Completed
wenshere
1 people found this review helpful
May 21, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Heartwarming and hilarious, but also deep

Things I disliked (or could be better)

1) When being guilt-tripped by Seo Jun, on top of his already existing guilt regarding Se Yeon’s death, Suho decides to make Ju Gyeong distance herself from him by lying to her and saying that he only ‘looked out’ for her and ‘cared’ out of pity. But later when she confronts him about it and says how he shouldn’t ‘lead her on’, he doesn’t even give her a proper explanation for this. I was hoping he’d do that later in the series but he doesn’t, and I think he should have.

2) I did not like how Ju Gyeong refused to try to listen and understand Suho when he expressed that he was uncomfortable with her being around Seo Jun so much (working part time at the cafe together, doing a couple photoshoot together), and that he ‘didn’t like it’. She only acted defensive and was so dense that she couldn’t even realize that Suho’s jealousy and discomfort are totally reasonable? Especially considering the fact Seo Jun DOES like her, and after the school literally spreads tons of rumors about her and Seo Jun dating. Like, how does one not realize that?
Suho even literally said ‘So you don’t care about dating rumors between you and Seo Jun being spread, but announcing we are dating is not ok?’ which was a very valid point.

3) I found it weird how everyone in the class reacted so poorly and judgy after Ju Gyeong’s ‘true face’ was exposed as well as her bullied background at Jongpa. Yes, she did get selected as visual representative for the school and I get that some people may feel fishy and salty about it and judge, but her own classmates after getting along so well for a while already? Even Su Ah acted avoidant and I did not get why. Then in the end it had to be the teacher Han Joon Woo to ‘educate’ everyone to not judge and act like that. That was disappointing.

4) Suho and his dad honestly have a lot more complexity and tension to their relationship because of multiple things, not just because of the ‘Se Hyeon being falsely accused and forced to his death’ thing. Yes, his dad wasn’t aware that that’s what Director Oh did in order to cover up his own possible scandal (the photo with him bringing home a young actress). He does genuinely apologize for this to Suho, but to me their relationship seemed to heal too easily and too quickly. I can understand that when it comes to life and death you can disregard a lot of things, and considering his mom already died he only had his dad now. So when Suho’s dad gets a brain hemorrhage problem and has to be treated overseas he immediately comes along with him. But that still doesn’t erase all of the things his dad did previously in the past, when Suho was younger. For example the ‘affair’ he caught his dad having with some woman on the day his mom died. That’s just fucked up. How does that not get addressed?

5) The reason that Suho states when he breaks up with Ju Gyeong I honestly find quite weak and not convincing. Ju Gyeong expressed not minding to wait for him at all while he’s in America taking care of his dad, and yet he insists that waiting is ‘too painful for her’ and breaks up with her. I felt that was unnecessary, and that it wasn’t a right choice in the writing at that point in the drama. Considering point 4 (my previous point), I think the rest of the episodes should have addressed that instead of making up more ‘drama’ because of this.

6) Then after 2 years, when Suho comes back again he acts as if the breaking up and dumping Ju Gyeong and not replying for a full year just didn’t happen at all, and doesn’t even explain things and apologize to her right away as he should have. Instead, he tries to take her back like it's no big deal and I found that really hurtful and disrespectful. Ju Gyeong’s hurt reaction and avoidant behavior are totally reasonable and understandable. In the end they do make up, but I just didn’t like this.

7) It’s unclear what happened to the bullies from Jongpa High. Ju Gyeong does fight them and beat them up and teach them ‘a lesson’, but I feel it would have been better if the bullies got officially punished and addressed by the school or some legal authority. Bullying is something that will continue if serious measures aren’t taken by schools, or by other authorities. It is a happy ending for Ju Gyeong, but the bullies could still terrorize other people. Especially because this drama centers around this topic quite a bit I was hoping for some sort of ‘closure’ in that sense.

