Reviews

Honest Review: Not Perfect, yet one of the best of 2024!

There have been moments in my 18 years of drama-addicted life, where I have been obsessed with a drama - its plot, actors, characters, scenes - to the point that made people question my sanity. But never have I come across a drama, that too airing, that has impacted me so much from Day 1 like Lovely Runner! I hardly have time to sleep/eat managing my work-personal life, but for this show - I decided to throw it all away to engage in MDL theories, comment and even create a Insta page dedicated to this show!

Now that you have got an understanding of obsession, and I know this is going in the HALL OF FAME as one of the best K-dramas I have seen till date BUT it is IMPERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL. Hence, please read my un-biased review of this drama:

❤️ Ep 1-10 - Literal Perfection
Heart Fluttering Romance ✔ | Well-Timed Comedy ✔ | right amount of fantasy, suspense & angst ✔ | Music that heals ✔
Basically these episodes had sugar and spice - think of everything that you like in a drama, irrespective of genre, and Lovely Runner has it. The hype it initially created deserved every bit of recognition - and everyone in the cast and crew gave it their heart, which made the final presentation something to look forward to even on dreaded Mondays!

❤️ Byeon Woo Seok & Kim Hye Soon
I cannot even begin to describe the love & pride I feel for these two. Those who are acquainted with their journey would understand how long it has taken for them to be recognized as main leads in this industry. They literally breathed life into their characters - making the chemistry palpable that I won't be surprised if they share they are dating IRL. I think when we say that you cannot imagine anyone else doing these roles OR their character names is recalled more than their real names - it is a testimony of a job fabulously done. They were both amaJING and unbelieBUBBLE and I cannot wait to see them in new projects. Literally the example of #onwards-and-upwards - I am rooting for their success & happiness, and grateful that they took this project and gifted me with such a beautiful experience & memory.

❤️ Music:
I really love how they used the plot story and band - Eclipse and released the OST. Really love these kind of witty nuggets - am such a sucker for it. Thinking from a business perspective - this opens so many doors for BWS who has sung these tracks - to host concerts or sing in his fan meetings. I guess the sharp minds of the industry and agency must have already thought of it.

But I feel the main track - Sudden Shower (Sonaki/소나기) is so damn beautiful and I loved how catalytic it was in the plot.
Other favorites: Spring Snow by 10cm, Like a Dream by Minnie. Already a part of my playlist, and I know it will stay for long.

Now, onto what could have been better? Ep 11 and onwards
Please note that I write this with the mindset of "WABI-SABI" i.e. Beauty in Imperfection. The drama is still is great, but it is not without flaws:

✘ Character Development:
Harsh but true - the leads were uni-dimensional, having only one goal throughout FL wants to save ML, ML is all about puppy love for FL. Not bad per se, but by stretching this overkilled what was initially cute, heart warming, toe curling into fillers. Even the support characters (brother/best friend, In Hyuk, Tae Seong, FL & ML's parents) & villain were not judiciously used to their potential. They were enjoyable whenever onscreen, but the same kind of comedy due to repeating timelines killed the initial excitement thereby not leaving with the greatest impression.

Had this been a 10-12 episode drama format, it would have more impactful, as the repeats/fillers would have not been there. I quote this from a fellow MDL user, Kate's review: it did seem like that they ran out of what to create, in the second half and therefore repurposed many of the epic scenes in new timeline packaging. (Read her review here: https://mydramalist.com/profile/Shini/review/363193)

❤️Overall
In the end - the anticipation and fun that we had as we watched while it aired might not be felt by those who binge it. Hence I am fearful the high ratings we see now, might dwindle. But honestly, this has been a very refreshing, feel good, guilty pleasure drama (thirst trap - included: BWS shirtless scenes, them veiny forearms & hands, long fingers, ability to catch a woman by her waist - OOOHLALALA!) but mainly a show that has after a long time: made me smile in a way that split my face in half or snort like a goofy person at the antics the drama characters played. And what else do you want from a drama : Other than the fact that it makes you feel happy from the bottom of your heart! Lovely Runner did that and more and hence recommend it to be watched at least once ❤️

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Amazing Representation

As someone on the aroace spectrum this was an important drama for me. It was easily the best representation I’ve seen in media, and I hope more comes to be as years pass. The writers and actors did an incredible job making Sakuko and Satoru feel like they could be real people. All of their struggles and worries were /real./

I am very fond of the ending. The pacing and build to Satoru’s character hit just like it was meant to. Although the relationship between Sakuko and Satoru is unconventional, it works for them personally. Aroace people all have a situation special to them, and this captured that which I adore.

