This review may contain spoilers
Love Alarm is a hit or miss from its characters to its story line. To begin with, the story between our three leads, Jo Jo, Sun Oh, and Hye Young is a point of conflict for many people who watch this drama. Jo Jo, a girl who is actually dating someone, is being chased by childhood besties Sun Oh and Hye Young. I personally found that the story was sweet, filled with tons of cheese and cute scenes. The relationship built between Jo Jo is also reflective of her personal story. As someone who had a troubling past and upbringing, she's constantly burdening herself while playing it off around others. She's a Cinderella in some ways, in the sense that her family isn't the best and that she meets her prince charming one day. Although the story line of Love Alarm seems basic and cute on the surface, it dives deep into the actual consequences of what an app like Love Alarm would do to a person. It intertwines a story of love with the shadow of darkness to what it means to ring, or not ring someone's Love Alarm. The time progression is steady, with some points being rushed but I could understand that due to the constraint of so little episodes to develop it all. Even with their near hour length, Love Alarm is face paced in some ways also, constantly keeping the story going. Although I don't like filler, I don't like rushing so it was conflicting for me. The key point is the split between their high school-days, and the time skip which happens 4 years later on. The gap shows the personal growth of all three of our main characters, from their highs to their all time lows. It's what also keeps you on the edge of your seat as it also ends on a cliffhanger.
Kim So Hyun has never disappointed me personally, and I loved her as Jo Jo in this drama. She always gets the main parts of the character and as Jo Jo, she knew how to convey the turning points of Jo Jo's story. This was my first drama with Song Kang and Jung Ga Ram but I equally enjoyed their performances as the charismatic yet cold Sun Oh, and the shy and awkward Hye Young. Shin Seung Oh, who also played a 2nd lead character, is from A-TEEN, the web drama which you should also check out. Lee Se Jin from PDX101 was also cute as a little cameo in this film, so support our future acting boy.
The music was gentle and soft, but also strong in the message that went along with the mood of the scene. I personally saved the soundtrack off of Spotify because I loved it so much so give it a listen if you're interested.
I would definitely watch Love Alarm again, even if it meant going through that roller coaster of emotions. For me, Love Alarm is a ringing that resonates beyond words.
This has been, Love Alarm.
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Concerning the actors, I LOVED them all. They are ALL perfect. The music was really good too, but I wish there was more different songs. I know that some people didn't like the flashbacks in the drama, they thought that it was useless and that it was becoming annoying, but for me, I didn't mind them.
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- The colours, the excellent OST and Kim So Hyun’s amazing portrayal are the highlights for me.
- I can see why people say the premise is ‘Black Mirror’- esque. For me personally, I think it captures the darkness of technology in today’s world. People don’t just use apps, they depend on them. So I love how this series asks the question of what happens when we use apps for our romantic relationships.
I can’t think of a better setting than in a high school, and as the story progressed we see the main trio enter their early 20s. It’ll be interesting to see how the next season takes this coming of age theme with the technology in mind.
- The romance rolls pretty quick, but the chemistry of the leads helps to drive it well.
- Beware of some frustrating character decisions, but it helps to elevate the ‘grippy-ness’ of the story.
- This was painfully short, half the amount of the average drama (Netflix is to blame lol). So I have qualms Of it ending in a cliffhanger. However there’s a second season coming (yay thanks Netflix lol). It being short doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. It’s just frustrating, but it’s a good taste for someone wanting to dip into KDrama world. (Although disclaimer, I’d recommend it alongside some great stories that are more of the usual length.)
O V E R A L L : On the surface it looks like another fluffy high school romance, but don’t let that deceive you. The unique technology premise gives the age-old ‘love triangle’ a good shake. Overall an entertaining watch, thankful for the emotional depth of Kim Jojo anchoring this series with gorgeous scenery. We haven’t seen how this story plays out so I’m expecting great fruit to come in the next season.
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This review may contain spoilers
(Warning: I'm team Sun oh)I just finished watching this drama like an hour ago. I really wanted to watch this drama as soon as it came out but when I heard that it's a Netflix drama and that it has an open ending.. I was really hesitant. I waited for ages until I saw a fmv on youtube and I was convinced that I had to watch it. No regrets there. I finished it in a day.
