Moving is one of the most moving action/spy/superpower stories I have ever watched. At its core is love and family, something that’s conveyed through every interaction between parent and child. It, of course, became my new favorite k-drama, because for 15 episodes, out of 20, this show touched me in ways no other show have.
My Rating: 9.5/10
My issue with most shows/movies that deal with superpowers is the stakes. Such shows demand us to be on the edge about the safety of the lead characters that we (should) care about. However, usually, they set up the story in such a way that the viewers are already comfortable and know that the leads are safe no matter what. They make the leads so overpowered/smart against the villains that it's obvious that the leads are going to be safe. This is where Moving excels so much. The way the story is framed, makes you feel that a confrontation with the villains is a matter of life and death. The protagonists aren't overpowered in front of the villains so the stakes feel real and scary. It has been able to evoke genuine fear in my heart about the well-being of the characters.
Another element is that superhero stuff nowadays relies so much on the star power of the actor or the existing fandom of the leads that they pay little to no attention to building the character of these superhumans. So it always feels hollow. I'm like- okay I am supposed to care about this person but eh I don't see why I should care. This is where Moving comes in and breaks the mold. The show has painted such elaborate pictures of the lives of all these characters that it is impossible to not care about them. Literally every single significant character is given flashbacks to develop their character so well. This helps in building the stakes of the story as well.
We feel empathy for ones we’ve only just met, who are also fighting to protect their families and who are also being used by those with political power. The battle, the outcome, the final scenes conveyed a much bigger message. Where the death of innocent people is considered a “necessary sacrifice,” and children are being manipulated into becoming weapons to be used for the “benefit” of the state, there is evil. Ultimately (after much violence and many bad deeds) this is a story about two groups of superpowered people who have been positioned against each other but come to recognize who the real enemy is. Some of these characters are far more bad than they are good, but the story ends with a commitment to protecting the next generation and ensuring history doesn’t repeat itself.
The cast was absolutely perfect in conveying every emotion the webtoon and the writers wanted to convey, every single performance gets a 10/10 from me. The OSTs were also very memorable and helps elevate the emotions of the scenes it was put in, and yes I already have the OSTs saved in a playlist to listen to and reminisce from time to time. The CGI is not perfect, there were a lot of dodgy scenes where the characters looked like video game characters bouncing around, but it never happened to their faces, and it never looked unnatural, it was good CG. Spectacular fight scenes and stunt work, great use of the abilities portrayed here, although I do wish the abilities were a little more diverse, rather than 4 or 5 characters just having the exact same powers.
[Spoilers Ahead, so stop reading]
My main complaint is Kisoo's character, and how insignificant he felt. The show would've worked perfectly fine without him. He was just...there. But he did gave some powerful scenes with the teacher around episodes 17 and 18, but then again, that could've been achieved with just Ganghoon. It bothered me because of how in episodes 15 and 16, they made it look like he was some important character, but never went deeper into that. My other issue is when Doosik finally reunited with his family and we barely got to see 5 seconds of it, like it would've been perfect to end the episode with the surplus of emotions if they prolonged that scene of reunion, but it just cut to black, and I guess we'll see in Season 2.
As was foreshadowed during that much earlier conversation between Huisoo’s parents, we got a happy ending. I’m grateful that the main plot points were tied up; to have ended with a cliffhanger, and no promise of future episodes, would have been cruel. The final episode has definitely set things up for another season, and I really hope we get it. If only to give us a reunion scene between Bongseok and Huisoo. Their last on screen interaction was during a really high stakes situation in which everyone was in mortal danger, and I’m sad we didn’t see them meet following that. However, I suppose the bullet still lodged in the arm and the yellow raincoat speak volumes… we know everything we need to know.