I guess I'm one of those people who need someone to root for

This incredible cast was wasted. I'm so disappointed. I had high hopes. That first episode with Kim Soo Hyun being drunk and crying about being cute, I thought, "This show is going to be so good!!" The first episode didn't hook me, but I thought for sure it was just a slow start and would get better.

Well, after 6 episodes, it was a complete slog. I tried. I really, really did. It took me 5 days to finish episode 6, I kept finding reasons to do other things. Not even Kim Soo Hyun could keep me engaged, and that makes me so sad. This was his first drama in YEARS. I feel cheated.

The issue was the story, I think...
Actually, I'm not sure. The overall story was interesting. I'll probably look up a spoiler review to find out what happens.

You know what I think the problem was? I had no one to root for. I didn't *like* anyone except the villain (and I only liked the villain because his scenes didn't put me to sleep). I didn't care what happened to any of the other main characters, they were so boring. I probably would've ended up rooting for the bad guy if I'd continued (because at least he was entertaining to watch).
Oh well.

I hope Kim Soo Hyun's next drama is better. :-\

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It was fine

I'm coming to realize that most Cdramas have a lot of filler scenes (and this ultimately keeps them from being highly rated--in general-- by me).
The main couple had AMAZING chemistry and were BY FAR the best part of the show. Unfortunately, they just didn't have many scenes together.

The primary focus of the show is the heroine's family and their never ending drama / dynamics. I wasn't super interested in this storyline, but parts were okay / enjoyable. If the romance / main couple had been given as much screen time as the family, I think I would've rate this drama much higher.

Anyway, it's not really a romance. And it was fine for what it was.

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How could they mess this up so badly?

Note, the 6.0 for the cast include the guy who played Ryu Shi Oh (which is a 10+). Everyone else plus Ryu Shi Oh averages out to equal a 6.

I've never watched a show or read a book where I was actively rooting for the villain to succeed as much as I was rooting for Ryu Shi Oh. The only other example I can think of is 'Black Panther' and even then, I liked the hero a lot and felt conflicted. Not so with this show.

Ryu Shi Oh was the only good thing (other than the cameo from the original show). And it's not like he was just okay. He was AMAZING. What the actor did with this character was nothing short of miraculous. Thus, when you compare all the other characters and their nonsensical journeys and lack of chemistry to Ryu Shi Oh, it made this show so difficult (and frustrating) to watch.

How did the creators not understand what was happening while they were making it? It seems so obvious. If you have a villain that is 100% more interesting and compelling than the hero, you re-write the script and you reshoot scenes. You make the hero the second lead and you redeem the villain. Come on, people. But, no. We (and Ryu Shi Oh) were robbed. We were so, so, so robbed.

The other storylines were over-the-top and incredibly boring, to be honest. I tried watching them but ended up fast forwarding any scene that didn't include Ryu Shi Oh.

In summary, I can't recommend watching this show, not even for Ryu Shi Oh. Instead, save yourself the frustration and just watch edits of Ryu Shi Oh. You'll get the picture and save yourself the brain-numbing exposure to the rest of this tepid drama.

What a colossal waste of time.

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Excellent performances paired with a substandard script

As always, Park Min Young was excellent. Na In Woo was new to me and I was impressed. He really sold his part. Everyone else was cast perfectly. The "bad guys" were fully committed, especially the best friend, and their performances were often disturbing (which was the point, I think).
The problem was the script and, therefore, the actual character development. I'm usually fine with cartoonish caricatures in fluffy / silly shows, but the good guys were nauseatingly good and the bad guys were over-the-top bad. Like, moronic, no redeeming qualities bad guys.

Given what the actors and director had to work with regarding the script, I thought it was the best it could be. Thus, 6.5.

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The lead actors carry the drama

For what it is, it's pretty good. My favorite short format CDrama is 'Familiar Stranger.' This one is just pretty good in comparison.

Overall, the story was a little out there but still fun, dialogue wasn't bad at all. The FL has great comedic timing which I wasn't expecting. The script also played to her strengths, which was great. The ML played his role perfectly and was quite adorable to watch. I'd say he and the FL were the best part of the show.

Their chemistry was pretty good (longing looks) but the skinship / kisses were very *meh*. (In comparison, 'Familiar Stranger' had both top notch chemistry and better / more realistic skinship scenes than most full-length dramas.)

I'd say it's worth a watch if you're looking for something fast where the central story is the romance.

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Premise and set up are great, chemistry (early on) is phenomenal. Doesn't quite stick the landing

Other reviews cover the storyline and what you can expect from the script, production values, etc. So I'm just going to give you my overall thoughts.

