This drama was so refreshing and comforting, a complete year-end surprise. Never two friends became lovers so naturally. Never friendship, family and love were portrayed as adorably well as here. I didn't expect it to be so addictive and beautiful, I'm speechless.
STORY
The story itself seemed very attractive, but after seeing the first ep I felt somewhat disappointed. But thank God I didn't dropped it! From the fourth episode the quality increased a lot, the story took shape and the characters looked better defined. No doubt they took full advantage of this beautiful plot that only took the sport as an excuse to show how two friends fall in love as they struggle to achieve their dreams. No weak characters, no idiots and abusive male leads. I love the way this portrays the youth and its warmth.
ACTING
Applause for everyone! If I was already surprised by the drastic change of character Sung Kyung ventured into when she accepted this role, I was more surprised when I saw Joo Hyuk's adorable performance, which translated into the couple's insuperable chemistry. Seriously, I can never accept that they don't act side by side.
The secondary performances were also more than charming.
OVERALL
I finished this drama full of hope, as if suddenly I had injected a great dose of energy to get ahead. All of it reminds you how beautiful life can be. Give yourself the pleasure of watching this drama! Impossible to repent later. Oh and I almost forgot: SWAAAAAG!
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A drama filled with so much beautiful meaning into it. A very healthy, sensible, genuine kind of story as to friendship, family, love, goal, career and priority. It is really funny especially with that "WHAAAAAT!" lol. Plus this drama is such a TROLL not everything you'd expect will happen, It will take you by surprise and you'll find yourself laughing. The edge of this drama from the one's I've watch? It's not the feels but the message it brought me, It was truly amazing.
CHARACTERS
Kim Bok Joo and Joon Hyeong is the best love story I've watch, a kind of relationship that would bring out the best in you, filled with overload cuteness, realistic a normal one. Phasing of their story is slow but slow kind of stories turned out to be awesomely perfect! They are so friendship and relationship goaaaals!!
Kim Bok Joo
This girl is totally relatable, when she's in love, to music taste, to clothes, to fangirling activities. Everything about her is suweeeeeeeeeeg!
Let's talk about the male lead. Joon Hyeong, ok I'll keep it short his character is so boyfriend material, a kind of guy you want to keep in yourself, in your life.
Ex girlfriend: OK she's the "only one cliche" here like a kind of clingy ex you'll hate but her existence didn't much affect me.
Friends: yes a very fun friends to be with
Abujji and samcheon: You'll love the father and daughter relationship, samcheon is very sweet, likeable and so kind plus funny.
Actors and Actress:
Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk both are great and I know it's not related here but I just want them to date for life. lol
Edit: They are officially dating not as characters but as real life couple!!!! Confirmed by Papa YG this month of April 2017. According to dispatch they've been dating since month of January 2017
Everyone else of the cast is so good ofc!
LESSON: Every girl deserves to be treated as a girl, a woman despite of any career she's into like Police, Carpenter, Judo, Boxing, Weightlifters.... Those fields are mostly for men so they're like boys into other people's eyes but ...Hell they shouldn't! They are girls too! Who would love to wear dress, wears clip, wears lipstick and wants to be beautiful especially when they're In front of the guy they like. I think they're the coolest girl ever with a suweeeeeeeeeeg!!
(There's more into lessons, life, meaning into this drama I just give you some points about it. Kekekke)
RECOMMENDATION:
Even though I so love this drama. I would not recommend it for everyone, this is a kind of a kind of drama that targets a certain group of viewers. I'd highly recommend it to the youth like from age bracket of teenagers to 25 years or if not by age depends with your personality like if your happy go lucky one, or if you love reading my review and it keeps your interest, the genre is your style then you'll definitely love it despite of your age. This drama is slow yes. Could be an advantage or disadvantage. You just gotta be patient with it and everything will be worth it and it will perfectly fits into place.
Music:
I always enjoy the sound effects in funny scenes that's the best thing like "WHAAAAAT"!
Rewatch Value: I thought one time viewing is enough or just rewatch a certain scene would be enough but as I watch more episode I become more attached with the story and I was like I need to watch this as a whole over and over again.
Overall: one word, SWAG!
Writing a review feels like I'm saying goodbye to this drama for the second time around that it hurts so much.... *Wiped tears*
Kim Bok Joo and Joon Hyeong is so lovable, I would not mind watching another season with them or another drama from LSK and NJH..~
Warning: if you deeply love the story, the characters, once you complete this drama you'll feel incomplete, a happy one but it will make you sad.
It will always have a special place in my heart.
Ok before I end my review I have a question for you. Ummmm... Do you like Messi? Hahahaha!! Nevermind. Anyways hope my review helps!!!
