Warning: this review is me being too passionate about a throwaway title from 2022, so there will be spoilers and autistic rambling, read at your own risk. (Also, I am a Zenith [fan of EPEX] so you may consider my bias towards Hanse [aka Keum Donghyun] to be tied to my adoration for Donghyun, when it is not.)

This show could’ve been amazing, but it very obviously suffered from a Webtoon writing style. I will go over a few comprehensive points of why this show failed to have a completely interesting plot.

1) Writing and Plot Screentime
2) The Magic System
3) The Hanse Principle (aka a waste of Character Chemistry)

Writing & Plot Screentime:

This show isn’t written terribly, which I should say hearing from me is high praise. I am very very picky with show writing, especially with phrasing and while I am not fluent in Korean the translation I read was quite one-to-one with the scenes so it was a lot more cohesive. [thanks cixif~]

I still have a lot of gripes with how the characters were implemented and how for the first half of the series Hanse disappears, which???? I mean I get why, and maybe there was a schedule error, but he is introduced in the first two eps and then is gone so like- anyways.

Jebi being an idol did make the beginning interesting, but it gets ignored deeper into the first half of the series because she no longer is one in the world of the novel. I think that was a bad decision, because being an idol, especially from a young age changes how you react to the world and go about your life. There could’ve been something interesting showing her adjust to not having to watch her actions constantly, especially since she was dealing with false accusations in the real world. This could’ve been such an interesting series if it dealt with how she genuinely struggles with having attention on her 24/7 to not having it, and how it made her anxious. She adapted too well, and even if the story is one she knew intimately, it would still mess her up to be there. Jebi didn’t even know where the original character lived, like I think there could’ve been an interesting emotional moment to oversee. Especially, considering the whole entire show was supposed to be about having these 2D characters pop to life.

All of them are still 2D the deeper you get into the show, we barely get information of any of their backstories, they all barely grow as people. We get no home life, beyond throw away comments, after Jebi becomes the “main heroine,” Dami and Eunhyun become background characters mostly, and the only times they get mentionined or shown is tied to Jebi in some way. I don’t know why Jaesuoh gets more background information than the main character, but it’s definitely Webtoon writing coming in strong.

I wish they could’ve balanced the plotline better, to make the show less about the love triangle between Jebi, Jaesuoh, and Jinwoo (which my poor baby got so pushed the the side for one of the main three), and more about the general idea that the book is not what it seems, and that the life in the universe is different.

Also, don’t get me started on Jaesuoh also being one of the ones who existed in the real world. That shit pissed me off so much, because their relationship was so boring to me. The chemistry between the actors got overshadowed by Hanse and Jebi, who their chemistry was perfect. (More on them in the Hanse Principle.) There are times where the fictional character falling in love with the personal from the real world is beautiful and you root for them, but I was not rooting for them in this case.

The Magic System:

Y’all, do I even need to say that the way they set up the book was like kind of lazy???? Oh you go there when you want to run away and leave when you want; doesn’t that present a lazy storytelling instead of having it be that the book is a sort of therapy mechanism that gives someone struggling stability and a routine? It makes no sense I’m bashing my head against the wall.

The Hanse Principle:

Alright, this shit is gonna be the bulk of this review because I am so- they did not ultilze any part of the Jebi and Hanse storyline. If any of you have read the various manwhas and web comics about these sort of storylines, you will understand my disappointment of them conforming to the same ending. Especially since, they showed Hanse and Jebi being so close.

Now, Hanse is such an interesting character, and even if I didn’t watch this show for Donghyun, I definitely would’ve loved Hanse. I am the type who likes blunt but also hurt characters, Hanse is sensitive and calm, but also puts on a mask in front of every character because he has to. He remembers, he is left behind, and he deserves better than the writer gave him. This show failed to show him growing, they also made him be alone like he has always been.

Hanse was a perfect person for Jebi, while maybe their relationship seemed very familial, it’s quite obvious that he liked her. We never got to hear it (the story overtook his feelings and never let him speak about it since), but once he settled with the story changing he helped her so many times, he remembered her when everyone else forgot. He was the first person to tell her he missed her when she came back for the first time. The fact Jaesuoh didn’t and he was in the same situation just angered me I guess, because Hanse was set up to be a character not taken seriously.

He was the one most affected by Jebi’s leaving, and he was the one she was closest to. I think that’s why I got disappointed in the love triangle, because they had a perfect male lead right fucking there. Jebi could be herself around Hanse, and vice versa, they were always hanging around each other, and Hanse protected her even when he was angry with her.

They trust each other, and the actors chemistry made their relationship seamless, but the writers made her choose Jaesuoh. I wish she could’ve chosen Hanse in the end, since they were both grounded in reality for so long, but he was pushed to the side again. Maybe some fans would not understand why, but I definitely think they failed to make the show not interesting, by making her choose the one option that was underdeveloped.

Jaesuoh was a terribly written character, who was possessive to a fault, and misinterpreted her actions so many times. The fact he distrusted her when she was with Hanse, like she couldn’t have a male friend at all. He barely cared for Dami when the WHOLE ENTIRE FIRST PART OF THE SERIES HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE “IN LOVE” WITH HER LIKE- Sorry very passionate because I think they could’ve done him better too.

Genuinely, I think this show could’ve become a cult classic in a way if it was written better, and a llowed the characters to become into their own instead of staying 2D. That’s my two cents I suppose.