No story to back the sizzling chemistry.

Despite being a huge fan of Junho and Yoona couple (I really loved them when the performed señorita together ) , I am writing this review , as the story is just pathetic.

There was no element except romance till episode 9 . Nothing that will hook you to the screen . There was nothing to act as well , for such power packed performers , except smile , fake smile and real smile (duhhh). I liked the girl friend bond , but I think they kept the story revelation to the last part of the show (I hope , if at all) , but they should understand , who is going to watch it without any element. At least they could have shown any 1 of the friends' story anything for that matter . Junho totally forgets why he joined the hotel . And female lead character is the worst , this is common to all chaebol K-dramas though , they would act nonchalant in front of the boss , while are submissive with others. Here also the female lead is impudent even when she had done wrong to him . (Calling him a pervert , then using his washroom etc) , although she is easily told off by rest of the employees. If she wasn't favoured by Junho's sister , she would have still been wiping the sweat off .
Anyways had to drop off the show , Cant waste my time over something as rubbish as this one.
I wish such talented actors choose good scripts ahead.

Read More

Heart Warming and Satisfying

Brilliant Concept and lovely execution . I won't say that its the best of the series , but its very satisfying and the loop holes get covered by the brilliant performances by the cast . The ending was just amazing ! I gave it a 10 on 10 coz I really enjoyed it a lot.

All the 4 main characters were phenomenal !
Song Dong ll - What a lovely portrayal of his character . He is an amazing character and the favourite ahjusshi of K-dramas !

Ji Chang Wook - Haven't seen a K-drama actor better than him ! He is just absolutely amazing , he can act only with his eyes . Every damn expression is so readable.

Choi Soo young - This is my first time watching her and she was a treat . This is called a strong female lead , not the annoying ones K-dramas usually have. She was a very loveable characters.

Won Ji An - She has a great reach as a performer , just like JCW . She acted crazy , emotional , broken and happy and was amazing with all her scenes.

So far the series I have seen , I can say that this series in one of the best in this genre !! Highly recommended .

Read More

Fresh concept , good execution

TBH , This was a good amalgamation of rom-com , sci-fi and drama .

I know many critics might not agree here (Judging by the previous reviews ) . I too hesitated to watch it , precisely for 2 reasons .... 1. the reviews were bad 2. The poster made me question the chemistry of the leads , But this drama was like a breath of fresh air for me . I was off late very miffed with rich man poor girl rom coms , having annoying female lead . It was so refreshing to see a different and a new concept , where also the female lead was strong and not a damsel in distress . The ML also liked her for her strength and capabilities . There were little to no misunderstandings , even when they both were doing their own things (There was 1 which they handled very maturely without much fuss) .

Coming on acting , JCW has never failed to impress me , every expression he has is so controlled and specific , that he is able to convey all his emotions just by his eyes . I cried with him ! I loved the FL too , I wasn't expecting her to b this good . Having said that there were 2 other characters that amazed me , go nam tae and Dong chan's niece . They were both so good . They had some amazing dialogues that would immediately send a jitter across your spine .

There is just 1 thing I dint like about this series was the proper closure on villains . There was no trace of them, It was mentioned that they were imprisoned . It would have been better if the showed them paying for their sins. Going on the technicality part , I know few things must have sound unrealistic , but guys nothing is realistic in drama world (Goblins , mermaids , grim reapers all are unrealistic to begin with , but we still like the drama , right !) , the thing that's important is how much u enjoyed watching it . And this was 1 drama where I wasn't annoyed for 1 bit , even by the SFL SML , coz everything was so controlled and nothing was overboard imo.

Its not a conventional story , give it a chance !!

Read More

Beyond expectations

Honestly , I wasn't expecting it to be this good !!

There were a lot of characters , so not being Korean , I was really struggling hard to understand the names and who is who for the first 4-5 episodes , but there was something about this series , which kept me drawn into this !!

Although its a legit rom-com , but romance is not the baseline , they did stick to their theme of focusing on people who clean stars' messes ! Despite being a dark theme , the series came out quite fun , without even mocking or rebuking any particular job or set of people ! It is very well written and intrigues the viewers into knowing how the background stuff really happens .

