(Updated Review 2021)

Wow. What a difference a few years (or more) of drama viewing make. I originally watched this drama back when I was still a little baby drama newbie, and it definitely shows in my first review (which I've kept at the bottom of this updated review for you to compare the two with each other). I did not understand this drama or what it was trying to do. At all, lol. After a re-watch (only the second drama I've ever attempted to re-watch and the only drama I've Succeeded in fully re-watching), my feelings have fundamentally altered.

This drama is literally genius. Uproariously funny, office politics intrigue that's actually...intriguing, Yoo Bang and Yeo Chi are Damn. Good. Characters., side characters who feel like family, consistent plot, a side character who Really surprises you with their character progression, extremely well-used aspects of the drama's real-life source material, chock-full of traditional Korean sayings. This is basically a Kdrama classic and required viewing for all Kdrama lovers.

And now that I've given it such glowing praise, let me talk about my complaints, lol.

While I love Yoo Bang and Yeo Chi to pieces, Hang Woo and Woo Hee are definitely the most inconsistent characters out of our main four, and my major complaints about the drama are all related to them.

1) Hang Woo has a deep-seeded desire for revenge that plays an important part in the main plotline of the drama but at some point, said revenge disappears and isn’t mentioned or alluded to or plays any part in the story again until about 3 eps out from the end. It fades from the story in a way that feels natural and realistic, but the writers never give an explanation as to Why Hang Woo doesn’t seem to care about exacting his revenge anymore. He just effectively stops trying to get revenge.

2) Once Hang Woo and Woo Hee start down the path of truly falling for each other (not just flirting/driving each other nuts at every turn/Hang Woo being manipulative), there's very little focus on them actually getting to know each other as people. I found myself wanting to actually See them falling in love with each other, not just be told that that's what happened, and I was disappointed that their entire relationship added up to 'they (adorably) (hilariously) drove each other nuts for ages and now they're in love.'

3) The last three to four eps are not as tightly plotted as the rest of the drama and can be a bit draggy in places. This is mostly to do with Hang Woo's character (and tangentially Woo Hee) because of the aforementioned problem with his plans of revenge disappearing with no explanation then suddenly popping back up to become an important part of the plot again.

I'm not going to say this is one of my favorite dramas, but man do I respect it a lot more than I used to. Contrary to what ignorant, naive, little baby drama newbie me thought, this is a very good drama.

I do not recommend Korean drama newbie's watch this drama as their first, second, third, fourth, or even fifth drama though as there's a lot going on here that you probably won't be able to fully appreciate until you've got a few other dramas under your belt, but you should definitely watch it once you know enough about Korean dramas to really appreciate all of the magnificent things Salaryman did with it's story.


:Original Review:
Great at humor. Terrible at drama.

And Hang Woo. Make up your damn mind, son!!!

I've contemplated going back and watching that last episode so many times.

Maybe I will someday.

Then again, maybe I'll just get some ice cream instead.

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This movie was frustrating. I hated watching the main character be so rude and controlling and childish towards her younger self. She bulldozed her way through her younger self's life in a way that was decidedly unfunny. I actually got to the end and was cheering on her younger self to make the wrong decision just to spite her older self. I mean, HOW MESSED UP IS THAT?!?!

Of course, the overall outcome never changed even after she traveled back in time, and I guess that was sort of the message of the movie. You can change the events, but the overall story is already written. Unfortunately, the time travel mechanics were so poorly set up, that this message ended up getting completely lost.

I don't even understand why the main character even needed to go back in time when the guy she wanted to work things out with was already right there in front of her clearly still interested in a relationship. Why go back in time to fix things when you can just work them out in the present?

I liked what the movie was trying to say, but I think it did a poor job of saying it.

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(Updated Review 2022)

I just finished watching this drama for a second time, and I have to say, it mostly holds up. Just You is very much a fluffy, cotton-candy rom-com in many respects. The female lead is bubbly and determined and ever cheerful, every employee at Gaze is romantically paired off by the end, it has that intentional over-acting acting style that all dramas of its time had, and at one point, even the female leads goldfish gets in on the action with an overly dramatic backstory. But something I didn't expect when I started my re-watch was how adept the writers were at creating meaningful characters and stories amidst it all. Just You frequently surprises you with its depth and multi-dimension.

