It was slow moving for me up until around episode 13, when the performance by Yoon Chan Young (Geu Roo) finally…
Yeah, I'd say go ahead and watch it as well ^^
After pondering it over, I think the reason I had trouble rating this is because I tend to dislike any drama having to do with terminal illnesses. Not just this one, I've watched a fair handful of others - 1 Litre of Tears, Flowers for My Life, Scent of a Woman, Boku no Ita Jikan, etc. - but no matter how well they're done, and how sucked in I get by the rave reviews for them, I can't help but feel like the storyline is a cop-out. A way for everything to be forgotten, all bad acts to pass, because the person is dying. It just doesn't sit right with me personally, the way a person dying makes all the things they've done wrong be instantly forgiven without any ramifications... :/
Meh. Like I said, that's probably just a personal qualm for me ^^ If those types of story lines don't bother you, then I say absolutely watch this drama. It really does develop beautifully despite my criticisms :p
It was slow moving for me up until around episode 13, when the performance by Yoon Chan Young (Geu Roo) finally drew up some wet eyes for me. My score kept fluctuating after that because of Seo Ji Eun, though. I just could not understand her reasoning for acting the way she did, especially towards Geu Roo, but also towards Seung Hee. Even before that, I didn't much care for her a-little-too-innocent character.
What I most commend this drama for is its acting and its ending. Making it through 24 episodes was worth it just on those two fronts for sure, even as I was sighing when yet. Another. Philosophical. Bench. Talk scene played for what felt like the millionth time... ><;;
I'd recommend this drama only for those who like slice-of-life and story lines dealing with illness. Oh, and if you enjoy watching child actors who can actually act; that's pretty rare in itself as well. Yoon Chan Young's crying scenes got a little crazy there at the end, but for the most part I'd commend all the little actors and actresses in this. The directors did well picking out some talent there.
The biggest peeve I had with this drama was definitely its acting. I couldn't tell what character traits the actors were looking to display in their roles, so I found myself unable to identify with any of the characters - save Yi Xian and Li Hai who, toward the end, had become the only characters whose story I was invested in. I also didn't think the two leads had as much chemistry as other viewers said... :/
Plus a few "serious" scenes had me laughing and shaking me head at the same time at their incredulity... without spoiling anything, a certain scene that takes place at the beach after the time skip is a prime example of this. I mean, it's a drama, sure, where unbelievable things are supposed to happen, but... I just... can't bring myself to believe that that's what a person would do in that kind of situation... >.<
That said, the message the drama was getting across was enough to keep me interested, though it was a bit predictable how the story would end up.
In the end, the drama just didn't hit the right notes for me, I suppose ^^;;
A bit too many cliches and lack of depth for me to rate this very high... :/ I'd say the first half was around a 7 or 8, but the second half was definitely around a 4. At least the acting was good and the camera work consistently pretty ^^
Which episode do the main leads get married and what happens at the end?
The main leads finally get married in episode 73. At the end, Jumong finds out his son Yu Ri survived his escape from the Bu Yeo palace and gives him the rightful title of Prince. This distresses Seo No's children who Jumong had adopted, so she packs up and leaves to start her own country (Baekja) south of Goguryeo.
Prior to that, they do team up with King Dae So of Bu Yeo and defeat the Han, so there's that for a happy ending at least... ^^ oh, and Jumong reunites with Yu Ri's mom, Ye So Ya.
The good and bad parts of this drama were pretty equal for me... it was boring to tears at some points, engaging at others, and little meandering in between.
It had some brilliant actors (Kim Seung Soo as Prince Dae So; Jun Kwan Rul as King Geum Wa, Bae Su Bin as Sa Yong) and disappointing actors (Won Ki Joon as Prince Young Po, Park Tam Hee as Yang Sul Lan - she could've done so much more with that character!).
The writing was pretty tight and kept the plot moving along for the most part. It just felt like it had a lot of fillers, like an anime that's caught up to its source material. It's not that that extra stuff was unnecessary per se, it's just... extra.
The awkward lingering camera scenes and having the actors glance to the bottom left of the screen every single time a serious scene transitioned about drove me crazy, though. That was the breaking point in deciding between a 7 or a 6. I know the fact it was filmed in 2006 should be accounted for, but... it really mangled my feelings for this otherwise pretty spectacular show. It was an adventure to watch at least, that's for sure.
The last two are only 30% subbed on viki and btw there are 29 episodes
There are two versions of this show. One's a 27-episode cut-for-TV version that has been completely subbed (the last few episodes of which can be found on drama.net; the subs themselves are on d-addicts).
The other's a 29-episode uncut DVD version that Viki and Khunnie Bucks (on YouTube) are currently in the midst of subbing.
The actors are the only good part about this drama. Chiba Yuudai fulfilled all my expectations by being both cute and serious when the moment called for it, even when the plot felt like a jumbled mess of humor trying too hard to be slapstick. It definitely was no where near my taste in comedy, and I wouldn't touch this drama again with a ten-foot pole. But I still commend the actors. They worked well with what they got.
After reading through all the reviews, I think I may be the only one who loved Park Tae Kang (Yi Jang Woo) since his first scene and never got endeared to the second lead who looked like he was going to burst into over-dramatic tears every other scene :/ Jo Eun Sung (Park Gun Hyung) was just a side pest- useful only in the medical realm - to the wonderful chemistry between our two leads for me >.>
All in all, I really enjoyed this remake. It was much better than I anticipated. Mostly, I appreciated how they fleshed out some of the main/supporting characters' backstories and character growth a little more than the Korean version.
