Right off the bat, I can already tell that this drama won't exactly deliver any groundbreaking twists or Oscar-worthy performances, but regardless, I still started this expecting that they'll give a refreshing version of twins switching places and fascinating execution of clichés—and fair enough, I could say I'M NOT DISAPPOINTED.
STORY:
This is a 40 episodes drama, but don't let this intimidate you because every episode is actually shorter (only 35 minutes each so almost similar to your 20 episodes drama) and unlike most dramas, I didn't find this dragging or boring at all and in fact surprisingly hilarious and fun (I even find myself looking forward for the next episodes, so it's a plus!). I do agree that its plot development may be unrealistic at times (especially its ending), but IT IS a drama and personally, I think it's what makes this very enjoyable. It's definitely obvious who the "good" and "bad" guys are, but I really commend how the writers managed to give a balanced screentime for both the main and supporting characters. As a viewer, this made me perceive their actions/motivations more believable and somehow empathized more with them, However, what significantly made me rate this higher was attributed to the seemingly natural and satisfying timing and unpredictability of their twists and the ability of the writers to craft a makjang packed with charm and good in its own right without the usual painful angst.
ACTING/CAST:
Most of the leads here are very experienced (some of them may even be familiar), so it's no surprise that they kind of know how to bring out certain emotions from their audience. Nonetheless, what stood out for me was Lee Da Hee. I haven't heard of her before this, but I came to like her because of this drama. Her portrayal of the twins with opposite personalities was so spot on that I could immediately tell which is which even before they speak. The other one was Ryu Soo Young, which oddly may it sounds, took me by surprise. Her portrayal of Song Woo Jin absolutely made the drama extra appealing and interesting. I don't know how, but he sure does look good here (compare to his other roles—looking at you, My Father Is Strange—and despite looking a bit mature now). Also, don't even get me started with the chemistry between them! They look so adorable together that I instantly want her to divorce his husband right after the first few episodes (oops!). Another worth mentioning here was Yoon Se Ah as Oh Tae Ri. It's true that the overall acting in this drama is a bit over the top and not really the type to be taken seriously but as for her, it's slightly different. You'll know from watching that she got skills and is an amazing actress despite following a different approach.
*Nevertheless, my favorite characters here are Oh Tae Yang and Bong Ch-rong. They are the cutest!!!
MUSIC:
Music-wise, this doesn't have any ten-years-from-now-I'll-still-remember-them kind of songs, but I consider them quite good! There aren't a lot of them compare to other dramas, but they did a good job especially in terms of highlighting the atmosphere and mood for a particular scene and evoking emotional response from their viewers.
REWATCH VALUE:
I don't really rewatch any drama fully, no matter how good they are, but for some reason, I could actually see myself rewatching this again. It might be because I find this more on the light-hearted makjang spectrum or that it didn't really felt tedious or long for me. It could get a bit dramatic and ridiculous, but it has enough sugar and spice to keep you from watching. Moreover, it has a bit of everything, clichés speaking of not. Plus, it has one of my favorite drama tropes, which is identity swap or having the main lead pretend to be someone else!
OVERALL:
I normally avoid makjangs and/or family dramas since more often than not I just end up dropping them halfway [out of boredom or for other reasons], but for this one, I unexpectedly didn't, so if you find this interesting, at least try to give this a chance and see what you think. I honestly began watching this because I'm interested with—besides twins and secret identities—anything related to flight attendants or pilots and I'm glad I did because not only did I learned something about them, I also got more of what I've asked for.
Like I said, Nice Witch is far from those dramas who aim to be a breakthrough or anything. In fact, if I could describe its vibe, it's more of a reminiscent of older dramas (think like the 2010s ones or earlier), but given all of these, I still came to like this drama SOOOOOO who knows, you might end up, if not liking, even loving it!!!
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The characters were dynamic many who were easy to like straight away and quite a few that left me with a bitter aftertaste. The acting wasn't outstanding, but it was above average, there were quite a few well known actors and actresses that spiced up the story which made me enjoy it more.
the music wasn't really quite my cup of tea, but I don't tend to think that for many dramas especially low budget dramas.
How I managed to sit through all of this is beyond me but It did leave interesting cliff hangers which I craved to see how it unravelled, and somehow slipped into watching the whole episode in one go.
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Story (7.0):
Over the top, ridiculous, and I loved it.I'm a sucker for secret identities, twins pretending to be each other, bad guys almost killing good guys, hehe. Plenty of that in here. So much melodrama.The bad guys are way too bad, the good guys, probably way too good (nah), the ending was not at all realistic, and lots of people turned about face without much explanation.I confess I watched a fair amount of this at x2 speed, and used the 10 second skip liberally, but I still loved the plot. It was so funny hilarious and drama hilarious. As in a lot of the drama was so contrived and unrealistic that I enjoyed it without too much worry.
Plot hole unrealistic galore, so much fun.
Acting/Cast (7.0):
Over the top, ridiculous, and I loved it.
Seriously, I thought most of the parts were over acted, especially Yoon Se Ah (thought that's not new imho), and it was really enjoyable x)
I also felt the twins were overacted, but Lee Da Hae did a VERY good job acting the two twins. You really forget that it's one person doing it.
I think the most organic acting in here was from the two male leads Ryu Soo Young and An Woo Yeon, and from the kid.
Still, I think all the acting, while not spectacular, fit the drama and was definitely overacted (as opposed to underacted).
Music (8.0):
I probably overrate most drama soundtracks, because there are few that I actually love and I still love the dramas; this ost again isn't anything spectacular, but there were a couple songs I might actually consider listening to outside of the drama, so that's definitely a plus.
