EllisDream

I just finished rewatching this show and this is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. I found it so enjoyable I can't really rate it objectively.

The acting was over the top that it's sometimes cringy, yet I loved it!
Overall, it's a drama on the corny side, with some good emotional messages but obviously very unrealistic premises. I loved it anyway and my opinion didn't change during the rewatch, but it's a show I'd be a bit hesitant to recommend to most viewers.
If you like Yoon Shi Yoon, though, I think it's definitely a must watch!

I had loved the OST during the first watch as well, but I appreciated it even more the second time around. The instrumental music was beautiful and I think it was used quite well to give dramatic gravitas.

I personally was happy with the ending. It's true that it's not 100% satisfying and some plot points get 'softer' conclusion, but it doesn't feel incomplete.

No need to apologize :3
Yes, indeed, the plot does seem quite different which is why I'm considering it even if the setting isn't of my liking. It's just not in my top priority PTW list at the moment. You definitely made me a little bit more curious, though. Thanks ;)

Haven't watched Defendant yet; it's definitely one drama I'll have to check out!
I personally quite like Hwang Jung Eum, but her screaming voice definitely is an 'acquired taste'. It always puts me off her characters for a couple episodes even if I usually always warm up to them afterwards. In this drama it's a bit worse than usual, but I think this is a characteristic of her performance in general.

I was curious and I do not exclude I might someday watch it, but I generally avoid all dramas with a highschool setting. They are just not my thing.

Glad for the MDL article otherwise I might have missed this, and it would have been a pity because it does look quite cute!
I really like the 3 older leads. I haven't watched anything with Jung Gun Joo yet, but this drama might be a good chance to check him out :)

Just rewatched the show a second time and I'm still quite impressed by it.
I do find the representation of mental illness and psychiatric help quite unrealistic (and possibly problematic), but the show does have a paranormal sort of vibe that didn't make me take this side of the story too seriously, so I wasn't bothered by any innacuracy.

The plot has overall a very good pacing and explores the theme of identity in an interesting and compelling way. The puzzle of story is built piece by piece and the writer used the unreliable narrator trope quite well. It's not perfect, but it was enjoyable and never felt flat.

Ji Sung excelled in this role and is the star of the drama, but the acting in general is quite good all around. The FL does screech quite a bit, but this is something I'm used to with Hwang Jung Eum's performances and here she really grew on me after a couple episodes.

Thank you for the info! :)
I'm not in the US, but I'll check if I can indeed work around that with VPN.

Cute comedy drama!

I don't think I had seen this premise before in an Asian drama and I really had fun watching this show.
The episodic nature of the show with the overarching background plot, made this a pleasant and entertaining watch. The investigation part isn't exactly amazing (and definitely not realistically in the slightest...it's a comedy after all), but it still held my interest.
Honestly, I could have done without the romance part of the story, but at least the resolution was different than usual.
I'm not giving it an high rating though because I think that it could have been done better. There was potential for more depth, but the show never commits to it.

I couldn't find the drama on any streaming service but sdutta had provided a link to a download site.
She wrote it in the spoiler reply to her own comment just below mine.

The linked download page actually has the poster and synopsis of another show with the same name, but the episodes are correct.

Some complained about having SLS, but personally I didn't feel it. I felt it was plain to see that Jin Joo and Ban Do never really stopped loving each other; their love was lost behind misunderstanding and misplaced resentment, but not gone. Also, both Seo Young and (especially) Nam Gil were enamoured with the older version of the two main leads; I don't think they would have gotten along with the real 20-year-old Ban Doo and Jin Joo.

This is currently the only romance drama which I'm keeping rated 10/10.
While I can't confidently say it's objectively perfect, to me it still was a perfect combination of melodrama, comedy and romance, with just a touch of fantasy that was only there to give a reason for kick-starting the whole time-traveling premise.
It made me laugh, tear up, giggle and even full-on cry. It was an emotional journey even during my second watching.