Don't misunderstand. The drama doesn't lack in silly situations (see goldfish above, lol). It is very much a drama of its time. But with a couple of plot exceptions, it doesn't resort to just plain stupidity or illogicalness. Characters actions and behaviors are very natural, the conflicts they each experience are very real and touch on a number of issues, and even all of the side couples get together in believable ways and have really pleasant dynamics with one another. (I'm an unabashed fan of every single side couple. THEY'RE ALL SO CUTE, I'M GONNA DIE!!!!)

The one thing that holds this drama back is the love triangle/office drama.

First and foremost, I cannot enjoy plotlines that involve past loves coming back in order to get back together with one of the leads, but they never apologize for what they did to the lead in the first place. I don't understand being the sort of person who can break someone's heart and feel no remorse over it, then come back and try to start over where they left off. This is a classic drama trope I'm glad we've mostly done away with.

The love triangle/office drama also just last waaaay too long for no discernible reason other than I assume to fulfill the episode length. The entire investigation is very poorly done and would have taken one person looking at some camera footage to find out the truth and then reporting it to the partner company to resolve. Also, I don't think it was intentional, but dragging the love-triangle/office drama out for so long really gave Qi Yi a bad look. Jia Yu is given so much leeway with her behavior, often by Qi Yi himself, which understandably gives Liang Liang the wrong impression. I get Qi Yi trying to be surreptitious so that the Jia Yu doesn't realize what's he's doing behind the scenes, but there should have been some gosh-darn boundaries put in place.

That being said, I really like the redemption arc for Jia Yu. While we probably should have been given some of her backstory earlier, I think Jia Yu's backstory makes sense and gives some context to her character. And I don't usually feel this way about evil second leads. 9 times out of 10, I'm ready to chuck them in a fire and be done with it. But her backstory works for me here, and I'm really glad they included it.

Of course, the finale is a little drippy (sappy) in places and very tied-together-with-a-bow, but you have to expect that with a drama from this era, and it all fits pretty well with the tone and style of the rest of the story. If you go into this not expecting a perfect happy ending, you picked the wrong drama, lol.

I'm glad I re-watched this. I don't know if I will ever watch it again, but it was nice to go down memory lane with such a fun cast of characters.

Original Review:
Enjoyed it more then I probably should have. The leads are just plain dynamite together.

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I didn't want to drop this. I had every intention of going back and completing it. But after being stuck at ep 11 for literal months, I just couldn't get myself to go back.

The performances are superb. I really like the mythos/world/world-building of the story. It has a great atmospheric feeling during the more fantastical elements. I love both of the main characters and can really empathize with them. I'm not interested in the love triangle between the three secondary leads, but that's not really important enough for me to drop a drama. And I didn't find the rules of the universe confusing at all.

I just couldn't connect with the story. I really wanted to see the female lead more cut up about having to leave her loves ones, because I know I would be an absolute wreck if this sort of thing happened to me. And as much as I liked the romance, I found some of the leads motivations to not be very strong, and some of their choices frustrating.

I don't think this is a completely worthless drama. The right audience would love it. It's not a drama about the role of god or the mysteries of the universe or building an immersive fantasy world (although I think it does mostly succeed on that last point). The fantastical, other-worldly elements are there to serve the romance and the drama's underlying themes: sadness, loneliness, losing hope and then finding someone in the midst of it all. And that's what this drama is really about. Finding someone to be there with you at your lowest points. Which is definitely something a lot of viewers would enjoy.

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I remember getting to somewhere around episode 8 or 10 of this drama and posting in the comments on Dramafever (miss you like a lung, Dramafever), ‘Normally, this would be the point when I'd say we were reaching the really difficult part of the drama, but let's be honest. That happened a while ago, lol.’

And it’s true. We get two or three episodes of real, lighthearted bickering and character development in this drama.

Then everything goes downhill.

