Okay, so when news about this drama first came out, I was skeptical. On paper, Jang Nara and In Guk as a couple seemed pretty off and the not much was given away about the plot, but I gave it a try due to my In Guk condition.
Boy was I blown away!
From the first episode, it showed that this show wasn't going to be a "typical" drama, from the flawless directing to the smooth writing, everything about it seemed beautiful. It kinda gave me Sherlock vibes in that sense. And what I really liked, unlike other dramas,is that it kept you guessing the identity of the murderer even if it becomes quite obvious. You are sure that this character is the killer but then the show throws you off and suddenly, you start suspecting yourself. Of course, its not to that extent but you are kept guessing until the big reveal.
Moving on, I loved the relationship between Hyun and Jian. Although this drama is promoted as a romantic thriller, the romance is almost non existent which is not a bad thing here because I thought what we got instead was beautiful. You get to watch as Hyun and Jian become friends and companions who lean on each other during hard times. They actually get to know each other and embrace the other's faults which was quite heartwarming (Seo In Guk embracing anything is heartwarming.. but that is irrelevant). I also loved the relationship between Hyun and Lawyer Jung because, bromance. Props to the actors, portraying these complex characters is seriously an achievements (shoutout to D.O .. I never expected awesome cameo)
So would I watch this again? Yes, I would watch Seo In Guk watch paint dry and die content. Would I watch it for any other reason than my In Guk condition? No. I feel like this drama has a one time charm and would be boring if I re watched it despite my earlier raving. So 7.5 points for Seo In Guk!
Overall, This drama is amazing and totally worth watching. My only misgiving is that it dragged quite a bit but thankfully, it picked up the pace.
Oh and In Guk had only one shower scene, tragedy!
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Expectations? They are always high up there for me. To be frank, I only watched and finished watching this simply because two of my favorite actors - Seo In Guk and Park Go Bum, they are the main characters in this. The other cast - not so much, I was never a fan of Jang Na Ra's acting. Since this is mainly a psychological thriller with a bit of romance scenes, I now get why I didn't enjoy this as much. However, I do love an amazing mystery thriller, but this drama was lacking. Lacking what exactly? I wanted something crazy to drop out of the blue for me to watch it seriously. Like a deabak plot twist or something. Literally, I developed an attention span of a spoon while watching this. The only attention-worthy episodes were the first and the last ones. In reality, the plot line is detailed, written by a creative author, but the story wasn't fully developed and brought to life in my opinion. Good music is always a staple in a drama. I quite enjoyed the OST of Hello Monster, some songs are very catchy indeed.
So if I had to draw a quick conclusion, this drama could've been a lot more enjoyable and better, however, it lacked a lot. Myself, I don't even know exactly what it lacked, but it sure wasn't very entertaining and I almost dropped it. There are definitely a bunch of similar Kdramas that are better than this one out there so keep on looking!
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STORY: First few episodes was quite flat because you probably won't understand what exactly happened but don't give up watching. Each episode will just tempt you to watch the next one, and then the next one. I'm glad that there's only 16 episodes - nothing more or nothing less. Loving the pace and and the intense content in every episode. I also like how this drama puts its focus into child abuse/abandonment and how each crime scene are jigsaw pieces that made up a puzzle.
ACTING/CAST: Seo In Guk never fail to disappoint me again with his superb acting skills. He can portray this character perfectly - a cold person yet having a warm heart inside, someone who actually needs comfort like anyone. I would like to applaud for Park Bo Gum for his acting as well. How can someone like him act so creepy or mysterious yet on the other side, such an innocent kid who just craves for affection? Will definitely watch his other dramas next time. (:
MUSIC: I could only remember the OST I Remember You because it was always played during certain emotional scenes. However this show usually plays suspenseful background music which just gives you goosebumps.
REWATCH VALUE: It wouldn't be fun to rewatch this show again since you will know how the cases are linked and who is the culprit and so on, but if to rewatch for BROMANCE SCENES, A YES! I still crave for more bromance! ):
OVERALL: Yup, one of my best dramas i have ever watched. Do not hesitate watching this just because there isn't much romance or comedy in this show or because of the poor ratings. This show is really well-written with such awesome casts and producer and writer. I am now praying for a sequel for this drama!
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Nothing over the top and some brilliant acting by the whole cast! Wow, simply enjoyed it! The ost is playing in my car all day...Dear Cloud!
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This review may contain spoilers
This one is a rough one. I was considering dropping it after the first few episodes because of our leads. This is no fault to the actors themselves but the male lead just didn't quite fit the role he played though it's still passable. The female lead's role was (yet again) written as a cutesy character who's obsessed with the "cold bad boy" but is just incompetent and unprofessional if you pay attention to what value she brings supposedly as a cop of a special team. Sigh to the Asian draw towards having to incorporate the "cute" even when it doesn't work for the genre, but at least she doesn't wear high heels on the job.The blend of the crime and romance aspects of the series feels forced/confused as if they didn't know which one to focus on. Then the humor and lightheartedness that was sprinkled on would have worked if it wasn't sometimes done with bad timing. There also wasn't too much chemistry between the two leads and the number of times they made him lean flirtatiously into her face to apparently make her feel uncomfortable (try counting the times) just became an irritating thing to watch. What is also up with the male lead and his alternating of two hairstyles? At first I thought they were attempting to use it to differentiate between the past and the current, but no. Choosing just one or the other would have worked a lot better for the purpose of the character.
Despite all the above however and while the crime aspect wasn't amazing, there is an interesting overall mystery with the male lead's backstory and where it leads. The rest of the supporting cast did a really good job to keep me focused so I quite enjoyed it while skipping the majority of screen time of the female lead.
