Honest to God, I don’t understand how this show maintained such high ratings (over an 8.0) on MDL while it was airing. Overscoring is always a problem on this website, but never have I seen overscoring that I couldn’t find some justification for - until I started watching Long For You. (If you enjoyed this show, I'm very open to hearing why.) I’ll try to make this review interesting, in exactly the way that this drama wasn't.

Ever read a fanfiction written by a twelve-year-old whose biggest concept of conflict is that she doesn’t have a boyfriend even though she’s only twelve? Now, imagine if this twelve-year-old had rich parents who paid for the most top-notch cinematography in order to make this fanfiction into a television production. And there you have it; this is what Long For You felt like from beginning to end.

I’ll give the production crew props for such pretty promotional posters and consistently beautiful shots throughout the drama. I genuinely appreciate their efforts in presentation which frequently resulted in brilliant results. But "don't judge a book by its cover" gets a whole new kind of importance in this show's context.

The story was absolute crap. That MDL has this listed as related to You Who Came from the Stars is an absolute insult to the Korean drama industry. I didn’t even like that drama as much as most people did, but I can still say with utmost confidence that You Who Came from the Stars would mop the floor with Long For You any day of the week. Aside from similar plot elements, you can’t even begin to compare the two. Forget being on the same level. They aren’t even in the same building. Or continent.

I have honestly never been so frustrated by a drama plot due to its lack of proper flow. What exacerbated this was the fact that the synopsis was the reason I started watching it: what’s not to like about a story that combines supernatural elements with romance? Yet, Long For You somehow took an interesting concept and turned it into something that was worse than nothing. The stunning cinematography was wasted on a plot that, again, felt like it was straight out of the mind of an immature pre-teen.

Conflict in this drama never feels like conflict. It always feels like a very slight inconvenience. Take for example, the main female character. You can tell from the story’s summary that she’s lonely as all hell. But the most we get of this characterization in the actual show is at most one minute of her being like, “Oh, woe is me. I am so. So. Lonely.” Are you now? Because I’m sorry, but just saying that you’re lonely doesn’t mean sh*t, especially when it only comes up once or twice. The problems in this show were written trivially, almost like the writers couldn’t wait to get back to the romance, but felt the necessity to include something else.

It was quite the shame, as well, that the romance sucked. There was zero chemistry between the main couple and zero logic behind their getting together other than the dramaland rule that states "main female lead and main male lead must end up together." For me, every time I saw them on screen, it was easier to picture them as brother and sister than a couple. Gross. The secondary couple was comparatively much more fun to watch, in addition to the situational pairing of the two male leads. These two pairings made this show slightly bearable.

We now arrive at one of two reasons why I didn’t drop this show like a hot potato: Song Wei Long. Not his acting, though. Kid’s got a long way to go. But there’s just something about those not-yet-legal-age eyebrows that entrance you. I swear I’m not being creepy. Going off of this, though, none of the acting really captured me as being amazing. Though, I imagine it must’ve been hard for the actors to play characters that are about as dimensional as a piece of paper that has been transported into the first dimension.

I’ll conclude this review with the second reason why I kept watching. I just wanted to see how bad it could get. It’s been a while since I’ve completed watching such an utter trainwreck. I’m sure you’ve gathered, but it only got worse with time.

(Also, if you would like to spare the production crew with the excuse that 20 minutes an episode at 20 episodes total is too short to do anything amazing, I will ask you to contact the closest weeaboo available. They can provide you a very long list of anime that construct stories infinitely better than this show's. And in only half the episode count.)

tl;dr: I'm more disappointed in myself for finishing this than I am in the producers of this show.

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For me, the title of this show should be more like “Love and Hate in the Moonlight.” Because those are my feelings towards it - incredibly mixed and indecisive.

When Love in the Moonlight first hit my drama radar, everything about it put me off. The promo posters just radiated cheesiness, so much so that I’m pretty sure I internally gagged. Not to mention, everything about its premise was overdone and oftentimes badly so. The crossdressing girl, the handsome prince, the political intrigue mixed somewhere in there...Was it worth the risk of watching and likely being disappointed?

