Half of Me (2025)

It's Worth It

If you get to see this, I can guarantee that you will be pleasantly surprised. It was light and funny. The premise was unique in that the consciousness of Heechan interchanged every 12 hours. Taekin's body day and Heechan's by night. Taekin's need of him was to help save him from a narcissistic abuser. Along the way, Heechan fell in love with his old class mate, Min-jae. Previously a loner, it took but a minute for him to recognize what he felt and accept. Min-jae never forgot him.

Their interactions and conversations felt right for them. There is an easy flow between them and it comes across well here. The heavy bits in between didn't feel overly contrived and blended well enough to keep the story moving. The unwanted ex and psycho were inserted and extricated with ease, tho a bit clumsily.

Now to the not so good. 1.5 minute episodes no matter the story will not give seamless fluidity. Yes, the choppiness is there. With a regular series, a break would indicate a necessary switch in mood or tone. Here, with every break, it's a given you don't know what's coming next which at times dimmed the enjoyment. A big plot hole: If Taekin was unconcious after the accident, why would he be in Heechan's home and not the hospital? Why would Heechan have Taekin's old phone? Why wasn't his parents looking for him? It's never explained. These things just are. Yet, I will still recommend it. After Match Play, I would put this second. It was nice.

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vertical series with a unique premise

Overall: they could have removed the abuse stuff and had more relationship development. 51 episodes about 2 minutes each. Airing on Shortime and Vigloo.

Content Warnings: bullying, past (near suicide, grooming, minor/non minor relationship, student/teacher relationship, abuse), punches, manhandling, choking, non con recording

What I Liked
- leads had good chemistry
- I was nervous with the premise but the switching actually worked out okay
- a character did have consequences

Room For Improvement
- episodes 30-39 were skippable, did not need all the abuse stuff
- that he let the other body get beat up that much

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Cute for a vertical short reels format!

I’m always bummed that people lowball reviews for vertical shorts just because they hate the format. As someone who avidly consumes this format on a daily basis, I can say that some are clearly superior to others. I wish they rated them according to the format instead.
-Anyway, the story adapted the same plot premise as Half of Me (webtoon/manhwa), but of course some plot details had to be changed or scrapped due to budget constraints and the vertical short-reels format --- which made certain parts confusing, rushed, and lacking explanation. For example, it wasn’t clear why Taekin was at Heechan’s home instead in the hospital or with his family, or what Heechan’s job was (which was explained better in the source material). Certain plot points felt like afterthoughts or seemed to come out of nowhere, but I guess the story had enough glue to make it work. The backstory of the two MLs was also revised, but it blended well with the direction they chose.

-Acting-wise, it was okay. Minjae was somewhat awkward at times, but it was fine if you didn’t dwell on it too much. Also pls, what is that hairstyle choice with the highschool Minjae?? 😭 it didn't suit his face.
-Nevertheless, the story was still cute, fluffy, and interesting. The interactions between the characters felt natural and fun to watch. There weren’t any cringe moments for me, which is a plus 😅. I also quite enjoyed it; there were moments that had me giggling.

(Also, it had three decent-ish peck kisses and two proper moving-lip kisses, lmao)

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Drama Vs. Manhwa

This was my first ever vertical drama, so I might not be good at this and be a little harsh. I only know about the ones you see as ads when scrolling or on a game. I also would like to point out, I read the manhwa not the novel, so I speak on the manhwa's half.

The big thing I have though, this should have never been a vertical drama. The whole thing came out to be around an hour and nine minutes. Which seems like a long time, but yet didn't seem like a long time to even scratch the surface.

Con(s):
1. A lot of the characters that were necessary (at least I feel) weren't there.
2. There were plot holes. It didn't explain how Taekin kept his phone, why the phone was wiped, why Taekin was involved with the teacher (who, BTW, in the manhwa was the older brother of the class vice president), and Taekin's sudden making of bread.
3. I didn't like the confrontation scene at all. The few punches that Heechan took in Taekin's body was not needed. In the manhwa, at least, he tried to avoid anything that would jeopardize Taekin for when he would eventually come back.

Pro(s):
1. The actors were good. They definitely captured their energy to a certain extent, and I definitely stayed for them.
2. I like how they made Taekin have at least one school friend, and that he didn't leave school. (He was bullied a bit harshly, hence why they thought the accident was on purpose).
3. It could be watched on its own if you never read the novel/manhwa. However, it would probably leave you with questions.

It was probably bound to have the plotholes and feel rushed (at an hour and nine minutes total). It's something, even after criticizing, I didn't hate. I would recommend you to watch it, because all in all, I was shocked we got a live adaptation. The drama does have its on perks in a way.

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