This review may contain spoilers
BEAUTIFUL, FLUFFY AND TRULY LOVELY DRAMA!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I just love how it was a simple drama that wasn't too complicated, and I love that they didn't waste time and focus on creating some backstory for the villain; he is just a bad guy who happens to be present. This is the first time in a while where a drama didn't lose me because I felt the storyline was getting weaker. The drama stayed true to what it was meant to be, a cheesy rom-com with all the cliches and I love when a rom-com is unapologetically exactly that. It was simply full of fluff and I don't remember any product placements being shoved in my face, which was nice. I'm glad everyone had a beautiful and fulfilling ending, and this is definitely a drama I would rewatch.Everyone worked so hard on this drama after having so many setbacks. I'm glad it got popular, and I really hope more dramas like this will be produced. It truly is nice to simply watch a lighthearted drama. I was giggling and grinning from episode one all the the way to the last episode, even when the last timeline began and Sunjae didn't remember Sol, his personality didn't change and the couple still managed to make me laugh. The music in the drama was also so beautifully done, spring snow in particular might just be one of my favourite OSTs of all time. Thank you to everyone who worked on this and thank you for letting me experience such a wonderful drama. <3
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9.1: Trust your fellow kdrama lovers
There are way too many people leaving negative reviews, so I feel it is my obligation to set things right.THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST, IF NOT THE BEST, KDRAMAS I HAVE WATCHED.
I am not great at writing reviews, but you should know that I did rewatch previous episodes while the show was still airing and felt the agony of waiting for the next one with my fellow watchers. We did come up with some crazy ideas how the show might develop...
The chemistry between the main leads is the best I have ever seen. And what made it great is that they showed the perspectives of both of them.
There are so many funny moments which will be funny after you have gotten over the "chincha????" moment.
You will laugh, cry and feel every emotion the characters feel. And that doesn't happen in dramas often.
Ignore the negative reviews, and trust the 9.1 of tens of thousands of KDRAMA lovers.
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A Masterpiece
I am very GRATEFUL that I actually wanted to start this drama, but little did I know that I will become very in love with it. I’ve watch 60+ dramas in my life and this is the first one that made me so so obsessed and in love with everything (cast, characters, story, OST, everything). I doubt that I’ll never feel this same way with other drama. Everything it’s perfect, and also the writer gave us all types of tropes of love.Pd: I rewatched it like 4 times and more, and still want to rewatch it again.
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This review may contain spoilers
Unbeliebubble and Amazing Leads with an Isekai Twist!
Story:The drama is based from a manhwa called best of tomorrow! The drama is well written with the perfect balance and ingredients of romance, comedy, suspense and a bit of a twist. True to the manhwa, our main lead accidentally isekai'ed to the past and given an opportunity to work on changing fate. Filled with lovveable characters and heartwarming romance. I love the fact that they've given more depth on our female lead and showed us the reason why she truly became a fan. The drama has also showed us the male lead's POV and its truly a gem to watch and see how their story unfolds.
Cast
As Im Sol's words, UNBELIEBUBBLE! HAHA! The chemistry from the two main leads down to the supporting cast is truly awesome! My screen was on FIRE from the chemistry of the main leads. The characters navigate the past and young love, pure and intense is both entertaining and suspenseful. Reminiscent of the olden day.My heart kept thumping and made it beat like how I've fallen in love for the first time. I love that the characters remain true to their little quirks and personalities. Example is that when Sun Jae woud like to hide, he always uses the blanket, how he is always a go getter from trying to pursue to act, or win a mobile device, to be with her in one room or act on his feelings when his older.Their dynamic is so n'sync and that I felt I truly live in their world!
Music
Is 10/10. It encapsulated the drama's pacing, funny and unforgetable moments. I have the songs as a favourite in my playlist.
Rewatch value
This is worth a rewatch and I've recommended this to my friends. I've watching it for the 2nd time this weekend! Truly a gem!
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Stunning first half. Second half falls victim to lazy scriptwriting.
I have to separate the first and second half.The first half is a solid 8/10 for me. It's everything I'd ever want from a youth drama, and I absolutely loved every second of it. The characters' love story feels so unique to them. The script also sprinkles in just the right amount of tropes and pulls them off in just the right way to leave any romcom lover feeling satisfied without feeling overdone. The male lead is both cool and handsome while relatable and dorky over his first love. The female lead pulls off the sunshine personality and has great determination as a fan. I especially liked how consistent the story was about her steadfast, optimistic personality which she learned from the hardships she overcame as an adult. The drama never felt heavy, but I could still feel that there was love for the characters and their story. Also, small spoiler (but it happens within the first two episodes), but this is the only time that I have been completely sold on a love at first sight premise. It makes total sense to be a teenager, meeting such a kind, bright personality. It's like that friend crush, that person you wanted to get to know all four years of high school but never worked up the nerve to. Sun Jae's perspective is always so beautiful, and part of why the love at first sight works is because we can see how his feelings for Sol grow into something more meaningful as he gets to know her.
