A comedic retelling of the Gumiho tale
Not since the radically different k-drama Forbidden Love (2014) have I watched a retelling of the legend of the nine-tailed fox from east-asian folklore. This one does well as a comedy as 500-year old Miho is totally unfamiliar with modern life, and almost like an obliging canine, she wags her tails in glee when she's happy. My main gripe with this series is the inordinate amount of time she spends trying to pass the fox-bead around. I mean, is it a source of power or a ticking time-bomb? one is left puzzled all the way till the end.Was this review helpful to you?
The only reason why my rating for the re-watch value is low is because I rarely re-watch a drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
PLOT:At first I thought the plot was going to be about a powerful, manipulative female lead who is as sly as a fox. But I was so wrong! The female lead is a cute, innocent and naive girl, who is actually a fox. Lol. The plot was interesting up to episode 13 ish, but from there it became cliche and boring. The last 3 episodes are about who should die; they both love each other so much as would die for each other, each scene became quiet repetitive. The only thing that made me finish the drama was No Min Woo! He is so cute! I wished he could've had more screen time as he had so much potential.
Acting:
Both Lee seung Gi and Shin Min Ah are legendary actors, they both portrayed their characters well. Too bad the plot didn't develop their characters throughout the drama. Thanks to this drama I was able to discover Noh Min Woo, I'll definitely watch his other dramas, he is such an eye candy, heheheh.
Music:
I only heard 2 OST through out the drama, both sounds really good. I really like 'Trap' sang by the one and only Noh Min Woo. Every time there is a scene with Noh Min Woo and Shin Min Ah that song will play, and I'll just ball my eyes out because of second lead syndrome.
Rewatch value:
I wouldn't re-watch the whole drama as it does get quiet draggy in some episodes. But I'll definately rewatch the scenes with Noh Min Woo to help me get over my second lead syndrome. Lol
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●Acting- am a fan of lee seung gi and was quite surprised to see his wow acting at the age of 24. his actions were also good.
Shin min ah was good but she was toooooo naive character that I wanted to sometimes bump my head on wall.
Although this drama has cliches the chemistry between the leads was amazing.
Other character also played the parts very well. I liked the grandfather.
●Music-music was nice and enjoyable. I wished if the song cha daewoong was singing was made into a jingle it would been have awesome ‘my frined miho a cute gumiho’
●Rewatch- well its watchable once for me as the drama went too old I just watched it for LSG. Other than that its no for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
The drama tells a story about a Gumiho, who wants to be a human.The plot starts well, it’s interesting and from the very start the Gumiho (Mi-Ho) gets my symphathy. She is freed by Cha Daewoong, so she decides to help him. A goblin appeares in Mi-Ho’s life and wants to help her to become human.
The drama is good but i wished more.
THE LET DOWNS
- The usual rich guy, poor girl.
- Mi-Ho keeps asking Cha Daewoong to buy her
meat, even though he doesn’t have much money.
-She is too bubbly towards him. He keeps being mean to her, but she she still tries to approach him. I wished for a little more elegance from her. Kind and bubbly but some of the things she says..i feel like doesn’t fit for a Gumiho. I feel like she was lacking some ”supernatural spice”
- I was hoping Mi-Ho to be a cool Gumiho. Was hoping kind of badass scenes like ”Mi-Ho saving Dae Woong”
- she kept following him everywhere. U were trapped for 500 years and all u wanna do is follow a guy who is mean to you, just cuz he buys u food? You don’t wanna go see what has changed in the last 500years?
-She was so naive and little..stupid for a fox. Foxes are usually pretty smart and sure it takes time to get used to a new world, but i feel like she should have known not to go through trash or eat soap or drink someone’s left over coffee..
-Dongjoo.. i wished him better. He was very interesting character. I was hoping to see more of him and his personal story too. I felt bad because he was just repeating his words over and over again. There was no progression. I kinda think they could have went a little bit further with the love triangle and given Mi-Ho and Dong-Joo at least some actually romantic scenes.
-Tell me again, what was the point of telling us that Cha Daewoong’s parents are dead..? His fear of the Zoo was solved in a blink of an eye.
-The ending.. So rushed. The ending twist was wrapped up in under 12minutes..
