XXI
Dramaland
This review may contain spoilers
Should've spent more time in the drafts
I know this was adapted from a manga and a Japanese drama but I haven't read or seen either of those so my review isn't comparing the originals & is only based on what I thought watching this version. I'm a fan of Sejeong, slice of life, & webtoons so this drama was catering to my likes. From the start, this wasn't a great drama but it was tolerable enough - until it kind of wasn't & I was just finishing it because of how close to the end it was.
What I liked about the drama was seeing the issues webtoons & their artists faced. As a webtoon fan, I've seen artists talk about some of the problems presented in the drama (deadlines, unhappy fans/comments, rivalries, health concerns, etc.) so I think it's a good thing to show viewers who didn't consider those things. Maybe the problems may have come off over the top for some but, though dramatized for entertainment purposes, they do exist.
For me, I really didn't find any of the characters likeable (in terms of saying I connected with them or was attached to them) but they weren't dislikeable either - except for Director Heo (the loser antagonist), PD Kwon (who wasn't a good co-worker), Hanseul (who wasn't a supportive gf to artist Na), & Ma Eum's sister (who I found annoying). I will say that I actually found the supporting characters & their stories to be more interesting than those of the leads. (For example, I actually enjoyed Donghee & Daeryuk's storyline of jealousy & coming to terms with their own futures probably the most.)
What stopped this from being a good drama was the directing & having too many episodes. At times, the drama felt all over the place as if they didn't know who or what to focus on. There were 5 artists, & 2 rookie ones, who we were introduced to & we saw through the show but their storylines weren't balanced well. What I mean by that is they weren't really interconnected, which I had no problem with, but they'd focus on an artist only for the story to then focus on something else, & the artist would disappear for episodes before returning. Because of that, this drama could've been less episodes, like 12, especially with the main issues basically being resolved around then. (Ep 15 was when they were resolved & it felt anticlimactic the way that they were resolved & being before the final ep. At the end of ep 15, they were creating new issues to drag out something for the final ep.)
But, the main reasons why I can't say this was a good drama is because of the way toxic work culture was lowkey romanticized & how they dealt with Daeryuk's arc. From the start, for the most part, the PDs showed lack of concern for their artists as human beings. They were more concerned with making sure the artists made their deadlines than anything else. In PD Kwon's case, they tried to justify it by sharing how he used to care too much but then their previous company failed so that's why he doesn't show as much care now. (He caused a rookie artist to fall sick & kind of give up on their dream of being an artist yet he never asked her how she was doing.) A lot of the times they were trying to deliver a message & make it heartwarming, or whatever, but failed to do that because of the way they tried getting it across. As for Daeryuk's arc, I never have high expectations for dramas when it comes to dealing with mental health but this surprised me & not in a good way. They gaslight his abuse by playing it off as his mother caring for him (because handcuffing your child & leaving them home alone while a fire broke out is a way to protect them apparently) & having her have dementia so he feels sorry for her. It left me disturbed & made my rating for this drama go down.
I don't remember any of the songs used & I'm not really interested in going back to listen to them so that's why I gave music a 1 star rating. This is one of those dramas that I finished, was happy it was over, & won't remember (at least not for the good things). So, I won't rewatch again but had to give a 1 star rating. I still wouldn't consider it one of the worst I've watched but I wouldn't jump to recommend it.
What I liked about the drama was seeing the issues webtoons & their artists faced. As a webtoon fan, I've seen artists talk about some of the problems presented in the drama (deadlines, unhappy fans/comments, rivalries, health concerns, etc.) so I think it's a good thing to show viewers who didn't consider those things. Maybe the problems may have come off over the top for some but, though dramatized for entertainment purposes, they do exist.
For me, I really didn't find any of the characters likeable (in terms of saying I connected with them or was attached to them) but they weren't dislikeable either - except for Director Heo (the loser antagonist), PD Kwon (who wasn't a good co-worker), Hanseul (who wasn't a supportive gf to artist Na), & Ma Eum's sister (who I found annoying). I will say that I actually found the supporting characters & their stories to be more interesting than those of the leads. (For example, I actually enjoyed Donghee & Daeryuk's storyline of jealousy & coming to terms with their own futures probably the most.)
What stopped this from being a good drama was the directing & having too many episodes. At times, the drama felt all over the place as if they didn't know who or what to focus on. There were 5 artists, & 2 rookie ones, who we were introduced to & we saw through the show but their storylines weren't balanced well. What I mean by that is they weren't really interconnected, which I had no problem with, but they'd focus on an artist only for the story to then focus on something else, & the artist would disappear for episodes before returning. Because of that, this drama could've been less episodes, like 12, especially with the main issues basically being resolved around then. (Ep 15 was when they were resolved & it felt anticlimactic the way that they were resolved & being before the final ep. At the end of ep 15, they were creating new issues to drag out something for the final ep.)
But, the main reasons why I can't say this was a good drama is because of the way toxic work culture was lowkey romanticized & how they dealt with Daeryuk's arc. From the start, for the most part, the PDs showed lack of concern for their artists as human beings. They were more concerned with making sure the artists made their deadlines than anything else. In PD Kwon's case, they tried to justify it by sharing how he used to care too much but then their previous company failed so that's why he doesn't show as much care now. (He caused a rookie artist to fall sick & kind of give up on their dream of being an artist yet he never asked her how she was doing.) A lot of the times they were trying to deliver a message & make it heartwarming, or whatever, but failed to do that because of the way they tried getting it across. As for Daeryuk's arc, I never have high expectations for dramas when it comes to dealing with mental health but this surprised me & not in a good way. They gaslight his abuse by playing it off as his mother caring for him (because handcuffing your child & leaving them home alone while a fire broke out is a way to protect them apparently) & having her have dementia so he feels sorry for her. It left me disturbed & made my rating for this drama go down.
I don't remember any of the songs used & I'm not really interested in going back to listen to them so that's why I gave music a 1 star rating. This is one of those dramas that I finished, was happy it was over, & won't remember (at least not for the good things). So, I won't rewatch again but had to give a 1 star rating. I still wouldn't consider it one of the worst I've watched but I wouldn't jump to recommend it.
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