Reviews

This drama was interesting and heartbreaking but at the same time can be hilarious. It has a lot to do with loyalty, betrayal, friendship, trust, teamwork, and of course romance. I specifically liked the brotherhood/sisterhood in this drama. The romance of the main leads were a bit eh. I did not know when they started liking each other and why? Still asking that now since I finished it. The annoying part is that I remember the female lead kept calling the male lead Yang Feng's name over -5 times in a row. It got the point that I did not want her to speak another word.  If you like xianxia dramas [fantasy with martial arts action scenes+special effects] I would recommend it. But if you hate watching a character(s) get saved over and over when at the brink of death then don't watch it

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I just finished this drama, so here comes my review right after:

Story: The beginning was really intense and I felt really hooked to keep watching it. Although later on it had some episodes which in my opinion weren't necessary because they only made some moments longer and actually quite boring. I really had trouble to motivate myself to keep watching it which is quite sad and a bit disappointing because the start was so strong. Towards the end it got better again.

Acting/Cast: I like the cast, they are all very unique charaters with their ups and downs. The introduction was very nice, also the introduction of the culprit was very strong and I actually like the character a lot.

Music: The Music was okay, some parts were really well underlined with a soundtrack, I especially liked the piano parts, I will have to look up the song later xD

Rewatch Value: As I mentioned before - the story got a bit loooong and slow and I almost couldn't bring myself to finish the drama, so I probably wouldn't watch it again.

Overall: Overall I liked the drama despise my own opinions above. It's a nice drama to watch on the side and not too complicated to understand.

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Easy to watch. Little frustration due to silly contracdictions you see in most mainland drama.  This drama does not waste time dwelling in nonsence and it moves quite quickly.  This drama contains love, crime investigation (just like in Justice Bao), comedy and food.  It attempts to introduce Chinese cruisine to the audience. The drama was make interesting by interjecting crime solving stories.  In addition, the subtle comedy is intesting compare to some dramas that used Jim Carrey rubbish commedy actions. The new actress Jiang Jia En is so cute and looks innocent and fits the role she played in.  In the initial episodes her acting was average but as it progresses her acting improved and kudos to her for this effort. Being a new actress as the lead main role in this drama is not easy and demanding.  Hope to see more of her in future dramas.

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Story: I really liked the story actually, because it kept me interested to watch it. Some of it was sometimes too much to handle, because there wasn't only ONE story line, but many that made a big one and for some people that might be a bit irritating, but in the end all the loose ends come together, so I really liked it.

Acting/Cast: The people chosen for their roles were really on point. Every character is likable and you get to know some backround of the protagonists as well which is crucial for the storyline. I think that some characters wouldn't have been necessary but that's just my own opinion.

Music: I really really loved the music! I fell in love with the love-song-theme from VROMANCE, omg my sister and I are singing or more humming (we don't speak korean) the melody all the time xD

Rewatch Value: I would definitly rewatch this show, but not too soon, because the storyline has so many strings that it's not an "easy" show to watch because sometimes it seems too much :D But I would rewatch it some day for sure ;)

Overall: Overall I'd say that this drama is very adorable and likeable.

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Ok wow. Black is a conundrum with equal parts things to love and equal parts things to hate. It is excellent at times but tragically bad at others and after you’re done with it, you’ll find yourself fully understanding where both the highly positive and negative views are coming from. Your final rating will simply depend on the aspect you choose to focus on. So here’s the spoiler-free break down of the good and bad that comes with the show:

The Bad:-

Bad Acting and Annoying ASF Characters:
1) Our Female Lead:Kang Ha Ram was your everyday damsel in distress/dumb but kind/self-sacrificing/self-blaming/bumbling-fumbling idiotic heroine who should’ve been as unmemorable as they come. And she really was that way as long as Go Ah Ra didn’t attempt to “act” but then somebody gave her the awful idea that she should “try and make an effort” and that’s when things went sour for me. Her acting was so monotonous and try-hard that at times I too wanted to stab my eyes with a metallic chopstick. Just at the slightest inclination of danger, she started this weird hyperventilating/gasping/whimpering regime and trust me, nobody wants to hear that kind of constant panting in the ear in, what is supposed to be, an emotionally intense scene. Simply put, it made me feel violence.

