This review may contain spoilers
A shonen manga-esque action drama to chill with
This was good TV. Good comedy, great action, memorable characters, turn off one's mind and chill. A nondescript corrupted customs officer being a cartel boss was the most genius concept. The villains were definitely the most prominent characters even if following archtypes, larger than life. Overall this drama was carried by great acting from all, with Oh Jung-se being like a maestro.
MVP: Gwang-se.
He is too, too super cute and funny. The scene where Mama's phone call saves him and the actor's joke about Mama's blessing was the best. The way he said "Spasibo Mama" too XD. Second MVP is definitely Geum-nam, who does more work than the entire Korean Police force. Man-sik was overloaded with comedy😂. Leo is yet another element of comedy, even his last words had a comic element, albeit sentimental.
Ever since I read a certain comment it is stuck in my mind- this kdrama reminds me a lot of the manga Boku no Hero Academia(I really wish this had been more like One Piece instead). [edit: scriptwriter confirmed he did it in the style of shonen manga/manhwa!] The number of blatant plot devices and the amount of suffering- it seems to cross the invisible line in fiction for how far things are supposed to go with violence, which got too much in both cases. Both MCs are inspired off two national poets of their respective countries and the poem on "ideals" embodying the concept of an ideal person(who in the two MCs case) can be considered a "hero". His dialogue too is very shonen manga. The way some things frustrated me in BnHA, the way it was good because of both things that were excellent and things with missed potential kept me hooked. Art carries a lot. The comic pettiness too is very like in BnHA... Basically they kept a sort of tempo which in time glossed over the faults quite a bit.
The core crime concept of the plot and the way all the types of crimes committed fell together however felt quite ingenious. Albeit, it was too in the background to matter(ironically, quite a bit that isn't a mob fight is realistic but used as plot device). And except...everything has very little to do with the protagonists being former national olympic athletes which was what I thought it would show more of. Again, very manga-esque that while this concept is a fresh hook, the story itself is just a straightforward action story utlizing these skills same way as individual superpower sets and as is common for Kdramas, its a police story instead of a superhero one. But in almost every kdrama the police team(sans the one brainiac of the team) are badass at fighting, usually with some national level skill at judo or taekwondo or a UDT background or such. So, end of the day, it was nothing new. While they were united against a greater evil they still felt like each was so accustomed to individual sports they were unable to function as a proper team the dissolution of which made them more united than it's inception.
The bromances overall were super strong. Dong-ju/Man-sik, Man-sik/Dae-young(RIU captain, I really liked him by the end), Dong-ju/Jong-hyeon, Dong-ju/Min Ju-yeong, Dong-ju/Jae-Hong, Man-sik/Geum-nam... The team bonded together by the end and with Gwang-se, Geum-nam and even Sergei made a perfect combo. The side characters had a strong presence and a lot of the "good" side ones turn into allies by the end. I liked the main romance was kept understated, though it wasn't a big draw. I really liked Han-na a lot. She was badass and a dedicated cop with her own story arc.
Now there comes the issue I take with the writing. Initially I was thinking this should have ended in only 12 episodes if thats all the plot they can come out with. But there was enough in the overall plot concept that didn't make it to being fleshed out. The entire past of how Min Ju-yeong became who he is and all the players in that story in the past could have been expanded on(and even without this crime part, the individual team member's characters could have been expanded on). Everything coming back to Min Ju-yeong was straightforward and all the pieces fell together neatly in a binge rewatch but it was not memorable during live-watching. His being revealed early has little to do with it since thats been done before and works if done well. Unlike Ju-yeong, ML's character was inconsistent being the punching bag of the show for the majority of the run, sometimes with eidetic memory, nobly idiotic/dumb at times but super smart when needed to get a win, and the power level was inconsistent to when he needed to win or lose a fight. The amount of beatings he could take on or folded from was too inconsistent, and the one overkill scene(actually, an episode) was a turn off. And so on. Something either writing or editing wise was off at times and it affected the flow. I know several Kdramas with similar plotting I couldn't sit through so it is well done. But I also know kdramas with far worse writing I'll forever call the greatest of tv, so it could have been done better. Too much was glaringly implausible. Or too contrived.
Characters who should have been fleshed out a lot more: Jae-hong, Jong-hyeon and Leo.
I did like them overall as characters but felt their stories should have been expanded on more. Both Jong-hyeon vs Baek and Jae-hong vs Misha fights were well set up in advance so it felt satisfying. But they both had very little to do a lot of the time. Man-sik's portion felt just right by contrast. Leo atoning through death after saving Han-na and giving her hard evidence was the perfect end for the character but the character himself was written contradictory. I ended up with a massive crush on Leo- his villain archtype and style, his atoner death(reminded me of Cha Rae-hyoung's in Hometown) plus Ko Jun's voice... Leo's character was hard-carried by the acting and presence but the writing around Leo is bare minimum and a tad too plot device-y. A lot of things regarding his story, especially around Min Ju-yeong, felt they were left unexplained. Drugmon's story is a tad confusing as well but she is like a "black cat"(aka The enigmatic 'femme fatale') villain archtype and she gets the redemption lampshaded from the start(Leo by contrast starts as a brutal mob hitman, the sort that lives and dies by his gun). But both really nailed their characters- cartoony but also well-rounded and human criminals. And Lee Ho-jung is so beautiful! Leo also reminded me a bit of Twice of BnHA and Sanji of One Piece. And Drugmon mostly of Toga. And thats how their villain pair chemistry was to me- more like Twice and Toga of BnHA at it's core. I actually liked Baek and his cartoon style too, as well his pretty henchman Ryu-ga. Misha too. The villains nailed being villains. And I also loved the villain OST themes a lot(I associate two with Min Ju-yeong with "Your Name" really being an earworm). The main opening song "Finish Line" was so catchy. "Get in the Ring" was great too.
