Goblin (2016)

If you are hesitating to watch this at all, please....just throw out your reservations and watch this. Goblin has just made my favorites list. Even my husband got sucked in and loves this show. The cinematography was gorgeous, the music was amazing, the actors were perfect (Hello, Gong Yoo!), the story was heartbreakingly beautiful.

This is the first time I've watched any of the main actors except Yoo In Na. I have now officially developed a Gong Yoo crush and understand why drama fans are enamored of him. Gong Yoo as Kim Shin/ Goblin was mesmerizing. I could listen to his voice for days. Every scene he was in was a treat. Every emotion that his character had was palpable, and his smiles could light up the sky.
And Kim Go Eun as Ji Eun Tak was super cute. She had a lot of detractors and the writer got a lot of flak for making her so young. But the character and her age were perfect for this story and how it unfolded.
Lee Dong Wook as the Grim Reaper had the perfect deadpan (heh) delivery. And he may be the best male "crier" I've seen yet.

The story will make you laugh and make you cry. Not only is the love story epic, but so is the bromance between Goblin and Reaper. I've found that I'm quite fond of this fantasy genre and this has been done so well. I have hardly any criticisms of this show at all because even the flaws faded into nothing noticeable for me. It's sweet, funny, romantic, sad, tragic, beautiful...

The music was perfect and perfectly lovely. I don't always pay much attention to the music, but this show utilized it so well and chose the perfect songs. So many people loved even the intro song that they made a special recording of it to make it a full length song (Round and Round, but may also be found under Never Far Away). Beautiful by Crush was the best song in my opinion, and I believe that it was the theme song for our main couple. And Stay With Me by Chanyeol and Punch was another favorite.

Rewatch value is high - if not everything, then there are many, many favorite scenes that I'll go back to and relive the feels. :)

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Every moment of it indeed shined!
Goblin is a great drama. I went into it with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised, or more accurately, I was blown away. You can recognize a good drama by the way it makes you feel exactly what the characters in the drama are feeling. That's the way Goblin was for me, with each character, I laughed and I cried.

I'll TRY to keep the review sweet and short, so here are the reasons I enjoyed Goblin:
-The premise is unique. It's one of a kind. I haven't seen any other Kdramas with a similar plot-line to Goblin, so that was a plus point.
-The actors do a superb job. I could feel their emotions from across the screen. then again, nothing less to be expected from such a spectacular cast.
-The drama has everything, ranging from bromance, romance to mystery and suspense.
-The bromance is spectacular. One of the most epic bromance I've ever seen in a Kdrama. It made me laugh a lot, but it also had its heartwarming and heart-wrenching moments. Goblin and Grim Reaper's relationship is one of the best reasons to pick this up.
-The two couples- Goblin & Eun Tak and Grim Reaper & Sunny. Both couples had their own story. The sweet and cute moments of the Goblin couple & the sizzling chemistry between Grim Reaper and Sunny was enough to keep the 'romance' meter of the drama pretty high. You won't be able to get enough of the cuteness of Goblin & Eun Tak.
-The mystery of the characters. From 'the lady in red' to the king and queen, each episode just gave enough glimpse into their lives to keep us engrossed. It'll drive you crazy in a good way.
-Each minute of every episode was enjoyable. I didn't skip a single moment of any episode.
-The unexpectedness of the drama was really great. Just when you'd think you had something figured out, some twist would come along and surprise you. The writer sure did a tremendous job.
BONUS: Beautiful and addictive OST

I personally didn't find anything even remotely bad about it, but that's not to say other people won't, so here's a few things you should keep in mind before venturing into it.
-The age difference between Goblin [ (~939) he was 39 when he died and then immortal for 900 years] and Eun Tak (19).
-Comparatively less screen time for Sunny and Grim Reaper couple. But I suppose that's to be expected specially since the title alone indicates that Kim Shin (Goblin) is the main lead, so it's no wonder they get the most screen time.
-Worst product placement you'll ever see in a Kdrama. You might think I'm kidding but sometimes even the smallest thing can annoy you. I personally found those scenes amusing though.

So, to sum up- I LOVED this drama! Do give this one a chance, you won't be disappointed. Once you start it, chances are, you'll end up loving it. Happy Watching!

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