THE GOODS:
-The supporting couple. Minsuk and director Ban..they were the real couple here!
-Mi-Ho and Cha Daewoong always solved problems fast.
-Mi-Ho’s background story was very touching.
I felt bad for her and wished her to find true happiness.
-Dongjoo’s kind actions towards Mi-Ho. He didn’t buy any meat before Mi-Ho started visiting often.
- The way how their love progressed. I like the fact that Cha Daewoong started liking her little by little.The cute little jealousy that followed when he started liking her.
-I did like that fact that Mi-Ho was always kind and never wanted to be a bad guy. She was pure and funny. She tried hard to become human. She almost never lost her hope on things and always hoped for the best.
It was really nice ”lovey dovey romantic comedy drama” my biggest problems just happened to be Mi-Ho’s personality. It has a lot of sweet moments and funny moments. The acting was great, especially Noh MinWoo..
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Overall very good story. I've fall on the main characters especially the leading man. So cute and so nice. I'm gonna miss this drama. ❤️.
Characters. They are all good and perfect to their characters. My Favorite character is Dae Wong even though he lied always. I like his voice and his love for Miho. Very amazing character for me is Miho. I like her also because of her cuteness and being kind and innocent. Both actors have a good chemistry. I loved it. ❤️
Story. Very interesting story or plot like you cannot stop to watch it because you're excited to the next episodes. Actually I already watch it a few times because of the story. I’m still being carried away by the scenes. I loved it.
Music. I love the songs. I like their song like I’m really looking for it to listen over and over again especially with the sad song "Fox Rain".
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A classic kdrama romedy about dating, with forced cohabitation etc. Leaping from one crisis to another, the romance is slow but lots of fun.
LSG is the guy-est of 20-year- old guys as Dae Woong, a character in the kind of role done to death by the FL lately (but with no psychological problems) -- DW is handsome, kind, everyone's idea of a great boyfriend, but hesitant in love and conflicted about what he really wants; he spreads misunderstandings through the small group of college friends and the acting company he wants to work for.
Shin Min Ah was a relative veteran at 26 with 4 movies and 4 dramas under her belt. Her vibrant energy crackles from the the tips of her toes to the top of her head as Mi Ho the gumiho who wants to be a human woman. Vulnerable and gullible, alert and suspicious, she is utterly without pretense, and very very curious about human mating behavior. Part of the fun is a series of Korean expressions about responsible, adult, respectful and decent behavior which is characterized as "being like a human".
DW's grampa complains that he isnt even human yet -- DW is immature still and innocently self-centered. MH is an innocent wild animal, a fox spirit, recently freed from a 500 year imprisonment. Not just animal lovers will be rolling in the aisles at her near-miss at drinking from a toilet bowl which she mistakes for a water fountain. At one point she licks an in-bus advertisement for restaurant food/"meat".
Secondary characters are great. As in My Girl, the secondary pair of lovers (absolutely standout comic talents!) incorporates the lovers fart joke .
The HS often pack some character development into a forced separation in the last two episodes, and indulgence in a little ambiguity is common event in kdrama when tidiness isnt possible. Until recently, the plot of a series is written on the fly after the first few weeks, try ta negotiation or balancing act between the audience reactions in real time, the scriptwriters original intentions if any, and the director's plans, if any. The SK television audience has a much higher tolerance for loose ending, in consequence. But now with the internationalization of asian drama on streaming svcs, as drama lengths shorten and regional differences (unfortunately from my sentimental perspective) tend to be ironed out, likewise quick or ambiguous wrap-ups will become less common.
ps.This is the first time In this watch of Hong Sisters' scripts from 2005 to 2024 that I noticed a circling shot of the main character at an emotional climax. There are books to be written about the changes in techniques in kdrama as influenced by the Hallyu shift from movies into TV (essentially being a massive shift in funding as well as expenses), the Covid phenomenon both in audiences and in the age of the actors, the use of techniques from blockbusters etc etc etc.. interestingly accelerated by the furious pace of productions coming out in increased numbers every season, , so that in the space of a year you can see a sudden interest in one new camera trick or angle sweep through many shows like a wave and then ebb away. So cool.
pps. I admit to congenital 2ML syndrome but Noh Min Woo, another musician like LSG, is haunting and gorgeous and does a yeoman's job of his role.twins...the true lovers do unite! But the now older younger twin looks exactly like his older brother, duh!).
