Hotel del Luna

Loved it!

Wow this is the best drama I've watched in a while! I can't believe I just let it sit in my to-watch list for so long... I was hooked throughout the whole drama. I also really loved the ending! I usually don't like drama endings but I think they ended this one well, I was very satisfied with it. It didn't feel rushed or anything. Also as a huge fan of Goblin I enjoyed this even more, it was fun seeing how the writer interpreted their version of life after death and the supernatural. I'm not the type to rewatch dramas but I would rewatch it with a friend or family member!

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Plot/Storyline this drama:
I thought that the writing was pretty solid throughout the drama. It is refreshing to watch a drama that ventures into foreign territory and breaks free of the traditional kdrama tropes and cliches to explore the less commonly visited genres of horror (though I wouldn't really consider this drama to be scary at all) and fantasy + romance. The plot is layered and has some depth, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge. The main character Man Weol's story captivates you right from the get-go, as the show uses flashbacks very well to reveal small snippets of her past at a time, causing you to be curious about her past, and eager to find out more. The generous use of humour also helps to balance out some of the heavier, more emotional scenes, while also allowing the drama to be easy and fun to watch throughout its lengthy episodes. Personally, the ending did not play out exactly how I had hoped it would, but it was fitting to the themes of this drama and very beautiful to watch, as well as very emotional. The drama explores the themes/ideas of 'letting go', 'resentment', 'unselfish love' and 'forgiveness', which are all very meaningful, thought-provoking ideas, not just in the context of this drama, but these themes also have a place in our lives as well.

PLEASE TAKE IU AND YOE JIN-GOO FOR BLUE MOON . PLEASE HAPPY ENDING

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ACTING: This is the first time I have ever reviewed a show no matter how good it was but for this show I have too. I was expecting it to be good because of IU. She is a phenomenal actor as well as Jin Goo. Her last works have all been good so I was expecting it to be amazing and boy was I pleased. When she cries, you can feel her pain. There not stiff actors or forcefully doing anything. Even the side charecters are doing amazing jobs at portraying there rolls and the chemistry is amazing.

The story itself is very unique and complicated at first. It all is starting to make sense and you don’t really expect any of it which is even better you get surprised and you are waiting wanting more. The description of this show doesn’t bring it justice. If you want to see a real show that’s not all about cute fluffy romance then this is the show. It does have romance in but it’s also focusing on lots of the side stories and there pasts which is very interesting.

The music is to DIE for. We have many of the OST’s by Punch who is a great singer. NCT’s 127 taeyong, Taeyeon, Monday kiz, Paul Kim and even IU herself and all of the songs are fantastic and I can’t stop listening to them. They fit the scenes perfectly.

Although this isn’t completed and we can’t guarantee what will happen at all I am hoping for a happy ending even though I’m not too sure if it fits the story that well especially since IU hasn’t had the best record of happy endings since I watched moon lovers: scarlet heart ryeo. I will Definitely be rewatching this when it is over.

Do not hesitate to watch this because it is not complete. I will be redoing my review and adding to it when it is over. Of course it has its fault like the non existent SLS I have even though there not really a second lead. Oops haha.

I rate this a 10 in everything so definitely recommend!!!

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There's so much to say, but I'll try to be short.

I already knew from all the teasing before the show was aired how it was going to turn out: All about the cinematography and IU. I hesitated for a long time but I finally gave it a try for IU, she never deceived me in anything she did and she still hasn't, yet I'm dropping this one.

From the too much colored, unnatural filters and imagery to the lacking plot, every aspect of this drama feels soulless. It doesn't matter how good the acting can be, it can't save it. This drama suffer from wanting to do too much in term of production throwing pretty stuff at it. It's ok as long as the package looks good, right?

Well, not really.

The drama is pretty popular and has good critics and I can understand why. It can be a good drama if you're looking for entertainment only. But if you're looking for emotions, deep plot and something special and touching, this drama has no interest at all.

All the little stories about the ghosts aren't touching, how could they be touching in the 30 minutes the screenwriters allowed to them. The rest of the time is dedicated to the protagonists standing in front of a tree trying to somewhat pull out any emotions you would have developed toward them. But I wonder how such thing is even possible in this setting, at best you're feeling sympathy, it might be enough for some, not for me.

I don't have anything negative to say about the overall acting. They were all ok, good at best but mechanical, nothing to exploit in the character given to them. Yeo Jin Goo did a good job in what he was asked, his character being there for IU's to shine, nothing else. IU was as expected amazing, but what she can do when she has the only seemingly interesting character in the show?

The cinematography was beautiful but every scenes felt empty, special effects doesn't change anything when what's happening isn't even remotely engaging.

I had no expectations for this drama to begin with, I am not even disapointed. I am more annoyed thinking I could have enjoyed an another drama with IU but sadly it wasn't the case.

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A brilliant creation, a must-watch for anyone

I cannot express my love for this drama enough. I just completed it today and omg what a ride this drama has brought us through. If some of your read my review from earlier on, I would like to say just one thing: I did not appreciate the OSTs enough back then as I do now. Now that I have been through a whopping 16 episodes with the amazing cast of Hotel Del Luna, everything about is to admire; the original storyline, amazing cast, the talented screenwriters (Hong Sisters thank you!) and the crew who have worked behind the scenes, you have made this drama into a masterpiece and one that I know will forever stay fond in my memories. I personally loved the storyline of Man Wol's past as it does a great job in telling us why Man Wol is the person she is today. And Chan Seong, I love you but Chan Myung stole my heart. The love story between him and Man Wol is the most bittersweet thing ever (kind of like Romeo and Juliet but not). The whole drama with the exception of the last two episodes is basically a build up to episode 14, the most critical and best episode of the drama.

