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What was good:
- The male lead (Kim Hong Do) suprised me... he looks kind of like any old "ahjussi", but in the end he was very charismatic and he depicted the character's ambivalent feelings well.
- There are many female-pretends-to-be-a-man instances in Korean dramas that are quite ridiculous, but this time the female lead (Moon Geun Young) could be mistaken for a young boy. It brought additional realism to the series.
- The romantic story arch is very slow and mostly only hinted at. Although I love dramas bursting with romance it was refreshing to still understand the characters feelings without much even going on between them (almost none of the old drama clichés).
- It was interesting to see Korean art. The series was very similar to "Goddess of fire" in that there was much attention to detail and you actually felt that the characters were painting these pictures right before your eyes.
What was not so good:
- The female lead (Moon Geun Young) is a very good actress, but I had just watched "Goddess of fire" before watching this and I was struck by the similarities of the female characters she depicted. Of course similarities in storyline would also make you feel that, but still I felt she could've have done more with her character. Still keep in mind she is one of the better drama actors, so I have higher standards for her.
- Besides the romantic story arch I was not very interested in the story. A lot of scenes were boring (although necessary) backroom discussions among nobles trying to one-up each other. This is most likely why I didn't give the series a 9.
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STORY:
The story is one of the strong points of this drama. I rarely watch a drama without skipping at least a few minutes, but there was no need to do that with this one. Entertaining things and characters were going on everywhere and at all times. There are plot holes and very strange moments where something really weird happens, but I found out that 4 episodes worth of material were cut from the aired TV version and the cut material would've made everything make more sense. Overall though the beginning and middle of this drama were almost flawless and the story flowed well and kept you watching... even in the middle of the night XD If the cut material had been included the end part of the drama would've been excellent as well.
ACTING/CAST:
The cast was also great! I especially enjoyed the main actors. Huo Wallace (Bai Zi Hua) did a wonderful job portraying a godlike, statuesque man suffering constant inner turmoil. It is too bad that I don't think his real voice is used in the drama, but I guess this is often done in Chinese dramas. Zhao Zanilia (Hua Qian Gu) was the first female character I've encountered that managed to pull off that perfectly "innocent" & "pure" woman that is so often portrayed in Asian dramas, without being the least bit annoying. She also made her character feel strong at the same time. The supporting cast was also great and certainly offer the female viewers some good options in the male department ;)
MUSIC:
I enjoyed most of the music. Especially the end credit song was a really melodramatic ballad that built the mood of the entire series. There were also some really nice flute themes played throughout the drama that helped you immerse yourself in the story.
REWATCH VALUE:
I've read that there will be a DVD version of the series that will have all the material that was cut out. I will definitely watch this entire series when I get my hands on that DVD... especially since I know that most of the things cut out were cut because they were too risqué! ;)
OVERALL:
You might think that this series does not deserve a 9/10 since they sort of butchered a lot of their good work by cutting out important scenes, but still I was glued to my screen until the very last moment and this series opened the world of Chinese dramas to me. Some of the special effects are terrible, but I don't think they took away from the storytelling. Watch the first episode and you should know if this is for you or not!
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Story:
The story is nothing special. It is quite "safe" - a basic love story with predictable high and low notes. My biggest qualm was the attempt to boost the melodrama in the latter part of the drama by the characters making illogical decisions.
Acting/Cast:
Krystal and Rain were an okay couple, but their chemistry was lacking. Also probably due to their huge age gap the drama kept their skinship to a minimum and this further made their chemistry and romance lukewarm. Krystal is extremely young and although she did portray most of the emotions well, I still felt her character was less real compared to Rain´s. All in all the cast was okay, but most of the characters seemed hollow and not very interesting.
Music:
This drama is mostly about music so you would think they would pull out all the stops to push the music, but I only liked one of the songs in the drama. The worst song in the drama was unfortunately the one they played every time something romantic was going on. Of course music is very personal and someone else might enjoy the songs in the drama, but they just weren't for me.
