KSO
The Couch Downstairs
I know that my rating on the show is definitely much lower than most. I even debated whether I should go a bit lower, but stuck with what I initially put in the end.
But hear me out!
Coming out of this show, I can really appreciate the satisfying and heartwarming ending that our cast has given us. Looking back on all the growth these characters had is fantastic (more on it in the story evaluation) and left me feeling complete. But that isn't to say I was on board the entire time. The show definitely hit a few road bumps that hurt my final opinion and put me in somewhat of a daze while watching.
Story 〆(・∀・＠): I'm just going to get this out of the way... I get bored of slice of life shows pretty quickly. That's probably one reason why I didn't fall for this show as hard as others have. So if you're a massive slice of life fan, then my rating shouldn't bug you as much, since it's because of that genre that I had some problems. The plot was straightforward in a good way. All the conflicts had a reason and were resolved reasonably without being dragged on for 5 - 10 episodes. All the characters were special in their own right. Nobody was just a cookie-cutter stereotype that the writers added to increase the number of people. Each character had their own issues and their own way of doing things, which made them so much more believable. That was one thing this show did really well: make the situations and people involved actually feel real. There wasn't a perfect character, but even the "antagonistic" characters weren't necessarily evil. In fact, my favorite character coming out of the show started as my least favorite one. So that just goes to show how smoothly and satisfying the writers wrote out their development. What hit me the wrong way was the subplots. You either love them or hate them. Due to each character being written independently and rounded out well, they also had their own issues that didn't revolve around the main characters. This made them feel like real people but at the same time bored me quite a bit. I really did struggle to watch a large handful of scenes just because I wasn't invested in them. And sometimes I'd lose interest so fast that I would miss the cute romance moments that I've been waiting for. Yes, the problems were real and not too over the top, but they seemed similar to each other, all while not sticking with me. This was one of my main issues, and has been with other slice of life shows I've seen: the problems just don't captivate me or pull me to watch more. I ended up going on my phone at some parts just to keep myself occupied—something I really hate to happen during a show.
Acting ｡゜(｀Д')゜｡: The acting was done so well by everyone, not just our two leads Lee Sung-Kyung and Nam Joon-Hyuk. Before going into Weightlifting Fairy, I haven't watched anything with Sung-Kyung, but I have watched something with Joon-Hyuk. My first impressions in the past of him were extremely different from how I see him now. He was remarkable in playing a happy-go-lucky swimmer while also staying true to his struggling self. The moments where he was joking around made you feel so light and cheery, but in the moments where he switched gears to show Joon-Hyung's pain just hit me like a ton of bricks. He definitely made me see him in a different light, and when being accompanied by Sung-Kyung, the duo just felt right and worked together in every way. It wasn't only the two leads that made me feel good. As mentioned earlier, every character was rounded out so well. I enjoyed the banter of Bok-Joo's two friends as well as the relationship between her father and his brother. But my favorite character by far was Shi-Ho. She started to be nothing but a needy ex-girlfriend to me, although, in the end, I was able to connect with her the most. She was the one who went through the most hardships, suffered the most mentally, and was still able to walk out of it all with a smile. Kyung Soo-Jin did amazing and made my heart root for her! So much so that I just wished to see her more in the final, but at least I knew she ended satisfyingly.
Music ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪: Whoop whoop here comes my least favorite subject. I'll keep it extremely nice and simple. The soundtrack was definitely not the strong point of the show. Am I saying it was bad? No, not at all. It just never stood out to me in the slightest. Not even one line in any of the music stuck out to me (I don't even remember if the songs had words...) Sad songs came on at sad moments and happy ones at happy moments, but that's it. But it's a show about sports majors..... not music majors. XD
Just don't expect anything special.
Other (ง°ل͜°)ง: I am not an athlete in the slightest. I struggle to keep a ball in the air during a simple game of catch. But this show somehow managed to get me interested in individual sports. Or more specifically, it got me interested in what athletes have to go through / experience while pursuing their respective paths. It was incredibly eye-opening for me to see what goes on behind the scenes, especially in sports like rhythmic gymnastics. I was also interested to see weightlifting in a new light since I really aware of it before starting Weightlifting Fairy out. Even if you don't like sports or you're just naturally not connected with it, seeing how things are done through the eyes of a pro athlete makes you more understanding and curious about it. It's just something this show did really well, and I felt it needed recognition for it.
Although this show had so much good in it, I really can't give it all the praise as some others just because of the amount of times I got bored. It really had some interesting characters and issues but at the same time had a lot of problems I could care less for. The acting, concepts, and romance were all really amazing, I just wished that some smaller subplots had more impact and didn't put me to sleep in such a way.
But hey, everyone's different. What might be a dull slice of life to me could be something special for you.
I'd really recommend it for people who like the genre but if you're more of an action junkie like me, then this might not be your cup of tea (haha that rhymes).
