Heartwarming dramedy that sometimes loses the mix between comedy and horror
A heartwarming and healing show about loss, grief and obsession, Here Comes Trouble is a mix of comedy, horror and drama that sometimes loses the right balance between its various elements. But this early tonal confusion shouldn't stop viewers from persisting with a thoroughly enjoyable drama full of great performances and genuine pathos.Pu Yiyong is a kind but somewhat aimless young man who experiences a terrible tragedy and wakes up to find he can perceive spirits: creations of human emotions that have been poured into objects and have developed their own desires. These spirits - grown by obsessive human emotions such as grief, loneliness and jealousy - come to him for help.
He teams up with cop ,Chen Yuying and former classmate, Cao Guangyan to help resolve the situations that have kept the spirits trapped.
As a Western viewer, the show is seeped in a mythology I don't know and do not entirely understand. But it's no barrier to watching a genuinely heartfelt exploration of the destructive power of obsession and the healing power of kindness.
Here Comes Trouble with make you laugh, make you cry and possibly even scare you depending on your appetite for horror. But as with the best of the genre, the problem is never the dead but the living. Humans are the monsters here. Malevolence is ultimately natural rather than supernatural. And kindness is our greatest weapon.
Tseng Jing Hua brings out all Yiyong's immaturity, uncertainty, grief, guilt and desire to help. He is heroic in his lack of desire for heroism, making him an inherently likeable and appealing character. It is this - the complex, multi-layered and three dimensional aspect to all the characters, even the villains - that makes the show shine.
Here Comes Trouble has something profound to say about the human experience but never preaches nor detours into saccharine fantasy. And while its tonal shifts between comedy and gruesomeness can be a bit much, in the end it ultimately works.
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Lackluster story but good friendship story of the 2 main lead
I like the friendship story between Yi Yong and Guang Yan. Their interaction is cute, natural and well acted (bickering and snipe remarks). I find Guang Yan extremely adorable.I also felt for Yi Yong loss of his father and his regrets. It is this story that also keeps me watching to the end.
Overall, it is quite a well done show, not draggy and to the point. The individual cast and scripts are appropriate and well acted.
The big problem is flat and shallow story. Yi Yong regrets and final meeting with his father is short-changed. Certain scenes and his actions in the middle of the shows are extremely well done and touching. This is something this show has directed well over most drama. No overtalking. No words is needed, action speaks louder. And it just makes you tear when he does something without explaining. But the final meeting with his father and overall story of his regrets is lacking, not complete, not right and no good closure.
Next, the obsession and loss stories, and the stories' various characters are also dull and shallow. They should compliment it to develop Yi Yong regrets on his father story but no except maybe a little bit. Thus, it become boring and repetitive from second half despite the cast's good acting. And perhaps, due to no idea or research, the story arch was the usual thrilling bad guy plot, its common and not in the spirit of this story. This ending is a let down.
The reason this show scores 5 is because it failed to develop the character nor come out good thrilling plots. Most shows nowadays did not develop character - how they grown and change (except maybe Till the end of the moon which is badly directed). Instead, more thrilling plots or fantasy are used to hype up the story. This show is lackluster on both aspects but it scores on the interaction and relationship between the characters, especially the 2 main leads.
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This review may contain spoilers
if the living don't forget, then the dead will still be here.
i freaking love this show. it is tear-jerking, funny, heartwarming and healing all in one package. you get to laugh, you get to cry.but what i really love about the show? well, it is the personalized story with their personalized phrases. everyone has their own story, has their own obsession that they cannot leave out. and with these stories, you get to learn different things such as loneliness, workplace bully and more.
one thing i learnt, not from the ghost's story but from pu yi yong itself was that do not assume to think that your thoughts equals to other people's thoughts and everyone has a choice to know the truth or they get to decide to keep it in the dark.
my favourite character is pu yiyong because he is so relatable like he has lines such as "do i look like i'm a tourist spot?" or "am i suppose to collect them like dragon balls?" and in the first episode when he made everyone's jaw drop by drawing calligraphy perfectly withint 20 minutes!!!
i love this show that i want a season 2 NOW!
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Great encounter between psychology, everydayness and fantasy
A heart-warming and well written story entwined in a fable of trauma and obsession. Maybe it's the way the main character deals with his own trauma that which I enjoyed the most of this show. He doesn't just forget it like it usually happens in tv shows, but carries it with him throughout the whole story and seems overwhelmed by it at times. He's always crying, which is normal! I've loved to see this kind of reactions.Nice pacing, interesting sub-plots and a great encounter between psychology, everydayness and fantasy.
