A struggle to watch

All of Us Are Dead is South Korea's latest entry into their increasing array of zombie productions. The hype surrounding this drama since its teasers and trailers was real, further proven by the amount of enthusiasm shown by worldwide viewers as the drama was finally released on Netflix. I, myself, was among those who were excited for this drama's release, but after watching the entirety of its episodes, I found it disappointing to say the least.

The main problem I had with this drama is its writing. It has major issues— full of plotholes, repetitiveness, inconsistencies and wasted potential. I was most disappointed with how they didn't utilize Nam Ra's abilities as a half-zombie well enough. Instead of letting the group face the same pattern of finding a safe place to hide, having them argue with one another and moving to another safe place over and over again which eventually got really tiring to watch, they could've made room for a more dynamic plot by having Nam Ra use her abilities to help them escape the school earlier. This would've allowed some extra time that can be used to further develop the characterizations which fell shallow for some of the characters. Until the end, I wasn't able to sympathize with a lot of these characters despite having went though 12 whole episodes full of tragedy and loss alongside them. I had a big problem rooting for the female lead in particular due to her general blandness. Her character wasn't interesting nor engaging enough even compared to several of the supporting characters, such as Jang Ha Ri and Park Mi Jin.

There was also a lot of pointless plotlines throughout the drama. To name a few, Gwi Nam's revenge against Cheong San (did he seriously think the police were still going to sit behind their desks processing reports when the entire city has gone to hell ?), the assemblywoman who served absolutely no purpose whatsoever, the hunt for Lee Byeong Chan's laptop because he claimed it contained the key to finding a cure when it turned out to only be a recording of him saying there was no cure, and even On Jo's father's dramatic yet HIGHLY PREVENTABLE death.

The drama also tries to address real life issues such as bullying, sexual harassment, academic and social pressure in attempt to create a woke statement of some sort but it doesn’t add to much. It’s just there to be there. I think having Eun Ji epically stand off against the bully, both as half zombies, would have helped in this aspect, as little as it might.

It wasn't all that bad, though. I enjoyed the action sequences. It's obvious they spent a lot of effort and budget into creating those scenes. The props, makeup, and choreography for the zombies were amazing. Though having some noticeable mistakes and inconsistencies, the action was gripping and suspenseful enough to push you to continue watching. Characters such as Nam Ra, Su Hyeok, Cheong San, Ha Ri, Mi Jin, detective Jae Ik, his partner, and even Na Yeon at times helped made this drama more lively.

The acting range of this drama was mixed. As expected, it was a total delight watching Lee Kyu Hyung's onscreen performance. Several of the younger actors did a great job as well, namely Jo Yi Hyun (Nam Ra), Yoon Chan Young (Cheong San) Yoo In Soo (Gwi Nam) and Lee Yoo Mi (Na Yeon). The rest were either okay or lacking.

The finale sort of picked up the drama a bit. It's because they finally utilized Nam Ra's character properly, having her fight in the frontlines instead of standing around in the back.

All in all, All of Us Are Dead is quite mediocre. It was a fun watch to kill time, but nothing more.

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Had my doubts, but they proved me wrong

Starting off, I just wanna say that Blue Birthday improved a lot as it progressed, the plot became more and more unpredictable as it goes, and each episode managed to leave us in suspense, curious about what's going to happen next. Yeri and Hongseok did great as Ha Rin and Seo Jun, considering they're both new in acting. I'm gonna be honest in saying that their acting bothered me a little in the beginning, but seeing as they got better throughout the episodes, I'm just gonna assume that they haven't quite immersed themselves in their characters at the beginning. Personally, I think that Hongseok really fit Seo Jun's role. He managed to pull off that first love kind of vibe well. Considering my initial response to the first few episodes, it's surprising how I'm finishing this drama with many positive thoughts about it. So if you're having doubts about starting this drama or continuing on, I suggest you give it a shot. Who knows ? It just might surprise you as it did me.

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Slice of life at its finest

The main message of Yumi's cells is that as you navigate through the ups and downs of life, meeting and parting ways with various people that impact you in various ways, at the end of the day, it's your own self that matters most in your story.

