The Devil Judge (2021)

The Devil Judge - Words for coolness

It finally happened. I liked this series so much that I will give it the score 10/10. First time ever. After watching the show, what I realized was that it has a great re-watch value because you know how it ends. I mean you can watch the show with open eyes after your mind has been blown. You see most of the characters differently and you can even more focus on the details. In Wiki this show has a rating of 9.8! Like wow.

The Devil Judge is a show where you really need to focus on the characters and what is happening. It is weird how people like different things and characters in it, but I think that is good. It means the show can deliver for so many people. Kang Yo Han’s character and his story is the main highlight. He has a relationship with all the characters and Ji Sung made the character glow. I would put a lot of praising adjectives in here but the list would be soooooo long. I mean, he was GREAT. In the story you need to read between the lines and that goes for Yo Han too.

Of course, every series have their own mishaps, but those did not change my opinion about it. I enjoyed the show immensely. Also the episode names were cool. Imagine that?

Episode list

1. Star Judge (스타판사)
2. Prey and Hunter (사냥감과 사냥꾼)
3. The Secret Room (비밀의 방)
4. Yo-han’s Cross (요한의 십자가)
5. Scissor Hands (가위손)
6. Achille’s Heel (아킬레스건)
7. Dreams Shall Come True (꿈은 이루어진다)
8. Resistance (레지스탕스)
9. Batman and Robin (배트맨과 로빈)
10. Frankenstein (프랑켄슈타인)
11. Macbeth (맥베스)
12. I Hope You Are Lonely (네가 외로웠으면 좋겠어)
13. The Hunger Games (헝거게임)
14. King of the Frogs (개구리들의 왕)
15. Medea (메데이아)
16. The Devil Judge? (악마판사?)

Final score:

Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 11+
Cinematography/Directing 11+
Costumes 10
Action 10
Coolness factor 10
2 ML chemistry 11+
(What ever way you see it. Friends, colleagues, father/son, brothers or bromance. They all work)
Rewatch Value 9

BTS clips 10

Overall score 10/10

So yeah, rating didn’t change after finishing the show. Can you tell, that I really liked it? ??

I wish we would have a 2nd season.

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I absolutely and thoroughly ENJOYED every minute of it!!

Where do I even START with this great show! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

KYH's character peaked and fell as he won and lost at several points in the story, but at every step he made me eager to look forward to what was going to happen, and yet he never over-powered the story by pushing everyone else aside forcefully.
It was more like he never had to, because his mere PRESENCE was enough to make him stand out, no matter what.
His Live Court show was thrilling and exciting, just like the man himself. He did everything he could to make his beloved niece comfortable, and it was SO heartwarming to watch how he cared for his housekeeper and also ultimately Ga On, and how it became a family of four.
Ji Sung's presence was just SO impressive, he is made to be an actor, he was VERY well suited to play roles like this, and it is an absolute JOY to watch him on screen.

Ga On was also a character I absolutely loved, even though he was very fickle and at times not really worthy of being a judge acc to me, he was still easy for me to understand. He was too soft for this dystopian world and truly wanted to do things the right way, even if it meant joining hands with KYH who never really cared for the actual law. Also their chemistry was EXPLOSIVE.

I loved Sun Ah's character too, she was sexy, smart, feisty, ambitious, clever, and ultimately really did love KYH! She was a more than worthy opponent for our dashing male lead. I liked the potential that Soo HYun's character had, but she was good only in episode 1 and 2, afterwards she was a pure mess and irritated me lol.

The villain brigade, they were all awesome, every bit as despicable as people can be when given unlimited power and money to feed their greed.

A big THANK YOU to the creators, the actors, the music directors, and cinematographers for giving me such a memorable show to watch.

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Gold Mine Drama

This is the drama I've been waiting for. Packed with action, drama, karma, twist and turns The Devil Judge is how a drama should be done. I usually stay clear of law dramas for they're usually boring with the clique young lawyer male lead breaks the laws OoO shocking~. With a more mature cast (Kang Yohan being in his early 40s) you get a really rich back story complete with Kim Ga On getting his morals gob smacked by reality. One thing I like about the story is the way everything just connects back. Nothing is done for no reason. What each character is given by is clearly established.

