A more lighthearted look at historical drama

This seemed to me like watching people play dress up in historical costume, but it was actually in current time. For me, that wasn't a bad thing. I typically don't care for historical dramas because they are SO full of angst, often have tragic endings, all the government people look alike and are ALWAYS evil, there is often unrealistic flying around acrobatics going on. That's why this show for me was a breath of fresh air. Sure, the government people still all looked alike and there was a lot of evil to go around, but I was able to get past that because of the lightheartedness that was evident throughout.

Interesting premise for a story and I loved the strength of the women characters. There were quite a few times that got me grinning, especially from the eunuch. Oh, the trials of trying to keep up with a prince!

The two leads were very good. I loved him in True Beauty, and he showed a more playful side to himself here. His expressions were so sweet, and his smiles and mannerisms as he journeyed into first love were a joy to watch. I appreciated that they took the time to show us the development of their relationship, and I could understand why they fell in love with each other.

As usual, giant time skip, rushed ending, but in this case, I was able to get past that because I enjoyed the three quarters of the episodes so much.

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Short and touching story about healing

Sometimes I appreciate a show that is short, as I tend to find a lot of wasted time in the longer dramas. I enjoyed this show, for what it was.

STORY: I really enjoyed the storyline. For anyone that has suffered loss and/or trauma, this spoke to both of those things. Lingering feelings of guilt for choices we've made, or even events out of our control, can affect our lives and present physical and emotional scars in multiple ways. I appreciated the friendship that developed between the leads, a relationship built on needs that each of them had. Often, we don't realize how someone is helping us while we are going through something, it's only once we get to the other side that we can appreciate their words, their listening ears, their sympathy and their understanding. By her saying that she was here, and listening to him, he was able to finally grieve. She needed something to live for, and he brought some joy into her life. I struggled with the second couple, as there seemed to be a large age difference. Normally that doesn't bother me, but this time I couldn't relate to them. Why was there the hoobae that liked him (she looked too much like the FL to begin with) when it seemed to be something to just fill up about 10 minutes. Plus, the twist was a complete waste of time.

ACTING: The acting was pretty good. It was a simple script that didn't require a huge demand in the acting department, so I think everyone did fine. The standout for me was Na In Woo - whether smiling or crying, I felt his emotions.

MUSIC: I enjoyed the songs.

REWATCH VALUE: Not for me, there's too much other stuff to get through, and there really wasn't enough romance, which is what I tend to rewatch.

ENDING: Why, oh why, do Asian dramas have to rush their endings so much?!?! It was cute, but too rushed.

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Unhealthy relationships

Bear in mind that everyone writes their opinions based on their specific thoughts of the show. I know that this is considered a classic by many; however, there were just too many things in this show that made me wonder why I was wasting my time:
1) His hair. I know it's because of the manga, but you couldn't mention it and then fix it? It was so ugly and distracting.
2) Ming Si was mean, a bully, and physically/verbally abusive. Shoving her up against walls, throwing food at her, calling her stupid and other names throughout the entire show.
3) why in the world would she like him? I re-watched the early episodes to see if I could figure out when and why she started to like him. Still a mystery. So, in addition to not liking him, I didn't like her, because she obviously had self-esteem problems.
4) The idea that F4 would run a college campus was just laughable. It made a bit more sense in Boys Over Flowers, because it involved a smaller high school, and his parents basically owned the school.
5) Then you've got a crazy girl that did something terrible to Shan Cai, the whole school hated Shan Cai because of it, and Shan Cai forgave her and they became besties. Just no.
6) The F4 characters were flat. I get the idea that they are supposed to be totally popular and unapproachable, but cold and flat it what we got.
7) The dubbing. I don't think they could have possibly found people with worse, more irritating voices for some of the people.
8) The acting was not very good. Especially the two leads - he was just angry all the time and she was always wide-eyed and just seemed like she had no idea of what was going on.
9) The storyline was choppy. The writers gave Shan Cai a storyline with a problem for her that needed to be solved. (1) trying to adapt to college. 2) Trying to deal with F4. 3) needing money to pay off a loan. 4) Crazy girl. 5) Liking 2ML. 6) Mean girls lying and putting her in danger. 7) Kidnappings. The list goes on...) They would run with that story and as soon as it was resolved, they created a new problem. So, the show seemed more like a series of vignettes, rather than a cohesive storyline.
10) Too many problems for Chan Sai. Was this done just to make the number of episodes that there were? Because there were too many episodes. A lot of the "issues" could have been completely left out and turned this into a more watchable show.
11) The dynamics of the main couple were to be arguing ALL THE TIME. This was not, in any way, a healthy relationship. The word that kept running through my head was "toxic".
I might have rated it slightly higher if there had been half the episodes, but by the end I was pretty angry that this was time I was never going to get back. I blame myself for my obsessive compulsion to finish shows, no matter how bad they are.

