Honestly, it's one of the most hilarious I've seen in a while. There were moments that had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt (especially those in SaeHee's home), and many of the scenes weren't over the top or forced. And at the same time, there were some scenes that gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. ^^ I was worried that there would be typical kdrama miscommunications, but it's played out nicely so far.
The acting was pretty good in my opinion - though I'd say it's usually too soon to tell in the first two episodes, the main characters balanced each other nicely, even with their different personalities. Through most of the two episodes, I also found myself engaged with the supporting cast (JiHo's mother and her friends). ^^ I also really like how this drama tackled some issues (don't want to spoil it, but it ties in with JiHo's writing problems) in a meaningful way - everything was laid out pretty realistically. I can't wait for the next episodes to be released; the plot is interesting enough that I'll be thinking about this drama for a long time!
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우리
This Kdrama is a composite of many things. A love story, a feminist statement, a thriller (very briefly), a comedy & a philosophical soliloquy. At the beginning what strikes you is how different is is from the usual formulaic K romcoms. In the first episode we witness sex scenes, cat poo & a female virgin kissing a male stranger, all screaming out we are different from the rest. There are visual reference clues to the writers leanings in the start: In 'The Graduate' poster, which is replicated in the story and Breakfast at Tiffany's' in the naming of 'Cat', this must have served as inspiration for the writer. There are subliminal messages in the clothing 'You make your own Luck' & 'Raise Boys & Girls the Same'. You do feel that this story is very personal to the writer and she is documenting her own experience, as the FL is a writer for dramas also. The misunderstandings are hilarious in the beginning and we have some very shrewd observations that any woman can relate to (and not just in Korea) about how gender relations work in society. The characters are well written and have distinct personalities. All the couples are given their own strong storylines which they are allowed to develop equally alongside the main couple. But after 'that' kiss I feel it loses it's way and the FL starts philosophising in a smug calm way, which becomes really annoying. Yes, you've expressed your love for each other and now you are ruining it because he won't open the door to room 19? Like what? She want's to see him cry and get angry, while she remains serene. Then the other 2 couples have their temperamental tiffs which ends up with both the women proposing. So, what is the message exactly?....You don't need marriage? If you get married you'll end up miserable like your parents? Marriage is only going to work when the woman proposes & is in charge? But, that's not equality, that's just gender reversal. What might have been more interesting is if they had stronger male characters, but then the women wouldn't have been able to break-up with them and then get back together so easily. Let's face it, in the world we live in today, if a woman breaks up with a half- descent man (which all of these men were) he wouldn't have waited around, another woman would have snapped him up lickety-split by pandering to his shattered self-esteem, whereas this would not happen in reverse unless she looks like a supermodel and that's the real reason women (pre-children) (not all but the majority) will always be passive in relationships.Was this review helpful to you?
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Very different story to most Kdramas
I actually really enjoyed this drama. Most of all, I liked how they were able to keep it consistently interesting as most dramas are only good in the first half or the second half.My favourite characters were Woo Suji and Ma Sangoo, they were even more interesting than the main characters who were mostly just timid and annoying at times. Even though the female lead wasn't my favourite, I liked how the writers chose a personality for her and stood by it as although she does experience some growth, she is still the same person throughout the plot, which is something that kdrama writers find hard to maintain.
On the contrary, the male lead's personality did a 360. It was nice to see the contrast between the two. I also really enjoyed watching the other second leads (Wonseok and Horang). The actors' portrayal of their characters was amazing.
One thing that bothered me a bit was the fact that she was struggling to afford rent yet her father had bought an apartment for her and her brother? How was that possible?
Either way, definitely not in my top 15 but it's a really enjoyable drama if you're looking for something different.
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Overall Alright
Had a good Start but halfway through got quite verbose. Especially the last 3 Episodes. I dislike unnecessary misunderstandings to prolong a Story.For the Female Lead it was unfortunate to see her Personality decline the Moment she realised her feelings. That often happens in Korean Dramas and they're constantly sad until the sudden Change at the End.
But it's also the most Marriage Propaganda Drama I've come across.
