Image: Prime

Title: Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938
Director: Kang Shin-Hyo
Writer: Han Woo-ri
Number of episodes: 12 episodes
Release date: May 6-June 11 2023

Four months after Lee Rang's death, Lee Yeon receives the power of the nine-tailed fox again, on the condition that Lee Rang be reincarnated. An uninvited guest slips in during the lunar eclipse and steals the guardian stone created by the King of the Dead to protect the boundary between the Worlds of the Living and Dead, then disappears "into the cabinet"

***

Yeay, after Alchemy of Souls, I think Tale of the Nine-Tailed is the next series that I really adore. Well, I should admit that the first season is full of a romantic side between Lee Yeon (Lee Dong-Wook) and Nam Ji-a (Jo Bo-Ah). But, this second season, is more about the brothership between Yeon and Rang (Kim Beom) and the friendship between Yeon, Hong-joo (Kim So-Yeon) and Mu-young (Ryoo Kyung-Soo).

The Story

Because of an unexpected case, Lee Yeon should travel back in time to the year 1938. There, Yeon meets Ryu Hong-Joo, Yeon's long best friend. Well, just like Yeon, Hong-joo was once a guardian spirit of a mountain in the West. Now, in 1938, Hong-Joo is the owner of Myeoyangak--the best high-end restaurant in the capital city of Gyeongseong. 

Another unexpected thing is, Lee Yeon also meets his younger brother, Lee Rang. What's happened in the present makes Lee Yeon try his best to cherish every moment with Rang. He wants to be the best hyung for him. Yeah, it's like paying the price for everything that he couldn't do at the present time.

Meanwhile, there is Cheon Mu-Young, another friend of Lee Yeon and Hong-Joo. He used to be a guardian spirit of a mountain in the east. Sadly, a hurtful event made Mu-Young despise Lee Yeon so much. This incident also made Mu-Young try to seek revenge on Lee Yeon.

Aside from the conflict between Yeon and his two best friends, we also meet another conflict about the independence movement from the Japanese colonization. There were Sunwoo Eun-Ho (Kim Yong-Jin), Snail Bride (Kim Soo-Jin), and grandfather from Afterlife Immigration Office, Hyun Ui-Ong (Ahn Kil-Kang). Therefore, these 12 episodes are really compact and interesting. I really love this season a lot.

The Opinion

So, this season has made me smile a lot. Since we lost Lee Rang in the first season, the second season showed the brotherhood between Lee Yeon and Lee Rang. Of course, with everything that happened, Lee Yeon wants to take advantage of the remaining time that he has with Lee Rang. He knows that Rang won't be coming back at the present time, but in those short moments, Lee Yeon wants to make up for everything. I really love when Lee Yeon without any hesitation always said, "Don't mess with my dongsaeng!", "If something happened to my dongsaeng, you will pay the price." and else.

I couldn't help but smile when Lee Yeon always takes care of Rang, even though Rang sometimes feels annoyed by it. Ahh, I love their bond has become deeper from several events that happened in 1938.

Then, in my opinion, this opinion is war more comedic than the first season. The first episode made me laugh so hard, moreover when Lee Yeon meet Hong-Joo again for the first time. Their battle scene is really hilarious. As the drama progress, a lot of comedic scenes have been executed well in this drama. Good job, PD-nim!

In some interviews, Dong-wook and Beom said that this series will unleash more of the urban legend, including the legend from outside Korea. Well, compared to the first season, this season has brought more urban legends and ghosts from all over Korea. Sadly, as someone who couldn't watch a horror movie, I definitely muted the sound from episode 6 when watched it. I couldn't stand the horror vibe, let alone from the Korean movie--I have a big trauma about watching a Korean horror movie.

 

Anyway, I almost forget that indeed there is a romantic story here. In this season, we gotta meet with the cute story between Lee Rang and the mermaid lady, Jang Yeo-Hee (Woo Hyun-Jin). Their story is not too much but still cute. I laughed so hard when Yeon said something like, "How dare you bring seafood to our family line." That's so funny. Thankfully, Yeon is very supportive of Rang's relationship. At first, Rang maybe looks so cold, but he becomes warmer once Yeo-hee is always on his side when he needs the most. Aww, melting. 

Conclusion

Very well, I know that there will be a next instalment for this series. I mean, how about that origin mountain spirit that has been awakened? Also, the hint at the end of the episodes when Yeon come back to the Joseon dynasty. So, I am more than excited to wait for the next season to come. Ahh, seriously. I love this series so much. I love how Dong-wook and Beom can make the brotherhood between Yeon and Rang felt so real. 

8.5 out of 10 stars from me.

