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best romcom
might have been the best romcom series i have watched in my life. genuinely love it so much .. i am so attached to this show. i love how they stayed true to the webtoon . great balance of everything, they didnt show too much or to less of the side characters, it was just enough to make the drama more fun and likeable. would it be a stretch if i say this show is perfect? well... i dont care ! it was perfect to me ! the cells were so entertaining to watch though there may be times i got frustrated with them but all characters have their flaws right hehe @_@ i am totally going to rewatch the show every chance i get because it is just so !! good !!Was this review helpful to you?
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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I wish my brain cells are that cute
Yumi's Cells tells a fairly typical modern romance of two people from different walks of life. They met by chance, fell in love, experienced all aspects of a serious relationship, reach a critical juncture and had to make the tough decision to either push through or allow their love to wane. The inclusion of the animated cells added a new facet to the story telling and gave it a multi-dimensional aspect beyond the typical inner monologue. Without the dramas within the cell villages, the story would be engaging but hardly original.Lucky for us, the complete package was a refreshing take of the old chestnut and the emotional ups and downs were amplified and bought to a sharp focus by the cells' dialogue and machinations. It was really funny to see how the writer-nim translated the characters' thought process into 'anime-action' of the various cells and their interactions. However, whilst this type of segue was a fun and welcome diversion in the early part of the show, later on when some serious decisions had to be made, the cut to the cells can feel jarring and break the tension. It is hard to relate the urgency of the decision to a cutscene full of cute toons even though they were agonising over the same point. This is particularly true for Woong's thought process. The cold AI overlay subsumed the more human side of his character which was much more prevalent earlier on. The mechanical deliberation also made his thought process seemed slow and ponderous. Quite unlike the impulsive Woong we loved. Let's face it, who can forget the out of control Naughtysaurus!
Having said that, it was interesting that in the last episode, the show introduced the face card motif whereby everyone is walking around with an imaginary game card on their forehead which showed their motivation or intention at any given moment. Of course, that also made possible the direct translation of phases like 'keeping your card close to your chest' or 'lay down your card'. It allowed a glimpse into other peoples desire and motivations but it is not as innovative as the animated cell village. Is that a cost cutting move or just exploring options for S2?
As I mentioned before, the core relationship of the OTP was not overly dramatic. It followed a fairly well worn path. When they arrived at the critical juncture, the ML stumbled (there were warning signs) and it started the downward spiral. It could have been saved but several opportunities were missed or mishandled. Both Woong's pride and Yumi's insecurities played key roles in putting pressure on their relationship. Coupled with Woong's stress over his failing start-up, it was hard to see a happy ending. It might be salvageable if both parties opened up and talk through the issues but they became more withdrawn and compounded their problems. It led to a sad outcome but it is not an unrealistic portrayal of a modern relationship. Everyday pressures have to be dealt with. Dancing around issues will not magic them away.
I suppose we have been conditioned to expect rom-coms to have a happy ending but in this case, writer-nim gave us a dose of reality and I respect and appreciate that. Bring on Season 2. I will not take a smooth ride for granted ever again, at least for this show.
In terms of acting, I can't fault the main casts. They drew us into their world and shared their lives with us. It was heartbreaking when they were in despair but equally joyful when they were basking in glorious bliss. Support cast did their job well but most were one dimensional.
OST was good and had a broad range from happy tunes to soulful ballads.
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Quite sweet , warm and funny - Worth watch it !
Yumi’s Cell is the first Korean drama to blend in animation into the drama in such a intrinsic way. You can seen that there is a lot of work behind it and these little animated figures do a lot for the story and make it stand out from other dramas. The story really come to life because of them.The drama manages to bridge the gap between rom-com and more slice-of-life drama in my opinion. To me it has this calm and gentle focus the characters’ everyday lives that never feels too dramatic or unnatural, aside from the animated characters that bring out the more cute and comedic side of the story.
the cells that bring the humor (and are often my favorite parts of each episode) while the other characters get to be much more down-to-earth. It still has some those characters that you often find in traditional rom-coms but it manages to undermine some of these tropes and make it refreshing to watch. You can really just sit back and relax while watching the episodes.
Some of the side characters do not feel as complex, which may because we do not get to see the cells of all of them work like Yumi or Gu Woong who are in the leads and perhaps the drama relays a little too much on those cell characters to understand the nuances of the characters. But when it does the drama does a good job of showing all the little twists and turns of communication that Yumi or Gu Woong encounter, whether you agree with them or not, because you see the thoughts behind them.
The cells are a key factor in this and often make you look at things from a different perspective. The story really seems to stand by it’s characters though and allows them to be unlikeable when needs be, and also gives us a good lgbt representative (although he does not appear as often as I would like him to do) as kdrams do not do that often.
