michelleoc

A lot heavier than I thought it would be.

Reading the synopsis, the description and looking at the picture had me thinking this was a Rom Com, something I could watch with very little angst. This show, to me was veering very close to melodrama. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of really funny scenes, but I think I might have enjoyed it more had I been prepared for the heavy subject matter.
Acting:
Kim Myung Soo as Dan was good. He was excellent at the physical comedy aspects of his part, and can we just talk about his dimples? He got into trouble when trying to portray anger, then his acting seemed a little forced, and sometimes even watching his walk, he didn't seem comfortable.

Shin Hye Sun as Lee Yeon Seo is wonderful. I loved her in 30 but Seventeen and she plays a completely different character here. She's mean, short-tempered and unlikeable. For me, I was a few episodes in and I hated her (as I was meant to) and wondered if she would ever change. She played a ballerina, and she has the perfect, really slim body to portray a dancer.

Kim In Kwon as Angel Hu: I have to give a special shout out to him. He was exceptional. He was extremely funny when he was supposed to be, and was able to wring emotion out of me at other times.

Story: It got a little garbled in the last half. It seemed like another writer took over and didn't quite know what to do with the story. The bad guys were over-the-top. The multiple times of the main couple being together, apart, together, apart got tiring. I'll say again, why do most Asian shows short change us on the ending? You find out what is going to happen to the main couple in about the last two minutes of the show, and then it's over! I do have to say, the story of the old couple in the sanitorium was wonderful and it really made me cry. Some of the things didn't make any sense, like the second male lead - something happened in the second or third episode to show who he is, but then it turns out to be something completely different!

Chemistry: There was cute chemistry between the leads, but I never really "felt" them as a couple. I liked the fate aspect of it, but she was such a nightmare as an adult, what made him fall in love with her? It's a mystery to me. I have to say the comedic scenes were a joy to watch. And the scene toward the end with the leads and Angel Hu had me laughing out loud.

Soundtrack: Wonderful. The music was able to bring emotions to the front that I don't think the actors always had the ability to do on their own.

Rewatch value: There is so much out there to watch, and I didn't really find any scenes in this show that I need to go back to revisit, so the rewatch value for me is low.

One final critique: I have watched a TON of Asian shows over the past couple of years, and strangely, I always find myself fascinated with the jewelry the ladies wear. The jewelry is usually classy and interesting. In this show, they put Shin Hye Sun in the most AWFUL earrings I think I've ever seen. They were so bad, that a lot of times that all I could focus on. She is so beautiful and the earrings really detracted from that. Some of them looked like door knockers. Just very tacky, overall.

So, in general, I'm glad I watched it, but I can't say it was one of my absolute favorites.

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Sweet story

I was looking forward to this rom-com since I first heard about the casting of Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na. I love both of their works as actors, and I already knew they had amazing chemistry after watching them in Goblin.

I'll have to admit, the first couple of episodes had me a little worried. I was afraid her character was going to be too over the top. But this is an example of why you should be a little patient with Asian shows. By episode three I was pretty much hooked. There wasn't really anything original about the story line, but the way the story was told was Lovely! Romantic, funny, touching, believable. The two main leads were just wonderful together and watching this gave me such a warm feeling. The nod to Descendants of the Sun was very funny. My only complaint is that the ending was too rushed, but this is one I can definitely watch again.

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Personally, I preferred this over the show

I watched this movie after watching the show and I have to say I preferred the movie. There wasn't a lot of ancillary stuff going on, and Park Hae Jin's character (Yoo Jung) was more likeable (although, not really until the very end). The storyline was still dark and you didn't often know what to think about him. Seol was very standoffish throughout, so I couldn't really warm up to her. In this movie version, though, I really got the sense of them BOTH being square pegs in a round hole, and the fact that they were both different drew them to one another. I didn't like seeing girls get hit by a man, but I realize that was part of the storyline. I didn't feel the strong sense of disappointment at the end of the movie that I did at the end of the show.

