JUST WATCH
This dreams was prefect. Whenever they cried, I cried with them and would whisper “Don’t cry, everything will be alright.I have seen a lot of Cdramas and frankly, only a few blew my mind. I don’t know if it’s the norm in China, but I hated the fact that for most of the dramas it’s either the FL is extremely childish or the ML is super annoying. Remember, it’s a personal opinion. Like I said earlier, I don’t mean to be rude or offensive, I just want to air my opinion with all due respect.
This drama is a masterpiece! I haven’t seen a drama this flawless. Even the saddest person on earth would be happy after watching this. Honestly, it’s been long I typed this long epistle on any drama.
The actors were amazing! Every character were lovable, there was no single hate. And for the ML & FL? I felt deeply in love with those two. I have been a fan of the FL after watching “Love Like the Galaxy” which is by the way, among the best Cdramas I have seen.
I wish Chinese script writers would learn from this drama. I wish they would start writing more realistic characters & stories and stop making most FLs too fake and childish. I mean most of these movies are for adults, it should portray that too. I’m not a fan of skinships. However, those few kissing scenes should be as real as possible. Those romantic moments should be real and not some fake kissing scenes.
That being said, I want to applaud everyone that worked on this drama. I connected with this drama all the way, I had to rewind some of the scenes because I didn’t want it to end. To everyone that worked on this, you guys are super talented, amazing and effortlessly great actors. I love every part of it. I wish I could hug everyone on set, but it’s not possible. And I’m happy this was a huge success. You guys deserve the recognition. Thank you guys for making my day, I watched this in less than 24 hours.
For me, I would rate this an easy 10/10! I would really appreciate any recommendations to something similar; no hate, not evil parents, no evil EX, no breakups. Just two people who are deeply in love and are allowed to be and remain in love.
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Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I wasted 20+ hours or so of my life watching this, it’s a good drama. I’ll get to what bothered me later on. My Love from Another Star is new to my palate. I don’t always watch aliens as protagonist in romantic plots, not in K-dramas. I wondered how the writers would make it work. I always find the first three episodes crucial as that will be my basis if I’m to drop the series or not. Surprisingly, I never felt like counting the episodes I’m in because the first 6 to 8 episodes flew by like a whirlwind. It’s that good. The series if full of heart, energy, combined with a good sense of humor and bits of uncertainties of what the future lies made this interesting and gripping from start to finish (just don’t cheat like what I did, haha!)
At first the comedy came a little strong for my liking as I’m not used to bigheaded, flamboyant heroines. Although knowing Cheong Song Yi’s character as the story progress made me love her and understand why her character has to be that way in the beginning. She is the heart of the drama. I admire her confidence even if at times she tends to be so obstinate its grating on my nerves. I could go on and on of how annoying she can get but she’s someone who knows what she wants, what she has to do to get it, when to give up, when to fight, when to love herself and when to be selfless. Jun Ji Hyun did a remarkable job portraying Song Yi. I’ve only seen her in My Sassy Girl and I can’t even say if I remember how she acted in that film. In YWCFTS she’s superb. I like actresses who know how to show real emotions without relying too much on the cinematography, the music, and the angular shots to make their scenes effective. This drama proves that she can act and that she’s good at it.
On the other hand, Do Min Joon is the face of the series. Come on, admit it. He is one hell of a hot leading man. There is something in his character that is so swoon worthy I can’t even point it out or maybe I’m just so smitten with him I don’t want to think and I’ll just look at him without blinking an eye for hours. All I can say is he is extraterrestrial-ly charming. *sighs with dreamy eyes* Kim Soo Hyun killed me with his oozing appeal. I first seen him in Dream High, though I find him so boy next door in that drama and he look so young and innocent. The years had been good for him and he proved that he can be the next big thing in Korea. I know he is a good actor but his performance in YWCFTS is amazing.
