It's okay....
Originally I gave this a bit higher of a rating but looking back on it, it's more of a middle-of-the-road, mediocre drama.It's not that it's bad; it just has so many clichés and isn't super interesting. The story is a bit slow, and not surprising. There aren't any twists or turns or suspense really.
The acting is great (except for a few characters that fall a bit flat), and surprisingly the chemistry between Park Shin Hye and Yoon Shi Yoon is great. Now the chemistry between all the other actors is....again middle of the road.
However, I do think it's a classic Park Shin Hye and Yoon Shi Yoon drama that everyone should watch if they are fans of those actors. But overall it's not a super impressive drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I thought this show would be good but it wasn't really enjoyable at all. The first episode seemed decent but after that, the show went to hell. I found 90% of the characters extremely annoying and I wanted to drop this drama so bad but I managed to finish it. Go Dok-Mi seemed to be interesting at first but in later episodes, she became so wimpy and annoying. I felt like she had no backbone and always seemed to cry alot. Enrique is cute but also really annoying but he's a good person, I liked the second lead at first but towards the middle of the drama, he became even worse than Enrique. I didn't care about the romance at all and didn't felt any chemistry at all between the leads.
At times, the show became really boring and nothing interesting was happening. The ending was meh and predictable but I didn't care because I was finally finished with the drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
I liked the characters, especially the main one since i could relate to her in more than a few ways. I liked the script i believe more than the actual plot, tehe. It really had great moments and sayings and what i really liked about it is that it was close to realistic. I'm not talking about the main plot here, just the little things. It wasn't over exagarated like boys over flowers (i mean come on kidnapping a girl on a daily basis and being a complete jerk towards her until she falls in love with you?). Anyway i really recommend watching this drama, it's quite short, interesting and...fun? I don't know it's late and i literally just finished watching it :')
Enjoy
Was this review helpful to you?
Slow but nice, I guess
*outline*This is perfect for you if you like a more slow take in a relationship, or even if you thirst for drama, drama, and drama. Honestly, I don't find myself ever coming back to this series and I also doubt I'd ever recommend it to a friend or anything. As I mentioned, the story was quite slow and it also made me feel like it was going nowhere half the time. However, I do feel the ending sort of made up for the very dry episodes. I might've liked this drama if I were a K-drama enthusiast beginner, so that may be the reason I felt it wasn't quite up to the bar for me.
*thorough*
STORY : It had a very cliche touch to it, one of those 'quite girl, loud boy' sort of relationships, and even the climax and all were quite cliche. I sort of expected what was going to happen next. I mentioned it was quite slow, and I wasn't joking. I asked myself a few times throughout 'what am I doing here? why are the characters so dense and annoying'. And getting these thoughts aren't a good sign when watching a drama. I also took a few breaks in between the drama for weeks at a time. I feel like 16 episodes were way too much, and the episodes were unnecessarily long too. Making the drama a lot more shorter would've made the story much more interesting for me. But otherwise, I felt nothing... I didn't get into the story a lot of the time either.
ACTING/CAST : But I have to say, the actors did pretty well in playing out their roles. There wasn't much to the story line, but every character definitely had a story to tell. That part made the drama a little more interesting, and it motivated me to keep going half the time. I do wish that some of the characters had a better ending though.
MUSIC : The music did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't vibe with it and it didn't even suit the drama. It was way too upbeat and the repetitiveness almost became a little bit annoying, but that's just my take on it. There was hardly any chance to the music, it was the same/similar throughout. But I almost felt empathetic at times during the drama, so the themes behind some scenes must've been decent enough.
REWATCH VALUE : I've already mentioned I doubt I'd ever come back to this drama. It's very difficult for me to see myself ever missing it either. I wouldn't recommend it either. However, I might to a friend who wants to explore different cliches or more depth to the story. It isn't boring, it's just very slow.
*p.s.*
This is my personal take on things, but I would say the same thing even if someone asked me about the drama a few months or even years later. It might be because I'm used to this kind of plot already, but it just wasn't a drama I could vibe with. Again; it wasn't boring, it was just very slow.
