michelleoc

Light, surface story

There isn't a lot of depth to this story. It's short - only 10 episodes. If you're looking for some serious skinship, this is the show for you. I appreciated the skinship, but I didn't feel emotionally invested in the story, because we didn't really learn enough about the characters to feel anything for them. Two boys liked the FL in high school (why? Because she was pretty? That's the impression I got. It certainly wasn't because of any interactions that they had with one another). They meet 10 years later, and the same two men are still in love with the woman.

The FL did a lot of pouting, which was supposed to be sexy maybe? There really wasn't anything happening, drama-wise to create tension and move the story along. There was a moment when she said she might be leaving the country. The ML was like, "Oh, okay." The ending was abrupt.

So, overall, not a bad watch, but just not much there.

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Slow, quiet movie

The pace of this movie was very slow and quiet. We get a look into the lives of two people that are living thousands of miles apart, and how destiny brings them together. I guess you could call this a 'hate to love' story. Having someone disturb your sleep, talk to you inside your head, and try to sabotage your life can't be easy or fun. There were some cute scenes of them messing with the other's lives. But then a bond is forged, a rhythm is established, and they learn and grow from one another.

What happens if that bond gets broken somehow? This movie addresses this, though I didn't think it was in the most clear-cut way.

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Spicy bite-sized drama

I'm glad I didn't read anything about this drama ahead of time, because I would have bypassed it. One reason I watch Asian shows is their lack of explicitness. Had I skipped over it, I would have missed out on an enjoyable evening (I stayed up and binged this one).

Story - It was an original story and handled well. Some of the lines were somewhat stilted, but that can either be due to the way it was translated or I'm viewing through American eyes.

Acting - the acting was good, especially by leading lady Takada Kaho. First, she's stunning to look at. Contrast that with her slight goofiness and the fact that she's bemoaning that she's a virgin. She was a joy to watch. Plus, it's not often that you see a Japanese woman that is, for the most part, together and not completely subservient to the man.

Chemistry - oh my goodness. These two were hot together. Their tenderness with one another. Not giving much away, but two things stood out to me - 1) They had a "no kissing" rule. There were numerous times that he gently rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb - wow! 2) The scene where they were sitting on the bed with him behind her with his arms around her - this was such a wonderful scene, because they were sharing so much with their words, when previously it was just with their bodies.

The music for the intro was too loud and very irritating, it didn't go with the rest of the show.

I will probably rewatch this show again, especially if I have watched a couple of shows that I've been disappointed in.

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Too slapstick for me

I have watched a few Thai dramas and have found the acting to be bad. I found it hard to take this show seriously because of that. I know it was supposed to be funny, so there is that in its favor, but everything was just too over-the-top. The sound effects became irritating very quickly. The woman playing Modem (what's with the names?!?!), had some very good reactions, but as I watched this, I found myself re-writing the lines in my head, envisioning better ways for the scenes to go. I don't claim to be a screen writer in any way, shape or form, but that just demonstrated how lacking I found the writing.

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Watch it for Steven Zhang!

Steven Zhang when he's in another's body is worth the price of admission! He embodies all the confusion, as well as the characteristics and mannerisms of trying to be a female. That aspect of the show was a treat to watch.

I also enjoyed that there was no over-the-top villain. That was a nice change of pace. She had great parents and a lovely BFF. However, the story lines for the characters other than the leads were sorely lacking.

Don't binge this show, take it slowly. I think that by binging I was able to see a lot of the long, blank periods of really nothing happening. I fast-forwarded through a lot of it just to get to the body swapping parts (which happened multiple times).

The confession was sweet but happens very late in the show. The main couple was cute together. Some good kisses.

However, the break-up, separation of a year and reason for coming back together all fell very short for me. I am so tired of the time jump that seems to be in every Asian drama. It seemed to me that they couldn't think of any good reason for them to break up, so they created this whole, totally implausible story line (I know it's a fantasy but come on! It was way too far-fetched!). Add to that, the strange last 15-minute storyline at the very end to satisfy the censors (I don't get why, really) was a complete miss and felt like it was just tacked onto the story. (For anyone old enough to remember the shower scene with Bobby Ewing in the American TV show Dallas and how angry everyone was to find out "it was just a dream", you'll understand my frustration at this ending.)

However, I will reiterate again, it's worth watching for Steve Zhang.

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Good beginning and good end

I enjoyed this show, I just wish it didn't feel like it dragged so much in the middle. I also kept wondering why they weren't trying to figure out how to get her back to normal.

