THE CELLS <33333
I wasn't planning on writing a review until I finished this drama, but it just gets better every episode!After watching the first episode I found it too be a bit lame with the animated cells and thought this drama wouldn't be for me... BUT IT IS AMAZING. It's really a feel-good romantic comedy drama, but of course I am sensing some deeper more dramatic scenes happening in the future. Though Yumi and Woong are super adorable, it's their cells that steal the show!!
I really like how the cells have their own adventures happening 'inside' of their human and though it's a bit goofy I think it really balances out what happens in the real world. When Yumi's cell 'lust' entered the screen I just couldn't stop laughing! It was really funny and I just love the way the drama jumps from drama to animation.
I definitely recommend this drama, can't wait for the future episodes!
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Why I dropped Yumi's Cells. My unpopular opinion...
Based upon the reviews and the ongoing comments section, I hold a very unpopular opinion. I did not like Yumi's Cells Season 1. I had very high hopes, wholly and solely for the cast. I hadn't read the manwha and my adhd brain doesn't do well with the mixed mediums of anime and reality, but that cast! *chefs kiss*. I came in with fully open eyes and no specific expectations, but I was rapidly dis-engaged.My first point of question - am I watching the same characters as everybody else?! [If anyone here has watched "Sex Education", a show made in Britain, streamed on Netflix. I feel like I had the same disconnect with other viewers watching it, as I have had here. At the end of Season 3, everyone seemed to be angry with Otis (the main lead) for dumping Ruby - where-as I found Ruby to be a horrible person, terrible for Otis' self-esteem and personal identity... but I digress]
I don't understand why anyone would want Yumi and Woong to stay together! We as the omniscient audience, are privy to Woong's thoughts, as he deals with both Yumi and his female workmate, Sae Yi. It is very clear that he was lying to Yumi from the outset, and also that he is keeping Sae-Yi on a string, by avoiding being direct with her. Maybe you consider them white lies to, in Woogi's opinion, spare people's feelings. I see them as lies, to spare his own feelings of vulnerability or discomfort, to manipulate other people's behaviour and opinions. He consistently states that he likes to be straightforward and honest, but he fails to actually be so (he doth protest too much!). He is the epitome of the "I am a good guy" manipulator - he believes he's a good guy, and wants everyone else to believe it, but his actions are not those of a good person. Maybe I have PTSD in this regard, but this kind of person is the WORST to me! Props to the writer for characterising him so well, and props to Ahn Bo Hyun, for portraying it so convincingly, but that, was my first cause for pause. My heart, being ABH shaped, I was relieved to read that he, at least (unlike the seeming majority of the audience), was very aware that Woong is problematic.
Ahn Bo Hyun revealed that his resemblance with Goo
Woong in this area is “close to zero.” “Unlike Goo
Woong, I don’t do things that could cause someone to
become angry or to misunderstand,” he said. “I know all too well that it won’t do me any good.” (Soompi Nov 7 2021)
Now to my second stick in the throat: It comes very early in the series; Yumi's dealings with her workmate, Chae Ugi. He thinks they're close friends. Yumi has a crush on him, but sadly it is amplified, by her need to one-up another workmate Ruby. In this whole game, Ugi is a victim - he bares his truth (it's strongly insinuated he is gay, without overtly stating it) to Yumi, and she promptly excuses herself from the conversation, to go have a sook/cry/wallow, with no thought whatsoever for Chae Ugi's very difficult situation.
In a country that continues to have no functioning anti-discrimination legislation, (https:///news/2021/11/11/national-assembly-south-korea-should-act-swiftly-enact-anti-discrimination) admitting, at work, that you are gay, is exposing yourself to not only public shaming and the vitriol of netizens, but also being sacked from your job (in one of the most difficult job markets in the world) with absolutely no recourse. Yumi is supposed to be a woman in her late 20s, but her behaviour is this scene is very teen-brain. *"OH woe is me, he doesn't like me!"* Boo!. Hoo! He just fully exposed himself and his life to you, and you promptly excused yourself. What the, what!?!
So all of that would've been ok for me to swallow if I could see the possibility of growth. But when I posted my concerns in this forum, I was battered down, told I was wrong, and given multiple re-tellings of ALL of Yumi's feelings (as if they're not right there, perfectly illustrated and animated as Yumi's Cells FFS!) as if they were a justification for her questionable behaviour.
At this point, I just lost hope, that it was a story I could engage with, seeing as I definitely couldn't engage with the audience. So I dropped.
