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Completed
Dating Agency: Cyrano
6 people found this review helpful
Jul 17, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
I originally was not going to watch "Cyrano Dating agency", simply because I had no love for the cast nor the time to fit it into my schedule when it first started airing. It was completely by accident that I started watching the first episode, and to my surprise, this drama was actually good. It actually became one of my favorites compared to the other dramas I was watching at the time.
Story: We all need a nice, zippy rom-com to watch every now and then, and "Cyrano" definitely delivered that for me. It didn't really try to be deep or hold some secret message, but it did offer some insights to love that made me view relationships in a certain way. I'm glad that this drama- for the most part- didn't try to venture into the moral consequences of what the Cyrano team was doing, and instead managed to make it seem less wrong than what the synopsis makes the viewer think. The agency wasn't *making* the target fall in love with the client, but rather helping the client deliver their sincere feelings in such a way that it changes the target's perspective on the client. Some of the cases here were admittedly more "wrong" than others, but in the end everyone wound up content. The tone of "Cyrano" stayed pretty even throughout, except for the last two episodes where it just suddenly decided to be serious. The last two episodes weren't too out there as far as the plot went, but compared to the whole show in general they just seemed kind of ridiculous.
Acting: While I don't have any particular misgivings towards idol actors, the majority of them aren't something to write home about. that being said, I expected Sooyoung to be average or less than in her role and I was partially correct. The writers here managed to make her character likable and cheery, and Sooyoung managed to convey the character well enough but to me she never really *became* the character. Her chemistry with Lee Jong Hyuk was cute, but I always felt that her character was more well-matched to Chunderella's character. Chunderella was brilliant here, and I'll be keeping an eye out for his next role. The other boys in the agency fit their roles surprisingly well, but to me it felt a bit like their previous ones. Jo Yoon Woo's and Hong Jong Hyung's roles were similar to the ones they had in "Flower Boy Ramyun Shop" and "White Christmas".
Music: The music here was different from other dramas, and it was used well to accent certain scenes.
Rewatch Value: While I wouldn't go back and watch the *whole* thing all over again, I would rewatch certain episodes.
Overall: "Cyrano Dating Agency" stuck to its strengths for the most part and managed to deliver a sold rom-com that entertained me. While it isn't wholly forgettable, it isn't something that I will always love and remember.

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Completed
Cheongdamdong Alice
6 people found this review helpful
Jul 1, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Why did I first start watching this drama all those months ago? I had absolutely no reason to do so, seeing as I was relatively new to dramas and had yet to hear about Park Shi Hoo or Moon Geun Young or any one else, for that matter. I only watched the first episode and then had no time to finish it, so it remained on hold until two days ago, when I finally decided to clean up my "Currently Watching" List.
Story: While this drama isn't addicting, it does have its golden moments that make the whole thing worth watching. Park Shi Hoo's character was involved in pretty much all those golden moments, as I loved Cha Seung Jo to bits and pieces. His was the first KDrama lead who was actually legitimately crazy and not just emotionally stunted. As for the rest of the story, it was really interesting. I expected Han Se Kyung to be the typical "Candy" lead, but she wasn't. She was an angry candy girl, who decides to do whatever it takes to fix her situation in life. To be honest, I never understood the typical "Candy" characters. They supposedly spent their whole lives being independent and trying their hardest, only to completely depend on the male lead when he comes along all rich and prince-like. Cha Seung Jo said something along the lines of "The poor 'candy' loves everything about the hero- except for his money. Does that make sense?". That has pretty much been my problem with characters like that. Se Kyung actually did add money into the equation, and that made her more relatable as a character.
Acting: Park Shi Hoo is a brilliant actor, personal life aside, I want him to be in more dramas simply because he's legitimately good. True, he has a tendency to overact, but with this character it just helped add more flair. I have yet to see him anywhere else, but his works are on my "Plan to Watch" list. Park Shi Hoo's chemistry with Moon Geum Young was intense and sizzling in the first half, but by the second half- due to cheesy writing more than acting, the chemistry toned down to the cutesy, less intense type. Moon Geum Young is supposedly a good actress (never seen her anywhere else), but here her character never felt quite right to me. I felt this huge emotional disconnect and could never bridge that gap. So Yi Hyun was good in this, but not amazing and the same goes for Kim Ji Suk. This may or may not be due to the fact that compared to Park Shi Hoo, everyone else seemed less... good at acting? I'm not really sure how to phrase my thoughts about it.
Music: I actually loved the OST. We had the typical balllads thrown in, but this time we actually got an upbeat, pop-rock song too! And it's not even a music drama! My excitement knows no bounds.
Rewatch Value: For the OTP scenes. Shi Hoo's and Geum Young's characters were really well matched for each other and had a lot of great moments.
Overall: A little slow, but there's plenty of laughs and craziness to keep you watching till the end.

