patrice942
This review may contain spoilers
I Feel unsatisfied
The storyline started off great for the first 5 episodes. I was thinking "Wow this is great, I am invested in this" Then for some reason, it took a nose dive and I ended up fast-forwarding from episodes 8- 16.Reasons:
1) I saw and felt ML love and obsession for FL. He was too into her if you ask me. Every time he saw her name, saw her, she called him or she seemed to be in trouble he would drop everything and go with her or stalk her.
Kind of weird how a cute/attractive teenager and adult never likes or has a crush on another woman in all that time.
Anyway, I felt his love for the FL. He portrayed the love, obsession, and angst very well.
2) The FL lead did not portray the love nor I don't think she said it ( as far as I can recall from all the fast-forwarding I did) that she loved the ML. She said she liked him a lot during the college time frame I believe and he said " I love you" but I never heard her say she loved him.
She treated him as if she was still just a fan, just like him as a fan, and wanted to, of course, save him from being killed. The FL portrayed the crying emotions, worry, teenage crush on that 2nd ML, and anxiousness to find the killer very well. But, to my eye and feeling she did not seem to portray the love it seems they were trying to portray she should feel even in the present time frame.
She did not show angst/yearning for ML when they could not be together or were apart. It was like they have cutesy moments, she gets distracted with a shiny ball/interest, and then she puts him out of her mind. It is the ML who is constantly making an effort to contact her to stay in her orbit.
3) Also why does she still seem like she has only the thoughts/experiences of a teenager when she went back in time as a late 20's/30 year old. I know she was in a wheelchair for a while etc.. but her hearing/seeing and experience of human experiences should not still be of a teenager. Romantic relationships yes, she did not have those experiences in the present time. I don't know. It frustrated me how they wrote the FL lead lines and how she acted it out. Did she put her " savior" ML on a pedestal as an adult when she was a fan and did not have romantic fantasies about him? I know she was in a wheelchair and did not think it was possible to date anyone, but most female fans still have romantic notions about male celebrities. That is where her " liking' him should have a head start in the feelings moving on to love when she goes back in time with all her memories and feelings intact.
4) Also are they trying to say that teenage FL and adult FL switch places in the same time frame when the adult version goes back to being a teenager? Like the same day? That is why she dated and still has a soft spot for 2ML? They could have kept that just as friendship and developed her feelings for ML even more. It just made it weird/icky that she kept hanging around ML, while dating 2ML and ML did not mind ( actually sought her out ) doing activities together knowing she was dating 2ML.
Anyway, it was okay, I don't get the hype. I am waiting for the ML to have a costar who complements him well as his partner and gives their all. Strong Girl Book Soon (or whatever it is called) and this one, did not have a good FL chemistry and or storyline.
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Irritated
I have never been so irritated with the two leads of a show before. TenTen and Taliw irritated me very much for different reasons. TenTen for his indecisiveness . He knew he has feelings for Taliw and even loves her but he continues on his merry way, blowing hot and cold to Taliw and playing with other girls feelings. Taliw made me more angry because she let TenTen stomp on her feelings all throughout the drama, without saying anything and she still kept running to him, smiling in his face and just being a doormat to him. I cannot get behind a " love" or female lead like that.TenTen would have continued blowing hot and cold to Taliw if she didn't have a great guy ( King) in love with her and showing her that. And if she did not accept his proposal, King bent over backward and was a rock for Taliw.
I hate it when the love interest all of a sudden comes running and wakes up when that happens, which Tenten did. Also Taliw " backbone", when she turned down Tenten when he came running the first time did not last long. She should have had him wait at least 6 months before giving him another chance. I was soo angry at that. Yeah he finally told her he loved her and " knew his mind" or whatever but like she told him, he played with her continuously before. King was the only brightness and good character out of the young ones.
Anyway. this is not a rewatch for me. I do not know how the other versions are but this story is a no, for me.
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Lack of Romantic Chemistry
I have watched both versions and I think Go Ahead is much better. More stress and angst from the moms but overall much better. San Ha mom is as selfish as ever.In this version San Ha and Ju Won had lukewarm chemistry at best.
Hae Jun and Dal works best as friends. No romantic chemistry. She is very nice, cute and timid. Unsure how she would make a good Attorney but that is another topic. The vibe I got from the plot and the way Hae Jun looked at Dal it seems more like pity and feeling sorry for her since he is such a nice guy . In the long run it does not make sense for him to fall/crush on her. He never had any feelings like that for over 10. Not even a hint. I can understand Dal crush all these years though because Hae Jun is nice and attractive.
Oh well.
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This review may contain spoilers
Logical Ending
I watched this drama and the other one ( can't remember the name right now). These are my thoughts. This drama had moments that were very sad, darker, and more serious than the other one. Not going to lie, I shed a few tears in certain scenes. The other one had a mostly lighter tone. I never shed a tear when watching that drama.This drama had okay fight scenes with the male lead BUT I loved the fight scenes in the other drama. It gave me more satisfaction for the bullied main lead.
I think this ending fits the story. Yeon Chan Young (the 18 yr old who was bullied) was never friends with Jae Yung? Sure he wanted to be friends but Jae Yung had his own problems. So the personality of YCH being friends with JY would have never worked. They were both hiding and weak. JY needed a strong " personality" to teach him how to be strong and to be a good friend.
So leaving the gangster soul in YCH made sense. Like he said he was tired. He has been through a lot in his 18 years. He would never be able to take over the life the gangster already set in motion.
