A Time Called You

It’s better then you think!

Honestly, I was curious about this series since it aired in 2023. What has kept me from watching it for this long was mainly reviews. There were plenty of negative reviews and comments about it being complicated and confusing. Since I didn’t want to watch something over complicated, I didn’t watch it. it stayed like that for so long. I finally got to it and finished it recently and I’m here to tell you this. if you’re uncertain because of the reviews, forget what those people are saying and just watch it. It’s really not that complicated and everything is explained over time. The ending (don’t worry, I won’t spoil it) was good, it was positive and wrapped up nicely with no lose ends. The acting is great. The story is interesting. There were some things I wasn’t fond of but those are just my personal issues. like I’m not fond of the serial killer or killer in general plot in any series. I also wasn’t happy when things got a bit creepy with Min Ju pretending to be Jun Hee and acting a bit like a psycho but anyways. Overall the series is great and interesting. I highly recommended it.

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Missed opportunity

*****This does contain spoilers *****

This is the go-to show that got me hooked on the Asian market. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched it. I like the English version for falling asleep to -Daniel Kim’s voiceover work for Ahn Hyo-Seop is smooth. 🫠

One thing I don’t understand is how at least 10 years later (after college) Yeon-Jun and Jun-hee are not married. As in love as he is with her, why wait so long to propose? We know Si-Heon takes the entrance exam in 2008 and JunHee goes to New York in 2023 so that’s a HUGE chunk on SiHeon’s part.

Now, for the missed part. Uncle is explaining to YeonJun the meaning of his stores “27” names. It would tie in better with the story line if Koo Yeon Jun were to “fly to New York” when he was 27 years old. It would make more sense to wait those few extra years after school to get finances in order and propose. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Gather My Tears still hits, especially knowing the tragic background of the artist.
This drama still makes me cry. Every time. ♥️💔

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Could have finished it in less episodes instead of dragging it.

I had great expectations when I started off with this drama. Both the lead characters dazzled with their acting charm in their respective timelines. The plotholes deeply saddened me considering there were chances to write some scenes in a better way.
** Not a spoiler but really wanted In gyu and Min ju to be really use their brains at some point of time.**
While some scenes really were too lengthy and unnecessary, some scenes really touched my heart. Overall a good watch. Ahn Hyoseop was an eye candy in this but most notable was Jeon Yeobeen's double role acting that was marvellous. Kanghoon could have been given more screentime which I am really pissed off as his personality was so kind but storyline for him was shit. I wouldn't watch it again for the story but may rewatch the college dating timeline for it was so good that it will make you feel things.

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How to Ruin a Timeloop Concept in the Finale aka The Dog Dies I Guess

Just in case the spoiler warning above was not noted, this review is almost nothing but spoilers for the final episode so be warned and proceed with the appropriate caution.

Briefly, "A Time Called You" has eleven very solid, consistently paced, smartly acted, lushly photographed and skillfully directed episodes. Jeon Yeo Been is better as Jun Hee than as Min Ju. Ahn Hyo Seop is as good here as he's been in any show. He's not an easy sell as a teenager, but in K Drama Land, that's just the part of the terrain that we trod. There's some other nice casting for supporting roles. In fact, there isn't a below the bar performance to be found. It is somewhat disappointing that Seo Ye Hwa and Jang Hye Jin don't figure more prominently in the meat of the narrative. But that is somewhat made up for by Rowoon's cameo.

And props to the writers, director and editor for setting up the finale with a deft minuet between the time periods where characters are hopping back and forth. Although familiarity with the source material seems to have dampened some reviewers enthusiasm, having no such background found this production to be one of the more consistently enjoyable ones of recent vintage.

Until the finale.

The finale is when the timeloop malpractice bomb explodes.

Grievances:

1. A timeloop is already a do-over. Once you get a single do-over, that should be it. No do-overs of part of the first do-over. But after the excruciating exposition of exactly how Min Ju dies which is directly tied to Jun Hee's time travel, Jun Hee gets to try again and this time saves Min Ju.

2. Once Min Ju is saved, with the aid of In Kyu by the way, these two have about twenty seconds of resolution where Min Ju seems to have been won over by In Kyu and like everything is just jolly even though she was suicidally depressed earlier in the episode.

3. While Min Ju and In Kyu get short shrift, there are painfully extended scenes in the past era of Jun Hee in Min Ju's body and Si Heon traveling to and cavorting at the beach in the sand and in the water and watching the sunset. It's a necessary part of the narrative, but it feels like it consumes the entire second half of the finale.

4. Well, except for the showoff sequence of CGI dissolves that follows that goes on and on and on.

5. So the leads reunite for a moment of silence (yes, no words are exchanged in the street as the snow falls) and credits roll. It is quite the anticlimactic moment.