The acting in this is so good. Each actor fills their character perfectly, you get a feel for what type of person they are the moment they appear on screen. Jisung is extremely charming as the somewhat sociopathic devil judge and Jin Young is just such a smooth actor. His scenes were he's just conversating with the people around him isn't boring and you get a sense of warmness from him (perfect fill in for Isaac [a dad and a brother]). But his emotional scenes are what sells him as no doubt an amazing actor. He portrays pain and frustration so well contrasting to Ga On's everyday warmness. It makes the audience really sympathize with him. Kim Min Jung plays Sun Ah so well. You could tell that Sun Ah is someone who likes glamorous things but wasn't born fortunate enough to enjoy it just by her body language. She has such an intense stare extremely fitting for her character.

The music is such a key aspect to a drama and this drama really utilizes that. It sets a mood and illustrates the total chaos and madness going on in the dystopian world. Not only that, it's a total bop. I'm gonna be adding the track to my favorites.
If you haven't watched The Devil Judge, give it a try. It's worth every second of your time.

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After my excitement with "Mouse", this pretty thing came to fulfill my heart with thriller, fear, and amusement. This drama is my Korean "Black Mirror", and I just loved it! You can see my first impressions here: https://mydramalist.com/profile/8270201/feeds/RzYdBCP

I had a good feeling about this drama and I was right. The plot was pretty incredible and I have just some little things to point, but in totality, this experience blew my mind.

About the performance, I don't have a complaint about any actor. Maybe just a little frustration about the character of Judge Oh Jin Joo (Kim Jae Kyung), because I really wanted to see her more active in the plot, and making some difference, but turns out that her character was tasteless and even disposable sometimes. But the others... Oh my gosh. I loved Judge Kim Ga On and his duality, the way how we could see his struggle to do the "right thing" and how he was slowly involved with Yo Han's personality. Soo Hyun and her strongness, and at the same time her devotion to Ga On... And of course, my psycho queen, Jung Sun Ah. Really, Kim Min Jung is just amazing. I will watch "Mr. Sunshine" just to see her again. I have nothing to say about the performance of Ji Sung, besides he was simply incredible. He is one of the best actors in actuality to me, no doubts. But... I have to say that I expected a little more ambiguity in Kang Yo Han. In the first episodes we really feel unsure about him and everything, but with the process, his character kinda loose a little of that and it is almost predictable. In episode eight I started to figure out some things and wasn't took long to suppose the answer to the fire's mystery, and I think if they put Yo Han a little more ambiguous, this wouldn't happen. Another character that was changed in the process was the President. He was clearly a moron in the beginning, but start to change and this was a little sudden to me. But I'm saying that just to say something bad because I loved Yo Han and loved the entire plot.

This is a drama that will put you to think about society and about your choices in life. I like a lot of philosophy, so this kind of discussion about justice and rights really excites me, because it's always a current question. If you like this kind of drama and if you want to freak out without knowing how things will end, this is for you. I'll put this as an amazing almost chosen one (★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★/2) just because of the little things that I mentioned about the change in the characters, but still is a great show and worth your time for sure.

See you soon!
XOXO, Mari.

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Disappointed

I really wanted to watch this series, I'm an IGOT7 , and I 've seen Jinyoung's other dramas and already know Ji Sung is amazing.

Now I've seen a lot of the other actors and actresses on screen elsewhere so I went into this with a lot of expectations. And those expectations were met for sure. I can see Jinyoung's growth although he needs to work on his crying and needs more practice in a lot of his facial expressions. I have found that his melodramas really are his strong suit. I was pleasantly happy with all the performances but that's the problem. The performances given by everyone was great. However, the story line had promise but somewhere along the line I feel as if they forgot the central plot and it fell flat. I think the script definitely needed some work to help instill the importance of some characters.

