It was all smooth at the beginning, i really enjoyed it. I thought i would fall for the main leads' relationship, but nope. I fell for the bromance of the Goblin, grim reaper, and deok hwa bromance instead. They're absolutely entertaining and amazing together! Idk maybe it's just me, i don't feel satisfied with the ending. The ending is too contrived and too hasting for me. I was like .... "Wait, what?" "What?" "Uhm okay". But overall, i still like this anyway. Well, not as much as i love Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo since the story is more relatable, rational, and perfectly ended.
The soundtracks are amazing! Altough not all of them are my favourites, but i can say that the soundtracks sound very different with another Korean Dramas. It's, cool, creepy, gloomy, sad, and sometimes a little bit warm. Altough i love most of them, i couldn't say that the lyrics of them are easily to be remembered. I'm so proud of Sungjae's acting! He shows his acting skill just get better and better! And also, i feel so proud of Lee Dong Wook! Thanks to God he's shining brighter with this drama. Since, in my opinion, he had so many dramas before, but i guess not all of them are enjoyable for some kdrama lovers. Altough, i fall for him since his perfomance in "Hotel King". He was so hot in there, bruh! His wing tattoo on his back was my fav part of him to look at! LMAO. And his chemistry with Lee Da Hee felt so real! Since, Hotel King is the second time he played as the main leads together with Lee Da Hee.
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Slow, childish, plotholes, poor execution of a story that could have been great.
I had seen so many people mentioning how good this drama was that I decided to give it a go having nothing else to watch. I was disappointed and I didn't even have high hopes as I find hyped shows are usually not my cup of tea.The first third of this drama was hard to watch and I had to push myself to continue, mostly I found the portrayal of a 19 year old girl very unrealistic, she was very childish. Maybe it's just me, but I've never met (nor was I that way) anyone that age to act like that. Then I kind of got used to it by the middle, but also she seemed to slowly get out of it when she turned 20, what was also unrealistic. To top it over, Goblin was doing the opposite and as the drama goes he becomes more childish. Not going to lie it was funny at times, but overall it was mostly cringy.
The age gap of the characters was problematic (without taking into account the 900 years) and to me it made it worse the fact they blatantly tried to make this look better by making him more childish, also because it felt it tainted his character as this important and powerful Goryeo warrior. I feel there was a problem with trying to keep this balance of wanting to be serious and sad and tragic with the romcom aspect, I couldn't take things as seriously.
I think the story would have been a lot better had they started it when she was 29, it could have been way more mature. I did like the relationship of the 3 as housemates though and I found it the best part of the show.
There are too many plotholes and I could give it a pass if it wasn't because they had plenty of running time to address them. For example, the images of their Goryeo lives were repeated over and over way too much but in the end I didn't feel they fully showed well enough how things happened. Despite those images, I'm being told what happened more than shown, what is a shame. A lot of times the show seemed to go in circles not wanting to commit to a path for the story, at least not until the later episodes as usual (I seriously dislike this common thing of not doing anything until two episodes of the end, make a film instead!!), but by the end I was already kind of tired of the story to the point that I couldn't care enough for the consequences that were about to happen to the characters. Talking about characters, so many side characters with lost potential and so many plotholes in all characters.
The ending is... I don't want to say bad because it could have been worse, but... it's bad. Could have been poetic, could have been satisfactory but it's none and it's solved in the most weird, anticlimatic and pointless way in my opinion. So much potential for epic-ness wasted in there.
I have watched worse dramas than this one, but I still don't think I would be able to recommend this one if simply for the fact it's too long and not much happens to justify its run time. If it's because any or all of the actors, then go ahead, but if you don't care about the actors and are there for the story then I would say look somewhere else because this is not it.
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We are Korean Gobolin
Gobolin could have been shortened to a 8 episode story. There was a lot of fluff and misunderstandings which end up extending the runtime a lot.The best part of the show was the ghosts stories. Some of the characters/world building was pretty inconsistent but the show doesnt really take itself too seriously anyway so its fine. Its mostly a fun watch with some emotional highs and lows. The forshadowing and symbolism throughout the show is pretty well done. Dalkom coffee and subway making their return in this show as well.
