A delight to watch!
I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this drama half as much as I did.I had no particular expectation for this drama, however, the more I watched, the more I grew to love the characters and simple yet intriguing plot. Each character is greatly fleshed-out, all having their own stories and secrets. With the ongoing question "what's going to happen next?" running through my mind, waiting a week for the following episode was surprisingly difficult.
The plot may seem cliché at first but it gets better as you continue watching. It's extremely well made with the beautiful cinematography and camera work, wonderful OST, great acting and interesting plot, everything is on point and just too good not to watch! Nothing feels rushed or jam packed, the story is unfolded well.
This is one of the many dramas in which I didn't skip a scene or part of an episode because they all seemed important or have a relevance to the story - I commonly find myself skipping unnecessary boring scenes a lot in other dramas so this was refreshing.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed watching Live On and totally recommend giving it a try!
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An amazing journey!
It was really great watch, I enjoyed very much. I wasn't expecting anything when I started to watch it cause I didn't really get the synopsis and first few episodes weren't that great for me, I was unware where story was going, I was at the stage that I would have dropped it but then *bang* I just got hooked and after that it was an amazing journey...So basically this story revolves around Baek Ho Rang her mysterious past and the incidents happening in present due to it but the thing is we don't only see her journey we get to see many stories in just 8 ep like Eun Taek, Woo Jae, So Hyun, Jae Yi and Yoo Shin and it's really great it's full package. I really loved everyone's backstory and the fact that every character had depth, ahh how can I forgot Woo Jae and Jae Yi they were amazing together and there chemistry was rocking. Yoo Shin was one of the cutest character I've seen I just love him!...
I really like the fact that they showed story in a realistic way no rushed relationship, I mean there wasn't love at first sight, it was slow process to like someone to love someone and which absolutely takes time. There aren't typical love triangle, squares in it so don't worry... the another good aspect of story that was character development which you can absolutely see and at the end everything is perfect loved the ending.
It was wonderful journey for me it teached me a lot.. and the fact that they didn't stretch the story to make more ep is really good thing I appreciate it. So it's definitely great for me and I would recommend it, so what're you waiting for go and watch it...
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The Actors are really CUTE
JUNG DA BIN IS AN AMAZING ACTRESS! She was amazing in extracurricular and she is even better in this drama. I like this drama a lot more than I expected and the OST is also very good.The story is only 8 episodes long but the story is well put together that you won't feel bored at all. I really wished this story was 16 episode long because then we would get to see more chemistry between the leads. By the way the chemistry was awesome, probably the best High-School romance chemistry i have ever seen!!! PLEASE WATCH THIS DRAMA AND I HOPE THE FL GETS MORER ROLES FROM HERE ON OUT
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This review may contain spoilers
A gem I found unexpectedly
I really didn't think I'd love this drama so much when I first started watching it. I actually watched it just because of Minhyun since I'm a fan of NU'EST. Even then I still wasn't sure if I wanted to watch it since I'm not a big fan of high school dramas so it was such a pleasant surprise for me when I enjoyed the first episode a lot. It seemed dark and mysterious but was not too gloomy either. It had a lot of fun, romantic and cute moments so everything seemed well balanced. It might not be the best but it was still too good, a lot better than I expected.I think the thing I liked the most about live on is the story and how it talked about school violence and about just life in general. And all the characters were really well written. Baek Horang (Jung Dabin) made me frustrated at times but I was still able to understand her. The way she finally understood what is most important to her and that it's not weak to admit you are a victim was really nice to watch. Go Euntaek (Minhyun) was also a really good character. His growth from being too strict and a perfectionist to a more understanding and softer person was really interesting. I loved how both Horang and Euntaek helped eachother overcome their issues and how they gave eachother space when needed. And their chemistry was too good that I wanted to see even more scenes with those two. Another character I have to mention is Ji Sohyun (Yang Hyeji). She was a very interesting character and I loved how responsible she was and how she stood up for Horang even when she didn't know her situation. Horang and Sohyun's chemistry was also really good. It was so frustrating everytime Horang ran away when Sohyun tried to talk to her about everything that I felt like locking them in a room until they actually talk😅 And Kim Yooshin (Byungchan) was the one who made this drama a lot more brighter and fun. Also I loved how respectful he was and how he understood he have no reason to get mad at Sohyun for not reciprocating his feelings. And he still stayed by her side saying he likes her and doesn't expect anything in return. I think that's something I rarely see, not just in kdramas, but anywhere. And I loved the relationship between Kang Jaeyi (Yeonwoo) and Do Woojae (Noh Jonghyun). They really showed how communication is really important for any relationship. Also I loved how Jaeyi slowly warmed upto Horang throughout the drama.
