The story has everything you could ask for. There's romance, mystery, drama, bromance, comedy, everything I like in a drama. The chemistry between the leads was great both the older and the younger version. And it really made you want to look forward to each episode. I've thought back to other dramas I've seen and this one didn't disappoint me one bit. I've had dramas where everything started out great and then they decide to add useless scenes or end it on a different note than what I would've liked. But this drama gave me feels all through out.
The cast is amazing. Lee Seung Gi...I've loved the dramas I've seen with him so far. And Go Ahra is so good in this drama too. She was my favorite character from Reply 1994. Cha Seung Won one of the few guys I can call oppa XD. I love his deep voice. And Ahn Jae Hyeon...he's so dreamy. The bromance between him and Seung Gi and Park Jung Min was really awesome. I love their camaraderie.
The music is good. I love the OST. I sorta wish Lee Seung Gi sang a song. But at least we got one from Ahn Jae Hyeon.
I would definitely re-watch this one. I recommend this, TWO THUMBS UP!
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By the middle of the drama, I loved all the characters. The acting really amazed me, and all the actors fit their roles perfectly.
Aside from LSG just being the best, making the drama what it is, the plot didn't wait. There was no delaying of the action or information or plot twists. Some dramas like to drag it on for episodes, BUT NOT THIS DRAMA.
IF you can't tell yet, I love LSG. Everything about him, from the acting to his smile and dimples! I have to say aside from it just being LSG, his acting was what pulled this drama all together.
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I was rather disappointed with how much this dragged towards the end. Whoever was in charge of writing the romance to this drama should be fired, as I wanted to gouge my eyes out whenever I had to experience the extremely awkward romance that went on between the main characters. This drama would have been just as great if they left that out.
I too agree that this could have been shortened to 16 episodes instead of 20, as it was the last 4 episodes that dragged the worst. It felt so unnecessary, and I found that there were so many flaws in this drama that I couldn't help but to constantly point them out and laugh.
I wish I could say more good things about it but the only redeeming factor was the comedy in the beginning and the friendship between the characters, but sadly it did not stick towards the later episodes and left me feeling empty.
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The acting and casting was brilliant and I will definitely be watching more dramas with Lee Seunggi in! The chemistry between all the cast was definitely beautiful! The acting was very good and I enjoyed all the cast!
I also loved the music to this drama and I will definitely rewatch this again! I just wished there was more episodes! :)
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The first few episodes were really weak. But as a drama fan I've learned that you need to stick around for at least 3 to 5 episodes before you make any hasty decisions. (Most of the time.) The show was iffy up to episode 5. And then it kept yo-yoing me back and forth! There were some magical episodes there, but then suddenly the next one or so would flop! You're All Surrounded really hits it's stride at 10 and then settles in at 11.
Now I said writing was an issue. And it's true the first episode was soooooo heavy handed that I guessed everything then and there. As it progressed I had to assume the writers knew it was too obvious, so even the twist wasn't that much of a surprise. The biggest problem is that this show is supposed to be a comedy. But I wasn't laughing until after episode 5, and even then the humor seemed so out of place. Because this is a drama about a boy trying to find the murderer of his mother. The writers had no balance. Many an overly wrought drama have been able to make some dark and scary plots seem humorous. Yet You're All Surrounded could barely put any comedy in, balance it with the Masan School Nurse mystery that was the whole purpose of the show, doing tiny cases to show the newbies learning the ropes, and all the other stuff that was tossed in.
For instance the romance lost some of it's time here. They created some pretty cute ones with plenty of cues. It's fine that You're All Surrounded isn't one, I just hate that they setup all these ideas and places to go then take it no where. In the end I was happy with the romance, it was sweet. But the chemistry wasn't happening until later and then it would be forgotten.
This show couldn't multi task all of the plots for the story. Which is a true shame. And a lot of things were added into the mix, but then never explored and simply forgotten. The big twist didn't come until the last two episodes! Leaving some big questions for characters. Which in that time could never be answered. Not to mention the drama about Detective Seok! While moving it was not comedic, it was sad and heavy.
Another thing is the shooting of the show was awkward. The director was trying some new view points, but it didn't always work out. Fight scenes had this glass effect and even the most tenderest romantic scene had it. Where the camera was moving behind what seemed to be glass and there was a seam that would glare. It was distracting.
Also I feel like the STELLAR cast that I have been talking about was limited. Or more correctly held back by the director/writing. Most noticeably Lee Seung Gi's. I understand that his character became cold because of his mission and such. But as I watched Lee I felt like he was trying to add more, but couldn't until the end. Which is a shame because I ended up not liking his character for half the show. He was given dramatic fist clenches, angry shirt grabs, single tears, boring dramatic stares, and limited smiles. It was painful to watch. Thankfully his character developed in the other half.
The actors here are impressive ones. Which despite the limitations that seemed to be put on the characters, they shined. Even the newbies! Which I'm looking forward to seeing in other dramas. (Ahn Jae Hyeon, yeah. He rocked.) Cha Seung Won was noticeably the best.