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Something was missing...

I'll start by saying that I loved Clean with Passion for Now. What did I love about it the most? The friendships that developed and the comedy. Both of these things were missing here.

Jasper Liu was good, though the way his character was written, he seemed more "prissy" than a germophobe. It seemed to me like they brought out the disorder only when there was nothing else going on. It didn't flow throughout the show. I must say, though, that toward the end, when Jasper's character was especially traumatized, his acting was excellent.

Shen Yue did an okay job, but again, I have to fault the writing more than the acting. The hairdresser and costume designer for her should have been fired. She wore the most ridiculous outfits, and the Pipi Longstocking braids were just laughable.

The main leads had good chemistry. There were some good kisses, and they were sweet together.

Second male lead - hated the way he was written. In CWPFN, you really felt an empathy toward him, but in this version I just hated him. First, can we talk about professional ethics? You can't just go around telling everyone about the problems your patient is having! I felt that a lot of what he did was underhanded, just because he wanted the girl.

The other two couple storylines were okay, but I felt that the main couple's character development suffered because so much time was taken up with them. As it was, I found myself fast forwarding through a lot of this show.

The music was beautiful.

The ending was okay. If you are so inclined, there is a bonus episode on YouTube that addresses after the wedding.

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Seriously didn't know what it wanted to be

I did not read the web series of this show, so I'm going strictly on what I saw/felt while watching this.

This may not have been a BL show, but it desperately wanted to be. The writing in the first few episodes between the two male leads, the longing looks of Yeo Joon toward Soo Hyun, the romantic music when they were in scenes together, it felt like it was trying to get away with something by not coming right out and addressing the issue up-front. I was in no way pushing for that, because I don't watch BL shows, but there you have it.

Acting: The acting was fine. Park Ji Hoon as Yeo Joon was just beautiful to watch. He's so attractive, and his bleached hair really made him stand out from the others (I thought it was a mistake to make Soo Hyun's brother a bleach blond as well). My only problem was when he started yelling, then his acting was over the top, as was the woman's acting that played his mother.
Kang Min Ah as Kim so Bin was just a bundle of cuteness, and I always enjoy Bae In Hyuk (Nam Soo Hyun) - deep voice, well-controlled use of facial expressions, just that hint of a lisp, yup, I like him.

CHARACTERS/STORYLINE: Let me start by saying that they could have left all of the women out of this movie (including the FL) and it would have been fine. I didn't feel that any of the women were well-written, except for, perhaps, Young Ran. Mi Joo was a TERRIBLE character. She was totally obsessed with a guy because he helped her pick something up (and he was handsome)? Her lines were cheesy and she just reminded me of a stalker. Her character had absolutely no redeeming value. Kim So Bin's trauma was glossed over for the most part, got addressed briefly, and resolved quickly. I loved watching the Yeo Joon character, but I didn't like him (I don't think I was supposed to) - he was very manipulative and that came off immature as well. I did enjoy the deepening friendships between the three main people. Once they got past all the anger and animosity, their conversations were interesting. I loved watching Soo Hyun opening up. At the beginning he is a total loner, unfriendly and you can tell he has a giant chip on his shoulder. My heart broke for the hardships he had to endure, but when he finally swallowed his pride and opened up, there was maturity and wisdom there.

