The High Priest Rembrary (2023)

I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS DRAMA

ok. i literally started watching bc of kim mingue/rembrary (the main character) who’s also in business proposal and then i found park sangnam (the grim reaper) and hes so fine like i started watching other dramas w him in it. BUT ANYWAYS i actually do not like fantasy and unrealistic writings/dramas but this one is so good. it’s not repeats of fight scenes or the same old story line like you would expect. i like the variety of characters with all different storylines and character development. i also like how the characters arent super dumb and dont believe just anything the main character says. the actors really convey the characters well. the music is so top tier that i literally repeat it all day off youtube on loop. it lowkey pulls me in sm that i think it could happen irl… but yea def watch it!

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fun premise, weak execution

The Heavenly Idol has a fun premise and talented cast but suffers from weak execution.

A drama about a priest from another realm swapping places with a kpop idol? The concept is pure fun and The Heavenly Idol is at its best when Rembrary is a fish out of water adjusting to idol life.

Sadly, The Heavenly Idol never manages to find a good balance between the idol and fantasy storylines resulting in disjointed worldbuilding, plotholes, and underdeveloped characters.

All in all, an unsatisfying watch despite the charming leads and fun set-up.

my full review: https://dramatoast.com/the-heavenly-idol-review/

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It reminded me of how much I don't like romance ?

I saw a clip somewhere, it portrays an idol healing a fan. I'm intrigued. Why? Because I'm into supernatural/fantasy storyline so I read the synopsis and watched the first episode.

Did I liked it? I think, I did. I like the base of the story. A cleric from a different realm who can heal transmigrated into a modern Kpop idol. The premise was quite good. The acting was sufficiently good and the characters and how they were played was on point.

Cinematographically, the drama was able to portray the fantasy side of the drama and I'm satisfied in that aspect. The effects are spotless or should I say, I haven't observed any weird effects --- maybe except that part where the deity of the Afterlife opened the door through her breath hahaha.

Musically, it didn't impacted me or none of the songs they've used really gave that nostalgic feeling given the premise of the drama where they are supposedly singing a lot and dancing since they're idols.

What I don't like the most in this drama was the ROMANCE! Why? I watched the first few episodes prayerfully, sometimes I replay some parts to observe it properly but in the latter part I can't count the times I fast forwarded it. The pontifex and the manager better had a professional relationship or a friendly relationship than lovers. When the story started to sway on the romantic side I was furious and was on the verge of dropping it but then again I was halted when she said that she don't like him and that he is a cleric but I'm a fool to believe that it will end that way. Grrrrr. So cringy. I don't really see that chemistry. I am not into romance but if the leads resonate a feeling of comfortableness and charisma I tend to watch it but please not a Romance in a Fantasy drama PLEASE! The romance overshadowed the fantasy storyline and the dumbness of the Heroine trying to shoulder all the blame I hate that. She's too imposing or should I say her role is too imposing. I really want to leave a review just to voice out this. Hahaha.

Anyways, aside from that the drama was good. However, I ended up watching it on a 2.0x speed because of the cheesiness on the later episodes.

That's all.

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Mildly Disappointing

Much like my other recent reviews, I'm too lazy to craft a detailed review, so here are the notes I took for myself while watching the show. (I also completed it awhile ago and then moved on to a different drama that I just finished, and that one took over a month to finish, so it's been awhile. lol)

Girl... he just fainted. Chill tf out. I'm watching this one on Viki with the live comments on and someone commented something about people not liking female leads and them being misogynist, but like, here's a prime example. She's unnecessarily dramatic.

I really hope that he can prove to her that he's not lying or that she just believes him quickly so we don't have this whole misunderstanding/he's crazy trope. Like in Rooftop Prince, they moved on pretty quickly to her believing them.

I'm sorry is this JYP level singer really commenting on Woo Yeon Woo's singing? lol

Kasy is going through it. He can barely hold it together himself and every time he turns around Yeon Woo is embarrassing them. lol These lyrics are outrageous. "I only want money." "I sold my soul." Come on now. lmao

The last time I updated this was at least a month ago and I've barely made progress. I'm struggling to get through this, tbh. I'm on episode 8 now and I don't have much to say other than: I'm getting bored, I'm tired of the devil having no weaknesses, Evil Boys is the dumbest name for a group and Rizzle is... I mean... Rizzle as a name? Really?

Everyone went "unconscious" after eating/drinking that thing, and they went pounding on the doors of the actors who were in the ad? Come on, they're not even trying with this plot. That makes zero sense. How and why would they be "hiding" away the CEO?

