This review may contain spoilers
The Ugly Duckling Story
I did not read the story's webtoon, yet it still was very predictable, at least for me. When a story becomes predictable, then you know it's cliche. A girl bullied because she is "ugly" then becomes "beautiful," and now everyone loves her. Even until the very end, including the romance, was predictable. It might be something the majority of the viewers enjoy but definitely not me. I really liked the acting of all the characters but the main female lead. Her acting kept reminding me that it is a show and she is an actress. In other words, to my eyes, it was forced. I am sure other of the roles she played are great. But, I don't feel there was a connection to the webtoon's character other than their physical resemblance. Regardless, the comedy was there. It was pretty enjoyable because of the other couples whose interactions were great. The bromance was good. After two episodes, I was tired. I would not rewatch it. But if you want, give it a try. This is only my review and my take on the drama. You might have a different perspective.Was this review helpful to you?
such a lovable drama!
This drama looks like a highschool drama, but actually the storyline is much deeper than that.The combination of love story, family relationships, friendships, comedy, and teenage problems in general really make this drama worth watching.
The casts are perfect for each character, even for casts with the smallest parts are good, the director did a good job choosing all casts.
We'll feel the happiness, the sadness, the laughter, and also the bitterness of the story.
I think this drama delivers its message so well, about first love, family and friendship.
And, i love the songs in it too! Great drama OST!
If u havent watch it, please do.
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The ratings are too high for this drama
People out there definitely rated this drama so high because of the cast cause there's no way this drama deserve such a high rating otherwise the plot is a total disappointment I really liked how it started but then around ep 8 the story started going downhill , the last 2 ep were so rushed and bad I can't believe they really tried so hard to make us believe the 2 leads were so much in love and all but it came out as a totally forced one . I didn't like how they focused the last 2 eps on suho even though he was not around they could have gave seojun a chance to build his relationship with the FL but no . I don't ship seojun with jukyung because I don't think they gave us any chance to ship them they hardly had any cute scenes together apart from friendship which I really liked btw but i knew from the beginning she's going to end up with suho ofcourse but they could have made it a little better.Was this review helpful to you?
A sweet drama
I liked this drama a lot. However, I will admit that a few characters really bugged me. I didn't enjoy the FL's parents (especially the Mom...she's just mean for no reason). The actor and actress were great, but the characters were grating for me. I also found the plot point of the FL not wanting people to see her bare face really frustrating after a while. It was fine at first and even seemed appropriate given her history, but after awhile it was just annoying. Once it was removed as a plot point the entire show got better in my opinion.I like the friendships shown. It's fun to see groups of people interacting. But I could have done without the "extra" bullying. I know some was necessary in the beginning to make the story work, but seeing more later on was just not something I wanted to deal with at all.
Overall, though there were some parts I didn't like, this is one of the better dramas I've seen in the last year so that's a huge win for me.
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Waiting for the next episode patiently.
I'm so excited with this series for 2 reasons1. I love True Beauty, it's the 1st and only webtoon I really read and followed and I imagine Cha Eun Woo as Lee Su Ho while reading this. Having Cha Eunwoo as the ML is a dream come true for True Beauty readers like me.
2. I miss Cha Eunwoo in a drama. I've watched Gangnam Beauty several times already and never get tired of it.
I can't wait for the next episodes. I don't usually watch dramas that has few episode because I'm used of binge watching, but I cannot wait to see the episode so I started watching True Beauty even if it just started.
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This review may contain spoilers
I LOVED everything about this drama, all the characters and character development
Watched this whilst it was ongoing, thought I'd write the review now despite it being almost year since I started the drama. It was a very memorable drama.I haven't read the webtoon and I never will (I've read parts of it online). But, from what I heard, the webtoon isn't very good mostly because it lacks character development, something this drama did not have an issue with. Do not come into this drama expecting it to be like the webtoon.