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Completed
Faith
6 people found this review helpful
Apr 13, 2013
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
"Faith" was actually the first drama I watched as it was airing, even though it was far from my first drama. It was tons of fun to watch in the first half, because the first half was well done, suspenseful and exciting. After the story lost its steam, this drama became less fun and more of a pleasant watch.
Story: There was a really interesting set-up here. 2012 was the year of time-travelers. There was "Rooftop Prince" with its Joseon Idiot F4, "Queen In Hyun's Man" with its sweeping romance and sizzling chemistry, and of course the mess that was "Dr. Jin". Each time travelling drama had a special idea that made it different from the rest of the time travelers, and "Faith" probably had the most interesting of them all. In all the other dramas, the time-travelers were normally men, but this time it was a woman who went back into the past. At first, that doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference, but that little piece of the story made a world of difference. Eun Soo was surrounded by princes and Lords who wanted to possess "The Great Doctor". Before all the feminists on this site get angry, let me just point out that this makes sense. You can't force a guy to marry you or stay in your palace- well, you could- I'm not even going to go there.
I also loved how all the characters had really interesting roles in the story. The main character was a doctor who came from "heaven's realm", the male lead was a general with the power to control lightning- etc, etc. Even when the story was draggy, there were a few interesting developments with the characters.
Acting: Kim Hee Sun and Lee Min Ho have an age difference of about 11 years. Initially, I was prepared to be a little creeped out, but I was surprised when the stylists and the make-up artists made it work. They had a cute, breezy chemistry. Nothing sizzling, but the drama is called "Faith" for a reason. It was more about finding faith in yourself and having faith in others, not about steamy kisses or whatever. (If that did happen, I would probably be a little scarred. Age gap aside, Kim Hee Sun is married. And has a kid.)
Lee Min Ho is one of those actors whose hype I don't really understand. Granted, I haven't seen that much of him- I only ever watched "Boys Over Flowers" and didn't like it much, but he didn't really stick out to me. "Faith" made me see his skills differently. He has his weaknesses, but he did a good job here. Kim Hee Sun was awesome, playing Eun-Soo's sarcastic and free-spirited character like she was born to do it. The supporting cast was good too, and I particularly loved the bromance between all the Woodalchi boys.
Rewatch Value: Not for a while.
Overall: After the writers pretty much exhausted all the fun of the story, they drag it. There were absolutely no surprises after episode 12. This drama probabaly would have been a lot better if it were cut down to 16-20 episodes and if the last half of the last episode was made into two episodes by itself. The ending felt really rushed to me. All in all, "Faith" didn't live up to its potential. There was so much the writers could have done with this story, but it all went downhill.

