FreeWhirpool
Earth
-Great acting? Check.
-Great story? Check.
-Great writing? Check.
- Humour? Check.
-Craziness (it's in my criteria, ok?) ? Check.
-Brutal honestly? Check.
-Unexpected ending? CHECK.
So this drama had it all. So why no 10, you ask? Because that ending was VERY unexpected. A little too real for sentimental, silly me. I mean, I rightly should give it a 10, but after the emotional shitstorm I faced inside me after I finished it, I'm reducing 1 point just because I can.
This movie starts off very light and stereotypically. Pretty, nerdy girl and Slacker boy fall in love after Nerdy Girl decides to tutor Slacker Boy. They start going out and have a long distance relationship. Their relationship survives due to the power of their love and they live happily ever after. Well, that was what WOULD have happened if it went the regular route. Instead, this movie decided to show the other side- the more REAL side.
We see that love is not enough to save a relationship, that two people can love each other to death and yet not be able to stay together. We see that you can have all the dreams and fantasies in the world, but only a lucky few will actually see them come true. We see that every single action, whether it's a small "sorry" or a loud "I miss you", can greatly affect the future.
As the characters grow in age, the movie gets more and more complex. It stops being all flowery and hopeful and brings in a darker and much more honest scenario of a high school relationship. I have to say, Michelle Chen is an INCREDIBLE actress; her presence stole every scene from every character. Her expressions, her mannerisms, her acting overall was marvellous. She made her character into a real person, which is extremely hard to do.
I recommend this drama, but with precautions- if you are a huge fan of happy endings, this might not be it, unless you're willing to try something different. The ending is very well crafted and if you pay attention, you'll notice some parallel endings to some of the events that made a huge impact on the relationship of the leads. These parallel endings lead to a completely different outcome of the relationship.
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The two main characters were pretty likeable and had good chemistry, so the romance didn't flop. The plot was a bit of nothing, more go-with-the-flow than stick-to-the-script, but then again, it was still pretty entertaining.
Overall, I think it's great way to waste your time, because it really doesn't take much to finish an episode. Really, each is just like, 20 minutes anyway. There are definitely worse, less entertaining, things to watch.
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I've watched the Korean and Japanese versions (both seasons) completely, attempted to watch the Thai and first Taiwanese version (gave up because of the lack of HD videos) and was extremely dissatisfied with the ending EVERY SINGLE TIME. After watching this, I realise that I should've just skipped it and not wasted my time.
After every version of the show, I always got this very, very strong feeling that the main girl (Ha Ni/ Kotoko/Yue Qin/whatever) ended up with the wrong guy. Anybody who has spent even an iota of their time watching the trailers and clips know what I'm talking about. I mean, WHY would you wait years and years for a guy who doesn't even bother to look your way? Even the most dedicated of girls would shrug and give up after a year of non response.
Yes, the second male lead (in this case, Ah Jin) gets very annoying sometimes, but he's so, well, awesome the rest of the time. He's always there when she needs him, talented and cute, and most importantly, actually gives a crap about her.
The casting was probably the worst I've seen in any adaptation (yes, even worse than the Japanese one). Lee Dino is cute, but NOT in a cold genius sort of way. Most of the time, he just came off as indifferent and uncaring, not cold and mean. Dino's acting range is pretty limited, but he was WAY out of depth here.
The female lead was irritating, more so than ANY of the other versions. I don't even know how that's possible- do they have an award for that? They should. On the plus side, she has one of the best crying faces I've seen; her face gets all red and splotchy, which is much more realistic than the delicate crying most actresses employ.
Overall: Skip, skip, skip. If you can handle the non-HD quality of the first Taiwanese adaption, watch that instead. The Korean one isn't that bad, but beware of the bad acting. The Japanese one is annoying (with, yes, bad acting) but 2 seasons, so a longer story. In short, ANYTHING is better than this.
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But it's the characters that made and wrapped the drama in shiny gold packaging for me. I know there are many people saying that the actress playing Ro Woon is extremely irritating, but somehow, I never thought that. Every action of hers fit her personality (nosy, loud, argumentative etc.) perfectly, so I could hardly fault either the actress or the character.
Which brings me to the acting. I thought most of the acting by the main and supporting cast were pretty solid. They did full justice to their characters (though I wish some of them got more screen time, but oh well). The leads were great and their chemistry was PERFECT. It's been a long time since I've seen the main couple so well casted, but they really did make an excellent pair. Their opposing personalities were surprisingly well matched and Eun Hwan Gi as a character was absolutely adorable. He was the main highlight of the show, to be honest. The couple and Hwan Gi were MAJOR points in favour of the drama, almost fully overshadowing the negatives.
The negatives were minor for me, since I could so easily look past them, but a main one would definitely be how much the beginning was stretched. There were a few unnecessary scenes which, I felt, could have been edited out for clarity. Hence, I agree that the first 5 episodes were pretty boring, which was why some people (including ones I know) dropped the drama early on.
But I highly recommend you push on, like I did. It gets MUCH better, the pace stabilises and the whole drama gets more interesting.
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Why you should watch this?
It's a great stress reliever and good way to spend your time while you wait for the next episode of another drama. If you want a light drama to lift some weight off your chest after a heavier one, this is absolutely it. The drama itself is only 9 episodes and pretty well paced out, so don't ever get the feeling that it's going too fast or too complicated. The length is great, too- not too long, just enough for the material in the episode. The friendship theme is adorable (as always) and makes you go 'awww' many times.
I like Takei Emi, so watching her character not much of a problem, except when she was pretty mean to her well-meaning grandfather (who rocked!) sometimes. In my strict Asian household, that wouldn't fly for a minute. The acting of the boys were pretty meh, as most of them were supporting characters anyway. I've watched Kaku Kento before, and his character was pretty awesome, so no problems there.
Why shouldn't you watch this?
MASSIVE second male lead syndrome. Like, REALLY massive. Most of the time, I didn't understand why she would go for the First Male Lead over the Second Male Lead, when he was clearly there for her more than the other guy. At one point, I even contemplated stopping the drama because it kept getting worse and worse as the show went on. Thankfully, the romance bit is very light and infrequent compared to the other themes.
Overall: Though my individual ratings are pretty average, my overall impression is largely positive. A good drama to get out of your slump- but just dont expect anything more than that.
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