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  • Last Online: Apr 6, 2024
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  • Location: Twenty steps away from the toilet and just around the corner from the stairs.
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  • Join Date: May 21, 2011

Aryael

Twenty steps away from the toilet and just around the corner from the stairs.

Aryael

Twenty steps away from the toilet and just around the corner from the stairs.
Completed
The Legend of the Condor Heroes
31 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Aug 29, 2012
50 of 50 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
There, I've done it! I never give 10/10 to the best of romance dramas but when it comes to wuxia, this one is my favourite (next only to the 2003 Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils aka Tian Long Ba Bu). I guess this means that despite how varied my love of drama is, I am inadvertably and irreversibly a die-hard wuxia fan first and foremost!

This is the best adaptation of the Legend of the Condor Heroes. Many may disagree because the storyline did not follow exactly as what was written by Louis in his novels. However, this is a modern interpretation of his novels with depth added into it.

I like it that more focus is given to the evil character and explains why he became evil. I like it that more depth was given to the main character's struggles. I am a personal fan of Hu Ge. Anyone who is a lover of wuxia knows Hu Ge. In this drama, he fully and successfully depicted the character and feelings of the often honest and naive Guo Jing. I am also a fan of Yuan Hong who did a brilliant job playing the evil character. Traditionally, viewers and readers will curse Yang Kang (the evil character) for his betrayal but in this version, it actually shows why Yang Kang betrayed his family and friends and you actually will get to sympathise with him. At the end when he dies, you will feel sorry for him. In this aspect, Legend of the Condor Heroes 2003 has successfully engaged the viewers.


I love the OSTs and the meaning of the words in the OSTs. Life is full of struggles and you are often pushed to make decisions you do not want to make. Both Guo Jing and Yang Kang experience this but the difference between both is the choice they make and the strength/integrity of their characters. Who would have thought that wuxia will not only provide you action, entertainment and romance, but life's lessons as well?? Watch this. You will not be disappointed!

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Completed
The Queen of SOP
42 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Aug 22, 2012
33 of 33 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
Story: The question this story aims to answer is this: "Who will you choose if both men loves you and you love both of them too?" Arrgh! The headache and heartache of choosing! Let's start with Man 1 and the female lead. The love story between Man 1 and the female lead started through a series of accidents. Originally, Man 1 did not like the female lead and vice versa. Man 1 was in love with another woman. Due to fated incidences with the female lead, Man 1 was cornered into making decisions that sees the female lead ending up as his fiancee. At first, he did not realise that he had actually fallen for the female lead. He will only realise that he loves her after she had left him. Let's move on to Man 2. The female lead and Man 2 are great friends and Man 2 was very supportive of her through the ups and downs. Man 2 has always love the female lead but the female lead has only thought of him as a friend. The climax is when both men pursue the female lead. Punches were thrown, of course! LOL Throw in office and business politics and you'll get The Queen of SOP. Who will she end up with in the end? Watch to find out!

Acting/Cast: Loooove the cast. Godfrey Gao is hot but his acting is not as matured as the rest of the cast. The chemistries between Godfrey and Joe and between Joe and Zhang Han were VERY good. I honestly believe that this drama is as successful as it is now mostly due to the chemistry between the leads. Will you be in team Godfrey or team Zhang Han? Which man will you cheer on?

Music: Good enough but not something I will get excited over.

Rewatch value: Minus the boring and draggy bits in between where the office and business politics kind of took over, there are parts of the drama that I would gladly rewatch anytime simply for watching the chemistry between the leads. This drama makes me a Zhang Han fan. I never thought much of him from "Let's go watch meteor shower" which was the chinese version of Hana Yori Dango. It was a complete flop. But in The Queen of SOP, he shone! Now, I want to watch more dramas with him in it! And Godfrey Gao... even though there is much he needs to learn about acting, the man is a walking hunk of yumminess. I seriously do not know how Joe Chen could ever choose between the two of them!

Overall: Good entertainment and eye-candy value but most importantly for a romance drama, the chemistry between the leads are oh-so-yummy!