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A moving and healing journey
"Powerless isn't a shameful thing"This drama has everything I want (in general) and it has also a magical element or a charm of its own that impressed me until the end. This is in my opinion one of the best (taiwanese) dramas I have ever watched. It made me laugh but at the same time, shed some tears. I love this kind of slice-of-life drama that also include life lessons.
Now, I really love the development of the story, it was really nice to watch every episodes and to discover with our male lead, Pu Yiyong (and his two friends, they are so precious) the mystery and the cases.
I was overwhelmed / shattered by his story but also with other stories (subplot but important for the main story) and all characters but mainly Pu Yiyong is an endearing character and even a relatable one! I admit, at first, I was a bit skeptical about his character but then, later after each episodes, I appreciate him. What I really like is also the calligraphy and the quotes. It makes me want to practice again my calligraphy! The CGI is also really good.
The actors did a really good job, they were all convincing and brought characters alive. I haven't seen anyone till I stumbled upon this drama (or maybe two actors who give me familiar impression / feels, like I saw them somewhere but I don't know where exactly lol I referred to hen Chuying and the baker guy).
With an interesting story with a good CGI and a really good acting from everyone (main characters and side characters), it makes this drama kind of outstanding; I may exaggerated but I don't even know what's the minor issues, because I really enjoy it. I'm not influenced by other's words but it's true, thanks to them I wanted to watch it and I agree and I understand now why the majority love it.
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Supernatural Mystery Drama with a pinch of slice of life story.
Supernatural Mystery Drama with a pinch of slice of life story.Maybe before starting the review, I will give a small warning for those who want to watch dramas from city states like Taiwan or Singapore. Dramas from there usually rely heavily on Plot and Story Writing. Most of them will have outdated backsound and cinematography. So watching it will feel like watching a drama from 10 years ago or less.
The plot of this drama tells about human obsession that causes supernatural things. In its journey, it will be very thick telling about human obsession and its consequences.
Mystery is the driving force of this drama from beginning to end. Although not too deep, it is enough to keep the audience watching this drama until the end.
What makes this drama have high value apart from the interesting plot, the writing of each subplot is really great. Some subplots you even need to prepare tissues.
The relationship between the 3 characters in this drama is very adorable. It is very interesting to see them interact. It seems like this drama needs season 2.
I will happily watch it again.
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A basically perfect urban fantasy about grief and obsession
I'm so glad I came across this show when I did. I had seen it around but to be honest, Taiwanese dramas haven't been on my radar much so I never looked into this, even though I saw a few mdlers watching it on feeds. I'm glad I found this through Avenue X. One thing is though she hates on a lot of shows in an exaggerated manner, she's at least reliable when it comes to recommendations. This show is nearly the perfect modern drama with an interesting plot, engaging narratives, great characters, humor, lots of emotions, and a professional production to boot.Summary: The story follows Yiyong who's a descendant of some reincarnated demon or something and that means he's really good at calligraphy!!! But while this seems like just a random skill, it proves to have extraordinary connotations when he wakes up from a two-year coma and discovers an ability to communicate with the dead.
The Plot: The story develops very naturally. I don't think this is an adaptation and kudos to the writers because they've come up with an amazing storyline. Each plot connects very neatly to the other. The plot twists are thoughtful and surprising only when they need to be. I also love the fact that this is ultimately a story about grief and they manage to bring that up in such a beautiful, poignant way. The character developments are so well placed but...and it makes me wonder because these character developments are there but they could also go on? So I wonder if there's a sequel at work... The chemistry between the characters and the way each relationship develops (from Yiyong and his mother to the vengeful ghosts and the grandfather and everything in between) is very naturally integrated into the way that the plot progresses.
Acting: The acting in this show was really well done. I thought the humor landed well and everyone's timing was perfect and the three mains had great chemistry which made their friendship all the more believable and lovely. And did anyone else think Tseng Jing Hua kind of looks like Arthur Chen? They look so similar to me. He did a great job with the emotional beats and made me cry a lot. What's impressive is that the supporting cast are also very good. So good that you easily develop emotional stakes and start to care for them, deepening the investment in the show.
Music and Production: The music was fine. The production is great. The set designs and the outfits are very character-specific and tell us a lot about each character's personality. The camera work and lighting is not just good, it's actually way better than most East Asian shows I have seen. 100 times better than Cdramas...The CGI was so good!!! It had a lot of those and they were all done so well. So good.
Negative: There's a gag about how low the ML's IQ is and while I get the reasoning for it I didn't love it. It was a bit in poor taste.
Overall: Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good urban fantasy story and mysteries. The show was an absolute delight with a balanced amount of humor, sadness, mystery, and whimsy. I wonder if there will be a sequel. I'm fine if this is it as the arcs close neatly enough and there isn't much need for a second season but given how the format is sort of like cases that change every episode, I can see there being more and that the show may develop more on what was already set up. I'm fine either way. 2nd seasons are usually bad anyway. But really!!!! Watch this! It's very good!
