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I took up this drama knowing that it does not have a satisfying end. I am not a fan of historical dramas,yet I picked this up mainly because of the cast. Even though they showed two gumihos , I liked how the actors protrayed adding their own nuances .Both seungi snd jin hyuk were amazing as gumihos.The story is cute and easygoing without giving much heart attack.I liked the parts with kangchi and gon and their cat and mouse relationship.suzy did a good job potraying yeo ul. And I really hated the villain. As I said eariler ending is not at all satisfactory and it doesn't gave you hope and they again meet under peach tree during crescent moon which impiles another misfortune I guess . The action was not something you would go wow.But it is pretty good in ts own way. In conclusion if you want see an easygoing drama with cute romance and some action go for it. P.s prepare some tissues as well. Was this review helpful to you?
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Watching this drama I didn't know what to expect because this was my first time watching Lee Seung Gi and Suzy together. I was already sad by the parents story in the beginning seeing as how they got separated, a few years later we relive that story with Lee Seung Gi's character Kang Chi and Suzy which turned out to be the same fate and was heartbreaking in the end with her death which made me cry ugh don't you just hate sad endings? A little later they end up meeting again in the modern world which was something that they made up for her death. This drama was a bit frustrating because it took way too long for the villian to die and how he got away with so many evil sins and when he finally got what he deserved that sigh of relief came from my mouth because karma comes back to strike at him. I would say watch this drama despite the sad moments that happens in this it is still a wonderful watch to see. Was this review helpful to you?
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GU???
The beginning is the closest Kdrama I've ever seen to a Xianxia Cdrama. It's starts off with the love story of Kang Chi's parents, but their accompanying love theme English choral music is dreadful! Thank God it's only for the first two episodes! Lee Seung-Gi just keeps going from strength to strength. He gives a magnetic performance that helps suspend your disbelief as the man is so charming & talented. Suzy Bae is very well cast as his leading plucky lady as they have incredible chemistry together, and it is a joy to watch their love unfold...especially that really long first kiss!!! Choi Jin-hyuk , plays his dad and in reality is only one year older than him! I wonder if he got a taste for playing supernatural roles through this, as he does seem to like them and well...he's really good at it and....ummmm....he looks smoking hot!!!There are many memorable scenes & characters which make this drama so enjoyable. Despite the lightheartedness I actually find it to be quite a deep drama, in relation to how people react to the gumiho side of Kang Chi and you can put this into context in any modern hate crime and find solace from what they are saying.
The Turtle Ships & Admiral Yi are actually based on historical fact, which I found fascinating and a good intro into Korean history.
The Gu Family Book never actually makes an appearance and I wonder why it is actually the title, but it may just be a metaphor for love, as that's what keeps turning him back into his human form. Gu must stand for Gumiho, so it's their story which we are actually seeing that makes them human. As in the end when we see him in the future, he could have found the book in all those 422 yrs and kept it on standby for when he finally found Suzy, and then grown old with her. I have so many questions, but sadly no answers....there really should have been a Season 2 :(
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If I Had To Choose Between A Korean Odyssey & Gu Family Book...
I would choose A Korean Odyssey.Obviously the two shows are different and where one is a historical drama, the other isn't. However, they both have Lee Seung Gi playing the ML who is non-human.
Story: Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed GFB and I didn't find myself bored or wishing for more throughout it. It didn't feel draggy and I don't feel as though it was lacklustre when it came to the romance - as other reviews have suggested. In some ways, this was a lot better than AKO and I also loved the communication and chemistry between the leads in this a lot better. But the ending did kind of ruin it for me (and not for the reason a lot of people probably think). I want to keep this spoiler free so I won't say anything except that it wasn't as beautiful and magnificent as the rest of the drama. Sure, there were plot wholes if you look closely, but that never took away from my enjoyment. Plus, I appreciated the amount of loyalty and trust present within the friendships/relationships. It was a nice break from other dramas that are built on miscommunication, misunderstanding, and lack of trust.
Acting/Cast: This drama was perfectly casted in my opinion. Most of the actors did amazing and even though I'm not really a fan of Bae Suzy's acting usually, this was probably my favourite performance from her. But that might have something to do with Lee Seung Gi being her partner; they had really great, believable chemistry.