So many characters/couples having their own romances , and they were just all very cute . They probably covered all types of romances , friends turned enemies turned lovers , workplace romance , romance kindling after a kiss , unrequited love and a quick fall into love . There were so many good and happy things going around mostly . The times of crisis were really handled well by the efficient PR team working in the background :) . No un-necessary misunderstandings between the leads and sub leads , like other dramas. This drama got me some extra endorphins :)

Read More

Absurd view on relationships !

Though I really loved the cells , as they gave me an insight into how a person can interpret certain actions and reactions , the main story was very absurd to me ! It may be a copy of webtoon , but that doesn't makes it almighty !

The acting is top notch but the characters are absurd ! There is either no growth in the characters , or suddenly they get promoted/become CEO/top writer . The cells are doing all the talking , but there is hardly any interactions between the lead . They are just assuming/ presuming things . They aren't clarifying misunderstandings !

Yumi , is played exceptionally well by Kim Goeun , we can see her projecting all the emotions very well . But , the character itself is very poorly written and not likeable at all . I understand that the writer may have tried to give her a humane touch with her own flaws , but that would have been okay , if she were shown to accept her flaws and move forward with it ! it seems like she thinks of herself as righteous and keeps judging others for their slightest of mistakes ! Her character is very childish , immature , insecure and selfish ! Another conflicting thing is that they have shown her , to keep her bf at first priority whenever she is in love , but that's not what can be interpreted from her behaviour ! She only keeps them at first position till they follow her around . Her bfs can't talk to other girls , can't live in their own place , have to eat what she chooses and can't send her short text messages (she doesn't reacts , but judges them on these stupid criterion)... I mean what the hell is going around , in which century are we living ? Yet they have depicted , her to be very innocent and deserving of all the happiness , even the guys who have dumped her keep returning to her ! Though I am glad that they started showing her faults in flashbacks in the later half of the season .

I won't recommend this to anybody ,who is looking for romance drama , as the romance here is very shallow , only sticks to few steamy scenes , while the characters are actually not even trusting each other fully ! The character graph here dint make any sense to me ! If you are here to enjoy the anime and the conversation the cells are having , go for it !

Read More

Definitely worth a rewatch !

This series was in my list from a long time now , I wasn't able to watch it coz of its inability in my region ! Finally got my hands on it ! Excited
I have been a Lee Joongi fan , and totally appreciate his ability to be versatile and get into the skin of any character he plays ! But he is not all this series has !! A bunch of good looking SMLs , all with different roles and characters ! I totally appreciate the star cast and how they all stood out in large or brief roles they played ! To be accurate I loved every character on this show , even the court lady oh , IU's maid everyone played their parts so well ! The OST is amazing and heart whelming too !

The story and the characters , were very well developed , so much so that it was too real to be a fantasy ! While I was on it , I laughed with them and cried with them !! Only after having finished it , I had regrets , only for 2 things :
1 . While all the characters looked positive till episode 10 , There was a dirty of positive characters after that . I would really like to hold on to few of the positive characters ! The only positive character I felt was BaekAh , and Wook's first wife ! The rest all were backstabbing each other ! Even the FL backstabbed ML .
2. The ML was misunderstood for 90% of the series , it would have been great if atlast Jung would have accepted his good deeds , and realised how he actually tried to protect his brothers !!
But that's just me !! The reason why I have those regrets , is also because it all felt so real !

There is no reason not to watch it !

Read More

Loved it for the story and the ML

The plot and story was really good . Its definitely worth your time !