The chemistry of the leads also played a big part of why their tandem worked. We can all agree that they look good together, yes? Let’s also add that they have a marvelous supporting cast. The cinematography and OSTs are also great. One of my favorite scenes/places in the drama is Min Joon’s library. I was (and still) drooling with envy. The bookish junkie in me wants to have that library! I can spend hours, no, days in that place without getting bored! Having Kim Soo Hyun with me is a bonus. Although if it came to a point that I have to choose between Soo Hyun and the library, the latter would win a hundred times over. What? I’m a bookwhore through and through. Books will win by default.
I enjoyed 90% of My Love from Another Star that I’m almost willing to overlook some of the plot holes but the ending didn’t sit well to my romantic-comedy bubble and that was somehow a deal breaker. I know it’s stupid asking for a happy-ever after to a drama where science fiction plays a big part. It was actually the most logical ending for the drama but I just felt it was so unsatisfying. What happens after that? I don’t want to spoil you with my rants, let’s only say that it may have worked for everyone but I am one of the minority that has reservations with the ending. The villain arc of the drama was also given so much attention that they left the mystery of Do Min Joon’s backstory unanswered. We didn’t know much of where he really came from, what’s the deal with his planet and so on. We knew that he is an alien, he came from another star, he has to go back after 400 years on earth if not he will die and that’s it. Knowing these things would have helped us understand Do Min Joon’s world.
In a nutshell, My Love from the Star is fun to watch. It has the formula of making it big and it did. Did I mention that it has one of the best kissing scenes I’ve seen this year? Go on, watch it!
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Beautiful little drama
A Lovely warm and uplifting little drama. The Male lead was beautiful. It is the first drama with Lu Si that I thought she looked good in. Her acting has certainly matured ironically, in a youthful role. It was a heart warming story of love and loyalty. It is my First drama with The Male Lead playing Xiang and what a treat that was. He is exquisite. His role was very touchng and honest. He is swoonworthy. A Nice story of a supprtive family unlike the usual tyranny that often exists in Asian Dramas. LuSi's character was wonderful. Her loyalty and committment to Xiang was truly wonderful. Her acting was good and her character was excellent. She moved through the different stages of her life beautifully. Excellent though she was He stole the drama for me. Perfection.Was this review helpful to you?
I think ALL of the actors were enjoyable and some absolutely charming. Jin Goo as Lee Tae Baek played his character with just the right amount of kindness and strength proving that you don't have to be a jerk to be a romantic male lead. My favorite actor is Ko Chang Seok as Ma Jin Ga. His character was just so sweet, caring, and funny. The women are smart and beautiful. Smart female leads are the best. Park Ha Sun as Ji Yoon depicted her identity struggle really well.
The music was good.
Eventually I can see myself watching this again.
If you like dramas were the underdog succeeds, then this is one you should watch.
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Plot twist em cima de plot.
Quando a gente pensa que é uma coisa, dá uma guinada de 180º e a história é outra, muito mais profunda e complexa do que o subterfúgio de "universos paralelos" atualmente em moda no mercado cinematográfico.Tô curtindo muito a ficção que um dia, com avanço da ciência, pode se tornar realidade (não digo que seja positivo, só que seja possível).
A história é muito envolvente, e quando começou parecer repetitivo, tudo mudou da água para o vinho.
Tô ansiosa para ver como essa história vai terminar!
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My expectations were too high.
I get why everyone is obsessed with this show, I really do… it just wasn’t for me. There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s adorable and the characters are funny and the songs are catchy, I was just so bored the entire time. I almost dropped it twice but I didn’t and I kept watching, but overall I was really underwhelmed.I don’t know if it has to do with the fact I watched Moonlight Chicken first and fell in love with HeartLiMing, but I could just not get as invested with msp. I’m more disappointed than anything that I didn’t love it.
But Fourth slayed as always and I really liked Sound and Win, they were the highlight for me and I needed more of them.