Another best thing about this drama, for me, is the acting. All the actors did a very good job in portraying their characters. Minhyun, even though it's his first lead role, did a very good job. I'm his fan and I've never once seen him get mad before but it didn't feel awkward at all during the scenes where he was upset or angry. And it was cute how his ears were red most of the time. I was really able to see him as Go Euntaek and not as Hwang Minhyun while watching this drama. And Jung Dabin's acting was too good that I started watching extracurricular as well for her. She did an amazing job as Baek Horang and I could really feel her emotions by just looking at her. And that live broadcast scene was really too good. All the other actors also did a very good job especially Yang Hyeji and Byungchan. I really loved their acting and their chemistry was also good.
The OSTs are another thing I should mention because they are really good! Especially NAAN by BIBI. That song is so good it made the scenes it played on even more intense! Your Light by TXT was also really good and it will probably be the song that comes to my mind everytime I think about this drama.
Overall I really enjoyed this drama and I think everything about it was very well done. And I will obviously re-watch it.
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A Refreshing School Drama
Jtbc's Mini School Drama Live On Was a nice refreshing experience, Its very short and a very neat narration which was really good to see. And also the fact that it only has 8 Episodes. In the start i personally felt a kind of boring , because it was started very slow and draggy and every characters were like scattered and no well balanced may be because am not familiar with the new faces. But eventually later its slowly changing the gears and ofcourse the story line was moving in a cliche way but they managed to bring a very cute romantic sides and friendship which was superb.You can see in the main poster that there were six characters and the story mainly travels around them. The modern school life and the very old cliche thing the school bullying was also the main factor here but it was nicely portrayed. And another best thing was there is no love triangle between any couples that was a good sign because a story like this usually have a forced love triangle part. I personally liked the 2nd pair more. Its kind of very cute to see that couples fighting over and get back together every time.
Overall live on was a good drama to watch. If you ready to watch a cliche but also a refreshing school short school drama live on is a perfect choice for you. Jtbc has done it again with a magical and beautiful climax in dramas
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Why is there such a low rating? Its a decent drama
I'm honestly perplexed by the few 1 scores and 4 score reviews I've seen, because this drama genuinely wasn't terrible.I went in with low expectations to be honest, because it was an idol drama, and also because I dont know any of the idols from the cast pft
But I was pleasantly surprised. sure sometimes the acting could be a little bit better? but not in a glaringly obvious way, and more a matter of subtleties or personal taste tbh. The story was a little flimsy. The school bullying the FL goes through wasn't nearly as extreme as I thought it would be to warrant her behaviour, but also any form of bullying is horrid, and I've never experienced what she went through so I'm in no position to really downplay it. i suspect another factor could matter here, such as the social climate for bullying in SK, and maybe my own desensitization o,O regardless though, I think I speak for everyone when I say we were definitely assuming much worse happened to her.
The fl was also a little exasperating at times in how she coped with her trauma, and i genuinely think that having more episodes would have made the progression of this drama 10x better. so many episodes were devoted to the build-up and drawing it out, that the resolution was squished into the last 2 episodes. like damn :/ this at least needed an extra 2 episodes.
also, when watching on Viki i saw many comments lamenting that there wasn't a kiss scene. 1, they're idols and kpop stans can be very terrifying, so I can see how risky that would be? 2, maybe they just weren't comfortable with that?? like damn. and 3, the main leads' relationship is more of an emotional one, not really so much skinship? like they literally provide emotional support and care for one another, hugs are cute and fuzzy. also, because of the short episode count, a kiss scene would have really not made any sense they JUST started dating. anyways. moving on:
The main reason this show was so good for me is because of the male lead's character. This has to be one of the best-written highschool drama leads I've seen in a while. So much maturity and sincerity, and also I are a sucker for any straight-laced character pfff. he is also not perfect so he was the main reason I kept watching :3 good job to Min Hyun, the performance wasn't perfec, but I think he did a good job. So did Da Bin, and also Yeonwoo. Her character was charming.
I will say that the second side couple in this story was completely irrelevant though and I skipped most of their scenes. It was just annoying.
Overall this isn't a bad drama. More than this I am looking forward to any future performances the cast members of this drama will go on to make :3
tl;dr, good male lead, decent chemistry, ok story. not terrible at all.
