the ending was a bit bland, and i wish our villain had been kept a harmless narcissistic flower boy, rather than scripted as a murderer, but otherwise i thoroughly enjoyed the drama and all of the characters. LJH and GSY especially, had fantastic chemistry!
I was fine with Cha Do Ha’s hair, what I disliked was how poorly the female lead role was written. It didn’t help that Kim Min Jung’s acting personality wasn’t a good fit for the character. Personally, I would have preferred a more mature, less awkward female lead, that still conserved some of the original quirks. I believe KMJ would have knocked that type of role, out of the park, and it would have made the romance more credible.
Unfortunately, because Cha Do Ha was written to be too naïve and doe-eyed, I was never able to buy that a suave cold-hearted undercover agent, would fall for someone like the female lead – a grown ass woman in her late 20s/early 30s, who acted like an inexperienced teenager, and talked with the halting cadence of a bubblehead. It wasn’t cute, it wasn’t convincing.
Thankfully the rest of the drama is fairly decent, once you get over high expectations and the first 5-6 episodes. It's one of those dramas that became more interesting, once it started focusing on the missions and espionage aspects. The bromances especially, provided a lot of the levity and fun, I enjoy seeing in dramas. Seol Woo’s eyeblinks with sound effects were also adorable. Definitely should be higher than a 7.9.
Talk about beating a dead horse. Was ANOTHER one really necessary after the slew of remakes in the past few years?…
i watched the first ep of the tw remake and dropped it. it didn't have the naoki/kotoko chemistry that is integral for any itazura na kiss remake. i think the anime version will always be my favorite (probably because its the first version i ever watched). with the thai and korean versions as close seconds. lol.
Talk about beating a dead horse. Was ANOTHER one really necessary after the slew of remakes in the past few years?…
i watched the thai adaptation and hands down it's one of my favorite versions of itazura na kiss. i also watched the thai version of full house, and enjoyed that just as much. i agree that those two actors have incredible chemistry! i hope they'll collaberate on another project. this current movie version isn't that bad, it's just repetitive with little to make it stand above the others, unlike the thai version, which at least put more effort into adding refreshing elements so that it wouldn't be an exact copy of the original.
i was lucky to watch this on a plane. i think if you've read the manga, you'll have a better appreciation of this movie, otherwise at first you'll be like me --- wtf is this? lol. it's about two high school guys with completely different personalities, who spend their free time after school sitting by a river, talking about the most nonsensical things. but their banter is so ridiculously hilarious that the movie grew on me by the end, and caused more than a few laugh out loud moments. i would love to read the manga, so if anyone knows of a translated english version, let me know.
this was one complicated drama -- but in a good way. just when i thought i had the timing figured out, i'd get all confused again. i'll probably give this another go to better understand it.
it took me a few episodes to warm up to this drama, but once i was engaged, i couldn't stop watching and felt the drama got better as it progressed. the writing and story is creative, and the way the past and present is merged was nicely done. i truly cared what happened to our trio, and felt just as sad and heartbroken as the characters did, when events unfolded as they did. this was a 10 for me.
hands down, this has become my favorite currently airing drama. i've come to love all of the subplots, most of the characters, and the pacing has been spot on so far. the bkfst scene had me tearing up, but what was more heartbreaking was that tormented look on jung hee's face at the end of ep 28... :(
sure, this drama is meant to be light and fluffy, but that doesn't excuse lazy and predictable writing. i really wanted to like this one, but the ridiculous number of flashbacks in the later episodes, coupled with the uninspiring story that got worse as the drama progressed, pretty much spoiled it for me. the only reason i kept watching was because of the eye candy, and the fact that i could fast forward as much as i wanted, and still not feel like i had missed anything important.
Walnut Cracker....really love this couple. And Hye Young is strong female goals. The complete opposite of Jun…
i agree about JH and MY -- they will make an adorable couple, but it can become awkward if the writer pushes their relationship further now, rather than wait until the reveal. JH is generally confused right now about a lot of things. having a family is new to him, so he's struggling to put not only his relationship with his father in perspective, but also the one with the rest of the family – primarily MY who he has the most interaction with. I truly believe he still sees his feelings/actions towards MY as being protective, not only because she's his manager, but like he said to her in the van, because she's his donsaeng. You can see, however, that he’s starting to question his feelings towards MY, but mentally he hasn’t crossed that line yet. but when he does make the realization (and i have a feeling it's going to be before the reveal), it will be painful, awkward and embarrassing for him.
What a fun drama! Loved this from start to finish -- especially the characters. That ending though!! This is one of those rare dramas that I actually wish had more episodes. Even though it's unlikely we'll get a season 2, I still liked that they threw in those twists in the finale, and left us with that semi open ending. While viewer expectation was that the leads would completely solve the mystery/person behind the "deaths" of their loved ones, for me it was enough that despite not knowing all of the facts yet, they were each able to make peace with their past, and move on with their lives.
