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a good romcom
This year wasn't great for us romcom lovers but this one actually does the job. perfect amount of drama, romance and comedy. It was entertaining from the beginning to the very end. The main couple are very interesting. they both seem kind of selfish and sketchy at first but as time went on I understood them better and my heart goes for them. Dysfunctional families is the main core in this drama so everyone was just trying their hardest to heal past wounds. There are also moment of laughter in between with 2nd couple antiques. All in all I liked it.just a few problems that I had :
Shin Min al and Kim Yong dae have 0 chemistry. I've watched both of them before in other dramas and they do good jobs but the pairing wasn't right in my opinion.
Also, the story with the pregnant sister annoyed me so much. They were so beyond selfish its mind boggling. They don't want to know who the biological father is because they don't want to shatter their own selfish delusion of having a family. Did they even consider the other man? Does he know he MIGHT have a child somewhere? what if this child gets into an accident and need help with donation and stuff? Are they going to tell the kid the truth? if yes when? And the biggest what if, WHAT IF he gets a cold feet again?
I normally dont pay attention to OSTs so I made the score up.
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Quirky Characters and Comedic Gold
This drama explores serious themes like foster care, orphanages, children born out of wedlock, murder, dementia, and child abuse. Sounds intense, right? Surprisingly, it's all wrapped up in a romantic comedy that keeps you laughing!I jumped into this show with no expectations. Initially, I found the main female lead, played by Shin Min Ah, a bit annoying with her constant calculations of losses. However, as the story unfolded, I realized she’s just one of many quirky, flawed characters in the mix. What makes this show enjoyable is its self-awareness; it embraces its characters' imperfections and turns them into comedic gold!
With only 12 episodes, the series cleverly finds humor in various situations while delivering a heartfelt message. Instead of shying away from classic rom-com tropes, it engages with them in a refreshing way. Shin Min Ah's character, though a bit calculating, is fair, honest, and goal-oriented—she’s not against losing, just ensuring everyone else doesn’t either. Her antics while making dating videos gave me second-hand embarrassment and made me burst into laughter! Love that modern feminist vibe!
The witty dialogues and interactions among the hilariously entertaining characters, including the quirky secretary and the CEO, kept the laughs coming. And we can't overlook the ex-boyfriend! The scene where they found him in bed the next morning was absolutely side-splitting. Who would have anticipated that this charming K-drama would showcase three best friends—one in a faux marriage, another in a polygamous relationship, and the third writing steamy novels? I certainly wasn’t ready for the box of internationally themed dildos that could also serve as glow-in-the-dark self-defense weapons. Truly a laugh-out-loud moment!
It’s one of those rare cases where I wish there were a few more episodes. Who doesn’t love a bit more screen time for the main couple in the final episode?
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Cute, funny, romantic, and a lot of k-drama references
Honestly when the show ended I was a bit disappointed because it felt like it ended in the middle of an episode. You know how at the end of a show they show everyone’s endings and wrap it up so you could assume what happens next with the characters, but everything felt so open ended? I don’t know if that was the intention but it didn’t feel like it was. I genuinely watched the last ep fully convinced there was gonna be an ep 13 and 14 cause I was curious about the second leads and main leads future. Oh well. I guess this shows that the show was good since it kept me interested and invested in everyone’s plotlines.The story itself was new, I never really saw a concept like this where I wouldn’t find the trope weird. (When they somehow involve the ‘sibling’ title to love interests) I really hoped they wouldn’t make it look morally wrong by making the ML consider the FL’s mother like his. And although he did, they atleast kept it distant from the FL so the couple never considered each other siblings (unlike Her Private Life trope..).
Overall, I would say my favourite part of the show was the second couple(CEO and Writer), I swear they were the reason I wanted to continue watching. They were so cute albeit their scenes would sometimes look awkward, but I sweaaarrr their trope is so adorable!!And I didn’t expect them AT ALL!!Which is why they intrigued me the most.
The third lead couple wasn’t really my cup of tea but I did root for them. They’re one of the main reasons I wanted atleast 2 more eps so I could see how their story pans out.
Overall I loved most of the characters there. I didn’t like the ending much but it’s worth watching.
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they're so golden
no gain, no love is beyond endearing, exactly that sort of drama that feels complete, entirely whole and thorough. every single aspect of it had its place and made for a truly wonderful experience. it's golden, and i cannot wrap my head around the fact how madly i've fallen in love with it. a k-romcom through and through, no caps about that.Was this review helpful to you?
I really enjoyed the cameos from characters from Strong Girl Nam Soon and Her Private Life. That was a fun part of the series.
What really annoyed me though was the fact that Kdrama's are continuing to have unnecessary childhood trauma as part of these romcom plots. It's so annoying and ridiculous. It's drama for dramas sake and pointless to the story. It's not even a good plot device.
10/13/24
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interesting storyline
I had high hopes for this drama due to the ML and FL. They each played their part well. Stayed pretty true to their characters. Not sure of the age difference in the characters played any significant part. I wish there had been some clarification on how the ML grandma and FL mom relationship came to be. Also enjoyed the support casts storylines as well. They each brought a different perspective with their own story intertwined with the main story. The premise of the show was unique. Not too typical I feel. Overall it was an easy to watch, funny and entertaining drama to watch. I can’t wait to see the follow up drama to one of the support casts storyline. Only 12 episodes…give it a watch!Was this review helpful to you?
