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STORY: The overall story wasn't really original. It's about afterlife, reincarnation, deities and supernatural. Which is not lacking in the Korean drama world which is the reason why I am giving an 8/10 for the plot. It also not a lighthearted drama because I cried my heart out especially on the last 2-3 episodes, so if you are looking for a feel good drama this is not for you. ACTING/CAST: I should be honest, one of the biggest reason I wanted to watch this drama was mainly because of IU. However, I loved PO and Mina in it. Mina is really pretty. Also, Yeo Jin Goo was an eye candy. I might as well say that Yeo Jin Goo's acting is 100/100. I can really feel the emotions coming from him it made my heart ache together with him.
MUSIC: The best part of this drama is the music. Hands down! 10/10. Constant replay on my list. Gummy, Taeyon, Punch, Monday Kiz you name it!
REWATCH VALUE: As I mentioned, this is not a feel good drama. If you wanted to watch something happy this is not for you. For me, I don't really rewatch sad ending drama that often. All I can think of now if I see IU is that there is a probability it will have a sad ending. Like Scarlet Heart all over again.
OVERALL: 9/10 - I think overall this is a good drama. The storyline is not perfect but I had fun watching this along the way until the end. I am currently having a syndrome for finishing this drama. Like, I don't know what to do next anymore.
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This is my first time to write a review but IU is the one who bring me here , an amazing well played character , with a perfect facial expressions ,especially her scenes from her past life ..I was like wooow that's what's called acting !!!
Daspite man wool I think HDL was a good drama , just a GOOD one , the best part was those cute dialogues between Chan song and Man wool and SOME of the ghosts stories while most of them fail to give me any interest .The thing that keep me watching each episode is to end Manwool story which actually gave me the the greatest disappointment !! I don't have a problem with sad endings but not expected ones !! The ending was sooo poor !! I was like ohhhhh what they were saying that will happen happened actually ! Woow !! Till the last moment I was waiting for a plot switch that may surprise me and meet my expectations but nothing happened! ( Despite the glowing face of kim so hyun :p)
All the other characters played well,chan song wasn't played inappropriately as it said it was written wrong ..he has no role despite supporting man wol ..without her he is Nothing, even when they tried to talk about his life and his mother it eneded iless than a half of the the episode with a robot face and noo emtiondsotions at All !!
but I think the actor did his best actually as others do.
I loved the supporting characters in the hotel and I hopped to see much earlier scenes about their lives but it came at last episode and very briefly...
All the soundtracks were amazing !! They added an amazing touch to every scene ???????? they're in my playlist already
Overall I enjoyed it but I won't expect to repeat it again , I think watching two episodes per week was one of the important factors why I completed I!
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this series is bad for my health but it was epic i loved it i cried and laughed i have been through all kind of emotions and i cried in the final episode but laughed at the end when i saw kim soo hyun and i hope season 2 will have a a happy ending plz my heart can't take it anymore but i loved it and im sure i will also love the next season alot i mean come on i was waiting for kim soo hyun to make an appearance for a long time .P.S i really felt bad for lee do hyun i hope to see him as a male lead in a drama soon he is a great actor.
'''I have a qeustion when they met in the final episode does that mean that she got reborn again or what cause it was vague to me ??! plz someone explain to me :)
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Story : I like the story unusual drama and Hong sister really made it.
First few episode very interesting and the rest I don't really enthusiast it. Every episode I'm really looking forward to the past scenes than the main story.
Acting : I admitted that IU be praised for this drama, some scenes IU really slayed it although her acting didn't make me stunning like his previous drama "My Mister" but I must say that she is a hard working for this. Yeo Jin goo really well take role the hotel manager, sometimes his acting make me amazed. But I don't feel chemistry among them, I always skip their intimate scenes because I already fall for Chung Myung???? ( Team captain). I can see the potential Chung Myung and Yeon woo for the main lead. I'm really into that Chung Myung feeling.
Conclusion : I'm really appreciate for tje costume man weol and the whole property of the drama.
