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Nice Artwork and Music Distinguish This Tiny Drama
Started with heartache, had heartache in the middle, and ended with heartache, but it was oddly uplifting. A girl who'd been dumped after an eight-year relationship had to decide which way her life was going to turn. She made courageous, unconventional choices, especially for a FL in a drama.The artwork and music elevated this tiny drama. I should award an extra half star, but there were too many loose ends to justify that.
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Steamy Romance, Literally!
Asako was cursed with hyperactive sweat glands due to genetics and her anxious nature. When emotionally stimulated, she had waves of heat and perspiration rise from her. Literally, steamy.As I've often found in Japanese dramas, they can be quirky and weird, and this has all that bizarreness wrapped up in a cute story. The romance was a respectful one, with each person trying to meet the other person's needs. Misunderstandings were avoided or talked out. Such a nice change from most dramas! For example: coworker told ML she'd done a good job and deserved a head pat. ML had done so in the past when she'd excelled, but he told her he wouldn't do it now, because he wouldn't want his girlfriend to misunderstand. He drew definite lines. How refreshing was that!
Note: don't watch with your Nana, unless she's cool with sexual content; although, I've got to say that voraciously eating rice or kicking fruit out of a bed (you'd have to watch to understand) is about as explicit as it gets. I found those scenes oddly entertaining and inventive. I must be getting accustomed to Japanese dramas. What is wrong with me?!
I'm adding an extra half star for FL's lingerie. She spent 1/3 of her time without a blouse, and costuming gave her some beautiful bras.
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Good Things Can Come in Small Packages
Want something short and sweet? How about a body swap between an arrogant model and a high school girl with aspirations to become a runway model. The ML did a credible job as a teenaged girl; I found his inner female amusing. Due to the condensed running time, the viewer wasn't treated to many of the embarrassing sex switch scenarios, which are typical for such dramas. Instead, the story faced the dilemma head on, and the couple had to learn to deal with their new roles to eventually become allies. I was impressed with the quality of story, acting, and production in a drama just a little over two hours long.Was this review helpful to you?
Steamy and Stupid
This was a drama of stupid actions interspersed with steamy slap-kiss scenes. If the main characters hadn't all been brainless, the drama would have been one episode long. Here's a survival tip: when in a dangerous situation, don't make out. I'm not even going to complain about lazy writing, because I don't think there was a script.I subtracted a star for stupidity and awarded a half star for attractive leads and off-the-chart chemistry. I'd be willing to watch them in something better written. Or written at all.
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If You Make Excuses, You Lose
"We lost because we didn't have enough money? I didn't go to college as I didn't have tutors. I lost because I was sick. Everyone can't be in same environment. They are fighting with what they have. If we make excuses, we'll lose in same way again." -- Baek Seung SooThat encapsulated the driving force in Stove League: to face the obstacles and overcome them without excuses or whining.
I love baseball (go, KC Royals!) and Namkoong Min's acting, so this was a treat to watch. There was a huge cast of great actors but no cardboard characters; they all existed for a purpose. The story was superb with twists, losses, wins, and great personal development arcs. Oh Jung Se played a complex villain. Watching his story develop was satisfying.
I was a wee disappointed with the ending, but I reminded myself that the Korean drama culture is more about enduring rather than winning.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Sweet RomCom with Demons, Murder, and Blood
The good: a sweet and brave FL, her loyal friend SML, and a handsome, tortured ML. I enjoyed all the casting. Kim Mi Kyung played the spiritual mother of the FL, and I always look forward to her appearance in dramas (I've seen her in 24 and have nearly that many more I want to see). She's especially good in roles of powerful leadership tempered with maternal instincts, and that's the exact role she played here. The cast of students added warmth and levity to balance the darker issues. With only 12 episodes, the drama maintained interest and didn't drag until the final episodes.The bad: it seemed all the characters took turns taking stupid pills which rendered them unable to make sensible decisions. FL Seong A told her best friend to avoid her love interest, the ML, but left out the reason why: he's demon possessed. Best friend made terrible decisions without consulting Seong A, which put numerous lives at risk. Worst of all, the big villain was taken into the household and given full run of the place when everyone knew she was plotting evil. Did bad things happen as a result? Darn skippy, they did. After all that, the viewers were treated to a poorly executed time skip at the end of the drama. The last few episodes were once again written by the janitor, makeup artist, and security. That's the only viable explanation for the disjointed and illogical mess the drama became (that, or the writer contracted brain-eating amoebas).
The drama depicted Bong Su as a supreme evil spirit, but the worst I saw of him were a few anger management failures. The Big Bad kicked a tripod once, punched his rival for love in the gut a couple of times, and got into a few altercations. He was also guilty of raising his voice several times. Hardly the evil we were promised! The true villain was the shaman who orchestrated the deaths of a hundred people, terrorized the ML most of his life, and caused the death of her spiritual mother. As often is depicted in South Korean dramas, she was given cheap grace and walked away free and unrepentant. To the very end, even when the viewer was supposed to believe she'd had a change of heart, she was still trying to solve her problems with murder.
I subtracted a star for the execution of the ending, but I added one for the delightful cast.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Much Longer and Less Enjoyable Splash Splash LOVE
I've got to admit I lost interest in the middle and put this on hold. I then forced myself to watch an occasional episode at a time until it became interesting again.
Due to censorship, the drama treated the time travel as a dream which inevitably harmed the story.
