In one word this drama is raw. I am writing this review a minute after finishing the drama and there are all these emotions that I need to let out. It has been an amazing journey, and by the end I could truly tell how attached I got to the characters.
STORY: 8.5/10
We follow Gil Soo Hyun, an FBI officer whom is back in his home country and receives an offer from the police to join a special investigation team. He joins Oh Dae Yeong and Jin Seo Joon as they embark on solving missing cases with special circumstances. I can't say much about the story since the drama is episodic, which means we are met with a new case in (almost) every episode. I would also point out that Soo Hyun's background story is a key point, and slowly unfolded as the drama proceeds.
My rating is not higher because it's difficult to rate a drama with a different setting for each episode. I found some episodes to be extremely intriguing, while one or two in the middle of the drama were rather predictable. The beginning however, was phenomenal, as we got a two episode cameo from the very talented Kang Ha Neul who brought so much life to drama. Some cases are very unique, like the painting one. Watch the drama to find out what that's all about ;)
ACTING/CAST: 10/10
My gem, the great Kim Kang Woo. I cannot praise this man's acting enough. Somehow I feel like he's an unappreciated actor in the Korean industry - correct me if I'm wrong. I first 'met' him in Haeundae Lovers, where he played the role of a prosecutor. That is obviously where I fell for him, and I have been anticipating his upcoming projects ever since. Kim did a phenomenal job in Missing Noir M as he portrayed a strong and competent character despite his wounds. Would the drama be the same without him? Probably not.
Park Hee Soon portrayed the talented police officer Oh Dae Yeong. This is the character that brought life to the drama, through his 'feeling like feeling' and phone ringtone. Overall the impression you'll get of him will be one of delight. He also has the cutest relationship with his wife, which also brings colour to a dark themed show. I also loved him for loving the victims with all he had.I like that he went from All About My Romance to OCN's Missing Noir M. It was nice to see him in a new light.
Jin Seo Joon was portrayed by the rising actress Jo Bo Ah (congratulations on the dating news!). Jin (as officer Oh calls her) is a hacker, and you can tell the team wouldn't get too far without her. She is highly intelligent, and I loved seeing her. The only complaint I have is that I wanted to see more of her. In a very male dominating drama, I wish she would've have gotten more spotlight. She deserves all the praise, and Jo Bo Ah as an actress has come a very long way since Shut Up! Flower Boy Band.
Another lady is the medical examiner Kang Yoo Yeong (Park So Hyun). We also see very little of her, but again - she plays a vital role as she is the one who conducts autopsies.
For the side characters who played a big part in each story, you'll find them in the cast list. Among the known actors and actresses is the very cute Shim Yi Young (Ji Yeon, officer Oh's wife), Yoon Ye Joo (Ellie from SBS' Angel Eyes), L.Joe (from the boy band Teen Top) and Park Hae Joon (Mr. Chun from Misaeng).
MUSIC: 10/10
Their main OST called Lucid Dream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzF4DODg-K0) by Kim Yuna, and featuring rapper Olltii has seriously become one of my favourites ones. I listened to this while waiting for new episodes. I'm also an avid supporter of Korean rappers, and knowing that Olltii (Show Me The Money 3) featured in this song was very exciting. Lucid Dream is dark, filled with amazing vocals. It fits the drama perfectly.
REWATCH VALUE: 9/10
I think I'll rewatch this drama when the withdrawal symptoms arrive. Being episodic, it is quite simple to click on whatever episode and watch. Though you need to watch the whole drama the first time since you'll miss out on the protagonist's story if you don't.
OVERALL: 9/10
I cannot recommend this enough. My sister always tells me Korean dramas are boring and repetitive, and for people like her, this drama is a definite counterargument.
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The lead characters were amazing in their roles, and so were the guest appearances in each case. Kim Kang Woo as Gil Su Hyun was such a troubled character. He has a deep darkness, and an extremely cute side. I love that he's no cheesy idealist. He will get blood on his hand, not for the sake of justice, but only to make the world a bit less awful. He's not faultless, as we see his view is not absolute, but he seeks the same satisfying ending I want. His frustration would always reflect mine. Next is Park Hee Soon playing Detective Oh Dae Yeong, who's personality it pretty much the opposite of Su Hyun. He's pretty loud and outgoing, and his life is mostly in the light with a happy family. He got many years of experience making him very perceptive. Seeing his trail of thoughts and the way follows track is engrossing. The two guys have the chemistry and the perfect foil for each other. Rounding up the team is Jo Bo Ah as Jin Seo Jun. Though much younger and beautiful, she did convince me of her being a focused hacker and smart. I enjoyed the sunbae-Maknae feel.