CHEMISTRY: Most of the chemistry was between Yeo Joon and Soo Hyun. Once Yeo Joon and So Bin became a couple, they were very cute together, but I didn't really feel any romantic chemistry. A couple of poorly executed/poorly filmed kisses didn't help either.

I felt that the bullying was carried too far, but I'll be the first to admit I don't like a lot of angst. I thought it was well-filmed. The colors they used surrounding each of the characters kind of fit in with their personalities.

It's not even close to being the worst show I've ever seen, but it's also not even close to being one of the best. If you have nothing else to watch, I wouldn't tell you to run away from it. You might enjoy it.

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It's worth watching for the acting of Jang Ki Yong

POSITIVE: Jang Ki Yong's acting in this is absolutely amazing. I'd rate his acting ability a 20/10. He was able to convey so much with just his eyes and you never knew quite how to feel about him. Should you be appalled by him? Terrified of him? Should you root for him? Should you feel sorry for him? With the disclosure of each piece of mystery, he was able to pull you in and I couldn't seem to look anywhere else when he was on screen. He also has a deep voice that is perfect for the voice over work required in this show.

SO MUCH NEGATIVE: Keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion, but I thought this drama was a big mess. It started out very strong and the first 7-8 episodes were very good. Then it seemed as if the writers threw absolutely everything into the mix. There were so many characters in this show to keep up with it gave me a headache. Actually, you need to make a flow sheet with all the characters and how they are related in the past and present. It wandered aimlessly, continuing to add characters for the next 20 episodes. The last three episodes got exciting again as they tried to tie up the large number of loose ends. As for the story, it spent so much time about talking about timeless, everlasting, and fateful love, and then threw the whole thing out the window. The story was very convoluted and unnecessarily confusing, and ultimately it left a bad taste in my mouth with one of the worst drama endings EVER!

Lee Soo Hyuk as the second male lead - first, they gave him a really unfortunate haircut that was distracting in the past timeline. I'm usually on the fence about his acting, he seems to have two expressions, 1) bland/blank, and 2) pursed lips like he just sucked on a lemon. I found the relationship between the two male leads interesting, though.

The female lead bothered me no end! I can't remember when I've spent so many hours watching such a wishy-washy character. She couldn't decide between the two men, which was ridiculous because they were the absolute opposite of each other. She went on and on about how much she loved the one guy, but then completely abandoned that. It might not have been so irritating if they hadn't been playing up the "even in my next life I won't love anyone but you" idea.

There were quite a few psychotic people in this drama. More bad guys than you can shake a stick at. Again, it should have been pared down considerably.

CHEMISTRY: Good chemistry between Jang Ki Yong's character and the female lead, a couple of good kisses. There were a couple of kisses between the female lead and Lee Soo Hyuk, but, unfortunately, they were very fake looking.

I stuck it out (because I'm not a quitter) and I'll repeat again, the ending was so bad and it made me so mad that I had wasted so much time on this drama. For me, it falls in the "That's time I'll never get back" category. However, many, many people seemed to really like it, so start it to see Jang Ki Yong's acting and decide if it's worth sticking around for the rest of it.

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Short

Both of the leads were very attractive. Personally, I was bothered by the "slapstick" focus - that he was constantly looking at her chest, seeing her underwear, his eyes would bug out all the time. It seemed very juvenile. The bad guys were caricatures of what you'd think a typical bad guy would be and they were amazingly unattractive, so there was absolutely no mystery about who the bad guys were.

The leads were cute together, but I didn't feel any chemistry between the two and though it was just four episodes, even for that the ending was terribly abrupt.