Rewatch Value:
I don´t think I will be watching this drama again. There were no epic love scenes in the drama, nothing especially memorable or exciting.
Review Summary:
I gave this drama 7.5, because it was okay, but it didn't offer anything new. I would recommend this drama to anyone who really watches a LOT of dramas and enjoys either Krystal or Rain. This drama is also a good newbie drama, because it has most of the drama clichés, but it isn't too over the top and it doesn't delve into Korean culture as it feels very global and generic.
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Although I did not really enjoy this drama from start to finish, I still recommend it to anyone who enjoys the main actors: U-Know Yun Ho & Kim Ga Eun. The both did a great job and I just wish the story had not gone the route it did.
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It's Okay, That's Love would be a very basic, romantic kdrama, but the story centers around mental health issues and that is something pretty new in kdramas. Good Doctor touched upon autism, but this kdrama delves a bit into all sorts of mental illnesses. All in all I would recommend this kdrama to anyone who loves polished, really top of the line production values, great acting, comedy, tragedy, a multifaceted story and romance all merged together.
STORY:
This drama has one of the best stories I've seen. There are no huge plot holes that lessen the enjoyment and the characters also seem deep and realistic. The story will keep you in it's grip until the end. My only complaint would be the way the story portrays mental illnesses. They do show you the despair and fear of people having mental health issues, but still it all seems rather simplified and naive. That is totally understandable though - who would want to sit through a kdrama where the problems in life remain unsolved and everyone just suffer endlessly?
ACTING/CAST:
This drama also had great casting. Needless to say both of the main actors (Jo In Sung & Gong Hyo Jin) were perfect. They were both believable and had to work hard for their salaries... crying, laughing, joking, going through almost every emotion in existence. Also their chemistry was magical.
The supporting characters were wonderful. Sung Dong Il and Lee Kwang Soo were responsible for almost every comedic scene in the series and they pulled it off really nicely.
MUSIC:
The OST was quite heavy in songs with english lyrics. It went pretty well with the overall mood of the drama, but there were maybe 3-4 songs that were used VERY often. The songs were good though and didn't ruin anything, but I still wish that kdramas would use more than just a handful of songs. It seems like it's an industry standard to play the same ballad every time when there is something romantic or otherwise notable thing going on in the drama, but maybe someone should break that rule.
REWATCH VALUE:
I can see myself watching this drama again maybe in 5-10 years, but it's not like Coffee Prince or Queen In Hyun's Man which you can watch multiple times, because It's Okay, That's Love is sort of painful and more tragic.
ps. In case you are wondering why I only gave this series an 8.5 rating - it all comes down to personal preference. I just prefer kdramas that are maybe a bit lighter and even more romantic. I watch western tv series for heavier content and when I watch kdramas I'm pretty much just searching for something with A LOT of romance, cheesiness, cuteness and maybe a bit of action, but not really for content that is emotionally draining.
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Story:
I enjoyed the first half of the story. The characters were well fleshed out and the pace was consistent. The second half of the drama was suffering from inconsistencies - things were not making a lot of sense and a lot of the plot was sacrificed to add to the melodrama. I felt frustrated when things were made a lot harder for the main characters than they would have to be.
Acting/Cast:
I really liked the main characters. Neither of the actors seem like the greatest of actors, but they both show raw emotion and successfully get you to care about what happens to them. Shin Min Ah portrays a gentle, whimsical woman and her character feels quite real. Rain's character seems a bit off, since I tended to find him more believable as a violent hobo instead of the tender, loving man he was portraying at later stages of the drama - it felt like his character changed too much in a short time. The supporting cast was also good. You hated them when you were supposed to hate them, but later you understood that they had their reasons and they slowly grew on you.
Music:
The soundtrack was a bit repetitive (like in most Kdramas), but the songs were quite epic :D Perfect soundtrack for a melodrama in my opinion, especially since this drama is almost 10 years old.
Rewatch value:
I don't think I will be watching this drama again any time soon. This drama had only a few scenes that are really romantic or memorable. Also the pace was quite slow and a bit too painful for it to be enjoyable to watch again.
