This is my very first Korean drama. I love Kpop and I happened across this movie fmv on YouTube. After watching the vid by zuanie I saw it featured an actor i know of from one of my fave K.Will video...Seo In-guk. The little snippet totally captured me and thus began my journey into “Hello Monster / I Remember You”!
After the first episode I was hooked...so much so I binged watched the entire 16 episode series in TWO days! Let tell you, it was the best two days (and the days following-I am still rewatching this series) of my life. The characters are well portrayed, especially the brothers (young and older) and “uncle”. The story is captivating and everyone cries so well! I’m like, “wah, that’s not possible”..but EVERY TIME they cry they look good. *smh*.
The relationship between the brothers and the secondary characters are so fun, funny, sweet and sometimes disturbing...just downright emotional. Wonderful and talented writers and actors, who delivered every line to perfection. Major props go to Seo In Guk and Park Bo Gum...BoGummy was fabulous as Min...I loved every second these two were on screen. Loved every minute of it! Well done everyone!
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This review may contain spoilers
It’s a typical BBC thriller for you
I hesitated to watch this drama for a long time! The cast is amazing on paper but based on reviews I’ve read and trailer, I was very hesitant to watch this remake of a classic British thriller from the 90s. (Especially with the music).The actors did an amazing job! Wow! What a cast!
The story is interesting and intriguing since the start of the drama .... the relationship between the brothers make you think about what would you do in this situation? Are monsters born or made?
Unfortunately, the relationship between the murderer and the two brothers is lacking for me! Both kids are actually geniuses, one good, or are they? But both don’t feel any hate or anything towards the man who killed their father! Cause the story actually started there .... if he didn’t kill their father, the brothers wouldn’t have been separated. Of course, we only can assume based on the murderers point of view that their life would have been miserable as they were misunderstood by their father.
In conclusion, I’d like the drama but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I feel that there is something lacking, which is the profiler could have arrested the murderer All along .... as they did with other suspect throughout the 16 episodes.
Ps: and the gf wanna be talking to the brother in ML’s name made me cringed
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Basic k-drama.
Well, this is the story of a young man, Lee Hyun, a young profiler, who returns to Korea after years abroad - in the USA - and who is interested in an investigation and murders that are related to the death of his father and the disappearance of his brother by a psychopathic criminal, Lee Joon Young. Of course, he has little memory of that time and the fateful day, so he tries to recall his memory and solve the mysteries.He meets an investigator, Cha Ji-an, with whom he will team up to find Lee Joon Young.
Well, the set-up is typical of lighthearted k-dramas, the atmosphere of the series is rather comedic and not very serious, the inspectors are all nice idiots who don't know how to do their job, the "bad guy" Lee Joon Young is smart enough and manipulates everyone as he wants. The FL is stubborn, clingy, acts like an annoying stalker but she gives off the same energy as many other FL, she does not stand out with her acting.
It's really a series in k-drama fashion : comedy, a bit silly, some emotional scenes, a clumsy and boring romance with a decent ML.
Honestly, it's more the plot that stands out here, not that it's extremely well executed but the starting idea is good, it's also the story of two brothers.
I would have liked to see what this series would have done with a more serious psychological thriller and crime k-drama production. It would have been a gem among the genre.
People have painted this k-drama as one of the best but the storyline is basic, without surprises, the course of the story has been gently followed, the characters are just there to complete and without particular acting.
Honestly this k-drama is just one of many, nothing special, that doesn't need re-watching, with empty characters and no complexities.
However, special mention to Park Bo Gum, who plays the role of Lee Min, the little brother who is a killer, his acting is the one that stands out the most and makes us think that he has a lot of potential.
I hope to see him again in a crime and thriller series with a better production and script to match his talent, and not a banal comedy k-drama made to not make the audience think too much.
The ending is just as banal and even bad, a killer is just released into the wild thanks to the kindness of some of the characters, and I wonder what kind of ending is that which is far from realistic. Killers may indeed never be caught but people never release a killer because "he promised" to change.
So they are "bad guys" but not too much because be careful, they have extenuating circumstances and sometimes they show human emotions. So bad but not too bad.
The killers here were very romanticized for the audience. In short, really basic k-drama.
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First show for me with Park Bo Geum, while I already had the chance to appreciate Seo In Guk's performance in Reply 1997. As for Jang Na Ra, she's one of my favourite Korean actresses, here in a quite different role.
They definitively left the door open for another season, but I don't think there's going to be a season 2, unfortunately,
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I loved it so so so effin' much. As a psychological drama it blew away my expectations. I don't usually enjoy crime dramas but this show got me hooked from the starting. I enjoyed it so much.
The acting of the actors was superb. Their portrayal and interpretation of the characters is flawless. It's damn amazing actually. The actors do the characters justice.