The thing about Love in the Moonlight is that it is definitely a good show. Well, partially. It suffers from what I like to call “K-drama syndrome,” where it starts off at its peak and then plunges down into its inevitable doom, where the plot and characters deteriorate in a cesspool of their previously glorious existences. It's exactly as revolting to us viewers as it sounds.

The storyline of Love in the Moonlight is incredibly unoriginal. Its desire to take on the tropes of a crossdressing female who falls in love with a higher-class man was quite impressive, and for a good half of the drama, the execution was phenomenal. I found myself practically twitching while I waited to watch the next episode upon release.

There’s something about cliches done well that’s just as appealing as a never-before-seen storyline, and that’s what Love in the Moonlight accomplished. Its cheesy romance was bolstered by a talented leading couple, and its political aspect was intelligent, yet not overly difficult to follow. Not to mention, the characters were all lovable, each with their defining characteristics that made you love to see them. I admired the drama's ability to make the usually predictable storyline both unpredictable and addicting, and making me take back all my doubts from the beginning. Touche, writers; but that victory only lasts for a little while.

The problem with Love in the Moonlight is that as time goes on, you begin to see the infection of K-drama syndrome more and more. I'll admit, the writers keep you on your toes enough so that you barely even notice the problems unless you take a glance backward. But holy cheese, did this show throw away its potential at being perfect.

The romance is great, that much I will stand by. However, I attribute that much more to the capabilities of the leading actors than the characters themselves. I adored the Crown Prince at the beginning, and I likewise appreciated Ra On’s quirkiness. But over time, the writers lost sight of what made these characters unique and reduced them down to “male lead” and “female lead.” I don't even want to talk about the atrocities of the side characters, particularly Ha Yeon, who faded further and further into the background. It got to the point where she would come on screen and my reaction would be, "who is dis," because she had become that irrelevant. I’ve seen static characters, but I was puzzled with how the ones in Love in the Moonlight somehow managed to all move backward in development - their quirks disappeared. To me, there was nothing sadder than the moment I admitted to myself that the only reason I still liked the Crown Prince was because of Park Bo Gum.

Additionally, I have to say that the writers really lost themselves nearing the end of this show. It was cliche in the beginning, but at least they carried it out well. By the end, they were throwing so many tropes in your face that it almost bruised me. Most of which, I didn’t appreciate at all. There’s a difference between using previously-seen plot elements to better a show, and using them just because there is a need to. By resorting to the latter, the writers failed what could have been an absolute gorgeous ending.

For me, the one trump card of this drama was the cast, and this is the one basis I will recommend this drama off of. I sat down in front of the first episode knowing no one out of the main cast aside from Kim Yoo Jung, who I sneered at for being far too young for her role. By the end, I was impressed with everyone’s ability to portray their respective roles.

Park Bo Gum is phenomenal. He’s obviously goodlooking (those puppy-dog eyes though hehehehe), but the level of emotion he puts into every line and movement is awe-inspiring. Everything about his acting feels real, from the look in his eyes and - I swear - each shift of his facial muscles. He brings the Crown Prince to life in a way that I’ve honestly never seen another actor do with their character. And now I have posters of him on my walls. I wish this were a joke, but I guess I’m prouder to say that it’s not - he was just that good.

Yoo Jung is where I’m split. There’s no doubt she’s talented, but I’ll still enforce the idea that she was too young for the lead role in a romance drama. If you’re going to forget how weird it is morally that 23-year-old Bo Gum is interacting romantically with a minor, just know that her acting was far better in scenes where there wasn’t any handholding and whatnot. I’ll give it to her that she tried, and did well alongside Bo Gum, but she still needs more experience to pair with that acting talent. Soon enough, she’ll have a scary level of skill.

I would also like to comment on the music, most of which I loved. They chose a good collection of strong singers for it, and the instrumentals were beautiful (I listen to some of them when I work now because they’re that entrancing). I am going to go out on a limb here though, and say that the song they gave to Park Bo Gum was subpar. I know he’s capable of better music, and I just wish that they provided him the chance to blind us even more with his unlimited talent.

