Extra-ordinary You 2019

One of the biggest disappointments of this year for me.
When you know the plot you realize that it is really good but when you start to see the small details is when it stops working.
The cast was good but the development of the characters was bad, you realize that something is wrong when you don't like any of the secondary characters and begin to doubt the chemistry between the protagonists.
All the scenes between Jooda and Namjoo were extremely boring to the point that I wanted to skip them, the same with the scenes of Jinmichae and the rest of the secondary characters. The chemistry between Rowoon and Hyeyoon was good but not so much, let's say it was acceptable.
The biggest mistake in my opinion is that all the episodes were the same, Haroo fought with Baek Kyung, then Danoh got sick and then she recovered and repeated the same thing over and over again, we get it, she was hella sick but thirty episodes of the same? No, thanks! And I know that this is probably me but Hyeyoon's voice is sometimes very annoying, so I almost hate her character.
I understand they were in a comic book so they acted in a robotic way but even the characters who knew about that fact acted in the same way out of stage, especially Rowoon and I don't consider him a bad actor but yes, it was a disappointment.

Overal it wasn't good, only the first four episodes are worth it but ... only four out of thirty-two? It is not worth the time.

-Plot: 7/10
-Acting: 6.5 / 10
-Directing: 7/10
-Script: 5/10

My Score: 6.5 / 10

ExtraOrdinary Beginning and an very very ordinary climax

This is has to be one of the biggest disappointments and one of the few K-Drama can cause two 2nd Lead Syndrome. In the beginning I was cheering for the extras but in the end as the plot grows you will feel sad for the A3 more .

STORY

I was intrigued with synopsis. MC in a comic book trying to fight against her fate? Sign me up!

Initially.....

Dan Oh who is headstrong and determined to change her fight as a sick girl who has a crush on Baek Kyung, Baek Kyung who treats Dan Oh like trash, Haru who tries to help Dan Oh change her fate, Joo Da who is your typical helpless female lead in the comic, Nam Joo who is your typical rich male lead in the comic, and Do Hwa who is your typical sweet second-male lead.

However, towards the middle of the story .......

Dan Oh's goal switches and she turns into the cliche girl whose life now centers around romance and being with Haru. Scenes become repetitive as characters lose their memories, scenes successfully manage to be changed only with slight tweaks, and Dan Oh continuously suffers from her sickness without being able to do anything about it. You start to see the background of A3 and start actually pitying them as some of them grow their ego and even the ones who didn't

The last four episodes ..... :mewh: garbage

What's progressed between Dan Oh and achieving her sickness goal? NOTHING!. Dan Oh's life is in the romance department becomes cheesy both in Stage and Shadow and she become the much alike the female protagonist always crying and loose her headstrong character. The everything is rushed and we are not explained anything ? who is the writer ? what is shadow and stage ? how is it affecting the real manhwa ?

CHARACTERS

I hated Beak Kyung's character in the stage at the beginning but as the drama unfolds i feel sadder and lonelier as he is and I kinda skipped through all scenes of Dan-oh and Har-ru ; they were getting too cheesy in the shadow as much as Joo-da and Nam-joo in the stage :punch:. To me Lee Jae-wook outperformed the complete cast both in the stage and shadow. Whaaat a 180 reversal of my emotions.

Do Hwa was another character I was really fond of but once again they didn't explore him much and has been relegated as a comic relief.

Self-aware Juda was badass but her decision was quite questionable. While I felt sorry for Nam Joo (and that's probably why she chose him in the end), Do Hwa was a better fit. But we have to remind ourselves that Nam Joo never gained his awareness and that's a bit unfair to solely judge him based on how he's written. I wasn't even annoyed by Nam Joo's character, his characterization was so one dimensional that it made me laugh in the end (he was such a cliche male lead)

Sae Mi was the bully ? She did bully Juda in the shadows ? She was a lovely friend to Dan Oh but a bitch to Juda (pardon my french). So i always thought it was two different characters lol . I wish she has regained her ego she would have been the kind the girl and not the bully the writer wrote.

