I found my fav rom-com fantasy angst drama
This is just for me, its my drama. And i dont care about other but this is the almost perfect drama for myselfThinking about how can I enjoy more and more when I rewatch this drama, found another detail about this is so beautiful
They played with my feelings too well. I laughed when I cried and I cried when I laughed. Feel so loved but the brought that down
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More over-the-top comedy than I expected, especially from a supposedly 30-year old woman.
Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25My expectations of the drama might have ruined “Lovely Runner” a little bit for me. I was expecting a back-to-the-past sweet and innocent romance with some longing, angst and uncertainty due to the fantasy element of the show. But in reality, this drama is full of over-the-top comedic moments and loud characters that I was not prepared for. I am not adverse to comedy. There are actually a few very funny laugh-out-loud moments that I enjoy tremendously through the creative writing of the team. I just had some troubles adjusting and re-calibrating to the tone difference (expectations vs reality) and I believe this dampened my enjoyment a little. Of course, this is all on me.
My main criticism of the show (maybe a little more objective than my preference of the tone) is the decisions made by our female lead, Im Sol. I have a hard time believing a 30-year old woman would act quite immaturely and without a plan. I understand the initial shock of going back to the past. But once that wears off, and you have a mission to change the past, all you could come up with is to bulldoze your way into Rye Seong Jae’s life? There’s no plan of action. Instead of behaving like a mature adult (who has gone through some really tough times in life), Im Sol behaves like a teenager. The only way the drama shows her ‘maturity’ is when she yells at the kids for misbehaving.
I also feel that the drama could be shorter. After a while, it feels rather repetitive going back and forth. There aren’t enough intimate moments between the leads during their high school days. The only I could think of is in ep 12 when the leads were lying in each other’s arms and professing their love. These are the moments I want more. I would have loved to see more of the present-day timelines stories and how the leads fall in love with each other all over again. Therefore, I was especially happy in the last few episodes. That’s what I was looking for. That’s the tone of the drama that I was expecting. The last few episodes probably bump the rating back up to an 8.25-8.5.
Having said all that, there’s a lot to like about this drama. First of all, I think the acting is pretty good. I was a little unsure of Byeon Woo Seok’s acting at first, but he did a good job, especially with the more emotional scenes. He’s so tall and lanky, and really does have the body for a swimmer. The drama doesn’t shy away in showing us his perfectly toned torso and abs. He also doesn’t mind showing his sillier and pettier side. Kim Hey Yoon is such an experienced actress at a young age. I realize she’s not the young high school girl in “Sky Castle" anymore. She has matured and her acting as well. Does she look different to you? Her role as Im Sol has a lot of comedic moments. I think I like her emotional scenes more enjoyable though. Song Geon Hee plays the role of the second male lead, Kim Tae Sung. Tae Sung is a lovely bad boy character, but a typical second male lead in a K-drama. I think I would have developed second lead syndrome if I found the actor, Song Geon Hee, attractive. Well, no second lead syndrome from me. It’s Seong Jae all the way.
The supporting cast has some amazing veteran actors such as, grandma Sung Byung Sook, FL’s mom Jung Young Joo, and ML’s dad Kim Won Hae. FL’s best friend is played by Seo Hye Won. Her pairing with FL’s brother as a couple is just a little too much for me. They provide a lot comic relief, but they are too loud and annoying for my taste.
I don’t mind the mystery/crime element of the drama. At least I felt that is justified to start this whole going-back-to-the-past process. However, as mentioned earlier, it felt repetitive. I was never sure why he’s so dialed into our leads. Is it mainly because of the cell phone or a mentally ill, psychotic state of mind? The drama never really fully explains how and why the fantasy element. One can only guess from the last episode who started it all. It’s OK, I won’t judge the drama too hard for that. I am more bothered by the illogical decisions and loopholes of the drama.
“Lovely Writer” was really hyped up in the Feeds during its airing. Everyone is in love with the drama and especially how cute Byeon Woo Seok is. Because of that, I might have expected a lot more. At the time of this review, “Lovely Writer” is rated 9.1 on MDL. That’s really high for a drama from any country. I have an enjoyable time watching, especially the first ⅓ and the last ⅓ of the drama. But I could only give it an 8.25 (rounding up to 8.5) rating.
Completed: 7/7/2024 - Review #458
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A DRAMA THAT NEVER FORGETS IT'S A ROMCOM, IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE!