I can't speak on the overarching plot, because I don't remember most of it, but the thing that made this drama fail so hard for me was the characters.

Xiao Qian was kickass the first few episodes, testifying against Jerry in court and playing that fabulous prank on him at the hotel. But then she started to have feelings for him, and grandma showed up with her terrible wig and controlling behavior, and suddenly, the only thing Xiao Qian had going for her anymore was she was cute.

Jerry was such an interesting character. He was the ultimate snake oil salesman, and it was honestly amazing just how good he was at making people fall all over themselves for him, and then in the same breath, making himself look like a total twat. His pride and arrogance was a double-edged sword, and I loved watching him fall on it.

Blue Lan also made some of the cutest facial expressions and funny little head tilts that I have ever seen. They looked like totally natural mannerisms that just extended out from his character, and I really loved that.

Sam was a very unusual secondary male lead. He was just as much of an arrogant, self-absorbed prick as our male lead, and in some ways, actually came off far worse then Jerry ever did. Jerry was arrogant and selfish and spoiled, but he was upfront about it. Sam was incredibly shady and underhanded and just way more subtle and sneaky about his arrogance.

He was basically a male lead stuck in a secondary male lead's body, and I wish they had really gone with that concept. But as soon as he developed an interest in Xiao Qian, the character went from spoiled and arrogant to kind and respectful in the span of an episode, and I found myself missing the more sinister version of him.

Amanda was way better as a mother then as a romantic rival. Keeping her son a secret was a terrible idea, but I think the actress did a fantastic job of making her look like a loving, caring, giving mother despite the circumstances. I just can't stand it how the writers forced her character to fall for Jerry. She gave in so easily. And Jerry wasn't even being particularly romantic either. He was more like a flamboyant stalker. Doing a background check on her. (That should have raised some serious red flags.) Showing up to HER birthday party and turning it around so it was all about him. (Seriously! Who shows up to Someone Else's birthday party riding a horse with a clown as an entrance when they aren't getting paid to?!)

Of course, that’s part of what made Jerry such a great character. He was so full of himself that he didn’t even know he was an idiot.

But Xiao Qian’s family was, hands down, my least favorite part of this drama. And grandma was the worst. She needed to go.

Fall off a cliff.

Into the ocean.

Filled with sharks.

I hate her.

In terms of romance, it did some things I liked and a Lot I didn't.

I initially enjoyed the 'two rich, arrogant guys having a face off' bit in the beginning. It was hilarious watching these spoiled, self-absorbed, men fight with each other. But it quickly became boring and repetitive. I wanted one of them (preferably Jerry, seeing as he was the male lead) to grow up and stop acting like a petulant child.

And of course, Jerry had to go and do Everything!!!!! in the romance backwards. Like, how about shutting it down with Amanda before trying to start something with Xiao Qian?

I do like that we didn’t have an epiphany scene where Jerry suddenly realized he liked Xiao Qian. He just came to like her, and there wasn’t any ridiculous fanfare over it. The only problem I have with there not being an epiphany scene is that…I had no idea he liked her until he suddenly started sidling up to her and being all ‘Hey, let’s be more then friends.’ There were glances from him and a couple sexually tense moments, but nothing that made me think ‘He’s definitely fallen for her.’ That build up could have been better.

But what am I saying?

Everything about this drama could have been better.

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I have now seen (though not completed) every version of this story minus the Thai version. The original is the first drama I ever watched and was 100% a crack drama for me, so despite its flaws, it holds a special place in my heart. It also has one of the two best female lead portrayals of the four versions I've seen. Chen Xin Yi gives a deeply affecting performance as our resident post-it girl, moving you with her smiles and her tears. When she cried, You cried. I watched the Korean version next and consider it the best version as well as my favorite. The writers toned down all of the over-the-top and nonsensical bits from the original, grounding the characters and the story, without losing any comedy, and the OTP is definitely a fav. I also immediately adored Jang Na Ra's character with all of her softness and tenderness and fabulous fashion sense and consider her a tie with Chen Xin Yi for best portrayal. Next, I watched the Japanese version which is much shorter, much quicker, and ends exactly in the middle of the story with no likelihood of another season to give the story a conclusion. This version admittedly has poor pacing and very little build up before some of the major events of the story, but I still enjoyed it and will be forever disappointed that we didn't get a season 2. It's the perfect drama for turning off your brain and enjoying the ride.

