Backstreet Rookie (2020)

Amazing Drama

It's was really good and I'll recommended this to all the k - drama watchers out there. The story plot is really different from what we usually see. It was so funny and thoughtful at the same time. The acting especially. Woah, they were so realistic. All in all an amazing drama I'd say. Do watchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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The first 10 episode for me is one of the better rom com mainstream drama out there in terms of the way it's unfold. So many moment and situation that I can relate. The Struggle of the main character get written quite well, Name Dae Hyun and Saet Byul. The drama never lose track untul it hit episode 11 onwards. As If the writers doesn't have better option of how to solve the problem more cohesively. Unfortunately. really..... Since I really Love those first 10 episode about prejudice and conflict between different social class seems quite touch the reality. Since episode 11 onward, the drama despite has it's moment, the drama start losing it's momentum for me.

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Either Love It or Hate It

This drama was one of my most anticipated 2020 watches as well as around the time I started watching this, I started getting really into Ji Chang Wook, so I had some really high standards for this drama. Especially when web dramas have been doing extremely well recently. I was honestly a little skeptical because I kept hearing how different episodes and scenes kept getting into trouble where people started to petition to get it off the air. I also read different reviews of people who either loved it or hated it.

My honest thoughts (given you already saw what I gave this drama):

I thought it was extremely quirky and refreshing. I loved it. It was a cute "love" story between two people Dae Hyun and Saet Byul, and there love for one another and their cute little convenience store. It started off like a typical kdrama where Saet Byul has a hidden agenda to get Dae Hyun to like her (of course they have a past), but Dae Hyun thinking she is this irresponsible and immature child who solves everything with violence. Which was really annoying in the beginning and it made me dislike Dae Hyun, but it also made it so much better when Saet Byul proved him wrong and made him realize that you can't have prejudices of other people. But every character had their "flaws." But going off that, and the reason why I loved this drama was that in a regular drama, where Yoo Yeon Ju lived in, a flaw came with a negative connotation. Whereas Saet Byul had this quirky personality where she knew she wasn't perfect, and if anything, her flaws were what made her unique. She didn't see her imperfections as something bad, and she so desperately wanted to share that message and self-love to the people around her, especially Dae Hyun, who thought that if something didn't work out, it was because he did something wrong.

You can definitely tell that this drama was written as a webtoon vs in a drawing room with a production company wanting to come out with the next cookie-cutter drama. I felt like each character was extremely relatable and I really couldn't dislike anyone. Including Yoo Yeon Joo. She wasn't the best girlfriend in the world and to be honest, a bit selfish, but she was relatable where she was so stuck believing that she was a victim in her own life, that she did what she thought would make her happy which caused others to suffer.

I loved the quirky romance between the mains - I loved that when they were together, they embraced each other fully and built each other up. They built on one anthers' aspirations and goals they already held for themselves. And it was refreshing. Lightweight, I don't think either one of the main characters went through any character development (as in a normal drama, we have the stuck up heiress who learns to become down to earth) and it was ok. These characters knew self-love from the beginning and this 15 episode drama was about these people who loved their flaws finding their tribe.

Now for the few things that I didn't like about the drama which made me drop it .5 from a perfect score. Even after saying that this drama was about people finding their tribe, I honestly wish that we got more Saet Byul and Dae Hyun romance. Normally, I don't have an issue with this type of drama, but I wasn't super pumped and felt a bit cheated when we got a drama where you had to wait for the characters to finally kiss in the last episode. Given, we finally got a little bit of romance in the final few episodes, but it felt a little bit minimal. Shoot...we could have taken out the whole Dae Hyun parent drama plot they randomly added, that was unnecessary. But of what he got, was really good, that I wish we got more ramyeon dates with them.

Then, of course, the BIGGEST reason why I dropped it .5 was because of the age difference. I've seen a few dramas with an age difference that never bothered me before, but this one made me feel uncomfortable because of a flashback they included. In this scene when they met, even further in the past than what we see in episode one, we have a younger actress cast as Saet Byul, and Ji Chang Wook still cast as himself, but with fluffier hair to make him seem younger....and without saying what happened in this scene...it made me feel super uncomfortable knowing this was the moment that Saet Byul fell for him, and it made him look like a pedophile. Like...you couldn't cast anyone else? I know it was supposed to show the age difference between the two characters, but it lightweight made me feel uncomfortable.

But other than that, I loved the quirky fighting scenes, all the relationships grow, and Puppy (Kang Ji Wook) who honestly was also a perfect love interest. I am so sick of always getting second lead syndrome especially when actor Kim Min Kyu is always so cute and perfect. I makes me want to find and watch a drama he is in where he finally gets the girl.

