This review may contain spoilers
A Cliché bonanza, tropes-infested drama that needs not just suspension but shutdown of disbelief
This is a rather long review, parts of which I wrote midway through the watch (specifically after ep 12) and parts (between *) I wrote after finishing the drama.The beginning although feeling a bit rushed especially in igniting a flame between the main leads, and despite being greeted head-on with a bunch of well-worn tropes such as the chaebol-orchestrated poor girl makeover and the pretend relationship, it still was somewhat fun to watch and roll my eyes at the predictable cliched sequences.
This should have been a sign of what was to come, but positive-thinking me only thought it was just like many a K-drama as of late that choose to rush the story in the first couple of episodes to reach the somewhat climatic part or turning point from where the story progresses in order to suck the viewer in and keep them engaged. But unfortunately, it wasn’t just the first episodes, and when it comes to rushed and sudden emotional progress it didn’t just involve the main couple, but also the supporting characters’ romance felt sudden and lacked believability IMO. An art gallery director from a wealthy family falls head over heels at first sight with a divorced photographer with a kid, as a combination not rare, but it needs buildup to be endearing, but when they turn from attracted to madly in love in the flick of the finger it just feels contrived.
As for the main issue with which most viewers found trouble with; the FL’s choice to fake being married to land a job despite her poor qualifications. In order to sell us on this choice and convince the viewer that what she was committing was not downright fraud, they chose to orchestrate this sudden financial ruin of her family, leaving them in deep debt with foreclosure on their house looming, and her mom having to undergo heart surgery and long-term hospitalization. Even if I can somehow convince myself that she was cornered with not many other choices and needed to quickly find a full-time job to support her mom, the more she became involved with her colleagues and her boss/ML, it became annoying and infuriating to endure her lies and deception. And I know the technique of creating this lingering big misunderstanding or hidden secret is common in K-dramas, it aims at making the viewer watch with breaths held for the moment it gets revealed or resolved, but the wait here was filled with infuriation rather than anticipation.
On the other hand, one of the few plots that I liked was the concept of the ML’s tormenting guilt at being attracted to a married woman having been traumatized by his father’s affair and the psychological damage it caused his mother, and that might have been one of the rare moments were the drama presented something in a somewhat serious tone, even though the viewer knew his guilt was unfounded.
But more than anything, what dampened the watching experience for me was the sheer amount of k-romcom tropes that this drama was plagued with. I don’t mind me a little bit of cliched story plot or sequence of events here and there, but this one was just a string of clichés one after the other! It was like the writers opened the catalogue of K-Romcom drama tropes, and didn’t just pick a couple, the picked almost all the well-worn inside-the-box K-drama tropes fit for a fluffy romcom save just a few like cohabitation, amnesia, noble idiocy and last-minute separation, and the main leads having a hidden childhood connection. (At this point I would not be fazed if any of them are used)
* I started writing this review to vent my frustration with 2 episodes left, and I mentioned that save just a few cliches, this drama almost utilized all the k-romcom cliches in the book. The most astonishing part is that most of the tropes I mentioned eventually showed up and drove me to scream at my screen literally!! *
It almost felt as if the writers realized that they might be taking it too far so they just thought they might as well throw in more cliches just for fun, turning the whole thing into a Shojo manga.
I am not expecting major believability from a romcom trust me, but we are told to believe that after they were separated after their initial fleeting romance and despite the story taking place in this age and time, the two of them never exchanged contact. Let’s assume it happens, still it was even harder to swallow the ML’s idiotic attempts to find the FL purely depending on this one ambiguous landmark she mentioned was in her neighborhood, is that really the best that a head of a successful M&A firm can come up with? Has he never heard of the concept of PIs, I mean he knows her name, can guess her age, maybe go from there!
The more the story progressed the more it became harder to pretend to take anything seriously, like what took the cake for me in terms of lack of believability were scenes like the FL venturing into a raging fire, rescuing and carrying the macho ML all on her own, with both coming out without a single scratch or even some soot on their clothes! For crying out loud! You could still write a good turning point or moment of realization that pushes the leads closer or make them more forthcoming with their emotions, without having to resort to such over-the-top events. And don’t get me started about the amnesia!! They always get hit by a car, fall bleeding to the ground, wake up with no side effects except only losing the right chunk of memory that erases the romantic relationship with the FL.