8) Even if Su Jin apologized to Ju Gyeong, it seemed off to me how everyone else, including Suho, were happy to see her when she appeared at Hee Gyeong’s wedding as a guest. I would imagine being quite disappointed and off-put by your childhood friend whom you’ve known for so long and cared for for so long to do something like that to your girlfriend. I would appreciate the apology (given that Ju Gyeong told Suho that Sujin apologized), but I’d still be stand off ish. But that’s just me. Suho’s reaction just didn’t seem realistic to me.

9) This isn’t a plot point, and I appreciate the amount of kissing scenes in the drama, but honestly they can be a lot better. Cha Eun Woo’s kissing is stiff and he barely even moves his lips when he kisses Ga Young, and if he does it looks kind of unnatural. We are way past the ‘peck and freeze’ era now, that’s literally so 2000s kdrama kissing style. Then their kiss at the end of the last episode also felt kind of awkward. He was holding a comic book in his right hand, but Ju Gyeong’s arms were free. She could at least put her arms around his neck or something like that, instead of once again freezing in the position and just staying like that (that being said I did like the kiss after he confessed to her during the school trip). Overall it could just be better.

Things I liked (or that were funny)

1) The ‘panty incident’ when Seo Jun dances by himself half naked when he’s out of the shower and then turns around and sees that Ju Gyeong is there, and then he continues to dance on his way to his room and then quickly ‘breaks’ character in embarrassment. That was hilarious.

2) Suho makes Ju Gyeong do stuff for him in return for keeping her bare face secret. But in reality he was just using those as excuses to see her and spend time with her. One time he even asks her to come to Prince Comic to bring him something but then she quickly leaves, not giving him time to invite her to eat ramen with him (which was his real intention). Then the camera zooms in on the two bowls of ramen that are prepped laying on the table.

3) Tae Hoon and Su Ah being THAT pda couple is cringe to some, but super adorable to me (ok Tae Hoon did have some cringey moments but I don’t mind it given his character setting lol). I loved the part where Tae Hoon prepared a whole surprise for their 100 day anniversary in the classroom, with all the other classmates and friends participating as well.

4) On the playground when Ju Gyeong trips while they are playing basketball and Suho catches her, but then he hugs her. Then he tries to play it off as making her smell his ‘new detergent’. Then the Prince Comic owner happens to pass by and he rushes over to hug him as well to make it look like he wasn’t specifically just hugging Ju Gyeong. LOL.

5) In episode 6 (and end of ep 5), when a singer at the school festival performs one of Se Yeon’s songs as a tribute, Suho gets a panic attack. Even after being told he only looked out for her ‘out of pity’ (which is a lie unexplained to her) and being hurt by it, Ju Gyeong still rushes to care for him. When he runs off and ends up on the rooftop crying alone, she finds him and stays with him, embracing him and comforting him. This really shows how much she loves Suho and that when push comes to shove she can put all things aside and still be there for him.

6) In episode 7, Suho goes to great lengths, from making everyone at school yell ‘apologize’, to hacking his computer during a game in an internet cafe, to telling on his dad, to the point of even losing sleep, just to make Lee Sung Yong apologize to Ju Gyeong for kidnapping her. That was true dedication.

7) In episode 10, Suho visits Ju Gyeong’s room for the first time and sees a photo of her younger self laying on a couch (that appears to be at Prince Comic). He finds out that Ju Gyeong was the same girl he met as a little boy at Prince Comic who called him a crybaby, and then tried to cheer him up by doing animal impressions. He then takes that photograph home with him.

8) In spite of point 3 from ‘things I disliked’, I love how Su Ah speaks up and confronts Sujin about her deeds. Even if Sujin doesn’t admit her fault or show remorse even then, Su Ah stands up for Ju Gyeong. Afterwards she reassures Ju Gyeong that she is not ‘that kind of person’ and admits feeling hurt that JG thought she’d be shallow, then they ‘make up’ and hug eachother.

9) In episode 13, Suho records an aegyo video at Prince Comic and it’s HONESTLY ADORABLE. He sends it to Ju Gyeong in order to cheer her up. (Ngl Cha Eun Woo pulls off aegyo really well and his voice also sounds cute when he does it.)

10) At some point Suho reenacts the animal impressions to Ju Gyeong, and Ju Gyeong finally realizes they’ve met before as kids. The way he did it is very cute.

