Review – Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

I mean… can you resist this goth aesthetic???

There’s gonna be a lot of gifs and images in this review… so if you’re internet is slow, give it a minute to load up cause… lights camera action.

Ah, Bulgasal! I’ve been sitting on this review a while because this is a tricky show to discuss. Like many other poor fools out there, I watched this drama as it was airing. And in a strange way, that contributed to my love/hate relationship with this fantasy. Cause I should have hated it. I shouldn’t really recommend it to anyone in good faith. But I had such a blast watching this show!

I was soaked in the fandom, giddy with anticipation as the mystery unfolded, and horny over too many characters not to love it. I was amused as often as I was annoyed with the outcome week to week as the story unfolded two episodes at a time. It doesn’t deserve a high rating. It’s slow paced, the plot line is a huge mess, and the characters are weird. But I’m giving it a high rating cause I loved this dumb, beautiful disaster of a show with my whole heart.

Everything you need to know about Bulgasal is revealed in the first ten minutes of the show with the narration introducing the last monster, the flashes of mysterious scenes on a bridge, and the cool opening title sequence. Not once did I hit the skip button, either. I love that title sequence.

Bulgasal has an unknown story line (we’re not following any real historical royal families or diving into era specific conflicts or politics), so there’s no easy guessing of the plot’s major conflict. It’s got reincarnation angles, so there are multiple timelines with multiple versions of characters popping up. It’s got a grumpy protagonist who spends the large majority of the show sulking around a dirty house while a bunch of sunshine characters come in upset his world. It’s got a very enjoyable and theatrical antagonist who has more chemistry with the leading man than the leading lady does. And it’s got all kinds of wacky supernatural stuff at play without clear rules so it’s always a mystery how it’s going to effect the storyline and all the characters.

I mean, you won’t really know what’s happening or why in this show for a long time and even when you find out it’s not particularly inspired, but it’s so much fun guessing. If you have any imagination whatsoever you will invent a plotline three times better than the one offered and bask in the glory of your mental fanfiction as you stare at the beautiful people on your screen.

Bulgasal is a whole vibe. You’re either on board or not. Do you want on this ship?

Wait, I’m sorry. What was that? I don’t think I heard you.

I said DO YOU WANT ON THIS SHIP?

Meow Meow.

ALL ON BOARD.

My personal rating 10/10. My subjective rating? Uhm… 7/10? But why be subjective with Bulgasal? That’s not what this drama is bringing to the table. Let’s adjust to uh… Overall rating: 9/10. A beautiful disaster that captivated the fandom.

Now let’s talk about what made Bulgasal… Bulgasal. Or rather, let’s just follow tangents along and ramble as I reminisce on the fandom and the characters in this show.

SPOILERS BELOW.

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Review – Spy Myung Wol

Review – Spy Myung Wol

Spy Myung Wol is one of those adorable, zany romantic comedies that came out a while back – with heavy handed shenanigans, lots of side characters, tons of extras, and these stellar cliches for leads that are so out there you can’t help but love them.  Think… The Greatest Love or You Are Beautiful or Fated To Love You or Secret Garden.  Zany.  With handguns!  This drama is about a North Korean spy who ends up getting entangled with a South Korean actor/rockstar.  National politics, international intrigue, paparazzi, and a hosts of fans are thrown into the mix for a good-hearted romp of a show.  Not only are the two leads highly amusing, but there’s a whole gift basket full of side characters that are witty and entertaining.  It’s so much fun!

Overall Rating – 9/10.  The Drama Between North & South Korea Is Nothing Compared To The Drama Between Men & Women.

Mild Spoilers & Fan Gushing Follow

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Review – Nine Times Travel

Review – Nine Times Travel

Nine Times Travel.  Proving you don’t need incredible special effects or overly elaborate scientific explanations to master the art of time travel and exquisite television.  Keep it simple and it will grow exponentially on its own.  For what started as a rather simple drama with a “day time” television feeling, I was pleasantly surprised how quickly this show leveled up.  I had a full blown emotional heart attack during episode nine and was revived only to die of shock again a few episodes later.  The crash cart was brought out and “Clear!”  By the end of the show, I felt like I’d been dragged across twenty years and half the world.  And I wanted to do it again.  And possibly again… in twenty years.  Or an alternate time line.  Or, ya know, some conundrum worm-hole double-layered mess that gets Hawking hard and gives me headaches.

Overall Rating 9.5/10

SPOILERS and CONTINUED REVIEW

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