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Can a comedy be serious? (Tl;dr below)
When it first aired on Netflix, I had barely watched any C-Dramas before and wasn't familiar with the culture at all, so I dropped it rather quickly. Years and many C-Dramas later, I found an entirely different perspective.
Take my Brother Away is based on the movie Go, Brother! and while I think the general message in the movie was a lot clearer, I like the drama's execution more.
It's a light slice of life drama that was easy to breeze through without feeling empty. The siblings' relationship was acutally wholesome, the side characters more than just plot devices. They actually not only had relationships with the main characters but also had their own dynamics with everyone around them.
Despite appearing to be a generic comedy show, the exaggerations held a lot of room for interpretation and deeper meaning, not shying away from occasionally bringing said meaning to surface. The tonal shifts were actually impressive.
Being based on a comic, exaggeration and lack of true realism were omnipresent. It took me a while to get used to seeing it in a live action drama, but once you're able to accept that things won't be realistic on the surface, it becomes even more apparent just how realistic the underlying issues and messages are.
While I struggled relating to the characters' school drama, I deeply felt for ML in his role as an older brother trying to solve everyone's problems while making it seem easy. As much as I could relate, I also wished to have an older sibling like him. I could learn a lot from his ability to improvise on the spot and face problems head-on.
What I found the most challenging was FL, who sometimes just acted too spoiled and whose character growth came way too late. Admittedly, I also had a hard time with the supposed comedy and overexaggeration of literally everything and despite being able to overlook it never truly got to like it.
Tl;dr:
Don't watch this if you:
- don't like comedy
- don't like overexaggeration/overacting
- don't relate to sibling's relationships or school drama
- are new to Chinese dramas or the Chinese culture
Do watch if you:
- want to see some good sibling chemistry
- want something easy to watch (i.e for dinner or when you need to pass some time)
- enjoy comedy employing a lot of overexaggeration
I will miss seeing the siblings' home, their bickering as well as the other side characters.
Take my Brother Away is based on the movie Go, Brother! and while I think the general message in the movie was a lot clearer, I like the drama's execution more.
It's a light slice of life drama that was easy to breeze through without feeling empty. The siblings' relationship was acutally wholesome, the side characters more than just plot devices. They actually not only had relationships with the main characters but also had their own dynamics with everyone around them.
Despite appearing to be a generic comedy show, the exaggerations held a lot of room for interpretation and deeper meaning, not shying away from occasionally bringing said meaning to surface. The tonal shifts were actually impressive.
Being based on a comic, exaggeration and lack of true realism were omnipresent. It took me a while to get used to seeing it in a live action drama, but once you're able to accept that things won't be realistic on the surface, it becomes even more apparent just how realistic the underlying issues and messages are.
While I struggled relating to the characters' school drama, I deeply felt for ML in his role as an older brother trying to solve everyone's problems while making it seem easy. As much as I could relate, I also wished to have an older sibling like him. I could learn a lot from his ability to improvise on the spot and face problems head-on.
What I found the most challenging was FL, who sometimes just acted too spoiled and whose character growth came way too late. Admittedly, I also had a hard time with the supposed comedy and overexaggeration of literally everything and despite being able to overlook it never truly got to like it.
Tl;dr:
Don't watch this if you:
- don't like comedy
- don't like overexaggeration/overacting
- don't relate to sibling's relationships or school drama
- are new to Chinese dramas or the Chinese culture
Do watch if you:
- want to see some good sibling chemistry
- want something easy to watch (i.e for dinner or when you need to pass some time)
- enjoy comedy employing a lot of overexaggeration
I will miss seeing the siblings' home, their bickering as well as the other side characters.
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