Yumi's Cells has been a fun watch. I really love the way they presented the message of self love into such a lighthearted yet warm storyline. The animated cells, whose cute and funny reactions, as well as their interactions with each other were the biggest highlight in the drama for me, give out the feeling that your own self, your own body, is always rooting for your wellbeing and happiness, so you should always strive to take care of yourself. They also managed to portray feelings and thought processes that almost everyone can relate to on a day to day basis.

I would like to specially applaud the animation team for this drama. It's obvious that they spent a lot of budget and time for the cells, and it was well worth it in the end. The writing, directing and acting were great as well, especially Kim Go Eun. She did a fabulous job at making Yumi's indirect interactions with her cells come to life.

See you at season 2 !

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Honestly, the only question I have after starting Find Me In Your Memory is "why didn't I watch this drama sooner ?"
I started this drama not expecting much, but boy oh boy was I wrong.
I really love the way fmiym portrays each and every one of their characters. All of them, and I mean it when I say all of them, are super memorable and I enjoy watching every scene without ever feeling the urge to fast forward. The drama's storyline isn't anything grand, but they just somehow make it work really really well ! Adding into that is the characters' chemistry with one another (not just the main couple but the side characters too), and the nice OST is basically the cherry on the top.

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If I were to choose 2 words to sum up this drama, they would be "youth" and "healing".

At A Distance Spring is Green is a drama that depicts the hardships that young adults face as they transition from teenagers to full-fledged adults in the real world. We follow our main characters Yeo Jun and Nam Soo Hyun, two people who have very contrasting personalities and lifestyles, yet we find out that they're actually pretty similar as they carry their respective struggles and burdens. They learn to heal through each other and we watch as they help each other to grow as individuals. Now AADSIG doesn't have the most intricate plot whatsoever, but what makes this drama so compelling is the characters, their journey towards growth, and their relationships between one another, whether it's a brotherly bond, friendship or romance. Another thing that is note-worthy, in my opinion, is that even though the story had the overall impression of being lighthearted, they still successfully touched upon heavy subjects such as child abuse, child neglect, poverty, bullying, and anxiety, all while covering the question regarding the true nature of youth.

I do think that there are a few cons to this drama, a HUGE huge one being the writing direction they decided to take for Soo Hyun and Young Ran's relationship (yeah, call me bitter because I hella am. we were ROBBED), and the lack of depth for some of the characters. But overall, I love this drama. I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I do when I first tried watching it, but this drama was definitely a pleasant surprise for me. Being a young adult myself, I found a lot of aspects very relatable, so that definitely added up to its overall charms. The cast did a wonderful job as well, considering how most of them are rookies. It is a drama that I would highly recommend and one that I can see myself rewatching, though I'm not usually the type to.

In the past month and a half, I've grown very attached to its characters, so saying goodbye is quite hard. Alas, it's been wonderful to watch Jun and Soo Hyun's journey. I will definitely miss this drama.

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I never really had a favorite drama before, but now I can say without a doubt that I've found one with Reply 1988.
I'm currently 18 years old, the same age as Deok Sun, Jung Hwan, Taek, Sun Woo and Dong Ryong at the beginning of the drama, and I was amazed by how much I could relate to them—their feelings, their issues and their experiences. Everything was seriously on point and realistic that this drama hits especially hard with the life lessons that they convey. It's storyline was simple, really, but the beauty of it is that it's totally character driven. We see the daily lives of five families living in Ssangmundong, we watch them deal with their issues, we feel happy when they're happy and sad when they're sad. I hadn't even realized how attached I'd gotten to each and every one of these characters until it ended. The story of youth, family and friendship was so well-written that I felt like I was actually growing up alongside the characters in their neighbourhood. It's like a piece of me is literally left behind back in 1988's Ssangmundong. It's amazing. Truly.
Reply 1988 has successfully earned a large amount of space in my heart. I doubt that any other drama will be able to top it for me, at least not in the near future.
I'm going to miss the residents of Ssangmundong so so much, especially the gang of 5. Thank you so much for teaching me so many things alongside them. I hope my remaining journey through youth will be as beautiful as their's ♡

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