Crazy Love

leggero, divertente e fuori dagli schemi

Drama divertente e con alcuni aspetti fuori dai classici cliché.
in realtá non è solo la classica storia d'amore tra il CEO prepotente, narcisista e despota e la sua segretaria che sopporta tutto, ma anche un intrigo con una serie di 'cattivi' che odiano il protagonista (forse anche troppo odio).

SPOILER

Primi elementi che distaccano dalla solita trama riguardano proprio il protagonista:
lui non ha l'amnesia;
inoltre il suo carattere dispotico, narcisista e freddo deriva da brutte delusioni (la biografia del lead è la parte piú interessante e meglio strutturata , che va sicuramente a spiegare bene il personaggio);
bello inoltre che non sia nato in una famiglia ricca e non abbia avuto un'educazione brillante, ma abbia dovuto costruirsi tutto poco alla volta, subendo anche dei sabotaggi .

Altri elementi interessanti e fuori dagli schemi sono che il primo amore non ha un lieto fine e che sia uno dei 'nemici' che lo ostacolano e sabotano, cosí come il migliore amico che quasi lo abbandona a morire (anche se alla fine si scopre che i soccorsi li ha chiamati).

MA...
le motivazioni dei 'cattivi' sono ridicole.
il suddetto migliore amico che nemmeno chiede spiegazioni e non si fida e non sembra nemmeno conoscere una persona che chiama fratello da oltre 6 anni
o l'ex_fidanzata che lo molla senza spiegazioni e torna dopo 12 anni, e sottolineo 12 anni, pensando di poterlo riavere e ricominciare daccapo senza nemmeno dargli una spiegazione o chiarirsi nemmeno ora.
che poi l'ex, diventa tutto ad un tratto da buona samaritana che presta abiti agli sconosciuti, a psicopatica calcolatrice che cerca di rubare il ragazzo ad un'amica, che cerca di far crollare il suo ex solo perché non puó riaverlo...

per non parlare degli altri cattivi...
non ci si accanisce cosí verso una persona dopo averci lavorato assieme per soli 3 mesi (le segretarie sono assurde)
o la professoressa licenziata che mandava minacce...perché lui non le ha creduto. intentare causa per diffamazione alla donna che ha inventato le accuse?!(che poi, perché non prendersela direttamente con lei?).
o l'ex docente che si fa manipolare tanto da investire una persona solo perché licenziato (cioè te giochi d'azzardo e non sei nemmeno più bravo nel tuo lavoro e te la prendi se ti licenziano per giusta causa..?).

altra aspetto poco convincente é come cambia il protagonista. cioé, l'arco narrativo di crescita ed evoluzione é ben scritto e chiaro, ma troppo radicale alla fine.
migliorare se stessi, pensare di piú al prossimo, saper chiedere scusa e dire grazie, sono cose che rientrano nella crescita del personaggio lungo tutta la storia,
MA non ci sta il perdonare chiunque!!!
L'amico che ti ha voltato le spalle e ti ha pugnalato alla schiena senza nemmeno darti la possibilitá di soiegarti e basandosi solo su prove indiziarie e poi rivelatesi pure false;
l'ex-fidanzata per colpa della quale sei stato arrestato con false accuse, che ti ha abbandonato con parole crudeli sapendo di ferirti, e con la scusa che lo fa pure per te ( vabbé! ci crede solo lei.), e che quando capisce che l'hai superata cerca pure di distruggerti;
le segretarie ,che capisco non denunciarle, ma addirittura riassumerle dopo atti di vandalismo, minacce e dispetti ridicoli, come lasciare la cipolla nei panini. quest'ultima cosa poi mi ha disturbata particolarmente perché chi ci rimette é solo la nuova segretaria.
perchè tutti vogliono far licenziare shin ah?
oppure perdonare la cattiva che ti manda minacce di morte e ha rapito la tua fidanzata?
oppure perdonare la signora Ma, che comunque é accusata di spionaggio industriale, di false accuse e ha cercato di venderti in tutti i modi...

e infine il cattivo principale. é psicopatico? doveva per forza trovare qualcuno a cui addossare la colpa dei suoi fallimenti e del suo essere un infame? Prima usi la tua fidanzata ,poi la deludi e infine la insulti e la abbandoni, ma non ti viene nemmeno il dubbio che sia colpa tua se lei si fa del male? ma la colpa è del capo intransigente che doveva perdonare il suo furto? che poi lui l'avrebbe perdonata se tu ti fossi costituito...

