Could have used a change in direction
Newtonian physics may not bind the Laws of Drama Writing, but it is a helpful starting point for examining “Bulgasal: Immortal Souls”. Newton’s first law states that a body that is at rest or is in motion at a constant speed in a straight line will remain at rest or continue at the constant speed in a straight line unless it is acted upon by a force. In other words, for something to change, we need some sort of object or mechanism to trigger a chance in action.With the drama in question, we begin with events that occurred 600 years ago which is where we find our object moving forward. To summarize, Goryeo era monster hunting ace Dan Hwal became a bulgasal (an immortal monster which feeds on human blood) and he loses his family. He sets out to wreak revenge against those who put him in his predicament. We flash forward to present with Hwal seeking Sang Un, once a bulgasal, now a human, reincarnated. Every other character of any note is a reincarnation of someone or something other creature from hundreds of years ago. As the storyline progresses, Hwal and Sang Un encounter Ok Eul Tae, an antagonist from the origins of the story.
Let’s set the storyline aside for other matters…
The production is outstanding. Whether it was set design, photography, soundtrack or the physical monsters themselves, this crew was tops. The monsters are exceptional. Whether the settings are the Goryeo era forests or present day mountains, the settings are gorgeous. The special effects are above average. There is not a copious amount of OST but the few entries are solid. And there’s more than one underwater sequence that are some of the highlight scenes.
There’s some fine acting too. Park Myung Shin is the standout as a Goryeo era shaman and present day aunt/butcher for Hwal. Lee Joon creates a compelling and vibrant character for the twisted and scheming Eul Tae. Han Seo Jin plays a young Sang Un and continues to create one of the most impressive filmographies of any young actor anywhere.
It’s a mixed bag for the leads. Lee Jin Wook as Dan Hwal has the imposing stature and gravelly voice to pull off a character that is part dark monster and part former human bent on retaining some of his humanity. But the character has shortcomings that no actor could really work around. He’s smart enough to clandestinely coordinate a complex manhunt and amass a significant collection of assets but has lived hundreds of years learning almost nothing. He follows a predictable cycle where he is introduced to a new side to his backstory, he refuses to believe it then just decides that it must be true. And despite the fact that he wants to end his troubles, he’s got the worst sense of self-awareness on the planet. He’s supposed to be the hero, albeit a non-traditional type of one, but he’s so determined to derail any effort to make progress that he’s nearly impossible to sympathize with.
As for Kwon Na Ra’s Sang Un, she’s got enough sense to diagnose Hwal’s issues, can formulate a basic plan and know that she needs to invest in and maintain relationships. That’s all good but the direction for the character was to overwhelm everything else about the character with a damsel-in-distress aesthetic. Even when her actions should signal strength and determination, the visuals instead emphasize her weakness and impending panic. That’s the present day visuals. Have to recognize that her appearance in the historical eras is simply stunning.
Without spoiling too much, there’s no end to this saga unless there’s an end to Eul Tae or Hwal or Sang Un. But two aren’t easy to kill and the other one will just reincarnate so something out of the ordinary has to happen to end this.
Here’s where Newton comes in. We have this trio that has been on the same path for six hundred years with this seemingly unsolvable problem. What would have made for an outstanding drama is that at some point of the storyline, the viewers are given some somewhat comprehensive understanding of how our object in motion at a constant rate of speed in a straight line was put in said motion at said constant rate of speed in said straight line. Then the production could have adequately built up over multiple episodes to a climax where new big force is brought forward to bring about the cataclysmic change in motion and to put an end (or new beginning) to our heroes and villains story.
Instead, a full reveal of the real origin story only happens far, far, FAR! too late leaving little time to build any appropriate amount of tension for the climactic showdown. Pending the full reveal, Eul Tae is left as a likely evildoer but possibly ambiguous character which fatally hamstrings his actions. Instead of going full dark and crazy, there’s only glimpses of his true nature. To keep a semblance of mystery about him going, he winds up a disappointing antagonist who spends too much time politicking with Hwal and plotting in the background than being, y’know, a bloodthirsty and invincible monster. And instead of Hwal and Sang Un spending far too much time wondering how they ended up this way, they could have been doing something much more interesting like, y’know, fighting monsters.
