My Dear Gangster Oppa (2023)

could have been amazing

Overall: imagine if Muffin was actually a police officer and we saw her beat up some baddies in one of her outfits, or what if the mafia boss was actually a secret huge romantic at heart? There were so many ways the writing could have been innovative with this premise, but the cliche writing really ruined it, especially in episode 6. It is based off of "The Ideal Relationship" which I have read but I reviewed the series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.

Content Warnings: deaths/murders, non con touching/attempted sexual assault, violence, drugging, manhandling, stalking, attempted murder, kidnapping, manipulation

What I Liked
- the intro credits style was an homage to the source material
- how Guy was set up as a queer character from the beginning
- the video gaming sequence, unfortunately we only saw 1 sequence
- cute/sweet moments
- Guy showed agency
- laughed a few times (although mostly at huge plot holes/nonsense writing)
- Wahl's girlfriend in episode 6
- (neutral) comedy noises

Room For Improvement
- cliched/nonsense writing (i.e. Tew's idiotic "plans", Guy probably had 6 bullets in his revolver but seemed to shoot waaaayyyy more than that in episode 8)
- Kenji's backstory makes zero sense, maybe if Tew had used him as a human shield then it would have made sense, they made him into a cliche cartoon villain with nonsensical actions/motivations, even episode 7 didn't make enough sense for his motivation, also way too much screentime taken by Kenji
- the voice over was a fast way to set up a character/beginning but not my favorite way to start a series
- the music was sometimes not what I would have preferred, also think they could have removed the comedy sound effects and just let the comedy come through on its own
- tropey (ie multiple accidental fall and catches)
- avoiding physical affection in episode 5 (although Guy was better by the end)
- cliche plot point in episode 6
- Wahl had way too much screen time, needed to devote some of that to Guy/Tew building their relationship

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My Dear Mediocre Oppa

One of these days I will stop anticipating that any kind of mafia drama will reach the same pinnacle as KinnPorsche, but it is not this day. While I wasn't expecting My Dear Gangster Oppa to reach that caliber, I was anticipating something sexy and gritty, albeit more lighthearted. And while the first couple of episodes were actually pretty decent, it quickly went downhill bogged down by a weak villain, pointless characters, and poor development. It had the makings of something interesting and unique but ultimately just ended up being painfully mediocre.

The plot was interesting if not well-developed. There more than a few plot holes that marred it. But the concept of two guys meeting through a game and falling in love with the catch being that one of them is a gangster is not your run of the mill mafia story. The first couple episodes did a decent enough job of building on that plot and I was intrigued. However, once Thiu left the mafia, it felt like it lost it's way. A fair amount of unnecessary drama was introduced and the plot no longer felt as cohesive. One element that I quickly found frustrating was the lack of risk. Nothing really felt at stake. At no point did I find it believable that any of the characters were truly in any danger. That was likely in large part due to the fact that the characters' various enemies seemed incredibly inept. Particularly in Episode 8 when Thiu and Tul take on a house full of gangsters and Tul ends up with a relatively minor injury and Thiu is perfectly fine. That's not realistic and it really took away from the experience for me. The action scenes in general were a bit of a low point. The gaming element was a good addition, if a majorly underutilized one. Considering that's what brought Thiu and Guy together, I would have liked to see it play a larger role. In particular, that CGI scene of them playing in, I believe, the first episode was very cool, but we never get another like it. There needed to be a greater balance between the mafia aspect and their day to day lives. It is fairly trope heavy, particularly towards the beginning. Lots of accidental slips and falls that leave characters in each other's arms or in compromising positions. It got old fast. The pacing started out steady but then deteriorated as the drama progressed. The last episode to two episodes felt very rushed.

At only eight episodes long, it struggled with its characters and paying proper attention to the characters who should have been focused on like the leads and paying too much attention to side characters who contributed little to nothing. In shorter dramas like this, I already anticipate that it's not going to have the level of character background and development that I would typically like and it was only made worse by that distraction. Characters like Wal and Kenji took up far too much screen time that should have been devoted to building on Thiu and Guy's relationship. And other characters like Tul and Boss could have used a little more screen time to build up their relationship. I was actually impressed that they went as in depth with Thiu and Guy's backgrounds as they did. Frankly, they could have cut them down a bit to just focus on the relevant parts.

