A beautiful story
This story takes a while to get into. The first episode is a bit confusing but after a few episodes I began throughly enjoying the story and the characters.Best Parts:
The characters are so beautifully written and complex. Many of the characters are neither good or bad but are somewhere in the gray area.
The cinematography is gorgeous. This show looks beautiful and it is obvious that the production team put their best effort to make this show look great.
Weaker Parts:
I would say my only complaint is some of the characters I wish we spent more on screen time with them.
A bit of warning: This show can get a bit violent/ bloody.
Overall: This is become one of my favorite dramas and I think the drama with the best production value I have ever seen. I recommend the watch.
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Could have a much better ending…
watched the whole episode….the More i watched the more i have to force myself to finish. Things are moving Too slow. The slow and lingering gaze between the main leads becomes monotonous and loosing its magic. The longings are too cruel. Then it’s just tragedy after tragedy after tragedy.This movie is a tragedy.
I saw the high ratings and expectations were high. There few who has similar views on how bad this drama, thank you for being honest and took the time to share with everyone.
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The five main characters are a dream to watch. You feel for them very strongly early on and even if you think that some of them are a bit extra, they get under your skin.
I loved Eugene the most, though. His relationship with Ae-sin was my favourite part of the drama. It reminded me of Jane Austen's Emma - he accepted her, admired her, let her be herself and loved her so very much.
If I loved it less, I might be able to talk about it more.
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There's no doubt that "Mr.Sunshine" is focused on everything visual.
- Beautiful natural landscapes/background and scenery.
- Amazing and epic cinematography.
- Good color work, light and shadow.
- Classic and cultural clothing.
- Great graphics and effects.
- And even a great sound work.
It is beautiful.
The drama is very descriptive, detailed and symbolic.
The drama has a deep love story, which is something I usually don't like, but surprisingly, this drama hits my favourites and was quite funny. The comedy is so subtle and well tailored into the scenes.
Lee Byung-Hun is one of the best korean actors and the most popular internationally and Kim Tae-Ri has so much talent. A she proves that in one of the best movies, "The Handmaiden", so these two actors accepted these roles because, they knew this drama would be different and epic.
Amazing support characters.
Even though 3 leads love the same woman, their love is pure and everyone of them is willing to sacrifice. I really like the fact that there is no jealous relationship that turned people into evil beings.
The drama also shows girl power with such badass and awesome female characters, which I completely loved!
You can wait for 10/10 from all actors.. Acting, characters, excellent.
Mr.Sunshine is a truly piece of art.
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You know how lots of dramas start off strong and peter out? This one starts strong and gets stronger and stronger as it progresses. The story pacing seemed a bit slow to me at first. There may be a few too many dramatic pauses. But it's worth it. As the plot unfolds it really builds to an exciting crescendo that wouldn't have been as powerful or heartbreaking if we hadn't been given the time to really know the characters. The last few episodes are so powerful I can't get some of the images out of my head. It finishes strong.
The story centers around 5 main characters - each intriguing and well portrayed - each with a particular viewpoint and relationship with the country of Joseon. There is Eugene, the slave who escapes to America as a young boy and returns for revenge, Ae Shin, the badass noble woman who leads a double life as a rebel and Dong Mae, the fearsome swordsman with a fatal weakness. Hina is the tough, enigmatic hotel proprieter and Hui Seung is Ae Shin's affable fiance. These characters play off each other marvelously. I love the unspoken and begrudging admiration that develops between them - even when their motives are sometimes at odds. I fell in love with them and I cried for them all.
There are so many pieces to the story and its put together perfectly - a great balance between the history, love story and thrilling action scenes. There's even a little humor and cuteness. Mr. Sunshine is a beautiful historical drama - well written, exciting, emotionally stirring and heartbreaking. Don't miss it!
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I would honestly say that I really have high expectations for this drama. It was created by DOTS and Goblin creators so what should we expect right? It was so good that it exceeded my expectation. The storyline was old and based in the past but it was fresh; very new. The twists and rollercoaster ride they added to history made everything perfect.
There were so many things I want to say about it while watching but now that I finished it, I was speechless. I was so attached to the drama that a part of me felt left. It was a lovestory, but it wasn't just about romance. It's about love for family, love for friends, love for strangers who turned to family, love for comrades, love for the people and most especially love for the country. Just when I think I know the word 'love', I was just as clueless as Go Ae Shin, and no language can explain it.
The five actors really gave justice to their characters. I love how 5 different people from different countries with different plans ended up with the same goals. There were bad blood at first, but suddenly turned to fondness, and all became allies. The characters were all so unique and well written. Kim Hui Seong may be narcissist but he was never arrogant. He was so loving, selfless and precious. Go Dong Mae is evil, and he really is. But when it comes to the people he values, he is willing to risk everything. Who wouldn't love Kudo Hina? She's a strong woman who doesn't need any man in her life to back her up. As for Eugene Choi, oh my god, I love him so much. And Go Ae Shin? She's the best! Despite being noble and being untouchable she still stood tall and fought for the people who are powerless.
I was first skeptical to start because I've seen the age gap but it never bothered me. Thank God I really gave it a try.
"Guns, glory, sad endings"
I was wondering why those words were kept being mentioned in the first episodes and realized that the whole story revolved around those three words. The guns, where it all started. The glory, as every characters strove for their beliefs. And sad endings, because endings means good byes.
P.S. If you're planning on watching it get your tissues ready. It will be a fun but painful ride.
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Everyone of the five main characters touched my heart in different ways. The acting was on point. The humour was delightful especially as the relationship of the three men moved to a different level of empathy and understanding. The scenes in which Ae Shin learns English and Eugene learns Korean were delicious!