I may watch season 2, in the expectation that Yumi has evolved a bit as a person. And without concern that she is compromising herself, with an "I'm a good guy!" liar Woong. I don't care how you justify or rationalise it, he is NOT a good guy, he's a lying LIAR!
Just to clarify, my music rating is a pass, and no more because I cannot recall any of it. This means it wasn't intrusive enough to be annoying (fail) nor great enough to be memorable. All other ratings are reflected in my opinions above.
Addendum Oct 2022...I just found my notes/musings, whilst I was watching the epsiodes during airing, so I'm posting them now:
There are disturbing examples of inherent misogyny (misogynistic inherent bias) as well as toxic masculinity, in the cells of Yumi's Cells
This show has started to go south for me, at the appearance of a cell called Hysterius.
Hysterius dwells in the unconscious and brews poisons... hysteria means of the womb, ergo if you have a womb, you will naturally be brewing poison somewhere in the deep dark recesses of your unconscious. Ergo ALL WOMEN ARE TOXIC!Hysteria is a hugely problematic word; originally used to describe mental illness specificlly in women.
[Coined by the likes of Freud, who it turns out, was treating a whole bunch of young women who were victims of incest, but their father's and brothers were fine, and those girls just had penis envy!]
Much like 'lunatic' (mental illness due to the full moon), it's not a term in current use unless you intend to be extremely misogynistic and derogatory.
Yumi responds like a spoiled child, completely lacking in sensitivity or compassion, when her crush confides in her that he is gay (she walks out with little explanation to wallow in self-pity in the bathroom)
Naughtysarus vs naughty cell: seriously?! A man's sex drive is represented by an out of control monster, whilst a woman's sex drive is represented by a small mildly cheeky, tree rutting MALE cell in tighty-whiteys!?!? In other words a woman doesn't actually have HER own innate sex-drive because it's a masculine trait. How did we ever populate the planet?! Oh that's right, RAPE. The out of control monster just has his way with her.
Woo Gi's female friend Sae-Yi tells him all women of a certain age are only interested in marriage. This ties in with SK's ever repeated mantra - men and women can't be friends. Why not? Because only sex exists between men and women. No other relationship is possible? Or as 'naughtysaurus' suggests; confronted with an 'attractive' woman in any situation, a man will lose his self control? Or men and women have nothing in common that would actually allow friendship, because of the ROLES we are required to play. Confucius was a fracking Narcissist! (So is my mother)
The character Sae-yi is an anti-feminist character and a stereotype that is common in Hollywood as well. I call this stereotype "The Ally". Undermining other women with her generalisations (about all women Yumi's age wanting to marry...all women but not me. I'm not like other women...is implied). She competes for control of Woo Gi, despite not wanting to date him (that men, in this instance, are commoddities; to be owned and controlled; is implied). And her and Yumi can't be friends either, but rather, competitors for Woo Gi. If you were his real friend you wouldn't reveal to his girlfriend that you chose her gift, not him.
IMO Woo Gi is a bad guy, the stereotypical "I'm a good guy!" Wolf in sheep's clothing. He tells Yumi, from their first date and then repetitively "I don't lie", when we can see from his cells that he is constantly lying by omission. But based upon audience response and comments, that's ok!? He's just a poor communicator, trying to protect Yumi's feelings! GAAAAAAHHH it makes my skin crawl to think that people find this endearing and ship their love!
Woo Gi is also very aware that Sae-Yi is problematic. He controls the information he gives to both her and Yumi. The dinner where he avoids Sae-Yi's advances rather than, I don't know, being direct and telling Sae-Yi how much he likes Yumi. Honestly to me it looks like he's keeping Sae-Yi on a line, in case things go south with Yumi
A cell called "Sensitivity,"?! I want to know the direct translation of this cell, because the cell's behaviour does not match the actual meaning of sensitivity. Maybe Hyper-sensitivity, Insensitivity or Reactivity would have been less ambiguous, but I guess this would have made Yumi's immaturity much more obvious to an audience that clearly doesn't want to relate to her as such. Yumi does not display any sensitivity, but rather self-absorption. I think the audience is relating to it as VULNERABILITY, which is much more palatable than IMMATURITY.
