Renewed my absolute love for Kdramas
this is hands down one of the few kdramas I would rewatch from beginning to end without skipping a single second, sobbing and feeling all the emotions like I’m watching it for the first time. now don’t get me wrong, there are definitely others I have watched that I would rewatch simply for the good moments and the moments that really made me feel something, but this is different. this show is magnificent as a whole; from the acting to the story to the perfectly chosen OST by 10cm.would highly recommend - anyone could find something about this to fall in love with
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lovely time travel story with good romance
I am glad for people's positive reviews which made me decide to give this drama a try, and having did I understand the reason such a low budget drama is gaining so much popularity.I loved the whole story including the time travel element, and even though there were minor small gripes that I had with the mechanics of the time slips etc, it stil never ruined anything for me. The backstory to how the miraculous time travel capabilites first come about are never explicitly stated but the viewer is shown hints as to who to thank for it all, which made everything all the more heartfelt and emotional in the end.
The best aspect by far and one that I believe accounts for 100% of the popularity this show is garnering is without a question, the romance. with an endearing love story and marvelous electriflying chemistry, watching and re-wtching their scenes together and the behind-the-scenes, it shows very evidently how the two lead actors had built in real life such great rapport and a strong relationship based on trust and respect, and hopefully even more than that ♡
The acting was very strong by the whole cast especially our OTP who did a marvelous job conveying all ranges of emotions and levels of emotional maturity.
The comedy parts were pretty well done with a lot of laugh-out-loud cringe inducing hilarious parts, thanks in particular to a marvelous set of side characters including the ML's dad, the FL's mom and older brother, the FL's old time crush Tae-Sung and In Hyuk our ML's best friend.
the OST was lovely and despite the fact that first time watching not many tracks managed to particurarly stick with me, later after rewatching parts of it I found myself humming a few tunes even sonagi <3
If there are any negative comments worth mentioning, it would mostly concern the villain and the whole serial murderer arc. I know that the story needed a plot device to push it forward and into the danger and angst zone, but our bad guy was just that, too bad and psycho down to the core, but the story never bothered to show us any sort of background story to flesh him out or show us the motives behind anything he did or his seeminly deeply rooted grudge against Sol & Sun-jae, so he ends up as a 2D caricature of a bad guy, whenever he pops up on screen I am rolling my eyes rather than being on the edge of my seat.
And also there is just too many times that the writer is allowed to use the exact same plot device before it becomes too repitive it essentially is no longer surving its purpose but rather it's cheapening the worth of the whole story. I mean to sum up all troubles our lead couple could ever and will ever face together all in the mere existence of one villain, was too much for me at some points. I understand that if the story was that she was going back in time to save her love after getting hit by random traffic or some other type of accident, it might have had its uncertainties and would have felt like defying fate, and I guess the writers were playing at the concept of destiny involving both good and bad bonds, so people who were meant to cross paths are destined to do for better or for worse, but I couldn't help feeling like I would have appreciated it more if there was more time given to delve deeper into our bad guy's story and psyche so he would not feel like a wack-a-mole puppet popping put every couple of episodes.
Overall despite any minor shortcomings this drama might have, still a marvelous romance, lovable characters and spectacular cast manage to turn it into as perfect a drama as any romcom could ever dream of being.
So even though the objective part of me couldn’t help criticizing certain indiscrepancies about the time slip element which can not be said to be the most original out there to begin with (what with all the other time slip dramas that come out each season), or the annoying villain, Still this drama has managed to steal a spot in my all time favorites thanks to nothing but the main lead's chemistry and swoon-inducing romance. Proof is the fact I immediately went ahead and re-watched all their scenes together. I recommend highly to any Kdrama fan out there.
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DRAMA OF THE YEAR ??? REDEFINING ROM COM - LOVELY RUNNER
Ahhhh !!! I couldn't control myself...🥹🥹 Blushing throughout..... 🤩🤩... What a series .... What an ending.... Sun jae Im Sol Tae Sung In Hyuk ... You have my heart guysss....It's been ages since I've blushed for a series ... Throughout the whole series I was blushing.... As far as I remember It was Strong woman do bong soon ....
