Olá, Monstro (2015)

For those who are wary of picking up a crime procedural drama, be rest assured. This is one such drama that has the right dose of drama, comedy, psychological thriller, and a pinch of romance/bromance. Crime procedural is also not my first choice in watching any kind of show. I was not engrossed right away by the first 2 episodes, but I slowly got into the drama more and more as the likable cast tackled each case. Each case is connected to the characters and further our understanding of them, and of psychopaths, for that matter. With each episode, I found myself getting more infatuated with Seo In Guk (who looks at his most gorgeous here), admired Ji An more and more (played adorably by Jang Nara), and getting more and more heartbroken for the tragic bromance. The OTP romance did suffer a bit, because of the many things the drama is trying to tackle, but I really loved their relationship. It is very solid and based on friendship, mutual trust and respect. So give it a try, you are missing out on one of the most epic bromances in kdrama.

Leia Mais

I judge how good a drama is based on the emotional payoff at the end of the series.  If not for the terrible ending, I would have given this series a higher rating.

The drama spent a lot of time exploring humanity and choices, and how our choices can affect who we become in the future.  Unfortunately, for a drama involving criminals, police, and profilers, there is very little about justice and the consequences of those choices.   Some villains from the beginning of the drama were never mentioned again.  

The romance in this story was unnecessary and awkwardly included in the drama.  A sign of poor writing.

The acting across the cast was excellent.  From the child actors to the main male leads, everyone did a great job and conveyed complex emotions properly.   Watch this drama for the eye candy, and enjoy their acting while you are at it.  Seo In Guk did a great job, as did Park Bo Gum.  Unfortunately, I really couldn't understand either of the characters nor could I understand what the writers wanted us to feel from watching.  I don't think anyone could be like Seo In Guk's character and be as levelheaded as he was, even when facing murderers.  Were we supposed to feel pity for Park Bo Gum?  I agree with many reviews that the true chemistry is between Seo In Guk and Park Bo Gum.  When both of them were on screen the screen sizzled.

All in all, it felt like the drama was trying to make us feel more and think there is some hidden message.  But it was not well written enough to properly convey whatever those messages were meant to be.  At the end, you got a serviceable crime drama with an element of melo (hidden identities and such).  The good acting made the drama worth watching, but don't expect this to be a masterpiece.

Leia Mais

I've never had the courage to write a review i feel i should start somewhere so here it goes

I had this show on hold for a very long time, and was hesitant to even start to begin with.  The original description/poster of the show,  looked/sounded like a typical crime drama with heavy romance, which what put me off. I love crime focused dramas, but had become tired of ones with a genius investigator that solves crimes episodically like Galileo ( i love Galileo btw) but this wasn't that type show.  Yes it has crimes, but they all have a deep meaning to the bigger plot, and aren't solved within an hour episode.  Also, romance isn't the thing i look for when starting a new show.

-Story -
The mystery surrounding the main characters past, and the identity of certain individuals that relate to lead characters past , is what really shines here.  You want to know everything with each passing episode, and it gets you hooked.

it really made me question if people are born psychopaths, or if it takes certain circumstances in our life's to become one. Could any of us have become monster had we been abandoned by loved ones? would we be the same harmless person we are now, had we been abandoned or/and treated cruelly from a young age?
the romance was there but it isn't the main point. it's natural romance,  of two people experiencing equal pain of loss in different ways at the hands of the same person. Romance didnt add or take away anything from the show. It could have done without it but it was ok with it.

The ending staying away from spoilers but i found pretty meh...it wont be as meh if they have a season 2

-Acting -
The acting was great
Seo In Guk, does a brilliant job as a stonefaced looking profiler with a scarred past, of which he has forgotten the majority about.
the only drama before this that i had seen with Seo In Guk was reply 1997.  i had reservations whether he could pull this kind of character off and he did.
I'm very harsh on female leads because i've seen so many annoying female characters that have made me either drop a drama or lower it's score but Jang Na Ra was great.  i was worried she was gonna be annoying at the beginning,  but turned out to be a strong female lead with a hint of vulnerability, she was human.
Park Bo Gum's chracter is what kept me watching early one. I wanted to know more about him, what he was about, what his intention were, and that's when i knew i was hooked on this drama. ironically, the only previous thing i had seen park bo gum in was reply 1988, and he was my LEAST  favourite character in that drama. i finished reply 1988 with bad taste in my mouth because of him,  but here in this drama he's the one that got me hooked. But by far my favourite character was Lee Jun Ho..wow...maybe i have a thing for middle aged male kdrama actors, but his presence is so powerful here.  hauntingly beautiful every movement of the face means so much i dont want to go too much into why he's such a great character due to spoilers
the rest of the cast were fantastic especially the team leader Kang Eun Hyuk and the loud mouth Son Myeong Woo they are hilarious.  the only character i wasn't too fond was the chief of police i felt like someone else could have played the part better but he was ok.

