Reviews

This drama is so different. I cant even categorize it into a genre.

The story was filled with light moments as well as many dark ones. Its very slow paced which Im not fond of but thats just because Im an anxious person. Many things are slowly revealed throughout the drama. So its hard to wait patiently. BTW be prepared to bawl your eyes out in episode 19. the only other time ive ever cried watching a drama was with Stairway to Heaven so thats saying something. Alot of people on here complained about the ending. Ill admit when I got to the end of episode 19 I wanted to scream because I thought I wasted 19 hours on a drama with an ending that doesnt justify anything that happened the entire series. After I finished the last episode, I realized that it is not a storybook ending but you learn an important lesson about life and death. Something that is revealed in the last episode is mindblowing though so its worth watching.

Acting was phenomenal by the entire cast. Even the villians were so good you feel sympathetic for them.

The music was very whimsicle. It had a nice flow and went along great with the scenes. The OST is great too!

Id rewatch this in a couple of years just because the story is sad and thatll give me time to forget most of the events that took place.

Overall this drama is not your average drama but its something to watch and you will take something away from it.

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Even though I gave Iljimae really good ratings, I was still a little disappointed. The plot was amazing, so was the acting, especially the music, and I would absolutely watch it again! So why was I a little disappointed? Well, this is an immensely popular drama and the statistics showed it had great ratings so I was really pumped to watch it. Maybe it was because I had extremely high expectations that Iljimae fell a little below my expectations.



The main thing that kept running through my head as I watched it was the believability. I felt like in a lot of the fighting scenes and the sneaking into palaces scenes had a lot of holes in them, but all of the plans just miraculously succeeded. I couldn't get it out of my head and it ruined a lot of the drama for me :( I wish I didn't think about it so much... I would have completely enjoyed the drama so much more!



BUT the fighting scenes were still amazing, and the story sooooo good and the cast was brilliant. Watch it!!

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I'm partial to this version of Mischievous Kiss, because it has much more levels to it. The actors portray the characters in a very realistic way, and they were very three dimensional, with emotions that you could actually feel with them as you watched the show. The supporting characters are amazing, and they bring the show to another level.

Its comedic, romantic, and dramatic all at the same time. And you could really understand where each of the characters were coming from, and sympathize with both of them, allowing for a less frustrating, more pleasurable experience.

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I hadn't watched a J-Drama since a long time as I was into K-Dramas lately. So, I picked up 'Utsukushii Rinjin' randomly when I was going through the Drama database of MDL. I read the plot and it seemed to be kind of... interesting. As I was only watching romantic stuffs and stories about the young generation, I decided to give this one a go as the story was different. And I am so glad that I picked it for watching.

You should definitely watch this drama if you are a fan of the suspense genre. The story is UNIQUE and UNPREDICTABLE, and it kept me wondering what was going to happen next.

The cast is awesome. Nakama Yukie and Dan Rei have done great acting there. The supporting characters are also pretty good. Nakama Yukie, especially, impressed me. She literally gave me the creeps!

The music is decent and suits with the drama. The occasional 'tik-tok' of the clock gave it a 'horror movie' feel as if at the strike of 12, a ghost would pop out of somewhere!

The reason why I gave this story a 9 is because I was not quite satisfied with the ending. I won't say I was disappointed but it's just that several questions that I had in my mind were remain unanswered. Also, I gave rewatch value a 4 because although this is a good drama, you probably won't feel like watching it again as you will already know what's going to happen next, and it is no fun that way as the suspense won't be there.

Overall the drama is a good watch. The story doesn't drag and it keeps you hooked.

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I didn't watch this drama for a long time, because the description put me off. It sounded boring and unoriginal. But when I finally started to watch this, I fell in love with it. It's unlike any other drama out there, surprising, and very good. The actors are great, and the plot is weird, at times funny, and really sad.