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Acting wise the drama was pretty good. I enjoyed everyone's parts. But quite surprisingly I enjoyed Little Sun's part the most! She was so funny at times, even though she could be a little annoying. But I was really happy with her ending. I liked the main couple too. But somewhere it felt like So Ji Sub's character was being made to act like Dokko Jin (The Greatest Love) and that sort of ticked me a bit. Don't get me wrong - I love So Ji Sub! I'm sorry I love you (starring him) was the first drama I ever watched and it's like First Love, you can never forget it. It's just that Dokko Jin is EPIC. Every line coming outof his mouth is classic and no one can pull that kind of role better than Cha Seung Won. So somewhere along the way I couldn't stop myself from making comparisons.
And not just So Ji Sub's character, I was also left making comparisons in a lot of other aspects. Like how The Greatest Love was funnier and had a sweeter ending. I think this is the only reason I'm giving this drama 9s. Because in my eyes it can't surpass The Greatest Love.
But it does surpass it in one aspect. Music. I just love the entire OST on this drama. In fact, if you ask me, this drama has the best OST so far this year. The songs made it top 10 billboard too and it' fully deserved.
The rewatch value is a bit low for me, because I won't really come back for any funny scenes. I might come back for a few ghost stories that were super touching. I might come back for Kang Woo and little sun. And the aunt and her awesome husband! But that's all for me.
Overall this is a good drama. Much, much better than Big, but I think other Hong sister dramas are funnier. Nonetheless this drama deserves a good average, despite being a tad bit overrated.
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The acting is really good in this. My favorite character is Lee Cho Hee's Sa Wol. She is a strong, loyal friend that is also sweet and caring. Jung Yoo Mi was perfect as In Yub. After watching several actresses lately with stone faces or overacting, it was nice to see an actress get it right. She shows her emotions with out it being obviously acting and it is believable. I ended up liking her character quite a bit. I have never seen Oh Ji Ho before. I think he did a good job as Moo Myeong. I think it is hard to be a quiet but emotional character, but Oh Ji Ho pulled it off well. Poor Kim Eun Gi. Kim Dong Wook portrayed the character's sweet and cold sides very well. I felt sorry for this character the most. He faced everything even his own short comings. It must have been hard for him. The other actors are good too.
There is really good music in this even if it doesn't have words.
I won't rewatch this, but it is rewatchable.
I recommend this drama to everyone no matter what genre you prefer. It is really good.
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Epic love story that never really was…
As I watched the story of “Thousand Years for You” unfold, I was looking forward to an epic love story that broke barriers and transcended time. Sadly, the show failed to deliver on the romance, and the ending left me feeling empty in that aspect.It is not as though the show lost its focus midway. From beginning to end, the story was about the love journey initially between a powerful saintess, Yun Xi, from the spirit clan and a valiant mortal general Lu Yan. Then later between Yun Xi’s doppelgänger, Deng Deng and Lu Yan, who waited 3000 years for Yun Xi.
Unfortunately, the pairing of Li Qin as Yun Xi/Deng Deng and Ren Jia Lun as Lu Yan fell flat for me. No matter how good they looked together, I just could not get the feels from them, and the chemistry was seriously lacking. They were definitely a visual treat, but I enjoyed the show more by seeing them as mystery-solving partners instead of a couple.
For me, the show would have fared better if they had removed the romance aspect and focused on the mystery and adventures. A xianxia set in the Republican era was interesting enough, and the different storylines were refreshing. It was entertaining to watch our sleuthing duo and their sidekicks battle the evil elements of the spirit clan. Most of the other characters, especially the second couple, helped bring this drama to life; they were all likable individuals in their own right.
The show was a pretty well-balanced emotional roller coaster of emotions, switching between humor, suspense, and melodrama. That said, the script did need to be polished, and there were plot holes and dialogue that should have been tighter.
I loved the details put into the costumes. One could tell that a lot of thought was put into the styles of the characters. Deng Deng often wore masculine clothing, but there were touches of femininity. The outfits for Lu Yan were chic and perfectly tailored. They highlighted Ren Jia Lun’s good looks so well. I also appreciate the color palettes that also matched the characters perfectly.