I loved the court scenes but that was the most excitement really given in the show on the basis of it being a dystopian society. I wish I saw more of the world and just how unorthodox it was, it felt a lot like it was a normal world with a lot of poverty. There was no sense of actual dystopian other than a few instances. They needed to build more on the story. The relationship between the characters weren't always so fleshed out and understood. Like when things happen between them and then in a next scene suddenly they are talking as if nothing happened.

Jinyoung's character as well felt very naive and even when saw the things happening around him, made idiotic decisions. The visual aspect was good but I feel it made things boring. It was too artsy and I get they were trying to make it dark and moody but the episodes are an hour and some change long. Add that with tense music, tense atmosphere, and waiting on some action among the long filler conversations and more moodiness, it led to some great naps. For right now I have dropped this series, maybe another time will I try to go back in and watch it.

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Not good writing.

I am a ji sung fan, but when a drama is not good I will admit that instead being blinded by a star cast.

At first the story starts with Ji sung character aka the devil judge to be shown as two faced, not directly but through the words of an elder judge who tells our another hero Ga On, played by park jin young. He tells Ga On devil judge may seem like punishing evil, but do you really think he is all that and doesn't have some dark secret behind his good actions. Then the elder judge merely shows up his face now and then in the drama. Anyway , this leads the viewers in first few episodes to doubt the devil judge, we even doubt devil judge may have killed his brother in a fire, we doubt his real intentions when he punishes bad people and all of a sudden writer throws that concept out of the window, without giving a clarity what his actions mean. It is episode 9., the writer didn't give us whether the devil judge is a misunderstood character, or really evil who uses other bad people as an excuse for his actions or a good guy who just uses outside the law methods to catch bad people. In conclusion his character is a heck of confusion for me and I won't even call the character mysterious since it is annoying.

Now coming to our second hero, Ga On, now he is the most undecisive character, one minute he acts like devil judge is someone he cares a lot only to see him hate the devil judge and doubting him the next minute. For few episodes he doesn't agree with devil judge methods, but all he does is complain it, but not take any action. He lives in the devil judge house, first it was for an injury reason which was understandable as viewers cause devil judge house has security, he still lives in the house, so we think he is trying to spy by staying in the house a little longer. Now he is totally living in the house like he is devil judge family member which didn't even make sense to me. Despite his character is shown as someone who will see the real side of devil judge in initial episodes, he now acts like he is a devil judge minion without giving viewers a proper reason why he changed his opinions.

Now coming our female lead, jeong seon ah, she is a villain and opposite character. Out of all characters she is the only one who makes sense to me despite she is shown as a evil character. Although she is a poor girl who now became a powerful chairwoman, how she got such power is still has to be explained.

Now the other female lead, who is yoon soo hyun, now she is friend of Ga On and a police officer. Her character is merely a decoration and does nothing helpful to the plot. Well to be fair the plot in this drama is inconsistent, but still she is of no use till now. Her screen time is even less, compared to her a side character called Elijah, the devil judge niece gets more time.

The plot is set in a dystopian korea, but after seeing the drama it is any other law korean drama's only which has good judges and bad politicians and selfish businessmen. The plot is just all over the place, what is the purpose of the story, what is your characters purpose, everything is inconsistent.

Even the viewership ratings on wikipedia page have dropped since last few episodes because of bad writing. Any high ratings given to this drama in this site is because of star cast biasedness. that's all.

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A tale about the best villians and the worst heroes.

Humanity is a luxury afforded to only those who have every other comfort in the world. It's not easy to be human when you have to hold onto life itself till your fingers bleed.

Story: Set in a dystopian land, it feels too close to home. The people in the story talk like you, walk like you and some even think like you. It's amazing how they have been able to inject such a heavy dose of realism into a tale that's entirely fictional. The pacing is good, and those who are about to watch this after all the episodes are out won't be able to resist bingeing. Each episode is left at a cliffhanger that alters the alliances we get used to throughout the episode. The dense plot is broken up by some light hearted comedic moments, satire and a short love story. It allows the more serious parts to breathe better and ruminate in the mind of the audience.

Characters: We get good insight into all the characters who inhabit the screen. They have their own struggles which gives credence to the reasons why they are putting everything on the line, including their lives to achieve their goals.