IMPORTANTE
Tutti, o quasi, ce l'hanno col protagonista perché intransigente, perché non ha chiuso un occhio quando loro hanno commesso truffe, furti e altri illeciti per aviditá ed egoismo.
Il protagonista in realtá é la vera vittima: abbandonato ,incompreso e falsamente accusato e denigrato, dipinto come un diavolo solo perché punisce chi ha sbagliato.
certo ,come insegna il drama alla fine , a volte si deve perdonare, accettare un compromesso o dare una seconda possibilitá ( vedi la protagonista o la docente falsamente accusata ), ma altre volte se si sbaglia si paga per i propri errori.
Non su tutto si puó chiudere un occhio. bisogna essere sempre responsabili di sè stessi e delle proprie azioni.

INFINE
Impariamo a parlare. se solo avessero comunicato e si fossero chiariti, una metá dei cattivi non avrebbe mai agito in questo modo o se il protagonista fosse andato da un psicologo e avesse parlato dei suoi problemi , riuscendo a superare il senso di abbandono e la solitudine prima ,cosí da non far ricadere sugli altri il suo malessere.
Solo quando comincia a superare tutti i suoi dolori passati ed ad accettarli, comincia a diventare una persona migliore.
a volte abbiamo bisogno di parlare e di chiedere aiuto a chi ci vuol bene e magari anche a chi lo fa di mestiere e ci sa aiutare.

Read More

Promising plot but disappointing outcome

I’m pretty excited to start watching because Kim Jae Uck is a great actor and the plot seem unique and promising enough. However, it’s not as good as I thought it will be. First 3 episodes are fun and match my expectation but the rest are meh. I usually enjoyed watching nonsensical drama (ex: strong woman dong bong soon) but Crazy Love episodes feel so long to finish with sudden new and unnecessary characters along the way.

Most of the time , I cringed watching him having amnesia and trying to be cute while being with Krystal. Their chemistry is decent but still looking forced and not natural enough. There’s so much potential but i guess it’s the script, and not the cast fault.

Read More

Quickly resolved tropes, but male lead seems like he's the only one in love

Well let's start with the good : The plot does a good job of keeping you guessing through out.
Kim Jae wook does an especially good job in this series, but Unfortunately, he seems to be the only one projecting any heart signals . He's projecting & smoldering but the female lead just seems perpetually bemused . While there are some steamy kisses, the female lead seems like she has "checked out". The male lead is vulnerable and requires a ridiculous number of hugs, but the female lead ,whether scripted or directed that way, is just a bit too prosaic to sell that she's head over heels in love. The imbalance was disappointing.
What keeps me from loving this ?
Firstly, I am not big on revenge plots. Secondly, Hate to love relationships with yelling & hitting don't equate to romance for me and so give me zero warm fuzzies. And while everyone's loose ends are tidied up, I prefer that the side characters don't encroach on the Main lead's storyline too much. I do love a good happy ending, but somehow an all inclusive happy ending sidetracks you from the main couple. putting a damper on the whole thing.

Read More

Not for me…

I love cliche dramas. I think it is wonderful to see so many original productions and genres coming out of South Korea and I do love watching them but give me an old school style kdrama any day of the week and I’ll be happy. HOwEVeR when I say that I like old school style kdramas, I mean that I like to see a different take on them or a different dynamic that what’s been seen before.

I think this is where one of my problems runs with Crazy Love. It possessed the potential to be different and present that unusual dynamic with the female lead’s motives and the male lead’s dilemma but it was never quite willing to push the boundaries into something more lively or worthwhile.

