'The Uncanny Counter' on Netflix: Kim Se-jeong and Jo Byeong-gyu star in fun webcomic inspired OCN drama
What happens when a high school student who lost his parents to a targetted attack ends up inheriting the powers of being a grim reaper after the death of a senior grim reaper official caused by an evil spirit of level 3? That is the story of 'The Uncanny Counter', the show that has taken over the time slot earlier occupied by the popular show 'Search'. This show is a fantasy drama based on the webcomic titled 'Kyeongirowoon Somoon' and we see how a group of grim reapers hunt evil spirits on Earth. They are originally humans who have been hired by Wi-gen from the Spirits Immigration Office to help the Afterlife.
These humans receive a second chance at life when they are chosen because before then they were in a coma. So when they chose to become a grim reaper they give death a miss and also attain power that are three times better than what the usual humans have. This can be manifested in the form of healing powers like that held by Ms Chu (Yum Hye-ran) who leads the group or in ways of Mo-tak's super strength or Ha-na's (Kim Se-jeong) power to read memories and catch the presence of evil spirits in the vicinity. Initially, the three of them worked with Wi-gen's human partner Jang Cheol-Jung. However, when the four of them face off an evil spirit that uses the powers of telekinesis and is at level 3, they lose one of their members and it is at this time that the powers of one of the grim reapers get transferred to a disabled high school student.
Of course, Wi-gen's energy had been in search of a patient who happened to be in a coma, but instead, she enters Soo-man's (Jo Byeong-gyu) body despite the student being awake. Soo-man lost his parents seven years ago in what he believes is an accident. However, when he was a child, his father who is a police detective seemed to be involved in a risky investigation with his partner. The partner who has a connection to Mo-tak (Yu Jun-sang) who has lost all his memories was killed and he also happens to be Soo-man's father. Of course, since Mo-tak has lost his memories he wouldn't realize the connection but the coincidence is hard to accept as just that and we understand that this meeting of the fates is going to play an important role in the future of the show.
Initially, Soo-man doesn't want to be a grim reaper since he is told that he could also die in this line of work. He believes that his grandparents who have already suffered a great loss with his parent's death, do not deserve to see their grandchild lose his life prematurely as well. So he refuses to put his own life in danger, however, when he notices his best friend get bullied in school, he interferes and gets attacked. As someone with a disability, he is definitely at a disadvantage believe his friends and so does he, however, what he doesn't realize is that Wi-gen had given him the strength to oppose these bullies. So instead, he watches the other grim reapers fight in his stead and teach the bullies a lesson.
However, because the powers of the grim reapers are to be kept secretive, they also erase the bullies' memories. It is interesting how this combined with the feeling of accomplishment that Soo-man feels when on another day he ends up saving the life of a young boy is what puts him in the path of danger again by making him interested in becoming a grim reaper. He doesn't do it for free though and tells Wi-gen that he wants to meet his parents in return for working for the Afterlife and the Spirits Immigration Office. He explains that the others had got their life in return for taking on the mantel of hunting evil spirits.
However, he was given the powers unexpectedly, so as a show of support, he wants Wi-gen to give him the opportunity to meet his parents that he had lost seven years ago. It is going to be a whole lot of fun to see how Soo-man trains and becomes a full-fledged grim reaper who will uncover mysteries and corruption in the human world as well as the Afterlife.
