This review may contain spoilers
One of the best k-dramas
Psychopath's Diary is humorous and at the same time, suspenseful along with the best performances. I saw a short clip of this drama a few months ago and I knew it, this is what exactly I'm finding in a drama. And here are the things I enjoyed the most.1. Yook Dong-shik ( His emotions were on point, I feel what the character felt. Even though this is the first drama I've watched from Yoon Shi Yoon, he has become my fav actor now )
2. Unnecessary Dramatic background music ( I love it every time, that one whistle music played, it was hilarious and matched perfectly with the plot )
3. The Side Characters ( Every single actors done a great job, especially Park Sunghoon. His acting was amazing that I wanted to slapped him )
Overall this is a 10/10 for me, I loved, LOVED it! And gonna be exploring more Dark-Comedy genre. ( Ngl, ML is a little too dumb at some point, but that's what makes the drama alive )
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When your co-workers and the police are scarier than a psychopathic killer ...
This was very good. For the first 5 episodes. Nice pace, creative story, binge-worthy. And then it suffered from the all too common everyone-except-the-bad-guy-behaves-extremely-stupid-all-the-time syndrome and was stretched out into way too many episodes. 10 or maybe 12 episodes could have saved this. Or more creative writing. If they wouldn't have created such a power-imbalance between the male leads so early on, they could have had a few funny/thrilling episodes where they were rival killers or friends or scared of the other or whatever ... But what they chose instead was to let all the stupid people make all the stupid mistakes time and time again, ignoring all the red flags and alarm bells all around ... makes for a very frustrating watch for episodes 6 to 14 or so.Minor observations:
- The hair gel gangster was such a funny character.
- The pushover's family was very nice. Would have loved to see them more.
- What's the deal with the internal revision lady? Her motivations stayed unclear till the end.
- How many times has this police officer NOT used her gun? Would have served her right to be killed ... *arghh*
- The co-workers would have deserved some more revenge. The toilet scene with the immediate superior was a good start, but not enough.
- The finale with the escape room must have been a joke, right? Could have been so much better with a better (longer) use of the escape room to tease the bad guy a bit longer. And what happened after the escape room was ridiculous.
- At one point, MDL hat the bromance tag on this. It was removed. Rightfully so, as there is no bromance.
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Disappointing
So, I dropped this but I decided to have faith and come back to rewatch it. This was one of those ones where a really good story premise was wasted on a really bad drama. I need MDL to remove the thriller tag because frankly it's just misleading. There's nothing 'thriller' about this drama. If you're going into this for some actual serial killer content then you're going to be left extremely disappointed but if you want to watch a parody comedy-mystery then this is more up your alley.Was this review helpful to you?
worth it.
i was skeptical,, bc of some reviews but i still wanted to give it a try.. i didnt really check the summary and just jumped right in. i still enjoyed it alot! at first it was like an eh its ok but as characters joined in and the story progresssed i was super into it!the actor who played dong sik did a rlly good job bc omg i loved his character sm and the way he executed it!!! dong sik is funny, clumsy, a bit dumb but he's a really good liar and actor. bluffing is literally his specialty! i cant get enough of him. dong sik's and bo kyung's dynamic was amazing and entertaining to watch! literally got me on my toes waiting for what's going to happen next! all the actors did a really good job!
the plot was good and it didnt feel very dragged out imo,, just a guy thinking he's a psychopathic murderer.
the drama had more comedy (?) than i thought it would but im not complaining bc i loved it!! i was giggling all night to myself as i watched it,,, maybe my neighbours think that im a psycopath now
anyway i would totally reccomend giving this a shot!!<3
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definitely worth watching
i loved this drama personaly, i like how they have a acualy well writen serial killer character, most media dont give the killer motive or backstory and just have them as one dimentional psycho killers, bit in this you sort of understand a little bit why he is the way he is without simpathising for him since he is still a murderer.i think they should have had a bit less comedy especially towords the end, plus i hated the ending i think it just trivalizes the whole story and you end the show not invested in the characters anymore
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This review may contain spoilers
I think that if this series had been shorter I would have given it an 8. The drama has its funny and satisfying parts. Even some parts that become quite addictive to watch, smile from ear to ear moments. But those last few episodes are so incredibly frustrating and not in the good way.
