Sam Reviews : Spirit Fingers

Spirit fingers, adapted from a webtoon of the same name, is a kdrama centered around an awkward teenage girl named Song U Yeon. The show follows her as she expands her circle of people by joining an art club named, you guessed it.. spirit fingers. It serves as a character study on the many unique characters within the show, delving into various emotional and romance plots with the main one being between U Yeon and Nam Gijeong, the popular and silly guy that grows increasingly fond of her as the show progresses. 

  Thematic analysis 

 1. Insecurity and physical appearance

The show began by delving headfirst into Song U Yeon’s lack of self-confidence. Her entire personality was built with careful precision, shaped by the constant belittling she experiences at home and past experiences with trying new things, which enabled the viewer to understand exactly where her insecurity and anxiety stem from. She didn't feel like a fictional character, she felt real.

Additionally, I enjoyed the lack of significance put on physical appearances. Song U Yeon was “average” in appearance, she wore glasses, minimal/no makeup, and didn't dress “stylishly”, which overall would deem her as ugly in the standards for most dramas. When you watch a drama with an “unattractive” lead character, it typically ends with them drastically changing their appearance by the end, and the attractive lead confessing that they liked them before they changed up their look. The point most of these shows try to sell is that looks don't matter, but then they completely contradict this by making the “unattractive” character change almost every aspect of their physical appearance. What I like about this show is that it never puts large significance on changing her appearance, even when she did dress up and take off her glasses, it was never a huge thing because she was never “unattractive” when she didn't. I also liked how it switches the typical trope of ‘majestic girl x average guy’, it really detaches from the conventional need to portray women constantly being “pretty” and made their dynamic far more appealing to me. It was also nice to see how insecurity manifested into resentment, which happened with both Jo Mirae towards her friends and Song U Yeon towards Nam Gijeong.

I know a lot of people were not happy to see U Yeon say she was starting to hate Gijeong, but it shows how her feelings of inferiority won't just disappear overnight so I personally felt it was necessary. Nam Gijeong also feels a sense of inferiority, pushing him towards believing that U Yeon did not have feelings for him. I feel as though his insecurities are overlooked due to his popularity but it is important to recognise that he is just a teenager regardless of the extremely high pedestal he is put on and that he also gets insecure. 

2. Female friendships

Speaking of insecurity brings me to the next theme. I was so quick to hate Jo Mirae in the earlier episodes. She was constantly talking down on U Yeon and it drove me crazy because U Yeon was already struggling with her self image. However her redemption was genuinely so beautiful. She was just an insecure teenage girl herself and it made sense for her to feel the way she did when both her friends did really well in school and had guys that liked them. When you're a teenager, something like that is bound to make you feel inferior and like you're falling behind. The fact that Mirae and U Yeon had a falling out made me like their bond far more than if they had a perfect friendship from the get go because it adds nuance and a more in-depth perspective to their friendship. I also enjoyed how the friendship between Jo Miirae and An Yerim wasn't centered around U Yeon and that they both had a bond of their own, making them feel less like characters that existed merely to support U Yeon’s development and more like complex characters of their own.

​3. Having your own color

The characters in the club all had their own colors, a symbol to represent how each one of them was unique in their own way. This drama really did an excellent job at portraying eccentric characters from Geurin having mint hair to black finger and her alternative fashion sense, each character had their own idiosyncrasies. This was further reflected in the art created by each character, as all of them had their own distinctive styles and varying skill sets, which made their art stray from traditional, picture-perfect art pieces. Overall I liked how this drama promoted individuality and how these characters made U yeon find her own identity. 

4. Family

U Yeon served, in a sense, as a catalyst to quicken the collapse of her family. Her mother’s treatment towards her was significantly worse than her treatment towards U Yeon’s brothers. U Yeon’s family had a terrible power imbalance, with the hot-headed father being seen as the “head” of the family while the stay at home mother does all the heavy lifting. Her fathers behaviour was described accurately by U Dol, he gets treated terribly at work by his higher ups and then comes home and takes his anger out on his family in order to repair his ego and assert his dominance. Her mother’s behaviour was not any better, she was a typical narcissistic mother that lived through her children.

I personally believe she was harsher on U Yeon because she saw herself in her, especially after it was revealed that U Yeon wished to pursue an artistic career. However, I don’t believe this was the sole reason for her behaviour and I feel as though the patriarchy played a larger role in U Yeon’s mistreatment.