-Music-
The soundtrack was pretty good my favourite was the instrumental that played during tense and dramatic moments really got me pumped and excited and added the eeriness of certain characters

- Rewatch value -

all dramas that i finish I rewatch with my mum and some are hard to get through a second time even if they are good but this was still good watch when already knowing the outcome. paying more attention to chrracters when you know their intentions. It was much better first viewing then second viewing but still enjoyable

-Overall-
This drama was amazing.  the actors was great and the chemistry was there.  i didn't personally feel the chemisty on the romance side, but everything else felt real. i wouldnt wan to be caught in dark alley with the actors who played the psychopaths

sorry if this review is a mess i'm not sure if got across what i wanted i hope to improve my writing in the future

Leia Mais

I finally got around to watching this drama! I've had it on my list forever just because I like the main actors, but I wasn't sure whether or not I would like the show based on the description. I took the plunge last week and was so glad I did. This show hooked me from the first episode.

D.O's performance of Joon Young was chilling. I thought that the child actors did a great job as well - (those brothers are adorable) and the boy playing a young Hyun was well cast especially.
The acting was great from all the cast, though, and Park Bo Gum's facial expressions were on-point.

I thought the storyline was well-done, and it kept me wanting to know more. I liked the suspense of it and how the story unfolded a bit at a time, but it's not as suited to a re-watch because the suspense is no longer there. I also enjoyed the bit of comedic moments as well, and the hint of romance. The bromance between the brothers was really emotional, and somehow the writers even made the "bad guys" sympathetic characters.

There were very few missteps, and I thought it was a solid choice.

Leia Mais

i love seo in guk to death so im super biased in loving all of his projects but everything about this drama was great

the psychological and crime aspects and interesting and complicated and so emotional. i went in knowing some big spoilers in regards to min but there was still so much left for me to figure out as i watch and plot twists that were exciting but also made sense. and i like how they gave you hints about who was who but there was always just enough doubt there to make you question whether it was true or not. it was thrilling and so fun to watch

the romance fit in well with the other aspects of the story. it wasn’t very heavy on the romance but it progressed naturally and fit in with everything else going on so that it didnt take away from the bigger plots. even though it wasn’t super romance heavy the little smiles and hand touches and interactions kept you hooked between all the bigger romance-developing scenes

hyeon and min’s relationship was so interesting to watch. park bo gum did an incredible job, his actions and facial expressions were scary yes pitiful at the same time and i feel like he did an amazing job encompassing the complicated aspects of min’s character. every scene between them was emotional and sometimes cute. and they both did a really good job showing the dilemma between who they are and the love they had for each other. so well acted and well written

the police squad aspect was so cute. im such a sucker for team dynamics like that. they all were so cute and decently well developed in terms of supporting characters and i loved the levity they brought to such an otherwise dark show

honestly as you can tell by my rambling. i loved it. perhaps it’s because im a psychology major or my love of shows like criminal minds that i found the topic and the plot to be so interesting but i just can’t get over how much i loved it wow

Leia Mais

I was really looking forward for another drama with Kyungsoo, who was really good in his other works. Plus, Bo Gum was an additional bonus, as he can really adapt to his role and he plays the childish roles really well. However, the drama felt a little stiff, as it got stuck into boring plot twists. The background story was interesting; a guy returns to Korea in order to find his brother, who had been kidnapped by their father's killer. However, the drama was almost like a medley of Dexter and the mentalist, with a genius man who ends up working with the police tries to find the serial killer that harmed his family. The killer's shots in the prison were annoyingly repeated over and over in each episode. In addition, the drama was tiring and boring, and the romance was really weak. So, 4 out of 10, only for the good performances of the two actors mentioned.

Leia Mais

May I just say damn! that was really something
Imma keep this short, ok,
Plot wise it was well written, it was such an "episode hooker" made you wanna keep watching lol
Actors each played their roles REALLY well like you could understand/see things from their perspective
Romance aside, I really liked the relationship b/w the brothers, it was really emotionally touching, though the love line was great, it wasn't rushed and it was a bonus to the whole plot,
and to wrap it up, this drama had amazing OSTs like you'll find yourself listening to them for a month after you're done watching.
Overall one of the top Korean dramas I've ever seen w/ the right plot mix of action/mystery/romance/bromance

Leia Mais

It is a drama with great casting, excellent OST and a masterpiece story dealing with the agony if being a monster is in born or developed due to its environment.

I loved how the writer gave a solid plot in the beginning making you realize that you already know the whole story, but it's not. Each episode is something you will look forward. Characters are being slowly and well introduced in each episode.Their backstories are well put up together that you will feel, sympathize and understand their actions, even it's good or bad. In each episode, secrets are being revealed and memories forgotten are slowly remembered. Even each case and crime stories aside from the main plot are well written.Mysteries in this show, like who is Min and Joon Yeong, can be easily guessed, however, the writer never failed to surprise viewers with different point of view and unexpected scenarios.