Okay, so I finished the show and sort of forgot to finish this update and just sort of moved on and just finished a new show so I can't remember anything else about this show. lol

Basically, it was meh. I only watched it for Kim Min Gue. I stayed for the bromance that would eventually occur. The ending was insanely stupid though. I didn't look at how many episodes there were and most have 16 so when we got the world's quickest, least-satisfying ending at episode 12 I was confused.

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So much better than I'd thought it'd be!!

I may be biased because I love fantasy and idol dramas, but this show got a lot more hated than it deserved to. All the bad comments and low scoring I saw it get made me put off watching it, and I wish I'd just gone with my gut (the poster and description were right up my alley) and started it when it first came out.

So much happened in each and every episode that it was impossible to get bored. I remember thinking by episode four how it felt like I'd watch double the amount of episodes because of how much story had already been tackled. And even if "good vs evil" is not my favorite trope (villains being bad just for the sake of it is boring), I still really enjoyed every other aspect of the show.

The leads had good chemistry, even if perhaps their romantic spark was a little lackluster. But I liked their rapport, especially when Gam Jae was added into the mix. I also really liked how the show blended its serious moments with lots of little, hilarious pockets of comic relief. The cute sound effects and switch to funny music during weighty scenes had me laughing more than once.

Another aspect that was a positive was how Lembrary helped each of his group members overcome their emotional pain. I thought the camaraderie and brotherhood idols develop with their group members was very nicely portrayed. And I think dedicating a little time to show how each of them wrestled their feelings of disappointment and discouragement after not seeing all the blood, sweat and tears they'd poured into becoming successful pay off, made it all the sweeter and more significant when they finally overcame these dark emotions and finally got to reap the benefits of all their hard work. Fractured groups coming back together is my favorite aspect of idol dramas (besides, I have the softest spot ever for BTS, and Wild Animal living all on top of each other and their company being small heavily reminded me of how they started off). The one thing I will say, though, is that I would have liked to see more performances. There wasn't nearly enough singing and dancing.

Final positive aspect? No love triangle. And the bonus of the unexpected twist involving Redrin.

I think for anyone that enjoys idol culture and shows, and fantasy, this'll be a good fit. Personally, I thought it was great!

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Took me forever to finish this

It started out good. But it just got boring from there. I really liked the actors and I am a big fan of E’last so I was really excited to see them performing and Wonjun in his first acting role.

But, the whole thing just got confusing and left me with so many questions. I think there was lost potential here. Why have a failed idol group that slowly starts to succeed but never show any of their performances? The best part about the show was Yeon Woo in his competitions. At least we got to see some performances. And what the heck happened to the blonde haired kid? He just disappeared.

it wasn’t horrible but I wouldn’t watch it again.

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Not as expected!

I waited for this drama and excited when i heard that Kim Min Gue will be the male lead but when I started to watch, I'm a bit dissappointed because it's not like as we expected. The plot a bit confusing and you have to crack your brain to understand it. I'm wondering why Kim Min Gue accept to star in it.

All the acting are good especially for the role of Gam Jae and the devil. Oh no! I started to have a crush on these two man. Lee Jang Woo was amazing and even he is a devil, he still cute and his acting was real.

This drama was about idol but I didn't see any of the idol performing. Not even a bit. Well, the conclusion is, this drama is just ok. I have fun because there's many funny scene especially when Rembrary fighting with Gam Jae. They're both cute.

For those who is tired of workload, tired of your life, facing the ups and down of life, but you likes a simple and funny kdrama, yes you can watch this.

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Light and enjoyable

Overall I enjoyed this drama. The synopsis on here is a little 'off' because a big factor in the story is Rembrary wanting to return to his realm and needing to figure out what caused his expulsion in the first place and why. Also some characters are incorrectly named, like The Evil One.
The genre is definitely teen, supernatural, comedy, romance, with some emotional and action content; in that order.
The acting was fine, with a watchable cast and story that kept me engaged.
Loved Park Sang-nam as Sa Gam-jae.
Kim Min-Gue (Kue/Gyu/Kyu!) carried the ML role well, making some scenes I would usually find too cringeworthy, bearable.
I would love to see him head up a more substantial drama/role one day... soon I hope.
I am not that familiar with FL, Go Bo-gyeol (playing Kim Dal), but she fit the character well and their chemistry suited their roles, as both were inexperienced and innocent in terms of romance, so it was never going to be 'sizzling'.
The only actors I felt seemed a little uncomfortable in their characters, were Lee Jang-woo (The Evil One) and Cha Joo-young (as the deity, Redrin).
I didn't find it a struggle to finish this at all, so for my personal benchmark, that means it wasn't bad. It's light and easy to watch.
As mentioned before, it does have a 'young' feel, so if you're looking for something a bit deeper, with a more substantial plot, it might miss the mark.

