The School Nurse Files (2020)

I loved it

The best way to describe it is like Natsume Yuuchinjou; in all except characters and general plot line. The Premise, themes, and mood are really similar.


I'm surprised by the number of people who didn't like the story. A lot of it is very subtle and you have to guess what happened off screen — not like in a crime shows but like really episodic. It was really crackish in terms of tone, but it was the type of humor where the the show is laughing and finding everything ridiculous to hide how dark and depressing the actual storylines are. This is not a fully shown plot with a tied up ending; I still have plenty of questions and want to know more, but I actually enjoy that. It ends very open ended, but not without gratification. This is a slowburn, pre-relationship too, so expect no kisses or real declarations of love from the mains. People are right in saying it doesn't require brain power in terms of plot but in terms of emotions, omg.

I'm writing this right after seeing it so, I will edit as I reflect more.

It won't let me recommend a non-drama so here!
Natsume Yuuchinjou is an anime, and it doesn't have any hit of romance (just a boy bonding with a demonic cat kinda?) but the tone and topics are really similar!
• MC struggling with seeing spirits and "fighting" them off - less fighting in Natsume
• Depressed that they can't fit in (Natsume evolves happier tho)
• Bigger orgs trying to control things in the background
• Building a group of friends over time
• Dealing with loss, and other complex emotions for yourself and for spirits and people
• Tho the scenery in Natsume that is much more like nature and forrests while this has jellies and neon swords haha
people who didn't know how to process school nurse files might like natsume more

SPOILERS without specifics because for some people will want this warning
TW:
Magically forced mass attempted suicide; minor magically forced homophobia to a lesbian couple (tho what was said made me gasp)

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Jelly! Jelly! Jelly! Jelly!

This drama is peculiar. Very.
I had trouble understanding what the nurse Ahn sees are ghosts, or phantoms, or a different life form. In the beginning, I was tricked into thinking maybe it's just all an imagination of nurse Ahn. That she is suffering from 8 th grade syndrome. But it's not.

As I said the story is peculiar. But still fascinating! It is novel; something you won't see quite often.
The whole story revolves around the school, which was built over an infamously mysterious pound. There are jellies, there are people who can see them. Some people who protect other people from the malevolent jellies and some who use those jellies for their own selfish purposes. The main male lead has an unusual power which can recharge the powers of those who can see jellies.

After completing the drama, there were a lot of things left unanswered. There is still a list of mystery surrounding the school, the people who are trying to control the school's power. The male leads power. Etc.

So go ahead and watch the drama. It is a fun watch, of course. The acting is nicely performed. Unusual story, eerie setting, uncanny magic, and peculiar characters will surely make it a worth watch.
It is only 6 episodes. Plus there might be a second season coming.

Jelly out.

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Strange and intriguing.

Nurse Files is a drama that invites you in a world of fantasy that challenges the norms. Our lead is a young woman who sees things called “jellies” — left behind by people, or just creatures which are invisible to most. Along with her we have a Chinese teacher who’s ability is being a forcefield visible to only few and a disability visible to all. I would suggest you going into this drama with no expectations of wanting to understand the powers of our FL, or even the issues that are centric to the plot. In accordance to the FL’s life, we as viewers are expected to simply accept whatever comes our way. Strange creatures in the school built over a what was a pond with great aura? Okay. Connection between students causing them to start behaving hysterically? Okay. Mite infestation which cause a person to be born simply to eat the mites away? Okay. There are plenty such things that confuse you, but like the leads, we simply accept it and try to fix it.

Apart from the strangeness and fantastical elements, I simply loved the portrayal of characters. Loved the relationship between the FL and ML — starts of awkward and then just becomes comforting. The take away from this drama would be it’s okay to be weird as long as you are not a bad human.

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Short, strange, interesting, but left a lot of questions

I just want to start off. Acting by the ML and FL were great! Always a fan of ML. It was a nice interesting short series. Because of how short it was, I felt it left a lot of details and questions unanswered. I am still 100% confused by the ending and have no idea what happened.
Some questions I had:
Why did the mark appear? Why did it go away? What're the two groups?? How are there other people that can see jellies? Why can Mckenzie manipulate it and she didn't even try? Why did in Pyo automatically bond with her and followed along with her plans so fast? And the kids too? And what's the meaning on the ducks?? I understand that it's a short series and they can't be too detailed but it did feel too rushed on some of those details. There needs to be more episodes. Also why did they focus so much on an ex who died and came back just to die again?? Someone else reminded me of this but there are doctors capable of doing surgery on magical mite eating beings???? But then what was the role of the old fishmonger lady???? I do appreciate the lesbian couple and how ML defeded homosexuality.

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Weirdly Charming

This the strangest kdrama I've watched and I loved every bit of it.The show might be the closest thing to a fever dream and it is understandable why this would not be everyone's cup of tea.

