This review may contain spoilers
A very ordinary time travel story
I had high expectations or maybe because the drama created such a hype, I was hoping for something phenomenal like something hilarious, some healing and a love story to remember but nevermind.it was an average rom com story with time travel twist which become very obvious and boring towards the end.I like the male lead but that isn't enough to be attached with a character or show. I couldn't feel connected to the main characters. I like sun jae at the beginning but his character became unimpressive towards the middle of the show. And I got out of his charms very quickly.
I felt the same for Sol, as someone representing a disable women, I had high hopes for her character but it felt like she didn't cared enough for herself. That was a let down. Both Sol and Sun jae lacked depth in their characters. And there was no relevance of the 2nd leads
Apart from characters, there was no extraordinary plot either. I was Hella bored in between the show. It got super slow. Nothing that amazing happened in the show as I expected. .
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long and boring and basic
i loved both FL & ML they are incredibly amazing actors and really good at what they’re doing, however, the story is too typical for a time travel dramaI feel like we have seen those type of dramas a lot, and there’s nothing really new in this one
only thing that kept me going are the actors I loved their chemistry together
but the storyline it just does not have anything special.
I feel like I have watched too much better time travel Kdramas with a better story( thats just for me at least ) And it was really unnecessarily long. It could’ve ended in 10 episodes, overall it’s not that bad I guess
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One of the best Kdrama
Oh where do I start? I’ve been seeing this show in my recommendation since this show started. I really wanted to watch this since Kim Hye Yoon is the female lead I liked her from Extraordinary You and I was really hooked with that drama. I was expecting that Lovely Runner will give me the same feeling but I hold back because this is on-going I didn’t want to experience the agony of waiting. But then yesterday I can’t help but binge watch and finish all fourteen episodes. All I can say is that Lovely Runner is perfection. It gave me nostalgic feeling. The OST is so good it keeps playing in my head over and over. The cast is perfect. They are all versatile. This show gave me a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Kim Hye Yoon never disappoints she act so well that you can’t feel she’s acting at all. It was so natural. She can make me laugh then cry after a moment. Byeon Woo Seok also matches the female lead’s versatility. I really love his character in this drama. He portrayed his role so well. He looked like a real swimmer, actor and an idol. I just found out that he actually sang the song ‘Sonagi (Sudden Shower)’ like damn he’s so talented what else can’t he do? The concert part where he sang Sonagi is full of emotions the last time I got carried away with a song like this was Jung Yong Hwa’s ‘Because I missed you’ in Heartstrings and to think he also sang it live?! How I wish there will be a real concert for Eclipse. They even have their own YT channel with all the OST of Eclipse. Byeon Woo Seok is a gem. His character is the greenest flag male lead I’ve ever seen in a drama. I hope they work again together in the future. The only thing I’m sad about is that this show has to end and I’m gonna miss my happy pill. Kudos to everyone who made this show a success. 💕Was this review helpful to you?
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All the emotions
Lovely Runner is a good 'cliche' time-travel romance that starts off as a straightforward fan-idol love story. The plot follows Im Sol, a 34 year old fan of K-pop star Ryu Sun-jae, who is sent back 15 years to prevent his death. The series blends nostalgia, romance, and suspense, with the finale that emphasizes emotional logic over strict plot mechanics.This drama will take you on a wild emotional ride. It can make you laugh, cry, and feel all the butterflies that come with falling in love. Every episode is filled with moments that touch your heart and keep you wanting more. The characters and their story feel so real that you can’t help but get fully pulled in. By the end, you’re left with a full heart, maybe a few tears, and a drama you’ll never forget.
Some parts of the story feel a little slow or don’t make sense right away, but later everything comes together and it all fits. The show makes you feel all kinds of emotions, and by the end, you’re left with a full heart and maybe even a few tears. It’s the kind of story that stays with you long after it’s over.
Some parts of this series, particularly in episodes 3-4 and 11-12 exhibits uneven pacing. Episodes 3-4 introduce slapstick humor and exaggerated situations, such as the time Sol knocked Sun-jae into a fountain ensuing chaos. Episodes 11-12 feature prolonged comedic gags, including the subplot where Sun-jae's father is trapped in the bathroom, which some people (myself included) found quite excessive.
