The ending of Gu Family Book pissed me off only because
(spoilers!)
she gets shot, and it takes her DAYS to die. Literal days. But they don't even try and save her or anything? Maybe disinfect the wound? Take the bullet out? SOMETHING? It was stupid and ridiculous.
I'm surprised Missing 9 wasn't mentioned here though. That drama started out as a creative, fascinating, mysterious story. It turned into a slog of "What ridiculous thing is happening now?" and "Really? That's how you're ending it? Just forgiving this guy for killing multiple people and trying to kill you guys too? ok"
Anywho, I haven't actually watched Diamond Lover, but I read that Rain wasn't available/affordable for the last few episodes so they sort of Frankenstein'd together an ending without him, hence why he doesn't get the girl. From what I heard she ends up with a friend anyway, which is honestly more realistic.
There were a lot of things they were doing to "help" their singing that I found... questionable, to say the least. Guess pansori is just a whole other beast compared to "normal" singing. (The "medicine" part is flat-out disgusting.)
I thought I'd have more of an icky feeling about the romance in this, just because of the ages. It really wasn't too bad, though.
Honestly Suzy's acting wasn't PERFECT, but she did a better job than I thought she'd do, especially when it came to the singing. However, it bugged me how the background music was often too loud, draining out the singing..
I assumed this would be a 2 episodes-a-day. 5 days a week drama. Only Thursdays and Fridays, though!? My heart! I would have rationed the first 24 episodes over more than just 3 days if I'd have known;;;
This is probably gonna sound REAL weird to most people, but rn I'm finding that both Ling and Zhan remind me of Feng Shao Feng. For very different reasons.
Oh shit, is Seohyun the lead? I saw Im Joo Eun was in it and was hyped, but I have to admit I'm a bit doubtful of Seohyun as a lead. I didn't think she was an actor. Also is Ji Hyun Woo good in this? I've only seen him in one thing before.
Kind of wish there was a separate entry for the Director's Cut. I'm only through the first couple episodes so far but it already feels noticeably better.
Damn, I need to get back into Jdramas. Kame started my entire obsession! I owe it to him to start watching his dramas again :( If only Japan wasn't so terrible at getting foreign distributors of their dramas;;;
I'm not sure I'm getting the criticism for this so far. I like it a lot? Lmao. Then again, I have both…
Yes! Okay, let me think...
I'll have to give what I'd consider 'light' fantasy dramas, in that there's some sort of fantastical element ingrained into the concept of the drama, even if the actual drama isn't jam-packed with dragons and flying and magical powers.This is simply because you don't find many Korean dramas with that in them- that's very much more in the domain of Chinese dramas, or even Japanese dramas. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Faith, and well... I can't really recommend that one in good conscience. Not that it was bad- it wasn't. It just wasn't very good. Lmao.
First on the list I have to say I Hear Your Voice. I see it's on your Plan to Watch list- that's good- GET ON IT. Because while I ADORED W, and I thought Pinocchio was pretty decent, I Hear Your Voice is better than both of them combined. It's absolutely fantastic. It isn't TOO fantasy-y, but with his character having the ability to read minds I'd say it technically counts. One of my top favourite dramas.
Queen In-Hyun's Man! I can't recommend this drama enough! VERY marathon-able, and the chemistry in this one (similar to I Hear Your Voice) is OFF THE CHARTS. Time travel romance that has all the plot-points of a melodrama with none of the drawn-out crying sessions. Pretty funny at times too. Another one of my very favourites.
Rooftop Prince, thematically similar to In-Hyun's Man, another time travel romance that takes the concept of fate and runs with it. Also comedic.
49 Days! Melodramatic, EXTREMELY likely to make you cry, a little bit light on the romance, and a very interesting premise.
My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, a very popular rom-com about a guy that falls in love with a fox demon. Classic. Not a very heavy drama.
Come Back, Mister- not very romancey, and it kind of flew under the radar popularity wise, but like 40 Days, the idea of reincarnation and a second chance at unresolved business makes this drama worth checking out. Bittersweet.
Of course there's You Who Came From the Stars- VERY popular, very light on substance, but a hot alien that looks like Kim Soo Hyun is a hot alien that looks like Kim Soo Hyun. Worth watching for sure.
The Master's Sun is another one that was very popular, but IMO it was kind of a better drama than You[...] Stars. It's about ghosts. A girl who can see ghosts. Cue being possessed by a ghost, all the heart-warming Ghost Whisper "Walk into the light." sentimentality you could ever want, comedy, and of course, a hot chaebol. I really liked this one, and the cast is phenomenal.
Er... there's probably a couple more I could mention but I think that basically covers the best/most relevant ones I can think of.
Another one off the top of my head that is SUPER underrated (a relatively nugu cast, didn't become very popular domestically or overseas, was on a random station) but imo very interesting and worth watching is a drama called Bride of the Century. IIRC it isn't SUPER heavy on the supernatural/fantasy, but I know there was something about it that had that. I have a bad memory.
Oh my god, I just remembered the fact that this drama exists. IT MAKES ME SO MAD, because it was legit fabulous until the very end where clearly the writer's edibles must've kicked in and made them say, "Fuck it. Resolve everything. Most obvious solutions. No consequences for anybody. DONE."
I'm not sure I'm getting the criticism for this so far. I like it a lot? Lmao. Then again, I have both a soft spot for fantasy dramas and a general lack of nitpicking except for the most dreadful of dramas.