I was hesitant to get into it too but decided to give it a go since it was only 6 episodes and the cast looked really good but I'm glad I did it.I don't usually like watching series that are ongoing with multiple seasons because waiting for the next moepisodes/seasons seemed like a pain,and that is the only part that the I didn't really like about this mostly because even the finale doesn't really give much of a closure or explanation. Hopefully the next seasons cover all that.

In kdramaland full of cliches I would say this show is a breath of fresh air.

It's is visually stunning and the ost is particularly good,maybe even the best part.

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what happened ???

obviously this needed more than 6 episodes. the story was so amazing that even with the many question left unanswered and dropped plots I considered this 10/10 when we found out who her female friend really is. Like, I'm sorry but that was too good. its so upsetting it only got 6 eps it needed 10 or 12 to get everything right. everything felt rushed and not given time to settle properly.
With the rushed and mysterious ending it feels like they were fishing for a season 2. Maybe they didn't have enough money for more than 6 eps so they tried to make the ending mysterious in hopes it would be a hit and the fans would beg for more. unfortunately for us taste havers, the kdrama audience lacks taste so were never getting that second season. I mean the Nam Joo Hyuk stans are in the reviews complaining that this is "weird" ... like duh you dummy.

anyway this was great and now I'm buying the novel to get all the answer I need.

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Kookie but Unfortunately Clumsy

Honestly, I wish I was able to say I enjoyed this show more but I feel like the lack of episodes and run time is really what killed it for me. I've seen many a show cram plot and story and character in the same amount of run time this show had and still come out with a more coherent viewing. Here's a spoiler-free pros and cons from me:

Pro:
- I really love the main leads for their refreshing characters and awkward but somehow still endearing relationship with one another. Nurse Ahn is a great take on a different kind of hero and Mr. Hong is honestly a strange counterpart for her but him being hers makes complete sense.
- The visuals are really fun and interesting but also VERY disturbing at times.
- I enjoyed that there was a bit of an ensemble cast of students that all felt different from one another.
- What plot I could string together did keep me interesting in watching to find out more about the mystery the show started to present to us about the school.

Cons:
- You as the viewer need to fill in so many gaps and jumps in plots in order to even have a vague grasp on who are villains are and why they operate as they do. Even when the show starts to tell you it's hard to follow and will leave you grasping for scenes and plot threads in order to make it make sense by the season finale.
- Due to the limited run time of the show, not nearly enough time was dedicated to REALLY diving into our characters and their struggles and their relationships with one another, leaving even our interesting leads sometimes feeling a bit one-dimensional. And when they were able to have good moments together it left me wishing that we'd gotten more scenes of them building up connections to one another so that emotional moments had much more impact.

While I can't say I'd recommend anyone to watch this outright I really didn't hate it. Overall I think it was an interesting concept with great actors and a premise that got shot in the foot by absolutely no time to delve into the source material and make it feel fleshed out and meaningful.

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The school nurse filed explained

The School Nurse files is weird. Like really off the wall weird, one of the strangest things I’ve seen in a while. I saw a lot of people online saying they didn’t like it because it didn’t make sense or they couldn’t understand it. Going into it I expected to see a drama that followed the regular format. There’s not necessarily a set format but there is a certain style to Kdramas and this one doesn’t fit into that box. It could be classified as absurdism, surrealism, or magic realism. Absurdism is defined as “intentionally ridiculous or bizarre behavior or character.” Examples of this can be found in Plays like Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. As well as books, movies and shows like Catch 22, Bojack Horseman, The Big Lebowski, and Rick and Morty. Absurdism usually focuses on the human tendency to seek meaning and value in a purposeless or chaotic and irrational universe.
Surrealism is described as “the principles, ideals, or practice of producing fantastic or incongruous imagery by means of unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations.” Examples of this can be found in the play Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco (in which a small town of people slowly start turning into rhinoceros’s) as well as movies and shows like A ClockWork Orange, Twin Peaks, Beetlejuice, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It can also be seen in the works of Salvador Dali and Frida Kahlo.
Magic realism is explained as “a genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy.” Examples of this can be found in the play References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” by José Rivera as well as movies and shows like Donnie Darko, Scott Pilgrim vs. The world, Birdman, and Jane The Virgin. Matthew Strecher explains it by saying "what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe." Magic realism is usually a separate genre from fantasy because in magic realism there’s realistic detail with magic elements included to make a point about reality. While fantasy is sort of separated from reality entirely.