For not holding my attention throughout, I've removed a star, but I added a half star for the enjoyable music.
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It's Not a Cliffhanger—It's Like Everyone Just Left the Set
My relatively low score reflects my disappointment when I realized I'd watched 40 episodes and the drama just abruptly stopped without wrapping anything up. If season 2 comes out while I'm still alive, I'll revisit my rating and likely award more stars. At the moment, I'm disgruntled to have invested so much time to have been given an incomplete story.Slapstick isn't my thing, but I gave an extra half star for Dylan Wang. He's a natural at comedy, and his smile adds to the fun. FL has a cute smile, too, with her winking dimple.
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Four Stories in One Drama
Serendipity featured dystopian, sageuk, office, and fantasy stories. That's much to incorporate in 12 short episodes, but the drama did well on that. Where I took issue was in the cheesiness and silliness of tone, especially in the dystopian section, but I reminded myself this was a romcom, and those tend that way.An extra half star for ML's chiseled jawline and the cat's, Quin Quin, exquisite blue eyes.
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Nuanced Characters in Very Human Situations
Dislikes: love triangle, too melodramatic, supposedly intelligent people doing stupid things, time skip at the end, and an unfulfilling ending. Likes: a thoroughly evil villain that I couldn't help but sympathize with and like (I appreciate complex characters), a "respectable" good guy that I despised, the amnesia trope done well for a change, the clever tie in with the art piece for which the drama is titled (The Time Between Dog and Wolf is at nightfall when the world is stained red, and it's hard to distinguish friend from enemy), and fine performances by Lee Joon Gi, Jung Kyung Ho, Choi Jae Sung, and Sung Ji Ru.Extra half star awarded to Lee Joon Gi's bout with amnesia, when his style upgraded and he developed a smirk.
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Male Lead's Jealous Expressions Were Priceless
This is one of the few cross-dressing women-pretending-to-be-men that is believable (Coffee Prince is another one). In other productions, the fact the "boy" had noticeable breasts, was tiny, and looked like a pretty actress (complete with make-up) made belief nearly impossible.In Bromance, FL started out as a strong man and ended as a strong woman. So often the "strong" woman becomes a weak, idiotic damsel in distress by the end of a drama, when she started out so strong initially. I appreciated FL's acting skills that allowed her to portray the strong male initially but gradually reveal her more feminine side without losing any of her bravery, aggression, or power.
I loved, loved that once the couple had affirmed their feelings for one another, they respected each other while maintaining passionate feelings. Especially in K-dramas, once the leads kiss, it's like they've been married 50 years: no spark or attraction after that at all.
Was the drama cheesy and unrealistic? Yes, a thousand times, yes! Did I care? Not a bit. When the interactions between the characters are as satisfying and wonderful as Bromance, cheese is just fine. Besides, when were RomComs ever realistic? We were treated to the kinder, gentler mafia, and that made me roll my eyes. But I still didn't care!
The drama made me happy with loving interactions, fun music ("your beauty is like a migraine"?; something is lost in translation with those lyrics), and the ML's facial expressions when he was jealous. ML made me laugh out loud at his possessiveness! An extra half star just for that.
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Make the Most of Every Day
The leads are certainly pretty people, but the story was disjointed, and the ending seemed to be a last minute idea that needed explanation. Questions were left unanswered, and I still don't know how ML was better off at the end of the drama than at the beginning. Didn't all his original problems still remain? Even if he learned to appreciate each day, he was still in debt and going nowhere with his music.The child actress played her role well. I gave an extra half star for ML's cute smile and a half star for the music.
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The Cat Overcame the Cliches for Me
The leads were cute, but I got tired of the prolonged misunderstandings. Do all leads have to be brain impaired? I realize the writer wants to keep emotional tension going by not linking the leads together too early, but I wish it could be done with intelligence.I did enjoy when the ML reverted to his cat instincts: licking the FL's nose or nipping her ear. And I loved the silver American Shorthair, the star of the show.
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Fluff with a Tin Man's Heart
Hwang Jung Eum usually annoys me in the beginning of a drama (too much hysteria and screaming), but she wins me over by the end. Namkoong Min is a favorite; I've enjoyed every one of his performances that I've seen. Put the two together and give them a decent script, and it's a very watchable romcom. I'm surprised by the MDL rating—it seems a point low to me. I'd give that extra star for the philosophies and metaphors sprinkled through out. For a silly romcom, there was a great deal of wisdom involved. And I loved the Toy Museum set.Were there K-drama cliches? Yes, but they were reasonable and easily understood ones, not the silly misunderstandings that take way too long to resolve. There were valid reasons for most of the characters' actions. And, thank goodness, there was no "noble idiocy." Instead, the couple held hands and said they'd get through things together. I can't remember the last time I saw that. Generally, that calls for a trip out of the country and a time skip of five years!
My favorite twisted cliche was when the FL fell, and the ML grabbed her on the steps. She told him to let go, because she had good balance, and he did! She floundered down the steps, but landed triumphantly. And that seems an apt description for this drama: it may have floundered in spots, but it landed well.
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Silly but Cute
Expectations aren't high for 2-minute episodes, and this had its share of silliness (including animation), but it was also cute. Zou Jia Jia played an adorable fox who determined to repay her benefactor's kindness by marrying him. There was a solid story of palace intrigue, and it was resolved well.I enjoyed the short sweetness after some long, agonizing dramas.
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