I'm really disappointed with the selection of the main lead. Does not mean Yeo Jin goo as a bad, he is really potential but I think IU pairing with Lee Do Hyun be better than IUxYeo Jin goo, I can really feel the chemistry of them. In the end, I lreally hoped that Man Weol (IU) and Chung Myung end up together.
P.s: sorry for my poor english.
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I loved this drama’s take on the Beauty and the Beast theme and I loved that it turned the whole trope on its head. Here, it was the woman, Jang Man Wol, who was bloodthirsty and vengeful and… stabby, and the man, Goo Chan Sung, who was soft and sweet and gentle. I love to see gender stereotypes switched.I also loved one of the secondary pairing, Lee Mi Ra and Det. Park Young Soo (BTW, the actors both had supporting parts in My ID Is Gangnam Beauty!). I loved them because they were similar to Jang Man Wol and Goo Chan Sung: she was like a porcupine and he was just the softest…
So yes, I loved that. But around ep 13 it started to feel off. I guess it all began with the very bland ending of the vengeful spirit storyline. They built it up to this seemingly huge plot and then… a whimper, not a bang. I had a similar feeling with pretty much every subplot afterwards. Yes, all the loose ends were tied but, well, they were tied and re-tied and then tied again for a good measure, so much so that I couldn’t help but feel that the last two eps dragged - they were both 90 min. long.
Don’t get me wrong, I cried during the finale but at the end, instead of feeling satisfied and pumping my fist all, “Yes!” and “I don’t want it to end!” I felt more like, “Okay. Onward.” The best part of the final ep was the very last scene, the introduction of the new hotel owner. That was well done.
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Yeo Gin Goo cemented his status as one of my favorite male actors, only 22 years old but phenomenal! IU found a new fan in me! Her acting in the past was feeble but improved dramatically from a puddle to a Great Lake.
I recommend this heart-stealing gem :)
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it's fucking sad
i cried my eye's out, it's worth the watch but not if you're a sensitive person or a crybaby. i kept crying.i hate the princess the most she was a fucking shitbag i even ate her in their present life it was her fault that all of this happened, i kinda wanted jang man-wol and go chyung-myung end up together, it wasn't really Go cyung-myung fault, he was forced to marry the bitch or Jang man-wol will die
ji hyung-joong was really sweet and seeing him cry made my heart ache, i wanted to jump of a roof because i saw that they all cry why did they had to make my heart ache so much ugh it's making me cry again
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Why I loved the story:
The storytelling was focused, and didn’t waste time with annoying side that were useless. Each episode felt like it had its own theme or central message. Don’t get me wrong there are loads of side characters, but they all served a purpose in this drama, either to teach the other characters something or to expand this ghost world which the Hong sisters care fully created.
All the rules establish in this world wasn’t broken to create cheap tension. There were hardly any plot holes - showing how much care the hong sisters put into the storytelling
The backstory of IU enravled quite interestingly and the hong sister was able to keep me hooked but never bored by presenting new side characters
The gender role reversal in make this drama unique. It’s the man this time that open up the cold but more powerful women’s heart.
And this makes the two lead characters very interesting and watchable, as we get a man very confident in this manhood without feeling intimidated by the other half - something which I rarely see in Kdramas.
And another badass female character but whose is deeply flawed with resentment.
Yes and the story did make me cry! I was defiantly weeping the whole of the last episode.
What I don’t like in the story:
Nothing really, or I wouldn’t of given it 10/10.
Umm...I guess that the secondary couples story wasn’t that interesting - but even their story line made me cry.
There is, what feel is like a shoehorned side plot to do with the leads in the last ep but even that hardly bothered me because it tied the story up nice and neatly.
What I liked in the acting department:
IU relished in this role, you can tell she enjoyed playing this strong powerful women but she was also tender when it came to other scenes. And this I think kept most viewers (including me) hooked.
