Yumi's Cells: A K-drama review

This is a romance drama that aired from September 17th, 2021 to October 30th, 2021, starring the actress Kim Go-Eun who plays Kim Yumi. You might know Go-Eun from a lot of popular K-dramas such as 'Goblin' and 'The King: Eternal Monarch'. Even though I am never actively trying to, I always end up watching shows/movies with her in it, and I've got to say that this is by far my favorite one of hers. I was able to connect with this character the best and she was absolutely splendid. The role was very suited for her and her acting was very reflective of the fact that she's a pro at her job. The male lead is the actor Ahn Bo-Hyun who plays Goo Woong. I had seen him in two prior k-dramas, 'Itaewon class' and the more recent 'My Name' which I recommend. He also did a good job in embodying the character and I'm glad that we can finally appreciate his acting skills as a main character.

This is a show about Yumi, who has cells in her head that represent different emotions, she meets a guy and I guess we go from there. It's a really bad description but it's really what it is, a story about a girl and a guy.

I've got to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this show, so much more than I thought I would. I was taking a break from K-dramas for a semester (minus 8-10 episode shows) and so I did not plan or anticipate this show. I was quite hesitant at first because the whole cell thing just did not seem appealing. This show made it work really well, it filled my heart with so much joy and was overall very well written and produced. I also liked how realistic it was. Aside from the whole cell thing, it was a real relationship which I appreciated.

I liked the fact that we could see exactly what was going on in Yumi's head. Yeah, we get narrations or inner monologues in some shows, but it is so much more refreshing and nice to see the little interactions and basically give faces and personalities to all these different cells. I think that this was a concept that could have been easily messed up, but all the elements tied really well together. I also liked the fact that the animations were in 3D so that it wasn't a shock every time we switched from that world to the real world. The cells added such humor and quality to the show. I found myself laughing out loud so many times, you kind of get attached to them. The analogies were so well thought of, for example, when the imagination of Yumi was in Woong's brain and it was basically him being filled with thoughts of her and I think it was a very good opportunity for them to use the fact that we can see exactly what goes on in their brains. Another one I liked was towards the ending when things started to get weird between Yumi and Woong. Love sets up this punching bag and each cell would throw things at it whenever Woong did something that Yumi did not like. As bad as the situation got, as annoyed as Yumi got, and as big the things being thrown at it was, it never broke, and it just took that one little thing which was Woong's passive response to her text for the gourd to break, and I think that spoke volumes. I could go on and on about all the nice representations that the cells used.

I was really rooting for the relationship between Yumi and Woong but as much as I hate to admit it, they had to break up. I absolutely hated it, and I was truly gutted, but it had to happen. Yumi was at such a different stage in her life than Woong was, and not to take sides or anything, but sometimes Woong could be quite frustrating, the times where they would fight and then instead of saying what he wanted, he would cut out all the important things and say like one short sentence was quite dissatisfying, and then it would just be played off. I really did understand what kind of person he was, but it was frustrating nevertheless. It was especially frustrating when Yumi asked him what he thought about marriage, and he didn't say anything. I felt really bad for them towards the end because it was kind of like the breakup was inevitable. The tension was building and things were getting too awkward. I really wish Yumi had communicated her feelings to Woong, cause sometimes it felt like he wasn't so aware of his actions.

When you see a couple develop naturally over time, it's hard not to get attached.

I'm not a big fan of the whole second male lead concept, this is my personal preference, but sometimes it just feels like they're purposefully trying to get this guy who is of course so much better than the male lead and is so likable, but of course, will not get the girl, and it's like what's the point? I'm just never up for it, it's kind of like I don't even try to like them. The only exception of course is 'Cheese in the trap' #JusticeforInho . In this drama, I wasn't so closed off to Ba-bi, I mean I was still very much team Wung, but there were those scenes where I just wasn't, like the one where he yelled at yumi for speaking up against Sae-Yi. I never shipped Ba-bi and Yumi, but it was more like I could feel a breakup coming between Woong and Yumi, so in my head, it's like 'At least we have Babi, who is hopefully more self-aware' And I'm not shaming Woong for the way he is, it's just not a compatible relationship with Yumi.

Up until the very last scene, I had hope for Woong and Yumi, I desperately wanted him to turn around, or run back to her saying it's a joke. It absolutely broke my heart to see him go, something about it felt quite final, and then the screen showing how long they had been dating just really sealed it for me. It made it even more sad that they went to the places they had gone to on their first date, which at that point felt like it happened ages ago.

I kind of went through stages with the ending. I tried understanding, like yeah it's for the best, they were too many little issues. But I was also quite pissed because how dare they leave us on that sad note? and what happens with Ba-bi? No way did they set up his character for nothing to happen.

Of course, I'm frigging elated that there's a second season. Hoping for a lot of emotional growth and hopefully, they don't pull a love alarm on us. I mean they can for the first few episodes, but Yumi and Woong are endgame for me.

There are 100 more things I have to say about this show, but for the sake of my fingers, alas we stop here.

This review has been so all over the place but it's really because I was so excited to write it. Yumi's cell is such an amazing, solid show and is probably one of my favorites. I would recommend it.

Rating: 9.5/10