My Lovely Boxer didn’t get high TV ratings and wasn’t talked about much but it’s actually an excellent drama! Motivating and delightful, it clicks all the right emotional buttons with a motley of interesting characters. And bonus points for making my ship sail!

ABOUT

The story revolves around a star female boxer Lee Kwon Sook (Kim So Hye) who suddenly disappeared from the sports field 3 years ago. No one knows her whereabouts. Sports agent Kim Tae Young (Lee Sang Yeob) is known to be a cold-blooded man who only cares about wins for his players and making money through them. Due to a certain situation, Tae Young now needs to find and bring back Kwon Sook to the ring.

REVIEW

My Lovely Boxer starts out unevenly in the first episode but by the end of it, it succeeded in capturing my interest. There are interlinked but different stories at play here, which are different in mood and tone. One is the central plot of Kwon Sook and Tae Young who are preparing for the main fight, then there is the arc about the match fixers and Tae Young and finally, there is the angle including Kwon Sook’s competitor Han Ah Reum (Chae Won Bin) who has suffered too since the time the former boxer disappeared from the sports field.

It’s a sheer delight to see the journey of Kwon Sook with Tae Young from their rough start, growth of their relationship and how they become closer with time, get inspired by each other and support each other. Their interactions are funny, emotional, romantic and angsty at different times. The chemistry between Kim So Hye and Lee Sang Yeob is simply amazing.

Thematically, the drama explains how one can be talented at something but not necessarily want that thing. It also motivates by telling us it’s okay to lose — the most important thing is to give your best.

The scenes of Kwon Sook preparing for her fight are spryly directed — her daily runs and exercise, her diet (what she craves and what she needs to eat), her boxing practice. I enjoyed Choi Ho Joong’s character, who is her gym instructor and good friend of Tae Young — and his camaraderie with two main leads.

Except the main villains, all other characters are flawed but gain your affection in varying degrees. I was expecting some of them to turn negative in typical drama sense but I was pleasantly surprised that they stayed good despite the flaws or went through growth to become their better selves. Like Tae Young’s ex Jung Soo Yeon who is also a sports agent, or Han Ah Reum, or Jo Ah Ra, another boxer. Or Kwon Sook’s dad.

The boxing matches are excellently done, keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats. It is also bewildering how I was rooting for both the contestants in the end — a difficult feat for shows about sports.

One of my personal favorite things about the drama is the relationship between Kwon Sook and Tae Young. I was shipping them from their first interaction and their romantic moments were slow and subtle but so strong and gave me butterflies.

The individual growth for Kwon Sook and Tae Young is thoughtfully and strongly depicted. After turning into a cold and calculating guy in the years spent in the competitive, pragmatic world, Tae Young finds himself again — first by witnessing his best friend Kim Hee Won getting trapped in a tragic web, and then more and more as he tries to make things better and starts working with Kwon Sook. Kwon Sook finds what she had lost after restarting her boxing career — the result might surprise you but it’s a cathartic journey for her.

The show is laced with many light hearted and funny moments on one hand, but on the other hand, it is very emotional and goes to some dark places too. It balances both sides efficiently. My Lovely Boxer has a crisp length of 12 episodes and it is one of the rare dramas that ended with a bang — the final episode is that good.

THE MINUS POINTS

The first episode can be considered a bit confusing and uneven as the players are established. Some scenes involving the match fixers are longer than required or are not engrossing enough. The second lead Jae Min is extremely boring. His scenes with Kwon Sook made me feel bored as well as angry because of his selfish and mean intentions. He did improve later on though.

PERFORMANCES

Lee Sang Yeob delivers a fabulous and mature performance as Tae Young. Kim So Hye gives a luminous performance — her physical acting (playing a boxer) is complemented by the emotions of warmth, love and adorableness that she radiates. Chae Won Bin is so understated but so good. The supporting cast gives a solid performance.

IN A NUTSHELL

My Lovely Boxer is an inspiring, lovely and satisfying ride.

MY RATING: 9 out of 10.