I’d say that Love in the Moonlight is worth the watch, if only to see how the actors are able to bring quality to a usually mundane plot. Despite the bits of disappointment I felt at the ending, I am still glad that I watched the whole thing through and I can say that I enjoyed myself for the most part.

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Ah, W. How I was looking forward to writing this review.

W was certainly one of the most anticipated dramas of the season, and for good reason: a creative storyline paired with an exemplary leading cast. I, like many others, was captivated by the idea of a webtoon coming to life. And Lee Jong Suk? Huehue. Say no more.

The writers of the show crafted a plot that is bound to keep you on your toes and send your brain into overdrive. It’s not the most intelligent story I’ve seen. At times it's confusing and borders on being nonsensical, but it’s logical enough to make it worth watching. W is especially intriguing because of its unpredictability - even if you grow used to the plot, each new problem creates an addicting mystery. You become determined to understand exactly what will happen next.

While I enjoyed W and the anxiety its suspense caused me, this drama is not perfect. A show amazing in concept, it fails to deliver in some of the most important aspects.

One thing I found particularly problematic was the romance. Some might disagree, but I found Kang Chul and Yeon Joo’s loveline to be one of the most poorly-written in any K-drama I’ve seen. I’ll admit that there was incredible potential in their relationship. However, the writers never give you any reason to like this couple except that they just are a couple - it’s the unspoken drama rule that because they’re the main characters, they have to be together. Fair enough, but that doesn’t get my heart racing.

Is the romance necessary? Yes - to an extent. Love is the easiest way to connect the two main characters. But trust me; that romance sucks badly. In the beginning episodes, you find it cute. What’s not adorable about a cool guy who’s curious about this ditzy girl? Then, you suddenly hit the point of doubt: but…but why, though? Why are they together? How? Sadly, there is no satisfying answer to these questions.

Yet, as much of a letdown as the romance was, what ultimately kept me from giving this show a higher score was its characters.

I have a burning passion for well-written characters, and I thought W would be the perfect drama to see it being done. The idea of the story is that the boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred, causing a mere created character to act and feel as a real human does. What we viewers deserve out of such a concept are heart-wrenching characters whose personalities you could find within a human in this world; who would persuade you that creations are self-aware. But disappointingly, nearly every single one of W’s characters are dull.

Strangely enough, the best example is Kang Chul. Our main character happens to be perfect. That sounds great! He’s rich, goodlooking, with an incredible sense of justice (this is where I swoon). He wants desperately to live, and you feel for him because…well, he’s not just a webtoon character; he’s a human being goddammit! Look at his perfect skin. And his eyes (oh his eyes). Also his backstory is so sad! But there’s something sadder than his backstory - his personality, which is as two-dimensional as the lines that were drawn to create him.

I’ve seen a lot of people share the same justification for why he has no real flaws: he’s a webtoon character, thus not real, thus does not have to be bound by the unspoken law that all people are imperfect. Fine; that makes sense. But isn’t that ironic? His whole gist is that he’s a human being. Where does he come off claiming such a thing if he’s so flawless? You’ll begrudgingly accept this character because of Lee Jong Suk, but that’ll be the extent of it.

And, the side characters are just that - side characters. Oh, sure, they exist. Yet I never really cared about them. Most of the time, they were convenient plot devices, not people. (I’ll say that I did very much like the role of Yeon Joo’s father - out of everyone, he feels the most realistic.)

If this were any other drama, I would let this go. I understand that a show can’t have everything, and characters are often the afterthought in the face of such a complex plot. However, I want to make it clear that if the writers are going to create a show based around the idea that these webtoon characters seem human, then they have to create characters that are human, and as a result, elicit my empathy. By the end, I should have been setting up a shrine in my house and counting prayer beads in hopes that they all get a happy ending! Uh…maybe that’s an exaggeration. But do you get me?

I know this review sounds bad, but I do want to get across that altogether, I did have a good time with W. Doesn’t sound like it, but it’s true! Its problems may be obvious, yet its strengths are enough to keep you going.

