For those with patience and a little knowledge of the era it's set in, this drama is a gem that is sorely underrated. It's episode format is a little different from most dramas; they aired 30 min episodes 5 days a week for about 6 months. This format let the characters slowly age and grow in a more organic way. This compelling slice-of-life storyline isn't for everyone, especially those that need a shocking revelation every episode to keep their attention. That's not to say that there isn't excitement though, Heo Jun's life was packed full of danger, compassion, intrigue, war, and dedication. The fact that these are actual events just makes it all the more compelling. I found myself eagerly checking for new episodes almost every day.

I am notoriously hard to please when it comes to rating dramas, especially historical dramas, but this one is one of my favorites. I gave it a 9, which is high praise that only a few other dramas have gotten from me.

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If you're a fan of the manga this drama will frustrate you. Kuichi and Rei are smashed together into one character. Considering those two characters are polar opposites it makes the male lead unbalanced and unlikable. And since they needed to round out the number of people they created a completely new character. The ending with El Liston is also very different. I'm usually very forgiving when it comes to changes between the original and the drama/movie, but this time they just didn't make sense.

That being said Keito and Momoji are very well portrayed. The first few volumes of the manga are almost unchanged in the drama.

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While entertaining, this show has almost every drama cliche in the book. If you're a fan of classic films you will recognize a lot of the plot lines. The beginning is like "Random Harvest", the end is like "An Affair to Remember", with a large dose of extra melodrama in the middle. I found it predictable, but that doesn't mean it wasn't also entertaining.

The acting was very well done. Lee Bo Young and Ji Sung have great on-screen chemistry together, especially in the first part. Even though a lot of the scenes were things you saw coming or cliches you've seen before, they were done with such heartfelt emotion that you don't really care.

It definitely has it's flaws, bit I had emotional investment to watch to the very end. Though that being said I doubt I'd sit through the whole thing again. Maybe if they did one of those condensed mini versions like they did on Love Rain? (Which I personally think didn't need any shortening.)

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