Sawah_91
Love is the most powerful force in the universe!
I just finished this drama (I know I'm late to the party, 2 years later Lol)!! I've only been watching Asian dramas for a year now, so that's why. I just finished it, and it's difficult to say how I feel about it. It's not the best show I have ever seen and definitely not the worst. Watching this in 2021, after I've already seen Goblin and It's Ok to Not be Okay (hands down one of the best Korean dramas ever created), Hotel Del Luna fell a little short in comparison. Goblin and IOTNBO deal with very similar themes such as trauma, healing, letting go, forgiveness, reincarnation, etc., but I personally feel that those dramas did a better job with tackling these issues.
That said, I agree 100% with what every reviewer has commented about this show: the cinematography is spectacular! Everything from the directing, camera angles, color grading, locations, and costumes are STUNNING! This doesn't even look like a television series, it looks more like a movie. I can't even imagine what the budget was for this series, it must have been astronomical :)
What I like:
-IU single handedly carried this show, without a doubt!! Nothing against the other actors, but her story was the most compelling. Her acting was powerful, mature, multidimensional, and convincing. Her backstory was so fascinating to watch.
-I've read other reviews of this show stating, Hotel Del Luna has a very Buddhist central storyline and I couldn't agree more. The themes of forgiveness, suffering, attachments, and healing from trauma are incredibly powerful.
-Like I said before, huge props to the director and creators of this show. This is a visually pleasing drama. Episode 16 where Man Wol is crossing the afterlife bridge is a visual treat! Between the stunning color grading, instrumental music, and camera angles, I wish I could tattoo that scene on my body!!! It is THAT good!
-The music is pretty good. I'm not a fan of the official soundtrack (even though I know there are some big Korean stars singing), it just feels a little cheesy. I personally think the background/instrumental music fits this drama perfectly and I loved it.
What I didn't like:
-The ML actor. Nothing personal against him, I really didn't connect with his character and I did not see the chemistry between him and IU. I also feel like his character was very one dimensional. His character was very sweet, but I didn't see any depth with him (I'm not sure if it was because of the script or his acting).
-The episodes were way too long. 1 hour and 20 minutes per episode is crazy! This led to many episodes feeling dragged out. I would much have preferred this drama to have 30-40 min. episodes.
-Some of the side ghost stories were amazing and many of the other stories felt like "fillers". This led me to feeling very bored and wanting to go back to Man Wol's back story.
-I didn't fully "connect" to this drama like I have with others. I'm not sure why, I'm only led to believe that the poor script at times is why I feel this way?
Overall, this drama was good (maybe okay), definitely not the best drama I've ever seen. I actually think when I have some free time, I might come back to this drama and try to watch it fully again. I'm wondering if I just wasn't in the right head space to watch and appreciate it. There are truly some heartwarming and amazing scenes in this drama, the problem is that they're so few and far in between. I appreciate all of the hard work that went into making this drama. I just felt that by the end, it was still missing that "wow" factor to truly stand out and I couldn't connect with it fully.
That said, I agree 100% with what every reviewer has commented about this show: the cinematography is spectacular! Everything from the directing, camera angles, color grading, locations, and costumes are STUNNING! This doesn't even look like a television series, it looks more like a movie. I can't even imagine what the budget was for this series, it must have been astronomical :)
What I like:
-IU single handedly carried this show, without a doubt!! Nothing against the other actors, but her story was the most compelling. Her acting was powerful, mature, multidimensional, and convincing. Her backstory was so fascinating to watch.
-I've read other reviews of this show stating, Hotel Del Luna has a very Buddhist central storyline and I couldn't agree more. The themes of forgiveness, suffering, attachments, and healing from trauma are incredibly powerful.
-Like I said before, huge props to the director and creators of this show. This is a visually pleasing drama. Episode 16 where Man Wol is crossing the afterlife bridge is a visual treat! Between the stunning color grading, instrumental music, and camera angles, I wish I could tattoo that scene on my body!!! It is THAT good!
-The music is pretty good. I'm not a fan of the official soundtrack (even though I know there are some big Korean stars singing), it just feels a little cheesy. I personally think the background/instrumental music fits this drama perfectly and I loved it.
What I didn't like:
-The ML actor. Nothing personal against him, I really didn't connect with his character and I did not see the chemistry between him and IU. I also feel like his character was very one dimensional. His character was very sweet, but I didn't see any depth with him (I'm not sure if it was because of the script or his acting).
-The episodes were way too long. 1 hour and 20 minutes per episode is crazy! This led to many episodes feeling dragged out. I would much have preferred this drama to have 30-40 min. episodes.
-Some of the side ghost stories were amazing and many of the other stories felt like "fillers". This led me to feeling very bored and wanting to go back to Man Wol's back story.
-I didn't fully "connect" to this drama like I have with others. I'm not sure why, I'm only led to believe that the poor script at times is why I feel this way?
Overall, this drama was good (maybe okay), definitely not the best drama I've ever seen. I actually think when I have some free time, I might come back to this drama and try to watch it fully again. I'm wondering if I just wasn't in the right head space to watch and appreciate it. There are truly some heartwarming and amazing scenes in this drama, the problem is that they're so few and far in between. I appreciate all of the hard work that went into making this drama. I just felt that by the end, it was still missing that "wow" factor to truly stand out and I couldn't connect with it fully.
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