The pacing a bit unconventional and the story focuses a lot on communication and misunderstanding when Yumi steps back into the dating world after many years of closing her heart and the mistakes that come with that as a result. And I thought I managed to bring that theme it pretty well to the forefront without dragging the plot or making it too dramatic. The story always seems rather mild and light in my opinion. There was a certain calm over the story no matter what happened.
I found Yumi’s Cell to be quite sweet, warm and funny drama to watch. It is missing a key element that I like in kdramas, which is that the story hasn’t ended yet because we are only at the end of season one. I personally really enjoy kdramas because we get a beginning, middle and a end in about 16 episode. It’s one of their charms. There is so many shows that drag the plot and the tension until most of everything you enjoyed about the series is no longer there. But I’m excited to see how Yumi’s Cells handle this multiple season format. The drama is sweet and stands out from other dramas and just hope the next series manages to keep them charming and not drag the story out.
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What an absolutely fascinating dive into not just a relationship with others but with oneself.
Every once in a while the K-Drama world delivers something totally unexpected. This is one of them...As someone who is into human behavioural psychology, this was such a fascinating dive into not just a relationship but the way our different cells 'run' us. I could really relate to the different cells and they are definitely the stars of the show, If you start watching this and you don't see the point of the cells (animation) then you are missing the whole point of the drama...it's a deep discussion presented in a very simple way and definitely gave me food for thought.The cast really did a fabulous job of bringing it to life too. The OST was off da chain, I don't normally notice the music but this one I quite liked. altogether I give this a 10 for originality and carrying off something different successfully in my opinion
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Drama + Animation = YES
Yumi's cell in the land of animation is like Disney's Inside Outs' older sister. In the sense that the content is not exactly for kids, naughty cell I mean you. Though it was so clever how there were just so many cells and they could be so specific like fashion cell and cleaning cell ( my personal favorites) all the way down to stomach and brain working cells. I really enjoyed both views and was not expecting to which really made this drama special in that way. Other clever options I enjoyed were the use of "cards" shown in the cell's land and also in real life as a metaphor. Once again very clever once you get that point in the story. It really made this drama go from a 7 to a 10 for me because of the back and forth between animation and yumi's real life. I enjoyed the whole journey and am currently withdrawing only a few days because the next time a drama with feature this sort of combination will probably not be anytime soon. Hopefully, dramas will go with the flow and start creating more animation/tv shows like this one. And can I please get these cells in plush versions,thanksWas this review helpful to you?
So much wasted potential
Well, it gets an A for creativity, but that's it. Yumi is considerably less mature than she should be at her age and sometimes she's unjustifiably an absolute 'b'. Ruby, well she's the cliche annoying child trapped in an adult body. The ML's best friend is the cliche manipulative hag. The male lead, bless, is not a cliche anything so I rather enjoyed his character.I couldn't watch more than one episode at a time, I had to take a couple of days off in between them...to forget the pain of watching. How I made it all the way to episode 11 boggles one's mind.
The actors did well with what they had, as the old saying goes (that I just made up), you can't make a Strawberries Arnaud out of cereal box ingredients.
That's it for me, I'll never be desperate or bored enough to revisit this.
Disclaimer...I'm old.
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Unrealistic / Gradually Cringy / Not for the Old Schoolers
The concept of cells ? Awesome and original. The cartoon characters ? Super cool. I was a fan of the leads at first, but some things annoyed me so much that by the 11th episode, I couldn’t keep watching this show.Let’s keep in mind that these two are in their 30s, just like me.
First it was the beach outfit on a first date, which means in real life « I don’t really care about anything, I’m sloppy », but I tolerated it.
Then when she insisted on paying for some dates, I started feeling weird. If you’re one of those 50/50 girls or boys good for you. This is a turn off for me personally. I’m attracted to leaders. This « girls paying for dates » concept is not happening among most Koreans, and definitely NOT millennials, considering that on average, women are raised to date men who make more money than them, to sustain a family. And that was the case for this couple, he OWNED a house, and had his own business while OWNING that house. If he could pay for an officetel apartment (some of the most expensive places, in Korea, that the middle class generally cannot afford), he earned way more than she did.
The last straw for me was when she insisted that he moves in with her after she found out he was sleeping at his office because he sold his place. And worse, he gave in. A capable, grown man, who sold his own house and therefore has more than enough money in the bank, and whose office is actually an apartment. The guy wasn’t wandering in the streets, give me a break. In real life, a man with pride would move back in with his parents as a LAST resort, before he would even allow himself to be housed by his girlfriend, especially as a former officetel apartment OWNER. Let the man figure it out, and bounce back, cheer him up, but don’t mommy him. Also, this whole forcing him to shave his beard was annoying. His beard was neat. Can you imagine a guy telling his girlfriend that he met with short hair (as that was the case for YuMi) to absolutely let her hair grow and insists, threatening to break up if she keeps her hair short ? Ummm it’s a no for me.