The best part for me was the excellent OST, and the songs were mainly the ingredient that got me tearing up. The CGI was also well-done, and the fight scenes were well-executed, except for some scenes that ended up hilarious instead.
Acting-wise, I was impressed by Li Qin, who delivered the emotional scenes perfectly and effortlessly transitioned between the ethereal, refined Yun Xi and the tomboyish, brash Deng Deng. There was criticism of her portrayal of Deng Deng because some thought she over-acted, but I thought she did fine.
Ren Jia Lun did what he did best, playing a calm, cold, emotionless person who gradually warmed up to the female lead. However, I felt RJL lacked his usual intensity compared to his other dramas. It could be due to how he interpreted his character, who was supposed to become indifferent during those 3000 years, trying to bring back Yun Xi by transferring energy into his last remnant of her. Regardless, without his usual magnetic emoting, the romance failed to come alive for me.
It also did not help that RJL used his voice this time, and one can tell he lacked experience with voice dubbing. It often sounded like he was reciting lines and came across as dull. On the other hand, Li Qin also used her voice but was better in delivery; however, her dubbing suffered from the volume being too loud, making her sound annoying sometimes.
Other than the romance, I also found the villains lackluster. I like Leon Lai and his acting, but as Zhu Rong, the main antagonist for most of the show, I was not entirely convinced by his motivations and actions, especially towards the end. Plus, the last-minute addition of another villain just felt too rushed. Ultimately, the final showdown was somewhat anti-climatic.
Overall, even though I did not get the fantastic love story I expected from a RJL drama, it was still a show worth watching. It was fun watching Lu Yan and Deng Deng play detective to uncover who was threatening the spirit clan and humanity.
Full OST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9iDlX-GIwI
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6qV032sg5Faeju8KTDQbeJ?si=3a9110beb0c34f61
1. 吾 (I) - 任嘉伦 (Allen Ren) 00:00
2. 有时无期 (Indefinite At Times) - 张碧晨 (Zhang Bichen) 04:40
3. 光年爱情 (Light Year Love) - 王靖雯 (Wang Jingwen) 07:54
4. 你是我唯一 (You Are My Only One) - 陆虎 (Lu Hu) 11:38
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Love is not for suckers. Not when it's done well. Which this is not.
A reality show within a scripted show is a potential goldmine of craziness, scandalous behavior, unexpected betrayals, unlikely alliances and revealing both physical parts and intangible sides to the cast. And “Love is for Suckers” when it peels itself away from the generic main-character-romance drama, acquits itself rather well. “Rather” though is an important qualification because there’s some frustratingly obvious ways that this production could have been a memorable one.The main issue is how the storyline and tone are balanced. It’s very much a show centered on the two main characters - Lee Da Hee’s reality show producer Yu Reum and Choi Si Won’s neurologist/reality show participant Jae Hoon. They’re best friends and neighbors that, of course, have the occasional surfacing of romantic tension that’s been blocked by Jae Hoon’s all-encompassing job and Yu Reum’s previous serious relationships.
They end up on opposite sides of the camera in a reality dating show with Jae Hoon expected to romance one of the female cast members and Yu Reum expected to make compelling reality television. That both of these don’t sync up with a potential girlfriend-boyfriend relationship between the two main characters is the primary narrative. It’s not altogether unentertaining but how it unfolds ultimately is unfulfilling.
Chief among them is that Choi Si Won is a natural at light and comic and boisterous, but is out of his depth with a more serious role. And there’s a good stretch focused on the character’s tortured past that he hasn’t moved past and it’s not a convincing portrayal.
It’s also a hard sell that Yu Reum is a diligent worker, an ally to her colleagues, stands up and takes responsibility when she makes a mistake, is honest and kind, a respectful daughter, fearless in the face of danger, able to eat spicy food, etc. but is somehow struggling at both work and her personal life. Together, the two are just not a lot of fun, don’t really seem to match each other at all and neither is sympathetic enough that the melodrama lands emotionally.