Anyway....
Happy Watching <3
But hear me out!
Coming out of this show, I can really appreciate the satisfying and heartwarming ending that our cast has given us. Looking back on all the growth these characters had is fantastic (more on it in the story evaluation) and left me feeling complete. But that isn't to say I was on board the entire time. The show definitely hit a few road bumps that hurt my final opinion and put me in somewhat of a daze while watching.
Story 〆(・∀・＠): I'm just going to get this out of the way... I get bored of slice of life shows pretty quickly. That's probably one reason why I didn't fall for this show as hard as others have. So if you're a massive slice of life fan, then my rating shouldn't bug you as much, since it's because of that genre that I had some problems. The plot was straightforward in a good way. All the conflicts had a reason and were resolved reasonably without being dragged on for 5 - 10 episodes. All the characters were special in their own right. Nobody was just a cookie-cutter stereotype that the writers added to increase the number of people. Each character had their own issues and their own way of doing things, which made them so much more believable. That was one thing this show did really well: make the situations and people involved actually feel real. There wasn't a perfect character, but even the "antagonistic" characters weren't necessarily evil. In fact, my favorite character coming out of the show started as my least favorite one. So that just goes to show how smoothly and satisfying the writers wrote out their development. What hit me the wrong way was the subplots. You either love them or hate them. Due to each character being written independently and rounded out well, they also had their own issues that didn't revolve around the main characters. This made them feel like real people but at the same time bored me quite a bit. I really did struggle to watch a large handful of scenes just because I wasn't invested in them. And sometimes I'd lose interest so fast that I would miss the cute romance moments that I've been waiting for. Yes, the problems were real and not too over the top, but they seemed similar to each other, all while not sticking with me. This was one of my main issues, and has been with other slice of life shows I've seen: the problems just don't captivate me or pull me to watch more. I ended up going on my phone at some parts just to keep myself occupied—something I really hate to happen during a show.
Acting ｡゜(｀Д')゜｡: The acting was done so well by everyone, not just our two leads Lee Sung-Kyung and Nam Joon-Hyuk. Before going into Weightlifting Fairy, I haven't watched anything with Sung-Kyung, but I have watched something with Joon-Hyuk. My first impressions in the past of him were extremely different from how I see him now. He was remarkable in playing a happy-go-lucky swimmer while also staying true to his struggling self. The moments where he was joking around made you feel so light and cheery, but in the moments where he switched gears to show Joon-Hyung's pain just hit me like a ton of bricks. He definitely made me see him in a different light, and when being accompanied by Sung-Kyung, the duo just felt right and worked together in every way. It wasn't only the two leads that made me feel good. As mentioned earlier, every character was rounded out so well. I enjoyed the banter of Bok-Joo's two friends as well as the relationship between her father and his brother. But my favorite character by far was Shi-Ho. She started to be nothing but a needy ex-girlfriend to me, although, in the end, I was able to connect with her the most. She was the one who went through the most hardships, suffered the most mentally, and was still able to walk out of it all with a smile. Kyung Soo-Jin did amazing and made my heart root for her! So much so that I just wished to see her more in the final, but at least I knew she ended satisfyingly.
Music ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪: Whoop whoop here comes my least favorite subject. I'll keep it extremely nice and simple. The soundtrack was definitely not the strong point of the show. Am I saying it was bad? No, not at all. It just never stood out to me in the slightest. Not even one line in any of the music stuck out to me (I don't even remember if the songs had words...) Sad songs came on at sad moments and happy ones at happy moments, but that's it. But it's a show about sports majors..... not music majors. XD
Just don't expect anything special.
Other (ง°ل͜°)ง: I am not an athlete in the slightest. I struggle to keep a ball in the air during a simple game of catch. But this show somehow managed to get me interested in individual sports. Or more specifically, it got me interested in what athletes have to go through / experience while pursuing their respective paths. It was incredibly eye-opening for me to see what goes on behind the scenes, especially in sports like rhythmic gymnastics. I was also interested to see weightlifting in a new light since I really aware of it before starting Weightlifting Fairy out. Even if you don't like sports or you're just naturally not connected with it, seeing how things are done through the eyes of a pro athlete makes you more understanding and curious about it. It's just something this show did really well, and I felt it needed recognition for it.
Although this show had so much good in it, I really can't give it all the praise as some others just because of the amount of times I got bored. It really had some interesting characters and issues but at the same time had a lot of problems I could care less for. The acting, concepts, and romance were all really amazing, I just wished that some smaller subplots had more impact and didn't put me to sleep in such a way.
But hey, everyone's different. What might be a dull slice of life to me could be something special for you.
I'd really recommend it for people who like the genre but if you're more of an action junkie like me, then this might not be your cup of tea (haha that rhymes).
Anyway....
Happy Watching <3
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