Tanky Toon

Hopefully!!! But doesn't look like there's romance here. Or if there's any, probably minimal

I was Waiting for their pairing but looks like there's no romance here or at least not a main theme

i feel there's more chemistry between the CEO and his secretary. both males, and nearly thought they would end up together. hahaha.

i don't think this is borderline homophobic. in fact, i expected this ending, after having watched "The Butterfly Effect" a long time ago and it pretty much ended the same way, and this was with a hetero couple. Also a lot of popular time travel dramas/movies don't have a have a happy ending and are mostly bittersweet regardless whether it is LGBT or not: Rooftop Prince, Scarlet Heart, A Time Called You, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Someday or One Day, Somewhere In Time, Queen In Hyun's Man, and so on and so forth.

I like Ryan Ding, but not enough to finish this drama coz I can't stand the whiny voice like nails on a chalk board. Sorry not sorry.

What can I say about this show is that it’s unremarkable. I wanted to watch it because of Hwang Min Hyun, who was great in “Alchemy of Souls,” and the premise of someone who can hear through people’s lies, piked my interest. But the execution fell short, perhaps due to the flimsy source material, budget constraints, lack of inspiration, or whatever ailed this sad excuse of a drama that could have been great, but settled for mediocrity.  

As individual actors, Kim So Hyun and Hwang Min Hyun were not too shabby. As Mok Sol Hee, she was spunky and conflicted at the same time because of her supernatural ability to detect lies. It’s no surprise that she has trust issues, which explained her backstory with her previous fiancee.  

On the other hand, the male lead was as mysterious as he gets, hiding his identity from almost everyone because of a past incident that pegged him as a suspect in a murder case. Because of this intrigue that I kept watching this drama, to see how it unfolds. The first half of the drama was decent until it lost steam. Speaking of which, there’s not even a semblance of heat between the two main characters to justify a romance. Not even a tiny spark to light a fire. But you know who has chemistry? Mok Sol Hyun and Lee Kang Min. So much so that I wished they gave Do Ha’s role to Seo Ji Hoon instead. I would have rooted for this ship, hands down.  

As for the secondary characters, they are even less memorable, except perhaps for Yun Ji On, who plays a complex character. I was really impressed by his portrayal of Jo Deuk Chan, the ML’s best friend, who happily plays second fiddle. But the rest of the cast were technically just props, perhaps to fill a body count, and move around to make the drama look substantial when it’s not.  

Then the plot twist and the whole fake-out at the end was disappointing. And coupled this with the fact that two of the female characters here used emotional blackmail as manipulation is very unsavory for me. I’m not really one to justify this, but in the end, this is not a romance story or even a murder mystery, but a drama about obsession, whether it’s for a one-sided love or a love lost, for misplaced justice, for a twisted truth or for greed of money. So while there’s a semblance of a message is there, it failed to deliver.

One of my favorite tropes is childhood friends-turned lovers, so this comes as no surprise that Love Next Door would be up my alley. Coupled that with charming actors such as Jung Hae In and Jung So Min, I was highly expecting this drama to be damn good. Where it started strong, especially love the banter and easy camaraderie between Choi Seung-Hyo and Bae Seok Ryo, I thought this was pretty much a done deal: an easy 10 points for me. But sadly, this was not. The drama’s attempts at realism, while admirable at first, became tedious and prolonged, and it’s no fault of the actors.

I get it really: these characters are supposed to be flawed because we know that no one is perfect. And while I commend people by being self-sacrificing for their loved ones, there comes a point where this self-righteousness becomes overbearing. Take in case Seok Ryu’s example. She was adamant about not letting people know that she and Seung Hyo started dating, for reasons she believed their families may not receive the news well. But we see that her parents have loved Seung Hyo and considered him as part of the family already even before they started dating. I don’t see why they would oppose him now that they are. Then she has this inkling that they may not end up together in the future. Now with that mindset, why even agree to be together in the first place, if you already had plans to abandon the person who has loved you for most of his life?

Then only when your partner suffers an injury, that you finally declare your love for him, only to reject him later when he proposes. I find this behavior extremely flaky. Seok Ryu did Seung Hyo a disservice by stringing him along, afraid that she will lose him to an ex-girlfriend who was not even in Seung Hyo’s consideration. Granted, it may be too early for Seong Hyo to suggest the idea of marriage, but can you really blame him? They are both already in their mid-30s, and he has waited so long for her to agree into a relationship, it’s not surprising that he wanted to “seal the deal.”