Conclusion: Yes, I am raving like a young fool over some good looking blokes....but anyone who knows me know that I do not give looks that much credit in a drama anyways. My brownie points go to the chemistry between the leads. Being yummy is a bonus! Which team am I in? I'm in team Zhang Han. I always like to champion the guy who is your best friend and who had always supported you all the way. I reckon the best relationships stem from such invaluable friendship.

My advice: Watch it, but feel free to fast forward the middle parts with all the office and business politics. Enjoy!

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Completed
Me too, Flower!
4 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Jan 2, 2012
15 of 15 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
Story: An interesting, fun and refreshing take on love between the rich and the not-so-rich. No chaebols involved in the love story but there were definitely a number of chaebols who were physically harmed. I am charmed by the storyline. It is a roller coaster ride of emotions - the scenes switch from funny, melo to romance to funny fluidly and with only 15 episodes (yes 15, not 16..the list here was incorrect re the number of episodes for this drama), none of the episodes were wasted. A nicely packed drama, no dilly dallying and a concrete ending for all characters. Watch it and you'll know what I mean!

Acting/Cast: What can I say? I fell in love with Yoon Shi Yoon when he was Baker King, Kim Tak Gu and this drama made me a confirmed fan of his acting. A different character than Tak Gu and he pulled it off very well. Lee Ji Ah's return to acting following her highly publicized scandal was not too bad either. She was very believable as the ill tempered policewoman. A special mention for Lee Ki Kwang for his dual characters in this drama (as Jo Ma Roo and Pink Chicken). For someone from a non-acting background, he did well. The rest of the cast were also fantastic.

Music: I totally fell in love with the sexy OST "Dreaming" by B2ST (the song that kept playing whenever the main actor is in his "rich guy" mood). It totally suited the scenes and atmosphere. The other OSTs are excellent as well. What can I say....they are all in my MP3 walkman already and I am listening to them as I am writing this review! :)

Rewatched value: I am already rewatching it after finishing it. I am also planning to buy the DVDs for keeps. This drama is worth its spot in my personal collection of KDramas.

Overall: I am impressed and entertained. I could not stop kicking myself for having scrolled past this drama when it first debuted but because of the new year holidays, I made time for it. Best decision so far where KDramas are concerned for year 2011. I am surprised why it has not received much love and attention from fellow drama addicts. This one here is a true gem, despite its rather bland synopsis that does it no credit whatsoever! My verdict? WATCH IT! SERIOUSLY!

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Completed
The Slave Hunters
35 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Oct 30, 2011
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
Story: What is fated love? This drama explores this well with an excellent backdrop of history and action. There is never a boring scene in this drama. The fighting scenes are phenomenal and they are actually my favourites - they are not too complicated or fancy like the chinese kungfu series but energetic and very real, hence the beauty of them. I like it that the writer had choosen to depict a romance story amidst a time of turmoil in Korean history when there were struggles between slaves and aristrocats while being under the rule of a weak king. I like it that the story did not overly dwell in the political scenarios but used the political scenarios as a backdrop to what is to be a "dramatic" love story.



Acting/Cast: What can I say? I fell in love with Jang Hyuk through this drama. He bears the mark of a true actor in his role as the angst-revenge driven Dae Gil. His was a very challenging character and he pulled it off PERFECTLY! He spoke with his eyes, his expressions and his intonations had thoroughly pulled me into his world of slave hunters and his misery of loving and yet being unable to love. Oh Ji Hoo as Tae Ha (righteous, dutiful, loyal) and Lee Dae Hae as Hye Won (meek, fearful and a woman with a secret) were also perfect choices. Even the dudes who acted as slave hunters, mountain brigands, slave rebels and evil ministers were wonderful in their roles. I seriously could not find any fault in the acting and cast of this drama.



Music: I absolutely love the OSTs in this drama. I listen to them frequently in my walkman. I think this in itself tells you how wonderful I think of them. What I absolutely love was how each OSTs are perfectly coordinated with the scenes and feelings in the drama. Whenever I listen to the OSTs, they reminded me of the drama and the unforgettable scenes in the drama.