Meanwhile, there’s some tremendous characters beyond the main two. Jo Soo Hyang is electric as Yu Reum’s superior Kang Chae Ri. She’s a modern, unapologetic, strong female that is flawed and damaged and reckless that is both maddening and endearing. Park Yeon Woo also hits all the right notes as an insecure celebrity chef. Lee Juyeon’s Han Ji Yun is a more one dimensional character as the art professor pining for Jae Hoon’s attention, but it’s a warm and touching performance. As is the married and co-restauranteurs couple played by Min Jin Woong and Noh Susanna hoping to conceive. But each part of this ensemble gets short screentime so that Jae Hoon can break out a head-tilted pouty face at an unendingly despondent Yu Reum about a dozen times per episode. Had the whole thing been reengineered to spread the spotlight around more and tilt the main pair’s romance to a lighter, more comedic style, perhaps that would have really pulled in an audience.
Other minor complaints - Lee Dae Hwi’s Sang Woo is a bland character that rarely is necessary to advance any narrative, whether primary or secondary, forward and the performance is uncomfortably stilted. There’s a smattering of subplots between the reality show cast members and some of them are well-acted and show promise, but as soon as one episode sets up a potentially compelling direction, it will be forgotten and ignored thereafter. An eating disorder? Appears and vanishes. A mental illness? Forgotten once it triggers a laughably poor cliffhanger at the end of an episode.
And a minor detail, but impossible to miss - Lee Da Hee was styled and wardrobed to near perfection in her most notable recent work “Search: WWW” and the contrast with how poorly she is outfitted on this show is gargantuan.
“Love is for Suckers” has some nice pieces but they don’t fit together very well. Not really recommended.
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No more pairing for JCW and Yoona please..
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Piang Chai Khon Nee Mai Chai Poo Wised
21 people found this review helpful
Anusaniya ( Kimberley) is the rich girl, Sattawat is a doctor, his mother has got gambling problems, Anusaniya's uncle is in love with her, Sattawat's mother & Anusaniya's aunt in a way arranged them to marry, the dad agrees so they got married without love. As in any drama we do have distrubing characters. Somika was previously with Anusaniya's uncle but he breaks up from her for Anusaniya, this time she goes to Sattawat, she announces her love to him, but the doc has no feelings, Doc has a crush on Anusaniya since he saved her from drawning. It's for sure that Kimberley is a great actress but this type of characters sort of stick on her, she's always the rich, snob girl, though Doctor is not poor but not a chaebol.
They do have on screen chemistry with James. Just like on her previous drama we'll watch her development as she develops she'll realise that she loves Satawat.
Sonika is sometimes going overboard so her character was written excessive, she's a type of stalker
Keep pestering Sattawat. Annusya's bro pregnantes a girl, and she also hate her and she wants her baby to be the only heir of the family, that's what we know until later episodes. It's sort of like Brazilian Soap Operas.
Mirantee is a reporter but also Anusaniya's school friend, she had doubts that Anusaniya would ever recognise her, but yet she has not only recognised her and her name, she also recognised that she helped her when her heel was broken, after that incident Mirante started to help Anusiya.
Their bond got better. Mirante is also in love with the uncle. The actor who plays the uncle Pop Thagoon Karnthip is also quite handsome :))
When he had a accident Mirante was the one who was crying by his bedside. Sonika is the one who's responsible from all bad things happening to Annusiya's family and people around her, it is just jealousy turning into a mad hatter.
Anusaniya's brother's girlf also uses Sonika's addiction obsession on Satawat to hit Anusaniya, but Sonika is the idiot letting people to use her.
There's everything you are looking for, love, romance, action ( not that sort of action but still) kidnapping, cat fight..
At the end we see that uncle understands who he really loves :)
Our couple still pulling each other's hair, it's their way of showing love, aggressive couple. Doc is romantic soft hearted but our girl is bitchy.
Not only the uncle and doc is handsome here, the guy who plays the owner of the furniture company is also hot
Well doc have been doing wrong all the time, while he could silence his wife with a lovely kiss :D
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On the other hand, Jang Hyeondo, his friend is the opposite, a not so perfect human being who comes from a rich household, and is the son of the president of a large company.