Music: It was good but not amazing? It did it's job at the right moments and all that, but I've heard better soundtracks.
Rewatch Value: I gave this a 5 because of the ending and slow burn romance. It's not really something I think I would find myself rewatching. In saying that, I'm not someone who rewatches shows often anyway.
Overall: I would say this is definitely worth a watch. I genuinely love the drama and loved the experience of watching.
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The cast is amazing! Lee Seung Gi and Bae Suzy have crazy chemistry through out the series. I also appreciated that Suzy's character stayed a strong female character through out. Other notables were Yoo Yeon Sook and Choi Jin Hyuk in very attractive guy liner.
Just a warning, rape is implied a couple times through out the series. Nothing is shown but it is definitely implied.
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This review may contain spoilers
Very minor spoiler in this review:I came to this series with hopes for some badass supernatural in a historical period but ended up with mainly lighthearted comedy, heavy romance, and just a bit of drama. It had potential but it was cluttered with both hits and misses.
Felt a pang of wanting to drop this within the first two episodes because the initial love story just didn't make much sense for multiple reasons. I needed to fill in justifications many times in the plot to continue watching. Example: For a being that supposedly has lived thousands of years, why would he feel the intense need to save his first human who wasn't really suffering that much comparably or even deserving of it? Love at first sight? Instead of being wise in all his years, he was too foolishly naive.
There was also almost no background story to many of the key characters which was really disappointing. The excess time spent on the romance and interaction of the second couple should have been spent on giving others some more depth. Although their coupled scenes weren't bad, I still fast-forwarded through a good portion of it. Fortunately the female lead was actually likeable, although they did water down her character near the end.
The transformation of our supernatural beings was just sad and really not believable when those around them supposedly became overly fearful of their "monstrous" image. They verbally tried to portray their "powers" as being overwhelming but it really fell flat when none of it really came into play during the fights. But at least it didn't fall into the tacky category.
Although there was little explanation of anything and the plot didn't flow very naturally, what saved the series was the camaraderie of all of our characters. The development of the relationship with our second couple was done much better than the first one. It was still fun to watch and I laughed out loud plenty of times. It's a good one for those looking for romance/comedy but not great for those looking for something with more action.
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ohhhhhhh what can i say its a story about love, betrayal . for me this drama is 10/10 i cried lot of time and say y we human don't have heart to accept other i really love way they fall in love .Lee Seung Gi
this is the 1st time i see his drama and i have to say he really the best acting totally fit in role if u see this drama girls really fall in love this guy :)
Suzy
this is the 1st time i see her drama and i fall in love with her. wow she is incredible actress mind blowing acting . i m crying like a baby ..
story
in this drama u can ask for every thing and u will be satisfied. the only thing i don't like is ending when suzy die
but its happy ending! :)
i really want next part
how they fall again
thank you
i hope i don't give u much spoilers
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Start getting interesting from episode 11
Getting to watch this series because I want to see Yoon Se Ah acting (love her acting especially in Sky Castle).The first 10 episode, the story a bit boring, slow and like still trying to get into the right track. Only start from episode 11 then pace start to pick up and the story getting more interesting.
The thing I don't understand is why the story written in a way that fate of father and son is like inherited? the father died because of love, the son also suffers because of love. At the end of the day, the Gu Family Book is just a title, the series should be named as General Lee story :)
And funny thing is when YW got shot, she still can walk normally and eat until quite sometimes? Incredible, doesn't make sense
Acting : To me the acting of all the casts are good, especially Lee Seung Gi. Suzy acting a bit off. The rest of the cast thumbs up to the acting skill
The music are best! Especially Baek Ji Young, the queen of drama OST LOL
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JUST WATCHED
Even though this drama has been out since 2013 I just watched it a couple of days ago. I truly loved Lee Seung Gi's work. It's a great story. I cried on the ending but was so happy to see the real ending. Great story line, great acting and thanks for the hard work that went into this drama. It is certainly worthy of watching more than once.Was this review helpful to you?
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