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Another disappointing drama from JCW and KYJ

STORY:

This is the story of a 19y.o girl who kisses a 26 y.o guy and 3 years later she goes to work at his convenience store to chase after him and finally he falls for her and they kiss... no they don't. It does not happen. In fact nothing really happens. There is no story. They just meet again, work together, have fun, support each other and in the last episode, she disappears for some dumb reason and he notices he misses her. Lucky him his friend found her by chance and he goes to fetch her but she asks for time and finally she comes back to the convenience store to work with him. Et voilà. The End. The story is as thin as a paper of cigarette.

CHARACTERS/CAST:

If not for the main cast, this drama would not even be noticed. The two main leads carry this drama on their shoulders and they are doing their best but it does not help if there is no story. There is no character development either. He is a simple naive kind guy working as a manager in a convenience store and in the end he stays the same. She is a reckless girl infatuated with her childhood crush who uses her fists and she stays the same. No professional evolution, no dream achieved, no success found, no change in their personality to be more mature or less naïve. Also there is no real romance between the two. They have fun and some cute moments but I never felt like they are a couple until the draggy ending then they accept each other but still... no couple's chemistry.

The interesting characters are the other ones:
- Fire Volcano a Rasta korean who draws webtoons and reveals himself to be a reliable friend, a cute lover and the son of a rich farmer.
- Cinderella, the friend of SB who admires Fire Volcano but doesn't know he is the guy she loathes.
These two are funny and their story is the cute and fun part of the drama. They live the real romance that never happens between DH And SB.
- The mother of DH: she is a great mother with the shortcomings of a mother who wants the best for her son.

Other characters are introduced but never developped properly:
- YJ is DH's gf and she cheats on him and they break up. Then she notices he is a nice guy. She spends the drama dithering about her feelings for DH and finally she flies abraod. A useless and annoying character on which the drama focuses for more than 10 episodes.
- JSJ the director of GS25 and love rival of DH for YJ, Eun Byul SB's sister, Puppy,.. at some point they just disappear and you never hear from them anymore.

MUSIC:
The music was decent and appropriate for the style of the drama butI am not fan of the OST.

REWATCH VALUE:
If I rewatch this, I will just rewatch the story of Fire Vocano and Cinderella : 30 minutes of the whole drama.

OVERALL:

The drama is a vehicle for JCW and KYJ to show their acting skills. Watching this drama I felt like watching the two actors portraying two characters in front of a camera and having fun doing it. I really wanted to like these two characters but they failed to be interesting and compelling because they didn't do and didn't say things that create the magic between them. In the end, the drama even broke the fourth wall by mentioning their own show as a show in the show and it showed the crew and filming set. It totally blew the credibility of the drama which did not need that.

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ITS A SIMPLE LIGHT HEARTED DRAMA

I rarely finish watching an ongoing dramas and due to this i rarely watch ongoing dramas.. i usually wait for it to finish and then binge-watch it. BR is one of the few i watched while it was ongoing and didnt drop it midway.

The first thing i want to say to those who decide to watch this drama is its not as problematic or as controversial as some people projects it to be but its not the best drama out there either.. this drama definitely dont deserve all the controversy surrounding it.. people over exaggerated every action in the drama as if this created everything thats wrong in the word.

One thing that made me like BR is that i officially became a fan of both JCW and KYJ.. i never got the hype behind KYJ until i saw this drama(i have only seen her in moonlight drawn by the cloud and i dropped that drama half way through). she is like a breath of fresh air onscreen.. she brings a certain kind of energy whenever she is onscreen.. i have seen that kind of energy only in jun ji hyun and park bo young.. KYJ is kind of like a younger version of JJH to me.. i always found jcw to be one of the best looking guys out there but this drama made me appreciate him as an actor.. he can pull off a character like daehyun who dont have any special skills or charm pretty well.. if you want to see JCW as the charismatic and charming kdrama lead then you will be disappointed with daehyun but if you want to see JCW as an actor then DH is one of his best roles..

the story is very simple and the characters seem real.. one of the very few dramas that show both the good and bad of almost all the characters.. none of the characters are pure evil or perfect.. everyone has their pros and cons.. the different thing i found about this one is, it starts off by showing the negative side of every character and then slowly shows the depth in them.. characters like DH's father and SB's sister might come off as extremely selfish and self-centred at the beginning but its just that the way they do things are not the ideal way..