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Completed
Missing You
6 people found this review helpful
Jan 19, 2013
21 of 21 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This drama is...
a very hard drama to review.
"I Miss You" is kind of a conundrum. You won't like all of it, and if you do... well, there's something wrong here.
I think that's what the writer was going for here. They give you a story, but it's not sugar-coated. It's real, intense, and- most of all- unapologetic. You won't like all the characters all the time, but you understand them and come to accept them.
Story: The story was painful, yes. But there was more to it than just being a tear-jerker. There was an overall hopeful vibe to it, and while the events that occurred weren't realistic, the aftermath was.
While I'm writing this, I'm going to throw out that I had second-lead syndrome for most of this drama. Despite the fact that Harry was evil, I still found myself identifying with him and caring for him more than any other character. Jung Woo was a great first-lead, perfect for Seo Yeon in every way, but I still (somehow) liked Harry better. (Don't ask me why, because I have no idea at all.) The first 4.5 episodes were from when the main characters were children, and for some reason there seemed like a huge disconnect between the two parts of the story. The beginning was more... raw, I suppose. I felt everything at a much more personal level than by the time the next part came in. I guess it's because by the time the adult years came in, you just became so desensitized to the pain of the beginning that everything else didn't hit you the same way. Also, in the adult years, you don't feel as emotionally connected to the characters as you did in the beginning.
When I watched the 20th episode, I was going to give this drama an 8 overall. The show was good at times, a little slow, and somewhat boring- but still good. I assumed that since the extension was given with so little notice that it would just be a filler episode, but I was proven wrong.
Since I don't want to spoil anything, I'll just say this: It was worth it. The ending fit the story's tone perfectly, bumping my overall rating up from an 8 to a 8.5.
This show isn't a light watch, but it's sprinkled with it's moments. I'd recommend watching something lighter afterwards- unless doom and gloom is your thing.

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Completed
Gu Family Book
11 people found this review helpful
Jun 26, 2013
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This was one of the first dramas I actually started watching the day it aired and actually kept up with the casting info and the teasers and whatnot, and it was really interesting (to me) how my feelings towards this show changed. I started out excited and anticipating the next episode with bated breath, but I slowly began to lose interest in this drama. When did I become uninterested, really? The plotlines I cared about were thrown away and the plotlines that bored me to tears became the central point of the story. I was going to rate "Gu Family Book" as a 7, but the ending made it up for me. I know not many of you watchers really liked the ending, but I actually really loved it and at least this drama left me feeling satisfied.
Story: My main issue with the story was that this drama was marketed as Kang Chi's journey to become human. I wanted to see a drama with that sort of adventure and life-changing journey. I didn't want to watch a drama where the writer became lazy towards the end and wasted a bunch of episodes on useless plot machinations and filler episodes where the villain just twirls his mustache at his evil schemes that serve no purpose to advance the plot. Not to mentions the plotlines that were just shoved aside without a legitimate ending. In the beginning, the story was actually interesting and fun, but the writers bit off more than they could chew here and really had no idea how to give us the story they were marketing and instead gave us the story they could. While I do wish I had gotten what I wanted, I actually won't complain with the story we received because it honestly wasn't that bad- just too stretched out for the 24 episodes. I feel like 16 or 20 episodes would have been enough here.
Acting: Lee Seung Gi was great, as always. Yoo Yeon Sook was good in his role even though his character went nowhere and I'll definitely keep an eye out for Lee Yoo Bi. I'm glad Choi Jin Hyuk is getting the attention he deserves from his role here, and I'll definitely watch "Heirs" for him. He and Lee Yeon Hee had really good chemistry and have since joined my actor OTPs. Sung Joon is one of my favorite actors, so I might be a bit biased in saying this but he felt utterly wasted here. Not that his character was bad, it's just that any other actor could have played Gon. "Gu Family Book" wasn't very good as far as subtle characterization went, so there really wasn't much Sung Joon could put into Gon. However, I will always rewatch this drama for his facial expressions. What I really want to talk about here is Suzy. It's been really gratifying to watch her acting become better since her "Dream High" days, but I feel like she'll never be an amazing actress. Suzy is a really likable person and can be very versatile, but she;ll never break that emotional wall that'll make me believe she's *actually* her character and not just acting her. Dam Yeo-wool was a good character for Suzy to play because they both have that likable feel to them, but at the same time Yeo-wool wasn't as badass as she was on paper simply because Suzy couldn't make me believe in her. Plus, her chemistry with Lee Seung Gi wasn't of the romantic sort, more like your comfortable oppa-dongsaeng sort. I still give props to Suzy for trying, though. You could tell she really was giving her all into this drama.
Music: This OST was just your standard drama OST. Full of angsty sad songs with wonderful voices that I like listening to but I just can't bring myself to put them on my iPod. It was, however, used brilliantly and in all the right places.
Rewatch Value: As stated earlier, I will forever rewatch just for Gon's scenes. And the first two episodes with Choi Jin Hyuk and Lee Yeon Hee. Plus, the cinematography was gorgeous here. I love it when directors know exactly how to milk a scene for the full impact, so I'll be rewatching not for the storyline, but for the beautiful shots and directing.
Overall: Hmm... I might recommend this drama to someone if they seem like they'll like it. But otherwise I'll probably just mention it in passing. I feel like "Gu Family Book" will ultimately just fade from my memory, simply because while it was good, it wasn't GREAT to me.
(Just because it annoys me when people do this, by "Is this review helpful to you?" it means, "did this review provide you with a detailed opinion?" NOT "did this review agree with YOUR opinion?" I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but seriously. Can you guys just put aside your personal opinions on this drama and see if I provided something detailed an well writing and not something like "OMG THIS DRAMA WAS AMAZING!!!111".)

