A basically perfect urban fantasy about grief and obsession
I'm so glad I came across this show when I did. I had seen it around but to be honest, Taiwanese dramas haven't been on my radar much so I never looked into this, even though I saw a few mdlers watching it on feeds. I'm glad I found this through Avenue X. One thing is though she hates on a lot of shows in an exaggerated manner, she's at least reliable when it comes to recommendations. This show is nearly the perfect modern drama with an interesting plot, engaging narratives, great characters, humor, lots of emotions, and a professional production to boot.
Summary: The story follows Yiyong who's a descendant of some reincarnated demon or something and that means he's really good at calligraphy!!! But while this seems like just a random skill, it proves to have extraordinary connotations when he wakes up from a two-year coma and discovers an ability to communicate with the dead.
The Plot: The story develops very naturally. I don't think this is an adaptation and kudos to the writers because they've come up with an amazing storyline. Each plot connects very neatly to the other. The plot twists are thoughtful and surprising only when they need to be. I also love the fact that this is ultimately a story about grief and they manage to bring that up in such a beautiful, poignant way. The character developments are so well placed but...and it makes me wonder because these character developments are there but they could also go on? So I wonder if there's a sequel at work... The chemistry between the characters and the way each relationship develops (from Yiyong and his mother to the vengeful ghosts and the grandfather and everything in between) is very naturally integrated into the way that the plot progresses.
Acting: The acting in this show was really well done. I thought the humor landed well and everyone's timing was perfect and the three mains had great chemistry which made their friendship all the more believable and lovely. And did anyone else think Tseng Jing Hua kind of looks like Arthur Chen? They look so similar to me. He did a great job with the emotional beats and made me cry a lot. What's impressive is that the supporting cast are also very good. So good that you easily develop emotional stakes and start to care for them, deepening the investment in the show.
Music and Production: The music was fine. The production is great. The set designs and the outfits are very character-specific and tell us a lot about each character's personality. The camera work and lighting is not just good, it's actually way better than most East Asian shows I have seen. 100 times better than Cdramas...The CGI was so good!!! It had a lot of those and they were all done so well. So good.
Negative: There's a gag about how low the ML's IQ is and while I get the reasoning for it I didn't love it. It was a bit in poor taste.
Overall: Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good urban fantasy story and mysteries. The show was an absolute delight with a balanced amount of humor, sadness, mystery, and whimsy. I wonder if there will be a sequel. I'm fine if this is it as the arcs close neatly enough and there isn't much need for a second season but given how the format is sort of like cases that change every episode, I can see there being more and that the show may develop more on what was already set up. I'm fine either way. 2nd seasons are usually bad anyway. But really!!!! Watch this! It's very good!
Summary: The story follows Yiyong who's a descendant of some reincarnated demon or something and that means he's really good at calligraphy!!! But while this seems like just a random skill, it proves to have extraordinary connotations when he wakes up from a two-year coma and discovers an ability to communicate with the dead.
The Plot: The story develops very naturally. I don't think this is an adaptation and kudos to the writers because they've come up with an amazing storyline. Each plot connects very neatly to the other. The plot twists are thoughtful and surprising only when they need to be. I also love the fact that this is ultimately a story about grief and they manage to bring that up in such a beautiful, poignant way. The character developments are so well placed but...and it makes me wonder because these character developments are there but they could also go on? So I wonder if there's a sequel at work... The chemistry between the characters and the way each relationship develops (from Yiyong and his mother to the vengeful ghosts and the grandfather and everything in between) is very naturally integrated into the way that the plot progresses.
Acting: The acting in this show was really well done. I thought the humor landed well and everyone's timing was perfect and the three mains had great chemistry which made their friendship all the more believable and lovely. And did anyone else think Tseng Jing Hua kind of looks like Arthur Chen? They look so similar to me. He did a great job with the emotional beats and made me cry a lot. What's impressive is that the supporting cast are also very good. So good that you easily develop emotional stakes and start to care for them, deepening the investment in the show.
Music and Production: The music was fine. The production is great. The set designs and the outfits are very character-specific and tell us a lot about each character's personality. The camera work and lighting is not just good, it's actually way better than most East Asian shows I have seen. 100 times better than Cdramas...The CGI was so good!!! It had a lot of those and they were all done so well. So good.
Negative: There's a gag about how low the ML's IQ is and while I get the reasoning for it I didn't love it. It was a bit in poor taste.
Overall: Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good urban fantasy story and mysteries. The show was an absolute delight with a balanced amount of humor, sadness, mystery, and whimsy. I wonder if there will be a sequel. I'm fine if this is it as the arcs close neatly enough and there isn't much need for a second season but given how the format is sort of like cases that change every episode, I can see there being more and that the show may develop more on what was already set up. I'm fine either way. 2nd seasons are usually bad anyway. But really!!!! Watch this! It's very good!
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