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Watch it for Riley Wang's character

15 episodes that felt so much longer than that. The only reason I stuck with it was because I was able to binge watch it. If I was watching it an episode at a time, I would have given up and moved on. The concept was good, but the execution left something to be desired. Li Zheng and Shao Xi were children whose parents decided before they were born that they should marry when they grew up. That fact was mentioned numerous times, but was not explored at all. The female lead character of Shao Xi was good - she was rough around the edges, good at sports, and very loyal to her friends. I liked the fact that she was upfront early on about her feelings for Li Zheng. The character of Li Zheng is where I had the problem - every episode was him looking at her longingly and not telling her how he felt. I never understood why it took him so long. The trauma in his past affected him, but I didn't think it was enough to warrant him being so emotionless toward her. They were cute when they finally got together, other than the fake-looking kisses, plus the writers made us wait until too late in the show to bring them together. The ending of the show was a happy, though lackluster, one.

The saving grace of this show was the second male lead, played by Riley Wang. When we were first introduced to him, he appeared to be a player, so I was slow to warm up to him. He was always around, and just never "got" her rejections. As the show went along, he definitely matured. Granted, there was a progression of years from the beginning to the end of the show, but let's be honest, some people never grow up! He appeared to watch out more for Shao Xi's physical and emotional safety than Li Zheng did. Even though he cared deeply for her, he was able to put that aside for her happiness. He was a wonderful character to watch.

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Just my opinion, but...

I decided to watch this for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was Park Seo Joon. However, for me, this show didn't work on a number of levels. Normally I don't have a problem with the characters having a large age difference. In this case, though, I couldn't seem to get past it, especially since I found her to be extremely immature. I also felt that she was trying to be funny, but I didn't feel she carried it off well. Over-the-top physical comedy isn't really my cup of tea. About halfway through the show, I felt that there were just too many misunderstandings, too much angst and depression, and for Pete's sake, if you'd just talk to one another this whole mess could be cleared up!

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Beautiful love story

The picture put me off for so long, and the explanation of the drama, as well. I don't care for period dramas, I find the costuming too distracting. However, the other night I couldn't come up with anything else I wanted to watch, so I decided to give this a try. This is one of those "stay up till 3am just to watch another episode to see what happens" dramas. Chemistry between the main characters was lovely. They were so beautiful together. This show had drama, romance, suspense, mystery, comedy - it had it all. I'm not a believer in reincarnation - I think that there are times when you watch shows that you have to totally suspend disbelief, and this was one of them, but it was so well done that I enjoyed it all. The connection between the past and the present tied in well. There were TRUE villains in this show - I don't like watching bad guys, but they were like watching a train wreck, you wanted to turn away, but you couldn't. I liked how the writers let the prince figure things out pretty quickly, so the audience wasn't way ahead of the game all the time. I ugly-cried through a number of episodes. I'll admit I'm a sucker for a good love story, and oh my gosh! When I got to episode 19 and it all looked pretty grim, I started to get a little worried. I was watching the timed comments during the last episode and a lot of people didn't feel this was a happy ending, but I think they just didn't get it. When he came into her juice shop, she didn't look up, because she was just working on auto pilot due to her grief. But you could tell it was the prince by the smile when he turned away and walked to the door. And when he met her at Namsan tower, you could tell by his posture that it was the prince. I think they had them meet there, rather than at the palace so there wouldn't be confusion as to whether he was really there, or if she was imagining it. When they changed him into his Joseon costume, that was just to verify that it was the prince. Whether he time-traveled back to her, or was reincarnated with his memories, the bottom line was that their love was so strong that they HAD to get back together. I cannot recommend this drama highly enough!

