I was a fool that I let the hype scare me away from such an amazing show for so long. But as they say, better late than never. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the drama, from the first episode till the last. The story was gripping, the characters were outstanding, the acting was stellar, nothing went overboard at any point (considering everything), the pace of the show was just right, had the element of clever wit and the episodes were consistently good. A drama that has everything? I finally found it.

Never has a show taught me so much, and I'm not saying that these teachings have been profoundly philosophical or deep inner-soul hoo-ha. The basic things like being honest, compassionate and responsible. At the same time, being a good judge of situations and analyzing your actions before doing them. It also taught me that I should never feel ashamed to accept my mistakes and learn from whomever I can. These things may seem like everyday stuff but, for me, I'm not sure that I always go by all them diligently, even though I know I should. This show has, somehow, compelled me to. Suddenly I'm thinking, hey, maybe being honest about what I think wouldn't be so bad; but at the same time, being prudent about the truth wouldn't hurt either. I think it's suffice to say that along with the characters of the show who learned tons of things from each other, I learned a helluva lot from them.

The consistency in the show, along with the nature of the characters that only evolved for the better despite being same at the core, was commendable. It made me stick with it right till the end. The emotions portrayed by all the actors (brilliant work by them btw, another reason to watch the show) strikes the right heartstrings, without ever giving the feeling that it's deliberate on their part. You relate with them, their feelings, their predicaments, everything.

I think I should especially mention the praiseworthy performances by Lee Jong Suk and Lee Bo Young. Not that the rest of the cast doesn't deserve commendations, but for me, these two were just absolutely terrific. Surprisingly, there's this one character in this show that I adored beyond measure - Hye Sung's mom. In all the dramas that I've watched so far, I've never come across such a strong mother. She was just.. great, I have no words really. She's definitely going to stay in my heart for a long, long time.

On an ending note, I'd recommend this drama to anyone who wants to watch something worth their time. This show totally deserves all the hype and appraisal it has received. Go for it :)

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The whole and sole reason for me to watch this movie was, yes, Jang Geun Suk. I haven't heard of or seen the Japanese Drama (dorama?) so I wouldn't know the difference but I guess since it was a drama, it would have been more spaced out and carried out well.

I rated the story high because essentially, it IS a good story. Tbh, even before I knew there was a Japanese drama already, when I finished watching the movie, the first thought I had was that this would have been amazing as a drama. It had the potential. A story where so many feelings and attachments are involved, you need to be careful. There was so much going on and I guess it proved to be a lot for the movie to cram into 1 hour 50 mins. By the time a scene or emotion registered in my mind, we moved ahead to something entirely different. In such movies, if anything is rushed or sudden, the audience loses the connection. Which I did, quite a few times during the movie.

BUT having said that, Jang Geun Suk pulled me back right in. If I think about it, he actually did feel like a human pet to me, which is difficult since a human pet is a concept that's hard to grab. Almost makes me wish I could have one like him (I'm downplaying it when I say 'almost', I've already made a thousands fervent wishes to whoever may listen). Although, imo, the lead couple seemed mismatched. Granted, Ha Neul was apt for her role but she seemed.. too mature(for the lack of a better word) for Geun Suk. They had chemistry, but at some points I felt it was more like an older sister-younger brother kinda relationship. But I guess that's the story's demand that their should be an age gap or something. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them act their parts.

The all-too-obviously-recorded-somewhere-else-but-shown-to-be-performed-on-the-stage performance towards the end was.. pitiful (Again, for the lack of a better word). Geun Suk was the knight in the shining armor for me then as well, I spent the entire sequence ogling at him.

So, if you're looking for a light movie that doesn't really boggle your mind up and leaves you feeling silly and relaxed, you can definitely watch it. But don't expect anything too great, it'll spoil the movie-experience. It's one of those movies that can make you smile and laugh and happy ONLY if you watch it with an open mind. And if you picked this up for Jang Geun Suk - what are you doing reading all these reviews, watch it already!

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