And most beautiful of all was the love story of the American Joseon soldier who didn't belong anywhere and the plucky young Go Ae Shin who fought to protect her motherland. He loved her but he hated Joseon and yet he helped her in every way he could. This is the best love story I have ever watched in a kdrama and I find myself going back to their scenes together again and again.
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However, even though the story was good and very impressive, the drama had a slow start. It felt like it was dragging on for the first half. In the second half, fortunately, it picked up. The action scenes were more plenty and the plot thickened. Kudos for the ending as well, as it was bold to conclude things like this.
Moreover, the performances were excellent from all the actors and they were many many characters in this drama, so it was harder to pull off concistant performances from all of them. One thing that bothered me though, was the constant changing of the language of the dialogues throughout the drama. But that might not bother everyone.
Finally, the costumes and settings were really good and felt original and well made. Though the soundtrack wasn't that impressive, it suited the drama's mood well enough.
So, overall, 7 out of 10.
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This review may contain spoilers
For the first 10 episodes or so, I was a little lukewarm toward the series, mainly because I found the pacing to be a bit slow, and I wasn't on board with the main ship yet. However, my decision to persist was the best decision yet. I grew to love not only Gu Dong Mae (I'm obsessed!), but also Kim Hui-Seong, Eugene Choi, Lady Ae-Sin, Kudo Hina, and all those side characters as well. This drama is so heavy, and at times so light and uplifting. It has left me with so many feelings with my heart. I'm overwhelmed and utterly impressed by this experience. Others have said so much about this drama, but I just have to say this:
Humor is 10/10, and this is coming from a person who is very skeptical of humor in k-dramas. But this was so well-done, everything from Interpreter Im and Do-Mi, to the bromance between Eugene, Dong Mae and Hui Seong, to Ae-Sin's struggle to learn English. I'm left wanting a special episode for each of the main characters that I wanted to learn more about; namely Gu Dong Mae and Kudo Hina. I really, really wanted to learn how Kudo Hina came to be who she is when the drama begins. If you're looking for complex characters, this is the series to watch.
Acting 10/10: All characters, main or secondary, completely owned their roles and became them.
Cinematography 10/10 ... need I say more? Every shot was breathtaking.
Plot 10/10 I freaking love historical narratives.
Romance 9/10 I didn't buy Hui Seong's love for Ae Sin (that was too abrupt and I don't believe in love at first sight), but the Ae Sin - Dong Mae interactions were full of tension, and the Ae Sin Eugene interactions always made me smile. It was adorable and heartbreaking.
Pacing 8/10 If you're like me, you'll get impatient with the drawn out scenes where a character just stares into the distant with a pretty background and a melodic OST blaring in all its glory. I just zoomed past those, but there were too many of such scenes and I hungered for more action ... which I got after episode 12 (so hang on!).
I really liked how the drama portrays class conflict between characters entangled with political/military conflict and nationality. Eugene Choi is a Korean-born American captain who seems to struggle with how he should approach his feelings toward Joseon, a country that failed to protect him and his family. Ae-Sin is a noblewoman who is deeply loyal to her country, but is stuck between the patriarchal restraints on women, the need to pick up a weapon and fight, and a complex relationship with lower class like Gu Dong Mae. "The hierarchical system is destroyed, but we can't change our roots. Once a slave, always a slave." The series doesn't merely portray the unfailing courage of Joseon in the face of Japanese imperialism, it also highlights some key problems of the Joseon society. In Joseon there are the lower class butchers and slaves who are so oppressed they can't even protect their own children, there are traitors who are keen to sell Joseon to Japan, there are those who turn against their own parents and choose to be loyal to their country, and there are those who leave their country to survive, only to come back and take revenge against those who oppressed them.
This drama truly deserves the high ratings and accolades it's gotten.
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Secondly, I would like to thank the writer and director for being so damn good in casting these characters. I could not imagine if any other celebrities to act well as these casting did! I fall in love with all these main roles. Kim Tae Ri did so much super damn good in portraying her character. Fall in love with her the moment saw her on the roof with the black spy attire. I love Eugene Choi! He is such a manly character, matured and his voice is so much cool. Lee Byung Hun and Kim Tae Ri succeed in portraying their chemistry as the main lead characters. Dong Mae, Kudo Hina and Hui Seong did such an awesome art work... They really did best in this drama. This drama won't be this damn good without them.
Heartbreaking love story, but I do really fond this drama. After watching this drama for thrice, I still could not move on to the other drama yet. This drama successfully attached me and somehow I did saw them in my dream. Hahahahaha... Being so much dramatic now, but I do recommend you guys to watch this drama sooner.
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I knew that this drama would come with lots of heart wrecking moments. Moments that moved me so often because the story did an excellent groundwork of its characters. There were so many facettes of each of them, you unknowingly start to root for everyone, even though some of them might have started out with your disliking. Although... No, actually not. I never really disliked anyone who didn't deserve it. It's exciting to see everyone's story develop, to see where their decisions lead them. They are like branches, pointed towards different paths, and yet grew from the same tree. And in the end the wind blows them in the same direction.
I never felt that the story would move forward too slow because each scene was important to me. Like enjoying a good wine. Every tiny moment sucks you in and doesn't let go. And with all the historical background it was exciting and refreshing to hear at least 3 (sometimes even 4) different languages throughout the whole drama. Though I can't judge the Japanese parts, the English ones sounded pretty good to me.
This is not a drama that blends you with a stunning cinematography, pretty costumes and a nice setting, just to cover up a lacking story. This drama does have all these things AND a convincing and fullfilling plot which makes it a gem in this massive pool of dramas.
It's a story about friendship, loyalty, bravery, love and sacrifice. And it would be a shame to miss out on it.
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