I also love that Kazu became a proper supporter in Sakuko’s life versus when they were dating. It was nice to see someone who was initially confused and in denial eventually come to understand and accept this part of Sakuko, especially when Sakuko lost Chizuru as a friend.

This drama made me more hopeful about my lack of attraction and I’m thankful for that. This story will definitely stay with me for a long time.

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A Masterpiece of Romance and Fantasy: "Lovely Runner" Review

I started watching this drama because the premise seemed intriguing. Written by the same screenwriter behind "True Beauty" and starring Kim Hye Yoon, whose talent I appreciated in "Extraordinary You," I didn't have high expectations; I anticipated something similar to those other dramas. However, now that I've finished it, I can confidently say that it not only met but far exceeded my expectations in every category, surpassing even my wildest imagination.

Story

What truly distinguishes this drama from other romcom, time-slip, and fantasy series is how the story unfolds over its 16 episodes. By weaving together multiple timelines, the narrative offers characters various meet-cutes, challenging situations, delightful montages, and enlightening moments, keeping viewers engaged and intrigued throughout. Unlike other romcoms that introduce a random killer midway, "Lovely Runner’s" entire storyline revolves around the villain's actions affecting the main characters, seamlessly integrating with the plot. Additionally, the writer ensures a balanced mix of elements in each episode, preventing viewers from enduring lengthy stretches of heavy plot centered solely on the killer. The pacing was executed perfectly, ensuring viewers neither felt rushed nor bored. Every scene was given just the right amount of time, culminating in a fully satisfying happy ending in the final two episodes.

Characters

All the characters were well-crafted, with even the majority of the supporting cast being three-dimensional. Unlike many other romcoms, where the comedic burden often falls solely on the actress and a few sidekicks, this drama distributes the humor evenly. Both the male and female leads, as well as the supporting characters, share an equal amount of comedic scenes.

Ryu Seon Jae: Who can resist falling in love with this character? He loves the main lead unconditionally and is willing to sacrifice his life for her time and again. Loyal, brave, and innocent (as his father says, "pure as oxygen"), he embodies all these qualities beautifully.

Im Sol: It's impossible not to cheer for our heroine as she bulldozes through every obstacle to rescue her love. She is loud, sweet, and a force to be reckoned with. Most importantly, she is strong; despite has lived with a disability, she faced a killer without fear, confronting the villain head-on to protect what she loves.

Kim Tae Sung: A second male lead who is not annoying or clingy, but a reliable friend to our main leads. It would be even nicer to know a little bit of his backstory.

Baek In Hyuk: A fantastic sidekick, always ready to deliver the best funny moments.

Acting

Byeon Woo Seok: To be honest, I've only seen him in "Record of Youth," but I fast-forwarded through 70% of that drama. Now, I question why I wasn't aware of this great actor earlier. His performance in this drama was exceptional. He effortlessly transforms from a 19-year-old high schooler to a 34-year-old idol. His expressions were so precise that you could feel the joy, sadness, longing, and countless moments of embarrassment. Additionally, his portrayal of an idol was incredibly believable, and he sang the drama's OSTs beautifully.

Kim Hye Yoon: It's difficult to distinguish Kim Hye Yoon from her character Im Sol because her performance was so convincing. What I love most about Kim Hye Yoon is her natural, sincere, and unpretentious demeanor. When she acts cute, it never comes off as annoying due to her genuine charm. When she portrays sadness, you can't help but want to cry along with her, and since she cried quite often in this drama, it was hard not to reach for the tissue box. When she passionately sings as a kpop fan, she perfectly embodies the fervor of someone you'd find at a concert.

Final thoughts

This exceptional drama sets a new benchmark for all romcoms, time-slip stories, and fantasy genres. The "Lovely Runner" team's outstanding efforts—from the director, screenwriter, and casting director to the editor, sound crew, and actors—deserve high praise. They have truly outdone themselves.

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Handsdown one of the best drama in 2024

I am proud to say I am one of the few people that started the drama way before the craze and hype, all because I was excited since last year when Wooseok and Hyeyoon were announced as the cast. Frankly, I don't particularly care about drama theme when my fav actors or actresses star in it and in this case, it was Hyeyoon.

I started it out not expecting any great or perfect drama, I simply expect a usual romcom. Man was I wrong, episode 2 was absolutely magical and I knew right away I had to promote tf out of this drama to every single of my mutuals.

I just finished watching finale and my thoughts are jumbled up lol I'll comeback when I have sorted out my thoughts and feelings and will write a proper review.

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Well spent 40 episodes drama

I rarely watch dramas with more than 20 episodes, but somehow it led me to watch “Meet Yourself”.

