Adorable, lighthearted, funny, and heartwarming drama~
(This review is based off of my impression after watching the first 8 (half-hour) episodes or 4 (hour-long) episodes. I will update my review once the drama has finished airing.)OVERVIEW: This drama is perfect for drama-viewers who like to watch lighthearted/heartwarming dramas and/or rom-com dramas. "Welcome" is like a breath of fresh air during a time when both reality and dramaland seem to be focused on heavy/dark topics and happenings. It is filled with adorable and funny characters, catchy songs, and is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud, cry, squeal, and grin from ear to ear. This drama was advertised as being a cute, funny, lighthearted/heartwarming drama that will heal your soul, and so far it has delivered on that promise--with flying colors, in my opinion.
I'm honestly surprised that this drama isn't getting more (positive) attention, and that there are some people who are taking major issue with the premise of the drama. Being that it's a *fantasy* (emphasis on the "fantasy" part) rom-com, I don't think it's fair to judge it like one would for a "slice of life" drama or dramas that have more realistic premises/plots from the get-go. That obviously wasn't going to be the case with this drama. The premise is about a cat that can turn into a human, which IS "silly" and "ridiculous" and "unrealistic." However, last time I checked, the main reason most drama-viewers watch dramas isn't for the realism (seeing as dramas are rarely realistic), and there are definitely plots/premises that are way more ridiculous than this one that have been made into dramas that haven't gotten nearly as much negativity and scrutiny as this one is getting for some reason.
The whole point of this drama is just to show something that's cute and funny and uplifting, and to give viewers a mental break from all of the heaviness and negativity that surrounds us everyday. It's not the kind of drama that invites viewers to dig deeper or to over-analyze it, so I don't really understand why some viewers are doing so and then spreading negativity around it and trying to dissuade others from watching a drama that's actually really good and that other people might like just because they can't wrap their minds around the fact that it's--again--a FANTASY drama that isn't meant to be taken seriously or meant to be realistic. The whole premise is impossible to begin with, so over-analyzing it or comparing it to reality is redundant and a waste of time.
STORY: That being said, though, I do agree that the writing could (and should) be tweaked a bit. There are some minor plot-holes in the story so far that I really, really hope the writer addresses and comes up with at least semi-acceptable/logical reasons or explanations for before the end of the drama. And, also, some of the writing for this drama does feel kind of lazy. The fact that Jae Sun has said "you don't like cats" to Sol Ah (in the same exact way too, might I add) at least twice in every single episode that has aired so far is not only redundant, it's just straight-up lazy writing, and also annoying to viewers. The repetitive flashbacks also detract from the story, I feel like, rather than add to it, and take up time that could have been used to insert even more cute and funny moments into the episodes.
I also felt like Sol Ah's character was kind of immature and a tiny bit annoying in the first 3 (or 6) episodes (I still like her alright, but still), but the writer DOES address this and point it out explicitly in the drama (that she's immature and so on), and I feel like her character felt more realistic and relatable in the 4th episode (or, 7th & 8th episodes), so I feel like she was maybe intentionally written that way and I'm hoping we'll see some good character development and a good character arc for her as the story progresses. Jae Sun's character also isn't fully believable to me--he seems kind of two-dimensional--but I'm hoping he'll become more interesting and nuanced (and less stupid, hopefully, too) as the drama progresses as well.
ACTING/CAST: Overall I feel like the acting for this drama is pretty good. There are some teeny-tiny, minor weak acting moments here and there from various cast members (though I feel like the writing/directing for this drama is more to blame for that than the actors since this drama has such a strong cast), but I feel like that's the case for most dramas anyways. It doesn't detract from the drama hardly at all though, in my opinion. There are no actors so far who I feel are annoying or doing badly or bringing the drama down--everyone is doing a good job for the most part.
As someone who has seen Kim Myungsoo (L) act in previous dramas, I feel like he is well-suited for a role like this. In a way, I feel like his character as Hong Jo kind of takes the best sides of his previous characters, specifically Kim Dan and Im Ba Reun. He's blunt and somewhat aloof, but secretly caring and does good deeds behind the scenes (just like Ba Reun), and he's also goofy and animated and naive and childlike (like Kim Dan). Kim Myungsoo is good at acting out these kinds of roles, and you can tell he enjoys his role as Hong Jo a lot too, which makes his performance fun to watch. You get the sense that the whole cast gets along with one another really well, which creates a good synergy for this drama.