It’s a tremendous shame because the scenario was promising. There’s lots of interesting monsters and the show was terrifically entertaining when there was action. But it is invested so heavily in a painfully slow reveal of backstory and keeping the main characters and viewers in the dark that the characters are unable to develop. And, y’know, move forward in a new direction.
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a masterpiece with multidimensional/flawed characters (please give it a try)
Overall: I think some people won't start or finish this series due to the premise and Ritsu's character in the beginning. I would highly encourage people to watch the entire series because it is 100% worth it. Aired on GagaOOLala and Viki.Content Warnings: there are several some of which might be extremely triggering, I will put them in a comment with a spoiler
What I Liked
- flawed/multidimensional characters (I could write an essay on Ritsu)
- realistic and very well done NSFW scenes (including talking during and not overpowering music)
- relationships between characters (enjoyed the found family theme with the four of them)
- how Meguru was not a cliche/stereotype and the actor (used as a gender neutral term) is non-binary so that's pretty awesome
- production value/cinematography (you can tell it's the same director from The Novelist & Mood Indigo)
Room For Improvement
- the flashbacks kind of took me out a bit from the story in the present
- not a fan of some of the one lipped kissing
- the special effects near the end were low budget/cringey
- definitely could have used a longer run time to more fully develop characters
- I wish they'd go with something that could actually happen like a deadly virus, nuclear war or a large natural disaster but I realize they had source material
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This drama may seem boring to some people as it is about office world, but the script writers did a great job and to me, personally, it didn't seem boring at all. It is a serious drama, yes, but there are also funny elements. It portraits the office life in a really realistic way.
While watching this drama, I felt like I was a part of the company, that I am part of every character there. Whenever there was something emotional, you could feel the emotions yourself. Whenever there was a funny scene, I was so happy, it felt so good and the funny scenes were always in a place. They just fitted.
STORY
As for story, I loved it. Some people might say that the plot was kind of about nothing, but I disagree. So much happened in those 20 episodes. The story and the characters will captivate you. I just can't express how much I love this drama!
ACTING/CAST
Everyone in this drama was well-chosen and their acting was superb. I guess, I loved every character, well, almost every character.
Lee Sung Min - he is a king of acting. I loved him since King 2Hearts and here, he proved that he is a 1st class actor. I loved his character Oh Sang Shik, in the future, I would also like to have a boss like him. After this drama I became his fan even more.
Im Shi Wan - I was a little worried at first that he would not be good for this role. Oh, how I was mistaken. He was perfect for this role. "Jang Geu Rae, fighting!!! You can do it" that is what I was thinking whole time. He was so hardworking, nice and pitiful.
Kang So Ra - I love her! I think that she is the best actress of her generation. I was so pleased with her English and even her Russian wasn't so bad. Her character Ahn Young Yi was great as well, she was tough, hardworking and clever. Great female character!
Kang Ha Neul - I am so in love with him! He is so good-looking but a great actor as well. I didn't like his character at first, but then Jang Baek Ki grew on me. He needs to get a proper main role! P.S. I was a bit disappointed that there was no love line between Jang Baek Ki and Ahn Young Yi, they were so cute together.
Byun Yo Han - first time seeing him and I must say, what an actor! I loved his character of Han Suk Yool, he was so cheerful and full of life and then at one point when he was so devastated by work, I was so sad, I wanted him to return to his old-self as soon as possible. This actor has definitely a bright future ahead. P.S. I loved the moments of those four (Im Shi Wan, Kang Sora, Kang Haneul and Byun Yo Han) together, I couldn't help but smile all the time. They had a great chemistry together.
Kim Dae Myung - I also has to mention him. His Kim Dong Shik was so nice and his acting was so believable.
MUSIC
Music was not outstanding nor special but it fitted with the drama very well.
