Are you on the market for something quick, light and cotton-candy fluffy on your drama plate?
Coz I ended up liking this little web drama, at just five quick 12-15 minute episodes, quite a bit more than I’d expected to, and think that it’s worth a look – with the right lens adjustments, of course.
To be honest, I almost decided against checking out this one because of its pretty average ratings on MyDramaList, but decided to take a look anyway, on the off-chance that I’d buck the trend and perhaps like it more than other viewers seemed to – and whaddya know, I do like it more than everyone else! 😂
..And I’m hoping that perhaps you might, too. 😉
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Anna (Nam Gyu Ri) is a reclusive power blogger with a huge fanbase but who hasn’t left her apartment in over 2 years. Ji Yong is an extremely popular home shopping host who works hard in order to hide an embarrassing past.
One day, Ji Yong is tasked to get Queen Anna (as Anna is known) to agree to appear on his home shopping broadcast.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Here’s a quick look at the various things to keep in mind, while adjusting your lens for this little show.
1. The acting of our leads leans a bit stiff,
..but it isn’t terrible. Sometimes, I did find myself cringing slightly, but for the most part, both Im Seul Ong and Nam Gyu Ri are pretty decent in this.
2. The acting of supporting & bit part characters can be pretty green.
I found some of the bit-part acting particularly bad, but the silver lining is, those bits are over pretty fast?
3. There are politically incorrect elements,
..like female characters’ wishes being ignored in the name of comedy.
If you take this seriously, it’d be hard to enjoy this show.
But if you’re able to roll with it as jokes made in bad taste, and that exist in this drama world as secondary elements that are mostly not integral to our story, that will help.
4. Stuff develops very quickly, and therefore can feel unreal.
Honestly, this can’t be helped because of Show’s very short running time, combined with its task of developing an OTP connection in that limited time.
Thinking of this as a manhwa world peopled by manhwa characters helps.
STUFF I LIKED
1. It’s quick, light and fluffy.
If you’re on a time crunch and just want something light, bright and fun to distract you from Real Life for a little over an hour, this is quite perfect for the job.
2. The music, when it shows up, is bright and happy.
I thought that added a nice touch to our drama world.
3. Anna’s dad is a kind, good egg.
Dad starts out quite unassuming, but by the end, I’d warmed up to Dad quite a bit.
He was my favorite supporting character.
4. The idea that we all have our ugly pasts, insecurities &/or struggles.
Show has more meaningful themes than I’d expected from such a tiny show, and I liked those a lot.
5. The idea that a little empathy and solidarity goes a long way.
This helped me to rationalize the fast connection between Anna and Ji Yong; after all, a sense of solidarity can lead to instant yet meaningful connections between people.
THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]
Not gonna lie; there’s a lot in this show where I liked the concept better than the execution.
Case in point, the scene in episode 4 where Anna and a drunk Ji Yong bump into each other; I found it plausible because of the fact that they were both written to be in the vicinity of his office, but I felt it was quite stilted and cringey in execution. 😅
Kinda the same thing, with this finale. A lot of the drunken scenes were quite stilted to my eyes.
HOWEVER. I did find a nice amount to like, in this finale, and that’s what I count as the more important thing.
The first thing that stood out to me, is what Anna says to a dead drunk Ji Yong, “You don’t have to get 100 points; 90 points is an A too. So you can rest at least 10 points’ worth.”
Wow. I love that. It’s compassionate and understanding, and it definitely is a lesson that people habitually striving for perfection could take to heart.
I also like the idea that it’s because they’ve both seen each other at their worst and now have nothing more to hide, that Anna and Ji Yong can be so comfortable around each other.
We start our story in a place where we see them both struggling to keep up appearances, and it’s really nice to see them liberated from that need, with each other.
I personally really like this idea of feeling free to be yourself, particularly with your significant other, so Show gets a big nod from me for that.
The development of the romance between Anna and Ji Yong occurs at light speed in this finale because we literally only have a few minutes of screen time left, but Show does a good job selling the concept of why their romance could work, AND, Anna and Ji Yong are so giggly-cute as a newly minted couple, like they’re a pair of blushing teenagers, that this one leaves me with a smile on my face, in spite of its shortcomings.
THE FINAL VERDICT:
Some lens adjustments are required, but Show delivers more lashings of meaning, and settles more sweetly, than one might expect.
FINAL GRADE: B+
TEASER:
WHERE TO WATCH:
You can check out this little web drama on Viki here.
GETTING AROUND GEO-RESTRICTIONS
If you’re geo-restricted, a VPN service would help you get around that. Not only does it provide online safety, it also gives you access to lots of great geo-restricted content.
I personally use NordVPN. You can find my review of NordVPN here.
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Hey kfangurl, thanks for the recommendation here. I actually was able to sneak this in as a palate cleanser between two personal (non-group-watch) dramas. Sometimes a little snack is great for the 30 minutes I can stay awake and watch something before going to bed, and the performances were nice (I, too, loved the dad) and they managed to sneak in a couple of nice backstories. Not bad for a quiet program.
Aw, I’m glad you enjoyed this little show, Jeff!! Yes, this makes a neat little palate cleanser, it’s so short and sweet! Thanks for letting me know that this worked out nicely for you! 😃