This review may contain spoilers
It took me about five episodes to finally begin to like the characters. Also, there are some interesting issues that are brought to this drama, some now familiar to me and some new, as I think I have about 7 (yes, 7 as I write this!) K-dramas under my belt. The commoner-chaebol heir pairing has been a common one (Heirs, What Is Wrong With Secretary Kim?), and one that is always fun as it’s an issue of overcoming socio-economic class boundaries. In the case of Oh My Venus, Kim Young-Ho seems to have missed out on camping and umbrellas to shield food for the next meal. In the case of What Is Wrong With Secretary Kim?, he’s never had ramen noodles, street food or gone clamming evidently! Anyway, I digress. Another issue is the work/life balance in Oh My Venus that seems to be mostly the case of Oh Soo Jin, rather than Kang Joo Eun. I actually liked the series overall but was annoyed by some aspects. So, here’s what I found annoying, from most annoying to least annoying, in order. 1) The Kim Ji Woong character keeps saying weird things, tries to get everyone pumped up with stupid slogans, calls Kang Joo Eun “Ma’am” and claimed that he graduated from Harvard. What??? Why is he someone’s manager after attending Harvard? That is not the path of a Harvard graduate! 2) Why did Kim Young-Ho not contact Kang Joo Eun for an entire year after the “incident” even though she contacted him! Who does that??? I know that he felt he’d want to reconnect with her and lose focus if they were in touch but they were getting close to getting married before the year-long hiatus! Ugh! 3) At the end of the series when Kim Young-Ho, Kang Joo Eun and Kim Ji Woong are gone for three months and they meet Kang Joo Eun at the airport where she is obviously overweight AGAIN, that hardly seems realistic. She worked out for an entire year during Kim Young-Ho’s absence! Come on! And, Kim Young-Ho seems to only want to see her in thin form, which, of course, is understandable, but I can see that this issue is going to be problematic in their future marriage, haha!
There were many aspects of the series to like. There was the chemistry between the main characters (after episode 5), the fact that Kang Joo Eun’s character is warm, forgiving, and motivated and the fact that Kim Young-Ho’s character is persistent, determined, and caring. Overcoming obstacles in life is something that ties these two together. There was the constant physical exercise starting around Episode 5. It makes you feel inspired to get on the treadmill! Who doesn't love to see someone successfully lose weight, especially to an ex!?!
Overall, I enjoyed it, with the minor annoyances notwithstanding!
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You'll have to watch this drama to the end to realise what a good drama this is.There's a lot of cliches, typical with romcoms, but how the story was put together and presented made it an excellent drama that's one of the best romcoms I've watched in a long time. Romcoms tend to always be the same story with different cast members, but this has a quality that makes it shine amongst the sea of romcoms.
Case in point (without too much spoiler): The antagonists aren't just all-out evil characters who turned on the protagonist and wants to make the protagonists suffer just because they can. They have a surprising depth and complexity to them which makes them very relatable -- and makes me think that if the focus were on them, they could be the MC we would be sympathizing with too. However, it does take awhile to get there via the flashbacks and what the characters do.
They didn't end it with an everyone-has-a-happy-ending vibe that's quite forced out in typical Kdramas, too. We see the characters still struggling to improve themselves and chasing happiness, much like people would in real life.
Another point I'd like to add is that this drama, thankfully, doesn't focus too much on Young Ho's (So Ji Sub) chaebol company take-over issue, which I find can be an awful drag in dramas. I personally dislike these type of melodramas, so I'm glad that they wrapped it up without focusing on it too much.
The flaws of this drama are mostly due to the beginning portion, where our MC Kang Joo Eun (Shin Min Ah) faces discrimination and shaming due to her large size, although arguably, she isn't really all that fat but everyone makes it out to be awful.
There have been similar dramas, the most similar being Birth of a Beauty which features the male lead, who is a chaebol, giving the female lead a beauty transformation. I'm glad that they decided not to go with plastic surgery in Oh My Venus! and skimped on the political stuff that's common in these chaebol matters. Even after many heartfelt moments, the drama still manages to add humour.
Sometimes, these romance dramas make characters fall in love in such a short time that it feels unnatural, but this drama's felt natural and realistic. The chemistry between the leads Shin Min Ah and So Ji Sub was incredible.
The script writers used cliches but avoided it from being an overly typical romcom. I believe that they would've done a better job if the drama was set out to be longer from the beginning so that they could incorporate the other sub-characters in better. If you like Henry, be prepared to be slightly disappointed as he has no backstory and is in it mostly for comic relief, and fleshing out Young Ho's character.