This is a lot for me to say as I do love Kim Jae Wook. I first remember seeing him in My Private Life and liked how he was able to capture a certain charm to his onscreen role as the male lead. Additionally while honestly some of Krystal’s projects can be very hit or miss , I remember being impressed by her acting skills in Search.

Here Jae Wook and Krystal’s chemistry is very choppy. At times there is a lot of heart put into lines and exchanges but for what felt like most of the series, their onscreen romance felt a bit underwhelming.

My big problem with Crazy Love was that it wasn’t entirely sure with what it was trying to present. There were times where tackling dark subject areas could feel interesting but the series also heavily relied on a lot of childish setups and misunderstandings. ( The most annoying being the attempts to sabotage the FL. Perhaps funny in the first few episodes, but gradually grew more frustrating.)

I don’t think this is entirely bad per say as I love comedy but it did often feel as though Crazy Love was a bit displaced with its identity with its tone as well as with all of its cliches.

I think that Crazy Love isn’t entirely disastrous but it was certainly a waste of time for me.

Read More

It's not bad... I just have an unfair comparison in my mind

If you like Her Private Life... This does not live up to it - at least not in my mind. If you're trying to choose between the two, watch this one first and then Her Private Life.

The stories have similarities, but the execution of this one just isn't as good. Too many new things are added after e.12 for the story to feel cohesive, instead it's definitely a story in two halves and the second half is dealing with what came before the first. Intertwining the past and "now" sooner and exposing things here and there along the way would have made the second half more satisfying to me, and improved some of the things that feel half-baked in the first half.

It's not a bad drama... It just suffers from similarities with Her Private Life, which is a personal favorite that I have frequently re-watched, and the comparison is unfavorable. I may need to watch it again knowing what happens in the second half and see if my opinion changes.

Read More

sigh

last time i checked, lee sina has ten toes, not one toe missing, so why did she stop standing on business? like what happened? yeah no idc she needed to make him grovel more just for the insane fact that he was making her carry his stuff. idc that he wanted to spend more time with her but yeah no pls grow a spine queen u could have done so much more with him cuz she lowkey had him between her fingers at some point.

but yeah overall i love that it covered some very profound themes like suicide and grief, but yeah i think what really stood out and why i kept watching it was the redemption arc of everyone like it was truly so satisfying watching characters grow and become better. i guess it was funny at times as well

Read More

Poderia ser melhor?

Bom, não é uma história ruim de se assistir, mas também não é algo que eu gostaria de rever. A trama para mim, não tinha tanto potencial para ser uma história incrível, mas poderia ter sido melhor, sem dúvidas!

Começando pelos personagens, sobre a ShinAh, apesar de achar que em alguns momentos ela poderia ter sido menos passiva, gostei bastante dos momentos que esteve pensando sobre a morte e sobre o que realmente era importante para sua vida. Demonstrou maturidade na relação deles dois e principalmente em relação a sua carreira, que apesar do protagonista não ter sido a favor no início, não abandonou o que queria para sua vida e buscou ir atrás por si mesma. Gostei como ela foi desenvolvida!
Em relação a sua vingança, relevo os crimes que foram cometidos kkkkkk e no fim ela acabou mais ajudando do que realmente o comprometendo.

Agora falando sobre o Noh Gojin, olha... normalmente não sou a favor de personagens perfeitos e certinhos, gosto quando é trabalhado o íntimo deles, os erros e até mesmo seu pior lado, gosto de assistir sobre pessoas falhas, apesar da raiva que eu possa acabar passando. Mas sinceramente aqui foi difícil, porque não consegui ver o Gojin em si como uma "boa" pessoa, ele era para mim uma pessoa de princípios e "valores" danosos, uma pessoa de caráter realmente ruim, nenhum bloqueio emocional justifica ele humilhar a todos, entendo que ele tenha sofrido muito, nem imagino o que deva ser vivenciar tudo que ele vivenciou, mas para mim só demonstra o quão desumano realmente ele era. Mesmo depois de ter vivido tanta dor ele simplesmente era incapaz de ter um olhar de compaixão pelo outro, só existia ele e ele. Me irritou muito seu egoísmo e arrogância, que por sinal, não apareceu somente após os momentos difíceis que passou, pelo que percebi ele sempre foi dessa forma, só piorou com o tempo e foi melhorar mesmo porque começou a tudo dar errado e as consequências aparecerem, caso contrário ele permaneceria tratando os outros como qualquer coisa. A dor dele não justifica os atos extremamente egoístas que tinha, principalmente os manipulatorios. Ele fazia de tudo para tentar manter a protagonista sobre seu controle, até mesmo colocando alguém para rastreá-la, o que também deixei de lado por ser uma trama que é feita para ser exagerada, mas sinceramente... Legal que ele realmente tenha melhorado e se tornado alguém mais razoável, porém, não consegui engolir tudo que o Gojin foi ao longo da trama.

