Seoul Busters

A crime genre overlayed with charm and silliness

This was an entertaining and charming series that encounter multiple crime arcs with our group of feisty individuals. The main character highlight would be Dongbang Yu Bin who really showed great leadership over the team. The pacing was pretty steady with each arc taking up two or three episodes. The crimes themselves were somber but the approach to resolving them included a mixture of over-the-top humor as well as a more intricate analysis from Dongbang. I appreciated how they highlighted the clues to his method allowing the audience to actually think for themselves a little.

As for the team, my biggest gripe is how little character development there was with them. It would have been great to have seen a more toned down incompetence with the new leadership. But at the same time, their flaws also makes them quite realistic as it's hard for people to change. The leadership approach from Dongbang is also really well done. He doesn't try to change them and never even really punishes them for their mistakes. Instead, he finds ways to work with their strengths and simply accepts their weaknesses. Nevertheless, it seems the producers just wanted to really emphasize the humorous aspect to it instead of finding a better balance. With this note, they also could have toned down on the bodily function scenes because after the first or second time, it stopped being funny.

Overall, this is a good series to pick up if you want to see a feel-good team bond who tackles multiple crime scenarios and have a few laughs along the way.

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Funnier than I Hoped; More Endearing than I Imagined

I've been in a bit of a drama slump; I've been too critical of everything I see, and I'm not enjoying it much. I don't believe it's totally the fault of the dramas—I'm just in a challenging headspace and life is punching me in the gut, as it is wont to do. I thought a change of pace with a comedy might help (which is an odd choice for me, as slapstick is definitely not a favorite genre). I watched Seoul Busters, half expecting I would drop it in an episode or two.

I did finish it, and I had several chuckles along the way. The story was about a misfit crime unit that got demoted into a former daycare center (complete with child-sized urinals and toilet stalls!). Their unlikely group consisted of a handsome, witless rookie; a tough, though kind, woman; a brown-nosing father of four; and an ex-boxer whose fists were more active than his brain. They were teamed up with a new captain who was quirky and aloof.

As they worked together, the captain brought out the individual good qualities of his dysfunctional team. As he said, and I agree, they had their charms. The cast felt cohesive, played off one another beautifully, and made me feel as though they had as good a time filming the drama as I did in watching it.

The thing K-dramas do wonderfully is interweave universal truths and touch upon painful subjects in between comedic skits. This was no exception. There were serious topics addressed and heavy situations, but they were delivered between touching moments and warm, human experiences. Often comedies like this start light and bright and get progressively darker and uglier. This one managed to maintain a consistent tone to the end. Add that every main character was completely fleshed out and given a story arc, and this drama did things right.

What can I say about Kim Dong Wook? I kept thinking he looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. I finally realized the grinning goofball was the lead in My Perfect Stranger and Find Me in Your Memory. Both roles were of a quiet, repressed, and dignified man. Color me surprised to see how funny Kim Dong Wook could be! He had excellent comedic timing, as did the rest of the cast.

Side note: I was really, really hungry for good chocolate while watching this. I even looked up Dongbang Yu Bin's favorite brand, but it's not available to me. Wah!

Detective: Americans even have gun cabinets in their living rooms!
(Me: This can be true, especially with the older generation or rural folks.)
Detective: Even their dogs have guns!
(Me: LOL, no. Just no. Dogs don't have opposable thumbs!)

I'm giving an extra half star because I'm going to miss the gang.

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I don't have much comment on this. This show is very lightweight, even when the genre is crime. There are multiple cases in this show, and they able to handle them with comedy and lightweight plot. Forget about realism because nothing is realistic here. The comedy seems a bit forced at the beginning, but it becomes better and hilarious as the story progressing. Characters and casts are all also good.

It annoys me a bit that each of the case has to relate with some of the officer personally, like there are too much personal emotions involved. The reason why Jang Tan Sik wants to be a cop remains unclear. Also the reason why Sim Hyeon U kills Jae In seems weak.