The second half is a 3/10 and falls victim to atrociously lazy scriptwriting. There are entire episodes dedicated to comedic relief and one-off scenarios. At that point, the relationship between the leads fails to develop which was such a waste, considering how beautifully their story was developed during the first half. I couldn't help but feel the shallowness in the story after episode 9. The story fails to have any goals or real development after that point. The writing sloppily tries to close the story with cheap plot twists, and none of the scenes really feel like they fit together or have a particular purpose. In essence, the second half of the show is entirely filler and completely fails the beauty of the first half.
I am still so happy to have experienced the first half but am utterly disappointed in the second half.
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simply amazing!
arghhh this drama is so good! i was on a kdrama break and lovely runner started apearing on my fy, so i was like, i gotta watch!and i dont regret, its simply beautiful! the story revolves around time travel and its a very thrilling yet funny and lovely (lol) drama! the characters are super well written and you can see the development, as well the plans that they have to save each other
the soundtrack is BEAUTIFUL! i keep listening nonstop
im o b s e s s e d hihi
:) its super worth watching :))
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Lowk The Best I've Seen In Years
The storyline was very good, and truly made me want to see more and more. The acting was also very great, specifically when it had Kim Hye Yoon who seems to be very good in my opinion. I don't remember much of the OST since I'm writing the review pretty late but I do remember I really liked it. I would 100% rewatch it!Favorite Characters: Im Sol
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Didn't live up to the set up AT ALL
[We have to acknowledge Sudden Shower being the best OST of 2024. That song carries soo much emotion]PLOT - The synopsis def caught my eye. As much as I typically avoid shows that use time travel but I wanted to see this play out. The set up was too good: a young talented idol gives hope to a girl who seemingly has nothing to live for. She becomes a die-hard fan and attempts to attend his concert one night, but to no avail–That same night he dies tragically after giving one of the most touching performances I've seen in a kdrama. Soon after the FL is magically transported into the past and ends up back in high school with her beloved idol. She uses this strange situation as a chance to save him from the dreadful fate she knows is coming in the future. The pilot is one of the best in a while. It's Oshi No Ko pilot good. After that I expected an uphill trajectory...except that didn't happen. None of the emotional story elements were addressed, and the show had no interest in finishing what it started. Instead the heavier topics were sidelined and character development went out the window to make way for a cop-out happily ever after. Real ones know it was a disservice to all the good this had going for itself. The time travel aspect got more inconsistent the longer this played out. The show also had tone issues at times.
CHARACTERS - I agree about the mains being well acted. BWS IS Ryu Sunjae. Tho she was grating at times, you could tell KHY immersed herself in this role. But even with all the great chemistry neither character progresses. They became devices for fan service and boy was that fan service pushed. Ofc they were cute asf but I couldn't help but feel the shallowness of the relationship. I believe it was a mistake for Sunjae to fall in love with Sol. His first arc was written so well and we lost that so he could become a simp. Once we went from platonic love to romantic, my investment collapsed. I would've been fine with SJ not surviving in the end. That seemed like the natural course of events and would've made this show truly impactful. Had that been the case I'd prob be writing a different review... The SL seemed pointless and only existed as plot device for unnecessary conflict. Seeing more of SJ's dad and his relationship with him would've been nice. In Hyuk served his purpose ok as comedic relief. This show def needed it with all the crying scenes.
The screenwriter here is the same one for True Beauty. Both works mirror each other in the sense of setting up rootable characters and launching difficult subjects only to abandon everything for superficial romance that doesn't feel earned. What a missed oppurtunity to discuss depression and how it affects both regular people and celebrites. Where's the social commentary? Where is the payoff?
In conclusion, this ended up being a big ball of wasted potential. I'd be lying if I said parts of the show didn't still linger. The essence was good and I enjoyed the feels but this didn't live up to what was promised. This had the makings to be one of the best dramas of the year but ended up being just ok. Now back to those OSTs
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This review may contain spoilers
I'TS A ROMCOM DRAMA FOR GOD'S SAKE!