Absolutely Hillarious
"No gain no love" is lowkey the best rom-com this season. This show focuses more on the comedy rather than romance and it totally works. It's one of the best comedy kdrama I watched this year and I wasn't even considering watching it at first but I gave it a try because of that star-studded cast and it did not disappoint. Last few episodes were definitely bad as compared to the starting first because they shifted the focus on melodrama rather than pure comedy but it was a worthy watchWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Fast paced, lots of themes, and enjoyable primary and secondary storylines make this a good watch . . . There's a lot to recommend here. We get two couples with solid romantic chemistry and fun storylines, plus some themes on childhood wounds and how they carry over into adulthood. Interjected throughout is a really funny sense of humour, and a much more modern feeling to the characters. While a bit clumsy, this turned out to be one of my favorite K Dramas of this year.
The brilliance of this show is that realistic childhood traumas get in the way of forming romantic relationships. Unlike may dramas where poor communication is the result of unexplained immaturity, here there are understandable, justifiable reasons for
As with most dramas, as it nears the end the storylines get clumsy and the end is a bit anti-climatic. (So much so that I actually thought for a whole week more episodes were on their way!) Even so, I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
Sometimes having less budget/prestige pressure allows for more enjoyable watching. That was certainly the case for me. This drama was really a present surprise.
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No again no love recensione
Devo dire che sono partita con una certa aspettativa...e l'inizio del drama dava in effetti un altro tipo di tono... questo episodio mi è piaciuto per la parte che riguarda il funerale...vedere determinati aspetti della cerimonia..il dolore delle tre sorelle che si ritrovano all'arrivo dell'ambulanza con il corpo della madre..molto emozionante e sono stati tutti davvero bravi! La madre ha lasciato una grande famiglia e tanto amore e questo mi ha toccato molto ...Per il resto dell'episodio a parte il salto temporale che era inevitabile va bhe...non sono soddisfatta...è da metà drama che la coppia main è diventata di supporto alla secondaria..infatti gli ultimi episodi erano più incentrati sulla scrittrice e la sua storia che altro.. e anche in questo episodio finale hanno dato più spazio a loro che a quella main .. felice che tutti abbiano avuto il loro happy ending...ma non così...carina l'idea della start up ma buttata così non mi è piaciuta ...troppe cose che potevano chiudere meglio, non hanno fatto più vedere manco l'ex fidanzato dopo la sfuriata con la moglie e il suo voler tornare con hae yeong..morto li ...ma ha fatto successo a lavoro grazie alle idee di yeong...ahhh ma anche no ...Do un 8 perché ci sono state parti che mi hanno commosso e divertita...ma speravo sinceramente in qualcosa di più..delusa ...
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A masterpiece that has the worst ending in drama history.
So i gave this a 7.5, because exactly 9 episodes were good, very good, then came the last 3 episodes..Maybe the writer had a stroke and left her dog to write them.
1. Ml2 was ruined and hated so the entire 2nd leads' story felt like nothing
2. The actual bad guy wins and gets all the credit after cheating and plagiarizing.
3. Fl loses everything then comes crawling back to the same place that wronged her and made her lose everything.
4. A pathetic excuse for the leads' breakup so much so that i wished ml was actually marrying someone else.
I recommend watching the 9 episodes then spoiling the rest or something because watching the ending would seriously leave a worse impression than the entire drama deserves overall.
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Good watch
It's really difficult to find a good fun drama that doesn't drag nor get boring in the middle, and despite being generally good and very enjoyable, it still lacks one thing or two to be the perfect drama.What I really liked was the cast, they were great and the second couple were amazing, tbh I continued with this despite the slow beginning just for them, and sadly they appeared after a while so you gotta stick with it till it gets better.
I liked the relationship between the 3 girls but sadly I couldn't feel much sismance between them, there is hardly any strong bond to be shown specially with Huiseong and the 2 FLs.
It was full of funny moments, GyuHyun family and secretary were scene stealers, even his creepy mother.
What I didn't like was parts the story, I don't know why they can't skip the stereotypes found in every single rom-com, also the cast the just appear to serve a purpose or just show something then Poof! disappear.
The end was vague and the whole Book family problem just wasn't solved, also I couldn't understand some characters behaviour in some scenes, specially the FL with the ML and also Huiseong character was completely removable, I don't even think her story was needed, it added nothing but very questionable moments.
Overall it's watchable and enjoyable even, but forgettable and I don't think I'd rewatch it, yet! I'm too excited to watch the spinoff with the 2Leads because they are the best thing about this drama.
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PLEASE END WELL!! (EASY WATCH)
This show had me skeptical at first, due to the way it was described in the synopsis. I wasn't too keen on the marriage or the FL's goals. However, the first episode was a pleasant surprise ! The concept of a fake marriage/relationship felt overdone, but even so, the writing and editing made it fresh regardless. ML's natural charisma held my attention far beyond expectation. I had seen him in other works before, but his performance here was completely different. He was a lot more coy and shy, but still had an ego. My favourite types of dramas are ones with a FL that genuinely have character, and this one surely does. From the moment she is introduced we understand her motives and her goals. Her personality, while slightly flat, can still be very intruiging. ML's backstory is super interesting and even though it's serious, it doesn't bring the mood down too far before picking back up with lightheartedness. The comedy in this show had me really laughing, which felt like a breath of fresh air recently with the other dramas airing right now. The side characters stories were very cute as well, and I liked the inclusion of FL's 'sisters' to give her more people to interact with. Writer Sister's story is very fun and despite what I've seen online, I think her acting here was cute! She was silly and dumb and I think that contrast with such explicit writing is very well executed. This show is a comfortable watch so far, as it just leaves me smiling throughout the series. It may change in the coming episodes, but overall I am enjoying the watch so far, and hope it ends well !!Was this review helpful to you?
