In this week’s k-drama corner we are talking about 2018 hit k-drama Are You Human Too? which deals with androids, romance and a lot of scheming. Hop in for the review.
Are You Human Too? has been on my to-watch list ever since I watched Stranger because I was up for Lee Joonhyuk in another suit and tie role – I’m just a simple woman after all. The premise of an android and human being an unbreakable tandem and the android trying to take place of a human to help him sounded really interesting. It also didn’t hurt that the lovely Seo Kangjoon was portraying the main role with Gong Seung Yeon (who delivered a great performance this year in Bulgasal) portraying his human side-kick. Are You Human Too? did end up a bit more melodramatic than I expected it to be and not nearly as sci-fi as you’d think but it was a really pleasant watch after all. Let’s review it in more detail!
From MyDramaList: The drama tells of an android called Nam Shin III who must pretend to be the son of a rich family when the real Nam Shin falls into a coma. Nam Shin’s mother, Oh Ro Ra, is a genius on brain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) so when her son, the real Nam Shin, is taken away from her at a young age, in her grief she creates an android that looks exactly like her son and has it grow up in the place of Nam Shin. But when Nam Shin, who is a third generation heir to PK group, gets in an accident and is comatose, the android Nam Shin III must learn how to take his place.
Possible spoilers ahead:
Are You Human Too? brings so much drama, scheming and annoying side characters – let me put it out there right away. If you wanna watch the drama because you’re expecting there will be a lot of sci-fi elements or actual deep dive into androids and how they work, I am afraid that this is not the drama for you. Are You Human Too? focuses more on the prospect of an android living like a human and developing due to his connections with other humans. It focuses on the family relationships, family secrets and an intriguing romance in the process of development. Nevertheless, I wasn’t disappointed with this progress of the story. I think it felt warm and it was interesting to see how the focus shifted onto Nam Shin III gaining new abilities, changing his own programmed rules and developing into something greater overall.
Seo Kangjoon hard carried the drama on his back. There’s nothing more pleasing and interesting to me than watching one actor portray two completely different characters to the point where you know that the actor is the same but the characters just seem so fleshed out and different that you cannot see them as one person. I think this is one hell of a drama to be my introduction to him because he was amazing, truly convincing in both of his roles here. Of course, him as the android Nam Shin III takes the crown as I haven’t encountered such a lovely character in a while and you all know I’m a sucker for sweet male leads – just good vibes, trust and politeness. Seo Kangjoon was truly great in bringing Nam Shin III to life and making us like him and root for him from start to finish. Trust me, you will want to protect this android from all the scheming going on behind his programmed back. He really was the star of the drama. On the other hand, if you’re expecting the post-comatose human Nam Shin to go through some character development… don’t hold your breath. That’s all I’m going to say.
Now let’s talk about someone who actually has one hell of a character development – our leading lady and Nam Shin III’s bodyguard Kang So Bong. While watching the first couple of episodes I was praying to the Gods above that they give me patience to deal with So Bong and her weird actions. She blindly surges into everything and is set on making the viewers groan every episode. And then… around episode 6 or 7 she starts becoming tolerable. Then she starts becoming great. And eventually, she ends up being the second best character of the drama with loyalty and trust so tight nothing can break it. There’s nothing I appreciate more than the lead characters trusting each other no matter the consequences and not doubting each other’s motives – letting other people get to you constantly is easy, trusting someone takes courage and this two had it. So Bong ended up being such a lovely person and the inclusion of her family felt so sweet because it will become clear that they will be Nam Shin III’s family as well no matter what happens. I loved her and I think Gong Seungyeon was great in this role.
Out of the supporting characters, it’s subjective and clear that I will say Lee Joonhyuk absolutely nailed his role as Ji Young Hoon who ends up being one of the mains by the end of the drama. I loved Young Hoon and the way he did everything to help his human Nam Shin while also trying to be relatively normal and nice to the android one. I think him being torn between the human and the android Nam Shin ended up being one of my favourite sub-plots of the drama because it spoke loudly about how much he cares about the human one despite his truly questionable actions because he was the only one who saw the human in human Nam Shin. Kang So Bong’s side of the characters – her family and friends – were another highlight of the story but another surprise I will mention is Nam Shin’s aunt (and her adorable son) who are pretty much the only people from his side of the family that were actually nice. I don’t wish to spoil anything about the plot but I will say that the villains started getting truly insane in the second half of the drama and while I say it’s melodramatic, I also know that money-hungry people actually do act like that. I think the most unexpected part of the negative side of the story is human Nam Shin who I expected much more from. Don’t be a fool like me. Ye Na and Nam Shin’s mom… wow, did those two annoy me.
And now for the end, something you were probably wondering – does this actually have romance? Yeah, it actually does. And no, So Bong doesn’t magically fall for human Nam Shin when he wakes up. While the romance aspect might be questionable for some of the viewers, I think it was done well and in the end, it was more about two people supporting and caring for each other than anything else. What happens to them in the future should be their choice to make. Are You Human Too? gets an 8/10 from me for its genre (let’s say family/romance with a splash of sci-fi) because I actually ended up getting attached to the lead characters and thought their story was heart-warming. There is so much more I could talk about in this review but I’ll stop here and leave you with its very popular OST.
Header Image Source: KBS2
hallyureviews 
I’ve always seen this drama around but never felt like watching it. Sounds good but a bit exhausting though? What did mom think? Anway it sounds to me like its absolute boyfriend but more mature and realistic (as realistic as humaniode robots can be lol)
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Haha, it kind of was exhausting but I think the key is just not to approach it as sci-fi but like a romance/family drama. Mom liked it! We loved the main leads so it was easy to ignore the rest LOL.
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