The casting choices were great. The two leads were very endearing and pulled off being a married couple really well in my opinion. Their two 'young' love interests, were also well portrayed. Their characters weren't explored that deeply, but they were still full and likeable characters in their own right.
The whole supporting cast was great and I couldn't find any weak link. The performance by Kim Mi Kyung as Jin Joo's mother, as also highlighted by most other watchers, was particularly noteworthy and the scenes between Jin Joo and her mother were one of the best aspects of the drama.

Now for my pet peeves (from most to least annoying):

- The drama could have cut by 4 (or 5) episodes easily and be better for it. I initially really liked the main couple, but I got so tired of them not deciding to be together in any consistent manner that, by the time they did and the plot finally picks up with different conflicts, I was a bit disamoured with them. It could have been an easy 9 if I only they didn't wait till episode 16/17 to be together.

- Having Kang Jae be a former car racer felt forced, fake and totally pointless. This plot point was there for a single episode (as if they had a chance to shoot during a car race and took it up on the spot) and didn't add anything that any other more normal (and less likely to disrup my suspension of disbelief) hobby or sport might have done. If they just wanted to give Kang Jae a dream that he had to give up due to his life as a gangster they could have done it x1000 times better and more naturally.

- I generally never like the shaky camera tecnique because it makes me feel dizzy, but I also think that here it was overused during the fight scenes, since it was there in every single shot and not just sometimes to give the sense of movement/caos. It ruined these scenes for me which is a pity since the choreographies looked pretty good.

- While the OST is good, I found their use a bit jarring in certain scenes. Sometimes they are cut in a weird, unnatural manner and there are instances when in less than a few seconds we have 3 different ones in quick succession.

- I never understood the reason why Chairman Kang didn't simply adopt Kang Jae and made him go back to school as soon as he found him when he was 17 and brought him home. It's not like his wife could have done something against that and he already knew Sae Yeon wasn't his own son, so why did he choose to keep Kang Jae's birth a secret and let him be embroiled in the gangster world?

- Either I missed something, or the reason why Mi Joo was traumatized by blood donations and the responsibility of saving a life was never fully explained. This is minor, because I can pretty much fill in the holes myself, but I still find it quite weird.

It's an adult romance melodrama with a crime background with an interesting premise and characterizations. The angst and turmoil was very well portrayed, even if all the staring-with-teary-eyes was a tad bit overdone.
The writing in my opinion could have been better, but it mostly works even if with some contrivancies.

Acting is pretty good across the whole cast. The two leads do have very excellent chemistry.
While I found Kang Jae to be frustrating and Mi Joo too prone to crying, I instinctively liked both of them. Still, I didn't respect most of their decisions. Love does sometimes hit two people without notice, but to me it wasn't like this in this drama. There was attraction on both sides from early on, true, but they never actively did much to stave it off and simply do not create situations that could provoke their feelings to grow. Yet, they didn't even take it to the other extreme and fight for their love no matter how bad that would make them look. Instead, they decided to make themselves and everyone around them miserable by staying right in the middle for most of the drama and making some seriously bad decisions. Is it realistic? Yes, I think it is, since feelings aren't always straightforward. Did I respect that? Nope.
On the other hand, while I didn't like Sae Yeon and Yu Jin much, I respected and sympathized with them a lot. They were (mostly) honest with their feelings and what they wanted to achieve. They tried to hold onto the people they loved, but they also left space for them to go away if they only chose to do it in a straighforward manner. There was some consistency in how they acted even if theis decisions weren't exactly always good.
Especially for the Sae Yeon, I felt that his worst moments in the love triangle were fueled by anger at how the two leads couldn't simply make a decision and stick with it all the way, more than by any particular maliciousness on his side. Yu Jin was a little more clingy, but it was completely understandable in context and I think it would have been less painful for her if the ML would have just left her right away instead of insisting to do the 'right thing' but without actually putting any commitment into it at all.
This is the first drama in which I have such ambivalent feelings for all 4 main leads and I consider that by itself to be a good thing, especially because, while I couldn't both like and respect any out of the 4 of them, I also didn't find anyone to be annoying, dislikeable or useless. This, in my opinion, is definitely a strong point of this drama.

Music was very good. I the OST was particularly suited to the drama and I especially loved the instrumental pieces.

