Kyubin

I really like this drama. The subject, the way it is portrayed, the actors, their acting skills, the development of the story and the realistic relationships, so why make it so depressing ? Why so many ill-fated meeting or coincidences ? Why so little communication over important matters ? So many distance between two young students who have the same age and share passion and feelings for each other ? It's enough gloomy like that in real life, com on. ^^ I hope the last episodes will be a little bit more joyful.

That's it, it became a big mess. Seriously, is it that difficult to don't ruin a good plot involving time travel/parallel universes ?
Once again it will be painful to watch until the end, because, at this point, I doubt it can get better. Kwak Shi Yang is my only light of hope here.

I know what it is, but I think the way they portray it doesn't work well. They made him a total emotionless kid and teenager (when it's an age where emotions are overflowing), and then a young adult who suddenly cries way too easily and is super agressive. Of course, as he said, his mother helped him to improve over time, but the change is too big. For me, they failed the description and the evolution of his condition. So it gives me mixed feelings towards the character.

And for using the same character, it's not really a question of budget, it's an habit in Korean dramas. The reason is more the fact that one character must be associated to only one actor/actress who represents the drama. There is only few opposite examples (the last good one that I know is "When My Love Blooms").

The day a director, and actors !, accept to use different persons for the same character at different ages, Korean dramas will really improved. That's really ridiculous to see characters having the same face and built as teenagers, 20 something, thirty something, forty something, etc. It doesn't give a realistic side to the drama (something that would be really great with sci-fi stories).
I like the story overall but there is a lot of little incoherent things, and Park Jin Gyum who is supposed to be emotionless is way too flustered by anything as a grown man...

Just watched Make Our Days Count today after seeing your article and I really want to thank you. I had to keep watching until the end, even if I knew it will be sad. I'll not lie, I couldn't stop my eyes from crying. But it's definitively one of the best love story I watched. I'm the kind of people who like a true and beautiful but sad love story and even if people think the end kind of ruined the drama, I think it makes it even for meaningful.

I'll suggest some other bittersweet/sad endings that I loved :
- Empress Ki (It's been seven years but damn, Ta Hwan...)
- A Frozen Flower (horse riding freely forever)
- Butterfly Sleep (such a good Japanese movie)
- In Between Seasons (the open ending still makes me wonder)
- My Country: The New Age (when death become beautiful through sadness)
- The Hymn of Death (never been such a clear title)

I almost, almost ^^, never drop a drama. It's because I'm really cautious with what I watch actually. The plot must be really interesting to me to get me in, or something, or someone around the drama must convince me to watch it.
Even if I'm beyond disappointment with a drama, the one reason that makes me keep watching to the end is that I choose to watch this drama because it features one of the actors/actresses of my favs list. It might be a crappy drama, but I'm loyal and keep until the end haha.
That's why I have never been in one of these four stages, but still, I understand the feelings.

Everything is perfect about this drama. The cast of course, and the actors skills, all great. The chemistry between Park Sung Hoon and Nana. The natural awkwardness between this two characters. The natural and relatable characters, relationships and behaviors of all the characters. The whole development of the story so far. Perfect.

Does Ji Chang Wook really need to improve his popularity ? I don't think so.^^ And I don't think this role doesn't suit him or his bad. A good role, an important one in a career don't always mean a great success. Of course I like the charismatic roles of Ji Chang Wook in the past, but this one shows how good he is too because he portrays that simple and poor Dae Hyun really well. This drama surely will not be as good and successful as The K2 or others could have been, but it will be meaningful for him. Ji Chang Wook said this in this latest interview he gave to 1st Look :

"Haha, but rather than being cool, he's more human and an awkward character. When I first received the script, I really liked it. He is pure, passionate and honest. He is the manager of a small convenience store but has financial difficulties. He works all night to live and meets the part-timer Saet Byul. He is a character who always does his best, whether for work or in love."

And this :

"Yes, it's going to be a drama where you can feel sympathy, even in the midst of laughters. It talks about relationships between people, dreams and the reality of youth, something that everyone experiences at least once. You can have a small but precious comfort. While filming, I didn’t feel that it delivered a big message or a strong impression, but I hope that the spectators will be able to release the stress with our drama and go to bed with a light heart. I imagine the smiling faces of the spectators watching their TV and it gives me strength on the set."

Well, that's totally what I feel and that's nice if people can just feel this. :)

I totally agree with your point on Ji Chang Wook. The fact that he choose this drama to portray a simple man in his daily life with hardships that any "regular" person can experience in his life too shows how great of an actor he is. And his acting here is really good. He makes me smile, laugh, being sad or anxious, happy over nothing very naturally, without forcing anything. Even if the drama is not a big success in termes of viewership, I'm pretty sure it will still be an important one in his career.