* As I mentioned above that I started this review at the 12th episode, and I was ready to give the drama a maximum rating of 5, but after watching the last two episodes, I realized I would be generous if I gave it even a 3. The last 2 episodes were the result of a writer who had decided to break a world record with the amount of clichés he can manage to fit into one drama. Not to mention that everything became super easy to predict (examples: they advice her to keep recording her ideas > her phone will record something that helps bring down the villains, he’s crossing the road after crushing his envious enemy (who doesn’t mind starting an arson during an event packed with people just out of spite) and leaving him humiliated > the crazy dude will try to run him over).
I almost gave it a less score just cause of the ending sequence with all characters dancing which was stomach-turning level of tasteless. *
This drama had a mix of genres; romance, comedy, office, business & a dash of angst, but despite each having its funny moments, the drama as a whole was sub-par all thanks to the world-record-level cliché-ness the story suffered from. I would not recommend.
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nice fun to watch rom-com
a k-drama that listed all the major K-dramas tropes and tried to apply them all to a T, contract marriage;check, birth secrets;check, chaebol and commoner love; check, fake relationship and cohabitation shenanigans;check, OTP with constantly crossing paths;check, last minute needless separation; check. It practically covered all the main romcom and angst cards out there but it still somehow managed to do it in a very refreshing and fun and endearing way. maybe because this show boasts some of the most easy to cheer on strong gutsy characters, and maybe cause most characters were honest to each other and honest toward themselves when it came to how they felt. we don't get much frustration of an OTP both in denial or oblivious of their feelings, no much useless bickering and missed signals, instead we have a couple of adults that are mature and to the point when they express themselves. another thing I appreciate about Kdramas, is that they somehow sell you chemistry even in the most unexpected of couples, the main leads have quite an age gap, and initially I was worried that they didn't both exude much chemistry and that the romance might be forced, but thank God later the story progresses and the interactions, dialogues and romantic moments were so good they definitely pulled the trick. this drama could've gotten a better rating especially the story, but alas the finale pulled a card that I totally hate "noble idiocy seperation". last episode separations and reunifications are sometimes done well where the story calls for it, it happens because there was a necessity, but other times it is done in such a forced and out of the blue and it just doesn't serve any purpose other than creating a grand reunion scene etc, and it only dampens the story imo especially when in order to pull it off the writers have to abandon the character arc. in this drama the same thing happened but thank God it was kept brief so no much harm was done thank God.Was this review helpful to you?
Best Bromance trio in Kdrama land!!!
To sum this drama up, this is a quick enjoyable watch that will leave you moved and with a big smile on your face most of the time.With a solid story, strong cast, witty dialog, and awesome characters, what's not to enjoy.
The winning recipe is by far the bromance between the three male leads, it surpasses any I have seen in Kdramas (better than My Mister), it will leave you feeling moved, happy, warm, and strangely jealous at the same time. Who would say no to such a strong long lasting bond between three single middle aged men, friendship that is shown to have endured many lige events, up and downs, with each of them going through their highs and lows, and their two buddies always there to share the laughter and the tears giving the best support and shoulder to each other.
There were many silly and funny things that they pulled on each other (like crashing on their friend's first camping date) but many more moments that showed how they truly cared and genuinely worried about each other, like how whenever they felt even the slightest possibility that one of them was feeling under the weather they would fly to be by his side. It was heartwarming and moving beyond expressions. For me above anything else that part of the story made this drama all the more worth the watch.
I know I might be hated for this, but I lately realized that I am a sucker for dramas with a 12 episode format.
I honestly don't know if in this drama's case it had been by choice or if it was a result of some mid-production decision, and I don't care to know in all honesty, cause what I care about is that I much prefer it over the usual 16~24 episode format, and I am positive that it was the perfect format for this specific drama. Someone might clap back saying "if you realy enjoyed a drama, you would not say that, no, you would be appreciating every second of it and wishing for more", and I would reply to that with "what is your proof to that?! What proves that a favorite drama of mine would have been any less favorable if it had been shorter, also haven't you ever heard of sequels that destroy a series? Too much of a good thing is not always the right way to go about it".
Haven't you ever loved a drama to pieces, while still wishing a certain character or story arch had been cut even a little bit? I have.
