Shaman Girl Ga Doo Shim (2021)

Teen Spirit With A Shaman Twist…

Let’s be honest. The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ is a verbatim title. ( As there’s not a lot left to the imagination to work out what this drama is about.) Admittedly Park Ho Jin’s drama doesn’t try to brand itself as “ the next Goblin ” or a “ new fantasy phenomenon”. It is a teen “ cutesy” fantasy tale about the supernatural, but often leans more into the realm of “teen angst” with main leads Ga Doo Shim ( Kim Sae Ron) and fellow classmate Na Woo Soo( Nam Da Reum) ‘s journey through high school also. (At the time of writing director Park’s wish for a sequel season to explore more about the characters was confirmed also .)

As a consequence the drama featured an array of intriguing characters. However their ultimate contribution to the storyline and depth admittedly does vary dependent on screen time and the screenwriting also. Kim Sae Ron was fairly dynamic as quiet and mysterious high-schooler Ga Doo Shim. The former child actress carried an ambience of perfect angst, suaveness and longing which was perfectly matched for her role . As a character it was evident that Doo Shim could’ve gone down two possible routes; one-dimensional and unlikeable by being egotistical , or a more well-rounded heroine who has a likeable charm by struggling with her emotions and carrying empathy. ( Fortunately with our female lead it was the former case. )

Doo Shim’s character development was arguably the most pivotal from begrudgingly accepting that she can see ghosts and trying to be “ normal” , to opening up to new friends ( particularly Na Woo Soo) , feelings and understanding that she can use her powers for the greater good. Yet whilst her setbacks do help to make her feel realistically flawed, there are moments surrounding Doo Shim which felt like more of an excuse to “ heighten dramatic tension ” rather develop her character gradually or focus more time upon making Doo Shim feel realistic.

For example whilst Doo Shim’s relationship with her mother Hyo Shim( Bae Hae Seon) did see the typical rocky road between a parent and a daughter, there was a lot of missed opportunities to explore more about their complex bond . It was evident how much Hyo Shim genuinely cared for her daughter, however, Doo Shim and Hyo Shim rarely had opportunities outside of necessary plot to talk about their shared bereavement , feelings or emotions without queuing into comic relief or angst. Perhaps with a sequel season it is wrong to condemn a final verdict over this relationship as “ poorly-written” overall, however, hopefully season two will give more chances to covering this relationship rather than putting it on the back burner.

Then of course there’s our main male lead Na Woo Soo. Nam Da Reum did a great job as the plucky prodigy with a heart of gold . Initially starting off as a plot device in order to awaken Doo Shim’s “ character growth and feelings”, it was refreshing to see Woo Soo leave the realm as the prosaic potential “love interest” and the “ sidekick who is new to this world” to having more complex depth . One particular focal point to exploring Da Reum’s greater sense of altruism as a character came through his unusual friendship with underdog and best friend Kim Il Nam ( Yoon Jung Hoon). However this is also where we hit a major rut with Woo Soo as a character; he displays emotions, but he rarely acts out upon them unless they’re necessary to the storyline.

There was brimming potential to explore a lot more about Woo Soo’s darker side which he did display at points in the drama such as his silent threat to Jo Soo Jung ( Lee Ji Won) after her potential blackmail, as well as his anger at Kim II Nam during the main events of the storyline. When the story covered the major events surrounding Kim II Nam it seemed odd the drama switched Woo Soo’s personality towards being “ mopey yet calm” rather than using this as a golden opportunity to explore more about Woo Soo’s own negative feelings or hero complex, as well as heal the wound between Woo Soo and Doo Shim helping one another through these events.

Yoo Sun Ho’s performance as witty dead high schooler Hyun Soo was pretty delightful. As a character Hyun Soo serves both as an example of surprising comical foil as well as wasted potential also. On one side whilst Hyun Soo does have his more brief yet bittersweet moments surrounding his death and his search for his mother, he did often cool down more heavy scenes with deadpan expressions or annoying Doo Shim. However there was a lot of unexplored ground with Hyun Soo’s sentience in the series such as being a ghost, never being able to physically age( unlike Doo Shim or Woo Soo), his search for his mother as well as a lack of deep connection between himself and Doo Shim ( who she seems to have grown up with pretty much ) which were never explored and left anticlimactic with the way the drama abruptly ended l his character arc early on .