Its control over suspense had me hiding behind my hands at certain parts. And the cast itself is great - particularly the actor portraying Yeon Joo’s father; I cried womanly tears for you, sir. I’ve never watched Han Hyo Joo on screen before, but I did enjoy her role and thought she did a pretty good job with her character. I will also again emphasize my love for Lee Jong Suk: those emotive eyes. Gah. Almost made me like Kang Chul.

I recommend you to watch this drama, but simultaneously caution yourself against the blinding hype that it received. The end product of this show was nothing near to the perfection that I expected it to have, but it also wasn’t anything close to being bad.

Don’t expect a masterpiece. Watch it; have fun with it!

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I'll start off by admitting that I have trouble committing to dramas that are longer than 30 episodes. When I first took this one up and discovered that it was scheduled for 80 (later reduced to 60), I was a little skeptical - 80 episodes of nothing but romance? But at the same time, the storyline seemed cute and the comedic moments at the start were pretty good too, so I went on to watch each episode as it came out.

To me, the story was your fairly typical romance; this show just mixed things up a bit by including three couples: three brothers from one family, paired with another's two sisters and their best friend. It tried dealing with the idea of age gaps (a whopping 18 years between the eldest brother and the youngest sister!) which can be difficult to address.

Despite attempts at creating problems for the characters to deal with, I felt that the writers didn't include much real conflict that built each relationship. The consequence of this is that by the end of the 60 episodes, the most sentiment I had was 'oh dang they're cute together' - as opposed to what I think the show was trying to go for; 'they're finally together, after going through so much for each other.' I view this as a failure on the writers' part: they tried to create the sentiment of how relationships can help build each participating individual as a person, but fell short of that goal. Perhaps three couples in one fell swoop was a bit ambitious.

For the most part, this show's strong point is in that it's a pretty easy watch. You have small intense moments that are almost always immediately solved, but almost no anxiety-inducing scenes in which you nervously wonder how the characters can get past a particular hurdle. It's always nice to have a drama on hand that won't cause you constant worry.

Acting wasn't the best I've seen, but it was enough to get by. For the most part, everyone played their roles well; for me, the pair of Jolin and Hope were the most convincing and certainly the most entertaining.

I was split on the soundtrack - the opening ('Faded Pictures' by Vanness Wu) I found incredibly addictive and memorable, but some of the others actually became fairly annoying. It's not a big surprise though, considering that you listen to them basically for 60 episodes straight.

Overall, a pretty fun show. 60 episodes at around 50 minutes each is quite the commitment though, but also necessary to get things rolling with each of the couples. So, there was definitely potential for the allotted 80 episodes, so I'm unsure why they cut it short.

Better Man's main strength lies in its lightheartedness, so I'd find it perfect for kicking back and relaxing.

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The best way I can describe this show is by asking you to picture a house. It's a very nice house, but over time the foundation seems to crumble. Then one day, the entire building can't hold itself up anymore and collapses in on itself until it's just a pile of separate, broken parts that used to make a beautiful whole.

Beautiful Gong Shim began as a drama with infinite promise in the rom-com area. The two main characters are quirky and at first glance, you just expect a cute little romance that you can enjoy without much thought. I'll also point out that the first few episodes included some of the most ridiculously funny moments I've ever experienced in any drama, so my expectations were incredibly high as the rest of the episodes came out.

A little past halfway through it, though, the plot tried way too hard to be serious and suspenseful, thus losing its initial humorous merits. The feeling is somewhat like listening to your grandparents tell stories: at first, you're pretty interested, but it quickly gets boring, yet you feel an obligation to sit there until the very last word. I stopped finding things to laugh at. The romantic moments were less rewarding in the midst of the mess of the conspiracy plot the writers drew up for no apparent reason. The characters deteriorated and lost every trait that made them unique.

