Episode 1 of Yumi’s Cells is Surprisingly Well Done But Ultimately the Webtoon Does Not Work as a Live-action Adaptation

The low(er) premiere ratings of tvN Fri-Sat drama Yumi’s Cells is sadly aptly earned. I watched the first episode and came away with opinions that were the opposite of what I thought I would think when I saw the casting and promos. I thought the webtoon would be perfect for a live-action drama but was not feeling the casting of Kim Go Eun as the petite and emotionally wary Yumi. After watching the first episode, my impressed is the reverse – Kim Go Eun is doing a great job as Yumi conceptually, not the same Yumi visually as the webtoon but captures her demeanor and hesitation, but the drama is so schizophrenic to watch due to the toggling between live-action story and the animated cells in their little cell world. Unlike Inside Out, the switches take me out of the story either way and it doesn’t help that the cells are so kawaii and don’t fit the real world mood. The director is handling it with as much deft as possible and the directing in either world scenes are wonderfully laid out, but ultimately it feels like two different dramas mashed together in atmosphere even if both separately have their own charm.