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A complete mess
This drama is a complete nonsense, I don't understand the conflict at all, Baek Ho Rang's reasoning for her attitude towards her friends just doesn't make any sense, it sounds like a lame excuse and contradicting in many ways. I can't relate to Ho Rang at all, she's just being annoying and stupid. Most of the soundtrack is kind of awkward to be honest, it didn't really match with the scene's atmosphere, but it's not that bad.I really want to give this a 3 but I like the acting, especially Yeonwoo's acting, so there's a plus one point. Just don't watch this drama if you don't want to be disappointed.
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This review may contain spoilers
Skip it
I apologize in advance for the scathing comments below.I guess I have been spoiled by recent release of high quality dramas and much more improved high school C- dramas.
My personal pet peeves are lying and rudeness. The FL in this drama is extremely rude to the point of being a verbal bully as well as a pathological liar. After initial 3-4 episodes, I fast forwarded to see if there was a plausible reason for her behavior but I have never seen a flimsier excuse. Her personality undergoes minimal character growth with all the hard work of people around her. The ML is mature beyond his age but despite all that falls for the FL head over heels.
This drama had numerous characters that had grating personalities. The high schoolers failed miserably to portray some one gritty like "Extracurricular" or innocent like "Lovely us". The use of tons of make up, exhausting failure of trying to be mature, inappropriate use of back ground score, no humor or witty dialogues, led me to give it a poor review. I gave 2 points for the sweet second FL, who was the only good thing in this drama. Strong recommendations not to watch with family as children may get the wrong ideas.
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Worst dialogue. Super lagging. Go nowhere.
Dialogue here is the worst, full of unnecessity and leads nowhere. The story is super lagging and the dialogue is the huge part to blame. Really, you can just watch the preview at the end of each episode, then skip as much as you want in the next, and at whatever point you stop to have a glimpse you wouldn't feel like you miss anything. I pretty like the leads so I really tried to watch it, but still it's such a waste of time and I couldn't tolerate to not pressing the skip button.This is an example of a series being ruined by its dialogue. The demolishing level of the dialogue is very impactful it effects the rhythm of the whole story and finally overturns the positive score on other aspects.
Tip on watching this series:
In ep1, hop-watching from point to point, then watch the preview at the end of each episode, and back to watch it point to point again in ep7. That's all. It ends at ep7 - a happy ending. There's nothing crucial in ep8, you don't have to watch it. Out of all 8 episodes, the most portion of content I watch and don't feel regretful to my time is in ep7.
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Truly worth it!
I am quite hesitant to start watching this show with the taught that it might be the typical high school drama with all the cliché and nothing special. But I am totally WRONG!Though many of the elements of a Korean high school drama is present, especially the theme of bullying, it was given another angle and perspective. The actors were all effective and very fit to their respective roles. Acting were all on point or even going beyond that, making the series more realistic. Hats off!
And my most important point. HAHAHA. Is it only me? I am obsessed with the cuteness of Kim Yoo Shin! I mean who doesn't? He's such a sweetheart. He made many scenes in the series happy and bright and I know many of you were smiling everytime he appears in a scene. I hope to see him more in many dramas. PLEEEEEEEASE!
Worth viewing. You should see it.
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It was very bingeable, I just kept wanting to see more! When I started it, it wasn't finished yet, so everytime I finishes an episode and kept waiting for another I kept wondering what was gonna happen and waiting for new episodes anxiously. I'm sure if all the episodes were already out when I started it I would have a really hard time to stop watching it.
I also really like TXT's song for it. It's fun!
It had a few problems such a few of the extras looking waaaay too old to be in high school and viki apparently not playing some of the songs on the show, which made some scenes of the main pairing a bit awkward, but I didn't find that these were major things, just a bit cringey.
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Disappointed in the writing
This show really frustrated me, mainly because the writers would have you believe that the FL would rather have everyone hate her for something that she hadn't done, rather than admitting what had happened to her. I wasn't able to suspend disbelief that far. She was cold, and mean throughout most of the show. I might have been able to forgive that from a secondary character, but not from the main character. I don't like mean girls and that was the focus here.I thought that the ML was mis-written as well. He didn't look or act like a teenager, at all. He acted more like a teacher, so I had a hard time with connections between him and all the other characters.
To be honest, the reason I didn't rate this lower was because of the secondary characters. They were very enjoyable to watch. The secondary couple was cute, though their big break up made no sense, other than to serve to drive the story forward. I especially loved watching the third "couple" - Kim Yoo-Shin was bubbly, positive and spent most of his time following Ji So-hyun around. He was very outspoken about the fact that he liked So-hyun, but he was such a likeable character I found myself rooting for him.
I'm not a big person on revenge; however, I felt that with the seriousness of the topic that was the focus of the show, the perpetrators should have been dealt with more severely.
This drama had the advantage of being only eight episodes. That was long enough.
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