And the plot is very good. The show didn't have any dull or boring moment. It kept me on my toes. It is truly very interesting. Neither the plot or the acting was lacking anywhere.
Also kudos to the writers on the writing. The dialogue was good and the theories about crime were pretty amazing. The plot is engaging and brilliant. The characters are so amazingly well-written.
The amount of romance was just right. It didn't take away from the main theme of the drama. The drama was deep, asking hard hitting questions about how monsters in society come to be. Are they born like that? Or does society and circumstances twist them up so much that they turn into monsters?
And the ending was just right too. Open to interpretation but fitting. I think the ending should satisfy everyone.
Honestly, the best thing about the show was the brotherly bond and love. The evolution of their relationship. It's pretty heart-touching.
Also I loved the OST.
Anyway, it is a great show. I loved it. It is a must watch.
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Disclaimer: I tried to be as vague as possible, while still getting my point across in this review. But if you haven't watched it yet, I wouldn't recommend risking the storyline and reading on.
+/- Plot:
The storyline of this drama is something not too often seen in the realm of KDramaWorld, and that's kind of what I liked about it. I will be honest, there wasn't as much of a thrill factor as I had anticipated and I had pretty much figured out the whole storyline before the show was halfway through, but it was nice to see how the directors and producers wanted it to unfold. I only have two main complaints about the storyline and that is 1) I could have totally and completely done without the romance (if you can even call it that) and just stuck to the bromance and 2) about 4-5 episodes from the end the audience is just left in this medium of knowing that he knows that he knows that they know that he knows...and so on and so forth--basically it took a lot of time to build up to them actually outright addressing the problem.
What I liked most was that as the story unfolded, I found my self questioning my morals and what I know to be right and wrong. In the end I even found myself rationalizing and completely understanding the side of the wrongdoers and wishing them the happiness that wasn't completely deserved. I must be a psycho too for almost completely siding with them. I just saw how much sorrow the characters had undergone and wanted them to receive the love and acknowledgement that they lacked which made them the 'monsters' they had become.
I was pretty happy with the ending (leaving out conclusion of Lee Jun Ho). I was happy to see Min's progression of character and that the 'critical period' had no restraints on his growth as a person.
+/- Acting/Cast:
Before I start on about the cast, I want to address my bias first and foremost. I am a complete fan of Park Bo Gum and would likely be a ??? if I was in SK. With that being said he was my favorite character in this drama and was my sole reason for watching this show to begin with. To be quite honest, it was hard for me to see him playing this character, just because his real personality (which I technically have no idea about except for what has been said about him by other actors and reported in the media) is completely the opposite of this persona. That being said, there were times when I saw the daggers appear in his eyes from rage. However, his shining moments were the heartache when he was finally remembered, and the shy, timid boy that blossomed after. (My two favorite scenes were the confrontation in episode 12 and what we thought were his final words in episode 16). Park Bo Gum played a role I never thought I would see in him and actually excelled my expectations. For me, he really stole the show.
Seo In Guk too played his character well too, I could see his hardened heart which had blossomed from childhood trauma and thought his cockiness was charming. The one problem with this is that the cockiness was convincing to the point where it was hard for me to even accept the "soft" side he showed around his love interest, Cha Ji An. To be honest, in the end I found myself skipping the romantic points to see how the rest of the story unfolded.
Jang Na Ra also did well in this role and felt compassion and sorrow for her as we came to understand her side of the story too. However, I didn't feel like she was totally vital to the storyline and even felt a bit of resentment towards her for being the one thing positioned between the brothers (even though what she was saying was morally correct...again questioning my morals). So I can't say that I liked her character, but I will say I liked her portrayal of it.
Choi Won Young, I'm not sure how I felt about him in this role. His facial features just don't align and I can't say that I even saw the slightest bit of psycho in his eyes. I felt that the directors tried to increase the thrill of his psychotic tendencies, but ultimately it was lacking in the eyes. He just seemed so warm-hearted, but maybe that was what he intended as that was the heart of the character. I guess I'm just a little conflicted about his portrayal, but if I had to ultimately make a decision I'd say it was a miss for me.
+/- Music:
I can't say too much about the music as I wasn't paying too much attention to it throughout the drama, however there was one song that really hit me, Remember by Dear Cloud. After listening to the lyrics it's even more moving (especially applying it to Min) and I thought she did an excellent job of combining the perfect amount of sadness and longing in the recording.
Rewatch Value: I think I would probably rewatch this show to pick up on any missed details and rewatch the rebuilding of the lost relationship between the brothers. However, I would likely skip a lot if not all of the 'romance'. I was just so moved by the brothers' love for one another and how despite the overwhelming circumstances Seo In Guk remained by his brother's side to help him overcome the monster he had become.