This moves us onto the antagonistic force of the drama. Now officially there are two antagonists in the drama; the malevolent sprit, and of course an “ unforeseen” antagonist ( until they were revealed after a major incident). Positively this did present more multi-layered complexity than the entity merely being the “ big bad”, as well as pointing out a clear sociocultural criticism towards the cruel “ dog eat dog” hierarchy in the South-Korean education system . On the other whilst their motive was clear and had the potential to be realistically intriguing , their actual reason covered textbook moustache-villainy rather than being given more intrinsic depth. The ending was ( unsurprisingly) fairly anti climatic- not bad per say and certainly helping to add a more conclusive ending for our antagonists, as well as a. interpretative finale for our main leads but nevertheless slightly rushed with the climax coming to a halt early on, rather than being built up or allowing time for rising tension.

So is ‘ The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ actually worth watching? Park Ho Jin does a good job at building up our main characters as endearing and likeable leads which are further sold by dynamic performances with Kim Sae Ron and of course Hyun Soo, as well as the mystical and supernatural lore of the drama. On the other hand whilst Ho Jin’s potential sequel season could give room for tying up loose ends and problems ( including exploring character depth and relationships which sometimes felt disregarded), there were several inconclusive screenwriting moments which often felt rushed, cliche, one-dimensional or anticlimactic . Overall ‘ The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ certainly remains one of the stronger fantasy drama contenders for 2021 - it is not flawless from a screenwriting perspective and there’s a lot of ground that Ho Jin needs to cover going on forward, but a fairly easygoing watch.

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The Teenage Shaman

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim is a KakaoTV original production and is the first ever fantasy mystery series produced by the South Korean streaming television. It is also the ninth original program overall created by the online streaming platform since it was officially launched in 2015. KakaoTV’s primary focus is on developing short format productions including original dramas, films and entertainment programs that range from 15 to 40 minutes in length per episode and some of which are delivered in vertical form for mobile users.

In-line with that focus, The Great Shaman is produced as a short web-series of 12 episodes at 20 minutes each, that airs one episode weekly.

In a nutshell, the drama tells the story of 18-year old Ga Doo Shim, who hails from a family with shamanistic abilities, as she navigates the vagaries of life complete with teen angst, real life complications and, of course, evil spirits. All this occurs when she transfers to Songyeong High School, one of the most prestigious schools in South Korea. The premise isn’t far off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for those familiar with the US show.

On the whole, I find this drama rather fun and enjoyable. It is generally lighthearted and easy to watch with elements of mysticism-based thrills and suspense that are not too horrifying or complex to grasp. In addition, it provides brief glimpses into slice-of-life aspects concerning school life, family dynamics, friendships and a budding romance. With a total running time of only 240 minutes, none of the themes are explored in great depth but the narrative is well paced and executed to convey the key plot points in an engaging and entertaining manner. As a low-budget web series, the production values and technical details are not significant factors to write home about. However, for the most part, the quality of the visual effects rendered and the minimalist action sequences appear to be presented well enough which come as a pleasant surprise.

The main emphasis of the storytelling is on the relationship between the two leads, Ga Doo Shim and her classmate, Na Woo Soo. This partnership largely works because of the charisma of the two leads and the rather charming chemistry that they share. Popular and much-loved former child actors, Kim Sae Ron and Nam Da Reum portray the titular role and Na Woo Soo respectively in what has been a delightful and captivating performance headlining this production. The rest of the supporting cast generally give a decent account of themselves. Special mentions go to the veterans Yoon Seok Hwa, Bae Hae Seon and Moon Sung Geung as the halmeoni, mother and principal respectively.

The soundtrack features 3 OSTs, the upbeat Run To You by Kwon Jin Ah, the evocative Dear My Nights by Seung Hee and the “couple theme” Forever Smile by Yoo Seonho. BGM comprises ominous stock music and on a side note, the voice of the evil spirit is provided by the villain from LUCA: The Brginning, Kim Sung Oh.

If you’re planning to start this, lucky you because you get to binge all episodes in one sitting compared to the rest of us who watched it while it was airing - the pain of waiting for new episodes is indeed real! Although unconfirmed at the time of writing, there is a possibility for a sequel which means we may get to see more of Ga Doo Shim and Na Woo Soo in the near future.

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