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Story.
The plot overall is light. There is no real super mystery/silly plot twist/revenge plan as per the usually Korean dramas. There was a few lost plots in the middle. such as any of the characters actually being athletes.
Cast & Characters.
I really struggled with the female lead. As a character, Kim Bok Joo was really disjointed; it's as if the writers tried to fit her into every female mold there is without any consideration. This, as a character, made her really annoying. She was immature, and very self-centred as a character. Even when she was trying to do something for someone else, it was usually for her own agenda. She really didn't deserve Jung Joon Hyeong. Also, the crying scenes. Good lord, I had to fast forward because they were so bad. Lee Sung Kyung's acting left a lot to be desired with the two facial expressions she had.
Also, why did everyone feel the need to shout all the time? I am still trying to find the value in Jung Nan Hee's character as all she did was shout and cry about how hard things were without her friend. I felt like the show was trying to overall the female friendship aspect with such a character.
Although Jung Joon Hyeong's character didn't have too much depth, he was a very enjoyable male lead and overall had a very precious personality.
Music.
There was quite a few nice songs, especially Dream.
Rewatch Value.
Not much to be honest. There was a few good scenes that you could rewatch but not a series as a whole.
Overall: I think the show is highly overrated. I get why people like it but to me it was a massive letdown.
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I started this show because everyone seemed to obsess over it. I figured it should be a worthwhile to give it a go. To my dismay, I ended up watching what I'd considered as one of the most boring dramas I've gotten to watch.
The main character is adorable, but pretty dull and always very whiny and can't ever stand for herself. Supporting characters are just as boring or irrelevant, and their personality is too extreme for me to care about them; they just yell all the time. Nam Joo Hyuk's character is really the only one doing anything interesting on the show.
I just don't understand why this drama has such a cult following and fans calls it a must watch. Everyone praises this show but it's honestly very slow and boring. I've watched over dozens of Korean dramas from different genres that were better than this one.
The reviews on this website are biased. It's honestly all in the ratings, and for a reason -- Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok Joo is slow, boring, with very dull characters and a non-interesting general and side plots. It is cute, but nothing beyond that.
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This review may contain spoilers
Great ingredients gone astray
More often than not, a rating of 8.7 or higher on MDL equals something that delivers. This however, did not. I can see that the screenwriter, actors, and director have talent. Unfortunately, the individual elements just didn't work. What a disappointing ride.First, the positives:
Every line was delivered naturally by charismatic actors. Lee Sung Kyung as Bok Joo played her part naturally (as much as she could), and I enjoyed her expressive way of acting in this character. Nam Joo Hyuk as Joon Hyung was super earnest in his portrayal of the young, fun swimmer. I also applaud a show focused on a female lead who is supposed to break the norm of appearance and gender stereotypes, especially in a society that focuses so much on gender roles. Finally, the script included straightforward lines that were endearing in their honesty, even if they were overdone sometimes.
Now, the negatives:
The entire plot was based on immature and silly misunderstandings and dramatic twists that didn't fit. It was as if the writer didn't know how to create challenges naturally so they resorted to making up far-fetched dramatic build-up for the characters to get tangled in. Instead of simply presenting unrequited love, they had Bok Joo make excuses and steal away to the clinic and have friends cover up and then get in trouble from coaches and parents for it all. Instead of letting Joon Hyung's childhood trauma play out naturally, the writer added lies that the adopted family kept up for years, tried to tie this to his relationship with his adoptive brother, and had the parent return to cause more drama. The list of ways in which natural drama could have built up and how each character could have grown as they dealt with it was completely wasted. And the heap of random characters and side plots were brief and distracting.
What could have made this show great:
- Focus on Bok Joo and have the drama in her life revolve around: sick father, working on accepting her unconventional appearance and value as a weightlifter, slowly falling for Joon Hyung, and of course, her actual training and competition hardships (which were handled so minimally and poorly in the show)
- Focus on Joon Hyung and have his story revolve around: abandonment, inability to start races, maybe throw in a rival swimmer to push him forward in swimming, and slowly falling for Bok Joo
- Get rid of all the rest of the meaningless characters and random tiny dramas and let the athletes actually show us what it's like to be an athlete: train hard, win and lose, get injured, pick themselves up again, have conversations about all of this, and sprinkle in a bit of drama and romance
All the ingredients above are things we've seen in dramas before. Even if they were handled in conventional ways, it would have yielded great results: deep conversations, personal growth, and inspiration. Unfortunately, we are left with the opposite.
