Even though the drama setting did seem very "Hollywood" and it looked like they were filming on a film set the whole time (I didn't truly believe they were filming in the locations they were in, but at some lot in Hollywood), it was oddly charming. Everyone seemed like they were playing a character, rather than actually being the character....but not in a bad way. It is hard to explain, but as a person who loves watching wildly different films with completely unique styles from the director, producer, and cinematographer, I found this drama to be extremely charming. The only way to describe it...is my relationship with the movie Hail Caesar! with George Clooney and Channing Tatum (the only actors I can remember on the spot.) The whole film seemed very Hollywood (given that it was shot almost entirely on a Hollywood film set and most actors were....actors) and all the actors came off like they were actors playing a stereotypical character. Did I believe the actors portrayal of their characters. No. Did I love the film anyways? Yes. The film knew what it was, and it played to it, and I think it paid off. Much like this drama, I didn't believe in the characters being their characters, but I think that the actors themselves were very charming and likable, and the plot was super intriguing and well done, that I didn't care. I was sucked in within the first few minutes of ep 1.
The funny thing though is that, I didn't realize Netflix had the option of watching the drama in Mandarin as it was filmed, or in a few other languages dubbed. So I watched the first episode in Mandarin, and the remaining episodes in English (British) so it became almost a comedy to me, and everyone was in Asia, yet everyone had British accents, talking in slang. It was cringy and funny, and I had a great time. But I did go back and watch a few of my favorite scenes in Mandarin to see how the compared.
I loved most of the characters. I loved how Li Lan was very spunky, independent, driven, and familial. She would sacrifice herself in order for her family to be healthy and happy. She was selfish, but not in a bad way...in a way where she made sure everyone was happy and thriving while being able to achieve her dream. Also, she knew that she was allowed to be selfish, and other people should be as well, but not when they are replacing their dreams with something that they knew didn't compare. Er Lang was by far my favorite character in this drama from the moment we met him under a piece of furniture because he was "exhausted from housework and decided to take a nap." He was super comedic and driven as well, even if he was a little bit of a butthead in the beginning. I still liked him. Everyone seemed so proper in this drama and it was nice seeing someone as quirky as Li Lan, but in a male role. It's funny though. I had no idea if this was supposed to be a romance drama, but from the moment Li Lan encountered Er Lang, I shipped the pair. Then we have Li Lan's childhood sweetheart Tian Bai. He wasn't a terrible person. If anything, he had to go through and overcome a lot of personal challenges in order to be the person he wants to be, and not the heir to the family after his cousin's death. He wasn't a dislike-able character and would always accompany Li Lan whenever she was in any kind of trouble, but he did have a lot of issues that he needed to figure out himself before leading Li Lan on. Like Li Lan went through a lot of hardship in this drama, but I think Tian Bai was the reason for so much heartbreak. That is why I liked Er Lang. Both men are amazing people - they used their different strengths to help Li Lan and her fate as a ghost bride, but where Tian Bai always accompanied her, Er Lang would take action and him and Li Lan would work together and take action.
I've read a few reviews before writing mine, as well as before I decided to watch this drama, and they all said they same thing. The actor who played Tian Ching, Li Lan's dead husband and ruler of the "Underworld" or the realm of judgement, was flat and didn't compare to the other actors, but it was ok, because everyone else's "imdb" page has rows of experience, while this was homeboy's first drama. Which is fair, but I think he did an amazing job portraying a spoiled heir who had been poisoned and seeking revenge from his killer. It was weird though, because there were some scenes where he was supposed to be this scary ghost who haunts Li Lan, but there were some "tender" moments between them in the underworld, where it seemed that he genuinely cared about her. For weird reasons, but nonetheless, he seemed like he wanted companionship in a world that scared him as well (and it helps if it was someone he cared about in the human world as kids.) I almost felt bad for his character every time we saw him "out of his normal role" and it was hard to fully lean on one side for him. He was a horrible person who did whatever he wanted in order to get what he wanted, but he did seem to have some kind of heart. Even if it was a little one, he had one. If anything, I think his mother was the true villain in this drama, and I wasn't satisfied with her ending. It was almost like she was playing the victim, even though she was the one stirring the pot. She was allowing her son to act a certain way, making him feel like it was okay his entire life, and she had the audacity to act like she was a victim. That he must have been born the devil and even though she didn't help the cause, he was always going to end up that way regardless.
