At between 6 to 9 minutes per episode and an extended 12-minute finale episode (that’s right, 12 whole minutes!), this little web drama seemed like the perfect little vehicle to kick off the Flash Reviews section on the blog (Thanks again for voting, everyone!).
The only reason this little web drama was even on my radar is because the production kept reminding us in its promotional teasers and write-ups that Jang Hyuk (Eee!) and Kim Woo Bin (Woob~! Eeeee!!) would be “starring.”
I wasn’t even that interested in the story’s premise, to be honest. But the show’s light fluffy tone and its promise of precious k-love screentime was enough to keep me going.
That’s right. I would pretty much watch anything if Woob’s in it.
In a nutshell, this little web drama was pretty much an upside-downside-well-alright-let’s-call-it-even sort of watching experience for me.
My internal dialogue with myself about this web drama would go something like this:
Upside: Woob’s in this! Eee!!
Downside: It’s really mostly just teaser, and we get very, very little real screentime with Woob.
Except for 25 seconds in the first episode and one single proper (yet cheesy and clunky) scene in the finale, I had to be content with glimpses of Woob’s hand. That’s right. I was reduced to looking out for body parts. Talk about over-promising and under-delivering.
Upside: Jang Hyuk’s in this too! As a Jeet Kune Do master, no less! Woot!
Downside: He never gets to say a word. Seriously.
Upside: Still, his cameo adds up to a decent amount of screentime, and he’s even got a tiny little arc of his own. Plus, Jang Hyuk shows off his ability to emote without the need for actual words to leave his lips. Not bad.
Downside: The story is paper-thin and the short overall length doesn’t give a lot of room for proper character development. Another downside: most of the acting falls on the more earnest side of skillful.
Upside: Kim Yoo Jung is likable and quite adorable as Navi, a love cell in human form who desperately wants her human, Dae Choong, to fall in love so that she won’t die.
[SPOILER ALERT]
Downside: I just don’t get the loveline that the show gives her and Dae Choong (a clueless but rather adorkable Park Sun Ho).
I don’t even really consider this a spoiler since any drama fan would be able to see the loveline from a mile away. It’s just, how does that even work? So essentially, Dae Choong falls in love with a part of himself? I don’t even think this is meta for learning to love yourself either.
On top of that, Navi eventually dies, but time-skip later, Dae Choong meets his landlady’s daughter, who – Conveniently and Significantly! – looks just like Navi.
To be honest, that didn’t work as a true happy ending in my books, since he just happened to find her doppelgänger. But ok, I get that this show isn’t really supposed to make a lot of sense.
[END SPOILER]
Upside: It’s not a lot of commitment at about 6-7 minutes per episode on average, so even when the show didn’t make a whole lotta sense, I didn’t feel like I wasted a lot of time.
Plus, if you manage to switch off the ol’ brain, there’s enough cute ‘n fluff, and enough of a very campy Park Joon Hyung making regular cameo appearances as the hilariously hammy big guy advertising Navi’s magical love products, to make it feel like Show’s giving enough bang for your entertainment buck.
… And that, folks, is what I mean by an upside-downside-well-alright-let’s-call-it-even watching experience. 😉
THE FINAL VERDICT
Light, harmless and fluffy. Just right for when your brain’s on vacation and you’re short on drama hours. Don’t expect a lot of Woob, though.
FINAL GRADE: B-
TRAILER:
LOL. Thanks, KFG. I tend to do that to the minor characters that really catch my eye. Nope, you have nothing to worry about with your writing. I say it will become what it will become, some dramas/movies deserve more writing or spark our minds far more than others.
Aww, love this quick review. Good job with it! I still haven’t watched it even though it would only take maybe 2 hours of my life!
Aw, thank you my dear! 🙂 I’m finding these flash reviews quite alluring, in the sense that they get done a lot faster than regular reviews 😛 But I’ll try to be responsible about it and not just turn everything into a flash review! XD
You’re not missing a whole lot if you don’t watch this one, but I do think that this holiday season, when the festivities take away drama hours, it might be a nice way to squeeze in some drama into your schedule. Plus, it’s quite amusing to see Jang Hyuk pop up randomly as the silent neighbor 😉
I always latch onto characters like the ‘silent neighbor.’ And then I want to see the story shift around them. Why is he silent? What’s his story? lol. I’ll give it a try soon. It will be a good night watch before bed.
I don’t think you’ll turn everything into a flash review. You have too much to say about dramas and all that’s included in them. 😀
If you have a tendency to latch onto the “silent neighbor” type, then I have a feeling that you’ll like seeing Jang Hyuk pop up here! I bet you’ll start weaving a story around him in your head, knowing the way your creative juices flow! XD
Also, you are so right. I mean, just look what happened with High School King? I literally started out intending to make it a Flash Review, and then, many words later, realized it was anything BUT Flash, and had to change it back. I guess I’ve got nothing to worry about, then? XD
I’ll have to come back because I can’t really concentrate after reading Jang Hyuk and lips in the same sentence. thanks for the post, though.
Your comment made me giggle out loud, trotwood! Don’t worry, I completely understand the distraction of having Jang Hyuk and lips on one’s mind! XD