I'll be honest, the big draw for this show was Taishi Nakagawa. As expected, I thought he was really good in this. I really felt for him, closing off his emotions to protect himself, and really trying to live a life that he wouldn't have chosen for himself. I really appreciate that he tends to keep his acting understated, when a lot of Japanese actors can tend to overact. For anyone that has not seen him in Today's Kira Kun, you should really check it out.

I got extremely irritated with her constantly calling his name, but other than that the female lead's character was good, trying to make the best of a bad situation. The interactions between the two were enjoyable, especially once he figured out that he liked her.

I loved the ending. I always appreciate when we get some time at the end of the show to wrap things up adequately, and not rush things.

Cute, sweet, low angst.

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Lots of wasted time

Granted, it's shorter than a lot of Chinese dramas, but I still found myself fast forwarding through a lot of it. It felt like the storyline was in a continuous loop. I didn't see the male lead as a superstar, he acted more like a trainee, and I really don't think his character grew throughout the drama. He was very immature and yelled A LOT. It was very sweet when he was trying to do something for the FL, but when she or someone else questioned him, he yelled. I don't like drunk confessions or drunk kisses.

The FL was gorgeous to look at. I don't think I've previously seen her in anything. Her character started out strong, in the middle became a doormat, and then toward the end got a spine again.

The second couple, just no. He had absolutely no personality and the character of Pan Duo was one of the most irritating I've seen in a while. Her voice was terrible, and she was virtually a stalker. She constantly called him "My Idol". She was constantly trying to trick him to spend time with him. I don't understand how anyone could come to want her as a girlfriend.

There were a few cute scenes in this show, but unfortunately, for me, they were few and far between.

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Full of heart!

I ALMOST turned this off in the second episode, because I found the FL so unlikeable. I'm so glad I didn't!!! This was a lovely show that totally gave me all the feels. I thought the storyline was very original and the writers did such a good job of keeping some mystery throughout and changing how we feel about the characters. Some you start out hating and then grow to love. There was quite a bit of physical humor (noodle legs after a kiss is all I'll say) that didn't take away from the story. The parents in this show were different than the majority of Korean dramas. Plus, you can never go wrong with family and friend dynamics.

ACTING/CAST: I thought the whole cast was excellent, but I'll speak to just a couple. Uee as Do Do Hee - Hated her character at the beginning, she seemed so angry and miserable all the time, but was we got to know here better, it all made sense. You could really feel her loneliness, and it was a joy to see that she wasn't as put together as originally thought, especially when we were treated to flashbacks. Choi Woo Shik as Kang Ho Goo - this is a young man that has the most beautiful baby face, and he knows how to use it. He was so expressive. His love was almost palpable, love toward everyone in his sphere, but especially for Do Hee and the baby (cutest baby ever, by the way!). In Seul Ong as Byeon Kung Cheol - a character that you love to hate, but you may change your mind as time goes along. Powerful and successful, yet so insecure, this character had a lot of hidden depth and provided a lot of comic relief as well. Lee Seo Kyung as Kang Ho Gyung - Ho Goo's twin sister - I don't like aggressive females, and she bothered me quite a bit at the beginning, but she redeemed herself as well. The actress played her with so much heart.

This show tackles some serious issues, and does it without becoming melodramatic. The script addressed beauty standards, pregnancy stigma, physical and sexual abuse, sexuality, and the double standards that are involved in each thing. There were times that not a lot was going on, but watching the characters develop and the overall sweetness (in a good way) was so enjoyable, I didn't need to fast forward.

The music was innocuous and fit in well, as evidenced by the fact that I can't really remember the music.

I probably won't watch this again, only because my list of shows to watch is so long, I probably won't get through it in my lifetime.

After watching a few mediocre shows, I was so happy to see something that had me so engaged in the story and invested in the characters.

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Not believable gender bender

I felt that this show was entirely too long, with too many characters, with too much going on, and I thought it was very draggy.

The actors were fine, though I felt that Park Yoo Chun was so much better in Rooftop Prince (I liked that show a lot more too). Park Min Young is so gorgeous, there is NO WAY that anyone in their right mind would think she was a man. Her attempts to change her voice when she was pretending to be a man were not very successful. Plus, the fact that she uses her hands so much and her mannerisms are always so feminine (every show she's in spends an inordinate amount of time focusing on her hands, for some reason. She has beautiful hands, I'll give you that.).

The chemistry between them was okay, nothing outstanding in my estimation.

The scenes of them bickering at the end made no sense to me, because that wasn't the type of relationship they had throughout most of the show.

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This Rom-Com had me smiling through the whole thing!

