Surplus Princess (2014)

Watching this drama, I felt like I was watching Disney's Little Mermaid, with a twist. The drama was somewhat similar to Little Mermaid and I did not have that great energy and passion to watch this because of that. My only consolation to my self is that, it's just 10 episodes so I should just endure and finish it.

It was indeed very hard for me, but as the episode goes on, I started to like the drama. The plot for me isn't that great. Well I find it a little bit slow in progressing. And I hated this drama for giving me 'Second Lead Syndrome'! One thing I really hated when watching a drama is falling for the second lead :(
And for the ending??!! Wahhh!! I was like 'What the hell just happened?' And this may be ridiculous, but I feel like it will have a season 2?? :P because of the ending. I knew that this was cut-off because of low ratings in Korea, and the ending has somehow told me that they will make another season to this, even more DAEBAK, and for sure get higher ratings. Well I maybe I'm just being delusional.

As for the acting, I don't have any problem with it. They did well, especially Kim Ha Ni :) I like her for being quirky and ignorant :D She has made me laugh in many ways. I find her character fresh, very different from other female characters. Also the other cast has made such great job in portraying their characters. I have watched four dramas that have character/s spoke in dialect, and now I'm loving listening korean dialect.

The music was good. It helped you feel the scenes. There are times you swing your head, and other times you feel like jumping from your seat. You'll feel lively, excited, then gloomy then switch back to being lively.

I will surely re-watch this drama because I was not impressed of my internet connection getting slow, and I always have to reload and restart my computer. Most importantly, I want to watch it again because of the characters :D

It was a nice drama for me. And I'm sure for those who haven't watched it, you'll surely love this.

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I liked this drama so much! It sucks that it got cut so short and got ruined because of that.

Story: When I read the synopsis I wasn't really sure what to think about this one. It seemed absurd but interesting so I decided to give it a try. I loved it from the first episode! The story was unique and the writers definitely took a lot of risks but it was great! Even though it started out as Ha Ni looking for love and turned into Ha Ni looking for a job and many people didn't like that but I was okay with it. I loved all the parodies and references! It was all so funny! It was a really good blend of humor and seriousness. The sad scenes were sad and brought tears to my eyes, the funny scenes were funny and made me laugh out loud. It was all balanced out really well. Until they cut down the episodes and the writers were forced to rush the ending which ruined everything. But more on that later.

Actors/Characters: All the characters, even the minor ones, were awesome! And all the actors did a great job playing them!

I've only seen Jo Bo Ah in Shut Up Flower Boy Band. I always thought she was pretty but her acting was okay in SUFBB. So I was very surprised to see her do such a wonderful job in Surplus Princess! She was so funny and lovable! Her character, Ha Ni, especially at the beginning, was a spoilt brat. And I should have hated her. But I didn't. Because Jo Bo Ah made her character so likable and believable that I couldn't hate her. She was so endearing and hilarious and adorable! I loved her!

I loved Song Jae Rim! I'll admit I had never seen him or heard of him before. But I loved him in Surplus Princess! Not so much in the beginning, but Shi Kyung won me over after a few episodes. Song Jae Rim acted really well! And I loved his character! His character was well-written and had depth. I desperately wanted him to be the male lead. He had such great chemistry with Jo Bo Ah.

Honestly, Hyun Myung felt more like a side character than a male lead. And he seemed more like a friend to Ha Ni than a lover. He was like an oppa to her, and I mean in a brotherly way. On Joo Wan was okay, I guess. I didn't like his acting much. Hyun Myung as a character was okay too. I never felt much for him. I often felt like the other side characters were more important than him. He did not seem like a male lead at all.

The second female lead, Yoon Jin Ah, was so annoying and evil! I hated her! And that means Park Ji Soo played her well. But not well enough. I'm pretty sure somewhere through the hate I was also supposed to feel sorry for her. But I didn't. I only hated her. She was so low, I really couldn't feel sorry for her. Because all the decisions that got her where she was, she made them herself.

I adored all the side characters! I loved Hye Young! She was so cool and such a good friend! She was a really fun character and she and Big were so cute together! Ji Yong was so funny! I loved him! He was hilarious! Sun Kyu was awesome and the actor who played him did such a good job! Jin Ah's boss was so funny and awesome! And I loved the JH owner and her interactions with Ahn Ma Nyeo! Speaking of Ahn Ma Nyeo, how cool was he?! And Ahn Kil Kang did such a good job playing him! One of my favorite side characters ever!

