That was more or less the message of this drama. And I loved it. But I loved even more the way the story was told, the originality of it. The fact that a deep message could be told in a lighthearted and simple way. I love their sense of rythm. And the fact that the plotline is somewhat based on Korean mythology is also a plus for me. Hong sisters are actually masters at this, and I love dramas with a supernatural element.
I loved the cast, both Shin Min Ah and Lee Seung Gi were cut out for the role. They had a lot of chemistry and all the sexual innuendos in the script were just so funny. And the supporting actors were also great, specially Song Dong Il as the action school director. His role, a parody of Chow Yun Fat action roles in Chinese movies and his scenes with Yoon Yoo Sun were absolutely hilarious (the references to Asian pop culture seem to be a trademark in Hong sisters dramas and this was no exception).
Surprisingly, I loved No Min Woo's character as well. I'm not a fan, but I really liked his role and performance in this.
Is there anything I didn't like? Well, yes. I hated Park Soo Jin's character. I guess it was just some treat to the audience. I mean, this is the type of character you encounter in EVERY drama, the girl everybody loves to hate. And it's not just that I hate this type of character in here: I hate it everytime, in every drama. But since everything else felt almost perfect in this, I think that subplot was a downer.
I didn't like the fact that the story drifted from Mi Ho to Dae Woong's character as the plot developed either. Or at least that's the feeling I got. And the ending felt a little rushed, maybe...?
Also, the fact that I loved the story and how it is told, doesn't mean that I didn't cringe at all the sexism implied in the undertone message. That is, the fact that Mi Ho's character is a satire of the overattached girlfriend cliché, which I hate. And I have mixed feelings about all the romanticism and the mystification of love (the bead, the chi energy exchange thing). I think it's a beautiful allegory, and a beautiful story to be told in a movie or a TV drama, but it's kind of dangerous in real life, depending on how it's interpreted.
Anyways, I absolutely loved and enjoyed this all along, and it's become hands down one of my favourite romantic comedy dramas ever.
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This drama didn't age well
I don't usually write reviews, but for the community I think I should write something about this drama to warn about it . Like I said in the title, this drama didn't age well. I started watching this drama convinced by the 8.2 rating, the name Lee Seung Gi and by the plot summury. Well, I found myself disappointed. This rating in my opinion doesn't reflect how a korean drama should be with an 8 in today's standards.The first half it's quite interesting and funny but, as soon as we approach the second half, here we have problems: the plot starts to be repetitive and boring, it's development very slow and not so funny.
Generally I like Lee Seung Gi's acting (Look at him in Vagabond. To paraphrase Ban director: He IS indeed ACTION. ...and hot ;) ), but maybe because I'm influenced by the overall boring plot, I didn't find it very stand-out. I found a little more convincing Shin Min Ah's acting. I'm not saying they were bad, but I didn't feel so involved.
In conclusion would I recommend this?
Mostly not. If you are a begginer in watching korean dramas maybe and I say MAYBE you can still appreciate this story, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone else.
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Story- This is a well written comedy romance. Not only is it super funny but there is an actual plot. There are actual events taking place while we are being entertained. Its not a predictable story either. Id say its only fault would be the end. The ending wasn't horrible but I just didnt love it.
Acting/Cast- This was my first introduction to Shin Min Ah. She WAS Gumiho in everyway. Lee Seung Ki did his usual comedy thing but was convincing when it came to his emotional scenes. No Min Woo though stole the show in my opinion. I loved loved all the side characters, they were so much fun to watch and really added to the show.
Music- Best score ever and I liked a lot of the songs on the OST enough to put on my ipod.
Rewatch- I could rewatch this every year cause it was so entertaining.
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Gu Mi Ho is so cute... I like when Dae Woong tames her slowly. I wish there was more fantasy elements. There were showed only light or bad shots...Hmm.. maybe too smal budget? It's a pity! It was the most interesting part of drama. Except for the main characters I've become interested in misterious Park Dong Ju. I would like to know his past better, because the secrets are still puzzle for me.
Hmm.. I mentioned it is the tragic story, but unfortunately.. they demaged the end. I think the ideal end was on th gym, when Mi Ho disappears... Awww... it is only my script version.
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The soundtrack is just so addictive, there are such beautiful songs, and it fits so well, even parts that may be a bit boring, because of the background music it becomes magical.
In my experience with Kdramas, the action and special effects are not really that good, in this drama there were pretty much amazing, only one or two failures.
The actors are perfect for this one, the "villains" really have that bad guy/girl look, and the main role actors fit so wonderfully together.