Overall it was a good watch, but I do have quite a few complaints that I'm putting under spoiler below.

If I have to mention one particular thing that this drama does well and that surprised me even during the rewatch is the fact that it provides serious stakes.
Not everything goes well for our protagonists. They can't save everyone. And seeing them fail and grow through their failures makes the victories feel so much more impactful.

The show proved itself to be quite deserving of the 9/10 score I had originally given, even upon a second rewatch.
The acting is very good. The writing is solid. The characters are interesting. The directing and editing are well done. The music is engaging. The premise, while not new, is executed with heart.

I'm without doubt more of a drama than a movie watcher, so I've only heard about a couple of these movies and watched none of them yet. Nonetheless I had fun reading this article and I found it quite interesting. Thanks :)

I found the ML unlikeable for the first 5 episodes or so, but as real feelings begin to develop he does improve his attitude and the FL is less prone to let him get away with being too controlling of her. He's not my kind of ML, but he had his good moments.
Episodes 6 to 12 were quite enjoyable, but the rest I found a bit boring.

The appeal of the whole drama is the main couple. They're cute, had good chemistry and felt strong together in the way they dealt with adversities, but sadly there was little else to be entertained by. It could have been refreshingly simple, but it's just way too simple for my taste.
The secondary characters were flat as cardboard. There were a couple of interesting takes on usual stereotypes, but they were never more than blandly explored. They felt inserted in the plot just as pure filler.

Overall though it was an enjoyable drama. It's not one I'll probably ever find myself want to rewatch, but it's one I was happy to have completed nonetheless.

I need to buy more precarious high heels to increase my chance of falling down in public places, then!
I would even be quite easy to satisfy. If he does have sexy lips, biceps AND abs, I could definitely be gracious enough to forgive him for not being rich.

This finally explains why no rich, handsome guy has ever approached me: the most I can do in the nursing department is putting a band-aid on a papercut.

My not minding lack of chemistry/intimacy could definitely be due to the fact that I've started watching drama less than 2 years ago. I watched a lot of them in this amount of time, but I guess that everything is still somewhat new to me. I am definitely less forgiving now than a year ago (or even just a few months back) and I can see myself growing tired of this lack of realistic intimacy portrayal just as you are.

It's Okay, That Love...now that's a drama that I want to watch and like because it totally sounds like my thing. But I tried to watch it twice and both times I put it On Hold at episode 5 since honestly can't yet feel myself rooting for the characters. I don't know if it's because it wasn't the right moment to watch it, or if it's because I can't figure out how to feel about the leads just yet. I know I should give the show at least other 3 episodes, but I keep postponing it.

I noticed you watched quite a lot of movies. I'm more of a drama watcher currently because beside liking longer stories, I also have the time to spare. Pandemic issues aside, I have been working from home in the last year so I have quite a bit of extra free time.
It's true though that movies are less prone to be censored and therefore provide actors with more faceted and unconventional characters.
I agree with you on Lee Min Ho being overrated, though I generally like him (or at worst find him indifferent) even when he portrays his usual character type in dramas.

Now that I think about it I actually watched a movie a couple months back (Finding Mr. Destiny) with Gong Yoo in which I actually really liked his character. It was different compared to the ones I have previously seen from him, and he was indeed charming.
Both A Man and A Woman and Train to Busan were on my radar. I doubt I'll watch them anytime soon, because I'm not currently in the crying/bittersweet mood, but I'll definitely check them out someday.
Btw...I'm the type of viewer that often looks for spoilers especially (but not only) if I get hints that the plot might be sad/melancholic. It's part of the reason why I almost exclusively watch complete dramas. I want to know where it is going. It doesn't happen too often, but in certain circumstance I am able to get quite heavily emotional and I don't like feeling that way, so I need to be prepared and in the right state of mind. I used to be the same even with novels...I read the last couple of pages before buying one :P
Let's say that, no matter how much Greeks believed tragedies to be cathartic or how much a movie/drama/book is a masterpiece...crying my eyes out usually just makes me feel bad. Sometimes it is indeed so good that I do not regret it, but more often than not I just prefer to avoid the experience unless I really feel I am able not crumble into a crying mess.

