Ești om? (2018)

Awesome show, adorable cast, with minor quibbles at the end

What a great show. I was sucked in immediately: this is exciting, funny yet also heartfelt from the outset. The characters pop off the screen and get you engaged right away. The greatest strength of this show is the complexity of its characters and relationships. As far fetched as the premise and plot can get, and the show doesn't even bother getting into the nitty gritty details of how the science would work, there is a core of psychological authenticity to how the characters interact.

Nam Shin III is the most adorable marshmallow of a character ever, and I loved how the FL was won over by him and was able to open her heart after the adversity she had dealt with earlier in life. Watching them grow together and fall in love was so sweet, I swooned hard. The typical evil chaebol shenanigans were well executed. Supporting characters were also rich and layered.

I thought this could be a 10/10 but it slightly fumbled the bag in the last 10 minutes of the last episode (Human Shin has a random two minute redemption arc? Nope, don't buy it. Evil Henchman is totally chill in prison after his 30 years of evil schemes amount to nothing, nope, that's not how that would go. Why wasn't the FL informed that the ML was being repaired, everyone just let her mourn for a year wtf?). Minor quibbles though, this show was awesome.

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An Interesting Concept Turned Questionable

I decided to watch this drama because it dealt with the A.I. topic which is currently relevant in 2023. It doesn't exactly hold up in certain technological aspects which led to some plot holes, but it had some charming points.

The Highs:
For a drama that dealt with the theme of the inherent good/evil of humanity, the robot main character Nam Shim III provides many wholesome and hopeful moments. I had a good time watching his scenes in how he interacted with people. It was also an interesting contrast to how we only had the perspective of seeing the human Nam Shin slowly lose his hope in the humans around him, the humans that are supposed to be his family.

The Lows:
I mentioned that the theme is about humanity's inherent good/evil which is an okay concept in itself. However, my problem was that they used way too many characters to show humanity's inherent evils. Most of the human characters did things that made them unlikable from the beginning. For example, in episode 1 the female lead Kang So Bong got betrayed by her so-called best friend who then had the audacity to act like So Bong's sister by acting like she's also close to So Bong's father throughout the rest of the series. If anyone acted like that in real life, most people would cut that person out but they somehow stayed friends.

The Buffalo:
Nam Shin's backstory with Young Hoon reminded me of a BL I saw about a chaebol who care more than usual about his personal assistant.

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What I liked:

+ the freaking story is so different and unconventional from the usual k-dramas. We have had mermaids, aliens, time-travellers, vampires and now the next big thing are robots! I really like how they're touching on the genre of inter-species romance, as it is something that is quite taboo and not always taken seriously.

+ it's unpredictable. I swear (so far at ep 28), every freaking episode has never stopped surprising me.

+ the acting is phenomenal namely by Seo Kang-Joon, playing two completely different roles & he delivers it very realistically.

+ character development is amazing! you can see how the characters learn and grow throughout the series.

+ the music matches with the atmosphere and context of the drama/scene. I personally love their OST by Lim Ji Eun called 'The Longing Dance'; it gives me shivers by just listening to it!

What I disliked:

- the political/power struggle scenes is a little boring (for me personally) to watch, but is equally important to be able to understand what is going on
- some of the characters may annoy the crap out of you but you either see them develop/change or they remain that way, either way it's some really good acting
- it may drag at the beginning but the story does pick up its' pace as you keep going

All in all, like it or not, I would say give it a chance. Although right now I have no idea how the show will end, but I think it's still worth a shot :) x

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I just finished watching 'Are you human too?' today And I so badly wanted to write about it.

Well, I started watching this drama months ago...then dropped it after watching till 3-4 episodes. I'll be honest, as much as I liked the plot , that being my reason for even starting it, I felt discouraged after a few ep. It felt dragging, a plot all over the place, confused and random characters.

But thankfully I decided to pick it up again, unless I'd have missed a great watch. As the show neared 9-10 episodes, it came all together. Everyone is hiding something , twists are suddenly too much, it takes the time to gather everything together. Even the hated characters have their own pov and reasons which grips the the plot beautifully. The romance part is really subtle here if you ask me. Romance isn't even a point here. Whole point is that damn title. "Are you human too?" That one question from a AI robot's pov makes us question if a person is only Human because they're born from a womb, can bleed, can feel..yet don't understand pain, loss, kindness,love. Or a robot who understood love, sadness, knew kindness, even though he couldn't feel it. As much as unrealistic the whole plot is, they tried their best to balance out sci-fi and realism. If one's going to be a picky snob saying "these are impossible" then go ahead. The point isn't whether the plot is unrealistic, whole point was who was more Human?
That android Nam Shin lll or so called Humans around him.
The ending was bound to be sad but they made it somewhat happy forcefully, but after you've cried your eyes out nothing matters but to see the two leads together. :3

*Kudos to Seo Kang Joon's acting as the robot and the Human Nam Shin. His acting kept me in a trance until the end. As much as loved the robot character of his, I equally despised the human counterpart. That only shows how capable he is as an actor. He definitely isn't in the second lead syndrome list anymore.

