Yumi’s Cells is about an ordinary office worker (Kim Go Eun) from the point of view of the brain cells in her mind who control everything about her as she starts dating again after a long period of time.

Kim Go Eun plays Kim Yumi.  She works in an office and hasn’t dated in years because of a bad break-up. Fate brings a new man her way though, and she finds herself unexpectedly developing feelings for him.

Ahn Bo Hyun is Goo Woong. He is a game developer who is kind and honest, but he is a bit awkward when it comes to dating. Yumi makes him want to try though, and he begins to grow closer to her.

We then have Seo Sae Yi (Park Ji Hyun) who works with Woong and is his close friend, but it becomes clear she may have feelings for him.

Finally, there is Ruby (Lee Yoo Bi) who is a bubbly and outgoing co-worker of Yumi’s that gives her some trouble as well as Ba Bi (Jinyoung) who also works at the same company as Yumi.

Yumi’s Cells is a very nice and cute drama. It focuses on our leading lady Yumi’s dating life and all of the issues that brings up. The story is told in a mostly light and humorous way that makes it easy to watch.

The unique thing about the drama is the depiction of Yumi’s brain cells. We see an animated world of the cells who live in a town in her brain. Each cell has a different personality and responsibility.

As Yumi experiences different things, the drama would cut to a scene showing what the cells were experiencing. They are always working in Yumi’s best interest, but they do find themselves in conflict.

I personally had mixed feelings about the cells. For the positives, the animation of the cells is beautiful, and a rich world is created and populated with a whole set of characters. It’s all presented in a very cute way.

While mostly humorous, the cells experience a range of things like sadness, loss, and fear that are more serious. The depiction of many of the thought processes that happen was done in a clever way that felt very relatable.

There were a couple of negatives for me though. The humor style involving the cells wasn’t something I clicked with most of the time, and since so much of it involved humor, these scenes were a bit flat.

Also, many times I wanted to stay with the real life scene and what was going on there, but we would switch to the cells instead. I definitely understand that this is the whole point of how this story is told though, so I just tried to roll with it as much as possible.

I quite enjoyed the relationship between Yumi and Woong. It’s fun watching him be all awkward and sweet and her beginning to open up and fall in love again. They develop into a very cute couple with plenty of adorable moments.

They do go through some issues though. Of course, there are some run of the mill dating issues, but one of their biggest challenges centers around Woong’s friend Sae Yi. This girl is the definition of trouble, and her sneaky and disingenuous ways definitely had me very much disliking her!

The drama did slow down some for me in the latter third as certain plot points get resolved. A serving of angst and major lack of communication was brought in to finish up the drama though, so that did help some to push the story forward.

Potential viewers of this series should be aware that it is a multi-season show. It was planned to be that way, and that is very evident from the direction they went with it and how it ended.

ENDING SPOILERS BELOW

We finish the show after Yumi and Woong take some time apart, and then after much deliberation, they ultimately decide to break up and go their separate ways. We don’t see the couple break up very often at the end of romantic comedies, so that certainly sets it apart. The ending scene of them separating definitely left the series on a solemn note.

Of course, season 2 is already planned, and we did meet a potential new suitor for Yumi in the form of her co-worker Ba Bi as he slowly became part of Yumi’s life. So is a new romance is on the horizon for our Yumi or will she rekindle things with Woong?

END OF SPOILERS

Overall, Yumi’s Cells was a solid and enjoyable watch. I liked the romance and main story very well. While I didn’t love everything about the cells, they added an interesting layer to the story that was very unique. It’s a very nice series that manages to present a simple relationship story in an interesting way.

My Rating: 7/10

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7 responses to “Yumi’s Cells Korean Drama Review”

  1. Kate Avatar
    Kate

    I wish I had waited to watch this closer to the season 2 because I don’t like multi-season dramas. I feel like one-and-done/beginning-middle-end is one of the main reasons kdramas work so well for me. And like you, I felt there were times when the cells were overused and would have liked to stay in the real world a bit longer. I understand that wasn’t the point but it took away from the story for me at times to bounce back there when all I wanted was to see Ahn Bo Hyun and Kim Go Eun’s relationship play out.

    1. Kay Avatar

      Your experience is pretty much the exact same as mine! I quite enjoyed the show, but definitely preferred the real world over cells. And I too prefer the one season format of most kdramas, especially with rom-coms. Still, it was fun overall, and I will watch the next season 🙂

  2. Emiley Avatar

    I have not watched it yet but i do plan on watching it thank you for the review ❤️ btw i wanted to ask if you’ve watched vincenzo or not?

    1. Kay Avatar

      You’re welcome 🙂 I really hope you enjoy it. It’s a cute drama. I haven’t watched Vincenzo yet, but I do have it on my watch list 🙂

  3. […] I liked the main story and romance between Yumi and Woong a lot. While I didn’t love everything about the cells, they added an interesting layer to the story that was very unique. It’s a very nice series that manages to present a simple relationship story in an interesting way. My Rating: 7/10 (Yumi’s Cells Review) […]

  4. Tom Avatar

    This was a good show and I can recommend it. While I thought there was a little too much of Yumi’s brain cells they were entertaining and funny at times. The hunger and arousal/lust where funny. But I’ve had enough. No more please. I wonder how much the cells are seen in Yumi’s cells 2.

    Spoilers ahead! I was disappointed that Yumi and Woong broke up., so it will take me time to get ready to adjust to a new boyfriend for her. Now I’m going to confess. I cheated, please forgive me. I haven’t seen any of the Yumi’s cells 2 episodes but I looked at the cast list and I see that Ahn Bo Hyun (Woong) is not the top male lead in Yumi”s cells 2 and the promo pictures so Yumi with someone else. Oh No!

    1. Kay Avatar

      I had the same experience. Really enjoyed the show, but I would have preferred less of the brain cells. They were cute and humorous, but I preferred the main story. I appreciate them doing something different though.

      SPOILERS: I remember covering news about there being a different male lead for season 2 before the first season even came out. That was definitely unusual! So at least I was aware things weren’t likely going to end well for Woong and Yumi in season 1. On one hand, I was prepared, but on the other, I probably would have enjoyed the relationship even more had I not known. I’m still looking forward to season 2 though 🙂

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