Pandiko
The show doesn't get interesting until the second episode. Once you get to the second episode, you get addicted to it, and can't stop laughing because the events happen one after another. There's a lot of watch-rewind-watch again moments. The first half of the drama is brilliant and for me is a perfect ten, which is hard for me to give because I'm so picky. The unexpectedness of how the show plays out and their reactions to one another make the show a thrill to watch. Sadly, however, like many dramas, it begins to slow down in the middle, around episode 11. It's not to the point of extreme boredom, and there are still some funny and cute parts, but not one after another like the beginning. That's why I gave the story a 7.
The acting and cast I'd give a 10. This is for the most part because of Ji Sung. Despite having watched this drama for Jae Joong's good looks, I quickly became a fan of Ji Sung's cute/funny/unexpected/diverse acting skills. You'd never believe he's 37. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anymore comedies with him. Why does he have to play serious roles? :( Anyways, though I did like the main girl, this is the first time I've ever preferred the second female lead over the first. It's not that I wanted her to get the guys, I just found her much more entertaining. Who knew a girl could be pretty and funny? I want to watch Bachelor's Vegetable Store now after watching this. Jae Joong wasn't a bad actor in my opinion, just not as entertaining. I found their parents very entertaining to my surprise. I love how they all seem so childish, but have normal emotions too like real people, not the typical romcom rich parents.
The music wasn't bad but at the same time, it wasn't outstanding for me. Jae Joong sings the main OST though, so if you're his fan, you'll probably really like it.
I gave this a rewatch value of 6 because I'd rewatch the beginning but not the whole thing.
Overall, I'd give this show an 8, because, while, the beginning was a perfect 10 for me, it slowed down near the middle, which is a significantly large portion of a show for me, and because it didn't have that wow moment for me. I'd recommend this show to anymore who wants to watch something that's truly funny and surprising, but doesn't really need something deeper.
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The story doesn't seem interesting from the description, but as you watch, you'll find yourself going down through memory lane with them. You don't have to be a fan of H.O.T. or even know them to understand the story. The things they do seem universal, so anyone can relate. The actors are very convincing. You'll often find yourself laughing, worrying, crying, and sympathizing with them. The writers and actors, surprisingly had my heart clench from episode one where I didn't even know the characters. There's no fillers or slowing down to worry about since the story seems to have the same pace throughout the drama. Also, the side romance is very cute and not annoying. To be honest, seeing Eun Ji Won act actually is part of what I was looking forward to in this drama. 1.) He's entertaining on variety shows. 2.) He was part of Sechs Kies and the main girl was a fan of H.O.T.- who used to compete with Sechs Kies. 3.) He was on the show Secret, where they revealed his poor acting skills and he apologized because he said he really wanted to act but never got a chance to get acting lessons. High five, Eun Ji Won! I think his acting was believable in this. I have to admit though that it was weird that he was a closet pervert. I should add a little bit of a warning that some of the humor seems a little crude for my taste compared to the cutesy clean humor that most Korean romcoms have. Don't get me wrong, they don't show anything bad, it was just somewhat shocking compared to the other shows. The show manages to keep the warm nostalgic feeling however. Jung Eun Ji, is also a refreshing aspect of this drama. Sure there's strong females actresses out there like Yoon Eun Hye and Ha Ji Won who you love because they aren't annoyingly cutesy, but Jung Eun Ji seems to take it to a whole new level. I usually love actors based on their crying ability, but she didn't even cry in this drama and I liked her. Her character - down to her voice, was more cool than cutesy; it was very different from what I normally see. Lastly, I am a new fan of Seo In Guk. He is a very good actor. I hate when guys seem to not show interest in the main girl in what is supposed to be a romance, such as the main character in Goong. Though I still like Gong Yoo in Coffee Prince the best for his crying abilities (man that guy can cry), Seo In Guk, was the first male lead I've seen that really shows how much he's in love with the main character. Just the way he stares at her gives me goosebumps and makes me sympathize with him and want to cry at the same time. O___O (He don't stare at her in a creepy way, f.y.i.)
Anyways, the music wasn't anything new to me since I've heard many of these songs over and over. Since they're popular songs I gave it a 6. Note, there is a weird country tune they play for awkward moments, which I though was weird since country seems more American to me.
I don't really rewatch dramas so I'd give this a 5 for rewatch value.