With that being said, I felt that episode 15 and 16 were rather boring but still essential to ensuring that we come a full circle in terms of the plot line. Episodes 15 and 16, I personally thought, focused more on wrapping up the supporting characters' lives but episode 16 was much needed as we bade farewell to the hoteliers and CEO Jang Man Wol herself. As Man Wol left, I understood what she had been through those 1300 years and as she turned around on the bridge and smiled with the white flower in her hands, I almost cried. At the same time, I LOVED how they wrapped everything up. Episode 14 brought important closure to no one other than our main character, Man Wol, and the man she had been waiting for all these years, only to know that he's been with her all along. THAT WAS SO SWEET. Also the fact that she finally comes to realize why Chan Myung had done what he had - sacrificed himself to save her - OMG I could not hold back my tears. In that moment, all that vengeance and hatred she had for him completely dissipates and it was really nice to see them part with good feelings (the scene under the Moon Spirit Tree where they both hold back tears in their eyes while looking at each other and Chan Myung's smile oMg nothing else could have ached my heart more). One last thing I should mention is the symbolism. GOSH the symbolism - it's EVERYWHERE.

Overall, this drama is a brilliant creation; a must-watch for anyone and everyone :)) !!

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It took me a long time wanting to watch this KDrama. It actually put fear in my heart. I don't like watching anything that has to do with the dead. I finally got up enough nerve to watch it. The storyline was great, nothing to worry about. What I loved about it was how those who passed had somewhere to go before they went on to the afterlife. Or a place to be judged before you go to the netherworld or the afterlife I mean. I loved parts where they prevented death or help those who have passed. I love IU in this, she is one beautiful actress/singer. She played her character with excellence. Yeo Jin Goo is another handsome actor, who also played his character with excellence as well. He made me emotional when he was emotional. The storyline actually felt real. That is because everyone worked as a team to make this story feel real. The visuals, the hotel, costumes, all of it I loved. I will watch it again.

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This show captivated me in multiple ways. In the backstory, I enjoyed that which is why I gave story an 8 as I loved what made Man Wol who she is. You start to understand the character through IU's acting which is AMAZING as IU was the perfect role for this and nobody can replace her as she played Man Wol perfectly. If you are watching/watched this show you would understand what I mean by this as she plays the perfect calm Man Wol to the infuriated to emotional as there were many expressions that were enjoyable. The rest of the cast was really good to as I enjoyed many other roles as I was even crying through some parts of the show.

The OST in this show is beautiful as I loved the music that would queue whenever there was a sad scene. The music was perfectly times in my opinion as it helped people feel the emotions.

I can't really see myself rewatching it any time soon but maybe in a few months, who knows?

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Sometimes it's better to just try again

To be honest it took me 2 tries to watch this and here's why. I tried to watch it last year around this time but it didn't affect me any way and it's because I wasn't used to sitting back and watching something for around hour and 20 minutes. The reason why I wanted to watch this at first was because of the appearance of Kim Soo Hyun in the last episode. But I dropped it at 3rd episode. But right now I don't understand why. I found peace and happiness in this drama I didn't find this sad in any way. I just feel stupid because I wanted to watch 16 episodes an hour and a half long each just because of 30 seconds of the last episode. Have a good day<4

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One of the most heartfelt Shows I've ever watched

I never imagined that a show about ghosts, the afterlife and darker themes would be so incredibly heartwarming. This is an amazing example of how to take tropes that have been done time and time again and transform it into something new and exciting(plus P.O is a great bonus haha). You can tell this show had a higher budget - the location atmospheres are so incredibly captivating and visually stunning, the story is well done with little -if any- room for improvement, and the cast (despite having 2 idols which is normally look down upon) is also simply amazing. There is a great diversity in character archetypes which I personally belive isn't seen much is many dramas - it isn't just a strong female lead but the background characters are also unique and something rarely seen!!

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Aesthetically very pleasing

For the first 8 episodes I thought I would definitely give this drama a 10. The acting was great, the shots and editing was fantastic and IU's wardrobe was simply stunning. It was a joy to watch. At the same time, the characters seemed interesting, the ghost stories got me involved and both the present and the past storylines were equally enganging which doesn't happen often. However, close to the end the drama was getting worse and worse and it was mainly due to the script as the actors themselves were definitely top notch. The plot became all over the place, their problem resolutions were totally unsatisfiying and for the last few episodes it wasn't even interesting to watch anymore. The glaring problems with the script became evident and even the beautiful sites couldn't hide them anymore (20+ hours of just stunning aesthetics with no meaning is definitely too much). The only well developed character was that of Jang Man Wol, even Gu Chan Sung was underdeveloped and existed mainly as a plot device to JMW's character. It was also advertised as a rom com but I definitely did not get the feeling that it was. It was quite funny and unlike many others I don't have complains that the main couple did not have chemistry, they did it was just completely different. More of a mature romance / deep friendship than cute head over heels romance. For me the drama could have ended on episode 15 and nothing would have changed much as for the storyline itself. There was no resolutions or questions left to be answered in the last episode, just unnecessary scenes that couldnt even decide whether it was to be sad or hopeful or what. I was left unsatisfied with the development and the direction it has taken. The only reason why the score is so high is that production value and acting was through the roof.

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