Oh My Venus (2015)

Great selection for the cast & there is so much chemistry for the couple! It also helps that there is no typical second lead role syndrome. The relationships between the different roles have complexity but not too much that is just pure annoying. I was worried that the plot with sickness would lead to the typical Korean drama style issues, but it doesn't and bring out awareness for health and agility.

Many people argue between 'She is pretty' & 'Oh my venus' I attempted to watch both and personally prefer 'Oh my venus'. I think OMV fits a more mature audience, and SIP is more for younger viewers. Anyhow, Oh my Venus has a great plot and excellent actors/ eye candy I recommend people to must watch this!

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Oh my Venus was one of the first dramas I watched and it’s set a high bar. The acting from everyone was really really good and whenever they were going through hardships, you really felt the effect of that on everyone. The show was also really humorous and really light but was still able to touch on topics that are sometimes a little sensitive for people. The topics touched on perseverance, health, beauty and all that good stuff. Although it was a losing weight show, it also focused on heath and they mentioned to each other a couple of times that just remaining healthy was the best thing for both of them. The male lead was amazing and you just got that humbling, warm kinda vibe from him. The female lead was equally good because she was able to stand for herself and be really confident, and that was something that kinda lacks sometimes. She also knew her worth. The side story was very emphasised and focused on at times, which I didn’t mind but I know that other people can really not like this aspect of a show. The show also had great music and two of their songs are in my playlist. The actually camera work was really good too, everything was done really well and it was nice to watch. Overall it was really good and definitely recommend watching.

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Overall: enjoyed this a lot, will probably watch again

Liked:
The main romance. It felt natural and believable and funny and sweet. Both actors were adorable and excellent. So Ji Sub has this 'vulnerable' face he does that just... melted me. Shin Min Ah's dimples and 'determined' face were very appealing too. They didn't do the 'frozen kiss' thing, and had fairly realistic, nice love scenes; and they didn't do too much of the self-sacrificing thing, aside from his hospital trip, which was kind of weird but made at least some dramatic sense given that he'd always dealt with pain alone - and that wasn't dragged out for too long.
The buds. Loved the boys. Her best friend and the 'growing sprout' were nicely done too, and his relationship with his secretary/minder/whatever was quite touching.
The families - her mother was very cute, his father and grandma were believable (I didn't care much about the rest)
Her job. She had a good reason for becoming a lawyer and had worked hard and struggled for it, and was supporting vulnerable women.
Her 'health journey' - I found it believable and fairly inspirational (I ate a few cleaner lunches while watching it) and liked that it focused (mostly) on improving her health.
The make-up for both leads - she looked genuinely chubby and he looked genuinely as though he had been ill a lot.

Disliked:
Way too many flashbacks. So much use of the skip button. Worst thing about it.
The secondary romances. Ex-bf and ex-friend were really annoying and boring, and the girl who kept hitting on RFC Champ dude just felt like a stalker.
The music was overdone in a lot of scenes, but most especially with the flashbacks.
I have a personal beef with 'just eat it!' for foods that might make a person sick.

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It's Fine

Being a huge fan of both So Ji Sub and Shin Min Ah, I decided to give this drama a try. I personally am not a fan of makeovers or transformation dramas, because the emphasis is usually put on the exterior rather than understanding the underlying problems.

I did find that the main leads had good enough chemistry together and their personalities made their interactions entertaining. I appreciate that their relationship was not about a previous overweight woman winning over a man that rejected but rather two people getting to know each other and accepting their differences in personality and lifestyle. At points, the show might seem a bit superficial and perhaps insensitive toward the main female character, but I think the writers did an ok job portraying the struggles of trying to change and engaging in a healthy lifestyle, by showing slow progress, further highlighting the focus on health instead of instant results just for the sake of crazy beauty standards.

Other than that I don't think this drama had much else to offer. I didn't find the overall plot interesting and it seemed to lack direction. It tried to cover a bunch of different topics without actually delving deeper into any of them. It failed to develop and properly integrate the different issues it tried to cover and quickly fell into an abundance of fluffy and cliché romantic scenes that in my view don't really suit two grown adults. Overall I did find some episodes were well done, but I can't say I would rewatch this drama.