I loved all the actors. I intentionally watched it because of Seo In Guk. But as shows goes on, you will love all the characters even the extras (the victim and culprit) from each crime. I was also surprised how D.O. acted well here. I must admit the two villain here is the main recipe of the show.

If you love romance, I can say that this show had only few of that. Even the story involved a man and a woman, the relationship of characters of SIG and Jang Nara are more on trust and their importance to each other which slowly build throughout the show rather than cliche' romance thing. However, the lack of romance was compensated by its superb Bromance (Brotherly Relationship).

Hope to see both In Guk and Bo Gum again in another show.

In totality, this is the show you will surely remember. Highly recommended.

Leia Mais

I love Seo In Guk since Reply 1997 so this drama immediately caught my eye. The first episode was quite dark and capable of drawing me into full curiousity. After I finished it, I kept staring at my computer, still stunned by the ending and one thing crossed my mind.... it's not that satisfying. The story was good, good enough it deserves 10, but I can't burn my dislike with Jang Nara's role here. It doesn't suit her and for me, I don't feel any chemistry between her and Seo In Guk. That too, and not enough character development which made the romance seems dull. In exchange, the writer manage to draw the most complex and sweetest Bromance of the year. Park Bo Gum is one of few reasons for me to continue this drama. I know he's on the dark side but I can't help to feel sorry and rooting for him not to get caught. I recommend this to anyone who like thriller and mystery. You'll get hooked and become Park Bo Gum's fan ;)

Leia Mais

This was so undeniably boring; I question the high mdl score. I went in thinking this was going to be something great after being recommend this multiple times, reading the synopsis and the tags, and it having a high score (8.5 at the time of this posting) I was really excited. The first couple episodes were enjoyable but after that I could see that was pretty much it. I just felt that overall the story was pretty lackluster- nothing really truly happened.
The cast was boring and no one really stood out. I'm going to blame the writing for that because Choi Won Young is a chameleon when it comes to the roles he portrays and in this even he fell flat. I've seen a couple dramas with Jan Na Ra and to me she is not really a memorable actress- plain white rice boring. Seo In Guk and Park Bo Gum... so bland... no words. The amount of hype Bo Gum gets in this drama is straight up hilarious because his acting is so dull here; safe to say I'm not impressed...
The music... omg they played the same songs over and over that it got to the point that I would just mute my tv whenever it would start. The also used this weird screeching sound effect whenever there was tension of some sort or something bad may or may not happen- I wanted to punch my tv screen it was so annoying. I wouldn't recommend this as I found it to be a complete waste of time.

Leia Mais

As of late i haven't been watching many airing dramas, not like i used to. So when i heard about this drama and read it's synopsis i knew i had to wait for it to finish before i even considered watching. All i can say now is DAMN!......I'm actually glad i waited because it would have been stressful waiting week to week for new episodes. With that said i gladly gave it a 9 over all.

The story was new to me in many ways. I'm not a fan of cop dramas for many reasons, main reason being kdramas tend to have the dumbest cops in all of tv history. Gladly, this drama didn't have that. The cops were decisive, alert, smart, and most of all they put two and two together. The story was also a great mystery, i was guessing up to the last episode about who done it and honestly surprised when info was revealed. Adding a cherry on top, physiological thrillers are my best friends late at night; who needs horror when i can watch something like this.

Jang Na Ra and Seo In Guk did an amazing job as the leads, there was enough romance to satisfy my craving but it never took away from the main story which some writers don't know how to do. The supporting cast brought more greatness to this drama adding to the story by giving comedy, sorrow and irritation at the right moments.

Music was on also a selling point, I enjoy a good OST and will download it and even research the artist. This drama was no exception.

The rewatch value is low because idk if i would want to watch it again. The suspense and mystery behind it is all reveled and that takes away from the greatness of the drama..for me. But i would watch it again with someone who hasn't seen just to enjoy their reactions. I would most def recommend it. Whether you like mystery thrillers suspense or just looking for a good drama this should be on your plan to watch list.

Leia Mais

A romantic thriller that is more thriller than romance. From the description and the preview image, I expected a feisty rom-com with some crime fighting thrown in the mix. Instead, what you get is a great ensemble case that tells a morally questionable story of two brothers.

Comedy is well incorporated through out the drama. And while the atmosphere of the series isn't lighthearted, it isn't so heavy that laughter is unwelcome.

While there may be chemistry between Jang Na Ra (Cha Ji An) and Seo In Guk (Lee Hyun)--and maybe a few other cast members,-- the viewers never truly experiences it because romance is minimal at best with each episode containing just enough romance to keep ships sailing.

By the end, I was left feeling oddly teased, somehow inspired and thoroughly entertained. Overall, although this is not the type of drama I typically watch this drama it is credit to it's cast and crew, especially the writers. The plot felt well thought out and well developed and the characters felt realistic in their motives and flaws.

Leia Mais