PrettyCarEye

Exactly ... I don't know what the hell he was thinking!

Wow, they revealed his death at the beginning? I totally missed that, which I guess was both good & bad at the same time.

Has S3 been confirmed?

Eugene dying is the only way Lee Byung Hun would have taken the role, unfortunately. If you notice LBH's character in pretty much all his dramas and movies always end up dead in the end. That's because LBH has this bizarre requirement that his character be killed off in every show or movie he takes on. If the character doesn't die, he won't take the role. I actually didn't notice this trend until I watched an interview with him where he said this, then I looked back on all his stuff I've watched & realized, goddamn, it's true!

I honestly think that one day we're going to wake up to news that LBH has killed himself because it is hella bizarre to be this obsessed with death! Anyway, so, whenever I see a movie or drama with LBH as the lead - I'll most likely watch the movies if I'm in the right mood - but I know what will happen. There are so many of his dramas I want to watch - All In, Iris, Mr. Sunshine - but I can't bring myself to start them because who wants to invest several hours of time & emotion into a character, only to watch them perish in the end? Not me.

There are some SE movies that can really put me through the wringer and haunt me for days and weeks, even months ... but they're few and far between, so most sad ending movies are forgotten pretty much as soon as they're done. On the other hand if I watch a particularly emotionally draining, sad ending drama, it's hard for me to get over it. That's why I avoid them like corona.

Actually, the events leading up to the ending were all great, if I recall correctly. KT is always a pleasure to watch, esp when he's in romance mode, which is what made the drama tolerable for me. The only sad thing about this drama was in fact the ending, but the journey was enjoyable. You're filled with a sense of foreboding, though, of what is to come, esp when the romance is at its sweetest. As a KT fan, I'd say don't miss it, but watch at a time in your life when things are good so the ending doesn't weigh you down. Another good KT SE drama is One Million Stars Falling From The Sky. I watched that one and the ending in Beautiful Life was slightly more heartbreaking for me than this one actually. But that's only if you believe in the afterlife.

The shame is not that the drama had potential (that's a good thing), the shame is that its potential was not properly utilized or exploited (a bad thing).

I'm agreeing with you. I get seriously tired of people on this site & their whining, butthurt comments about FLs who don't fit some cookie cutter stereotype of how a so-called 'strong' FL should be. There's a lot of group think & people don't seem to have the capacity to critically judge female characters beyond their pseudo feminist definition. I understand the frustration with watching the same type of FL in too many dramas, because I get tired of that too, but the problem is not that the FL is weak (just because she doesn't act hard). The problem is the repetitiveness of seeing the same character over and over, which boils down to poor, non-creative writing. So dogging on a female character because she's delicate, kind and not beating everyone's ass & calling her weak, is just a sign of low intelligence to me, esp on this site! I don't mince my words so it might seem my comment is overly harsh toward these folks, but I don't care. I said what I said! :p

Well, I guess you're in the minority because she's the type of so-called 'strong' FL sheeple on MDL love!

Thank you for this list. Some of them I was aware of, but others were new to me. Now I know which dramas to avoid. I almost never watch SE dramas; I find SE movies more tolerable because of the smaller time & emotional investment so it's easier to shake any melancholic feelings. I can watch sad ending dramas on rare occasions if I find something about it rather compelling - story, actors or both ( for eg, I watched Beautiful Life - purely because of Kimura Takuya ... and was able to overcome the ending, albeit with a heavy heart), but there's no doubt that I'm a bonafide HE viewer! Because hey, life's sad enough!

Thanks for this comment. Now I know not to waste time on this. Sung Joon is notorious for making these misleading "romance" shows that aren't really romances, but just plain boring & lukewarm romance teasers where there's often a blatant lack of actual romance & more focus on comedic elements. Which is fine, not everything has to be romance ... but don't mislead the viewing audience. Say it's just pure comedy ... don't say it's a romcom and then leave the romance out totally. I've been let down by him in both I Picked Up A Stranger & Level Up. Don't think I'm going to watch any more of his shows ... at least not ones that are labeled 'romance'.

A movie about a woman who comes to the realization that she's nothing like society expects her to be. But don't be so quick to cheer this as women's lib as things may not be as good as they sound. The FL is an interesting, layered character, but whether she's truly a heroine worth rooting for is matter of interpretation. Once you watch the movie, you'll know what I mean. That is, IF you interpret the FL's character & the ending the same way as I did. Anyway, not my favourite type of story or protagonist, but the film is well made & well played, so I'll give it a 7.

This is available on avitaz with subs. Registrations are now open if you don't already have an account.

Just an heads up ... I came across a comment on the forums that the site is now open for new registrations until the end of August so you might want to register while you have the chance. The site usually has many old and new movies with subs so it's worth having an account there.

