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BeanSensei

Latvia

BeanSensei

Latvia
Arang and the Magistrate korean drama review
Completed
Arang and the Magistrate
2 people found this review helpful
by BeanSensei
Jul 14, 2018
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
The most played-upon historical era in Korea - Joseon - receives another version. Dealing with social statuses, corruption, government and society of the time, the series look upon moral values as love, family, friendship as well as... ghosts? What would happen if a very pushy ghost and a very selfish man would join forces to reveal the truth much deeper than first expected? The series tries to find the answer to this question. But to they fully succeed?

Story
Yet another take on the Joseon era from Korea, this time with ghosts and spirits as the main twist, which is cleverly executed. The story portrays shamans and shamanism as a form of belief popular in the time as well as traditions and believes about spirits widely spread in the society of the time, making the ghost experience rather interesting. The "life" of ghosts is portrayed according to beliefs and continues showing certain traits of the society of the living.
Similarly, the story looks upon higher beings - gods - and how involved they are in human lives, raising the question of when they are too involved and when not enough. Clever scenes, like the gods playing games to see who will decide upon the lives of humans, show the nature of higher beings in an interesting way.
The story shows a great character development for most of the main characters, showing growth in their view of the world, attitude towards various issues and the ability to show emotions. Which makes a handful of main characters very interesting to observe, however, the shenanigans and intended comic relief of side characters at times is too much to bear. It can be described as almost obnoxious and probably could be let out, as most times it gives nothing to the development of the plot.
Of course, as a true drama of the time, it's layered with several cliches, that all in all are not as bad as one could think at first, but are not the most desired thing in a drama either. But as I say time and time again - you can't escape cliches in K-drama.

Acting/Cast:
The two main leads - Lee JoonGi and Shin MinAh - did a splendid job bringing their characters to live and showing their development as individuals and the growing dynamics between the two as well. I would also say that Yeon WooJin did a great job in his role, showing various layers of emotions and making the character likable, if not lovable near the end of the series.
Sadly, I must admit that in some cases the acting was very comedically over the top and exaggerated. I believe it's not the fault of the cast, but rather what the director asked the cast to do. It's almost distracting with ridiculous expressions or actions and is closely connected with the abundance of side character screen time.

Music:
As with most historical dramas, this can be proud of having a very versatile and beautiful OST. Three stand-outs. K.Will once again delivers an amazing OST, which is not even a surprise. ShinMin Ah shows of her sweet and lovely vocals in "Black Moon. And, of course, "One Day" performed by Lee JoonGi himself. The actor has released music before, however, this was his first, and up to date only, OST. I do recommend giving it a listen.

Overall, the drama was an easy watch, but at moments a bit slow and a bit boring. The side characters were a bit of a distraction, but the main handful was a delight to follow on their journey and I would recommend watching it!
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