I Am Not a Robot

I started I am Not a Robot purely because it was the first one on my list that I came across that had 1/2 hour episodes and I only had 40 minutes to kill. All I knew going in is that it's about a guy who has some weird severe allergy to human contact and that he somehow meets a girl who pretends to be a robot (no idea why) and ultimately, they fall in love. Or, at least, that's what I've gathered.

I am a little confused after the first episode as yes, there's the guy with the crazy allergy (and he's crazy rich but also a bit crazy neurotic, though I guess that's understandable given his condition and isolation) but there also appears to be an actual real robot? There's also the girl who conveniently looks exactly like the robot (as far as her face -- but not her hair) goes. They've had a run-in, though she had a helmet on at the time, so I imagine he won't recognise her.

So...I have lots of questions now. Why does the robot look like her? There'd better be an actual reason and not just plot convenience. Like, does the scientist guy know her? What? And if there is a REAL robot, how in the world does she wind up in his life pretending to be a robot? At the moment, she doesn't even like him exactly (other than his looks), as he stiffed her on a limited edition item purchase that she camped out for. So, how exactly do they wind up in (believable) close proximity?

After just a 1/2 hour, not really sure about the characters or story yet. So I'll give it a few episodes. Production value is good though. And the leads are cute.

OOOOooooooh Checked to see if it was recapped on Dramabeans and read through episode 1 and then glanced at the beginning of episode 2's recap as well....and now I gotta watch more because Kang Ki Young is in it too. He cracks me up. Loved him What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Ju. So now I'm inclined to give it even more of a go.

Edit: About to start episode 10. Oh, I'm enjoying this one. Doesn't even feel like I've watched this many episodes, it goes so fast. It has heart and comedy...both high brow and low brow. Actually, lots of physical comedy, from poop jokes to The Attack of the Mini Crabs.

Seriously, so very much fun. So, for a very brief recap, the scientist is the ex-boyfriend of Jia. The story of how she winds up pretending to be the robot makes enough sense story-wise. I mean, it's all ridiculous, but in a way that works for the story. They've managed to make all of the flawed characters (and they all have their flaws) still endearing. There's some chaebol-ish type drama...after Min Kyu's parents died in a car accident that was thankfully not in ANY WAY connected to Jia or any kind of shared childhood experiences--man, I hope that stays that way...wherein a friend of the family? uncle? not sure if there's an actual family relationship or not...tried to adopt him so as to take over the company. There's a mysterious "Madam X" that we have no idea who she is, but she's obviously been looking out for Min Kyu for a long time.

So, anyway, not going to go into any kind of play by play but really enjoying this one.

Covered in Crabs

Edit: (about to start episode 19) Oh, the feels in this one. It's going much deeper than I thought it would. It's better than I expected, though O woe at the moment. Just a couple notes, as I don't want to write a book here...sad a bit that Kang Ki Young's character is a bit of a bad guy. I had some hope as it was very obviously his dad that was truly terrible and he, as a kid, wasn't involved in the beginning of the bad blood between them. I can see why he's where he is though -- he would have been confused when Min Kyu dropped him and became antagonistic as a child and that's continued through adulthood. And he obviously has liked Min Kyu's first love (they were all childhood friends together) for a long time and there's jealousy there.

Glad that her character isn't terrible -- she's practical and while she doesn't love Min Kyu, she wants to be honest. I think she really did want to try dating him and doesn't want to just marry him for money. She was shocked when she found out her father had been sending the post cards all those years. There's at least space in the storyline for her and Ki Young's character to be, if not heroes, then at least actual friends with Min Kyu again. Hope they go that route.

Now then...Baek-gyun (the ex boyfriend scientist guy). Ouch. It's nice to see a decent character arc for him wherein he realises how many ways he did Jia wrong when they dated. He still manages to stick his foot in it a lot, however. Their relationship is actually the most hard-hitting for me -- he basically never respected her ideas or her talents and always internally put himself above her. It's good he sees it now, but, man, that all feels way too familiar and painful to me. Didn't think I'd be welling up over that. I imagine he'll wind up with Pi (the girl scientist) and they are well suited to each other.

Anyway, this one is really good. A lot more depth and higher stakes than I thought but also a lot of silly/fun moments too. I really hope it wraps up well. I really want to get to the part where Min Kyu and Jia start seeing each other honestly, person to person, rather than the deceived and the fake robot. They both deserve it and the actors are lovely together but I'm missing those early episodes where they had such simple joy in being together. There's a lot of sorrow right now.

Edit: finished it. Yeah, okay, this is my new fav drama. Good story, humour, pathos...lovely character arcs for all the characters, including secondary/tertiary ones. Even a nice little happy moment for the bumbling bad guys. All the feels. Deep, wrenching moments, but a nice balance of silly/happy ones too. Really, SO good.

Even the niece was charming and I loved watching every scene with her,
especially the ones with Min Kyu. She was perfect.

There are only two things I could ping this one on and they aren't anywhere near dealbreakers for me because all of it was so lovely. One is that the child actors they had playing the younger versions weren't nearly old enough. If it was supposed to have been 15 years ago and they are now supposed to be 28/29 years old, those kids should've  been 13/14 but they didn't look more than 10, if that. But not a big deal. The other is that they never really explicitly explained who Madam X was -- though they gave hints it was the Butler/Caretaker guy. But I don't really care. It was all so good that doesn't bother me.

I really liked Chae Soo Bin SO much more in this than in Where Stars Land (that one is still making me mad). She doesn't even feel like the same person/actor, so I'm appreciating her range (especially her comedic timing in this one). Some of the other actors, once I've seen them in multiple things, don't hold as much appeal because you see them using the same emotions in such a static way. Does that make sense? Anyway, loved her in this.

Loved her chemistry with Yoo Seung Ho too and now I'm excited to see him in My Strange Hero (which I'd added to my list but am waiting to make sure it's completed first -- but also to be in the right frame of mind for it, as it sounds like it will be more depressing). He's adorable and charming when he smiles and has a great voice that seems just a tad too deep to be coming out of him but you could listen to on the phone for hours. I really thought he did a great job with this character, especially the scenes where he was "broken" but, really, an excellent job all the way around.

Glad that Kang Ki Young's character came around at the end. I hoped he would, mostly because I really enjoy that actor. It was interesting to see him in a role that didn't call for any comedy or silliness. He pulled it off, but I have to say that I prefer him silly. That's when he's most charming to me. But I like silly.

The ending was satisfying enough -- though I really would have loved more. They did stick in his two year military stint BUT I think it works for the story as it ties back to the very beginning when he is called up and has to demonstrate his human allergy AND because it shows him being able to live a normal life. That's important for his character. It also gave time for Jia to establish herself successfully on her own, which is good too.

They did get another umbrella kiss at the end, though I really did want so much more. But that was because I loved all of the characters. Such a good show and such a good job from the actors. Loved it 100%.