michelleoc

Compact, moving story

Having only two episodes, this show was a very well-written tightly told story. This is one of those shows that I passed up multiple times, because I'm not into gangster shows, because I can do without the blood and violence. Wow, this was nothing like I expected! The fact that he was a gangster was almost used as label to describe where he was coming from. I immediately forgot about that, because this show was so good. Because it was short, you don't have to wade through all the unnecessary scenes. Lee Dong Wook is a master of "underacting" - his facial expressions don't change much, there is no unnecessary movement in him - but he can convey his emotions so well. You feel his pain, you see his love. His characters always seem to be somewhat self-deprecating and he's got a cute, dry wit. In addition to the story/acting, the music was interwoven beautifully through the story. This is a wonderful show that doesn't require too much of a time commitment, but it is well worth your time.

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Just my opinion, but...

I decided to watch this for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was Park Seo Joon. However, for me, this show didn't work on a number of levels. Normally I don't have a problem with the characters having a large age difference. In this case, though, I couldn't seem to get past it, especially since I found her to be extremely immature. I also felt that she was trying to be funny, but I didn't feel she carried it off well. Over-the-top physical comedy isn't really my cup of tea. About halfway through the show, I felt that there were just too many misunderstandings, too much angst and depression, and for Pete's sake, if you'd just talk to one another this whole mess could be cleared up!

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Beautiful love story

The picture put me off for so long, and the explanation of the drama, as well. I don't care for period dramas, I find the costuming too distracting. However, the other night I couldn't come up with anything else I wanted to watch, so I decided to give this a try. This is one of those "stay up till 3am just to watch another episode to see what happens" dramas. Chemistry between the main characters was lovely. They were so beautiful together. This show had drama, romance, suspense, mystery, comedy - it had it all. I'm not a believer in reincarnation - I think that there are times when you watch shows that you have to totally suspend disbelief, and this was one of them, but it was so well done that I enjoyed it all. The connection between the past and the present tied in well. There were TRUE villains in this show - I don't like watching bad guys, but they were like watching a train wreck, you wanted to turn away, but you couldn't. I liked how the writers let the prince figure things out pretty quickly, so the audience wasn't way ahead of the game all the time. I ugly-cried through a number of episodes. I'll admit I'm a sucker for a good love story, and oh my gosh! When I got to episode 19 and it all looked pretty grim, I started to get a little worried. I was watching the timed comments during the last episode and a lot of people didn't feel this was a happy ending, but I think they just didn't get it. When he came into her juice shop, she didn't look up, because she was just working on auto pilot due to her grief. But you could tell it was the prince by the smile when he turned away and walked to the door. And when he met her at Namsan tower, you could tell by his posture that it was the prince. I think they had them meet there, rather than at the palace so there wouldn't be confusion as to whether he was really there, or if she was imagining it. When they changed him into his Joseon costume, that was just to verify that it was the prince. Whether he time-traveled back to her, or was reincarnated with his memories, the bottom line was that their love was so strong that they HAD to get back together. I cannot recommend this drama highly enough!

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The writing falls short

I recently saw Kim Min Jae in Tempted, so I was thrilled to see that he was the lead in this show. I liked the show, there were a lot of really good things about it. The music was wonderful, as you'd expect it to be, and I was impressed that Kim Min Jae played most of the music himself (I can barely handle Chopsticks). The Moonlight Sonata/Happy Birthday scene was one of my favorites.
The cinematography was very good - back lighting, warm color tones, and I especially loved the multiple times they filmed different scenes, showing the main leads at exactly the same distance apart. Also, the scenes where they superimposed the female lead between the male lead and the 2FL "will there be room for me between you?"
I was impressed by the costuming, the female lead wore a lot of classy, yet slightly edgy outfits. The people that were together in scenes were color coordinated so that no one person glaringly stuck out. I loved that they put the male lead in jeans a lot - they're in college for heaven's sake. I have to say that his plaid shirts were a little distracting, but oh well.
I felt that the acting was good, everyone played their parts well, but I'd have to say that the writing is what I had a problem with. The characters were somewhat flat and not fully fleshed out. Both the male lead and the female lead's expressions were pretty one-dimensional throughout. ALL of the characters had problems, which is necessary for the story, but, especially for the leads, I didn't see growth with them. They had issues from the beginning, and though he tried to keep communication somewhat open, there was so much not addressed between these two that I don't think you could actually call them a couple. They were precious when they were getting to know one another (and his smiles are worth the price of admission!), but once their relationship should have been further along, the scenes where they were together were almost painful for me to watch - they seemed so uncomfortable with one another. They both suffered from low self-esteem from things that had been said and done to them, but to never lean on one another just didn't make any sense.
The ending was sweet, and we got to see a bit more cuteness from our main couple, but it didn't make up for all the wasted time in the middle of the show.

