First Impressions: Man to Man

As touted during its promotional stage, Man to Man is an action comedy, and for all intents and purposes, it's pretty good. The first episode had a lot of setup as the audience is introduced to the major players, and episode two starts to showcase the interactions between the main characters. Storywise, there's your occasional contrivance and disregard of physics which can be bothersome, but this is one of those shows where you really shouldn't try to analyze and question every detail. If you just sit back and relax, it's a breezy watch.

Park Hae-jin as Kim Sul-woo, Undercover Bodyguard

I'm relatively indifferent towards Park Hae-jin. I remember him first from Famous Chil Princesses, and haven't really developed any opinions about him. I'm sure his fans will enjoy him in this role since he's portrayed as a super suave and charismatic person. He plays the role with a good balance of confidence and aloofness, and there aren't any complaints from me.

Kim Min-jung as Cha Do-ha, Fangirl turned Manager

Do-ha can be an annoying character, and I can totally understand if she irks some people. However, she's pretty much my fangirl soulmate, so I tend to forgive and understand almost everything. It's hilarious how she gushes about Yeo Woon-kwang while everyone else around her fawns over Sul-woo because that's basically me (all the time). She's sharp and attentive, but her love for Woon-kwang blinds her sometimes. She's also stubborn and can act irrationally when it comes to her celebrity crush, but she's also passionate and loyal.

Overall, she's adorable with Woon-kwang, and the two of them have such a comfortable and sweet relationship with one another. It's an interesting dynamic because they clearly aren't platonic friends, but they also aren't romantic interests. Since Do-ha is such a fervent and unquestionable fan of Woon-kwang first and foremost, she sees him as an idol and loves him more as a fan than a potential love interest. Likewise, Woon-kwang clearly shows affection towards Do-ha, but appears like an oppa to her rather than his usual, playboy self.

I loved the scene in episode two where Woon-kwang worries about Do-ha's sprained ankle and then piggybacks her home. It's usually a romantic gesture in most dramas, but for me, I didn't get that connotation. Their relationship really is a sweet portrayal between a fan and a star (that has blossomed to something deeper), and I'm glad to see the show capture a different type of male-female relationship.

Park Sung-woong as Yeo Woon-kwang, Hallyu Megastar

It's not a secret that I love Park Sung-woong, and I'm 75% sure that I'm only watching this show because of him. For the most part, Yeo Woon-kwang is a megastar actor with a huge ego and a troublesome personality (at first).

No doubt Woon-kwang is bossy, petty, and prickly. However, he's also really simple, which means he's easy to read and control. In the beginning, I thought he was unimaginably rude, but then I noticed that he's only super mean to his road manager. During Sul-woo's investigation about Woon-kwang, he concludes that the star is strong against the weak, and weak against the strong. However, his conclusions seem to shake a little when he sees Woon-kwang piggyback Do-ha. Similarly, I realized that I was listening to the road manager's opinion, and after watching Woon-kwang interact with different people, I don't actually think his good-nature is for show. I think he does care about the lower staff members (maybe due to his own career history) and isn't acting that way to improve his image.

That doesn't mean he's not a jerk to his road manager, though his road manager also gets his petty revenge here and there. It makes me wonder why their relationship is like that, but maybe Woon-kwang just likes being bossy to him and they're just your stereotypical relationship. Also, he's still a typical playboy (though I'm sure there's a backstory connected with Chae Jung-an's character that will explain his behavior, some). Overall, I would argue that Woon-kwang is a good person who's really simple, and I adore him already.

Plus, Park Sung-woong looks amazing.