Jade
This review may contain spoilers
Engaging and well-written beginning with a repetitive and draggy second half
Being the highest rated OCN drama in history, you'd have high standards when going to watch this drama.
The first half of the series very much lived up to those standards. The second half however, not so much.
- STORY -
The story begun very consistent and engaged audiences through the concept of 'counters' that attack evil spirits and well, disguise themselves as noodle shop owners. The main antagonist was introduced very early into the story, and it paced itself well from there on as the viewers not only watched the counters try to defeat the Level 3 spirit, but also as our main protagonist (So Min) tried to settle as a counter and deal with his anger issues and ongoing grief for his parents.
One of the faults that comes with introducing a main antagonist early on is that the story itself, drags on for 16 episodes, and by episode 10/11 the story became repetitive in a 'rinse and repeat' format as the counters continue to fail at killing the main antagonist, and the antagonist of course, only got stronger.
This 'failure' also lead to many plot holes and introductions to over-powerful material such as harry potter-looking sticks that feel unnecessary and almost, humorous for a plot-line that isn't meant to be funny. Additionally, So Mun is never seen going to school nor does the 'noodle shop' have anything to do with the main storyline, leading it to be unnecessary in the log-line and synopsis.
- CHARACTERS -
The strongest part of this drama is the well-written main cast and each of their own backstories. The greatest part of our protagonist So Mun is that he truly is written to live up to his name, an 'uncanny' counter. Being a kid, he's immature, angry and reacts inappropriately in situations that truly reflect his age. Motak and Hana are also written to act, think and react in ways that appropriately reflect their age and their traumatic pasts that led them to be counters. Jo Byungyu, Kim Sejeong and Yoo Jun-sang really proved themselves with their incredible acting performance.
The antagonist was also so well-written to point where he's almost likeable. Himself and the Presidents son became antagonists that I genuinely enjoyed, and wishing for more scenes involving solely them. Props to Lee Hong-nae.
Despite this, there were also flaws in the writing of some characters. For example, the 'Yung' team being unlikeable, useless and completely unforgiving in the way they treat the protagonists. Despite them having their own backstories, such as the son, I struggled to feel any sort of empathy for them, as they relied entirely on the counters to let them live their lives. Furthermore, The dragging of the President's story and his 'followers' ruined the like-ability and interest for the characters, emphasising the poorly written second half.
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Overall, I still believe that each person should give this drama a good-go. Especially for the captivating first half that balances intense fighting scenes, humour and sadness perfectly.
I am interested to see where the second season of this story leads, hoping it does not continue the rinse and repeat storyline that many people complained of.
The first half of the series very much lived up to those standards. The second half however, not so much.
- STORY -
The story begun very consistent and engaged audiences through the concept of 'counters' that attack evil spirits and well, disguise themselves as noodle shop owners. The main antagonist was introduced very early into the story, and it paced itself well from there on as the viewers not only watched the counters try to defeat the Level 3 spirit, but also as our main protagonist (So Min) tried to settle as a counter and deal with his anger issues and ongoing grief for his parents.
One of the faults that comes with introducing a main antagonist early on is that the story itself, drags on for 16 episodes, and by episode 10/11 the story became repetitive in a 'rinse and repeat' format as the counters continue to fail at killing the main antagonist, and the antagonist of course, only got stronger.
This 'failure' also lead to many plot holes and introductions to over-powerful material such as harry potter-looking sticks that feel unnecessary and almost, humorous for a plot-line that isn't meant to be funny. Additionally, So Mun is never seen going to school nor does the 'noodle shop' have anything to do with the main storyline, leading it to be unnecessary in the log-line and synopsis.
- CHARACTERS -
The strongest part of this drama is the well-written main cast and each of their own backstories. The greatest part of our protagonist So Mun is that he truly is written to live up to his name, an 'uncanny' counter. Being a kid, he's immature, angry and reacts inappropriately in situations that truly reflect his age. Motak and Hana are also written to act, think and react in ways that appropriately reflect their age and their traumatic pasts that led them to be counters. Jo Byungyu, Kim Sejeong and Yoo Jun-sang really proved themselves with their incredible acting performance.
The antagonist was also so well-written to point where he's almost likeable. Himself and the Presidents son became antagonists that I genuinely enjoyed, and wishing for more scenes involving solely them. Props to Lee Hong-nae.
Despite this, there were also flaws in the writing of some characters. For example, the 'Yung' team being unlikeable, useless and completely unforgiving in the way they treat the protagonists. Despite them having their own backstories, such as the son, I struggled to feel any sort of empathy for them, as they relied entirely on the counters to let them live their lives. Furthermore, The dragging of the President's story and his 'followers' ruined the like-ability and interest for the characters, emphasising the poorly written second half.
-----
Overall, I still believe that each person should give this drama a good-go. Especially for the captivating first half that balances intense fighting scenes, humour and sadness perfectly.
I am interested to see where the second season of this story leads, hoping it does not continue the rinse and repeat storyline that many people complained of.
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