So I checked the ratings in Korea, less than 3%, even for tvN this is pretty low. It figures. This guy would be seen as irresponsible in his country at his age, and in most Traditional countries or circles.
I hope YuMi wrote and sold that book, because I was rooting for her. I hope Woong’s business took off because I was rooting for him too. But this childish, « can’t communicate like grown adults », « can’t stay with you if you don’t move in with me although you have the amount of the cost of a house in your account, and a big apartment as an office », « you’re a well-off man, but subway’s on me » type of script, is LITERALLY NOT MY CUP OF TEA. To each their own.
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A unique premise, but otherwise all over the place
I want to start this review by saying that I did not know how there would be more seasons. I did not know the webtoon and how long it was. I thought this would be all there was.Yumi's Cells is a comedy/romance drama, so there needs to be some uncontrollable force asserting itself every episode to keep the plot going. However, unlike other series that use force majeure, the FL creates every single problem.
What I'm about to say might sound harsh, but I cannot believe that a 32-year-old behaves like this towards a partner. I'm not saying that she's wrong in all instances, but it's just how she decides to handle things. She's not in her twenties anymore - she even proclaims how they were stolen from her by her ex! Another woman getting too close to your partner should be treated calmly and with a discussion with your partner about personal boundaries, not by becoming controlling and causing the "rival" to quit her job. That is highly unprofessional and immature behavior. Again, Yumi is allowed to feel intimidated by this; many would, but acting like a child will only make herself look ridiculous.
Yumi and Wung are very different, and I think the series is much too focused on his faults than Yumi's. I know it will be biased because the only perspective we get is her own and her cells'. They both have some baggage to deal with, and they are not equipped to help the other. The drama tends to stand with Yumi as she's had a nasty breakup earlier as if that justifies everything a person does.
This drama seems so drawn out sometimes, but blink, and you'll miss some significant change in the plot. Some events seem so out of the blue this way, and even those you can predict happen in weird ways. The last three episodes gave me whiplash.
I don't want this to end on a negative note. So I will say that I love the cells and their commentary. Many people in the live comments thought they were annoying, but they made the show much more watchable for me. I would have loved it if the cells were the focus of the drama, and Yumi's life only showed up once in a while. But that would have been more of a cartoon, I guess.
I don't know if I will watch season 2. I'm just afraid that it will be a rinse and repeat plot until the end.
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This review may contain spoilers
Yumi’s Cell is the first Korean drama to blend in animation into the drama in such a intrinsic way. You can seen that there is a lot of work behind it and these little animated figures do a lot for the story and make it stand out from other dramas. The story really come to life because of them.The drama manages to bridge the gap between rom-com and more slice-of-life drama in my opinion. To me it has this calm and gentle focus the characters’ everyday lives that never feels too dramatic or unnatural, aside from the animated characters that bring out the more cute and comedic side of the story.
the cells that bring the humor (and are often my favorite parts of each episode) while the other characters get to be much more down-to-earth. It still has some those characters that you often find in traditional rom-coms but it manages to undermine some of these tropes and make it refreshing to watch. You can really just sit back and relax while watching the episodes.
Some of the side characters do not feel as complex, which may because we do not get to see the cells of all of them work like Yumi or Gu Woong who are in the leads and perhaps the drama relays a little too much on those cell characters to understand the nuances of the characters. But when it does the drama does a good job of showing all the little twists and turns of communication that Yumi or Gu Woong encounter, whether you agree with them or not, because you see the thoughts behind them.
The cells are a key factor in this and often make you look at things from a different perspective. The story really seems to stand by it’s characters though and allows them to be unlikeable when needs be, and also gives us a good lgbt representative (although he does not appear as often as I would like him to do) as kdrams do not do that often.
The pacing a bit unconventional and the story focuses a lot on communication and misunderstanding when Yumi steps back into the dating world after many years of closing her heart and the mistakes that come with that as a result. And I thought it managed to bring that theme it pretty well to the forefront without dragging the plot or making it too dramatic. The story always seems rather mild and light in my opinion. There was a certain calm over the story no matter what happened.
I found Yumi’s Cell to be quite sweet, warm and funny drama to watch. It is missing a key element that I like in kdramas, which is that the story hasn’t ended yet because we are only at the end of season one. I personally really enjoy kdramas because we get a beginning, middle and a end in about 16 episode. It’s one of their charms. There is so many shows that drag the plot and the tension until most of everything you enjoyed about the series is no longer there. But I’m excited to see how Yumi’s Cells handle this multiple season format. The drama is sweet and stands out from other dramas and just hope the next series manages to keep them charming and not drag the story out.
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