I overall give it a 6.0 but since Female and Male Lead shared good sensual kisses (and didn't only press the mouthes together) it gets a +1
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Cliché plot, but worth the watch
Most dramas I've seen under the romance category revolve around the same plot of sharing a house or being in a contractual relationship, but I think what makes this stand out is the maturity of the characters. I really appreciate the fact that the main leads aren't the typical rich man, poor girl, but rather people of a more equal social status dealing with their own issues (and in the journey to understanding what marriage is). I also enjoyed how each episode contains a lot of quotable quotes and strong realizations in life (especially in the life of the characters). I feel like I'd pick up different realizations from the drama each time I re-watch it.I'm not very fond of re-watching dramas because the whole plot becomes predictable and of course the drama loses the thrill, but I decided to re-watch this drama as I've been recommending this drama to others for a while now and I've realized that I have forgotten the exact plot. Now that I have rewatched it, I felt that I did not fully appreciate the drama to its fullest during the first time I watched it, rather I was only watching it for the "cliché" plot. ( this was the first few Asian dramas I've watched) I'm not sure if I'm being overly absorbed in the drama, but at one point I felt that the dialogues of the characters were in a sense inspiring and relatable.
I agree with how some people say that the plot towards the end of the drama was not at par with how it started, I also remember my frustrations and my verge of dropping the drama the first time watching this. Apart from that, I also dislike the lack of strong chemistry among the main lead (not sure if it has to do with the ML character). But overall, I do still think this drama is totally worth watching.
*side note: I love the OST for this drama, it's one of the few songs that I still listen to after watching it for the first time last 2017.
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Basic and not so much memorable but this show was shockingly relatable, and sometimes even touching, that there are moments I cried my eyes out. Who knew a romance k-drama can be capable to have such meaningful plot like this?
It covers all the problems the working people the society are currently facing, from work, dating, relationships, friendships, family, marriage, and even housing, this show has it all.
Because This Is My First Life had the right casting, characters, and plot, but i don't know what it was, it got a bit slow and draggy for me in the middle. I think it was because it came to a point that there's already too much going on? What made me stick to this show was the curiosity of how Ma Sang Goo and SooJi's relationship will end up, I was rooting for them! All the other couples were cute too though!
Acting wise, everyone did so well especially Jung So Min, Lee Min Ki was still but i'm not sure if it is because his character required him to be one?
What we can get from this drama is that, love is not really found and given through big gestures, but in small ones like simply caring for another.
This might not be my favorite, but I enjoyed watching the show.
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The drama was so enjoyable in the beginning. The story was strong, the characters understandable and some relatable. The character relationships were everything and things weren’t too unrealistic or cringey.
Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, episode 13, 14 and 15, things just started happening for no logical reason. Conflicts seemed to come out of nowhere to create problems for some relationships. For other relationships, their issues were resolved equally as fast and seemingly out of nowhere. It just… things just started to lose sense and logic.
The ending, was a typical happy ending, but felt unsatisfying because of all the nonsense that happened in the immediate episodes before it.
Overall, I guess I would say I enjoyed the drama. I feel like I was cheated genuine excitement and joy over the ending because of how thing went in the last few episodes. I would probably still recommend this, but with a warning attached.
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The delicacy of love
This show for sure is not one of the masterpieces you can find around, but still has its solid what&why which make it more than worthy of being watched.The story is obviously focused on the two leads, but also the other main roles are well encompassed and developed, which make the show a chorused one, since the stories of the three couples are all well tied the ones to the others, due to the strong and amazing friendship shared by the three women leads.
The story is a love story, or better (as said) a chorus of love stories, each one with its peculiarities and its identity. The psycho one, between the two leads Ji-ho and Se-hee, the normal one (so much normal that fell into a huge crisis) between Ho-rang and Won-seok, and the special one between Soo-ji and Sang-goo which I found simply captivating and perfect. Around them there are the support roles which are actually well convincing and functional for the story itself.
The main characters were well casted, even physically: I found all of them perfect, each one in the respective role. My preferred one: Soo-ji for sure. The kind of strong, unconventional, and independent woman, well performed by Esom, who breaks the rules of a society often still too much traditionalist, conservative, patriarchal and sexist, who finally finds her way to self-make her life and success, and who at the same time still believes in feelings as soon as she found the partner who's able to complete and support her (and Sang-goo did it excellently). I found them shiny together. As well as the performers were really nice (and surprisingly I found Park Byung-eun unrecognizable after having saw him in Eve). But that does not mean that the other two couples were bad. Instead, I have to say that their stories were captivating too. Ji-ho and Se-hee because they are actually more affine to me (and to my partner: ok tonight I will die) in their being a bit psycho (in the good way) and actually not banal. I liked a lot the way they faced the issues coming from the conventionalities well identifying the traditionalist Korean way of life. And I appreciated their path toward their liberation, as individuals and as a couple from those constraints, and from the miseries of their past lives. They actually growth together, in a sort of transfiguration well depicted eventually by the transition from the formal to the unformal speaking. Jung So-min and Lee Min-ki well performed two roles which actually were not banal. Last but not least the classic love story, the apparently banal one, the normal one, the one so normal and adherent to the traditional way to live a love story that very realistically exploded, because of its forced normality, predictability, conventionality, The story between Ho-rang and Won-seok is all of that. And as very often happens in the real life, the couple exploded because sedimenting upon the wrong premises. Both of them looks naive and banal, but actually also them eventually experienced a transfiguration which finally led them to reconciliate upon new premises. Both Kim Ga-eun and Kim Min-seok were able to perform their characters successfully, to include their irritating traits.
