it's a Korean drama, but it doesn't feel like a kdrama.
I don't know how to pinpoint the reasons for this, but this show feels like an American's interpretation of a K-drama. The love triangle feels forced and hopeless from the beginning, and the timelines jump in a very trope-y way.That said, I did enjoy watching it. I wouldn't watch it again, but I'm at least going to start the next season just to see how the cliffhanger resolves.
Also, heads up that the show gets pretty dark about halfway through the season. Like, DARK dark. This is not a happy feel-good cozy show.
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Boring and Dissapointed
I am So very much dissapointed. And the story was excruciatingly Boring. I couldn't even force myself to finish the whole series of 2 seasons. And WHY two seasons?! It is too long and oh my word the plot holes! It would have been better if the series was just a handful of episodes that was well thought out. It is the first time in my life since starting to watch KDramas, that I didn't like ANY of the characters in a Series. The three main leads were stiff, uninteresting and emotionless for the most part. I just couldn't get invested or interested in their characters. The female main lead was painful and frustrating to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
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Surprised!
I am surprised about a lot of things with Love Alarm. One being it's low rating!And maybe because the promotions suggests a light rom com sort of drama, which for me was off base...I thought it was anything but...for me it was a surprisingly good and surprisingly sensitive growing up kind of story that also addresses our exponentially growing dependency on anything outside our own guts for affirmation of what we think and feel.
Hurting, learning, accepting and growing...what life's lessons are really all about.
The story arcs of our main characters were full of the complexities we all face in life. They at times handle it like any HS kid would, and at other times they were surprisingly mature in their reactions...just like HS students. No one at a certain age is suddenly what we term "adult" in their reactions to events and issues. Some reviews were frustrated with the characters reactions but when I think back to what I was like at 16 to 19 years of age...I'd be surprised if any of us could say we would have dealt with any of the issues that came up in this drama any better.
Even as adults we stumble through our lives don't we?
I also loved that none of the main characters, actually all the characters, were either "black" or "white"...just like real life, they all were shades of gray so we, in turn, loved and hated them all. Each character in Love Alarm; Kim Jo Jo, Hwang Seon O, and Lee Hye Yeong all deal with their own personal issues just as you would expect they would. Jo Jo's defensive walls dealt with, besides her original horrendous trauma, peer bullying. Seon O who lived an emotionally isolated life dealt with the pain with a devil-may-care flippancy, and Hye Yeong 's feelings of inferiority manifested as a quiet withdrawn young man...I know so many people, myself included who have dealt in the same ways with the same kinds of problems.
Like many I fought her growing away from Seon O ( a little nod to the bittersweetness of "first love"). I at first wanted them to end up together but as I watched I slowly fell truly in love with Hye Yeong and how perfect he ended up being for Jo Jo. In fact I think everyone ended up with exactly who they needed, and thus I was surprisingly satisfied with the end of this drama.
Couple that with a surprisingly good score ( that includes the haunting Blooming Story and wistful In My Little Mind) and for me this drama was a surprising pleasure to watch.
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Don’t expect any kind of happy ending
Plot is already indicated so I’ll skip that.What I like is the portrayal of the actors. Can say that any one of them, even the support role artists did a great job with their role.
I like that the series touched (a tiny bit) about LGBTQ
I like the locations chosen to shoot this series.
The plot didn’t grab my interest.
The never ending hurdles that the female lead went through is about 75% of the series. My experience is that when viewers see too much problems and hurdles, it starts being boring instead of feeling empathy. Writers should have considered this. I fast forwarded most cuz I got tired of it.
The only thing supposedly that’s positive in her life is her boyfriend that then she ruined herself.
Another man could have been a good source of support for her and the story didn’t even give it a descent chance.
Personally, writers can be blamed for the negative reception for this series that could have had a good rating.
I watched this first season and the ending left me frustrated. There’s many things that were not even explained. There’s a season 2 that I haven’t seen that could possibly explain most of the things left unexplained in season 1.