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I wasn't expecting much when I started this drama. In fact, I almost stopped watching because it did seem a little bit fatphobic in the first episode. I liked that they turned that a little and made it more about her health instead of only her weight as a superficial beauty standard. I liked that the male mc told her that she was more beautiful when she was healthier instead of saying when she was thinner. I also liked the secondary characters. They didn't feel as 2D as you see in another kdramas, specially her ex-friend, with the ex-boyfriend I still believe he is an ass, but the actress who played the ex-friend made me pity her and respect her even if she wasn't exactly my fav person.
I didn't like how they treated the physical abuse case, rehabilitation doesn't always work and sometimes you're exposing the victim again to more abuse. I wish the scene in which she advised that to the victim didn't exist. I also felt that that scene of them as children wasn't necessary, but I can't say I disliked it, it's just that I'm a little tired by now that it seems EVERY kdrama couple knew each other as children for some reason or another.
Howerall, I don't think this is the most complex or unique drama, but it's a good drama to watch with sad and deep momments that aren't exaggerated and diverse characters.

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Perfect RomCom

Story: A trainer in US who needed to stay low-key and encountered an unhealthy woman on the way back to Korea. The plot is pretty much easy to understand as it was well-paced with proper dialogues. Although I had minor issues with some of the events, I just can’t help but shrug it off because the drama was too entertaining and fluffy.

Acting: They all did great. Mostly convincing with light drama yet full of love, sincerity and optimism. Fire chemistry of Coach & Venus, and at the same time, they have great chemistry with Mr. Min, Mr. Muscles and Mr. Cutie.

Music: I love Henry Lau’s voice. The songs are very catchy and cute while the music for sad scenes was just right.

Rewatch Value: Definitely a 10. When I was bored at home, I wanted to watch something light and funny and stumbled upon this on the recommendation list. I told myself, if the first episode wasn’t good, I will skip this one(prior to this, I have watched Romance is a bonus book but unfortunately felt flat for me). Surprisingly I ended up watching the whole 8 episodes in one sitting, but I gotta sleep and work you know. If I need something fun and romantic, I will definitely rewatch this one.

Overall: I might have some questions with how they came up with some of the plot but after watching the whole drama, it made me feel giddy and at the same time, understanding of how some people choose to hide their pain. This series talked about health, pain, family, love, hope and hard work. There were too many quotable lines. The dialogues were simple yet direct while the message was precise with a lot of lessons. Whenever I think of this drama, I start correcting my posture and think about my health. It’s not about being thin, because the main actress they chose isn’t skinny at all. Being sexy and beautiful is about being healthy physically, mentally and emotionally. The personalities of the main leads weren’t perfect but they strive to be the best person they can be despite the sufferings or challenges in life. They were each other’s band-aids/lucky charms and at the same time respects each other’s personal time. Like how he understood leaving her alone in the rain, she also left him alone to cater his own pain. Sometimes we have /want to do things on our own. Some people may want to be a support for others, there are those who prefer to be alone. The growth of their relationship and knowing that sharing pain would hurt less, however, was only emphasized at the end. Although we didn’t see the process of them sharing pain, they understood what it meant and we still got the cutest ending. It felt a bit rushed, especially to the other characters but I was still okay with it because I never got bored with every episode. Overall, this was a well-directed romantic comedy and the best kdrama that I have watched this year.

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This drama was huge before and I did watch this because of the hype. Shin Min Ah and So Ji Sub as leads is a once in a lifetime occurrence so it was a must for me to watch the drama. With the genre of romantic-comedy, it was an okay and good drama. The incorporation of transformation is also a good plotline for me. The chemistry of the leads is also undeniable. One of the things that made this drama enjoyable as well is the bromance. I did feel that this is not one of the best dramas I have seen. It falls on the okay drama and I would recommend this especially to beginners.

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I want more of Henry Lau's cuteness and Shin Min Ah's dimples!

I think this drama would have worked better in a shorter format, maybe 12 episodes instead of 16? And we could have cut the whole thing with the exes (ex friend and ex boyfriend). They both had kinda sucky personalities and their story line wasn't very interesting at all.

