AARO: All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office
3 people found this review helpful
Clumsy at Best
I pushed through two episodes of this one, so it's possible there might be, however unlikely, something redeeming showing up later. The awkward directing, acting, script, and ersatz music at times don't bode well and can't be fixed by some later plot twist because they are the problem.The marketing spin and basic elements promise something interesting, but the execution is amateurish and clumsy.
When the lead character was introduced with three different angled shots I got a really bad feeling that the director is to put it politely, full of himself, and most all that followed confirmed that.
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Structural Editing Issue
Anything in the 1st episode is not considered a spoiler.I watched the first and about 1/3 of the second before dropping. I watched that much because of my appreciation of Seol In Ah's character. The actors are fine. The problem lies elsewhere.
Two issues. The first is the editing / plotting. The intro to the series would be hugely improved if the supernatural element hinted at in the beginning (and by the inclusion of Ghost in the title) had brought forward the events shown at about 55 minutes into that first episode when there's a deep dive into the supernatural side of the story. Those events should have been at the beginning and then we could have been treated to the flashback explaining how complications led to the ghost affliction.
Second the ghost interactions and review of their story felt off.
The editing misstep does not bode well for the rest. For me it killed it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Major Problem First Episode
I dropped this after one episode because of an unforgivable plot twist in the first episode.The basic story and characters were OK if not spectacular but what killed it for me was how the writer handled the story resolution.
This of course is a medical drama. This episode's sick patient, the puzzle, and the challenge for the main character doctor to solve is a woman with debilitating pain that the medical system is unable to diagnose. Reminds me of a weak version of a typical House MD plot. This is what I found unforgivable. The doctor on cue towards the end figures out her problem i.e. solves the medical puzzle. But totally fails to explain how he arrived at that conclusion or if he was able to cure her of the disease or ease her symptoms. The woman expresses gratitude that she now knows what her malady is but the story doesn't advance to fixing her problem or letting the viewer in on how the puzzle was solved.
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One Good; Two Bad
There might be a worth while story/show here. I ran into two obstacles and dropped it, but there's a strong positive.Obstacle one is that the lead actor, Ko Chen Tung, does not have the on screen presence needed to carry the series. He's playing a character in a Constantine mold which forces a comparison with Keanu Reeves of the Constantine movie, and with Matt Ryan of the Constantine TV series and he suffers badly lacking the charisma needed. The second obstacle, for me, is that the production is lacking the smooth plotting and directing of a typical average Korean production.
On the positive side is the sidekick character, played by Buffy Chen, does have a lot of on screen charisma and she steals every scene. She's playing a quirky little odd tag-a-long with the lead. She's almost enough to make it worth watching, but unfortunately, for me, not enough to overcome the lead's flaws.
If you like Chinese dramas and or like the lead then I recommend giving it try.
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