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At times it was like watching paint dry

I have to say that I struggled through this one, and the reason it even got the somewhat high rating from me is due to the excellence of the second couple. This drama could have really used some serious editing. But let me get my positives out of the way for anyone that doesn't want to waste their time reading the rest of the review - the second lead couple made this drama for me! Dai Chao as Yi Ba Dao/Yi Nan Ke was terrific. He was stoic and mysterious and I remained curious as to how things would play out for him. Zhang Yu Qing as Mi Ya was wonderful as well. I love a female character that feels comfortable in her own skin and doesn't have to connive to bring other women down. She was a driven career woman, but I cared about her as well. Kudos to the costumers for the wonderful outfits she wore. In my opinion, their storyline was the reason to watch this show. They worked really well together and they had good chemistry. The main couple really took a back seat to the second couple in this show.
Story: interesting premise, but in how many scenes do we have to hear about wine making, wine drinking, wine color, wine texture, seeing people drinking wine, seeing people thinking about drinking wine, seeing people fighting over wine? I get it, the story was about wine! Plus, I thought there were just TOO many different story lines going on - gangsters, owing money, rivals, supposed fiancee (which was an extremely irritating and useless storyline), knowing each other in school, star struck fan, writing articles about winemaking, wine tasting competitions, forgotten memories, revenge, murder, just pick a couple and flesh out the stories completely, rather than just throwing in a smattering of each. And it's just my opinion, but I HATED all the drinking. I get it, it's a show about drinking, but her being in these competitions just to drink, I didn't care for that at all.
Acting/Cast: I did not think that Ireine Song was a good fit for the part of the female lead at all. She was entirely too young looking and she acted very immature as well. I did like the height difference between her and the ML. They had some cute scenes together, but the romance fell way down on the scale of importance. A lot of the other acting was stilted as well.
Music: I don't remember it.
Re-watch value: Nope. As it was, I fast forwarded through A LOT of it because I found so much of it boring and repetitive.
In a nutshell - watch this show for the second couple, and be prepared to use your fast forward button a lot.

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Disappointed in the writing

This show really frustrated me, mainly because the writers would have you believe that the FL would rather have everyone hate her for something that she hadn't done, rather than admitting what had happened to her. I wasn't able to suspend disbelief that far. She was cold, and mean throughout most of the show. I might have been able to forgive that from a secondary character, but not from the main character. I don't like mean girls and that was the focus here.

I thought that the ML was mis-written as well. He didn't look or act like a teenager, at all. He acted more like a teacher, so I had a hard time with connections between him and all the other characters.

To be honest, the reason I didn't rate this lower was because of the secondary characters. They were very enjoyable to watch. The secondary couple was cute, though their big break up made no sense, other than to serve to drive the story forward. I especially loved watching the third "couple" - Kim Yoo-Shin was bubbly, positive and spent most of his time following Ji So-hyun around. He was very outspoken about the fact that he liked So-hyun, but he was such a likeable character I found myself rooting for him.

I'm not a big person on revenge; however, I felt that with the seriousness of the topic that was the focus of the show, the perpetrators should have been dealt with more severely.

This drama had the advantage of being only eight episodes. That was long enough.

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female lead was too fickle

Difficult for me to rate. There was a LOT of humorous stuff in this one, which was great. My problem came with the main girl being "in love" with three different guys. She just wanted to get married, it didn't seem that she cared who she married. There were basically three men and three women and they were all involved with one another in one way or another. I didn't like the idea that she had slept with one guy, was kissing the other guys, etc. I had to rate it lower for the premarital sex as well. That's why I like to watch Korean dramas, as long as they don't kiss like fish, I like the chaste relationships. Main girl's comedic timing was excellent. HATED the ex-girlfriend of the main guy, just unnecessarily scheming. His mother? What an absolute nightmare! But when he comes to terms with his mother - one of the most emotional scenes I've seen in awhile. I did have a problem watching Yeon Woo Jin, just from the standpoint of not understanding how someone could possibly be that good looking! Later in the episodes when he started smiling??? Oh my gosh!