Rewatch value: I had rewatched parts of this drama twice. I am not a fan of rewatching dramas as I am a very time poor person but for this drama, I actually rewatched a number of parts that I absolutely love. I must admit that I had never rewatched any dramas entirely, not because they are not worth rewatching (how I wish I have the time and luxury to rewatch dramas!).



Overall: This is my advice to you who had not watched this drama..... go and get a bag of chips or popcorn, a box of tissue and maybe a pillow (because it is quite addictive and you might just decide to skip sleep to finish this drama in one go) and just WATCH THIS DRAMA. You'll never regret it! :)

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Completed
Scarlet Heart
10 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Oct 17, 2011
35 of 35 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
Story: A perfect telling of a love (fated and unfated) that transcends time. What will you do if the man you love was too ambitious that he was willing to give you up for his ambitions? What will you do when the man you hated loved you instead? What will you do if the man you treated as a good friend wanted you as well? What will you do when the man you loved and respected as friend and brother was betrayed not by others but by yourself? What will you do if you have no choice but to marry the man that was chosen for you? The main female lead tackles all of these questions and more. There are a lot happening in this drama that there is never a boring moment. You'll find yourself "chasing" after the episodes because you'll want to know what she will do next and what the ppl around her will do next. Despite so many challenges in the female lead's life, the story was told at a nice pace and each matter addressed adequately that you'll never feel as if you were left high and dry after being shown a tasty morsel. What's more... you'll even get to see how the female lead matures as the story progresses. A full rounder! Beautifully told and executed!



Acting/Cast: Lovely cast and most of them are experienced actors and actresses, hence excellent acting. I must also mention the costumes, props and sceneries in this drama as well. They sure invested a lot on them! Definitely worth watching! I personally, fell in love with the costumes!!!



Music: Endearing, sad, beautiful, melodic, longing, love....they are all gorgeously portrayed through the OSTs. This drama boasts a wonderful array of excellent OSTs that will bring a sigh, smile and tear to your heart. A worthy collection!



Rewatch value: I am personally not a big fan of re-watching dramas as I am very time poor. However, I'd purchase the DVDs, downloaded the mp4 versions and the OSTs of this drama. This says a lot about this drama and its songs! I'd since re-watched selected episodes of my favourite scenes. Due to my time and work commitments, I have yet been able to re-watch the entire drama but the thought is very tempting.



Overall: A beautiful drama that will remain in your memories long after the last song was sung and the curtains are drawn. This is one drama that will always be at the back of my mind as recommendation for others who are looking for a good historical chinese drama. Well done to all the casts, director and writer!


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Completed
Protect the Boss
9 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Oct 5, 2011
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
Story: Typical chaebol guy falling for a poor woman with attitude story, BUT with a twist. The twist? The clever dialogue, the lighter/comedic take at competition between relatives and amongst the upper class for power and of course, the unforgettable characters. Watch this if you want to see the "physical" side of chaebol power struggle (if hair pulling and catfights are not enough for you!). A little bit of dallying at the end due to the 2 episode extension to 18 episodes but not too bad considering that it gave a concrete, non-rushed ending to the story.



Acting/Cast: Excellent acting from the casts. The reason why I gave a 9/10 was because I thought a couple of the casts were not as experienced in acting and it showed, though the fault is not too serious that it ruined the enjoyment of the drama. For newbies, they did very well.



Music: Only two OSTs stood out for me. The rest are forgettable (that's just my opinion!). The OSTs served their purpose well though and went well with the situations in the drama. Conclusion: OSTs are not the strength of this drama. The story and characters are.



Rewatch value: I would buy the originals and keep them under my collections of good dramas. I will definitely re-watch it one day but not in the near future. This drama gives you a happy, relaxed feeling - high entertainment value, but at the same time, it is not SOOOOO good that you'll be going back to the episodes again and again. Keep this for when you want to re-visit good memories from the kdrama land,,,, someday in the future.....



Overall: Excellent entertainment value. Solid ending. Enjoyable characters. One for keeps but not THAT outstanding to form a following or trend that'll get people talking for years to come.

