sunflower63

Thanks for this great article. Out of these actors I really appreciate Lee Bum Soo whom I first saw in History of the Salaryman moving on to Giant and then other dramas. I also admired Joo Jin Mo in Empress Ki and Frozen Flower and I hope to see him in more dramas in the future. I have seen Kwon Hae Hyo in many dramas and always thought he was a great actor. As for the remaining two actors I can't say I know them well enough as yet, I need to see them in more dramas in order to learn to appreciate their acting talents.

Being an avid saeguk watcher I have to say that I have seen much better stories than this one. What kept me going here was my never ending admiration for Jang Hyuk and his passionate acting. Yes sometimes he might seem a little over the top (especially with his laughter) but to me his acting seems natural and not forced at all as he manages to give depth to his character when the right moment comes. This is one of the few times in which I admit sticking to this drama only for the main lead actor as I wasn't at all impressed by anything else. I couldn't empathize with the female lead at all as I was totally distracted by her 'plasticky' looking face (even her smiles were stiff!!) and I couldn't get too involved in the story either. The only other element I appreciated here was the very good OST. I am sure I will see JH in better projects in the future.

What I liked most in this movie was the friendship that developed between the two women. I would say that the male lead was the weakest character of all and I felt no compassion or sympathy for him whatsoever.

I was happy to discover this drama through a recommendation (thanks Dreaming!!). The part I enjoyed most was the romance which was touching, deep and involving whereas the story base itself was typical of most melos therefore quite tragic. Overall it had some really poetic moments and I particularly appreciated the fact that the second leads were not as bad as they usually are in Kdramas, indeed throughout the whole story I was also sympathising and cheering for their happiness as well as that of the main leads. It's a very well made and moving drama and I was surprised by the ending which was different to what I expected. I decided to raise my rating because of this.

It was the first time for me to watch a morning Jdrama (Asadora) and it was an amazing and unforgettable experience. All the 150 episodes (only 15 minutes long) were very interesting and involving and the story covering Japanese history from 1919 to 1971 was a real adventure. I will have a high consideration of the whisky manufacturers from now on even if I have never drank it in my life and I admire the lead character (whose path was taken from a true life experience) for putting so much passion and enthusiasm in developing the very first Japanese whisky. Everything here was absolutely perfect starting from the script, on to the acting (Charlotte Kate Fox was excellent in her acting and speaking fluent Japanese) and the sceneries. Part of this was filmed in Hokkaido which allowed me to appreciate another really beautiful part of Japan. I very highly recommend this drama as it was for me a real masterpiece.

Amazing and so good that a drama could help in such a way. :)

One thing I can definitely say about this saeguk is that it was different from the others seen so far especially as it showed clearly what the relationship between nobles and servants was. In fact I admit I was a little disturbed during the first half of this drama for the unfairness and cruelty shown towards the servants although I realize that this is probably what really happened at those times. Nevertheless it was original and intriguing and I was totally involved during the second half of the story. I enjoyed the setting and the OST very much indeed and also the acting was good. I have discovered two actors that I had never seen before who are Joong Yoo Mi and Kim Dong Wook and I will keep an eye out for them in future dramas. Overall it was for me an enjoyable drama.

This was so funny! I can just picture the two of you having those conversations...glad you both enjoyed it. :)

Great article!! Many of these tips are excellent and I will keep them in mind for when I feel totally stuck after watching a great drama. :-)

By reading some of the comments about this drama I really could not understand what the fuss was about ( and strangely I have never read complaints about violence in dramas!). This was a very realistic love story, finally with some skinship which made it more believable (don't normal couples have skinship?) My favourite parts were concerning the dancing which was really excellent, I had no idea that Kame was such a good dancer! I also liked the development of the story which was short but complete meaning that it made sense from the beginning to the end. As I have said before I don't believe this drama was cut down as it begun 3 weeks after all the other dramas of the same season had started, therefore my feeling is that it was meant to be shorter as I didn't think the story was rushed in the end. My rating of 8 is mainly related to the dancing however I would recommend this drama to viewers who enjoy a different and more mature kind of romance.

A lot has been written about this drama that I totally agree with so I won't repeat myself. What I will confirm is my opinion that this was a totally wasted opportunity for Hyun Bin's comeback. I was very disappointed with the story, the acting (only HB when playing Seo Jin, Sung Joon and Lee Seung Jun were acceptable here) even the OST was not particularly good. In my opinion this disaster did not only depend on the wrong timing of showing the drama at the same time as KMHM but mostly on the fact that it was really poorly written and developed. It is an experience I want to forget ASAP and hope to see Hyun Bin in a more sensible project soon.

Thanks very much for this article about an actor that I really like. I had no idea that he was also a singer before so I learnt something new. Of his dramas I have seen and enjoyed The Greatest Love, Road N. 1 and Beyond the Clouds and in all three he was excellent. I might venture into some of his older dramas although I am hoping that he will be in a new project soon. :-)

Very sad news for me too...it was a great streaming site. :-(

I really enjoyed this drama most of all because the plot was very well written and original. I had never seen anything concerning writers before and the world of publishing and of ghost writing was very well described in this story. As most Jdramas what I appreciated most was the realistic description of how each character felt and their personal growth as the plot unfolded. Nakatani Miki was outstanding here in playing a very introverted and tormented character and she made me wish she was a real writer so that I could read her novels. All in all this is a drama that I would highly recommend.

They shot a part of this in Italy too so quite excited to watch it. :)

I've been watching quite a few Jdramas and I found it odd that this one started so far ahead in February compared to the others. In any case I am personally liking it and the story seems to be making sense also with less episodes.

Somehow I don't think this drama got cut but because started 3/4 weeks after all the other winter season dramas therefore it has to finish by next week to be on time with the ending of that season.

Great review, I totally agree with everything that you wrote. :)

I like it too.

Thanks for this article...I've learnt a lot of new info about Japanese food thanks to you. :)