Outro dois personagens que também importantes para o desenrolar, foram o amigo de anos do protagonista e a ex namorada do Gojin, em geral não tenho muito a falar, sobre o amigo, achei que poderiam ter mostrado as reais intenções desde o início quando mostraram que ele seria o suposto "culpado", ia fazer nenhuma diferença na trama, mantiveram como um grande mistério, sendo que nem era isso tudo. A conclusão de tudo isso que foi realmente importante. Sobre a ex, senti que ele ainda tinha sim, sentimentos por ela, mas, tudo bem. Ele decidiu seguir em frente e é isso. Ela em si, apesar de ter raiva em alguns momentos, nunca a vi como uma pessoa ruim, só estava realmente magoada com toda a situação, agiu apenas como uma pessoa magoada e de certa forma amargurada com tudo que aconteceu, além disso não tenho muito a falar.

Sobre a trama, o final com todo mundo basicamente contra ele foi tão kkkkk para que isso? ele era uma pessoal realmente odiável, já dava para entender, não precisava colocar toda a Coreia contra ele.
O início com a vingança foi bom, juntamente com a amnésia dele, acredito que a melhor parte. A partir da trama para descobrir as pessoas que estavam contra ele, ficou chato demais.

Por fim, o casal tinha uma química legal, não mais que isso, e novamente a Coreia seguindo com esse puritanismo CHATO de fazer o casal parecer dois estranhos, aqui até que teve momentos mais "naturais", mas nada muito além. É realmente um problema ou nas atuações ou na forma, acredito eu, de dirigir. Em diversos momentos parece algo tão falso e artificial que tira a única química que talvez restasse...

Com isso, nunca assistiria novamente, já terminei pulando muitas cenas e não vendo a hora de acabar kkkkk mas, acho que para passar o tempo e assistindo sem prestar lá muito atenção, talvez valha a pena.

Read More

It’s crazy* to believe the poster or trailer

My husband is white and new to K-Dramas. I’m always careful in choosing dramas because it’s a huge time commitment to end up hating the show or feeling cringy. I am even more careful when I choose a show to watch together because I don’t want him to waste his time, also. I thought I did enough research on this show, but I don’t understand the high ratings.

This show seemed so original in the poster and trailer about a mistreated woman/secretary who takes revenge on her abusive boss. Instead, my husband and I had to drop the show because the show is nothing like the poster or trailer.

We dropped the show half way through as we couldn't put ourselves through the torture anymore. I read the recap of the rest of the episodes, so my opinion below is not uninformed.

*I don’t like using the word “crazy” as it’s triggering for people with mental illness. But I’ll have to use this word since it’s in the title of the drama.



SPOILERS AHEAD:

We dropped the show because we got sick of the way the FL was being treated. In the entire show, we get about 60 minutes total of the FL being strong and kick-ass. The rest of the time, she behaves like someone with Stockholm Syndrome who allows herself to be mistreated by people–especially the ML.

I do not understand the appeal of the ML. His supposed brilliance cannot make up for his cruel and narcissistic behavior.

I just couldn’t buy the love in “crazy love.” Why would the FL vacillate from being over her bully boss and being strong to being someone who puts up with his mistreatment repeatedly?