There are drama who have a simple main premise, but choose to plant many side characters each with an intricate web of side plots, and while it sometimes turns out with a positive outcome with viewers sometimes even rooting for and more invested in one of the side plots, I find that in most cases the opposite happens with too much filler stories, where in the best case scenario if it doesn't completely put one off or ruin the whole experience, you're still left fast forwarding a lot of scenes on a second watch or even sometimes first watch.
In the case of Divorce Attorney Shin, everything was to the just the right amount, each character was carved in a way that made them interesting, and you sometimes find yourself intrigued by their background story, but you're just shown the perfect amount of back-story enough to flesh out the character and make it relatable without going into too much details that could jeopardize the flow of the main storh. Even for a plot that heavily relies on past events that took place before the story picks up, We don't get too much flashbacks played over character brooding into the distance or getting drunk in the current time. There are details and events that although highly relevant to the plot are only ever hinted upon which is kind of refreshing and something that I appreciate in the directing of a drama or the writing of works of fiction, where the writer leaves a space for the viewer/reader to imagine and build their own version of events based on their own personal interpretatio.
I also really liked how this drama didn't follow in the tracks of other rom-com dramas nowadays, where it almost feels like the writers had a prior wish to become matchmakers or something, with the drama ending with not even one single character not in a romantic relationship with another character, however much it may feel very forced.
For fans of romance dramas, this drama might sound lacking in this sense, but trust me, such slice of life type of dramas that depict everyday characters going about their everyday lives (check my other favorite kdramas like Misaeng or My Mister) can be in some cases even better that the usual romantic and melodramatic stories in making the viewer think and appreciate what it means to be blessed to be surrounded with people who care about you. This drama left me wishing I had such a strong and powerful bonds with my friends, that's how great the main trio's friendship was.
All in all, I highly recommend to all, especially to fellow fans of Cho Seung Woo he was very charismatic and endearing in this one.
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A fun enjoyable ride with a bunch of unique characters
I am always intrigued and delighted to watch media that represents minorities especially mentally or intelectually challenged individuals. It goes without saying that their representation has been for long on the rare side, and sometimes their depiction felt inaccurate (with excpetions of course), but lately the world and societal norms have shifted in a way that is opening more doors, breaking down more walls and becoming more and more accepting and open-minded to discussing such topics on a deeper level, addressing not only what it means to have mental or intellectual disabilities, but also showing how society can sometimes be ill-equipped to deal with such indiviuals in a way that ensures they are not left out or marginalized, but alas on the contrary in many cases breed inequality against them.Autism Spectrum in particular is one mental disorder that should definitely be receiving more coverage, and I find that sometimes lighter content media could be the key to spreading a quick and helpful awareness and understanding among the public, because not everyone is ready to read a book or watch a scientific documentary, but who doesn't like to learn about different people in a light and enjoyable story settin, whether it be fictional or inspired by true events.
Saying that Extraordinary Attorney Woo was a fun ride would be an understatement, I nearly binge watched the whole series in under 2 days which might have been a normal achievement for me a couple of years ago, but now as a mother of two it has become quite the impossible feat. The drama uses a one-case-per-episode format, and I loved how there was a wide and varying range of cases, each showing different characters, and at the same time discussing a different topic that concerns the Korean society in an interesting and thought-enducing way. I also appreciated how they accurately depicted what it means to be a lawyer, especially one who works under a big law firm, the agony of being torn between the interests of your client and your conscience, and also sometimes how one can sometimes win and other times lose, but also how sometimes you can win on paper but feel like you lost and vice versa.
As for the characters, the main female lead was simply put the cake, the icing and the cherry. The actress' performance was superb. I might have had some minor grievances with the writing of the character, in that she would at times be extra social awkward, unable to read between the lines, or interpret people's expressions or metaphors, but other instances she would be very normally intuitive and able to infer people's feelings just like a non-autistic person. I know that there is a wide range of autistim (a point that is thankfully discussed in the drama) and that people can grow and mature overtime and experience, but it felt here like she rhe degree of awkwardness was shiting up and down according to the needs of the situation.
