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Emotionally perfect!
Honestly, I really enjoyed watching this K-drama, especially because this is not your typical everyday K-drama.First of all, a WARNING: If you're soft-hearted, I'd advise you to prepare the ice cream and most importantly the tissues because, believe me, you're gonna need them! This one of the very few dramas that can make me cry my eyes out.
Why do I say this isn't your typical K-drama? Because this drama is surrounding a huge incident that changed the life of all the characters involved, marking them physically or emotionally.
I enjoyed GangDoo and MoonSoo as a couple, they were connected in a deeper way than they originally thought, but even after they found the truth they still pulled through.
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1) The story is heavy. Its about trauma, losing people, youth and yourself in the journey called life. Its about facing your fears, forgiving yourself, others and eventually picking your life's pieces and moving on. The story deals with human emotions....almost philosophically. One can write volumes of literature analysis on how beautifully it depicts loss, pain, wounds and healing. The story is poignantly complex on a human level but very simple from the perspective of story plot. No words can do justice to how fascinating this show is, you have to watch it and experience it.
2) Both the lead actors are phenomenal. Junho is just mind blowing. No words can do justice to his mastery in this show. I had no idea he was part of a group called 2pm (yes I know I am late to the party), had not seen any of his previous shows. But after watching this, I can assure you he's one of my favorite. He deserves all kinds of awards and publicity for the acting chops he showed in this one. His profound attention to detail, his ability to empathize with his character and ingenious ability to be raw on screen is magical to witness. I can't wait to see whats more in store from him. I read somewhere that Won Jin Ah got this role after beating many prospects in a countrywide audition. After seeing her in this show, I would like to say kudos to the casting directors. Great job. This woman has a bright career ahead, she was spectacular as the female lead.
3) No matter how hard I try I can't fault anything in this show. The editing, cinematography, background score, supporting cast.......everything was at its best. Visually this show is breathtaking. The direction is consistent, mellow, thoughtful and very wholesome. Its fairly evident that the makers have put a lot of thought in every detail of the show which makes it a gem that no one should miss.
If you're not someone who gets bored with slow shows with heavy topics or enjoys slow burn romances over hollow fast paced cliche rom coms.....I highly recommend it to you.
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Marvelous acting
Junho and Won Jin Ah are both marvelous in this. I loved their storyline and their connection to each other from the past. The secondary story lines? Not so much. HATED her mother - she was a mess and seemed to be uncaring that she had a living daughter. It started to go south for me at about episode 13, when it appeared that I was not going to be happy about the ending. The writers turned it around, but it was rushed. The connection between Junho and Won Jin Ah was amazing, The looks they would give each other, the little smiles, the hand holding. She has a somewhat sexy deep voice, which I found fascinating as well.Was this review helpful to you?
Rain or Shine
Another successful K Drama .Good story , brilliant acting . Nothing is glossed over , it shows the plain reality of traumatic experiences and how to survive them in a harsh world where money and power often dictate . The past always catching up with one is a common theme in Korean drama . The likeable characters all impact of one another and manage to bring the best in one another through kindness and sheer determination to make things better for all. At the end they embrace the future positively and move forward through love , friendship and humour ! A great show . May require a box of tissues at hand !
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The thing that really stands out with Just Between Lovers is that it really highlights life in itself, there are ups and downs, no one is perfect and even if you feel like you've hit rock bottom, you probably still haven't reached your lowest point. Both the leads are troubled people that despite their shared tragedy, one remains optimistic and tries to live a better life while the other seems to fall behind and can never catch a break.
The chemistry between Gang Doo and Moon Soo is incredible so I really need to give a hats off to Junho and Jinah for really bringing such life and passion behind their characters. This is my first time seeing Junho apart from the idol shows and kpop scene and let me just say that I am extremely impressed with his acting. He really played his part of a troubled and rough-around-the-edges young man perfectly and I could feel it from every line. I was also very impressed with Jinah's acting and her own portrayal of the bright Moon Soo. There wasn't too much crying on her part (as I tend to get very annoyed with scenes like those as they are usually over done and unnecessary and more often then not makes the female lead look weak as instead of trying to face the problem she just wallows in self pity and cries), but not Moon Soo! Those scenes just showed raw emotion and made sense with what was happening in the scene.
This drama never felt like it was getting boring or that they were giving you filler scenes, it was always good quality content and it will leave you wanting more. I was getting major withdrawal symptoms when I finished the last episode and was honestly pondering the meaning of life for a while. Jokes aside I'm just going to come right out and say that I have never in my life sworn so much at a drama before. This drama will evict so so many emotions from you, both happy and sad, frustrating and heart-wrenching. I found myself yelling at my laptop screen and throwing pillows because that's what this drama does, it gives you a real story, a story that could happen any day , it gives you raw emotion and that's what you respond with, more raw emotion. I cried more times than I'd like to admit, keep in mind that this isn't a drama you watch just because "you're bored" this is a commitment. This isn't some light and fluffy drama you watch when you have nothing else better to do and you don't want to think too hard, this is the opposite, don't let yourself be consumed if you can't commit.
All in all I could actually go on for hours about the greatness of Just Between Lovers but I'm sure you all get the gist. Amazing, amazing,amazing, that's all I can say.
