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DramaHeroine

The Pages of a Fairytale

DramaHeroine

The Pages of a Fairytale
Dropped 13/16
Hello Monster
3 people found this review helpful
Nov 9, 2020
13 of 16 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 6.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers
I'm honestly quite shocked this drama has so many 9 and 10 star reviews. Not that other people aren't allowed to enjoy it if they enjoy it, but because I found this drama to be rather lackluster and underwhelming and not the most well plotted thing I've ever seen. I started it because 1) I was craving something thriller/mystery-esque, a new drama craving for me as I've stuck mostly with rom-com drama's up until recently. 2) I'm forever a Seo In-Guk fangirl, and I want to watch as much of his projects as possible. 3) I quite like Jang Nara as an actress, and I quite like her role choices. 4) It had been sitting on my to-watch list since it first aired, and since the thriller/mystery drama bug had finally bitten me, I figured this was as good a time as any to sit down and watch.

I will say, the first half kept me fairly invested. It wasn't anything unique or ground-breaking, but I don't need that for me to like a drama. You just have to sell me the story, and for the first half of this drama, the writers did just that. I lost interest in the over-arching mystery halfway through though, as it went from engaging and interesting to poorly plotted and boring. There was some hinking around with character motivations that didn't work for me, things never quite connected in a way that made sense, and the main villains were not the slightest bit interesting in their adult forms. I can unequivocally say that I found both villains unendurably boring as grown ups. They never Did anything, and yet we were supposed to be terrified of them. They were also such Polar opposites of their younger selves that I had a very hard time believing they were the same people. Of course, this would make sense in the case of the younger brother considering what all he must have experienced growing up, but there was zero time spent on showing us just what growing up under the terrifying watchful eye of a psychopath might morph and change you into, and I don't understand why. The main villain does end up having a really well-thought out backstory that really adds to his overall creepiness, but it only makes his Younger self more scary, not the older version. For some reason, the older version seemed more confused about what feelings are and how they work then he did psychotic murdery. You definitely don't get the feeling that his younger self experienced any sort of confusion around emotions and their purpose in life. I got the feeling that he didn't really care.

The romance is mostly uninspired, but again, that doesn't necessarily ruin a drama for me if the writers can sell it to me, and I was onboard for the pairing. I think the combination of bad plot, boring villains, And and ultimately uninteresting romance is what ultimately did this drama in for me.

In my opinion, both Seo In-Guk and Jang Nara have been in, and have done, better things. Of course, if everyone else loves this drama, then who am I to stop them? Hopefully, my next thriller/mystery drama will be something I like a little bit better.

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Completed
Rinco's Restaurant
3 people found this review helpful
May 21, 2016
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
I'm a big fan of delightfully quirky Asian films, and this one really fits the bill. The story is sweet, funny, heartwarming, and thoughtful. The characters are charming and sometimes a little odd. The cinematography and film score are beautiful and imaginative. I found myself longing to experience Rinco's restaurant myself.
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Completed
100 Days
3 people found this review helpful
May 21, 2016
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This is a rom com with an indie film feel, a story that has all the trappings of a mainstream movie but in a way that stays incredibly grounded and believable. Despite a couple of plot points that had no real preface to make them make sense, my only complain is that the ending is not romantic enough.

I wanted and needed more.

(Music is 1 because I don't remember what it was like.)
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Completed
Infinite Power
3 people found this review helpful
May 21, 2016
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
Super Short Review! Charming, sweet, and heartfelt. I could relate to their struggles, because I have the same ones. And I love Kim Seul Gi!!!
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Completed
Goong
3 people found this review helpful
May 21, 2016
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 1.0
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This will not be a review. It will not discuss the quality of the acting or the filmography or the writing or the inventiveness of the story concept, and it will Definitely not help you decide to watch this drama. But it will probably help you decide NOT to watch it.

This...will be a Rant.

I hate this drama. It's been years since I watched it, and I still feel the same fiery passion of hatred for it as I did then. I was a new drama viewer in those days, and I didn't believe in quitting dramas. Every drama I started, I had to finish, even if I didn't like it. What if it got better? What if I missed something important? What if, what if, what if?! That is truthfully the only reason I finished Goong. I kept thinking it would get better.