Romance: I was really really hoping that the writers would take the other road, take this risk along with the others they had taken, and make the girl end up with the second lead. They had better chemistry and looked better together. I really loved Ha Ni and Shi Kyung. And the writers didn't have much time to develop Hyun Myung's and Ha Ni's story anyway. So why not take the already developed couple and make them end game? It's not like the ratings mattered anymore, the drama was already ending. But to my disappointment the writers took the conventional way. Oh well, we can't all have what we want.

Ending: I was really disappointed with the ending. Not only was it rushed, I would've liked it much better if Ha Ni would've ended up with Shi Kyung. They also left it kinda open-ended. Don't get me wrong, they did resolve almost everything. But they ended it as if they were planning on a sequel and with answers they also left us with more questions.

Overall: I really loved this drama! Even though it was only 10 episodes long I really bonded with the characters and loved the story and humor. It was a great drama that I could relax to. I wouldn't particularly recommend it because the ending sucks but if you want something light with great humor then I think you should watch it.

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This could of been an amazing drama, unfortunately it got cut meaning the ending was rushed.

Looking at all the episodes story from the last couple; I found the drama hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times whilst watching this! The music for that first kiss made me very happy indeed! Over all it was a great modern adaption to The Little Mermaid storyline. I heard occasionally Kim Ha Ni humming music from Disney's film. I don't know whether that was intentional or my imagination, but I thought it made a sweet addition to the drama!
My only negative towards this was, as I've said, the ending. If it hadn't been cut due to low ratings in Korea then it would of been my favourite drama. Six more episodes and it would of been perfect!

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Surplus mermaid is in a rare genre by itself. Yes its fantasy. Yes its comedy. Yes its romance. And also a bit slice of life by focusing on a bunch of job seekers and their struggle along with a mermaid gaining legs and finding true love. But its rare because its weird. The humour is kooky. The CGs are outlandish. In the first 2 episodes it slips in from actual to HaNi's imagination be it dream or nightmare. Its sometimes outrageous from butt pinching to dry humour then it suddenly slid into quite reflection. So weird is the word that keeps popping in my mind as i watched. Granted i admit i did fastforward some parts esp on HaNi's love rival.
The greatest weakness are one dimensional characters so i really didnt care for HaNi's prince aka Chef. They never explores his character further from his face blindness to his stern nature that dissolved to nothing aft a few encounters with our mermaid.
Some other characters fare better. Hyun Myung was a thoroughly good guy, sweet and does all the heroic things without saying a peep. Hye Yeong potrayed by the awesome Seul Hi was exceptional and fun. She has her own loveline with Big. Hani the mermaid literally brought out tje bubbles from the sea, shes bubbly, outgoin, childish but adorable. And her fairy godmother is veteran actor Ahn Kil Kang currently playing Kim Bokju's father in weightlifting fairy.
The first two episodes takes some getting use to as the comedic side was lashed out outrageously n a bit out of the norm for K dramas. They do dial that down lateron. The show also suffers from pacing. Cause by end of ep 9 you can literally hear the pd shouts Wrap it up hence ep 10 feels rushed. You have just gotten use to the surplus house and its inhabitants and suddenly they chased you out. Thats the result of 4 episodes being cut off.
Regardless its enjoyable for being an oddball, being alittle kooky and also its potrayal of how love isnt like what naive Hani imagined it to be. Additional .5 marks cause im happy a real couple is born from this drama and happy to report they are still dating.

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This would have garnered at least a point more if they had not cut it short so that the ending was so abrupt. I thought Jo Bo Ah was terribly cute as Ha Ni and Ohs Joo Wan grew on me as Hyun Myung. However, Song Jae Rim and Park Ji Soo were just okay in their roles. Kind of bland. Kim Seul Gi was the standout here even as a supporting character. She is always so adorable that I am immediately drawn to any character she plays. As stated, the story would have been better if they had let it play out to the original 16 episodes because the ending was very abrupt, however, I've seen worse endings on shows that were NOT cut off early, so all in all it was not a waste of time at all. It was a bit shallow on characterization, but for 10 episodes, I can excuse it. I enjoyed a lot of the humor and I enjoyed the secondary love story just as much if not just a tad more than the main romance. This was light and easy - like a cheap romance novel that you read for a guilty pleasure. The music was nice, and I also enjoyed the little popup stuff (even though I can't read Korean - there were pictures too) It was a cute story, and while I personally probably won't rewatch it, some people might like to just because it's a breezy fast watch.