Other interesting characters were those involved in the cases. Though Su Hyun was supposed to be the genius of the show, those perpetrator were the geniuses. The performances were dazzling for a number of cases totally broke my heart.
Other than the cases and character, I like how the theme was forming subtly little by little each episode, until we got to the last episode. I find they quoted it perfectly:
- Currently we are living in a world that's filled with the fruit of injustice
- A History of injustice manipulating justice to kill off justice
I enjoy my mysteries, but since it is embedded so well with such a deep theme about law and justice, it reveals a deeper message that the drama is telling the viewer, leaving us in deep thought about the matter.
I would highly recommend this drama for anyone who enjoyed TEN or OCN dramas, and mysteries in general. There isn't any romance but, there is bromance at a more understated level as well as camaraderie.
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So many viewers made comparisons between TEN and MNM, and it makes sense since the two shows carry the same vibe and are gritty and thought-provoking. But the questions that were asked in each show were different. TEN made us wonder who really was the monster, while MNM made us ponder the meaning of (in)justice.
What I like so much about both shows in any case is that we're not just watching a brainless procedural cop show with a new case of the week every episode. There's so much more with every case that unfolds. You will definitely question what's right and what's wrong in each context and still feel unsure of your own judgement.
I also liked how well we got to know our characters in such a short amount of time and without being spoon-fed a lengthy exposition. We learned more about their backgrounds whenever they became relevant and through their own actions. Gil Soo-hyeon is not so cut-and-dry as you'd believe at first, and Oh Dae-yeong is both endearingly and frustratingly someone who's ruled by emotions and acts before he thinks. I think the weakest link was Jin Seo-jun, who we did get to know about but still fell a little flat even with her past being revealed.
It was a good show overall and I hope they make a second season of this because I definitely want to see these characters again. Plus, the ending was a semi-cliffhanger (they concluded the series but left enough hanging that there's the potential for more).
P.S. Do not make the mistake of eating food while watching this show. Just saying.
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Uniqueness & Plot Depth ~ On the one hand, I LOVED the first 8 or so episodes! Original, intriguing, exceptional story-lines that kept me guessing and fixed to Lawrence the Laptop's screen in suspense. I'd probably give them a 5 star for uniqueness of plot and definitely good theme depth. The sheer amazingness of the first crime really carried the rest of the show for me - I kept watching just in case another glimpse of that kind of creativity would appear.
There is no romance to this drama, in fact not much of a personal touch at all until the end. The three stars are randomly brought together to resolve the first crime as Gil is summoned by the criminal, Jo Bo-Ah joins for her talents, and Oh Dae Young as a watch dog for the potentially uncontrollable Gil. They walk step-by-step though each crime, trailing the lost's footprints from the beginning to the end. I loved the little touches each character contributed to the process, they really had great chemistry for a tv team and worked well off of one another!
I particularly appreciated the fact that sometimes the ending was good, sometimes it was bad. That really did seem to be the guiding theme throughout this drama -- sometimes justice saves the day, more often it doesn't. But still we fight. It was a lesson Gil and Oh especially had to learn as they try to answer the age old questions of justice-fighters everywhere. When is it okay to shoot to kill? When do you have to let people face the consequences of their actions. How long will you continue to defend the guilty against vengeful revenge-seekers? Who exactly deserves our protection?
The drama was extremely thought-provoking in both theme and detail; the complexity of the mysteries, the easy manipulation of evidence within the plotline, the constant return to the issue of why not just let the evil die? All of it pulled me in and I just couldn't stop.
Wow. Just, Wow.
Then, boom. We hit the conclusion. I'm highly recommending you watch it anyway, because it is still a marvelous show. But, in comparison to the beginning, it felt like a bit of a let-down. I knew the moment they introduced the missing victims where they were going with this. Plus, it was a little bit harder to follow. I watched it twice, and I'm still feeling like I missed something.
Still, I wasn't expecting the exact ending and it was very well done -- I've never seen a drama end this way, and it's left me a bit stunned and grasping for straws. It was extraordinary!
Acting: by and large, the acting was pretty good. Kang-Woo is gorgeous, and plays dark and mysterious pretty well - I'd watch him again any old day even if a couple scenes did come across seeming forced. But Hee-Soon was awesome, he held it together until the very end; had me sobbing for his loss right along with him. (And can I just say, I adored this marriage!?!) Jo Ba-Ah was also really good for her part - I admit I focused on the guys in their roles more, but she didn't annoy me with her character, I felt she was realistic pretty much, and I genuinely liked her as a person. That always makes a drama better in my eyes :)
Trust me, I'll be checking out season 2! Hope you join me!
