jia
KPOP Utopia
A fun story executed very poorly
I was honestly skeptical of people's comments saying how weird this drama was. I mean, how weird can it be?? Turns out, VERY WEIRD.
The initial premise was what piqued my interest, but the more I watched, the more I realized that the story was one of the weakest points of this show. 6 episodes did not do this drama justice. There were multiple times where the characters' interactions together happened off-screen, characters appeared then were written off for no apparent reason, and many more problems. There wasn't any time for the story to delve into the side characters backstories and even the main characters. Maybe it was done intentionally to make the viewers even more confused, but I didn't like how that was implemented. Just because it's supposed to be a trippy drama doesn't mean that character development and explanations should be thrown out the window.
I love dramas with some sort of mystery that is explained at the end, or at least an open ending that ends with me theorizing. That's only if clues are hinted at throughout the episodes. In this drama, there are basically no clues whatsoever. I really dislike dramas where the writer(s) deliberately and intentionally hide stuff from the viewers. To me, it's like a cheap gimmick to surprise the viewers. Good writing can make an ending shocking while still having numerous hints sprinkled throughout its runtime.
The acting is by far one of the best parts. Jung Yu Mi does well in the role of a zany, wacky, and tbh a bit creepy school nurse. Nam Joo Hyuk nailed his role as a down-to-earth, normal teacher. I also enjoyed the students' acting, for the most part. They were able to make a number of scenes convincingly unsettling. However, in other scenes, they come across as cringey lol. They're a double-edged sword, I guess.
Eun Young and In Pyo are an unlikely pair, but they mesh together really well. An eccentric person who wants to be normal, and a normal person who wants to be eccentric. Their subtle hand-holding shows their bond. They were, without a doubt, the best part of the show.
At first, I didn't like how the jellies were cartoon-ish. But considering how bizarre this series is, I later realized how good this decision was. The whole cinematography (lighting, camera angles, location, etc.) were of normal quality. I liked the composition of some scenes, for example, when Eun Young talked to someone, the next angle showed her talking to the air, indicating she was talking to a ghost/jelly. I thought those parts were really clever.
The music wasn't anything outstanding.
I enjoyed the strangeness of it all. It's distinct from any other drama. However, the execution was abhorrent. I might watch if there is a second season, but only if the drama has more episodes. As I previously stated, 6 episodes was totally inadequate for this sort of narrative.
aight byeee~
The initial premise was what piqued my interest, but the more I watched, the more I realized that the story was one of the weakest points of this show. 6 episodes did not do this drama justice. There were multiple times where the characters' interactions together happened off-screen, characters appeared then were written off for no apparent reason, and many more problems. There wasn't any time for the story to delve into the side characters backstories and even the main characters. Maybe it was done intentionally to make the viewers even more confused, but I didn't like how that was implemented. Just because it's supposed to be a trippy drama doesn't mean that character development and explanations should be thrown out the window.
I love dramas with some sort of mystery that is explained at the end, or at least an open ending that ends with me theorizing. That's only if clues are hinted at throughout the episodes. In this drama, there are basically no clues whatsoever. I really dislike dramas where the writer(s) deliberately and intentionally hide stuff from the viewers. To me, it's like a cheap gimmick to surprise the viewers. Good writing can make an ending shocking while still having numerous hints sprinkled throughout its runtime.
The acting is by far one of the best parts. Jung Yu Mi does well in the role of a zany, wacky, and tbh a bit creepy school nurse. Nam Joo Hyuk nailed his role as a down-to-earth, normal teacher. I also enjoyed the students' acting, for the most part. They were able to make a number of scenes convincingly unsettling. However, in other scenes, they come across as cringey lol. They're a double-edged sword, I guess.
Eun Young and In Pyo are an unlikely pair, but they mesh together really well. An eccentric person who wants to be normal, and a normal person who wants to be eccentric. Their subtle hand-holding shows their bond. They were, without a doubt, the best part of the show.
At first, I didn't like how the jellies were cartoon-ish. But considering how bizarre this series is, I later realized how good this decision was. The whole cinematography (lighting, camera angles, location, etc.) were of normal quality. I liked the composition of some scenes, for example, when Eun Young talked to someone, the next angle showed her talking to the air, indicating she was talking to a ghost/jelly. I thought those parts were really clever.
The music wasn't anything outstanding.
I enjoyed the strangeness of it all. It's distinct from any other drama. However, the execution was abhorrent. I might watch if there is a second season, but only if the drama has more episodes. As I previously stated, 6 episodes was totally inadequate for this sort of narrative.
aight byeee~
Was this review helpful to you?
