Pretty good but nothing extraordinary
I liked this drama, it was light, sweet, and a bit dramatic. Of course, it had its problems and cliches but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
What I liked:
*The cast. All of the actors and actresses were chosen very well, they played their characters amazingly. The main cast aced their roles. Baek Kyung's actor Lee Jae Wook was absolutely amazing. There were some unconvincing performances by the main couple's actors but I can overlook that and maybe blame the script.
*Soundtrack. It was nice, it fit well within the drama it didn't blow my mind, however. Neverending story by SKZ is a bop though, I can't believe they didn't play the chorus in the drama.
*The set/visuals/effects. The school looked really nice, reminded me of pretty boarding schools from TV shows. The comic book effects like flowers, leaves, and the spotlight were implemented well, I liked that these effects were 'drawn by hand', it showcased that we're watching the panels of a comic book. I also thought that using cool and warm color filters for the 'stage' and 'shadow' was genius. It was easy to understand and follow which plotline we were watching without unnecessary explanations.
What could have been handled better:
*The story. The premise was interesting the execution could have been better. I think the essential plot was too simple and the show dragged out because of that. It could have been more tightly packed, maybe that would have given it more impact. Or they could have introduced other conflicts, for example, trying to travel to the other comic book world through the portal, or finding out who the writer is and changing their story that way, or traveling to the 'real' world.
*The cliches. I know that they are part of the plot because they are part of the comic book the Writer is writing but they could have been handled better. I can overlook them in the 'stage' but seeing the same cliches in the 'shadow' was a bit exhausting, it made the characters flatter.
*The characters. There were a lot of main and supporting characters and it would have been impossible to give every character a well thought out background. I understand why the supporting characters, who are not aware of themselves, are bland but we also saw more main characters than usual and they lacked depth, unfortunately.
What I liked:
*The cast. All of the actors and actresses were chosen very well, they played their characters amazingly. The main cast aced their roles. Baek Kyung's actor Lee Jae Wook was absolutely amazing. There were some unconvincing performances by the main couple's actors but I can overlook that and maybe blame the script.
*Soundtrack. It was nice, it fit well within the drama it didn't blow my mind, however. Neverending story by SKZ is a bop though, I can't believe they didn't play the chorus in the drama.
*The set/visuals/effects. The school looked really nice, reminded me of pretty boarding schools from TV shows. The comic book effects like flowers, leaves, and the spotlight were implemented well, I liked that these effects were 'drawn by hand', it showcased that we're watching the panels of a comic book. I also thought that using cool and warm color filters for the 'stage' and 'shadow' was genius. It was easy to understand and follow which plotline we were watching without unnecessary explanations.
What could have been handled better:
*The story. The premise was interesting the execution could have been better. I think the essential plot was too simple and the show dragged out because of that. It could have been more tightly packed, maybe that would have given it more impact. Or they could have introduced other conflicts, for example, trying to travel to the other comic book world through the portal, or finding out who the writer is and changing their story that way, or traveling to the 'real' world.
*The cliches. I know that they are part of the plot because they are part of the comic book the Writer is writing but they could have been handled better. I can overlook them in the 'stage' but seeing the same cliches in the 'shadow' was a bit exhausting, it made the characters flatter.
*The characters. There were a lot of main and supporting characters and it would have been impossible to give every character a well thought out background. I understand why the supporting characters, who are not aware of themselves, are bland but we also saw more main characters than usual and they lacked depth, unfortunately.
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