I will not be speaking about Dan-oh and Haru as I have said enough how these two characters have regressed and disappointing.

VERDICT

Despite the unique concept and world building that always pull me in ; the poor execution of this world's writer and PD ; it turns into your typical romance story with a high school girl infatuated with a guy and prioritizing him over her own life. Both protagonists (shadow and stage) choose the male that they pity or can use money and ability to change stage.

They focused too much on the pointless love triangle that they lost sight of the main themes (and the most interesting stuff : free will, changing your fate ) thus stopping the never-ending cycle (I would have love for everyone to work together against the writer) resulting in underdeveloped characters, plot holes, no explanations whatsoever of crucial points and rushed ending.

I would rate episodes 1-12 as 9/10 and next 4 episodes as unwatchable ( a 5/10). I only finished the show with the sheer will hoping atleast Dow-Ha would get a happy ending but only Dried-Squid got the happy ending i wished.

I would not recommend the show if you are someone who wants a cleaner exits instead duped into diving into an exciting world. Although you might like it you are ok with shallow romance infecting the shadow from the stage.

I got introduced to the manhwa "July Found by Chance" through this adaptation and fell head-over-heels in love with it with my first reread. It's simply a story that has charms and overall quality.

While Extra-ordinary You was initially fun to watch, it pales in comparison to its source material. The manhwa essentially has a very different story from the drama adaptation. Against the manhwa, many changes were made in the drama. But in my opinion, it doesn't make it any better. Here's why.

• The concept of creator and "heads & tails" (in the manhwa)

In the drama, the characters did not have any physical control over their body during a "stage" and yet characters not involved in a particular scene could change the scene as they liked (like Haru). When this happened, the story would get altered both in the comic and the comic world. In reality, though, it would be nothing more than characters switching places/dialogues.

The creator was never shown in the drama. Apart from the fact that each major interference in the plot was noticed and later addressed by the creator, there was no presence of the "omnipotent writer". It was almost like a fleeting existence that assigns a fate to each character and that's it. In the manhwa, there were snippets of the "real world" showing people reacting to the comic and the writer reaching out to readers through FAQs. I think it would have added to the appeal if the drama did not just focus on the in-comic, but also the outside-of-the-comic world. In that sense, Extra-ordinary You's worldbuilding was crap.

The "stage & shadow" aspect was handled much better in the manhwa, where there were at least ground rules regarding heads (stage) and tails (shadow). During a head, no character involved could leave or act voluntarily. So even if there was active interference, the result in the heads would not change. It could be delayed due to tails but never changed.

• Characters

Eun Danoh: A character stripped of her originality and butchered over time. One reason why the drama Danoh was a bad character was how she loses her grit over time and becomes all about romance and Haru. The original Danoh was mature and thought far ahead. After realising the truth behind Squid Fairy's story, she recovered quickly and instead of pulling the "change my fate" card like a spoilt princess, she admitted it as an inevitability. She probably knew that it was more than enough for her having lived through so many surgeries despite being so ill. And in the drama? She refuses to admit the reality and vows to undo all the miracles that kept her alive so far; only to get back at the writer. Fair much?

Haru: He was turned from an incredibly understanding and sensible person to a simp who could see nothing beyond his feelings for Danoh.
Dohwa: Not only his story but his entire concept changed. I like the manhwa version better, but I'll let it slide because drama Dohwa was a sweetheart.
Squid Fairy: It's honestly such a shame his original backstory had to be changed.

• Finally, "Secrets" and "Trumpet Creeper". The drama added an element of past life in the plot, which was pretty cool. That is until problems like "where are the secrets?" and "what's the point?" arose.

The one major turnoff was in fact, how poorly the drama was executed. Being a manhwa enthusiast, I was disappointed big time. Not only were the good points taken and twisted, but even the additions to support the remaster were weak. Flat characters, "mediocre at best" acting and lost potential. Could it get any worse? The first few episodes sure had a powerful build-up. Too bad it was thoroughly destroyed due to unnecessary changes to the plot for over-dramatisation.