If there were one redeeming aspect of this drama, I'd have to say that it's Nam Goong Min. Usually a professional in depicting a psycho serial killer in other dramas, this time he's the lead male with a fair amount of goofballness. He was a joy to watch, but his character was not spared in the enormous *let's-make-everyone-generic* massacre. Everyone else fulfilled their roles nicely, but Goong Min's really the star of this show. (Which is interesting, as I thought the directors would give Minah more of a spotlight but she really dropped off the radar late into the drama. I could say less of the wig they made her wear though.)

The music was fun; there were multiple tracks that cheered me up along the way and altogether, they were nice to listen to.

In general, I'd recommend watching maybe the first ten episodes, if not less. The beginning is worth watching, as it puts a smile on your face pretty frequently. It's just the second half that becomes appallingly boring (trust me, you probably wouldn't even miss anything if you skipped straight to the last episode as soon as the story even starts to drag).

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As someone who's grown up in a Chinese family, I've watched my fair share of mainland dramas. For me, the newer ones generally fall into one of two categories: nostalgia or just-plain-frustrating. I would put the second label all over this drama.



Let me first say that how this drama was marketed made it incredibly misleading. The summary and the promotional posters make it appear as if this is a show that's at least partially about our main protagonist achieving stardom despite all the obstacles that can get in her way. Spoiler alert (one for potential viewers' benefit): it's not. The plot is instead a disgusting mess of irrational decisions made by barely-likable characters that had me mentally writhing in my seat for 40 minutes at a time. There are predictable stories that can still be amusing to watch, and then there are stories like this that are just outright maddening. This whole show I was waiting for the promised moment when our main character would show her talent to the world and I was brutally disappointed.



The cast was possibly the least of all the evils that this show had to offer, and I ask that people take this even with a grain of salt. The reason for that is because no matter how in-character these actors were, the characters they played all were so unbearable by the end of this show that I wondered what on earth was going on in the writers' heads. Take for example Victoria's character, Mei Li. The drama shoves her in your face as the innocent, selfless, embodiment-of-kindness protagonist who, when she does something wrong, was righteous in doing so. Over the period of 40 episodes, this gets old pretty fast and a previously likable character becomes someone so unrealistically depicted that I was left astounded.



Admittedly, the only thing that saved this show from bombing even more than it did with me was the acting. Especially with some of the older actors, they portrayed some of the more emotional parts with enough persuasion that I did feel some sympathy.



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tl;dr: This show was a combination of irritation and crying from boredom.

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**Edited review after not really liking the tone of the last one.

I'll start off by saying that I enjoyed this show. I was a little skeptical going into it because I've had my fair share of terrible rom-coms, but decided to give it a chance (for Sang Yoon...what). I was glad that I went into it, because it hooked me really early on. I would be alert for whenever the new episode would be released online so that I could hurry and see the newest plot developments. This is, altogether, a very good show that held itself together in a lot of spots where rom-coms generally lose points for me.

The story itself has been seen once or twice before, although I'm not sure that the other shows handle it quite as well as this one did. There are many problems with Mom going to school, especially under the objections of her husband and son. She hits heaps of problems before even setting foot on campus, let alone afterward. The show does a good job depicting her struggles, not only with school, but with herself and her relationships. This is definitely a strong point to the drama, especially for those of you who enjoy the typical rom-com but wish for something just a little deeper.

In general, the cast chosen did very well. Both the main and supporting actors come across as very real people and they carry their personalities consistently. (And let's be honest, you need a little Lee Sang Yoon to boost everything a bit.) The acting falls short with Min Jae and Na Eun, who, frankly, are the weakest links of the entire show and are the least believable in both character development and chemistry. Luckily, they're fairly minor in the scope of everything else and don't ruin the show for me.

I did enjoy the music and found myself humming along at some points. Like with most other shows, the soundtrack was mixed between cutesy and emotional, and it was pretty typical as far as drama OST goes. Nonetheless, the music went along well with whatever the scene called for.

Rewatch value is quite high. Being that this is a rom-com, it's fairly light-hearted. The pace keeps you interested really well throughout but there's nothing so heavy that would keep you from rewatching it.

Altogether, this was a pleasure to watch. It's a fairly simple show, but not boring in the least and I think it could be fair game to try out for most anyone, especially if you're looking for a cute yet more mature romance.

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