The drama does get off to a good start, with tropes at their most enjoyable and crackling character chemistry and great story antics and so much potential. There is very much a reason why it was hugely popular when it came out, and why it still has a following today. But it quickly turned into hours of literal torture (this drama would make a supremely effective torture device) with a mean, selfish, practically impossible to like male lead, a conniving, malicious second female lead, Royalty rules designed to break the female leads spirit, the female lead losing all of her spark and determination, and angst so heavy you could cut it with a piece of paper. And I'll say it again, there is a reason it was so popular when it aired and why it still has a following today. Some people just enjoyed being tortured, apparently.

In my estimation, Goong is 100% the thing an inexperienced and naive teen girl would think is romantic. Which is why I'm glad I watched this after I was already an adult, because I could already see through all the nonsense. Totally upfront here, I am an unabashed fan of female characters who are feisty and spunky and upbeat and give the male lead a big ol' kick in the tooshy and are adorable while doing it. These kinds of female leads are considered passe now, offensive, relegated to the dark ages, but I love them and always will. So I loved the female lead at the start of this drama. She's got all of that plus that naive awkwardness that comes with being a teenager. And while the male lead is absolutely a turd, the purpose of these sorts of stories is for him to grow and change as a consequence of meeting the female lead. And I'm equally as big of a fan of that sort of story as I am this sort of female lead. Call me deluded if you want, but I believe in the power of redemption, especially as a consequence of love, and I enjoy watching it play out on my screen.

But (a massive turd-sized BUT), we never see this change in the male lead. We never see him grow, never see him acknowledge his behavior, never see him attempt to change. It's not even until the final hour that he actually admits to having feelings for the female lead, by which time, she wants to start having her own life. Which, of course, the drama conveniently finds a way to keep from happening because we can't have That. Clearly, the writers didn't know how to convey the scared, distrustful aspects of the male lead. He's supposed to be this closed off, insecure young man who doesn't know how to express himself and is afraid of being close to anyone but also desperately wants to be loved, hence why he's constantly pushing the female lead away and then pulling her back. If the writers had more of an attempt to convey that to the audience, I might not have such intensely negative feelings about this drama.

Ironically enough, I have been attempting to track down the original manwha this drama is based on, as despite how much I can't stand this drama...the overall story still pulls me in, and I want to see if it's improved in book form or not. Books are able to do something film can't, and that's let the reader in to the characters inner worlds so that we can understand them better, and something tells me this story would Greatly benefit from a peak into the male lead's inner world. I'm also just all in for characters who struggle in their relationships and with overcoming their own hang-ups. Fingers crossed reading the manwha is a better experience.

To anyone who loves this drama, more power to you. I'll just be over here sending Goong death glares.

Original Review:
No.

(I hate this drama so much I would rate it a zero if I could.)

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Completed
Top Management
2 people found this review helpful
Nov 21, 2018
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
Let me go ahead and tell you what you want to know now and say that this is a really good web drama and definitely worth watching. Great story, great acting, well paced, pleasantly realistic (minus the seeing the future part), fabulous music (I even bought the soundtrack, something I haven't felt compelled to do with dramas until recently), and an honest (if albeit limited) focus on the difficulties of the Kpop industry. For those curious about how Cha Eun Woo fares, I don't know if his acting is just getting better, or I've just come to understand and appreciate his acting style, but I found Eun Woo downright pleasant to watch. It probably helped that the drama addresses the criticism towards his acting by making his character a 'face' who is also criticized some for his acting, and his character even makes jokes about it, always in a lighthearted way.

My One and Only complaint.

The ending frustrates me. A lot. Everything is laid out so perfectly. Except for the romance which is left just kind of hanging. I. Do. Not. Do. That. Shit. Not that I'm against open endings. Open endings are perfectly fine if they make sense within the framework of the overall story, but it does not make sense here. People are saying that maybe there's going to be a second season, and that's why the ending is open ended. Well, I hate to burst everyone's bubble, but I Seriously doubt that's going to happen, even if it is a YouTube drama making the rules possibly different. Not saying that I wouldn't watch a season 2, because I would watch the Fool out of that. I'm just saying that's not going to happen, and it's best not to get your hopes up.

