/jp/ - Otaku Culture

What a surprise. It’s almost nothing like what I’d expected from tvN - all style, no substance. Instead, we have something special here, something inexplicably moving. For me it’s the friendship between Ho Goo and Do Hee. The first sign that this wasn’t the My Sassy Girl drama version I’d expected was that Do Hee was okay and decent to Ho Goo from the start. Even though he does have the emotional maturity of a fourteen year old, even though she doesn’t tell him so many things, even though she’s prickly and hot tempered and haughty, she accepts his companionship and presence, and I think she appreciates his kindness and sincerity, even if she doesn’t really show it. Although Ho Goo’s the lead and narrator of the story, Do Hee is definitely the more interesting character. She’s haughty but she’s not mean; she’s prickly but she’s not bitchy. Instead, she’s just a girl who has a lot of drive and a lot of pride, who’s so fiercely independent, so competitive and focused on winning that she’s accepted a life without friends. She in no ways needs “saving”, but I think she needs someone to show her that she’s not alone in this world. Not necessarily as a romantic partner, more as a friend and family, which is why I’d totally be ok with them not ending up together and just becoming more like pseudo-family. After all, Ho Goo’s two BFFs are already part of his awesome family, I hope, no I need, Do Hee to become a part of this too. Her and her baby. Do Hee is a fighter to the end, but I think what she needs is a place like “home” that she can come back to if she doesn’t get the gold medal, a place where she can cry and eat ramen and be loved by people who don’t give a damn whether she gets that gold medal or not, because they know she’s a winner no matter what.

P.S. UEE is absolutely stunning here.