Maybe it was because Cha Seung Won's character, Seo Pan Seok, was given the most development and growth. It was crazy because he was this annoying and depressing boss telling these kids they would never become detectives. He would do everything he could to make them quit! Then once they earned his grudging respect he did a 180! He became overly moody, with a tragic past! So tragic that he tosses himself on the ground a lot. Strangest thing is that he became the comedic relief. Which was good considering all of his painful scenes. Cha made me feel his pain and then laugh at his goofiness. And I've never seen Cha so freaking cute. No really. So cute. Adorable even.
The music was excellent. The OST is probably what definitely helps You're Under Arrests likeability. Good music can make a lot of things better, especially when well placed.
You're All Surrounded is definitely a rush. For being 20 episodes it flew by! Especially after the first 5 were behind. Only a few scenes got drug out, but then the rest was a breeze. Which is probably why the bad plotting, predictability, and inability for this show to blend its multitude of ideas together didn't seem quite that bad. It's fun, and when it finally actually had some comedy the laughs were great. Especially the ending scenes. The amazing talent of the actors here made the most shallow of characters interesting and it's a shame the show couldn't develop them and the links they all had more. It was fun.
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However, I was disappointed by the writer. She could have just stick to 16 episodes because the last few episodes were just too draggy. They only started to cover the loopholes during the last two episodes, which were quite rushed for the ending. I won't want to comment further about the romance also because I was really expecting for more romance to bloom after watching the first 12 episodes, yet again, not up to expectations again. Probably the writer has intentions of not focusing the romance part in this drama. I was also expecting for more bromance scenes between the P4 and Detective Seo but I will just leave it as the writer wrote.
I was impressed by Lee Seunggi's acting and I can say that he is one of the few male actors who have improved tremendously over the past few years. His every crying scene makes me cry too. He can really pull off this character well - a cold guy yet fragile heart who still needs people to accompany him.
Overall, the drama did not turn out to be what I really expected due to the last few episodes, but it is still worth watching. (:
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I really didn't expect liking this one as much as i ended up doing. I was really hesitant with beginning to watch this drama for 2 reasons.
1. When i read the plot it sounded like a melodrama and i'm not that into melodramas.
2. This is a police, detective, crime drama and i haven't been super impressed by those sort of dramas in k-drama land yet.
But this drama proved me wrong. It turned out to be way more comedic than what i thought while going into it and i was really into all the cases they solved and it felt almost like i was a part of their team and trying to figure out what was happening in the cases along with them. This drama made me laugh out loud, it was really funny and when i wasn't laughing i was usually frustrated. All the bad people in this drama almost made me rip my hair out, out of frustration.
Story: To make it short, i think this is the comedic and more, i guess you could say, lighthearted version of Remember-War of the son. I got the same vibe from the storyline, but Remember were not as easy to watch as this one because Remember was more melodramatic and exaggerated to a point of almost becoming to much (but i loved it though) and it didn't have those witty lines and funny characters like You're all surrounded does. They both have sort of the same thing going.
The main character decides to become a detective (or a lawyer) because the people that were solving a case involving their parent in the past didn't do their job right and they want to solve the case themselves. And the fact that the main focus wasn't the romance between the main characters but actually more on the storyline. I really liked it, although i'm a sucker for romance it was still awesome and it did have romance in it, it's just that i didn't feel like that's what they were focusing on, which turned out be be okay in the end. A lot of dramas tend to almost forget the storyline and the comedy in a rom-com once the romance start playing out. But that didn't happen here.
Acting/cast: I absolutely loved the characters in this drama. They were all really well written and acted out. I'm also really happy that i watched this drama, because the only drama with Go Ah-ra i had seen before this one, was Hwarang and i didn't like her character or that drama just in general, so it was nice to see a drama i liked with her in it and get another perspective of her as an actress.
Lee Seung gi is one of my many favourite actors, i absolutely loved My girlfriend is a Gumiho and i will be watching more of his dramas in the future. All in all, great cast, great acting.
Music: 10/10 because they used My chemical romance-Welcome to the black parade in the ending of the first 5-8 episodes, and i love MCR. They also had some great OST's though.
Rewatch value: i probably won't rewatch it because i never rewatch dramas, but for people that do, the rewatch value is 10/10.
It is just overall a fantastic drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
FIRST PART OF THE REVIEW (for readers who haven't seen the show) [SPOILER-FREE]This is a good drama. You'll have a nice story, with good acting and there is Lee Seung Gi. Expect nice chemistry, but really not the best, with the female lead
However, you should not expect anything that will change your life, revolution Dramaland or really mark your mind forever.
The only really interesting thing about this drama is Lee Seung Gi trying out a new kind of role. He is not a naive cutie or an arrogant rich boy, this time, he's a lone wolf who only speaks in dialect when he talks to his dead mother (if you're like me you'll find that totally endearing) who's intelligent, interesting and secretive...
...Until his secret is known. After that the drama turn melodramatic and everything else fades away to show how awful his trauma was and how everyone should team to right the wrongs. Even the female lead became mere moral support, nothing more.