A drama with 40 episodes, but it’s worth it. There was no dragging moments. It is well written, great actors, and sceneries were very detailed.

Whenever I listened to the drama’s OST, it brings me back to which part it was played.

About the love story Dou and Yao , I totally love it. There was jealousy, pride and quarrel but at the right amount, not a challengers in a drama. A healthy relationship.

Dou and Yao’s characters are my favorite, but it doesn’t make the other characters less. Just my personal preference.

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It will stick for a long time

I remember when Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon were giving small previews about this project and saying that we all were going to cherish it as they were doing it with lots of care. After we lost our most beloved villain, we were hoping this project could see light. So, the 16 episodes have gone by and we were never dissapointed. We were sad a couple of times but in the end we endured and were able to enjoy a great combination of a love story, family value, friends, suspense, laughs and all done in a correct way.
The characters are all well developed and performed, the story is all in all complete and doesn't leave room for many speculations. The charming scenes were on time and the soundtrack is just amazing. I'm left wanting more of Eclipse and the leading singer "Sun Jae".
This one goes to the top not only for 2024, it is above the few dramas I rate 10.

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MY MONDAY'S ARE GONNA BE BLUE AGAIN T-T

**IF UR CONTEMPLATING WHETHER TO WATCH THIS OR NOT- SAVE UR PRECIOUS SECONDS AND GO WATCH THIS RN (DOESN'T MATTER IF UR A 10 YR OLD MIDDLE SCHOOLER OR A 50 YR OLD AHJUSSI, GO FUCKING WATCH THIS)*
So as for the review: Every once in a while, there comes a drama or a movie that you get super attached to, something uknow will become your comfort place for the future. Lovely Runner was this for a lot of netizens out there. The amount of love it has received is totally justified by what it has provided to us.
LR has made my mondays worth waiting for for the last 2 months and as much i was anticipating the ending and couldn't wait to see it, i can't let it go. My Monday's will be blue again and my tuesday's will feel empty.
It has been a long time since I have obsessed over a drama like this. Even looking at all the bts and interviews.
Most dramas are a one time watch and over a few days we tend to forget them. But there's some, like this one, which we'll find ourselves coming backk to.
The focal point of this drama is the chemistry. If you're a hopeless romantic like me, u need to watch it. The romantic timing is so damn good in this and ur gonna be feeling all kinds of butterflies everywhere.
The main reason LR is loved by all is the family friendly storyline, the heartfluttering romance and the relatable characters. Watching this, there wasn't one second of "what is this scene" or "this scene is unnecessary".
I feel like no matter how good a story is, if u cannot present it properly to the world then it's useless. On the contrary, no matter how cliche the story is, if u add ur elements and enough spice the story will become a hit. That is what happens with any romcom. We all know what the end is gonna be but all we're watching for is the kisses (uknow it's true).
I would like to appreciate the hardwork of everyone behind this amazing kdrama, especially the directors and writers cuz they've done an amazing job here.
SO THE MAIN REASON TO WATCH THIS IS THE CHEMISTRY (BOTH ON AND OFF SCREEN)
GO WATCH THIS OR ELSE SUNJAE WONT COME IN UR DREAMS!!!
SOLSEON SUBEOM FRVR <3

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IF U HAVE NOT WATCHED..WHAT R U ACTUALLY DOING? (1000000000000000000000000% RECCOMENDED)

^_^ WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS MASTERPEICE..??
1)ONE MOST IMP THING I HAVE TO SAY THAT YOU CAN SEE THERE ARE HARD TO FIND DRAMAS LIKE THE OLD ONES(2016-2020) AND THIS SHOW ACTUALLY FELT LIKE IT.....??
2)MY SUNJAE-YA (MALE LEAD) IS TOTALLY WHIPPED FOR SOL(FEMALE LEAD)...??..WHICH YOU WILL LOVE SOOO MUCHHH.....BECAUSE SUN-JAE IS A LOSER IN LOVE....HE IS SO FREAKING CUTE..??
3)THE ACTORS...THEIR VISUALS, THEIR ACTING.......FELT SO GOOD AND REALL.....❤️✨
4)ALSO THE SIDE ACTORSS..UFF..THEY ARE SO CHAOTIC AND FUNNY ALSOOOO??
5)THIS SERIES WILL DEFINATELY MAKE YOU LAUGH A LOT...THERE ARE MANY FUNNY AND CHAOTIC SCENES...?✨
6)YUP,IF YOU ARE WATCHING IT LATER ONWARDS,THEN I THINK YOU WON'T CRY.BUT YES I DEFINATELY DID..??
7)YESSSSS...AND PLEASE DON'T HATE MY SOL..PLEASE KNOW HER STORY ALSO..HOW MUCH SHE HAS SACRIFISED FOR HER LOVE?
8)THIS SERIES WILL GIVE YOU SO MUCH FEELINGS AND EMOTIONNSSSS..YOU WILL DEFINITELY LOVE ITTT...I GURANTEE YOU..??
? THANK YOU FOR READING MY REVIEW ?

