Shadow Beauty (2021)

The Story that Might Have Been

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 South Korean romantic drama with 13, 20 minute episodes.
Ae-Jin (Shim Dal-Gi) lives a double life as a bullied high school student who is constantly harassed as being "ugly" and a "goddess" social media influencer which she achieves through costumes, camera angles and photo editing. Her worst fear is that someone will discover her trickery and reveal her dual existence to all. This fear nearly comes to fruition when she receives a text with a picture of her posing in her costume and makeup unedited. A series of circumstances lead her to suspecting her only friend at school, Lee Jin-Sung (Yang Hong-Seok) of being the blackmailer. Lee Jin-Sung is an idol trainee who is literally too cool for school and he, on the other end of the spectrum, is also an outcast. He and Ae-Jin become friends as they were both frequently alone at school.

The premise of this was very interesting and that alone carries viewers through. All of the young actors do a great job of conveying their roles. Spoiler(s)** Often I am disappointed because the actor who plays the role of someone unattractive is not unattractive. Now I am on the opposite end, the actress who plays Ae-jin can be pretty with makeup and a flattering hair style but they do everything to have her look unattractive in never smiling, her body posture, and attitude. Which makes it really hard to buy that Jin-sung would fall in love with her. I got the whole he was an outcast because he was too cool sort of thing but, even if they were lunch friends, him falling for her when her personality did not even come through as that good, was a stretch. If she had been super smart, really nice, creative, or just really fun, I could have seen him falling for the beauty inside. But, she was a bit self focused and whiny so it was a stretch to believe he would have fallen for her. The more believable pairing would have been Ae-jin and the "lunatic detective", Kim Ho-In (Choi Bo-min), because they were alike on so many levels. Ho-in's girlfriend, Yang Ha-Neul (Heo Jung-hee) was such a bully to Ae-jin, even with her later redemptive actions, I could never see Ae-jin embracing friendship with her. And Ho-in even mentions how he hated seeing her bully other people and yet he still cannot live without her - that was a bit of a stretch too. The 12 short episodes flew by and it really felt like some of the issues could have been fixed with more episodes. They could have shown a side of Ae-jin we didn't see that would have made her more lovable. Maybe a fuller explanation of why Ho-in was bullying and an apology to Ae-jin. I really wanted to like this show more than I did because it was a great premise. I think it is worth watching for the unique premise, I would not re-watch it, but watching it once through was enjoyable enough. I also thought it showed, quite well, how bullies can make every day a living hell for the bullied whether it be a bully at school, at home, or in the workplace. I have combated bullies in my life, defending others, and also a workplace bully once myself, more times than I care to count. Seeing a bully get come-uppance is enjoyable as it rarely happens in real life. Hopefully a similar premise will arise in the future but there will be a better job with developing the characters and showing positive aspects of the relationships. Not a bad series, just not particularly good either. It's the show that might have been.

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Very interesting- plot will keep you hooked

This drama was super entertaining to watch. It’s the perfect length, and every episode is jam packed with interesting storylines and concepts to keep you hooked. Its such a good drama that represents real themes and leaves you with good morals. It explores the ideas of self perception and toxic cultures online and at school very well. The acting was really good and ho sung is my favourite character (just an interesting and funny character really). The plot always keeps you on edge and although there is a lot happening it’s not confusing or overwhelming. Amazing drama, would rewatch, really good.

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It's quite nice and well done. I prefer the story this way to the webtoon because at least the sister problem has a better ending rather than being dismissed as Aejin's hallucination. But I wish that Mijin could get more punishment for what she did rather than getting splashed with hot water.

For the music, I have no memory of it. It's not memorable at all.
For rewatch value, I rarely rewatch anything. I rather have a new drama to watch than keep rewatching the old one.
For the acting, it's okay. Bomin's acting is quite good. I don't know him as an idol, but he convinced me with his acting.

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Most anxiety inducing drama I have ever watched...

Seriously, what was with that intro, I thought I had started the horror/thriller genre, and what's with those dim lighting and even full-screen brightness wasn't even enough. FL pretty much felt creepy initially but I appreciate the actress for nailing the role. With so much drama and constant bullying, I thought I was watching the "Big brother" type show. As much it took itself seriously with some serious issues, I didn't like the flowery ending it was given. I felt betrayed as if all the pending issues have been resolved in just one episode. Like why wasn't the FL smart enough to lock her phone securely, why didn't she delete the convo when she made a truce with idol trainee, etc. Even the FL's friend with all the things she had to FL gets a poorer redemption arc. But I get it, Fl grows up to accept herself so that is great.

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Beauty and the Beast Inside

This is another high school drama about Beauty and the Beast Inside or the girl who was teased as an unattractive beast, but made herself over into a beauty. Other Korean dramas in the same vein are True Beauty and Gangnam Beauty. For me, this Korean drama was the most believable. Why?

A shadow person is a person who lives in the dark, behind another person. The shadow can be the true you or the false you. In this teen drama Shadow Beauty, it is a story about a very popular teen beauty blogger, who is a major influencer. The blogger is a teen beast beauty, who touches up her photos to look very attractive. Problems arrive when it is found out that there is a teen on another side of town who is a doppelgänger for the teen image she creates. And things get more complex when this doppelgänger transfers to her school and takes over the influencer’s false life. Of course, the influencer can’t tell the truth about the faker, because that would also expose the influencer as a faker too. Therefore in this Korean drama, you have two shadow teens, one who is a beast who made herself a beauty and another who is a beauty who has a beast of a personality.

Shadow Beauty is based on a webcomic, "Geurimja Minyeo” by A-Heum and has 12 Episodes at 20 minutes each. The cast of characters is great and there is an excellent use of young teen actors. The drama highlights how all the main characters have hugely interesting backstories, which makes them the personalities they grow up to be. Your shadow self emerges from inflicted wounds of your childhood, which have never healed.

Quote: “(As the so called loser) I was comparing myself to unrealistic beauty standards.” The anti-heroine of Shadow Beauty.

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Tenebroso, mas não do jeito que era para ser

Antes de lançar, fiquei muito animada para ver. Diziam ser um drama que iria ser uma espécie de "True Beauty" de terror e no final foi só mais um drama para colocar um monte de idols no elenco e encher linguiça.
Aquela menina do fromis_9 é a pior atriz do show. Ninguém se identifica com ela e a atuação foi aprendida diretamente de uma lista telefônica, que nem tem nada pra te ensinar a atuar.

Não vou mentir, os final dos capítulos eram muito intrigantes, mas metade da história foi jogada no lixo e, no meio de cada episódio, eu sempre pensava em desistir.

Personagem que não mostram intensão, nunca sabem o que querem de verdade em relação a suas personalidades, não mostram carisma e nenhum casal ali funciona de verdade. As cenas são constrangedoras, mesmo as que não eram para ser.

Me perguntava o porquê de ninguém estar comentando, mas, quando vi, percebi que estavam evitando essa atrocidade.

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