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I love it
It’s a kdrama you won’t see in suggestions because it doesn’t have romance but I LOVED the story and all the characters. I love Junho as an actor so that was a plus and so I watched it in 2018 when it came out, it’s indeed a great mystery, law and adventure kdrama!The acting is amazing and the story keeps you hooked, like you want to watch the next episode immediately after the other.
As I said there’s no romance but it’s has heartwarming moments and if I remember well I also cried during an episode.
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Not the terrible drama that some of the reviews make it out to be.
Seeing all the negative reviews, and being a huge JCW fan, I initially started to feel disappointed. But then I decided to just sit down, watch the drama, and judge it for myself instead of letting other people’s opinions influence me.And honestly? I’m glad I did.
The first two episodes immediately caught my attention, and I also found the story quite clear. I genuinely don’t understand some of the comments saying that they “don’t understand what’s going on.” To me, the story is actually pretty straightforward. There are layers to the characters and their motivations, but that doesn’t mean the plot itself is confusing.
I also think the main leads have quite a lot of chemistry considering the characters they are playing. This is not a classic romance or a straightforward love story, and I think that’s precisely what makes it interesting. There is something deeper going on between the characters than simply “who is going to end up with whom.” If you’re expecting a conventional romance, then I can understand why you might be disappointed, but that doesn’t mean the drama itself is confusing or badly written.
Another thing I really appreciated is the way the drama shows aspects of everyday life and professions from that period. We get to see things such as silk and paper production, as well as everyday habits and subjects that might have been considered taboo at the time, such as smoking and sex and even religions. I found those details interesting because they added something to the world-building and made the historical setting feel more alive.
I should also mention that I haven’t watched the older Korean adaptation, nor have I read the original French novel, so I’m judging this drama entirely on its own. I’m not comparing it to the previous adaptation or to the original story.
And no, I also don’t think the drama is as slow as some people claim. I’ve watched Korean historical dramas with 16 episodes where the plot barely moved forward for most of the drama, so compared to those, I really didn’t find the pacing here particularly problematic. There are flashbacks, side characters, and slower moments, but that’s hardly unusual for a Korean historical drama.
For me, this was a well-structured story with beautiful cinematography, great aesthetics, and solid direction. I especially enjoyed the way the drama created its atmosphere.
Now, for the negatives.
The character that annoyed me the most was Nana’s character. And just to clarify, I knew who Nana was, but I honestly had no idea she was such a big name or that she was so well known as both an idol and an actress. That said, I found her character to be the most annoying, monotonous, and sometimes simply uninteresting character in the drama.
I also have to say that, personally, I don’t think her particular look fits a historical drama very well. I know that many Koreans, especially actors and celebrities, have had cosmetic procedures, but sometimes you see a face in a historical setting and it just feels a little out of place. That was unfortunately the impression I got with her.
Overall, I really don’t think this drama deserves all the negativity surrounding it.
It’s not perfect. It has its flaws, and I can understand why some people might not connect with it. But it is definitely not the terrible drama that some of the reviews make it out to be.
Honestly, I think if people stopped reading all the reviews beforehand and simply watched it with an open mind, they might enjoy it much more. Maybe some viewers were expecting a straightforward melodrama with lots of romance and cute kisses on the cheek, and this simply wasn’t that kind of drama.
Personally, I found it interesting, beautifully made, and much more enjoyable than I expected after seeing all the negative reviews.
So yes, I’m very glad I decided to judge it for myself instead of letting the internet do it for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
It’s just bad for many reasons
1. The only likeable characters are the male lead and his friends who most of them belong in minorities, so that’s the only positive thing that has as a kdrama. The diversity.2. The female lead is so unnecessary mean. Not only that she’s racist and homophobic/transphobic and the only reason she “changed” towards the end is because she wanted the male lead to like her, which I find very wrong. You will say she’s a sociopath so that’s why, but please that’s not an excuse for everything.
3. The way the story goes on is a bit frustrating because everything happens fast and there’re throwbacks and then back to present, escalates at the start and at the end only. A bit messy I would say.
4. The love story between the leads is very forced because it gives you a very blunt ending. Not only that there’s a big age difference with the characters which makes you wonder are they really … gonna be together now!? Meh
5. The villains are not likeable at all obviously haha (you know sometimes you guilty like them) but in the end they’re the only ones making this kdrama interesting.
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It's not a typical romance kdrama and it's not for everyone
After I started the 1st episode I decided to look at the comments and reviews here and I got scared because I saw so many bad comments and reviews, most saying 'it's boring, I wasted my time, it was good until the 7th episode'. I am the kind of person who continues a drama without getting affected by other people's opinions. I also concluded that I don't trust all 'asian drama watchers', I guess we don't have the same taste. Something in the rain is an excellent kdrama.About the story, it touchs on matters like family stereotypes, dating and marriage stereotypes, friendship in adulthood, sexism in workplace and incidents of SA. As I said on the headline, it's not a typical romance kdrama and it's not for everyone. It needs a 'strong stomach' and the emotional cappacity to understand the charachers situations and emotions. I didn't get bored after the 7th or 8th episode as some say, it was the opposite tbh because the last episodes ended with cliffhangers and I was more invested to the story than I was in the first.
The acting is EXCELLENT, it feels very real while you watch it and Jung Haein really does justice to noona dramas. I even got really annoyed by certain characters but that's what good acting is.
The music is also very good, it gives a warm vibe to the serries. For me it's a drama that you will enjoy more watching during autumn/winter or early spring.