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the most beautiful kdrama i have ever seen

nunca voy a olvidar este kdrama. es lo más lindo que hay en el mundo.
la historia es maravillosa y está muy bien desarrollada, además la química que tienen los actores es increíble, son de los que te hacen sentir que la historia atraviesa la pantalla y te llega de una manera increíble.
por no mencionar también el soundtrack??? o sea esas canciones SON DEMASIADO BONITAS, todas todas.
definitivamente es una serie que le recomendaría a cualquier persona, todos deberían darle una oportunidad. no se arrepentirán ?
te amo lovely runner, gracias por estos dos meses increíbles❤️‍?

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THE MOST PERFECT DRAMA OF THE CENTURY

Sunjae. Sol. Two perfect characters and what a beautiful journey they took us on. Hooked right from the moment we realised Sunjae fell for her. Not a moment in this drama felt like a drag. They never wasted time on useless narratives (IM Geum is an exception). My heart is so full. Thank you for creating this beautiful masterpiece. We enjoyed this drama together, as a whole. Perfect acting, soundtrack, storylines, even the villain was perfect. The parallels were so beautifully crafted. The story never felt confusing even with 4 time slips. How will I deal with my Mon, Tue now? ???

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"Memories don't disappear, they're all smeared into one's soul"

"Memories don't disappear, they're all smeared into one's soul, the brain may forget, but one soul's been keeping every piece of it" - Im Sol's Halmoni

The above quote perfectly describes what this drama is about. What started as saving one's life ended up being created memories with that special person. Those memories will always be there in one's soul, trying to find its way back no matter what.

Although the 2 episodes before the final 2 episodes felt like a slow progress, this drama was written pretty well overall. I love how this writer always included events that happen in a previously timeline back to the current timeline. The development of Im Sol's feelings to Sun Jae from being a fan wanting to save him, to wanting to save him because of her love for him.

The only repetitive part that I found in this drama was Sol keeping pushing away or avoiding Sun Jae (during college and then Eps 13-14). I get why she did that but still, I'm not a fan of those kind of tropes as I prefer the leads just communicating with each other and not hide anything from each other. Still, it was great seeing Im Sol's love for Sun Jae grow each time she travels back in time and Sun Jae getting chance after chance to be with Im Sol since his love for her never changed.

A huge amount of comedy between the main characters and their friends. Even when the preview for each week shows seriousness, there's so much more laughter that occurs in me when watching each episode and a lot of romantic and cute scenes between the leads.

THIS DRAMA IS THE DEFINITION OF A ROMANTIC COMEDY!

Even though there was a killer/kidnapper in this drama, I'm glad the writers stuck with the idea of keeping his screentime at a minimum towards the very end. It would've been okay to find out his motive but at the same time, since they barely showed him, I'm glad they got rid of him quickly as well.

The whole cast was awesome! From the best friends to the parents. Great acting! I like almost every character in this drama, and I find that as a rarity in dramas.

The ending was great. Although I kind of wish there was a wedding at the end, I'm glad we got a glimpse of what their wedding look like as our leads both saw their future together. At least they ended it with a proposal. I'm satisfied.

We're about halfway through 2024 as I'm writing this, and I haven't found any k-dramas that I would consider rewatching again, but this one definitely makes the list.

THIS IS MY FIRST FAVORITE KOREAN DRAMA OF 2024

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Probably my favorite drama ever :)

I literally made an account to rate this k-drama because I've actually never done it.. lmao
When I saw people describing this as something kpop fans would love - when the drama first started out and only a few episodes were out, I thought it was gonna be one of those cringy, unrealistic, obsessive ones. Also, often times they make these love and time-travel dramas so unrealistic and not-human-like so you can't really connect with the characters. But man, was this a journey.. Absolutely amazingly written and one of the best show productions I've ever seen. It makes you addicted to the drama, even though its unrealistical in the *time-travel* aspect, it makes you wonder if you'd do the same if you were Sol, if this happened to you.. if you would do everything to save the person you love. It has a beautiful message, all the actors are so talented and did such an amazing job. This kdrama is so gentle, it has such funny and bright scenes that you are laughing out loud and it was so perfectly intense in the dangerous aspect and also the relationship between the two main characters was making us feel all the tension. Their chemistry was out of this world.
I truly hope we get to see more dramas like this.

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