Music: Good background score, helps amplify the emotional notes of the scene. I especially appreciate how it isn't overwhelming. Scenes where we are left guessing if the characters are good or bad have muted notes, making sure the confusion isn't cleared up by pointed background music.

Acting: All performances are great. New to the scene Jeon Chae Eun did well in her role, very believable performance of an emotionally isolated teen who just wants to connect to the people around her. Baek Hyun Jin did an especially amazing job as the vile President. Every time he started one of his rants I was glued to the screen. Also so glad to see the mini It's Okay To Not Be Okay reunion with Jang Young Nam, Park Gyu Young and Moon Woo Jin sharing the same screen again.

Set Design: I want to specifically mention how truly amazing the set design for this series was. Very dictator chic. The different sets were enough to put us into the world that looks and feels like ours but isn't the same.

Anyone would enjoy this series, whether you're new to kdramas or a veteran.

~~~~~~SPOILERS!!!~~~~~~
Please don't read ahead if you want to avoid spoilers!

I wanted to discuss a little bit about the motivations of the different characters and also the overarching theme of the series. This part contains HEAVY SPOILERS so please do not read ahead if you want to avoid them.

Kang Yo Han: He is the personification of despair. This man has nothing in his life that gives him joy. Nothing in his life that gives him hope. He kept his niece safe with the dedication of a soldier on a battlefield. He is the best of the villains. He's cold and calculating, predicting the moves of his opponents even before they figure it out and then cornering them to play like he wants. I think Kang Yo Han finding a way out of the explosion is true to his character. He is not kind. He is not a martyr. He only wants to keep his niece safe like his brother kept him safe. In that sense the true hero of the story would be Isaac. Had his brother never cared for him, Kang Yo Han probably wouldn't have loved his niece.

Kim Ga On: He is KYH's foil. Where KYH is determination and cruelty, Kim Ga On is hesitation and decency. He is not the worst of the heroes, that distinction is someone else's down the line ~cough'gyosunim'cough~ but he was his worst when he was trying to be a hero. And that's only because abstract ideals like honesty and justice are only possible when people, who you want to fight for these morals, are well fed and have a roof over their heads. In this dystopian land, everything may seem okay on the surface but cross a single street and you'd see homeless mothers with young daughters. In this land, at this time, Kim Ga On was his best when he had the devil on his side. He was efficient when his humanity was leached from him. That's because the ones who have nothing lost their humanity first. And to truly walk in their shoes you'd have to lock yours up so tight it could suffocate and die. When Cha Kyung Hee (Minister of Justice) died and Kim Ga On went to check for the file without skipping a beat, that is when his humanity died. He became someone unrecognizable to himself. However as the series was coming to a close it was evident that these monsters that we posses can be put to rest, tucked away in their cellars when their objectives have been completed, just how Kim Ga On was regaining his humanity.

Kim Min Jung: All she wanted was money and affection. Perhaps in a better world she would have managed to hold onto to both but the fact that she was attached to Kang Yo Han and any woman who had a childhood like hers was her downfall. Unlike Kang Yo Han, it seems no one really showed her kindness or love when she was young. Which is probably why her monster never went back to sleep.

Ahn Nae Sang: Gyosunim is the goddamn worst. There's nothing more nauseous than a self righteous hero fighting for justice and peace over the mangled corpses of the oppressed masses. Of course we should not turn a court hearing into a direct democracy akin to America's Got Talent but jeez read the room dude, there are bigger scarier monsters out there tearing through the streets. The guy who himself quoted Nietzsche when he said if you stare at the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back decided to stick with the one who killed Soo Hyun? Just wow. He's the worst hero. All talk of revolution while maintaining status quo.

Heo Jung Se (President): With wave after wave of populism sweeping across all levels of politics it's unsurprising how chilling and effective his presence is in the show is. He comes across as the most harmless of the bunch, the jester, the puppet. But he's the most evil of the lot. High on his own influence, his priorities shift from greed to fame, even if it comes with bloodshed. He was all bark and no bite, till they showed he was the one behind the forced human trials. No evil is more dangerous than the insidious.

Final thoughts:
