Peridot83
Joyful leads and great chemistry keep this from falling apart...this show will likely not age well (discussed in a footnote below).
Do Bong Soon and Ahn Min-hyuk are the key. Coming from opposite backgrounds, they share a childlike exuberance towards life, a love of video games, and underneath it all a strong sense of vengeful justice. Both know what it's like to feel like 'an outsider looking in,' and they hate the strong bullying the weak.
Ahn Min-hyuk immediately, and endearingly thinks Do Bong Soon's super-strength is an amazing quality. Better still, his admiration for her strength doesn't lessen his concerns for her well-being. It is this rare quality in the male lead that really stuck with me.
The music and sound-effects all have a comic book/video game feel that suits the show, and some of the scenes are so iconic or so startlingly unique that they will live in my head forever.
Themes: 8.0
Inner strength and a life worth living comes from being sure of your strengths and values. Pick a romantic partner who respects and values your strengths and does not try to supress or diminish them.
Complex Characters/Character Growth: 7.5
Do Bong Soon is on a journey to becoming comfortable with who she is. She doesn't so much change but settle into her skin. Ahn Min-hyuk develops different facets (childishness, ruthlessness, admiration) but not sure if he has much growth per se
Relationships Between Women: 5.0
Strong Girl Bong Soon does have friends etc. but all the other main characters are men.
Cinematography/Production values: 8.0
Thought was put into the comic book/video game feel to the show with the pops of color, noises and special effects.
NOTE: There was one gender nonconforming/LGBTQ character that was played very campily for laughs. I couldn't tell whether it was cultural differences or a disrespectful portrayal. Overall, the jokes are based on dated patriarchal ideas, and I could see the 'flip' of gender dynamics jokes not aging particularly well.
In addition, the creepy male serial killer attacking women who fit the patriarchal ideal and then being brought down by a strong woman - is a nice theme but it belonged in a different show. Worse of all, all the emphasis and fascination with this storyline overwhelmingly and unnecessarily centered male violence and took away from the point of the show.
Do Bong Soon and Ahn Min-hyuk are the key. Coming from opposite backgrounds, they share a childlike exuberance towards life, a love of video games, and underneath it all a strong sense of vengeful justice. Both know what it's like to feel like 'an outsider looking in,' and they hate the strong bullying the weak.
Ahn Min-hyuk immediately, and endearingly thinks Do Bong Soon's super-strength is an amazing quality. Better still, his admiration for her strength doesn't lessen his concerns for her well-being. It is this rare quality in the male lead that really stuck with me.
The music and sound-effects all have a comic book/video game feel that suits the show, and some of the scenes are so iconic or so startlingly unique that they will live in my head forever.
Themes: 8.0
Inner strength and a life worth living comes from being sure of your strengths and values. Pick a romantic partner who respects and values your strengths and does not try to supress or diminish them.
Complex Characters/Character Growth: 7.5
Do Bong Soon is on a journey to becoming comfortable with who she is. She doesn't so much change but settle into her skin. Ahn Min-hyuk develops different facets (childishness, ruthlessness, admiration) but not sure if he has much growth per se
Relationships Between Women: 5.0
Strong Girl Bong Soon does have friends etc. but all the other main characters are men.
Cinematography/Production values: 8.0
Thought was put into the comic book/video game feel to the show with the pops of color, noises and special effects.
NOTE: There was one gender nonconforming/LGBTQ character that was played very campily for laughs. I couldn't tell whether it was cultural differences or a disrespectful portrayal. Overall, the jokes are based on dated patriarchal ideas, and I could see the 'flip' of gender dynamics jokes not aging particularly well.
In addition, the creepy male serial killer attacking women who fit the patriarchal ideal and then being brought down by a strong woman - is a nice theme but it belonged in a different show. Worse of all, all the emphasis and fascination with this storyline overwhelmingly and unnecessarily centered male violence and took away from the point of the show.
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