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The storyline was good but somehow confusing. And I kinda want Ha Ni(Jo Bo Ah) to ends up with Shi Kyung (Song Jae Rim). I mean would you look at their moments, Shi Kyung loves soending time with Hani and she does too, they have more moments together and they are there for each other. And where did the 6 more eps go? Who is the second lead , who is the main lead? (second lead = the one who gets rejected by the main female lead) , (main lead = the one who gets the main female lead.) The drama was funny but I hated it when it cuts off because of the ratings. YOU should not let the OTHERS get you DOWN and continue on what you like doing.

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After watching 9 episodes, and getting an ending in tht manner was truly frustrating! Ppl watch dramas for relaxation or entertainment, and all this show did was to ruin my mood!!
Very poor story writing! I just can't understand why the pairing was done in that manner at the end! Thr was no reason to change the pairing of the couples...it was truly frustrating! And that too, when mermaids are said to fall in love just once in their lifetime!! How can she just give up on him that easily? Whole time...it was abt true love...but I never got to witness it! Tht chef was in love with the mermaid from the very beginning....but still how come he cud simply say tht...ok fine, u can go to him?
I was really disappointed in the writers...it felt as if thy dont know what love is!!
I have watched more than 30 kdramas, and this was one of those rarest dramas where I truly regretted wasting my time on this.

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This drama contains:
- Romance, comedy, frustration, misunderstandings, love triangles, evil exes, weird side characters, cute side plots, handsome boys, pretty girls, good acting, light watch.

- Not deep or dark, low chance of crying.

- An energetic and happy go lucky female lead who stands on the boarder of being really annoying or clumsily charming. A very charming and handsome second male lead who (as always), lacks flaws. A not so charming and always less handsome first male lead who lacks in a lot of ways.

- That really mean and annoying Ex girlfriend who ruins it for everyone and makes you frustrated.

- Romance starting off on the wrong foot and progressing through bicker fights. Romance starting off with a happy spark and progressing through nice encounters and cute moments. Impossible not to ship. Romance starting out from friendship.

- A lot of misunderstandings and situations that will make you frustrated and annoyed. Some moments should really not have been allowed to happen and some were just straight up stupid.

- The main story is a plot hole in itself which pulls down the rating quite a bit. Because the whole drama was rushed, few progressions are believable and it all seems like low budget script writing.

- A perfect build up to nothing, leading to one of the most disappointing endings I've ever seen.

- A really funny Korean SNL reference that you will only understand if you see their GTA parody.

- Nam Joo Hyuks Busan accent.

ENJOY!!

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I watched it because it looked similar to "The Legend of the Blue Sea" but with a quirky and more humored based story. It started off alright (being funny and entertaining) but what really threw me off was the lack of interactions between what I thought was the Male lead (probably is the male lead but the story doesn't make it clear) and instead interacted more with the second lead (or at least I think he is the second lead) anyway the ending really did suck I expected her to end up with Shi Kyung which didn't happen (was quite the rude awakening) so in my opinion, the sloppy rushed ending just ruined this whole drama for me.

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Is it more about the journey or destination?

Surplus Princess is a perfect drama until the last episode. It's a fantastic journey that featured a great and mysterious story that had unique themes and characters, but ultimately led to a failure in the final episode, which was just a complete rushed mess. Unfortunately this drama had been cut by six episodes. If it hadn't been cut, I'm pretty sure my overall rating would be higher. Actually, it definitely would have been higher.

Anyways...the thing I was sceptical about first, when starting to watch this drama, was the mermaid theme. I have only known the mermaid theme to be either cringe, childish, or boring (or a combination/full mix of these three). But for the first time ever, it was neither of these things. Even the "filler" scenes actually didn't feel like "filler" scenes. While all characters (like previously mentioned above) were unique, some could have been written better.

OST was great, although a little overplayed at points.

I've just finished this drama, and I still don't know what to feel. I wish this last episode didn't exist, or at least made better. It just feels uncomplete. The characters are not where they are supposed to be! Well, well. If anyone ever writes an MDL Article titled "When the drama end with the wrong couples together" don't be surprised to see 'Surplus Princess' mentioned!

You'll enjoy the first nine episodes without a doubt!

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