Soul Mechanic (2020– ) User Reviews

Touching

[Hwangkidong · 8/10 · 18 July 2020]

I really like the personality of our heroine Woo Joo. She is outgoing, (over) confident, (over) enthusiastic, (too) honest, extremely empathetic and totally lovable. At the same time she scares people off in personal and professional relationships because of her over eagerness and especially her unpredictable and uncontrollable outbursts. Clearly she has some serious emotional or psychological issues and her chance meeting with Dr Lee, a psychiatrist who lives for his job trying to heal his patients in unconventional ways, eventually lead to Dr Lee taking on Woo Joo as his patient. Without spoiling anything, we are not surprised that their relationship develop into a romance.

Yet romance is a not the central theme and is treated in a very understated way, despite Woo Joo's cute and bubbly personality - at least when she is not in her psycho state. What comes across is that our couple are really attracted to each other by their personality rather than their physique, and most of all by their common natural desire - if not downright dependency - to help others. All this despite their individual trauma which has been preventing them from living a full life and entering into or maintaining serious relationships.

Will their romance survive? Will they fully accept each other? Perhaps most importantly, do they really love each other or are they confusing their desire to heal other as love?

I really enjoyed this show. The actors are fantastic and truly endear us to the characters. My only criticism is that the finale feels a little underwhelming, though that too is inline with the show's understated style and emphasis on the themes of healing and friendship rather than overdramatic romance. Highly recommended.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 7/10 · 14 July 2020]

" Soul Mechanic " was a pretty sweet drama.

It revolved around human relationships and the root of the psychological problems that the patients faced. And, they actually added many medical cases to support the main story, making it even more heartwarming and emotional. The main story itself was good, but the big hospital drama was just predictable and boring. The final ending had everything too easily resolved. Still, the romance was slow paced, which made it more realistic, and the couple had chemistry. But this drama didn't focus on the love story. Rather, it was more about family, friendship and hope. The cast, finally, did a great job with their performances.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

"A person who notices someone who is sick is someone who is even sicker."

[frostbow · 8/10 · 19 June 2023]

Dr. Lee Si Joon is an eccentric psychiatrist who likes to construct role-play scenarios for his patients. When he encounters the fiery idol Han Woo Joo, he is reluctant to treat her, and instead hires her as an assistant. It turns out that her underlying condition is as dangerous as he feared.

At first it was unclear what the genre would be, with a mix of comedy and some foreshadowing that it might develop into a thriller. It turned out a large part of the show was made up of episodical side-stories in the style of Dr. House and other hospital shows. A new patient makes a dramatic arrival, the team of junior doctors does some detective work on the patient's family and finds the hidden cause of the problem, Miss Han does some role-playing, Dr. Lee says something wise, and the patient is cured.

The side-stories are varied and somewhat entertaining, but compared to Dr. House and other shows, the cases are too easy to solve. There are also side-stories about the doctors themselves, and even a couple of stale, marriage-of-convenience love stories that are as romantic as if you'd place two mannequins together. The side-stories did not touch me, did not increase my knowledge, and was not a reason to watch the series. They bored me a lot, and I'd like an abridged version. I also think it would have been good to reduce the team to a smaller group of more likeable characters, like in the first season of Dr. House.

Instead, the advantage lies in being a series with a definite end, and a main story. It has an interesting premise, and I would have liked more focus on the main plot, and it could have been made more dark and thrilling. I actually got the impression that it is inpired by the American horror movie The Sixth Senth.

The incidents caused by Miss Han are exciting, but cleaned up too quickly. Instead, most of the conflict is created by the other doctors. Still it is a worthwhile main story, that takes a direction that is a bit unusual. Honestly, if someone would cut out the side-stories and condence it to the main story, I would give the series a higher score.

It is not mentioned, but the series illustrates how anxiety can get increased by technology, e.g. If someone forgets their phone and another person tries to call him. It was also odd that everyone refused to tell her the diagnosis even after she had been treated for a long time. I have the impression that patients usually get to know their diagnosis.