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Too many people trying to keep the couple apart

I loved all the foods in this show, the beautiful displays of culinary delights, as well as the scenery, which really made me want to go on vacation. The concept of the show was good, and I liked the idea of the male lead falling in love with her by seeing her inner beauty, but they made her entirely too frumpy. When you are dating someone, you want to try to look your best, and when she went to meet all his friends, she looked even more dowdy than usual. I didn't care for the absurd numbers of people trying to keep them apart. Multiple ex-girlfriends, family members, etc. That said, the main couple was very cute together. He had a smile that completely lit up the screen. It had a lovely, happy ending.

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What's wrong with a little eye candy?

I loved this little show, though it was basically a commercial for the Duty Free shop (actually, I think that's why this was made). This is not a show in which you need to think at all. I thought this was the perfect little snack before moving on to my next full-length drama. I'll be honest, I thought this was a lot more romantic than a lot of the so-called romantic comedies out there in K-drama land.

The premise of the show was very clever, and I loved the little snippets of each male character. This is one of those shows that is perfect for people like me, people that can't decide who is the most attractive male Korean actor, each is wonderful in his own way. And as I watched each storyline, I recalled other dramas that I had seen each actor in that made me love them in the first place.

This is fluff at its finest. I was kind of disappointed in the ending, but I'm willing to forgive that due to the fact that you put some of my favorite Korean actors in one show for me.

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A pleasant surprise

I've watched this show a couple of times and have really enjoyed it. The acting was good, the characters were interesting and it was a nice change from the long, drawn out Chinese drama or the angst-filled Korean drama.

I know that some people had a problem with the age difference of Harumi and Yuri. I didn't, mostly because I felt that she was very immature, and he seemed to be very mature for his age. I think the Asian cultures can get away with wider age differences, because you can't tell what age they really are, and they age so well.

Let's start with Harumi. She was a mess. She called herself a failure, everyone else called her a failure and I think that, in a way, it became kind of a self-fulfilling prophesy. I think there was an element of her being desperate for Yuri to succeed because she wanted to live vicariously through his victory. I thought the writers overplayed the back problems - sometimes she acted more like an 80-year-old lady, walking in an ungainly way with a cane (yet still wearing high heels at times!). And could she BE any more clueless about the men that like her?!?!

Yuri - I loved that they gave him that beautiful pink hair. He was all hard edges until he started working with Harumi. He was, for the most part, very unemotional, which made the steamy looks he gave Harumi so special. And the couple of times he cried I really felt for him, because you know he had to be in the depths of despair to have that kind of reaction.

Harumi and Yuri's relationship was, for the most part, platonic. I would have liked to have seem more romance, but I think the writers played it that way because of the age difference. The obligatory separation toward the end was short-lived: I really appreciated that they didn't drag it out over a couple of episodes.

Masashi and Yamashita, both interested in Harumi. I didn't feel that Masashi deserved her, he wasn't strong enough to tell her how he felt. Yamashita had some issues of his own. I really liked how the writers wrote the three main male characters. They all wanted her love, but they still supported each other when needed, and didn't resort to dirty tricks.

I felt the same way about Eta Mika, the student that liked Yuri. She was upfront about liking him, but they didn't make her an evil character. I really appreciated that.

Miwa, Harumi's best friend, was lovely. She was trying to help Masashi as best she could, she was always supportive of Harumi and wanted her to be happy, and I loved when she decided to try and help Yuri. I also enjoyed her taking Yuri's friends under her wing and trying to teach them about group dating.

I especially liked that the writers didn't use either of the storylines that I was afraid they were going to use 1) evil young girlfriend making up a story about an inappropriate relationship between Harumi and Yuri 2) Yuri's father getting Harumi fired because he thought there was something going on between them.

