O Abismo Mágico (2019)

A Must Watch! So Underrated!

Wow! Like how did I go so long without knowing anything about this show?? I stumbled across it on Netflix and I could have kicked myself when I saw the cast! I absolutely Love Park Bo Young, she plays the lead female and our lead male is none other than current heartthrob Ahn Hyo Seop. There are a few other familiar faces that I was excited to see as well, Han So Hee, Kwon Soo Hyun and Seo In Guk. Abyss is a paranormal/mystery thriller, it had me hooked from the first episode and I binged it in two days. I loved the soul revival marble, it was a very interesting twist throughout the story that filled you with anxiety. The mystery of the serial killer and his accomplice kept you guessing and on the edge of your seat. I was rolling in laughter with the spin on Go Se Yun/Lee Mi Do hot mess! It was hilarious and the duo we didn't know we needed! The Love story behind our main couple was Everything! Like how sweet and unexpected, their story was years long and their bond was special. The Actors did an amazing job, I think Park Bo-Young and Ahn Hyo-seop has wonderful chemistry! Han So Hee was also phenomenal in this, her character kept giving me mixed feeling, I despised her and didn't think my feelings would ever change but she got me. I seriously loved this, I love reincarnated shows and this one really goes to the top of my list, it was pretty awesome. I will say the last episode had me in unexpected tears, and I was very happy with the ending. I don't want to give too much away but if you looking for something new and interesting, something to shake up and keep you guessing and make you swoon...definitely watch Abyss!

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Confounding double standard of beauty standards

Fantasy is all about immersion and it pretty much immediately took me out when the pretty Park Bo Young is the face of the supposedly downgrade version of the soul make over for the physical body where as for the male lead there is a clear difference between regular person and an archetypal idol looking guy. From the story standpoint there needed to be way more flashbacks of Se Yeon's point of view about Cha Min throughout their teen years and their adulthood before their transformations to back up her claims that she has always had a crush on him and not just after he got a new face and body. The measly few that they gave were too ambiguous. They also needed to show Cha Min being the fantastic business leader while in his original body, even if it's just a brief flashback to start off or bookend the current day scenes of his new face at the business meeting. It leaves a bad taste that they never show Cha Min being savvy and smart when it came to his work as his original self even though he clearly was, only ever showing his desperate for Se Yeon's attention side for comic relief. His fear as he was about to die was literally played for laughs.

Who gets what kind of soul transformation through Abyss is really arbitrary, like taking an existing ex-worker's visage. As is the usage of it in the finale to turn Cha Min into a ghost and to bring him back are all done at the convenience of the writers to move the plot along as needed. The real Lee Mi Do's random and conveniently drastic plastic surgery was really nonsensical and the show made no attempt to explain it. I enjoyed seeing Seo In Guk and Jung So Min's cameos as the aliens that accidentally knocked a already falling Cha Min off the building and bribed him to forgive them with the Abyss resurrection sphere. Seo In Guk was in the preceding drama of the same writer and next stars with Park Bo Young in Doom At Your Service. The threat of Ji Wook and the ticking clock of the leads trying to outsmart him was believable. It was truly horrendous when he pushed Hee Jin's mom's body that was in the suit case into the ocean, a woman that genuinely cared for him and tried to protect him. He's a way more effective villain than his cartoony step dad/fellow serial killer.

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This drama had me laughing my butt off, to being annoyed/frustrated, to teary eyed. I love Cha Min & Go Se-yeon's cute interactions. Throw in Park Dong-cheol & Lee Mi-do in the mix, and it's easily on of the most entertaining relationships I've watched so far. Though honestly, I don't like the message that this show brings across regarding beauty ideals.

That aside, this drama has some annoying bits with characters doing stupid things, and I admit, I find the mechanics of the universe being a bit on the clunky side, but it's an easy watch, and it has some really sweet moments and loveable characters. Despite the drama receiving a lot of negative reviews, I enjoyed this drama.

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Amazing

Loved this one, acting is superb. PBY and AHS were just brilliant as well as the supporting cast members. Lee Seong Jae was brilliant at the evil doctor as was KSH at being the evil son/brother. Such incredible acting throughout.
Storyline is amazing, although I would have liked to see a bit more resolved at the end ie his mum being brought in at the end but overall this was brilliant. If I had one criticism it would be that Hee Jin do do not get enough screen time towards the end and left some questions regarding how she resolved everything.
Special effects all the way through fabulous.

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Loved the actors

I loved the actors in this show, but I felt that the pacing was uneven, not very well written and brought up a lot more questions than it answered. As usual, there's a time skip, and a rushed ending.