Dr. Lee was played well, but did not outplay Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense. As a calm, reliable psychiatrist, he could have been played by any good male actor. I'm not complaining, but the character could have been made more interesting. The best thing was the fear in his eyes when he realized the true diagnosis and tried to drive away. It was also nice of him to run a podcast as a hobby.

The actress Jung So Min, who played Miss Han, on the other hand, is the only reason I watched the series to begin with. She is a star, with an iconic voice and style, and it would not have been the same with any other actress. Since she was able to play the villain protagonist Mu-deok in Alchemy of Souls, it is no surprise that she is able to play another personality disorder in Soul Mechanic. Not only does she play out the symptoms well, but she does it with great humanity and love. Miss Han is not only a patient, but a protagonist in the story, fighting hard against her disorder, to keep her job, and for the people that she loves. It is one of the most magnificent interpretations of a mental patient that I have seen.

There are a few American movies about the same personality disorder, but I have only seen one of them. I think the story of Han Woo Joo can be of particular interest and encouragement to people with the same diagnosis.

Learn to Know Health and Mental Illness through the Korean Drama "Fix You"

[satriaadhika · 9/10 · 5 July 2021]

This drama brings the theme of a psychiatrist's life in curing his patients. There are various kinds of mental illness presented in this drama, such as borderline personality disorder, excessive hallucinations, alcoholism, and even pornography addicts.

With a duration of about 30 minutes per episode, this drama successfully brings the issue of mental health neatly and accompanied by complete information. So, we as viewers will know various mental illnesses that we may not know about at this time.

This theme was also taken by "It's Okay to Not Be Okay". However, in my opinion, this drama is more clear in raising the issue of mental health than the drama "It's Okay To Be Not Oka"y.

If the IOTBNO drama focuses too much on the love between Ko Mun Yoong and Moon Gang Tae, and only focuses on autism. Meanwhile, in the drama "Fix You", even though there is romance, it is not conveyed excessively and does not make the themes raised just disappear.

Watching the first episode alone made me cry. The first and second episodes tell about Cha Dong II who dreams of becoming a police officer and he always fails the test.

Due to his excessive desire to become a police officer, he takes other people's police uniforms and wears them for patrolling even though he is not registered with the police.

However, the doctor, Lee Shi Joon, was able to heal him in a unique way and deserves much appreciation as a doctor.

He is able to make his patients as friends, and make his patients comfortable when talking with him.

The same plot, how he heals patients and heals his own trauma, is delivered consistently until the final episode. Although it decreased slightly in episodes 20-25, in episodes 26-30 it was again consistent with the plot that was presented from the start. The script is carefully crafted so as to make this drama memorable for the audience.

In this drama, various mental illnesses, ranging from minor ones such as stress to major symptoms, are presented well and are not exaggerated. The audience seemed to be invited to get to know the various kinds of mental illnesses that exist.

The plus in this drama is that when the doctor mentions the name of the disease, he is also given a brief but clear explanation to tell what disease his patients are facing.

This makes the audience no longer need to wonder and can enjoy the drama in peace.

This drama also raises the romance genre where a psychiatrist falls in love with his own patient.

The portion of the romance scene, how when they started and went through a relationship, was very fitting and very mature. Unlike the love in the drama "True Beauty" which is full of love triangles, the drama "Fix You" actually shows that simple and mature love can be an interesting story to pick up.

In this drama, even though they are dating, they can still focus on their respective careers. When someone fell or was sad, they supported and comforted each other. Simple but meaningful.

The acting of the players here, especially the acting of the players who act as patients is very commendable.

How he deepens the patient's character, makes me also get carried away in the drama. Almost every episode I cried, and the story changed my mindset.

At first, I thought mental illness was only experienced by certain people. But in this drama, I finally understood that we can all get mental illness. We just haven't been diagnosed yet, so we don't know what disease is inside us.

Often, people who come to a psychiatrist or are admitted to a psychiatric hospital are labeled as "crazy people." In fact, not all those being treated are insane, in fact most of the patients are normal people like us.

The problem lies in the mental and heart, many people who look fine even though they have various problems in their hearts.