There are many times in this drama that makes you question "why?"
- "why is there a love triangle that never ends up occurring?"
- "why didn't he end up joining the band that he would've joined before Im Sol meddled?"
- "why was the murderer THAT interested in Im Sol?"
^These are questions I have asked myself while watching this drama.
But despite this, I feel like Lovely Runner ultimately delivers a satisfying conclusion, one where it didn't need to answer these questions. It was like this drama came full circle and made sense without answering them.
The finale episode ties together the various plot threads, providing emotional closure and left me with a sense of fulfillment.
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p.s. a good quote for this drama would be: "I didn't know how much I missed you until I saw you." i was thinking about this quote when Sun-jae told Sol he remembered everything.
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Amazing Youthful Entertainer - Clean Hit of 2024
I'm a big fan of time travel dramas; I watch time travel dramas most of the time." But after watching Some Day Or One Day," the time-travel rom-com caught me on the spot to explore these dramas. But I don't get enough dramas to freeze in those cute rom-coms, except for last year's "Twinkling Watermelon.". So I waited for this drama to breakout from the time-travel slump, as well as for the cast of Kim Hye Yoo, Byeon Woo Seok, and the trend of webtoon adaptations.I watched all the episodes at once (I did not watch them when they were airing because I had exams), so I think I'm late to the party. The start is as good as I expected. The time travel aspect watch is another new element joined in the time travel mission. The synopsis tells the entire plot of the drama, so now it's up to the makers how they will keep the audience engaged with the plot, but it makes the drama watchable, like, Let's see how she will save him. Every episode is purely made as a youthful entertainer, especially the chemistry of the main leads, Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok, which makes the drama even more beautiful. The scene settings are impressive, and the use of the element "If the time traveler talks about the future or about the time travel, then the time will stop and no one in the past could hear anything from the time traveler '' made the plot engaging, but it will disappear suddenly from the drama. No love triangle; it has one but is not a complete one. The construction of a drama without a love triangle in a teenage love story is really something that we could appreciate from the from the director and writer because they focused on one story progression rather than love triangle points. With that unnecessary love triangle, sometimes the story progression is ruined. Emotional character development is pretty good. Kim Hye Yoon from funny lovable to emotional caring. Byeon Woo Seok a student with dreams to protective lovable. Song Geon Hee is a free-bird student and an understanding friend. The comedy plot is really a good entertainment aspect, and the execution of the comedy is also reasonable according to the story; there are no unnecessary side tracks, especially the comedy scenes of Kim Won Hae, Jung Young Joo, Seo Hye Won, and Song Ji, which will make the drama more enjoyable.
My only disappointment :-
This is not a thriller—time-travel—but they attempted a plot twist in the thriller zone by using a mysterious man (a killer), but the execution of that point is weak for me. If they try to give it some valuable scope and make it interesting, then the output is even better than this. Put the villain character only in boundary to show his face and drive a van or car. The director and writer got the friendship element to create a friendly environment around the male lead, but the protection point of the main lead was overshadowed. I agree; drama had the friendship moments between the main lead and his friends, but that's not enough for me. Even though it was a short time, it was good (male-led friendship).
ACTORS :-
One of the biggest elements of this drama's success is the chemistry between the main leads and the short girl tall guy troop. It was a classic troop in Kdrama Land, and we are missing it. So in the correct time this drama dropped their weapon, short girl tall guy love, it quickly gained the attention of every kdrama lover (also plot). Their acting is simply charismatic. Kim Hye Yoon I've been watching her dramas since "Extraordinary You," and she explored different genres, from dark to lovable, in every character she did an extraordinary performance. And in this drama, she really made me cry and laugh again, but this time more. She gave life to the Im Sol character; her superb emotional acting and ability to make you cry in funny scenes also contributed to her character development. The first half is totally funny, and the second totally emotional—multit character portrayal in a single-layer character—which is what made her one of the best actors in the upcoming generation.
