Park Seo Joon was not on my radar before this show. I thought I disliked him after watching She Was Pretty, but after starting this I want to see everything he's in. Kim Ji Won is super adorable as Ae Ra as well. The actors did a great job holding the romantic tension -- I was wound tighter than a drum waiting for them to get together. And when they finally did, it was magical! The show treated us to lots of skinship and I gobbled it up like a Thanksgiving feast. I had nothing but heart eyes for our main couple.
Our second leads did a good job as well, although they had a different trajectory than the main couple. There are completely different feelings for their romance. The other side characters were well played, and as always, Kim Sung Oh makes a great supporting cast member.
I have relatively few criticisms for this show. It is what it is - a romantic comedy with a little drama to keep things interesting and move the storyline along. The show did its thing well and I was along for the ride every step of the way, anxiously awaiting new episodes every week, and am feeling quite sad to let Dong Man and Ae Ra go so soon. If you love a good romance, this is your crack. :)
Re-watch? Already started.... :)
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On the other hand, Joo Man and Seol Hee's storyline is literally the most boring thing I think I've ever watched on television. They repeat the same "he can't take a hint" storyline for ~14/16 of the episodes, with no progression or development for Joo Man, Seol Hee, or the storyline. I for the life of me cannot understand who thought their storyline would be interesting to see; it's the most cliche storyline, only they don't advance it at all and the pace is non-existent for nothing changes between them as each episode progresses. It doesn't help that Joo Man is unrealistically idiotic with his inability to take a hint and Seol Hee is frustratingly passive in doing anything about it, opting to simply complain and pout each episode rather than take action and become an active character in the storyline. It's because of their storyline that this show is unfortunately so bogged down for me and why I ultimately fast-forward to half of each episode.
Aside from Joo Man and Seol Hee's storyline, however, the Dong Man and Ae Ra storyline is as good as other reviewers have said it is. It's just unfortunate that half of each episode is taken up by my personally least favorite storyline in TV drama history, which is why I give the drama exactly a 5/10.
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You learn a lot about MMA fighting which was interesting and made the story unique (and it didn’t hurt seeing Park Seo Joon’s abs all the time). The fight scenes and competitions kept it fast paced and intriguing. I liked the underlying message about fighting for what you believe in and never giving up hope that things will get better. Both the main leads and the second leads never gave up on their dreams despite constant setbacks. And the friendship between these four is so touching and endearing.
As for the romance in the drama, the main leads have great chemistry with lots of skinship. And the kisses aren’t the boring fake ones, they’re the long, hot, steamy kisses. These actors are so good that they make you think they could be lovers in real life.
This drama also had great comedy that made me laugh out loud which I don’t do very often. And I liked that it has some interesting twists to the story that I didn’t see coming which was a pleasant surprise. And even though there is some angst and sad parts, nothing is over the top or taken too far. The angst level isn’t too high but there’s enough there to give the story some depth to draw you in.
I can’t really think of any negative things about this drama. It has a nice balance of romance, comedy, action, and friendship. It teaches a lesson about fighting for your dreams and never gets slow or boring. If you don’t watch this drama you’re missing out on something really special.
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It's a coming-of-age, very slice-of-life story of friends to lovers.
Fight for my way centers around two childhood besties Ae Ra and Dong Man, who are chasing after their dreams in their 30's despite their lack of the best resumes. Dong Man is a retired Taekwondo fighter and Ae Ra works the information desk at a shopping mall but her dream is to become an announcer.The first thing I want to mention is the heartful performances of all the cast. The characters are so well suited for one another that I forget that they're acting. I think this is another best performances I've ever seen from Park Seo Joon since Itaewon Class. It's not over the top but it's just so believable and realistic and subtle, really brilliant! Each character is written to be very loveable, everyone is very flawed and they make mistakes, which makes me eager to watch their journeys.
However, the storyline around the first quarter of the series seems to have no reason to be there, I didn't feel its urgency and they have no arc at the end of the series. Because of the pacing and progression of the plot and all of the subplots is very loose to me. Had it been tightened up a little bit I think I would have enjoyed this much more. I wish they would spend more time maybe focusing more on the impact that Dong Man's sister had, knowing that he's losing the competition for her health because I was so interested to see this storyline being developed a bit more. I feel the ending is rushed and thrown out there, so it doesn't give a satisfying conclusion.