This drama also teaches how we can heal the mental illness that exists within ourselves. As doctor Lee Shi Joon, one of the main characters in the drama "Fix You" said:

"Each of our wounds will become a map for our lives. So instead of trying to heal the wound, how about you try to accept it? Because our wounds are like GPS, which gives us the right direction in our lives."

This drama is very suitable to watch, especially for those of you who are sad or have a lot of problems. By watching this drama, you will feel like you are counseling with a psychiatrist.

This drama is also suitable to watch with family and friends. So, for those of you who need a soothing spectacle when you are sad, you must watch this drama!

It really helped me to love myself more.

[soharj · 9/10 · 10 January 2022]

Actors did great ,specially female actor jung somin. I admire her. In this 2 years I've watched it so many times , when I'm upset it is like a analgesic for me. I think it didn't focus on love cause sometimes a love can't help to solve all problems and we need to be fixed from inside.

Brilliant

[palmana · 10/10 · 30 April 2022]

From acting to the plot, the development of all characters is just a brilliant masterpiece that must be revealed to the world!

Mental health is the most important base of every society in every country!

Thank you for this amazing series.

This was the Soul Repairman, with you just now!

[rawarauf · 10/10 · 24 March 2021]

"Is there no full recovery? " Just how healing begins when you acknowledge your illness, the moment of full recovery... definitely exists.

There is a condition to full recovery. It's that you must not try to forcefully erase your wounds. You must embrace, accept and love them. Each of our wounds become a map for each of our own lives. So, rather than trying to overcome the wounds, how about trying to embrace them? Because our scars are like a GPS to our lives.

Someone told me that... every human being is a universe. today I'll close with that quote. This is the Soul Repairman.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soul Mechanic was a such a stellar portrayal of people who were in much pain! It had lots of heartbreaks, many thoughtful surprises and so many awe-inspiring & healing moments!

My absolute favorite moments from this drama could be the podcasts Lee Si Joon was presenting! it could as well be the crazy laughs, dance and singing moments when the main leads were acting in them! Such healing and heartwarming scenes together!

The character development is one aspect this drama excels at! from the main leads to Woo Joo's best friend, the hospital director, the head nurse, Si Joon's father, Dr. In Dong Hyuk, Cha Dong Il (the fake police officer) and 'Resident' Neu Ri. the supporting cast were just as amazing and surely will be remembered for a long time.

The OST is warm and beautiful! I adore the song "Confuse" by SURAN and I really loved the song "Lean on me" by Ha Hyunsang. It fits so perfectly with the sweet moments. The calm nature of the rest of the songs too makes them healing and soul touching!

As for re-watching, I already did once and I think I'll re-watch it yet again very soon!

Hope many of you reading this review are already convinced enough to watch this drama! It's gonna be such a shame if you decided otherwise! Since SOUL MECHANIC is such a unique experience that words alone can't ever do justice to it!

Thank you very much for reading this to the end! Written by one of the Soul Repairman's biggest fans.

Problematic

[Park_Min · 4/10 · 11 May 2023]

This is the first (I think) and worst mental-illness/psychiatrists focused drama! It's common for the patient to crush over their psychiatrist and fall in love, because they are mentally unstable and vulnerable, but once the roles are flipped and the psychiatrist is the one imposing their feelings on the patient then there's a big problem at hand.

The first obvious problem is for a psychiatrist to fall in love with his patient. It would probably be less of a problem for a doctor in another field but not a psychiatrist, a professional dealing with mentally vulnerable people. With all that being said, I could easily turn a blind eye to the whole ordeal if the drama was comedic/light/romance and never took the serious and professional route, of which this drama tried so hard to go for. The second big problem, there was a blatant attempt to stir the narrative in that direction while disregarding any coherency at the same time. We can clearly see an example of that right from the beginning in episode 1 with everything happened with the cop incident.

This drama had nothing to offer other than a pretty cast. Anyway, they failed miserably in handling the concept and ended up producing a very poor product. A disgrace to real professional psychiatrists!