I seriously must congratulate the actors, director and scriptwriters. They did an amazing job! Misaeng is now on my list of the best dramas I've seen so far! And after re-watching, it might become one of my favourite dramas!
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Music repetitive and sometimes is overly loud so you can't heard the words .
The last two episodes are sort of an easter-egg, going back in time and explaining more about what happened before the empress married the emperor -- we meet his first wife (the empress's older sister).
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The acting and the whole vibe from this drama was outstanding and powerful. I loved the tragedy aspect so much,nowadays you can't really find stories like this one, it had the kind of angst that can linger on the viewers heart for a long time but...after watching the first half,my excitment for this show slowly went down. Some things were dragged out constantly and their moral choices made me lose interest. I wish i had enjoyed the story more without the main female lead annoying me and without rolling my eyes everytime the brother and his girlfriend spoke.
The ending was brilliant but again,i wish it didn't end so abruptly,perhaps it could've been more extended.
Overall,this drama has a lot of potential but it just wasn't what i wanted. Watch this for yourself,this was my honest opinion and it might be just mine.
Also,everyone of us is a Moo Young in our own world trying to figure out this life.
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This is NOT my Orv
Every single thing I heard about this movie made me hate it more and more even before it released. What do you mean THE Kim Dokja wants to save the world? What do you mean he hates twsa? What do you mean Yoo Jonghyuk is a side character in twsa? What do you mean Heewon is the main character of twsa? And much more questions. All of this was different in the novel and the thing that pisses me of the most is how they made Sangah a healer? Wtf? That's just plain misogyny and the worst part is the novel already has a female healer that they didn't put in the movie so this was just so unnecessary. Sangah's whole character is built around her defiance against misogyny. She's one of the strongest incarnations in Seoul with a kill count that can't be numbered but of course nothing of that matters and she got reduced to a female savior for the main character😐Was this review helpful to you?
Cun Xi was pretty annoying in the beginning. I mean, obviously his heart was at the right place more or less. But when he asked her to leave after giving birth I wanted to slap him! I mean, how can a mother (especially someone as gentle as Xin Yi) give up her baby without dying a little each second? I liked his character more after ep 12. As for Dylan, I really really really liked him in the beginning. But after they left for Shanghai (ep 12?) - Bleh. He just got annoying. EPISODE 12 T-T It was so sad! I dare you to watch it without crying! Seriously! EPISODE 12. The reason I still can't get myself to like Anna. I'm sorry.Generally I do believe in giving second chances to evil characters ( I DO I DO XD). But what she did pissed me too much. So even if the whole world is ready to accept her reasons for what she did (including Cun Xi and Xin Yi)- I CANNOT.
So, basically, Xin Yi and Cun Xi end up sleeping together because she thinks he's her cheating boyfriend and he thinks she's Anna. Now I know it sounds kinda ridiculous but he's so horny (long story) and she's so dizzy and it's dark. So yeah...after they're done he's like "Gu Chi?" and she's like, "Who's Anna?" and then lights on and TA-DA! BAHAHAHAHA XD XD
On top of everything she becomes pregnant with his child while he's still in love with Anna who (in short) is a selfish Beeaach. They decide to keep the baby and not get it aborted while the supercool grandma somehow manages to get them married. And then Cun Xi drops the bomband tells her to leave after giving birth and that Anna could be the mom to the child -.- But they keep getting closer and closer and now Cun Xi becomes conflicted about his feelings. Then comes ep 12. Honestly, I never expected the story to turn out this way. It really surpassed my expectations. Really nice story.
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The most addictive qualities of this series are very much present in this version as well. The things that Dao Ming Si say, and his endless longing glances at Shan Cai, are enough to make anyone weak at the knees.
However, at the same time it's his love for her that give birth to a couple of truly disturbing scenes.
Violence and possessiveness is a part of Si's nature in a shocking way. This wasn't there in the Korean or Japanese versions. It made Meteor Garden hard to watch.
Hadn't it been for those scenes I would have had no qualms giving the drama a 9 or 10. Simply for how kick-ass Shan Cai is and the way Si makes my knees wobble.
