You could say that I’ve been waiting for this drama to come along and sweep me of my feet for some time. A gloomy fantasy with a hint of horror and humor that doesn’t take itself too seriously is something I really enjoy. And then it was kind of a bonus to get a story that gave Park Shin Hye a role that made her shine as brightly as I know she can.

The plot, or the setting around it, was a bit rough around the edges at times. It can certainly be argued that her role as a judge was not particularly necessary for the story itself – she could just as well have worked in a morgue. And as a result, the plot allows itself to play as loosely as it wants with that setting. This is not a serious legal drama, this is a fantasy about demons, and as long as it has its own internal logic that it follows to a point, and it works decently. The court was a decent plot device that moves the story along, but it did feel a tad repetitive and almost too much of a crutch to the story at times.

That internal logic doesn’t drag the story down unless you really focus on how the legal system or anything like that works and perhaps some of the logic of how the underworld functions to be a but flawed, but I don’t find myself wondering too much about it as I watch the show. The fantasy-elements don’t feel too hesitant to play around but it’s not as if things are happening for no reason. It gets a little confusing as we get further into the story, and the cop-part of the story may be a little basic, but the fantasy adds something new and fresh to that tried-and-true story.

The drama focuses a bit on the morality of humans, along with the laws they have made to uphold the justice and the people who break them. There is a certain thrill in watching our main character take revenge on the criminals with the same amount of blood and violence that they inflicted on others. But that part got a bit repetitive until the serial killer storyline really got going. And while I thought the drama did a good job of showing human corruption and how weak the justice system is at times, and getting to see Park Shin Hye in all those action scenes was fun, I wanted a little more out of that theme than we got.

The series was exciting with a lot of action and some violence - without being too gory or too cruel. They managed to balance those things with a decent amount of humor and a gentle character moment. Towards the middle, when everything truly was set in motion, there was not a dull moment to be found, and the drama managed to keep the momentum going until the very end.

One of my favorite things about The Judge from Hell manages to deliver one trope, or the role reversal, which I really enjoy; I adore evil female characters or a cold-hearted immortal female character who bring softer human male characters along with them and little by little she allows herself to open a little. Or the male character allows her feel things for the first time in a long time without her becoming too soft. Seeing female and male characters swapping traditional gender roles is always fun, especially if it’s done well.

The romance was slow, which suits the story well, but it was still full of suspense, tenderness and passion. But the story worked for every smile and every tear the characters produced as the narrative slowly moves from enemies to companions and then to lovers.

The drama seemed to have wholeheartedly embraced its wacky setting and just gone full steam ahead. The thrilling action, the exciting build-up, the internal logic as well as the character moments were something that the drama managed so well, and the acting was good across the board, which made the entertainment value of the drama truly addictive. Although for sure, the drama had its weaker moments when history repeated itself slightly and the special effects were perhaps a little lame at times but that can also be part of the charm.

But what I think makes this drama as good as it was were the characters; the spark between them and the humor. The combination of the motives of the main characters and the way they change places, one becomes warmer and the colder was well deserved within the narrative and even the secondary character was well executed, getting their moments shine and develop within the story.