A stunning representation of what it is like to be aroace

The only time I've ever gotten aroace representation in the past is from books and generally the stories I've read involve teenagers discovering they are aroace, struggling with it and finally accepting it. Generally, the book ends on a nice, hopeful note about the future. I love those stories, I love that they exist and I believe they are colossally important. But Koisenu Futari gave me something those books didn't - it showed me what a future could look like for an aroace person like me. The show is the story of being an adult and navigating the world AFTER identifying as aroace, and that is something I have never seen before in any medium ever.

As someone who only really accepted my aroace identity in my 20's, to see a character around the same age as me going through the emotions and conflicts I have been through myself was just... incredible. I've been burned a lot in the past, and I cannot deny that throughout the show a part of me was panicking, worried to death that they would shoe-horn a romance in there. But now that the show is over I can safely say that this is one of the most beautiful, incredibly important shows I've ever seen. It handled aromanticism and asexuality in such a realistic, sensitive and wonderful way and made me cry about five times with the way it touched on various issues. Every thing from the ups and the downs were so real and so raw, and as someone who has experienced so much of what they have experienced, this show touched me in a way that's hard to explain.

I honestly never thought I'd see a show any time soon with an aroace protagonist, let alone TWO such different ones. I could go on and on about the show, but for the sake of keeping this review short, I just want to say that this is a fantastic show, an important show and a thoroughly well researched show and I'm so grateful that it was made ❤

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TinCan!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been TinCan trash from season one. Going into this show I was nervous they would do something to ruin them, but honestly all this season did was make me love them more. While the reboot idea did not initially sit well with me, I think it proved to be a good decision. Sure, we did not get as much of the enemies aspect that we did in season one, but we got to see them being friends before they got together and I loved to see that. You could see in this season (that wasn't apparent in season one) that they really complement each other and enjoy each other's company and genuinely like being in the presence of the other.

Tin's motivations also seemed so much clearer to me than in season one. I loved seeing his character development, and how Can called him out whenever he overstepped his boundaries. Honestly their argument scenes were some of my favourites because they felt so real. Both Mean and Plan, I thought, acted really well. I especially love Plan's acting. He adds these microexpressions to the character that are just... so freaking good. I feel like a lesser actor would not have been able to capture the nuances of Can's character even half as well. He manages to go from sweet baby to feisty to shy to confident in the blink of an eye and makes it seem so natural. Also considering the writing was not the best, the actors did a great job with the delivery.

I especially loved to see how TinCan were such a healthy, communicative couple without losing their individual chaotic energies. I personally could not care less about the kiss scenes. For me it was their dynamic that I loved in season one, and I loved their dynamic here just as much, if not more (considering Tin wasn't forcing Can to interact with him). They're funny and cute and chaotic and communicative. I especially loved that after they got together, the conflicts were all external instead of the writers forcing some dumb miscommunication issues between the characters. They genuinely felt so real to me. None of their conversations were some romantic poetry that felt stilted and fake... they spoke like real people would and I loved to see it. I'm not generally a sappy romantic, but every scene between them made me melt. Plus they are so funny?? I love couples that make me laugh.

I gave this show an 8.5 partly cause of the writing/some aspects of the production quality, but also cause of the side-couples. I didn't like Klano in season one, and I didn't like them here. It's not the fault of the actors - they played them well - I just don't like the storyline. Never did. TumTar always bored me, so I was excited to see the budding relationship between Tum and Keen but we didn't get enough of them. TulHin... again... I didn't care about them?? I didn't like either of the characters much and so it was hard for me to care about them as a pairing. Ae was sad throughout, which after a while got really dull to watch.

That said, TinCan made up for it all. Would definitely watch it again for them specifically.

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Highly Recommend!!

I absolutely loved this show. Not only was it absolutely riveting and kept you on the edge of your seat for every single episode, but the emotional moments were so incredibly touching that it moved me to tears on more than one occasion. I love that the main crux of the show was the father-daughter relationship between Tae San and Soo Jin, and how that drove him to survive. Giving him an emotional reason to keep going made me far more invested in the show than if it had been just about taking down the 'bad guys.' There was enough storyline to keep it interesting throughout, and I only remember finding one episode a bit too filler-y. Everything else was *Chef's Kiss*

The acting was phenomenal all around. Lee Joon Gi of course was incredible in the role (as he is in everything I've seen him in), but the absolute star was the little girl who played Soo Jin. She acted better than half the adult actors out there, and completely stole every scene she was in. Pretty sure every single time I teared up was because of her insane acting skills.