2) Kim Won Hae:Ladies and Gents, let me introduce you to the supporting ahjussi version of Lee Jong Suk (minus the looks ofc) He has the classic “same character, different drama” thing going on and that’s why what was supposed to be the role of a quirky and passionate police officer soon turned into the “same ol’ bs” for me. It didn’t help that I had watched two of his dramas (WYWS/CHIEF KIM) back to back (in which I really liked him) before Black and his acting chops (or lack thereof) were quite apparent to me .

3)The Second Male/Female Lead:The second female lead was a slightly updated version of Kang Ha Ram. Atleast, she had some reason for her constant hyperventilation. The poor woman was literally used as a plot device for the show (with zero character development) and spent the entirety of the drama getting abused/hit/humiliated/kidnapped and you know the routine…The second male lead was the male equivalent of the female and second female lead combined so you know there’ wasn’t much hope to begin with. There was equally bad acting done by all three of them to wrap their disastrously written characters with a sparkly bow on top.

4) Side Characters:There are a lot of side characters with straight up cringey acting which made me question my own existence. Like why? Their roles weren’t even hard. It was like watching a bad rehearsal instead of the actual thing.

-Pacing and Plot Development:
Black’s pacing is admittedly very messy. The drama starts being all over the place, it’s draggy and confusing and you almost want to drop it but then episode 5 kicks in. And somehow it turns from “meh” to “holy shit that’s awesome”. And then just when you’re ready to give it a 10, the drama reaches the 12th episode mark and things start to go downhill. The last couple of episodes were probably some of the most badly executed/poorly written/sappy and disappointing episodes I’ve had the displeasure of witnessing in a drama. The ending was also done in poor taste. Some of the reveals could’ve been brilliant but the show failed to pull it off, so much so, that when everything finally hit the fan, I was almost yawning like “So this what was all the hype was about?” Not impressed.

-Bullshit-O-Meter on Level 100:
Honestly, if you’re watching the show objectively you’ll find a lot of loopholes and things that don’t add up. Some scenes were flat-out ridiculous and laughably unbelievable. There’s a level of “illogical” I can put up with under the label of fantasy but when you just start bullshitting your way through things, just to wrap it all up, I’m sorry but I’m not buying. The amount of convenient plot devices in the last coupla episodes were tragic and the poor props used by the production team just made things more tacky.

The Good:-

Well Done Anti-Hero/Male Lead:
I simply adored Grim Reaper 444/Black. He was the life of the show and could often be seen carrying it on his sexy back. I actually think Song Seung Hoon pulled it all off quite brilliantly. I loved the way he went from this cold/blunt/almost selfish jerk to this kind hearted man. I loved everything about him- his hilarious antics, his cute attempts to adjust to the human world, the way the actor delivered his dialogues and his poignant expressions that actually made you “feel” so much for him. He pulled both his roles as the “clumsy police officer” and “the stoic Grim Reaper” perfectly. Even though his character took some hits because of the bad writing towards the end, they weren’t nearly big enough to downplay all his awesomeness. Plus those black suits were mighty good to him. I couldn’t get enough.

-Suspense/Mystery:
Even though the ending reveals and the wrap-up could’ve been much much better, the journey towards the revelations was excellent. There were some genuine thrilling moments and the show executed the suspense marvellously. I was dying to know what was going to happen at times and was clueless about how it was all going to end (except one of the big reveals that I had figured out quite early in the show). The way some things connected to each other in some of the individual cases had me gripping the edge of my old rusty futon. As a hardcore fan of the mystery genre, I really appreciated some of the twists and turns the story took. After a very long time, I had myself a show where I was genuinely interested in knowing the results. I was badly anticipating the “wow-wow-superwow moments” and even though the results disappointed me, I’d never for a moment take back the beautiful process.

-The Middle:
For me the middle of the show (ep 5-11) was definitely the best of it. There were some legit interesting cases that our main guys took over. The show pulled off the darkness and violence of every crime quite nicely and ended up being fairly impactful. In this phase of the show I was sure I was going to give it a solid 10; for the execution of these episodic stories was far better than the over-arching plot.

-Black’s two “Reaper Best Friends”:
Jo Jae Yun is my favorite supporting actor and I’ve loved him in all his roles. Joseon along with our adorable Rapper brought some much needed comedic relief and warmth to the show. Their interactions with Black made my day.