As I see it, HYD is a mash-up of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and her other books. The arrogant Dao Ming Si and the introverted Hua Ze Lei represent the dual aspects of Mr Darcy's personality. Si's domineering mother is Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Don't let the fact that this is from 2001 scare you off. It's a timeless story. Even crazy hair, bad outfits and old cell phones can't distract you from the heart at its core.
(Plus, he loses the headband and pineapple-hairdo a couple of episodes in. :) )
My advice is:
Watch! But be prepared for a flawed hero that wouldn't work outside of the realm of pure fantasy.
The pluses:
+ Shan Cai's reactions feel more convincing than in any other version of the series, and are full of girl-power
+ The way that the character are explained and the story plays out makes more sense than in any other version
+ The music is less imposing and annoying than in the J&K-versions
The minuses:
- Si's violent and possessive tendencies are on occasion creepy and downright shocking
- The sound and other production values leave something to be desired
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✿ which version is better ✿
"The thai version is better" , these words is coming from person considered the Korean version one of her favorite .why ?
the difference between them is great. If it was not the same basic idea, I would have thought that two of them are two different dramas . The acting is clearly much weaker than the Korean version, but I felt the FL/support actors acting was getting better as the episodes passed .. The ghost stories are more realistic they are somewhat better than the Korean version even the villain ghosts have sad stories which broke my heart (warning the ghosts here is more scarier) , plans of the villain was different and I did not expect what is his next step would be .
chemistry between ML and FL was perfect they both looked like 2 high school lovers *cuteeeee*
What annoyed me in this version :
FL and her red dress I was so happy when she changed it xD , ML gives Weird looks and smiles ( he was trying to be sexy i think lol) , there was some silly scenes i couldn't take, also villain is supposed to be a nice person in the beginning, but from the first start he was suspicious and weird however in general I do not regret watching this drama. I have been suffering for some time from not being able to complete any lakorn finally i did it....
Won't forget uncle's quote
"No one can escape their karma"
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Heartwarming, and beautiful
** I didn't read the manhwa so this is fully on my perspective as a viewer of the drama.PLOTS
First, of course the story. This web drama is basically a light mini-series thus the plots of this drama is not that complicated, basically easy to understand, easy to follow the flow. It started with some fresh beginning, everything going on smoothly but somehow there's a little glitch towards the end. I don’t want to spoil it to new viewers but all I could say is that the writer decides to compress everything there, thus making it seems a little rush but thankfully it's going well towards the end. I believe this story is not completed yet because there’s a lot of things that’re not happening yet, but if they do want it left cliff-hanging just like this, I think it’s fine. The main couple already got their happy ending, and we can’t imagine how bad some characters would be later in another season (if it’s based on the manhwa.)
SETTINGS
It's basically a typical high school kind-of story so for sure they focused on them being highshoolers//teenagers. Having to deal with academic, talent, bully, and free-spirit things are one of the things focused on here. Above all that, this series values friendship and love the most, how important to have someone who will be there when you're in need. Someone to understand and help you when you’re needing them. This value is the most beautiful thing happen in this story.
CHARACTERS
The main leads; Gong Ju-young, played by Park Jihoon. His character really is a cute and fresh one, literally a high-spirit teen which is so blinded by love towards the female lead, Wang Ja-rim. Some of his scenes are weird, childish and unpredictable yet making sense to the drama itself, a romance-comedy drama and somehow portray our real life when we were at their ages. Park Jihoon's character is also this lively and fresh, justifying him playing the role of Ju-young, and he really did great in in his character. For the female lead, Wang Ja-rim played by Lee Ruby. At first, I find it a little uncomfortable to see her playing the role because she seems a little awkward. I don't know if that really is her character in manhwa so please forgive me if it is. Ja rim's character is actually fun to look at, because we don't know what would she do when she's with Ju-young. She can be very tough, scary but at the same time, she's also can be cute and kind to others around her.
