I've never any positive review from you. Is there any drama that you actually liked?
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I just realized and I don't know why it took me this long to notice, but this is the first time I've seen you…
Because Japanese movies are infinitely more superior than their drama. There is a certain weird disconnect with their drama formula that is really hard to shake off. I do still pick up a few titles every now and then. Take for example the most recent one "Ice World (1999)".
Another agonizing project reminding me how much I miss Choi Jin Shil. May she rest in peace. This drama was a real wild ride for all kinds of reasons. Right from the beginning you will notice the gigantic production value, one of the main reasons was their official sponsor Hyundai who funded it for more than 1.6 billion won (3.5 billion won today) in production costs, not to mention the provided cars, factories and locations in the US. It didn't come as a surprise since this was during the economical boom in the 90s, they were swimming in gold. They were even throwing some shade at Honda for sending industrial spies. In reality, they wanted to beef with another company but they didn't want to generate bigger controversy. I don't remember any other drama doing such a move! More on the production, copyright laws didn't matter back then so it was no surprise they had tracks by Michael Jackson for example. Speaking of which, the soundtrack was so damn good especially with the jazz pieces, it's also the same composer who worked on Sandglass (1995). The scenes that were attached to these jazz pieces were interesting, dramatic and theatrical.
The drama stood out as a compelling piece that combined powerful storytelling with deeply resonant themes, making it a memorable experience. It traced their journey with authenticity that felt raw while exploring the conflict of ambition, resilience, and the human spirit. There were a handful of diverse characters each one brought something unique to the table, their intertwined relationships were equally interesting as well. Visually, the drama captured the essence of the mid-90s, with its gritty urban settings and evocative cinematography enhancing the storytelling. It also had some wild scenes on some views and depictions, including violence and two sided racism in the US, extreme misogyny and other socio-political spectacles. It would've been absolutely wild to see this coming out today.
Nonetheless, not everything was sunshine and rainbows, the drama had a few hiccups that held it back from achieving true cinematic greatness. The drama had a cruel side to it with how it killed some of the characters, merciless and unexpected. The narrative had an interesting blend of drama and introspection, highlighting the challenges faced by those striving to achieve their dreams against all odds. However, there were major gaps in the narrative with some of the characters and events. Some decisions and directions in the story didn't fit the overall view of the drama. Additionally, although there were a handful of repeated flashbacks but these weren't too offensive due to the accompanied soundtrack and the general 90s vibes. One last thing, I really wish the drama had more dialogue in the last episode with a better wrap up to other key characters (especially and specifically Choi Jin Shil character), it deserved a better refined and fine-tuned send off. Despite its imperfections, the drama was a great watching experience.
Captivating storytelling and multifaceted characters, making it a standout in the world of Japanese dramas. The drama had a good mystery plot but there were a few things that held it back. The pacing was alright but the lack of a sensible urgency messed up the flow a bit. The drama overdone it with the amount of repetition sprinkled throughout beyond what could been considered functional for a mystery piece, it didn't contribute to the story/characters/themes/atmosphere, just plain repetition, relaying the same information countless times. The cinematography and music further enriched the experience, capturing the drama's haunting and enigmatic mood, however, it could've benefited more from a more unified color palette with its own signature. While it was a great mystery drama but I wish the characters had a better dynamic between them and maybe some deeper involvement of other characters.
Well, this was a bit refreshing, initially. The drama had a good run throughout its first half with a solid setup around the character Young Shim and her drawn character Youngsim. It allowed for quite a few of funny scenarios and bits. Song Ha Yoon did a great job in bringing the erratic nature of both Young Shim and Youngsim to life. However, the drama dipped hard in the realm of mediocrity around episode 6, turning the drama into the most bland and generic displays of soulless cliché romcoms. Forget everything the drama built up earlier on. The female lead life story was built on her father's character Youngsim and her erratic personality but that was abandoned. It's really unfortunate for the wasted potentials it initially had.
The drama shouldn't have been split up into 2 seasons since it was a one big continuous story. This split created a few more problems along the way. Some of the baddies cast members had a clearer split between both seasons, focusing on a few of them each season despite having one grand story. This created some coherency problems and made it feel disjointed. Personal stories, relationships and side characters had an unequal amount of focus between both seasons. A case in point, the ML's daughter/family had only some focus in season 1 while being completely absent from season 2 (aside from 1 flashback) which took away from the ML's character and drive. Especially when his entire character was built on the ghosts haunting him from his past. The focus shift was exactly the opposite with Lee Sung Ah between both seasons. Anyway, enough about jumping between seasons. The cast members brought a good performance especially our leading shadow detective. I really appreciate the production not turning on the beauty mode on for Sung Ah & Joo Hyeon. You can see the pressure and exhaustion their carrier put on them over the years. The cinematography was good for the most parts, especially with scenes involving the detective alone, but there were some dodgy shots here and there. The story was well written with a decent pace to match the suspense. The thriller and intrigue were blended nicely with some nice action scenes. However, the last stretch of the story got a bit weak and disorganized after building up the story for a grand finale. Also, some overdramatized deliveries ended up backfiring, making important scenes less impactful. The introduction of the last episode was good, as well as that dream sequence. His speech about him wanting to stop running while reciting his past was the most memorable moment in the drama. If that wasn't enough, the very last scene was the cherry on top to tie it all up.
6 
The drama stood out as a compelling piece that combined powerful storytelling with deeply resonant themes, making it a memorable experience. It traced their journey with authenticity that felt raw while exploring the conflict of ambition, resilience, and the human spirit. There were a handful of diverse characters each one brought something unique to the table, their intertwined relationships were equally interesting as well. Visually, the drama captured the essence of the mid-90s, with its gritty urban settings and evocative cinematography enhancing the storytelling. It also had some wild scenes on some views and depictions, including violence and two sided racism in the US, extreme misogyny and other socio-political spectacles. It would've been absolutely wild to see this coming out today.
Nonetheless, not everything was sunshine and rainbows, the drama had a few hiccups that held it back from achieving true cinematic greatness. The drama had a cruel side to it with how it killed some of the characters, merciless and unexpected. The narrative had an interesting blend of drama and introspection, highlighting the challenges faced by those striving to achieve their dreams against all odds. However, there were major gaps in the narrative with some of the characters and events. Some decisions and directions in the story didn't fit the overall view of the drama. Additionally, although there were a handful of repeated flashbacks but these weren't too offensive due to the accompanied soundtrack and the general 90s vibes. One last thing, I really wish the drama had more dialogue in the last episode with a better wrap up to other key characters (especially and specifically Choi Jin Shil character), it deserved a better refined and fine-tuned send off. Despite its imperfections, the drama was a great watching experience.