-The Killers:
A few of the killers/criminals in the show were just the right flavor of creeptastic.*Scarface, I’m looking at you.” This did wonders for the psychological aspect of the drama. You get a glimpse of how horrible some humans can be and it is ugly. I loved it.

-OST:
The OST was very appropriate and the soft vocals gave a very melancholic feel that was just right for the show. The instrumentals helped too.

-Leo:
Lmao ok so he was actually quite irrelevant and one-dimensional but still oh so cute. I’m  a girl. I have two eyes and two ovaries. I liked what I saw.

So anyway, that’s about it folks. That’s all you need to know about Black. Do I recommend it? Actually, yes.
If you can look over some things/don’t mind one and a half hour episodes/ are a fan of mystery and crime, then definitely give it a go. Chances are you will really enjoy, if not most, then at least some of it. Do I think it deserves to be one of the very top rated shows? Personally, no. Not by a long shot.

Best of luck!

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I'm so late in the game. Sorry, I know I should write a review when I'm done watching, But this drama is worth to get high rating even for just for the six episode I've watched. What make this drama is feels refreshing experience for me compare to any other show with similar premise. Heck, (I even rate this drama better than signal) for the fact this drama is meliticulously detail. I'm in awe of how structurally sound it's . What make it interesting each case is kind of related and can't be identified by face value. , the process of uncovering the truth is brutally realistic compare  to any regular korean drama procedural I've seen, that's why it take really long to get to the point. THe protagonist is a genius, IMO, but it doesn't give you the lisence to easily can judge human demeanor to commit a crime that easily, even with all clues pointing out to certain person, your judgement can be misleading. It's also interesting there is a possible alternative you also can become one of the culprit with all the evidence pointing out at you, can yourself also can be trust? Who is your friend? who is your enemy? Who is lying and who is telling the truth?   This kind of issue keep me glued to the screen. It's also allow us the viewers know more about our suspect and witness by digging them deeper.  The show is treat us as watchers  an intellegent viewers so they let us judge if what they are showing is what we get. And It's a plus in my book.

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This was...surprisingly not bad. Huh.

I'm no fan of the first season- far from it. Something about the main couple irritated me to the point of madness. When I heard that there was going to be a second season, my first thought was 'oh hell to the nah'. Nevertheless, I decided to try it anyway after I read a couple of reviews saying that it's much better than the first. They were right.

For starters, I'm very glad the producers decided to cut down on the (frankly unnecessary) amount of episodes- from 17 to 10. This ensured that each episode had enough content to keep the viewers interested and invested (unlike the first season where I can't even remember 70% of the show). The love triangle in the first season was absolute trash; I don't think ANYONE was sold on it. This one, though, was wonderfully heartbreaking- GOD I wanted her to end up with the second male lead more than Uehara. He was literally incredible. I still think he got the short end of the stick by the end of the drama, being that amazing, but I highly doubt the writers could have ended the season with Nao dating him. Suffice to say, the love triangle in this was NOT half-assed, unlike the first season (side note: the first season SML makes a frequent appearance here, not as a love rival but just as a side character with his own love line. It's decent.)

Nao is slightly less annoying than the first season, but maybe that's because it's been ages since I've watched it. Her voice is still as shrill and baby-like, though, which got on my nerves quite often. Uehara seems the same from season one, maybe just a little less 'I dont give a damn'. The both of them together was annoying as heck, but hey, they're the main lead. You can't avoid them. (also, Uehara gets his own little triangle with this really pretty and really smart scientist. He should have ended up with her.)

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Dragged it out in the end, what started as an interesting drama ended up being a drag in the end. I literally cudnt wait for it to end. Enjoyed the initial few episodes. Reduced number of episodes with crisper writing & ending wud have helped hold the interest. The last episode seemed like the creators suddenly remembered drama needs to end & hurriedly finished it. I would have loved it if the ajjumma character had been explored a bit more, also the myung hee-moon shik story didn't get the ending it deserved considering the build-up that story was given. Loved the characters, music & fashion. The winter wears were definitely to die for. A one time must watch.

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Before I say anything I want to officially state that I took off 1 point for the sappy, unnecessary, inexplicable, and downright boring last approximate 30 minutes of Black.  It was like it was written by completely different writers, which, as we know, is not unheard of.   But that's the end.  Let's go to the beginning.