MVP: Gwang-se.
He is too, too super cute and funny. The scene where Mama's phone call saves him and the actor's joke about Mama's blessing was the best. The way he said "Spasibo Mama" too XD. Second MVP is definitely Geum-nam, who does more work than the entire Korean Police force. Man-sik was overloaded with comedy😂. Leo is yet another element of comedy, even his last words had a comic element, albeit sentimental.
Ever since I read a certain comment it is stuck in my mind- this kdrama reminds me a lot of the manga Boku no Hero Academia(I really wish this had been more like One Piece instead). [edit: scriptwriter confirmed he did it in the style of shonen manga/manhwa!] The number of blatant plot devices and the amount of suffering- it seems to cross the invisible line in fiction for how far things are supposed to go with violence, which got too much in both cases. Both MCs are inspired off two national poets of their respective countries and the poem on "ideals" embodying the concept of an ideal person(who in the two MCs case) can be considered a "hero". His dialogue too is very shonen manga. The way some things frustrated me in BnHA, the way it was good because of both things that were excellent and things with missed potential kept me hooked. Art carries a lot. The comic pettiness too is very like in BnHA... Basically they kept a sort of tempo which in time glossed over the faults quite a bit.
The core crime concept of the plot and the way all the types of crimes committed fell together however felt quite ingenious. Albeit, it was too in the background to matter(ironically, quite a bit that isn't a mob fight is realistic but used as plot device). And except...everything has very little to do with the protagonists being former national olympic athletes which was what I thought it would show more of. Again, very manga-esque that while this concept is a fresh hook, the story itself is just a straightforward action story utlizing these skills same way as individual superpower sets and as is common for Kdramas, its a police story instead of a superhero one. But in almost every kdrama the police team(sans the one brainiac of the team) are badass at fighting, usually with some national level skill at judo or taekwondo or a UDT background or such. So, end of the day, it was nothing new. While they were united against a greater evil they still felt like each was so accustomed to individual sports they were unable to function as a proper team the dissolution of which made them more united than it's inception.
The bromances overall were super strong. Dong-ju/Man-sik, Man-sik/Dae-young(RIU captain, I really liked him by the end), Dong-ju/Jong-hyeon, Dong-ju/Min Ju-yeong, Dong-ju/Jae-Hong, Man-sik/Geum-nam... The team bonded together by the end and with Gwang-se, Geum-nam and even Sergei made a perfect combo. The side characters had a strong presence and a lot of the "good" side ones turn into allies by the end. I liked the main romance was kept understated, though it wasn't a big draw. I really liked Han-na a lot. She was badass and a dedicated cop with her own story arc.
Now there comes the issue I take with the writing. Initially I was thinking this should have ended in only 12 episodes if thats all the plot they can come out with. But there was enough in the overall plot concept that didn't make it to being fleshed out. The entire past of how Min Ju-yeong became who he is and all the players in that story in the past could have been expanded on(and even without this crime part, the individual team member's characters could have been expanded on). Everything coming back to Min Ju-yeong was straightforward and all the pieces fell together neatly in a binge rewatch but it was not memorable during live-watching. His being revealed early has little to do with it since thats been done before and works if done well. Unlike Ju-yeong, ML's character was inconsistent being the punching bag of the show for the majority of the run, sometimes with eidetic memory, nobly idiotic/dumb at times but super smart when needed to get a win, and the power level was inconsistent to when he needed to win or lose a fight. The amount of beatings he could take on or folded from was too inconsistent, and the one overkill scene(actually, an episode) was a turn off. And so on. Something either writing or editing wise was off at times and it affected the flow. I know several Kdramas with similar plotting I couldn't sit through so it is well done. But I also know kdramas with far worse writing I'll forever call the greatest of tv, so it could have been done better. Too much was glaringly implausible. Or too contrived.
Characters who should have been fleshed out a lot more: Jae-hong, Jong-hyeon and Leo.
I did like them overall as characters but felt their stories should have been expanded on more. Both Jong-hyeon vs Baek and Jae-hong vs Misha fights were well set up in advance so it felt satisfying. But they both had very little to do a lot of the time. Man-sik's portion felt just right by contrast. Leo atoning through death after saving Han-na and giving her hard evidence was the perfect end for the character but the character himself was written contradictory. I ended up with a massive crush on Leo- his villain archtype and style, his atoner death(reminded me of Cha Rae-hyoung's in Hometown) plus Ko Jun's voice... Leo's character was hard-carried by the acting and presence but the writing around Leo is bare minimum and a tad too plot device-y. A lot of things regarding his story, especially around Min Ju-yeong, felt they were left unexplained. Drugmon's story is a tad confusing as well but she is like a "black cat"(aka The enigmatic 'femme fatale') villain archtype and she gets the redemption lampshaded from the start(Leo by contrast starts as a brutal mob hitman, the sort that lives and dies by his gun). But both really nailed their characters- cartoony but also well-rounded and human criminals. And Lee Ho-jung is so beautiful! Leo also reminded me a bit of Twice of BnHA and Sanji of One Piece. And Drugmon mostly of Toga. And thats how their villain pair chemistry was to me- more like Twice and Toga of BnHA at it's core. I actually liked Baek and his cartoon style too, as well his pretty henchman Ryu-ga. Misha too. The villains nailed being villains. And I also loved the villain OST themes a lot(I associate two with Min Ju-yeong with "Your Name" really being an earworm). The main opening song "Finish Line" was so catchy. "Get in the Ring" was great too.
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