The drama is beautifully shot (like most kdrama thb). I love the actors and their acting. Especially, the female lead. I guess I have a sort of secret love for her and her acting. She's just great.
I hope there will be a second season with a good ending and her ending up with Sun oh though. I hate open endings.
Also, I wish there was a better explanation to why Jojo left Sun oh. Like, I understand that Jojo is afraid of him and everyone knowing the truth and being hurt. But there must be another reason. Is it because she doesn't want to hurt Sun oh because she totally did. Or is she just too afraid to speak out her feelings and thoughts? In this case, I just want her to grow a backbone. Afterall, everyone saw her personality grow a little. Being able to speak out to her aunt and to her niece. Now she just has to tell the truth and her feelings to the one she really loves aka Sun oh. I really don't want her to keep Hye yeong close to her when she knows she'll never feel the same for him. She is just leaving him hanging. But he too... He should just let it go. (Actually he was quite creepy when he followed her at the beginning of the drama.)
(Side note) The girlfriend of the male lead is quite pathetic actually. I feel sorry for her. She loves Sun oh dearly but he'll never love her back. Especially, not the same way. And Sun oh.. my dear... Has a pathetic family. Everyone that he loves keeps saying they don't love him. And Jojo dumped him so harshly and suddenly, it's sad.
Thus, I gave the storyline a 7 because of the ending. Oh and because of Hye yeong was being a bit creepy.
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❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I dont like long reviews so im filling the lines with hearts!
Lots of love????
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I loved the story, and I loved how they put on screen the theme of people not being able to love without telling it to everyone and also not being able to confess it like the old times but only throughout an app!
The first episodes may appear confusing, really confusing, but they get into one thing from the 6 episode!
I devoured this show, and I can't wait to know how it ends since there are two different roads to follow for JoJo!
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This review may contain spoilers
Different kind of Kdrama Strong plot
I love this Kdrama because was different, we can see different kind of loves, the young Love and how is passionate and selfish withoute looking who is who, and the adults Love when you find a person who is the right for you and you have the same values, dreams and struggles. If someone don't like how end up things just remember how selfish was Sun Oh, in first episode, when he knew that he best friend love her, was a game for him in the beginning to Challenge Lee Hye. Sun Oh was selfish and not a good friend ,he have to pass a few stages in life and will become more grounded and mature. In the other hand Lee Hye when he finds out about Sun Oh and Kim Jo Jo he stepped back and has the patience to love her and be in his friends side, when the time comes Sun Oh doesn't do the same for him. This Kdrama sends a lot of messages one of them is don't judge someone only about how the way he looks. I know Sun Oh was cute and handsome but Lee Hye has a loveable character and was the right person for Kim Jo Jo. Sorry for my bad English I hope you understand what I mean.Was this review helpful to you?
Terrible ending, terrible plot
I felt like the plot was written by a child in kindergarten it was just so terrible. Even if I go on and on about how much I hate this drama it wont be enough to portray my feelings. The casting was actually really good and the production team did well. The music was also fitting. The problem was the story itself at a point it felt like different scenario's put together to form a story. There were like a dozen or so plot-holes and some things just happened all of a sudden and made no sense. All I would say is that if you want to watch this I would rather recommend watching love alarm 2 without watching this at all. It's your own choice in the end and maybe you'll like it, for in the end everyone has their own opinions.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I can understand the reason for the low ratings, but...
This is basically a remake of the tv show Black Mirror, the dating-app episode called "Hang the DJ" (season 4 episode 4 on Netflix). While I can understand the reason for the low ratings, I just can't give it a low rating, considering the whole storyline, including the setting.Before I get started with the good, let me tell you the bad:
•The female lead cheated on her first boyfriend, but this is the reason why it doesn't work out with the person she cheated on him with. The male lead knew she had a boyfriend and moved really fast in their relationship; it was more of an infatuation than it was love.
•The female lead allowed her cousin to bully her, but it was because she had childhood trauma. She does heal from the trauma in season 2 episode 6.
•The message in this drama was that "we cannot control our feelings." I hate that message because it allows people to justify their obsession, sexual harassment, and stalker behavior towards another human being. BTW, in season 2 we see what happens in episode 5 when people don't seek help to control their feelings.
