Netflix has really upped their game this past year, in my opinion, in terms of the content that they offer. In particular, I’ve been enjoying the number of stand-ups that have been featured on the platform. However, where I have found the selection lacking is in the Korean drama department, although I would hardly blame Netflix for this. As an avid watcher of the genre, I often find that it fluctuates between dry and abundant years in terms of what’s being produced.

As far as Memories of the Alhambra (2018) is concerned, I think it is definitely a win. For any avid anime fans, if you were a big fan of the .hack series, you may enjoy this. Additionally, if you love watching live actions, you will also likely be entertained by this series.

I did not do any deep research prior to watching the series, and my schedule off-net has been incredibly busy as of late as a result of many positive, yet unexpected, changes this past year, so I have not had the time to go as in-depth into researching the background of this series as I would have liked. However, I would not be surprised to find out later that this is a live-action of some online webcomic. Though if not, consider me thoroughly impressed, especially in this age of frequent remakes, reboots, and books-adapted-to-film. Especially because I personally tend to cringe, more often than not, when watching live-action versions of a popular Japanese manga or Korean webcomic.

Be forewarned—if you are not the type willing to overlook extreme gaps in logic or suspend your belief, you may have difficulty enjoying this story. Without giving away the more complex or dark aspects of the plot—speaking very generally and only describing the most surface-level aspect of the drama, the entire plot circles around a futuristic mode of gaming that seems pretty cool, until you learn what’s twisted about it.

The only real downside, I would say, for those who are willing to look past any illogical components, is the fact that this drama is being released in the traditional Korean drama way. Meaning, episodes are released weekly until the series is complete (usually at 16 episodes, though I haven’t looked into how long this particular series is supposed to run).

If you have not started this series yet, and you are compelled to watch, I would highly recommend it! Note that you will have to deal with subtitles though—for those who happen to find that a deterrent.