Have you ever imagined what the world of brain cells might look like? The web drama Yumi’s Cells introduces you to the world of brain cells. Based on the eponymous webtoon, Yumi’s Cells, the web drama made a splash, receiving favorable comments for the production that faithfully reflected the original webtoon. Hence, the Sungkyun Times (SKT) would like to introduce the charms of Yumi’s Cells 2, the show’s most recent season.
Introduction to Yumi’s Cells 2
About Yumi’s Cells 2
Yumi’s Cells 2 is a romantic web drama exclusively released on TVING, a Korean online streaming service platform. Kim Go-eun starred as the main character, Yumi, and Park Jin-young starred as Yumi’s boyfriend, Babi. Yumi’s Cells is composed of everyday stories that young people can relate to by presenting the life of 30-yearold office worker Kim Yumi. A unique point is that the brain cells of the characters also appear in the drama. It is the first Korean drama to introduce a format that combines actual images and threedimensional (3D) animation technology. The characters in the real world were portrayed by actual actors, while the cells were created through 3D animation. Thus, when Yumi’s Cells 2 was released for the first time, it ranked 1st on the platform, increasing the number of TVING paid subscribers tremendously. TVING has announced that the number of subscribers has increased fourfold since the release of Yumi’s Cells 1.
Summary (*Spoiler Alert)
Yumi’s Cells 1 ends with Yumi breaking up with Woong, her ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, when Yumi suffers from the aftermath of her breakup, her colleague, Babi, becomes a great help to Yumi by comforting her. After this, they soon become intimate and even go to watch a street performance together. After the performance, Babi asks Yumi out. At first, she rejects his confession. Soon, though, she becomes increasingly interested in Babi, who continuously expresses his love for her, and eventually starts to go out with Babi. Dating Babi leads Yumi’s life in a new way; at a book café Yumi visits with Babi, she sees a web novel contest poster and is reminded of her dream of becoming a writer. The next day, Yumi resigns from work. Then, she starts to attend a writing academy and submitts novels to various contests. Much like this, Yumi’s Cells 2 focuses on the story of Yumi’s new love life and pursuit of her dream.
Charming Points
Adorable Brain Cells
In Yumi’s Cells, various brain cells live together in the cell world. These cells directly interact with and depend on a certain person. For example, when the person they belong to cries, the cell world gets flooded by rain. The brain cells are best known for their cute features. For instance, each cell has a different outfit, character, and voice, which maximizes distinctive features. The following cells appear as Yumi’s primary cells in the drama: the Rational Cell, Emotional Cell, Writer Cell, and Love Cell. The Rational Cell gets involved in almost every aspect of Yumi’s social life, including when Yumi works and talks. On the other hand, the Love Cell is Yumi’s prime cell that holds a superior position to the other cells. A video introducing the cells on TVING’s YouTube channel has about 1.5 million views, proving the cells’ popularity.
Realistic and Relatable Story
Yumi’s Cells is also known for its realistic storyline. The series includes everyday life stories such as dating, socialization, and challenges one might face while following their dream. In particular, the drama depicts Yumi’s love life in detail by delicately expressing the characters’ change in emotions. For instance, Yumi consistently looks up Woong’s social networking services (SNS) profile and searches his friends’ Instagram profiles to get a sneak peek at his pictures, even after breaking up. This episode is an example of the drama’s realistic plotline: people cannot be heart-free right after a breakup. “I got goosebumps. Yumi looked like me,” commented one netizen after watching the episode. There are also relatable episodes depicting Yumi’s pursuit of her dreams. After resigning from work, Yumi meets up with her friend. Here, Yumi is told about how she got promoted at the company. This makes her feel anxious about her circumstances. The episode successfully caused empathy among the audience by successfully depicting one’s internal conflict between pursuing her dream and settling in reality.
Excellent Direction of the Drama
The drama’s production was another element that added to the popularization of the series. The visual factors, as well as the proper reflection of the original webtoon’s story, contributed to the successful portrayal of the webtoon. The plotline of the drama was almost the same as the original work, with only a few tweaks. Meanwhile, the scenes were animated with a more abundant expression of the cell world. For example, a peek into the world of Woong’s cells, which was not in the original webtoon, appeared in the drama. Woong’s cell world differs from Yumi’s – it decides how to act through the use of an algorithm. This emphasized Woong’s characteristics of being a computer algorithm-type of guy. Also, the drama shows the main characters’ emotions in detail. While other dramas only depict characters through facial expressions and conversations, Yumi’s Cells directly portrays the characters’ thoughts through their brain cells. In particular, Yumi’s cells and other main characters’ cells, including Woong’s and Babi’s, appear in the drama. Therefore, the audience can directly understand and empathize with each character. They also can feel various emotions by looking at the same situation from each character’s perspective.