*recommendations*
Park Shin Hye: 'The Heirs', 'Pinocchio', 'You're Beautiful'
She's an amazing actress, definitely go check out her other works :)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Oh god, this drama just annoyed me more and more every episode. I could see why some people enjoyed this show, but oh god I’m surprised I didn’t pull all my hair out by the end of the showLikes:
The first 3 episodes were really enjoyable ngl. By the first episode it pulls you in. Most of the cast was also very enjoyable (besides Park Shin Hye’s role but we’ll get into that later). Enrique was so adorable and his spirits lifted up most of the show. He’s honestly the main reason why I kept going. Oh Jin Rak was also pretty cool, annoying at some times, but I did feel bad for him. I liked Enrique more, but I wouldn’t have been mad if he ended up with Dok Mi. I also liked the secondary couple between Kim Seulgi and Go Kyung Pyo, in fact, I actually liked them more than the actual main couple. The show also has some good moments, mainly when it was comedic and happy and stuff. Too bad most of those moments were short lived since Dok Mi always ALWAYS seemed to weigh down the light mood. The show did give me a few laughs at times and there was some really cute moments between the main couple.
Dislikes:
Dok Mi oh mY GOD. At first, I was intrigued by her, and in a way I could relate to her (besides the whole spying-on-a-guy thing). The whole being anti social and crap was laughable at first, and I would think of myself at some moments, but after a while it just got plain annoying. She’d do this whole push-and-pull thing with Enrique. One day she’ll like him and then like an hour later, something will like go off in her brain and she’d ignore him. She also had like little to no character development. So how she was in episode 1, she was almost the same in like episode 13. The only thing that changed was the whole stalking ordeal, but it really wasn’t that big of an issue. I honestly found her more and more annoying every episode. Also Do Hwi was just, ugh. Instead of just 1 irritating female character let’s just add 2 in the show while we’re at it. Do Hwi had no purpose and was just there to make things annoying. These two characters pissed me off the most and it makes it even worse that one of them is literally the protagonist so I could barely enjoy the show without rolling my eyes. There also wasn’t really much of a story, which I didn’t really mind that much, but (SPOILER) the last 4-5 episodes about Enrique going to Spain was pretty much useless and was kinda just there to keep the show going. (SPOILER END). This show could’ve been a lot better if it was a web drama or if it was like 12 episodes instead of 16.
Overall:
This show does has some good points, but there was so many things weighing it down that I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I anticipated it to be. That is not to say that other wouldn’t enjoy it. I found some moments of the show cute, and Enrique was just so adorable that he really carried the whole show. The plot is simple, so don’t expect a whole mind-blowing story. The OST is not really ground-breaking. I didn’t really pay attention to it. It’s not terribly though. Overall, if you can deal with the annoying push-and-pull relationship then you might like this show. If you can’t, stay faaaarrrrr away from this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
⚘Peeping Beauty & The 6 Bloomin' Pretty Prunks⚘ °Good°
Alas! What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks? It Is The East, And Enrique Is The ☀.This charming little romance brings together the 🌞 and the 🌚, the dark bitter coffee and some silky white cream, the earthy tea and bright lively 🍋, and the girl with social anxiety meets a boy who hates to be alone.
Duk-mi (Park Shin-hye) is a book editor and hermit. Since she works from home, she rarely goes out. She can go weeks, 📆 months even, without leaving her building. She brings the outside world in through her binoculars.
Her apartment is special. Miserly Duk-mi is able to afford it as no security deposit is required, but if she is late even 1 day with the rent, she’ll be evicted. That’s the rules. Given it’s a very good deal, she mostly has happy neighbors. Every day there's a note with a drawing and a warm hello stuck to her delivered milk. She doesn't know it, but her next door neighbor. Jin-rok, a cartoonist (more specifically, a web-toonist) by trade, is stuck on her, and leaves her notes daily.
Duk-mi is stuck in a variety of ways. One of them is that she's stuck on the handsome doctor in the bldg across the street. She even enjoys peeping at his dog, so she peeks over at him more than she should. The doc really is handsome, but he seems dull. Spying is all that interests Duk-mi. As a recluse, she avoids all interaction.
The doctor’s younger brother, game designer Enrique, comes to stay with his brother in SK indefinitely, from Spain, where he’s been living for years. Enrique catches Duk-mi doin her thing one morning and runs across the street to confront her. That /terrorizes/ her. Neighbor, Jin-rok comes to her defense. Thus, 🌺BND leaves the building and starts chuggin down the street.
16 episodes allows Duk-mi a long time to come around, and that's how they play it. She can be a little frustrating. Isn’t that like true life, though? We almost always expect others to change on a dime, while at the same time, we give ourselves all the time in the 🌏. We’ll find out more about what caused Duk-mi’s trauma. She’s a metaphor for how bullies can crush the weak.
My niece told me once that we should never judge someone else's pain. I had just been complaining about a family member that's been wearing-hurt-on-sleeve for decades. It makes the person difficult to be around. I was wrong. Niecie was absolutely right. We expect everyone to handle things as well as we do, often even better. Why would we?
