Bad Memory Eraser is a romantic comedy about a depressed man (Kim Jaejoong) whose life fell apart after an injury who has his memories erased which changes his life and a neuropsychiatrist (Jin Se Yeon) who has his fate in her hands.
Kim Jaejoong plays Lee Gun. He was once a top tennis star, but an injury took that away, and he fell into depression and chronic pain. Circumstances lead him to an experiment that erases his bad memories which transforms his life and gives him back his confidence. There may be some some unexpected side effects though.
Jin Se Yeon is Kyung Ju Yeon. She is a neuropsychiatrist with a traumatic past trying to help other people through her work. She gets the chance to help Gun, but things get complicated when he starts to think she is his childhood first love.
Next we have Lee Jong Won as Lee Sin. He is Gun’s younger brother and goes on to be a top tennis star after Gun’s injury. This has caused a strained relationship between the brothers.
Finally, we have Yang Hye Ji as Jeon Sae Yan. She’s a bubbly and well-liked woman who gets involved with the brothers and eventually becomes a translator.
Bad Memory Eraser was a solid drama for me. I liked the initial premise of a depressed man with trauma getting a chance to radically change his life by erasing his bad memories. Now, the show was a slow burn for me and took some episodes to really build up. After the set-up episode, the next few are quite silly with Gun being a bit over-the-top.
Things do settle in though, and my interest was solidly building by the one-third mark, and I was quite enjoying it by the halfway mark. There’s always plenty of comedy, but the more serious elements grew with a bit of mystery and suspense thrown in. By the latter third, our characters are dealing with some very difficult issues, and we see some decent character growth as these are explored.
A big thing to keep in mind with this type of drama is not to take any of the medical aspects of it seriously. There are major moral, ethical, and legal issues throughout concerning the things multiple doctors do. There’s also just plain bad decision making.
Lots of the medical and scientific stuff takes a lot of liberties too and wouldn’t necessarily work in reality. It’s a romantic comedy with a medical dressing that is pure fiction. If you like your medical dramas serious and logical, I would run far away from this one.
That all being said, I did like that drama touched on issues like trauma, depression, and psychosomatic pain, all of which Gun deals with. While the presentation isn’t the most realistic, we do see just how much these issues have ruined his life and the daily battle he fights just to live.
I also liked exploring the challenges of each character. Gun had to deal with confusion surrounding his missing memories and his feelings for Ju Yeon. Ju Yeon had a lot invested in Gun’s treatment as well as a lot of confliction around her growing feelings for him.
Sin had issues after having to fill his brother’s shoes and keeping the family going. Then we have a love triangle on top of it all. Plus, there were plenty of other relationships to explore from the brothers to family to friendship to other romances. There were lots of stories to keep things interesting.
The romance between Gun and Ju Yeon was also a slow burn. They go through a lot of ups, downs, and shifting feelings. There are sweet moments between the two as well as an emotional connection that is explored. They have lot of secrets and issues standing in their way, and it takes a while for them to get on the same page. I did like watching the relationship develop though.
Of course, there is some bad decision making, illogical happenings, and convenient plot devices along the way. Also the previously mentioned unrealistic medical stuff. Gun’s mother is particularly obnoxious throughout the drama. But I thought the overall story progressed nicely with good pacing, and the characters were engaging. The emotional moments were touching, and the soundtrack was utilized well.
So in the end, Bad Memory Eraser was a good drama. It took a bit of time to get going and find its groove, but once things got rolling, it got better and better. The story, characters, and overall production was solid. It made for a fun watch that I enjoyed.
My Rating: 7/10
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