First of all these are impressions based on watching both dramas in paralel. Have not read the synopsis prior, nada , entered blind so basically watching same story told by two dif production teams. I watched first the 2 episodes available of Kaibutsu then Beyond Evil till reaching the same plot point. Surprisingly still end of ep 2.
What I liked better in Japanese version : π the fact that both leads start directly heads on from same level. In K version I had the feeling ( based on 2 eps) Dong Shik is much smarter, much cooler, much adaptable, much creepy, much complex, much everything compared with Han Joo Won. In J version both main leads give same equal levels vibes. π the police. Based on the introductions J team looks like a capable team that once presumably made a mistake. In Beyond Evil the police looks like the typical K drama dumb police where mistakes seem daily job. π the first meeting between the leads case. I preferred the simple burglar shop case versus the ajumma noisy gang fighting for pennies and nonsense. I do understand is normal for K dramas to show their typical ajummas but for my personal taste I felt better not wasting 10 min on their quarrels in the remake. π the death of Dong Shik's father. In BE he dies frozen in snow. In J version he dies from a heart attack due to shock and desperation. I found it more realistic in the J version. π The relation between Togashi and Mio ( aka Dong Shik and Min Jung ) - J version had additional scenes with them ,explaining better their relation dynamic in 2 episodes. Overall I had no problem with pacing or characters introductions in the J version , but I am also a C drama watcher. This was nothing compared to first episode of The Knockout :) .If you are not used with tones of characters or different timelines from start of a show it might be troublesome.
What I liked better in Beyond Evil : π we seen more interactions of Dong Shik with dif towns people ,like the scene on bridge while raining or with the ajumma at the restaurant. You could grasp more on his character both as good and creepy or possible evil. π the cafeteria scene from 20 years ago. The fight between him and the girl that died was better projected in the K drama. It gave you the feeling he really could be the nr 1 suspect. Honestly this could be also a weak point lol, need to watch more. Overall J drama gave us less hints on his character. It could help on the mystery or not :) π more interactions in 2 episodes between the two main leads. I felt that was necessary in the K version so we can see the leads dynamic evolving and have them on same scale. I did not felt this a need in the J version because for me this was the main difference between the original and the remake. The character of Han Joo Won respective Masato starts from diferent points/ premises in the dramas. Masato for me is very strong and capable from start while HJW seems he needs to adapt first.
πI did not felt the pace of BE was slow, there were some secenes like the police team talking 5 minutes were to put the investigation tent and how muddy the field is. As I said that worked for K version of police while it would have made no sense for the J one.
Actors wise I like better so far, Shin Ha Kyun as DS and Mizukami Koshi as Masato π
Overall I am sat and looking fw to next episodes. Kinda like this experiment of watching both versions. It just adds diferent perspectives to same character.
I am taking a breather. I started ep 1 on Wed and am now on ep 20. I presume ep 25- 30 will air this weekend.…
Actually it has been dealing with revenge. The 3 persons ( blades) directly involved in his father murder are now all dead. Now the masterminds will follow. Is not an easy job and really a great to watch journey. From your comments I feel you have not quite been paying attention. It was explained that the Emperor allowed Xiang Antu to buy Zhen Tower and handle it using an alias name. Antu was at first interested in him because he caught her eye from how he handled MR 8 blaming situation. During and planning LU JIN's plan execution they were shown spending time together and FL falling for him. " zombies" and gui sleal are elements of the Tomb Raider series. This is nothing surprising as even if the script is original it carries the roots from the the mother story. The first teacher based on the charactee ζ» on his hand was probably a death row convict. The fact that he was shown grateful to ZH before his death implied he got to live more years due to ZH. Probably when ZH training ended he had to die. The exact story for sure we will find it out till the end. The drama is full of layers and details. As for other series : I dropped POB when they started to make the drama a rom com and turned ML's character to mush from the strong start. I am also watching Justice in the Dark and will probably start Eternal Brotherhood season 2.
It definitely does move into a more romantic genre, it feels like it changed from the beginning of the series.…
Btw if you have not watched it I highly recommend The Story of her. Is a short drama/ documentary with only 4 episodes. Episode 3 shows the realy story of Princess JieYou who was married to keep the aliance and to avoid war. That one is historical accurate.