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Fun and Enjoyable Show that Tried Too Hard

I think the biggest downfall of this drama was that it tried too hard to be a lot of things that it just wasn't. That being said, it was still a fun, good show in your downtime. If you just take it at face value, then I think it's very easy to fall in love with this drama.

In terms of the story, we follow Rembrary, a being from another world who is known for his divine powers and ability to heal, on his quest to defeat The Evil One. In the midst of their final battle, the two of them were transported to our reality. Now, Rembrary is stuck in the body of a K-Pop idol Woo Yeon Woo, a member of the washed-up K-Pop boy group Wild Animals. While trying to figure out a way to return back to his world, he meets Kim Dal, Woo Yeon Woo's biggest fan. The show follows the two of them as they try to defeat The Evil One and save the world.

Essentially, this show tries to mirror some of the popular tropes in webtoons while also trying to mix in some popular K-drama tropes as well. This is where the show can be really hit-or-miss for people. "The Heavenly Idol" tries to mix in all sorts of concepts that may seem inconsistent or all over the place. It juggles heavy concepts like mental health and religion but also tries to be lighthearted and comedic. It tries to deliver a deep and well-thought-out story, but at the end of the day, there was too much going on that none of it really stuck.

However, I still believe that it wasn't a bad show. The messages on mental health are good messages, things that many dramas stray from talking about. They delivered backstories and motivations for all of the characters and gave a reasonably realistic depiction of life as a failing K-Pop idol. The characters all had their moments to shine. If you just watched the show and follow along with its plot, not trying to critique its every flaw and plot hole, then you can see the charm of it.

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mediocrity

i watched it because i wanted to support the male lead. But it wasnt giving you know. Like i feel like they took him and just threw sum random actors in. The show was very bland dont get me wrong it had cute moments.
It just felt like a constant back and forth that wasnt really going anywhere. Like the main leads literally didnt have any major impacts with powers and all that. they so weak lol.
I also watch because of the idol part, i wanted to see like show stopping, goosebump performances but they gave us literally nothing. the relationship were not so cute along with the acting. While watching i realised Kim Mingue looks much better in business proposal, dont come at me. The gray hair colour didnt suit him much.

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Would've been better to stick to the novel

Why does every "drama adaptation" out there take JUST the idea, and then make a new, worse story out of it?

I disliked the FL. She was ok in the beginning, but became really condescending at one point. She just carried herself with an attitude of self importance and she often overreacted/overplayed. I also feel like romance wasn't needed at all in this drama, as it changed Rembrandy's character profile, which was an uptight funny priest that I loved. But them drama scenarists gotta ruin every original story.

For the plot twists, they could've been done better.

Firstly, there were lots of hints that Redlyn was evil, indeed. But why didn't she appear earlier? She's supposedly the main villain, but she only appeared in the last 1.5 episodes and was quickly taken care of. It would've been better if she appeared half-way or, even better, at the beginning of the story and she acted nice to throw us off. And the last fact about her, that she was a seaweed spirit who evolved into a deity that was explained in the last 10 minutes when no one asked, was totally unnecessary. Please stop adding last minute ideas with no foreshadowing from earlier.

The...uh, "Evil One" looked like a small fry wannabe villain. I totally couldn't take him seriously with his chubby cheeks, he looked like an angry plushie. His acting wasn't much better, there was just nothing dangerous looking abt him overall.
And then his reason for killing and wrecking havoc was really disappointing...I was expecting him to have a reason to hate everyone and especially the Pontifix. But it was all for a childish promise Redlyn gave him with no deadline: that if he keeps killing ppl, she'll be with him in the end. Lame. Eff off, horny teen.

There were a lot of small plot holes.
It wasn't clear if Redlyn absorbed the power of the other Pontifixes as well. She's the one who gave them power to begin with, from what they say. As opposed to Rembrandy, which had deity's powers and got strong from ppl's beliefs. So why did she kill the other Pontifixes then? And even if she absorbed their power, what abt the population? Why did she kill the common ppl? And she kept saying how she decided to get rid of Rembrandry bcz he started interfering with her plan. What plan? What interference? Was there a plan before you decided to take his power??
Even weirder were all the over-the-top scandals Woo Yeon Woo was involved in as an idol. Ppl would start either suspecting some conspiracy against Woo Yeon Woo, maybe supernatural business or even they might stop believing the subsequent scandals altogether. There was just too much exaggerated drama that wouldn't fly in real life. Ppl are not that stupid and easily swayed as they were made out to be. A few - maybe, but not the majority.
And then the stupid idea that Woo Yeon Woo was a middle aged minion that pretended to be Woo Yeon Woo. Ugh, stop it with the silly "plot twists"! At this point, they're just cramming as many as they can for the shock factor!

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