Disney+ newest kdrama is here, “Kiss Sixth Sense” has premiered recently and I’ve finally caught up with the premiere and I have some thoughts to share with you guys.

Disney+ has been attempting to break into the Kdrama sphere since late 2021 with various projects mostly unsuccessfully thus far. Despite the fact that they’ve literally tried so many genres in such a short span of time, their projects always feel like they’re missing THAT thing. Of course, this is a personal opinion.

“Kiss Sixth Sense” is based on a webtoon and it feels like it to the core, almost too much at times but not for the reason you’d expect to hear from me.

Aside from not being a fan of generally such cringy and cliché topics, I can still understand why they’re always made and why they always find success regardless of how repetitive and unoriginal they are. Many people want to watch things to laugh, relax and fangirl, not everything has to be so serious or well-put-together to make an impact on someone.

Note: this article is a first-impression review, it doesn’t mean this is the writer’s final thoughts on the drama. This is a spoiler review.

What I can’t understand in the case of “Kiss Sixth Sense” is the casting. I’ll discuss why below.

The casting

“Kiss Sixth Sense” feels like its a kdrama made for youngsters, yet for some very odd reason, they cast actors in their late 30s to early 40s.

This isn’t a dig at their age but…. What compelled the casting directors to pick obviously older-than-expected actors to play roles designated for actors in their mid to late 20s?

As I am typing this I have a guess. My guess is, it gets darker, but regardless of whether that will end up happening or not. I am not particularly happy with the casting choices and not because they can’t act. All of them are good actors, some even exceptional.

Seo Ji Hye had a late bloom in the industry despite the fact that she’s been acting for a very long time. She gained worldwide fame by starring in “Crash Landing On You,” but I am yet to be impressed by any project she had picked after that. But out of every single project she’s picked ever since, this is the first one that I feel is not meant for her.

She’s in her late 30s yet she picked such type of project I’d expect a young rising actress in her early to mid-20s to pick, the type of project you find cringy but do it because you know it’ll do well, especially among international fans, it helps you build a solid fandom. I didn’t expect Seo Ji Hye to take on such a cartoonish character un-ironically.

Her character trips and falls every single 20 minutes in the drama. This overly done cliché point turned me off so many times but I persisted, I wanted to see what it was all about.

I haven’t read the webtoon, but according to my friends, it gets darker, much darker. This could be why they cast older actors. Regardless, I think this could have easily worked even with actors in their mid to late 20s.

Aside from Seo Ji Hye, Yoon Kye Sang also feels out of place. The fact that he’s doing what appears to be such an immature type of character at this point in his career is concerning. Its not that he can’t play immature characters, especially in the right setting and if its addressed properly, but its the fact that he plays a very cringy ‘ideal’ male character that you’d see in rom-coms made for teens, a type of project I wouldn’t expect actors in their 40s to pick.

I am slightly surprised Yoon Kye Sang agreed to this. I’d think after a while, you’d want to take on characters that aren’t so cringy and typical once you’re older and have a more established career enough to be picky with your roles.

I might be wrong and I might be able to see what compelled him to pick this project down the line but so far, I just don’t see it.

And while I do love Hwang Bo Ra, I was put off by her over-the-top performance. I know she’s a good actress but this time, it went too far. I can’t tell if its the direction or her own choice but I don’t like how cartoonish she feels. She’s 39 and it feels odd to see a 39 year old woman playing such a cartoonish character that almost taters towards comical territory as if she’s performing for a kids’ show.

Kim Mi Soo also makes an appearance, this marks the last project she filmed prior to her passing. Just seeing her brought tears to my eyes. May she rest in peace.

The script and characters

According to the research I did, “Kiss Sixth Sense” is based on a very popular webtoon. Just seeing the first episodes, I can tell why they’d want to remake it.

It hits about every beat you’d expect from a Korean rom-com for a premiere for better and for worse.

Similarly, Netflix also adapted some hit webtoons at first before expanding to riskier projects. We’re yet to see if this ends up finding success internationally.

I was surprised by how slower-than-expected the premiere was especially considering the fact that its on Disney+… we could have definitely trimmed down some areas and made it more concise.

I guess Min Hu can also see slightly into the future hence why he’s always able to guess correctly and mitigate issues.

If you already read my blog, you know such types of characters are not for me. I am so over the type of male lead who acts like a 15-year-old who is falling in love for the very first time and is unaware of how to treat a woman, down to the basics.

He yells at her and scolds her for things out of her control, he overworks her to deliver results then gaslights her for not taking her health seriously as if its an issue with her when he’s the one grilling her with work. As a know-it-all, he knows when its not her fault, so the fact that he scolds her when he knows its not her fault is…. Odd!!

She’s even taking medication, coffee, and energy drinks to handle work, this could be a concerning point and its because he always unloads projects on her. I don’t know if the character in the webtoon is similar but they could have definitely written his character here better, to be better suited for his age too. There is a line between professionalism and being an asshole for the sake of completing work. It also feels like he’s in a rush as if he is about to die from an illness or something.

I can tell he sees potential in her which is why he is doing it. But whats not so fun is seeing him fumble between treating her nicely as he would a potential future girlfriend and being professional at work, he ends up being unable to balance either and comes off quite standoffish and unpleasant.

And you know this won’t be addressed properly and will be shifted to blame his past/parents/powers for his lack of basic manners. And in the future, the female lead will ‘change’ him and he will be able to see what he had done was wrong.

Conclusion and comments on future episodes

“Kiss Sixth Sense” will definitely find success among the international kdrama community, I guess for the most part, if you like rom-coms, you liked the premiere and if you like the actors involved then you probably loved the premiere.

I see that “Kiss Sixth Sense” has potential but the characterization and directing thus far is way below expectations even for a rom-com. I am surprised the director went with such a cartoonish tone for this project.

I like thriller mixed into rom-coms because it injects life into what could easily be just ‘another rom-com.’ While I am not particularly pleased with the premiere, I still believe it has room to get better.

So these are my thoughts on “Kiss Sixth Sense”, so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.