***I just had to add something to my original review. I just re-watched this show, because I had just finished watching a couple of no-so-great shows and I needed something I knew I would enjoy. Upon re-watch, I think I enjoyed it even more, and this is why. The development of relationships was very evident, of both couples. I loved seeing even the most seemingly insignificant conversations, you could really understand why they felt the way they did about each other. So many shows, you never quite understand why the people like each other. It was just as much fun the second time around.

What a fun show!

Let's be honest, there's nothing too terribly original about it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, if the things that they are doing are what you enjoy. And enjoy I did. It's full of the typical rom-com cliches, but it's put together in a very endearing way. The identity confusion didn't go on too terribly long, the main leads were strong characters that didn't let their families walk all over them, and I can ALMOST forgive the obligatory time jump. There is a lot of heart, a lot of humor, and a lot of fun to be found in this show. I also appreciated the fact that there weren't misunderstandings just to push the show along and keep the couple apart. We get to see an actual development of a relationship here, which I really enjoyed.

ACTING: Ahn Hyo Seop as Tang Moo - I had a bit of trouble with him toward the beginning, because it seemed he was trying to channel the lead from What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, but then a couple of episodes in he seemed to hit his stride. I ADORED him as Yoo Chan in Thirty but Seventeen, but whereas there he reminded me of a gangly puppy that hadn't grown into his body, here you can see that he has definitely grown into himself and is full of that cool grace of a romantic male lead. I thought everyone in the show did a very good job.

CHEMISTRY: Wonderful chemistry between both the lead couple and the second lead couple. No fish kisses, which is a nice change. Both couples had healthy relationships and there was time spent in honest, everyday conversations. I loved the scene of the lead couple when she went back to talk to him at the hospital when it was raining. there was a good balance between sadness, support and love as they discussed survivor's guilt.

The bromance was okay but tempered by the fact that they were employer/employee.
Sismance - amazing! While watching these two women from such completely different backgrounds interact, they were always supportive of each other. I love to see healthy friendships in the shows that I watch.
The ending was okay, a little more rushed than I like, but definitely better than most.

I have so many shows on my list to watch, I'm not normally one to re-watch anything, but I may revisit this one again soon, because it's an easy watch and it left me smiling.

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Cha Eun Woo does NOT have a lead role!

Be honest, are you considering this show because Cha Eun Woo is listed as having a main role? Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm sure they did that to get people to watch. I love every scene that he is in, but he suddenly disappears in about episode 8 with absolutely no explanation. It was also good to see the whole group Astro - though it was only for about two minutes.

The other thing that irritated me no end, the FL kept wondering, throughout the whole show, who the author of the Revenge Note was, and the author was never identified.

I really liked Kim Hwan Hee as the female lead's BFF. She was so cute, supportive, and smart.

I understand that bullying needs to be involved in order for there to be a need for a Revenge Note, but I felt the bullying was way over the top. Each time there was an opportunity for a Revenge Note, the scenario was pretty much like the previous one. You might not be bothered by this if you like shows like Mean Girls, but that's not my cup of tea. Add to that the fact that the FL was extremely weak. I just wanted to tell her to stop being such a doormat.

I did not enjoy the overabundance of bathroom humor. It was unnecessary and completely uncalled for.

The romance was so tame it was actually boring.

I know I'm probably going to regret this, but I'm going to watch the sequel, in hopes that it is better.

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Hard to watch

This was a difficult show for me to watch, because the bullying is so pervasive and, to my mind, extreme. It was felt especially strongly since it was a short show.

What I liked: I liked the friendships that developed, the feeling of standing up for and beside your friends in support. I loved this. The acting was good, and I didn't feel that anyone stood out as being out of place. At times the bullies seemed a little like caricatures of bad guys, but again, I think that was because of the short length of the show. Clever use of repeating a scene from the beginning of the show at the end when they meet up again. I loved the montage at the end with her voice over speaking about friendship.

What I didn't care for: Strong bullying. The FL telling the guy she liked him when she hadn't even really talked to him. She seemed too much like a stalker to me. And him liking her was sudden, out of the blue, and unnatural. Time skip, ugh. Their meet up - too short and abrupt.

If you aren't bothered by bullying, I'd say give this show a try, if for no other reason that seeing friendships develop

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Marvelous acting

Junho and Won Jin Ah are both marvelous in this. I loved their storyline and their connection to each other from the past. The secondary story lines? Not so much. HATED her mother - she was a mess and seemed to be uncaring that she had a living daughter. It started to go south for me at about episode 13, when it appeared that I was not going to be happy about the ending. The writers turned it around, but it was rushed. The connection between Junho and Won Jin Ah was amazing, The looks they would give each other, the little smiles, the hand holding. She has a somewhat sexy deep voice, which I found fascinating as well.

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