For the first 18 episodes I watched it rather obsessively, despite it's flaws (and they are obvious and relentless). For some reason, this show just made my week every week. A lot of that is probably thanks to Kim Soo Hyun who is melt-into-a-puddle-of-fangirl-goo worthy. He is absolutely amazing and I enjoy every second I get to see him on screen. But then watching the last two episodes just made me cringe. It was like I finally realized how totally pointless and useless most (if not all) of the characters were and how lame the plot was overall. Perhaps if I had watched the last two episodes while it aired I would of still been so caught up in the MoonSun craze that I could of just brushed everything off and enjoyed the show for what it was. But alas, I cannot give it that "10-star" rating I would of instantly given it before. And I think the "7.5 Stars" rating is even pushing it, quality wise.
If you are looking for a good star-crossed lovers romance with heartbreaking friendship and betrayal, go see The Princess' Man. If you have already seen that drama, you will understand what I mean when I say it was like MoonSun tried to hit that same emotional level and quality but ended up overshooting and crashing and burning. It was pretty to look at, yes. It had some great acting (Kim Soo Hyun, Jung Il Woo, and the child actors specifically), for sure. But at its very core that is pretty much all it had.
My main and biggest peeve with the plot is the character of Yang Myung. What a horrible and terrible waste of Jung Il Woo's talent. What in the world was the point of his character? Yes, he was pitiful. But what was his greater purpose...? I felt like he was an accessory to this drama: left to the side until deemed useful and then abused until they were finished with him. Yeesh.
But anyway, I wish the climax to the plot at the end had been more exciting (or dare I say "surprising"?) than it was and that the last episode hadn't been so sporadic trying to balance being dramatic and sad with being funny and cute. It didn't work so well.
I can say that I will miss this couple. And I don't even care that there are much better couples out there--many of which I also miss, too--I just really clicked with these guys.
So...do I recommend watching? Eh. If you want a historical that is pretty, angsty, full of Kim Soo Hyun tears, and romantic with little to no action/plot; you will probably like it. If you want something more meaty you probably want to look else ware.
Side note: I watched the Musical version of this live in Seoul staring Kyuhyun from Super Junior. It was AWESOME. Totally recommend!!
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Tragedy Lost Case lovers ?
It's not a bad series as far as I watched but, The first half was interesting and practically have it all .honestly at first I started watching because of Kim So Hyun but despite his top tier acting his part is so boring to watch .
the first couple chemistry was so good and sad to watch in a good way .
And without a doubt the best thing for me in this entire series was THE SOUNDTRACK. it was catchy, beautiful and so in place.
I hopped I could continue it and not drop it but I think that tragedy is not for me.
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Story: Overall I think this a solid historical drama full of intrigue. That being said, I definitely felt like the story dragged in the middle. What ended up happening for me, I think, the first time I watched, was I got bored around episode 10 or so and just dramabeansed(read the recap) the rest of the series. I still felt that way, but this time I stuck with it. So the story looses some points because of that.
Cast: First off, I think that the entire cast for the younger versions of the characters is fantastic. So many of them have gone on to make a place for themselves in Korean media. But in regards to the adult cast, I don't really share the same attitude. Kim Soo Hyun, in my opinion, is the saving grace of this drama. I think that with anyone else cast in the King's role, this drama really would never have gotten the traction it did with him as a lead. He is one of my favorite actors, so I'm likely biased, but the way he conveys emotions feels very raw and always produces an amazing product, not matter how crappy the writing, editing, and supporting cast may be. That being said, I really did not like the actress of the female lead. She perpetually looked confused, which I guess she was lol, but it made her seem like a rather flat and unemotional. Even the Queen did a better job, imo, so that really knocked down the points for me as well.
Music: Not what I would describe as notable, but fit the drama well, so therefore, on point.
Rewatch: I think this is high, just for the younger kids performance (which is about 1/4 of the total show) and for Kim Soo Hyun's performance.
TLDR; Maybe not so notable of a story, but the younger cast's and KSH's performances make this drama a must watch.
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Beautiful and heartbreaking
This is my first historical k-drama. It was released in 2012 but I only got to it now because I just recently joined K-drama “fan wagon”.I don’t know how to rate this drama. I’m not a fan of historical dramas and only started watching it because of Kim Soo Hyun. He is superb! I also learned to love all of the characters. All actors were great!