11) In episode 14, when they are dating Suho itches to call Ju Gyeong, but then he imagines the worst case scenario where he ends up being ‘the tiring type’ (as said by Tae Hoon), in which Ju Gyeong runs off with Seo Jun on his motorcycle, leaving Suho alone on the track field. He then kneels down and screams ‘NO!!’.

12) The beach date was honestly so wholesome and romantic as well, I loved seeing them go on an ‘official’ date like that.

13) 'OH MY EYEEEEES, OH SHIIIIIIIT' - Im Ju Yeong

14) While my previous points in the ‘things I disliked’ still stand, I did enjoy watching how the show extended beyond the high school setting. I really loved seeing Ju Gyeong pursue her ambition and passion in makeup. I also loved seeing Seo Jun make his way back to music and eventually debut, and that Suho decides to pursue music again too. I also really enjoyed the sub-plot of the relationship between Hee Gyeong and Han Joon Woo and how it progresses to them getting married. The show wraps up in a lovely way.

Final thoughts

Visually, I enjoyed it in all aspects.
Firstly, the cast. I haven’t read the webtoon (yet) but I think the casting is just perfect when comparing the actors to the drawn versions of their characters. Cha Eun Woo is literally perfect as Suho, I don’t think anyone else can match better. Ga Young and Hwang In Youp are perfect as Ju Gyeong and Seo Jun as well. Even the casting for the side characters match super well. For example Goo Woon, or Hee Gyeong. Even Selena’s actress pulled off the vibe really well. The acting was also really good, I was especially impressed by how well Cha Eun Woo did considering his performance in some previous roles were underwhelming.
Secondly, the cinematography is beautiful, the colors are soft but vibrant.
Thirdly, the fashion is also on point most of the time (some of Suho’s outerwear and outfits are kind of questionable tho imo). Also, I don’t know how Ju Gyeong suddenly leveled up her fashion sense by 100 after ‘the makeover’, but I did really enjoy her cute outfits. I especially liked her academic outfit variations. I like how she wore different colored knee socks, sometimes grey and sometimes white. Her matching pastel colored outerwear goes well with her uniforms too.
The soundtrack is also very memorable, both songs with vocals as well as atmospheric instrumental tracks.

I loved the characters. First of all, I need to give a big shout out to Seo Jun for being such a respectable and good character. Even if he loves Ju Gyeong, he never acts selfishly by crossing the line or boundaries and always respects her and Suho.
He also does so much for her behind the scenes, it's admirable.
The side characters are awesome too. Ju Gyeong's sister and brother are also so fun and have unique personalities as well. Hee Gyeong (older sis) is very confident, tomboyish and funny with her interactions with Han Joon Woo (the teacher), but she has a really righteous side. Ju Yeong (younger brother) is a goof and banters with Ju Gyeong a lot and seems like the usual 'obnoxious' sibling, but he definitely shows a more serious, mature and caring side to him as well. For example when he tells Suho to not play around with Ju Gyeong's feelings and actually be serious if he really likes her, or when he fights someone at school when they talk shit about Ju Gyeong (after she got 'exposed'). His protective side definitely shows.
Then another side chara I especially liked is Yoon Tae Hoon, he was hilarious. He was a bro to Suho as well, trying to give him tips and help him out. That scene where they broke the 4th wall talking about drama cliches was HILARIOUS.

Plot wise, as I’ve stated in the points before, it’s not perfect. However, the characters and their backgrounds and personalities are very well developed and I think that really uplifts the show and carries it in places where it lacks plot structure.
This show gave me many laughs, especially in the first half. It also gave me some tears. There are definitely a lot of cliche moments like in a lot of kdramas, but those honestly didn’t bother me.
Finally, I just loved how organically and naturally Ju Gyeong and Suho’s romance develops throughout the show, it doesn’t feel forced at all. I loved seeing their relationship and interactions change from ‘cold’ and ‘on edge’ to being warm and fluffy and silly. Suho definitely learns to ‘let loose’ and show a more playful and cute side when their relationship progresses. It was also relieving and heartwarming to see him and Seo Jun reconcile in the end and become friends again.
All in all, despite having some flaws, True Beauty is a show that has a great combination of fluffiness/comedy and deeper themes. I honestly didn’t expect it to address things like panic attacks, trauma, serious family issues and OCD. However these are real things that happen on a daily basis for many people and I can fully appreciate the show addressing these, while still being balanced with the more lighthearted side of it. I enjoyed this show a lot and I’m going to miss it.