I ended up watching all of it because I really like the characters and their chemistry, both between the leads and also between the side characters. They're undeniably very interesting and fun to watch. I like how they emphasize the start of their relationship, their cute childhood scenes, and then the ending or potential ending of one. I love when shows do that, it reminded me a lot of "Because This Is My First Life". This is not a high-stakes romance drama, but more about the adorable romance of characters with big personalities and big goals of theirs. The true progression of friends to lovers is one of the best I've seen. So overall, this was a really entertaining watch, just expect some plot detours. :)
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Completely resonated with me as someone in the late 20s/30s striving for her dreams. Don't let the summary mislead you, as it did for me. This is a drama about friendship and love. This is about living in reality, while still looking toward your dreams.
I fell in love with the characters in this drama because they are so relatable. The two main leads share a great chemistry, as they progressed from friendship to romantic love. I really liked how the drama depicted the relationship's initial awkwardness as they transitioned - very totally cute scenes. The acting was great as I was sucked in every single time. I also enjoyed the depiction of lifelong friendships between the four main leads, and the friendship between the parents as well!
Use of music was great, as the background music made me crack up many times. Also, I liked how the product placement wasn't completely obvious and was very artfully placed in the drama.
All the subplots and main plot was wrapped up very nicely in the end, which made for a satisfying ending.
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The jealous scenes before they started dating was so hard to watch, it annoyed the hell out of me i wanted ro just skip the whole episode.
The second lead couple actually saved the show, thier relationship is shown more realistically and in a more touching way. They made me more interested to watch the episode.
I am iffy about both the leads characters, the female lead is a pretty strong human doesn't let others walk over her, just like the male lead which was a good thing, but they are a little too controlling.
The leads had good chemistry and were cute together though. Thier story about them achieving thier dreams were touching. Especially the second female lead standing up on her own and doing things for herself was one of the best parts of the show, a very well done character development.
One of the reason i may have enjoyed the show less maybe that i had seen too many spoilers of this show long back,so there was no element of surprise,that's on me though i ruined for myself.
The music and acting was impressive as usual we except nothing less from them :)
Definitely feel this show is a little bit overrated still a good watch!
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STORY -
It isn't overly complicated, but that in itself is quite refreshing in comparison to other kdramas because there aren't any unnecessary plot twists or overly complicated situations that break up the main pair. It's just a story about four friends in their late twenties struggling with their career and relationships and trying their best just to survive and reclaim their dreams. I think that's what I love most about it because it just resonates so much with anyone in their twenties. There are so many great lines as well in the drama that serve as great motivations for us all to keep fighting for our dreams no matter how hard it gets or what anyone else tells us.
And then you get to the romance and it's so pure and lovely because first and foremost, above all else, they're best friends. They have each other's corners through thick and thin and they would literally fight other people to protect each other. The fact that they have this long history of supporting each other is so sweet and it gives the way they fall in love with each other later so much more depth. I also think this drama really portrays realistic relationships in all its fluff and pain. The second leads' relationship as well is so beautifully heartwrenching in how real it is for many people.
Not to mention, it's just a freaking ball of fun. There are so many hilarious moments in the drama between the characters, especially with PSJ's character and his coach (my gosh, they're the real OTP tbh). But seriously, it's just so funny and so uplifting. And although it's not an action drama, you still have really cool fight scenes as PSJ's character is an MMA fighter.
ACTING -
Park Seo Joon and Kim Ji Won have unbelievable chemistry together! Their scenes were so natural that it makes it hard to believe that they're not together in real life, to be honest. They're just both amazing actors and together, they really made this drama come alive. There's one specific scene though towards the end of the drama that really emphasised how crazy good of an actor PSJ is. When you're watching, your heart just breaks into a million pieces and you just think 'wow, this guy... this guy is gonna go far in his career.' But it wasn't just them that brought this drama to such a high rating for me. The entire cast were amazing. The secondary lead actors... the coach... everyone was great! The characters were all believable and fleshed out.
MUSIC -
I love the music. It was cute and always made me really happy. Although, there was only really one song I remember from the drama. The rest was kind of forgettable, but while you were watching, the OST really added to the drama even if it wasn't the best OST in the world.
REWATCH?? Oh hell yea!!
OVERALL -
So maybe it's not the most complex story you'll ever watch and maybe the romantic angst isn't as extreme as some other dramas, but wow, you'll really regret it if you don't at least give it a try. I mean don't go into this expecting something like Goblin or The Heirs or something. Go into this expecting to laugh and just feel uplifted by the message of the story (oh, and did I mention GRATUITOUS SHOTS OF SHIRTLESS PARK SEO JOON?!?!).