What do we /really/ know about someone's:
🌩Past, when sometimes that person can't even remember it because they've suppressed it?
🤰Genetics? Perhaps it's near impossible for someone to lose enough weight to make the 'mob' happy because it's just not in their genetics. We are not born with the same capabilities.
🎈/😭 Raw material. Some people can blow off everything and just keep going forward, and some people cannot. Sensitive, smart, intelligent, and caring people, like Duk-mi, can be hurt more easily and more deeply.
🌺BND is a cute & warm little series. There’s nothing going on but a bit of escapism. It’s actually appropriate for younger teens, which could be the group that appreciates 🌺BND the most, though it’s fine for every age.
As the show progresses, Duk-mi's next door neighbor (Oh Jin-rok is played by Kim Ji-hoon) finally works up the courage to pursue her. He’s been holding back out of deference to her anxieties. Along comes Enrique, who is joy in a jacket. He’ll bring joy to the girl. He doesn’t know the word “no.” He’s SO happy🎉 and charming, though, who would want to tell him “no?” Jin-rok will now have to scramble to catch up.
Jin-rok also begins a new webtoon about unrequited love, and it's a hit. However, everytime he and his partner go to their editor & manager, she’s frazzled and yells at them. Her eyes wide over deep dark circles from a stressful job and lack of sleep, she can be erratic. It’s not her best part, but Kim Seul-gi is always awesome. She shines in Oh My Ghost-10, which is a masterpiece in the romcom genre.
The soundtrack🎶 is terrific. The acoustic number: talkin bout love, by J Rabbit, is my favorite. The acting is solid, none of it detracts from the show. Park Shin-hye is wonderful, as always. Duk-mi is not an easy role. (PSH is her most amazing, imo, in Sisyphus as an eye-rolling kicka$$). The plot is simple and there are no substandard elements that impede significantly on the whole, which is why it remains a pleasant escape. That’s all they're going for, and they aptly succeeded.
That’s not to say it could not be improved upon. There should be more looking through their windows. They look out every now and then, but it seems it should have been a much stronger ongoing theme. They utilized an ending technique with comics/hand drawing over the business fronts and background. It is so good that I'm wondering why they didn't do more of it along the way. They certainly leave us wanting more. We don't get much info on Ji-rok's background, which is hinted at, but never resolved. We don't see his webtoon, and we never get to see any of the games that Enrique designs - We don't even get info on their storylines. It would have been fun to insert those details here and there: Lost opportunities mostly comprise the improvements list, along with its weak, substandard side plots.
If you are wondering about 🌺BND, it’s light, pleasant, fragrant, and vibrant. It will make you smile, it won’t challenge your brain much, (though it’s good for emotional intelligence) yet, it’s warmth cheers the ❤. Give it a peep👀, my Peeps!
🌼QUOTES🌼
🌹There are too many people who are rude about others' scars.
💐 I thought love was giving up half of yourself and filling it up with her half. She was afraid of love because she was afraid of her dark and gloomy half. She finally realized that love is two incomplete halves coming together. {Enrique}
🌺 Love is a wind-up clock. When it is new it'll give you the exact time. When the time passes, and you forget to wind the springs, the clock will break and stop. He started winding up the springs, so the clock wouldn't stop for a long time.{Duk-mi}
🌻 One person cannot change the world but you can become the w🌏rld for one pers☀n. {Enrique}
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬7 🎭 8 💓7 🦋5 🤔6 🎨6 😅4.5 ☀8 🎵8 🔚9
🌸Age 11+ 🗣topics: The lasting effects/damage that bullying can inflict. Practice kindness and patience with people that seem odd, as odd, annoying or strange behavior is often due to pain. Respect others.
PS.
They have recycled Kdrama tr♻pes, or plot devices. At this point it's almost a laughable lack of originality (Yet I'm still helplessly hooked on Asian programming, sigh).
♻MSS: Mandatory Separation Syndrome. The onset is after a couple comes together “forever.” Kdramas often insist on separating them for weeks, months, or even years before they’re afforded a Happily Ever After. It’s usually awful. Once Duk-mi starts healing, MSS provides needed time for her to grow on her own. That’s what is best for her, so there’s no “foul” here.
♻♥🔺 It's near ubiquitous, just edging out CEOs. In fairness, many romances have ♥🔺. Even the queen of them all: Pride And Prejudice. But enough already! Beside any of that, the brilliance of Kdrama scriptwriters shines through frequently. They can often easily do better. FBND seems to want to be a little goofy. They just tikted it a little far, but romantics will like it, and e'erbody will love Enrique.
〰️🖊 April 2022
Was this review helpful to you?