Now to the good:
•I love the way that the screenwriter wrote this story, meaning how it is told (from past to present, and present to past)
•I love the fact that this drama was only 9 episodes. Sometimes K & C-dramas have way too many episodes with way too many fillers, and that takes away from the storyline.
•If you watch this drama and understand the setting (high school age kids to young adults), you may like this drama too as it is a realistic feel good romantic drama. Again, when watching this drama, it's showing romance of high school age kids.
Not bad, but not good either:
•The two male leads were friendenemies (not really friends, not really enemies).
•Both the female lead and male lead characters had childhood trauma, specifically fear of abandonment. Thus, the male lead clinged to the female lead, thinking he loved her but really it was more out of fear. The female lead ended the relationship with the male lead, thinking she loved him, but again, it was out of fear. To be fair, most romcoms tend to have a toxic definition and understanding of what love really is. Note: the female lead and male lead were only together for 6 weeks...6 weeks! So, it shouldn't surprise anyone how she was able to move on from the relationship. What I find weird is how someone can still not be over someone 3 years after dating them, and they were only together for 6 weeks while in high school. So I am glad that the female lead moved on after high school. Although, I liked her with the male lead while they were in high school.
CHECK OUT MY REVIEW OF SEASON 2 https://mydramalist.com/profile/TalkingWithYou/reviews/153837
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Fanfic Junk!
Oh dear! How could a full production team, crew and cast members be this damn oblivious to what they're making! The drama was the apotheosis of human failure, an insidious plague upon the landscape of television, a wretched abomination birthed from the depths of creative bankruptcy and soulless commercialism, a festering wound that infects the very essence of storytelling with its repulsive presence. Its premise was a nauseating blend of techno-narcissism and romantic idiocy, an affront to the intelligence of any sentient being unfortunate enough to bear witness to its abomination, a grotesque mutation of what once passed for entertainment. Characters were grotesque caricatures of humanity, mere vessels for the perpetuation of vapid romantic fantasies and insipid melodrama and their interactions were a cacophony of soulless platitudes and contrived emotional manipulation, each scene got progressively worse than the last. The writing was an insult to the very concept of coherent narrative structure, a labyrinth of a garbled mess and mind numbingly banal dialogue that defies comprehension. In fact, this drama wasn't just bad television, it was an abomination of the highest order, a blight upon the collective consciousness of humanity and the very fabric of reality itself that must be expunged from existence with extreme prejudice. Anyone who dares to defend this abhorrent monstrosity deserves nothing less than eternal damnation, condemned to spend eternity in the deepest, darkest depths of cinematic purgatory, tormented by the ceaseless repetition of its insipid drivel until the end of time itself. Anyway, it could've been worse, I guess.Was this review helpful to you?
Boring and Dissapointed
I am So very much dissapointed. And the story was excruciatingly Boring. I couldn't even force myself to finish the whole series of 2 seasons. And WHY two seasons?! It is too long and oh my word the plot holes! It would have been better if the series was just a handful of episodes that was well thought out. It is the first time in my life since starting to watch KDramas, that I didn't like ANY of the characters in a Series. The three main leads were stiff, uninteresting and emotionless for the most part. I just couldn't get invested or interested in their characters. The female main lead was painful and frustrating to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Don’t expect any kind of happy ending
Plot is already indicated so I’ll skip that.What I like is the portrayal of the actors. Can say that any one of them, even the support role artists did a great job with their role.
I like that the series touched (a tiny bit) about LGBTQ
I like the locations chosen to shoot this series.
The plot didn’t grab my interest.
The never ending hurdles that the female lead went through is about 75% of the series. My experience is that when viewers see too much problems and hurdles, it starts being boring instead of feeling empathy. Writers should have considered this. I fast forwarded most cuz I got tired of it.
The only thing supposedly that’s positive in her life is her boyfriend that then she ruined herself.
Another man could have been a good source of support for her and the story didn’t even give it a descent chance.
Personally, writers can be blamed for the negative reception for this series that could have had a good rating.
I watched this first season and the ending left me frustrated. There’s many things that were not even explained. There’s a season 2 that I haven’t seen that could possibly explain most of the things left unexplained in season 1.
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