Watched the first episode, I'm liking it quite a bit so far. Since comparing it with Goblin seems to be the thing to do, I will say that I prefer this couple over the one in Goblin. There's more chemistry imo. This one reminds me of a Japanese or Chinese drama with the fantasy, which I enjoy.
Jang Geun Suk doesn't need luck. He needs to start picking dramas that don't have terrible scripts. He's spent any respect he had gained with his genuinely good acting in his first few projects with so many obviously doomed duds. I wish I'd stuck around for Daebak to see if it ended up being good or not.
Yoon Shi Yoon, however, I'll agree with. He's consistently good in the things he does and he picks roles that really work for him. With Cha Tae Hyun's star power I'm really hoping that his current drama will push him back into the limelight, along with 2D1N. He deserves it.
I really liked it! It displays what I find to be a typical Korean movie trait of having a lot of very shocking imagery or gore while also focusing less on character development. Most of the details need to be filled in by the viewer, while the storytelling focus is very much on the events and the events only, rather than character's feelings and reactions to things. It's a very stark contrast to dramas.
That being said, this movie is a revenge plot. Revenge plots are always good. And there's that extra satisfying element of a forbidden romance?
As the rating dictates, this is very much a mature audience only feature, but if you're up for it it's a decent way to spend two hours.
(spoilers!)
she gets shot, and it takes her DAYS to die. Literal days. But they don't even try and save her or anything? Maybe disinfect the wound? Take the bullet out? SOMETHING? It was stupid and ridiculous.
I'm surprised Missing 9 wasn't mentioned here though. That drama started out as a creative, fascinating, mysterious story. It turned into a slog of "What ridiculous thing is happening now?" and "Really? That's how you're ending it? Just forgiving this guy for killing multiple people and trying to kill you guys too? ok"
Anywho, I haven't actually watched Diamond Lover, but I read that Rain wasn't available/affordable for the last few episodes so they sort of Frankenstein'd together an ending without him, hence why he doesn't get the girl. From what I heard she ends up with a friend anyway, which is honestly more realistic.
Also I think this article needed an editor.
(The "medicine" part is flat-out disgusting.)
I thought I'd have more of an icky feeling about the romance in this, just because of the ages. It really wasn't too bad, though.
Honestly Suzy's acting wasn't PERFECT, but she did a better job than I thought she'd do, especially when it came to the singing. However, it bugged me how the background music was often too loud, draining out the singing..
I was a big fan at the beginning, but the drama then devolved into a flailing mess of "what exactly was the plot again?".
I'll have to give what I'd consider 'light' fantasy dramas, in that there's some sort of fantastical element ingrained into the concept of the drama, even if the actual drama isn't jam-packed with dragons and flying and magical powers.This is simply because you don't find many Korean dramas with that in them- that's very much more in the domain of Chinese dramas, or even Japanese dramas. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Faith, and well... I can't really recommend that one in good conscience. Not that it was bad- it wasn't. It just wasn't very good. Lmao.
First on the list I have to say I Hear Your Voice. I see it's on your Plan to Watch list- that's good- GET ON IT. Because while I ADORED W, and I thought Pinocchio was pretty decent, I Hear Your Voice is better than both of them combined. It's absolutely fantastic. It isn't TOO fantasy-y, but with his character having the ability to read minds I'd say it technically counts. One of my top favourite dramas.
Queen In-Hyun's Man! I can't recommend this drama enough! VERY marathon-able, and the chemistry in this one (similar to I Hear Your Voice) is OFF THE CHARTS. Time travel romance that has all the plot-points of a melodrama with none of the drawn-out crying sessions. Pretty funny at times too. Another one of my very favourites.
Rooftop Prince, thematically similar to In-Hyun's Man, another time travel romance that takes the concept of fate and runs with it. Also comedic.
49 Days! Melodramatic, EXTREMELY likely to make you cry, a little bit light on the romance, and a very interesting premise.
My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, a very popular rom-com about a guy that falls in love with a fox demon. Classic. Not a very heavy drama.
Come Back, Mister- not very romancey, and it kind of flew under the radar popularity wise, but like 40 Days, the idea of reincarnation and a second chance at unresolved business makes this drama worth checking out. Bittersweet.
Of course there's You Who Came From the Stars- VERY popular, very light on substance, but a hot alien that looks like Kim Soo Hyun is a hot alien that looks like Kim Soo Hyun. Worth watching for sure.
The Master's Sun is another one that was very popular, but IMO it was kind of a better drama than You[...] Stars. It's about ghosts. A girl who can see ghosts. Cue being possessed by a ghost, all the heart-warming Ghost Whisper "Walk into the light." sentimentality you could ever want, comedy, and of course, a hot chaebol. I really liked this one, and the cast is phenomenal.
Er... there's probably a couple more I could mention but I think that basically covers the best/most relevant ones I can think of.
Another one off the top of my head that is SUPER underrated (a relatively nugu cast, didn't become very popular domestically or overseas, was on a random station) but imo very interesting and worth watching is a drama called Bride of the Century. IIRC it isn't SUPER heavy on the supernatural/fantasy, but I know there was something about it that had that. I have a bad memory.
Yoon Shi Yoon, however, I'll agree with. He's consistently good in the things he does and he picks roles that really work for him. With Cha Tae Hyun's star power I'm really hoping that his current drama will push him back into the limelight, along with 2D1N. He deserves it.
That being said, this movie is a revenge plot. Revenge plots are always good. And there's that extra satisfying element of a forbidden romance?
As the rating dictates, this is very much a mature audience only feature, but if you're up for it it's a decent way to spend two hours.