Byeon Woo Seok, although this is my first main work of him, did great as Ryu Seon Jae. He caught me on the spot with his acting and I am now going to check out all his works (movies and dramas). And the supporting characters of Seo Hye Won, veteran actor Kim Won Hae, Jung Young Joo, Song Ji Ho, and Song Geon Hee gave complete decent acting performances in their respective character roles. They will make us laugh. Feel pain and emotion. What I found interesting is that, except for veteran actors Kim Won Hee, Jung Young Joo, and Seo Hye Won, no other supporting actors had a known face. Yet, this drama was a big success with them.
Writing - Direction - Screenplay - Sound Track Departments :-
Since it's an adaptation, the writer Lee Shi Eun's splendid script works very well. Attractive dialogues, lovely lines between the main leads, and hilarious conversations between supporting characters shine in every scene. Director Yoon Jung Ho, this is what made me excited because his previous masterpiece "Flower of Evil" is one of my favorite dramas, so I'm really excited to watch his other work, which is a Rom-com. He did pretty well his job as director. Every scene is stunningly beautiful, and no wonder I got thriller vibes with the killer plot in this drama. The scene settings are absolutely amazing, and his bold move for casting with limited big supporting actors and Byeon Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon is really appreciated. The screenplay in this typical drama is a really important aspect, to give the detailed drama structure from going in time backwards and forwards. There is not a lot of scope for the screenplay in this drama, but it is pretty good when it comes. One of the strongest pieces is the melodramatic sound track; it was amazing and fresh from the start to the end.
I would like to recommend this drama to every kdrama fan.
Note :- I’d like to notify that the following thoughts and words in my review are purely my own and not intended as criticism of any actor or drama.
Thank you - @Shinnosuke_Lee
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Memories will never disappeared. They will engraved to your soul!
I decide to watch this drama out of curiousity, but turned out to be my top list favorite drama..Like Sol and Sunjae, I feel like meeting this drama are like destiny. It is surprisingly give me wonderful impact.
Story,
This drama have such a beautiful and unique story which I can't find in K-Drama land nowadays. Time traveling with so many things that make it more beautiful. The story was easy to follow and light-hearted, but it's make me both cry or laugh so hard. Respect to production team especially writer-nim. Thank you for making such a beautiful story for us.
Acting/Casting,
Byeon Wooseok, I can't believe I spend my whole life missing this talented artist. His acting skill, how he potrayed his character, his gesture, his effort to bring the character alive, all about him bring me undescribable feeling. It is such a blessing I get to know you Byeon Wooseok. He shows that effort and hardwork will never betrayed us. Thank you Wooseok for bringing Sunjae alive for us so perfectly.
Also I want to shout out for Kim Hyeyeon for all of her work for this drama. She is such a talented actrees until I believe that Im Sol is made just for her. I can't imagine other Im Sol besides her. Wooseok and Hyeyeon really made such a great chemistry that can spread their impact around the world.
I can proudly say myself as a fan for any person who act in this drama. All of the actors doing really great job. I didn't skip any moment and scene cause all of them are incredibly enjoyable.
Music,
I love all of the soundtrack. From Eclipse's songs, and other ost. Each song really suit the mood of each scene. Beside that, sometimes the soundtrack seem trivial and production team just unbothered and put the song carelessly. This drama really an exceptuon. The music departement really doing a great effort to match the mood both of the scene and the song itself. And they chose the singer of their soundtrack perfectly.
I can proudly say that if Eclipse really debut, I will be a hard fan. All of the soundtrack already being a permanent resident on my daily playlist.
And my favorite is Sudden Shower or 소나기 of course. This song along with A Day from ATEEZ's Jongho Never failed to make me cry.
p.s, if any production team read this, please bring Eclipse to music show, their live perfornance really blown me away. I need their performance video!
Rewatch Value,
I will proudly put this for my number 1 on my top favorite drama. I plan to rewatched it for sometime, maybe for some months until I'm ready to move on from this beautiful masterpiece.
Overall I can say that such a blessing get to know this drama, the story, the character, the actor, the soundtrack, and other aspec to. This is my most perfect drama that really suit my preference!
