A feel good sweet coming of age romcom
Thirty but seventeen has the perfect recipe, it balances family / slice of life / romcom and even melo very well. It has its fair share of feel good moments, strong uplifting messages, emotional plots, hilarious interactions, not to forget ""CUTENESS ALERT.""..almost all the characters are an extra extra dose of cute.The plot features a beautifuly balanced recipe of romance, comedy and melo all set to a background of a coming of age story, whether it be our heroine's belated awkward coming of age, our hero's emotional and psychological coming of age, or our sweet nephew-nim's literal coming of age.
The drama will bring you to tears constantly, both from crying and laughing.
I loved the relationship between the main characters and felt the way it developed and each respective character grew up in front of our eyes was very realistic and hearfelt.
I always appreciate a drama that makes me fall in love with its characters and wish they truely existed so I could make their acquaintance, and Thirty but Seventeen not only made me fall for its leads but nearly all the side characters. That was thanks to the fun and witty interactions, the heartfelt and sweet script, the strong on-screen chemistry, aided by a strong and believable performance from all, not just our main trio, but also their "kaseifu no mita"-esque housemaid Jennifer.
I appreciated that the romance here did not suffer from the common tropes of Kdramas, like love triangles (we only have hints nothing major with lingering repercussions like other dramas), or noble idiocy (there were certainly moments it nearly felt like we were heading that dark road only to be delighted by a sweet turn of events or a moment of truth). Above all, I loved how every one spoke their minds and didn't act like total idiots when it came to their feelings, even if that meant replying to "why do you look at me like that?" With "I don't know, me either". We watched our main leads achieve psychological growth and flourish emotionally through their relationships with each other and their "family". Any slight sense of slowness in the romance plot in the first half felt accounted for and explained, because we've come to understand the characters, and their mutual feelings of respect and consideration.
The acting was great by all the cast, it was my first drama for the male lead, and I hope it won't be my last. I totally loved him in this character.
The music was sweet, and the classical tracks were as expected played well and fitted the mood. I also liked the sound effects (like an air horn, a cicada etc), which were perfectly utilized to maximize the effect of certain moments especially comedic ones.
Rewatch value is high, I feel like I might be coming back for a dose of cuteness sometime in the future.
This was a fun and enjoyable ride which I couldn't pause once I started. I definitely recommend to all regardless of your favorite genre, because I for one have been watching too many dramas of dark-ish and heavy plots which are mostly my favorite genres, and was craving a feel good and fun watch, and this drama was certainly the perfect choice.
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First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest respect to the writer behind this show Song Jae Jung, the same mind behind creating other very famous and iconic fantasy/sci-fi genre dramas including Queen In-Hyun’s Man, Nine: Nine times time travel, and W Two worlds. And while these shows might not have necessarily been perfectly written from start to finish, but we have to admit that their plots were highly original and innovative, proving above anything the rich imagination skills of the mind behind creating them. So kudos to her, for surprising her viewers every time.
So focusing on Memories of Alhambra, what I liked and what I did not so much.
First the story:
As I mentioned earlier, the story in this one is one of great originality and creativity, an smartly written plot packed with fantasy, thriller, mystery, action and drama. It is a story that constantly keeps its viewer at the edge of their seats (where it particularly excelled), and resembles the writer’s previous fantasy works in that it compels the viewer to keep questioning and guessing and re-guessing the rules of the world created inside of it (where it might not have necessarily been up to par).
The plot revolves around an AR (Augmented Reality) Game, and the chaos and struggles that arise when the barrier between the game and reality start to crumble, and how the real lives of the players become detrimentally affected by the game, causing major casualties along the way.
First if you are to venture into this drama, you have to abandon your scientific reasoning, and do not expect realism. If you manage to go past the “HOW”s and such, you will find yourself in front of an entertaining ride, featuring beautiful cinematography, and high-end CGI.
Being a fantasy drama though unexpectedly requires stating rules. You might be creating an imaginary world that defies real world and common sense, but you still have to a certain extent assign rules guiding this imaginary realm, to explain why and how things happen the way they do.