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Completed
Shadowless Sword
6 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Jul 12, 2011
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This was the first historical/periodic k-movie I'd watched and it created a significant impression in my mind. Here's my review of the movie:



Story: A straight forward and simple story - a nation's in crisis, they need a king, but assasins have been killing off all potential candidates until there was only one possible candidate left: an exiled prince. A fighter was sent to search and protect the exiled prince. Excellent fighting scenes followed. There was a budding romance between the prince and his protector and the unrequitted love between a vassal and her lord/leader. All these come together to form a solid storyline for a movie.



Acting/Cast: Very convincing, excellent fighting scenes and good script. What can I say: I am drawn into the world of war, assassins and martial arts by the cast.



Music: Not much to comment there. The music suited each scene but because most of them are instrumental with either sombre mood or fight mood, the music did not stand out in this movie.



Rewatch value: An excellent and quick 1 hour plus entertainment that you can rewatch whenever you feel bored. I enjoy watching the fighting scenes. They were well choreographed.



Overall: Highly recommended!! It is truly a gem that was not given its due recognition!!

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Completed
My Lovely Sam Soon
4 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Jul 12, 2011
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Following a review by my fellow comrade, amrita-sshi, let me now share my two cents on this drama.



Story: Good storyline and after a long staple of rom-coms where the woman falls in love with a rich guy and the comedy that follows the story, this drama started a new genre of "noona love" - the romance between an older woman and a younger man. However, this drama still follows the long-proven formula of rich man and average/poor woman with a refereshing twist of realism. My Name is Kim Sam Soon (MNKSS)is the pioneer in rom-coms involving older women and younger men and this is perhaps the secret of its success. It is also a story between an average Jane Doe with the "prince", making this drama the first to depict the relationship between the average everyday gal with a fairytale-like man. The script was well written. The story has a form of realism in it mixed with the usual comedy. All in all, it is a drama that teaches the audience about being realistic in love and that even though one may fall in love, one may also one day fall out of love, but that should not stop us from living our lives to the fullest and enjoying the moment.



Acting/Cast: Overall, it is a wonderful cast and acting was good. The actress playing Kim Sam Soon had to gain weight in order to fit into this role - something many actresses in Korea would hesitate to do. So, kudos to her for her sacrifice. She successfully depicted the average korean woman - slightly "meaty", loud, occasionally foul-mouthed and with a big appetite for life and love. As for Hyun Bin, I must say that this is not his best acting, partly because this is one of his earlier works, hence the lack of experience. The other characters were very well done and I have no complains there. The only thing that got to me is the lack of chemistry between the two main leads. No matter how I look at it, they fail to bring out the "ah~~~" feeling from me when they kiss or fight. The interaction between them was so neutral that you know you are watching an act. There was zero chemistry between them. My heart did not pound, my breath did not get caught, I did not wait for the next kissing scene etc. Most times, I had the sneaky feeling of watching an older sister bullying her younger brother in scenes where they were supposedly having a lovers' fight. Therefore, I gave the acting a 7/10, recognising the talents of the cast but also the essential lack of romantic chemistry between the leads.



Music: What can I say - I am not a big fan of its OST. The OST is a patch-work of work from various artists put together with only a couple of songs that are originally made for this drama. Hence, I would say that the drama did not have a big focus on OSTs.



Rewatch value: When you run out of dramas to watch and you just want a lazy evening on the coach with a glass of wine to relax, this is a possible choice. It is safe, neutral and no fuss (you do not need your brains and tissues to watch this one).



Overall: Considering the impact it first aired and the then new concept of love between an older woman and younger man and the concept of love between an average woman and the arrogant rich man, plus its good cast but neutral chemistry between the leads, plus the average OSTs....I give this drama a 7/10. Also, I was thinking of all the crappy k-dramas I'd watched and compared to those crappy ones, this one is still considered ok. Just do not let the lack of chemistry between the leads get to you overly much.

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Completed
Lie to Me
9 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Jul 1, 2011
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
This drama started with aplomb and gave many hopes of good hours of entertainment but it fell flat on its face by the 10th episode or so. The ending was a disappointment.



Acting was good as the two main leads have great chemistry. Nice OSTs - including the sweet and cute "Love Ice-cream" song. However, it was let down by the poor storyline towards the end. Storyline before the 10th episode was 9/10, story after the 10th episode was 4/10 and the last 3 episodes were 2/10 - very disappointing.