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Completed
KdramaWorld
1 people found this review helpful
May 19, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.5

AMAZING AND AWESOME SHOW..........

Amazing! just so amazing! this is literally the best thing i've ever watched in my life! THE STORYLINE AND CHARACTERS ARE SO AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGGG ! once u start watching, you cannot stop!!!!!! the cast choice was awesome! I highly recommend watching this drama because it has everything! from depression to happiness, from liking to loving, YOU'LL FIND EVERYTHING YOU CAN DREAM OF! plus, this drama is very funny and emotional at the same time!!! One time when I was eating Chocos w/ milk while watching,I laughed so hard that I had to spil the milk and chocos out of my mouth to stop them from entering my wind pipe because I was laughing so hard! There'll be times when you will feel so sad for characters and sometimes you'll laugh so hard. I'm still addicted to the drama and still IN LOVE with the OST--MISSING U..............

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Completed
ZoeAussums
1 people found this review helpful
Jan 13, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 4.0

Why is this considered a classic in the kdrama fanbase?

First of all why was this so fucking long like damn. I'm so glad we got rid of forcing every single kdrama to have 16 episodes. The story was dumb as fuck and didn't go anywhere. Every single cliche you could think of was present here. The worst of all: the miscommunication trope: CHECK!!!! YAYYYY!!!! Like we're TIRED. It's also the fact that they tried to convince me that girl is ugly because she got some pimples and glasses and when she put makeup on everybody gagging all of a sudden like no ma'am! Mun Ka Young being the fl does NOT help this show, in fact she's the reason why it was hard to keep watching and i had to force myself to finish it. Cha Eun Woo is (as we know) not the best actor either so he didn't help either. Park You Na is a good actress but her character is fake as hell so I didn't care for her either. Hwang In Youp was definitely the selling point here even though his ass was annoying asf too like he FAILED to drop the douchebag act for one second and then was surprised when she ain't pick him!!! And I was mad too!! Like that's how badly written the show is. I'm rooting for the fl to end up with the antagonist chi-

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Completed
Snozzberry Juice
1 people found this review helpful
Jan 6, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5

A Better Watch The Second Time Around

I watched this drama while it was airing. I was also watching it while the web took was at it's peak and was actually good. I originally rated this drama 6.5. I was bitter they changed so much to the original webtoon and everything could not compare. Watching it a second time and with the web took being over (and disappointed how it ended), I really enjoyed this one much more. Unlike the webtoon, the characters, especially Ju Gyeong, have more development than the webtoon. You get to know more about them and why there's strained relationships or they are the way they are. The story had somewhat of a plot to follow. Yes, that plot is the love story, but they do sprinkle the self-confidence bit. It wasn't like the webtoon where it was always, "woe is me Ju Gyeong. No one else is important.

I think for the genre that the drama is, the acting was good. It's meant to be that over-exaggerated dramatic high school close-up with pained facial expressions style. It's supposed to be leagues more animated than the normal drama. Did I personally care for it? No. Would I have watched the drama if it was more serious? No. It was the right balance.

The drama circles around constantly to one song. Naturally, you hear that song a million times because of it. I don't blame the writers and there was other music, but you really take away remembering that one song.

Would I rewatch it? I'd be lying if I said no. Technically this was a rewarch because I couldn't remember a lot of what happened and wanted to give it a proper rating. With that aside, I honestly would not watch it again. It's not my genre, so there's no need to continue to force myself to try to enjoy it.

Overall, this was a cute drama. They stray from the webtoon in a clear, cohesive way that leaves it open to really develop the characters and understand what they're going through in that moment

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Completed
solunial
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 5, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Inhyeop carried!

Why does female lead always fall oh my gosh. All wattpad y/n clichés are here, but were not in a way that get you hooked. It was indeed funny but the chemistry between the leads was so meh.