However, overall this drama was very cute and between the leads' chemistry and the bromance, I enjoyed it a lot. Shin Min Ah's dimples are utterly adorable, and this show had a lot of bare chests and skinship! It's always a treat to see a main couple who looks comfortable together and all the hugs and little touches. Even if it's thoroughly innocent, it's always so nice to get those glimpses of physical closeness.

But the best part, for me, was Herny Lau. He completely stole every scene he was in. His sunny disposition and mishmash of Korean and English were so cute! The true MVP.

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I loved everything about this! A few weeks ago I was cruising through Viki and found this drama with great recommendations and reviews, so I started playing it and super happy I did. This drama makes you feel every emotion - you are sad and hurt one moment and then the next you are pumped, motivated, and happy! I honestly thought that this would easily be a 4/5 drama, but it went over and above. I loved the main character how regardless what was happening in her life, she knew that it is ok to be sad for a second and cry it out, but she also knew that eventually she would need to get out of that funk and work towards her happiness. Honestly, I would love to have an ounce of her positiveness and motivation. I loved her outlook in life, that no matter what happens, you can achieve anything. She had a catchphrase that she would always tell John Kim - If you are only baring it, you haven't reached your limit. That hit home for me and it is the perfect motivation booster. I loved the slow burning romance between the two mains especially when John Kim, the cool strong personal trainer guy that was a hardass with everyone, turns into this guy with this sweet middle school crush on our main girl. It was super sweet to see them interact and honestly their chemistry was through the roof. Not only was their (romance) chemistry through the roof, but I loved the chemistry overall between John Kim and his little friend group. You could tell how much love they all had for one another, especially through some VERY difficult times as you will see int he drama. I believe that one of my favorite things about dramas is not only loving the main characters, but also falling in love with the minor ones as well. I remember when I first started getting into dramas and how I fell in love with LoveO2O not only because of how much love Nai had for WeiWei, but also the love that Nai's roommates had for one another. I have yet to watch another drama where I have seen this much love and closeness between friends, until I watched this one. They had me giggling one moment and tearing up the next because of how much they support one another. But of course, like every drama, there were a few things I didn't enjoy, but try weren't enough for me to give this drama a lower score. I didn't like how John Kim had zero relationship with his step mother and half brother. Like yes, you are sad over your mother's death when you were a child, and you haven't seen your family for A WHILE, but they are family. Your stepmom just wants to be part of the family, and your half brother literally just wants to be a son and a brother. No reason for you to ignore them. Another thing I didn't like was how whenever John was at his absolute lowest points, he didn't want Kang Joo-Eun near him. I get it, he doesn't want her to see him hurting because he couldn't bare to see her cry, especially since he has been alone facing everything on his own his whole life. So I am not mad at him, but there was one scene in this drama that I wasn't super excited about and I don't know how I would have reacted if I was the main girl. The last thing I wasn't super pumped about was how we were kind of following multiple love stories, one of them involving Kang Joo-Eun's ex boyfriend of 15 years and Kang Joo-Eun's childhood friend who we believe in the beginning broke them up. I was happy they got their happily ever after, but I disliked how much the writers wanted us to care about their relationship. I'm still not sold on Kang Joo-Eun's ex boyfriend because I felt like even after he did so many things, he was forgiven automatically. He didn't do crazy things, but he helped some crazy people do them. Overall, loved this drama and I recommend this to anyone and everyone!! It's a great drama about friendship, family, romance, and finding what motivates you most in the world and using that to be the best person you can be! Honestly, it made me stop and think about myself and what I am working towards and how to get there.

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I honestly have absolutely no idea why anyone would rate this show anything lower to be honest. This show is a hidden gem that's a work of art with such a cliche story; minus the she was pretty in the beginning. Girl is a little overweight, get's heart broken and wants to lose weight to better herself, not for revenge which is a huge thing to me but also this is a show that has no love triangle which I adore with all my heart honestly. I absolutely LOVE Henry Lau as well, dude is wonderful and hilarious. But I loved how sweet the male lead is even though he's got so much going on and I liked the female lead; there was nothing wrong about her. Screw the annoying ex boyfriend and the annoying old best friend but other than that, great story, wonderful connection and chemistry, an awesome story all together. DANG, also, I absolutely love the OST. It's just good all around like come on, it's downloaded to the max. This show is just straight wonderful.

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