Which is why I am hoping for a season two. The ending of Volume 1 tied up nicely, but it was also open ended where they could and honestly should write for a second season. Maybe...we would get to see Tian Ching become a better person, helping Li Lan with another "life altering" situation because if there is a season two, we will 100% be going back to the underworld, even if not at first.
I 100% recommend this drama to someone who is looking for something completely different from the average romance drama. This drama also has elements of a budding romance, but it is about learning what love is and what kind of love you desire to have for the rest of your life. There isn't one road and love isn't just one thing. Everyone expresses love in a different way and sometimes the love you've always thought you wanted, isn't what you want now. Not that one person's way of love is better than the other, but sometimes you have figure out what love means to you and to find someone who will compliment that.
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The story is still warming my heart completely.
Yu Tu and Qiao Jing Jing forever the cutest couple in Gu Man’s world.What makes it diferrence with another Cdramas is because the director and screenwriter simply presented us the strong independent woman, who can look after herself mentally and financially, not afraid to honestly open up her feeling first, not afraid of rejection.
And about the male interest? He’s not a rich brooding guy like other male characters we used to see on other cdramas. No, he’s just another salaryman who happens to have a high intelligence. Yum! Who can say no to an interesting clever man? I would pick him over the stupid rich guy everyday.
Together, Qiao Jing Jing and Yu Tu are building a great harmony and healthy relationship. They’re perfect to each other. I am all for their mature friendship-to-romance life. I hope I can find another similar healthy relationship cdrama like this again.
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Lack of chemistry and unlikeable characters were the downfall for me
I was excited to see Park Min Young again, I've always thought that she was a good actress and I've enjoyed most of the things she's been in. Go Kyung Pyo, honestly, I'm on the fence about him. I've seen him shine in a couple of things, but he seems more like a second lead actor. He just doesn't have the charisma needed to be the main actor. However, the acting wasn't the problem, the story was, and the way the actors were written. I found that I couldn't root for any of the characters, so I was unable to invest totally in the story.Park Min Young and her character - first, has she been ill? She did not look well in this show. She looked almost frail she was so thin. Add to that, there was no "spark" to her character. I didn't like her or her motivations.
Go Kyung Pyo and his character - I'll say again, he just doesn't have the magnetism to carry off a lead role, especially here. A lot of shows are throwing in socially awkward characters, which is fine, but I'm thinking he was on the spectrum somewhere? His flat affect, his mannerisms all led me to believe that which is fine, but he's no better at the end than he was at the beginning. I didn't see or feel any growth in either of the characters.
There was no chemistry between the two leads. Add to that, there was an inordinate amount of time where nothing was happening, too much staring without dialogue, and the storyline was weak.
For me, this was one I kept watching, hoping that it would get better, but it never did.
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I'm in love with this drama - everything about it has been done well.
I stumbled across this on Netflix and it's only available for another few days so thought I'd give it a go. Now I'm desperately chugging it and feel compelled to express how good it is. 8 episodes in and reached that perfect point when the leads are beginning to fall for each other without quite realising it.Apart from support actors Lee Do Hyun and Jo Hyun Shik (playing Chan's friends), I haven't come across any of the cast before, but I like every single one. The two male leads are lovely (ugggh - Yang Se Jong's beautiful face..) and I'm adding Dr. Romantic to my neverending watchlist seeing as they're both in it.
I often get aggravated by female leads which makes me feel crap and judgmental - but Shin Hye Sun is a sweetheart. Despite her character basically being a 17-yr-old stuck in a 30-yr-old's body, Seo Rii somehow avoids being dopey and simpering.
I also like Ye Ji Won who plays Jennifer.
There are some lovely aerial shots of the house that capture characters in different spaces. It's looks like a stage set which ties into the story too. I'm enjoying it so much I'm tempted to quit while I'm on the cusp of it all possibly going downhill.
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I'll be direct, The acting was perfect. EVERY CHARACTER was well done.
This is a way the best Chae soo bin's drama even if I liked her very much on Rebel, and Kim Min Kyu was the best Yoo Seung Ho's character.
Emotions such as pain, happiness, anger, cuteness, confidence, surprise were well done. DAEBAK ! With these different physical expressions I didn't get bored at all.
Let's talk about the story.. Wtf.. Human allergy ? Who dares ! And they made it perfectly.