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I mourn what this could have been
Honestly this is just a story filled with constant despair and stupid teenagers being put into situations where they shouldn’t be, as much as I want to absolutely despise this series with all of my being there's something in me that I can't fully hate this. This had the potential to be something amazing and I will always mourn the fact that we lost what could have been one of the best dystopian world romances, It honestly started off like that but as it went on I guess they decided to just take the route of a boring romance that took the safe route. With the people killing themselves because no one around them rung their alarm could’ve made for the best route of the story, in the end the problem of the app wasn’t really solved for anyone else besides the main character since she decided to not listen to the app and follow what her head wanted instead of her heart. Which is understandable considering her background, which is one of the main reasons as to why I don’t completely hate Jojo. She comes from a very broken and traumatic background so it's no surprise that she would take that safe route, which I feel is something that a lot of people refuse to see about her and just want to hate her for leaving Sun oh. Speaking of him, in terms of the main storyline and disregarding Jojos trauma for a minute I feel bad for Sun Oh the most in the situation. Just for the fact that Jojo was the first person that he was able to open his heart up to and love fully, but his model or actor career I can’t even remember made him not be able to stick with her and caused her and him more pain in the end. I hope he truly did love Yookjo in the end and didn’t just choose her because he basically had too, which sucks for both parties involved at the end of the day. But hey, at least Hye yeong got the girl in the end am I right fellasWas this review helpful to you?
The idea could have been nice, but it was ruined in more and more ways
Before watching a drama, I usually do some research and try to figure out if I will enjoy the story or if it is worth my time. This is to say that the story (8 episodes in Love Alarm and 8 episodes in Love Alarm 2) wasn't that bad, however imaginative, but it was ruined by some script choices and above all by an ending that made little sense and was not very pleasant. The kind of ending that leaves you thinking "the they did it on purpose to show that they are different and don't do things like everyone else"Was this review helpful to you?
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não é um dos melhores
esse final é ruim, vale a pena assistir só pra passar o tempo ou dizer que ja assistiu, não é um dos melhores doramas mas gosto da ideia do aplicativo de pessoas que gostam de você.a unica coisa que salva o dorama é o song kang que vamos concordar ele atua bem e é bonito né amores, pioooor na primeira cena do primeiro beijo deles FOI O BEIJO MAIS SEM GRAÇA DA VIDA e ele tem uma audacia horrível forçou a mana lá a beijar, unica cena que me da um tick, mas enfim eu não odeio mas tambem não amo.
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Love Alarm had huge potential, but season 2 ruined the story
Love Alarm had the potential to become one of the best k dramas, the premise was fresh, the story was engaging and the romance between Jojo and Sun oh was genuinely sweet and emotional, sadly the second season completely changed the direction, weakening the characters and the message of the series, what once felt sincere became frustrating and the ending left many viewers disappointed, it deserved a happier and more satisfying conclusion, many fans felt confused, let down and emotionally unsatisfied after finishing itWas this review helpful to you?
first kdrama
love alarm was my very first kdrama and as a new kdrama watcher, it was entertaining. the storyline seemed interesting when i saw the trailer, so that's why i watched it. there are far better kdrama's out there though and most of the ep's are a bit boring to watch. to be honest: the characters were not really sparkling with personality, but somehow i kept watching. i think it was because i didn't know what i had to expect for a kdrama. my conclusion is that it was fine, but it's definitely a kdrama for beginners.Was this review helpful to you?
For me, it is hard to see this drama in a serious light because I find myself struggling seeing the two main leads with their acting. They are both so awkward on the screen. I did finished the drama but I root more on Hye Yeong. I don't know if he is the second male lead or not since the season was not yet released.
The storyline is a bit too 'teenager' for my taste but I'm looking forward to the next season and see if I could relate since they would venture after the schooling part.
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wasted potential.
i really liked the concept of love alarm—an app that tells you when someone likes you is such an interesting and modern idea. but the execution didn’t live up to its potential. the pacing felt off, and the story didn’t dive deep enough into the emotional or psychological impact of the app. instead, it relied too heavily on a love triangle with characters that were either unlikable, bland, or just downright frustrating to watch. even the main leads lacked chemistry and depth, making it hard to root for anyone. overall, it felt like a wasted opportunity. the idea was fresh, but the drama itself just didn’t deliver.Was this review helpful to you?
OST FTW
It's weird how overall empty this season felt given that it spanned eight hours. Like, nothing much happened. She met a guy, started dating him, they broke up, she kinda got together with the other guy.However, I was engrossed and thoroughly invested throughout. None of the episodes felt boring and long, which is often the case when stories don't have much going on. But I was hooked.
I especially loved all the autumnal colors. Gold and red leaves everywhere. Aesthetically gorgeous. And the music matched the tone of the show very well, too. Very mellow, chill songs.
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