Sometimes the way the scenes were cut were a bit disorienting wtih them having several cuts in a row for a pretty simple conversation. The music and ost in the show is pretty solid. Really enjoyed the music especially with dramatic scenes.
The slice of life story contains other elements like mystery, romance and manage to blend them well into the show. The only complaint is that there was a lot of unecessary things that happen due to lack of communication.
Some characters actions are also very convenient for the story and are essentially just to advance the plot. The lore of the story is also somewhat inconsistent/doesnt really make sense. Characters being inconsistent to their lore was probably for irony purposes, but was kinda silly.
The acting was very good overall, carrying a lot of the emotional scenes. Especially when the show itself is mostly humour. +1
If the show ended at episode 14, it would have been peak. -1
Because of the scene where they threw out a plate of food because someone put too much spice on it. -1
Ghost stories epic. +1
Dramatic scenes were dramatic, sad scenes were sad, funny scenes were funny.
Good stuff. Very enjoyable.
Overall, Gobolin.
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•The historic era with a goryeo warrior was an amazing start with all the supernatural elements perfectly blended. The bromance more than romance was total mindblaster with all those quick and witty situations i had my stomach ache laughing immensely.
•This tale was perfect, for me its flawless. I always thought that for kdrama the lead shoud be handsome and beautiful, this drama broke my pretty boy syndrome. Gong Yoo outshined as dukkebi and i became a fan of him. His acting was just awesome. As for kim go eun, i had watched her in cheese in the trap where she played a university student was excellent but here as a high-schooler it left me with speechless. She looked like a high-schooler. I dont understand what kind of makeup the artist do that they actually give you a younger feel. Lee Dong Wook!!! Ouch he was real masterpiece. His eyes were more speakable, splendid acting and expression. And his chemistry with yoo in na was very nice. Next am gonna watch theirs touch your heart.
•Ost is nice especially stay with me.
• As for rewatch i already had watched it thrice.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Problematic and detestable.
I have a lot of problems with this show, but I'll start off with the most major one, the age gap. She was a 19 year old girl in HIGH SCHOOL and he was a grown ass middle aged man (939 but whatever he looks 50 in the show). Would it have killed the writers to make the fl a little older?? Or at least choose an older and mature looking actress?? Even the actors themselves had a 10 year age gap in real life I can only imagine how awkward it must have been... I was so uncomfortable watching their so called "romantic" scenes because all I could see was a father-daughter dynamic. She literally calls him "ahjussi" for god's sake. It is so creepy and vile that so many people support this and even more so, ROMANTICIZE IT. How and why are people not seeing a problem with this??The story is nothing special, I was bored out of my mind and sometimes, I would play a game where I would try and finish the dialogue of what a character was saying or try to predict the next scene or plot point, that's how clichéd, boring and predictable this was. I was bored even while watching this on 2x speed. And of course all the 3 main characters are magically reincarnated with the same faces and personalities and conveniently meet each other again. What was the point of dying if that was going to happen? The constant flashbacks to Kim Shin's life 900 years ago were so boring like bro move on it's been a century 😭😭👎👎. The main leads had no chemistry whatsoever, maybe this show would have been a little less detestable if Kim Shin and Ji Eun-tak were father and daughter instead of "lovers". The second lead couple also had no chemistry. Eun tak's character was plain and boring, she is a blank slate with no personality or mind of her own. Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook's visuals and bromance carried the show in all honestly. I genuinely cannot fathom how this hot mess came to be the 4th highest rated TvN show and most popular show on MDL...I honestly see this show as a stain in LDW's career, he has so many hits like A Shop for Killers, Strangers from Hell, etc...I wonder why he chose this show...
I could go on and on, but I think I've said enough. This show is a hot piece of garbage and I regret watching it. Watch this show if you hate yourself and like seeing minors getting groomed.
