My Roommate Is a Gumiho (2021)

Funny

Strong ML and FL along with strong side funny side characters. It does not happen often where i get a good laugh but this drama has everything, strong chemistry, predictable story, no damsel in distress FL and Handsome ML with mysterious capabilities, comic scenes, good supporting characters. I kept watching this without break so i can say i had fun watching this series and though its predictable but it has its own individuality to the story. Acting was good and i liked badass FL with i don't give a damn attitude but at the same time, she is practical, logical and a loyal. ML is shown as lacking humanity but he only cares about our FL and those parts are super funny.

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A very good surprise

Very cute story, with Jang Ki Yong ♥♥♥. The story deals more with the psychological aspect (humanity, death, friendship) through the romance between a gumiho and a student who has swallowed her pearl.

There are no big special effects, but humor, lightness, endearing characters (especially the secondary couples) and a change of pace in the production that makes us have a good time.

I also appreciate the fact that the two lovers protect their love, persist in their choices and respect each other.

I therefore recommend it to those who want a good fantasy series.

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Cute love story

I like this drama but i dont know what, there is somthing i could't give 10 out of 10 marks for this drama. i think tht becoz there r no confusing part. i mean it is like, when we watchng drama we feel like, ' oh wht is going to hpnd next ' and start to feeling curiosity about next part. but i did not feel tht in this drama.. but i must say i did not feel bored at all... i watchd dramas without hesitating.. n i dont like end episode its not written well.

As for actors i laught too much for some of lee dam's scenes some time's her acting and her face expressions rememberd me lee yi kyung ( lee joon ki in welcome to wikiki) and woo yeo also did great job he is soooo cute when he smile i love it... he is cute when he is jelous ❤️❤️❤️ and all other cast members also did their best for character

Overall good drama..

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POX

this series is one of the best drama, I ever seen! I highly recommend it. It’s another Gumiho drama but this is different this drama will really make you laugh till your stomach hurts and it will also make your heart flatters as well. as he journeys on becoming a human you will see how their love story unfolds from an accidental encounter to lovers and how they manage to stay strong in spite the odds. on top of that Yang Hye-Sun-Shin Woo-Yeo bickering and Yang-Do Jae love story added more colors on this drama what I mean is it's very humorous that will light up your day. really! I can't get over of the word "POX" this really makes me LMAO...

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Masterful writing

One of the best drama ever. From the beginning to the end, it was thrilling, suspenseful, and interesting to watch. There was never a moment when I thought this was not a good drama.

All of the characters especially Dam and her friends were super relatable. I felt as if they were living similar life as me but with supernatural elements in it.

I just love everything from the beautiful tune (sound like water drops with nostalgia feeling attracted to it) to the masterful writing piece.

At the end, Shin Woo: “Miss Dam, you were supposed to keep the marble, not fall in love with its owner.”
Dam: “You were supposed to steal my energy, not my heart.” It was great how it ended the way it started.

All of the actors played their role excellently.

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Outfoxed ¤ A Better Marble Trap °7.8° °Excellent°

He /planted/ something in her!

Yeo and Dam don't actually meet as much as collide, which caused the marble he's been cultivating for over 900 years to jump into her bo from his. Whoops. Yeo needs to find a way to get it back from her. If it stays in Dam too long it will kill her. Besides, he's been feeding it energy for nearly a millennium. When he's done, he will no longer be a Gumiho, he will be human. He was nearly done - and he ain't starting over now! So they become roommates. That way, he can keep an eye on her condition until he figures out a way to retrieve his precious property. She declined, initially, until she realized she will feel deathly ill if he's not around to provide assistance.

What's a Gumiho?

It began in old Joseon.

Rumor has it, it's a fox demon that disguises itself as a beautiful human woman in order to devour the liver of its victim. Maybe that isn't /completely/ true. Maybe the Gumiho is only trying to cultivate itself into a human, and eating livers, though quicker, is not required. It takes a thousand years the slow way, which is stealing human energy in dribs and draws by way of physical contact. All animals, including Gumihos, want to be human. Only humans can decide their own destiny.

Living together is no small thing. Yeo lays down some rules: No chicken. Chicken blood will weaken both of them. No men, especially men born in the Year of the Tiger, which is every male in Dam's year at school. No alcohol. What!?! He's gone too far. No booze. No chicken. No men… What is there for her to live for? She hits him back with some rules of her own, like stop smoking. So what if it's a 400 year-old habit? He might like smoking, but chicken is /her/ favorite thing. Company misery doeth love.

The first third of the show is them getting used to eachother and us getting a peek at them and their daily lives. Yeo is in danger. If he doesn't become human by the 1000 year point he'll turn into an evil spirit and be targeted for elimination. Dam has a similar deadline. If they don't extract the marble from her inside of a year, she'll die. In ep7 we are introduced to a baddie that covets the marble, which puts Dam in more danger. This incident directly leads to a plot shift - a reset, if you will.