I loved all the characters in this drama and I was actually able to understand them all (excluding Soo Jin). This drama deals with a lot of big issues such as suicide, bullying, depression, loss of a parent (2 actually) and abusive parents. It's also about following your dream. It's not just about romance, the drama doesn't start with romance (though it does have a lot of chemistry), it grows into romance in a not slow (but not fast) pace after delving into the friendship of all the characters. Despite the serious issues this drama deals, it is still a hilarious romcom and doesn't gloss over the trauma all of the characters had to deal with.
I found Ju Gyeong relatable in many ways. She was bullied at her school for the way she looked, despite what a great person she was. She was betrayed by her friends and she hated herself because of how people judged her solely based on her looks. Her parents didn't understand her or even attempt to (until the end), and out of all her siblings, she was the least academically smart (and least good looking) and was often overlooked by her family. She made herself "beautiful" using makeup as her shield to protect herself from people bullying her at her new school. She had a lot of trust issues and didn't think that people will ever like her if they knew how she really looked. I loved that the drama delved into this a lot and had her finally accept herself and be okay with people knowing what she looked like without makeup, it stopped being her lifeline.
I loved Su Ho and Seo Jun. Despite having a little bit of a second lead syndrome, I loved that Ju Gyeong ended up with Su Ho though. Su Ho and Seo Jun both lost there best friend which caused there friendship to break up. They were the best of friends, they were so good together both when they hated each other and when they loved each other (a lot of people ship them). They both lost a parent, but whilst Seo Jun was really close to his mother, Su Ho hated his father and wasn't close to anyone. He was the most lonely character in this drama which is why it was perfect that he and Ju Gyeong ended up together, whilst also maintaining an amazing friendship with Seo Jun,
I LOVED the second lead couple. They were the perfect role reversal couple. I loved their screen time and I loved that they didn't take all the screen time (like the second lead couple in Reply 1988), despite the drama showing their relationship from the very start to their marriage at the very end.
I liked Soo Jin at the start, a lot. But there was always something dodgy about her and you could see it. She later became the character I hated most and I didn't think she would be redeemable at all. I wasn't expecting to ever like her again, but at the end I started to love her and you could really see her character development through her expressions alone. Park Soo Na did an amazing job portraying Soo Jin, you could really see the darkness behind her eyes when she was facing a lot of abuse from her family and when she was no longer "good" and became Ju Gyeong's bully. The one thing I couldn't understand about her is how she could so easily betray such a loyal and sweet friend. Which is why I prefer Soo Ah and Ju Gyeong's relationship, the only friendship where Ju Gyeong wasn't betrayed.
I loved the acting in this drama. Despite Cha Eun Woo being criticised for not showing any emotions in this drama, it was his role to play the "cold' character and he did show a lot of emotions as did all the other main leads. All the main leads had at least one really emotional breakdown and I loved how Moon Ga Young portrayed her character, the most emotionally revealing and yet reserved, main character.
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if you like rom-coms true beauty is a must watch
I loved this drama! It may seem like your typical cliche drama, but the story actually builds quite nicely. I liked how there were serious topics being brought up, while the comedy level wasn't lacking and was compensating for all the underlying sadness. Plus, (I don't want to sound cheesy but..) the level of cute high school romance was enough to give me butterflies. Anyway, I almost never cry when I'm watching a movie or a drama, but unexpectedly, I cried for this one. This made me realize how much the characters grew on me and how much I loved True Beauty. All of the cast members did so great with this drama, almost to the point where I didn't feel like they were acting at all. Ga Young, Eun Woo and In Yeop have seriously grown on me and I will continue to keep tabs on them.This drama is for sure a must watch and should be put onto your watchlists, but there were some areas I wish they did better on. One major thing is that the supporting characters are really underdeveloped. Other than being friends with the main cast or going to the same school, the viewers don't know anything about them. It didn't affect the storyline or cause confusion, I just wished we got to know the supporting characters too, since they also play a big part. Another downside is that the beginning and the end of the drama were the best parts. The middle was a little uneventful and it made the drama seem heavy at times (if that makes sense). Regardless, you should watch it! There are so many references (to other movies and dramas) and familiar faces (guest actors) that made a cherry on top. So get your stuff together and start binging.