If we see the story in a different way.. I'm not a robot is about someone who was afraid of dark human side and lock himself in a psychological hell until he's soulmate save him and show him human's bright side.
This may be cliché but its not. It's more deep, we can even recognize ourself on the main male character (Kim Min Kyu) : How many times did we run away from people because the situation was too much too handle ? How many times did we hide ourself in a cocoon ? And.. Y'all we know how important friends are, soulmates are.
This drama deserve love, all the couple were perfect ! Not cheesy at all, they all took time to find each other, they went through many difficult moments. And let's not forget even if the last episodes were emotional, the drama was funny ! It was such a good idea to close the drama with the first episode's problematic. You guys should watch it
I'm so happy, the drama was one of 2017's light !
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I applaud all the actors/actresses. I'm surprised that a lot of them are new. The music is very good. I definitely will re-watch this series several times. The best part is the story. So well done.
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This review may contain spoilers
So, I have to admit I was very excited for this because it was a long time coming after Love Mechanics, but man am I disappointed. This was not the only En of Love series I have a problem with, all of them were rushed and not upto the standard of some others, but this one is just meh. That’s the problem, it’s just meh. Now despite the fact that there were only 4 episodes, quite a bit of story was able to be told and I can appreciate that, but something was just off about this series, from the very first episode. This series is not problematic, but seems to be riddled with problems, if you know what I mean.THE STORY:
Just like the others, rushed. I understand that there was a need to fit a huge storyline of three novels into 11 episodes, but this series would’ve benefited greatly from creating something like 2moons2. By that I mean making a twelve episode series, with each couple getting their dedicated screen time. This would’ve allowed us to maybe make more sense of the fact that all the relationships moved at the speed of lightning. Neua and Praram are cute, but that’s all. The fact that half their relationship unfolded on a public forum doesn’t really help their cause. Do these people really not know the concept of privacy or private chats?! Besides all these, what was the need to bring in conflict in the last episode, just to have it resolved in seconds? I will say though, Em and Pralak would be a good couple.
THE ACTING:
Despite the fact that they had an episode dedicated to the fact that Prom and Benz underwent acting classes, the final product is underwhelming. The acting mostly fell flat and comes across as akward, owing to the storyline of episode 2. I will admit that they do have chemistry, but that’s not always enough. Benz is a special case. As Pralak, he is awesome, but when he’s playing Praram he just seems so... stiff. Once again the supporting actors stole the show. That seems to be the theme with this series.
THE PRODUCTION:
As specified before production would have benefited from having twelve episode with equal airtime for each episode. The casting I can’t complain about. The actors all fit their character descriptions and that’s a positive.
THE OST:
The OST actually suits the theme of the series very well so props.
THE POSITIVE/NEGATIVE:
What can I say. This series is like Goldilocks. Not very good, not very bad, just existing in the middle. There are no problematic aspects, but that’s just about it. The story itself is very short so it comes across as something ordinary that could have been better. Now that’s not bad at all, just not noticeable enough.
THE ENDING:
Once again, what is with the conflict solved in sixty seconds?! Not just that, but what was that ending? Like everything in this series, it was also just meh. Also who says congratulations for a birthday? It’s like saying congrats on being alive for so long! Sorry, it’s just been a very tiring episode, but good news, they did get together. ( What am I even saying? ).
I usually say that you should try it out at least once, but this series is totally upto the viewer. So may like it, others may not. All I can say is if you find the synopsis interesting give it a try. I can’t promise you will love and neither can I say you will hate it. At the end of the day it’s your decision. Leave a comment about your thoughts. Thank You!
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Adorble and clever
This is a story about a man's dog and cat coming back from the afterlife as humans - I don't think so much reincarnated as incarnated.The casting and acting are wonderful - although human now, the pets still act like a dog and cat - Choco (dog) follows his former master everywhere, even at home, and escapes to follow Jung Woo when he goes out (especially if he's on a date), and Milk plays the "love me. Stop touching me" game of a cat.
There's no particularly important message to this, other than perhaps Carpe Diem, but it's relentlessly pleasant and fluffy without ever being cloying.
My only criticisms are, and the first is specific to me, the guitarist on the soundtrack kept sliding his fingers down the fret, which sets my teeth on edge and I often had to watch on mute.