The main male lead, I honestly find difficutly referring to him as that. Although he is a main character and the romantic interest of the FL, and I liked the actor a lot and found his performance was great, I thought that the writing was greatly unfair to him. Among all the other members of the Hanbada team that we became acquainted to, he was the one that really needed the most fleshing out, but despite that he somehow felt like a side character that just appeared every now and then to provide a romantic plot line, his character felt too much two-diemntional for a ML, in that we never know anything about HIM, im essence who he is, for me at least there were a lot of questions filling my head concerning him varying from the deep to the simple ( like how he came to share an appartment with att. Knon for instance), and I kept holding out for an episode that would venture into his character background story deeper, but it never came, and these feelings that I couldn't seem to shake off that his depiction was shallow, only made me question what made him develop romantic feelings towards our FL in the first place. I am not saying that there was no chemistry, on the contrary I find both actors delivered a performance that left butterflies in ones stomach, a smile or a tear sometimes, and I totally cared for them and cheered them on, but that was all thanks to the actors and the dialog, but the writing on the other hand focused more on the law aspect of the story with the romance plot sometimes falling to the curbside. Don't get me wrong, I loved the romance here, but I could have been more moved and it could have left a deeper impression on me if there had been more light shed on the male lead, and the couple's journey given more screen time overall.
I've discussed too much in the character and writing aspect, but I will just say that I really loved all the members of the Hanbada team, but above all I especially LOVED attorney Jung, whose presence in any scene simply lighted up my screen. He was the perfect mentor to our rookies, he was competent, honest, tolerant, kind, humble, but above all humanely flawed in such a way he was one of the most believable and endearing characters in the whole series.
The direction was overall great, with nice camera work, but I sometimes hated the transition between the scenes, especially shifting from a personal situation to a courtroom setting, sometimes it just felt too sudden and sharp to the point I was surprised and distracted. I am not here referring to the instances where attorney Woo's autistic tendencies drove her to take a sudden and extreme shift in her thoughts which happened constantly, that was believable and necessary for an accurate depiction of an autistic person, I am rather talking about scene editing, or maybe it is a problem with the screenplay i honestly dunno because I don't have enough knowledge about these things, but it just felt like I was reading a comic book with a character mid-sentence, only to turn the page and find the next frame showing a whole different situation.
The music, nothing major stuck to my head but overall it suited the feel of the story and the atmosphere of the drama.
Rewatch value, this one's high, maybe not immediately but I think that later on, there a lot of scenes and interactions that could be enjoyable to experience once more, and maybe rewatching such a drama might help one ponder and reflect more about certain topics.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this drama. It is hard to be confident about how accurate the depiction of a person with disability was achieved, especially when it comes to autism which is a whole wide spectrum, but I can say that I personally felt it was believable and overall accurate.
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A feel good sweet coming of age romcom
Thirty but seventeen has the perfect recipe, it balances family / slice of life / romcom and even melo very well. It has its fair share of feel good moments, strong uplifting messages, emotional plots, hilarious interactions, not to forget ""CUTENESS ALERT.""..almost all the characters are an extra extra dose of cute.The plot features a beautifuly balanced recipe of romance, comedy and melo all set to a background of a coming of age story, whether it be our heroine's belated awkward coming of age, our hero's emotional and psychological coming of age, or our sweet nephew-nim's literal coming of age.
The drama will bring you to tears constantly, both from crying and laughing.
I loved the relationship between the main characters and felt the way it developed and each respective character grew up in front of our eyes was very realistic and hearfelt.
I always appreciate a drama that makes me fall in love with its characters and wish they truely existed so I could make their acquaintance, and Thirty but Seventeen not only made me fall for its leads but nearly all the side characters. That was thanks to the fun and witty interactions, the heartfelt and sweet script, the strong on-screen chemistry, aided by a strong and believable performance from all, not just our main trio, but also their "kaseifu no mita"-esque housemaid Jennifer.
I appreciated that the romance here did not suffer from the common tropes of Kdramas, like love triangles (we only have hints nothing major with lingering repercussions like other dramas), or noble idiocy (there were certainly moments it nearly felt like we were heading that dark road only to be delighted by a sweet turn of events or a moment of truth). Above all, I loved how every one spoke their minds and didn't act like total idiots when it came to their feelings, even if that meant replying to "why do you look at me like that?" With "I don't know, me either". We watched our main leads achieve psychological growth and flourish emotionally through their relationships with each other and their "family". Any slight sense of slowness in the romance plot in the first half felt accounted for and explained, because we've come to understand the characters, and their mutual feelings of respect and consideration.
The acting was great by all the cast, it was my first drama for the male lead, and I hope it won't be my last. I totally loved him in this character.