I’m so sick of the trope of the sweet FL who melts the cold ML’s heart. Abusive behavior and being mistreated should never be tolerated. Why do C and K-Drama FLs have to put up with this crap from the MLs? Couldn’t the ML be nice to begin with? I wish the writers would stop being lazy and come up with new material.

Unless you want to feel like you were fooled, skip this drama. Instead, watch any of the original stories below:
The Glory, Mine, Mr. Queen, The Witch’s Diner, I Hear Your Voice, Mystic Pop-Up Bar, Sell Your Haunted House, Stranger & Stranger Season 2, Knight Flower, The Uncanny Counter, Bad and Crazy, Romance Is a Bonus Book, Bring It On: Ghost, or Missing: The Other Side.

Read More

It was Okay I guess.

I was super excited for Kim Jae-Wook's return to the screen after almost a 3 year break after My Private life and the story seemed okay only. Cliché but honestly I don't really mind clichés if done properly. Wasn't particularly excited or not excited about Krystal cause I haven't really finished any of the dramas that she has been in, so her being in the drama didn't really contribute to my decision to watch it. What did contribute to my decision was Kim Jae Wook (of course ) and his statement at an interview where he said that he chose to star in this drama cause it was super fun and entertaining and he wanted to offer some relief to people who had been going through a hard time in the past years [pandemic sighh]. Anyway, the initial episodes were of course a bit cliché as people have already pointed out with a terrible boss, a suffering secretary, an old love which has recently resurfaced etc. The amnesia and Krystal pretending to be her boss's fake fiance took me by surprise and then I went fishing for some information in discussions threads and spoiled myself. You know I liked the drama [which is evident from the fact that I completed it] but I have to be honest, i had higher expectations. Here are some things that I really didn't like.
1. I couldn't really get into the romance as much as I would have liked, there was no true connection, he started liking her because she took care of him [which is super basic], they were no star-crossed lovers and I personally don't understand why she fell in love with him [he has a pleasing face I'll give you that]. but after a person's been so terrible t you it would take some miracle for you to fall in love with that person and I personally think that there was no such miracle.
2. Mr. Noh Go-Jin your entire company is being ruined right in front of your eyes and here you are busy romancing your new girlfriend. He had literally no strategy on how to save his company, it just seems that everything happened by fluke and he was super lucky. I mean you have an IQ of 190 PLEASE USE IT. Also his main strategy of pretending about something [basically a spoiler] and was made out to be such a central point in the plot did not really add anything significant in the story in the end [except for bringing the leads together], i mena he would have been just fine without it.
3. In the end episodes i think that Krystal became merely an accessory without any significant presence. I mean her role was limited to her dates with Noh Go Jin which I really don't mind, but there was a literal revenge plot in there in which she had no part to play. She's just say a few basic well-meaning words and hug him a couple of times and that was it. I really wish the female lead had a more dominating presence in the plot of the drama and not just romantic interest for Noh Goh JIn [ I mean I know its a romance drama and all but her role somehow didn't hold a lot of significance]
4. The side characters were so basic and 2 dimensional, I mean I think that did not have any presence of their own and did not have any significance if the leads are taken out of the equation. this is to say that they didn't really have any existence outside of the leads story. even the so-called villains trying to plot revenge against Noh Goh Jin turned out to be almost pathetic and unoriginal in the end. Honestly, I personally don't like villains and prefer stories where there aren't any, but if there are I like them to be well written characters and not what was here.
5. we don't get to see much of the lead's professions. One reason why I love watching dramas and innovative one's at that is because I get to watch people be good that their jobs in so many different fields, but here we barely got to see Noh Goh Jin or in fact any other character hold a class for even 2 minutes, even though it is literally their profession.

What I did like was that the comedic timing of the drama and the characters was perfect, there were some scenes that I absolutely loved and as a result rewatched them many times. In those I would include the scenes of physical fights between the leads [yes physical].
overall it was a good drama worth a watch. Not really going to rewatch it. the story was innovative and honestly could have been executed in a better way but overall it was Okay. Not a classic but not super bad also.

Read More

When Crazy Turns Messy!