I love PBY, except when she cries, and she cried a lot in this show (more than once is too much). I feel like her crying moves into overacting, and it really takes me out of the story. And constantly saying that she's "plain"? What's with that?! I think this drama might have been trying to take on society's obsession with the way someone looks, but that message really got lost in the weeds.

For me, I went back and forth between being bored, being confused, and just wishing it was over.

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Good, but hard to watch

Abyss is a Romatic comedy with an edge of mystery and thriller (shoved in). I feel the writers seem to have forgotten just in some cases that they were writing a mystery/thriller also. And due to that lack of perspective they cause a dilemma within the story. While I feel the actors did a good job with the material they had, I have no doubt that had focus been on the thriller part as well this could have been a stellar show they'll year it came out. But I will say it made me laugh, I felt some parts of it were honest (murders are messy, unkind people) and it made me annoyed (not catching criminal due to foolish mistakes). Also, the police officers never have on police clothes, and they hold there guns wrong. To the production team and director detail matter. The drinking and dancing in episode 15 was so good. It actually gave me joy.

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una historia que terminó decepcionándome.

story / characters: 6.5
⸺ la premisa de la historia era muy interesante y la idea en general tenía mucho que dar, pero siento que no fue manejado de una forma correcta, no recuerdo la mayoría de lo que paso y no recuerdo el final tampoco, tuve que leer reseñas de cada episodio para lograr armar una opinión completa. conclusión, lo sentí eterno, lento a más no poder y aunque el primer episodio fue un poco divertido con los cameos de seo inguk y jung somin, al final termina siendo otro drama más, nada demasiado bueno o memorable, un drama comercial, y uno de mis conflictos principales es que se supone que el artefacto mágico “abyss” te resucita con la apariencia que tiene tu alma y lo entiendo perfectamente, pero el hecho de que a go seyeon no le gustase cha min antes de que consiguiera ese aspecto de hombre guapo, me parece un poco superficial en cierto sentido, insinuando que solo las personas bonitas conseguirán pareja y aumentando los estereotipos, fuera de eso, su historia de amor es normal, no la recuerdo con cariño y puedo asegurar que no llore ni me conmovió en ningún sentido.

acting / cast: 7.5
⸺ la verdad es que me dejaron esperando más, en ese momento park boyoung ya había actuado en strong woman do bong soon, por lo que su actuación en este drama me dejo un poco decepcionada, considero que es por la historia y por cómo fue creada su personaje que su actuación no me convenció, y sobre ahn hyoseop para ese momento no tenía dramas muy populares, pero comparando con el presente, su actuación no es para nada igual a la que mostró en a business proposal, un drama romántico y cómico también; considero que se debe al cómo la historia se desarrollo que en realidad los actores no pudieron mostrar una actuación sobresaliente o memorable. todos los actores que participaron son buenos y quedé un poco decepcionada en general; la producción y los visual fx salvaron un poco en general, considero que en esa parte si hicieron un buen trabajo.

ost: 5.0
⸺ no hay mucho que decir, el ost tampoco me convenció mucho, consta de varias canciones en las cuales se encuentran: into the abyss de suran y coogie, fallin’ de kim feel y stay de bohyung kim, si la historia no me convence, no me conmueve o emociona de ninguna manera, es bastante probable que el ost me de absolutamente igual.

rewatch value: 5.8
⸺ es un tipo de drama que no me dan ganas de volver a verlo, no hay ningún tipo de sentimiento hacia el, sin embargo, no lo considero como el peor, pienso que fuera de eso hay aspectos rescatables, momentos que me sacaron al menos una risa (SPOILER: la escena donde seyeon y cha min se están besando y llega su mamá por lo que pasan a la habitación secreta, debo de admitir que me hizo sonreír y es la única escena que recuerdo), pero, no es el tipo de drama para mí, no lo disfrute y no volveré a verlo; considero que hay más dramas buenos que merecen ser vistos y valen el tiempo invertido más que este.

overall: 6.2
⸺ abyss es un drama raro, toda la temática es rara y te deja con varias preguntas que no son contestadas, no hay ningún plot-twist interesante y la etiqueta de ‘misterio’, considero que no le va muy bien. el romance de los protagonistas puede parecer dulce de cierto modo, y sí, tienen momentos en los que se ven bonitos juntos, pero para mí todo lo que engloba la historia es más importante que si el romance es bueno. me aburrió y pienso que es bastante lenta, no me hizo sentir nada, y lo único que me hizo feliz fueron los cameos de seo inguk y de jung somin, es una desgracia porque en realidad —como dije—, todos los actores son buenos y pienso que si les hubiesen dado un guión bueno y hecho una historia congruente, hubiese funcionado.

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I don't know what anyone's problem is with An Hyo-seop.