The music was sweet, and the classical tracks were as expected played well and fitted the mood. I also liked the sound effects (like an air horn, a cicada etc), which were perfectly utilized to maximize the effect of certain moments especially comedic ones.
Rewatch value is high, I feel like I might be coming back for a dose of cuteness sometime in the future.
This was a fun and enjoyable ride which I couldn't pause once I started. I definitely recommend to all regardless of your favorite genre, because I for one have been watching too many dramas of dark-ish and heavy plots which are mostly my favorite genres, and was craving a feel good and fun watch, and this drama was certainly the perfect choice.
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First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest respect to the writer behind this show Song Jae Jung, the same mind behind creating other very famous and iconic fantasy/sci-fi genre dramas including Queen In-Hyun’s Man, Nine: Nine times time travel, and W Two worlds. And while these shows might not have necessarily been perfectly written from start to finish, but we have to admit that their plots were highly original and innovative, proving above anything the rich imagination skills of the mind behind creating them. So kudos to her, for surprising her viewers every time.
So focusing on Memories of Alhambra, what I liked and what I did not so much.
First the story:
As I mentioned earlier, the story in this one is one of great originality and creativity, an smartly written plot packed with fantasy, thriller, mystery, action and drama. It is a story that constantly keeps its viewer at the edge of their seats (where it particularly excelled), and resembles the writer’s previous fantasy works in that it compels the viewer to keep questioning and guessing and re-guessing the rules of the world created inside of it (where it might not have necessarily been up to par).
The plot revolves around an AR (Augmented Reality) Game, and the chaos and struggles that arise when the barrier between the game and reality start to crumble, and how the real lives of the players become detrimentally affected by the game, causing major casualties along the way.
First if you are to venture into this drama, you have to abandon your scientific reasoning, and do not expect realism. If you manage to go past the “HOW”s and such, you will find yourself in front of an entertaining ride, featuring beautiful cinematography, and high-end CGI.
Being a fantasy drama though unexpectedly requires stating rules. You might be creating an imaginary world that defies real world and common sense, but you still have to a certain extent assign rules guiding this imaginary realm, to explain why and how things happen the way they do.
At first, both the viewer and the main characters are struggling to grasp such rules, later on we start to guess and put theories, with the writing providing hints. The problem though is that this drama eventually did not manage to create a neat and consistent reasoning all the way through, instead the viewer will find himself at a certain point compelled to abandon his struggles to understand why things happen and more importantly why they only happen at certain instances but other times fail to, and instead settle on just enjoying the exquisite scenery, high-end CGI and kick-ass action.
The only part of the story that I found lacking even more than such plot-holes or inconsistencies, was unfortunately none other than the romance. I am a fan of romantic genre, and easily swoon, get butterflies and find chemistry between many an OTP, so when I watch a drama and find myself near the end wondering why these two fell in love in the first place, that’s when I know that the romance somehow lost me. That was the case here, not on both sides of the equation though, because while the pace of development of HIS feelings towards her were very believable and natural of a man of his past and position, HER feelings always felt kind of rushed and too sudden. I do not mind love at first sight scenarios, or being attracted visually to someone, but that somehow did not feel like it was the case here either.
All in all, the romance for me felt a bit lacking on a relatability-wise, but I noticed that other people enjoyed it just fine. So it might be tastes and nothing more.
Acting:
Solid performances from everyone, especially Hyun Bin, who you can say was the sole star of this show. It is after all, his story proved by his narration.
As for Park Shin Hye, .I am not a fan of her to be honest, so at the beginning not enjoying her character I thought was because of that. But the more the story progressed and the more her character’s involvement in the story increased (though never amounting to much significance) the more I realized, that it was not the actress’ problem, but rather the writing of the character itself. She is supposed to be a very hand-working, independent and multi-talented lady, and I appreciated how they shed light on her upbringing and past via a neat flashback sequence, but somehow she never felt truly human, but rather a shallow human being with no life of her own. The show certainly succeeded in showing how she was devoting herself wholeheartedly to the well-being of her family, sometimes sacrificing her own ambitions and dreams in return, but somehow it still failed to nail to draw out who she is as a person. Maybe also my feelings towards the romance in this drama in general might have helped to make me feel more detached from the female lead, maybe just that I didn’t fancy Park Shin Hye’s mouth-slightly-opened emotional portrayal, dunno. (I apologize to any PSH fans out there :D)
All in all, this was definitely an enjoyable drama, with a smart and original plot, great cinematography, solid performance, and nicely paced. And like all this writer’s other dramas, while having its issues, it is by all means a drama worth watching, pondering, and enjoying. I would particularly recommend it to fantasy genre fans, game fans and of course Hyun Bin fans because he definitely excelled here.