Which makes how the romance was left unfinished at the end all the more frustrating.

But barring that one aspect of the finale, this web drama is good, and I really enjoyed it.

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Completed
Age of Youth Season 2
2 people found this review helpful
Nov 3, 2017
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
Misaeng is my favorite drama of all time. I think it's one of the most important Korean dramas to have ever been made. So it's saying something when I say that Age of Youth 1 and 2 rival my love for Misaeng. I love these dramas.

Season 2 manages to do what most sequels can't do, and that's be just as good as the first season. Even three cast changes can't stop this drama from hitting it out of the park. There's no one in this drama you hate, no one you can't relate to in some way. The story tackles a number of heavy topics with deft hands and a gentle gaze. And just like season 1, you find yourself wishing you could be part of this group of girls, because you'll never find better friends than them.

This is a ten-star drama, and you need to watch it.

FUTURE EDIT: I need to add a caveat here that I didn't in my initial review for reasons I don't know anymore, but there is one thing about this drama that disappoints, and that is the lack of conclusion to what was the most anticipated romance in both seasons to date. But I temper that disappointment with the reckless faith that that simply means we will be getting a season 3 where the romance will come to fruition and all will be well and happy and beautiful with the world. (FUTURE FUTURE EDIT: Ah, sweet, naïve, innocent me, thinking there could ever possibly be a season 3.)

Also, I rebuke that episode 7 urn epilogue in the name of Jesus Christ. Get behind me Satan.

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Jul 23, 2016
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers
How to start this review. I'm not sure.

This drama doesn't really follow the typical set up with our leads. I won't say more than that so as not to spoil the story, but it's a good idea to not go into this one expecting things to play out a certain way.

I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. It was certainly a very confusing and frustrating thing, because I've come to expect my dramas to play out in very specific ways. (That's probably due to my limited experience with Japanese dramas over Korean.) But I came to understand, and honestly quite like, the very conscious writing decision by the end.

HOWEVER, I know from reading the comments on here that some people were disappointed with the ending, and I must say, that is a frustration I understand. Because, well, I'm disappointed too. I'm not unhappy with the end pairing, because I honestly feel like it makes the most sense. I'm also not unhappy with how all of the other potential suitors are treated and utilized in the story. I'm just not happy with the non-committal ending. You need to make a decision, writers. Yes or no.

That being said, I have very little in the way of other complaints. When the show turns heartfelt, the lessons are honest and true and hit you where it matters. (When it tries to give dating advice, it's mostly all nonsense, lol.) But it's those heartfelt lessons (and of course the story and all of the characters themselves) that make this drama worth watching. (Watching the dating advice mostly fall apart when applied is pretty funny too, lol.)

Side note: There's a time jump at the beginning of the last episode that I feel was pointless and kind of jarring, but I don't know if that's because of how it was utilized or because there was a bit of a pause between me watching episode 9 and then coming back to watch the last episode. It was only about 4 or 5 days, but it was enough time for me to no longer be in the same headspace as when I started the drama.

All in all, I mostly enjoyed this drama. I just wish the ending had been clearly defined. The drama brought us So close only to leave us hanging.

And I don't give tens for that.

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Dropped 13/16
Queen of Mystery Season 2
2 people found this review helpful
Jul 23, 2018
13 of 16 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers
I'm gonna preface this review by saying that I have yet to finish this drama for the simple reason that a major plot point was introduced towards the end that infuriated me deep within my body, all the way down to my bone marrow, and I haven't mustered the strength to finish the last few episodes because of it. I will eventually go back and finish, if only out of loyalty to the main leads that I adore so much, but I'm pretty confident of my current opinion and don't think those last few eps are going to change it. (UPDATE: I did not finish this drama and currently have no plans of doing so. So there's that.)