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A good old case-of-the-week
Taiwanese dramas of the "comedy" variety are really a hit or miss for me because it's either extremely witty or extremely cringe. I'm happy to say that this is the former. The comedic timing is impeccable and the three main leads (and even all the side characters) bounce off each other very well.The cases are pretty interesting, but I admit that none of them really stood out to me as much the main arc of the lead recovering from the accident that killed his father, or even as much as just seeing the trio be goofy together.
It's the humor and the family theme that really make the show. I won't lie — I shed a lot of tears whenever the ML shared scenes with either of his parents, and I think it's those scenes that will stick with me the most.
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Beautiful tales about grief and healing.
Ah it feels so good to watch something with really good writing and acting! (especially after 5 or 6 very disappointing CDrama that made me almost drop drama watching)I just finished the drama in two days and am going to rewatch it right away!
I was a little worried at first that the topics would be triggering but it's never too much, as most of the Taiwanese productions. The perfect balance of fun, poetic and emotional moments.
It's a *Ghost Whisperer* kind of stories with Taiwanese lores and a grumpy, reluctant and thug-ish tsundere ML.
the enemies to friends (b)romance is very entertaining.
The female characters are very good, I especially love ML's mother.
I hope there will be another season (or more).
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Love it love it
Amazing Taiwanese series .... very heart warming n acted very well.I have introduced this series to all my friends and most of them like it very much.
Every story is unique and great story telling.
I do not understand the beginning of the last episode ... shows a fat security guard throw someone
over the railing ... how is this scene related to the rest of the story. I know earlier episode Yi Yong picked
up a amulet from the well.
Can someone explain.... thanks
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Not what I was expecting at all
The synopsis here on MDL is too generic to give a clear picture of what this is about. I had only seen a few short glimpses of this drama here and there and I was expecting something packed full with action and maybe comedy. It turned out to be a lot more sentimental and introspective than I thought, but I actually enjoyed it a lot!This story is about Bu Yiyong, a high schooler with a passion for drawing. Despite having a hereditary talent for calligraphy and a grandfather who keeps encouraging him to refine his skills, he has no interest in it. Things start to change when, after an accident that leaves him in a coma for two years, mysterious creatures start approaching him and asking for his help.
The plot mainly revolves around Bu Yiyong solving mysteries that involve supernatural beings, so if detective stories with fantasy elements are your thing, you will probably enjoy it! What you might not expect is how these stories actually involve a lot of introspection for all the people involved, including Bu Yiyong himself. The themes are mainly about past trauma, grief, and overall about overcoming the shadows of the past, on top of bringing comfort to those who were left behind. (If you're particularly sensitive, get some tissues ready, maybe?)
The characters are all introduced and used very well in the story, especially Chen Chuying and Cao Guangyan, who stay by Yiyong's side all the way through. The three of them develop their friendship in a very unusual way, but it works and it's amazing - I was afraid that they would feel out of place with each other until the end, but instead I ended up feeling like something was missing whenever one of the three wasn't present. There were also some hints of romance and bromance scattered here and there (between Yiyong and Chuying, and between Yiyong and Guangyan, respectively), but the drama never seemed to take any of those moments too seriously and were mostly used as comic relief. If you're looking for romance, this is definitely not the place.
The only part of this series that left me unsatisfied was the final resolution of the plot - I couldn't help feeling like something was missing and that not everything had come to a proper conclusion, which is why I gave it a 9 instead of a 10. I really hope there'll be a second season for this drama.
TL;DR: excellent drama if you're into detective stories, supernatural elements and tear-jerking themes with a touch of good humour, definitely not for you if you want romance. I personally enjoyed it a lot, so consider giving it a chance!
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A Masterpiece
Was expecting this to be a show to kill time, but I ended up getting hooked by the story and concept.The pace is just right, the plot is smart.
It contains the concept of kinship, friendship, genre of comedy, suspense, thriller, mystery and slight bormance in 12 episodes.
It dives to the main plot straight ahead - which is how he got into an accident and woke up after - they filled the gap pretty quick. Also, when you think that the plot is just to solve last wishes of the deceased, I was wrong, it leads to a real investigation and the execution is just so brilliant. If you understand Chinese, it is even better as they do play around with the words and it creates a deeper meaning at the end of each episode.
Rewatch value is 10/10. It is similar to someday or one day, rainless love in a godless land. You got to watch several times to understand the deeper meaning. It is just smart, so if you are looking for an intellegent, short drama, this can be one.
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