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The writing falls short

I recently saw Kim Min Jae in Tempted, so I was thrilled to see that he was the lead in this show. I liked the show, there were a lot of really good things about it. The music was wonderful, as you'd expect it to be, and I was impressed that Kim Min Jae played most of the music himself (I can barely handle Chopsticks). The Moonlight Sonata/Happy Birthday scene was one of my favorites.
The cinematography was very good - back lighting, warm color tones, and I especially loved the multiple times they filmed different scenes, showing the main leads at exactly the same distance apart. Also, the scenes where they superimposed the female lead between the male lead and the 2FL "will there be room for me between you?"
I was impressed by the costuming, the female lead wore a lot of classy, yet slightly edgy outfits. The people that were together in scenes were color coordinated so that no one person glaringly stuck out. I loved that they put the male lead in jeans a lot - they're in college for heaven's sake. I have to say that his plaid shirts were a little distracting, but oh well.
I felt that the acting was good, everyone played their parts well, but I'd have to say that the writing is what I had a problem with. The characters were somewhat flat and not fully fleshed out. Both the male lead and the female lead's expressions were pretty one-dimensional throughout. ALL of the characters had problems, which is necessary for the story, but, especially for the leads, I didn't see growth with them. They had issues from the beginning, and though he tried to keep communication somewhat open, there was so much not addressed between these two that I don't think you could actually call them a couple. They were precious when they were getting to know one another (and his smiles are worth the price of admission!), but once their relationship should have been further along, the scenes where they were together were almost painful for me to watch - they seemed so uncomfortable with one another. They both suffered from low self-esteem from things that had been said and done to them, but to never lean on one another just didn't make any sense.
The ending was sweet, and we got to see a bit more cuteness from our main couple, but it didn't make up for all the wasted time in the middle of the show.

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Too many people trying to keep the couple apart

I loved all the foods in this show, the beautiful displays of culinary delights, as well as the scenery, which really made me want to go on vacation. The concept of the show was good, and I liked the idea of the male lead falling in love with her by seeing her inner beauty, but they made her entirely too frumpy. When you are dating someone, you want to try to look your best, and when she went to meet all his friends, she looked even more dowdy than usual. I didn't care for the absurd numbers of people trying to keep them apart. Multiple ex-girlfriends, family members, etc. That said, the main couple was very cute together. He had a smile that completely lit up the screen. It had a lovely, happy ending.

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What's wrong with a little eye candy?

I loved this little show, though it was basically a commercial for the Duty Free shop (actually, I think that's why this was made). This is not a show in which you need to think at all. I thought this was the perfect little snack before moving on to my next full-length drama. I'll be honest, I thought this was a lot more romantic than a lot of the so-called romantic comedies out there in K-drama land.

The premise of the show was very clever, and I loved the little snippets of each male character. This is one of those shows that is perfect for people like me, people that can't decide who is the most attractive male Korean actor, each is wonderful in his own way. And as I watched each storyline, I recalled other dramas that I had seen each actor in that made me love them in the first place.

This is fluff at its finest. I was kind of disappointed in the ending, but I'm willing to forgive that due to the fact that you put some of my favorite Korean actors in one show for me.

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A pleasant surprise

I've watched this show a couple of times and have really enjoyed it. The acting was good, the characters were interesting and it was a nice change from the long, drawn out Chinese drama or the angst-filled Korean drama.

I know that some people had a problem with the age difference of Harumi and Yuri. I didn't, mostly because I felt that she was very immature, and he seemed to be very mature for his age. I think the Asian cultures can get away with wider age differences, because you can't tell what age they really are, and they age so well.

Let's start with Harumi. She was a mess. She called herself a failure, everyone else called her a failure and I think that, in a way, it became kind of a self-fulfilling prophesy. I think there was an element of her being desperate for Yuri to succeed because she wanted to live vicariously through his victory. I thought the writers overplayed the back problems - sometimes she acted more like an 80-year-old lady, walking in an ungainly way with a cane (yet still wearing high heels at times!). And could she BE any more clueless about the men that like her?!?!

Yuri - I loved that they gave him that beautiful pink hair. He was all hard edges until he started working with Harumi. He was, for the most part, very unemotional, which made the steamy looks he gave Harumi so special. And the couple of times he cried I really felt for him, because you know he had to be in the depths of despair to have that kind of reaction.

Harumi and Yuri's relationship was, for the most part, platonic. I would have liked to have seem more romance, but I think the writers played it that way because of the age difference. The obligatory separation toward the end was short-lived: I really appreciated that they didn't drag it out over a couple of episodes.

Masashi and Yamashita, both interested in Harumi. I didn't feel that Masashi deserved her, he wasn't strong enough to tell her how he felt. Yamashita had some issues of his own. I really liked how the writers wrote the three main male characters. They all wanted her love, but they still supported each other when needed, and didn't resort to dirty tricks.