The truth is, this was not a good season. The cases had a strange pacing to them, starting halfway through one episode and ending halfway through another. The big mystery from season 1 we were all expecting to get answers and a conclusion for....never went anywhere substantial. Instead, we were subjected to unnecessary twists and a bizarre new villain who felt totally out of place most of the season. And the romance! ThE RomANcE!!!! The romance showed so much promise! Things were looking so good! And then the writer didn't take it anywhere!!!!!!!!! Honestly, after the major plot twist I mentioned in the first paragraph that left me so infuriated, the romance is the thing I found the most disappointing about this drama.

I will forgive a drama for a lot of things if it at least keeps me invested in the romance.

You couldn't even do that, Queen of Mystery 2. You couldn't even do that.

I would be very surprised if this drama got picked up for a third season, and if that is what they were angling for with the way they chose to Write this season, then they really screwed themselves over. Because this season was dumb.

D-u-m-b, DUMB.

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Completed
Healer
4 people found this review helpful
May 21, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Phenomenal!

Outstanding!

Fabulous!

Superb!

Tremendous!

Fantastic!

How many superlatives have you got, cause all of them apply!

I even love the super cheesy, 80's vibe song they played at least 3 times every single episode. That singer must have made a Lot of money off of this drama, lol.

I only feel ashamed that it took me so long to finish.

I Will be rewatching this.
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Dropped 13/16
My Girl
3 people found this review helpful
Apr 10, 2020
13 of 16 episodes seen
Dropped 1
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers
This drama is a classic for a reason, the exact kind of rom-com, melo, crack drama most drama lovers search for. It's got the quirky, persistent, lovable female lead who Stays quirky and persistent and lovable the entirety of the story. It has a male lead who Starts the drama as an actually humane, likable person with a decent moral compass (although more on that later). The premise, while completely implausible, is still a lot of fun full of hijinks and mishaps and fun bonding moments. And like many rom-com/melo's from it’s time (and many modern rom-com/melo's as well, to be honest), it utilizes the ‘drag the main conflict out far longer than necessary’ trope for the sake of creating conflict, but of all the classic dramas that rely on this trope, this is definitely one of the better ones.

Unfortunately, that last point is exactly the reason why I ultimately had to drop this drama, despite all of the other wonderful things about it.

The lie starts out fun, harmless, then reality sets in and our leads begin to understand the age-old saying 'Oh what a tangled web.' And that's fine. The lie Should become a weight around their necks that they have to struggle with until they eventually throw it off in exchange for the truth. It just. Takes. Too. Long. for them to cut the rope keeping the weight tied to their necks. There's No reason, past about episode 11/12 (and that's honestly too long for my tastes, but I'm trying to be reasonable here), for the lie to continue. And before anyone starts shouting 'But then there's no conflict driving the rest of the drama!' I'm not saying they should have ended up together by ep 13, leaving three episodes as unnecessary filler. There was plenty of conflict to mine from the reveal of the lie that would have pushed the drama forward for another few episodes before our leads could get their happy ending. Grandpa could oppose the relationship because it started with a lie, a lie that ultimately hurt the rest of the family in one of the deepest ways possible (which, from reading spoilers about the last three episodes, is sort of what happens in the story anyway, just in an unbearably rushed way). They could have been separated for a time in punishment for their actions and maybe spent some of that time both atoning and pleading on their love's behalf. Hell, they could have just have a big, knockout, drag out fight about it and 'broke up' for a couple of episodes. There was just no reason for the lie to live so long.

But what's worse than the lie lasting longer than it deserved to is what it ultimately does to our leads. It ruins a lot of what was so good about the male lead at the start of the drama. Gong Chan is extremely honorable and responsible and decent in the first half (minus the lie about his cousin). He's obviously not the sort to lie before the drama starts, and he creates the lie out of a desperate, misguided desire to do good. And as I said about the importance of the lie becoming a weight around their necks, I also think it's important that we see the lie change him and turn him into the sort of person who would betray his family, the woman he loves, his own self for self-serving reasons. But the drama never actually explores this. It just makes the lie go on forever like the song that never ends, and by the end, you just don’t like Gong Chan that much any more.