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This drama started out so good, and as it progressed, it is always consistent and ended out well, & I am so happy for it.
What I love about this drama is that it is not just all about those two couples with their cute and romantic scenes, but it is also all about not giving up on your dreams and you can reach it despite of people letting you down because of your education and financial status. This drama is giving you lessons in life, and I like that.
Thank you for adding some epilogues and prologues in some episodes that gives us idea about the main characters' backgrounds.
There are no fillers, every scene is so interesting! Both of the couples have chemistry that is so amazing and I could jump up and down & shipping those couples in real life. I just love every scenes and those unexpected twists that you can't get bored of it.
I am so glad that every person who are rude to Ae Ra, Dong Man and Sul Hee get what they deserved. HA! That's what you all get. Suckers. (LOL!)
I was scared that it will be rushed on the last 2 episodes because of so many problems during the 14th episode. But thank goodness every problem was solved well. I just wished that they could've made it a bit... longer. Like 4 more episodes or just 2, just for the normal pacing of the plot. That's why I gave 9.5 on story. I wanted to see a bit more. Just a little bit.
This drama gave me mixed emotions. Happiness, sadness, anger, tension & laughter. Even all of you can feel this while watching the episodes.
Drama, Romance, Family, Action & Comedy. These genres in the drama are like a well cooked meal, they are the right spices for it and it is well balanced.
The OST is so good. The music really fits on the drama and it is really cute. Some songs have like those 70s or 80s (I don't know) vibe into it, and I am loving it!
Overall, the drama is AMAZING!
I am not much of a re-watcher but I'll definitely re-watch it if I'm not that busy with life. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS DRAMA! Going to miss this.
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But the best thing about it is how real it feels. The actors do such a great job making their characters come alive. They all feel like real people - friends that you might know if real life with relatable career obstacles and realistic relationship troubles. It's really touching how they support and care for each other even though they might talk tough. You really feel the deep connections between the childhood friends and the 2 main leads have great chemistry.
The writing and pacing are great. With most dramas it takes a few episodes for me to warm up and get into the story or characters. But this one is easy and comfortable and hard not to love from the start.
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And when they weren't fighting for their careers, the main couple were supporting and loving each other. Can't count how many times one of them dropped what they were doing and ran to cheer the other up.
Even though Ae Ra hated seeing Dong Man get hurt, that didn't keep her from being there when he really needed her. And Dong Man always made sure to give Ae Ra a shoulder to cry on when things got too tough. Their chemistry as both best friends and romantic partners was ever present and too much fun to watch.
The secondary storyline involving Dong Man and Ae Ra's best friends started out interesting, but became boring to me towards the end of the show. That's the only reason I didn't give this drama a 10. Just wasn't fun watching people who loved each other be so pretty and thoughtless. I was all smiles by the end though.
Also, I have to take a minute to talk about how adorable the actor who played Dong Man is. It is completely superficial, but thanks to this drama and What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, he is now my favorite romantic comedy hero. Not only is he handsome (always willing to give the fans a shirtless scene too), but no matter who the actress is, he looks at and kisses her in a way that makes you believe he really loves her. This isn't an easy thing for an actor to do, and Park Seo Joon is something special. If he and Shin Min Ah ever do a drama together I'm not sure my heart could take it.
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Power Poor Couple!!!
Definitely would recommend this K-Drama for the people who wanna watch Korean Drama for the first time.The story & acting are so real. I really enjoyed watching the whole story. Imagine you're poor, so do your best friend, going everywhere with public transportaion and struggle to find the right jobs, based on your old dreamsfight for my way it's one of my to do list of watch every year. Oh ya, didn't want to forget mention the ost too, it was really good!!
Highly recommended if you wanna watch some fun K-Drama without thinking too much ?
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But of course there were a few shortcomings;
- Ae ra annoyed me at times, it felt like she could never be pleased. But overall, I liked the character.
- I feel as though some characters that appear to be quite dominant in the beginning just vanish as the show progresses for example; Moo bin. Even though his character is not one you would particularly enjoy seeing. Also, for some reason the first few episodes somehow feel disconnected from the rest of the drama.
Overall, I REALLY enjoyed it. I wasn't too convinced with the first few episodes as I stopped watching for a week after the first three but as soon as I picked it up again things got a lot better. I'm glad I gave fight for my way a chance, it was a nice break from the supernatural/historical dramas I had previously watched.
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