Now we come to this version, the C-drama. This is the only version I have not finished and barring a future viewing of the Thai version (which I imagine will be every bit as dramatic as the original with probably a LOT of abuse thrown the female leads way based on my impression of what Thai dramas seem to be like), this version (c-drama) is my least favorite.

This version attempts to tell the story straight without much in the way of comedy, which could have been an interesting angle to tell the story from, but the more I watched, the more I found myself wishing the drama had more of a sense of humor. While the comedy of the original was outlandish and over-the-top (even sometimes grating), it still served as a well-deserved break from all of the melodrama. This version certainly is not as melodramatic as the original, but it was maybe something worse. Bland. It took all of the pertinent characters and events of the original, arranged the pieces in a similar fashion, and then did very little of interest with them. There's not much done to flesh out the characters or create compelling motivations, little to make the male lead a little more likable or sympathetic, and there's only light comedy which mostly centers around a few side characters. There's just no real personality with this version, except maybe to be a little more depressing.

They do start to switch things up a bit at one point in the story with the male lead deciding to stay with the female lead and come clean to Anna only for the female lead to start expressing uncertainty and fear at this reversal. I was hopeful that they would really lean into the male lead recognizing his feelings and the female lead panicking and pushing him away. It would have been great to explore the female leads insecurity and create some meaningful backstory for her character. They make an attempt at this, but it's half-hearted at best and is quickly followed by the expected shenanigans with the second female lead and 'the incident,' which cancels out the writers' efforts and leaves you dissatisfied.

Many of the performances are forgettable as well. There are a handful of characters that are well acted, namely the male lead, both leads best friends (who have a far more interesting and enjoyable romance), and the female leads mother, but the story is so uninteresting that their performances are not very meaningful. (Apart from the mother, who seems to always be one of the best characters in this story, with exception to the J-drama.) The female lead is particularly uninspiring. First and foremost, they did very little to make her appear mousy and insecure, which goes a long way to believing a character. But she also had very little range when it came to her facial expressions and tone of voice. She always looked and sounded mildly sad and detached, which didn't benefit the story or her character..

Ultimately, all three other versions I've seen have had something unique to bring to the table, something to make you want to watch. The original is, well, the original, as well as a classic Taiwanese drama, and regardless of how over-the-top and dramatic it is, it has a female lead that pulls at your heartstrings. The Japanese version is weak in terms of pacing, and it ends in the middle of the story, so that's a bummer, but it's a quick and easy watch that won't make you tear your hair out. You can turn your brain off and enjoy it for what it is. And as I've already said, I think the Korean version is the best. It put meat on the bones of the story, elevating it and its characters to something more meaningful and resonant. Sadly, this version can offer nothing but blandness.

I imagine there are plenty of people who really like this version, even love it, and I'm not here to rain on their parade. I quit after episode 21, so maybe I missed where things got good. But from what I saw, I thought it was rather uninspired, and I didn't have any interest in finishing it.

Links to my reviews for the other versions:

https://mydramalist.com/profile/OhSoEnthusiastic/review/22006

https://mydramalist.com/profile/OhSoEnthusiastic/review/22004

https://mydramalist.com/profile/OhSoEnthusiastic/reviews/75009

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I have one reason, and one reason only, for why I dropped this drama.

Cheating. There is a strong case of cheating in this drama, and I cannot abide it.

Yes, many will consider the cheating pseudo-cheating as the male lead's fiancé is an awful person, and their relationship is more for show than out of love, and they both acknowledge that. But all of the things said cheating brings along with it are so glaringly awful, I refuse to put up with them.

There's how it completely distracts the female lead from her goal of disrupting and changing the political landscape of her town. The story is meant to be about tackling government corruption and laziness and just downright ineffectiveness, but instead, it becomes about two people having a secret, untenable relationship that ultimately makes them both miserable, because they're not being honest with themselves.