The second half of the show is them trying to make their relationship work. A Gumiho isn't supposed to be in a relationship with a human, so they have more to work out than the average couple. Like good foxes, they dig through it all. There are some physical incompatibility issues, the main one being that his desires get confused. He loves her. He wants to kiss and hold her, but he also has a primal desire to drain her energy. It sounds alot like Edward and Bella from Twilight along with any number of similar vampire love stories. In a moment of passion it could be rather dangerous. An ancient deity doesn't like what they're doing and throws a wrench into the works that becomes more fodder for relationship issues they must work out. It advances the plot well.

MRiaG is a 2021 release that is rated 91 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 65-minute delightful episodes. It's an excellent romcom - no more, no less, and that is good enough. My only complaint is that some of the drama was poorly manufactured since he can teleport. Any emergency can be instantly addressed so their consternation sometimes seems misplaced. Jang Ki Yong (Sweet & Sour-7, My Mister-9.5, The Atypical Family) plays ML Shin Woo “Yeo”. If you haven't seen him before, you would probably be surprised to hear that he can play a first-rate thug. It's nice to see him play a sweetheart here. He's not just a sweetheart. He's got to walk a fine line between stoicism and experiencing brand new emotions. “When you live for such a long time, everything feels like a season that will eventually pass. Everything feels meaningless. But you seem true to yourself every moment. I like your honesty.” So says Yeo to Lee Dam (Lee Hye Ri of May I Help You). Ms Lee is the central character of Reply 1988-8.6, a comfy show about friends, family, and neighbors. She has a genuine infectious exuberance that she brings to everything. Previously dubbed “The Nations Little Sister” after appearing on the show Real Men, SHE is the reason this show is as fun to watch as it is.

The secondary romances are also nice. Kang Han Na (Familiar Wife-8.5, Just Between Lovers, Start-up-8) is Yeo ‘s longtime (we're talking 700 years) friend, Yang Hye Sun. She was a Gumiho, but she recently became human. She has more to do in this series than most shows where she often plays an ice queen/human figurine. I like her in this. Kim Do Wan (Moment at Eighteen, Doona!) and Park Kyung Hye (Goblin, Destined with You, My Lovely Liar) are Dam's BFFs, Choi Soo Kyung and Do Jae Jin. Bae In Hyuk (Under the Queen's Umbrella, Why Her?-8, At a Distance, Spring Is Green) is Gye Sun Woo, a popular guy at school who first comes onto Dam as a farce but ends up developing a thing for her. As cute as this actor is, with double-deep-double-dimples, I've seen him twice and both times he plays second fiddle. Go Kyung Pyo (Chicago Typewriter, Private Lives-8.1) makes a surprise appearance mid-show. It's fun to see him across from Lee Hye Ri in an echo back to Reply 1988. They can't hide the warmth they have for eachother in their scenes. The screenwriters are Baek Sun Woo (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim-6.8, Doctor Slump) & Choi Bo Rim (Touch Your Heart-8.2). Director Nam Sung Woo also brought us the very popular Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, Because This Is My First Life-7.7, and 100 Days My Prince-5.5.

This is a cute couple. “This is our first date. You think I came unprepared? I've been keeping myself updated with the latest culture via news and books. And I've been watching romantic comedy dramas, so I'm very well aware of the latest dating trends. Plus, I can use magic. You won't be disappointed.” So says the 999 year old fox. What he thinks is current intel on dates is actually 20 years old. (For him, that IS current;). “I'm in love. I can't describe this feeling. It's soft and hot. I can't either swallow it or spit it out.” Dam is quite elegant in delivering these lines. “This doesn't mean anything. It's another meaningless relationship that will end soon.” That's what Yeo tells himself, until he can no longer deny it. They are mellow and comfy. Her joy is contagious, he caught it, the viewer catches it, and almost no one has any desire to turn back. They spent some time apart, but it didn't take.

“According to Mingxin Baojian, one's mouth and tongue are the door to anger and worries, and they are the axes that kill one's body,” we hear. Amen - preach it! While I've relegated this to simple romcom status, MRiaG is not low IQ. The writers show their depth-of-field in several places. The most popular boy at school supposedly is interested in Dam. Not believing that she can truly be attractive to him, Dam is skeptical of his motives. Yeo (already outfoxed by her himself) quotes poignantly from an old story: “To him, she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else's heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He could not understand why anyone wouldn't fall in love with her.” (Excuse me while I fan myself). ‘If you live long enough, you begin to become indifferent to everything,’ Yeo realizes. “Feigning love is not love. The more it's done, the emptier one feels.” Yeo had been posing and faking and acting for a millenia. Dam came to his house knowing his secret. He could be real in her presence. He became comfortable with her. That will make an average looking person a “10” to the beholder. “According to Sajasohak, one must be clean-cut and well-dressed. It means you should be neat and dressed nicely.” Dam is alittle casual about cleanliness. Instead of berating her, Yeo appeals to her best nature.

