The High Priest Rembrary (2023)

Surprisingly Cute and Wholesome

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

I picked this drama up while waiting for more episodes of The Judge From Hell to air. They’re pretty similar in style and both involve supernatural concepts such as demons. Actually, Kim Ah Young (김아영) who plays Gremory in The Judge From Hell is also in this drama. I usually try to avoid watching similar dramas simultaneously so that I won’t get confused...woops...

Acting/Cast: I had my doubts, especially in the very beginning, but they all did great. They created charming and memorable characters. The leads were both well done and likable. They also had chemistry together. The male lead’s strong, quirky personality remained consistent throughout the entire drama. I’m highly impressed. Usually, when you have a lead with an over-the-top personality, they fizzle out half-way through and become very basic. I think the cast and the acting was by far the best thing about this drama. I have to give a shout out to Ye Ji Won (예지원) as well; she did a great job. She only had a small role in this drama, but I really liked her character. 10/10

Writing: The acting and the characters really made this drama because the plot is pretty ridiculous. But, I can say that this plot still makes more sense than The Judge From Hell. The character development in My Heavenly Idol was well done. This drama really is like a family healing drama except it’s a k-pop idol group healing drama. It’s actually pretty sweet and wholesome. It’s funny as well. It pokes fun at the whole k-pop idol industry without being too offensive for fans. This drama also doesn’t drag; there’s always something crazy going on from beginning to end. Speaking of the end...it was well done. Fantasy dramas can be really hit or miss with endings and I think they pulled it off nicely. The lowest score will be in the writing category, but it's only because of the craziness of the plot. I think the character writing was very well done. 3.5/10

Direction/SFX/Music: The music isn’t my style. I prefer The Judge From Hell’s soundtrack much more than this one. The special effects are well done. The pacing is good. 5.5/10

Entertainment Value: Entertaining from beginning to end. I watched this at the same time as The Judge From Hell and I found this drama to be much more entertaining. Some may find this drama too cutesy or too crazy or even too religious/sacrilegious, but for me, it worked. 7/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 6/10. A 6 or higher is in my recommended zone. I was so surprised at how much I liked this drama. Great characters and never a dull moment.

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It reminded me of how much I don't like romance ?

I saw a clip somewhere, it portrays an idol healing a fan. I'm intrigued. Why? Because I'm into supernatural/fantasy storyline so I read the synopsis and watched the first episode.

Did I liked it? I think, I did. I like the base of the story. A cleric from a different realm who can heal transmigrated into a modern Kpop idol. The premise was quite good. The acting was sufficiently good and the characters and how they were played was on point.

Cinematographically, the drama was able to portray the fantasy side of the drama and I'm satisfied in that aspect. The effects are spotless or should I say, I haven't observed any weird effects --- maybe except that part where the deity of the Afterlife opened the door through her breath hahaha.

Musically, it didn't impacted me or none of the songs they've used really gave that nostalgic feeling given the premise of the drama where they are supposedly singing a lot and dancing since they're idols.

What I don't like the most in this drama was the ROMANCE! Why? I watched the first few episodes prayerfully, sometimes I replay some parts to observe it properly but in the latter part I can't count the times I fast forwarded it. The pontifex and the manager better had a professional relationship or a friendly relationship than lovers. When the story started to sway on the romantic side I was furious and was on the verge of dropping it but then again I was halted when she said that she don't like him and that he is a cleric but I'm a fool to believe that it will end that way. Grrrrr. So cringy. I don't really see that chemistry. I am not into romance but if the leads resonate a feeling of comfortableness and charisma I tend to watch it but please not a Romance in a Fantasy drama PLEASE! The romance overshadowed the fantasy storyline and the dumbness of the Heroine trying to shoulder all the blame I hate that. She's too imposing or should I say her role is too imposing. I really want to leave a review just to voice out this. Hahaha.

Anyways, aside from that the drama was good. However, I ended up watching it on a 2.0x speed because of the cheesiness on the later episodes.

That's all.

