The Uncanny Counter Season 1 (2020)

People who fight ghosts or demons and get them into the afterlife are nothing new in kdramas and although I liked a lot about how this world was set up or presented, it was not necessarily super original or unique, and does not work that deep sometimes. Yet, the people working it the afterlife did feel like their own character so their connection to our world felt a lot stronger than in some of these dramas, and I did enjoy the superpower aspect of this all a whole lot.

There was a bit of a superhero-feeling to this all, which I always found really fun to watch. It was the right amount of cool and camp in my opinion and I like how the show never felt like it was trying to be super serious, while also never feeling tacky or just odd. And I always admire it when a show manages that, because I feel like that is the right type of tone for a story like this. It gripped me completely from the first minutes. The plot is nicely paces, there is nice suspense within in the story, although it drags a bit towards the end, but there are countless questions and cliffhanger moments that come up in each episode that always made me excited for the next one.

I did feel like the show did drag a bit or loose some steam when it focused to heavily on the crime and human corruption of the show, rather than the supernatural problems of the characters. For a drama about people capturing evil spirits I wanted them to capture more evil spirit and for that too have a more central role within the story than it did.

Although the drama did a good job with mixing the characters conflicts, their backstories of the characters, with the main story, I also felt like I had seen that type of story play out a bit too often and there could have been more balance between the crime plot and the quest for fighting evil spirits.

There was a lot more crime in there than I would have wished for, but I can not say that I was bored while watching it. The story has it’s momentum, I could never really guess where is was going. It has a good pace, and there was always a bit of humor and a lot of cool action to go along with it with some really loveable characters that you just can’t help but love. This drama has a lot of good things (action, humor and heart) and does those things really well.

Our main character are true underdogs, and you really do feel for them. They made me tear up several times. Especially So Mun and personal quest and his connection to his new superpowers. He really does grow with it. It may all be a bit typical for a story like this one, but it works really well.

All the main characters are deep, with their own flaws and strengths. They frustrate you, yet you love them and feel so much with them. And I found the evil spirit, their main rival apart from the evil politicians and corrupt police officers, really well crafted. I just really like that aspect of the show. That was why I tuned into it and why I continued on watching it.

The love and affection between all the characters is just wonderful. It’s overflowing with heart; whether it’s the love that So Mun has for his grandparents and vice versa, his friends from school and then the little family that the Counters have. This little found family really touched my whole heart, it’s one of my favorite tropes and I love it when it’s done right, and made me shed tears many times throughout the drama. There’s just a really good heart in this story.

The Uncanny Counter is just a lot of fun. I feel like it sort of threads this path of being familiar and yet unique enough that it feels fresh and exciting. There is suspense and humor and heart at the core of each and every episode, and the cast is super loveable and tug at your heartstrings a lot and which is the true strength of the drama. That found family aspect and the friendship and love between the main characters. It talks a lot about human greed and corruptions and how that feeds the evil spirits and vice versa, which does sometimes feel a bit heavy handed, but the plot is well paced and exciting, so I never got bored, and there is a really good underdog story there that makes it all worthwhile.

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