It's sort of the opposite of what most old-school dramas do with there male leads where they take a horrible person and make them a kinder human. This time, they took human who was already kind and made him terrible.

Alternatively, the lie doesn't turn Yoo Rin into some sort of terrible person but rather into a more sympathetic, conflicted, incredibly sad character. It doesn't take away her spunk, but it severely dampens her personality. And again, this is exactly how I think it Should have played out. While either of them could have ended the lie if they really wanted to, and ultimately, they are both to blame for not doing so, I can understand Yoo Rin's difficulty with it more than Gong Chan's. She has more to lose by ending the lie. Gong Chan could lose the woman he loves, but he'll still have his family at the end of everything. They might be angry with him for a very long time, but underneath that anger will be love. Yoo Rin doesn't have that luxury. When the lie ends, she is left with nothing. Not the man she loves, not the family she's come to love, she's back where she started, homeless and now with no idea where her father has ended up. What's interesting about that is that out of the two of them, she's also clearly the one desperately Wanting to end the lie the most but continuing to agree to keep the ruse going because she cares so much for Gong Chan and for his family.

And this is where the drama lost me in terms of her character.

More than anything else in this drama, I wanted the story to spend time exploring Yoo Rin becoming close to the family emotionally and how it must have made her feel lying to them the closer she got to them, but the drama never does that. It sidesteps this entirely. We see her feel bad about the act of lying itself, feeling guilty over what they are doing to each other and to Gong Chan's family, and we see her spend lots of time with the family, all of them genuinely coming to like each other and enjoying being in each other's company. But there’s very little discussion over how much of a toll lying to these people that she's come to care deeply about must be having on her. She has to be lying awake at night thinking about how terrible grandpa is going to feel when the lie is revealed, how much the entire family is going to hate her for what she's done, how when it's all over...they won't love her anymore. This is where her habit of eating when she feels guilty could have played so much more of a prominent role than it did. What better way to show the guilt and shame she must feel over lying to so many people.

And I'm about to say something I can't believe I'm about to say, but I think this is the first time I’ve wanted the evil second female lead to Succeed in her pursuit of being evil. Not because I didn’t want the leads together or because I had any love for the second female lead (Dear God In Heaven No). I wanted her plans for revealing the lie to succeed...because I wanted the lie to end so the leads could finally, bloody get together. I wanted them to face the repercussions of their decisions, and I wanted them to get together and be happy, because I really liked them as a couple.

But neither of them could ever muster up the moral courage to end the lie, and the writers kept thwarting the second female lead at every turn, thus denying me the relief I was so desperately seeking.

And now I'll end my complaints by turning everyone in the drama community against me by saying that the secondary male lead is exactly the sort of pesky second male lead that I sort-of, kind-of, maybe hate in most dramas where they appear. I know a lot of people really enjoy their second lead feels, and that most secondary male leads in older dramas are just significantly better people than the male leads are, and that's cool and all, but I typically don't experience second lead feels. When a drama writer tells me who's supposed to end up together at the end, I believe them. I put all thoughts and ideas and secondary options in a drawer somewhere, and I invest in the main couple, because I want the writers to make their couple work. When I Can't invest in the main couple, I generally just don't invest in the drama at all, and I go watch something else.

On the rare occasion that I Do experience second lead feels...I ignore them, because I can't handle that kind of pain in my life.

So yeah. The second lead quickly went from roguish fun to obnoxious irritation for me. It's 100% hypocritical of me to feel this way about persistent secondary male leads when I often adore persistent female leads, but when there's an established couple in a drama and a secondary male lead refuses to accept it (and this goes for secondary lead feels too), I want to hit him over the head with a frying pan.

Part of me, even still, wants to finish the last three episodes of this drama, but I know I'll still be dissatisfied when they're over. So I have to accept it. It's just not worth it for me.