While Thiu had the dressing like a gangster down pat, his demeanor and actions did not fit the role. Obviously time mellowed him out from the revenge driven young man who joined up, but I would have expected him to be more ruthless and less merciful than he was. And while it's not specified how long he was a gangster, it was long enough that it seemed like sticking to the rules and keeping your promises should have held more weight than they did. Aspects like promising Guy he wouldn't return to his boss all while fully intending to break that promise did not sit well with me. I feel like that could have been a fairly simple conversation of if Kenji's in power, he will come after them again and won't stop until one of them is dead so this is not something that can be avoided. I do think Thiu's immediate trust in Guy and essentially falling for him at first sight could have been better explored and explained. Where Thiu was not the most trusting person, Guy was pretty willing to open himself up if someone gave him the opportunity. I found him to be cute at times and wildly annoying at others. His actions didn't always make sense and he came off as needy and childish at times. Even so, there were moments when I appreciated him like in the last episode when he got Boss to go after their guys. He wasn't just a damsel in distress, he actually did take action from time to time if not the most well thought out action. I did feel like he fell for Thiu unrealistically fast. He's been in love with his best friend for years and then someone new pops up and he's almost instantly in love. I understand the shorter run time meant they couldn't build up the relationship a whole lot, but I do think more could have been done to show that attraction growing over a longer period of time. Still, despite his and Thiu's differences, they didn't feel wildly unmatched and made for a fairly decent couple.

Wal was an incredibly frustrating character and he got far too much screen time. He just wasn't that interesting of a character and his sudden conflict of feelings was misplaced and unnecessary. It felt like a continuation of the gay for you trope, except that he maybe met someone there at the end. Still, I wasn't a fan. His pursuit of Guy too right after Guy and Thiu had broken up felt borderline manipulative.

Kenji was just painful to watch every time he was onscreen. Everything about him was over the top and cartoonish and not in a way that was funny or worked. It was just very cringey. He didn't feel like a real threat, mostly because his actions didn't match his mannerisms. If he was truly deranged, he would be acting first and asking questions later. But he was constantly giving Thiu chances like when he went to save Guy. If he really wanted to hurt Thiu, he would have killed Guy then tried to kill Thiu as well. Win or lose, he'd have done the damage. Honestly, he could have been a really interesting character if they'd really leaned into the deranged behaviour, but instead he just came across as impotent. The background given to explain his actions was very weak and really explained and added nothing.

Tom, Phai, and Muffin as Thiu and Guy's gaming friends were fun additions and were actually relatively well done. There was enough to them that they had substance to serve as supporting characters, but there wasn't an excess of information about them either. Their banter and camaraderie was well displayed and most scenes they were in were fairly entertaining. Tul and Boss lacked the screen time to be any kind of believable side couple. I did appreciate Tul's loyalty to Thiu, but would have liked to know a little more about what made him tick and why he was so loyal. Boss's fluctuating loyalty between Tul and Kenji was largely swept under the rug and his loyalty to Kenji was not particularly well explained other than Kenji had saved his life. I think they could have made an interesting couple, but there were just hints and not a whole lot of actual development.

The acting was pretty mediocre. Meen and Ping weren't bad as a couple, but I wasn't getting fireworks either. They didn't have the natural chemistry that some couples do and as such there were times when it was better and times when it really fizzled. Ping seemed to struggle with the more emotional scenes. The tears and emotions felt more forced than natural. Meen could have been more expressive. I get playing the serious gangster, but a little more depth would have helped him seem less wooden at certain points. As much as I did not like his portrayal of Kenji, I will chalk a portion of that up to the writing and direction, Tommy could have done worse. It was a challenging role for his debut and I hope he has further opportunities to showcase his talents.

My Dear Gangster Oppa left me feeling disappointed. I wasn't expecting anything amazing going into it, but I did think it would be better put together than it was. As it stands, I can't really recommend watching it. There's no aspect about it that's good enough to warrant sitting through it. There are other, better dramas currently airing or that have recently concluded that I would watch first.

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