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Mildly Disappointing

Much like my other recent reviews, I'm too lazy to craft a detailed review, so here are the notes I took for myself while watching the show. (I also completed it awhile ago and then moved on to a different drama that I just finished, and that one took over a month to finish, so it's been awhile. lol)

Girl... he just fainted. Chill tf out. I'm watching this one on Viki with the live comments on and someone commented something about people not liking female leads and them being misogynist, but like, here's a prime example. She's unnecessarily dramatic.

I really hope that he can prove to her that he's not lying or that she just believes him quickly so we don't have this whole misunderstanding/he's crazy trope. Like in Rooftop Prince, they moved on pretty quickly to her believing them.

I'm sorry is this JYP level singer really commenting on Woo Yeon Woo's singing? lol

Kasy is going through it. He can barely hold it together himself and every time he turns around Yeon Woo is embarrassing them. lol These lyrics are outrageous. "I only want money." "I sold my soul." Come on now. lmao

The last time I updated this was at least a month ago and I've barely made progress. I'm struggling to get through this, tbh. I'm on episode 8 now and I don't have much to say other than: I'm getting bored, I'm tired of the devil having no weaknesses, Evil Boys is the dumbest name for a group and Rizzle is... I mean... Rizzle as a name? Really?

Everyone went "unconscious" after eating/drinking that thing, and they went pounding on the doors of the actors who were in the ad? Come on, they're not even trying with this plot. That makes zero sense. How and why would they be "hiding" away the CEO?

Okay, so I finished the show and sort of forgot to finish this update and just sort of moved on and just finished a new show so I can't remember anything else about this show. lol

Basically, it was meh. I only watched it for Kim Min Gue. I stayed for the bromance that would eventually occur. The ending was insanely stupid though. I didn't look at how many episodes there were and most have 16 so when we got the world's quickest, least-satisfying ending at episode 12 I was confused.

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So much better than I'd thought it'd be!!

I may be biased because I love fantasy and idol dramas, but this show got a lot more hated than it deserved to. All the bad comments and low scoring I saw it get made me put off watching it, and I wish I'd just gone with my gut (the poster and description were right up my alley) and started it when it first came out.

So much happened in each and every episode that it was impossible to get bored. I remember thinking by episode four how it felt like I'd watch double the amount of episodes because of how much story had already been tackled. And even if "good vs evil" is not my favorite trope (villains being bad just for the sake of it is boring), I still really enjoyed every other aspect of the show.

The leads had good chemistry, even if perhaps their romantic spark was a little lackluster. But I liked their rapport, especially when Gam Jae was added into the mix. I also really liked how the show blended its serious moments with lots of little, hilarious pockets of comic relief. The cute sound effects and switch to funny music during weighty scenes had me laughing more than once.

Another aspect that was a positive was how Lembrary helped each of his group members overcome their emotional pain. I thought the camaraderie and brotherhood idols develop with their group members was very nicely portrayed. And I think dedicating a little time to show how each of them wrestled their feelings of disappointment and discouragement after not seeing all the blood, sweat and tears they'd poured into becoming successful pay off, made it all the sweeter and more significant when they finally overcame these dark emotions and finally got to reap the benefits of all their hard work. Fractured groups coming back together is my favorite aspect of idol dramas (besides, I have the softest spot ever for BTS, and Wild Animal living all on top of each other and their company being small heavily reminded me of how they started off). The one thing I will say, though, is that I would have liked to see more performances. There wasn't nearly enough singing and dancing.

Final positive aspect? No love triangle. And the bonus of the unexpected twist involving Redrin.

I think for anyone that enjoys idol culture and shows, and fantasy, this'll be a good fit. Personally, I thought it was great!

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Took me forever to finish this

It started out good. But it just got boring from there. I really liked the actors and I am a big fan of E’last so I was really excited to see them performing and Wonjun in his first acting role.

But, the whole thing just got confusing and left me with so many questions. I think there was lost potential here. Why have a failed idol group that slowly starts to succeed but never show any of their performances? The best part about the show was Yeon Woo in his competitions. At least we got to see some performances. And what the heck happened to the blonde haired kid? He just disappeared.

it wasn’t horrible but I wouldn’t watch it again.

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Not as expected!