Two short sentences summarized this drama:

You'll get ripped off. You'll get lied to.



Watch with no expectations.

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Completed
Love Buffet
5 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Jun 6, 2011
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 4.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
DO NOT WATCH THIS DRAMA UNLESS YOU ARE ONLY WATCHING TO OGGLE AT CALVIN AND AARON.

There, I've said it! I hope that is warning enough.

In short: Love Buffet is a buffet of mess and disappointments. It is a typical idol drama from the dodgy storyline to the idols who cannot act.



Story: Ordinary with a capital "O". Maybe more suited for young teenage girls who likes to daydream about good looking boys as their possible bfs, eg: "Oh! Wouldn't it be nice if BOTH Calvin and Aaron falls for me??? And oh.. I can't choose between the both!" Similarly, in this drama, the female lead dons a "young-ish" character with a rather naive view on relationships to appeal to the young audiences. Mature women will probably find this drama annoying and filled with fluff.



Acting/Cast: Life size cardboard cut-outs of artists have better expressions than Calvin and Aaron in this drama. Their interpretation of the two lead characters were shockingly poor and lacking. PLEASE....just because they are idols, do not mean they HAVE to act. Some ppl are just not gifted that way.



Music: Possibly the only saving grace of the drama. I am no fan of the OSTs but Fahrenheit's "Wu Hui" (Misunderstanding) was worth its place in my iPod. The MV for "Wu Hui" was nice and I especially like how my fav Taiwan artist Jiro Wang looked in the MV... simply deeeelicious! This again proves that Calvin and Aaron should just stick to singing and MVs. Jiro should act more as he is definitely the more talented one out of the 4. I know Wu Chun has many fans but I personally thinks Wu Chun's acting left much to be desired as well. So, yeah, get the music, forgo the drama.



Rewatch value: Unless you are crazy over Calvin and/or Aaron and thinks they are the "sun, moon, sky..etc" and that you absolutely cannot live without seeing their faces, then by all means, re-watch this drama. Even so, I suggest that you re-watch KO One and X-family because I think their acting in that 2 drama was better than in the Love Buffet (not that it was better by much!). Otherwise, the 100th re-run of Disney's Beauty and the Beast have much better re-watch value than this drama!



Overall, I gave this drama 5/10 (in my most lenient opinion!).

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Completed
My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho
47 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
May 27, 2011
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
Another one of those Hong sisters' work and like all of their past work (eg: You Are Beautiful etc), it has all the humour, creative storyline and likeable characters. However, this drama is not without its weaknesses. Here's my review of this drama:



Story: Overall, a fun and creative story involving a love story between a fairytale creature and a human. Lots of funny and memorable scenes and interesting characters (eg: the action director and dae wong's aunt, dae wong's grandfather etc). Pretty straight forward storyline and we all know by now that the Hong sisters ALWAYS write happy endings, so no surprise there. If you love fairytales and happily ever after sort of theme with fun, this is the drama for you. However, the biggest weakness of a Hong sisters' work is the ending. In my opinion, the ending is a weak ending. They should have spent more time expanding the events and rationale leading towards the ending. The drama would have benefited from an extra episode or another 30 mins to set things in motion towards the ending. As it is, the ending felt forced as if the writers just wanted a happy ending for the characters forgoing the work that is needed towards building this happily ever after. Like I'd said before, endings are not the Hong sisters' strength. My advice for those who are planning to watch this drama:- Just enjoy the journey. It is hilarous, good entertainment with the occassional tear-jerking moments.



Acting/Cast: Lee Seung Gi's a good actor and I think we have pretty much establised this by now based on his past work. It is no wonder he draws in the ratings despite his not-so-good looks (that's just my opinion!). My biggest brownie points, however, goes to the drama new comer Shin Min Ah. This particular young lady has in the past done work on CFs, modelling and movies, but with this drama, she made a fantastic debut as the naive and loveable gumiho. All I can say is she shined in this drama!! The rest of the cast was brilliant as well. I love the actor that played the action director and Dae Wong's aunt, not to mention the actors and actresses playing Dae Wong's grandfather, friends and first love interest (yes! even that annoying woman was well portrayed by actress Park Soo Jin!).



