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Backstreet Rookie korean drama review
Completed
Backstreet Rookie
11 people found this review helpful
by Bhoomi
Aug 4, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Lighthearted, enjoyable, FaMiLy FrIenDly

Despite all the negative comments regarding this drama and jcw's recent choice of scripts, I decided to give this drama a go and I am so glad I did. It's lighthearted and funny and was a welcomed distraction from the heavy emotions loaded psycho, but okay (soo good, but so melancholic x).

Well addressing the elephant in the room, yes its obvious stereotypical and racist portrayal of that artist/friend - character was inappropriate, unnecessary, not at all well thought out and simply frustrating as it puts a huge damper on the otherwise enjoyable drama. Honestly I felt sorry for that actor, because he's a fabulous actor as can be seen in the fiery priest and even his performance here was good, but yeez that character was really ridiculous, didn't even blink when the supposedly comedy involving that character set in .

Now for the good parts:

The story is simple, yet it didn't get boring at any point, except for the last two episodes, guess they ran out of ideas. The comedy moments were apt (except for some scenes in the beginning involving the ml's friend character), one could definitely see the fiery priest touch and any references to that drama or any other movies such as parasite or pulp fiction added to that humorous tone. Some anime-inspired fighting scenes seemed over the top, but one quickly adapted to that style, as it goes well with the flow of the drama. The music was also surprisingly good, that crazy crazy bit reminded me of honey honey from the fiery priest. And for the actors, I keep forgetting that jcw is not only the greatest looking guy in the K drama world but also a brilliant actor. He portrayed the store keeper with ease, showing us his playful, lovable side just like in Empress ki and also the female lead did a great job in portraying saet byul, whom I first found to be obnoxious and annoying but who turned out to be an actually likeably, bubbly character who would outshine obstacles in life with her bright smile, a positive attitude and a strong mindset. Even the side characters like jcw's family were very likeable and not only resources to bring progress in the leads' romance (well, maybe a bit). Especially the mother and the girlfriend were well thought through and 'real' with their worries, faults and behaviours. Other characters like the obvious bullies, like the ones terrorising high schoolers, the typical conceited shareholder's wife or the malicious egocentric boss-figure eyeing a woman in a relationship were solely for the purpose of adding villainy and incarnation of problems to the story, but no harm in that, if it helps the plot. Saet byuls sister and the second male lead got some more screen time and were likeable, too.

The greatest part for me is the relationship between saet byul and the manager. Not necessarily the chemistry, but the overall healthy relationship they share. The way they would communicate through hand articulation, what for outsiders seemed odd and incomprehensible, but made perfect sense for them or support each other with genuine happiness and sympathy and would crack witty jokes at each other all the time, it was pleasant and cute to watch, made oneself long for that kind of a pure realtionship. I'd like to add that I also enjoyed the realtionship b/w jcw and his girlfriend, their little quarrels and makings up and I even found myself rooting for the gf when she would storm of to see jcw and reestablish their relationship.

All in all, it's a good drama, which I genuinely enjoyed and actually would re-watch for the lighthearted story and the likeability of some characters. Plus, after all the complaints regarding the 'inappropriate romance' etc in the earlier episodes you could really see the production team's effort in making the drama more family friendly, ended up being one of the purest K-dramas I've ever seen xD
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