I thought this was a fun, light, easy and enjoyable show to watch. It's one of those shows that you can watch between the more intense shows.

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Just no!

This show really irritated me, it was so implausible. Add to that the acting that wasn't very good, the dubbing/editing that was off and distracting, the FL makeup that was too orange and her hairstyle that looked like a duck tail, her calling him Mentor even when in a relationship, she became a counselor after watching an online video, way too many drinking scenes, unexplained things in each of the different stories, and the fact that the overriding theme of the show seemed to be that no one could keep track of their phones! People always seem to have their phone in their hand, not in a pocket or purse, yet when one person calls another, they hardly ever answer. Phones dropped on public transportation, left on tables, etc. , it just got absolutely ridiculous.

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Amazing!

Today is the first time that I'm glad that my memory is so bad - just so I can go back and watch this again!

First, the storyline was completely different than I've ever seen. Being in a VR world - what a gorgeous world! The set design was wonderful, the costumes were gorgeous, and it was beautifully filmed. I know that there were complaints about the VR storyline being dropped, but I thought it was perfect. I think the ML only felt at peace in the VR world, where he could totally control things, until he met the FL and was able to feel comfortable in the real world.

The writers/editors understood the assignment with this drama. The episodes were shorter and there weren't so many episodes. The writing was tight and it felt like everything that happened was important to the story. My fast forward button got to rest as I watched this.

There was quite a bit of humor in this. Humor that never felt out of place but represented things that happen in real life.

ML - I've never seen this actor before, I don't think. One thing I appreciated was he wasn't "pretty" or classically handsome. Sometimes I would think that he wasn't very attractive, but the next scene I'd have to revise my opinion. And I do have to say that a lot of his attractiveness was due to the way he treated the FL.

FL - once I got past the fact that she looks like a doppelganger of a famous Korean actress (IYKYK), I enjoyed her. She is stunning. Story-wise I loved the way her character was drawn. She was smart, and was her own person, even separate from the ML.

I absolutely loved watching their relationship develop. It was very organic. They each brought something to the relationship, so it never seemed unbalanced. There were a number of scenes where they just sat together and talked, getting to know one another. Speaking to each other from one balcony to another, on the roof with a bunch of balloons, etc. I could actually understand why they liked each other. They don't get together until episode 19, which in traditional Chinese dramas is absolutely ridiculous, but here it made sense. Their chemistry was wonderful to watch, and I found myself smiling watching them, I just thought they were so cute. Lots of hugging and good kisses!

I do have to say that the storyline of her best friend and her husband didn't quite work. It felt like they were playing house and not in an actual relationship. Of course, that is ultimately addressed.

The FL wore flowy clothes for the most part and looked lovely. The few instances she wore shorts or a shirt skirt for work (is that a Chinese thing?), that seemed very out of place and distracting. The ML totally wore his clothes well. Boxy, oversized suits, the man knew how to dress.

Random things I liked: I really appreciated that the female CEO of the company wasn't a witch and trying to steal the ML. It was so nice to finally watch something that didn't have that trope. The 2ML - I hated him, I felt sorry for him. He was an interesting character. Was he really interested in her or just using her for revenge. I kept going back and forth on this, but when we last see him was the only time I teared up.

Teeny Tiny issues for me: I felt the ending was meh. After the strength of the rest of the show, it was just bland. And would it kill you to give us an engagement/wedding/life after marriage?!?!?

It's been quite a while since I've enjoyed a drama so much.

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I was appalled by the end!

This show was long, drawn out, and very melodramatic. I didn't feel that it was very well-acted, either. I stuck with it, wanting to see ultimately what would happen, even though I felt, for the most part, that I should have given up and moved onto another show. This show reminded me of American soap operas, where the story lines continue on for years and you stop watching the show for a long period of time, come back to it and still know what is going on. All of that could somewhat be forgiven until I got to the end of the show.

He married the girl when she was in a coma!! That was just creepy. Her mom was telling him that when she woke up she was going to be mad. Everyone is in the hospital room for the wedding and they are filming and talking around the comatose woman in the bed, acting like everything is normal. It was just weird. Then, when she finally wakes up she's like, "So, we're married?" And he sits down and they act like it was a normal thing for someone to wake up from a coma, and be married. Add to that, the actor was pretty flat and unemotional and I didn't think his reaction to finding her awake was realistic, but part of that I have to put on the writer.