I really liked the family , the social life , neighbourhood setup with a tinge of mystery involved in the story . The story goes out really well . I would have loved it more if the mother-daughter reunion happened a bit earlier and we could see a proper wedding and some romantic moments between the leads , rather than them just crying all the time ! May be the FL chasing ML after breaking-up , something like that ! His family accepting him with open arms ! Argh , he totally deserved that :)
Also , MLs mom apologises FL , though she has been protecting her for 6 yrs , while FL, FL's mom and son neither apologises nor appreciates the ML ?? instead they ask him to just be back with FL ? This is not what he deserved , he was just too good for this :)

Kang Ha Neul was fab with his character . He was one persistent ML . I think one of the best K-drama MLs and he has done the wonderful job portraying his role . i totally understand his character , but i just wanted him to have a little bit of self-respect . It felt like he lost all of himself in the journey of chasing FL. He was a man with strong sense of duty , so they shouldn't have shown that he was after joker just coz of Dongbaek ! Everyone from FL side was just advising him , though all he did was to try to protect her and her family !i felt bad for him , he dint get the ending that he deserved . Towards the end too , everyone is telling him to go back to Dongbaek coz she is crying :| ??? Why cant she come to him ever ?

Gong jin was a mediocre as always ! She is just same meek , feeble character . I have seen her previously in jealousy incarnate and master's sun . Initially i liked her , but then it started to feel repetitive ! Character wise , They have tried to bring her out as strong at certain moments , but have failed to do so ! She doesn't convince being strong through her actions ! She and her character are the only reason I gave it a 8.5 score , otherwise it would have been a 10/10 for me !!

Read More

Good plot but dissapointing portrayal !

TBH I liked the plot , initially , thats why i got intrigued into watching this after checking out the trailor ! And also i have liked other works of park bo young , so just thought of giving it a shot , but to my dismayal , there is nothing more in this series !

There are no good elements to support the plot , instead the story line also gets super boring and messy later. This could have easily finished in 8 episodes easily . all they were doing was running recklessly here and there !! The FL was selfish and weak , she was only good with her brain ! but she was only shouting and running , even after the knowing that the serial killer is after her and the ML was always chasing behind her to rescue her ! and all that was happening on a repeat ! For once i felt that the role dint suit PBY , she could not do justice to it ! Also it was clear that she dint like the ML , coz of his face , they tried to make it like feel like genuine feelings later , but it wasnt convincing enough ! And what was that with the ending ??? The ball disappeared when she took the pregnancy test ??? like reallly ???? Shouldnt it disappear either when she conceived or when she delivered ?

All the characters were super annoying and not well written or developed . ML sometimes becomes smart and sometimes super dumb , as per the convenience . Same for FL and SFL , both are annoying and selfish as hell. I don't blame the actors as they did the good job , but in a show at least few characters needs to be loveable , right ?

In short there was nothing to like about this series in my opinion except for few romantic scenes ! :)

Read More

Intense start , but fails to entertain in any aspect later

I would say that this was a wasted potential . The actors were all so good , but the story was all over the place . Even their deal seemed senseless to me !

Things I liked :
1. They took time is showing their emotional connect , though much time hadn't passed in real , it was only 3months they knew each other, but on screen chemistry was too good.
2. The actors were very good in exhibiting their emotions.
3. Even after he died , they gave some time to show her feelings and how she waited for him , trying to restart her life.
4. Messages were nice and apt.
5. No rushed endings

Things i disliked :
1. To begin with the deal between them was ridiculous AF.
2. God was doing just unnecessary things , pulling him away from her life them sowing the seeds of their love. :|
3. The story was all over uninteresting after they fall in love.
4, Overuse of words like 'die' , 'disappear' , 'not exist'.
5. Why was she preparing to die when it was obvious that he is the one who will die.
6. Emotions were good but romance should have been better to go with those emotions !
7. the main story was sad , the second leads could have been interesting to keep the temp . but They were plain sad too !!

All in all , as much a i like the actors and their chemistry , the story was boring for me after mid-way !

Read More

Perfect blend of romance and ambitions !

I really thorughly extremely enjoyed this drama .

Like I said its a perfect blend of romance and ambitions . Both the leads are strong and motivated and have their share of happiness as well as discomfort ! This drama has a bunch of good looking guys , with good amount of roles , so much so that its hard to understand who is the second lead :) . All are perfectly well dressed and good looking . The FL is not annoying for a change. The misunderstanding are just hillarious . The way the guys start calling her sister-in-law an the way he gets involved with her at the family dinner is just amazing !