He might be new (his debut was in 2016), but I thought he was totally great in this. I never got the impression that he was "green" like other reviewers have said, and I found him totally capable of holding his own with Park Bo-yeong. Their chemistry was killer, and I LOVED their comedy together. They're a great screen match and have great chemistry. The scene where she dreams of him accidentally kissing her and she goes off on him and he turns it right back on her while everyone dances around him was *SO FUNNY*. I cried laughing. The casting was great.

I could watch An Hyo-seop watch paint dry and still drool. That man is beyond gorgeous, it's almost offensive.

Aside from our two leads, the plot was horrendous and had more holes than swiss cheese. It got better near the end, especially when the (spoiler alert) true villain was unveiled, but by then, the show was nearly done. I also got a bit tired of the convoluted rules of the orb and watching Park Bo-yeong die over and over again (it lost its emotional weight).

I'm also super annoyed with the "2 (or 3) years later" trope that seems to be huge in Kdramas. Why the giant time skips, people?! It doesn't need to be that long.

That's crazy. Anywho, looking forward to more dramas with An Hyo-seop.

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None of this makes any sense. I regret nothing.

This is a weird one. The story is bonkers but if you suspend rational thought just a bit you'll get into it and have a great time.

Leads are great. Hard to imagine this working with anyone else. Love PBY forever and always but Ahn Hyo Seop really surprised me. I'm aware of but haven't seen his other lead roles but he's great here. I know nothing about him but he's one of those guys who just seems like he'd be down to earth and kind. PBY is the cutest thing ever but this guy - he travels in a fog of charisma - is absolutely impossible to ignore.

I believe they call this a man crush. So be it.

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Uder-rated romance, crime and supernatural drama

My rating is a 9/10. This is a 2019 South Korean Romantic, Fantasy, Crime drama with 16, 60 minute episodes. In the first portion below I provide a synopsis followed by review highlights.

Cha Min (Ahn Se-ha/Ahn Hyo-seop) is not very attractive in a traditional sense but he is a wealthy heir so some people are drawn to him not for his looks but for his wealth. He has been in love with Go Se-yeon (Kim Sa-rang/Park Bo-young), whom he graduated with, for 20 years. She has "led him on" as she liked him but could not get past his looks enough to see him as a romantic partner. She dates a lot but her main focus is on her work as a prosecutor. Cha Min has finally given up on dating Se-yeon and becomes engaged to a woman that Se-yeon introduced him to. That is until she breaks off the engagement abruptly leading Cha Min to contemplate his life choices while balancing precariously on a rooftop. Supernatural beings cause him to fall to his death when he was on the verge of changing his mind so, to make up for it, they revive him in a body that matches his soul. The result is he is flower boy handsome. They also leave him with an object, an abyss, that can bring anyone it is in contact with back to life. While investigating a serial killer, Seo yeon winds up being murdered and Cha Min uses the Abyss to revive her. She also comes back in a body matching the beauty of her soul and, to her dismay, it is much more average than her former "goddess" like beauty. Ironically Cha Min becomes the prime suspect in Seo yeon's murder so the two wind up working together to solve the mystery of Se-yeon's murder.

I put off watching this for quite a long time as the descriptions did not do justice to the depth and complexity of this story. Those that like crime drama will really like this particularly those that are interested in serial killer criminology. The supernatural twist in this is unique in that the object revives the individuals in a "normal" form, they are not zombie nor ghost like but appear completely normal. Part of the mystery is the how and why abyss works as it does. It also has a very heart warming romance and some compelling friendships and family relationships. Lots of character development and complexity. Some of the series posters I had seen showed this glowing ball and made it look almost silly but it is more of a serious crime thriller with supernatural elements and very occasional comedic (not slap stick) moments.

Spoilers**My main detractors were toward the end. I was glad I knew ahead that Cha min uses up all of abyss's power and becomes a ghost or it would have made me sad. They were separated for three years and we had to see heart broken Se-yeon go through her life without Cha min. I am not a fan of that separation trope. I was not really clear on what abyss was and whether the "beings" that had given it to Cha min were Gods of some sort or aliens. It wasn't clear why her love and his brought him back after three years and what all he had done in that timespan. Abyss was an important part of the story so I would have liked to have known a bit more about it. But none of that is enough for me not to recommend this highly and watch it myself again someday.

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Another Bo Young win.

I don't think I have ever watched something with Park Bo Young that I didn't like. The beginning of this drama was a little rushed, but thing got explained through the episodes. Villains were okay, but the one that remained and the one that didn't had their endings badly chosen. The one sticking point sometimes was actually Anh Hyo Seop, not because of his acting but something about him didn't really fully click with his the way he was portraying his character. Secondary characters were pretty good too and I liked how Go Seyeon's father didn't take the whole situation at face value. It added some realism to it.

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