At first, both the viewer and the main characters are struggling to grasp such rules, later on we start to guess and put theories, with the writing providing hints. The problem though is that this drama eventually did not manage to create a neat and consistent reasoning all the way through, instead the viewer will find himself at a certain point compelled to abandon his struggles to understand why things happen and more importantly why they only happen at certain instances but other times fail to, and instead settle on just enjoying the exquisite scenery, high-end CGI and kick-ass action.
The only part of the story that I found lacking even more than such plot-holes or inconsistencies, was unfortunately none other than the romance. I am a fan of romantic genre, and easily swoon, get butterflies and find chemistry between many an OTP, so when I watch a drama and find myself near the end wondering why these two fell in love in the first place, that’s when I know that the romance somehow lost me. That was the case here, not on both sides of the equation though, because while the pace of development of HIS feelings towards her were very believable and natural of a man of his past and position, HER feelings always felt kind of rushed and too sudden. I do not mind love at first sight scenarios, or being attracted visually to someone, but that somehow did not feel like it was the case here either.
All in all, the romance for me felt a bit lacking on a relatability-wise, but I noticed that other people enjoyed it just fine. So it might be tastes and nothing more.
Acting:
Solid performances from everyone, especially Hyun Bin, who you can say was the sole star of this show. It is after all, his story proved by his narration.
As for Park Shin Hye, .I am not a fan of her to be honest, so at the beginning not enjoying her character I thought was because of that. But the more the story progressed and the more her character’s involvement in the story increased (though never amounting to much significance) the more I realized, that it was not the actress’ problem, but rather the writing of the character itself. She is supposed to be a very hand-working, independent and multi-talented lady, and I appreciated how they shed light on her upbringing and past via a neat flashback sequence, but somehow she never felt truly human, but rather a shallow human being with no life of her own. The show certainly succeeded in showing how she was devoting herself wholeheartedly to the well-being of her family, sometimes sacrificing her own ambitions and dreams in return, but somehow it still failed to nail to draw out who she is as a person. Maybe also my feelings towards the romance in this drama in general might have helped to make me feel more detached from the female lead, maybe just that I didn’t fancy Park Shin Hye’s mouth-slightly-opened emotional portrayal, dunno. (I apologize to any PSH fans out there :D)
All in all, this was definitely an enjoyable drama, with a smart and original plot, great cinematography, solid performance, and nicely paced. And like all this writer’s other dramas, while having its issues, it is by all means a drama worth watching, pondering, and enjoying. I would particularly recommend it to fantasy genre fans, game fans and of course Hyun Bin fans because he definitely excelled here.
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Such were the thoughts I had while I was still not even finished with Signal.
I consider myself lucky to have come to read numerous good reviews of Signal (especially on Drama Beans), because otherwise I might have skipped one of my all time favorites as of now.
Even more glad that it was Signal that I decided to watch after being away from drama watching for a little while and only recently coming back.
Signal is simply everything it promises to be, and it is almost everything any fantasy-thriller drama should be.
Perfect casting! Literally ALL the cast was more than spectacular. Very strong and solid performances by the main trio, especially Jo Jin Woong who more than just charismatic, he was magical! You cannot help falling in love with Lee Jea Han, with all his righteousness, devotedness, and also sometimes his awkwardness and goofiness. Kim Hye Soo was magnificent as Detective Cha Soo Hyun, whether as the naive rookie cop or as the bad-ass and tough Team leader. It was my first time ever watching something for Lee Jea Hoon, but boy was I impressed! He can be overly dramatic at times with his facial expressions, but it all served in shaping the emotional and a bit impulsive character that is Park Hae Young.
Effortlessly flawless writing & Directing!
What else would you expect from this duo! With such a tricky premise that is time-bending, the writing can easily fall prey to plot holes and inconsistencies, but in Signal's case there were simply NONE. the more one watches, the more you rest assured that you are in safe hands, and that any question or slightly unclear point you may come upon, you are sure will be properly answered in due time.
The story was sure a unique and complicated, what with two different timelines simultaneously progressing on screen (constant swapping from past to present) to the idea behind time-warp; were one action brings on a string of consequences that reverberate to affect not just the people directly involved but also other innocent people’s lives on a larger scale. But as much as the premise was difficult and complicated, as much as I never felt confused or had to pause and speculate, that was not just thanks to the genius writer-nim that is Kim Eun Hee, but also the direction played an important role, with the effortless manner he utilized to help differentiate between different timelines (changing the aspect ratio) to showing the right flashbacks at exactly the right moment. Sometimes I felt like I would have appreciated a date and time to show on the scene, only to find the time eventually revealed in a realistic and effortless manner.