The problem with setting up an addictive, shocking premise in a story is how to stick the landing. When the stakes are so high, viewers tune in to find out (how in the world) everything could possibly work out for these characters in the end. Sometimes, like Flower of Evil, everything builds beautifully until the very end. The problems are solved too easily and with too little ramifications for the main characters, which ultimately feels like a letdown because you realized the stakes were never actually that high. However, this show leading up to the end was so good, I cut the ending some slack.

Lee Joon Gi was phenomenal the whole show, start to finish.
Moon Chae Won was also great, but her performance started to feel a little too wide-eyed and naive toward the end. I needed something more from her, a bigger, more adult reaction. She didn't quite deliver.

The chemistry between the ML and FL was great 90% of the time, but-- again-- toward the end it faltered, and their scenes lacked the earlier crackling electricity. It's almost like, when they got to the heavy stuff, they felt less comfortable acting together.

Overall, I really, really liked it.

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Taking into account when it was made, it's phenomenal and ahead of its time

ADVICE: If you can step back and put yourself in 2007, this Drama was a big deal for the time and is quite beautiful. I only watched it for the first time this last year, but I made sure to not judge the script and story based on today's values. That said, watching it through the lens of today, I can understand why some people have a big problem with the premise and the female main character's actions. In a time when being gay almost anywhere in the world wasn't only dangerous but also stigmatized and perhaps even classified as a mental illness, the journey of the ML is a fascinating one, and an important one. I think, for me, it allowed me to understand why so many non-straight people really struggle with their sexuality.

But, obviously, the FML isn't a man, thus the story's direction and conflict change direction and become about her duplicity, which is fine / makes sense, but it splits the drama into two different shows. For me, this change without real resolution for Choi Han Gyul's first / internal conflict felt like a bit of a letdown, if I'm honest. Looking at the show through the lens of today, I wished the show would've explored Choi Han Gyul's realization that romantic love (for him) isn't limited by gender. He fell in love with the person first, not their gender. Admittedly, the show draws this conclusion without stating it explicitly, but I think it moved on too fast. Which is fine, I guess. But I wanted the ML and FL to have the conversation, "I fell in love with you. And I would love you if you were a man or a woman or non-binary, because it's you." That would've been a powerful message for people to see and hear and be exposed to.

I also have to call out Gong Yoo and the way he *looks at* his FML in his dramas once the character is in love with them. Cheese and crackers, this guy and his looks. I don't know how he does it, but it's like something within him flips a switch and, when he gazes at the FML's character, it's all heat and desire. How does he do that?

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There's a reason this one is everybody's favorite

First, the script. The script and story are brilliant. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. There are a few people who point out the age difference between the main characters. This didn't bother me for a few reasons:
1) There's no romantic chemistry between them until she's older, but I loved the bickering friendship chemistry between them in the early episodes. And her young age at the beginning contributes to the absurdity and therefore comedy. You're not supposed to see adult love between the characters (at the beginning). You see a bickering, frustration, growing respect, empathy, eventual admiration and like between two humans, which is appropriate.
2) The main premise of the story is he's a hundreds-year-old Goblin; you're going to have to be willing to suspend disbelief, people! If the part of the story you're hung up on is the "age difference" between a 200+ year old Goblin and the "bride," then that's odd.
3) His character, honestly, wasn't very mature. LOL! I mean, he was old, but his maturity level wasn't commensurate with his age. He seemed petty and kinda tired of life when the show started. He continued to be petty (but less tired) as the show went on. The character was stuck (mentally and emotionally) at the age of his "death," likely 30 or so. That was made very clear. Thus, she grew up and so did he, eventually coming together when they were similar in mental and emotional age.

Second, third, fourth . . . one hundredth, the cast. Holy moly, there has never been a more perfect cast. My Drama List should allow users to apply a "11 star" option once. If they did, this show would've received it from me for its casting. Obviously, all the main leads were incredible. This was my first introduction to both Kim Go Eun and Gong Yoo, and I have become a big fan of both. Their chemistry with each other was incredible. Their chemistry with other characters was also incredible. The way they look at each other in later episodes (just look) will give you butterflies. AAAHHH!!

The music must be mentioned. This is the first (and only) drama where I still listen to the entire soundtrack. Each song is worth listening to on its own. 10+++ stars for the music. It has become the drama against which all other OSTs are judged.