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama is somehow interesting But Im not happy to watch
As we all know that, we always want the story to go way we want, and we might be a little disappointed if there're plot twists. To begin with, Yumi's life seems so busy , she's stressful enough with the last breakup and she has to work and also having a crush on someone who doesn't interest in girls. This is really sad and embarassed at the same time T^TThen, she finally get to meet with Woong, I somehow thought that he was the one, but he's actually not at all. As romantic drama lovers, they always wanted a warmhearted, helpful man as the main male lead for main female lead, but Woong is indeed a reckless guy, he doesn't deserve to have Yumi as her girlfriend at all, when his girlbestfriend tries to provoke Yumi, he only keep quiet and pretend as if nothing happen. This part is really frustrate me as the viewers hmm... Since the drama is on going so I just have to stop here first. ^^
I dare to say that this is much alike in real life, watching this make me leaving my own imagination! hmm let's just be real and a-ppreciate it~~
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A creative and fun romcom where the 'cells' steal the show
I was quite interested from the title to see how they would incorporate the 'cells' aspect when went into this, and I have to say that they totally and completely stole the show for me. They are absolutely adorable and the thought process that goes into every action is quite realistic too. Considering how this is what is meant to set the show apart from other romcoms, I'm very excited to see the future episodes because the cells have stolen my heart. The animation is really good and cute and matches the aesthetic of the show.Considering only the first episode is out yet, I can't judge the storyline itself but it is plenty enjoyable and I'm loving Kim Goeun in this role. I have to say though that the Willy Wonka/Edna haircut isn't doing her much justice.
The colours in this drama are so pleasing to the eye, and there is SO much blue wherever Yumi is present, and I'm not even complaining one bit.
The music has been plenty cheerful and a win throughout.
All in all I'm expecting this to be very fun and I'm looking forward to the future episodes!
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Unsatisfying and frustrating
I very much enjoyed the story overall, especially (since I'm a guy) how Woong was generally kind and thoughtful. It rankled me to see the Woong's immaturity and lack of communication when he was struggling financially.Without spoiling it too much, suffice to say that the story was very hopeful; but the season ended at the worst-possible place in the story. This was made with Season 2 in mind, and probably no one would be happy with only watching Season 1 unless they like sad endings.
The cells' animation sequences did keep the series lighthearted, and were a great alternative to the characters' stating their thoughts out loud to themselves.
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Modern Love story… funny and real.. from start to finish… loved it!
Love can nit get any less real than this one…From life before your lover, meeting him, falling in love, to the mundane, daily little nuances that make life… life.. to the bitter sweet lessons of a heart break…
That is what this drama is about.
Both Yumi and Goo cells are so real… they show exactly how we humans deal with our humanity inside… from friendship, embarrassment, doubt, courage… all of them are portrait in a funny but very well thought manner.
The end made sense but still… it breaks your heart.
Tomorrow I will start season 2.
And this is now my top 1 drama. Well done!
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It is a masterpieceeee!
What a great storyyyy!!! It is a very great fun drama. Everything was perfect. The casts especially the main role Kim Go Eun delivered the emotion really well. Best actress!!!💯.The live action and animation blended really well. A dynamic drama indeed. Kudos to all production team too for distributing to this masterpiece. It ia a great healing drama. Everyone should watch it.
The cells are really cute tho. A relatable story, describing a woman's and man daily expressions, emotion, in daily life.
The music and ost also great and healing for me.
Go go go and watch it.
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yumi's character is a bit problematic as of the latest episode (3). IMO!
first of all after reading the webtoon I was really looking forward to this series. I don't know if I'm the only one thinking that way, but right now I just feel like yumi's somewhat relatable & similar to how human’s are irl but also lowkey rude & unlikable (which is also understandable cuz they're testing her so much lmao), I kinda like her the least atm tbh (I mean her role as yumi & not the actress herself ofc) apart from ruby that little annoying shit hahaha, but everyone else is fine, I guess we’ll see how everything is gonna turn out cuz it’s still only the 3rd episode, everything can change in a matter of seconds in the future episodes~ ^^everything written above is just my opinion, so u have to watch it yourself to form an opinion :)
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Me diverti muito com as células (toda semana esperava uma nova aparecer)🤭 amei demais essa junção de animação com realidade .
Amei que conseguiram mostrar como nosso psicológico funciona, tenho certeza que pessoas com conhecimentos em psicologia conseguiu tirar muita coisa interessante desse drama.
Apesar da história ser sobre a Yumi e ela ser a única protagonista real, os outros personagens secundários não passam batido, todos têm seu impacto.
A atuação pra mim foi cem porcento, consegui me apegar a todos, menos a insuportável da Ruby (apesar de no final não ser assim mais tão insuportável 😁).