Overall:
The music, cinematography and overall mood of this drama would make this one of the quintessential melodramas for me. The only thing bringing it down is the plot that sometimes seems to fall apart and the somewhat aged production values. Still I recommend watching it if you like Rain or Shin Min Ah or if you love melodramas. It is definitely not a waste of time!
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positives:
+ Uhm Tae Woong (the male lead) sort of grew on me. He looks terrible at times and then again sometimes quite handsome. It's always nice to feel a character is charismatic even without a botoxed and perfectly symmetric face.
+ No Min Woo (Yeon Nam-Saeng) really surprised me! I never really took his acting seriously before, but in this drama he was actually kinda great as an evil sociopath.
+ The cinematography of this drama was at times very nice - beautiful colors and calm scenes where nothing happens and it is all about the mood of the shot. Sometimes it went a little overboard with the repetitive cuts, where they showed 4 different angles of someone opening a door...
negatives:
- The story was not that good. It did keep me interested, but mostly because of the romantic issues. The politics and backstabbing would have been better with less plot holes. Also it was a story I have seen many times before with different twists.
- Kim Ok Bin (the female lead) was too stiff and expressionless during the entire drama. It was very difficult to understand which emotion she was trying to convey. Also she is known for not having had plastic surgery, but I kept looking at the side profile of her nose... it just looks unnatural. I kept feeling like unlike most of the other actors, she didn't fit into the Goguryeo period. Might sound really dumb, but that was the feeling I got from her appearance.
- I love my overtly romantic dramas and this is not one of those. This is only a personal preference, but I just don't recommend this drama for anyone who watches dramas for the romantic thrills.
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Story: (8/10)
The story is based on reality and it is mostly very good, but personally I would cut out about 10-20 episodes of material and storyline that feel like "fillers". Overall though the story is entertaining and nice, but it might cause impatient viewers to skip some parts.
Acting/Cast: (7/10)
For me the biggest problem with this drama is the mild chemistry between the main actors. They seem like good friends instead of passionate lovers. The main actors are both charismatic and do their jobs well, but it all seems a bit shallow. I have my suspicions that some important scenes might have been cut out since some Chinese series have had the same fate with more risqué scenes. Overall the acting is very good, but at least I did not really care about what happened to any of the characters and I didn't cry at any point in the drama (I almost always do :D).
Music: (6/10)
The music was pretty good at points and one of the vocal ballads, but there were quite a few low quality filler songs that really dragged the overall experience down.
Rewatch value: (5/10)
I can't really see myself watching this again any time soon. There were no extremely noteworthy scenes in the drama and since it is low-paced and long I can think of many series I would rather watch than this one.
Overall: (7.5/10)
My review might seem pretty harsh, but the fact is that I really emphasize CHEMISTRY above everything else. In this drama it could be due to the editing or directing of the series, but something is lacking between the main actors. The visual effects are much better than in usual Chinese period dramas; the war scenes look massive and convincing, the clothing and make up is really well done and I really appreciate that the female lead is not a generic beauty (she looks very unique). Maybe my problems is that this series really drew me in at the beginning, but in the end I feel let down.
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Story:
Nothing special here. It is a story we've seen many times before. The pacing works from start to finish, but as in all family dramas there are some side character story arcs that you might not be interested in.
Acting/Cast:
I personally like the male lead, Ryo Soo Young, but in this drama I felt like he was the expensive sashimi placed on a plate of cheap fish sticks. The female lead, Kim Da Som, was a refreshing change from the classic kdrama female. She seems like a normal person and that fit her character quite well. The mother-in-law was played by Go Doo Shim who is practically a staple of kdramas. She does an awesome job in this drama as well. There were some side characters who dampen things a bit... making the overall experience a bit cheap.
Music:
I can't remember a single song although I finished the drama yesterday. That means that the music is not going to bother you, but it's not going to deliver any FEELS eiter.
Rewatch Value:
It's so short and basic that I can't see myself ever watching this again.