Speaking of flaky, Kang Dan Ho is no better. And it’s this so-called self-righteousness again that is at play. First, he claimed to be too good for Mo-Eum, then later revealed his affection for her in front of Mo-eum’s mother while Mo-eum was intoxicated. Is he hoping she will forget his momentary weakness when she sobers up the next morning? He then later backtracks at the slightest provocation that Mo-eum’s mother is against their pairing.

I’m not too sure what these characters are playing at, but if they were young, in their adolescent years, perhaps I will have forgiven them for their immaturity. But they are not. I could overlook their indecisiveness if it didn’t affect others, but it does. You can’t just have everyone agree to your terms alone, especially if you are in a relationship. There should be at least a semblance of balance between the giving and the taking. Just because you suffered a great deal more doesn’t give you the right to play victim all the time. You can only use this card a few times, but there’s a point when it loses its effectiveness.

When Seok Ryu points out to Mi Suk that Dong Jin is banking on their mother’s blatant favoritism, it’s the same concept. Her parents gave her brother many chances to screw up, and they excused his failures because of his childhood illness. But because Seok Ryu was always an excellent student, they demanded more from her. And then when Seok Ryu comes home after “failing” (losing her job and fiancée); instead of saying it’s okay, they will be supportive, their parents tried to kick her back out. Only when they found out about her sickness did they capitulate. Why does it need to take someone to be sick, for you to be supportive?

We can apply the same scenario to Geyong Jong and Hye Suk’s relationship. For the most part of the show, it looks like they could hardly stand each other being in the same room. Eating separately, sleeping separately. It’s no surprise that the path will lead to divorce. But it turns around only when Hye Suk goes missing and could have a probable memory loss.
I’m struggling through the second half of the drama, with all these curve balls thrown in to make the plot more dramatic, but it’s not making the show more endearing. In fact, the more I watch this drama, the more frustrated I get. And to think the show tried to liven things up, by inserting comedic elements that frankly fell flat. They were trying too hard to be funny that they’re really not.

There are a few redeeming points going for this drama. The message of friendship, family and love is well-meaning; in fact, this show excels in juxtaposing the different bonds. The fact that being brought up in better circumstances did not necessarily guarantee a happier life, or vice versa. The show also highlights the characters’ emphasis on “putting on a brave face” and the importance of “face,” arguing that these shouldn’t outweigh family and genuine friends. They are there for you to lean on when times get rough, the same that Dan Ho and Seung Hyo like to help those in need.

While it has its moments, Love Next Door is just a waste of the cast’s talents that could have been better utilized in another drama, given the right script. It tried to wrap up loose ends too quickly after dragging on others. There were an excessive amount of drunken scenes, over-the-top yelling, and contrived angst just to fill in long episodes that could have been better edited for length.

Thought Summary:

One of my favorite tropes is childhood friends-turned lovers, so this comes as no surprise that Love Next Door would be up my alley. Coupled that with charming actors such as Jung Hae In and Jung So Min, I was highly expecting this drama to be damn good. Where it started strong, especially love the banter and easy camaraderie between Choi Seung-Hyo and Bae Seok Ryo, I thought this was pretty much a done deal: an easy 10 points for me. But sadly, this was not. The drama’s attempts at realism, while admirable at first, became tedious and prolonged, and it’s no fault of the actors.

While it has its moments, Love Next Door is just a waste of the cast’s talents that could have been better utilized in another drama, given the right script. It tried to wrap up loose ends too quickly after dragging on others. There were an excessive amount of drunken scenes, over-the-top yelling, and contrived angst just to fill in long episodes that could have been better edited for length.

Complete Version in spoiler below.

I do think that this dramashort platform is also used a stepping stone used by many newbie actors who may not have exposure with mainstream dramas. Same with independent productions who mostly cast fresh faced actors who may later end up in bigger roles or productions.

Okay I will try FF if I watch on DM or KA. I use Chrome mainly because all my emails, G drive and apps and Phone are Google based.