Soundtracks were awesome, pulling the exact heartstrings :') cast were great too!

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I watched cunning single ladies and from then on I've followed Seo Kang-joon..
and was never disappointed. This is a good story. highly recommend.
It is a heartbreaking story about a robot with a good heart.. Reminds me of Edward scissorhands.
The story is really touching since it emphasizes how Greed and love of money could destroy families and lives of people.
and how manipulating people through money could get back to you in a snap.
The sad part here is how a mother who longed for his child created a robot to help her cope with the sad feeling of being apart from her son.. and later on sees how his real son had become.

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THE BEST DRAMA I've WATVHED SO FAR!

This drama was absolutely breathtaking. It is definitely my favorite drama. Here is what I've loved about it.

The Ost
The music was simply wonderful. It captured the mood really well. I actually downloaded all of the songs from Are You Human Too? It was really amazing :)

The Acting
Seo Kang-Joon (Nam Shin and NamShin3) really captured each of the characters wonderfully. It was like he was two different people. The way he acted as the kind and loving NamShin3 and the angry Nam Shin made me want to watch more and captivated my attention. Gong Seung-Yeon(Kang So Bong) showed me what it is like to love someone unconditionally. She played her character really well. She didn't judge NamShin3 by the fact he was a robot. She accepted him just as he was. She didn't worry about him being a robot and she encouraged him to be true to himself instead of discouraging him to be someone else just because he was different. Every single one of the characters played their parts amazingly. They made the drama so much more enjoyable and full of suspense and drama.

The Story
The storyline was written really well. It really did make me cry when something bad happened to the protagonists. It also made me want to jump into the screen and hit the antagonists when they did something cruel. It kept me in suspense. The ending was written really beautifully. It made me content but has also made me wanting there to be a season 2 ;)

Overall this drama is the best one in my opinion. It had the suspense, the drama, and the romance in it. I definitely will rewatch this drama and I highly recommend 'Are You Human Too?' to anyone and everyone. You will not be disappointed :)

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This is the most romantic and best robot drama I ever seen. In other robot dramas the romance Is not that deep. Not all dramas make me cry but in this drama I cried a lot at the end and stopped because of the happy ending. I love NamShin3 the android and Kang SoBong's love story. It grew interesting right at the last minute of episode one and I rate it a ten already because the plot is soooo good. I'm so happy the human Nam Shin turned nice at the end and ended up helping other and finding Nam Shin3 back. Thinking about Nam Shin3 I think robots should be treated equally and I was so mad when some people are not treating him equally. This is one of my best dramas I ever watched (I don't have a lot of best dramas) . His acting grew a lot better along with her acting. This is a drama I would recommend people.

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(This review is an emotional robot-loving mess! You've been warned!)

Ah man! Ah man, ah man, ah man! I'm so sad this is over!

When I started watching the first episode, it only took about 10 minutes and I knew this would become one of my all-time favorite dramas.

Initially, I put this drama on my watch list because of my love, Lee Joon Hyuk. Surprisingly, I had never seen a drama with Seo Kang Joon before. But the I started "I'll Go To You, When The Weather Is Nice", which is currently airing, and instantly fell in love with with him. I wish I was kidding. But I literally saw his first scene and was like "Oh shit". But by then, only three episodes of IGTYWTWIN (wow, never using that acronym again) had been released and I literally could not stand to wait a week until I would see Seo Kang Joon again. I needed more RIGHT THEN AND THERE. So I started watching "Are You Human, Too?", remembering that Lee Joon Hyuk is in it, too. So, basically, my two ultimate crushes in one drama.

I'm not sure why I wrote all of that down because I guess no one cares. But anyways, I adore these two men!

AYHT had me feel every possible human emotion. I laughed, screamed, squealed, cried and got angry. The first 16 or something episodes I binged like a maniac, screaming into my pillow. Then human Nam Shin came back and several times I had to force myself to watch the next episode - not because it stopped being good but because I was so scared of what might happen to Nam Shin III.