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Frustrating
It was an okay drama. What I find weird is that they never have the FL say I love you to the ML even though he said it to her multiple times. Weird and not right. Or did I miss it, since I started fast-forwarding? Also, I would not forgive the SFL for feeding into the ML amnesia, hiding him, and keeping him to herself for 3 years. The ML was too nice and forgave her. The ML father is also a piece of work. Family is not only biological/blood-related. Some non-biological people make better families than the ones who are genetically related. The ML dad has never done anything good for him so I don't why they entertain this dude.They portrayed the ML in the beginning as not being so forgiving especially when someone is trying to get between him and the FL. They softened him up at the end. I liked his attitude much better before the amnesia trope. In the beginning, they portrayed the ML as very stalkerish and obsessive about the FL. Truthfully I was side-eyeing him there a little but he grew on me, especially when the FL seemed/acted like such a trusting child to people.
Side Note: Is this the actress's first romantic drama? She does not know how to kiss. She was giving purse lips/fish kisses and the ML was doing all the work. Sheesh. It was very cringy and threw me out of those scenes.
A Chinese drama that does " siblings' grow up together and become lovers is " Exclusive Fairytale". And the kisses were fire. Also, the FL in Exclusive Fairytale has not done a lot of kiss scenes so I was surprised when she matched the ML with the passion. Great drama.
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Awesome Chemistry
I loved this drama. The ML and FL did their job right. Surprised this is the ML's first adult role. Great job. I liked how they seemed very comfortable around each other as they realistically portrayed people who grew up together. The FL did it a little too convincingly sometimes with that and her tomboyishness. LOL, Plus she was very slow to realize her feelings for the ML, even with all the hints. Anyway, the slow realization of them falling in love, feeling each other out, and actually being in a relationship, I liked it. When they were in college was even better. It is GREAT that the director/writer realistically portrays the " liking/love" that college kids show. The hand-holding, hugging and even tastefully kissing/making out. Some of these dramas I've seen act like these college kids don't have these urges and don't even show entwined hands, hugs, or at least kisses on the cheeks. Rate 9/10.Side Note: Please dress the FL in more adult clothing in college. I know she is supposed to be tomboyish but they could have put her in stylish nice pants and tops occasionally and not jumpsuits.
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This version made sure to show the male lead falling for the female lead all the way through the drama.
In Kiss Me they really mainly only showed his feelings at the end and hinted at it throughout. In Kiss me the male lead was leading on the other two love interests and you did not know how he really felt about them. In this version, you knew mostly how he felt about the other two females. He was not very indecisive in this one. I wanted to shake the male lead in Kiss Me because of his stubbornness and indecisiveness about his feelings.
This version had some characters and actions that made me laugh aloud which was much better than Kiss Me that was very angsty, sad and heartbreaking. That version gave me anxiety and made me very unsatisfied at the end. The female lead in Kiss Me was a push over and too weak . She let the male lead walk all over her. The male lead was too cold and never showed much warmth or liking to the female lead until the end. Who wants to wait for the end to see that? Anyway I recommend this version. It has laughs, good storyline, the bullying is moderate and the two leads are a delight. No good kissing scenes but I guess we can't have everything. It was just quick lips touching or a blocking of the kiss with a quick zoom out. It was VERY disappointing.
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Okay
Good: I thought it started out VERY good. I had some good laughs. The introduction of the first true meeting of the male and female leads was GOOD. It started to slow down midway through the 30 episodes, for me. I also thought the male lead bodyguard, assistant guy, was an excellent touch. I loved him. I liked the young guy that lived with the girls also. At least he had good insights was nice and did not give bad advice to the female lead. I also LOVED the closeness and intimacy of the male and female lead when she was helping him with his problem. That was when I saw the potential of then being in love and as a couple. I love the male lead, " maleness" and manliness by his pursuit of the female lead. I like a good , strong male lead. He is very handsome also.Mediocre: The three female friends were fine in the beginning with their support of each other and giving advice. BUT as the episodes went on, they became too involved in the female lead love life. I thought they gave her some poor advice that made her become even more confused about her feelings for the male lead, which in turn caused a delay in them getting together. The brainy female friend definitely went WAY overboard with her spying on the female lead and the male lead private area. She would be charged with a crime in real life. I understand looking out for your innocent friend but sometimes those two other girls went overboard or gave bad advice.
Bad: The ENTIRE romance was ruined for me when the female lead still had a "crush" or love for her best guy friend (since childhood) all the way up until the 20 something episode. The story did not even have her showing or thinking romantic or liking" feelings" for the male lead until the 20 something episode of 30. That is too late. Also the constant "not sure of my feelings" and the male lead and female lead playing games of who will cave first in the last episode was BAD. They did not really " get together" or dated. I skipped over all the mom scenes. She gets worse mom of the year award.
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Bad Points: It irritated me that when other characters are talking to the female lead she would just stand/sit there staring at them and not say a word for a long time. I mean the other characters are talking for a long time and the female does not feel like replying even in between the other characters talking? It was awkward, irritating and made her seem slow and being scared to speak up. Also in the scenes where the leads had a do over and he came back, the female kept staring at him in an annoying way. I understand 1 scene of staring at him because she didn't believe it but constant staring is just creepy and not romantic. If they were going for romantic it failed on me. He doesn't remember you girl, get a grip, I felt like yelling to the screen. Stop staring, it is creepy. LOL. Also why does the female lead act all shy and innocent for a 30 year old in one scene and then decide to " flash naked" the male lead in another scene. I know she wanted to go for that shock effect but her basic character in those scenes gave me whiplash.
The storyline would have been much better if they did the first half of the episode in the real world and the second half in the other world. They also made the love feelings a lot more on the female side, in my opinion. She was obsessed with the male lead. He never told her he liked her and only at the end he said I love you, once. They didn't have him talk enough about liking/loving her. Did he fall for her because she showed up and is was part of his world? Who knows. They dropped the ball on his side of the romance.
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