Chocobana
Sure, the first episode was lousy compared to the rest of the episodes, Pierre's acting was terrible the first couple of episodes, and William's character was foolish to the point where it became annoying at times but these are just details when you think about 'Tamra, The Island' as a whole. It was that awesome for me.
I think the major reason why this drama didn't garner as much attention as it deserves is because of its not widely known cast. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of these names before. I hate it when they cut dramas short but this one was originally a 21 episode drama but due to low ratings, it was shortened to 16 episodes. Both versions work fine. I watched a bit of the longer version.
This is not just your typical historical love story mixed in with politics; it's more than that. It's about the bonds between a family, and the loyalty you have towards your own country. I loved the little exchanges between Beo Jin and her parents and sister, between her and the villagers. I couldn't even hate Kkeut Boon, who is sometimes ridiculous and too assuming because I was too fond of her amusing antics. I really liked the people of Beo Jin's village because, although they'd bicker and fight, they were together when it mattered.
Pierre Deporte, or Hwang Chan Bin, seemed to improve as the drama progressed in acting. It's clearly obvious he's a rookie and I think being up against Seo Woo and Im Joo Hwan who were amazing actors here (both of them have a talent so I hope to see them in more dramas) made it even more challenging for him but he was trying. His Korean was great and I think that was why he got the role.
His character, William, never ceased to annoy me though. All William knew how to say was 'Beo Jin'. Beo Jin this, Beo Jin that, Beo Jin, Beo Jin. That's one name I will never forget (although I tend to easily forget Korean names) because it's already engraved in my brain.
Oh, and Park Gyu was too adorable here. I loved those 'Ahem' kind of noises he made when he was either embarassed or annoyed. Cuteness galore.
Anyway, just watch the drama already. It's awesome enough that I'm sure you'll forgive it's shortcomings.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Hong Sisters like to make their shows a bit confusing with all the back-and-forth plot shifting. It's like this for almost the whole drama: the leads' relationship is going great and then they fight again for some reason or a new development throws them off, ruining all the fun the viewer is supposed to be having. It gets extremely tedious after the main characters' third or fourth time they spend depressed or in angst because of silly misunderstandings.I think what I disliked the most in 'Big' is how the plot threw me around, and how so much happened in a mere 16 episodes that the ending was rushed while there were still unresolved threads of the story. I will complain about the ending several times here so keep that in mind.
The premise of the story, to begin with, isn't at all original. Body switching? It's been overdone. I wasn't interested at all but my cousin basically sang praises for this drama and she kept telling me to watch it so we could fangirl about it together (no way that's going to happen now).
I wish they'd given Shin Won Ho a bigger part, besides just being a sleeping beauty (as he was dubbed in the show itself) for almost the entire show. I think they missed the whole point of the body switching since I felt like Gil Da Ran fell in love with Yoon Jae anyway because of how it ended. I can't even rant about how upset I am by the ending because it's one big spoiler but trust me, the ending sucks (and for the record, I did understand it but it was too incomplete and unsatisfying). Okay, I think I confused those of you who don't know what I'm talking about enough.
I have to note Gong Yoo's great acting here. He was just a victim of a bad storyline but he did wonders acting like a 30 year old man in the beginning and then an 18 year old. He has improved loads since the last drama I've seen him in (which makes sense since Coffee Prince was 5 years ago). Bottomline is: the man knows how to act. Really well.
Alright, I'm ending this review because I can't really rant much since then we'd be getting into spoiler territory but I don't recommend watching this show. Edit: I'm not saying I didn't have fun at the beginning before every thing was ruined, and I'm not saying it wasn't ridiculously funny at times, but in the end, it was even more disappointing to watch because of that. So I don't recommend 'Big' because the disappointment you'll get is not worth spending 16 hours of your time on this drama.
If you want to watch a decent Hong Sisters drama, then watch 'My Girlfriend is a Gumiho' but otherwise, stay away from this one.
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M2F began with the right pitch; it was extremely funny yet preserved its characters' emotional depth. It wasn't empty comedy and handled serious issues like broken families, society's shallowness, and people's materialism.
I was excited for every new M2F episode more than I was for "Man of Honor", but in the end I was surprised that MBC decided not to do the last episode because MBC Broadcast Entertainers Awards was set at the same time the last episode was supposed to air. That's frickin' brutal.
Another thing which I didn't understand is why a lot of people made a big issue out of Yoon Si Yoon looking really boyish/young for his role and how Kim Jae Won would've been more convincing. OMG, are you sure we're watching the same show? I can't imagine anybody else but Si Yoon as Jae Hee. He didn't feel like an actor playing a character, he *was* the character. Love the guy.
The writer threw me off at the end though, why all the fantasy thrown in at the end when the drama was so realistic all along? That's another thing which made me feel it was because of the last episode being cancelled.
I'm really sad because this drama, as awesome as it is, could've been so much better.
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I won't reveal anything about the story because it's better to keep guessing but I absolutely loved the cast and how you could feel the actual bonds that exist between them. And I'm not just talking about the main leads, even the other pretty boys, swan lady, the teacher and the gym teacher were all an awesome combination.
What I loved about this drama is it kept the comedy flow steady even when it got a bit melodramatic at times (and they would break the tension with the most random of comments) because most romcom k-dramas tend to become depressing and serious somewhere in the middle.
If you're depressed and you feel like lightening up a little, this is the perfect way to do it.
P.S.: You will never look at crap and public bathrooms the same way again after this ! XD
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When I started watching the drama, I had a lot of expectations. My best friend is a baseball fanatic and it kind of rubbed into me; so I was pretty excited at the beginning solely because of the baseball factor. If you were hoping for some baseball action, then forget it.
You're in for a borderline ridiculous plot about revenge and the strong hold of the past on these characters' lives, really bad acting, non-existant chemistry between the two main leads, extremely evil and insane cut-board characters (stereotypical), and a great dosage of lameness in between. LAME. SILLY. This is what this drama is.
Don't watch it if you don't want to waste your time. I wish I could take all the time I spent on this back. >:O
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I'm 100% sure this is the best drama I've ever seen, it's my favorite. There's romance (not your standard Korean romance, too. At least not with the male lead choice), amazing acting and a wonderful cast, mystery, and emotional drama.
I recommend this drama. It will make you laugh like hell (I scared everyone around me), make you go "awww", and cry (I had to keep a box of tissues around in the last couple of episodes).
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