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Dissenting opinion here

Please bear in mind that this is ONLY my opinion!

The cinematography in this drama was fabulous, as was the music. Episode 1 started so strongly; I had high hopes for this show. Song Joong Ki and Ok Taec Yeon were both excellent. Plus, there was the advantage of a bunch of actors that I have loved in other works.

For me, this drama had a couple of problems. 1) First, so much bloodshed for the sake of bloodshed. Vincenzo is completely missing a moral compass, which made it hard for me to root for him in any capacity. Then, you have the upright citizens whose moral compasses go on the fritz or something and are willing to do whatever it takes for revenge. 2) The character was just all-around irritating. I kept waiting for her to get better, but no such luck. 3) I didn't feel the chemistry between the ML and FL. They would have been better to stick with the bromance.

But worst of all was the comedy. Don't get me wrong, the comedy was, for the most part, funny, and if the serious parts were less dark and violent, it might have worked well. However, it felt too much like the writers were trying to lighten up the heavy storyline and it felt contrived. The serious parts provided a lot of tension, but I kept being pulled out of the story by the comedy. So often, to me, this felt like a mash up of two diametrically opposed genres.

My review is to remind me of what I watched and what I thought, not to change anyone's mind, so please don't come at me with hate.

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For me, editing was the issue. No, maybe it was the relationships

This was a slow drama, which here was a good thing. Some of the scenes were just beautiful and you could feel the emotions of the characters. The music was lovely, and the use of silence, was, overall, very effective. The acting was, for the most part, understated and not overacted as can be seen in a lot of Japanese shows.

However, the timeline of the script and the way it was edited decreased my enjoyment of the show. This story would have been more effective if it had been told in a more linear fashion, rather than the heavy use of short flashbacks. As I watched this, my mind was busy seeing what I would have done differently when making this show. There wasn't enough of their high school storyline to get me to feel and understand their relationship. As a result, their relationship felt superficial, and I had a difficult time seeing what all the fuss was about. They loved music and the sound of each other's voice, but what else?

Also, I have a difficult time feeling that theirs was a great love, when she was, to all appearances, living her best life getting ready to move in with her boyfriend. Consequently, she felt like a "love the one you're with" type of person.

Then, there was the editing itself. Numerous times I thought there was something wrong with my tv, when the scene cut at a strange place and the screen went white or black. Was that supposed to symbolize time passing? I don't know, but it was jarring.

Apparently, I'm in the minority for not loving this one. I wouldn't recommend this show, but I wouldn't tell people to run away from it either. Some of the scenes are very effective, but since I couldn't see the love between the main characters, and since so many of the choices they made would, on the surface be noble, but on closer look I found their choices to just be selfish.

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My rating might have been higher with less episodes...possibly

What I loved:
-Park So Yi as Bok I Na. She is a terrific young actress, I've loved her in everything I've seen her in, and am looking forward to her growth as an actress.
-The youth romance of I Na. I would have liked to see more of them.
-Oh Man Seok's character of Gi Ju's father. What a calm, warm and lovely character.

What I didn't like (not in any particular order):
-I have liked Jan Ki Yong in other works, but I didn't think he did a good job here. He didn't look depressed, he looked drugged. I felt like he was just moving through the drama. I got no emotion from him.
-Chun Woo Hee looks just like Song Hye Kyo to me. Since I'm often not a fan of SHK, I struggled.
-The timeline was all sorts of a mess. For me, the fact that she was there showed that she survived in the past. No matter how they tried to explain it, it didn't make any sense to me.
-Did the ML and FL hate each other IRL? They had absolutely no chemistry with one another and didn't like each other for so long, I never bought them as a couple.
-Can we talk about amazingly bad haircuts of Gwi Ju and Grace?
-The weight loss story for Gwi Ju's sister. We see some of her struggle, but her massive weight loss was overnight.
-Pretty much all the characters other than the couple I mentioned. Her family (and she) were awful! I get that they were swindlers, but I never really saw them turn around until the last episode. Same for his family. I just didn't like them.
-Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive script. Enough with the flashbacks.

For me (please remember, this is just my opinion), I was extremely disappointed in a show that I was so looking forward to watching.

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