Walnut Cracker....really love this couple. And Hye Young is strong female goals. The complete opposite of Jun Young. He really needs to get over himself and do something with his life instead of having a pity party.
i feel bad for the parents, but i'm simultaneously annoyed with them for keeping double standards. yes, hye…
culture is actually greatly impacted by changing times. the beliefs, customs and norms of a group, naturally change over time as new ideas and processes replace the old. technological advancement, diffusion of ideas across societies, environmental changes, and introduction of new religions, to name a few, all cause societal transformation. initially some of these changes are resisted, but eventually cultures adapt to and incorporate them throughout a number of generations. example -- the writer touches on an issue that many cultures are experiencing today -- a younger generation who wants to co-habitate prior to marriage. a century ago, it was unheard of. nowadays, depending on where you live, it ranges from more common/accepted to still socially prohibited. 100 years from now, we could be closer to a norm where it is accepted as a common precursor to marriage.
i completely understand why the parent's are angry. like you said, she deceived and betrayed their trust. and as their "successful golden child" i see how the parents held hye yeong to a higher standard, even more so than joon young. but i can't get rid of the nagging feeling that she is also being held to a double standard because she's female. i probably wouldn't feel this way if they had reacted similarly with joon young's situation. he may be an underachiever and less is expected of him, but he is still the first born son of the house. a pretty central role, i believe, in korean households.
i'm also worried about the kids when they learn that they've been lied to their entire life. that will be one BIG identity crisis. i'm even more concerned about jung hee, when he learns that not only is han soo not his father, but his real one is dead. that's going to hurt. but hopefully by then, jung hee and the siblings will have bonded, and can support each other through it.
i feel bad for the parents, but i'm simultaneously annoyed with them for keeping double standards. yes, hye yeong betrayed their trust by lying (omitting facts), but their son got his girlfriend pregnant, and i don't recall them throwing such a huge hissy fit over that.
and joon young. i can't believe he has the audacity to call out his sister, when he's been just as bad. i'm a little surprised neither of the sisters took hye yeong's side -- even if just secretly. at no point did either of them try to understand how she felt, but instead kept asking hye yeong to be sorry to the parents (being filial). it tells you alot about what korean society values. yes, times are changing, but old-fashioned norms still rule. which i suppose isn't always a bad thing.
i teared up when the interviewer asked jung hee for memorable moments with his father, and he had to think long and hard for that one memory of being fed gimbap ends. but i'm glad that interview, is what it took for mi yeong to finally begin making amends with jung hee.
Unfortunately, because Cha Do Ha was written to be too naïve and doe-eyed, I was never able to buy that a suave cold-hearted undercover agent, would fall for someone like the female lead – a grown ass woman in her late 20s/early 30s, who acted like an inexperienced teenager, and talked with the halting cadence of a bubblehead. It wasn’t cute, it wasn’t convincing.
Thankfully the rest of the drama is fairly decent, once you get over high expectations and the first 5-6 episodes. It's one of those dramas that became more interesting, once it started focusing on the missions and espionage aspects. The bromances especially, provided a lot of the levity and fun, I enjoy seeing in dramas. Seol Woo’s eyeblinks with sound effects were also adorable. Definitely should be higher than a 7.9.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9bZLvsjCaU
i completely understand why the parent's are angry. like you said, she deceived and betrayed their trust. and as their "successful golden child" i see how the parents held hye yeong to a higher standard, even more so than joon young. but i can't get rid of the nagging feeling that she is also being held to a double standard because she's female. i probably wouldn't feel this way if they had reacted similarly with joon young's situation. he may be an underachiever and less is expected of him, but he is still the first born son of the house. a pretty central role, i believe, in korean households.
i'm also worried about the kids when they learn that they've been lied to their entire life. that will be one BIG identity crisis. i'm even more concerned about jung hee, when he learns that not only is han soo not his father, but his real one is dead. that's going to hurt. but hopefully by then, jung hee and the siblings will have bonded, and can support each other through it.
and joon young. i can't believe he has the audacity to call out his sister, when he's been just as bad. i'm a little surprised neither of the sisters took hye yeong's side -- even if just secretly. at no point did either of them try to understand how she felt, but instead kept asking hye yeong to be sorry to the parents (being filial). it tells you alot about what korean society values. yes, times are changing, but old-fashioned norms still rule. which i suppose isn't always a bad thing.
i teared up when the interviewer asked jung hee for memorable moments with his father, and he had to think long and hard for that one memory of being fed gimbap ends. but i'm glad that interview, is what it took for mi yeong to finally begin making amends with jung hee.