There is just this overuse of word 'Dream' I feel , and too many flashbacks that break the rhythm . My only complaint with this drama (and with every other C-drama apparently) is that they make troubles out of very small issues . Like why he retired , the reason was ridiculous to me ! Its obvious that solo was not at fault , he had a family to support suddenly . In fact as brothers they should have offered him support rather than disbanding the team . Similarly the FL should have solved the misunderstanding with her family , that she was the one who stalked him while he accepted her to protect her honor initially !

That being said , there is no doubt that you will definitely enjoy the drama during its course.
Enjoy :)

Read More

Stirs emotions deeply !!

This is the first melodrama that i liked watching and dint get annoyed or bored at !

I am so not into melodramas , and I started this one without knowing that its a melodrama ! That being said I found the basic story very week and unacceptable , as it has many main unanswered questions , but still somehow the twists-turns of events and unfolding of relationships is done so aptly that even though you know the truth it still stirs your emotions every time !!

Basic questions like why dint the brother want them together , is kept a secret til almost the end of the series , when you might think that he must have done something wrong to her ! But then in the end you realise that he got that burn trying to save her and the brother knows it and saw it , and still wishes to separate them ???? Why would he stab him , when he was just sorry towards him ??? He would give Yoori a chance to redeem herself , but just hate moo-yeong ?? Also few things from the first murder and seong-ahs accident aren't very clear .... I just waited till the end to thing to unfold , but few things were just left out .
It was a good watch , with little to no annoying characters , all felt right at their places except oppa :D !! Enjoy :)

Read More

Enchanting ride to the world of magic and music !

I cannot really explain in words how enchanted I was , throughout the series !
There are so many real world messages portrayed beautifully through this fantasy drama. Messages like :

Flowers do not bloom on smooth asphalt paths , they do in mud and dirt.
Help those , who reach out for your help !
Do what you want to do , along with the things you don't want to do .
World treats differently to different people .
Poverty is not the only pain !
Happiness cannot be measured by success .

and many more ....
This was my first musical drama , and i really felt connected to all the emotions that were paved through music . i dint want to skip a second even after the language barrier . The songs are so well written and most of them are sung by the original cast , which makes it even more connecting !
For once I could connect with each character and none felt annoying . The 3 main characters were astounding , and stood well in their places . Performance wise I feel they all did well !

Ji changWook was an epitome of elegance and mystery as a magician who wasnt understood by the world , probably because he was someone who wasnt successful in the eyes of the people ! He wanted to be happy and help others , when they cry out for help ! He went under the skin of the character . He was this sweet innocent kid at one instance , an elegant magician at another and a crazy man at yet another !! He has undefined charms which no other actor can compare .

Hwang in yeop was a perfect high schooler , with good grades and amazing looks ! But he felt short of happiness , along the path he was following ! He portrayed someone who was in search of love and happiness , someone whom the world considers perfect and lucky , but who is hurting deep inside to be imprisoned and not to be able to find is own way .

Choi Sung Eun was a poverty striken girl working hard to keep the ends meet ! At first she felt pathetic of her situation , but gradually she accepted it , and learned to walk a happy path along it ! A read few reviews saying she was not speaking up , but i think that was totally understandable , she was a poor girl with nobody to take care off , she wss just scared ! I think she played it really very well !

All the side characters did exceptionally well too !
I feel sad when people try to find logic in fantasy ! Guys this is tagged as fantasy for a reason . This drama almost answers all the open question , while few are left for the viewers imagination , which is what a fantasy does , as everyone's fantasy and imaginations and the way to perceive things are different ! Specially questions like was he a real magician ? According to me he wasnt , as Ah-yi also said that he could not take her out of her situation but he tried to do his best to cheer her up !

It dint let me down for a moment , so here I am giving it a 10/10 . Enjoy :)

Read More

Unique blend of suspense , action , romance , emotions and comedy !

I actually enjoyed watching this series , it was an easy watch , with such a unique blend of suspense , action , romance , emotions and comedy ! I could watch it without getting annoyed on any character , that might sound a little unrealistic , but the main thing is having a good time watching a series !

There was nothing very intriguing about this , but the story was beautiful and unique and it unfolds at the right time , throughout the series ! The characters are all very strong and painted very well . The way she falls in love with the ML , while still keeping her dead ex-boyfriend in her memories and trying to move on , was the highlight for me ! All characters were very strong and mature and they know their place !

