Great remake of a great original...
I was a bit reluctant to watch this since I loved the original drama, for its portrayal of the less fit mother, toxic relationships and found family. So much that it made way to most of my series articles abut family relationships in dramaland. But with that said I did have some issues with the original, issues that I did not have with the remake.If you have seen the original and loved the story, you will probably love this one as it has just enough (very slight) differences to make you, or at leas me wonder how will they handle XYZ scene... While still sticking to the original story.
The acting and casting is really good, the chemistry is there and while I admit I loved the male lead in the C a lot more this one does a decent job, balanced up by the male leads who I enjoyed watching slightly more then the ones in the C. So basically they made up for it.
For those who have not seen the original C, this is drama that portrays family and bonds from many different perspectives and shows great contrast between different ways to be a parents well. I loved how this drama showed both the scares, pressure and pain created by the combination societies prejudice, expectations about parenthood and lets face it bad parenting as well as the sheltering/compensating affects of the good parenting, the found family and friendships can create.
The first time I saw this story I was obviously upset about some of the parts but it was also the first time I saw a character portrayed that was so close to my own mother, that I could overlook all the issues I had with it...
A good drama, an easy binge, but also a painful watch that is bound to make you feel a lot of things...
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Better Than Go Ahead
Just finished the drama so my opinion is fresh when I write this.I watched Go Ahead a few weeks back while this kdrama was still airing. And guys, I'd say the cdrama is good as it is and the kdrama is good in its very own way.
Things I love here are:
1. How they have fit 40 eps in 16. I mean the character deletions and additions are on point.
(Unfortunately , Sanha's mom had to stay here for the plot ).
2. The relationship between haejun and dal.
3. The way there is not an actual love triangle but a more family based plot.
4. The close knit bond between Haejun and Sanha as brothers cause I think the original drama didn't potray that too well.
I love the part where Haejun opposes to Sanha and Juwon being together, in a funny way. I love those banters. Its so funny in the last episode he found out where Juwon was all night LMAO.
I also really like listening to the Southern/Busan satoori is so soothing to my ears. Particularly, Haejun's satoori is so pleasing.
Overall, a must watch drama. I really liked it.
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The best Drama to wind up 2024, just go for it....
I watched Go Ahead which is the Chinese version of "The Family by Choice". I really Love FBC more than GA because there was certain scenes where I didn't like in Go Ahead eg. A slight love triangle between the 3, though many of them says that the 2nd brother did it out of desperation, there was a scene in bakery where 2ML looks intimately towards FL. It really didn't make sense to me. 2nd FL fell love with ML in GA. 2nd ML was left alone in GA. These are all the things I didn't like.When it comes to FBC, woah It was neat and ENDED IN ''PERFECTION''. The ending was so satisfying to me. The entire crew of FBC did a wonderful job in creating this Drama. The actors where carefully chosen to nail each role to the perfection. The Bromance between them was so indulging to watch, making us to think that we need that kind of family.
The emotions they delivered went straight to the heart. Hats off to the actors. I love them. I love FBC. One of the dramas to be cherished.
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The ultimate k-drama remake
Family by choice started of decent, the elder-brother and second brother are kept the same except one thing that they changes, in go ahead the second-brother had no ex-girlfriend and was single however in family by choice he had one. Their might be some slight changes, but the characters are kept the same and the drama gets better each episode and has a lot of potential. Hoping to see the episodes progressing to a good standard, which I don't think will disappoint! Hwang-yeop is finally casted as the ML which I'm quite stoked about, he manages to play high school kid quite well!!Was this review helpful to you?
A masterpiece this far
Even though it’s not finished yet, I can already tell this is going to be one of my favorite dramas of all time—and definitely of the year.The acting is amazing; you can see that not only are the actors super talented, but the directing is on point too. It avoids the usual mistakes you see in a lot of K-dramas. The female lead is especially great—she actually has a real personality, not just the usual extremes of being overly annoying or overly sweet.
And the romance? Perfect. It’s a slow burn, but it never feels boring, so you get to enjoy it at a relaxed pace without feeling impatient for things to happen.
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Not The Same As Go Ahead!
When I say it isn't the same - it isn't as great as Go Ahead at all!It's not bad, but nothing like it's Chinese neighbour.
I have seen Go Ahead maybe 3 times even though it has something like 46 episodes.
Going forward I will refer to Go Ahead as GA and Family By Choice as FBC.
With FBC it misses the humour that GA has when the children were young - even as teens and adults.