I want to go back to the script for a second. I can't say enough about how great the dialogue was. Obviously, the actors' delivery was essential to bringing it all to life, but some lines / interactions were so brilliant. Funny, poignant, witty, engaging. So good.

Direction was good. Art direction, cinematography, and production values were also good.

Overall brilliant. Loved it. Have watched it 2x so far. I'll probably watch it 10 more times at least.

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It's just too long

There are a few scenes that take place between the end of their high school days and the start of their college days that are complete gold, and that's the only reason I'm giving this a 6.5
The first half was fine, the 3 episodes referenced above were FANTASTIC, and then it was pretty bad starting episode 12 forward. That's a lot of bad episodes.
The ML and FL did a great job, and I honestly would've dropped it if it hadn't been for the actors. But the rest of the cast was not great. Another super irritating thing about this drama was how the friends were so stupid. I mean, everyone but the mains were morons and didn't know how to listen, especially the lazy guy friend from high school and the FL's best friend. Ugh. They were SO ANNOYING! I skipped so much of episodes 20-28 because of these two characters.

Chemistry between the leads was great, romance was good, support cast and story were extremely *meh* 6.5 is generous.

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Great for what it is, but the story / dialogue :-\

What you need to know about my rating: the dialogue is frequently SUPER cheesy. The storyline is fine. Not good, but fine. Sometimes it's nonsensical in order to set the main characters up for maximum dramatic and tropey situations. The villains and main characters are cartoonish, but that's to be expected with a short format story.

If you can accept that the dialogue is silly and the storyline is nonsensical then you will enjoy the chemistry between the two leads, which is the main draw. Given the script, I was really impressed with their performances. They honestly didn't have much to work with.

Also, it should be noted that the OST is really good. I'm not usually a fan of the OSTs in CDramas (Love Between Fairy and Devil being the exception) but this one was really good.

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This is my favorite Yang Yang drama (so far)

I tried to watch O2O and . . . no. For a lot of reasons, no. But mostly because the two main characters were the most boring main characters I've ever had the displeasure of attempting to watch. Then I watched 'You Are My Glory' which was okay for a while but then it was very *meh*

But this one was SO GOOD! I loved the story. I did not find the main female lead / character at all wishy-washy. Her perspective and actions made sense to me, as did the unfolding of their story together. Unlike most modern CDrama where things tend to drag in the middle episodes, this one did not.

And their chemistry was top notch. You could tell the actors were really comfortable with each other. This is the best chemistry I've seen (so far) anyone have with Yang Yang.

Also the side-plots were also quite good. I loved the supporting cast.

But watch it for the chemistry between the two leads. SO GOOD

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Lovely and surprisingly spicy youth to college romcom/dramady

I really love Zhang Miao Yi. She's adorable without coming across cringy or baby-like. That's rare in Cdramas (I've found). That said, she always seems to play exactly the same character. And, you know what? that's okay because she always plays that character REALLY well.
The chemistry between the leads (actors on screen) was quite good during critical (romantic) scenes, but the ML's voice (dubbing?) sounded flat and lacked emotion even during the critical scenes. So, interestingly, the on-screen acting was good; the voice acting wasn't so good.
Also... I have to talk about the spicy scenes. I am not used to kissing scenes being this realistic in CDramas, so this caught me off guard. I closed my laptop at one point and stared at the floor, wondering what I'd just watched, before finishing the scene with a new mindset. I don't mind spicy scenes at all, but I wasn't prepared, you know? I mean, this felt more like a JDrama level of spicy.

In summary, it was quite good, funny, with great chemistry, well-paced (for the most part) with reliable tropes and solid acting. The story is a predictable one, but that's fine. You'll get what you expect.

EXCEPT THE SURPRISINGLY SPICY SCENES / KISSES. O.o

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This show should be entitled, 'Leo Wu Being Ridiculously Romantic For 30 Episodes'

I don't have many complaints except the title doesn't do justice to the actual content of the show. This show is really just Leo Wu's character being ridiculously romantic and dreamy-eyed for 30 episodes. Yes, there was also a compelling, cohesive story/plot. Also yes, everyone else / the rest of the cast did a great job, the direction was great, the cinematography was great, the script/dialogue was REALLY great. Overall, great show.

The first 5 episodes, as others have mentioned, are a bit slow. Episodes 6-14 pick up the pace regarding the romance. Romance is the story, so billiards and pool as the background canvas for the story felt secondary but not an afterthought. It was executed well and I learned a bit about the sport.

But everything was a far, far second place to Leo Wu wooing the FML. If you enjoy romance as the main story, this one is your absolute best bet for 2024 (so far)

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