Yumi's Cells apesar de trazer um história simples foi bem interessante pela forma que foi abordada.
Senti que o drama passou a mensagem de que cada um tem suas falhas, ninguém é perfeito, cometemos erros e temos que aprender com isso.
Estou muito ansiosa pra segunda temporada, precioso saber o rumo que a vida da Yumi vai tomar.
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mungkin alasan utamanya adalah karena drama ini membawa pembaharuan yang super freshhhh. siapa sangka penambahan animasi dalam drama bisa se-smooth ini dan menambah nilai 'enjoyable'nya. walapun kadang suka mikir; ini dalam menentukan sebuah aksi yang mau dilakukan, kok sel-selnya selalu ribut lama bet yak wakakakak. selain itu, drama ini juga cukup konsisten dengan judulnya, yaitu yumi cells alias sel-selnya yumi. kalau dilihat lagi secara keseluruhan, drama ini emang ner-bener cuma menceritakan si yumi doang yang disajikan secara apik dengan narasi sudut pandang orang pertama. pemeran-pemeran lain (termasuk woong) juga jadi cuma tokoh sampingan doang.
kalau soal plot cerita--karena drama ini mengangkat kisah slice of life--jadi interpretasi setiap orang bisa berbeda-beda, bergantung sama ideologi yang dianut, pengetahuan, juga pengalaman si penonton. buat gue sendiri, nonton yumi cell ini berasa ngaca banget. permasalahan yang dia hadepin juga mostly pernah--atau mungkin bakal gue hadepi, ya walopun ngga gitu-gitu amat si. selain itu tokoh-tokoh yang lainnya juga keliatan alami, persis kaya orang-orang yang emang ada di lingkungan.
perkara acting mah ngga usah ditanya yak, yang main veteran semua ini. gue aja ampe lupa sama 'karakter lain' yang sebelumnya diperankan oleh aktor/aktrisnya. rambutnya yumi juga super gemash. ostnya uga enak semuaaaa apalagi holiday sama ling ling xixixi <3
menurut gue, yumi cell ini termasuk ke dalam best rom-com tahun ini.
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La historia que plantea este K-drama me pareció muy novedosa y diferente dado que los protagonistas principales son las células de Yumi, y la verdad es que ese fue el principal motivo por el que decidí ver esta serie. Las células le dan un momento de respiro y de broma a la serie y creo que hace mucho más fácil seguir la historia. Llegó un momento en el que prefería estar viendo siempre a las células y no a las personas.
Los personajes reales se me hicieron muy planos, al menos al principio de la serie, lo cual entiendo dado que los protagonistas son las células que te ayudan a tener un entendimiento más profundo del personaje. Sin embargo, el hecho de que los personajes reales sean tan planos en muchos momentos se me hizo un poco aburrido y me desconectó de la historia.
Por lo tanto, la historia se me pasó rápido y lento a partes iguales. Como he explicado anteriormente, gracias a las células y las situaciones que crean, hizo que la historia se me pasara rápido y amena. Pero el que los personajes sean planos en algunos momentos hizo que la trama fuera un poco pesada y deseara que pasara rápido.
La verdad, se me hizo una serie divertida y diferente pero sin complicaciones. Las historias que va viviendo Yumi hace que te resulte muy fácil identificarse, dado que mínimo una situación así hemos pasado en nuestra vida. Me parece una serie fácil de ver después de una serie que te ha impactado para tener una historia simple y sencilla pero diferente.
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This review may contain spoilers
"No quiero terminar porque lx quiero o es solo temor a estar solx"
Esta es mi primera reseña en un drama... decidí empezar a dejar algunas en los que vea este año.De todos los temas presentado en el drama con el que más me sentí identificada fue en el momento en el que Yumi decide tomarse un tiempo en la relación para pensar en sus sentimientos, y si es necesario muchas veces tomarnos un tiempo para tomar un respiro y pensar en lo que realmente deseamos y no me refiero a solo en una relación sino en general. Cuando Yumi se pregunta a ella misma si teme terminar con Woong por el hecho que lo quiere o simplemente teme estar sola me recordó a mí misma ya que antes de terminar una relación me pregunte lo mismo y a diferencia de Yumi llegue a conclusión de que si era temor a estar sola, pero la soledad muchas veces no es mala a vece simplemente necesitamos ese tiempo para nosotros.
Recomiendo el drama es entretenido, tiene sus escenas bastante graciosas sobre todo con las células, aunque por momentos era un poco aburrido.
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