Arang and the Magistrate (2012)

As a person who rarely (meaning almost never, you can check my list) watches sageuk dramas, I must say this drama rocked my world all the weeks I was watching it! Though you cannot pass it only under sageuk drama, as it is also a detective story(finding the murderer), a fantasy (mythical world with ghosts, fairies, gods of heaven and hell, grim reapers, goats with flowers growing on them, liver eating demons, etc.), romance (tell me about falling in love with a ghost, falling in love with a person who doesn't know and doesn't even care you exist/ed), family melodrama (EunOh's searching for his mother!), politics (satto against Lord Choi)...I can go on, but I won't. My point is, that taking on so many genres is risky, you never know which one of them is going to get loose and go very wrong and make the drama not so successful... you know what? This drama did not let any of the many plots get loose, the director, actors, the crew, the screenwriters - everyone has done a great job in keeping this drama meaningful, interesting, always keeping the viewer on the edge of the chair with a crazily beating heart.
One of the most important points of this drama is that is answers EVERY question it posts in the beginning and throughout the series, it has not even once made me hang and guess (not that I wasn't trying, but I mean before the answer was given :P).
The fantasy plot was the main reason I started this drama and it did not disappoint me. The detective story went on very smoothly and I like that my guesses were wrong, I like being surprised by the drama.
To say anything about the acting is really unnecessary, as I enjoyed every second with JunKi and MinAh, they are brilliant, but their brilliancy is mostly seen not in the general picture that I would write about if talking about their acting the drama overall, but in the little moments, and maybe that moments will even seen to you not that important, but I was gasping for breath (note: JunKi's acting when his father was reading the Royal Order, MinAh's acting when she was telling him she did not want to leave him in 19th episode). Also Yun Woo Jin - fell in love with him... I was crying for who JooWal had become and how perfectly he portrayed the pain and fear of that poor person. I'm going to follow this guy now!
I am almost sure the music crew of King2Hearts was working on this, as I got the same vibe from the score. Absolutely matched with the feel of the drama, bravo~
I am going to miss my dark-mysterious-ghostly-but-lovely Arang ^^

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1) The reason I watched this:

The synopsis felt interesting plus the existence of Jun Ki and Shin Min Ah as leads encouraged me to give it a go.

2) Storyline/Plot:

This is not your usual Sageuk drama; it’s really different from the usual historical productions that you’ve seen before; it has a unique storyline.

Positive Points:

*It was a joyful ride especially at the beginning since there were many intriguing events and characters. Speaking about the main genres in this drama, I will mention:

--->Mystery/Suspense: I believe it was the main element in here; it would’ve become boring without mystery and suspense thrown here and there. Every episode will leave you with many questions and thoughts, it will keep you guessing and anticipating but this element can completely disappear from some episodes , it would’ve been much better if it was present throughout the whole drama.

--->Fantasy/Supernatural: It was good too; the supernatural moments were really enjoyable. It added a different taste to the storyline’s development. The fantasy wasn’t entirely believable but it doesn’t deny the fact that there were many great scenes and characters related to this genre.

--->History: Historical dramas haters don’t run away! Like I said before this isn’t your usual sageuk drama; it didn’t focus on the boring historical elements neither on the usual historical development so it would be much better if you don’t judge it basing on its sageuk background.

Negative Points:

--->Humor: It was hilarious at the beginning then the whole concept faded away as the episodes went on. I was disappointed in this genre because I expected more yet its absence didn’t ruin the drama.

--->Romance: I never considered this drama as a romantic drama since there was a huge lack of romantic development. Well, it wasn’t entirely off since we had great scenes thrown every once in awhile but I wouldn’t call it “A romantic drama”.

*The storyline can get really slow and the plot twists can be completely absent in couple of episodes which makes it so boring at some points.

Story: 8.5/10.

3) Acting/Cast:

*I was delighted to see Jun Ki and Shin Min Ah together in a production; I expected a lot from the both of them and I was proven right after watching this drama. Both actors, delivered great emotions and portrayed great roles.

*As for characters, Arang’s first episodes character was much better than afterwards; it’s not like the character was ruined but it felt more serious which made it less interesting.
Eun Oh’s character was good throughout the whole drama; yes it was stiff and arrogant but still captivating and charming in some ways and let’s not forget the nice character development that the magistrate personality went through.

*The rest of the cast was great overall, some good actors and characters appeared in here.

*Appreciated characters: Ju Wal and Moo Young because they added an appealing atmosphere to the general storyline.

*Relationships:

--->Romance: There were some great chemistry moments but it wasn’t the kind of chemistry that would make you jump off your seat.

Cast: 9/10.
Acting: 9.5/10.

4) The ending:

I have to admit that the ending surprised me; I never expected this genre of drama to end that way. Don’t worry, it was good but I still think it was fan-service.

The ending: 8/10.

5) My impression (How did it affect me):

*At the beginning, I was really obsessed with this drama but I was annoyed with slow moments afterwards yet I haven’t lost interest.

*I was mostly invested with the mystery/suspense elements so when it was absent, I felt a lot of emptiness yet fantasy can fill that blank sometimes. However, I would’ve never given it a try if those elements were absent (especially mystery/suspense).

*Is this drama memorable: Yes, simply because it had a unique storyline. I think that I will only remember the great suspense and mysterious events because honestly speaking; romance didn’t deliver a lot of feelings that deserve to be remembered.

My impression: 8/10.

6) Overall:

*If you like Mystery/Suspense dramas then you should give this a go.
*If you like supernatural dramas, you would enjoy this.
*If you like Jun Ki then you have to watch this because you will get to see a different side of him.

*Arang and the magistrate was a drama that had different genres wrapped up in one story, it may not sound like a great combination but it felt differently creative from any other sageuk drama.

Overall: 8.5/10.

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