I waited for this drama and excited when i heard that Kim Min Gue will be the male lead but when I started to watch, I'm a bit dissappointed because it's not like as we expected. The plot a bit confusing and you have to crack your brain to understand it. I'm wondering why Kim Min Gue accept to star in it.

All the acting are good especially for the role of Gam Jae and the devil. Oh no! I started to have a crush on these two man. Lee Jang Woo was amazing and even he is a devil, he still cute and his acting was real.

This drama was about idol but I didn't see any of the idol performing. Not even a bit. Well, the conclusion is, this drama is just ok. I have fun because there's many funny scene especially when Rembrary fighting with Gam Jae. They're both cute.

For those who is tired of workload, tired of your life, facing the ups and down of life, but you likes a simple and funny kdrama, yes you can watch this.

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Light and enjoyable

Overall I enjoyed this drama. The synopsis on here is a little 'off' because a big factor in the story is Rembrary wanting to return to his realm and needing to figure out what caused his expulsion in the first place and why. Also some characters are incorrectly named, like The Evil One.
The genre is definitely teen, supernatural, comedy, romance, with some emotional and action content; in that order.
The acting was fine, with a watchable cast and story that kept me engaged.
Loved Park Sang-nam as Sa Gam-jae.
Kim Min-Gue (Kue/Gyu/Kyu!) carried the ML role well, making some scenes I would usually find too cringeworthy, bearable.
I would love to see him head up a more substantial drama/role one day... soon I hope.
I am not that familiar with FL, Go Bo-gyeol (playing Kim Dal), but she fit the character well and their chemistry suited their roles, as both were inexperienced and innocent in terms of romance, so it was never going to be 'sizzling'.
The only actors I felt seemed a little uncomfortable in their characters, were Lee Jang-woo (The Evil One) and Cha Joo-young (as the deity, Redrin).
I didn't find it a struggle to finish this at all, so for my personal benchmark, that means it wasn't bad. It's light and easy to watch.
As mentioned before, it does have a 'young' feel, so if you're looking for something a bit deeper, with a more substantial plot, it might miss the mark.

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Fun and Enjoyable Show that Tried Too Hard

I think the biggest downfall of this drama was that it tried too hard to be a lot of things that it just wasn't. That being said, it was still a fun, good show in your downtime. If you just take it at face value, then I think it's very easy to fall in love with this drama.

In terms of the story, we follow Rembrary, a being from another world who is known for his divine powers and ability to heal, on his quest to defeat The Evil One. In the midst of their final battle, the two of them were transported to our reality. Now, Rembrary is stuck in the body of a K-Pop idol Woo Yeon Woo, a member of the washed-up K-Pop boy group Wild Animals. While trying to figure out a way to return back to his world, he meets Kim Dal, Woo Yeon Woo's biggest fan. The show follows the two of them as they try to defeat The Evil One and save the world.

Essentially, this show tries to mirror some of the popular tropes in webtoons while also trying to mix in some popular K-drama tropes as well. This is where the show can be really hit-or-miss for people. "The Heavenly Idol" tries to mix in all sorts of concepts that may seem inconsistent or all over the place. It juggles heavy concepts like mental health and religion but also tries to be lighthearted and comedic. It tries to deliver a deep and well-thought-out story, but at the end of the day, there was too much going on that none of it really stuck.

However, I still believe that it wasn't a bad show. The messages on mental health are good messages, things that many dramas stray from talking about. They delivered backstories and motivations for all of the characters and gave a reasonably realistic depiction of life as a failing K-Pop idol. The characters all had their moments to shine. If you just watched the show and follow along with its plot, not trying to critique its every flaw and plot hole, then you can see the charm of it.

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mediocrity

i watched it because i wanted to support the male lead. But it wasnt giving you know. Like i feel like they took him and just threw sum random actors in. The show was very bland dont get me wrong it had cute moments.
It just felt like a constant back and forth that wasnt really going anywhere. Like the main leads literally didnt have any major impacts with powers and all that. they so weak lol.
I also watch because of the idol part, i wanted to see like show stopping, goosebump performances but they gave us literally nothing. the relationship were not so cute along with the acting. While watching i realised Kim Mingue looks much better in business proposal, dont come at me. The gray hair colour didnt suit him much.

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