Rewatch Value (10.0):
Okay, even if I really love a drama, I usually can't imagine sitting down and rewatching it again. Especially if it is really emotional. I really enjoyed Mother, Goblin, etc, but I have yet to rewatch them completely. Favorites, yes I can go back and watch my favorite parts.
But this drama was just so much fun, I think I could go back and rewatch the whole thing xD. (EDIT: I literally did this, rewatched the whole thing in a matter of a couple days, so I've increased this to a 10 lol. I think I had even more fun this second time watching)
I'd still probably have to skip a lot of the bad guy stuff now that I know what's happening and it's marginally boring (oh come on, who doesn't like to see Yoon Se Ah throwing a temper tantrum), but I'd do it I swear.
If you're laboring over whether you want to watch this or not, are you looking for something serious? Eh, go watch something else.
Honestly, I enjoy a lot of the cliched plots in melodrama, but it's a rare melodrama that keeps me interested throughout. If you like melodrama, you'll probably enjoy this, and even if you don't, you might... if you get what I'm saying.
Come on, who doesn't love a twins story. It's double the fun!
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Those cupcakes with two inches of swirly pastel gooey nonsense, topping an inch's worth of dry af cake.
But you know you're going to enjoy it anyway.
Most laughable moment:
The birtdate of the male lead's parents. If they were born in 1966, they must've had him at 8-10 years of age. How they're thinking to pass this man off as someone born in the late 80s; what a joke.
Actor most likely to be typecast after this:
Poor Yoon Se Ah. This woman can act but, keeps getting hired to make bug-eyes.
I would watch it again, if, I were in between dramas. But, wouldn't recommend to anyone new to Korean dramas.
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Characters: I really commend Da Hae's acting here. She's very good! I can really feel the sense of polar opposite twins here. But since it's a drama, there are some absurd encounters not surprising. hahaha, but still, it's really fun. Cho rong is really a favorite here haha. I guess, annoying characters is a must with this kind ofstory. I feel frustrated sometimes and angry (w/c btw shows that the characters are good)
Music: Didnt notice something hip, so I've just given it a passing score
Rewatch: Since this is on my Most Recommended dramas, this will have a very high rewatch value.
I love the drama. Tho I never expected I'd love this kind of genre, still, I have fun and enjoyed watching it every weekend. thumbs upp
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Like I said, the story is the overused plot of the identical twins, one is good and one is evil (although not super evil but at times you'd want to strangle her). I don't have any problems with dramas with this trope because I like it a lot, but in this I cringed many times at how much of a pushover the good twin Sun Hee was and how cold-blooded to the bone was Do Hee the evil sister. One was too good and one was too evil, and I was a bit disappointed that despite they have an evolution at some point, it happens too late. There wasn't a middle ground as if they had a one track mind, but not all the times.They were too stereotyped in my opinion, but for the type of drama I can forgive it. To add fuel to the fire, another thing that made me roll my eyes was the over the top plots and subplots of the other main characters. It was makjang at its best, which I tolerate, but I asked myself "Are they for real?" a couple of times.
Despite all that I've said above, the acting was really good. The drama had some known actors and some less known. I watched this drama not only because I wanted something light, but also because it was the first K-Drama with Lee Da Hae as the main female lead after "Hotel King", which is still is one of my favorite dramas. Play the role of twins is not easy, but she did a good job because when she played Sun Hee you wanted to either tell her to stand up for herself or hug her, and when she played Do Hee you wanted to strangle her or tell her to respect her sister and colleagues. I didn't know the main male lead, but I liked his character because he was more balanced. I also loved Sun Hee's daughter Cho Rong, who was played well. The evil witch was also Oh Tae Ree played by Yoon Se Ah, whom I already knew from "A Gentleman's Dignity". She made me angry at her character on this drama as well, but I can't deny that even when she shouted and threw things around her office and looked like a basket case, her acting was perfect.
The music was quite enjoyable in my opinion, and I still have the OST stuck in my head.
I would recommend this drama and I would rewatch it, because despite it's predictability, it made me pass a good time and made me happy, which I believe is the most important thing for a product like a series. I guess lovers of rom-coms and makjangs and soap operas will enjoy it as well.
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This drama has twins.
Older one is nice. Younger is evil. It's just another Kdrama but, how could just another drama can make it so interesting? I'm sure this drama is not for international purpose, but for domestic.
Korean just love drama like this. (well, me too.)
I give it a high rating because of my emotions. This drama make me got involved with the characters.
K-drama always have a good person and a bad person. They are bad just because they are. K-drama are always trying to tell you something. A direct message. It is so typical but I love it.
Give it a try, you will get addicted to how absurd the characters are. lol
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ACTING: The acting is soooooo gooood!!! You can't even notice that the twins are played by the same person! Even the tiniest expressions are different for both characters, and that makes it so impressive. I truly love the acting for this.
MUSIC: I liked the OST but is very generic so that's why it has a low score.
REWATCH VALUE: If you can't already tell be the rest of my review . . . I would TOTALLY REWATCH THIS!!!!!!!
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Okayish Drama.
Although the drama plot was mediocre ( but entertaining), both of the leads Ryu Soo Young and Lee Da Hee acting was great for me to watch the entire drama to the end. RSY's acting is superb, he's one of my favourite Korean Drama Actors.Its like one time watch kdrama. You can just it for a one time. Have to forward some shots and Always Doo hee too deserve punishment for what she did to her sister and mother. She was also involved and she also somewhere supported CEO Oh , so i feel she should have also got some punishment or ban to fly.
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