I've read top reviews of this drama and i wonder... am i the only one who would apply a different standard for different genres? While reading some of the reviews, i kept thinking... do these people really expected the same logical accuracy for lovely runner the same as they did drama like signal just because of the same time-travel plot? even great sci-fi movies like interstellar still has plot-holes, but y'all expected a romcom to be precisely right in it's time-travel logic? y'all need a logical explanation for how sunjae's watch turn into a time machine? you want to know what 19 y.o sol was doing while 30 y.o sol occupied her body? you want the villain backstory of the taxi driver? you wannna know what's up with sol's grandma? you want sol to take care of her family more than focusing on sunjae? you want sol to be such a perfect strong female lead who would make all the right decisions regarding sunjae's death?well, then the main genres would be mistery fantasy coming-of-age romance lol
and some of you could not even catch the subtext in her grandmas dialogues.
to each their own, yes. but i swear to god these people just so determined to be different that they automatically pick apart every little mistakes, but then overlook or downplay every positive sides. and i definitely would side-eyed every reviews who think that sol-sunjae chemistry is any less than beautiful, when that chemistry is the sole reason why many viewers (incl. me) could overlook some of the plot-holes and bad acting. when you went after their chemistry, then you're just being despicable at that point.
just want to remind people that lovely runner will give you what they have promised, which is a ROMANTIC COMEDY!
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If I got to be that guy so be it. SADLY RUNNER is more like it
Lovely runner started off as a show that seems to show promise. I love the fact that they have two great cast and probably an exceptional storyline. However, it's get too draggy and boring real quick. The show tries to show multiple ways that indicates how the story plays out. It doesn't help if the FL keeps messing up and tries to keep it a secret. Messing up does unlock a lot of potential plot twist or surprising moments. With poor execution and pretty predictable, it wasn't gonna work. I say this show had everything and just could deliver. At least make the bad guy better since he wasn't even feared at all.Was this review helpful to you?
The Hype is Real, at least to me!
This is my first ever review on MDL. I am writing 3 days after LR ended because I needed to make sure that the hype is real, at least to myself lolI love this series but I don't believe that 100% of everyone will agree with me. It is true to any series. As such, for anyone looking for a recommendation, mine is to just give this 2 episodes. At the end of episode 2, if it doesn't excite you, please drop it and count is as your gain, not even loss because you just saved 14 hours of your life to do stuff that you want.
For myself, I started following this series from the very beginning, before all the hype started. I was sucked in after the very first 10 minutes, before BWS was even properly introduced. KHY was the reason I stayed on and BWS made the ride that much more exciting, together with her. I cannot remember the last time I ever cared so much about 2 fictional characters, to the point where my heart aches just imagining the amount of grief that Sol had to go through each time she loses SJ. Even now, 3 days after the end, my heart still aches despite it being a HE because that was just how vested I was in them.
I am so grateful to be alive to have witness such a beautiful love story. It is also a gentle reminder to myself that even though I am in my 50s, it doesn't mean I can't continue to give my very best in everything I do, even if it's simple things like preparing a meal for my family or seeing my husband off to work, just like what SJ did so joyfully for IS.
Thank you to the team that made LR possible. I truly do not think it will be easy to find another series that will be able to capture my entire attention right from the start. I am just grateful that I was able to experience one this lifetime.
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Second chances don't come often.
A journey of life, love, and a little silliness.Focusing on Im Sol, this drama follows her from the middle of her story and travels through time as she gets a new chance to save the person who saved her.
Lovely Runner was incredibly refreshing. Everything was balanced really well, the romance was sweet and angsty. If you're a sucker for leads who have complete loyalty to each other bordering on a (healthy) obsession like I am, then this has it in heaps, fits of laughter, and tears. All the side characters meshed well with the story, and there was neither too little nor too much of them. I loved watching the relationships grow and coincide with the story as it progressed, but this drama is about Im Sol and Sun Jae and they kept that focus for the most part throughout.
There was also enough plot to give everything in this meaning, and I really enjoyed how they paced it enough that with every change, it still kept us on the edge of our toes without being overbearing. Im Sol does get annoying at times with how sacrificial she is, but honestly both the leads share the burden of this mindset and it only helped to enhance how much they cared about each other. The humor in this was an absolute delight as well. If my heart wasn't hurting, I was laughing and it was a great pallet cleanser from more serious dramas.
All in all, I recommend this if you're looking for something refreshing, light but with plot, a great love story, and a little cringe in the best ways possible. This was a great watch and one I was unable to stop thinking about the entire time it aired.
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