Seo Kang Joon is absolutely brilliant in this double role. While playing a jerk is something done well by many actors, I've never seen anyone play a robot as brilliantly as he does. The movement of his head! The expressions on his face! The look in his eyes!! God, he is so gooood!

And lets face it: Nam Shin III is the ultimate boyfriend material! He embodies everything good in men, without the creepy aspects. Since he doesn't have any sexual desire, he never objectives her in the slightest. Now, so far, that is just like an asexual man. But it's not just a lack of sexual desire, it is also the fact that having been built in a lab (and by a woman), he didn't grow up in a misogynistic world, where he would've gotten indoctrinated with ideas of toxic masculinity and superiority. His creator is a woman (does that mean his God is a woman?), his mother is a woman, the first person he ever met is a woman. The first person who treated him like a human is a woman. His first friend is a woman. He adores women. All he wants to do is protect her and be close to her. I feel like I got off track here...

Basically, I'm saying robots are better humans and I need me a robot boyfriend like yesterday.

I've really lost track of what I was gonna say, now. Hmm..

I died when he befriended the roomba - purest thing ever! I never thought I would squeal because of a roomba.

The cast apart from Seo Kang Joon and Lee Joon Hyuk were great, too. Somehow, Gong Seung Yeon has never been on my radar. But damn she is amazing! I need to watch more dramas with her. Kim Sung Ryung is a great actress but damn, do I despise her in evil mom roles since "You're Beautiful". Do you know how I realized it was her? THAT VOICE! I would recognize that voice anywhere. She really gets under my skin because of these roles.

I've also been playing the OST non-stop! Especially "Heart" from 2BIC. Such a great, emotional song.

Basically, this drama emotionally destroyed me over and over again. I loved seeing this innocent robot discovering what it means to be human! And the very last frame, when a tear rolls down his cheek, was absolutely soul-crushingly perfect.

((When your rant about a fictional robot makes you realize you might truly be asexual...))

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Okay, so I really wanted to like this drama, and to be honest, initially, I did. The first couple of episodes were really good, even though they were a bit rushed for me. They could have waited a bit until Nam Shin and NamShin3 meet each other but I guess they just didn't want to have SKJ play both characters for too long at the same time. He played both of them phenomenally, I could tell which one it is just by how he was standing, he was truly amazing! It was fascinating to see an android adjusting to real life, this was the strongest point for this drama.

I guess my problem is that I just couldn't for the sake of anything relate to anyone in this drama except NamShin3... who is an android. I liked the FL at first, she took no shit which I admire, but then she was just so inconsistent with her actions and I didn't feel the love at all between her and the andorid.

The story was good, not bad, not great, just good. The concept is great, but the execution is just poor and I wish they could have fleshed the whole "android is having emotions and is in a relationship" bit a more (okay, I dropped the show after 12 episodes but reading the reviews, this did not happen).

Also, are we supposed to hate Ye Na???? Because I sure as hell don't. I swear that girl did not deserve any of the hate she got from other characters, she was driven (yeah, agressive but very driven!), smart and just overall wanted someoen to care about her. Her obssessive view of Nam Shin probably comes from how she yearns for love, and girl... I get, it's not healthy, but I get that. She was so ready to turn her back from her father for him.

Overall: good concept, bad execution, cannot think of any good music choices, the whole drama is carried on the back of Seo Kang Joon's phenomenal acting skills. Oh, and Kim Won hae, I see you and I love you, that man can sell me any role.

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VERY SHORT REVIEW

What would you do if you were faced with a robot who showed some humanity ? Would he be just a block of metal to you or would you start seeing him differently? What if he showed more humanity than you? I won't give any detail about the story, I'll just say, this drama was RIDICULOUS! Rarely, rarely has a sci-fi production moved me but this one is so creative, different and bold. Seo Kang Joon is my new hero. It takes a special artist to give life to such paradoxical characters. I really really didn't expect much from this show but I was blown away from start to finish. The cliffhangers are insane, everyone's performance is on point, the story is impressive and besides a couple of cliche elements (which I absolutely don't complain about - all genres have their formulas), it was unpredictable. Gong Seung Yeon is a very talented actress, and did an excellent job here. The only reason I'm not writing much is because, I have so much to say that I know somehow I would end up spoiling. Jo Jung-joo writer-nim? I don't follow writers, but I'll be stalking this one. All I can say is : WATCH IT, Re-WATCH IT, buy the DVDs if you can support it, wear the T-Shirt, buy the MUGS, tell your neighbors about it! Definitely one of the BEST dramas I've seen to date, and one of the top 3 dramas of 2018.

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