I felt the same way about Eta Mika, the student that liked Yuri. She was upfront about liking him, but they didn't make her an evil character. I really appreciated that.

Miwa, Harumi's best friend, was lovely. She was trying to help Masashi as best she could, she was always supportive of Harumi and wanted her to be happy, and I loved when she decided to try and help Yuri. I also enjoyed her taking Yuri's friends under her wing and trying to teach them about group dating.

I especially liked that the writers didn't use either of the storylines that I was afraid they were going to use 1) evil young girlfriend making up a story about an inappropriate relationship between Harumi and Yuri 2) Yuri's father getting Harumi fired because he thought there was something going on between them.

I thought this was a fun, light, easy and enjoyable show to watch. It's one of those shows that you can watch between the more intense shows.

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Just no!

This show really irritated me, it was so implausible. Add to that the acting that wasn't very good, the dubbing/editing that was off and distracting, the FL makeup that was too orange and her hairstyle that looked like a duck tail, her calling him Mentor even when in a relationship, she became a counselor after watching an online video, way too many drinking scenes, unexplained things in each of the different stories, and the fact that the overriding theme of the show seemed to be that no one could keep track of their phones! People always seem to have their phone in their hand, not in a pocket or purse, yet when one person calls another, they hardly ever answer. Phones dropped on public transportation, left on tables, etc. , it just got absolutely ridiculous.

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Amazing!

Today is the first time that I'm glad that my memory is so bad - just so I can go back and watch this again!

First, the storyline was completely different than I've ever seen. Being in a VR world - what a gorgeous world! The set design was wonderful, the costumes were gorgeous, and it was beautifully filmed. I know that there were complaints about the VR storyline being dropped, but I thought it was perfect. I think the ML only felt at peace in the VR world, where he could totally control things, until he met the FL and was able to feel comfortable in the real world.

The writers/editors understood the assignment with this drama. The episodes were shorter and there weren't so many episodes. The writing was tight and it felt like everything that happened was important to the story. My fast forward button got to rest as I watched this.

There was quite a bit of humor in this. Humor that never felt out of place but represented things that happen in real life.

ML - I've never seen this actor before, I don't think. One thing I appreciated was he wasn't "pretty" or classically handsome. Sometimes I would think that he wasn't very attractive, but the next scene I'd have to revise my opinion. And I do have to say that a lot of his attractiveness was due to the way he treated the FL.

FL - once I got past the fact that she looks like a doppelganger of a famous Korean actress (IYKYK), I enjoyed her. She is stunning. Story-wise I loved the way her character was drawn. She was smart, and was her own person, even separate from the ML.

I absolutely loved watching their relationship develop. It was very organic. They each brought something to the relationship, so it never seemed unbalanced. There were a number of scenes where they just sat together and talked, getting to know one another. Speaking to each other from one balcony to another, on the roof with a bunch of balloons, etc. I could actually understand why they liked each other. They don't get together until episode 19, which in traditional Chinese dramas is absolutely ridiculous, but here it made sense. Their chemistry was wonderful to watch, and I found myself smiling watching them, I just thought they were so cute. Lots of hugging and good kisses!

I do have to say that the storyline of her best friend and her husband didn't quite work. It felt like they were playing house and not in an actual relationship. Of course, that is ultimately addressed.

The FL wore flowy clothes for the most part and looked lovely. The few instances she wore shorts or a shirt skirt for work (is that a Chinese thing?), that seemed very out of place and distracting. The ML totally wore his clothes well. Boxy, oversized suits, the man knew how to dress.

Random things I liked: I really appreciated that the female CEO of the company wasn't a witch and trying to steal the ML. It was so nice to finally watch something that didn't have that trope. The 2ML - I hated him, I felt sorry for him. He was an interesting character. Was he really interested in her or just using her for revenge. I kept going back and forth on this, but when we last see him was the only time I teared up.

Teeny Tiny issues for me: I felt the ending was meh. After the strength of the rest of the show, it was just bland. And would it kill you to give us an engagement/wedding/life after marriage?!?!?

It's been quite a while since I've enjoyed a drama so much.

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