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Overused tropes in fantasy genre
I have been watching Korean dramas since my early teens; it has been close to 20 years. I'm genuinely quite sick and tired of the same old plotlines where there are two leads that are bound to end up together, and two supporting actors who may or may not end up together. Writers continue to churn out these repetitive storylines for mindless entertainment to appeal to lonely, horny, swoony, young (and older) women. Goblin, is just another one of these dramas.I absolutely hated this drama: I actually dropped it halfway around episode 8 and continued with my life for the next 6 months with little intention to return to it. I only forced myself to finish the series so it won't keep showing up in my "Continue Watching" list in my Netflix account.
Its redeeming qualities are the CGI stuff, and the performance of the supporting actors. I thought their love story was slightly more interesting and bittersweet. I was irked by the weird semblance to the awful Twilight series, where an undead male figure falls in love with a teenage girl. EEEWW. Sorry, no matter how dashing Gong Yoo is (I am one of the few who never found him charismatic), I shudder to think how anyone could find this romantic, even suspending all logic.
If you are a newbie into the Korean drama universe, this could be a sample drama for you to let your heartstrings be tugged. But for longtime K-drama watchers like me, I am always looking for something new and refreshing.
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This review may contain spoilers
If you want to watch this drama, be ready for an emotional rollercoaster! This is the first drama that makes me cry a lot, but also laugh a lot. It combines both dramatic and funny elements wonderfully. Spoilers ahead:
The cast and acting were A+!! I was really happy to see Sungjae in a drama and I'm so happy he was such a great actor! I usually am a little skeptical when I see idol actors because I've seen some who weren't that good, but he was really great and I'm happy for him!
Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook were exceptional! While I wasn't that impressed with Lee Dong Wook's acting in Hotel King, I found it to be exceptional in this drama and I feel like he improved a lot! His friendship with the goblin was hilarious and wonderful, I loved it!
This is the first drama with Kim Go Eun I watch and she was great, I think she did a good job and I will surely watch other dramas in which she played!
Before Goblin, I knew Gong Yoo from Coffee Prince and I can't say I had any opinion on him, but after this, I'm in love! His ability of conveying emotion is fantastic!
I know Yoo In Na from 'My Love From Another Star' and I couldn't really form an opinion on her, especially since I can't say I was impressed with her acting, but I really liked her in this drama!
The subject was a new an interesting one for me, but I couldn't really understand why he was cursed even after she pulled the sword out and summoned him back. I would have expected him to age again, but idk. And if you think about the fact that he's cursed to lose her in all of her 4 lives and then never meet her again, it makes it even sadder!
Overall, it was a wonderful drama and I wholeheartedly recommend it!
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So as soon as i started watching this i got sucked into it the world because the cinematography is amazing in this just like most korean dramas but the execution was amazing for this. as i got to the end of the first episode i just fell in love with every character in the drama. the way the cast portrait the characters is just amazing and i highly doubt any other actors would have been able to do any better than this!
the story gets confusing a bit at times i mean they don't get in depth on some subjects but still it doesn't ruin it for you although it would have been a nice touch if they had elaborated. they are hilarious moments, extremely sad and some freaky moments. they just know how to make you feel a mix range of emotions and that's what made me love this drama even more. the bromance was amazing! i mean one of the best i have seen so far, and the actual romance was sweet and i'll be honest i usually don't like it when the main leads have such a huge age gap but it actually didn't seem weird in this drama, and i'm actually not being biased lol
the soundtrack. one word...AMAZING. I usually like a lot of ost but this one was so good i had to download them and listened to them on repeat for a good 2 weeks after i finished the whole drama!
all in all this is a drama you will not regret watching honestly. the best drama of the year so far and i'll be honest i don't think anything will top this for a while for me personally!
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Every things were perfects, characters, actings skill, feelings, music. I'm just sad that it has already finished, i just want to watch it again. The romance is like a smooth poetry.
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I will definitely rewatch this because I miss the characters so much, even after 15 minutes from seeing them lol. I recommend this to ANYONE who likes dramas as is is funny, romantic and have some action! It also teachers a lot of lessons and puts other people's lives into perspective. Thank you so much to the writers as this is my favourite and now I have high expectations XD
10/10
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Overrated ...it was just too boring to watch ..
i was not able to met any kond of expectations that i had with the hype of this kseries..I can't deny that cast is perfect .Story line is just nice but it could have been less boring if the portray was improved..ppl hyping over this drama got me excited to give it a try but i was disappointed in the very first episode although i forced myself to ep 4 but it was totally not worth it .Honestly this was boring .lg this kind of drama is not for me .All are loving this but i can't help myself to hate this thing .. its just my opinion , idk the reason why ppl love this but if you feel this drama is for you just go ahead and watch this hyped drama who knows you will end up liking it...Was this review helpful to you?
Kim shin looks like lack of emotion and in many scene he chose to keep quiet and lack of reaction. The joke scenes are like being forced. Appreciate writer cares about the working on the final episode.
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this drama destroyed me....