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so predictable
just like many other time travel dramas. same story and repetition of plots. FL keeps going back in time and failing every time, recycled stalker plot again. not to mention the 32-year-old actor playing a teenager. all success comes down to the handsome ml and couples height difference. ost is perhaps the only positive thing followed by the actress good acting, which ironically is downplayed by fans of the drama who treats her like a rookis, even though she already has an established career.....Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A story that's full of heart
As I’m typing this, the soundbar in front of me is playing out the song list by Eclipse, the fictional band fronting the OST of this amazing drama series. Before I say anything else, let me say that Lovely Runner has probably one of the best OST compilations for a drama series in a long while. It’s just delightful to me that fans are gifted with 5 original songs specially written for a fictional band to be savored long after the drama’s ending. It underlines just how every detail making up this show is taken care of by its producers.Another remarkable aspect of this drama is the very palpable chemistry among the entire cast and not just the main characters. They each delivered a stellar and very believable performance collectively. Byeon Wooseok is a revelation to me in this, having watched his previous works this one stuck out to me as very, very well pulled-off comparatively. In fact, BWS truly WAS Ryu Seonjae with every delivery be it in words, postures, facial expressions, both macro and micro. I felt his angst, I relished his jubilance. Kim Hyeyoon was also remarkable as always, though I preferred her portrayal of the adult version of Im Sol for some reason. Maybe it’s because I felt that her youthful aegyo from her school days were a little bit overdone at times. I’m very much willing to overlook those instances though, as I felt that her bubbly character complemented Seonjae’s more reticent, boyish charms very well.
Another aspect of the show I truly treasured was Seonjae’s “bromance” with other characters, especially Baek Inhyuk and the occasionally reluctant Kim Taesong. I’ll never forget that drunken scene with the acorns and in the noraebang. In fact, I love the way this show treats all the friendship, sisterhood, bromance, family values and even the way our band members Eclipse regard their fans.
Okay now moving to the story; I do understand how it’s not a cup of tea for everyone. I also feel that maybe time travel as a storytelling device in presenting the plotline can be an overwhelming concept for some. Many have mentioned how it seemed repetitive, with Im Sol traveling back and forth through time as though in a pointless loop. Well, this is exactly the essence of FATE; fate has a way of reasserting itself back into the original path despite numerous interventions. Im Sol had only 3 chances to do that as per given by the watch, and she even (seemingly) failed all three. So how DOES one change fate? That was what Im Sol had to figure out. It’s just so poetic to me how it was Kim Taesong who saved the day for them and changed the course of their ill-fated relationship. And I love how Kim Taeseong’s dad put it in the end, “Maybe (bad guy) Kim Youngsoo had to die so that another innocent life can live”
Despite several minor inconsistencies, plot holes, and plot conveniences, I truly enjoyed watching Lovely Runner for the feelings it evoked within me. It made me laugh in unabashed hysterics, it made me cry inconsolable tears, and it also inspired me to love the people closest to me that much harder. That’s why at least for this drama series, I’m willing to overlook technical accuracies and savor all the ways it made me feel watching it instead.
I’ll truly miss this one. It’s been a while since a drama series affected me this much. The last one was Six Flying Dragons, I’ll have you know.
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My favourite drama yet in 2024
Lovely Runner stole my heart! The writing was near perfect – no filler episodes, unnecessary misunderstandings, or dull moments. The humor was spot-on, and the romantic scenes, especially the ending, struck the perfect balance – neither too over-the-top nor underwhelming.The characters were beautifully crafted, each playing a vital role in the story's richness. The parallel narratives were woven flawlessly, leaving no plot holes behind.
Goodbye, enjoyable Monday and Tuesday nights. I'll miss you!
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Overall a good drama, I can’t watch it again tho my patience could never.