The backstories and relationship of the characters could have been explained better, but swapped out in favour of showing more lovey-dovey couple scenes between Joo Eun and Young Ho, not that I'm complaining. However, it's just a point you should note before watching the drama.
Two thumbs up for this!
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The story follows the fall of a natural beauty, Joo-eun, to an overweight woman, and her encounter with a mysterious man, Young-ho, who is trying to escape scandal and his family, in hopes to just live a simple life.
Actors Ji-sub So and Min-a Shin have a great chemistry with one another. Her head strong attitude and his serious delivery of comedic lines makes them more than cute together. I liked the story was written with a mature but innocent relationship.
They are surrounded by a great supporting cast. Secretary Min, Yi-jin, Hyun-woo, and her son Min-jun are an added bonus to this drama. Henry as Ji-woong and Sung Hoon as Joon-sung are the perfect 'sons' for Young-ho and Joo-eun. And let's be honest, watching Joon-sung and Young-ho work out is an added bonus. Both men are like seriously HOT. (Young-ho's hoodie look...is everything and then some). I did find myself still reading the subtitles even when Henry was speaking English. I mean really, I've spoken English for 44 years, and here I am reading a subtitle.
The rivalry in this drama isn't as hate filled as series, but when looking at the past relationship between Joo-eun and Soo-jin you understand where it comes from. For all her faults, when looking at Soo-jin's past, you see she is still damaged from her problems during her youth. In reality, it is something many viewers can relate to. I found myself wanting Soo-jin to get better and be happy.
Many people would say, Joo-eun should not have had to change herself to find love or happiness, but I believe the story focused more on her and Young-ho falling in love, with the weight loss as part of their journey together. There is tragedy in this story. What drama would be without it, but it is this strength the pair have gained from each other that overcomes all.
Yes, it may be a bit on the fluff side, so if you are looking for something to watch that is funny and romantic without all the backstabbing you'll enjoy this series.
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Light-hearted, and yet incredibly moving at the same time. A story about friendship, the importance of changes, overcoming obstacles, and about how everyone needs a little help now and again. Also, obviously, romance. Would recommend to everyone ever, but especially if you're in the mood for mostly-down-to-earth characters who are also complicated, yet relatable people and an uplifting romantic story!
(RANDOM THOUGHTS)
For one, it was GREAT to find a show that made me want to exercise, instead of eat which is what most K-drama inspires in me (looking at you, Oh My Ghostess). For all of the two days that the inspiration lasted, I'm still grateful. Now, I LOVED this show. I didn't expect to love it, I was even dubious on whether I should try it at all, but I was determined to watch something on the lighter side and this seemed like the most promising one at the time. I built up such a connection to the characters, even the supporting cast, that I just couldn't help being moved - I've only cried twice to a drama, and I really didn't expect it to happen here, but it did. The story was mostly predictable, but guess what, so is life. What it had going for it was just that - the humanness and likability of most involved, getting to uncover their motivations and their history, going along for the ride and having some laughs and some "aw" moments. It surpassed my expectations in every way.
Starting it, I was also interested whether So Ji Sub could pull off a not-cold-as-stone or introverted character. Boy, could he. I fell in love with that man here. His acting was so visceral, you could really feel the character's pain and helplessness, but he was also pure gold in the comedy parts. He acts with his whole body, or should I say presence - and this is something I didn't appreciate before, but began to after this drama. I was seriously blown away. To boot, the character was an actually decent guy, it reminded me of the revelation I had when watching Queen In-Hyun's Man - that the lead doesn't have to be an A*hole to inspire interest in the story and a lot of swoon. A lot of swoons were had here.
Another thing I really liked about this was that the character of "Venus" was relatable and real. I could see some of myself in her, and I rarely can in K-drama heroines because they're just so darn cute. She was cute, but she was also a grown woman, and I was pleasantly surprised with how they handled the sexual innuendos. I mean, that the intention was at least there in the subtext, and that she had a normal, active approach to it rather than staring blankly in half-terror while being kissed. Her chemistry with So Ji Sub punched you from behind the screen, and what's more - they didn't need intense and unbelievably dramatic twists to show it, their relationship was actually "healthy" (in the psychological sense, as well as the exercising one).
The story lines of the supporting cast, each of them, added to the experience rather than bogging it down or slowing the pace. I sincerely enjoyed all of the comic relief and the trio-bro-mance, as well as the story between the 2nd leads. It was a different way to go, for sure, but it was one I appreciated. Actually, for all its straight-forwardness, this drama was hella-progressive in subverting the tropes it included. Kudos for that, kudos all around!