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Completed
Yuru Camp△
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
Up front, I have to admit that I struggled with the pacing of this drama. I respect stories that move at a slower pace as I don't think there is anything wrong with a story doing so, so I can acquiesce that the problem is probably me, but it was a challenge in the first half of the drama to keep going. I kept waiting for our female lead to actually go camping with the whole group, and it doesn't happen till the very end of the drama. I found that disappointing.

But that being said, there is a lot about this drama that I loved. First and foremost, our really camping group of girls are incredibly fun. They're quirky and silly and just really humorous in how they interact with each other. I like the female lead as she's very thoughtful and quiet and clearly a little nervous about meeting new people, but my favorite scenes were of our little camping group as they planned their trips and drooled over expensive camping gear. Who would have thought a drama could make planning for camping look fun, lol?

The theme of the show is both relaxing and inspiring, and I'm honestly quite jealous of these girls getting go on all of these camping trips. I'm thinking I need to start planning some for myself. (Although I wouldn't be able to camp in winter as I have a chronic illness that makes me severely sensitive to cold weather. I would have to wait until spring/summer, lol.)

Of course, the food all looks delicious as well as simple to make. I'm definitely inspired to try and recreate some of the dishes, even though I'll probably have to get creative with some of the ingredients as I don't live in or anywhere near Japan.

Overall, I thought this drama was really good, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something wholesome and lighthearted and relaxing. Especially for any teens (or parents of teens) looking for shows that aren't glorifying things like teenage drinking or other reckless behavior but instead promote young people getting involved in fun and healthy activities. Let's make more stories for teens like this one.

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Completed
Ore no Kawaii wa Mousugu Shohikigen!?
1 people found this review helpful
Feb 6, 2023
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
I really enjoyed this drama’s focus on what I would consider a somewhat unusual subject matter, being the type of good-looking where you don’t necessarily have to work all that hard in life and what happens when you realize that attractiveness is fleeting, and your good looks are about to run out. Kosuke, our male lead, is a good-looking guy (I wasn’t into him in the beginning, but he definitely grew on me as the drama went on), and it’s made his life easy in a lot of ways. When his future self shows up to tell him ‘good looks have a shelf-life, and your expiration date is coming,’ it serves as a bit of a wakeup call for Kosuke. He hasn’t been a selfish or lazy or mean person, by any means, but his life has been pretty smooth sailing, and it’s made him a bit unaware of the people around him. For example, he’s never had to put in the effort to pursue a girl, because they’ve always just come to him due to his good looks. His current girlfriend (who quickly becomes his ex-girlfriend) says to him early on that he doesn’t seem to pay attention or notice other people’s feelings.

Admittedly, the second half of the drama doesn’t really do any more exploration on this subject, the ramifications of being this good-looking, as the main characters romance ends up overshadowing this part of the plot. But the budding relationship between the leads is so incredibly sweet and charming, that I kind of didn’t notice (or mind) that it took over the story.

One complaint I saw from people who watched the drama before me was with the way things were wrapped up in the romance in the finale. From everyone’s comments, I understood that the leads don’t end up together. I went into the drama knowing that was going to happen, and I had prepared my heart for it. But to me, the last scene of the drama seems open to interpretation, and given the scene just before it, I think it's actually possible our leads got a romantic happy ending after all. Of course, this is speculation, and I could be wrong. If my interpretation of the final scene is incorrect, then I do think that creates some problems for the story, but I've chosen to make a happy ending my head cannon, because the last two scenes make it seem possible.

Apart from the possibility that the leads don’t end up together romantically in the future, I still like the rest of the finale. It’s overall pretty enjoyable and does actually involve our leads sort-of getting back together in the present with a kiss. But the most satisfying part ends up being Kosuke making peace with his possible future. When he has his last conversation with his future self, you realize that what he’s making peace with isn’t the future of his romance with Izumi, but rather, with the end of his good looks. He recognizes that future Kosuke didn’t make any attempt at changing the past, which means the future must not be so bad, and that gives present Kosuke confidence. Confidence to tell Izumi again that he loves her, and confidence to walk into the rest of his life knowing everything will be alright.