PROS
1. the relationship development of SB and DH is really good. there is understanding, mutual respect and trust b/w them as well as they give each other personal space. KYJ and JCW have good chemistry without a lot of intimate scenes. they both are good actors so all their emotional scenes came out well.. like the characters, their relationship also started on a questionable note but ended up being so beautiful.. it started as an obsessive infatuation of SB towards a good-looking older guy who was nice to her but ended with uplifting each other and correcting each other's flaws.. even though there is an age gap there is a sense of equality in their relationship.. DH takes the front seat when one of them needs to be wise and SB takes the front seat when one of them needs to be bold or strong.. they complement each other quite well..
2. SB and DH's mother's relationship. they both are hardworking and sincere but are taken granted by their family.. so they both understand each other very well.. all their scenes are high on emotions.. again the actress playing DH's mother is amazing.. she is good as the loud but good-natured mother.. she clearly can make you love her in one scene and irritate you in the next.
3. DH's personality. i personally loved his character. he is at times too good for his own good but is a very respectable guy. he might not be a macho alpha male but has the patients to deal with things the right way.. he is sincere and gives his 100% to any relationship he has.. he stayed loyal to his gf because he is a loyal person and his gf deserves his loyalty and not because he was blindly in love.. he clearly liked SB's company but also knew to draw the line..
4. since the drama didnt had any high tension moments or cliffhangers, it was like a stressbuster.
5. the emotional scenes of the drama were really good.. one of the best i have seen. you can connect with every character and understand why they get emotional..
6. SB and her friendship with her 2 bff esp GB.. GB might be from a rich household but clearly understands the struggle SB faces and is always there for her.. those two girls are friendship goals..
7. SB's character growth.. the makers kind of put a bump to it on ep15 but quickly clears it on ep16.
8. BR had one of the most satisfying endings for me.. there was no proper kiss but still every scene of DH and SB was worth it..
9. parasite and the fiery priest reference. i just finished watching fiery priest when i started BR and FP reference and guest appearance from some of the FP cast were hilarious to me. the parasite reference fits perfectly into the story.

CONS
1. the stretching of DH-YJ relationship. it becomes a bit repetitive after a point.. we get it why they are together and also get it why they shouldn't be together.. the makers have made that pretty clear by ep 7-8 but still the breakup happens only on ep 9.. also the actress playing YJ was the weakest link in the cast.. she has very limited facial expressions. like every other character, she is also not too good or too bad but since she is the roadblock to the union of SB-DH as viewers we tend to hate her the most. DH becomes an unlikable person when he is with YJ and he might come off as a weak guy when he was in the relationship. the showed how this relationship is eating up his real self.
2. there were some scenes and characters that should have been cut short and more screen time should have been given to the leads in the end of first half of the drama.. ep 7-9 was a bit dragging..
3. not enough fluffy romance b/w the leads.. this one was supposed to be a rom-com but ended up being a comedy slice of life drama with a pitch of romance here and there.. there is a lot of meaningful and emotional scenes b/w SB and DH but dont have much typical romantic moments..
4. the time gap.. the makers didnt made the time gap b/w the breakup and DH starts developing feelings for SB more evident.. if you give importance to minute details then there is a lot of time difference b/w DH's breakup and his feelings for SB but if you dont notice it then it might feel like DH started falling for SB within a week of the breakup.. EB's sister debuted after months of training but it might look like she debuted within weeks of joining the agency. same with SB's exam.. it looks like she wrote the exam after 2 days of studying but the time gap is only evident when she remembers the flashbacks with DH helping her with her studies..

there were some episodes i didnt enjoy as much as the rest but when i look back i liked the overall drama.. this drama definitely deserves a try..

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This is a very typical comic-styled comedy, with really outrageous special effects and random jokes.
I'm a huge fan of the drama trope memes they inserted here and there, including a guest appearance of the Temptation of Wife OST somewhere when side characters were breaking the fourth wall.

Forget about the romance though. Honestly I couldn't find much chemistry between the two leads, and the second female lead arc went on for wayyy too long (and the second male lead arc way too short! I had severe second male lead syndrome for that guy but he didn't even put up a good fight)

I would recommend this for the laughs, especially if you're a kdrama veteran and can see through their play on drama tropes (though they end up committing a few themselves)

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Missed opportunity

The controversy

first things first, i don't care about the controversy but if you are someone who gets offended really easily i would suggest to avoid this show. there are couple of questionable things and situations here and there in the show. so make your decision wisely

The music , the editing and the cinematography

the music is very good and gets the job done, its not something that i would put on my phone and listen to but its really good and there are some really good standout ost and soundtracks in this one. sound-effects are also very well done and precise, this show has high production value and it shows the editing and cinematography are on point here.

The Acting

both of our main leads do a very good job at the acting . Ji Chang Wook is a seasoned actor and performs as well as you would expect him to. but for me its the Kim Yoo Jung who steal the spotlight as Funny, Sassy Bad-ass and some what questionable Jung Saet Byul everyone else does a decent job with the material they were provided with.

The story The Characters and the writing

this is where the show falters for me, its starts out well with the characters, there setup and there motivation
and then it went downhill from there. the romance is the biggest disappointment for me. here i was hoping for some cute, sweet and fluffy romance between the leads and we got.... I don't even know what we got can you even call this a romance. first show focuses way to much on JCW and HSH relationship (which Was Trash btw ) and when the show did decided to focus on JCW and KYJ it was already too late.

the story is mediocre and there are couple of other side characters here and they have there own storyline going on but it was meh for me. non of the other side characters or there storyline did any thing for me they were mostly underdeveloped.

