greenteaberry
Comparison with Chinese original "Go Princess Go"
Since I watched both the Chinese original "Go Princess Go" and this Korean remake, let me comment on some similarities and differences, and why you should watch both :)1. Completely different storylines
Other than the "modern playboy's soul enters ancient queen's body" setting, everything else is redone. The Chinese drama was in the early webdrama days and featured an imaginary ancient time, while the Korean actually corresponds to one of the real kings in history. The Koreans took this short-lived king and remade him into a different (more interesting) character in the drama, and based a lot of clan feuds / political conflicts around this time period. This is very different from the Chinese drama, which had much less politics and much more just pure slapstick comedy.
So if you're into period dramas, this one will give you everything you need -- history, politics, as well as a very gripping fight for what is right.
2. AMAZING costuming and set
The Chinese drama was made in the early webdrama days with obscenely low budget, so they took the low budget and made it into one of their jokes. They had one electric fan to do all special effects with, they didn't have money for realistic costumes so they remade a lot of modern dresses, and the set was just ???
(That is not to say the Chinese drama is poorly made -- as I said, they took the low budget and they ran with it; and they made SUCH A FUNNY DRAMA from it that the historical inaccuracies can be ignored)
This Korean one, on the other hand, is made with a standard drama budget, so they really made the whole scenery so much more exquisite. Standard period drama costuming and accessories, and standard period drama sets... etc. Pretty clothes, pretty backgrounds -- what's not to like?
3. The comedy is just as existent!
You'd think that with the politics and the real costumes, that the Korean drama would be much more serious and boring. Not true. Thanks to the scriptwriters' cleverness and the actors' amazing acting/adlibbing, we got just as funny of a story (if not more so). From the wild (history-friendly) re-explanations of common modern words in the "Queen's Dictionary" to the facial expressions and physical comedy, Mr. Queen will have you laughing on the floor and screenshotting all those ramyun references :0)
Basically you can treat Mr. Queen and Go Princess Go as two completely separate works. Both have their perks and charming points. Both are entertaining to watch. One requires a little bit more brain power than the other because of its extra enriched storyline (Mr. Queen), but the complexity is also what made this drama do as well as it did.
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The chemistry between the leads is really there though and the story didn't get unnecessarily draggy at different parts
Like some side characters make me angry but they don't cause 5-episode-long misunderstandings if that makes sense?
so I would highly recommend anyone who is looking to consume some high-sugar drama XD
The two side couples' stories weren't as interested in my opinion but, you know, the main couple is enough to keep you watching.
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Just a cute, fluffy romance with *a lot of skinship*
If you want a short show with a lot of fluff (and a lot of moments that will make your heart skip a beat)then this is your show
Nothing fancy, no crazy-good acting or whatever
just... cute fluff.
There's also not really an "end" to this per se
more slice-of-life-ish with each episode being like one small arc.
The leads are a married couple so yes you will get the bed scenes with the package too.
So I would rate this a bit on the mature side, but if you're in for some "married first fall in love later" romance, go for this.
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Earlier episodes 8.5/10, finale 0/10
The story had so much promise. Great cast, great chemistry, interesting plot points:1) Who is DoDoSolSolLaLaSol?
2) fated romance of Rara and Jun
3) growing friendships in Eunpo
4) relationship lines of the secondary couples
But then suddenly at episode 14, the writers decided that things were looking too prematurely good for the leads that they had to go through one of those stupid draggy kdrama tropes: a lead character gets an incurable disease and the characters don't communicate, a lead character suddenly gets into a car crash and loses their memory, an ex-girlfriend appears and makes the female lead jealous and the leads don't communicate... you know, ONE OF THOSE.
And the way the writers attempted to resolve this conflict was even worse. Details in episode 16, I've marked this review spoilerless so ask in the comments if you are really desperate.
Long story short, it was such a wasted potential because that big fate reveal was so touching and the main romance line was totally shippable
until the writers decided to just play with our feelings and execute the most unrealistic finale just so they could tell the audience they gave us a "happy end."
I'm screaming. I had so much hope for Lee Jae-wook's big first male lead role, and for the amazing cast of support characters like the doctor and Rara's landlady. Never watched Go Ara's works before but she played this clueless happy-go-lucky girl pretty well. And the mysteries surrounding the leads' past and the identity of the titular character were nicely done. But then... sigh.
Verdict? If you're okay with leaving things open-ended, watch until the airport scene in episode 15.
If you're the viewer that needs closure, forget this drama existed and watch something else (Search:WWW is an amazing rom com where Lee Jae-wook gets a hilarious and cute love line). Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol's Episode 16 will have you screaming in anger.
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Really sweet fluff!!!
If you want some relatively-short, happy romance fluff, this is for you!It's actually quite rare to see a male-chase-female rom com nowadays without evil/scheming secondary leads, but here is one to satisfy your sugar craving.
Also, if you're into smart leads (with very clever romantic dialogue), you'll enjoy this show.