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Completed
Flower Boy Ramen Shop
4 people found this review helpful
Mar 17, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
With it's frequent toilet jokes, spaztastic romance, and immature characters, I wasn't exactly willing to watch "Ramyun Shop". However, one of my friends convinced me to give it a go.
So I sat down and watched the first two episodes, found it insanely stupid, and didn't go back to it for months. It sat on my "Currently watching" list for ages, collecting dust until I finally decided I might as well finish it.
Story: Once you get past the childish feel of the first few episodes, "Ramyun Shop" draws you in. I had to ignore some of the jokes, but it was actually enjoyable once you got into it. "Ramyun Shop" depicts first love, finding yourself and every other motif about growing up there is. The story is predictable- you know all the characters are going to change for the better, you know who the main character is going to wind up with- but the story manages to infuse enough unpredictability to make this drama unique. I wasn't onboard the whole 'older woman, younger guy' romance, but I got over that.
Acting: Jung Il-Woo. Need I say more? He pretty much carried the story with his acting. Cha Chi-Soo was a hilarious character, and I highly doubt anyone else could have pulled it off as well as Jung did. Leee Chung-Ah was okay, she fit the role well enough but I didn't particular like her. Lee Ki Woo was great in his role and all the other flower boys were adorable.
Music: Nothing I would listen to if I had the choice, but it was nice.
Rewatch Value: As much as I liked this drama, I am definitely not going to sit through it again. I can only take so many juvenile jokes and craziness.
Overall: The messages this show attempts to teach are nothing new, but they were conveyed in a heartfelt and sincere way. Overall, this drama was nice and full of heart, but it felt like it was for kids under the age of 12.

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Completed
Le Jun Kai
14 people found this review helpful
Oct 26, 2013
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 3.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers
At some point while "Le Jun Kai" was airing, I accidentally started watching this on Viki when I clicked on "Le Jun Kai" instead of something else. I had never seen a Chinese drama before, and I figured that it could be decent. ((Spoiler: It sucked))
Story: Let me just start out by saying that none of the characters in this drama should be allowed to reproduce- ever. Please do us all a favor and *don't* contaminate our gene pool with your stupidity. What sort of idiot kid just goes with some creepy guy as soon as his mother's name is thrown out into the air? What sort of messed up wife would still love her husband after he raped and abused her? What the heck is wrong with all these characters?
I just. I can't even begin to describe all the ways these characters made me lose my faith in humanity- and let's not even talk about the titular character, Le Jun Kai. How many flavors of cray-cray can one guy be? You're rich, right? Get a good therapist.
Other than that, there were a grand total of TWO smart, kind decent characters, and between them they got a grand total of two minutes of screen time. In fact, most of the show was taken up by the mom or some other character (but mostly the mom) saying "Tian Tian!". Needless to say, I don't think I'll be forgetting the name any time soon.
Acting: Okay, Jeanine and Peter are amazing actors. They have great chemistry and adding an extra layer to their characters but, unfortunately, could not save the cesspool of suck that was this drama. The kid needs a ton of improvement, and everyone else was decent.
Music: I loved the opening music- it was epic and intriguing. In fact, the opening music was probably the best part of this drama.
Rewatch Value: No. Nein. Never ever. Just no.
Overall: The only reason this ewas even remotely entertaining was because it was so ridiculous. However, the amount of brain-cells I lost head-desking does not and will never make up for the low entertainment value. I feel like I've wasted the 2 hours it took to watch this stuff.