I waffled on whether or not to watch Black because I thought it would be a regurgitation of Goblin from the reaper's point of view.  It is not. Black's a completely different story and for my money one that is told, presented, and written much better.  Black is the story of Grim Reaper 444 nicknamed Black, as he attempts to circumnavigate humanity. While he tracks down an escaped reaper, he inadvertently becomes involved in a series of murders and cover-ups.   Take out the supernatural aspect and it's a really good cop drama.

For the most part the writing was excellent.  There's a quite a bit of dark humor and one liners.  The story is layered and twisty. Just when you think you know it all and that you've gotten to the  meat, there's another layer to peel back.  Situations and scenes that seem to be inconsequential come back right when you've forgotten all about it.  Black is pretty much finished mid-way episode 18.  Have you ever watched a great drama that is finished may 15-20 minutes into the last episode and wonder why they just didn't extend the episode before?  Black is one of those.   They finish it with sappy melodrama that didn't exist in any of the previous episodes.  I'm dying to ask a couple of "how did they expect/explain...," "why.....,"  but I have no way of wording them that wouldn't be spoilers.

The cast was great.  Hands down a talented cast.  It never felt like 1 member was being dragged along by his or her hair by better actors.   I adore character actors and you'd be hard pressed to find one better than Kim Won Hae.  Bless his scene stealin' heart. There's none better.  There's not many female Korean actresses that I like. There's Kim Mi Kyung, Sun Ah, Park Shin Hye, and Go Ah Ra (perhaps a few more but I can't think if their names). Granted she's typecast as the strong feisty type, but it fits her and she damn good.  She always manages to hold her own no matter who she is in a scene with.  This was my first time seeing Song Seung Heon and he was good.  He delivered the best one liners without cracking a smile.  He did a wonderful job displaying Black's journey from emotionless to emotion. The rest of the cast gave solid performances.  If I had any issue with the cast, it would be their ages. This is a problem I have far too often with Korean dramas. The apparent ages of the adult actors don't mesh with the story or the child characters.  An example would be a spoiler.  Seriously, this show is so layered almost everything is a spoiler.

The music..eh.  I've never been big on the Korean penchant on basically selling a song in their dramas.  Some producers/networks go overboard causing it to have the opposite effect on me.  I begin to loathe the song instead of like it.  Not so with Black. I didn't feel like I was being sledgehammered with 1 or 2 songs.  I have no interest in listening to the OST.   Honestly, my rewatch value is low because I almost never rewatch a drama.  However, if I were to want to rewatch a drama, Black has a higher chance than most.

Overall I give Black an 8.5-9.   I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it up until the later half of the final episode. Had the ending not been so sophomoric and poorly thought out, Black easily would have gotten a 9.5-10.

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Hi there,

To start off with, I found it enjoyable to watch. That’s where that ends. On the contrary it was very awkward to watch at the same time, although I’m used to watching films where there is obviously less awkwardness between the main characters that are in love, I can’t help but squirm every time they kiss. Not in a good way either, I must say if their acting was directed to be so, then ok fair enough. I just found anytime they did anything considered intimate between ‘lovers’ awkward and not really ‘wooing’ me.

Not very enthused to say that I would disagree with anyone who says ‘you could see the raw emotions that the actors presented for the characters’, it was very naturalistic. Therefore I’m able to deduce that the style is realism or supposedly close to realism. To be frank I liked it, it wasn’t something that would evoke emotion out of me due to the body language of the actors that completely throw me off from actually feeling emotionally connected to those characters. I could rant it out, but I’ll wrap this up really quick.

It is an good flim to watch and quite enjoyable in ways that’s are cute and all, very sweet moments between the two that make you go ‘awe’.

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I binge watched this and i don't regret doing it - i don't think i'd have been able to finish it if i had watched it while it aired.
The plot fits perfectly the definition of my own guilty pleasure; if you've got a thing for spy / romance dramas, then this one is for you!
Although the plot lacked a lot: it didn't bring anything new, the action scenes weren't so spectacular and the characters didn't show much depth.
The thing that saved it all for me was the cast: i fell all over again for park hae jin, kim min jung's acting was fresh and full of cuteness, park sung woong did a really good job at making me get attached to his character and the supporting roles weren't so bad either.
I won't say i'll watch it again but if you've got nothing to do and netflix on, you could probably have a good time watching this drama!

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