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Cannot Forget this Title
Shin Min Ah s acting just grows on you. She is like a goddess. Shes shy and looks timid in real person but in here shes loose and funny. Lee Seung Gi s acting is exceptional here. I cried whenever he cries especially at the last episodes. He is good in transitioning between being innocent to being serious. The story teaches us about what true love really is and what it is supposed to be. Check out this line "I need you because I love you" and not the other way around." Love is a fantasy indeed. Watch the series and Im sure you will experience it your self. I also like the hilarious reactions of the grandpa and the side love story between director Ban and Aunt Min Suk. They added a lot to the lightness of it all. The soundtrack is very good as well.Was this review helpful to you?
Waffley bit...
I really enjoyed this one, telling the story of a mythical 9-tailed fox who is set free from a drawing and enters the real world where she ultimately falls in love with the male lead in the story and so begins the crux of the troubles.
Shin Min-Ah is just fantastic in this, she plays the doe eyed, innocent and inexperienced "fox" superbly as she tries to navigate this new world. A scene where Dae-Wung spots something in a store that he really likes and she later goes back to buy it for him is just a classic example of this. Scenes where she's eating meat and just over the moon enjoying herself like it's the greatest experience she's ever had are fun to watch too.
Lee Seung-Gi, whom I first saw MUCH older in the more recent Vagabond looks practically like barely a teenager in this but performs well and provides a great counterpoint to the innocence of Shin Min-Ah's character.
Noh Min-Woo's character, Park Dong-Joo, I just found to be really flat. That may be the writing / production but I just didn't gel with this character at all.
There's also a momentary cameo from another actress who is much more well known now, Park Shin Hye - but she's barely recognisable as a school-age girl on the bus.
There are some real cheeseball moments, pretty much the entire character of Ban Doo Hong (the action film director in the story) is a hyper-real character who's quite fun. The most amusing scene in the entire story involves him taking a pee against a wall, i'll just leave it there, it's absolutely hilarious.
The story references Little Mermaid when Mi-Ho is given the book to read to hint at her possible future, and there are certainly some strong links between the two stories - though I will say this isn't just a remake of Little Mermaid with a different skin, it does follow a different path.
If you're paying a reasonable amount of attention, the ending and how it's arrived upon is fairly predictable, it's not a complex story, but I didn't find this made it any less enjoyable at all.
The chemistry between the two leads is superb, I could sense some real affection when they were both on the screen together with her throwing her heart at him utterly unconditionally.
Nothing in the OST really stood out to me, but I'll go listen to it separately later. They tended to go for musical backing per-character, i.e. when a particular character is the focus of a scene you'll hear the same music being played to match it.
Another great drama and definitely worth a watch.
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I like this so so so sos much!
I started watching this series after seeing a instgram reel and right after starting this I got hooked to it. 1st the story, this is something new for me I can also say something different then I expected and it was amazing . The ost the overall music throughout the series is soo good I can literally feel the song irl. The cast was seriously amazing my favoutite actress min ah acted in this one and I liked her even more and I also liked the mc of this series . Overall this series was GOATED! FR I would rewatch it again.Was this review helpful to you?
Sorry, it wasnt mine
I know, some love this Drama.Sorry, it wasn't mine. The Story is good. Even taking into account that this is an old drama, the whole production fails to convince me. The only bright spot was the acting of the grandfather, Byun Hee Bong.
After the 5th episode I skipped a few sequences and watched the end. Actually, I should have stopped after the 2nd episode.
No hard feelings. My taste was not satisfied. Watch a few minutes and if you like it, great. If not, watch something else. Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy it!
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You will become as addicted as me when you finally watched all of the episodes. It was really really really greaaaaat.
Shin Min-ah and Lee Seung Gi had this really perfect and appealing chemistry. I didn't even notice that Shin Min-ah is older than him because their chemistry was THAT great.
At first, the story was all funny and hilarious until they actually fell in love and BAMMM! it became all touchy and sad. I have no idea how many tissues I had when I was watching this.
This drama brought laughter, smile, and a lot of tears. And I probably have re-watched it for 5 times and I always cried and laughed although I've known the story.
WATCH IT!!!!
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