It looks like the underlay message in the end is: no matter which are the adversities, no matter the hindrances, Love will always find its own way to make it...
As said already, the rest of the support roles were well sorted and casted: Bo-mi, Jung-min, and (a bit less essential) Bok-nam well played their key roles in pushing our heroes to make their choices.
You will not cry, but you can find some things on which thinking. Nice photography and direction and convincing plot: just tell the director that cats are not so continuously meowing :)
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the ending ruined the whole thing for me
I was enjoying this show, I truly was. it was a fascinating look following a contract marriage as well as 2 other couples really asking themselves and the audience some great questions about love, relationships, and marriage. what are they? what do they mean? what should they mean?everyone made mistakes. everyone had their flaws. but overall, you could see everyone had the best of intentions.
until like the last 2 episodes where I feel like the female lead really went off the deep end to further traumatize the male lead even further.
everyone has problems communicating. communicating wanting to get married or not get married. having a baby. having disabled parents. but the male lead so deeply believes himself incapable and unlovable that everyone is better of away from him. safe from him. to abandon him as a way to force his emotions to the surface because you didn’t feel he was expressive enough was CRUEL and could have had serious health repercussions. as it was he almost drank himself to death. not to mention he’s very neurodivergent coded, so his processing of it could’ve been wildly off.
everything was so good and interesting up to that point and it honestly really killed the whole series for me in one go.
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not bad but overrated
i really wanted to give this drama a better score than 7, but it's so full of tropes - though well executed - that i cant help it! the ML is really Mr Perfect, the FL is Miss Innocence, the parents are way too typical, the coincidences are never ending! it's also very predictable, slow, and... boring? after the first episode, all the action flows one direction. still it takes forever for anything to happen!the woman-chases-man-first trope put me off - the FL acts clingy sometimes.
the old story of cohabitation and new love that heals past traumas is only saved by the good-looking faces - though i suspect filters were added - and the adorable cat... cinematography is excellent, benefits from modern technology.
everything is too polished to give the illusion of reality, like - the numerous expensive coats worn by the part-time waiter FL on a daily basis? seriously, her wardrobe wouldnt fit into a small rented room. this goes for the other characters as well.
support cast is excellent, though not necessarily needed to the main plot. a lot of scenes could be cut/skipped with no loss.
also... i'm not into narrative movies, i dont need that voice to teach abt what we see and what we should think.
watch it if you wanna kill time.
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amazing series!!
‘just because you lived today, doesnt mean you know everything about tomorrow’ - jung so minits a great series, the relationship dynamics in this are so nice to watch. the slowburn between so min and min ki is very entertaining and i love them as a couple, i have a few episodes yet left but i can already tell you its amazing. the subjects it explores and touches on so far are done in a tasteful way and i find it relatable, because of this i feel really connected to so min and i adore her as a character. i like that shes presented as quite innocent and kind but she also can stand up for herself and be strong too.
i would definately recommend to those who enjoy slowburns, as well as opposites attract type dynamics.
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Contracted Love
THIS DRAMA IS SO GOOD!!!❤️❤️. I mean i didn't have that much of expectations for this drama but all the actors did an amazing job . The main couple own my heart. Jung so min was always my favourite I loved her character never held back anything like the typical female leads of an kdrama, she always expressed the questions she had to the male lead. Lee min ki was new for me but it made me regret why haven't I known him sooner?!. Their cameo in What's wrong with secretary Kim made my heart melt !. I definitely did see the story going downhill in the last few episodes, but i like that the See hee who often doesn't express his feelings as much started to express more and long for her presence more and more. This drama definitely teaches me alot of life lessons. Th female friendship in this drama is to die for. All the three couples have their own cute and lovey dovey moments. I mean i didn't get why they added the whole stalker thing but I felt like , it made See hee look so much cooler like a person who always cared about money breaking an expensive motorcycle on purpose. Come on he looked so cool!!. I mean the ex plot was really cliché . The scene i ADORED the most was when when See hee found out why Ji ho quit writing and he punches the harasser like i wish they showed the punching scene he would've looked so hot. Overall awesome drama to binge watch. This drama will forever be in my heart. Had fun watching it!!Was this review helpful to you?