It's so typical to see a drama toward the end getting boring or having an unsatisfying ending, but "Lovely Runner" managed not to go down that road. This drama was perfect from start to finish, never forgetting that it's a rom-com, even in its most dramatic moments. It was really great to follow Sol and Sunjae's love for each other, Taesung being one of the best second male leads, and the addictive OST.I'm gonna miss waiting every Monday and Tuesday for new episodes and coming up with thousands of theories about what would happen next, but even with a simple and uncomplicated ending (and using the truck of doom in the best way possible), it managed to be satisfying and beautifully conclude this story.
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Happy Pill
It’s hard to put perfectly into words just how amazing Lovely Runner is, but it is without a doubt, one of the best ones out there. Aside from the fiery chemistry of the leads. The storyline and narrative itself is just top notch. The way it could just make viewers like me feel so giddy in one second and fearful and stressed on the next is just perfect. I also loved how the ending unfolded. How it stressed that memories are etched in the heart. I just wish we had more time to uncover if and how is Grandma connected to the time traveling that’s happened. Speaking of Grandma, big kudos as well to the great family dynamics of this show. Within all the timelines all the family interactions where great. The love showcased within was truly heartwarming. Ahh~ would definitely rewatch this again.Was this review helpful to you?
LOVE IN TIME
My SolJae.. What will I do now every Monday and Tuesday? As much as I have loved other dramas, I think this might just be in my top five all time. With the love story that I have been following between these two, and have been watching since basically the beginning, I don't know how quickly I can let them go. These two either brought a smile to my face or tears with each episode.The acting within this project is phenomenal. I felt as if I was genuinely a character in the show with how much emotion and attachment I've grown upon these characters. The chemistry made me feel as if they were actually together. I love both of these actors so much, and I will continue to love them, but Lovely Runner will forever hold a place in my heart.
The story follows Im Sol, a girl who's a fangirl of a K-Pop group called Eclipse. She had bought a watch at an auction that once belonged to her favorite member, Ryu Sunjae. Once 2023 begins, that Sunjae passes away, but there's nothing she could do from stopping his death, right? Things began to go into a spiral when she clicks the watch and she goes back 15 years into the past. While there, she meets her favorite member when he was a high schooler. Now she's in her 2008 body and finds that she lived across from him. What will she do now that she is trying to correct time and keep him from his "unfixable" fate?
I just want to say that this romance is one of a kind. My favorite part about this story is the fact that Sunjae is a loser in love. No matter if he is a singer, an actor, or just a regular highschool boy, he still acts out in front of his crush. He may have lost his memories throughout each lifetime, but he will always find his way back to Sol. It didn't matter what universe or weird time jumps occurred, he always found his way back to the one he loved. His destiny was to be with her, even if he were to have died.
This drama deserves all of the hype!! I'm so sad to see them go but I'm also so happy that I got to experience such a wonderful story. This marks an end of a chapter, but there will always be more to come.
ALSO!! I loved the fact that even when the future changed, Sunjae was always meant to be some sort of famous person in South Korea. He was a singer whose group sold out tickets, but he was also an actor who had successful dramas. But his occupation didn't matter, he was still Sol's.
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This review may contain spoilers
BEAUTIFUL, FLUFFY AND TRULY LOVELY DRAMA!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I just love how it was a simple drama that wasn't too complicated, and I love that they didn't waste time and focus on creating some backstory for the villain; he is just a bad guy who happens to be present. This is the first time in a while where a drama didn't lose me because I felt the storyline was getting weaker. The drama stayed true to what it was meant to be, a cheesy rom-com with all the cliches and I love when a rom-com is unapologetically exactly that. It was simply full of fluff and I don't remember any product placements being shoved in my face, which was nice. I'm glad everyone had a beautiful and fulfilling ending, and this is definitely a drama I would rewatch.Everyone worked so hard on this drama after having so many setbacks. I'm glad it got popular, and I really hope more dramas like this will be produced. It truly is nice to simply watch a lighthearted drama. I was giggling and grinning from episode one all the the way to the last episode, even when the last timeline began and Sunjae didn't remember Sol, his personality didn't change and the couple still managed to make me laugh. The music in the drama was also so beautifully done, spring snow in particular might just be one of my favourite OSTs of all time. Thank you to everyone who worked on this and thank you for letting me experience such a wonderful drama. <3
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9.1: Trust your fellow kdrama lovers
There are way too many people leaving negative reviews, so I feel it is my obligation to set things right.THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST, IF NOT THE BEST, KDRAMAS I HAVE WATCHED.