Music: Lovely OSTs worth downloading.



Rewatch value: Good rewatch value, especially when you just needed entertainment without wasting too much brain cells to figure things out. Lots of funny scenes that are guaranteed to entertain you.



Overall, time well spent on the coach. Do not let the hurried ending spoil your mood or decision to watch this drama. If anything, it is highly entertaining.

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Completed
Secret Garden
5 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
May 21, 2011
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
Secret Garden is like an old friend whom you misses when s/he is gone and for whom you speak favourably of to others. It has been a while since this drama ended but the warmth and memories of this drama remained. As I go on with my review of this drama, bear in mind that I very rarely rate any drama or movie with 10/10 because I believe that no matter how excellent the drama/movie is, there is always room for improvement or there will always be people who will not think so favourably of it. Taking that into account, and the fact that I had pretty much "seen it all" that hardly anything impresses or shock me nowadays, let's move on with the review.



Story: This drama has a very simple storyline: rich man falls for poor woman, they were opposed by his parent(s) but they eventually have their "happily ever after". The "Cinderella story" appeals to all the romantics of the world, especially to the female viewers. We have read and watched many movies and dramas along this line. So what is new? Does throwing in a fantasy gimmick such as body swapping makes it new? Not really. Body swapping is not a new idea either. What made SG extraordinary from the ordinary? It was certainly not the story, but rather how it was told. My full brownie points go to the director for his interpretation of this story. By throwing in otherwise "cliche" albeit creative scenes, amusing lines and characters that you cannot help but fall in love with (eg: coffee froth on the lip, the sit up, the coordinated walking-side-by-side, the "New message" ringtone, Joo Won's monologue about how expensive the tracksuit is, the infamous "Is this the best?" line etc), the director turned what was otherwise ordinary to extraordinary. Without these, I believe SG would have ended up in the "Just another fantasy rom-com" pile. What I love about the entire story was the simplicity of it that turned the old into new. SG taught me that one does not need a complicated idea to make a great story; an old idea can be made into a great story if it was told from a different angle. I love the ending and the message it brought to the viewers. Thanks to this brilliant re-telling of the Cinderella story, we can now look forward to future rom-coms that will make use of the "trademark" SG scenes and lines. In this way, we know that SG has been immortalized.



Acting/Cast: I would not be able to find a better cast than the existing one. Hyun Bin successfully portrayed the arrogant and most times childish Joo Won. His acting in this drama was spot on! The fact that he was able to make me shed tears with him when he cried was the pinnacle of acting - the ability to make the viewers feel what the character was feeling. I am not a fan of him per se - he was not too bad in My Name is Kim Sam Soon but he did starred in dramas that were not so succesful either, yet in SG, he totally nailed it! Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im was the perfect choice for Hyun Bin's Kim Joo Won. They had such a natural and perfect chemistry that the pairing was a work of genius. I believe that for many years to come, people will walk pass Ji Won and call her "Gil Ra Im". That is how strong the impression of her character and how succesful she was in protraying Gil Ra Im. Next, I come to my favourite character- Oska, played by Yoon Sang Hyun. Oska's was an amusing and interesting character. I sincerely believe that without the excellent work by Yoon, SG would have fallen flat on its face. Oska may be a supporting character but without Oska, the drama would have lacked the necessary chemistry needed to gel all the other parts and characters together. Thanks to Yoon, Oska was a success and so was SG. The other characters, such as Kim Sung Oh as Secretary Kim, Kim Sa Rang as Yoon Seul and even the lady who played Joo Won's mother (forgotten her name!) were brilliant choices! For the cast, I award the rare 10/10 because without such an excellent cast and wonderful chemistry, SG would have turned out as a flop.



Music: SG has one of the most heartfelt OSTs around - that is if you are into ballads. Some of you may not, hence the 9/10 rating I gave it. Admittedly, I have my favourites and not-so favourites from its OSTs.



