Meru

I seriously don’t understand how this drama got such a low rating! I absolutely loved it!!!! From beginning to end, there was not a single boring or annoying scene! I was trying to think of some flaws but couldn’t come up with any 😂😂😂

First of all, the obvious reasons I liked this drama were the cast. Most of these actors were new to me except for Choi Siwon, Lee Soohyuk, Jay Park and Yoo Inna! And I absolutely LOVED these cameos!!!! First of all, I just recently had watches Tomorrow and absolutely fell in love with Lee Soohyuk! Especially his voice! So I loved it how they used his voice in the commercials for the Boyfriend on Demand game 😂😂😂 And seeing him as a romantic character was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!
And Choi Siwon ofc was AMAZING!!!! He was one of the first Kdrama actors I got to know thanks to his role in Revolutionary Love which was one of the first Kdramas I watched so I have a soft spot for him 😂😂😂And the fact he was the Webtoon artist’s lover was soooooo good!!!! I LOVED it!!!!
Then ofc Yoo Inna whom I have discovered in Goblin as Sunny last year and fell in love with was also amazing in her role as the guide in the game 😂😂😂
Jay Park’s role was kinda short but it was funny that he played himself 😂😂😂

There were some other familiar faces like the CEO of the company whom we all know from other dramas! This man can literally play any role from villain to loving dad.
Then we had a former Physical 100 comtestant, Tarzan who played the Single’s Inferno date aka the fake Dex 😂😂😂
And ofc Ko Kyu-Pil who was always another character in the games and literally all his characters were hilarious but him as a bartender doing yoga cracked me up the most 😂😂😂


Then next, our main leads, Jisoo from Blackpink and Seo Inguk! I have never seen any dramas these two were in so I was excited to see them act together in this drama and I loved both of their acting skills. Jisoo was super funny! I love her talking voice and her facial expressions were really cute! I really think she is even more talented as an actress than a singer! 😂😂😂Seo Inguk was super cute too!!! I loved his nerdy and emotionally distant character but then how he slowly changed thanks to her. His rare smile MELTED my heart and the kiss scenes were super swoony!!!! 😍😍😍

Other new and amazing actors I discovered after this drama:
- Seo Kang-Joon: Omg his eyes were out of this world!!! He seems to be a new actor as I have never heard anything about him so I will try to check out his other dramas soon.
- Lee Jae-wook: JUST WOW!!!! I am literally blown away by this man’s charisma! AND HIS LIPS!!!! Omg now I get all the hype around him!!! My next mission is to watch a drama with him as a male lead! Can’t believe I have never seen him in anything…

Next one up is the plot:
For a romcom, the plot was fun, consistent, unique, and relatable. I also loved how everything was wrapped up in the end smoothly. The themes and topics fit very well into the plot and the characters all did their job.
Also I loved it how this drama got along so well without any major tropes like dramatic hospital scenes, car accidenta or the mid-way break-up. And if tropes were used, they mostly happened in the game as something so absurd and over the top. I loved how the drama played with it clearly stating that such tropes are not reality and only exist in the fantasy of women but also showing that there is nothing wrong about liking tropes.

And while we are at it, the themes are next. I think this drama did such a great job at pointing out the most relatable themes that are interferring with the lives of young adults right now: Dating and AI:

1. Dating difficulties:
This is not just a struggle in Korea but something that many people around the world struggle with. Whether it is about lack of time due to work, financial issues, or incompatibility between many young men and women due to the difference of expectations, it showed it really well. And the Boyfriend on Demand game worked its wonders. The first few episodes the game was presented in such an amazing way that it was impossible for me to imagine how the main female lead would get out of this amazing world!!! Like, there is no way the real world and real dating would be as exciting as this game!!! And thats also when I realized why women love watching K-Dramas so much: this game basically was the equivalence of K-Dramas: unrealistic expectations of love and dating and unrealistic men who do anything for the women. And again, I loved how this drama does not portray these expectations that women have on men as something negative but as something men should strive for. The fact that the othet female characters in this drama also were using the game and how it benefitted their lives (the writer used it as inspiration for her new webtoon and the bestie used it to get over her ex, live out her fantasies without hurting anyone and even getting famous on social media with her advice). At the same time it gave hope to all single women that their ideal partner might be around the corner or someone we least expected to be in love with us.

2. AI vs. Human:
First, the drama introduces to us the benefits of AI and technology and how they can easily replace humans and even offer a better version of humans altogether. As dating gets more and more difficult these days, AI could offer benefits for young people seeking true love and being able to feel emotions again. It reminded me a lot of the movie Her. But this was actually BETTER!!!!! Not only because of the fact that it was more fun but also because of the ending or the fina statement it gave: Even if AI can replace many things and make many things easier and more convenient, it will never be able to replace one thing: Humanity. Human touch, real feelings and love. These are all reserved for humans only. I loved how this drama does not condemn AI or technology all together as they can offer benefits as well but I also loved how it emphasized the importance of real human interaction.

3. Change:
This was not as big of a theme as the other two but it was of importance in Jisoo’s past and current relationships. She was afraid of changing as it could lead to break-ups so she viewed change as something negative, thus got addicted to the game even more as the feelings of the boyfriends would never change and she could always live happily in a never-changing relationship with them. But then, with Seo Inguk’s character we see that change is not always bad and it can also lead to something beautiful like the way his character changed after he fell in love with her and tried to change himself in order to get closer to her.

4. Feminism:
This was also a rather small theme but we saw this in Mi-rae’s bestie and how she played the game as a femme fatale seducing all the boyfriends instead of getting seduced by them. And her motives for using the game were merely just in order to avoid being judged as an easy woman as society always expects women to be demure and loyal to one man. This part of the story was truly entertaining! At first I actually didn’t like the bestie but she turned out to be such a fun character and I was rooting for her in the end!

These are all the things I loved the most about this drama! I am sure if I think about it more, I can probably think of more points! A literal 10/10 drama!!! Well done everyone!!!