There are simply too many storylines packed into this drama: Lee Si Na’s quest for revenge, her battle with brain tumor, Noh Go Jin’s former secretaries seeking vengeance, a murder attempt on Noh Go Jin, his memory loss, the fake engagement between Lee Si Na and Noh Go Jin, the reappearance of Noh Go Jin’s first love, and the schemes of Noh Go Jin’s rival—this list goes on and on.

With so much happening, it was challenging to focus on the central plot, which seemed to oscillate between revenge and romance. Honestly, I’m still not sure what the main theme was supposed to be.

I went into this series with high expectations because I admire both Kim Jae Wook and Krystal. Having enjoyed their previous works, I anticipated strong performances from them. While the acting was solid, I felt a disconnection in their chemistry; they seemed more like siblings than romantic partners.

In summary, while the individual elements of the story had potential, the overcrowded plot left me feeling overwhelmed and unsatisfied.

Read More

The female lead gave me a headache

I found this kdrama extremely boring, the story made no sense to me, the actors were excellent

THE STORY: (4/10)
>>The story makes no sense. To be pecise, I hated the female lead for I found her to be childish, dumb, mean and not realistic.

1.Why I can’t think she is a realistic character instead I consider her a dumb character:
You have the female lead who is supposingly dying, only caring about getting revenge on her boss who “has amnesia”. She doesn’t care about any potential treatment, getting a second opinion from another doctor or doing something memorable for her last moments. She also tells no one. She just stupidly wishes to torment the person who is to “blame” for her sickness, disregarding personal responsibility for her own health as well. That’s why sometimes I would even forget she is even dying.

2. Why she is dumb and childish
Secondly, she is the one who chose to withstand the abuse from her boss for an entire year, instead of just quitting like her predecessors did. I do believe that the ml is to blame as well . But he was an ass****e and that’s it. He was feeling ok with himself. But she is the one who choose not to chase her dream following a different route. She insisted getting that dream job of hers in THAT company KNOWING how her boss treats everyone including herself. I just can’t overlook the personal responsibility she had to take care of herself (visiting the hospital sooner, not staying in a toxic environment, not being a pushover etc)

3. Why I believe she is undeserving of being the female lead in the story
And here comes the third point. She had the freedom to consciously make a different choice, like quitting her job but she didn’t. On the other hand, the ml had no choice but to believe her lies. I don’t think that it matters whether he truly had amnesia or not, because SHE WASNT aware that he still had his memories. Therefore it seemed to me that she wanted to torment a sick person who had almost gotten murdered , and manipulate him into believe her lies. When she had a choice to quit and was in her right mind. Like what? Imagine waking up from a coma to find out even though you don’t have a family, you still have a fiancée who cares about you. And then surprise! She just wanted to get revenge on you. That is not the equivalent to what he did to her. She was in her right mind, had already seen signs of her health deteriorating (her hair would fall off, she needed pills etc) and accepted the consequences of working there. But he was a sick person, whom she exploited because she didn’t care about the consequences since she was dying. How is this ok?

>>Therefore I couldn’t find the plot funny, because it was so silly. A dying woman who prefers feeding the ml onions instead of cherishing her last moments.


THE ACTORS: (10/10)
The actors were splendid! Acting was good and believeable.

THE MUSIC (5/10)
It was good, nothing memorable to be honest.

Read More

Amusing at times, but over all not for me

May 2025
Generally, this was an OK watch, but I have to admit that if the ML had been someone less watchable in my eyes, I might have dropped it.

KJW is a great actor; he can do anything, from silly, shy, naive, to mean and terrifying. His side eye and comic timing is great, too. All (and only) that, kept me engaged.

Many of the characters were hard work, and it went on too long, with some scenes feeling unnecessary.

The FL character went from insanely put upon, to manicly fierce, and I didn't find it believable. Her ability to carry on functioning pretty much as normal, given her diagnosis, was a step too far. Even with that, I found her hard to like. No problem with the actress, though.

Not awful, but not memorable either. I completed it a short while ago, but am behind on reviews... have forgotten much of it already!

Read More