MUSIC: The music for this drama is also pretty good, and I'm hoping they'll continue to release even better songs than the ones they've already made for it.
OVERALL: I think this drama is pretty good. It has some minor flaws, but those flaws are easy to look past in my opinion because the story and characters are just so damn cute. This drama has made me laugh and cry and smile A LOT, and it has given me a much-needed break from the heavy, depressing atmosphere we are currently living in. Also, the visuals in this drama (the cinematography, concepts/colors, as well as the cast) are exceptional, and Myungsoo and Ye Eun are absolutely ADORABLE. If anything, it's worth it just to watch it for them, but chances are, if you do watch it, you'll love it for even more reasons than that.
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The actors are so handsome and the beginning of the drama was very cute. But it is soooo lengthy and i can't stand this "dumb male main character". The main character looks so good that I promised myself a lot in the first episode, but his character is so incredibly boring. Except that he's a cat, there's nothing special about him. As a viewer, I want to have a crush on the main character of a Korean drama, or at least be able to understand it. But the main character is a total baby who is just discovering the world. I find such dramas absolutely terrible. Nothing exciting happens there.I know, he is a cat, but can he please not acting that dumb in the first four episodes? It took so long until they actually talk with each other...there is an inflation of "looking into the eyes in slow motion with dramatic music"... this type of drama really is not for me. There is absolutely no action, too less events, to less depth, too less drama. The profound scenes stretch far too long, so that they aren't interesting any more. The drama would be exciting and I would like the content if everything went a little faster and more happened.
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I know this is fantasy so I should overlook details such as him converting into a fully dressed human each time (who seems to switch between two different trousers btw) or being able to speak and understand all human language, but I can't stand when he does incoherent things. He seems to know what everything is already, knows what drink he wants from a vending machine, knows how to find his way home from her office, when her dad collapses he knows what's going on and takes him out, knows how to lower a fever, he doesn't get into any accidents while walking around, etc... but the worst part is how it makes no sense whatsoever the argument that she, her presence, her stuff, makes him become human! The first time he converted into a human, she found him... So, he converted BEFORE meeting her.
And his existential crisis and how he is figuring it all out is again deviating from a more realistic approach: it happens that he converts and he (being a CAT) doesn't think much of it, whereas when she finds out (her being a HUMAN) she will start to dig into the reasons why he transforms.
Ultimately this topic has to be very well written or it can make people uncomfortable. We love our pets a lot, and they do adore us, but the love we share is more like a parent-child relationship. To make it evolve into a romantic relationship takes lots of careful and talented writing. Cats are not protective of their owners unlike some dogs can be, so I don't see how can they will fit the typical male Korean possessive behaviour here, but I'm sure they will.
I hope the webtoon writer sat two seconds with a cat before coming up with a story, and that is more coherent than this drama adaptation.
I love Infinite so I always check out Myungsoo's dramas, but I wish he could do something again like Miss Hammurabi. We all know he is super cute, he knows how to work his dimples, but roles like this will not get his acting career anywhere.
Ultimately, I'll end my rant by saying that the FL and the second ML are highly unlikable and her dad doesn't behave like a cat, rather he is a rotten cactus. The only good thing of the whole show is the cat (or cats) they use, super cute, but I hope they don't abuse them like giving them drugs to do the sleeping scenes (one time the FL puts the cat on her bed after his vet visit and he looks knocked out cold)
Won't waste more time on this show, but I have seen many positive comments, so maybe this is just not my cup of tea.
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This drama is weird and makes no sense. I hardly finished the first 4 eps and the story got a tiny bit interesting but I still don't know if I'll keep watching. There are so many good airing dramas that it'd feel like wasting my time. The transformation from cat to human and vice versa part makes no sense in this drama as when he's a human he has no issue to adapt to human life and the fact that he has a human mind while being a cat makes me so uncomfortable, considering that she took her clothes off in his presence as a cat, she may shower or go around naked in front of the cat but Hong Jo is aware of human life while being a cat. That's... Not okay.
Seo Ji Hoon's character is kind of annoying but I already feel like I will be rooting for him so much more than for Myung Soo's character, it just makes much more sense to me.