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Completed
Looking Forward to Romance
5 people found this review helpful
Dec 22, 2013
2 of 2 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
I was pretty surprised at how much I loved this little drama. "Expect Dating" was a little over 2 hours long total, but it was so deftly written that I fell head over heels for it. "Expect Dating" isn't perfect- but for it's length it's a nice watch in between dramas or when you have a few hours to spare.
Story: The premise sounded like a light, breezy rom-com, so that's what I expected. On one hand you have the girl who's bad at dating and a "dating master" who's really bad at following his own advice- or at least, that's what this drama was touted as. In reality, it's a little different. BoA's character wasn't clueless or "bad" at dating- she was bad at *love*, and I think that's a pretty important thing to know the difference between. Her story was so endearing because it was so realistic, and the same goes for Daniel's character. I loved their scenes "together" and I loved their scenes apart. I loved how this drama didn't define it's characters by their relationships and let them stand by themselves, and I especially loved the little ways "Expect Dating" showed the audience if two people were able to be in a long-lasting relationship. The ending itself was bittersweet, but it made sense and the show managed to stay true to it's original message.
Acting: BoA's debut was surprisingly refreshing. Even though her acting came across as a little forced sometimes, it was pretty obvious she had put a lot of hard work into her performance. I'm not quite sure if she'll be back in dramaland any time soon, but if she does I'll definitely check it out. Daniel Choi played his character well, adding his own charm to the role. The supporting cast of Siwan and Kim Ji Won also did well. I'm not sure if everyone did their best, or if everyone worked hard, but they did good all the same.
Music: Because this was a drama special, there was very little music involved. However, I do remember that it was well used to highlight the emotions of the scenes. I wouldn't exactly say that the music was amazing, or that it was used to the best of it's ability.
Rewatch Value: Definitely. Considering the length, it isn't unreasonable for me to rewatch it in it's entirety. It helps that "Expect Dating" was an enjoyable watch, as well.
Overall: I'm not really sure if you'll like this as much as I did, but I don't think you'll hate it either. "Expect Dating" hit all my sweet spots- a cute, organic romance, an imperfect second male lead, awesome leads and a realistic story.

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Completed
Playful Kiss
5 people found this review helpful
Feb 25, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Out of all the KDramas I've seen that have labeled themselves as rom-coms, "Playful Kiss" is the only one I've seen that successfully lives up to that title. It's a cute, breezy watch with a light story and average acting (probably less that average on Kim Hyun-Joong's part). I only watched this because it was a remake of the anime, and I wasn't particularly expecting much. That being said, this drama didn't exceed or fall short of those expectations. It hit them and stayed there.
Most people think that Baek Sung-Jo was a overly cold character. I think that coldness came more from Hyun-Joong's acting than from the writers themselves, so I can ignore it. Besides, the character has the same personality in all versions of this drama. That's kind of his personality...
I appreciated that part about all the characters. They were all fleshed out differently, and had their unique combinations of flaws and virtues. None of the characters in "Playful Kiss" were like the typical KDrama characters.
Music: The music here was fitting for the overall tone. Upbeat and full of energy, it helped set the tone of this show. It fit very nicely overall with the series, and made me smile every time one of the songs came on.
Overall, this drama was an easy watch. Even if you skimmed through it, the story wouldn't be impacted. It was fun to watch, and a nice attempt at remaking a classic manga, but it was difficult to take seriously.

