Drama Review: Please Come Back, Mister (돌아와요 아저씨)

 

For my comeback post, I'm doing a review of the first drama I finished for the year. (Technically, it's my second because I re-watched Coffee Prince ;)) It sparked my interest when my friend tagged me in a clip from one of the episodes. It helped that it starred my first love, Rain. The drama is entitled, "Please Come Back, Mister".

The story is based on Asada Jirō's novel, "Mr. Tsubakiyama's Seven Days". It tells the story of two men who died and was given a chance to go back to the land of the living to correct the mistakes they have done in the past.

Synopsis from Wikipedia --
Kim Young-soo (Kim In-kwon) is a section chief in the women’s apparel section at Sunjin's department store. He and his wife Shin Da-hye (Lee Min-jung) do not get along because his long work hours and constant overtime distract him from home. During one of these overtimes, he accidentally falls from a roof and is killed. His company writes his death off as a suicide in order to not receive blame for overworking him.

Han Gi-tak (Kim Soo-ro) is a former gangster who runs a restaurant. He has loved actress Song Yi-yeon (Lee Ha-nui) for many years, but she has always distanced herself from him because of his lifestyle. Her ex-husband, Cha Jae-gook (Choi Won-young) has whipped up a scandal to force her to give him their child, and threatens Yi-yeon with it. Just as Gi-tak figures this out, he gets in a car accident and is killed at the same time as Young-soo.

Young-soo and Gi-tak both arrive in the afterlife, but they both feel that they must return: Young-soo to reconcile with his wife and prove his death was not a suicide, and Gi-tak to protect Yi-yeon. They are given two months and return to life in new bodies: Young-soo as Lee Hae-joon (Rain), a handsome young man; and Gi-tak as Han Hong-nan (Oh Yeon-seo), a pretty young woman. They have three rules:
1. They can not reveal their true identities.
2. Revenge is forbidden.
3. They cannot engage in human affairs.
If any of these rules are broken, the fact that either of them ever existed will be erased.

I read some of the comments on the website where I'm streaming this drama. From there I found out that this aired at the same time as Descendants of the Sun thus the rating is not that high in comparison. I didn't watch DOTS but I don't regret spending time on this. There is quite a good mix of comedy and drama, and pretty sure it left its viewers some life lessons.

Just when I thought I will be expecting some laughs, I actually cried on the episode I was watching at the moment. It will break your expectations and in some way, exceed it. It showed the importance of family and that not all antagonists are hateful. The soundtrack was on pointe to complement the touching moments. I have to give it to Oh Yeon Seo for her portrayal of Hong Nan and I liked that Rain got to show his funny side.

Will I recommend it? Definitely yes. You might want to check this out if you're looking for a drama from 2016.