Move on to the 2nd lead; Lee Kyungwoo, played by Kim Younghoon. To be honest, as his first acting role he played his character really well despite being 180⁰ different in real life. I heard that he attended an acting academy before being an idol so I guess that’s explained well. His character is a big one, he played a role as the best friend, the mature and and the problematic one to the story. The problem of him being the 2nd lead is that his chemistry with Ja-rim is not that strong since they didn't have many scenes being just two, plus the writer kind of hurry things up. Above all that, honestly, he played Kyungwoo’s character flawlessly so I’d really hope there’ll be more acting opportunities for him in the future.
As for Minji, Jung Daeun played her character really well, being the sad girl in the story, holding everything in her heart; really does portray a teen who has a crush on someone, but couldn’t express herself. Apart from all that, we have characters that making we smile through the story which is Ah-ram (WJSN Dayoung), Byunghoon (Ko Chanbin), Kyungmin (Ahn Dokyu) and Seunghee (Hong Jinhee). They has made us full of laughter throughout the whole series and I’m so thankful for that.
That’s all my review for this cute web drama. Whoever thought about watching this, go on. You’ll never regret it. ^^
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Absolute trash !!
Does not follow the original story. The entire budget went to the actors. Wtf happened to bihyeong and jihye. Apparently kdj hates twsa, his fav is heewon, totally different from the original plot. Kdj does not hate his mother, so what's the point of this la if kdj doesnt hate his mother???? like literally thats the plot. Wont even watch it, SOMEEBODY PLEASE MAKE A GOOD LA ORV. If i could rate it lower than one i would.Was this review helpful to you?
Don't even start this piece of shit.
I haven't seen anything worse than this drama. I literally thought in the first 5 ep that the main lead is someone who is obssessed with having sex with her. It literally seems like some sort of abusive relationship.Their chemistry sucks plus when I google the story of this drama there is a line that she will learn about his "DARK PAST" but but there isn't anything about his past in the whole drama and don't even get me started on the female lead I mean anyone can kiss her or harass her and she is like ss...sorry I mean wtf ? even a 7 year old child can be better or bold enough to say STOP and her boyfrnd is like I'm here now and booom that thing ends there. Like what the fuck.
and there isn't any explanation on why people keep harassing here, what is wrong with the guy's work is he even a normal person or someone who is just obssessd with her.
I'm so frustated that I can't even describe.
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OVERRATED, needed 6eps only
don't get me wrong, I love the main cast and I loved them as characters but as a plot it offered nothing new. it was just a mix of every other dramas;the bullying happens in every school genre, the evil corrupt politician happens in every law/crime genre and the main evil spirit was like every other psychopath, like strong woman dobong soon.
the only things I enjoyed were the hugs, the unexpected familyness and the 1st big fight when the evil spirits collabed which created a good amount of angst.
afterwards it was just another repeated mess of cliches. they kept trying to kill of Mae Ok becasue she was the "weakest" link.
the bullying honestly felt like a fight club, there's no way anyone could not see what was going on. with that severity of bullying every kid would've been dead or crippled..
Wi Gen "betraying" them the 1st time made no sense. she didn't talk about it and she wasn't against them but it was just used for cheap struggle.
the bully just looked like a 30 year old hurting kids and well the actor is 30 so that was a big mismatch ;/ and the whole wrap up of that part is a horrible lesson to teach kids. "take bullying, don't fight back, love and forgive the bully until they redeem themselves" ;/
the pace was slow, the evil people got too much screen time and they didn't achieve their full potential, I don't know if the writer change happened in this season, but they need a better writer.
though nothing will make me watch s2 ;(
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Pyo Na Ri engages the world like an underdeveloped child. Her codependent interactions, emotional instability and what could only be called pretending to be interested in her high school aged brothers life should serve as no example for an adult woman trying to make their way in the world.
The undeserving male lead remained self absorbed and undeserving for the duration of the show. The second male lead character was so much of what you want in a man and definitely should have received more air time.
The music was appropriate and hilarious at times (no, no, no nooooo! lol) the wardrobe of everyone EXCEPT Pyo Na Ri was on point.
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