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No Gain, No Love korean drama review
Completed
No Gain, No Love
32 people found this review helpful
by Moses ck
13 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 17
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

An Extremely Fun Ride.

NOTICE; My review is a bit long, bear with me. What's written below are my thoughts and opinions.

To be honest, I only added "No Gain, No Love" to my watchlist because of the FL "Shin Min Ah". I've watched many of her dramas, and each time I do, she always impressed me. Hence, I decided to give this one a try, which I'm glad I did. For a drama I didn't have high expectations for, the premise was really great.

Synopsis;
"No Gain, No Love" tells the story of Son Hae Young, someone who hates loosing money. In other words, she doesn't like what she can't gain from. As a child, she had to share her mother's love with countless kids, which she didn't like. She felt her mother prioritized other people more than she cared about her. Now, Hae Young is an adult who works at a company. She wants to get a promotion and also get back the money she donated at her ex's marriage. But all this comes down to one answer, "Marriage." One of the requirements for her to get a promotion at work is marriage, the former is also marriage. And thus, that's where Kim Ji Uk who works as a cashier at a convenience store comes in. To many Kim Ji Uk is known by two names, "an Angel and Living Buddha". He was given that name because he helps almost everyone. But the only one he didn't quite get along with is Son Hae Young.

Thoughts.
The drama kicked off very nicely. I laughed upon watching the first episode. When Son Hae Young was at a wedding ceremony of one of her colleagues, the way she's thinking of the amount to donate, that scene was so damn funny. Another one is when she said this to Kim Ji Uk, "what about our baby?" I laughed so hard. I almost choked on my food. That said, I've got to say this before I continue this review; Don't eat anything when you're watching this, you might choke on your food.

I loved so many scenes that I can't even begin to describe. There's this scene of Bok Gyu Hyun when he wanted to carry Nam Ja Yeon to the hospital, that scene was damn funny. How can a drama be this good? Another one is when Son Hae Young married Kim Ji Uk, and they had to attend a dinner, Kim Ji Uk drank a bit of alcohol, he's tipsy because of that. Son Hae Young also was drunk, the same goes for Ahn Woo Jae. Strangely, the next day, they met themselves on the same bed, that scene was hilarious. To be honest, I spit my drink on my laptopupon watching that scene. Don't get me wrong, nothing happened between those three, they only slept, but the awkwardness, I just can't seem to forget the way I laughed my heart out upon watching that scene.

There's this scene, I think it happened when I watching Episode 11. Yeah it's that episode. Nam Ja Yeon crazy father broke into the house, and almost killed her, just as he was abusing her, Bok Gyu Hyun arrived. The way he's attacking him with those things (sex toys), those moves, those lights, I laughed, laughed, and laughed again. I was only able to stop laughing when I noticed that my heart was hurting a little. There are emotional moments, but the funny moments outweigh the emotional ones greatly. I love this drama. I'll stop at those funny scenes and leave you to find out the rest when you watch this. Also I've got to add the chemistry Kim Young Dae had with his dad's secretary. I don't know what to say. Their interaction were just so funny. Loved this drama!

I've got to comment on the acting. The acting was superb, phenomenal, excellent, and iconic.
Shin Min Ah portrayal as Son Hae Young was beautiful. Actually, I tunned in mainly for her cause I love most of her works. She always delivers in whatever roles she plays. Whether it's comedy, or not, as long as you see Shin Min Ah as the FL, you shouldn't doubt it. Peradventure, even if the drama turns out to be a disappointment, it's because of the bad script. Her role as Son Hae Young made me love her a whole lot more. Now I can say this, Shin Min Ah is born to act Rom-Coms, she's a natural, a great actress.

Kim Young Dae portrayal as Kim Ji Uk. Honestly, I didn't know I could love his role so. I've watched quite a number of his dramas, dramas like Moon in the Day and The Forbidden Marriage, but I wasn't impressed. His character in those dramas felt repulsive, I didn't like his role in any of those dramas. However, when I was watching No Gain, No Love, I got this feeling I never had while watching his previous dramas, the feeling of excitement. He portrayed his role as Kim Ji Uk excellently. I guess that's why they say, "humans are full of surprises."