Overall I gave the drama an 7.5 because while I was moved by it, and did the whole traveling down memory lane with it, my personal preference is more of the funny/suspenseful/addicting dramas. I do admit, it had the touching moments I was looking for, however, it just never gave me that wow moment. I think that's more of the feel they were going for though, so it might just be a matter of taste. I'd recommend this drama to anyone who wants to watch a not-so-typical drama that's realistic and refreshing, and one that you can watch at your own pace.
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That being said, I don't think that it was the actors who were the problem. Yoon Eun Hye is my favorite actress, she's cute, isn't annoying, and can cry well. Although I wasn't a big fan of Kang Ji Hwan (I'm not sure if it was his voice or age, but I didn't find him too attractive), he cried on cue too and was very believable in his actions. Sung Joon was cute in the beginning when he had a good script, but kind of became annoying from the script change. He really had no purpose afterwards, and neither did the whole side girl thing or any of the story in the first half with the contract and everything. I felt like the new writers just tossed the old plot away and started a new uninteresting story altogether. Sorry, back to the acting (I can't seem to get over the script change). The friend was a good actress. I loved how believable her jealousy was with the chin quiver and everything. The aunt was pretty (just thought I'd throw that in there - it's hard for women to age that beautifully >___>). To sum it up, the acting was a 9 for me because I think they did very well to try to make such a cruddy script as entertaining as it could be with their actions.
Though some people say that the music was childish, I thought that the ending song in the first half was actually catchy. It was edgy and fit the whole "try to make your friend jealous/ in your face" concept. I also liked one of the slower songs at the end (This is Really Goodbye - M to M). While I do agree that some of the background music just faded into the background and seemed unnoticeable, I felt that the people in charge of the music for this show did a good job matching the music to the mood.
Obviously since this show went downhill, the re-watch value for this is a 1 for me. Overall I'd give it a 6 since my favorite actress is in it and the beginning was entertaining. I wouldn't recommend this to people even though it had a good beginning because it'll just lead to disappointment in the end since the story isn't really finished, but rather, they give you a new and bland love story.
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I want to start with the story first. Maybe I should start with a warning though. If you plan to watch this show, make sure you have a lot of time. It's not one of those shows where you can only watch one episode a week, or day for that matter. I was stupid and started watching it at 10 pm after not getting sleep the night before. It's so addicting though that I stayed up until around 5 p.m. the next day watching. Thankfully, there's a little bit around the 9th episode that's slow enough for you to stop watching and finally get some sleep. (Also, if you're trying to calculate the time and wonder why I took that long to watch the episodes, it won't add up. I like to rewind the good parts and re-watch them. This show had a lot of re-wind moments.)
Okay, so now to get to the story. While the plot is somewhat hard to believe, that a man wants his wealthy son to marry a poor girl so desperately that he'll do anything to get them together, the way that the story was told was beyond entertaining. It's not just cute, you actually laugh out loud, then rewind because you can't believe what just happened, then rewind one more time just to laugh again (but hug a pillow this time to try to suppress the laughter so people won't think you're crazy). The introduction of the characters to one another is very charming. The two main leads meet each other in a way that seems unlike how you'd want to meet your ideal man, yet somehow they make it work through an oddly interesting way. The characters are realistic in that they don't fall head over heels for each other immediately and they react like normal people, sometimes so bluntly that you wonder how they're gonna get together, yet you're still cheering for them. They're very laid back, yet have the most suspenseful moments. The two male leads have the best rivalry I've seen so far. They're so comedic together! I hate when a show favors one male character over the other to the point where it's obvious who the girl will end up with and unsuspenseful, or the rival gives up too easily that there's no competition. Well, it might be somewhat obvious who she'll end up with, but there's a lot of moments that make you wonder, and the opponent is charmingly pitiful? There's definitely suspense. There's a little bit of a point in the middle (I think episode 9), where the story gets too mushy for me. I can honestly say though, out of all the shows I've finished so far, this has the least boring/filler parts which all add up to less than half an episode. That's the part I hate the most in a lot of shows. Even at the end of the show after two of them get together, during the little bit left that usually gets boring because people are just matched up together, etc... (which also was not the case for this show), they managed to make entertaining. I think I can even say those were some of my favorite parts. You may be wondering why I only gave it a 9 then, if it's all that great. I'm a very picky person. I haven't seen a story that deserves a 10 yet. I felt that the story wasn't too deep (maybe my opinion is somewhat skewed since I just watched Goong, which had a very deep story). The opponent however seemed to have a sad story in this show - he'll probably get a lot of girls afterwards. >____> Just saying... Anyways, the plot by itself deserved about a 6 at most; the way the story was told, however, with all it's twists, turns, charm, and oh-so-irresistible cliffhangers boosted it to a 9.