People were lying when they said the female lead should have chosen Seojun because Seojun actually deserved better! The break-up between her and Suho felt so unecessary and I would have wished that she made it at least hard for him before they get back together but noooo, she forgave him easily like he didn't leave her hanging.

Also, why did they have to ruin soojin's character?! For a guy?! Her development of feelings for Suho was so quick and random so her sudden betrayal to the female lead (yes, I don't remember her name) was so out of the blue and was only done for the plot.

The only thing I liked about this was Inhyeop's acting (he carried) and Jukyung ?? being able to stand up for herself after being bullied like it was actually kind of satisfying.

Overall, if you want a quick watch with a frustrating love triangle and bullying, this is meant for you. Had a good laugh, still.

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Completed
Gooddramafewerbadtrops
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 8, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Absolutely a delight, amazing cast and characters but they failed one character

Absolutely loved this series. Amazing leads, from both FL and ML1 and ML2.
FL lead is super charming and likeable and very funny at times. It's funny she was called ugly in beginning of the show even her ugly makeup, she was still a very cute girl.
It is predicable though but it is expected with these type of kdramas.
I've enjoy everyone from the cast, seems like everyone really had great chemistry. Honestly, I would have been fine if she ended up with either ML
Since she had chemistry with both. That's usually hard to pull off. I'm guessing the actress is likey so much fun to work with.
I've had issue with one Female character I liked in the beginning but as the show progressed, they turned her into a villain and she became so easy to root against and hated.
She was such a bad ass character. She ruined all her image and almost her life for a guy who clearly said many times he didn't like her, he has a girlfriend and only saw her as a friend.
She decided to ruin her friendship with the FL, ended being the worst pos ever put on TV.
Worst part, it took her like 3 years to apologize.
When they decided to bring her back to the show. I just didn't care one bit.
Which is a shame since I do love cool and bad ass female characters from dramas
But anyway, I think this show is definitely my third favorite show after a business proposal and it's OK to not be OK.
When you have amazing set of characters it is very easy for your show to be so loved and successful
Oh almost forgot about the best friendzone character in the show.
ML2. He did everything he could to get the girl and even waited for 3 years
He could have turned into a scambag at the end but he knew he really didn't have a chance or never had any. So he decided to work on himself and try to move on.
Oh, lastly one crazy relationship was the FL older sister and the teacher.
She was the most forward woman I've ever seen in my life lol
I'm not sure if he was scared of her and decided to say yes to everything or was he really in love with her.
That relationship was something lol
Anyway review way too long.
I definitely would watch this again just because how amazing Everyone are.
Earned its 9.5

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Completed
ninifilms
1 people found this review helpful
May 26, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

True Beauty: A guilty pleasure.

There's absolutely nothing extraordinary about this drama, but it does a very good job at being medium. Really!

Here's a few of my thoughts (no spoilers)

Writing - It's a shame that the bullyng and the characters traumas weren't really developed. It had a lot of potential, but they just covered it with comedy. So even though the drama has interesting and important topics, they weren't explored as they should.
Also, why so many embarrassing scenes? I never skip scenes but this button was definitely used on this drama.

Couples - The drama focused so much on the romance that at some point people forgot about the first plot, Lim Jun Kyung problem with her appearance and the bullying.
The whole "Who's she ending up with" wasn't necessary and made the story worst in my opinion. But I liked the final couple, so I'll give them that.

Acting - None of the actors showed a award worthy performance but they didn't disappointed me as some people said they would. It's decent.

OST's - I loved every single song in this drama!

True Beauty made me laugh, tear down, made me angry, sad and root for the characters. It's worth watching and I recommend if you're looking for a funny, silly, easy watch drama.

Overall it's pretty decent although I wouldn't watch it with my friends who aren't part of this kdrama world cuz it would be embarrassing. A true guilty pleasure.