I want to say that I think the drama suffers most from the writing of its characters.
I could never for the life of me root for FL one. This is not the actress' fault, the character started out as an incredibly mediocre and even corrupt cop, going as far as to hide her own crime against ML. As she progressed she became more of a nuisance than someone I wanted to succeed. She is not a passive character by any means, but my gooness there were times when I just wanted to estrangle her because of incompetence. By the end of the drama when she is put in danger after achieving a whole lot of nothing (I think she forgot her cop training and prefered to watch as ML and antagonist fought it out instead of REACTING and trying to escape... granted she did escape but girl took her sweet time). I was honestly rooting for the amazing likeable villain to just off her and do the world a favor.
ML... ML is on and off for me. At the start of the drama he's this doormat annoying character. I sometimes felt sorry for him, but the way he acted just rubbed me off the wrong way at times... he was too over the top with his depression and sadness that I could not buy it. I personally think the tone of making him a comedic character and addressing themes such as suicide and abuse with comedy was not the ticket... I started rooting for him when he gained confidence and started behaving like a psycho and I consider these scenes the most entertaining ones out of the drama. I wish that sort of character development had stayed... as soon as he "kills" the informant he completely reverts back to his dormat over the top self and it just goes downhill from there. Because his acting when he's the pushover is so exaggerated to the point of satire, I could not take his genuine tragic situation seriously. He also had a tendency of not using logic at the most important of times for plot convenient reasons and that frustrated me to no end and not in a good way. There's nothing worse than an incompetent protagonist. He is not as useless as FL though, so I'll give him that. I also think this is a writing problem... and partly the actor's interpretation of ML when he's on doormat mode. It was just too ridiculous for me and it pushed me out of the story.
Main antagonist was a joy to watch. 10/10. I was rooting for you dude, next time pull the trigger faster. Awesome character and such a charismatic actor. YES. Absolutely.
Surprisingly, the side characters were more likeable than the 2 leads. I think they were used properly. Some of them were a bit annoying at times but because they were not on screen all the time they grew on me.
All in all this drama is not terrible... it gave me some genuine laughter at some point but it drags so much after the midpoint... should have been shorter by like 6 episodes.
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Hilariously Scary
When I saw this series it blew my mind how you can throw physiological thriller, serial killer and comedy into the same show so naturally, as a psycho thriller fan I dove straight into this epic roller coaster! I loved every minute of this series and all the cast brought their own spice to this dish. There's characters you can relate too and of course ones you're gonna love to hate! I had constant anxiety through this series but the dark, random, quirky humor lit it up flawlessly. I loved that even though it ran you in circles it never got boring and everything tied into itself perfectly. There was no unnecessary drama that split off from the main story, there was one consistent story and I definitely enjoyed that. The MC was so cute and turned off his goofy cuteness for a sinister killer vibe flawlessly!I can't imagine having the HORRIBLE luck the MC had and you get to experience it all in 16 fun filled eps lol
Enjoy...
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This review may contain spoilers
There are two ships I love in this drama: the ML and his older gangster follower, and ML and the real psychopath. If you’re looking for romance, look elsewhere. The drama has some funny moments and fine acting. Even though the ML thinks he is a psychotic killer, when he actually tries to hurt a person, his innate goodness wouldn’t let him do it. I guess if ML did end up really hurting/killing, the drama would turn into something else, darker, more twisted. Maybe the writers want to convey that you can’t hide your inner self, whether good or bad. Or maybe they don’t want to go down that twisted, dark path. I actually feel sympathetic towards the real killer, especially seeing how he was raised by a crazy controlling father. Was this review helpful to you?