This drama opened my eyes more and more to the power that lies in directing. It was the astonishing direction that aided such a marvelous and unique story to properly come to live. From the camera angles, lighting, down to paying the utmost care to details in order to distinguish the past scenes; everything from clothing, accessories, gadgets, cars, down to paper ads in the background. Kudos to PD Kim Won Suk (I doubt it is a coincidence that now two of my most favorite KDramas are his)
Marvelous characterization
Each character was distinctly unique yet all shared the same righteousness and sincerity. I especially loved the transition of maturing as a cop that Cha Soo Hyun showed, both on an emotional level and a professional level, but still harboring the same earnest and deep feelings of love to Det. Lee Jae Han. How everybody bonded on the cold case team, while sometimes harboring mixed feelings of suspicion and doubt (mostly towards Park Hae Young) they all trusted and respected each other.
I could relate to and empathize with nearly all the characters maybe not so much the villains but not all dramas succeed in making its viewers invested in the life and cause of a villain, right?
The music
Mostly background instrumental tracks, with just a few vocals, but the opening and closing theme songs sure leave a strong impression.
I read there were rumors there are plan for a sequel, but as much as I loved this drama to pieces, and as much as I had wished for more in the end, I really hope they don’t come around to producing a sequel even featuring the same cast. This was a masterpiece that I doubt any sequel can keep to its par, worse, might even do it damage.
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This review may contain spoilers
A perfect Romantic coming of age story
Let me just start by saying that what pushed me to write a review is the fact that I found a couple of reviews here who stated some very strange and unbelievable nonsense regarding the concept behind the story here as being a mystery of who will become the father!!!!! What?! I will not say haven't you been paying attention through out the show for hints or whatever, rather Haven't you watched the first episode for heaven's sake? Very early on the viewer is outright shown that the outcome of the romance that is about to unfold is unfortunately doomed, that the grown up FL's daughter's father is someone else other than the ML.The fact that some people failed to grasp that, most propably I would guess out of sheer unwillingness to accept the fact that a KDrama can willingly choose to do that, and they kept watching with the hope that a twist will come along that will explain how the ML for some freak reason changed his name and had plastic surgery making him unrecognizable both in physical appearnce and identity to his own 14 year old daughter. Come on guys!!! If the girl was mearly reading written diaries written in codes, I would understand the mix up, but she was shown albums of old pictures by her grand-ma and she was inquiring who was the ML in the pics?! Her mom was mentioning her dad as being very much alive and working overseas! HELLO!!!!
now that I have vented out my anger at those delusional viewers who unfortunately end up giving lower ratings to the show because of their unfounded disappointment at the ending, let me very briefly state my humble review of this show.
I need not say just how much I enjoyed it, since my above rates just show, but let me state that I totally LOVED the idea of a show about falling in love AND breaking up, and not in the common fashion of heartbreak and angst, but rather the characters and their lives progressing in a way that shows them maturing by the passing of time and accumulation of experiences, and how their budding romance was a very important part of this process, how they both paved their own paths to a successful future with support from the other, and how those paths started to deviate from the other naturally. Because honestly, to me this rings more truth more than all the happily-ever-afters that we constantly get shown on TV and in movies.
Also,, let me put it out there, I would understand if people are disappointed with La la land for example, but this one is just totally different in that we knew the fact beforehand....way before the actual ending, actually I was thinking to myself while watching how I appreciated how the writers didn't play the boring game of "who's the father" that the reply series is famous for. As a viewer I find this to not be my cup of tea.
The only things I would have preferred had been done different in this show regarding writing, is how starting a certain point in the drama the ML's intial drive force to work hard ie his family got entirely pushed out of the picture, to the point than when they suddenly reappeared in the final episode, I was like yeah right....his family I totally forgot about. I would have appreciated if they were depicted just a wee little bit more in between especially when he was making life changing choices in his profession.
