens Jun’s Domyouji Tsukasa notably fell into the latter category for most of the series. ( Similar to his manga counterpart.)Tsukasa did notably have his “ darker” character moments, but the screenplay was heavily focused upon presenting a more lighthearted as well as a “ complicated” familial scenario for Tsukasa. However similar to his manga counterpart and other adaptations, Tsukasa’s greatest character flaw could often be found through his inability to truly repent or be remorseful over his actions or treatment of others; offering limited character development at times for the male lead.

Then of course there’s Oguri Shun as second male lead Hanazawa Rui. Similar to his costar Mao Inoue, Shun’s acting career began during his childhood. On the other hand prior to his role in ‘ Hana Yori Dango’, Shun notably took on the roles of “unusual” characters such as his parts in ‘ Great Teacher Onizuka’, ‘ Summer Snow’ and ‘ Gokusen’.

Whilst playing the role as suave and mysterious Hanazawa Rui was certainly not a stretch for Shun, it seemed an unusual casting choice and decision for the actor to take on a “romantic potential love interest” role which could’ve easily been one-dimensional. Although Shun’s performance is somewhat limited in parts by dialogue and interactions, the acting surprisingly gave the second male-lead a charismatic and beguiling charm for audiences.

Hanazawa Rui’s onscreen counterparts have always differed. Whilst certain adaptations have depicted Rui as sweet, easygoing and somewhat flatline second male lead, others have stayed more faithful to the original manga by depicting Rui’s mysterious, cool-headed and taciturn personality. Naturally the Japanese version of Hanazawa Rui does make some nuanced changes towards Rui as a character in comparison to his predecessor and manga counterpart. On the other hand whilst Rui had his own character drive and a battle of ambivalent feelings, the second male lead could feel somewhat shoehorned into the plot through various scenarios as the narrative professed.

The chemistry between our main leads is admittedly variable. Whilst there are heart-wrenching and lighthearted moments where the onscreen chemistry between Shun, Inoue and Matsumoto could feel natural and concise, there were other moments in the series where this could feel limited and slightly stunted by plot.

Aside from the main cast, there is also Mimasaka Akira ( Abe Tsuyoshi) and Nishikado Sojiro ( Matsuda Shota), fellow F4 members, who whilst gradually developing an unlikely friendship with Makino and necessary at times for major plot dilemmas , could often feel somewhat staid and shoehorned into scenarios. Similar to the flawed position of Sojiro and Akira, there is also Makino’s best friend Matsuoka Yuki ( Nishihara Aki) and Tsukasa’s older sister, Domyouji Tsubaki ( Matsushima Nanako); supportive and kindhearted characters , but rarely having sentient character-drive also.

Hana Yori Dango’s narrative notably follows the first major arc of the manga with a fair degree of accuracy . ( Although notably certain minor events and characters are left out or tweaked.) The storyline is notably fast-paced during initial events and is mainly pacy in parts. Nevertheless by the halfway mark, the narrative notably slows down in order to focus on a dragged-out plot dilemma as well as the gradual events leading up to the finale. Whilst this wasn’t entirely a bad writing decision per say and did allow opportunities in order to focus on sentimental elements of the storyline, it could often create a slightly grating experience in parts for viewers by the second-half.

Under the directing reigns of the trio,’ Hana Yori Dango’ is notably an eclectic array of slick editing and shots as well as somewhat amateurish and sloppy editing techniques. Of course whilst it is important to review this in retrospect, ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ could still feel dated at times with its filming even for a 2000s drama. Nevertheless it is notable that despite some dated technology for modern viewers, ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ is one of the few adaptations in the series which helped to captivate the authentic wealthiness of its characters through flashing well-known haute couture fashion brands onscreen. ( TBS’ sponsorship deals certainty paid off well .)

The OST is also very memorable, especially the array of instrumentals- mostly variations of the same theme. Whilst some of these tracks could often blend into one another, one of the most striking tracks during heartfelt moments of the drama came through a euphonious version of the theme, ‘ Blue Mind’; climatic, heartwarming and surprisingly subtle.

Overall ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ offered viewers with a luxurious and fairly faithful adaptation of Kamio’s beloved franchise. Whilst modern viewers may struggle to relate towards the somewhat insipid presentation of themes, shoehorned tropes and dated technology, ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ does offer viewers with a somewhat simplistic and bubbly charm. The acting is decent enough and whilst there are some inconsistencies at times, the onscreen chemistry between Matsumoto and Inoue is surprisingly sweet and engaging. The ending of the series offered viewers with a cliffhanger. Whilst this did allow the drama to setup events for the sequel season, it did admittedly leave the finale of ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ slightly rushed in parts. Nevertheless ‘ Hana Yori Dango’ was a surprisingly decent adaptation with a surprisingly engaging charm and appeal for audiences.

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