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Such were the thoughts I had while I was still not even finished with Signal.
I consider myself lucky to have come to read numerous good reviews of Signal (especially on Drama Beans), because otherwise I might have skipped one of my all time favorites as of now.
Even more glad that it was Signal that I decided to watch after being away from drama watching for a little while and only recently coming back.
Signal is simply everything it promises to be, and it is almost everything any fantasy-thriller drama should be.
Perfect casting! Literally ALL the cast was more than spectacular. Very strong and solid performances by the main trio, especially Jo Jin Woong who more than just charismatic, he was magical! You cannot help falling in love with Lee Jea Han, with all his righteousness, devotedness, and also sometimes his awkwardness and goofiness. Kim Hye Soo was magnificent as Detective Cha Soo Hyun, whether as the naive rookie cop or as the bad-ass and tough Team leader. It was my first time ever watching something for Lee Jea Hoon, but boy was I impressed! He can be overly dramatic at times with his facial expressions, but it all served in shaping the emotional and a bit impulsive character that is Park Hae Young.
Effortlessly flawless writing & Directing!
What else would you expect from this duo! With such a tricky premise that is time-bending, the writing can easily fall prey to plot holes and inconsistencies, but in Signal's case there were simply NONE. the more one watches, the more you rest assured that you are in safe hands, and that any question or slightly unclear point you may come upon, you are sure will be properly answered in due time.
The story was sure a unique and complicated, what with two different timelines simultaneously progressing on screen (constant swapping from past to present) to the idea behind time-warp; were one action brings on a string of consequences that reverberate to affect not just the people directly involved but also other innocent people’s lives on a larger scale. But as much as the premise was difficult and complicated, as much as I never felt confused or had to pause and speculate, that was not just thanks to the genius writer-nim that is Kim Eun Hee, but also the direction played an important role, with the effortless manner he utilized to help differentiate between different timelines (changing the aspect ratio) to showing the right flashbacks at exactly the right moment. Sometimes I felt like I would have appreciated a date and time to show on the scene, only to find the time eventually revealed in a realistic and effortless manner.
This drama opened my eyes more and more to the power that lies in directing. It was the astonishing direction that aided such a marvelous and unique story to properly come to live. From the camera angles, lighting, down to paying the utmost care to details in order to distinguish the past scenes; everything from clothing, accessories, gadgets, cars, down to paper ads in the background. Kudos to PD Kim Won Suk (I doubt it is a coincidence that now two of my most favorite KDramas are his)
Marvelous characterization
Each character was distinctly unique yet all shared the same righteousness and sincerity. I especially loved the transition of maturing as a cop that Cha Soo Hyun showed, both on an emotional level and a professional level, but still harboring the same earnest and deep feelings of love to Det. Lee Jae Han. How everybody bonded on the cold case team, while sometimes harboring mixed feelings of suspicion and doubt (mostly towards Park Hae Young) they all trusted and respected each other.
I could relate to and empathize with nearly all the characters maybe not so much the villains but not all dramas succeed in making its viewers invested in the life and cause of a villain, right?
The music
Mostly background instrumental tracks, with just a few vocals, but the opening and closing theme songs sure leave a strong impression.
I read there were rumors there are plan for a sequel, but as much as I loved this drama to pieces, and as much as I had wished for more in the end, I really hope they don’t come around to producing a sequel even featuring the same cast. This was a masterpiece that I doubt any sequel can keep to its par, worse, might even do it damage.