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The plot is sweet enough, but I truly fail to see its purpose. The premises, that is, a girly girl who lifts heavy weights, could have been everyone else that comes to mind – a clown, a dock worker, a truck driver or a simple student. The sport of weightlifting itself does absolutely nothing to deeply define this girl, except for 2 details: 1st, the hardship of balancing love for this sport with the basic womanly needs of being pretty; 2nd, the ridiculous choice of main actress, who is as believable as a weightlifter as I am as the first queen of Goryeo.
In Cheese in the Trap, the last drama I saw her acting in, someone called her "a giraffe", which I'd say is quite accurate a description. Lee Sung Kyung is tall, thin and beautiful, and her acting here consists of an alternation of pouts and a goofy gate that should lead us to believe she's not feminine. While watching, I spent a lot of time deciding whether I should raise one eyebrow or both.
The humour is off, at least for my taste. I didn't laugh once. There's too much screaming and wrestling, and most of all, there's too much eating. When I enter the realm of Korean drama, I'm psychologically prepared to see people eat at every opportunity, but here they really don't do much more. The quantity of food – and junk food – shoved into everyone's mouth is such that I got nauseous.
Acting is average. None of the actors shine in his or her performance, possibly because the script has no room for deep characterization. This isn't even a coming of age kind of story, since all characters end up being basically the same they were in the beginning, but with a partner. All the interesting cues, those that somehow delved deeper into the emotions of some characters, are conveniently skimmed and resolved in the space of a few minutes. Everyone lies to everyone else and calls it either friendship or protection. Bah.
There is some music… I think.
Never to be rewatched. Once was enough to establish this is not my kind of drama and simply forget about it. My 6 is due to the fact that I completed it.
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A fun way to pass the time, but DEFINITELY overrated
As someone whose scope of Korean dramas has been heavily broadened the past few months, I`ve learnt to categorize most in this helpful, albeit generalized way:Dramas that will make you feel something for years to come and dramas that serve a much shallower, yet more colorful purpose:to simply entertain you. Most, if not all dramas, fit into one of these two categories. It`s very seldom you`d find a drama that encompasses both sentiments, but I hoped "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo" would be that drama. Unfortunately, my expectations were half met. This drama certainly can be categorized and it falls in the category of pure sweet entertainment.As I like to preface all my reviews by saying that I`d first like to highlight positive sides of every drama, I`ll do the same here. I`m a firm believer of firstly giving praises to the cast, director, writer and everyone else involved because it is not easy to make a drama(this coming from a writer). So, what did I enjoy in "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo"?Well, first of all, the cinematography is clean and very competent. It`s bright and fits the overall mood of this drama excellently. The OST also does a great job of amplifying the vibe this drama is striving for. It`s fun, at times eclectic and it`s just on the cusp of being repetitive, but not quite. The characters of Bok Joo`s father and her friends are definitely the best for me when it comes to comedy. As most people can guess by my watchlist, I`m not big on slapstick or drama comedy in general, but there were a few moments I found genuinely funny and it was coming from the aforementioned bunch. And I also appreciated that they used actors of all body types, which I rarely see in Korean dramas(wish they had the same approach when it came to choosing our main character but alas).As for the chemistry between our leads-it`s free-flowing, mostly natural and clearly generated(meaning that the chemistry wasn`t underdeveloped nor forced, which I greatly appreciate). I did hear it was due to the fact that these actors were dating for a few months while filming this drama and it shows. Their moments of romance, though stereotypical, range from serviceable to your-cheeks-hurting cute. Joon hyung is a great male lead and I related to him the most throughout this drama. He`s charming, but emotionally intelligent enough to not be discarded as just another bland flirt. Their relationship reminds of those high school sweethearts links. Which is cute in isolation, however, my mind suddenly came to a conclusion that these people were supposed to be around my age. Thus shock settled.