As for changes to the production, what was the need for a different actress to portray Na Hee Do as a grown up. Kim Tae Ri could have totally pulled of a 40-something mom thank you very much. I have nothing against the actress that played her (though tbh I was always annoyed by her voice) but what was the need to use a different actress for this character and this character only (other than the ML's younger brother which would totally wouldn't have worked with the same actor and appeared for a couple of seconds as a grown up). If Kim Tae Ri had played the older version as well, we viewers would certainly have felt more connection to the character, and the final scenes would have felt more seamless. Also, i honestly think that if KTR played both young and older versions, people would not have had such empty hopes that the ML was the father whol will show up eventually played by a different actor or something. Just guessing, cause I honestly can'twrap my head around viewers who were watching with hope of happily ever after. But still all those minor grievances did not really alter my opinion of the show as a whole.
If by some miracle, someone who hasn't yet watched the show and is checking out reviews to decide, is still reading this let me put it this way .....The story here is no mind boggling mystery with a title that is the only hint given (duh)...it just isn't! Rather, what this show is, is a coming of age story with a truely beatiful cute romance that will constantly make you swoon and blush and wish to fall in love the way they did, there is no love at first sight, no stupid initial denials, no love triangles, no needless push and pull, no acts of noble idiocy, none of these so well trodden tropes here, rather what you get are a bunch of strong and motivated characters with unique backgrounds and different upbringing settings, that bond during a critical part of their lives, whose existence in each others' lives was a driving force to push forward, grow up, persevere, excel, and become successful each in his own path. Their emotional connections transcends time and distance and even with no direct communications.
The pacing was great never felt any lags or rushed parts, and although the more we drew nearer to the final episode I was worried the last couple of episodes would not be able to wrap everything up and satisfy us as to what lead up to the current day time, I genuinely enjoyed the last episodes more than anything and thought they were the perfect closure to a perfect relationship, down to the last scene after the finale's credits. I just love how such simple scenes can speak loads and loads about people, their history. Just perfect writing period.
The acting was beyond amazing. I am growing more and more a fan of Nam Joo Hyuk, his acting here was simply put just perfect. Kim Tae Ri is also such a great actress and although I intially worried she would not be believable as a high school student younger than the ML, she proved me wrong. They were both able to portray great emotional chemistry. All the side characters were given enough balance of story development and screen time in a way that gave each of them a space to shine. The directing was wonderful, my only gripe would be how I sometimes felt the camera made people look like they had bloodshot eyes and extra red palms LOL
All in all, this was a great show, great writing with a good story pacing, awesome characters and magnificent performance, good direction and cinematography. Do not pay attention to the odd reviews here who say they were disappointed by the ending, it's a great show and with a fitting believable heartfelt ending. You will certainly enjoy each momente of this ride.
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Watching NigeHaji to me was the reminder why I just LOVE a good Japanese Slice-of-life drama.
Based on a Shojo manga, a very original idea is introduced with a perfectly hilarious and witty execution. It has laughing out loud humor, it has weeping drama, it has heartwarming moments, and much much more, all in great balance.
The idea behind the contract marriage might seem a bit far fetched or overly dramatic to some, but at a closer look, you notice that the means of expressing the message behind the story might have its share of fantasy, but the message itself is deeply realistic. And to those who have enough knowledge of the current Japanese teens lifestyle and interests (or disinterests ?) this drama will be all the more relatable.
I especially loved the script a lot, always witty but at the same time always realistic. I really enjoyed Mikuri's "day-dreaming mode" scenes a lot, even if some of the shows did not ring a bell, it always made me LOL.
All the characters especially the OTP were very relatable, and the cast did a marvelous job bringing them to life so lovable and cute.
As a married person, this drama gave me a very enlightening and refreshing take on the meaning of marriage, after watching NigeHaji and pondering a lot about many of the troubles the couple in the drama faced, I started to feel like sometimes the usual style of marriage, can cause the coupe to take somethings for granted, and that it's sometimes needed to pause, discuss and open up to each other about many things, things that bother each, things that need improvement, sometimes thinking of ways to ensure mutual love and respect doesn't fade away with the passing of days.
Hiramasa X MIkuri couple mystically embody married couples relationship goals.
I highly recommend this drama!! it is a must watch
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