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This review may contain spoilers
A perfect Romantic coming of age story
Let me just start by saying that what pushed me to write a review is the fact that I found a couple of reviews here who stated some very strange and unbelievable nonsense regarding the concept behind the story here as being a mystery of who will become the father!!!!! What?! I will not say haven't you been paying attention through out the show for hints or whatever, rather Haven't you watched the first episode for heaven's sake? Very early on the viewer is outright shown that the outcome of the romance that is about to unfold is unfortunately doomed, that the grown up FL's daughter's father is someone else other than the ML.The fact that some people failed to grasp that, most propably I would guess out of sheer unwillingness to accept the fact that a KDrama can willingly choose to do that, and they kept watching with the hope that a twist will come along that will explain how the ML for some freak reason changed his name and had plastic surgery making him unrecognizable both in physical appearnce and identity to his own 14 year old daughter. Come on guys!!! If the girl was mearly reading written diaries written in codes, I would understand the mix up, but she was shown albums of old pictures by her grand-ma and she was inquiring who was the ML in the pics?! Her mom was mentioning her dad as being very much alive and working overseas! HELLO!!!!
now that I have vented out my anger at those delusional viewers who unfortunately end up giving lower ratings to the show because of their unfounded disappointment at the ending, let me very briefly state my humble review of this show.
I need not say just how much I enjoyed it, since my above rates just show, but let me state that I totally LOVED the idea of a show about falling in love AND breaking up, and not in the common fashion of heartbreak and angst, but rather the characters and their lives progressing in a way that shows them maturing by the passing of time and accumulation of experiences, and how their budding romance was a very important part of this process, how they both paved their own paths to a successful future with support from the other, and how those paths started to deviate from the other naturally. Because honestly, to me this rings more truth more than all the happily-ever-afters that we constantly get shown on TV and in movies.
Also,, let me put it out there, I would understand if people are disappointed with La la land for example, but this one is just totally different in that we knew the fact beforehand....way before the actual ending, actually I was thinking to myself while watching how I appreciated how the writers didn't play the boring game of "who's the father" that the reply series is famous for. As a viewer I find this to not be my cup of tea.
The only things I would have preferred had been done different in this show regarding writing, is how starting a certain point in the drama the ML's intial drive force to work hard ie his family got entirely pushed out of the picture, to the point than when they suddenly reappeared in the final episode, I was like yeah right....his family I totally forgot about. I would have appreciated if they were depicted just a wee little bit more in between especially when he was making life changing choices in his profession.
As for changes to the production, what was the need for a different actress to portray Na Hee Do as a grown up. Kim Tae Ri could have totally pulled of a 40-something mom thank you very much. I have nothing against the actress that played her (though tbh I was always annoyed by her voice) but what was the need to use a different actress for this character and this character only (other than the ML's younger brother which would totally wouldn't have worked with the same actor and appeared for a couple of seconds as a grown up). If Kim Tae Ri had played the older version as well, we viewers would certainly have felt more connection to the character, and the final scenes would have felt more seamless. Also, i honestly think that if KTR played both young and older versions, people would not have had such empty hopes that the ML was the father whol will show up eventually played by a different actor or something. Just guessing, cause I honestly can'twrap my head around viewers who were watching with hope of happily ever after. But still all those minor grievances did not really alter my opinion of the show as a whole.
If by some miracle, someone who hasn't yet watched the show and is checking out reviews to decide, is still reading this let me put it this way .....The story here is no mind boggling mystery with a title that is the only hint given (duh)...it just isn't! Rather, what this show is, is a coming of age story with a truely beatiful cute romance that will constantly make you swoon and blush and wish to fall in love the way they did, there is no love at first sight, no stupid initial denials, no love triangles, no needless push and pull, no acts of noble idiocy, none of these so well trodden tropes here, rather what you get are a bunch of strong and motivated characters with unique backgrounds and different upbringing settings, that bond during a critical part of their lives, whose existence in each others' lives was a driving force to push forward, grow up, persevere, excel, and become successful each in his own path. Their emotional connections transcends time and distance and even with no direct communications.
The pacing was great never felt any lags or rushed parts, and although the more we drew nearer to the final episode I was worried the last couple of episodes would not be able to wrap everything up and satisfy us as to what lead up to the current day time, I genuinely enjoyed the last episodes more than anything and thought they were the perfect closure to a perfect relationship, down to the last scene after the finale's credits. I just love how such simple scenes can speak loads and loads about people, their history. Just perfect writing period.
The acting was beyond amazing. I am growing more and more a fan of Nam Joo Hyuk, his acting here was simply put just perfect. Kim Tae Ri is also such a great actress and although I intially worried she would not be believable as a high school student younger than the ML, she proved me wrong. They were both able to portray great emotional chemistry. All the side characters were given enough balance of story development and screen time in a way that gave each of them a space to shine. The directing was wonderful, my only gripe would be how I sometimes felt the camera made people look like they had bloodshot eyes and extra red palms LOL
All in all, this was a great show, great writing with a good story pacing, awesome characters and magnificent performance, good direction and cinematography. Do not pay attention to the odd reviews here who say they were disappointed by the ending, it's a great show and with a fitting believable heartfelt ending. You will certainly enjoy each momente of this ride.