(I didn't read the web-toon)
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It could have been better
I like the idea that someone turned a bully situation into something empowering. However, they made the lead female character so silly and childish. So clumsy and dingy!!! WHY??? Why must we make women seem so chaotic while the male characters get to walk around mature and cool. She was either falling into someone, falling on the ground, running into something or getting hurt. None of it was funny!!!It's like watching a 10-year-old the entire time! Why is she always talking like a kid and babbling on??!!!! These types of movies annoy me.
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Cha Eun Woo's acting wasn't much of my cup of tea. But I can see him improving in future. He was so handsome on screen I got distracted half of the time. Especially in Ep 16, his visual was just on fire. I felt he was very stiff in most scenes. Wish he could improve more because he looked like he was working hard.
Story wise I am more happy with the drama than the webtoon. They def did more justice to the characters and the plot than the manga.
Anyone who would like a nice easy rom com, def give it a try.
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A love triangle longer than my ugly wife makeup routine, with more drama than my last family dinner!
"True Beauty : 8.5/10 – A Glossy, Addictive Mess of Makeup, Meltdowns & Second-Lead Syndrome"WHY IT’S A GUILTY PLEASURE:
Cha Eun-woo’s visual explosion – Bro looks like he was hand-sculpted by angels (and acts like one too).
The makeup transformation scenes – From "closeted nerd" to "Instagram baddie" in 10 seconds flat.
Hwang In-yeop as Han Seo-jun – The tattooed, motorcycle-riding second lead who stole our souls. (RIP Team Suho.)
THE "GIRL, PLEASE" MOMENTS:
The endless love triangle – Dragged out like a BB cream tutorial.
The evil school bully – So over-the-top, she might as well have twirled a mustache.
That amnesia subplot – K-drama writers, I beg you… stop.
ICONIC SCENES:
The "bare face" reveal – Peak drama, peak second-hand embarrassment.
The rooftop confession – "I knew it was you!" [Cue sobbing].
Every. Single. Seo-jun. Scene. – We were robbed.
VERDICT:
"Like binge-eating cosmetic store samples—questionable choices, but oh-so-fun." Watch if: You live for high school drama, makeup ASMR, and painful love triangles. Skip if: You can’t handle second-lead syndrome or plot holes the size of a contour palette.
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This review may contain spoilers
Started good, but ended weakly
I walked into true beauty not expecting much, but right off the bat I was introduced to a colorful cast, big personalities, and an easy to follow and pleasant storyline. I began enjoying it a lot and it quickly rose to become one of my favorite kdramas. In the beginning what charmed me about true beauty is that it knew it was cliche and used that to its comedic advantage and didn't take itself too seriously which allowed me to enjoy the cliches. This ended up being its undoing later, but I'll get to that.also one thing i'll (SPOILER) is that I try not to fall for the second lead/ship him with the female lead because they usually don't get the girl, but HAN SEO JUN. I seriously fell in love, he quickly became my favorite kdrama character EVER. And his chemistry with the female lead jugyoung (gayoung) was off the charts, seriously one of the best I've seen in kdramas period. It made watching true beauty ten times better for me :)
But alas the things that made true beauty charming didn't last. You see true beauty never had outstanding writing, but it was enjoyable and it made sense, plus the characters and ost made up for it, but about halfway through the show true beauty started to go downhill in the writing and production. The writing increasingly didn't make sense and had characters act weirdly, it even made characters I liked in the beginning dislikable for me : / an example is with the male lead suho who i adored episode 1-5, liked episode 6-7, felt okay with ep 8, and straight up disliked ep 9 to the end. It's even worse when you used to like the character or especially when he is the main character. (SPOILER) Just the way writers wrote him as possessive, and downplayed it as romantic did not sit right with me, the way the writers wrote him it seemed as if he was more focused or acted/thought that "jugyoung is mine" which I hate that mentality. Even if the writers didn't have him explicitly say it, his actions implied it. So sadly that ruined his character and the main ship for me : /