Special mention is Tae sung ... Mu boyyyyy❤️❤️❤️
Ofc Uri loser Sunjae 😂😂
Sunjae just gave me min min vibesss 😍😍
OMG !!! The OST'S ..... They were " The perfect " ... Especially Star , Sudden Shower and Spring snow are my favourite... Ofc other osts were also too
I'm not ready to leave them ... Literally my 2 months were only them ... WhatsApp, Instagram, pinterest, mdl everywhere only LR 🥺🥺 I donno how will I live without them
I'd strongly recommend this series to everyone... Please don't miss out this beautiful gem 💎💎
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This review may contain spoilers
THE SHINING STAR OF 2024
So far TVN dramas in 2024 have been serving, but I can definitely say, with complete certainty, that nothing has fed me as well as Lovely Runner.Story
The story is about a young woman, Sol, who was in an accident as a teenager. She suffered through a lot of depression following her paralysis, making her suicidal. In a radio phone conversation, the male lead, SunJae, helps her remember her will to live, and she is so grateful to him that she becomes his avid fan. Fifteen years go by and Sun Jae is also suffering heavy depression. After meeting briefly, news comes out that he committed suicide. Heartbroken, she goes back in time to when they were both 19 and decides to save SunJae. At the time, they both attended the same highschool, and SunJae was an athlete. She starts interacting with him more, unlike in the original timeline, and it is discovered that all this time, Sun Jae had a crush on her. The story progresses, Sol going back in forth to the past and the future, discovering what changes she was able to make to the timeline and dealing with her past self. We watch Sol and SunJae act as teenagers, and cringe with them in their many many embarrassing moments. When they're in college, we watch them have so many cute and heartfluttering moments together. As adults, we get to watch them have steamy scenes.
The story perfectly represents love, whether it is the young puppy love of children, to the mature, selfless love of adults. It gives us yearning and adoration. It distinguishes between the love of a fan and admirer from the love of a man/woman. It takes us through so many tropes - fan and idol, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, strangers meeting, one sided love, love at first sight, idiots in love, bromance, love triangle (very brief) high school romance, college romance, adult romance...
There is a good balance of humor and heaviness. While there are a lot of sad moments, I never really found myself crying because there is levity and it is countered well with heartwarming moments or humorous moments.
Acting
Kim Hye Yoon, Im Sol, and Byeon Woo Seok, Ryu Sun Jae, have amazing chemistry. I'd kept up with KHY since Sky Castle, having been one of the few who loved her character, and watch most of everything that she'd put out since then, or else seen clips of it. I'm always impressed by her acting and the range of characters she played. BWS is new for me, as he is for many others. I'd of course seen him in other shows, but I'd never paid him any real attention, and I guess that has to do with the fact that he played next to some really big celebrities at the time, like Park Bo Gum. He gained a lot of attention for his previous works now that his lead role is out, and having gone back to watch them, I can definitely say that he does a very good job. I do believe he completely carried Strong Woman Nam Soon.
In this show, the two acted exactly how I would expect them to act. They were cringey teens, they were foolish young adults, they were mature adults. They acted goofy, cute, serious, in love... I got all the emotions from them.
Most of my enjoyment from the show was watching them act so unserious all the time. And the behind the scenes footage was everything.
The supporting cast did amazing as well. I was invested in all the plot lines and I loved the bromance, friendship and family that the show gave us.
Music
Who knew BWS could sing? well now everyone does as his song for the show is topping. And N.Flying's Lee Seung Hyub is amazing as well! all the OSTs are so good and catchy.
Filmography
Beautiful. Great cinematography. Amazing parallels.
I don't really know what else I can say about this show. It's really on the top of the list as far as great shows go, and is the star of 2024. Highly highly recommended. I will definitely be watching it again.
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Flawless
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this drama. Although it is emotionally intense, I was captivated by the main artist's performance. I felt a strong emotional connection to Sol's character, who truly touched my heart. I've seen many time-travel-based dramas, and while they often depict characters struggling to change the future, this one stood out. It showed that by destroying the cause of a ruined future, the future itself could be altered. What made this drama unique was how the story evolved with each correction of the timeline. The standout feature was the flawless performances by the artists, which made the drama even more compelling.Was this review helpful to you?
romcom of the year (or decade!)
absolutely delightful from start to finish. almost every trope in the book was portrayed well throughout the whole series. this delivered romance, comedy, angst, fantasy, high school romance, college romance, mature romance and love that transcends timelines. sol and sunjae are both good hearted, strong-willed and well written characters who loved each other so deeply. it has such a satisfying ending too. also, every episode is a kim hyeyoon acting masterclass. she is the lovely in lovely runner. the heart of the drama. 10000/10 would recommend. <3Was this review helpful to you?