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Watching NigeHaji to me was the reminder why I just LOVE a good Japanese Slice-of-life drama.
Based on a Shojo manga, a very original idea is introduced with a perfectly hilarious and witty execution. It has laughing out loud humor, it has weeping drama, it has heartwarming moments, and much much more, all in great balance.
The idea behind the contract marriage might seem a bit far fetched or overly dramatic to some, but at a closer look, you notice that the means of expressing the message behind the story might have its share of fantasy, but the message itself is deeply realistic. And to those who have enough knowledge of the current Japanese teens lifestyle and interests (or disinterests ?) this drama will be all the more relatable.
I especially loved the script a lot, always witty but at the same time always realistic. I really enjoyed Mikuri's "day-dreaming mode" scenes a lot, even if some of the shows did not ring a bell, it always made me LOL.
All the characters especially the OTP were very relatable, and the cast did a marvelous job bringing them to life so lovable and cute.
As a married person, this drama gave me a very enlightening and refreshing take on the meaning of marriage, after watching NigeHaji and pondering a lot about many of the troubles the couple in the drama faced, I started to feel like sometimes the usual style of marriage, can cause the coupe to take somethings for granted, and that it's sometimes needed to pause, discuss and open up to each other about many things, things that bother each, things that need improvement, sometimes thinking of ways to ensure mutual love and respect doesn't fade away with the passing of days.
Hiramasa X MIkuri couple mystically embody married couples relationship goals.
I highly recommend this drama!! it is a must watch
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another master piece from the genius that is Park Hae Young
I am genuinely glad I didn't skip on this one, and glad I know who Park Hae young and chose to watch this one specifically because of her.she is a masterclass in and of herself in slice of life dramas.
she manages to create a world of everyday normal characters that you can encounter anywhere, and still manages to make every moment count. she draws these moments and writes these lines, that turn the most mundane of everyday moments in a heart-felt and profound scene. her dramas and this one is no exception will manage to bring a smile, a laugh, a tear to you constantly and sometimes all at once. her multi-layered deeply flawed characters are not just written with care and dedication that they feel relatable and believable, they actually breathe and live through her script. you will find yourself loving and hating a character at the same time, wanting to go through the screen and hug or slap a character at the same time, you will watch two chracters clash on screen and feel like you relate with both and understand where each is coming from. she is a masterclass in conveying emotion through her script, and this drama specifically helped this part, because the deeply emotional and intelectually profound lines felt all the more believable coming out of film production staff such as: writers, producers, poets, actors and directors; which makes up almost all of the characters.
the story is written in a way that allows one to take a peak into the life of characters that are struggling with feelings of depression and questionign their purpose and self-worh. You will be amazed at how you will start almost hating the main ML's character (I personally reached a point where I also thinking to myself how am I going to watch this obnoxious protagonist till the end) but just hold on, cause she will make you not just sympathize and feel for him, but above all relate and cheer for him the more the story progresses. hwang dong-man was a magnificent protagonist and Koo Kyo Hwan was the perfect actor to play the role (it was my first time watching him, visually he stands out in many ways but his charisma and perfect acting will drag you in and leave you attracted to the crazy eccentric genius aura that he exudes) Go Young Jun did a marvelous job here as well and I commend her performance. all the other main and supporting actors delivered a superb performance that's why acting takes a perfect score from me.
the pacing of the story was perfectly balanced IMHO, and the drama never felt draggy. some scenes might feel unnecessarily long but then you will find that it served a purpose (like watching a bunch of drunk individuals dancing and goofing at the beach at night, only to cut to the short and sarcastic line that the only sober individual looking at them from afar says, and then cut to their melancholic ride back in the car, where some are deep in sleep other deep in thought). each and every character and its story arc served a purpose in the grand scheme of things, it gave meaning or taught a lesson to another character, it helped with the growth and the journey of other characters.
All In all, even if it will be the first time for you to try a drama by this screenwriter, and you are not attracted to the premise written here or offput by the low ratings, I would like to tell you to forget all of that and give it a try, and keep watching because it only gets better the more it progresses.
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