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Completed
Queen In Hyun's Man
3 people found this review helpful
Feb 20, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Since I watched "Queen InHyun's Man" around the same time as "Dr. Jin", I'm not quite sure if this was a good drama, or if it was good in comparison to Dr. Jin", or if it was just good in general.
I'm starting to think it was a little of both. Queen InHyun was an amazing, sweeping depiction of a romance that was born despite a 300 year age gap (I'm starting to wonder if this makes Boong-Do a pedobear like a certain sparkling vampire who must not be named...) and was tested to the limits. This story also had a very interesting concept in comparison to other dramas; that you can control your own fate and not the other way around. That was a refreshing change.
I liked the fact that the writers didn't spend so much time in the denial phase of time travel, as in the writers didn't make it so that the time-traveler refused to accept the fact that he moved through time and instead was dreaming, unconscious, or being tricked by his friends.
Since I cannot watch anything if the quality is bad, or the camerawork is terrible, or if the aesthetics are bad. That being said, the drama would have gotten a seven from me even if the story got run over by a truck. The cinematography here was gorgeous. I loved how the director used lighting and angles to his advantage to convey the story better than just normal full face shots.
As for the music, I honestly can't remember anything about it.
The actors had great chemistry, and you could see them falling in love right in front of your eyes. That was a different experience than what I was used to, but it helped cement my investment in this drama. I was literally glued to my computer the whole time so that i could figure out if they got together or not at the end.
I'm not a huge fan of rewatching things, but for the cuteness alone, I'll probably flip through it when I'm bored. There were a ton of couple scenes in this, so I was glad I didn't have to wait five billion episodes (like other dramas) for the leads to get together.
Overall, it was a nice story and the best of the time traveling dramas of 2012, but I felt like parts of it could have been better. This is a romance drama, and there was little plot other than that. I felt like they could have added a bigger story arc to make it more interesting, but then the story would have been too cramped. Other than that, it was a nice enough story.

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Completed
Flower Boy Next Door
5 people found this review helpful
Mar 25, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
"Flower Boy Next Door" really brings up a lot of important issues. It deals with dreams, success, friendship and love. The half of this drama feels like it comes straight from the heart. Each and every emotion was so intense you felt like the characters were actually real. The second half? Well, everything sort of went downhill from episode 12.
Story: At first, I found Dok Mi to be overly sensitive. She locked herself up just because Do Hwi abandoned her. I expected my views of her to change over time, but that never really happened. The story only briefly mentions how Dok Mi's family abandoned her, but it never goes into specifics. I felt that after episode 12, the show could have dealt with her family instead of the overused go abroad arc. That way, I could have sympathized with her some more.
Acting: Yoon Shi Yoon and Kim Ji Hoon were pretty awesome in their roles. Enrique appeared to be a really hard character to play, but Yoon pulled it off without making Enrique seem too unrealistic and annoying. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of characters like Enrique because actors can't really pull them off that well. The actors make the character too annoying or too hyper, so it was nice to see what a character like that was supposed to be like. Jin Rak was that type of guy we all want but can never find, but his love wasn't as perfect as we'd like to believe. He was in love with the *idea* of Dok Mi- the perfect, innocent girl he thought her to be, not who she really was. Kim Ji Hoon was really good at portraying all the different emotions Jin Rak faced through his journey of learning about love. Kim Seul Gi and Go Kyung Pyo were adorable and well matched, Kouki Mizuta wasn't particularly amazing in delivering his lines (they felt forced at times), but he was good. Park Shin Hye is a difficult actress to rate because she fulfills expectations, but she doesn't really go beyond them. She's not particularly good when it comes to the more romantic aspects of dramas, and at times you could tell that she was forcing herself. She's one of those actresses who you don't really see as having a life outside of acting, and you don't really get a feel for what sort of person she is. In a way, that made it easier for her to play Dok Mi.
Music: The music was nice, but it wasn't amazing- to me, at least. It was kind of like something you would expect from a drama like this. Cute, a bit unoriginal, but kind of forgettable.
Rewatch Value: I don't exactly see myself rewatching this in the enar future. I might, but at the same time I don't think I will.
Overall: The story drags on in the last quarter, but the rest of this drama is pitch perfect. It's filled with interesting characters and is beautifully directed.

