Dr. Champ drama review
I originally posted this review on crunchyroll. I'm deleting my account on there so I thought I'd post here.
Honestly, my expectations were very low for Dr. Champ initially. I have never had the urge to watch a medical drama, let alone one about sports. If I really wanted to hear someone cheer during a sporting match, I'd just have to wait until Sunday for a football game to air in my household. My house isn't exactly small, but neither is my dad's voice. Unlike him, I said "good riddance" my last day of gym class and went on my merrily way to language arts. I planned on doing the same thing with this drama, check out the first episode for the cast and then move on. I wouldn't have any regrets that way.
But surprisingly, after I finished episode one I found myself downloading episode two.
There is a lot more to Dr. Champ than just pure medical procedures or who's going to win the gold medals. It's about these characters and their lives. You meet a promising orthopedic doctor who can't turn a blind eye to injustice and suffers because of it. You meet a cool doctor who is unsure about his love life after an accident. And you meet a happy-go-lucky athlete who is returning to the sports world to full fill his late older brother's prophecy. These characters were brought together in Taereung National Village and their lives were changed forever...
And oh so believably so! This drama did get a little heavy at times, but it never (IMO) went overboard with the amount of melodrama. A few scenes did make me cry, but I can't forget about the number of scenes that also made me laugh. I enjoyed watching the ups and downs of the judo team the most. Specifically, the bromance of Ji Heon and Sang Bong kept me watching. Their ever changing dynamic from friends to enemies back to friends again kept me addicted for the whole run of the drama.
I was invested in all the characters, but I do think the writing did lose it's direction a little bit towards the end. I can't say this drama was completely character-driven. Some storylines should have been scrapped and others should have been explored deeper. Both of our male leads suffered their fair share of pain in the past. We were vaguely told that, but we were never shown. That being said, I wish the writer and or director had included more flashbacks. I wanted to see more of Ji Heon and his brother. I wanted to see more of Do Wook and Hee Young before the accident. I wanted to see more of their pasts, in general. I wanted this drama to be a 20 episode drama or more. I think it could have brought more emotionally depth to the characters and perhaps the drama itself.
Overall, I did enjoy this drama a whole lot. The camera work was marvelous and the lovely OST really complimented it. Although the writing did get a bit messy at times, visually this drama was beautiful. I did enjoy the romance aspect of the drama (Yay! NO love triangle or quad!) but my love for the drama as a whole lies with the awesome judo team. That was the first time I watched a judo match and it will be my last. This drama hasn't changed my opinion about sports, but it has convinced me to not judge a book by its cover when it comes to asian dramas. This drama was my hidden gem of 2010.
I'd rate it 7/10
Honestly, my expectations were very low for Dr. Champ initially. I have never had the urge to watch a medical drama, let alone one about sports. If I really wanted to hear someone cheer during a sporting match, I'd just have to wait until Sunday for a football game to air in my household. My house isn't exactly small, but neither is my dad's voice. Unlike him, I said "good riddance" my last day of gym class and went on my merrily way to language arts. I planned on doing the same thing with this drama, check out the first episode for the cast and then move on. I wouldn't have any regrets that way.
But surprisingly, after I finished episode one I found myself downloading episode two.
There is a lot more to Dr. Champ than just pure medical procedures or who's going to win the gold medals. It's about these characters and their lives. You meet a promising orthopedic doctor who can't turn a blind eye to injustice and suffers because of it. You meet a cool doctor who is unsure about his love life after an accident. And you meet a happy-go-lucky athlete who is returning to the sports world to full fill his late older brother's prophecy. These characters were brought together in Taereung National Village and their lives were changed forever...
And oh so believably so! This drama did get a little heavy at times, but it never (IMO) went overboard with the amount of melodrama. A few scenes did make me cry, but I can't forget about the number of scenes that also made me laugh. I enjoyed watching the ups and downs of the judo team the most. Specifically, the bromance of Ji Heon and Sang Bong kept me watching. Their ever changing dynamic from friends to enemies back to friends again kept me addicted for the whole run of the drama.
I was invested in all the characters, but I do think the writing did lose it's direction a little bit towards the end. I can't say this drama was completely character-driven. Some storylines should have been scrapped and others should have been explored deeper. Both of our male leads suffered their fair share of pain in the past. We were vaguely told that, but we were never shown. That being said, I wish the writer and or director had included more flashbacks. I wanted to see more of Ji Heon and his brother. I wanted to see more of Do Wook and Hee Young before the accident. I wanted to see more of their pasts, in general. I wanted this drama to be a 20 episode drama or more. I think it could have brought more emotionally depth to the characters and perhaps the drama itself.
Overall, I did enjoy this drama a whole lot. The camera work was marvelous and the lovely OST really complimented it. Although the writing did get a bit messy at times, visually this drama was beautiful. I did enjoy the romance aspect of the drama (Yay! NO love triangle or quad!) but my love for the drama as a whole lies with the awesome judo team. That was the first time I watched a judo match and it will be my last. This drama hasn't changed my opinion about sports, but it has convinced me to not judge a book by its cover when it comes to asian dramas. This drama was my hidden gem of 2010.
I'd rate it 7/10