6. Where are Min Ju and In Kyu in this new future? No idea.

7. Did Park Hyuk Kwon's uncle character still open a cafe in Seoul? No idea. If he did, are the two leads somehow connected to it? Obviously no idea.

8. If nothing else in the future matters, why does it matter that Si Heon is now running a webcomic startup? No idea.

9. The real gear grinder is that of all the dramas where there is a completely unnecessary, unsatisfying and unconvincing rehabilitation arc of the villain at the end, this is the show where THE CONTEXT COMPELLED FOR SUCH AN ARC TO HAPPEN. IS Min Jin Woong's Oh Chan Young still a psychopath? Presumably Oh Chan Hee doesn't end up committed to an asylum, but his fate is completely left up to the viewer to determine. And as Oh Chan Young before the magic CGI dissolve had already killed the family dog before his journey via cassette to the past, we have no reason to think that he didn't still do it in the new post no-suicide-timeline. And since Chan Young killed the family dog, then that means that the family Mom is still going to freak out and since Chan Young is a psychopath, does Chan Young eventually move on to killing his mom? Is that how the universes balance out? Min Ju lives but Mrs. Oh dies?

But after careful consideration, the only conclusion can be that the dog is definitely dead.

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ambiguous ending

I was honestly expecting so much from the drama. I haven't watched the original Taiwanese version of the drama but I saw on the reviews that it was better, so if you wanna watch this, I think it's better to watch the original version.

I had too many questions left unanswered at the end of the drama. Like what happened to the original Koo Yeon Jun's soul if both of the souls in the body belonged to Nam Si Heon? And they showed only the place where Kwon Min Ju soul hid when Han Jun Hee took over but what about Oh Chan Hee? he was the elder brother but in the past, the elder brother's body had Oh Chan Yeong's soul.

The time loop was confusing and ambiguous. I liked the direction that the story was meant to go, but I didn't like the way it was shown in the drama.

We also didn't get to see what ending Jung In Kyu and Kwon Min Ju got. I mean, if they really ended up dating, then did the two best friends end up dating doppelgangers with the same face or what?

I liked the songs and the acting , and I felt like Ahn Hyo Seop had more chemistry with Rowoon than Jeon Yeo Been. I was invested in their cameo story.

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Bucking the trend

I'm going to buck the trend and say that I watched the Korean version then decided to watch the Taiwanese version to see what I missed. Turns out I didn't miss anything! So far, the reviewers of this remake can be classified into two camps - those who didn't watch the original and loved it vs those who watched the original and hated this. I'm going to buck the trend and say that I watched the Korean one first and liked it but after watching the Taiwanese one, I like the Korean one even more that I've actually increased its rating!

Why? When I watched the first 2 episodes of this Korean version, I found it draggy but OMG, the first four episodes of the original are even worse! The Korean remake keeps much of the same plot highlights but removes the bits I find super annoying in the Taiwanese version - the annoying attempts at comedy, the super annoying side stories and characters (gosh I really hate the colleagues). Like what's the deal with trying to inject comedy into a tragedy?

This remake just gets to the crux of the relationships between the main leads and important friends. The only thing that bugged me was the Seo Ji Won song - I loved it at first but it got very repetitive and tiring by the third episode. In contrast, the soundtrack of the original Taiwanese was fantastic and well-suited to the plot elements throughout. The Wu Bai song never got old.

In short - just want to watch for the mystery? Watch this Korean remake which has much better editing and is a professional production. Want to indulge in emotions - the sweet love story, the tragedy of love then loss, and endure annoying attempts at comedy which aren't funny - then watch the original which is raw, unpolished (for goodness sakes, mic the actors and remove all the echoey background noise!) but sentimental.

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Time traveling to the past to see a lover

Greetings, everyone! I am thrilled to be back with another K-drama study. In my previous review, I shared my thoughts on the second season of The Uncanny Counter, which I found to be an enjoyable watch. Today, I am excited to share my review of A Time Called You, a recently released Netflix drama I binge-watched in just two days. It's been a while since a show captured my attention to the point where I contemplate it even while working. Thus, I'm eager to dive into the drama and explore my thoughts in greater detail.

Disclaimer: There may be spoilers, so read at your own will

Story:
A Time Called You has an enjoyable story that kept me wanting to see more of it. I loved how the case tape would take Han Jun Hee back to 1998. Ahn Hyo Seop from Business Proposal starred in the show, and I loved his acting as he fits well with the whole story. I did like the mystery aspect that the show throws at us occasionally. It was nice to see them portray two characters in the show as the male lead, and the female lead did an excellent job with those two. The time-traveling stuff was executed perfectly, making me wonder what would happen next. At some moments, the story was hard to understand.
One scene I like is when Min Ju and Nam Si Heon lie together under the tree. It looks so cute. I have never seen the original version, but this remake was all right. I've seen a couple of time travel shows before, but this might be the best I've seen. The show's final scene made me tear up a little as the two main characters meet each other.