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It got recommended quite a lot and I just dropped another drama, so I started watching this one. And I'm glad I did:
-Although I do not like fantasy that much it worked perfectly for me in this drama.
-There was quite some character-development, much to my liking.
-The romance developed on a good pace and was heartwarming at times.
-The characters were believable, there personalities matched with their back-stories.
-It was funny but not the kind of humor that gets annoying.
-I cried. And that doesn't happen with dramas usually.
-The cast fitted perfectly.
-It has the best dog ever.
There were some frustrating/irritating points in it as well, though they were minor:
-The end was a bit disappointing.
-The antagonists were annoying(though you don't need to like them, they worked on my nerves)
The music fitted beautifully. It had that lighthearted fantasy feeling that was like fairy dust.
Though I don't re-watch dramas, for one who does, this one would give you the same fresh feeling every time.
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The story of Miho (Gumiho) and her earnest quest to become human really got to me, as well as the tone and the humor of the story. I was hooked from episode one. The story and the characters were quirky and intriguing and I just couldn’t get enough and that feeling sort of stayed there or just grew even more as I continued to watch the drama.
It was pretty solid in the acting and the writing department, the leads were really likeable and it was just very cute and fun to watch. I had such a good time with it, it felt breezy, with some fun fantasy elements thrown in there, and some fluff; which is honestly what I require from a rom-com such as this. I don’t think it dragged too much. Some might say it’s far fetched, I think it fitted with the fantasy elements of the story.
I even liked the comic-relief characters, which doesn’t always happen. They do tend to annoy me and just be in the way of the main story or the main couple and sometimes I just get bored with it, but I think the Hong sisters usually do a good job writing them as quite the likeable characters with their own story that you can get invested it, while also making them fit well into the main story.
The problem on the other hand are often the second leads, which they use more as props to add tension to the plot, or as obstacles to the main couple. They aren’t that well developed and one of the few negatives I will give this drama.
I really liked the humor here, which doesn’t surprise me since I also really liked You’re Beautiful and My Girl. The humor that the Hong sisters use just clicks with me, I guess. There were some good laugh out loud moments for me (and as someone who rarely laughs out loud that’s something), and even when the drama goes a bit more dramatic toward the end, there are always some cute, heartfelt or chuckle worthy scenes in every episode
The main couple was super cute, the chemistry there was off the charts, and I quite liked the journey they had about learning to be become more human together, since Dae Woong’s grandpa refers to Dae Woong as non-human at one point because he is lazy and always up-to-no-good and he really matures throughout the series and Miho learns how to be human and what that is like, as she is a mythological creature. She is one of my favorite kdrama heroines.
I am not too familiar with the Gumiho myth, but I also feel like they handled the fantasy elements or how they corporates it into the story without it being over the top, too bizarre or creepy (I’m looking at you, Twilight), even if she is what 500 years older than him.
My Girlfriend is a Gumiho sort of just manages to do all of that for me, so I am very happy with it. It really tucked at my heartstrings, it was cute and fun and had some heart and humor, and overall I just enjoyed my time watching it. I even watched some of it even when it wasn’t completely subbed, on Viki, just because I couldn’t get enough of it and I just wanted to watch it sooner rather than later. I even watched it again a few years ago and I still bawled my eyes out when it ended, because I just loved it and the characters so much.
The Hong sisters haven’t always delivered such amazing show for me after the holy trinity that is My Girl, You’re Beautiful and then My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, but when they are good they are goooood.
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama with a fabulous beginning, draggy middle, and an ending filled with plot holes. I absolutely adored the first 2-3 episodes, which were bright, funny, and unique from other dramas I've seen. However, everything became repetitive, and the story didn't have good pacing. I had to drudge through almost the entirety of the show until the last 3 episodes. Lee Seung Gi and Shin Mina had a really comedic but touching chemistry. This show was a rom-com, but the middle-to-ending parts were a bit too melo for my tastes. The OST was really funky at times, but there were a few songs that stood out greatly. I wouldn't be able to re-watch this without getting skipping huge sections. Was this review helpful to you?
Rewatch Worthy
A true og in the KDrama world.Rewatching this made me realize how ahead of their time this show was.
Even if this was more than ten years ago, the writing is beautifully crafted in a way that the story shows growth.
It is both funny, heartwarming, and emotional.
The chemistry between the leads isn’t what you’d call steaming. But it is cute.
The second male lead also known as the villain is both annoying and pitiful.
Overall, I’m really glad I rewatched this.
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