This review may contain spoilers
This is an old drama with an outdated view on gender roles, but if one takes it with a grain of salt and watches it with Mulan in mind, they may be entertained. First, some red flags...the FL kisses the ML out of the blue, the second ML kisses the FL also by surprise and later the ML force kisses the FL in anger.
The FL and ML are also both* very childish and bickered a lot, which I didn't care for. The good thing is that once they finally get together, they actually make a pretty sweet couple and become better versions of themselves. The first 11 episodes of their push and pull got on my nerves a bit, but everything after that was good.
Another trope I dislike is when one of the characters has a secret and it stretches out for far too long. I think the FL had a good reason to keep her gender a secret. To some extent, I could also understand why the ML was angry when he found out...but I felt his anger was a bit over the top and hypocritical. He was so mad at being deceived and yet he also paid her to pretend to be his boyfriend so he in turn could deceive his grandmother. That's what I meant when I said that the ML was childish. I finally get Gong Yu's appeal though, he is handsome and charismatic...and for some* reason is good at playing childish heroes. From Coffee Prince to Goblin...I finally understand why he's paired up with younger female leads XD Eun Hye also did a very good job at portraying the very boyish Eun Chan (mannerisms and all)...I'm not sure why all her dramas after this one weren't as good.
I would argue that Han Kyul and Eun Chan, when they finally get together and put their sh*t behind them, had even better chemistry than the couple in My Love from the Star, despite their age gap. The way Han Kyul hated the idea of Eun Chan leaving him to study abroad but accepted it anyway for her sake, so she could grow as a person...the way they both gave each other advice to take care of themselves when apart...they seemed like such an odd couple, but it actually worked for me.
Also, I have no issues with a childlike heroine...I've seen many in these Asian dramas. But it made no sense to me for Eun Chan, a girl who had to grow up fast and be the 'man' in her family to put food on the table, to be so childlike. It's good that she finally seemed grown up when she got together with Han Kyul at the end, especially when she came back from her studies...but in the first 11 or so episodes, she just seemed unbelievably childish and carefree for someone who had such a hard life. The contrast had a good effect, though. I really liked the mature version of Eun Chan at the end of the series who was confident and knew what she wanted. Han Kyul also grew into a better version of himself in that he was an aimless drifter but later on, became a responsible boss who wanted to work hard to make something (the coffee chain) grow.
This is also one of the few Korean dramas to include sensuality. Nothing explicit, but I was surprised that the main leads actually sleep together, not like in My Love from the Star where they're literally just on the same bed with all their clothes on!
The Second Leading Couple were very* toxic. The second female lead Yu Ju was incredibly selfish. She left Han Seong in the beginning for another man. The series starts with her begging him to take her back, which he does (why?) and later when Han Seong starts to (almost) develop feelings for Eun Chan, she gets angry and can't seem to forgive him the way he forgave her. Worse, she tries to leave him all over again for the same man. They seemed very happy at the end, but I could just not warm up to them as much.
There is also a lot* of toilet humor in this series. The character of manager Hong was particularly gross.
So why exactly did I like Coffee Prince? It's hard to explain, but for all the quirks and flaws the characters had, they still (most of them) managed to be likeable. The warm feeling I had when watching family dramas like Reply 1988 was there when I watched this. The camaraderie between the Coffee Shop waiters (the scene where they individually said goodbye to Eun Chan before her trip abroad) the scene where Eun Chan cuddled her younger sister Eun Sae after her failed audition, the scene where manager Hong defended Eun Chan to Han Kyul's grandmother when she wouldn't accept them at first...these are the heartfelt moments that make the best family dramas and Coffee Prince had a lot of that warmth between the characters that gives viewers that good feeling.
Han Kyul and Eun Chan were also well written as a flawed, imperfect (even eccentric) couple who manage to be believable, in spite of everything. I grimaced a lot at their annoying antics, but later I also smiled a lot at how they turned out.
The FL and ML are also both* very childish and bickered a lot, which I didn't care for. The good thing is that once they finally get together, they actually make a pretty sweet couple and become better versions of themselves. The first 11 episodes of their push and pull got on my nerves a bit, but everything after that was good.
Another trope I dislike is when one of the characters has a secret and it stretches out for far too long. I think the FL had a good reason to keep her gender a secret. To some extent, I could also understand why the ML was angry when he found out...but I felt his anger was a bit over the top and hypocritical. He was so mad at being deceived and yet he also paid her to pretend to be his boyfriend so he in turn could deceive his grandmother. That's what I meant when I said that the ML was childish. I finally get Gong Yu's appeal though, he is handsome and charismatic...and for some* reason is good at playing childish heroes. From Coffee Prince to Goblin...I finally understand why he's paired up with younger female leads XD Eun Hye also did a very good job at portraying the very boyish Eun Chan (mannerisms and all)...I'm not sure why all her dramas after this one weren't as good.
I would argue that Han Kyul and Eun Chan, when they finally get together and put their sh*t behind them, had even better chemistry than the couple in My Love from the Star, despite their age gap. The way Han Kyul hated the idea of Eun Chan leaving him to study abroad but accepted it anyway for her sake, so she could grow as a person...the way they both gave each other advice to take care of themselves when apart...they seemed like such an odd couple, but it actually worked for me.
Also, I have no issues with a childlike heroine...I've seen many in these Asian dramas. But it made no sense to me for Eun Chan, a girl who had to grow up fast and be the 'man' in her family to put food on the table, to be so childlike. It's good that she finally seemed grown up when she got together with Han Kyul at the end, especially when she came back from her studies...but in the first 11 or so episodes, she just seemed unbelievably childish and carefree for someone who had such a hard life. The contrast had a good effect, though. I really liked the mature version of Eun Chan at the end of the series who was confident and knew what she wanted. Han Kyul also grew into a better version of himself in that he was an aimless drifter but later on, became a responsible boss who wanted to work hard to make something (the coffee chain) grow.
This is also one of the few Korean dramas to include sensuality. Nothing explicit, but I was surprised that the main leads actually sleep together, not like in My Love from the Star where they're literally just on the same bed with all their clothes on!
The Second Leading Couple were very* toxic. The second female lead Yu Ju was incredibly selfish. She left Han Seong in the beginning for another man. The series starts with her begging him to take her back, which he does (why?) and later when Han Seong starts to (almost) develop feelings for Eun Chan, she gets angry and can't seem to forgive him the way he forgave her. Worse, she tries to leave him all over again for the same man. They seemed very happy at the end, but I could just not warm up to them as much.
There is also a lot* of toilet humor in this series. The character of manager Hong was particularly gross.
So why exactly did I like Coffee Prince? It's hard to explain, but for all the quirks and flaws the characters had, they still (most of them) managed to be likeable. The warm feeling I had when watching family dramas like Reply 1988 was there when I watched this. The camaraderie between the Coffee Shop waiters (the scene where they individually said goodbye to Eun Chan before her trip abroad) the scene where Eun Chan cuddled her younger sister Eun Sae after her failed audition, the scene where manager Hong defended Eun Chan to Han Kyul's grandmother when she wouldn't accept them at first...these are the heartfelt moments that make the best family dramas and Coffee Prince had a lot of that warmth between the characters that gives viewers that good feeling.
Han Kyul and Eun Chan were also well written as a flawed, imperfect (even eccentric) couple who manage to be believable, in spite of everything. I grimaced a lot at their annoying antics, but later I also smiled a lot at how they turned out.
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