Goblin is a fantasy romance about a modern day goblin (Gong Yoo) who seeks to end his cursed immortal life and needs a human bride (Kim Go Eun) to do so. His life then becomes intertwined with a grim reaper (Lee Dong Wook) who is unable to remember his past. But when the goblin finally finds his bride, he suddenly realizes he wants to live and be with her.Goblin is an epic tale with a story that spans centuries. It was quite an interesting ride filled with some amazing characters, talented actors, and a fresh and unique story woven beautifully throughout each episode. I really love seeing a kdrama with such a heavy fantasy concept. It creates a full mythology surrounding the characters and how certain things work. That makes discovering this world and its secrets very interesting. There are some very impressive shots in the opening episode featuring an intense battle during the historical portion and a huge ship caught in raging waters. The historical portion as a whole had a very cinematic quality to it that was also very gripping right from the start.
Gong Yoo plays our cursed Goblin, Kim Shin. There are many different sides to Shin’s character, and Gong Yoo played them all perfectly. He’s a brave and fierce warrior in the historical portion where he finds himself at odds with the king.
We then have our Goblin bride, Ji Eun Tak, played by Kim Go Eun. Kim Go Eun was very endearing as Eun Tak. She was bright, adorable, and full of life. Her youthful exuberance is like a ray of sunshine that warms up Shin’s heart. It’s easy to see why our Goblin falls hard for her.
Lee Dong Wook is our Grim Reaper. I have a soft spot for Lee Dong Wook, and I absolutely loved his character. He has such a commanding presence that instills power and fear, yet he easily transitions to a sort of awkward and bumbling character.
Yoo In Na was lovely as Sunny. She seems a bit bored with life, but things really liven up for her when the Grim Reaper shows up doing all of these things she finds strange and fascinating.
Yook Sung Jae did well as Yoo Duk Hwa. His family has served the Goblin for 900 years. He’s immature and a bit spoiled, but he has a good heart. He was a nice addition to our Goblin family.
The story is very rich, and I loved delving deep into it. The drama sets up the story very well with high stakes and plenty of questions. While it does take a while to get answers, once we continue deeper into the story, the drama just gets better and better. The drama does include a lot of humor which is something I greatly appreciate, but it was also sort of a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I thought they spent a little too much time on basic character interactions without a whole lot of forward plot development in the first half of the drama. Ideally, I would have liked more of the meat of the story to be better dispersed throughout the drama.
In the beginning, Shin and the Grim Reaper are mostly the deadpan style. Initially, that made it more difficult for me to warm up to them. But the more I saw of their interactions, the more comfortable I became and the more hilarious I found them to be. As the drama progresses and they grow more comfortable with each other, their humor also became more of the fun and goofy style that I like. And that produces some truly hilarious scenes!
Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun were a really sweet and fun couple. Their relationship has such a strong importance right from the beginning. Eun Tak was able to warm up the lonely Shin’s heart, and he was able to provide her a family.
Goblin is a unique drama in the kdrama landscape. Its rich fantasy story that intertwined everyone’s fates was done very eloquently. Each character is memorable and engaging and completely brought to life by all of the talented actors portraying them.
It’s an epic story of love, friendship, and forgiveness that tugs at the heart. It’s a poignant and moving drama that definitely left a lasting impression.
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Iconic drama in every way
Sorry for being late, just caught up on that now...if you would have to recommend a kdrama to a newbie, this is definitely one to choose. Starting from the acting, story, romance drama and mesmerizing soundtrack...none a failure, all over the top. Okay, if you can't deal with a guy alive for more than 900 years, you're not into fairytales anyway ;-)The FL is may be one of the most lovable, cute and pretty of all times. I guess the director must have smiled along with her acting. I guess Kim Go Eun surpassed any expectations. Sometimes you'll just watch her talking without reading the subtitles and begin to smile for yourself. The ML fits well also. Beyond that the SML and SFL story and acting is perfect, too and of course the interaction between the SML and the ML is anything from positively weird to hilarious.
Besides all the fun you really wonder if the script writer knew for how many litres of tears and pain she would be responsible :-) How can you do this to us !?
The soundtrack will stick in your ears for days after you complete the drama and even the ending was on the good side compared to others.
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Watched for the cast and the Kdrama legacy
This show is so popular on My Drama List and it was on my watchlist for a long time and I love Kim Go-Eun (especially in Yumi's Cells series) so finally did a watch through after starting the show several months ago.Things I appreciated:
The. cast! the friendship between Reaper, Goblin, and Ji Eun-Tak was so fun to watch - their banter was great. Enjoyed Sunny's character and really all the side characters.
The side stories Reaper had with his job, and Eun-Tak had with the ghosts - the whole show could have been those and I would have loved it.
The production - it was good quality
Things I did not enjoy:
The overarching story of Goblin
So much crying
The age-gap for no real solid reason - she could have been any age, why start the main character in her senior year of high school, like who thought that ick would be a good idea. The actors did so great and played immature, and mature really well and kept it very appropriate but just ick
The over-use of flashbacks
^for these last two reasons it would be cool to see a remake that is 10 episodes, with a main character starting in college or early twenties if they must be younger than Goblin, and intentional use of flashbacks.
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