Yes, people do fight, but they are resolved relatively early and maturely; so get your chocolate ready for a big binge journey that will help you forget the Gu Wei Yi in Put Your Head on my Shoulder LOL
Extra points to the poetic nature of the lines and the cultural references -- I honestly had to look up some of the more sophisticated things they said, but I think the whole "well-educated main characters with great literature background" setting really makes this drama unique -- as in only the Chinese can produce something like this without seeming cringey.
The last few episodes do transition a bit weirdly though -- at one point I thought I was watching Code Blue instead of a rom com, but I guess it was a plot device to help the main characters reaffirm their love for each other so I'll take it.
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Both leads are seasoned actors already but this puts them under a different light -- Seo Jihye, who is almost always "the rich and proper/cold second female lead," plays a completely different personality in this drama; and Song Seung-heon, whom I honestly only remember vaguely from Autumn In My Heart, also gets to show off his comedic side with this drama. Both the chemistry and the comedic timing are impeccable, and the show has me laughing really hard every week. The two second leads are also well-chosen for the role, even though it's my first time watching either of them act!
And omg the older couple (you'll know who I mean) -- comedic value A+
There aren't a lot of songs in the OST, but the few songs truly convey the vibe of the scenes they're associated with, and I would put the songs on repeat! Would also rewatch the particularly funny scenes -- omg those CLOY references are A+!
I would say this is a great show in the rom com genre, and is a must-watch if you liked Seo Jihye in Crash Landing On You!
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This review may contain spoilers
If you're sick of the typical tropes in Taiwanese romance novels or in Taiwanese/Korean/Japanese romance dramas, then this one is for you.Kind of like Extraordinary You and W: Two Worlds in that main characters travel between a fictional literary world and a "real world," but more focused on the love line and hilarious references to other works in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.
The leads are all eye candy and the dialogue is friggin' hilarious. If you have been watching Korean drama in recent years you would understand some of the references a little more -- they paid homage to Crash Landing On You, Secret Garden, Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, and more. The way the main characters describe drama tropes is A+ and if you regularly consume rom coms you'd understand -- "oh, shower scene again?!" "how do people kiss in the morning? did they even brush their teeth?"
Unfortunately, while the story spends so much effort making fun of tropes, it later on becomes tropey in itself and thus slightly hypocritical, with a nasty second female lead and unexplained attraction between male and female leads. It's almost as if the leads are in love because "the writer wants them to be," so that was disappointing :( (especially since the female lead is a regular consumer of romance novels and would understand the power of warm second male leads! Why she falls in love with the first male lead is ???? to me, though I see why it's necessary for plot development LOL.
I would also appreciate it more if Qing Feng could make a greater comeback in later episodes -- as the real world writer, for example.
Still would recommend for the comedy factor, and if you like to ship leads -- the second male lead here is superb. I love his character so much and the script didn't do him enough justice :(
The rewatch value goes to the many joke scenes, like the certain kdrama remakes :0)
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Cute, happy fluff
Highly recommended if you're looking for some light romance that will make you feel happy and fluffy after watching. What I love about this drama is we start seeing the happy fluff from pretty much the very beginning, and there's no draggy plotline or crazy second male/female lead who's here to ruin it for everyone.Not to say there aren't misunderstandings or bad bad villains somewhere, but those problems tend to get resolved quickly and in a satisfactory way, and only serve to improve the characters' relationships.
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Like UNNATURAL, MIU404 takes a social commentary approach to the traditional police procedural / crime dramas. The first few episodes are seemingly disconnected in storyline (ie. each episode has its own crime to solve), but as the story goes on you'll see how the bigger picture connects. There's more at stake than what meets the eye. And the plot and acting all play critical roles in conveying that to the audience.
I particularly enjoyed the lines said by the MIU captain. I think the scriptwriter really made good use of the character to bring out her worldview and her morals/ethics. The amazing storyline aside, MIU404 is essentially Nogi Akiko's letter of complaint about the current police hierarchy, how the Japanese society treats juvenile crimes, as well as the problems with fake news and internet trolling... and I love it.
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Beautiful piece of art. Highly recommended for the feels.
If you're into a deep discussion of what family, friendship, and relationships mean, and a lot of human observationthen works by Sakamoto Yuji (the screenwriter) are for you.
I've been a huge fan of the way he works his careful observations about humans and about how we interact as in a society into his *very relatable* and *very quotable* script.
Yes, this is a story about a woman and a "harem" of 3 ex-husbands, but the way they discuss this weird "family dynamics" is different from your typical rom com (let's be real, this isn't even a rom com... just a family comedy). It's super refreshing, and will give you vibes of some of his previous works, like Saikou no Rikon (a story about a divorced couple) and Quartet (also starring the same female lead and one of the male leads -- the first ex-husband). It's a drama I would never want to fast forward, because everything happens for a reason, and every character that comes and goes contributes to the main characters' development and growth. While the topics explored can get heavy at times, the way he handles it is light and unexpectedly funny.