The entire show appeals to our best nature. Not much happens, yet every episode is a treat. It simply works. They also tie up the last episode very nicely. Not all shows do, so it's appreciated. Any romcom fan will find MRiaG to be their natural habitat.


〰QUOTES〰

There is always some madness in love, as Frederick Nietzsche wrote in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. That you like someone means that you are misunderstanding that person in your own way.

Dishonesty cannot beat honesty. Never.

The more you know the more you see.

〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 8
Writing 7
Acting 8
Romance 6
Flutters 5
Art 7.5
Sound & music 7.7 Best song - My All
Ending 8.3

LEVELS
Warmth 6
Action/ Excitement 3
Laughs 3
Tears 3.5
Fright 3
Tension/Anxiety 2
Gore 2
Thought provocation 3
Snores 0


Age 12+
Sime scary elements. A disturbing evil spiri

Rated TV-15

Re-watch? Sure would


Loving someone from “another world” - In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

99 days with the Superstar-7,
The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2
Live Up To Your Name-7.6;
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek 7,
Hotel del Luna-8.4,
A Korean Odyssey-7.2,
Romance is a bonus book-7.9;
Heirs 7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows 7,
Something in the Rain 9,
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
You are my destiny 6.8 cute, sweet & 1/2 padding,
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5,
Find Yourself 8.9

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It was quite grounded for a fantasy drama.

So first thing first, I don't think this is a 'woah, this deserves a daesang' sort of drama, no, it's pretty simple and slow but I kinda like it.
If you are like me and really enjoy a romantic drama without anything dramatic inconveniencing it (ie. mother-in-laws, superficial childhood traumas, family debts where the main lead's family did something wrong to the other, ceo of a company,
unreasonable unforbidden love... the usual) then I think you should give this one a try. Not to say there won't be a reason keeping our main apart, but it will feel reasonable and will be overcome.
Now I know I said it's grounded in reality for a fantasy drama and I stand by it. It's sort of realistic in a sense where the main don't really fight for the stupidest reasons, they are open and honest with each other and their love feels earned. It's nice to watch them enjoy the small things in life, not going after an imminent villain that they have to have a showdown with at the end.

Which leads me to my second point, the lack of an actual villain was really a good thing for me, I know halfway there is the gumiho turned evil spirit but they were only there for half an episode. I like that the fact that the main being a gumiho kept them apart and it felt quite realistic.

But then, without a looming threat to overcome, i think this drama would have been better if it had been shortened. It didn't really need a full 16 episodes, I feel like it would have been better shorter, excluding the whole thing with the evil spirit gumiho. (Also some of the episodes' climaxes were hit in the middle of said episodes ,I'd get up to start a new episode thinking, this is probably gonna be a cliffhanger, only to find out I haven't even finished half of the episode)
It dragged on some episodes that should have been dealt with in 1 episode but stretched into 3 full episode ( the whole Lee Dam acting like she had lost her memory...) and the whole "I'm a gumiho, you're human, we can't be together" thing starts to become very repetitive.

In the end anyways, the supporting characters and the others have good plots on their sides that are interesting and even the main leads are great, they have really good chemistry that make you forget the pacing of the show. The two other supporting roles Do Jaejin and Yang Hyesun are a cute couple in the making and I just loved seeing how expressive Kim Dowan was as Do Jaejin. It's nice to see men allowed to cry on screen.
I also liked the cameos, and although I love Go Kyung Pyo with all my heart but Han Ji Eun and Kang Mina were my favorites (honorable mentions, Jung Somin and Kim Doyeon).

In conclusion if you want to feel fluffy and lonely because you don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend , I recommend this sweet and soft drama, you're just gonna have to deal with the pacing a little bit

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As someone who read the webtoon, I was slightly disappointed since the trailer came out. You know those rom-coms that are kinda bad but you still watch them because they're entertaining? This drama was kinda like that except it wasn't all that entertaining. I pretty much finished this drama just so I could've finished another drama. The acting was disappointing with both leads, definitely no hate to Hyeri and Jang Ki Yong. I've watched their other dramas and I know how great they are at their jobs but this one didn't quite do it for me. To be completely honest, I liked the sub couple a lot more than the main.

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My Roommate is a Gumiho

This was a well-produced drama. A great main & supporting cast, an amazing OST, a good plot & the humor was the best part of this drama. Hye Sun stole the show from everyone because she was definitely the best character. She kept the show afloat when the main leads decided they wanted to be a drag during some parts. I usually love only focusing on the main lead relationship, but it was fun to watch her developing romance with Jae Jin who was another highlight of the drama.

Onto the leads, Jang Ki Yong & Lee Hye Ri had great chemistry, and their kiss scenes were top-tier. I absolutely loved the silly dynamic in their relationship that kept things interesting. The only thing I did not care for was her calling him sir.

I LOVED IT!! 9/10

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