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It is pretty dark, explores the demons that people have especially after a stressful situation, it also lt open the vision about the poverty in Korea. In this drama, there are no Cheabols, no money, just the most normal people that you can find among all the dramas.
I loved it, is pretty strong not to cry in many scenes, Junho made a wonderful work to impersonate a person with so many problems, both physically and mentally that you can't love him.
Also the whole cast made a wonderful work, from the old grandma till each people that appeared here!
Absolutely worth the time spent by watching it!
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Sad series , well acted
Nice series , if a tad sad, so not one to watch if your down in dumps. Drags a tad in parts , but then it was as if they wrote 20 episodes and tried to push the last 4 into episode 16. Super acting from most leads. They left me hanging in the air about who owned the bones they found, that part of story should have been solved for the family concerned. It would have capped the end of it nicely .But worst of all....we had 14 eposides deciding what the death memorial was going to look like, visiting families getting beautiful emotional stories , shots of plans and maps of layouts and then OMG we were not shown the finished memorial. What the hell lads, did no one preview this ??? Where was the director for that ??
The romance story was really nice . I like these 2 leads, lovely chemistry .
I'd have personally drowned her mother in the bath...did she never consider that she had 2 daughters !!!
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I don't think there was good chemistry between the two main characters, whether it was because of the actors who didn't have good chemistry or it was because the director didn't give enough instructions, but I think they could convey the story better.
I won't rewatch it, same as all korean series except for one, I don't believe there is a value here to rewatch it. Its a story that needs to be told only once, in the second time I think my rating will be less attractive then now.
The OST wasn't good enough either I didn't have even one song I can listen to it over and over, the same as it was in Scarlet Heart.
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Miserable and boring
Don't get fooled by this drama's promising start - overcoming past trauma, a touch of intrigue, a promise of a bright future. After just a few episodes, the show turns into a endless loop of misery with characters doing stupid things and refusing to be happy.Instead of telling a heartwarming story about healing, personal growth, and finding happiness, the plot gets high-jacked by filler arcs, side characters, and the main couple's constant "woe on me" whining. The writers milk the past trauma trope until there is nothing more to milk and completely abuse the use of flashbacks. In the second half, the show turns into a cheesy melodrama full of overused cliches. He breaks up with her and runs away because he loves her. They spend time with rival love interests and avoid each other when they shouldn't. There is no hope and nothing to look forward to because everyone always falls back on being miserable no matter how much they accomplish. The atrocious storytelling culminates with Lee Kang Doo's liver failure due to nose bleeds and fainting all the while he sees ghosts and hears voices.
Moon Soo is unbelievably frustrating and unlikable. She is portrayed as a typical innocent female who is supposed to be extraordinary in her simplicity. In reality, she is selfish, clueless, and has the emotional maturity of a middle schooler. Although, she eventually starts acting her age and dressing like an adult, that doesn't help her character development. She continues living in her little bubble and playing a martyr when it suits her. When she wants Lee Kang Doo to give her attention, she relentlessly pursuits him. But as soon as she is uncomfortable, she gives up and disregards him when he needs her the most. Her ignoring him when he begged for her attention before fainting really highlighted the awfulness of her character.
Romantic chemistry between the main couple is very bland. They hold hands, hug, share a jacket, but as soon as he comes close to her, she recoils like he has the cooties. For a righteous nutjob who exudes unapologetic, raw masculinity, it was rather disappointing to watch Lee Kang Doo share such vanilla and chaste kisses with a woman he was so passionately in love with. Lee Jun Ho is so good he can have chemistry with a potato, but even his talent couldn't save the drama from Won Jin Ah's awful acting.
Overall, the fast-forward button saved me, otherwise, I would've dropped this disaster after episode 5. The pacing is slow and the plot is riddled with side arcs completely irrelevant to the main story. I was looking forward to this drama because of the high ratings, now I want all those hours of my life back.
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Haunting
It’s been a month since I watched this drama and it still haunts me. The visuals, the music, the raw emotion... it just got under my skin and will definitely be one of those unforgettable dramas for me. Maybe being from the US and having lived through the 9/11 World Trade Center collapse and fallout it makes me sensitive to this subject matter. It was incredible, anyway.Be ready to go on an emotional rollercoaster. And I highly recommend finding the OST because there are some killer tracks.
That’s all I really wanted to say. Not sure if I hit 500 words yet. Oops, not yet.
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Great performances, well-crafted story, beautifully shot
I loved this. It easily made my top 10 k-dramas list.The story was clean and simple, with only one modest trope that I could find - and even that worked, in fact it was essential, to the overall story. The characters were real, human, and beautifully drawn - with the story giving each space to breathe. The story explored grief, guilt (including survivor guilt), PTSD, and found families.
The acting was very, very good - particularly from Lee Jun-ho (outstanding, actually, particularly as acting isn't his day job), Kang Han-na, Yoon Se-ah, and Kim Kang-hyun.
I'm slightly - just slightly - conflicted about the ending. Would it have been slightly better if what appeared to be the arc for one character followed what appeared to be its trajectory? Maybe. But overall a wonderful drama.
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