Color Rush

Good enough to be rewatched a dozen times

Now if I talk about the plot it was out of this world the mono and probe thingy could have been used to add a lot to the plot. The cast was also wonderful however in some points the acting was plain awkward and the plot felt like it wasn't developed much. I am also confused on what they were trying to do with the characters. The music was I'll say okay. The drama is however good enough because I have rewatched it dozen times. I feel like the casting is the main reasons I got attached and can't leave the color rush fandom. To end on the positive note, it is a drama that is certainly worth watching. I mean a drama can be good and have flaws can it not?
note: They should have toned down on the effects whenever the color rush was going on.

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There was potential, but it didn't get there...

Honestly, this was my first KBL. Maybe I just don't know the formula, but this drama was so... I don't even know. The pace of the show was so jarring. I get they were trying to tell a whole story in 15ish minutes within 8 episodes, but it was just fast. I found myself laughing in situations that weren't supposed to be funny simply because it was progressing so fast it was unnatural. Individually the characters were fine, but together they felt super stiff and forced. Overall, the pacing of the story just prevented me from being totally invested. I really wanted to like it, especially with the good reviews, but it just wasn't for me.

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A World of Colours

So I will preface this by saying, this was a beautiful drama.

A fairly short series with all things considered, but I really loved it.
The way the greyscale fades to colour fascinated me so much. The overall ambience and OST made this drama so good.
Alot of people have complaints about the acting from Goo Yoo Han's actor, but I personally loved it. He always looked at Choi Yeon Woo like he held the stars.

I will say, if you are considering watching this it really is worth it.
It has hints of mystery and hints of something more sinister but the ending left it open nicely.

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Great premise and promise (8.5/10) but execution (6/10) falls flat.

Color Rush is not a sappy, feel-good BL that you can breeze through despite the short episodes.

The darker undertones is what separates this from other typical South Korean BLs with themes like struggling with mental health issues and discrimination. Unfortunately, the show fails to make any meaningful point on it.

Ultimately, Color Rush is a story about two people with their own set of problems being drawn to each other because the other party allows them to live a fuller, maybe even ‘normal’, life.

But was the story problematic? Yes. Would I still watch Season 2? Yes, in hopes that more attention will be devoted to Yoohan and Yeonwoo helping each other to become better versions of themselves.

Read my full review here (with minor spoilers): https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/01/16/color-rush-2020/

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Great concept crammed into too short a format

The concept is a really interesting one. Monos stuck in a world of greys, blacks and whites who have a person who is their 'probe', able to trigger a 'colour rush'. As a concept its great, with plenty to offer.

Problem is, its too big a prospect for a miniseries with only 15m per episode. Only 8 episodes total leaves the story feeling rushed and underdeveloped. There just wasn't enough time to dig deeply into world building, where monos risk becoming obsessed and possessive of their probes or on the other hand probes abusing the inherent power they would have in relationships with their monos. Equally, the whole idea of a 'colour rush' raises the comparison to a drug addict desperate for his next fix, is that what probes are to their monos? The probe is the drug they grave even at the expense of a loss of personal agency or rationale thought?
Then what about wider society? Is there discrimination against monos? To regular folk able to see colour fear them? The mono protagonist in our story at the outset actually mentions to us in his thoughts he thought monos and norms (especially monos and probes) should be kept separate...a longer format with more time per episode could dig into the idea of equality, tolerance vs segregation and fears of 'the other' who are not 'us'.

As I say, great concept but they just didn't have the chance to truly flesh it out due to the lack of time per episode. Not enough episodes, and the episodes we do have are much too short to do the concept justice.

That said, the acting is great and the music (such as there is any) is completely fine. Terms of re-watchability, not sure I'd re-watch each episode in full, but I certainly enjoy a few moments. This has charm, and is certainly worth a watch if you haven't seen it before, just know going in that this is a good example of a great concept squeezed into too short a format - it simply can't completely deliver on the prospects it raises, nevertheless great acting, solid cast and enjoyable enough for what it does accomplish.

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can we skip to the good part?

this bl series had a very intereesting premise and important plotpoints. however i fear tha tthey had taken up too much on their plate resulting in a medicore execution of the ideas also paired with the short runtime of the show.
the idea of someone being colour blind until they meet the 'one' sounds very cool and is another tiwst on the soumates trope which i adore so i was immediately intrigued. my curiousity was further piqued when it was revealed that mono's and probes meeting wasn't always a good thing and that the mom had disappeared...why did she leave and where is she now?
and of course the most important thing: the love between the two leads

because of these things i expected a lot of this series and was surprised to find out there were only 8 episodes. i wondered how they were going to fit everything in and resolve all the plotpoints. welp, they didn't which was really disappointing and left me feelin unsatisfied and wanting more but not in a good way because it felt rushed and unfinished (there is a season 2 but one of the main leads is missing in the s2 so i havent watched it yet).
the first half of the series is pretty good tho and gave me butterflies from the fluffiness :)
it's not bad, it just hasn't fulfilled its potential which is rather sad for a story with such an interesting world.