This is the worst case scenario for me because i could see that this show could have easily become one of my favorites but because of bad writing , annoying as hell characters (HSH) and mediocre story made it one of my worst experiences of 2020

And one more thing Do Sang Woo, why was he in the show, his character was probably one of the most pointless character in Kdramas this Year

The Conclusion

Overall my suggestion would be to completely avoid this show (unless you are a massive fan of either of our two leads) there are way better shows that you can watch .

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The controversial “Backstreet Rookie”, was it any good?

Plot : Let’s start with, why it’s controversial. From what I read online, the main complaint was it’s too raunchy and of course the caricature of “Reggae boy”. But putting it all aside, It’s a pretty unique love story. First of all,it’s realistic. The main love interest isn’t some rich guy with a multimillion company, but just your average hard-working guy. To be honest the first 2 episodes I didn’t like, after the 4 episode I started to really enjoy it…but the two last episodes were a disappointment.Overall I would recommend it if you are tired of the cliche k-drama plots and want something fresh and more “grown-up” , but still silly and fun
THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN OUR MAIN COUPLE(S)?:
So our main couple is Choi Dae-Hyun and Jung Saet-Byul ,yes we do get a little love triangle situation but it was gone half way of the show,so I don’t feel like it’s relevant to talk in this context. Was there chemistry between Choi Dae-Hyun and Jung Saet-Byul? Yes and No,let me explain…First 4 episodes you could feel the awkwardness,I don’t know how or why,but you could feel they are not really comfortable with each other. After that I started to see the chemistry,but in my opinion, there were not enough cute scenes overall and that’s a shame!
HOW IT ENDS:*Mild Spoilers*
I was disappointed…they tried to wrap up all the loose ends in one episode…ONE EPISODE!!! And you could really tell they where rushing…the actual ending wasn’t that bad,just the feel of the whole episode was bad…sorry not sorry

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Too many reasons to skip this drama

One can only put up with so much for what is ultimately a typical romcom. There are obvious challenges to adapting an “adult” webtoon for a general audience: crude humor, offensive stereotypes, and questionable objectification of characters. Is there an audience for this type of material? Yes, but it is most likely not you.

Let’s make it clear(er). Fart jokes and body gags - check. Uncomfortable and unnecessary depiction of “Jamaican” culture - check. Love line between a minor and an adult - check. Backstreet Rookies is not worth the mental gymnastics needed to overlook its glaring flaws.

Story:
After peeling away Backstreet Rookie’s controversial gimmicks, a very familiar plotline remains, i.e. hardworking leads that suffer from a series of misunderstandings. Even the “female chases male” tag is easy to find elsewhere. Characters are also black-or-white and never break their mold. So, the drama relies on various gimmicks to push the narrative forward. While some are wholesome or funny, others are uncomfortable or offensive and cringe inducing at best.

Acting:
The cast is definitely the lone bright spot in Backstreet Rookies. Ji Chang Wook is well established, and Kim Yoo Jung is quickly establishing her young adult career. Some viewers criticized the age difference between the two, and all I will add is that Kim Yoo Jung is at least of adult age (compared to her age while shooting Love in the Moonlight in 2016). Supporting cast is stellar with Kim Sun Young, a staple highlight in kdrama land. Everyone outperformed their simple and flat character designs.

Music:
Backstreet Rookie’s OST fits well with its story and the lyrics are even used as lines throughout. The drama uses a more modern sound and often relies on input from various kpop artists. Rothy’s OST contributions are always solid. Still, the music is rarely compelling enough to make a drama watch worthy in itself.

Rewatch Value:
In the end, I am surprised to find myself finishing the drama. It was difficult to get through my usual 4-episode trial, and there were later episodes (scenes) which made me want to drop it. Save yourself the headache and indulge in the many other kdramas available. Although it has its own flaws, the recent drama, Itaewon Class, is a better feel-good drama about hard working under dogs.

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It's Freakin Amazing OMG !!!!!!

What is wrong with the ratings about this drama, it's so freaking good and the humour oh my god. This is the only kdrama after Iotnbo that I liked so much (I'm surprised as well),
So underrated it's making me so angry, I used to trust mdl for choosing what to watch but not so much I guess cuz all this time after Searching for some satisfying show to watch and just ending up with boring stuff cuz couldn't find anything else And here this masterpiece is laying hidden geeez.
Aaaaaaaaaa this is so frustrating, make this drama famous aaaaaaaaa.
Fellas Im not gonna judge a show based on its ratings again, maybe I'll watch the trailer or it edits lmao, cuz they are more accurate about what's real good drama shows.

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