At first I was unable to definitively classify The School Nurse Files under one of the 3 specific genres. After watching the first episode I could see why people were confused. It’s experimental and avant-garde in a way that usually isn’t seen in Kdramas. However after finishing the show I have come to the conclusion that it is surrealism. It’s not absurdism because none of the characters really ever seek meaning, no one asks how or why and they all sort of except their predetermined fate and the strange events that are happening at the school. The only deviation from this Baek Hye-Min, who decides she wants to live past the age of 20. However she never questions what her role is or why it has to be her. It’s not magic realism because the narrative isn’t realistic enough. Obviously there are themes of bullying and same sex love but other than that, every character just accepts the supremely weird circumstances they’re in without question or hesitation. Which isn’t realistic behavior. Not knowing what surrealism is and going into the show not knowing that’s what it’d be, is why it left a strange taste in most viewers mouth.

Some of the structures of a surrealist plot are as follows.
* Deliberate abandonment of clarity, order and rational thought.
* Confusing storylines
* Illogical plot
* Elements of fantasy
* Chaotic universe with in the world of the story

Nothing is ever explained, who the safe and happiness group is, whether they’re related or the enemy of Ilgwang sterilization group. Who they are or where they came from. Who Baek Hye-Min is and where she came from. Why ghost copies of Oh Seung-Gwon where standing around the school. Why “Lucky” and “Ruckus” have an umbilical cord attached to their necks that connect them together. Why they’re attached, and why they’d die if it didn’t become unattached. It sort of made sense that it was connected to the hair at the base of their neck, but why it’s related to their armpit hair isn’t explained, or why whatever it is likes curly hair in the first place. Why does Mackenzie have seemingly more magical power than Ahn Eun-Young. Enough to the point where he put a hex on the boys on the basketball at the wish of Lee Ji-Hyeong, who then later was shown sweating profusely in the nurses office but after that is shown to be perfectly fine, absolving him of any consequences that would’ve proceeded his wish. Why does Hong In-Pyo have such a strange aura, what does it mean and why is it important to the happy and safe group. All these examples and the many more I’m sure I forgot about fall under deliberate abandonment of clarity, confusing storylines, and illogical plot.
The examples of fantasy are much more clear, the jellies, the ghosts, the multiple occasions on which the students became possessed.
The chaotic universe within the world of the story is the obvious one.
It doesn’t make sense because it’s not supposed to. Surrealism in its truest form is meant to feel like a dream. Where nothing is explained and by the end of it you’re left feeling confused. You don’t understand it because you’re not meant to. The School Nurse files was executed perfectly within the genre of surrealism. And the only way to enjoy it is to suspend your disbelief to an almost irrational level.

I loved it, but that’s because I like surrealism. A lot of people think it’s stupid. And their opinions are also valid. It could be said that most people didn’t like The School Nurse Files because they simply don’t like surrealism.

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Underdeveloped Concept

This show could've used some thought put into fleshing out the characters and plot. As it was, it seemed the only focus was the CGI, which was ok.

Eun Young is a modern day shaman dealing with jelly creature embodiment of energies and spirits rather than the ghoulish, ghostly spirits we are used to with the otherworld. Her weaponries are a mixture of the old talismans and herbs and the new lightsabers and pellet guns. She meets a helper char, In Pyo, who is pivotal to the situation she's found herself in and is able to recharge her energies in her otherworldly line of work. The series mentions other kinds of non-human beings who help or hamper her work and alludes to an old power struggle between two organisations for a potent power source the school is built on. The setup is tight and neat and only needs fleshing out to develop into its own however, the fleshing out falls short of considered effort. The rules Eun Young's world lives by isn't explained as much to the viewer as it is just told. There are no avenues to "power up" or "knowledge up" besides her rudimentary knowledge so that when she meets MacKenzie, a threat, you get the sense that she is fighting way above her weight class and she is way out of her league. This is unsettling because she's the protagonist we rely on to navigate through and understand this world. We're left with too many questions that distract from being able to be immersed in this world so it creates a barrier for emotional investment.

The characters too do not help as Eun Young is too odd and rude to empathise with. She is abrupt to In Pyo even though she needs him and treats him at arm's length but claims they're in a relationship. Her behaviours are too unreliable with a guy who's just trying to help out and is genuinely interested in her world and her life. I especially disliked it when she orders him not to touch anyone else but her when she hears about Ga Young in his life. If the gender were reversed and she's the guy ordering him, a girl, this behaviour would be considered controlling. Because she was an unlikeable character and takes up so much of screentime it made it hard to invest in this show, especially given the lack of worldbuilding explanation, as mentioned above. I pretty much just watched for In Pyo's brief appearances here and there but didn't invest in wanting a positive outcome either way, mostly because it's hard to tell what would be considered a positive outcome.

The music and incoherent ways in which ppl behave and interact with each other kinda positioned this show as a western arthouse film wannabe. Those kinds of shows are annoyingly pretentious to watch and this show was that too. If they'd focus on developing either the storyline or characters, or both, School Nurse Files would've been memorable. As it is, it's worth a look when you have some time to kill for weirdness, since it's just a short 6 episodes, but not something that'll leave a mark on your psyche as some other thoughtful mystical-like productions might.

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