In GA, both boys were top students in school whereas the girl wasnt. One boy became a dentist, the other a chef/baker and the girl became a sculptor whereas in FBC it looks like one has become a doctor, one a dropout and the girl a cake maker.
Not sure about the dropout being a proper dropout just yet!
In GA, the one that became a dentist would supervise the girl with her homework at times and around episode 5 told her he was going to marry her someday. There was also this moment he didn't want her sniffing his bed and being in his room as he was starting to develop feelings for her so he told her off. The humour when they were teens in the original version was excellent whether at school, just with each other or at home.
In FBC, the one that becomes a doctor, doesnt say anything about marrying her as teens and doesnt really do too much when she smells something different about his bed which is actually a pertinent moment in the original version. Although they all get along really well - it just isn't on the same level as GA.
When ten years elapses in FBC it seems like the boys have just gone for the weekend then returned as their hairstyles haven't changed nor their faces in age.
With GA they all transitioned from teens to adults which was believable and noticeable like 10 years really had passed.
The good thing about FBC is that it is only 16 episodes so will give you a taste of what the Chinese one is like, but it doesn't have the same depth or characters. One character missing is the one that became a flight hostess in GA.
In FBC, it seems like they are bringing two characters together that were never together in GA. Personally, I don't like that at all.
Another change is the real younger sister of the oldest male seems to be more mature and not so bratty in FBC compared to GA.
Overall, I prefer GA over FBC because of the characters, their stories and the unquestionable dynamics between all of them as well as close bonds - including the parents.
FBC made some obvious changes which shouldn't have been the case - like losing the humour and certain characters, for example.
Still recommended if you want something shorter than the original even if not on the same level.
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"Blood is thicker than water"? Aniyooo..
"the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" will be well depicted in the dramaFood analogy: Well Balanced korean meal with fried eggs, and lot of other banchans.
I started this with the hopes of watching happy rainbows and pink cotton candy clouds but boy, was I forced in a rollercoaster? Yes. Am I complaining? No. You know, what I like about these "family oriented" stories is that there will be at least one angle (amidst multiple angles and storylines for e.g. romance, tragedy, warmth, distance e.t.c) that everyone could relate to, somewhere or the other, relatibity takes centre stage and strum at out heart strings.
I am solely writing this to tell everyone reading this to dive into this deep warm bubble bath of "family by choice. "
Spoiler ahead:
P. S: I totally relate yo Juwon. She is right to be hurt and angry.
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the only way to enjoy this show is to totally block away the chinese version from your mind. Watching this made me appreciate go Ahead even more. i know it couldn't have been easy to try to tell this story in 16 episodes but there were too many things missing. The periods where it felt like nothing was happening in the original spoke volumes!. Her waiting to hear from them, it being too painful for her to see them go away so she travelled to see relatives, her treating them like strangers(because they had become strangers). I was not a big fan of this translation of her yelling at them, i preferred the original. The mother wasn't some unreasonable idiot like she is portrayed in this one, her character was dumbed down and the essence taken away. she was a mother who carried around the guilt of leaving her child and blaming him and not knowing how to rectify this, she tried holding on to him in an unhealthy way which was exhausting for him and her, also her trying to set him up with someone else showed her yearning to build something ''new'' with him that didn't include their past. she coped by ignoring things(tearing up pictures of her daughter, leaving her marriage and child, trying to get him away from the girl who knew about their skeletons).
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Remake? No. Adaptation? Yes.
The core story is still the same with Chinese version, but the detailed storyline is more explored.In my opinion, watching this drama really delivers my emotional feels that made me cry several times, haha. And I like how the three siblings didn't get trapped in a love triangle.
However, the downside for me is that the romance between Juwon and Sanha. I’m not sure if it’s because of their lack of chemistry or if they’re just better off as siblings until the end. Some parts like the kiss scenes, I even skipped, haha. Tbh, the second couple is cuter—they don’t have many moments, but they’re still sweet.
Oh, and regarding the actors’ performances, I think they did well overall. But for Juwon’s teenage character, it would’ve been better if he had been portrayed as more “childish,” especially since his character here is meant to be talkative. His acting wasn’t bad; it just didn’t fully fit the character.
Overall, this drama is still worth to watch! 💛
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meh
ok! i watched the cdrama og ver of this and i enjoyed how the lines between brother vs not were clear… cuz lowk that was incest LOL. and also enjoyed how there wasn’t a love triangle cuz that’s so yucky. additionally rly rly loved dal in this one. plus the couple was soo cutie. except why was he so dumb and i wish he liked her more throughout and we could see that. main couple was cute ish, good looking. not a lot of character tho!!! like erm idk what their personalities are like… also the dad liking the runaway mom girl was weird for me cuz huhhh how did he like someone so fast. ya this was jsut ok for me pretty cliche and not rly anything new.Was this review helpful to you?
