Crushology 101

Come for the Pretty Faces, Stay Because You Forgot Where the Remote Is

Crushology 101 kicks off with a dazzling premise: a young woman, freshly humiliated, decides that from now on, only gorgeous men are worthy of her time. Truly groundbreaking. If you ever wanted a show that promises emotional growth and then immediately forgets about it in favor of pretty faces, congratulations... you’ve found it.

-> Story and Pacing:
The opening scandal is genuinely hilarious. But after that, the plot politely packs its bags and leaves. Bunny’s "handsome-only" rule is less about emotional healing and more about assembling the Korean drama version of a boy band. Growth is "teased" (if by teased you mean "mentioned and ignored"), and episodes start blending together into one long montage of Bunny blushing at different men.

-> Characterization:

Ban Hee-jin (Bunny) begins as someone you root for, until you realize she’s stuck on a hamster wheel of terrible decisions, and the script is too scared to let her get off.

The male leads (Ji-won, Jae-yeol, A-rang)? Icons of originality. We’ve got the brooding quiet guy, the smug flirt, and the sensitive artist - almost as if someone checked off a bingo card titled "Standard K-Drama Love Interests."

Their instant fascination with Bunny is truly touching, considering none of them know her beyond her tendency to trip over her own feet and stare dramatically into space.

-> Tone and Execution:
The show fully commits to its webtoon look, which is adorable until it’s supposed to get serious. Emotional scenes flash by so fast you’d think the editors had a hot dinner waiting. Any heartfelt moment is immediately buried under a mountain of cartoonish antics. Emotional stakes? Never heard of them.

-> Highlights (Such As They Are):

Bunny’s internal monologues are gold if you enjoy secondhand embarrassment.

Jae-yeol and Bunny actually have chemistry (an endangered species here).

Every once in a while, the show remembers it could be about self-esteem and body image... before getting distracted by another "accidental fall into a guy’s arms" scene.

-> Verdict:
Crushology 101 is colorful, chaotic, and as deep as a puddle. It’s the perfect background noise for folding laundry or wondering what more interesting dramas you could be watching. It’s just another webtoon adaptation you forgot you watched.

Read More

Big romantic gestures do not make a romance

It's a shame the plot turned out the way it is because I usually will eat up a college-setting romance, especially a reverse harem. And the first two episodes were extremely promising too, with some really amusing over-the-top scenes that seemed to be making fun of old tropes, and with a female lead that was a little cliche — bright and bubbly — but still ended up sticking up for herself. And I love the bright pastel visuals.

As the drama went on, it felt like the show stopped doing tropes the fun way and just started doing them for real. I felt like I was watching something that should've come out in 2010. The manipulative ex-girlfriend plot device is especially tired, especially when paired with a male lead that just...doesn't communicate. And the way they handled the study abroad plot was so immature and frustrating.

Which is kind of a big issue throughout the drama that really made me stop caring about the leads. The show uses scenes of big romantic gestures to push the leads together, but the two of them pretty much fall flat in everything else. Maybe I'm old now but constant slow motion scenes of the leads saving each other from random situations, or running to each other to say "I love you" doesn't really mean anything to me if they're not going to actually talk to each other in between those scenes.

The side characters feel pretty underutilized. But props to Hong Min-ki for showing up to serve face for a few episodes.

Read More