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This review may contain spoilers
A must watch
Sooooo, let me start by saying the cast is amazing; every individual in this drama was perfectly cast. The main girl is beautiful physically and mentally, if that makes sense. She is kind but has a little backbone. The Main dude is, hands down, has the right mix of cocky dude but sweet. I'm not gonna really spoil the drama, but the message I got from the drama is beauty is really in the eye of the holder. Losing weight wouldn't make you the most beautiful person in the world if you internally have no self-confidence or self-esteem. The main girl wanted to lose weight; however, the drama focused on losing the weight for her well-being rather than focusing on losing weight to become skinny. The drama highlights the importance of healthy eating and the determination to make changes in your life.I wanna watch something that is lightly sweet and has a good life story behind the drama. I highly recommended this drama; I've literally watched this like 10 times so far.
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Great leads but flat side characters
I didn't expect it to be so comforting but it was! A smart and strong FL plus a nice ML, both of who have good communication...It was just so refreshing. This is how I think you should write a strong female lead; she has pride but isn't an emotionless robot and can get hurt, she's great at what she does, she stands up for herself and her friends and goes after what she wants despite Lady Luck not always being on her side. And the ML was great as well; I'm so sick of the cold jerk rich male lead it was fun to see a character that went against all that; he was kind and nice from the start while still being sure of his own boundaries. Together, the ML and the FL made such a great duo; they had great chemistry, full communication, and mutual understanding.The main side characters, particularly the ML's two friends, were great as well and I loved how bubbly and fun they were while each still kind of having their own hobbies and doing their own thing. Something about this group with the FL just felt so much like found family.
Overall, I actually thought the weight/health theme was done fairly well — it's usually something I'm very hesitant about. There are still some throwaway lines, especially at the end, that made me a little uncomfortable and felt like the writers had no more time left to insert good development, but everything in the early part of the drama was great; the FL was so much more than her weight and her work/friendships/family showed that, and it was more than appearances and "getting revenge" on her exes — she did it for herself.
Other than the main leads, however, I felt like the second and side ships really fell flat. It was hard to root for the second ship considering how it was her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend and the latter was so snarky and pouty, and the other side ship felt a little random and obsessive.
There are honestly a tad too many side characters and many of them were related to family drama and office politics, neither of which I really cared about; and tied in with them were some kdrama tropes that would normally bother me a lot. I'll never like some of them but I was surprised how it actually didn't bother me as much in this drama — mostly because there was a really strong understanding between the two leads which other dramas ruin, while this one made use of it.
Overall, this drama was very fluffy, light-hearted, and cute. There were some cliches and some side-plots that didn't really get fleshed out as much as I wanted, but for a rom-com it was great, and watching this was just FUN. The OST is a bop too.
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Is it worth it?
This always popped up for me so i decided to watch it finally..I liked the story lineand the actors were really good. I always wish they would add more though. Personally I don't care for the side characters story wrap up scenes in these dramas that just more time they could jave spent wrapping up the main ones lole actually showing the babies and the wedding. I always want more from these dramas so its always a little disappointing to get to the point where they are finally together and it shows the side characters wrap ups.
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the second reason is that , the drama has very calm and friendly and nice atmosphere that makes me feel good and relax .. when i was so tried about everything and start to watch it , i completely forget about my bad feelings.
the third reason is that so ji sub is my best .. No 1 now and forever .. he is wonderful talented actor .. all the roles that he played before were brilliant and in this drama he shows his talented personality in love .. showing love and make viewers feel his pure love .. excellent
and the last reason is that all the actors and actresses were completely match together.. ost was nice .. I gave 10 from 10 to this drama ..
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This review may contain spoilers
Oh my fatphobia
*******SPOILERS********The first few episodes of this drama were really hard to get through because of the constant jokes and remarks about Kang Joo Eun’s weight. I kinda knew instantly that with her transformation the ML would start to show his feelings and that just bothered me. I appreciated the emphasis on inside as well as outside health, so that was something done right. But I didn’t like the association that the FL was no longer “beautiful” with her added weight and that she needed to lose weight to be beautiful again.
I also found a lot of the other storylines kinda boring/unnecessary. It was really hard to root for the secondary couple because of the way their relationship started and how they treated the FL. And the fact that the ML went a whole year without seeing the FL to heal on his own was kinda dumb.
But - when the relationship developed between the leads I was just squealing at every cute moment. They really were an adorable couple and the actors did a good job displaying chemistry. That’s really what made me keep watching. A lot of kdramas shy away from overt affection, but I liked that these characters weren’t shy about it and the romance didn’t feel lackluster.
Overall I have a lot of problems with it but I also love it at the same time. It’s hard because I know that beauty standards differ in South Korea but I had to mention it since so much of the drama revolves around it. I would still recommend the drama through if you’re like me and a good couple can get you through it. I really fell in love with the actors.
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