Not better than the original but swoony, fluffy and charming in its own way. Worth a watch.
Full disclosure, I have seen and loved the original Chinese series "Go Ahead" from which Family By Choice is an adaptation. Therefore my review and appreciation of this version of the story, is bound to be influenced by my feelings on the original drama. Overall, even if I prefer the original series, I truly enjoy this version of this found family tale. There are even things I think the South Korean version accomplished in a neater way. Not better, but like if you would put a pretty bow on things while the Chinese drama had a less fluffy vibe, much grittier, less rom-com, more slice-of-life. I appreciate they took another approach but I cannot say that I found it better. Just different.The South Korean series hits properly most of the beats of the original story, with some changes on storylines as well as quicker pace (which is unavoidable given that the South Korean version is made of 16 episodes of 1 hour while the Chinese version is made of 40 episodes of 45 minutes). There are some iconic elements of the original story that are missing which I found a bit of a shame but I appreciated some of the cuts they took on some of the side stories / characters. The main flaw of the story resides in its pacing : some traumatic events lived through by the characters felt too quick with the story moving on expeditiously and handling a bit too easily redemptions...Despite those flaws (which I must admit are linked to me comparing both occurrences of the story), the overall plot is still very good and I truly enjoyed the romance as well as the family arc. The trio of main characters are really likeable and form a trio that I loved throughout the full show. I will miss them for sure.
The casting was very good. I adore Hwang In Youp and I found him excellent here. He gave me butterflies in my stomach. His character felt to me like the heart of the story, even more than the heroine. She is of course key to the story and Jung Chae Yeon is super luminous in portraying her. It was my first time seeing her in a series and I will need to see her in a different role to which I'm less attached to form a clearer opinion on her acting. I was also happy to (re-)discovered Bae Hyeon Seong thanks to this drama. He did not leave me with a lasting memory from his support role in Hospital Playlist but here, he made a strong impression on me. The filial bond between him and his adoptive father is one of the best part of the series. Both actors playing fathers (Choi Won Young and Choi Moo Sung), as well as the child actress Oh Eun Seo are worth a shout out as they were amazing in those support roles.
The production value is really good. There are so many scenes that are mesmerizing, decors with flowers, pastel and bright colors participating in creating dreamy and romantic pictures. The soundtrack is really beautiful as well. There are a couple of songs that I will for sure keep listening to.
I would recommend this to people that love romantic story and found-family trope. If you enjoy protective, caring and ambiguous "big brother" character, you are in for a treat. The story is not without flaws and it pales a bit the comparison to the original drama...Still, it is worth watching if you enjoy rom-com with swoony moments, supported by a charming cast and solid production value.
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Better than the original. But just by a bit.
Beware, it’s going to be long and with spoilers!So my test-retest reliable but I liked just a bit more the Kdrama so I gave another half point. Below will be my comparison between this version and the Cdrama.
The cons: They didn’t spend much time around their younger days and I loved it much more than the modern ones. I understand that the Cdrama was much longer but IMO they lost all the beauty of how they became a one big family. In the Kdrama they suddenly started sort of living together, and without the prior knowledge I might’ve been confused.
Their modern days wasn’t done perfectly either. It was fun watching them going between the apartments in the Cdrama and practically living all together again, but here it felt less like that, and they missed the whole thing of how they became neighbors again at the first place !
Another problem is the familiar faces of actors who are usually doing villain roles and suddenly you got to believe they’re the sweetest dads in the world. So I’m sorry but I liked the dad there more. And the Mom was much more savage here. It was painful to watch her scenes.
The pros: Real life age of actors! Seven was older than the guys, especially ML and it showed. I’m happy In Yeop was older, so I could’ve felt the chemistry more.
Also I liked that unlike the Cdrama where Seven was the glue between them, here it felt like In Hyup was the one. So he really felt like the protective older brother. He has done a terrific job.
Her friend was much integral part of the story and it was interesting they left her with the same character as she grew up and didn’t make her go against her mom like in the Cdrama. It showed much more what a sensitive and beautiful on the inside woman she is. It emphasized the growth of the 2ML (who, as he should, didn’t want the FL, even for an instance -unlike the Cdrama).
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