The cast I gave a 9, because the actors fit their roles very well. Jang Geun Suk plays the role of a charming, down-to-earth, laid back, character with few cares very well. It's hard to explain, because he wasn't pretty to me at first, (I hate long hair on guys), but he has some sort of likeability factor that I can't put my finger on, but it has something to do with his actions I think. His actions are some mixture of cute, funny, and cool? - something that's hard to get. I can see why he's so popular after this show. Heck, I even added him to my favorite actors list. Moon Geun Young's cute voice and face make her seem sincerely innocent even when her character's actions don't seem to match. She's one of the non-annoying female leads that even girls find cute. Kim Jae Wook was really believable as a rich and elegant man, from his actions to his posture. I had to take a second look since he was so different from his minor character in Coffee Prince. I think that for this show, I'd give him the best actor award from the cast. During his lowest point, I really pitied him since he seemed so genuinely down that I was afraid for him. His character was very 3-dimensional. Kim Hyo Jin was not the annoying opponent that many lead characters have to face. In fact, I think she had the least annoying character of the female antagonists I've seen. Upon first meeting her character, she seemed so cool that her character seemed like someone you want to be, not go against. She lost a little bit of her strength in the middle, but regains it later. I like her fearlessness, style, and coolness (for lack of a better term). I only put a 9 down for the acting and cast, because, despite being funny, cute, cool, and overall, likeable, they lack an important thing for me (with the exception of Kim Jae Wook's character). I'm not sure if it's the story or the actors, but I was never brought to tears by this show. There wasn't a heart-clenching moment where I felt like they would die for each other. I know not everyone will need this, but that's one of the moments I look forward to in dramas, if not, "the" moment. I have had many, many laughs and cute moments from this show that I have rewound over and over again, but sadly, my tissue box has gone unused and weeps without me. :(
Edit: That's why I lowered the overall score to an 8. I really need one of those moments for the story to be complete.
*Edit: There is a moment in the beginning that I almost cried for the girl, but it's not from romance so it doesn't count in a romantic drama. >:(
The music was a 9 for me. I think it's hard to compete with Secret Garden's OST (my favorite OST), but this track did have many catchy songs. I'm not sure if it's from hearing the songs a lot or if it's because of the placement of the songs that I like them and have started singing along to them, but something has made me like them, because I didn't when I originally heard them. Take the song "My Precious". At first, when I heard it I was startled by a bunch of mixed feelings - not good ones either. I felt a little odd since part of it sounds like the song from Willy Wonka, a little embarrassment from being Asian myself, and hearing the accent during the English words, and to be honest, a little fear from Smeagol's famous words "my precious". Towards the end of the drama, however, I found myself singing along while getting ready for the next episode to load! :D
I hate re-watching shows, like I always state. I gave this show a 9 though because it's suspenseful and so incredibly funny from start to the very last minutes of the finish. (The one point was docked off simply because I do not like rewatching shows since that in itself will take out some of the suspense of a show).
I would definitely recommend this show to people despite it not having a heart-clenching sad moment because it's one of my most highly rated show so far, all the characters are likeable (even the dad, I forgot to put him in there), there's no side stories whatsoever, it's suspenseful, and not just cute-funny but real-funny. This is definitely a must watch.
Edit: I rewatched the first episode of this drama and forgot about the intro. It's a weird intro, don't mind the short weird intro in the beginning, the drama is nothing like that.
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The only criticisms I have, and I'm not sure if this is what happens in all of Eun Yun Hye's dramas or not, is that her character randomly seemed to lose interest in the guy during the last episode to the point that I couldn't tell whether they'd end up together or not. However, it wasn't as bad as in Coffee Prince where it seemed like she just used the guy and changed her personality 180 degrees. In addition, for a couple episodes, they started using the cheap trick of using misunderstandings for the basis of problems. This is just nit-picking though. Like I said, the story is a 10, if not more.