The concept of society blaming and looking down on (in hypocrisy) the "monsters" they've created themselves is quite evident here which I love. Nothing to do with the actual plot. but let's say a group of children were raised in an environment where murder was as normal and natural as eating a meal, would it be moral to blame the children for living in the same fashion? Then let's say, a few of those children were fortunate enough to later be placed into a gentler and warmer environment, and learned they can feel and live a different way. Would it be moral to punish them for their past deeds from their prior environment? And then to add to the complexity, what if some of those children were just born and wired a certain way?
The strange empathy you may feel for what should be the "monsters" in this is what hits the spot. Who's the one who's really ignorant? Who's moral and who's self-justifying on their own learned morals?
It is definitely very unfortunate that outside of a great underlying plot, the series couldn't pull it off better.
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Heart Wrenching!
I was in a bit of a drama slump, so decided I need some Seo In Guk in my life again, and this was the last drama of his I hadn't yet seen, so the choice was obvious. It' called both Hello Monster, and I Remember You. And it's a bit of a heart wrenching thing.Our main dude comes back to Korea because of an email hinting at something he's been trying to find for years... namely, his brother. When they were kids, we learn that their dad was murdered by a very bad serial murderer dude who's path they had all crossed. (This bad dude played BRILLIANTLY by D.O. from EXO... the younger version anyway.) And the brother, who was like only 8 or something, disappeared that night.
Now it's years later, and suddenly our guy is getting the vibe that maybe his brother is still out there somewhere. And yeah. Of course he is. Meanwhile, he ends up helping a fabulous team of cops who investigate murders, and falls for the girl on that team. Only, he is very aloof about it of course. (Ah, I wanted more swoony SIG romance moments, but this drama is not about that I guess...)
Instead, it's about this brother relationship, and once everything gets figured out.. .it's as I said, heart wrenching! The brother is played by Park Bo Gum, who is another very famous and top notch actor in the kdrama world. And it was fun to see him in this role, something quite a bit different from what I've seen him do previously. Man, he is good!
Anyway, and all the side characters are fantastic so yeah. It's a good one! I just wanted more romance of course. But it has everything else for sure.
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Scenario/Writing: Great story for family, not ordinary rich-poor or genius-stupid couples. And most interesting was the love between family members. The writers surprised me a lot with every episode and I was more curious even when I found out the main characters intrigues. In “Love me if you dare” – similar drama scenario when I found out who is who and what exactly wants from others, I got bored. Here this didn’t happen.
Story progression: It was balanced, but in the final series it was a bit forced, because in first there wasn’t even a hint or at least I didn’t see it for certain character story.
Music: Good music, but somehow I didn’t feel it related to drama plot and characters relations.
Acting: Without a doubt the acting was fabulous. I felt all character’s emotions through their eyes, relationships and touches. Everyone played as he/she is in reality those drama characters. The actors really took to heart their roles. I was amazed.
Relationships Development: Slow, but deep. I didn’t get only the “romance” part – when and how the main male lead fell for the main female lead. I didn’t feel their “romance” between woman and man, mostly as brother and sister. It was somehow forced or as if their “kiss” are only done because of watchers and nothing more. But in family and team members’ relations I felt it all. Every other relationship outside “romance” was really deep, strong and beautiful in its own way.
Characters: They are strong and unique in their own way. They developed a lot through the dram as real people do. I love that. It felt more real, not as on a movie. Somehow I got attached to all the characters and I looked at them as people who I meet every day and with whom I can build friendship.
Starting: It was interesting, unique in its own way and a bit standard. The series didn’t get dull till the end.
Ending: Great, realistic ending, I like it a lot, is not the standard ending for K-dramas. No real closure, but in life is also like that. Some scenes of course were a bit forced, but I didn’t really care, because the all episodes I watched made me feel curious and interested. Sad, this drama ended, but it’s better this way then doing some season 2, where the things might go downfall.
Chemistry: Unique chemistry between ALL the characters, especially bromances. Their chemistry is really strong. Romance – not so much. It seems the main leads have great chemistry between them, but not very well acted. This part is because I don’t give 10 of the drama. I love to feel the real chemistry.
Life lessons: Choices – everyone has them in every situation. Also – you should accept people how they are and to not blame yourself, because you had a reason for everything. Another lesson: Running away doesn’t help at all. Hope doesn’t help too. Family – in blood or not is the most important thing that keeps you sane and true to yourself.
All in all, one of my favorite dramas. I will watch it again and highly recommend it to all bromance fans, also to criminal genre fans. Not to all who want to watch Romance and Stupid-normal-hurt-good-girl fell in love with rich-genius-arrogant-hurt man. Here the things are deeper and are about the bonds between people’s hearts.
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I definitely now want to see Park Bo Gum in something where he's not flat affect and uber creepy.
I don't know about rewatch value on this. The performances were engaging, but with the plot already laid out and the twists already known, I'm not sure that it would have as much impact the second time around.
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This review may contain spoilers
Incomprehensible
This is my 65th drama, and it’s at the bottom of my rankings. On paper, this seems to have a lot going for it, but it falls apart rather quickly. The cast is solid, but is really weighed down by a very weak, muddled premise, inconsistent characters, and a very feeble plot. Even if you’re a fan of the actors, sorry to say there’s not much here for make it worth viewing. That may make it harder to watch.Among the bad points are the many instances of characters being way too nice to murderers and serial killers, often letting them slip away for no real reasons. This may be the worst group of cops I’ve seen that weren’t supposed to be completely incompetent.
It’s almost weird how many bad choices were made when making this.
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