jellybine
Philippines
The story is a bit predictable but still manages to squeeze the right emotions out of me. What I love the most in this drama is that the main couple is so adorable. I loved Joo Sang-wook so much in this drama because he is quirky and funny. I think he was making mostly melodramas before this but he totally nailed being in a romantic comedy. He and Lee Min-jung totally carried the show with their acting.
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I usually watch dramas based on my favorite writers or actors. This show definitely falls on the second category since I am not really a fan of Kim Eun-sook (I watched Heirs because of the abundance of pretty). I am a Song Joong Ki fan ever since his Innocent Man days and I really do anticipate for this show because this is his come back drama after getting discharged. And so, off I go and watch this drama.
The Story
Story-wise, I believe that Descendants did a good job on maximizing all the angles of the setting it was on. There is definitely enough suspense, thrill and action when your hero is a soldier, specifically in a special unit for that matter. I believe that the highlight of the drama was really when they were in Urk. Because that is where the story developed and got deeper. After their return to South Korea, I am always wondering what will happen and that there is not much material left to work on. So the writer need to do THAT by the last week of the drama. I think the last episode is all fan service and nothing much is really happening any more. Well, as compared to the writer's other projects (I only watched Secret Garden and Heirs), I like this better.
The Cast
I can watch this forever because of Joong Ki and I think I need not say much about him. I adore him! I read some reactions saying that it feels that Song Hye Kyo lacks emotions in her acting. In my opinion, Song Hye Kyo did well with her role delivering intense longing, conflicting, and even sometimes funny emotions on her scenes.
But really, the gem for me here is Kim Ji Won and Jin Goo. I actually loved their love line than the main couple. I watched Kim Ji Won in Heirs only and have not watched her since so I am not sure how she did on others but her performance here is really improved compared to that in Heirs. I haven't watched any of Jin Goo's shows but I know that he is in the industry for quite a while now and finally, he gets his recognition. I am really happy that their careers are both enjoying the popularity of this show.
Every one was awesome but then I cringe every now and then when there's a cheesy line. My goodness, I can't believe that they were able to deliver those cheesy lines!
The Soundtrack
I think we all had fair share of Last Song Syndrome because of this show's soundtrack.
Also, I want to acknowledge that the drama really has good editing. I think the fact that it was pre-produced gave the production more time to smooth the flow of the scenes. Somehow I also felt that their location is already so pretty, it required less effort. Ha ha. The scenes really delivered a lot of feels.
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Another Oh Hae Yong is charming, endearing, and heart-tugging. I remember watching the first episode of this drama and I immediately felt the same way as I was watching Coffee Prince (there is some kind of a special place for the first drama that hooked you).
The tragic premise of falling in love with the person who indirectly ruined your life because of a mistake makes you always think when the New Oh Hae Young will find out the truth. Another Oh Hae Young immediately had me invested and as the show is doing really well, extensions were announced for the drama. And as all other extensions, some scenes were a bit dragging but I don't mind the extra scenes for Soo-kyung noona and Ji-sang.
The Cast
I like that the other characters are not written as purely evil and that how all characters are funny and amazing in their own right except, maybe, you know - the mom.
Our Oh Hae-young is just as crazy as she could be. Sometimes she makes me cringe with all the crazy and cheesy things she did. But hey, what is wrong with wearing her love on her sleeves - or her whole outfit? Hahaha. Everything she does screams that she is in love but that just makes her someone I want to root for.
Do-kyung does frustrate me more than he should but I still like him for being caring and all but chooses hide or deny it. And oh, I wanna thank Eric for giving us super duper awesome kisses! :* :* :*
The Music
i love AOHY's OSTs. I always have the Last Song Syndrome on days I watch it. our lead guy is a sound director so I think it's a given that the music should be the best? Honestly, after this, I appreciate the sound directors more and how much they give life to the dramas. I love even the white noises and the sound of nature.
Rewatch Value
Will totally watch it for the crazy antics, warm relationship, and steamy kisses. Definitely for the kisses.
Overall
Beautifully shot, wonderfully directed. Another Oh Hae Young is poignant. Made my heart lonely, happy, sometimes flutter. But it definitely left me warm and hoping for the best for our characters.
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If it weren't for Ji Sung, I wouldn't stick through this. Anyways, I still enjoyed the story of the other characters. I like Chae Jung-Ahn's character the most. Also, Yun-soo's struggle as a single dad trying to live his passion while making a living foe his son is what really sold to me. I enjoyed the daily relationship among the band members and didn't care much about the drama on how the entertainment industry works.
To the show's credit, there were a lot of fun times and it proved that no matter how much obstacles people face, one can overcome them to fulfill a person's dream.
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I'm not Korean so I don't know much about the historical figures in the story. Despite that, the story is quite familiar since it's like the Prince and the Pauper. You get the idea. It's creative enough to make it possible for a king to have his replacement. I like how the story unfolds.
The Cast
This might be the aspect of this drama that I was so amazed and astounded with. It's amazing how Lee Byung-hun is such an amazing actor having two roles in this movie. It was not difficult to differentiate his two characters. It's my first time watching him so I am in awe by how you can distinctly differentiate his two characters just by his voice articulation and of course, his actions.
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The Story: As someone who is constantly updated with upcoming dramas, the premise of the story already had me hooked immediately. I'm a total fan of anything supernatural like time travel, superpowers, ghosts (in their most fun sense), etc so this drama is an addition to my list of must-watch dramas. I can very much say that I live most of life in the dramas and books that I watched and read. So having W portray what happens to my favorite hero when he actually came to life felt like a fangirl's dream coming true. I will not dwell much on how the plot unfolds because, surely, there are no words to describe what happens in the drama. You just have to see things for yourself. Just be sure to be ready for a roller coaster ride. This is unpredictable and way beyond words that I am capable of using to describe it.