The only part I didn't really enjoy was Jerry Yan's interpretation of Yi Seung-Gi's original character :/ I felt like he was over-acting a lot of the scenes and didn't really put his heart into capturing the amazing growth the male lead goes through. Also, the drama un-intensified (tone-downed) some of my favorite scenes from the Korean version, though that is definitely more a personal preference than an objective observation... ^^
All in all I enjoyed this drama. It was fairly well-paced with some slow interjections in the storyline, but nothing too draggy. I really loved the ending - it really fit the reality of the situation rather than fulfilling the fantasy of a clear-cut happy ending, I felt.
I also find it funny after having watched it how many little-but-key things the summary up there gets wrong :p I don't consider what Wei Ting did as cheating (they had technically broken up already), and Yi Kang came from New Zealand, not Japan~
It was an okay drama. Kinda of draggy at parts, but I liked all the creative directing while the characters were mussing over things so those scenes didn't get boring. Needed a tighter script for sure, though. And that acting... it felt incredibly awkward to me for about half the drama. Then, either I got used to it or the leads improved by the second half.
The mom in Life is Beautiful (http://mydramalist.com/318-life-is-beautiful) is one of the best, most understanding mothers I've ever seen in dramaland. She had her flaws, but her ability to step back from a situation and examine it from her children's eyes and think only of their best interests amazed me every time *.*
I like your list too ^^ I haven't seen every drama you've pointed out, but I definitely agree with Chisato. She made that household a home again for those boys for sure.
After pondering it over, I think the reason I had trouble rating this is because I tend to dislike any drama having to do with terminal illnesses. Not just this one, I've watched a fair handful of others - 1 Litre of Tears, Flowers for My Life, Scent of a Woman, Boku no Ita Jikan, etc. - but no matter how well they're done, and how sucked in I get by the rave reviews for them, I can't help but feel like the storyline is a cop-out. A way for everything to be forgotten, all bad acts to pass, because the person is dying. It just doesn't sit right with me personally, the way a person dying makes all the things they've done wrong be instantly forgiven without any ramifications... :/
Meh. Like I said, that's probably just a personal qualm for me ^^ If those types of story lines don't bother you, then I say absolutely watch this drama. It really does develop beautifully despite my criticisms :p
What I most commend this drama for is its acting and its ending. Making it through 24 episodes was worth it just on those two fronts for sure, even as I was sighing when yet. Another. Philosophical. Bench. Talk scene played for what felt like the millionth time... ><;;
I'd recommend this drama only for those who like slice-of-life and story lines dealing with illness. Oh, and if you enjoy watching child actors who can actually act; that's pretty rare in itself as well. Yoon Chan Young's crying scenes got a little crazy there at the end, but for the most part I'd commend all the little actors and actresses in this. The directors did well picking out some talent there.
Overall, 7/10 for me~
Plus a few "serious" scenes had me laughing and shaking me head at the same time at their incredulity... without spoiling anything, a certain scene that takes place at the beach after the time skip is a prime example of this. I mean, it's a drama, sure, where unbelievable things are supposed to happen, but... I just... can't bring myself to believe that that's what a person would do in that kind of situation... >.<
That said, the message the drama was getting across was enough to keep me interested, though it was a bit predictable how the story would end up.
In the end, the drama just didn't hit the right notes for me, I suppose ^^;;
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd249/DraagonFiire/Photos/Shared%20Photos/MonstarOSTpg1.jpg
This is a list of the tracks I have from the OST. If you still want any of them, I'd be happy to share the links ^^ Just PM me
Prior to that, they do team up with King Dae So of Bu Yeo and defeat the Han, so there's that for a happy ending at least... ^^ oh, and Jumong reunites with Yu Ri's mom, Ye So Ya.
It had some brilliant actors (Kim Seung Soo as Prince Dae So; Jun Kwan Rul as King Geum Wa, Bae Su Bin as Sa Yong) and disappointing actors (Won Ki Joon as Prince Young Po, Park Tam Hee as Yang Sul Lan - she could've done so much more with that character!).
The writing was pretty tight and kept the plot moving along for the most part. It just felt like it had a lot of fillers, like an anime that's caught up to its source material. It's not that that extra stuff was unnecessary per se, it's just... extra.
The awkward lingering camera scenes and having the actors glance to the bottom left of the screen every single time a serious scene transitioned about drove me crazy, though. That was the breaking point in deciding between a 7 or a 6. I know the fact it was filmed in 2006 should be accounted for, but... it really mangled my feelings for this otherwise pretty spectacular show. It was an adventure to watch at least, that's for sure.
I don't know where you can stream it, but it's available for download on doramax264.com under Sad Sonata
Hope that helps ^^
The other's a 29-episode uncut DVD version that Viki and Khunnie Bucks (on YouTube) are currently in the midst of subbing.
(Unfortunately, both versions end the same...)
Hope that helps everyone ^^
The only part I didn't really enjoy was Jerry Yan's interpretation of Yi Seung-Gi's original character :/ I felt like he was over-acting a lot of the scenes and didn't really put his heart into capturing the amazing growth the male lead goes through. Also, the drama un-intensified (tone-downed) some of my favorite scenes from the Korean version, though that is definitely more a personal preference than an objective observation... ^^
I like your list too ^^ I haven't seen every drama you've pointed out, but I definitely agree with Chisato. She made that household a home again for those boys for sure.