Now we come to my gripes with this drama. And many come from the title character herself. Kim Bok Joo. And this is a weird one for me. The character of Bok Joo STARTED OFF as somewhat of a female version of Dongman(from "Fight My Way"). They are both impulsive, easily excitable and quick to fall deeply for someone. And then, along the way, she became this unidentifiable identity. And I`m convinced that this is due to some questionable writing we are presented with. While I can admit that she is not a typical female drama lead, to say that Bok Joo`s a good posterchild for breaking stereotypes of femininity and female form in dramas is an overstatement. While skimming through some of the comments previous reviewers left, I realized that even I semi-agree with them. And I say even, because I like to think I`m not extremely difficult in suspending belief if need be. But, um Lee Sung Kyung was not a good pick for this role, when it comes to the character herself(again, couple chemistry-GREAT). She simply does not look nor is she convincing as a responsible weightlifter who`s (extremely) immature for her age. And I get that casting plays a role in this, there aren`t a whole lot of muscular women(none well-known) who could play the main character. Even still, having her dress in oversized clothing to push the idea of someone who she`s clearly not really weirded me out. And that`s even before diving into her actual character, who`s so, so confusing. As an established responsible character with a hardworking family, it really rubbed me the wrong way how easily she settled for paying exorbitant amounts of money in order to just see her crush. But I chalked that one up to messy first love(I guess). But then she also hid her budding relationship with Yoon hyung for no actual reason. Like, it actually thematically makes no sense and it made me sad for Yoon hyung who was actually great in his pursuit. Finally, instead of empowering me and other women who do not fit the society`s and much less drama`s version of femininity, Bok Joo simply came off as a confused child, prancing around aimlessly. Another complaint I have, and is the main problem for me, is unfortunately the length of this drama and how much they decide to focus on the ex-girlfriend to fill this empty time frame. IT`S RIDICULOUS. Even I, who is all for character development, had enough because they weren`t presenting any new facts by episode 10-they were just reiterating what we already know. Again, this drama would`ve been much more enjoyable if it was a 10 or 12 episodes show, rather than 16. For the kind of story it presents and level of character development we do get, it`s too, too long. Not to mention they lose a bit of momentum with our main couple because they get together in episode 11. I`m all for slowburn romances but for the type of drama this wound up being, it`s too longwinded.
In the end, "Weightlifting Fairy Bok Joo" was a mess, but an enjoyable one. However, it definitely deserves a lesser spot, because the one it currently holds is kind of ridiculous. Would recommend for an easy watch, but not much beyond that.
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Overall, the story itself is pretty simple and typical. This is not to say that the storyline itself is bad; it is a good show for casual viewing and for those looking for something heartwarming to kill time. However, if you are looking for something fresh and original, I would not say that this drama nails that on the head. I found that the plot lacked much individuality besides the main protagonist being a weightlifter. The story itself is pretty predictable and follows the traditional kdrama "childhood friend love story" plot line.
Would I rewatch this show? No. Would I recommend it to someone who likes love stories? Yeah, sure.
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This is how good “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo” is.
In short, for those of you who are impatient, is a very sweet, yet very real drama, about friendship, family, love and coming of age.
But there’s so much grace in how it’s done, that it deserves a more detailed explanation.
The plot is very (very) simple, yet very well written. The story follows Bok Joo; a young girl in the campus of a sports university (?), that happens to practice weightlifting. That’s nearly all you will get to know about weightlifting (it could have been golf and there would’ve been no difference, so worry not about the topic. I’m mentioning this because I know the “weightlifting theme” could been a throwback to some).
Bok Joo has a group a friends; a romantic crush; a family; a passion (weightlifting of course), all the things and problems that any standard teenager experiences. The hole plot revolves around her and (again) the normal things that could happen to a normal teenager. The difference to other dramas, is that everything FEELS real. And that’s rare.
How many times did we found ourselves hating the protagonist or wanting to smash the TV because we couldn’t understand the decisions they made? Of course, deep down we now the writer makes them do that in order to fulfill the number of episodes that they need. But nothing like that happens here. The characters (and their dialogues) are delightfully written; each one consistent with each personality (which are very rich and most important, real life people), and they are incredible lovable. The writer skillfully makes you fall in love with each one of them (including the ones you initially “hate”) because you get understand them all.
Also, the character development is done very progressively (although that doesn’t mean that the show is “slow”); I’ll assure you, you will enjoy every second of Bok Joo & friends, as they discover who they are, and who they want to be in the world.
The acting not only is superb (everybody does their job so well and they’re SO believable); but the chemistry between Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo-hyuk is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
I was really surprised by Lee Sung Kyung! At first I was really skeptic but despite her character being adorably written, she also does a fantastic job in making you believe her. Her expressions and her body language is fantastic.
The music is very good also, and it respects the tone of the series, really sweet, but it's something that I rarely pay attention to, so there's not much I have to say about it.
Finally I wish to remark that despite all the good things I said, that alone it's not enough to be one of the best dramas I've ever seen (and the only one that has a 10 on my scores), it is because adding to all that there's the way it makes you feel. This drama is sweet, so sweet that every episode you'll watch it will feel as a warm ray of sunshine (and not cheese at all, that's only my poor metaphor choice). You'll find yourself smiling at the TV at all times. And that doesn't mean there aren't any sad moments, because there are, but it's not kdrama tragedy, it's real life problems/sadness. And the show has a very optimistic way to portrait it; instead of having you crying about how unfair life is, you'll be rooting for the characters as they (not without effort) overcome their problems and grow up in the process.