I went to look to my opinion of Because This Is My First Life and I was surprised to have it actually rated at a 8/10. I barely remember the drama at all...I do remember the FL being whiny but while I definitely didn't think of her as a strong FL (and I'm surprised to see from your comment that that's the agreed opinion) I didn't find her too annoying. I could simply consider her a weaker type of protagonist and accept that.
I think this may be one of those shows I rated higher than what I would have if I took into consideration only my enjoyment. 8/10 might be my most common score and it's also the one I often give either to those dramas I didn't love, but I found their production/acting to be quite good and I was mostly able to complete them with moderate enjoyment (Goblin, The Master's Sun) or those shows that are objectively not quality, but I had fun watching anyway (Nice Witch, Lovely Horribly, First Love Again). Considering I don't even remember what impressed me about BTIMFL, I guess I should just lower the score to 7. If a show is so forgettable it shouldn't deserve higher than that.
I actually revisit my ratings often and usually lower them. I tend to be more generous to shows right after completion and more objective after some time passes. I have reviewed all my ratings more than once since I started keeping track of them on MDL.

I went into Search: WWW for the noona romances...I was so disappointed. The first ML is basically a reash of Park Bo Gum's character in Encounter...way too picture-perfect and in addition his acting was really flat. I had at least found Park Bo Gum to be youthfully charming. Jang Ki Yong failed to do even that. I didn't even get to see hints of the second noona romance, because it hadn't started by the time I decided dropping it.
I don't have any particular issues with the actresses. I don't even think I've ever watched anything from some of them. The first FL was actually decent. I didn't particularly like her, but she was interesting. The second FL though was deeply unlikeable and she's the one hailed as the badass strong woman by pretty much everyone. I didn't develop any particular opinion about the third FL. I could see some promise for interesting conflicts there, but she definitely wasn't a likeable character either.
This drama though felt like propaganda. I'm all for equal rights for everyone (class, gender, race, sexual orientation, whatever), but I don't like being preached at by something I watch for entertainment and this is how the drama made me feel. "Like me or you're a horrible misogynistic woman".
I kept this show On Hold for a couple months, but honestly shouldn't have because I knew I was going to drop it. I still won't be posting a comment on the drama's page as I often do, because I'm honestly a bit scared of the reactions I might get...
If I had to watch a female centered drama, I'd definitely give another chance to Be Melodramatic. It was a bit TOO quirky, but I could see some charm and I didn't feel preached by it at least.

Plastic surgeries don't bother me too much. Sometimes I honestly don't even notice them and if I do, I get used to it pretty quickly. I'm generally crap with faces and I fail at recognizing familiar people even in real life, so maybe that helps...
Choi Ji Woo isn't my favourite actress either, but I mostly liked her in Twenty Again.
I really liked Lee Jong Suk in I Hear Your Voice where he completely sold his character to me. That drama is currently one of the three 10/10 I have, but I think it's because this was one of the very first few dramas I watched and even during rewatch it still managed to capture my interest and make relive the feeling I had the first time around. I probably would have given it a lower score if I had watched it first later on in my K-drama journey. But for now it's one of my bias and I honestly wouldn't give less than 9 even recognizing some of its faults.
That being said, I haven't liked Lee Jong Suk in any other of his main roles. I found his acting everywhere else too similar to what I had already seen and so it didn't feel like a different character. I'll probably give him another chance someday, but I'm not holding my breath.
Since I mentioned him previously, Park Bo Gum is another actor which I've yet to decide wheter I like or not... I found his performance compelling in Hello Monster, but was also incredibly disappointed in his character both in Encounter and Love in the Moonlight (which now that I checked I haven't even marked as dropped, but directly as 'non interested' even if I had watched a few episodes).
I think in his case is definitely more about the writing of his characters and the fact that he gets type casted than his capability as an actor. I have some hope for him in Reply 1988, but that drama is too slow and long for me to currently enjoy.

And here I was hoping ages wouldn't be pointed out... :P
I'm so glad English doesn't have formal speech...I already fail quite badly at consistently addressing people formally in Italian and that's my native language.
Chal jayo, unnie~