Loved the ML
It's kinda hard for me to rate this one. Up until around the halfway point, it was quite good and I enjoyed it (7/10). Then, things started going downhill FAST. It was like the story was already over, but since they still had 6 more episodes or so to do, they started creating dumb drama only for drama's sake. To the point I actually rage quit it, and it took me nearly a week to come back to it. All the characters became idiots (4/10).Also, this show has to have one of the most selfish FL I've ever seen in any romance drama ever. I found her character to be extremely unlikable. Especially when contrasted with the ML who was a selfless, vulnerable, considerate little fluff ball of chaotic sunshine.
The last episode partially made up for all of the bad writing decisions, since it was a festival of cuteness and had me smiling basically the whole time (8/10), but not enough for me to actually recommend anyone watches this.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
SO much introspection that it's depressing . Female lead is not likeable
Be prepared, this series suffers from the greatest guy is the second lead syndrome .And Ignore the artwork & the intro, this is NOT a light hearted romance. It deals with deep hurts: parental & friend abandonment ,jealousy, betrayal, slander, suicidal thoughts , social anxiety, deep depression. On the other hand the theme is every woman's fantasy : no matter how dull , depressed or lacking in charm you are, men will want to rescue you, fix you, fix your life & be doggedly devoted no matter how much you push them away. Ugh! The love matches are inexplicable and there's an odd love triangle (that's really a 6 sided love) which isn't as complicated as it is just dumb because it's all due to lack of communication.Let's be honest: the main girl is not loveable. The guys attracted to her are idiots as she's a broken extreme introvert who doesn't want human interaction. She is constantly pushing people away from her & yet also is very needy . She, herself admits that she does not know how to love. Every interaction with her is hard & she doesn't want to expend the energy to even accept love. Still, there are happy endings for many of the characters. I never warmed up to any of the women in the series. The men , though attractive, would need alot of stamina to maintain a relationship with any of the women as they are all prickly & pretty selfish, even in their selflessness.
Spoiler
why would a socially fearful, highly introverted girl even be interested in an effervescent, puppy like guy who is cringingly stuck in constant Aegyo mode over an understanding ,patient & quietly supporting. guy who's been around a long time, proving himself in small but meaningful ways ?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
[Note: I usually do not add reviews as I am not as fluent in english as I'd like to be for such.]Flower Box Next Door is a decent to good RomCom - if it ended at episodes 16s beginning/opening sequence. Overall all actors did a good job on their characters, if anything the characters themselves were a problem of mine even though that's excluding literally everyone but Enrique and Daehwi.
Personally I liked this drama because it somehow felt like I could relate to it to some extent as Dokmi and Jinrak have something to them I feel connected to - never been loved, having been an outsider, rather being by themselves than in a crowd and such. But it wasn't just charachteristics like this that made me fall for it in the first place. I was intrigued by its romantic triangle - that ultimately did go until episode 16 - but also the sometimes rather unusual way of joking and how they got them across.
Its support roles were fitting the plot and made up for some interesting storylines as well, that even benifited Jinrak's arc. That is where I wanna criticize though. His arc got totally wasted in the end and left me with no words. I grew close to the idea of him and Dokmi ending up together, especially with episode 16s opening. I even could have been fine with them not giving in to it but giving me hope last second and then not pulling through with it just doesn't fit this drama at all. This was both poorly timed and badly delivered.
As for arcs that left me feeling empty: Cha Daehwi is the other - although that is just focussing on her and Jinrak rather than her as evil counterpart to Dokmi. I do not know for what reason but I did like her even though her entire character was based around being a snake, all throughout the show. In the end Jinrak tells her something along the lines of not chasing someone for their past - as Jinrak wasn't born poor - but for the person themself. The writer threw that one under the bus real quick. No idea what to think of her ending but it's confusing completely.
Last but not least - and not regarding their arc but character - Enrique. Man at first he was kinda nice and him challenging this love triangle had a good kick to it but as the show did go on and especially in its second half he just annoyed me. Yoon's actions, how he was written to talk, all of it.
Was this review helpful to you?
I loved the story, as someone with social anxiety problems as the female lead, is saw a lot of my self in her, but, i also loved the switch with a loooot of funny scenes.
It's super sad that this drama is underrated, okay, the second lead isn't a god himself, but if you follow witha a good amount odf tattention the whole episodes, you can understand why he is like this!
I absolutely adored the second couple ( i don't spoil anything) it was super sweet and well made up
Yoon Shi Yoon faces made this drama super lighthearted to watched,even if sometimes the episodes tended to being stuck over the same things...
Proabbly not one of my favorites, but really need a chance!!
Was this review helpful to you?