The story mainly revolves around these two households and the complex and hidden past history between them.
While the story is rather stereotypical, and is played out mainly for the shock factor as with most morning dramas, it is executed rather well, and this is testament to a very strong main cast. In fact, it was this main cast by which I first decided to watch this drama.
Lee Joon Hyuk, probably most well known for his appearance in Stranger, plays the protagonist, and while he doesn't have much wiggle room here as he plays a rather boring, dense, yet perfect human being, he has some noteworthy highlights in the drama.
Lee Sang Yeob, I only really remembered from Running Man, plays the typical spoilt rich kid, and acts as a great comedic relief in all situations. His character development throughout the story is a focus throughout, and is probably the highlight of the entire drama. His acting, while sometimes over the top, may just be a result of the role and genre he's been put in.
Kyung Soo Jin, who I briefly remembered from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, plays the role of almost a support role, as her story barely has anything to do with the overarching plot. That said, her story, romance aside, was probably the most relatable and had the most tear jerking moments for me personally.
Chae Soo Bin, who I saw on I'm not a Robot and Where Stars Land was probably my biggest reason for starting this drama. She plays the role of a very cheerful and strong sort of character, who bottles up most of her sad feelings. She is probably the biggest victim and most affected character of the plot.
The best moments in my opinion were not in the main story, rather it was the cute interactions between these characters, and the funny moments unravelled as a result. Each character each has a loveable trait about them, despite how frustated I was at them as part of the overarching plot. I was especially surprised by how much I liked the character of Jeong Soo Kyung, Hyeondo's mother.
The story does suffer from a lot of pacing issues, and some plot holes, but this is what I expected from a morning drama. It didn't get too complex in my opinion, and I thought it was rather well executed throughout. What it was though was a nice, relaxing watch, with some enjoyable and funny scenes stacked throughout the middle of it to keep me interested enough to finish the series.
The music was great in my opinion, with some recycled one hit wonders, and a memorable main opening track (probably because I listened to it 50 times.) I found myself laughing out loud at the overexaggerated dramatical music on some scenes, but I didn't really think that was a bad thing. The OST in general is superb.
All in all, this drama is probably not for someone who's expecting the next amazing concept or script. It is a generally light hearted, feel good, funny, over the top, and relaxing watch for people who need a break from the usual intense, or typical rom-com genre. Coupled with an amazing cast, I would definitely recommend this for people who want an intro to the morning drama genre.
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First of all, I absolutely loved the plot and the characters. Oh God the characters...
It's actually my first time seeing Ji Chang Wook on screen so to say the least, the first impression he made on me will surely last. He just captivated me with his role as Healer. And he can be supper adorable when he's acting all weak and innocent!!
This is also my first time seeing the lead actress and I must say, I like her. She suited her role and nailed it. At the first 2 episodes I wasn't sure what to think of her character, but just soon after she easily won me over completely. Her character is just adorable and simply lovable, especially how she's not bitter about having a rough childhood. I personally don't see a reason for not liking her character.
I also loved the mother. I loved Yoo Ji Tae's character. He's a perfect representation of a human's conflict with morals and feelings. He's also warm, helping and just too cute when he grins :D I absolutely loooooved Ahjummaa hahaha she just kept cracking me up. The characters' role was very suiting, long side all the other secondary characters that were helpful to the leads. They all take a little space in your heart. Just seeing the leads around these nice secondary characters will put you at ease. I also found the post office and all who worked in it very home-y and awesome.
Yeong Shin's father and her father's helper also cracked me up, especially when acting overprotective and all XD
I also liked how the characters handled the situations they were in. There were no stupid fights over frustrating misunderstandings. There were no secondary characters butting in on the lead's love. I seriously can't stand those misunderstanding that happen because of another character who loves one of the leads. I mean a love triangle can be fun sometimes, but other times it just drives one crazy.