As a girl, she was held at higher standards than her brothers ever were and this becomes increasingly evident when U Yeon’s mother defends her brothers from the father but does not behave the same way towards U Yeon. The sons were “precious” and “hardworking” while the daughter was “disappointing” and “rebellious”, their behaviours were not drastically different in fact there were many parallels in how they acted, but the same behaviour was received differently according to who did it. She had a very traditional family dynamic, enabling the patriarchy to wedge itself into her homelife and be repackaged as "discipline”. A minor but consistent way her mother’s mistreatment manifested was through the kimchi fridge. It seems insignificant but the kimchi fridge being in her room was a motif for how her mother didn’t respect her as a person.

She wouldn’t be okay with putting a kimchi fridge in U Dol’s room or her own room yet she was okay with putting it in U Yeon’s room and made no effort to address it when U Yeon asked her to take it out. As a result of how she was being treated her family fell apart, for the better. U Yeon was the only one brave enough to act out and voice her opinions, this eventually led to both her brothers falling apart and doing the same.

They needed to break in order to see eachother for who they truly were, not the perfect facade that each of them put up. This allowed them to put the pieces back together and resolve their issues, U Yeon destroying her family ended up saving them. 

5. Art and third spaces 

With U Yeon’s home being anything but a home, she needed a place where she could breathe, this is where the club begins to play its part. It gave U Yeon an escape from her home and her studies, it was a place where she could begin learning to express herself and rebuilding her confidence. The act of gathering for art was also helpful, it acted as a form of therapy and allowed her to process her emotions in a way that was both healing and productive. Doing croquis helped with her perfectionism, it made sure she didn't spend too much time hyperfocused on one drawing and instead learnt how to let loose a little. The need for live modelling further helped her, she clearly expressed discomfort in following the themes at the very beginning but as time passed, dressing up in these elaborated costumes helped heal her self-confidence issues and allowed her to be comfortable with being the center of attention. Not only did she find a chosen family through the club members but she also began healing by finding peace in her third place and art. 

Production value 

1. Visual storytelling

The aesthetics of this show fit the themes and vibes of the drama so accurately. The concept of the club having a new theme each week was so cool, it was a way to have interesting costumes, makeup, and hairstyles every week, emphasising self expression and the eccentric vibe of the show. The set and props were also carefully constructed to match the whimsical aspect of the drama. Moreover, the cafe was a great tool to exude a sense of mystery, how many rooms did it have? Who owned it? How did the rooms somehow manage to fit their themes every time? It might feel like a lazy way to tackle the settings required but I enjoyed the mystery around it, it stayed true to the webtoon and made U Yeon’s third place feel magical. 

2. Cinematography

The show was filmed so beautifully. I loved how the color grading was more cool toned during Geurin and Seonho’s parts because, it suited their more mature relationship while the brighter colors for U Yeon and Gijeong emphasized their youth. The cinematography was also matched each time they had a different theme, I remember their vintage and horror themes were especially cool and I really enjoyed watching those episodes. 

Critiques 

1. Pacing

I personally had no issue with this since this drama was lowkey just a feel-good drama for me and i didnt really want long periods of angst but this is still a valid critique and so i decided to include it regardless. Most of the conflict and resolution was pushed towards the last two episodes, especially the conflict within U Yeon's family. It was resolved far too easily which feels highly unrealistic like in no universe would anyone be able to change their parents behaviour THAT quickly even U Dol running away would never be enough in real life to change how her parents behaved but honestly i really didnt care about that. As i said before this show felt very magical and I didn't mind the conflict being resolved that quickly.

2. Screentime distribution

Honestly I felt like Geurin and Seonho’s relationship was a little repetitive and that they had far too much screentime for the little development their relationship went through. This is genuinely my only complaint with this show I really wished they gave black finger and khaki finger more screentime because I found their relationship way more interesting. 

In conclusion, I rated this show a 10/10. This is genuinely one of the best kdramas to release in recent years, it feels like a breath of fresh air after seeing many overproduced and highly polished dramas get released. The production of this show felt natural and authentic, it really reminded me of weightlifting fairy kim bok joo. Anyway I 100% recommend this show to anyone, it's a cute romance drama with very meaningful messages.

Written by Sam

I hope you had fun reading :)