You'll find easter eggs in later episodes referencing earlier happenings and how the characters have changed. And if you've watched previous works by this screenwriter (you should!), you will find that he's writing a love letter to his previous characters using his current ones. While this drama can of course be viewed as a stand-alone of its own, I especially love the continuity in his writing.
If this is your first Sakamoto Yuji drama, then be ready for a huge feels ride. This might be one of the best works I've seen of his. Grab a glass of water, sit down, relax, and get your screenshot hot keys ready. There are *so many* dialogues in this drama that are worth revisiting over and over again.
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Beautiful, heartwarming story about life choices and regret
This is a must-watch if you're in for a heartwarming love/family story without the stupid draggy drama tropes.Bound to give you some inspiration in life and some words of encouragement.
The premise is very simple: like the original US film 17 Again,
18 Again is about the male lead being unhappy with his life and his body suddenly goes back to when he was 18
So you have two actors (one "old" and one "young") playing the same character
and learning about what it means to appreciate the mundane daily life
and what it means to love someone even when real life gets hard
(but like, realistic "trying to make enough money to live" "trying to chase after your career dream" hard, not "chaebol mother kimchi slaps" or "ultimate bad guy is here to kill us all" hard)
10/10 to the acting because Lee Do-hyun absolutely slayed!
Playing a 40+-year-old soul in a 18-year-old body, he really did have that chemistry with his costar Kim Ha-neul
The way he looks at her with so many mixed emotions and the way the characters interact really makes me forget that Lee Do-hyun is a young new rising star.
Of course the other actors also added a lot to the story telling. I don't think there's a bad apple in the cast at all.
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A fast-paced yet cheesy drama with ALLL the tropes
This one is an ultimate trope land, but for some reason didn't get disgustingly draggy midway?It's like the scriptwriter looked at the typical tropes romance dramas have
realized 24 episodes is barely enough to contain all of them
so we just got all them tropes one after the other
The storyline is a bit choppy at times and you'll wonder if you missed half an episode somewhere
And really there are way too many villain arcs in this drama for it to make sense (both business and love line villains)
But overall I really liked the cheese component of the story
The two leads had a pretty good love line with many "vinegar-eating" scenes and steamy kisses
And the secondary couple are like enemies-to-lovers which is yet another well-loved romance drama trope
And everything moves at such a fast pace that well, at least you won't get bored from a slow draggy mid-late drama (you know those dramas where there's one misunderstanding and the leads don't talk for years)
And the business line is cool too if you let go of your logic a little bit.
If it weren't for that last episode I would give it a 8.5, but that final villain arc was just way too much
And if you like to see child actors, you'll enjoy the kid in this show. He real cute. The character kind of reminds me of the kid in Begin Again?
Final verdict: watch it to kill time, don't watch if you've got better things planned.
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Eh.
The number of tropes in this drama is sky high, but luckily it's a relatively short drama so it's still palatable...Yes, we got the some lead loses their memory (that's actually the setup of this whole drama so this isn't a spoiler)
and then we got some parents that don't want the leads to be together
and some jealous second leads / random girls
leads thinking the other lead is together with a second lead
etc
you know, we got ALL of these -sigh- (just missing the Korean drama kimchi slap and the water splash scenes lol
But I still gave it a >7 because Li GeYang is real cute and I'm glad that our second lead Cai Yasi (from The Love Equations) finally got rom com first lead and doesn't have to watch his best friend fall in love with someone else!!!
And the leads' interactions are pretty cute. When they aren't fighting.
I don't know. This is a good time filler and cure for the Cai Yasi second male lead syndrome. But other than that, there are much cuter / more original rom coms than this.
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It was cute, until it got cliche...
The first 20ish episodes were pure cute. Male and female lead had SO MUCH chemistry, and the second leads were adorable in their own way as welland then the typical Asian drama cliches^TM hit and I almost wanted to just walk away from the drama...
But then the drama does end on a better note, so I still gave it a redeeming 7.5. It's like when the cliche's hit, just turn on fast forward, and the chemistry between the leads is super worth it I guess.
The little epilogue at the end was very satisfying to watch too.
Would recommend if you got the time and want some sugar in your life (and don't mind a little bit of Asian Drama Cliche.
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A cute drama about family, love, friendship, and chasing after your dreams!
If you're in for a happy feels trip, this drama is the one.It isn't very different or out of the ordinary
but it's the type of drama that will not fail to put a smile to your face through the whole thing
We have female lead Mashiba, who is an influencer on instagram and works hard to be a buyer
and male lead Fujino, who seeks a minimalist life while pursuing his chef dreams
Secondary characters in their shared house or Mashiba's workplace, who are also equally lovable...
And if you like seeing cute pets in dramas
they have a really cute dog that makes many appearances too ^o^
This drama is full of love and mutual support
and offers a breath of fresh air from the dark or scheme-y dramas out there :)
Highly recommend if you want something light and inspiring.
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