SECOND PART OF THE REVIEW (for those who have seen the drama) [SPOILERS]
I think that something strange happened with this drama. Something about the story.
- I'm pretty sure that Park Tae Il was supposed to be gay at first. He made strange flirty comments, became immediately close to his partner, who saw him being hugged a kissed on the neck by another guy ! I'm sure that there were supposed to be another sub-plot about those two. It was not made like your usual bromance. But finally, it turned out that the guy who kissed him was his brother's lover ? Okay, then why did he kiss him, do we have an explanation ? Or is it they think that gay men just randomly kiss-attack every men they see ?
- Team Leader Seo and his ex-wife KSK. At first you show their grief about the loss of their child and the anger of the mother. I was expecting some anger directed at Dae Gu when she realize he's the (indirect) reason her child died. But...no. Nothing. No discussion between the two, no confrontation, he doesn't even seem to know what happened (or is there a crucial scene in the drama I missed ? If so, please tell me I'm interested.).
- The self-pity contest. ESS is first in line with her loss of her apartment, then it's Tae-il and his change of career (somehow conveniently explained by the death of his brother), the boss and the loss of his child, Ji Kook forever in the friendzone (be it with her of with him. I'm sorry I'm not over those two). And then ESS again with what happened to her poor mother. Then : Dae Gu win the prize with his ever-lasting misery : death of mother, suspicion of boss, stab wound, attack of friend (that was somehow about him) betrayal of guardian, birth secrets and death of another loved one....in short he won the prize. and the prize was...
- The Obliteration of All Plot Not Direcly Related to the Hero's Trauma.
...Including his love story with his partner. Yep, that happened. Instead she turned into a human pillow, who will follow him lifelessly like a sobbing shadow and hug him every time he needs comfort. (FYI : That's not a relationship. Did we have any news of her attacked and never repaid mother? For the record, a nice way to put the bitch in jail once they knew that she was the murderer would have been to convince the mother to press charge, regardless of the Assemblyman multiple bows. To decide that this was not okay to be beaten to a pulp and humiliated and to sue her ass to death ! But no...) The characters became nothing less but a pair of sad eyes to pity Dae Gu and admire him while he handles all the interrogations...because everybody knows that no one can handle a murderer investigation and interrogations like the victim's son himself. Right.
But, this would be harsh and unfair to say that this wasn't a good drama. I'm just disappointed, because it had great potential...
.
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The story and plot line of the show was one of the best I've seen in korean dramas, and the reason I say it is because I preferred more historical dramas and You're all surrounded was the first modern drama that I could say I completely loved it all. There is a lot of romance, comedy, and the most important element mystery. The mystery was by far the best thing in the series, I was always trying to figure out what exactly was going to happen next and you could see connecting dots trying to figure out who was behind the crime and all. The romance was adorable and and filled even with comedy considering two characters that didn't like each other ended up having the same type of girl problems. What really struck me more than anything else was the friendship that was built by the four detectives along with their mentors that slowly became more like family.
Acting/ Cast-
The acting of the main cast was not one of the best but it was truly amazing, because you could feel the family love between them and actually believe it! While some were better than others in the parts where they had to act dramatic, they were all equally amazing when it came to anything related to comedy. My favorites were when the most serious character was doing something was completely not in his personality. The romantic chemistry between the two main characters is cute, funny, and at the same time it has the perfect pace because it doesn't start out being too fast like, "I see you and I fell in love with you" but at the same time it doesn't go so slow that you would say, "seriously it took 40 episodes just for them to kiss?!"
Music-
The music while not the best and my favorite thing about the show was still on a pretty good level considering the type of show it was. It made the scenes come even more to life be it when they were investigating or when they were having fun. It also made my just be so happy whenever it played with the main couple on screen because it just made the romance chemistry between them even better. It made me want to jump in and be a part of the show.
Rewatch Value-
Normally, I'm the type that can rematch movies not an entire series, but this series is actually the first that I have ever come across that has actually made me want to see it all over again. In fact just talking about it right now is making me want to watch it again!
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But as the show went on, it became less enjoyable, due to the amount of airtime devoted to certain aspects of the stories and the flawed portrayal of the villains.
Cha Seung Won does such a good job - he's proven his comedic chops in Greatest Love. He still brings them to the table in this show, though not as much as in Greatest Love. He also shows that he is a very good dramatic actor. It's good to see that Lee Seung Gi is trying something different in this show, where his character is a lot darker and mysterious.
I'm really pleased that Go Ara is getting good roles after she did an excellent job on Answer Me 1994.
On a whole, still an enjoyable show.
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The cast was totally a waste ! they were perfect but the story was going a bad turn, just imagine what kind of a comedy they were to get from Lee Seung Gi & Cha Seung Won & I do really love Go Ah Ra & her comedy & that also was gone to waste!
I only completed this for the sake of the actors & the chemistry they had, I mean I was totally in love with De Tea Li & Ji Kook <3
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