mangoman73
Now let me continue by saying that if this drama went for, say, 3 episodes, it might score about a 7. But it didn't go for three episodes, it went for 16. So for 16 episodes I had to watch the leads alternately act like idiots, sometimes act like idiots together (those episodes were REALLY special), and do a lot of...cleaning? and cooking?
One of the secondary leads was boring and one was just really easy to dislike. By the end of it I was rooting for the friends, because all the other characters irritated me so much that I no longer cared that they were horrible and shameless, I was just happy that the main characters were getting some sort of payback for their over the top and constant stupidity, even if it was from their horrible vulture friends.
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Firstly, there are some elements of this which are nice. The cast are attractive and the female lead, Oh Ha Ni has a somewhat sute manner that is engaging.
The problems I have with this drama are the following:
1) Kim Hyun Joong. Attractive as hell? Yes. Fantastic actor? No. I believe Kim Hyun Joong improves on his previous efforst in this drama but the combination of him having a limited acting repertiore combined with a terrible script makes his character hard to love. And by hard to love, I mean vomit-worthy.
2) The plot. If I want to spend a girl waste YEARS of her life chasing after a bastard, I'll pay attention to the love lives of those random people I knew in high school that I am now Facebook friends with. This story goes absolutely nowhere. NOWHERE.
3) The message. This show is basically about a girl who is not very smart, being ridiculed when she confesses her love by a smart guy who is a real *insert expletive here*. She chases after him, he shuts her down, she keeps chasing, he leads her on, repeat. Yes girls, it doesn't matter if there is nothing good about him and he treats you horribly, keep going back for more. He's attractive, so it's worth it. She then continues to build her WHOLE LIFE around him. Enough said.
4) The ending. I guess I watched this through to the finish in the hope that the ending would feature a whole heap of Kim Hyun Joong being like "I'm sooo sorry, I thought I was so great, but really, I'm lucky you put up with me..."
This did not happen. I'm sure many people were like "Yay! Dating and marriage!" However, even after they became a couple, he was still a %$#@*& and she became ridiculously neurotic (partially thanks to KHJ again, but still). Even when he does nice things, he does them so that WE, the AUDIENCE, know, but she HIS GF/WIFE never does. What a great guy.
I couldn't feel any connection with the characters from this as I find one lead to be a bully, and the other to be a chronic victim. I feel that if there had been a little bit of equality in their relationship I may have found this passable, I think it would have been watchable, if a bit boring. As it was, I felt a little ashamed that this story has an audience, because it is not a type of relationship I can ever understand.
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The drama cannot say the same. It's not that I expected a lot from the drama, and it also isn't that it was awful. It was pretty, systematic and easy to follow. The production was of a good quality and some of the scenes featured some seriously nice use of eye-candy.
My problem with this comes primarily from the fact that it was not at all memorable. It didn't make me think, but more than that, it didn't make me feel. I never felt the relationship between the leads (although occasionally the other boys had bonding type moments).
This was the first anime with Kazuya Kamenashi in it, and I have to say, every other drama of his I have ever seen has been better than this, at least for his part. I felt his portrayal of the lead character was more wooden than a tree, which led me to believe he could not act. I have since watched other things that lead me to believe this is not the case, which makes me wonder if a poor script/storyboard was to blame.
Anyway, as mentioned, I don't dislike this drama, it's just that I got nothing from it aside from an awesomely hilarious opening song and prettiness. And honestly, what's not to love about a bit of prettiness?
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There were some parts in the plot that were over the top or unnecessary, but these were balanced out by the charming interaction of the side characters. Whilst I found the main pairing at times a little infuriating, though often adorable, the characters of the flower boys (in particular, Crazy Rooster and Pillar) were enough to keep everyone hooked. I even loved Crazy Rooster's love interest, as she was a great foil to the old fashioned female lead.
Overall, I expected eye-candy and I expected stupidity and I expected angst. While all three of these did occur, the eye-candy was worth it, the stupidity cute and the angst infrequent and meaningful. This is not the most original or poetic drama that you will ever watch, but the antics of the characters from episode to episode will leave you with a smile on your face.
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For me, this drama breaks the mould. Firstly, it is a real comedy, where the comedy really does seem to have more emphasis than the romance. The lead pair have great comedic as well as romantic chemistry, which is probably beaten only by the chemistry of the two secondary leads. Furthermore, the rapport between the female leads was heart-warming and fun, whilst the relationship between the two male leads was convincing and clever.
The cast of this drama is the highlight, as even the side characters such as the various parents and the grandmother are all played to perfection, aided by well-written comedic scripts. Furthermore, the drama gently parodies the things that we can both love and hate about dramas, with their crazy plot twists and stupid character motivations.
The core of this drama is that it does not revolve around pretty faces and angsty love, but rather, it is a family drama at heart. It is a celebration of platonic bonds of friendship, family and humanity in general and it has a sense of humour and fun that is contagious.
When I say this drama is about family, I know lot of people will turn away, but this drama is beautiful in its comedic simplicity. It strips away all of the ridiculous motives that are found in dramas and brings everything back to the idea that people are just people, filled with weaknesses yes, but also with real morals and real identities.
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