I am disappointed that Mu Jung Ryeok doesn't become the Captain at the end, so it's better to have a sequel for this!

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A series to go anytime

I had my eyes on this series after watching a reel on Instagram, and I picked to watch it after a stressful times, so it may have had a greater impact on me. But here it goes:

A light-hearted drama about ordinary people trying to be ordinary, but end up being extraordinary together. Every character has a story, and a part of everybody's life takes up the form of a case, which takes up 1-2 episodes to crack.
I would say that it is somewhere similar to a slice of life, with lots of humour to it.
Each character has their own charm, and their new Chief finds it and believes in it:
"It is not perfectly invincible, but it has a charm to it"

It is not as serious as other crime thrillers like Tunnel, etc. or as funny as Laughter in Waikiki, but maybe that's what is really the charm of the series. Because it has a touch of mundaneness to it.
But I can say one thing- if the characters do grow on you, you will feel at home, definitely.

And yes, for some, it might be as charming or happening, but just one question there- whose life is?!

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One of the best Kdrama of 2024

One of the best kdrama of 2024.

The cases are pretty solid though few of them are predictable specially the last case.

But what made this drama very good is the chemistry and bonded friendship between these misfit policemen and policewoman. One not very social leader and four crime division members that not that good solving cases at first. But they all had good intention to uphold law and catch the bad guys.

The comedy here are top notch. Lots of parodies here and there.

The pacing of this drama was very good. So many kdramas and jdrama and cdramas had amazing start but boring in the middle and rush ending. But not this one. It had Good start, better in middle and suprisingly long and good ending.

If you like police stories solving crime and bonded together, with sprinkle of laughter here and there, this is for you.

8.5 out of 10

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Hilarious? the best comedy drama.

I think this is the best comedy-drama I have seen. If you need something light, it is the right drama for you. I have not laughed so much in a very long time. I love how the actors brought each character to life. In one word…hilarious!

I love the way they are sorting the cases and how they are related to them, so we will find out more about their lives. It's a lovely journey of them becoming a family and to see how they care about each other.

I thought 20 episodes was too much; I thought I would get bored, but not even one episode lost my attention. They did a great job of keeping it light even in serious situations or when dealing with issues, and combined it with a comedy factor. It is just perfect. The acting and production are great. I hope there will be another season.

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Brilliance

I've stopped expecting brilliance from crime dramas, I don't really watch for the suspense anymore either and even with the promise of comedy, after watching the first few episodes, this was at it's best going to be a fun watch.

Atleast, that's what I thought.

This was pure brilliance, I can't hype this up enough, it's brilliant. I wouldn't be too put off by the number of episodes, because before you know it, you've binged 14 episodes in three days and you're just sat on your couch with the dorkiest smile on your face wondering how to fill the void this show will inevitably leave in your drama watching schedule.

This is one of the best examples of a story driven by both plot and characters, and it's so well balanced that you don't feel like either one is being forced down your throat. Each plotline is different, not just within the series, but some I'm seeing for the first time in any series. Because the plot arc changes every two (or three) episodes, you're invested just enough in the case to immerse yourself in the backstory, sometimes be moved by the emotions, and watch the team solve the crime, but not so much that it takes away from what I thought was the absolute best part of the series: the team themselves.

Dorks. The whole lot of them, in the best possible way. There's never a dull moment with the five of them, I almost thought I would bust a gut during some of the scenes. All the characters are way too funny, unnecessarily funny at times and I loved it. But we also got to see so many different sides of them, the happy, the sad, the angry and vulnerable. Sometimes the cases had very personal connections to the team and it was great how the focus shifted to each member while still maintaining a good team balance. There wasn't one character who got more attention than another here, it was an ensemble through and through, with five vastly different characters. I just loved them all.

I'll be honest, crime/thriller is still one of my favourite genres, despite the fact that it rarely surprises me anymore. When it does, it's brilliant and even though it didn't here, it was still brilliant. This isn't a show you love the minute you pick up, but I can ensure by the time you finish it, you'll love it.

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