This drama is beautiful and heartbreaking. I will be honest, I skipped some of the palace politics parts and not because it was difficult to follow but because there were way too many of them and it could have been wrapped up in standard 16 episodes, not 20. This not a romcom and though there were some funny and lighthearted moments this story is about unconditional love and ungodly amount of obstacles to go through to keep it. Many painful moments, many tears. But also it makes you believe that someone out there can fall in love with one person and be each other’s sun and moon for the rest of their lives. And the music is so breathtakingly beautiful! Watch this drama if you want a break from romcoms and want to experience some serious emotions but be prepared to pay attention, to cry and develop slight anxiety as story unfolds and leaves you with an aching heart at times.
It deserves solid 9 stars.
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Note to a few reviewers who thought ending didn’t make sense: remember the fable at the beginning about two suns and two moons, even referred to by shaman later in show to illustrate how applied specifically to the actual story and characters.
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Story: The story frustrated me the majority of the time, in regards to the antagonists (you'll know what I mean when you watch it). It was a good story, but I just wanted to throw my tablet across the room a couple times because I was so frustrated with how the story was progressing. I liked that it wasn't your traditional story line where it's all happy for a long time and then it switches to depressing for only a short amount of time then went back to happy. I'm not saying I liked the depressing bits, it's more like I like how they did those parts. Since the story frustrated me constantly I gave the story 9.5/10.
Acting/Cast: I thought that all the actors did well in their roles. It didn't seem like they were overacting to me at any point. They were all chosen perfectly for their roles. If they weren't cast correctly or hadn't done a good job, I would've turned off my tablet before I had finished watching this drama. Acting/Cast gets 10/10.
Overall, this is a great show. It's not for everyone and the antagonists were constantly making me yell at my tablet. I still enjoyed the show and I am currently rewatching it. This show gets 9.5/10.
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This review may contain spoilers
Mediocre
I really tried to like this drama because it had an interesting romantic revenge-ish plot, but none of the characters were interesting enough for me to care about.Firstly, FL was one of the most boring female leads I've ever seen in a k-drama. She had no spark or personality and only had one pained expression in every scene. The males were intense, angsty, and spent a lot of time pressuring FL and yelling at her.
What I found annoying was the constant rotation of men around FL. In many scenes, after Lee Hwon left, Yang Myung immediately appeared out of nowhere to beg FL to love him, and it was happening in the most random locations. The writers did not put a lot of thought into creating a believable fluid storyline. They just wrote random scenes forcing FL and the two competing love interests to interact with each other. And, Yang Myung was one of the most pointless characters in the story. He had a lot of scenes being chased by some people without any explanation why. He was just there to create an artificial love triangle and nothing else.
The romance also did not feel believable. I could understand why Lee Hwon was in love with her, because they were engaged at some point, had meaningful scenes, and spent time together. With Yang Myung, it was completely arbitrary. He barely knew her, did not spent much time with her, but kept pining after her for eight years.
Overall, if you like angsty men yelling at women and forcing them to do things, this may be it for you. To me, such stories are no longer entertaining.
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This review may contain spoilers
Like Moon Eclipsing the Sun, Kids Eclipse Adults
Story: IT syndrome strikes again as the drama loses its luster once the tween and teen cast is replaced with adults. I stopped watching after episode 8 for neither the older cast nor the story after the time jump worked for me.Acting: all stars go to young cast who are phenomenal (Ep 1 - 5.5). That's one constant with K dramas - child actors always deliver. Adults didn't measure up so I docked 2 stars. Why couldn't they tell the story without the time jump? It would have spared this drama the convoluted identity mystery that totally ruined otherwise strong set up.
Music: don't remember.
Rewatch value: This is a tricky one. Like IT, the first part with kids/teens is fantastic and rewatchable. But the second part with adult versions drops the ball. So re-watch while characters are young and then pretend the story ended with them.
Overall: I was meaning to watch the new show Moon Rising from the River but thought that it was called Moon Rising from the Sun. So wrong key words led me to this show. It really should've been only about those tweens and teens. I'm yet to see a show or movie where child versions don't eclipse adults and had a better story too. IT, Slumdog Millionaire, this drama are just some examples. Writers should trust kids. Look at Harry Potter. They made Harry Potter universe movies with adults (Fantastic Beasts) and it didn't work.
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