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Completed
ayalikeschicken
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 6, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Hilarious & a Classic Cliche

The drama excels in its dialogue and delivery, the acting is superb and the show is hilarious. Several laugh out loud moments additionally several moments where I cried too. I felt for Joogyung and was extremely happy for you when she realised her self-worth and inner-beauty. Story is filled with a bunch of cliches but executed really well.
I would say the drama goes extremely well up until around episode 12, which is why I rated the rewatch value at a 6 because I'd watch it up until then. After ep 12 I no longer felt the hype and would watch the show several days after release. The storyline was a bit of a drag. The last two episodes were disappointing, I'm satisfied with the ending however the episodes were not needed, the pace was off. It felt like they were fitting so many things into the episodes.
OST was alright, it wasn't impactful, didn't add anything to the scenes but some of the songs were catchy.

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Completed
nara
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 6, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
This review may contain spoilers

Comfort drama <3

I have been a faithful reader of the webtoon since a year ago and always waited for them to pick it up and release a kdrama based on it. I fell in love with the cast choice since the beginning, they were so spot on on every character, specially Seo Jun and Su Ho. I have to say that even if i enjoyed Gayoung as Im Ju Gyeong, she's so beautiful that I never saw that much change between Ju Gyeong with or without makeup ;_;.

I knew that despite being so cliché I was gonna love it and that's what happened, I was waiting every single week for the release of new episodes and I was very pleased with the whole plot til the end. The show did it very well entertaining wise, I never skipped a single scene and that's really never common on me that I usually watch lots of dramas and tend to skip unnecessary scenes. This time every character here was fun to watch, especially Ju Gyeong's sister and brother storyline, they were so funny I couldn't stop laughing every time they were on the screen. I even loved the parents scenes. Of course, my fave character has always been Seo Jun, he is lovely both here and in the webtoon. I truly felt so sad at how dirty they did to Seo Jun in the kdrama storyline. Knowing what actually happens in the webtoon, that it's the complete opposite, I guess the Suho-Ju Gyeong ship really fit the kdrama plot they were hinting since the beginning so I have no complaints because it was also lovely to see their relationship and how they made Ju Gyeong very loyal to her feelings with no stupid doubts regarding both Seo Jun and Su Ho, lovely to see that.

The OST was amazingly chosen, I made a playlist to listen to it because the songs ended up stuck in my head the entire day after watching an episode. I'm In The Mood For Dancing has been my jam since its release, and all the songs sang by Cha Eun Woo, Hwang In Yeop and Cha Ni!!! A blessing I'd say.

I don't mind if this review is a bit biased ( I already loved the cast (big fan of Eun Woo here) and story before it even started) because since it didn't disappointed me and made me feel very happy every week I gave this kdrama a higher rating than I expected. I am definitely gonna rewatch this from time to time whenever I need something light and happy to space out. Definitely gonna be sad knowing that I won't get new episodes from now on. Good job True Beauty team!!!! I'll be looking forward to the cast next projects <3 <3 (might have turned into Hwang In Yeop enthusiast after this)