There's how it ruins the female lead as a character, because instead of fighting for justice, she's mopey and whiney and constantly pining over this secret relationship and ultimately becomes the type of person who's willing to hurt others and sacrifice them for her own personal gain.

There's how it highlights that the male lead is so selfish that instead of breaking off his engagement to a woman he doesn't love so he can be with a woman he does, he would rather go through with the engagement and eventual marriage while stringing the female lead along beside him, never to be first in his life, always to be second.

And then worst of all, the fact that the female lead knows full well that the male lead is engaged and, Believing It To Be A Genuine Relationship, goes along with the cheating anyway. You want to make a case that he's not cheating on anyone because he and his fiancé don't actually love each other, fine. I'll let it slide. But her? She thought his relationship with his fiancé was real, and she was okay with ****ing that over.

Not. Cool.

Now maybe all of this was intentional and later in the drama the writers were going to show the leads just what kind of people they had become, just what they had sacrificed out of their own selfishness. Maybe there was an entire redemption arc planned. But I read spoilers for the later episodes, and that's Definitely not where I saw the story going.

I'm not saying that stories shouldn't talk about and address cheating, that characters are never allowed to cheat in a story, but I sure as hell am saying that a drama that portrays cheating as somehow romantic and not a big deal and easy to gloss over is Not a story I want to watch. In any context.

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I dropped this drama just before episode ten. I'd heard about all of the controversy and how they went totally off script in the second half, so I did a bad thing I always tell myself not to do and then do anyway, and I went and looked up some spoilers. Mainly for the last episode.

And I was just not down for that ending.

I'm giving this a ten, because what I watched was phenomenal, and if there hadn't ended up being such a big controversy, I probably would have finished this drama. Heck, part of me still really wants to go back and finish it, but the other part knows I'll get to the end and just be filled with rage by the ending.

If you know about the controversy and the ending and still want to give this drama a shot, please do. Because it really has a lot to commend itself.

Just prepare yourself for this train to fly fully off the rails and down a canyon halfway through.

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When I watched the original series in 2021, I enjoyed it immensely, but it was also a pretty strange ride. The overarching story is very silly, but the writers really knew how to pull completely unexpected, from left-field, twists while pulling at your heartstrings and making you love these (sometimes odd) characters. It wasn't until watching this special, however, that I realized how much I love the original series.

I just love every character in this universe, and watching them be happy makes me happy.

All I'm asking for is that the writers eventually, someday (preferably within the near future of my life) finally let Akiko and Akira actually get together. It's adorable and hilarious watching Akira chase after her and pine for her and hope, but my heart can only take so much.

And I guess I here I go to see if there is any progress on their relationship in the 2022 special. Here's desperately hoping, lol.

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I found Why I Dress Up For Love to be a disappointment. The main problem I had with this drama is that it never felt like the female lead was making choices for herself, but rather that she was just going along with what the male lead had to say. The drama, and the male lead, paint the changes the female lead decides to make as her decisions. This is what she wants. But the male lead is the one doing all the driving. He constantly critiques the female leads career choices, making frankly kind-of hurtful and selfish comments about how she lives her life. I think it's clear that we're not supposed to take his comments in the way they come across. He's not intending to be hurtful or dismissive. It's actually part of an intentional character flaw. He's not very good at expressing himself, and he has his own baggage that informs his opinions. But even though the writers aren't intending for him to come across as a bit of a jerk, that's still how he comes across.

What the writers were trying to convey to the audience was that the female lead wants more for her life, that she's not pursuing the things she really wants to, and the male lead is pushing her to try for more. But when all of the female leads questioning over her career and her future happens only after the male lead has made another hurtful (although unintentional) comment, it's not going to feel like the female lead has genuine uncertainty about her life choices. It's going to feel like the male lead is a bully making the female lead feel bad about herself, which is the last thing you want in a romance.

