hikali

Honestly, it's the kind of show that easily lends itself to many seasons, as the various cases have a very episodic nature, so the format can be repeated without needing some big overarching plot to top the previous season(s). So personally I'd love more seasons, and if it ends up losing steam at some point, well, that's okay, cuz I see each new ep as a bonus.

omg Takenaka Naoto??? This season is gonna be awesome 😂

The comedy in S2 is a bit over the top at times, but personally I think it makes sense; he's not a lone wolf desperately fighting an uphill battle while dealing with trauma anymore, he's had five years working with a team of friends now, who were all already a bit unhinged to begin with. They've found their groove and it works for them. Honestly it'd be weirder if he was still exactly the same as before. (I also think sometimes the characters deliberately play it up, like Haeil looking serious one moment then going full wacky the next - it seems like a tactic to unsettle their enemies as much as letting out his unhinged side tbh)

ig a bit more balance between funny and serious moments would be nice, but we got a lot of those in ep6, so I think the tone will shift a bit now that the stakes are rising.

Lastly, S1 had really cringe moments as well (that diarrhea gag dragged on wayyy too long), so nothing in S2 has really felt out of the ordinary to me so far. Perhaps just the balance, as mentioned above.

I told myself I’d be ok with whatever fate they had for him, but they actually managed to exceed my expectations! Now I really really want a season 2, or better yet, a season 3 of Stranger that takes into account the plot and character development that took place here :3

(But please if that’s the case make it a proper 16-ep show, this one was rushed as heck and definitely suffered from the limited time, even if it was still pretty entertaining.)

It's probably not necessary to follow the plot and get a feel of OG characters, but some scenes won't hit as hard without having seen his journey through the previous seasons. That said, it's still pretty serviceable on its own imo

I'm really loving the plot development, though it's hard to believe we're almost at the halfway point already. I wish they'd planned more episodes 🥺

Dongjae is quite fun to follow as a protagonist. He was already kind of a disaster in Stranger, but getting to watch him floundering from up close is extremely entertaining. And I'm living for his "competent prosecutor" moments, wow.

I really, really love these first two episodes. They have all the ingredients that made Stranger so good, but also have their own unique tone, which fits the change of protagonist. Really looking forward to the next episodes, and hoping the Stranger universe will keep getting new entries in the future :)

The aunt was not flagged as missing, the police thought she'd just run away since she (in truth the killer) had withdrawn money from her account. That was one of the things the characters struggled with, how reports of missing adults are often not taken seriously. So Mi-jin used her aunt's ID details because they're still active, and in her mind there would be no harm since she thought she was missing and unlikely to show up.

The aunt was not flagged as missing, the police thought she'd just run away since she (in truth the killer) had withdrawn money from her account. That was one of the things the characters struggled with, how reports of missing adults are often not taken seriously. So Mi-jin used her aunt's ID details because they're still active, and in her mind there would be no harm since she thought she was missing and unlikely to show up.

Yeah it's really a pity. I wish adaptations of anime would try for a more "realistic" approach that translated the story to live action better. Exaggerated gestures or comical violence works well with drawings, but with actual actors it just looks... off. I need them to feel like actual human beings, not caricatures.

Really loved the concept, the comedy, the characters... Unfortunately not a fan of the way the plot revolved. It seems like important plot threads got dropped the moment they were becoming interesting (all the past stuff about the politician etc), and the identity (and gimmick) of the true culprit was meh. I loved him as a side character, but as the main villain he just didn't do it for me. Really a shame. Still enjoyed most of the drama though.

I really want to love this drama, as I loved the anime, the cast is top-notch, and of course the music is beautiful, but I have a hard time truly getting into it. I think it's because it tries too hard to keep the "anime vibe"--which is common with manga/anime adaptations, but I feel doesn't work so well with real actors. Of course it's a valid stylistic choice, which I can sometimes appreciate, but it doesn't do it for me in this case. Pity 🥲

This season was fascinating. So many plotlines interweaving, it was even sometimes hard to follow. This makes the rewatch value really high, and I can't wait to watch it again and pick up all the little hints I didn't the first time. I really hope we'll get a S3 of equal quality!

I wish this show would stop trying to take itself so seriously. It was fine as an action drama with some suspense and mystery, but the plot is so convoluted, with way too much time wasted on showing boring villains scheming, it's really trying my patience. That's sad cuz I love the two leads and a couple of side charas, but I don't know how long I can bear the ridiculous plot for them...

This drama is both really funny and endearing. I love all the characters so much.

That's really sad. And Rich Family Son was such a mess with a too big cast, he honestly felt more like a side character than a lead at times. Is it so bad to wish he'd get good roles? ;_;
Like I'm even fine with supporting roles rather than main as long as they do his character justice.

How is Kim Ji Hoon in this? Is his role big? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? He's the only reason I'm considering this drama but I don't want to start it if I'm going to be disappointed...

The ultimate Taiga cast

That's good to hear. I've decided to watch it with a friend :)

Kazama Shunsuke (https://kisskh.at/people/506-kazama-shunsuke) is also the voice of Yuugi in Yu-Gi-Oh :)