A film for mature audiences only, not just because of the sexual content, but also the themes and worldviews explored. The film deftly unveils the anomalies of contemporary Japanese society through the lens of Ken & Naoko, the 2 protagonists who felt like very real people going through an existential crisis in a Japan that's on the brink of a metaphoric major event. One must be willing to leave one's prejudices and moralities at the door and just absorb the narrative for what it is. Please don't watch & downrate the movie because you're offended by the sex act. Also avoid reading any tags that might be added later. As of this writing the given tags aren't too spoilery, but I know at some point that might change & a big reveal in the film (that adds important layers to the narrative) might get spoiled. With that said, this film was surprisingly immersive despite its non-mainstream premise. It could have easily been a movie about sex, given how frequently the act is done, but it never felt pornographic or gratuitous. Their encounters felt surprisingly ... REAL, organic, natural. I wish this was more the norm in Japanese TV & cinema - not the depiction of the sex itself, but the naturalness of intimacy & the ease with which the leads moved in each other's company. Japanese cinema is so overrun with formal, awkward, barely there intimate scenes that when you come across a movie like this where the protagonists are so natural in their physical encounters with each other it's a breath of fresh air! Very good contemporary cinema with dedicated, authentic performances. 8/10

If you can access Avitaz.to, it's on there with subs.

Totally agree with you, esp about Japanese dramas. I think you can find a few happy ending C & T dramas, but their movies are a different story (Chinese romantic drama movies are the worse). As for J-dramas you have to go back to the 90s to find dramas with happy endings, and even back then you still have to wade through a bunch of depressing stuff to find a happy one, but somehow it was a bit easier to find a more positive drama than it is now. I don't know who told the Japanese they have to be so darn pessimistic & doggedly true to life all the time. Also even when a drama has a happy ending, it takes you through the wringer emotionally before you get there. I guess it's an Asian thing, but for me life is already a roller coaster. I don't need the same sh-- in my entertainment ...

This drama version of the movie was made a year after the film was released, and I get why the producers wanted to bring this sweet, beautiful story of love & family to a wider audience through the tv series, but for me it was kind of a miss. The movie is way more satisfying & does a much better job of doing the story justice. The movie is focused entirely on the couple - making for a more impactful & heartwarming story. While the drama was heavily focused on the couple as well, it also added a bunch of unnecessary side characters that were just there to fill the episode order. Also I disagree with the reviewer above regarding Hiroki being a good match for the role of Takkun. After seeing the movie & how convincing Nakamara Shidu was in the role of the timid but lovable Takkun, Narimiya Hiroki's unsuitability for the role was rather glaring. He has too much of a rocker, bad boy vibe about him to be a convincing Takkun. I thought he overacted quite a bit in an effort to portray the character. He matched the character in terms of age as Mio & Takkun were supposed to be young adults when they married & had Yuji, but in terms of personality ... it was hard to accept him as shy, timid and uncertain of himself as Takkun is supposed to be. I do agree, though, that the younger Takkun was very well chosen & well played by the young actor. However, I now realize it was unnecessary to watch the drama after watching the movie because the movie tells the story 10x better. Only watch the drama if you're one of those viewers who prefer long format storytelling (and basically no intimacy/skinskip), otherwise save yourself the time and just go for the movie. 5.5/10

I watched this movie back in 2018 and was pretty satisfied with it. I gave it an 8 because at the time I thought it was a sweet romance ... it hit all those sweet spots I have for romantic dramas. But then I watched the original Japanese version in July of this year (2020) & I had to reevaluate my rating (from an 8 to a 7) because the original Japanese version was way better, and showed me the shortcomings of this one. First of all, the little boy in this version was not as cute as Yuji in the J-version and was kind of bratty, imo! Furthermore, So Ji Sub just didn't fit the role of the timid but lovable ML very well (I felt the same about Hiroki Narimiya in the drama version of this movie). I guess both their bad boy images are too deeply embedded in my consciousness for me to believe they're timid in any way. I didn't like Son Ye Jin as FL either ... she seemed way too worldly & cosmopolitan, when FL is supposed to be this sweet, sheltered, shy country girl. And finally, their chemistry wasn't very palpable at all (which is not surprising for me because Son Ye Jin is one of those actresses who tend to not create great chemistry with her co-stars). Felt rather forced & not enough intimacy overall. So while on its own this version left a good impression, when I watched the original version & saw how well that was put together, this version kind of lost all its shine - hence the downgrade in rating. I'd say if anyone intends to watch this movie, watch the original Japanese version first - it's sweeter, cuter and more heartwarming than this K-version.

I watched the Korean version of this movie first and thought it was pretty decent, but then I watched this version & was so much more swept away in this very sweet, beautiful love story. Way better than the Korean & drama versions I have to say. Much more emotionally satisfying & better chemistry between leads (not surprised these two ended up getting married after the shoot, but sadly they're divorced now). Also felt like the ML here was more convincing as the timid but lovable Takkun compared to the MLs in the K & drama versions. Loved too that the couple had their intimate moments & that that part wasn't just glossed over, as is usual in Japanese stuff. A bittersweet ending, but highly recommended for all the romantics at heart! 9/10