Don't know what to say?
I can't stop writing about this drama if I start.. I have watched a lot of dramas. But this one hits different. I just fell in love with everyone specially Hyeyoon. What an acting girlllll.. She slayed every scenes. The crying scenes made me cry along with her.. A drama with no toxic friend or ex or second lead. Byeon Woo Seok is always my favourite.. I first noticed him in 20th Century Girl and later in Strong Girl Nam Soon. He did great in both of them. And in this one, he is the greanest forest ever💚... I would love to see them together again in another drama. Their chemistry is everything😍😍Was this review helpful to you?
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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NON-STOP SWOONING watching the last 6 minutes of Episode 2
Non-stop swooning watching the last 6 minutes of Episode 2 helppppp needed asapI was so sad watching Episode 1 😭😭😭😭😭
But Episode 2 is sooooo cuteeee I can't stop watching 🥰 what is happeninggg
why soo cuteeee 💞💞
Please tell me this swooning continues??? I'm scared to go further if it's going to be sad but I got a feeling it will all change.. The photo at the end.. ottokeee ottokeeeee
Will it change?? Tell me pleaseee
I mean don't tell me but tell me if I should continue?? I want a super happy ending for this cute lively character Im Sol 🍀 The actress is playing this role to a T 👏🏻💯
Please tell me it's more like Episode 2 going further and less like Episode 1??? 💞🌧
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it's really worth watching
I really cried when I saw the ending of episode 4. Their acting was really real and it melted my heart. The OST really got me into this drama. I'm sure you will like it. Kim Hye Yoon really got into Im Sol, blowing me away with her incredible performance. Byun Woo Seok is no less cool. I can feel their chemistry is very strong. I look forward to many more of your project. I also hope you understand the storyline which I feel is quite realistic to idol's life now. Don't forget to give your review so you can share information..Was this review helpful to you?
Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon “수고하셨습니다”…
The storyline is very good, sweetly reminiscent of youth. The acting of the main female and male leads is extraordinary. It's very impressive. Truly good to the point of feeling real and reaching the hearts of the audience. I watched many dramas but This drama, in my opinion, is the best number one drama of 2024. Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon “수고하셨습니다”…. . Thank you for making this story so beautiful and leaving a strong impression in my heartWas this review helpful to you?
Worth binge-watching
What I loved the most: AMAZING OSTs!I'm kind of glad I watched this after it ended and not while it was airing. It would have honestly bored me out and would have frustrated me.
This drama was hyped too much that I had to see it for myself. Consider that it had been years since the last time I watched kdramas, and this was my second kdrama during summer — with a late rating. It gotten me out of my kdrama slump to be honest. But I remember while watching, around episode 9, I thought to myself, “okay, they could've ended this here? Why make it 16 episodes long?” and during the time I was watching, it made sense to me. But looking back, the plot was actually unecessarily dragged for too long.
Did I enjoy it still? A lot. It's the type worth binge-watching (I finished this in 2 days) because some parts still keep you at the edge of your seat and make you crave for more (me personally, because I saw some say that they almost dropped this because of those twists.)
But honestly? It looks like the hype was only because of Wooseok and his loserism, which watchers these days love. I doubt this would get the same hype if it wasn't for the twist in Episode 2 too.
It also had plot holes, lots of them. Why did the taxi driver badly want Sol and Sunjae killed? I also don't get how the watch worked.
To conclude, I have a love-hate relationship with this drama. It's a good watch, especially for those who love romcom and the “he fell first trope”! I also loved how they got to meet as highschool students, college students, and as adults who have jobs. The time travelling concept was tiring, but Sol and Sunjae's relationship was cute and heart-fluttering.
The OST for this drama is my favorite! The songs used here are so beautiful, especially Sonagi / Sudden Shower. Ugh, favorite! Also, the N.Flying song, Star!
Also, Hyeyoon deserves more recognition!
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