not to mention that this show is heavily promoted as a love triangle but it is not! it is very much centralized on suho and jugyoung, and the writers do not give seojun a real chance (like bringing in suho between every seojun jugyoung scene lol), but the most disappointing thing for me was that they did not include the seojun jugyoung relationship from the webtoon. also if the time skip was gonna happen and they kept seojun's feelings idk why they didn't go that route (honestly they were probably too scared to haha). but honestly its disappointing that they removed an entire relationship (and the only one) from the webtoon to the drama. :(
ok now onto the title 'true beauty'. what initially attracted me to the webtoon was the title and the concept of inner beauty and societal standards and what not. but in reality that is not the real focus of the drama. the drama focuses more on the love triangle, and at most points inner beauty is pushed to the beginning and the climax. i would've liked to see an actual journey and focus on the growth, but the show didn't let us see jugyoung's growth and instead wrote a rushed sudden confidence burst. (now i'm all for gained confidence), but the message wasn't there. for people who relate to jugyoung i don't think that it portrayed realistic growth or self-love. it is hard it is a process, it doesn't happen overnight, and most importantly it doesn't come from what others tell you (though compliments are nice) it comes from accepting yourself and forgiving yourself which is HARD. just writing this because the title indicates much larger of a focus than there actually is in the show, and there is no strong or impactful message on "true beauty".
lastly the writing. i mentioned earlier that in the beginning the show didn't take itself seriously in a charming way. later on that ended up biting it back because it started taking itself seriously in the worst way. the writing became cliche and it didn't make sense. they would create drama and drag it over four episodes only to leave the last two for a rushed ending. the show was doing so well with pacing that it really was remarkable how bad the pacing got.
the worst part about true beauty is that it started off so strong but started downward spiraling to a weak ending. if the ending and later half of the drama was better this would probably be one of my favorite kdramas ever.
though I do not regret the experience because through the first half of the drama I met many loveable characters, cried, laughed, and enjoyed myself :) i would suggest watching true beauty, just be prepared for a lotta frustration towards the end lol
ps: if you're like me and fell in love with han seojun (who wouldn't lol) then be prepared for heartbreak and frustration because tvn walked all over his character and gave him a mediocre but honestly unhappy ending (: lol not to be pessimistic though y'all have good taste ;)
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This review may contain spoilers
Light and fun drama, but not perfect.
Okay, first of all, don't expect a deep and meaningful story, it's a fun high school drama so don't take it too seriously. It has a few cliches but I still enjoyed it.As a reader of the webtoon I was really excited about the drama, but if you're a fan of the webtoon don't expect it to be the same. That being said, I REALLY enjoyed the changes they made, they made it more dramatic in terms of the story between Suho and his father and the story behind Seyoon. I also liked that they gave more focus on Jugyeong liking make up and pursuing that career, something they kinda forgot about on the webtoon. And something more I also really liked, was the fact that Jugyeong could overcome her issue with her bare face, even if it wasn't the best way (hello? dermstologist?)
As #TeamSuho I was greatly pleased they actually dating in the drama. Eunwoo's and Gayoung's scenes are really cute and I love their chemestry. We love realistic dating in dramas, holding hands, hugging and kissing goodbye.
But I think we can all agree that Seojun is the best boy. He started off rude and not very forgiving, giving a hard time to Suho, but after the accident he was just the best and always chose to respect Suho AND Jugyeong. I wish we could've seen more of his friendship with Suho :(
The last two episodes really took it downwards for me. I really liked it up till episode 14, even the first part of 15 but they just ruined it with Suho coming back and acting like nothing happened. I love Suho but it left a bad taste :/ How can he just expect everything to be the same? His first reactiong wasn't even to apologize.
As I said before, I'm Team Suho, and I'm happy they got back together, I get why they broke up, and it's okay for Jugyeong to give him a second chance, but that treatment Seojun got? It's just wrong :(
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