Really, the drama is well executed despite having the complicated premise and scenes in both the real and manhwa world. I admire the director and staff for being able to realize a convoluted two worlds in this drama. It's really a stretch to shoot scenes with this kind of setup and they were able to do a good job.
The only fault I think there is in W is that it was soooo good in almost all episodes that the expectations have climbed sky high. Everything has been laid out and no new tricks were played so it became a bit flat towards the end. Despite that, I treat those times as the calm before the storm.
The Cast: Well. Well. Well. I can't believe just how amazing Lee Jong-suk is in his role as Kang Chul. I don't find him handsome, handsome but everytime he winks, smiles, and stares, I just die and fan myself just like Yeo-joo. I can surely say that being a cool manhwa character suits him well.
I love Han Hyo-joo in almost everything so there's not much to say. Most of the time, I can feel her acting the way I would in case I met Kang Chul. Her character, Oh Yeon-joo, is the perfect example of a fangirl who loves her idol through and through. I feel happy and sad with her with whatever she's going through.
Yeon-joo's father is so good as a loving father and a creator who wants to kill off his main character for going against him. He played such intense emotions for the drama and I want to credit him for making W a more suspenseful drama.
What's difficult with the set up in W is that we have two worlds that needs our attention. So the supporting characters in each of the worlds felt limited. When we are in the real world, I miss the manhwa characters and vice versa. Kang Chul and Yeo-joo takes most of the screentime, though I don't really mind. Really.
Ps. I love Soo Bong. He's hilarious!
The Music: I'm not good in this aspect but what I love about W is that they don't use that much background music during the scenes. There's no really need for W to rely with background music to pull emotions from the viewers. The intensity of the scenes unfolding is already enough to take the emotions out of me.
Rewatch Value: I watched through previous episodes while waiting for the next episode so there's no fault in its rewatch value. I was at the point where I thought that I should hold the drama until it was finished. I'll just rewatch everything now that it's complete.
Overall: The drama is amazing. Indescribable. Heart-stopping. Intense. (Off to the dictionary for more adjectives to describe the show!). And despite the craziness, I am unconditionally in love, hooked, and invested. It was a tough ride and there were a lot of ups, downs, and flats but that's just how love is, no?
Why did I rate it 9.5? That's the payment for breaking my heart countless times then forcing it to be fixed. Haha. Honestly, maybe it's because I was expecting something before the show leave me but didn't get it. I still love the show nevertheless. A drama like this is hard to come by
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Story
I initially don't got on board with the plot. Having an unlucky girl go after a guy because of his luck is just so irrational, I don't want to buy it. But after watching the first couple of episodes, I discovered that there was a deeper reason of going after a guy because of his luck. It is true that the premise is something new but it really is annoying at times; The drama felt a bit slow at first but then picked up its pace around the middle part. Everything would have been fine with me until the moment that I felt that I am watching The Series of Unfortunate Events that I find myself cursing the episodes (especially the 15th). Ryu was no longer enough to keep me sane through those parts.
Cast
I love the supporting characters here. Ryang-ha and Dal-nim is totally entertaining and the actor and actress made them endearing and likeable. Lee Soo-hyuk was a bit unutilized here but we can't do anything about this anymore.
I know that Hwang Jung-eum does a great job with her dramas. I approve her in She Was Pretty but dislike her in Kill Me Heal Me. After Lucky Romance, I realized that I can't make it through thick and thin with her. I can watch her in She Was Pretty but that's it.
What I really love unconditionally in this drama is Ryu Jun-yeol. His character, Su-ho is somewhat similar to Jung-hwan (Reply). But he just awesomely gave Su-ho this aloofness and adorableness that I came to love him even more. I love how he can make so many different expressions in a single episode that I am looking forward to his "expression of the episode." I see greater things for him. Can't wait for the next drama!
Rewatch Value
I would have increased the rewatch value for the drama if only the noble idiocy didn't happen. I forced myself to get through that part the first time, how can I ever redo it? But honestly, you can make me rewatch this unlimited times - just give me every single scene that Ryu Jun-yeol was in.
Overall
I came in this drama excited for Ryu Jun-yeol and came out feeling really proud that he made his first lead role remarkable. Lucky Romance may not be an outstanding drama but Ryu really shined through it all (It's a bit exaggerated but as objectively as I can, I honestly think that he did well.)
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The Story
It's crazily genius. The story is definitely one of the very few of its kind. In the story, the main hero at least have a personality of his own since he only started changing faces when he reached a certain age. Woo-jin at least has his own personality, talent, and skills before he lost his physical appearance and started changing. Yi-soo, on the other hand, lives a normal day-to-day life and getting involved in a crazy circumstances like this entails difficulties.
The story effectively depicts a story of a person finding true love and belongingness in this world despite his "illness". At the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether the whole world is against you as long as there is some people who accepts you through and through.
The Cast
Just having Han Hyo-joo is already enough for me. But of course, the premise requires the movie to have a lot of actors/actresses to act as the hero. There's plenty of them but it helped that known actors portrayed the hero in the crucial scenes in the story. Most mermorable performances for me was from Park Seo-joon, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Dong-wook, Go Ah-sung, and of course Yoo Yeon-seok. There were many others who played as the hero and made their very short appearance worthwhile.
Overall
I'm a total sucker for everything crazy and supernatural like this. I already love the story without watching it yet so there's not much work to be done for me. But, what I really appreciate is the watly the story is execited when such premise is already complicated. I love how I felt the sincerity and desperation of Woo-jin and Yi-soo's love.
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