OSTs:
I loved all the OSTs that this show delivered. The piano-driven song from Kim Min Seok, who provided killer vocals that kept me coming back for more. Lim Kim had an acoustic ost one that was another one I kept listening to on repeat. Kei has to be my favorite artist who released a song for this show, as you can feel the emotion from the singer's performance. The only OST I wasn't crazy about was Newjeans, as it felt lifeless to me, but I still returned to it a few times. I have still been having these Osts on repeat since they were released.

Overall, A Time Called You is getting a B from me for being a great show, but not one that thoroughly blew me away. The Acting and music fit well with the overall vibe of the show. I was excited about this show, and it was worth the wait. I'm excited to see what the next drama will be bringing to the table for me. I hope you all have a great day or night wherever you are.

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Rather soft love story with a lot of twists and turns!

I have seen 3 episodes of the similar series Someday or Oneday few months back. Always love time travelling movie and dramas. Blue Birthday is my most favourite♥️

Recently through Ost got to know about this series A time called you. First thing which clicked my mind was the music… OST was so lit that I had to made my mind for watching this series. Actors were goodlooking so I was hooked.

Ahn Hyo-seop was outstanding, when he acts you really get into the character. The actress and other ML did a good performance too. The confusing part came where Nam Se Heon goes in the future in Yeon Jun’s body. I guess most of viewers will find it difficult to know what happened to Yeon Jun then. So let me make it clear for them that it is a lovestory between 1998(Nam Se Heon) and 2023(Han Jun Hee).

She travels back into the past for him and he travels into the future for her. Hope you understand now❤️ And yes MINJU’s character freaks me out… when it turns into negative I was swearing her whole time🤣 was so angry at her!!

Can’t tell which version is more perfect because I have not yet completed the Taiwanese version! Would only say that you should watch this one if you like the cast, slow romance, suspense and time travelling dramas!!


Would rate the series 8/10 for me! Ideal for binge-watching!!

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What a Mess!

I've learned to suspend reality when watching certain Kdramas and so I just went with most of the super-confusing timeline crossovers and issues. Yeah, so what if it didn't make a whole lot of sense until the end. I didn't know it was a remake until I got here to write a review and found out from other reviewers. I somewhat regret slogging through this series so I'm certainly not going to watch the original. And the main reason I'm bothering to make this comment is that I'm wondering what happened on the bus at the very end of episode 12. We hear the magical music and and ML asks FL if she is Min-ju and based on the subtitles and her reaction she seems to acknowledge as much. If I got that right--and I went back to watch it a 2nd time--then why didn't she recognize the ML as her former classmate and friend? They were on the same timeline and he remembered enough to ask her name. Why didn't they say like "Hey, haven't seen you in years! How are you?" or whatever folks in South Korea say when they bump into a former friend? It would have made a lot more sense if he had suddenly remembered and asked if she was Jun-Hee. Then she could say "Yes" and he'd have a reason to follow up to figure out how he remembered her. After all, it was to Jun-Hee that he promised he would find her one day. Also, and while it made for good optics to have all of Jun-Hee's and Yeon-Jun's stuff disappear before her eyes--since that timeline wouldn't have occurred--it didn't make sense to me to have her disappear too, unless Jun-Hee was never real to begin with. Which would mean there wasn't a promise to meet again, no great last scene--unless the last scene is just a meeting of two former acquaintances with no other meaning.

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A drama that will twist your mind, and leave you thinking about it long after it ends.

First of all the synopsis:

"A Time Called You" is a South Korean drama that blends romance, time travel, and mystery. The story follows Han Jun-hee, a woman grieving the loss of her boyfriend, Gu Yeon-jun. One day, she mysteriously wakes up in the body of a high school girl, Kwon Min-ju, in 1998. There, she meets a boy who looks exactly like her late boyfriend. As she navigates this new reality, secrets unravel, and love defies time itself.

Now for my reviewww~~~
First of all, the music, especially "Gather My Tears", has been stuck in my head since last year! It’s so beautiful and emotional, perfectly fitting the drama’s melancholic tone.

At some points, the story gets a bit confusing, especially when trying to figure out who the murderer is. At first, I think many of us(who watched it <: ) suspected In-gyu, thinking he killed Yeon-jun out of jealousy since he also had feelings for the main character. But as the story unfolds, everything starts making sense, and we realize that the real killer was someone else. The mystery was well done, keeping us hooked until the truth was revealed.

And oh, did this K-drama make me cry so much! 😭

That ending made me cry more than ever... I wanted a happy ending where they end up together! Instead, we get one of those "up to your imagination" endings. 😭 Aghhh! Still, the storytelling, the acting, and the emotions make it 10000/10 recommended! If you love emotional rollercoasters, this is for you. Please don't lose your time and watch it ! You will totally not regret it

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