Sincerely, 
Ra

Judul: Tale of the Nine-Tailed

Sutradara: Kang Shin-hyo, Jo Nam-hyeong

Penulis: Han Woori

Jumlah episode: 16 episode

Tanggal tayang: 7 Oktober-3 Desember 2020

Nonton di Netflix

Lee Yeon (Lee Dong-Wook) was once the mountain spirit of Baekdudaegan. He sacrificed his life as a mountain god to resurrect the life of the woman he loved A Eum. Lee Yeon now lives his life as a nine tailed fox in human form. He has lived this way for hundreds of years.

Meanwhile, Nam Ji-A (Jo Bo-Ah) works for TVC station as a PD of documentaries. She seeks out stories on the supernatural. Back in 1999, her parents were involved in a car accident in Yeou Gogae. She remembers a man that saved her in that accident. Now, Nam Ji-A reviews CCTV footage from a wedding hall where the bride disappeared. She sees the man that saved her as child walking out the wedding wall with a red umbrella. His name is Lee Yeon.

***

Jadi, akhirnya aku menonton Tale of the Nine Tailed karena Kakpin nonton. Aku kan jadi penasaran. Apalagi, premisnya menarik. Mencampurkan folktales dengan dunia modern gitu, deh.

The Story

Lee Yeon (Lee Dongwook), dulunya adalah penguasa gunung Baekdudaegan. Nah, demi menghidupkan kembali cinta pertamanya, A Eum, Lee Yeon memutuskan untuk tak lagi menjadi dewa gunung dan hidup ratusan tahun sebagai rubah berekor sembilan. Selain itu, ia juga harus membantu Taluipa, sosok yang bertugas menjaga kantor imigrasi yang menghubungkan dunia dan akhirat. Ia juga merupakan adik Raja Neraka (aneh banget, ya, kalau diartiin gini 😅).

Di sisi lain, ada sosok Nam Jia (Jo Boah), reinkarnasi A Eum di dunia sekarang. Saat ia masih kecil, Jia kehilangan kedua orang tuanya dalam sebuah kecelakaan di Mountain Fox. Jia meyakini bahwa kedua orang tuanya masih hidup. Maka dari itu, ia menjadi TV producer untuk program dokumenter supranatural. Jia yakin, menghilangnya kedua orang tuanya bukanlah sesuatu hal yang mudah dijelaskan secara nalar. 

Suatu kejadian membuat Jia bertemu kembali dengan Yeon. Hal ini pun akhirnya mengungkap kisah masa lalu mereka. Apalagi, dengan kemunculan adik Yeon, Lee Rang (Kim Beom) dan juga Imugi (Lee Taeri), kisah mereka jadi sangat complicated. Tidak sesederhana tentang kisah cinta antara gumiho dan manusia biasa.

The Opinion

Dari awal, unsur mystery dan fantasi di drama ini terasa kuat banget. Dari awal kita sudah disajikan penampilan Lee Yeon sebagai rubah berekor sembilan. Aku malah baru memahami kalau gumiho itu ternyata kuat banget. 

Unsur horor juga lumayan kuat ya di awal. Adegan ketika Jia pulang dengan sosok yang bukan kedua orang tuanya cukup bikin deg-degan bagiku yang sama sekali bukan penggemar genre horor.

Di awal-awal, unsur misteri dan horor cukup banyak terkuak. Aku cukup menikmati misteri di pulau yang akhirnya memgangkitkan sosok Imugi itu. Aku pikir, akan terus ada kisah-kisah folktales dalam setiap episode. Sayangnya, di pertengahan akhir, konflik antara Lee Yeon, Jia, dan Imugi menjadi pembahasan sentral. Yang membuatki kurang sreg adalah fakta kalau ada cinta segitiga di situ. Apa sih yang membuat Jia istimewa?

Otomatis, buat orang-orang yang tidak  prefer kisah yang terlalu romantis, enggak akan suka menurutku.

Conclusion

Meskipun tidak menjadi drakor terfavorit, aku masih suka dengan perkembangan kisahnya. Aku suka dengan unsur komedi yang tetap ditampilkan lewat Yeon ataupun Shin Ju. Salah satu momen favoritku tentunya saat Yeon akhirnya mencoba menyelamatkan Rang dari manipulasi The Darkness. Di sini juga ditunjukin gimana Yeon berhasil melangkah jauh ke depan untuk membaca taktik Imugi.

Tentunya, alasan lain mengapa aku menonton Tale of the Nine Tailed, ya karena ada seri keduanya. Dari awal trailer, Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 terlihat lebih kocak dan fresh.

Jadi, menurutku 7.5 dari 10 bintang lah untuk kisah kali ini.

Sincerely, 

Ra