The brothers' lives take a turn following the return of an important figure from their past, Ko Moon-young, a rich and successful children’s book author. Praised for how it dealt with trauma and mental health in general, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay is one of Kim Soo-hyun in Queen of Tears. It’s Okay To Not Be Okay was great throughout, but its first episode included a fantastic opening sequence.

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’s Animated Opening Sequence Is Incredible

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay opens with a stop-motion short film

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay opens with a 3-minute stop-motion animated sequence that tells the story of a young girl who had no friends but eventually became close to a boy she saved from drowning. The storyboard for the sequence, as well as every other illustration on It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, was made by artist Jamsan. Given how one of the show’s main characters was a children’s book author known for supernatural, scary stories, the idea was to have illustrations that could capture the essence of Moon-young.

"In the beginning, I pretty much focused on defining the dark mood and appearance of lonely characters. But for Sang-tae's drawing, I wanted to create his world in watercolor to give a warm and friendly feel to it, just like The Little Prince and Alice in Wonderland."

During an interview with The Korea Times, Jamsan discussed the process of creating the illustrations of It’s Okay To Not Be Okay. A fan of zombies and horror stories, the artist was interested in working on a series that would explore themes like fear and trauma. It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’s opening sequence was crafted with traditional stop motion techniques, meaning they were not just CG-animated scenes designed to emulate stop motion. The final result is an impressive, beautiful scene that indicates how great the rest of the series will be.

What It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’s Stop Motion Scene Really Meant

Seo Yea-ji’s character had a very complicated childhood

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’s opening sequence was more than just beautiful visuals created through impressive stop-motion work. The scene told a complete story in under three minutes and set the stage for what the show was going to be like. In hindsight, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’s stop-motion scene was the origin story of Seo Yea-ji’s character, who was raised by a criminal mother. Ko Moon-young was led to believe she was as much of a bad person as her mother, which is why the girl from the opening sequence is depicted as a monster.

Ko Moon-young stops being lonely once she becomes friends with a boy she saved, yet the girl still believes that she is a monster. By the end of It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’s opening short film, the girl and the boy are set to become friends for life, except that the former couldn’t trust that the latter was going to like her no matter what. To test the boy’s love for her and to prove she is “a monster,” the girl does something cruel to butterflies in front of him, thus ending their friendship.

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay Episode 1’s Intro Foreshadowed The Whole Show

All the clues for It’s Okay To Not Be Okay's twists were there

Revisiting It’s Okay To Not Be Okay episode 1 after watching the series reveals that the stop motion opening sequence foreshadowed the entire show. Everything that is revealed about the lives of Gang-tae, Moon-young, and Sang-tae during this emotional K-drama series was first hinted at during episode 1’s opening sequence. From the butterflies flying around the girl to the identity of the boy she saved, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay's first scene tells viewers all the things that are about to happen in the series. This makes the stop-motion short film even better in retrospect.

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For example, Sang-tae’s fear of butterflies had to do with the tragic circumstances of his mother’s death. The trauma Sang-tae had to deal with since he was a child sets the narrative for It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, which later reveals that Moon-young’s criminal mother was tied to the death of Sang-tae and Gang-tae’s mother. The opening sequence also helps establish very early on that Moon-young, despite her flaws, was also a victim of her mother and had a tragic childhood. It’s Okay To Not Be Okay is about emotional healing, and its very first scene confirms it.

Sources: The Korea Times

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