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Now before I begin, I need to stop here and say that crime and detective mysteries are kind of my thing. I'm still new to Asian drama, but I've most likely read and watched every Poirot, Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes story out there, along with a whole list of other British detectives from back in the heyday of vintage crime. Yet I don't remember any other detective, story or series that has repeatedly left me in hysterical tears - and what shocks me even more is that this didn't happen just once or twice. Almost every single episode left me shell-shocked, crying, and questioning what I knew of my own humanity. That is the power of Missing Noir M.
I'm sure you already know that this isn't a happy, fluffy series, and you're absolutely right. But they don't go out of their way to make things tragic or melodramatic, either. The only phrase I can think of is "brutal honesty", with no bias or cues to tell you how you should feel - and as the key theme to the series is morality and what we define as "right and wrong", the fact that the viewer is always given a totally impartial view makes complete sense. If there is a corpse you will see an ugly corpse, not a stylised or easy-to-see version. Characters are represented as raw and honestly as possible, with no stereotypes or cues to tell us how we are supposed to feel about them. Nothing is hidden from you; nothing is painted as good or bad. You are left to make your own decisions, and treated as an intelligent viewer.
Speaking of characters, credit needs to be given as much to the actors as to the script-writers. A high level of craftsmanship has obviously gone into creating the people behind each episode, especially considering how detailed some plots can get. Whether you're watching a protagonist, antagonist or supporting role, every single character in every single case is a fleshed-out, complicated, irrational and mistake-prone human being - which has been both written well, and acted beautifully. There are also no character tropes for you to latch onto, so it is impossible to guess the way a person will react, what their intention is, or who is truly "innocent" or "guilty". Because in real life, how often does a 100% evil person commit a crime against a 100% sinless person, then have their case solved by somebody 100% impartial?
Exactly.
Story is the only category that gets a 9, and that's because some moments can feel very out of the blue. Once or twice there is a sudden onslaught of information you just don't have time to process before the next scene, and occasionally some interactions between characters take a hugely unexpected turn with no explanation. The "blink and you'll miss it" moment in the final episode (you'll know what it is when you see it) is my best example of this - no lead-up as to why it might have happened, and never referenced again. However these are pretty much the only negatives I can find. Some people disliked how it ends, but to me it really drove home the show's theme of morality being subjective and ambiguous. It wasn't sad, nor happy; just brutally, soul-destroyingly honest. So for me the ending was perfection.
Anyway, that's it! This is such an essay haha, but I hope this review helps you with what you want to know. And as I said in my TL:DR... if you're still wondering whether to watch it, just watch it! You won't be disappointed. I promise.
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The acting of Kim Kang Woo as Gil Su Hyeon, Park Hee Soo as Detective Oh and Jo Bo Ah as Jin Seo Jun is exceptional. They all have a way of pulling me into the story and I was fully invested in their characters. Also, there are a lot of great actors like Kang Ha Neul, Jung Chan, and Jang Gwang that make cameos.
The music is really good.
I will probably rewatch this right before the 2nd season (fingers crossed).
I recommend this drama. It kept me interested from beginning to end.
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First of all, this is definitely one of the better crime investigation dramas out there and evidence that OCN can indeed produce great shows. I lost faith after Neighborhood Hero, but Missing Noir M was able to mend my shattered heart.
The acting was thoroughly awesome. Not only the leads who had great chemistry in a non-romantic way but also every single guest actor/actress who played important roles in each case. They were able to make me excited to a point where I couldn't stop watching while at the same time I was worried that I'd finish this drama too fast. It's unfortunately only 10 episodes but I could have watched 10 more of it. The cast delivered their emotions and messages so well, that I'm still stunned when I think about it. Though I didn't really cry, they still moved me to tears so many times. This was about interpersonal relationships which were put to proof under extreme circumstances. It's about justice and injustice, and about trust and suspicion.
What I loved so much here was how every case was built. Disclosing one secret always meant to find ~10 other secrets within that had to be solved in order to see the whole magnitude. Layer by layer and in the end the picture always looked completely different from what you had expected in the beginning.
Though I must say that I didn't enjoy the last case as much as the earlier ones. Maybe it's because I prefer psychological mind games over corruption cases. I know what they wanted to tell their viewers with that last one, but I still think that it didn't really fit well between those other mind-blowing puzzles. It seemed rather short and rushed and failed to properly explain its own story. It felt plain compared to the other cases.
There were also some loose ends, especially the reason why they even formed that special missing persons investigation team when they were so worried about opening Pandora's Box. It was quite well explained for the first case but for all the other ones, it remains a mystery to me.
Background music was, as I already mentioned some days ago, exceptional. So damn well composed, balanced and in sync that it managed to liven up every important moment to its full potential.
Rating 9/10 - Great ride and exciting watch ?