I have ad blockers installed and somehow they slip through. On KissAsian, I would get like 10 notifications of pops ups blocked but 4 or 5 will slip through.
Ads on DM are not pop ups, and they are embedded so no choice to dismiss them. At least that's how it is with me, I only use Chrome as browser.

Blame this format on China who started it years ago and found success because they realize that people with short attention span love this type of thing!!! And the commute on the bus with one arm hanging on the roof rail and one thumb scrolling through their mobile is perfect for this bit-sized form. Sad news for those of us who prefer the good old TV where you can lie on your bed with a box of tissues and falling asleep with the remote control on our bellies.

i have watched on B--- so many times on desktop/ laptop. I just click on X when it tells you to download the app and it lets you watch as desktop version. I use chrome by the way. B---- is so much better than DM as DM or KA has way too many ads.

agree 100% DM has way too many ads. B--- is so much better!!!!!

I agree. it would look like we are doing nothing but binge watch BL's all day! hahaha

Unfortunately, this format is so popular with apps like DramaBox or Drama shorts because it sucks people in to shell out money to get coins to go to the next episodes.....that doesn't seem to ask too much money from the get go but will drain your money and patience in the long run. Even if some titles are free (to a certain extent) the number of ads generated every 2 minutes is a sponsor's dream.

Also with more people on their mobile, this format appeals to those who have a limited time during the day, like watching some snippets on the bus etc.....This format is annoying if you ask me but for some reason it seems to be working or else it wouldn't have gained traction.

😂😂😂😂😂

I was bracing myself to watch this drama. On one hand, after hearing this would be a romance drama with Park Shin Hye, I immediately thought, “Oh my gosh, she’s going to screw this up isn’t she, with her notoriously horrible on-screen kissing?” Then there’s Park Hyung Sik who was brilliant in SWDBS and soundtrack#1. So I was mildly surprised to see Shin Hye’s vastly improved lip-locking skills, but her crying skills were so bad that even my nine-year-old could outperform her.

Speaking of cringe, I wasn’t sure whether Hyung Sik was supposed to be a plastic surgeon in this drama, or a dentist, because the abundant times of him flashing his pearly whites were as if he’s trying to drum up sponsorship from Colgate. So it’s no wonder that, with his high visibility, that he’s an easy target. He went from high-profile to lying low in a nano-second, and somehow ends up staying at his ex-rival, previous crush’s house, because Korea is THAT small.  

And while both Ha Neul and Jeong Woo’s careers are in the dumps, they cling to each other like Jack and Rose aboard the small wooden door from the Titanic. Their acting could not save them both from this drama, but you know who does? Surprisingly, it’s the rest of the cast, who were more natural in their roles. Seong Ha and Yoon Park have this cute chemistry going on as the second couple, and they were adorable as Hong Ran and Dae Young. Both single parents leading busy lives and were awkward with their own children, but somehow could lend each other support and give sound advice for the other.

I also particularly loved Jang Hye Jin as Ha Neul’s mother; I’ve seen her in many dramas and she’s just that lovely ahjumma who embodies the nurturing figure, while trying her best to understand her daughter despite initial misconceptions. By no means perfect, she tries to impress her nosy, one-upping relatives, and in the end, learns to accept that her children’s health and happiness are more important than having illustrious careers.  

Another weak point in this drama is the surrounding mystery of how Jeong Woo’s patient died, or what made him the scapegoat for that death. Although I sensed who the culprit was from the beginning, I didn’t know that there were other layers in how this came to be. I wasn’t sure whether it was necessary to the plot, but I guess the writers deemed them important enough to include them in the drama.  

There were other half-assed attempts at introducing characters into the drama who bear very little relevance, aside from showing the juxtaposition between real friends who stick with you or pretend friends who are only with you, when things are going great.  

Ultimately, this series aims to tell you that misfortunes happen, but when they happen, it is how you cope with them that matters, and having supportive friends and family who help you along the way is a crucial part of that journey.  

IMHO, this show delivered the right message with partly the wrong execution.

Shhh......its probably a sponsor.

Your comment that this is like hating tomatoes is hilarious!!! I feel the same way when I watched Lighter and Princess. In the end, I was just so pissed that I finished that show because I was influenced by people who raved about it. So this time, I decided NOT to listen to the hype surrounding this drama and just go with my instincts and dropped this. I'll be freezing to death if I had to wait for those two leads to start a fire!!