Overall:
In the end I definitely do not regret watching this drama. There are so many better dramas out there, but I was craving for a bucket of cheesy romance and this drama delivers that. If you are after a few romantic scenes and cheesiness then this is for you. If you instead crave a complicated, challenging plot and high production values stay away.
Edit:
I need to point out that before watching this I had just watched some pretty damn bad dramas, so my review might be a bit lenient. Just watch the first episode, if you hate it then you will hate the entire series.
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Story: 7.5
As I said there are no surprises, but the story folds out well from beginning to end with a good pacing, it ends when it needs to end and things are not dragged out. The characters are also quite nicely fleshed out and you get a lot deeper into their psyche than in average dramas.
Acting/Cast: 8.5
The acting was the best part of this drama. I personally love the female lead (Uee) and although her character is written as quite one dimensional, she brings that character to life and makes you care about her. The male lead (Sung Joon) feels very bland, but I guess that is what his character is like. I wish he had been allowed to give the character more... balls. The second couple of the drama (Park Hyung Shik & Im Ji Yeon) almost stole the show. I personally disliked the female character at times (too SWEET), but in the end I actually cared more about them than the main couple.
Music: 6.0
I actually can't remember any of the songs in the OST. That is a bad and a good thing. Obviously the music did not bother me, but if I can't remember a single song it means nothing was memorable.
Rewatch Value: 5.0
I enjoyed watching this drama, but I feel I will never watch it again. There were some really cheesy, romantic moments I might want to relive, but I won't be watching the entire show again.
Overall: 7.0
I would have scored this drama a lot higher if it had something SPECIAL. For me "7" means that it's an enjoyable drama that you do not regret watching, but you will soon forget it.
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In a nutshell:
Story:
- Illogical and frustrating, filled with stupid character decisions.
- Most of the characters are disgusting people that will make you unable to feel any empathy for them.
- Product placement is completely out of control - they are literally hanging bottles of booze from trees...
- The story relies heavily on juvenile misunderstandings and medical emergencies to create drama.
- Even the romantic scenes offer nothing new & original, it just repeats stereotypical "sweet scenes".
Acting/cast:
- From bird feather bowties to t-shirts two sizes too small - Peter Ho's styling is absolutely atrocious!!! :D
- 80% of the actors have difficulty conveying emotions, especially crying scenes can get cringy.
- Peter Ho was quite good, but unfortunately his character has been written as shallow and boring.
- The combination of less than stellar acting combined with bad writing doesn't really create an enjoyable or immersive experience.
Music:
- Considering this drama has a lot to do with music they really half-assed it. The main character supposedly has a beautiful voice, but it's nothing special in my opinion. She sings the same song again and again.
- The other songs in the drama are nothing special, but since there are no horrible songs in the OST it's pretty average and ok.
Rewatch:
- There is no way in hell I'm rewatching this. There were a few romantic scenes I enjoyed, but the writing of this drama made me unable to enjoy it overall.
Overall:
- Stay away from this drama if you hate bad writing, stereotypical plots and below average acting.
- Watch this if you are a fan of the actors or if you aren't too worried about silly drama plots.
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- The beginning seems interesting and the male lead looked quite nice.
- The child actors are pretty good for child actors.
Negatives:
- This series had an awkward plot and terrible acting.
- None of the characters had any depth to them.
- The male and female lead had no chemistry between them.
- The comedy was cringeworthy and relied too heavily on repeating the same gags.
- The female lead tried to be cute and clumsy, but came out as annoying and childish... at some point you just want to punch her in the mouth that she keeps pouting.
- If you do not like child actors, avoid this series like the plague!
- WHERE is the CHEESY ROMANCE I was promised!
Overall:
I was interested to see how the story would turn out, but there were too many things that just killed my interest. Probably the biggest problem is that there are so many dramas just like this one, but they tend to be a lot better. The nonexistent chemistry between the female and male lead is also a big problem. I recommend avoiding this drama unless you really love the actors or the concept of the drama.
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PROS:
- The story unfolds mostly in Paris and they do a nice job of visiting all the famous tourist spots.