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pardon???????

it is i, the niel.

wow, that was weird. i could tell that there would have been a lot that they could've accomplished if the episodes were longer and the writing was better. the concept of this story is cool, and it definitely alludes to mental health at some points while also mentioning certain neurological conditions towards the end. the universe itself is a bit confusing as far as logic goes.

to me, these characters weren't likable, at least on-screen. i had a hard time coming to understand a lot of their motivations until the very end of the show, where they just unloaded information onto the audience and expected us to take it from there. i don't know why they waited until the end to explain why on earth yoohan would have that much knowledge about colors and the colors' individual histories when he seemingly didn't do anything(?) outside of interacting with yeonwoo. him being an idol trainee was so random and that was barely explored. they do briefly nudge us in the dialogue how the entire show is centered around yeonwoo as a mono, but they totally could've given us different perspectives instead of random pieces of information about yoohan. how did he know where yeonwoo lived? how did he even find out where yeonwoo was staying at the hospital? any additional info on yeonwoo's mom? why did we only find out about yoohan's family in the last episode? why was literally everything okay at the end within 3 minutes?

as for some production details...overall, it was fine. the audio wasn't bad. imo the ost was played way too often. it made the show feel too cheesy, and i found myself cringing every time a typical drama/bl cliché happened. seriously, those moments could've been nice, but it was just too much. they had a decent variety of filming locations, and the sets were nice. as with any drama set in a high school involving uniforms, the styling was giving the bare minimum. they kept the cast of characters simple enough, and they all had distinct personalities. however, why was the aunt completely okay with yeonwoo after he returned?

this leads into my overarching thoughts on mental health. if you don't want to read into it too deeply and take it for what it is, that's fine. but also, i could tell that they were trying to add in elements of mental health issues/social commentary with how monos/probes were represented. the whole dependency on probes for finding joy/meaning in everyday life and obsessing over the fear of them leaving kind of reminded me of certain personality disorders that are oftentimes villainized in media, such as BPD. what annoyed me about this was that they didn't really try to explore this aspect of yeonwoo's character, aside from acting as if this was just a normal occurrence. after both yeonwoo and yoohan returned, they glossed over those details even though in every episode, we were literally fed constant information about yeonwoo's fears/obsessions. even if it wasn't their intention to represent mental health, it hit me too late into the show to actually comprehend the beginning properly.

overall, i just feel frustrated and unsatisfied after watching this. literally what????? i would've probably preferred reading the web novel. the acting was a bit stiff and the main couple's interactions with each other made me cringe. i get it, this is set in high school, so there isn't a lot of room for growing outside of that small bubble. however, the concept of this story could've made for an interesting show! instead, it felt shallow and lackluster. i don't think i'd rewatch this. would i recommend watching it in the first place? my gut says sure, but honestly no. maybe if you watched this when it was released, it would've been more spectacular to you. but now that there are significantly better bls out in the world, this gives nothing. it's short, though, so that's a plus. ciao!

best,

the niel.

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Short but interesting

I started watching this series in December 2020. It was not long after I first moved out, could have been before I watched Sotus or after.

The plot was interesting but I am not sure how execution. I felt like if the episodes were longer we probably could have developed the characters and plot more. The plot point of Yeon Woo's missing Mom and him constantly watching the news because of his own fear of harming his probe. He does become obsessed with seeing color and when it starts to fade back to gray you can see his despair of him trying to hold on to the color for a little longer. He even admit that he wants to lock Yoo Han up. Because of this, he feels it is best to take himself out of the equation to protect him. I thought Yoo Han was going to find him, but I was surprised that it was his Aunt. She got back just in time.

His Aunt is overprotective but I can understand her reasoning. She lost her sister, who she is still trying to find and does not want to lose her nephew too.

I am not sure if season 2 will give us more answers to his mother's disappearance. The scene of him seeing his mother's painting in color, and that the ribbon in her hair was yellow was a great scene.

I will admit that there were some great scenes and I liked the chemistry of the characters, It just left me feeling like some questions were answered or was never touched on after they were introduced.

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The Best Kind of Bittersweet

Although the unique premise of this series immediately caught my attention, I did not expect much when I sat down to watch it. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise: I was hooked almost immediately – and not only by the attractive actors.

The main thing that makes watching this series such a satisfying experience is that it delivers on its promise. It tells the story of Mono Yeon Woo and his growing obsession with his Probe, Yoo Han, without making unnecessary deviations from the main plot, introducing annoying tropes such as love triangles, leaving glaring plot holes unfilled, or dragging out scenes. The romance between the lead characters is bittersweet and touching. Kudos to the scriptwriters for the crisp, engaging writing.

The acting adds bonus points. Yoo Jun and Hyun Jun might not be the most skilled and experienced actors that BL fans have seen, but they portrayed the struggles of their characters well and had sweet chemistry with each other. They both managed to deliver performances that touched my heart. I was especially moved by the final episode, which I consider the perfect ending for this series. I find season two to be unnecessary, and I am not planning to watch it.

Overall, I think that you should give Color Rush a chance if you are in a mood for a bittersweet romance with a unique premise and a happy ending. Do not let the low production quality put you off. You might love Yeon Woo and Yoo Han's love story as much as I did.

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Cute BL story with a fantasy twist. Could have been better.

I loved the idea of the colour rush and the concept of "mono" people seeing everything in grayscale and each one needing a specific, almost fated person called "probe" to make them able to see the colours. I feel that such a strong concept would have benefited of a better worldbuilding, in particular everything related to the mystery and investigation aspects of the drama. Here, it was a bit brushed off and it seems like a missed opportunity to increase the stakes of the story.

Overall, unfortunately the execution was quite poor. The realisation was super cheap (specifically when the colours were rushing through the eyes of the main character). The lines were also quite cheesy and the acting could also have been better. The actors did the best they could but it felt a bit lacking in terms of chemistry and emotions even though the skinship elements were adorable.

Despite all of this, the show was addictive with some cute moments between the main leads. I appreciated a lot the romance and found super interesting the psychological side of their relationship with the idea of obsession that was developed all thorough the show. I would have loved to see more of it.

I would recommend this to people who are in need of some heart-warming quick binge-watch with no deep-meaning.

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