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The high point was Kim Young Kwang

Cute show. Very strong performance by Kim Young Kwang. The I loved how they revealed that he's loved her for a long time. That silent watching her, getting hopeful, then living through her being involved with someone else. He was the epitome of strong silent type. He's so serious, but when a smile breaks out, wowza! The thought of five men that were so different fighting over her was totally unrealistic. I was also bothered by the fact that she was so wishy washy. Seriously, the boyfriend broke up with you without a reason and you still consider him in the running?!?! No way! Happy ending, walking away hand in hand. Basically one kiss, but it was a good one!

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As an RN, I was initially very annoyed by this show

I'll start with the positives:
Cute show, no angst, lovely second male lead that wants the object of his affection to be happy, fun/funny co-workers. The premise was far-fetched but enjoyable to watch, for the most part. I felt that the male lead's attitude toward the female lead was misogynistic, but was willing to overlook this just to continue to watch actor Satoh Takeru, who was wonderful in this role. Their relationship was easy to watch and I kept holding on for the change in his attitude. And can I just talk about his stares and the kissing scenes? Worth watching this show if for no other reason than that. There is one scene where he gets emotional and you finally get to know his heart. I think Takeru smiled twice in this show, and those smiles were a treat because they were so rare.

Things that bugged me:
Sakura Nanase was loud, somewhat irritating, inept, immature and clueless at the beginning of this show. I mean, the second time you meet a man you tell him that you love him and you've followed him to his place of work?!?! I don't care for these types of women in the shows that I watch, they seem so spineless to me. I found myself getting angry during the first two episodes. I realize that she was a new nurse, but she was like a bull in a china shop and all I kept thinking was "how in the world did she pass nursing school"?! My next thought was, unless Japan has completely different metrics for patient-to-nurse ratios, there is no way that these nurses would have time to wander the hospital, sit in the cafeteria with patients, etc. It was very unrealistic. And there was so much gossiping going on among the staff. The character of Tendo Kairi was a TOTAL tsundere. He was actually mean to Sakura and called her names throughout (which apparently was supposed to be an ongoing theme), but I didn't care for that. And with him being a brilliant doctor and her being an idiot, I didn't see how he could like her. One more pet peeve (this applies to SO MANY shows!) - why in the world does she continue to call him Sensei when they are dating? That just puts a distance between them that doesn't need to be there.

The positives definitely outweighed the negatives, it became more enjoyable as the episodes went on, it was concise at only 10 episodes, and I'm glad I watched this show.

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This show was amazing!