Well, Dae Hyun is just too kind. To me he doesn't look dumb because you can see that he is kind of sick of the behaviors of people around him, but he keeps enduring things without complaining and trying to help and make people happy. Simply too kindhearted. :)
That sad face after the musical while Yeon Joo leave by taxi was really heartbreaking, poor thing.
And I'm sure the couple of next episodes will show Saet Byul as fierce as in the beginning.

It must be the most complete and detailed answer I have ever seen here, and just for that I want to say thank you, you took the time to explain what you think and feel about this drama and didn't just jump to criticize someone else statement, that's, unfortunately, rare these days.
I can feel that you really like this drama too. ^^
Actually, you guessed pretty right. It's true that I think the fantasy seems to be lacking in the latest episodes, and also the romance bothers me.
Gang Tae finally totally fell for Moon Young and for me it's too quick, or at least without a real good reason, because I don't think anything changed from the start of their relationship, even if in the drama they try to show that Gang Tae changed his perception over her.
Of course it's unnecessary to try to explain logically a romance in a drama, but I'm just disappointed that I don't "buy" it this time because it makes the drama less appealing now.
I'll watch to the end because I really like the plot and the acting of the all cast, but without much expectations or excitement now.

Well, I don't know what kind of message they want to pass through this drama but it's really getting worse every episode.
It's a shame because the start was good and the acting is excellent, but I think they messed up the message they want to pass here. Or maybe the ending will give the key.
Halfway of the drama and I have really mixed feelings about this. Hope it will get better.

Episode 7 was a bit "slow" and felt off but things are going back on track in episode 8, that's good. When Dae Hyun says "안녕하세요" to the secret romance couple, I laugh so hard, because it's really one of the key points of this drama. A very unique and well dosed humour. Some other "funny scenes" don't actually make me laugh but there is often these short sentences or quick scenes that are really well made.
As I expected, nothing much about the story and the characters in this drama. And that's why it's good for me. I miss the charismatic and heartthrob Ji Chang Wook in a strong character, but this role just show how good he is as an actor because he portrays this poor Dae Hyun very well. I spend every episode to pity him, getting nervous for him or angry at him and that happens when a character is well played. A lot, most, all ?, characters are indeed totally full of flaws and have unpleasant sides, so we can't really relate or root for them but that's what makes this drama enjoyable I believe. 8 more episodes to go, hope it will be fun until the end.

I'm a natural-born noble idiot in a nutshell who is also very romantic. ^^

No, the thing is that most people don't look a drama with a moral judgment. That's it.
Would I kiss a stranger I like the first time I met them in the street ? Hell no, never, because I received an education and have principles and I think it's wrong, and because honestly nobody falls in love of someone they cross in the street.
But as I watched it, it never crossed my mind that what Saet Byul did was wrong, because it's the fiction world of the drama and that to me it's nothing close to real (people flying 10 meters high, a girl beating 10 other girls alone, etc.). Because I can separate the actions of characters in a fictional creation from what I believe and fight for in real life.
Because I believe in humanity and have faith in education and it's thanks to the education than I can think and make judgment and know that what happen in a drama serves the plot of the drama and the development of the characters, it will not change the way I see sexual harassment problems in real life.

Well, even if I disagree at least I understand you point.
But once again, if you watch any drama in the perspective of finding guilty acts according to the law (and even that is subjective as my country law is not the same as other countries), you will find something in any drama. Because it's fictional, even if it can happen in real life.
And in that way, violent dramas are more threatening to the society than a drama showing a girl kissing a man on the lips...

Well, thank you to show how inconsistent your judgement is.
So someone needs to point a gun to the head of someone else so you can say it's forced ? Well, in that case, a stolen kiss is nothing.
People think they drink a glass of alcohol but they fall asleep... ugh doesn't reminds you of those pills used by rapists ?
I have zero problem with Mystic Pop-up Bar. I just proved that according to someone's moral, anything can be seen as immoral. And that you are really weird in what you call moral and immoral.
And finally, yes, everything is philosophy in this world.

"from people who make up their own definitions of what is sexual harassment and belittling those who won’t stand for justifications of unethical behaviors of characters in the show" YOU DO THE SAME.
" Because how you view the character actions is how you view people’s action in real life." WRONG. Maybe you do that, maybe some people do that, but a lot of people, a lot, don't project real life in a drama, or characters actions in real life. Thankfully most of people think and know the difference between fiction and reality.

STOP FORCING YOUR OPINIONS ON OTHERS.
I will really not let you keep doing this here. You don't own the THRUTH. People can think differently.
To me it's your way to constantly think you'r better and try to make other seems as bad people that is devastating.

"You all can sit back and perpetuate ignorant comments and thoughts."
Bam, that's the difference. Right here. And that's also mean.
(Sorry but I can't let pass your comments, you need to stop forcing your views on people.)
You can say, I don't like because... I hate because... It's weird because... Etc.
But you can't say that others are ignorant because they don't share your opinion.