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I did indeed enjoy the first episodes. An interesting partnership, individual stories with a lose connection and there were very sad episodes/ stories behind the incidents that touched me. However, to me it was like they suddenly decided to end it, made up some weird storyline at the end and didn't bother to tie lose strings such as the character's background story. Instead they decided to randomly kill off people and turned the second mainlead into a complete jerk without any rationality left. I think during the last episode I didn't believe what I was even watching there. It simply made no sense to me. Which is a bit sad I guess, the story was interesting until that point and I was interested to know more about them. Therefore I was greatly disappointed that it ended like that. What I loved though was the music and especially the theme song. Maybe it would've been fine if they added another season, but even then the last episode would've creeped me out I guess. It's unfortunate. The rest was worth it though.
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Anyways, Missing Noir M is a nice drama. Investigation dramas always have their unique charm and this show is not an exception. I love how it mainly focused on the team solving cases which prevented the drama from getting too draggy or too boring which was nice. Each case was more or less interesting, some of them had great twists. The drama definitely started with a BANG -- the first case was amazing, as well as the second (and no I'm not saying this because of Kang Ha Neul and Park Hae Joon.. or am I?). Some episodes, however, were a bit less interesting than the others (episodes 5-6, khm) But then, episode 7 was amazing and it even made me cry. The case was very well-presented and it was very emotional overall.
I wish we saw more interactions between James and Detective Oh though. I think they are both nice characters -- Soo Hyun (sorry but I prefer to call him James lol) was a bit mysterious but overall - a sassy dude with a cute side. I wish his story was explained better... (hello, season 2???) Oh Dae Young was funny lol, but episode 7 made me slightly annoyed.
The ending was... interesting. I mean, on one hand, the ending was very shocking and it kind of suited the atmosphere of the drama and what happened in the previous episodes. On the other though... there were some things left unexplained which brought a slight dissatisfaction.
Overall, I recommend Missing Noir M to people who love investigation dramas. It's also perfect to binge watch since it's short. It's not like it's the most phenomenal drama, but it's a nice watch and it brings enjoyment.
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Story:
I really did like the story. It was similar to a lot of mystery dramas in that the lead detective always has something odd and mysterious about him, and he and his squad go off and solve all these cases. All the cases are gripping from start to finish, and let me just tell you now, you will never be able to guess the real conclusion of a case until its over, lol. Especially in earlier episodes, they are astonishingly elaborate, but still, quite fun to follow the development of. Like I mentioned, the lead detective has got his own mysterious history, and the reason why I rated the story not quite as high is because I felt that the ending of his story could have been told better, but who knows, there may be a second season to look forward to.
Cast:
They were all fab. I liked all the detectives in the special investigations quad, especially Detective Oh (Park Hee Soon). He's just such an entertaining character and his phone ringtone is my LIFE (you will hear it a lot, lol). There were other sort of main characters too, but they weren't present as often. I felt that the victims and criminals used in the different cases were also very good at portraying their roles. There are definitely a few sad moments in this drama, prepare yourself.
Music:
YES!!! For once I actually thoroughly enjoyed the music in a drama lol. It was memorable and really suited the scenes it was used in. Like really, every time certain songs came on they really added to the atmosphere. 11/10 tbh.
Overall:
Fab drama, would definitely recommend. The ending might not be the best, but I suppose that's up to your opinion of it as well. SIGGHHH, wish it had more episodes lol.
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The Good:
The actors are really good and mesh well with each other. The flow of the stories are nice; I like that there are continuations of a story to bring some type of closure (this does lead into the bad). I like the bromance between the two lead characters. Actually, it's not a bromance, that would be disingenuous; it's more like camaraderie. I love the fact that the mysteries when solved didn't have happy endings. I loved the injustice that's been pervasive through the story an you know will happen at the end; but also the fact the ending is so ambiguous--because it's a prediction. I think the ending makes up for some of the sins.
The Bad:
Female lead...she was just fodder. I know a lost of cyber/computer tech characters that have been used properly. She was worthless to me. She had one bottle episode and the rest of the time she was around to make the male leads feel better about themselves when they were feeling down. Just no substance. The only female with any substance and gumption and I actually wanted to see more of was the pathologist. Similar but she wasn't there to fluff anyone. Not to mention I'd have like to see the pathologist lead because she's an older woman. These dramas always bring in the spring chicken (I don't care if she's my age).
I really didn't get the leads backstory. Or in all honesty I felt they were poorly executed, so I didn't get what I wanted from them. Definitely the case with the leading male. Ugh. his story was confusing as hell. I think that was what slowed down a lot of my watch time. Not to mention; some of the stories didn't have proper closure. In the sense that they had just weird endings and you're stuck scratching your head.
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I would rewatch: But I would only re-watch certain episodes like the 1st one, red suitcase one (brilliant episode), and the con-artist one.
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