Happy Bad Year (2023)

Interesting premise, lighthearted setting, but not neatly done.

The poster might seem like a horror drama, but don’t let it fool you. It’s is more of a drama with a touch of romance and light comedy than a comedy, so the genre tag is inaccurate. This drama centered on the lives of three estranged sisters who are bound to have an unlucky year. So, because of their connected fates, three of them will face repeated unfortunate circumstances. In order for them to dispel the misfortune, they must live together, and each of them has to adhere to certain rules in order for them to remove the bad luck.

This drama started off decently but slowly became monotonous. 20 episodes seems like a long journey because there are some scenes that I feel are unnecessary and repetitive. There are a few loopholes that make you have to guess about when and how certain things happen. The comedy is more about a comical reaction than a clever punchline. Aside from the main story about their effort to reverse their bad luck, this drama has a lot of good messages along the way, which earns some extra points rather than simply a 5.

While this drama is centered on family, the plots mainly revolve around the sisters' individual stories and romance. There's not much of the sisters' backstory as a family or the reasons behind their estrangement, making the story’s development seem loose. The sisterhood bond is pretty much showing them either discussing, bickering, or updating about each other's unlucky situation. It would be better if the sisterhood could be explored more to have a greater emotional impact when the three of them share a scene. Overall, this drama has an interesting premise but isn't executed well enough to make it compelling. But it's still a watchable drama you can enjoy for its lighthearted setting and storyline.

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