Lastly I think I will watch it again after few years when I will be in my 30s.
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My first 'old school' kdrama
Coffee Prince (CP) is really my first kdrama that it's before 2013. I will start by saying that I was a little hesitant to watch it, because I had read reviews and watched clips of other old school kdramas like boys over flowers and the heirs and these two seem quite cringey to me and that's why I wasn't sure if I will be able to finish CP. I'm a fan of Gong Yoo and I have already watched Goblin and Silent Sea and I wanted to watch another serries with him so CP was on my list for some time.Soooo I finished it and will gladly say I wasn't dissappointed, I actually binge watched it for the biggest part which is something I didn't expect since most of the times I take my time with romcoms. It doesn't have big cliffhangers but the story flows so smooth that I wanted more with each episode.
Now let's start with the real review. First I want to mention that it felt like a time machine, I felt a certain nostalgia from the early 2000s even tho I was only 10 years old in 2007, I have vivid memories of how the world was. The cellphones, the clothes the lack of internet and generally not overusing technology, was something that kept our days more carefree and simple. So CP is a simple kdrama the actors don't wear much make-up, the clothes are simple and there are feelings of warmth and intimacy. The acting of the whole cast is AMAZING especially the female lead, Yoon Eun Hye, did an excellent job. I aplaud her. Her acting was natural and stayed true to the character while there was development. Gong Yoo was also great, I can now say that this role (in serries) is my favourite for now, above Goblin for sure. The chemistry of the main leads was also great, I was smilling like an idiot to the romantic scenes. I have to mention I fell in love with young Kim Dong Wook, such a heartthrod. The only character that annoyed me a little was 'Yoo Joo', she seemed a bit immature. Before I started it I didn't see Jae Wook was also part of it so that was a pleasant surpirse, R.I.P. to Lee Eon everyone was such a memorable character.
Lastly I'm quite a tomboy myself and I often wear men clothes, so seeing 'Eun Chan' being herself so freely and not giving a fck about what people think of her, she gave me confidence to continue being myself as well. I also loved how 'open-minded' it is for such an old kdrama, even in more modern ones you don't see much talks about sexuality or gendres. I will probably rewatch it some time in the future.
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Should have been 16 episodes!?
I read some other reviews that said it gets dragged and I have to agree! It gets dragged to the point you want to drop it. I personally dropped it for almost a month and decided to finish it today because I had 5 episodes left. I managed to finish it because I put the speed on 1.5x otherwise I would have dropped it completely.I'm actually dissapointed because I was excited about this drama from the 1st episode. The story is good but 20 episodes are too much, there are many fillers with some side characters, I personally wanted more romance between the main leads I would love more scenes of their "forbiden love". There are also many scenes that are in slow motion which gets annoying.
I really like Rowoon and Eunbin and their chemistry was good but I left with the feeling I didn't see much together. Eunbin's acting was excellent btw.
Overall only the first and last 3 episodes are the best but if you like historical dramas you might like all episodes, it's not a bad drama.
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Shouldn't be compared to Something in the rain
Well, I'm here after watching both Something in the rain (first) and now One spring night. If I haven't seen people comparing the two dramas I wouldn't do it either but I feel I have to after I read some reviews for both dramas. As I said to the review of Something in the rain I don't understand the lower ratings. Both dramas are very good, they are dramas that touch on serious real life problems and analyzing overcoming social and gender stereotypes.Just because the writer of the stories and some actors are the same to both dramas that doesn't mean they are similar. I personally divided them in my head and I formed unbiased opinions for each one. Here's why there are not the same. Something in the rain is intense, it has spark, it's more dynamic while One spring night is more chill, a slow burn and shows much more vulnability from the characters. The romance and chemistry of the 2 main leads in Something in the rain is top-tier, you feel the emotions in your bones, I also felt sad, frustrated and I was unsure about the ending. On the other hand with One spring night I felt more calm, I lowkey expected the ending, and the story is mainly about the conversations between the characters, so it felt like reading a book.
To conclude I liked both dramas but Something in the rain is closer to my taste because I like intense drama and feeling the same emotions with the characters. At the end of the day is all about personal taste, but I suggest to watch both dramas because they talk about very serious issues.
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I only beared to watch it for Ji Changwook and Kim Yoojung
Last year I said I won't watch this kdrama, because I saw all the controversies and I was indeed dissapointed. I LOOOOVE Ji Changwook, he's the reason I started watching kdramas and I have watched almost all his works, but I said I won't watch this one. However I changed my mind after reading some reviews here and not on twitter and I said I will watch the first episodes and if it's too much to handle I will drop it. But then I finished it...I will start by saying it is indeed problematic, actually that one character doing blackface/ blackfishing and perpetuating negative and wrong stereotypes about black people is unacceptable and has ruined the whole drama.
About the controversy with the kiss of a minor to an adult and asking for cigarettes, I don't see it as big as the blackface because such kisses exist in other kdramas too, in western dramas etc. So if they have put a 19+ rating (because it has sexual refferences in some episodes) and not 15+ it would have been better.
Overall I enjoyed the story of the main leads and the family and nothing else, most side characters annoyed me a lot, the problematic guy would have been annoying even without the doing blackface, the sister of the male lead was extra annoying as well and didn't actually give much to the story. So my rating of 7.5 is only for the main leads and for the nice message that you can find happiness without doing a fancy job and marrying someone rich.
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