Even the bad characters, although irritating and infuriating, they weirdly enough aren't so annoying. They make you want to kill them, yes. But you'll simply feel hate, not annoyance.
Another thing that made me fall in love was the fact that this was basically the first love for both the lead characters. It made it feel so sincere and innocent. I mean, who wouldn't like a guy who never dated before or had much interest in girls before and a girl who also didn't date and has been saving herself to be their fist love? It just instant;y screams LOYALTY to your face. It's a kind of love we would innocently dream of as kids. So to see it displayed is a dream come true.
It didn't focus much on comedy as much as it focused on thriller, drama, action and romance.Still, the few moments that were funny can sure drive you to laugh. And even without those funny moments, a lot of other parts can easily put a smile on your face (My biggest weakness was when Jung hoo ((Healer)) smiled around Yeong shin).
To be honest, at parts, I felt bad for moon ho's brother, but I suppose he chose this fate.
Over all, this drama will do things to your heart.Trust me. Some parts will drive you to tears. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you smile. Some will just move a feeling inside that you cannot explain. Also the soundtracks are soft, sweet and relevant.
It will make you long for it once you finish it. You won't feel too comfortable seeing the characters who played it act in other dramas because the character you have for them in your head will stay these characters of Healer for a while. Or at least, that's how it goes for me.
Memorable drama. It will make you happy. Watch now! NOW! Go what are you waiting for!
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This review may contain spoilers
Precious Fluff with a Healthy Side of Substance
I originally wrote this review halfway through the drama, and I'm happy to confirm it did not disappoint me at all afterwards. So many kdramas become consumed by the male lead in the back half, or otherwise forgot to follow through on the female lead's story. But this wasn't the case at all here, because Gangnam Beauty was committed to Mi Rae's growth. The times that it strayed from her, it tended to follow the stories of the other women in the drama, most significantly antagonist Soo Ah's own perspective on beauty and self-esteem, but also Kyung Seok's mom and her attempts to reconnect with her children.This drama hit all the right notes for me. I was really reluctant to watch it because often stories about makeovers or plastic surgery have very negative messages which suggest either that your life will be better when you are "prettier," or else they emphasize the fat shaming and fall into the very tropes they're trying to fight against. But Gangnam Beauty did an excellent job of questioning beauty standards and showcasing the hypocrisy of a society that only values women for their appearance. I think it's only real flaw in my book is that it had what appeared to be PPL for a diet pill in one episode, but the pill was used by Soo Ah and the protagonist Mi Rae later called her out for all the methods women use to be the "most beautiful" when all they end up doing is hurting themselves. So while I would rather they never have shown it, I'm glad they turned it around after.
Anway, onto the cast: I think Im Soo Hyang and Cha Eun Woo did very well as Mi Rae and Kyung Seok. Even if the latter is a little green as an actor, he believably conveyed the subtle shifts in Kyung Seok's "coldness" and watching him warm up and become open as the drama went on was a treat. But of course, it's Soo Hyang who carried the weight of the drama on her shoulders, and she made Mi Rae's paralyzing fears very relatable while still allowing her inner strength to shine through. The side characters were all well-cast in my book, and their personalities were realistic and charming or even more realistic and infuriating as needed. I loved that the show never became solely about the romance - although the soft and slow progression of said romance was perfect for both characters - but really incorporated university life and friendships throughout.
I read the webtoon because of this drama, so I'm biased in the show's favor, but I think it conveyed the message from the comic appropriately. Adding Hyun Jung as a best friend for Mi Rae was an excellent choice in my book because it helped us understand how Mi Rae made it this far and showed that you can have a support system and still feel alone on a larger scale. Plus it set Soo Ah apart as a woman who lives for competition (even though that's something that society is partially to blame for as well) in comparison to several other girls in the show who were genuine in their intentions even if they sometimes fall short. I also like how it called out certain kdrama tropes, allowing our gallant male lead to learn more about how to respect the female lead even though he already started off leagues ahead of most men.
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