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Great Atmosphere, But the Main Leads Had Me Scratching My Head
I’ll start with the positives—the production quality and music are top-tier. The opening episodes sucked me in with the incredible atmosphere and pacing, and the chemistry between the second leads was chef’s kiss. But I have some serious gripes with the story and the main characters that made me feel like I was on a rollercoaster with a broken seatbelt.The Main Leads: Confusing at Best, Cringe at Worst
The Male Lead is… Old, but Also a Child?
I mean, come on. He’s ancient—very, VERY old. Like, we’re talking multiple centuries of experience here. But somehow, he acts like a confused teenager. When he was a soldier, the guy was calm, calculating, and cool. But fast forward to his immortal life, and he turns into this soft, awkward mess. What happened? Did immortality give him eternal wisdom or just eternal awkwardness?
The Female Lead is Just… Odd.
Okay, she’s totally cool with some random guy popping out of nowhere with magical powers? If I saw a dude with a sword sticking out of his chest, I’d run so fast Usain Bolt would take notes. But nope—she just rolls with it like it’s the most normal thing in the world. I get suspension of disbelief, but come on.
Nitpicks & The Stuff I Loved
The music? Amazing. It fits the tone so perfectly that I’m still humming it at random moments.
Honestly, I would’ve preferred a show focused on the Grim Reapers. That storyline had much more potential than what we got. The second leads? Gold. I wanted more episodes just to dive deeper into their characters and give them the impact they deserved.
When the Wheels Fell Off
The first 10 episodes? I was hooked—completely in. But then came the moment when the female lead tries to run away from the male lead, and wow. That scene was so cringe I almost threw my remote. I get that they were going for emotional conflict, but it just came off as forced and awkward.
Final Thoughts
This show had everything going for it—fantastic production, music, and promising side characters. But the confusing behavior of the main leads and some awkward story moments derailed it for me. If it had focused more on the second leads or the Grim Reapers, I think this could’ve been legendary. Still, it’s worth a watch, just don’t be surprised if you find yourself cringing here and there.
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Hard to Ignore Age Gap
I have to be honest, I couldn't get very far into this drama with the age gap. Of course the Goblin is a nearly 1000 year old supernatural being, however there is a difference between this and other supernatural romances with age gaps that make it less acceptable. Firstly, the female lead starts out as *underage*. The actual actors have a 12 year gap and the man looks like he could be her father which makes it much more awkward in the show seeing the male lead essentially watch the female lead as she grows up. I felt so uncomfortable in every scene where she's a highschooler, a literal child, with a grown man the show is hinting at romance with. Regardless if they don't doing anything before she is older, it's strange to wait until it's legal and to even hint at feelings when she is so obviously a child. Unfortunately the interesting main storyline couldn't distract me enough to ignore and enjoy this drama. Yikes.Was this review helpful to you?
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A couple of fillers at the start of each episode. They were effective as it reminded me of events that happened. It also took me a couple of episodes to settle into the story properly but by the 7th/8th episode, I was definitely hooked. I''m glad that I didn't drop or put this kdrama on hold. The best episodes IMO are from episode 9 onwards.
The story was really well put together. Even though I didn't really know much about how goblins and grim reapers work in this kdrama, I got to learn some things.. The bromance between the two male leads was great! HAha definitely one of the best in kdrama, no doubt.
The acting was another outstanding aspect of this kdrama! Gong Yoo is such an amazing actor. I remember seeing my first work of his in Train to Busan. I always found him to be an amazing actor. Dong Wook was someone who could deliver a specific emotion just like that. He has such an expressive face. When he was sad, I was sad too. I was moved by his acting the most. Lead actresses KGE and YIN played their parts exceptionally well as well. This whole kdrama was just ethereal.
Finally, the music was SO BEAUTIFUL. I loved all the songs I heard. They played a great role in helping me feel the emotions as I, a viewer, should be feeling at particular scenes. If you don't want to watch this kdrama, at least give the OSTs a chance because they're absolute masterpieces.
I would definitely rewatch this again one day when I have the time. I would probably skip some parts (like the fillers) but I'd definitely be in it for the funny scenes ^_^
BTW Sung Jae did well with his role. It bought some extra fun and ease to all those intense scenes.
Overall, this kdrama is a 9.5 for me
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