It definitely does move into a more romantic genre, it feels like it changed from the beginning of the series.…
Thank you! Yes that was my feeling, that is why I dropped it. Very much enjoyed first 10 episodes or so then it felt it changed into a diferent kind of drama. Too bad for me as I am not into fluff stuff especially when they make a weak ML out of a strong starting one.
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I actually started the J version but people kept telling me the original is great so I ended watching both in paralel.
What I liked better in Japanese version :
π the fact that both leads start directly heads on from same level. In K version I had the feeling ( based on 2 eps) Dong Shik is much smarter, much cooler, much adaptable, much creepy, much complex, much everything compared with Han Joo Won.
In J version both main leads give same equal levels vibes.
π the police. Based on the introductions J team looks like a capable team that once presumably made a mistake. In Beyond Evil the police looks like the typical K drama dumb police where mistakes seem daily job.
π the first meeting between the leads case. I preferred the simple burglar shop case versus the ajumma noisy gang fighting for pennies and nonsense. I do understand is normal for K dramas to show their typical ajummas but for my personal taste I felt better not wasting 10 min on their quarrels in the remake.
π the death of Dong Shik's father. In BE he dies frozen in snow. In J version he dies from a heart attack due to shock and desperation. I found it more realistic in the J version.
π The relation between Togashi and Mio ( aka Dong Shik and Min Jung ) - J version had additional scenes with them ,explaining better their relation dynamic in 2 episodes.
Overall I had no problem with pacing or characters introductions in the J version , but I am also a C drama watcher. This was nothing compared to first episode of The Knockout :) .If you are not used with tones of characters or different timelines from start of a show it might be troublesome.
What I liked better in Beyond Evil :
π we seen more interactions of Dong Shik with dif towns people ,like the scene on bridge while raining or with the ajumma at the restaurant. You could grasp more on his character both as good and creepy or possible evil.
π the cafeteria scene from 20 years ago. The fight between him and the girl that died was better projected in the K drama. It gave you the feeling he really could be the nr 1 suspect.
Honestly this could be also a weak point lol, need to watch more. Overall J drama gave us less hints on his character. It could help on the mystery or not :)
π more interactions in 2 episodes between the two main leads. I felt that was necessary in the K version so we can see the leads dynamic evolving and have them on same scale.
I did not felt this a need in the J version because for me this was the main difference between the original and the remake. The character of Han Joo Won respective Masato starts from diferent points/ premises in the dramas. Masato for me is very strong and capable from start while HJW seems he needs to adapt first.
πI did not felt the pace of BE was slow, there were some secenes like the police team talking 5 minutes were to put the investigation tent and how muddy the field is. As I said that worked for K version of police while it would have made no sense for the J one.
Actors wise I like better so far, Shin Ha Kyun as DS and Mizukami Koshi as Masato π
Overall I am sat and looking fw to next episodes. Kinda like this experiment of watching both versions. It just adds diferent perspectives to same character.
Note the meme in link has a spoiler from ep 32.
Find the differences π€: https://i.postimg.cc/wBzcdnN5/20250603-122717.jpg
One of the reasons it has been great so far
From your comments I feel you have not quite been paying attention. It was explained that the Emperor allowed Xiang Antu to buy Zhen Tower and handle it using an alias name.
Antu was at first interested in him because he caught her eye from how he handled MR 8 blaming situation. During and planning LU JIN's plan execution they were shown spending time together and FL falling for him.
" zombies" and gui sleal are elements of the Tomb Raider series. This is nothing surprising as even if the script is original it carries the roots from the the mother story.
The first teacher based on the charactee ζ» on his hand was probably a death row convict. The fact that he was shown grateful to ZH before his death implied he got to live more years due to ZH. Probably when ZH training ended he had to die. The exact story for sure we will find it out till the end.
The drama is full of layers and details.
As for other series : I dropped POB when they started to make the drama a rom com and turned ML's character to mush from the strong start. I am also watching Justice in the Dark and will probably start Eternal Brotherhood season 2.
I thought I need an eye check up π€£