The cover of Goong where they're holding up wine glasses doesn't justify the characters. To be honest, that's one of the reasons I didn't want to watch this show at first. Who wants to watch a love story with ugly people? It's a shallow thing to say, but it's hard to believe that the girl is head-over-heels for a guy at first sight if their personality and looks are both lacking. I watched this show because I became a fan of Eun Yoon Hye after watching her on XMan and in Coffee Prince. She's one of the actresses that doesn't seem to get on your nerves in my opinion. I do have to say though that I thought her character was cuter in Coffee Prince. I did like how her character was more honest in this show, but some of the crying seemed like unnecessary pouting at times. She's still my favorite actress, however. Qualities I look for in lead roles are likeability and believability in crying, both of which she has. I also watched for Ji-Hyo after watching her in Running Man. I love how she's not whiny and goo-goo eyed over every guy she sees like other female stars on Running Man. She's cute and comedic. In Goong, I had doubts after seeing her character to begin with - about whether I liked the character or not. In the end, I wanted a little more from her but I did come to respect her character as well. I didn't find the two main guys attractive at first. In fact, I almost wanted to stop watching because of them. They didn't have the instant charm like Gong Yoo had with his wrinkle/dimples in Coffee Prince. They have more subtle qualities like Yul's voice which becomes comforting as time passes. Shin had very nice side and 3/4 views and Yul sometimes looked like Donghae from Super Junior. They weren't bad actors, and I saw each of them cry well at least once, but the guys seemed lacking in their emotional expressions in comparison to the girls. One time, Yul was even crying without tears, and it was a full-on cry, not just a sad/depressed type of soft cry. He does have significantly good moments though, and I do see why they were cast for their roles since Shin doesn't show much emotion and Yul is the caring type. As for the side characters, they were all chosen very well. I think only the sister seemed to not fit in - she was too happy to fit in with the mood. Yul's mother was an AMAZING actress; she's not the main character, and she didn't even have a good character, but I think she was actually the best actress in this show, which is very hard for a side character. She stole the show and the show would not be the same without her, which is a lot for me to say since I hate side characters, ESPECIALLY the parents in the majority of what I watch. They usually give annoying side characters but all of these characters, even Chae-Kyung's parents (who I found too weird in Boys Over Flowers and Playful Kiss), were heartwarming and believable. The friends (including servants) were not the annoying friends that you often see. They had their funny moments too.
The drama had a good OST; I'd say a 7. One of the songs (Perhaps Love - Howl and J) was comparable to the OST from Secret Garden in how much I liked it. The placement of the music was only okay in my opinion though.
I gave this show a re-watch value of 3. I say this in all my reviews, I don't like re-watching shows unless they're funny. Don't get me wrong, I loved this show and am adding it to my favorites list, but just like how Gladiator and Titanic were great, there's not much re-watch value to them since you know what's gonna happen.
Overall, I'd rate this at only an 8 because I'm greedy and wanted a better ending in the last episode (just for reference, there are few stories that meet my expectations for good endings). Though I do like that they didn't just couple everyone off like they always do for a happy ending, but were still mindful of side-characters throughout the story. I also liked the ending of the other guy a lot, and found it touching and very fitting with his character. I didn't think this was as funny as dramas like Secret Garden (maybe because I've been watching Running Man with all the comedians), but I'd recommend this drama for anyone who wants a deep, thoroughly thought out story with no unrelated side stories, and words that will make your heart beat so hard that you have to hug a pillow while watching to keep it in.
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At first, Seul's acting wasn't too great but it gets better to the point where you sympathize and relate to her even though she's the antagonist. The friend, who by the way is played by Yoo In Na (from You Who Came from the Stars) and Secretary Kim are very funny. You want to see these side characters. Mr. creepy stare (you'll know who I'm talking about once you watch it) seemed like a bad actor at first, but now that I see how comedic the entire show was, I think he was doing to to fit in. Hyun Bin is a great singer (that OST was stuck in my head for DAYS) and funny actor, but can't cry. I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone. Also, he's handsome, but not when he smiles. He smiles when he cries by the way, which makes the crying seem comedic at times when it shouldn't be. (I'm still a big fan though, I love when he becomes a girl and screams). He's very endearing.