I want to love this so bad. Spoilers ahead. I was waiting for a different result with the many chances the main character was given to change things. However, with the exception of the first back in time, it was a repeat of almost the same thing every time after. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but it was hard watching Im Sol keep making the same mistakes trying to push Sun Jae away just to get the same result . It got tiring after the second time, buy the third time it was just annoying that she could treat him so bad. Sun Jae kept choosing her and again and again. Im Sol kept breaking his heart, acting as though she didn’t care. I was hoping at some point she would just say something! I was screaming at the tv if she would just communicate what she was doing or trying to do especially the last time around. I understand that she was trying to protect him, but she left him in the dark which could’ve saved them both some heartache. She missed the fate part of it & he would keep choosing her. I’d hoped for more romance between the two verses the bits and pieces throughout the episodes only when she let down her guard. Overall it was a good watch, I rooted for them and it paid off with happy ending. The two had great chemistry, there was plenty of humor, but I probably would not watch again, the storyline was frustrating until the last episode when it all worked out.Was this review helpful to you?
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A Romance with a Watch that has a Leading Role
If living your life and falling in love resulted in the loss of life for the one you love but you could go back in time, would you do this to change the life of the lost loved one? Most would say yes. The series is about this scenario. Kim Hye Yoon's Im Sol tries over and over to save her love from death, but always fails. A nondescript watch is the time machine. The series details and narrates her attempts to save his life time and time again but always fails until she changes the narrative to where they never meet. All this in order to save his life. It's the tale of a GREAT love between two people.I read some reviews before I started the series, and they were not flattering. While I can understand the weaknesses these reviews highlighted, my take is different. This series is a modern day Romeo and Juliet without the family anguish. Two people with such a great love for each other it withstood the test of time, space, death, and time travel.
The weaknesses that I saw were in the editing and somewhat in the writing. There is a lot of detail built into the time travel that can easily confuse the viewer. Im Sol goes back in time 3 times. Sometimes I wasn't sure if I was in the future or past. It didn't help that random scenes were thrown in periodically. In one regard I can understand as it helped to establish the strong connection between the two main characters and it also relieved the sadness and anguish (through comic relief and supporting character subplots) this storyline would inflict on the viewer. After all how much sadness can a viewer take before switching off? Some of the chaotic-ness of the storyline helps to bring the viewer along in the story. At least it did this for me as I never wanted to stop viewing.
If you're going to watch this, see it for what it is. A great love story of two people trying desperately to be together but fate just keeps interfering, yet they keep trying. I have to say kudos to the two main actors, Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon for their tremendous leading roles....nice!! This series had an amazing supporting cast as well. Song Geon Hee (smooth-like- butter, this actor is amazing!! I'm looking forward to future dramas with him), Jung Young Joo, Seo Hey Won, Kim Won Hye (three of my favorites from previous dramas, they did not disappoint), Baek In Hyun and Song Ji Ho added so much to the story and their loyalty to the main leads, and Heo Hyung Kyo was so so very evil. Well done to this amazing cast!!
I hope you give this series a chance. It does wander around a bit, and that is frustrating for the viewer. However, what it boils down to is the story of a great, GREAT love between two people. And who doesn't love a story like this?
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Kdrama version of all that glitters is not gold
I usually watch kdrama after checking it’s rating and Lovely runner has 9.2 rating!! I have completed watching the show and am shocked as it’s rating is same as twinkling watermelon( that show is a legit masterpiece) and lovely runner doesn’t even come close to it. Still wondering what made people give this show such a high rating. The show feels like a low budget time travel.I am sorry but story was average and execution was below average. There were soo many timelines but hardly any character development in those timelines. Sol goes back in past many times and still can’t get things right. It felt like she didn’t care about her disability that much and was just obsessed with ML. She wasn’t in love with him in the beginning so why was she acting as his long lost lover.
Her actions made no sense and left me plain confused in the beginning episodes. I was expecting more because she is the FL not just any other character.
I have no issue with the SunJae as he was clueless and such a sweetheart. I kept watching the show for him.
The serial killer guy made no sense to me till the end. He was used only to drag the story as there was nothing else to add in the plot. The supporting characters weren’t used that much and felt irrelevant at times. The show could’ve been made more exciting by adding thrilling factors in it as time travel is soo vast and have multiple dimensions in it. I feel like the excitement factor was not there. The show is not bad but just not worth the hype and definitely not worth the rating.
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