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Completed
Heartstrings
3 people found this review helpful
Aug 12, 2013
15 of 15 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
After I watched "You're Beautiful", someone told me that there was a drama with Park Shin Hye and Younghwa where they actually got together. When I read the premise, I actually laughed. It kind of sounded like since Shin Woo couldn't get the girl there, he decided to change his personality to get the girl here. I expected "Heartstrings" to be different from my expectations so as to distance itself from YB, but I got similar vibes from both.
Story: Park Shin Hye's character here is very similar to her character in "You're Beautiful". Both are lovable, but frustrating at times. The frustrations stem mainly from the fact that (in the beginning), she never does anything she wants and just gets dragged around by everyone. Of course, she matures later on, but in the end she's still the same character who lets other people take her spotlight. While I was watching all this, I began to wonder *why* I was rooting for her. Younghwa's character was your typical jerk with a heart of gold, which I typically find insufferable but here I managed to deal with because both sides of the character were shown equally. Their relationship was really cute, but there was barely any conflict between them. Same goes for the story, since all the conflicts were easily resolved.
Acting: Let me just get this out of the way: Younghwa can't act.
At all.
I'm pretty sure a cardboard box can emote better. It's actually pretty sad, because if he took some (okay, a LOT) of acting lessons, he could be better. His acting was balanced out by the amazing Song Chang Ui, who was absolutely brilliant here. So Yi Hyun had difficulty emoting, but I can see her getting better somewhere down the line. As for Park Shin Hye, she's good in the role but I have no particular love for her or her character.
Music: Since this is a music drama, obviously music is a pretty big thing. The classical music was... interesting? I wasn't really a fan of it. The modern music was pretty good though.
Rewatch Value: "Heartstrings" is cute enough, but there's not enough conflict or plot to make me rewatch all of it.

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Completed
Full House
3 people found this review helpful
Feb 20, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers
Over the course of this drama, I asked myself many questions, many of them beginning with "Why". But the question I asked myself the most was: "Why do the jerks always get the girl?".
Since I dislike ranting, I'll spare you guys a paragraph or two of my anger with the heroine, but COME ON.
You have an amazing, kind, mature guy who's loved you from the start and you choose the biggest manchild to ever walk the earth?
There are no words to describe the number of times I've wanted to bang my head against the wall while watching this. I feel like I've been wronged. Rain's character made me thank god I don't know anyone like that. He drove me up a wall with his constant denial of his feelings, his inability to express them and his selfishness. That made him a nice foil for Ji-Eun, who figured out what her feelings were, told Young-Jae when she figured out and protected him from the press even though she was getting hurt in the process.
Meanwhile, Min-Hyuk was nice and understading of Ji-Eun, and gave her a chance to fulfill her dream of being a writer even when he didn't know her that well. His character was the most layered one in the show, and yet who did the main lead choose?
I just lost faith in my gender.
(I highly doubt this comes as a spoiler, seeing as we're told from the start- in the synopsis itself- who the second-lead and the main lead are, but if some of you think it is, feel free to report this review)
As for Hye-won, I started out disliking her, but even when she started trying to break up the main couple, I understood her and even possessed some degree of respect for her. True, she wasn't a perfect character, but haven't any of us done the same thing(s) as her? True, she was selfish, but what is it about Young-jae's selfishness that makes us root for him, and Hye-won's selfishness that makes us want to shoot her in the face? It's the same thing- taking people for granted, liking people when they don't like you back, ignoring those who really do like you- it's just that Hye-won realized what she was doing and tried- in her own way- to make things right.
As for the story, the plot sort of went in circles around an ending that I saw coming from miles away. Let's face it, when the plot is basically confined to one story arc, then all you have left is the resolution of that arc. There were barely any side plots to hold my attention, and by episode ten I just started skipping through the rest.
All in all, this drama was likeable, but a little slow. Cute enough to hold my attention, but full of weird "angsty" closeups of the actors' faces as they showed "emotions". That is my biggest pet peeve with cinematography. There are other ways to show characters' emotions other than having them throw things around and taking closeups of them as they overact. *Massages temples*.
That's pretty much all I want to say at this point. I hope you guys enjoy it more than I did.