When we go to war we put our humanity aside, leaving it with our spouses, our families, our friends. But what happens when the war enters our homes, our schools, our streets? Can we keep humanity safe? What are we fighting for if not peace and happiness? Who are we fighting? The corrupt officials at the top or their special brand of thinking that prizes hunger for money, power and fame above all else? How can we be happy if we aren't even human?

The series left me with a lot to think about. That's what makes it great. It can spark a conversation. Did you watch it? What impression did it leave on you?

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a better version of MacBeth

With the amount of action, mystery, and plot twist...this drama was almost perfect. I think the main thing that made it something i would recommend and enjoy is the message/story regarding politics.

"Absolute Power corrupts absolutely"

When a leader/person has lost sight of their original belief and gets blind-sighted with the power obtained...they forget who they are and start following a false belief. Every character in this drama either failed to realize in time or got killed for standing up for the people. Reality is scary. This is why people today have trust issues, it's true and a chance to become true.

I hope to see some of these actors in more dramas! The way they played their character was perfect.

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Alhamdulillah i didn't watch this on-going

I just want to lay down and stare at the ceiling to see how could i break the bond i built with the characters
I'm facinated and surprised
Characters' next moves are totally unpredictable , the events were very intense from the first to the last minute that i couldn't judge anyone's behavior as The situation couldn't be judged by the regular standards and values we use in our daily life (or that's what i see)
As the story goes on i got so attached and immersed that i couldn't think correctly about what's going on , i was like on of the audience, just watching kang yuhan bringing people to the court and reacting to what i see and not so sure about what decision i should make ,am i the hero or just a criminal ?
The plot is so beautifully and impressively written especially the noticable effort on writing a complicated character like kang yuhan and the script has so many good lines. I really admire how the writer managed to direct the plot although it was insanly chaotic especially the late episodes
I also totally loved how yuhan and gaon's relationship was displayed , and how each one of them as time goes by leaves his traces on the other and how they get more and more attached to each other .It is clear that both left a bit of them in each other's self
As for gaon naivety i can't blame him and i will never like to be in his place , i understand how shocking the truth was and how hard it was to chose , between either what's right and what have to be done.
I was majorly surprised by jinyoung acting skills , his expressions was so good in the emotional face but at the early episodes some of his reactions weren't so distinguishable , of course i have nothing to say about jisung i just got more fond of him
The actor playing SunAh *chef's kiss* even though her arc wasn't so understandable but it's still so good
I loved sohyeon and gaon's relationship but i wasn't so moved by them dating , this side of their relationship wasn't well displayed , they could've stayed as childhood friends and it wouldn't mainly affect the plot.
Overall it's a clear 10 out of 10 , it's not an ordinary dark mystery drama it was so vivid and had many aspects rather than just the courtroom scenes and what's around it . Probably the best

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Unexpected gold

While there were a few choices I could nitpick, the Devil Judge overall had a solid story throughout and I never found myself bored while watching. I added an extra 0.5 points to a show I'd normally give a 9.0 to because it had so many archetypes I adored, and I haven't found myself falling in love over a kdrama like this in a while.

PROS:
- Kang Yohan. I haven't seen another morally grey character in kdramas so well acted and written
- The plot moves really nicely, and even though I had been spoiled for some scenes, I still found myself on edge for majority of the show
- The dystopian setting helps offset any unrealistic aspects of the live show court
- The relationships between characters are nicely done, especially between Yohan and Elijah

CONS:
- The female characters were underutilized, they had so much depth that didn't feel completely paid off in the end. That being said, Sunah is a fantastic villain
- Any romance between Gaon and Soohyeon felt very unconvincing, especially since they didn't have too many moments together and the writers seemed to be torn whether or not they wanted to show subtext between Gaon and Yohan instead
- The last few plot points could have benefited from at least one more episode

The Devil Judge is definitely one of the best dramas of the season. You will come for beautiful cinematography and dark plots but stay for the characters and found family. Give it a few episodes and if you find yourself liking the vibe, you won't regret staying along for the ride.

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