I am not great at writing reviews, but you should know that I did rewatch previous episodes while the show was still airing and felt the agony of waiting for the next one with my fellow watchers. We did come up with some crazy ideas how the show might develop...
The chemistry between the main leads is the best I have ever seen. And what made it great is that they showed the perspectives of both of them.
There are so many funny moments which will be funny after you have gotten over the "chincha????" moment.
You will laugh, cry and feel every emotion the characters feel. And that doesn't happen in dramas often.
Ignore the negative reviews, and trust the 9.1 of tens of thousands of KDRAMA lovers.
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Heartwarming and Captivating Drama!
I had high expectations for this drama after seeing all the buzz online, and I'm happy to say it exceeded them! Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon's acting and chemistry are pivotal to its success. Their interactions had me giggling and crying throughout. The storyline is captivating, keeping me engaged and rooting for the main couple throughout its entire duration. While time travelling in korean dramas have been done many times before, this is one of the better iterations of it. I was surprised at how well they managed to pace the drama, and still keep it interesting across 16 episodes.Overall, I highly recommend this drama for fans of light-hearted and fantasy-themed Korean dramas. Give it a try if you are looking for something quite lighthearted and fluffy to watch!
Side note: I love the ost for this drama. 10/10 Have been listening to it on repeat for the past few days!
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Great pacing and chemistry
If you are debating whether you should watch this drama or not, it's better to just start watching the first episode, then decide whether you'd like to continue or not. And just a piece of advice, if you don't like the actress/actor playing the main characters, then you might wanna double or even triple think about watching this drama. Because if you already dislike the actor/actress, you'll just find everything that they do (including their acting) annoying.Now here's to everything that I love about this drama:
OST - Honestly there's no skip with this one. Everything's great - the lyrics and the melody. One of reasons why I fell in love with this drama.
Cast - We're not going to fight who carried the show here. They all did! No one really fell short in terms of acting. The chemistry between Hyeyoon and Wooseok - amazing. The chemistry between their friends and families - amazing. They're all funny!
Plot - Well, I wouldn't really call it a masterpiece. So if you are looking for something with an award-winning masterpiece, it's not here. Also, if you are someone who overanalyzes everything in a story, I don't think this drama is for you.
But the plot is decent, okay? Cliche? Yes. But here's the thing about cliche, it still takes great writing in order for it to be enjoyable up until the last episode. As for the storyline, I promise you'll understand it if you don't overthink it so much.
Just one thing that I'd really like to commend the writer and director for is the pacing of the story. It has great pacing. Usual kdrama would get boring around episode 8, it'll pick up the pace around episode 13 and 14, and then that's it. The ending is either meh or good.
But Lovely Runner has no boring episode. I don't even think that there are filler scenes in this drama. 60 mins for one episode wasn't even enough. The ending was so LOVELY. I even want more of it, but you know too much of everything is really bad.
Anyway, the success of Lovely Runner is well-deserved. It's one of the best romcom I've ever watched. No wonder why this drama helped a lot of people from their slump.
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this will be a classic!
I never wrote a review before but I have to talk about this masterpiece! This drama ended my small k-drama slump and reached my heart.The ML and FL have so much chemistry and I literally giggled and smiled the whole 16 episodes (minus the sad scenes obviously). The soundtracks are amazing and 10CM held the whole fandom in a chokehold before the offical release of Spring Snow.
The only plot that annoyed me after a while was the killer. It became a bit boring after a few episodes, but the sweet scenes of the lovebirds made me ignore that.
I will definitely rewatch this drama, Sol and Sonjae have a place in my heart now :')
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The best chemistry in recent years!
See, drama like this with this level of chemistry won't be released every year and that's something we simply need to accept! we will have to wait another 6-8 years to get the kinda chemistry between co actors that will take the whole drama to another level altogether. That is, if we are fortunate!The last time I witnessed actors with the kind of chemistry that had me in stitches years after the drama released was Minhyuk and Bong Soon from Strong Girl Dobongsoon, and Sunjae and Sol surpass that with distinction!
This drama is a must watch for people who missed out on the pure, tooth rotting sweet escape that Kdrama used to provide.
A true ROMCOM giant that came out of 2020s.
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