More substantially, this is overly sanitized from the source material, being a hard G-rated. Choco is just plain sexy, but other than that, there was no heat between the leads - they had decent "hug" chemistry, but it felt like a primary school romance rather than an adult one, and that limited chemistry made it hard to invest as much as I would have liked to in the romance.
Still, this is one of the better series that aired this year, and is one you can go back to over and over.
The finale clearly set things up for a S2, which would be welcome.
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I'm so thirsty for season 2!
This is such a fantastic show, an absolute masterpiece! The acting, the production, the plot - everything is just insane! Beware if you are too sensitive, this show has lots of heartbreaking and brutal scenes, at times it gets VERY intense and overwhelming. It's like The Hunger Games but ten times worse, very psychologically pressuring and cruel. Best Japanese show I've watched EVER.All actors did a great job. I cried, laughed and screamed with them. The production is top quality, too. I'm going to read the manga from the point where the show has ended, because the thirst for the answers is just unbearable. Can't wait for S2!
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The idea behind the story was actually pretty good and entertaining. However, after watching it, it felt like something was missing. Call it intensity, chemistry (oddly the couple had an on and off chemistry), I can't really put my finger on it, but, the story was just mild. And then, there were the final episodes, were a total snooze fest, even though they tried to add the side couples to spice things up. Still, those side characters were underdeveloped and odd together. At least the performances were great and the main couple had the visuals.
So, overall, five out of ten, because the first part was nice, but the second was boring.
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Promising start but went downhill
My review may not be adequate like others since it is not based on proper research. I read the manhwa for the sake of watching this drama and it incidentally was my first manhwa. I was completely hooked on the manhwa. It was fast-paced and had satisfied ending for each character. Including all the side characters and also their villains. It gave proper reasoning for all past but here it was rushed. Even though the drama was 16 episodes it couldn't do justice to the webtoon. Here, there was no chemistry between the leads. I know many will disagree with me but it could've been better. In manhwa, it was slow-paced but there was an intensity in their relationship. There was reasoning for every small detail as in how Jiwon moved into the new apartment, that allergy fiasco, and the other leads' relationships. The casting of Jihyeok was not good. I'm not saying that this actor is not looking but he couldn't do justice to the character. The villains were properly cast and their acting is the only good part of this whole drama. The best part of the manhwa that the drama failed to present was that Jiwon was kickass in the manhwa. Here, it felt forced. Especially all those so-called self-defense moves. I could rant about every single detail. But to summarize this review the drama was a mediocre remake of an excellent manga with not-so-appealing casting, average acting, inadequate storyline, screenplay, and production, an unnecessary introduction of new characters, not proper closures for other characters, and a lackluster ending.Was this review helpful to you?
you might start believing in past lives, the supernatural, and the law of karma for real...
This is a fantastic drama. Hats off to the people who came up with this plot. I haven't been so emotionally touched in a while. All the characters here were just too deep, even the evil ones. The vfx is incredible and to the point. The actors moved me with their acting beyond what words can describe. Originally I thought this would be like any other vampire story, but starting with the name Bulgasal, they adopted it and made it their own. Left me more heart- broken than happy but well if this story had an everybody lived happily ever after ending, then it would have lost the realism. It made me believe in past lives and to an extent even in the supernatural.Yes it's dark, and melodramatic, but it's definitely very much worth the watch. Now am gonna go back to my bed and cry for a while, bye!
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Try watching it since its not that bad to begin with and it gets even better as you get to know all the people.
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A high school girl, Rika, has lived her entire life shunned, villified, and verbally abused by her mother. Her mother is disturbingly mentally ill and openly unable to love Rika. This mistreatment all stems from the fact that Rika's mother only sees an ulgy iguana when she looks at her. Rika grows up entirely convinced that she is actually an iguana and that everyone will shun her when they find out the truth.
The story mostly follows painfully shy Rika in high school, finally coming out of her shell, making friends and falling in love. Her mother attempts to sabotage progress at every turn and is quite easy to dislike.
This show very clearly shows its age, is based on a ridiculous premise and has some aggravatingly oblivious and over-simplified characters portrayed by blunt actors. However, it does have its strong moments. Highlights include clear, consistent character growth and an unexpected level of tradgedy. It's a wonderful example of the incessantly victimized heroine of shoujo manga. It's an easy, engaging and entirely bizarre watch.
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