On this note, I was a bit frustrated with future Kosuke at one point, because it felt like he was going to be the reason present Kosuke and Izumi didn’t end up together in the future. But after both Kosuke’s conversation in the finale, I got the impression that what future Kosuke was trying to do was prepare present Kosuke for the end of his cuteness (not the end of his and Izumi’s romance). I thought that was a nice twist.

Overall, I thought this series was really charming, and I really hope it gets a special episode, because I would watch it. And I just want to add here that the main actor is PERFECT in this role. He NAILS the cute and comical expressions of his character, and I love it so much. I think it’s why I was finding the male lead so dang attractive by the end of the drama, lol.

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Completed
Fight Song
1 people found this review helpful
Feb 2, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
My drama bent right now is human stories, stories that give you a glimpse into another person's life, their struggles and challenges and relationships, in a way that is both heartwarming and honest. I spent a long time watching almost exclusively Kdramas, and most of the dramas I watched were 1. heavily romanced themed, and 2. certainly not makjang (not if I could help it, anyway) but still often dramatic in some way. I still enjoy dramas like this (I'll always be a lover of the romance genre), but I've begun to appreciate dramas that are more interested in telling realistic stories about realistic people without all the high stakes or added dramatics.

Fight Song definitely fits the realistic human story description. The female lead has an interesting balance between vulnerability and softness mixed with mental and emotional toughness. The story addresses issues such as being an orphan, death of a parent, child abandonment, dealing with the possibility of losing one of your basic senses (your hearing), family and found family, overcoming difficult trials, and learning how to embrace/accept/make peace with what life brings. And all of this plays out over the backdrop of everyday people going about their everyday lives in the way most of us do. I loved all of the messages this drama presented, the gentle and kind way it treated its characters, and how down-to-earth everything about it is.

I have one caveat, and that is that the age gap between the leads was difficult for me. I came around to it by the finale, because you take the age gap away and you have an extremely likable couple that you can't help but root for. But it still took me till the end to do so, and that's because I just don't see why there had to be such a vast age difference between them. I guess, technically, he would have to be older than her to some degree in order for her to have heard and cherished his song when she was a child, but I still think the writers could have found a way around this.

That being said, I still have to praise this drama. I can't say I love it as much as dramas such Neechan no Koibito and Shizuka-chan to Papa, which both deal with serious topics in an equally heartwarming/healing manner, but I greatly enjoyed Fight Song and all of its characters. Its message was one of perseverance and hope, and I can always get on board with that.

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Completed
Unlucky Girl!
1 people found this review helpful
Aug 20, 2022
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
I struggled a bit with this drama. Episode one creates a really solid foundation for the story to build on. There's the somewhat absurdist humor (which I admittedly didn't always get), this interesting trio of women who seem very different from each other but share one very important thing, and a very heartfelt look at the female leads life and her attitude towards her life. I was pretty hooked after ep 1.

But the drama couldn't seem to manage its overall tone and direction. We had episodes where the story went odd places for no discernible reason. Such whenever the trio is tasked with helping some random person overcome a challenge of some sort. These characters are generally not interesting, and neither were their problems, and the time spent with them often felt like a waste. There's an entire subplot to do with the female leads father running back into a woman he once cheated on the female leads mom with, a woman who happens to be a member of our main trio. This felt odd and awkward and uncomfortable to watch much of the drama, although they did manage to create a proper conclusion for it and eventually tie it into the overall story. And the drama didn't always get the absurdist humor right. It seemed only half-way committed to the joke at times, and you could really tell.

Overall, the tone and directing of this drama is confusing. I love all the humor around the three women being unlucky and bringing it with them wherever they go. I also really loved how heartwarming the drama could be when it wanted to be. But the rest of the drama seemed to not know what it wanted to do. I think if the drama had focused on the absurd humor, the plight of the three unlucky women, and adding in more heartfelt exploration of the story's themes, this would have been a better story. As it is, Unlucky Girl doesn't totally manage to pull all of its pieces together, and I both liked the drama and was underwhelmed by it. I did laugh a lot though, and I really loved this trio of ladies, so I would say it's still worth watching.

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