Rewatch value: This is where I admit a secret of mine. I had not rewatched SG since it ended, not for lack of disinterest, but rather due to lack of time. I have too many projects on hand now and making the time to watch a drama nowadays takes effort beyond my already busy schedule. Top that with the expectations from others that I write formal reviews of new dramas, I rarely have time to re-watch dramas (no matter how good they were) because I have to move on to the next new drama. So, I became very selective with what I watch. Unlike most drama addicts, I can forgo watching if the drama is not up to my taste. To me, SG has a high rewatch value. It is surely in my list of drama to re-watch when I get the time for it. I remember fondly all those scenes and lines from SG and hope that one day, when I get that break or holiday away from work, I will be able to re-visit it. So, yes, by all means, if you have the time, re-watch SG again. Better yet, go out and buy the whole original set of the drama. It is definitely a collector's item; one you will not regret keeping for years and years to come and one you probably can proudly show to your kids and next generation what "the good ol' Korean dramas were like in the early 21st century".



With this review, I end my thoughts about SG. All I can say, if you haven't watched it, you better do or else you would have missed an excellent drama that may well ended up as the k-drama of the decade!

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Completed
49 Days
5 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
May 21, 2011
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Following my policy of not writing a review unless I had watched the drama to the end, I now share with you my two cents worth on this drama. Overall, it is a good drama but I did not lose too much sleep over it. In fact, there were parts and episodes that I skipped because they were part of the dallying tactics the director used to prolong the drama to the said 20 episodes. I will explain by using the "Story, Acting, Music, Rewatch Value, Overall" items used in My Drama List to rate this drama.



Story: It started out with aplomb and almost immediately, I fell in love with the Scheduler's character. However, I can't say the same for the other characters. The IDEA of the story (of a woman in coma and having 49 days to gather tears whilst being "helped" along the way by a charasmatic scheduler) was great but disappointingly enough, it was not exploited to its potential. Somewhere in the middle, the drama lost its plot and that was when the dallying tactics were used. Thankfully, it picked up pace between episodes 13 and 14, went flat again until episode 17 and finished wonderfully at 20. While some may be disappointed with the ending, there are equally many who were more than satisfied with it. To me, it was a strong ending and exactly how I myself would have wrote it. It was unexpected but it delivered some form of "being at the end". Every character were given a closing chapter. Everyone was accounted for. The sereneness of the ending taught the viewers many lessons:- one of which is about reality, fate, life, death and love. In its own way, it is a happy ending for all.



Acting/Cast: Needless to say, Jung Il Woo did a brilliant job as the charasmatic Scheduler. We can all say for sure now that Lee Yo Won had the most beautifully sad face as the often depressed Song Yi Kyung. Jo Hyun Jae as Han Kang captured many hearts as he tried to make up for lost time and opportunities to express his hidden love for Ji Hyun. Nam Gyu Ri was able to express the naivety, mild characteredness and innocence of Shin Ji Hyun. All the actors and actresses did their best to portray the characters given to them. My biggest brownie points, however, went to Jung Il Woo for his protrayal of the Scheduler. It will be difficult for anyone to watch this drama without falling in love with his character.



Music: There were 3-4 music in the OSTs that were excellent and a few in there that were not exactly to my taste. I took into account the favourable opinions of others and my own "not-so-favourable" opinion before giving the music 8/10. All I can say is, it's personal taste. ;)



Rewatch value: If you are a person with lots of time on hand, you might rewatch this drama for the sake of passing time. I am a busy person and do not often rewatch dramas and taking this into account, I ranked the rewatch value at 6/10. I doubt I will ever rewatch this drama because of its length and the dallying in the middle, though I might choose certain episodes or parts that were interesting to view whenever I feel nostalgic of this drama. You can be sure that those scenes are the ones that involved the Scheduler! ;)



Overall: It is a worthy drama but unlike others who gushed on and on about how great it was and rated it at the same level as Secret Garden, I would actually rate this below Secret Garden and a few others that I felt were more worthy. The only memories of this drama I will take away were the character of the Scheduler and the poignant but wonderful ending. All in all, kudos to all the acting casts of 49 Days and all the best for the future. Fate willing, we will meet each other again...soon. :)

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