K-Drama 
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It's a miracle! - Solid from beginning to end (TL;DR below)
I have finally found it, the one drama that doesn't leave me disappointed with anything.
Agent from Above is super basic. If you're looking for complex plot, setting and characters, a deep meaning, the prettiest costumes and scenery or stellar acting, turn around and don't look back.
What makes Agent from Above so outstanding is how solid it is. It is basic. It is predictable. But it is still engaging. It is one of the few dramas where the ending didn't disappoint me and one of the even fewer dramas where I'd totally watch more seasons.
The episodes are rather short, with 35 minutes on average, and those minutes fly by since there's always something going on.
It certainly helps to know a bit about Chinese history and cultural as well as mythical beliefs, but you can understand what's happening just fine without that knowledge.
ML isn't smart enough to always be one step ahead, but smart enough to not be called an idiot. The fights are becoming consecutively more epic and complex the more the plot progresses, which gives the characters room to grow in a steady pace.
It's fascinating how in a drama about ghosts ad fantasy fights the characters are so realistic in their abilities.
Everything in this drama is down to earth. The side characters cannot take a lot of depth or space, but they are interacting with each other, there's dynamics developing, bonds forming and plots going on. What starts as individual cases soon all comes together. No knots, no loose ends, no forgotten ties. Whatever line they start, they connect to the rest of the plot and bring it to an end. Whatever is left open is left so for a reason.
There is complexity in its simplicity, writers not aiming for more than their screetime could deliver and delivering what they could.
What threw me off initially is the comedy, since there's a lot more of it than I expected. But it's the good type of comedy. The one with situational comedy, witty banter, playing with the truth and with the viewers knowing more than the characters. There's no laughing about others, no play with shame or embarassment. It's simple jokes where nobody gets hurt.
Fair warning though to not make the mistake to think this is lighthearted, as the drama dips into several dark territories. It does so (mostly) with the necessary distance, respect and compassion and doesn't use it as an eyecatcher, but it's there, leading us to a nice message in the end.
The only thing bringing down my rating in the end is the fights. I don't like long fights, so it was nice to see them being kept simple and target-oriented. But because the setting was so simple, it didn't allow for neither unexpected outcomes nor unexpected ways to overcome struggles. The fights were solid. But they were basic, and for someone who doesn't enjoy fights a lot, there wasn't much entertainment to get from it.
TL;DR
Watch this if you want something super basic, but solid. Something that doesn't shy away from dark topics but doesn't delve into them, something with light comedy and a slight touch into heartwarming messages.
Don't watch this if you want something super complex, something heavily focused on fighting or fantasy. Also don't watch if you're scared of evil spirits.
If you expect this drama to do things just as well as full-length ones, you'll lose. But if you see it as the mini it is, it's one of the best you could watch out there.
Agent from Above is super basic. If you're looking for complex plot, setting and characters, a deep meaning, the prettiest costumes and scenery or stellar acting, turn around and don't look back.
What makes Agent from Above so outstanding is how solid it is. It is basic. It is predictable. But it is still engaging. It is one of the few dramas where the ending didn't disappoint me and one of the even fewer dramas where I'd totally watch more seasons.
The episodes are rather short, with 35 minutes on average, and those minutes fly by since there's always something going on.
It certainly helps to know a bit about Chinese history and cultural as well as mythical beliefs, but you can understand what's happening just fine without that knowledge.
ML isn't smart enough to always be one step ahead, but smart enough to not be called an idiot. The fights are becoming consecutively more epic and complex the more the plot progresses, which gives the characters room to grow in a steady pace.
It's fascinating how in a drama about ghosts ad fantasy fights the characters are so realistic in their abilities.
Everything in this drama is down to earth. The side characters cannot take a lot of depth or space, but they are interacting with each other, there's dynamics developing, bonds forming and plots going on. What starts as individual cases soon all comes together. No knots, no loose ends, no forgotten ties. Whatever line they start, they connect to the rest of the plot and bring it to an end. Whatever is left open is left so for a reason.
There is complexity in its simplicity, writers not aiming for more than their screetime could deliver and delivering what they could.
What threw me off initially is the comedy, since there's a lot more of it than I expected. But it's the good type of comedy. The one with situational comedy, witty banter, playing with the truth and with the viewers knowing more than the characters. There's no laughing about others, no play with shame or embarassment. It's simple jokes where nobody gets hurt.
Fair warning though to not make the mistake to think this is lighthearted, as the drama dips into several dark territories. It does so (mostly) with the necessary distance, respect and compassion and doesn't use it as an eyecatcher, but it's there, leading us to a nice message in the end.
The only thing bringing down my rating in the end is the fights. I don't like long fights, so it was nice to see them being kept simple and target-oriented. But because the setting was so simple, it didn't allow for neither unexpected outcomes nor unexpected ways to overcome struggles. The fights were solid. But they were basic, and for someone who doesn't enjoy fights a lot, there wasn't much entertainment to get from it.
TL;DR
Watch this if you want something super basic, but solid. Something that doesn't shy away from dark topics but doesn't delve into them, something with light comedy and a slight touch into heartwarming messages.
Don't watch this if you want something super complex, something heavily focused on fighting or fantasy. Also don't watch if you're scared of evil spirits.
If you expect this drama to do things just as well as full-length ones, you'll lose. But if you see it as the mini it is, it's one of the best you could watch out there.
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