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Near perfect
As near perfect of its type as you can get, this drama. It certainly grabbed my interest, with good mystery and acting from the start, although I really do not like dramas with psychopathic characters~~they cause huge damage, not just at the extreme end of murderers, but to other human beings in day to day life. Seo in Guk in character totally different from King of Hi School and works brilliantly. Also Jang Na Ra, I did not at first associate the teacher in School 2013 with her in this setting, though the character is similar. There are lots of comic interludes between the murder and mystery and the support characters of the crime team are good fun. I like the "team leader", with his self-confident bravado and his mournful look when things do not go quite according to plan but his character also developed in the course of the series. My only reservation was how the romance "on-off" worked and the end, which did not seem realistic to me. Apart from this, the plot was worked out at the end in a very accomplished and masterful way. The music was very moving. I do not usually re-watch, but putting this at 9 as this may be an exception in the future. Congratulations to actors, producer, director but above all the brilliant writer.Was this review helpful to you?
Sherlock vibes.
Hello Monster/I Remember You is a drama which revolves around a high functioning main lead — Hyeon — who’s on a mission to find out the person who killed his father and possibly find his brother. The series starts off really well, there’s a good introduction of characters and the main leads personality grows on you well. There are many crime thrillers that start of well but don’t keep up in the second half, but thankfully that isn’t the case with Hello Monster. The pace is steady and though the plot is slightly lacking, the well rounded characters make up for it. The antagonists are also revealed pretty early on so it doesn’t leave you guessing who’s the killer until the end.This drama is a collection of flashbacks and present time. The cameos are so well done and I absolutely loved the acting of the child actors. I also enjoyed the team dynamics of the investigation team. There are characters used for comic relief, but the best thing about them is that that isn’t the only thing they are used for. That’s another reason why I loved this drama. Each character isn’t restricted to individual characteristics.
Overall, it’s an interesting drama that’s more about bromance and mystery oriented. It starts off well and ends well. I personally feel that the ending could have been less safe than what we got, but any other way would have meant that we would be left with many loopholes. Slightly disappointed with how it ended, but I’m not unhappy with it. It’s a good drama with lots of wholesome fun scenes!
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Could have been a masterpiece
This drama had so much potential to be a masterpiece because the story itself was awesome, the actors were perfect for their roles especially the brothers. However, the ending, although not horrible, was just not satisfying and did not measure up to the rest of the show. Also, the “romantic leadsWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Hello monster is very well scripted and brilliantly acted series. There is never a dull moment, just grips you in. This is NOT just any other crime drama with stupid cases and cheesy romance, it actually delves deeper into criminal psychology and how childhood trauma or the way society treats them could trigger a person to transform into a beast. Things I absolutely loved
1)Every case they solve reveals a minor aspect of the main story line, which makes it quite interesting.
*~SPOILER alert! -'*
_ like in ep 1 the killer thinks he is actually killing the same person again and again like min does ' .
_And the one in which a guy ( son of a rapist) is always traumatised by the fact that he would end up like his father. But dies saving someone else heartbreaking.
2) Villains having an origin story ( very rare)
_Like I know why Lee jun young is so hell bent on rescuing children from abusive homes murdering their parents and min targetting people who abandon.
3) Female lead is super strong. Really! -Refreshing. Kicks ass, doesn't wait to be saved, emotional anchor for ML though herself dealing with tragic stuff. Does what is right and knows when to do it. I loveee Jang NAra!!!!
_one scene where she is gifted the location of her father's burried bones on her b'day aaahh h!! she waited for it for 20 long years that she couldn't shed a tear(on the verge of total breakdown.)
4) Seo in guk is a gem! ! Especially during the case profiling and interrogation scenes. And a super adorable hyung.
5) PGB is a revelation. I like how his eyes turns from lost puppy kind to total creepy within seconds.
6) The team. Sunbae leader kang everyone.
_ leader kang is a nice kind of second lead harbouring a secret crush, protecting but NEVER. clingy.
7) OTP - cute ,caring ,realistic ,share gloom.
Things I found irritating:
1) all of them having meals together again and again. Knowing everything!
2) while min heads to confess other the real murderer set loose. so much time to arrest wasted !!
3) no scenes of Lee jun young brain washing Min as a kid .what happened in those years.
~END SPOILER~
Please watch it! keeps you hooked. Very unique and underrated.
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This review may contain spoilers
I really like Jang Nara as an actress so I was excited to watch this. The whole cast is excellent and the story while seemingly typical for a crime drama had a lovely twist I didn't see coming. The bromance is excellent and the romantic subplot is subtle and well done. The only thing I didn't like was how obvious the "bad guy" was. I knew his identity very early on and I had avoided spoilers. But maybe that was the point.
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