The only problem I had with the body switching thing is that they didn't try to imitate each others' characters. Hyun bin tried to be really feminine when he was pretending to be Ra Im, but Ra Im was masculine in the beginning of the show and before the switch. Likewise, Ji Won tried to be overly masculine in how she walked and sat when she pretended to be Joo Won, but he carried himself in what seemed to be a more sophisticated type of sitting and walking. He would never do something like checking out girls as a guy, so the switch was sort of unbelievable in that sense. It was also unbelievable that the main girl was poor. Her hair and clothes looked more expensive than his more than half the time. I guess I'm just nit-picking. The show was funny and the romance was cute. I only hated seeing one character which wasn't even shown that often. The romantic climax was moving, but not to the point of tears. I think they could have done more with it. Parts of it did seem like cop outs, where things got solved without any particular reason.
Overall I liked the show and would recommend it for someone who's looking for something funny and romantic in a cute sense. It's not a drama that's heart wrenching, but very fun to watch. The last few episodes were dragged out though. The music was amazing. I love the OST, especially the Hyun Bin version. I don't re-watch shows usually, but I'd watch this because it's funny.
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This review may contain spoilers
I gave the story a 6 because I do enjoy gender benders; this score is solely based on this plot of the story. To begin with, gender benders, aren't a new concept, neither are romances though. The way this story was carried out however, makes the gender bender aspect give meaning to this romance. The way they deal with it is the thing that sets this drama apart from the rest. I started watching this drama because I enjoyed watching Yoon Eun Hye from the variety show XMan (not Xmen). As expected, she was just as cute in this show. Some of the reviews state that she couldn't pass for a a boy. I, however, found her to be as believable as I think a girl could be while trying to pass for a boy. I actually could see how someone could mistake her for a boy. I liked that she didn't overact with overly masculine cheesy poses or by trying to deepen her voice, but used subtle movements instead. Although she did pass for a boy, I have to admit she looked like a young boy, which kind of made the romance brotherly, for lack of a better term - don't get me wrong, they're very cute together, they have plenty of "aww xD" moments, and I watched the entire show just for them.
Early on in the show, the chemistry between the two was apparent. I tried not to like the main guy (I'm not sure if it's obvious or would be a spoiler to name names so I'm just leaving it anonymous) because of what his character is like in the first episode, but he has a smile that is very difficult to not fall for - the guy has looks, you wouldn't be able to tell that from the pic they post of him on here, but he is GOOD LOOKING. I stopped watching for a little bit after the first 3 or 4 episodes because, while they do have a cute chemistry, it starts off pretty slowly and they add too much of the side romance of characters who seem grossly unappealing to me. One of those couples changes my view of them later and turns cute.
When I began to re-watch the show it began to pick up speed (you can tell by how often you think you see the Hulu commercials). There were still the parts with the side couples that I hated though. I really wanted to see the main couple; I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Anyways, the actors weren't bad actors; in fact, they were all believable. The best actor was the lead guy. His tears were my favorite moment in the show and what made the difference between giving this show a 1 and a 10. As you can see, I gave it a 7 overall because of his acting that made it so believable that he loved the main character so much. Even the sister was an amazing actor who turned what could be an annoying character into a clever and entertaining one. Also, in dramas, I hate when they pretend to be poor but their clothes and hair, etc... don't match. This drama was very believable from that point of view, right down to the make-up. The only negative thing I can comment on is YEH when she cries. She's cute and believable in everything but this aspect.
The show had one of the best, if not the best, romantic moments I've seen. I mean the dude really loved her to the point of tears. I would have given the show a ten if it ended there. The show started off slowly though, half the show was about another romance, and the show dragged on for half the season, that's why I dropped the score to a 7. In addition, the writers start to make you hate YEH by changing her character completely from its adorable innocence to a gold digging, selfish person. I don't think they meant to make her and anti-hero though. I could have dropped the score more but that one moment was too great to deserve any less and the reason I continued to watch for 7 more episodes.
I don't like re-watching shows, but I recommend watching this if you have the patience to watch through the side love stories, the first 4 or 5 episodes and the last half of the show. That seems like a lot now that I read it, but I didn't regret watching it. I think you can get by watching the first... I think 10 episodes, just till that moment without having to watch the rest. It actually brought me to tears. I liked that it was a new way of looking at these gender benders.
The music didn't really stick in my head. I can see what they were going for and it was fitting I guess. It just didn't stick in my head for days like the Secret Garden OST.
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