This drama accomplishes the (almost) impossible: It's sweet, joyful and innocent, (without feeling cheesy) and at the same time it's mature and realistic.
So, I'll definitely recommend this to anyone, despite what your preferences are, I'm sure you'll enjoy it and it will bring you joy.
Kim Bok Joo is SWAG! :)
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Parts of the show I skipped are any scenes revolving around Song Shi Ho. I could not care for her problems or her story. I also skipped most scenes including Jung Jae Yi and the school nurse, unless the main characters were included in the scene. Again, I could not care less for them or their problems. I skipped most of the weightlifting and swimming scenes. I only watched Bok Joo's big moment as far as weightlifting goes and then for swimming I may have watched one of the first races before I gave up. I skipped these scenes because there is no plot progression. So, when reading the rest of my review, please understand that I have probably skipped half the show, because that's how much time all of these parts took up.
-Story-
As mentioned before, weightlifting fairy bored me from the very beginning and I would not have finished it if it weren't for all of the hype. The story is simple. It is a slice of life story, which is fine honestly, but the premise just didn't interest me. I like other slice of life stories, but not this one. I can honestly barely remember what most of the story was. I can remember, however, aspects that bothered me. One of them is eating. These girls were always eating. I know nothing about weightlifting but these girls were too obsessed with food. There were so many eating scenes, it's like every character was starving or they needed to make sure someone else wasn't starving. All of them actually seemed very well-fed. I'd say eating scenes took up a good chunk of the show. The eating scenes didn't even make me hungry, I was just disgusted by their unhealthy diets.
But enough about the negatives. As far as the romance goes, it was done well. There was no bullshit when it came to confessing. As soon as they both realized their feelings they got to it and there was no extra angst. This was refreshing. Their care for each other was also very believable. There were also some really sweet moments that I just want to replay again and again.
-Characters-
*shiver* The characters. The worst part of the show imo. I hated the weightlifting coaches. They acted like children, especially the woman coach, and were way to up in the business of the main character. Bok Joo's friends were annoying as heck, especially the shorter one with pigtails. Every time she showed up on screen I wanted to give up on watching this show. She was unbearable. The other friend was annoying but she wasn't half as obnoxious. The rival, Song Shi Ho was annoying but she honestly didn't cause much trouble and she owned up to her actions.
Bok Joo was annoying most of the show until around episode 12. I shouldn't have to wait 12 episodes for the main character to be less annoying. Many fans of this show think of her as a strong female character, but she was just an absolute grouch. She always looked unhappy until she finally started being nice to the male lead. She was easily provoked and violent. She always wore super bulky clothing and walked like she was holding a basketball between her legs. The only thing that redeemed her is that she owned up to her feelings and accepted them instead of sitting in denial for four episodes.
Male lead was perfect. I have no complaints for him. Great acting. Amazing acting. I could watch him on screen all day. Nothing he did ever annoyed me. He was the most genuine character in the show.
-Music-
The music, overall was good. I have two songs from the show that I've listened to multiple times now. One of them is called From Now On and the other is Dreaming.
-Overall-
I can't give this show higher than a seven. While it has some of the best romantic scenes I've ever seen, that doesn't completely make up for all of the fluff, useless scenes and bullshit I skipped through to reach them.
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Honestly, this is a breath of fresh air and a gem in a sea of rocks. For all we know, most stories would turn the "ugly" girl into a swan and the boy would eventually realize that he is in love with her, but this one is an exception. I love how it portrays college love/first love as it really is. A warm and fuzzy feeling. Usually, these dramas are one of the cringe-all-you-can types, but I've found it the opposite of that (even my brother who doesn't watch Korean dramas agrees that this one does not make him cringe at all). It's not even the cliche kind that we're getting tired of. The story's progression is so realistic that it won't leave you impatient for the leads to uncover their feelings.
The goodness of dramas are not based on popularity and ratings and this one proves it (to think that this is the first review I've made because it really made a mark on me). If you are reading this, hear me out and watch this gem! The music is so good, the story is transparent, simple and admirable, the cast has the BEST chemistry (kudos to the casting team for picking so well!), and the acting is exceptional! I'd definitely watch this over and over again. There are no fuss and frills in this drama. You will really feel the honesty and sincerity of the characters' feelings. It's like they are not acting but really portraying the characters as they are and it will leave you confused if they are really like that in real life. Everything is just so sincere that reel becomes REAL! I actually regret that I've ever hesitated on watching this. The transparency and lightness of this drama will make you feel a lot of honest and fuzzy feelings, so if you're thinking about watching it, stop hesitating and watch it now!
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