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Askobol
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 13, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 4.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers
It's fluffy cute and targeting important issues within coming of age. There's neither drive nor pure chill, the pace is a constant progressing with little exceptions, which makes it enjoyable even towards the end. The show is long, but the end isn't bad because it is dragged out. There is even a sense of accomplishment in the final details: everything achieved was worked for at length. Despite being entertaining, there are shortcomings. The character development is very strong up to the point where the first main conflict is resolved. From then on however, there's only repetition in a less convincing way: Trouble overcome is part of the past only, but never comes back - idealising and wrong. The soundtrack is plain, but effective, sadly it's very one-sided when it comes to actual 'story'-songs. The camera-work does nothing special. Everything is filmed smooth to the point, where you forget, that there is actually thought in the process of capturing a story. Never do the pictures express a part of the story, feelings, etc. themselves. There is no artsiness in the way the pictures are created whatsoever. The color-codes of the scenes are well composed, however implausible and often over-isolated. While introducing Ju Kyung through metal, there soon is a replacement: fluffy romantic harmless ballads, bittersweet, but one-dimensional. The two male leads have personality and a great dynamic. Facing the destined (not) to be theirs, they fall into the classic 'boyfriend material' trope, being less more than a puppy on a princess' lap. A lot of drama is introduced through Hospitalisations, which isn't elegant really. The story is, setting the romance aside, about realising one's goal, both in the sense of awareness and achievement. Sadly, the outcome (dream come true) is only shown symbolically through the found respect of significant non-romantic others (Ju Kyungs Sister and the fans for the boys, Her Idol for Ju Kyung). The to be realised dream of becoming a makeup artist is a necessary act of emancipation against the discourse of the 'natural beauty hierarchy'. Given the Korean beauty industry being highly competitional, it isn't an easy dream. There is a found inner beauty which is presented as important. The achievement of the inner beauty then directly transforms into outer beauty (makeup), which reverses the emancipating act. While the bigger sister is an absolute gender-exchange case, having no hybridity in the spectrum, manliness in character, beauty in the looks, Im Ju Kyung is just a feminine girl. Fitting the role of the girl seems to be more important, than overcoming boundaries. The only meant to be occupation of doing makeup is highly problematic, since it separates manly and feminine occupations. Why no male make-up artist in the whole show? Why not a female musician? Why is the rich guy getting the poor girl`? Where is the dad of Lee Su Ho in the end? And a last remark on the wedding: I guess one can say, the grandeur is Korean. It's pure kitsch, a badly mixed up Disney-wonderland tape. All the Korean traditional elements seem lost, except from the traditional dress of the mother. It's hard to believe, they stay true to tradition in food, but are western to the extent of 4th order simulacra, when it comes to a wedding. All together, worth the watch, instructive, emotionally confronting, but far from being a perfect show. It could and should have been more adventurous.

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Completed
Baniita
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 6, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

1000x better than the webtoon, 1 of the only 2 kdrama I think are good.

This adaption was 1000x better than the webtoon and actually had lovely messages to send. It delivered well on the messages of inner beauty, strength, and courage.
There are weak moments in the first half, but the 2nd half was fantastically solid. The first half, Su Ho is very immature, but he grows up well, even if he did make a mistake later.
The romance was a hundred times better as well. It was so ridiculously sweet, I have cavities. But it wasn't cheesy in its execution and was done well. The wedding (side couple) was such a feel-good time lol.
The characters are much more well rounded and 3-dimensional, and the message of "True Beauty" (despite that not being the KR title) came out loud and clear.
I am so so so so ridiculously glad they didn't take the Seojun route for a 2nd season.
Kan Su Jin was 1000x better as well, as she was completely 2-dimensional in the webtoon, and her comeback made me cry, christ.
People often say in the reviews that this is cliche and typical, but to be frank, this is the only one that was executed well. I may not have seen 100 titles, but the popular kdrama I keep getting recommended are frankly just bad?? Cringy and full of bad acting. Uninteresting, or the main leads are dumb or whatever. Very superficial as well. The titles with high school settings have all been bad in my experience.
I do not agree that the main lead's acting is bad either. (What even makes them think that?!)
I do agree that the last 2 eps were a bit rushed, but considering what they had to work with, to be frank they did AMAZING in comparison.
People were saying Seo Jun stole the show, and while he /was/ amazing, and I love him for what he did in the end, but to be frank, he and Ju Gyeong's chemistry really simply isn't as good. That ending? Where they are curled up talking about their favourite comics? That's unreplaceable.
The last episodes made me cry a l o t. There are now only two kdrama I consider good. Secret Garden and this.

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Completed
Kdramaskimchi
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 13, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers

If you like cliche school dramas this is for you

I started watching it because i knew most of the main cast from other dramas but i didnt know it was gonna be so cliche. Two of the most popular boys have a crush the same girl, one has top grades one is a baddie then her best friend betrays her. Not saying its an entirely thing of course but if you just want something simple and light to watch the i recommend this dramas. But if you want something more interesing then you should find other dramas. I really liked the chemistry of Seojun and Jugyeong thats the only reason i watched it till ep15. I thought they were gonna be together in the end cause Suho had so many scenes already. But no they had to make Seojun heartbroken thats when i had to drop it. Seojun and Soojin was the most interesting characters to watch, they shouldve had more elaboration its such a waste

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True Beauty (2020) poster

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