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Completed
Secret Garden
5 people found this review helpful
May 3, 2013
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
"Secret Garden" had pretty high ratings back when it was airing, and even by episode two, you can sort of see why. It has it all; slick directing, witty dialogue and A-list actors- not to mention an intriguing premise and complex characters, but that doesn't mean "Secret Garden" was perfect.
Story: I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this drama. When it's good, I wanted to clap and jump around with joy, when it's bad, well... I kind of wanted to throw my tablet out of the nearest window. The story goes from interesting and funny to frustrating and sloooowwww. And when I say slow, I mean *slow*. The story gets repetitive in the last quarter and we're stuck with the same mama-drama that any other makjang drama can offer. If I wanted to watch nearly four hours of the rich upper class mom looking down up the dirt-poor main lead girl with a heart of gold, I would have watched "Boys Over Flowers". Yes, we realize your son deserves the best or whatever, but don't you have any other reasons? Actually, there was a reason that actually made sense, but that was said in episode 20, and by that time I just wanted this drama to be over.
Another issue I had with the story were the characters. I understand that dramas have to be funny and they will all inevitably have scenes where the characters act like kids, but here is was a bit excessive. They started out normal enough, but the characters slowly became more and more childish. In the beginning, I loved them all. Joo Won a pretty awesome character, because just when you start to think he's your typical drama chaebol, the writer completely turns that around and makes him awesome. Not to mention how diverse the main characters were. You have a stuntwoman, a chaebol, a singer and a sort-of director all together. Their interactions were interesting, because they sometimes had to work together with their jobs.
On a side note, I liked how well the body-swap was used. In the beginning, Ra-im and Joo-won had a push and pull relationship. They would argue, get back together, argue and go forth in that continuous cycle. The body-swap sort of helped them understand each other and was essential for their relationship to work.
Acting: Hyun Bin was awesome. He pulled everything off perfectly, and I can't imagine any other actor in his place. Ha Ji-won has been in one of my favorite dramas (King2Hearts), so I already knew what her acting was like. To be honest, I never had much love for her, and I still don't, but you can't deny she's good at what she does.
Music: Meh. Nothing special in my opinion.
Rewatch Value: Maybe for the funnier scenes. I'm not particularly interested.
Overall: Equal parts frustrating and entertaining, "Secret Garden" is one of those must-watch dramas that you grow to be annoyed with after it keeps popping up, but it was fun when it was new.

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Completed
Goong
2 people found this review helpful
Mar 14, 2013
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
"Princess Hours" created a lot of hype when it first dropped on to the radar back in 2006, and that even lead to a spin-off. As you all know, in Kdramaland, it isn't very easy to get sequels, so that's what drew my attention to Goong. It had to be good, right?
And yet, I had my reservations about this. I just didn't find the synopsis or plot interesting enough to make me want to watch it. It wasn't until after I watched "Boys Before Flowers" (and found every second of Koo Hye Sun's screen time annoying) that I figured nothing could live up to THAT particular disappointment.
Story: What girl doesn't fantasize about becoming a princess? The money, the attentions, the pretty dresses? And of course, the insanely hot prince charming who seals the deal? At the beginning, Chae-Kyung wasn't interested in that life. She loves her family too much to leave them and can't imagine herself as a princess. You're shown from the start that she will do anything for the people she lives- even if it means marrying some jerk-face and moving into the palace. Of course, once she enters this life she is swept up in the material parts of it, but later on she realizes that money or wealth isn't enough for her to trade what she wants the most- freedom.
Yeah, I got lost there too. The whole "I feel like a trapped bird" arc came out of flipping NOWHERE, but it wasn't unfounded. I just wished that there was more background to that conflict so it made more sense.
Of course, the romance arc was predictable. Shin was a jerk every step of the way and Yul was sweet, but we all know which one the girl always chooses. *Bangs head against wall*
Acting: The acting wasn't anything special in my opinion. Everyone seemed new to the business, so I couldn't exactly judge them on it. Still, everyone was believable in their roles and managed to more or less bring their characters to life.
Music: Music was nicely used in this drama, emphasizing the more dramatic parts of it. I wouldn't go back to listen to the OST all over again (not exactly my type of music), but it was nice.
Rewatch Value: "Princess Hours" has a few sweet moments and a scattering of funny moments that are worth rewatching. The romantic-square was tragic and very dramatic, and I go back to watch those scenes every now and then.
Overall: I think the only reason I'll remember "Princess Hours" is because of how popular it was back when it aired and how big of a following it had. If it weren't for that, I would probably just force "Princess Hours" into a box and shove that into some dark corner of my mind to gather dust. It's not wholly forgettable, but it's not amazing either.

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