The action was exciting and made logical sense (most of the time) and was really well handled. Some moments were a little melodramatic, but I personally didn't mind it at all. In fact, some of the scenes felt similar to scenes from Bollywood movies I'd grown up with, so I had a fondness for them. I love action and suspense shows, but in Western media they tend to not have a lot of character development or emotional moments, so this show totally gave me everything I have ever wanted from a show like this.

My one issue was the ending. (Spoilers ahead) While everything else wrapped up well, I felt like the storyline with Soo Jin and her other father figure, Im Seung Woo, ended strangely. The way they were building it up, I was sure In Hye was going to stay with Seung Woo, but that they were going to make Tae San a part of their lives, and Soo Jin would end up considering them both as her fathers. But it ended by Seung Woo being sort of... rejected by both In Hye and Soo Jin??? Which was the one part of the storyline that seemed extremely off to me considering how much In Hye and Soo Jin loved him. Because of that, it kinda made the ending seem not quite finished in my eyes. Like, I love love Tae San, but I was rooting for Seung Woo and In Hye to stay together, and my heart was totally broken for Seung Woo at the end, since it kinda seemed like he was left with nothing. (End of spoilers)

But overall, I absolutely loved this show and I am left with a hollowness in me now that it is over

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Great Concept, Iffy Execution

Like many of the other reviewers, I felt like the first half of this show was far superior to the second half. Dan-O started off as this awesome, hilarious, spunky character who slowly devolved into just a one-note lovestruck teenager who seemed to care about nothing other than Ha-Ru.

The first few episodes set up the world really well, and established the main story of 'what would you do if you realised you were a random side-character in a romance comic?' in a very intriguing way. Dan-O choosing to take control of her own fate and change the world was something I was super invested in watching and excited about. However, things fell flat pretty quickly. While watching the show, my sister and I had several theories about why the world works the way it does, why some characters have egos, why Ha-Ru is the only one who can change the stage, etc. but by the end of the show it seemed like we cared more about all these things than the literal writer of the show. Half our questions were not answered, including big questions like why the heck Ha-Ru randomly vanished mid-season only to come back without an ego, and why he's the only one who can change the stage. In fact, we learn almost nothing about him. Seriously. Like, I understand the strong, silent, handsome, doting type is attractive, but this man was literally a blank slate and I was supremely bored with his character (and the relationship tbh) by the end of the show.

Kim Hye Yoon as Dan-O and Lee Jae Wook as Gyeong were probably the best actors on the show. Gyeong who started off as a one-note aggravating douche, turned into one of the characters I was most interested in by the end of the show. Lee Jae Wook gave Gyeong depth and nuance, even in scenes where he seemed to be reverting to his douchebag ways. His character arc was quite well-done and I really enjoyed watching him. Other characters I absolutely loved were Do-Hwa (my love) and Shadow!Ju-Da. I personally didn't mind that Ju-Da ended up with Nam-Joo, but I do think Do-Hwa deserved better. As one of the initial characters who got his ego, I felt like he was constantly pushed to the side-lines by the writer of this show as well as the characters within it. A waste!! I want to know everything about him!! I loved his entire role as well as his friendship with Dan-O.

As I mentioned, there were a lot of plot holes and I found certain choices regarding the story quite questionable. For example, Dan-O being the protagonist of the previous novel took something away from her just being a scrappy extra who wants to change her fate. Also given how impossible it was to change their fate or the storyline at all... it was kinda like... what's the point?? Why this plot? I would have watched like a 100 episodes of Do-Hwa and Dan-O causing chaos in the comic book world, finding loopholes and changing up the storyline and causing different scenarios within the world. Unfortunately, the concept wasn't given it's due and the show turned into a classic love-story. Meh. I still enjoyed the show, but if I was going to rewatch, I'd probably only rewatch the first few episodes.

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