Also, when Hong Jo was a human boy, Kim Sol Ah was already an adult? I guess it's the cat age vs human age, but even so, Hong Jo is technically a human boy even if he's an adult cat... Nonsense.
Shin Ye Eun's character is meh but she's pretty and seems like a good actress, so I think that's the only good thing I can point out of this drama so far.
Even if this is a fantasy drama with a ridiculous premise, there are so many things that make no sense even folllwing the logic of the drama itself. I wasn't excited for this drama but I'm an Infinite fan so I feel like I should watch it, but it's already so messy.
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Comecei esse drama com muitas expectativas, afinal eu amo gatos e adoro o L (ator que fez também um anjo em "A última missão do anjo: amor") e o drama realmente começa bem, é divertido e tem ótimos personagens de suporte todos com seus dramas pessoais que foram bem resolvidos ao longo da série. Meu único problema foi justamente o final, em partes pelo ship errado, mas principalmente pelo tipo de amor da protagonista pelo gato, acho que levantaram a bola para debater um tipo de amor e encerraram com outro. Em termos gerais é um drama ok, divertido mas meio decepcionante. Was this review helpful to you?
Meow the secret boy reseña
A los protagonistas ya los conocía a ambos, a ella por sus anteriores papeles y a él por su parte Idol. Ambos me parecen monísimos y la verdad es que ambos tuvieron muy buena química y visualmente maravilla. En tema actuación me gustaron no son perfectas pero si bastante buenas, los problemas lo vi en la historia en si hubo ciertas ocasiones en las que me desconecté un poco de la historia la verdad. Es un drama para verlo una vez y ya la verdad. Me gusto la premisa que se daba pero es cierto que esperaba ciertas cosas. Pero en general es un buen drama eso no lo pongo en duda.Was this review helpful to you?
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Eu estou na dúvida por onde começar sobre esse leve e adorável dorama que me cativou tanto, contudo me sinto satisfeita e perdida ao mesmo tempo. A historia foi boa, a escolha do elenco foi incrível, imagino que ninguém mais ficaria tão perfeito em um papel de gato como o L fica, uma ótima escolha, pois o mesmo tem seu próprio jeitinho de fazer isso. O casal principal era fofo, assim como o secundário e eu poderia ficar assistindo por um longo tempo. De inicio não fui com a cara do Jae Seon, achei que o triangulo amoroso ia ser insuportável e cansativo, e acho completamente o contrario quanto aos comentários em que chamavam ele de inútil. ele foi um ótimo amigo tanto para Sol Ah como para Hong Jo, ele soube de fato respeitar a decisão de Sol Ah e isso é muito maduro, o que me fez admira-lo ao decorrer dos episódios. Eu não nego que fiquei um tanto desapontada com o final em que deixaram muitas coisas soltas pelo ar, e porque diminuam tanto a quantidade de episódios do nada, deixando a maioria perdida. Ficou tão em aberto se Hong Jo agora que voltou a ser humano depois de tanto tempo poderia permanecer assim para sempre, eu ficaria tão confortável em saber que ele nunca mais se tornaria gato, deixando Sol Ah na espera novamente. É tão difícil além de transformar um anjo em humano novamente, transformar um gato em humano para sempre?! Talvez seja demais? Brincadeiras a parte. Eu senti que o final foi feito com tanta pressa, deixando tudo pelo ar, sem explicações necessárias, mas isso não me fez achar o dorama ruim, terminou leve assim como ele foi desde o inicio. Eu amei assistir e já sinto saudades, Hong Jo. Was this review helpful to you?
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Dovrebbe essere spumeggiante, invece concilia il sonno
Abbandonato per estrema noia alla fine dell'ep 5. Molto carini gli attori, e bravi, anche, compreso il gatto, ma non basta a trattenermi qui perché non riesco a guardare una puntata di fila senza andare a scartabellare in giro per cercare qualcos'altro da guardare.Non succede niente, è lento in maniera esasperante e l'occasionale risata non basta a riscattare una sceneggiatura rarefatta e poco interessante.
Avrebbe dovuto essere spumeggiante, invece concilia il sonno. Il ritmo della commedia, questo sconosciuto! Perfino da amante dei gatti non posso continuare questa avventura. Peccato.
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