- This drama makes for a great drinking game. You can't watch it sober and you can take a drink every time you hear the main theme song playing (once every 2 minutes).
CONS:
- The lead male character is a HORRIBLE PERSON. In the end you wish the lead female would run away as far as possible.
- The way the portray a blind person is very, very lazily researched and unrealistic. It makes the drama painful to watch at some points.
- The entire story is based on misunderstandings. Doesn't make for an interesting plot and even worse, they try to keep the story going for a long time using the same misunderstanding again and again.
IN A NUTSHELL: Do not watch this unless you are bored out of your mind and you have nothing else to watch.
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Story:
This is a remake so the story is tried and tested. It will keep you interested until the end! There were some characters I found over the top or uninteresting, but the main characters keep you going. Sometimes the story seems to stall, but the drama definitely delivers and makes you happy that you watched until the end.
Acting/Cast:
I wanted to watch this series due to the lead male (Wisetkaew Sukrit). He has a very over the top way of acting, but I personally love it. He made me love the character, no matter how flawed and silly the character sometimes was. It all just added to the drama's impact. The lead female (Nuengthida Sophon) will very likely divide viewers opinions. You will feel frustrated with her actions, but everything happens for a reason. Her facial expressions feel limited and I wish the characters had more depth. It all comes flowing out though in the end and she managed to make me care about the character. Most of the side characters were okay, but there were some that were quite "rough". All in all the actors manage to make the wartime era feel very authentic.
Music:
The music in this one was quite basic. A few ballads here and there, quite beautiful but nothing extraordinary. I would've preferred a few instrumental themes, but it was okay.
Rewatch value:
I'm not sure if I will ever watch the last episode again. I cried my eyes out at 1:30am while I was watching this next to my sleeping husband. :D There were some memorable scenes though so I might have to go back for those. One of those dramas that you are glad you watched, but maybe you won't watch it again, at least not in it's entirety.
Overall:
If you are feeling a bit dull and you want to have a good cry this is the perfect drama for you. Interesting, romantic and even a bit erotic it will keep you in its clutches until the end. If you don't like war dramas or melodramas you should probably skip this one.
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Recommended :
- IF you like to see dramas where there are many couples and you see how they end up together.
- IF you care more about drama and romance instead of an interesting story.
- IF you are not bothered by low budgets.
- IF you want to watch a drama with many different age groups in it.
- IF you haven't tired of people "accidentally" falling on top of others...
Story:
Glorious days is very similar to other family dramas I've seen. The story is okay, but it repeats many themes you've already seen before if you have watched family dramas. They could've done so much more. The worst part of the storyline is that it is VERY predictable. As I said before, if you like predictable and cliché things you will enjoy this drama greatly. It caters you with lots of cheesy romance and it will tell you the story of multiple different couples of different ages and situations.
Acting/cast:
The cast was okay, but there were a few weak links that make the drama feel a bit flat and forced. I also had trouble relating and caring about some of the characters. This might be the writer's fault, but an actor should be able to make you care about their character even when the character is flawed in many ways. The cast also suffered from typecasting issues - you had too many actors you've already seen so many times portraying the EXACT same character.
Music:
The music was absolutely awful at some points. They even had a song that was almost ripped straight from the Super Mario soundtrack. There was no uniting theme to the music styles used and I don't remember hearing a single song with lyrics in it. All-in-all it seemed to be very low budget.
Rewatch Value:
I can't see myself ever watching this drama again. There were no super dramatic or super romantic scenes I would want to go back for.
Overall:
I was quite disappointed with this drama. A lot of people said it was good, but for me I was cringing throughout the series at the story and acting. I wanted to enjoy it, but there were a few characters that made it almost unbearable to watch. It's difficult to watch a family drama if you like some characters and hate others, because everyone gets their share of screen time. Another thing that added to the suffering was the stereotypical and really conservative story and characters. I feel that this drama was probably designed for Korean ahjummas who have very old fashioned values.
If you like dramas like this please instead of this one watch: Ojakgyo brothers or King's family. They are a lot better in so many ways.
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