Sharon

My Honest Review

I just finished watching this and honestly, I enjoyed it—but I also have mixed thoughts.

First of all, I don’t think the concept itself is particularly new. The whole idea of dating simulations, virtual reality romance, or falling for someone who isn’t technically human has already been used many times in dramas. Whether it’s AI, robots, or characters inside a game, this kind of premise isn’t exactly groundbreaking anymore. Because of that, the drama didn’t feel very unique to me at first.

What did feel a bit different, though, was the female lead’s personality. She’s more goofy and awkward rather than the typical romantic lead who’s obsessed with love. At the beginning she isn’t interested in romance at all, and while that could easily come off as a “not like other girls” trope, the drama eventually explains her backstory, which made her behavior make more sense.

Another interesting idea was how the virtual world worked. Instead of making it a strict dating game, the drama presents the characters as optional relationships you can explore. However, the show never really explains the system fully. For example, can players reach an actual “happy ending” with those characters and does the route/game en after? or can can the players keep dating the characters for as long as they want? I felt like the drama introduced a concept that had a lot of potential but didn’t explore it deeply enough.

As for the acting, I actually think Jisoo did a decent job. I’ve seen a lot of criticism saying her acting was cringe or bad, but personally I didn’t feel that way. Based on the personality of her character, her reactions felt appropriate to me. She wasn’t overacting, and she wasn’t completely flat either. Since I haven’t watched her previous drama, I can’t compare her improvement, but in this role I thought she was perfectly fine.

Seo In-guk, on the other hand, was great as expected. I’ve only seen him in Doom at Your Service before, but he’s always very charismatic on screen and did well here too.

My biggest issue with the drama was the romance development between the main characters. From the very beginning, the male lead clearly seemed to have feelings for her. The way he acted around her made it obvious that he liked her, so their ending wasn’t surprising at all. But the problem was that we barely saw any real development from her side. For most of the drama she doesn’t seem interested in him at all, and then suddenly near the end—when there are only a couple of episodes left—her feelings change.

One thing I did enjoy about their dynamic was the rivalry between them. They constantly tried to outdo each other, which added a fun competitive element to their relationship. I wouldn’t really call it enemies-to-lovers since he clearly liked her the whole time. If anything, he felt more like a classic “pining male lead,” always hovering around her and trying to get closer to her.

Overall, this drama felt very light and easy to watch. It’s not emotionally heavy, it’s not something that will leave a deep impact, and the characters aren’t extremely complex—but I don’t think it was trying to be that kind of show either. It’s more of a fun, casual binge if you want something entertaining without thinking too much.

I actually finished it in one day. There were definitely a few cringe moments and some scenes I skipped, but overall it was still enjoyable. I wouldn’t call it an amazing drama, but it’s also not nearly as bad as some people are saying.

If you’re looking for something deep, emotional, or thought-provoking, this probably isn’t the drama for you. But if you want something light, funny, and easy to binge when you’re bored, then Boyfriend on Demand is definitely worth giving a shot.

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