The chemistry of the First couple, Shin Min Ah as Son Hae Young and Kim Young Dae as Kim Ji Uk is insane. Forced chemistry, or forced interaction? I didn't see any of those. What I saw were natural, overflowing, and insane chemistry. The way these two look at each other is something else!!!

Lee Sang Yi portrayal as Bok Gyu Hyun, oh I damn love his acting. The way he portrayed a CEO is so damn charming. I've watched him Hometown Cha Cha, and I loved him there. But this one made me love him a whole lot more. Wow, what can I say? His acting was excellent. This my first time seeing him portray a CEO, and I love what I see. Words can't express how satisfied I was with his acting while watching this drama.

Han Ji Hyun portrayal as Nam Ja Yeon. I also loved her so much. She made the journey a whole lot fun. When she writes her adult romance novel, her vivid description, oh, I loved them. I've never seen her in a drama before. Perhaps maybe it's because I haven't watched anything of her yet. Now that I've got to see her acting first hand, I'm getting this feeling to watch her dramas cause I was really impressed. No, I'm impressed.

The Second Couple's, Lee Sang Yi and Han Ji Hyun's chemistry is electrifying. I've watched many Rom-Coms, but I've only come seen very few second couples of a drama have this much chemistry. Their interaction, the way the fell in love, it's crazy!!

I know the Synopsis described Son Hae Young as a very materialistic person, but that's not who she truly is. Yes, she does love money, but she values family more. Besides, who doesn't like money? I think the answer is simple, right? When she got married, on the outside, she did so because of the donation money, but her main reason is because she wanted to let her sick mother who ran a foster home previously meet all her foster children. Her wedding ceremony was like her mother's "first funeral."

In my opinion, Son Hae Young was right to feel neglected. I mean, what child wouldn't feel neglected when their parent put others first before them? It's a natural feeling. Parents are supposed to be there for their children, but Son Hae Young's mother wasn't there most of the time. No matter how you look at it, it's still not right. Yes, her mother loved her, I get that. But that doesn't change the fact that she didn't put her first, she prioritized others before her own child, and that hurt Son Hae Young pretty bad. However, I'm glad she turned out great nonetheless. How she was able to have such great relationship with her foster sisters, Nam Ja Yeon and Cha Hui Seong despite all that really impressed me. I love her character.

I've also got to say this. I love the relationship of Son Hae Young, Nam Ja Yeon, and Cha Hui Seong.Their relationship is closer than that of biological sisters. Even most blood sisters are not that close. But theirs is a relationship, a bond that's stronger than anything.

The reason I'm not giving this a complete 10 is because of the bad parenting. I mean, Kim Ji Uk's father couldn't even defend his son, even when he's the chairman of a conglomerate. It sucks. Anyway, I guess that's how some people are. But I just can't accept that. There's also his mother who neglected him and started a new family abroad, how could she bring abandon her child for so long without even visiting him? I don't understand. Anyway, I didn't allow it to spoil the fun watch, but I just had to retain the 0.5. You could say it's my way of venting.

Above all, I Ioved how the love of the first couple blossomed. Same goes for the Second couple too. I've got to commend all the cast for delivering exceptionally and excellently in their respective roles. The crews too. The director and writer of No Gain, No Love made the whole journey a whole lot fun. It's extremely worth the wait, the time invested into it wasn't a waste. I love that about this drama. I don't really have any complaints about this one, only praises, so I'll be giving this 9.5/10.
Without excluding the beautiful OST of this drama. I loved them.

In essence, No Gain, No Love is an extremely fun drama. A drama you wouldn't want to miss. A one in a million. This is a drama I'd recommend for you to watch without hesitating. Whether you're sad or not, just tune in and you'll forget about life's problem for a while. Enjoy the fun ride....

NOTE; This one is a new one. I mean, this review, I accidentally deleted the previous one when I wanted to edit it, so I had to write a new one.
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