For myself, I don't dislike the male lead. I actually quite like him. You can tell he's been hurt by life and that hurt informs much of how he interacts with others and the choices he makes for himself. You really just want him to be happy. But I didn't appreciate the writers pretending the female lead was at the wheel of her own life when they've played the story out in a way where all of the changes she makes happen only after the male lead tells her she should make them. I do like that she decided to pursue being a purchaser, because that did feel like something she genuinely wanted, and we do see how running her Instagram account takes a toll on her, but we needed to see more of an internal/external struggle. More unprompted self-reflection, more difficulties at her job, more something to convey to us the viewer that she really is genuinely questioning her life path and not just trying to please a guy she's not even in a real relationship with.

This leads me to the second male lead and my other problem with this drama. The second male lead never even puts up a fight! It becomes clear at a certain point that he has feelings for the female lead, and he even seems to want to act on them, but he never, not even once, truly enters the ring. He makes a couple 'declarations' to the male lead about 'If you don't go for it, then I will,' but he never follows through. It makes him come across as weak and mealy-mouthed. Which again, I don't think was the writer's goal, although I'm also not sure what their goal was with him. But just like the male lead, I actually really like the second male lead. He's very good at his job, seems to have strong morals, and he definitely values and appreciates the female lead. I kept hoping he would become a real contender for her affection. Honestly, part of me wanted the two of them together instead. There was something about their potential romance that just felt a little bit electric. But he never rises to the challenge, and this leaves him as a disappointing, and somewhat useless, character.

Ultimately, all of these problems with the central romance/love triangle are a flaw with characterization, not with the characters themselves. All three of them are likable people on their own, and both romantic pairings are compelling in their own ways. So if you can overlook the missteps and see what the writers are trying to do with the story, then you'll be able to enjoy Why I Dress Up For Love. Personally, while I can see what they were trying to do, and I can appreciate the attempt, the execution left me disappointed.

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This movie is a Korean teen classic. This movie will also give you whiplash with how quickly it changes genre and tone and story purpose and shoes and socks and the lint filter in the dryer and the sheets on your bed.

And I fully admit to loving and enjoying it for that very reason.

One minute we're in a typical Korean teen movie love triangle. Next minute we're in a teen gangster movie watching an action sequence. Next Next minute an important character is dying and we're in a melo. Next Next Next minute... Do you see where I'm going with this?

There's a whole, long weird bit (and by long I mean most of the movie) where one character has a crush on another character it is inappropriate for them to have a crush on, and I will say it again for the people in the back, It Is Weird.

But I don't even care. It never goes anywhere, the character they have a crush on never has a clue, and then the movie gives you a reason to be really sad for the character with the crush, so you forget about the Weird Crush altogether and just cry instead.

This movie literally goes everywhere a movie could go, and I love it for it.

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It's only 5 episodes long at about 15 minutes a piece, so there's obviously not enough time to really flesh out the story, and it's not really meant to be a full drama experience anyway, but there are some themes in this mini-drama that I would really love to see expounded upon in a longer format.

We got a small glimpse into Ruby's youth and the bullying she received, which I think was my favorite moment from the entire story, as it really gave you a sense of why she is the way she is. The song choice was also particularly affecting in that moment.

I quite enjoyed the idea of her being a jewelry designer and watching her come up with designs then executing them herself, and honestly, I could have watched tons more of it. The writers turned jewelry making into a deeply emotional experience.

I quite like how they engineered things in the final episode so that Ruby was forced to go out into the world and be herself. The writers understood that it was important for her to do it herself, as Ruby, not as Ruby with a magic ring. It would have been even better though to see her slowly trying, in between uses of the ring, to muster up the courage to go outside and face the world on her own two feet. That would have really added to the emotional impact of her being forced out into the open once and for all.

And I don't usually respond to the music in drama's, but this one had a particularly good soundtrack that hit a lot of important emotional beats.

Basically what I'm saying is, this would make a great full-length drama. There's so much to mine from this story. But at the end of the day, even though there's only so much that can be done in 15 minutes per episode, I think they did a good job of presenting the story and making it engaging and sweet. It was a nice little experience.

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