Let me start by saying that I’m all about romance, and I’m a big scaredy cat. I don’t particularly care for suspense shows because they make me too nervous. That said, I thought this show was brilliant! When I started the series, I could only watch one episode a day because it was just too stressful. I don’t usually think about how I’m going to rate a show as I watch it, but during this I was wondering how I was going to rate it since I wasn’t enjoying it. It was good, but not enjoyable, if that makes any sense. As I got better acquainted with the characters, I really needed to see what happened next. This drama deals with nature vs. nurture – are we pawns of our parents and the decisions they make? Can we truly break free from unhealthy relationships?
STORY/WRITING: I didn’t particularly care for the way Cha Ji Won was written at the beginning. She was so sure that he liked her, without any reason whatsoever. She just felt a little too needy to me. However, here are so many twists and turns in this drama, I kept being surprised in each episode. I loved the relationship between Hee Sung/Hyun Soo and his daughter. It was obvious that she was closer to her dad than her mom. This was telling to me – kids are great judges of character, they don’t hold grudges and see things for what they are. The fact that she loved him so much, there was goodness in him that he wasn’t even aware of. The flashbacks were used effectively. I didn’t feel that there were extra characters/scenes just to get the 16 episodes.
ACTING: The entire cast was good, but if Lee Joon Gi doesn’t get some kind of award for his portrayal of Baek Hee Sung/Do Hyun Soo, there is no justice in this world! He was the standout for me. At the beginning, I couldn't believe I would watch a show about a serial killer. I was so sure, he was cold and calculating. Playing a person that doesn’t know how to feel/show emotions, oh my gosh, it was heartbreaking. His performance was, for the most part, very understated, but the ability he had to convey loneliness and fear was spot on. The last episode, for me, was the one that really got to me. He was doing things that he didn’t understand, he was conflicted about his feelings, and I thought he was kind of resigning himself to living a lonely life as penance. Jung Seo Yeon as Baek Eun Ha (the daughter) was just precious. She cried (a lot) but was just so sweet. Kim Ji Hoon as the real Baek Hee Sung – oh my goodness, him switching from nice to psychopath was chilling. It gave me the creeps to watch him. Now, I need to see if he’s in something else where he doesn’t portray a crazy person.
CHEMISTRY: We got some insight to the relationship between the lead couple in flashbacks. He was so emotionally closed off and I think he started liking her and didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. Some very yummy kissing scenes. There was a lot of emotional push/pull with him because of who he was and his circumstances, but theirs was a very mature relationship without game playing/miscommunication that you see in romances. Granted, he lied to her, but the unfolding of the reasons was thrilling.
MUSIC: There were a couple of beautiful love songs, and the music throughout the rest of the drama was very effective in increasing the tension.
REWATCH VALUE: I don’t think I’ll ever need to watch this again, especially since it’s a genre that I don’t care for. But that doesn’t decrease its excellence.
My only complaint, I think, was that so many of the names were so close together that I had a hard time keepings things straight at times.

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Miscommunications and manhandling

This drama had promise, but I felt that some opportunities were missed. The storyline really dropped the ball on the potentially interesting aspect of his medical condition. They used the physical condition called hyperthymesia – but that is a condition that related to a person’s past (remembering all aspects of their own life and “living in the past”), not having an eidetic memory, and this was not how the character was presented. Toward the end of the drama the medical condition came to the forefront and then was never fully explained/resolved, other than with a sentence tossed out by the male lead. As I find with most Chinese dramas, there was an awful lot of filler, multiple storylines, etc.
CHARACTERS: Han Che (played by Leon Leong) had some real issues for me. I can totally buy into the cold person being changed by the woman he loves, but he was so cold throughout most of the show it was like he was an automaton. Did he really have any emotions? Add to that his manhandling the female lead over and over again, I just didn’t care for him. It’s not love to be forced to kiss, it’s not love to be dragged from one place to another over and over again. In addition, his total inability to communicate with her and keeping things from her was unacceptable.
Nuan Nuan (played by Eleanor Lee) was pretty well-written. I really loved her attitude and her drive to succeed. The opportunities that came along for her really demonstrated that if your initial dream doesn’t work out, that’s not the end of it. However, once she and Han Che got together, I really didn’t like her attempts to be “cute” – it came off as childish and immature. Also, she had communication problems of her own in that she held a grudge against Han Che multiple times, which was immature as well. Her one friend totally threw her under the bus more than once and she forgave her without any issues, but Han Che was a different story. Also, her asking him to repeat his question over and over again at the end of the drama was especially immature and I felt like she was making him jump through hoops.
I liked the secondary couple and their storyline was cute for the most part, but again, the miscommunication/no communication/misunderstandings was overused here.
I didn’t care for the potential rivals for Han Che’s and Nuan Nuan’s love. I felt that the acting of these two, especially, was not very good. They were wooden and one-dimensional.
CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE LEADS: Many open-eyed kisses. They were both very attractive, but I just wasn’t feeling the love between the two. Han Che’s character had some very well-written and touching lines about love, but their chemistry was lacking.
I don’t often do this when watching a drama, but I found myself thinking “if only they had gone in this direction with the character” or “it would have made more sense for her to say something else”. And even after the final lines of the drama, the title of the drama made no sense to me.

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