The only thing I dint like was they were shown too lonely fighting against the higher ups , there was not one person who they can trust except the ghosts ! They could have been easily gotten killed while lying in the hospital bed :D !!

Ok Taecyon is a very natural actor . He has some very unique and crazy expressions sometimes which definitely stands out
Kim Jaewook doesnt actually needs dialogues to show his presence , one can see the listlessness in his eyes and feel it !
For the FL , though the character was very good , I felt that the acting could have been better , she was just too bland at some places !

All over it was a nice watch for me !

Read More

Life influencing !!

This is a masterpiece in itself !

The title is enough to understand the theme , and it really sticks to the theme ! The lead characters all have some or the other mental traumas , which they are fighting against and they either conquer their fears or accept themselves the way they are ! Acting is specially amazing and story is heart rendering , very different from the cliched k-dramas !

Special mentions are set yeaji and oh jungse ! Their fights over KSH were hilarious as well as emotional at the same time ! One can sympathise with both characters, even when they would annoy you at sometimes !
Now this is an idea of strong FL ! The strong FL doesn't means always the kind hearted and self righteous or bubbly poor girl , like in most dramas!! Here the FL is psychotic , close to getting insane , but she still manages to get over it , with the help of ML. She understands her flaws and accepts them and doesn't expect the world to acknowledge her ! Cries her heart out but doesn't goes in self-pity and specially doesn't comes up with the stupid pride !

Read More

Watch it for some amazing acting !

This drama made me cry , laugh and get annoyed along with the characters .

TBH , watching it in 2022 , it felt like nothing special from the story perspective, as we have multiple such K-dramas available , with similar storylines , where the FL pretends to be the guy and stuff , but the execution was so damn beautiful , I bet in 2007 it would have blown people's mind ! I loved how they focused on the 2 main love stories , one being the matured and other the immature one ! the relationship building between both the couple's is beautiful .

I would have given it a 10 , if only the female characters were written a little better. All of them sucked and yet got whatever they wanted , without much pain ! I loved all the prince in the coffee prince , though !!

This is not just an issue with this drama , I can see this in most K-dramas , that the writers do not put much effort in building reasonable female characters ! They are all unreasonable and annoying poor girls who would first go for the money and then they won't respect their creditor and then suddenly develop this huge pride ! We want more strong female leads characters , like those in hotel del luna , its okay not to be okay for instance.

Here too the FL is immature , unreasonable , annoying and practically mooches off the ML ! She deceives him and then forces her feelings on to him , makes him accept his feelings only to turn down his marriage proposal , holding her stupid pride , when he becomes desperate ! on top of that people near her are not even holding her responsible or giving her proper suggestions !
Most will think that the ML was the toxic one , but I can totally understand him ! He agonised over being a homo , and practically overcame the fear of family and friends to accept his feeling (This was a beautiful moment for me , how he accepted his love even when he knew that he wasn't a gay), only to find his trust shaken off ! Moreover right after they get back together , the FL hardly spends any time with him or discuss anything with him ! She suddenly developed the feeling of being independent (she was asking 1 million won just to be standing with him earlier), so much so she can't marry him ! I mean people study even after marriage !! What ws the big deal ?? she gave him all the reasons of not leaving her family when he asked her to move to New York , but easily took his grand ma's favour to move to Italy !!!!! Though they have shown to discuss these moments fairly , but she gives in all the time , means that she wants it , doesn't it ? Then again why hold the stupid pride , respect people for their help and be available for them , that's what life is about , no one can survive all alone in this world ! Similarly with yoo-joo and Eun-sae , they get the guys so easily , even after being so ridiculously selfish and giving them the hard time ! I wish the k writers focus more on female character development in rom-coms as well !

Thats the only negative I had ! If I leave it be , I can just rewatch it for gong-yoo and Jung-an . I mean they are just so beautiful , it doesn't feels like one is watching a 15 years old series , they are so perfect in their attire ! And Kim jae-wook , he is so pretty here ! Loved the ending it was satisfactory for all the prince !

Read More