Slice of life and coming of age women-centric drama. I'm a tad older than the ladies in the show, but I could very well relate to their emotions as they go thru their twenties and reliving myself thru them.
Squad 38 is a way less darker version of Signal with the same heart as Misaeng. Like you, I thought of dropping the drama at one point since I thought they were going with the one-note good vs bad plot. But then it knows exactly where to add layers to the story that kept me hooked and felt organic at the same time. Seo In guk as Jung-do definitely has the swagger and charm of a conman! And I'm always rooting for Ma Deong-seok's Sung-Il and how helpless/hapless he was in the beginning and learned so much from Jung-do, and how he tries to fight the system that constantly oppresses everyone else. I can't believe there are only 2 episodes left and I feel that we're just getting into the meat of the show.
There is one thing that angers me over this series. I can only find it in DVD, not Blu Ray!! Aish!
I believe they had a pre-sale for both the DVD and Blu-ray about a month ago and it sold out quickly! I was hoping to get my hands on it but it is not subtitled for now :(
I came for Lee Sung-kyun and stayed for Lee Sung-min and Seong Sun Mi. And yes, Miss Ma (Lee Mi sook) is wonderful, I thought she would be the typical "bad" guy on this drama but she surprised me a lot. It will definitely not be to everyone's taste as the pacing and plot may be slow, but the characters themselves are worth a watch.
Honestly, I would be interested in watching J-dramas more if it were more accessible to a tech challenged person like myself. I don't do torrents and I mostly stream, and majority of streaming sites and subbed dramas are Korean (I live in the US). It definitely does not help that Hallyu in general has more popularity compared to other Asian dramas and more fandom and subs are dedicated to them, which again comes down to accessibility. Recently my drama watching mood has shifted from high romance, rom-com stories to more slice of life which, from what I'm reading here, is more slice of life. I was an anime/manga watcher myself in my younger days, and I'm sure I will appreciate the Jdrama style of drama and would be a welcome change.
The characters on this drama are darned relatable even with their age. I guess it goes to show that one doesn't really change as you grow older. I love Choong Nam/Yoo Yeon jung's sass! Hoping Wan and Yeon-ha find themselves together in the end. Can't believe there's only 6 episodes left.
I'm here for Park Bo gum! :) Funny that I watched 1988 first before watching IRY - so maybe that colored my opinion on his character since I was more sympathetic for him when I probably should not have. Not sure how this boy managed to look so innocent at one moment then total creeper on the next one. Same goes for Im Joo Hwan in Oh My Ghost. These 2 can really act with their micro expressions!
Love that Choi Won young got a mention for attractive bad guys on your list, too. I like that he portrayed a more serious evil guy in IRY and a typical kdrama bad guy in Come Back Ahjussi that I can't take too seriously, yet I love his portrayal all the same.
Love that Choi Won young got a mention for attractive bad guys on your list, too. I like that he portrayed a more serious evil guy in IRY and a typical kdrama bad guy in Come Back Ahjussi that I can't take too seriously, yet I love his portrayal all the same.