I wasn't expecting anything and it had everything
Omg the main character was so charismatic, Yook Dongshik personality was just so well and I could felt that he was someone anyone knowsThe villain, or real assassin made me think, wow some people are just really f*cked up, the final chapter was just incredible
The lady, or officer was so clueless, like how Dongshik who looks like a lost puppy or a hamster can be a killer?
The plot about finding out a murder while you attempted to suicide in the first chapter was amazing, so much information well developed in the next episodes
I remember it was the first pandemic days when I watched it, it made me forget what was happening in the real word by the inmerse I was in the story
about the relation between Dongshik and the officer I don't know, it doesn't make sense
But Dongshik with the killer, I know y'all sensed that tention, I mean they almost kissed in every scene hahahaha, a real good bromance or queerbating
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This review may contain spoilers
// Not trying to be funny but will still get your funny bone
/ Satirical but has a moderate amount of brilliance when it comes to humour whilst sticking to the plot./ Hilarious enough to consider for a rewatch when you want to cleanse from all the dramatic formula that most series have.
/ Loved the way the casts were not even trying to be funny but still made me chuckle for a while.
/ Some character developments were shown from 서지훈 but a diminished one from 조유진 (sadly). Loyalty somehow prevailed?
/ Overall, the point of the show was meant as a silly opener to injustice in most system in the society. Wherever you are, corrupt and deceitful minds is unpredictible yet conniving in the aspect of being a good person. It all comes down with how you were raised into your grassroots.
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Appreciate the Humour
I understand that people clearly have their own preferences but Psychopath Diary seriously suits my style. The dark humour made me laugh almost every time. The bromance erghhh top notch. Seo In Woo and Yoon Shi Yoon nailed this!You guys are missing out if you dropped this series, the acting is not bad too. Many dropped this because it combined thriller and comedy but it's one of the reason why I watched this hahahaha. It's easy to digest and I had fun watching this.
Probably gonna rewatch this just don't know when, I love Dong Shik when he thinks he's the psychopath and In Woo in my humbly opinion is lowkey gayy (jk)he was just interested in another person who he thought another psychopath like him. Also, not to miss out the FL is awesome too, she doesn't give up to find the killer.
Overall, if you don't wanna watch a series that is heavy like Mouse or anything and just wanna have a laugh and some actions I recommend you to watch this!
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This drama is like a guilty secret.
It will make you laugh at very inappropriate times. This act of laughter will lighten the scary darkness at the heart of a psychopath's killing actions.Our hero/anti hero is a protagonist wanting to be nice and do good in the world. (Protagonists’ secret weapon is their purity of intent. Generally speaking, they are motivated by a sincere wish to do the right thing rather than a desire to manipulate or have power over other people). This stance means that others view Dong-Sik as weak, a pushover and at the start of the drama it drives him to consider a desperate act. The consequence is the setup for the black humour that follows. Using his love of murder movies for reference we get to watch this playful, puppy eyed, sweetie slip into murderous role play. The acting is terrific and the shift in facial and body response is something that keeps the entertainment level high.
Our true baddie, Seo In Woo, is likewise a complex character who initially sees Dong-Sik as a worthy soulmate and imbues him with skills and intelligence that are more projections of his idealistic self.
The two ML's are polar opposites in personality and family dynamics and when Seo In Woo realises his mistake his focus on Dong-Sik becomes a murderous cat and mouse game.
Neighborhood police officer, Shim Bo Kyung, has aspirations of following in her successful, detective, father's footsteps and here too the reality lines are blurred as she believes she is getting encouragement and clues from her father when in actuality he is a projected hallucination and her skill set and lack of martial arts is severely lacking. Some of her actions and responses annoyed me and I had my fingers crossed that our ML would not choose her for a love interest.
The black comedy may not suit everyone as it relies on absurdist humour creating awkward and hilarious encounters and reactions. It shows up regularly in every episode and I was grateful for this as it was a counterfoil to the truly horrible planned murders from our handsome and urbane psychopath, Seo In Woo.
I do recommend Psychopath Diary it has shades of the strange film Seven Psychopaths (2012) where that plot spins around the idea of dog nappers and spirals out of control.
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