Now the thing with playing the less powerful other half is that the interest for you can just get swallowed by the other half. You most of the time also end up with less interesting traits and Yeo Jin Goo’s character is a goody two shoes with a strong moral compass- which is normally something I find off putting and very uninteresting because they tend not to have any flaws and just are there. However he has to be my fav character in the drama and I think that lends it to YJG’s acting chops, he pulls off this character really well even when there feels like there is not much for him to do.
What I didn’t like:
The chemistry with these two actors isn’t electric, but by no means bad. The don’t have the great amounts of chemistry but really I didnt feel like they needed that instant electric and overly sweet chemistry, as it may have felt disingenuous to IU’s character who has had a bad experience to love. They had sweet, touching scenes and that was enough to make me root for them but I can understand if someone else doesn’t find it enough.
Some complained about P.O’s acting but to be honest it didn't overly bother me, I though he did a fine job.
What I liked about the OST:
EVERYTHING!! It was lush and placed really well through scenes. This OST is just amazing, really has to be one of the best! My absolute fav obviously include Part 3 (obvs), 1 and 12 (both of the two Punch songs and Taeyeon’s)
The only complaint I could see someone making is that all the songs are too sad but like I don’t think anyone would deny that that are all beautiful!
Why I have already rewatched it:
The OST
The production values , from each one of IU’s stunning outfits, hairstyles and always perfect looking makeup to the really impressive CGI- this drama makes it hard for you not to rewatch.
Also the cinematography is just beautiful, everything looks gorgeous but also very distinctively ‘Hotel del luna’ like.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Give this one a watch, I don’t think many people would be disappointed!!
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IU saves the show
I tried to like this unfortunately I fast-forwarded most of the episodes, especially after 11 or so.I watched this because of IU and she did not disappoint. Her visuals plus the visuals of the drama itself is 200%. Her outfit changes were GREAT. Her acting is superb too with a lot of cold yet funny lines and moments. Part of the bg music makes it even funnier. However her chemistry with the ML was lacking.
The side characters were likeable, but not great. I did like their backstories. Mago is probably my favourite.
The ghosts had meh stories and endings. I sometimes expected more but each episode fell rather flat with how the ghosts were handled.
the FL's main story was good, but took too long to be explained. There was a huge gap in the middle where they were focusing on the side characters.
Overall, a 7/10 for me simply because of the stunning visuals.
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Don’t get me wrong, this drama was a fun watch. I loved a whole lot of things about it. From its OST, to the premise (who the hell can actually think of a hotel for ghosts???) and the acting, Damn the acting. It’s just that the writing had its ups and downs.The up? Every story of a visiting ghost was a treat to me. I enjoyed seeing how the hotel solved their problems in the most human way possible, because afterall, they are humans... just dead.
The down? The love story and the shift in focus let me down gravely. They’ve been building up the Man Wol - Chong Myeong story since the beginning and to have it end sadly with Man Wol leaving him by the bridge to after life... what the hell was that for? I mean, did we forget that this guy chose to live as a glow in the dark insect for 1300 years only to be forgotten because of a new, way younger guy she had a few meals with??? I do love chan sung’s character, and I rooted from them at the start, but it was always the flashbacks that dominated the course and mood of the story for me. To make that grudge disappear too quickly was really just... lousy writing.
Other than this huge disappointment, I loved the drama. Sadly I ended it without rooting for the couple they wanted to close the story with. Sigh
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Highly recommended unhappy ending
This one's really great! The story was very perfect and they made an absolutely fabulous story on this drama. The fantasy were really exciting. The whole story will turn within your curiosity. It may be sad to think it's not a happy ending for the lead roles after female lead leaving the male lead hoping to meet her someday in the after death. And the set of casts added the amazing art on it. Everyone showed the audience and proven themselves they deserved to be part of the series. They perfectly portrayed every role assigned to each stars and did the best they can have to be their character. It's a two thumbs up for me for IU who played the lead female character. And if you go and listen to the drama series' soundtracks, you will be amazed! Every title will surely blow you away. Very heartfelt and thrilling music that will touch your soul. Everything seemed perfect and awesome. Re-watch is not bad.Was this review helpful to you?