I don't know why the MAIN POINT of the dorama is not put into the description... well, perhaps because it would "spoil" the series... but honestly, if you're planning to watch this, here's something you would like to know, and I'll say it without giving away any spoilers; be prepared to a plot out-of-this-world, perhaps not quite scifi but close enough. But don't let that put you off; this is truly original and great to watch. My favorite dorama ever.

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Secret Garden is like an old friend whom you misses when s/he is gone and for whom you speak favourably of to others. It has been a while since this drama ended but the warmth and memories of this drama remained. As I go on with my review of this drama, bear in mind that I very rarely rate any drama or movie with 10/10 because I believe that no matter how excellent the drama/movie is, there is always room for improvement or there will always be people who will not think so favourably of it. Taking that into account, and the fact that I had pretty much "seen it all" that hardly anything impresses or shock me nowadays, let's move on with the review.



Story: This drama has a very simple storyline: rich man falls for poor woman, they were opposed by his parent(s) but they eventually have their "happily ever after". The "Cinderella story" appeals to all the romantics of the world, especially to the female viewers. We have read and watched many movies and dramas along this line. So what is new? Does throwing in a fantasy gimmick such as body swapping makes it new? Not really. Body swapping is not a new idea either. What made SG extraordinary from the ordinary? It was certainly not the story, but rather how it was told. My full brownie points go to the director for his interpretation of this story. By throwing in otherwise "cliche" albeit creative scenes, amusing lines and characters that you cannot help but fall in love with (eg: coffee froth on the lip, the sit up, the coordinated walking-side-by-side, the "New message" ringtone, Joo Won's monologue about how expensive the tracksuit is, the infamous "Is this the best?" line etc), the director turned what was otherwise ordinary to extraordinary. Without these, I believe SG would have ended up in the "Just another fantasy rom-com" pile. What I love about the entire story was the simplicity of it that turned the old into new. SG taught me that one does not need a complicated idea to make a great story; an old idea can be made into a great story if it was told from a different angle. I love the ending and the message it brought to the viewers. Thanks to this brilliant re-telling of the Cinderella story, we can now look forward to future rom-coms that will make use of the "trademark" SG scenes and lines. In this way, we know that SG has been immortalized.



Acting/Cast: I would not be able to find a better cast than the existing one. Hyun Bin successfully portrayed the arrogant and most times childish Joo Won. His acting in this drama was spot on! The fact that he was able to make me shed tears with him when he cried was the pinnacle of acting - the ability to make the viewers feel what the character was feeling. I am not a fan of him per se - he was not too bad in My Name is Kim Sam Soon but he did starred in dramas that were not so succesful either, yet in SG, he totally nailed it! Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im was the perfect choice for Hyun Bin's Kim Joo Won. They had such a natural and perfect chemistry that the pairing was a work of genius. I believe that for many years to come, people will walk pass Ji Won and call her "Gil Ra Im". That is how strong the impression of her character and how succesful she was in protraying Gil Ra Im. Next, I come to my favourite character- Oska, played by Yoon Sang Hyun. Oska's was an amusing and interesting character. I sincerely believe that without the excellent work by Yoon, SG would have fallen flat on its face. Oska may be a supporting character but without Oska, the drama would have lacked the necessary chemistry needed to gel all the other parts and characters together. Thanks to Yoon, Oska was a success and so was SG. The other characters, such as Kim Sung Oh as Secretary Kim, Kim Sa Rang as Yoon Seul and even the lady who played Joo Won's mother (forgotten her name!) were brilliant choices! For the cast, I award the rare 10/10 because without such an excellent cast and wonderful chemistry, SG would have turned out as a flop.



Music: SG has one of the most heartfelt OSTs around - that is if you are into ballads. Some of you may not, hence the 9/10 rating I gave it. Admittedly, I have my favourites and not-so favourites from its OSTs.



Rewatch value: This is where I admit a secret of mine. I had not rewatched SG since it ended, not for lack of disinterest, but rather due to lack of time. I have too many projects on hand now and making the time to watch a drama nowadays takes effort beyond my already busy schedule. Top that with the expectations from others that I write formal reviews of new dramas, I rarely have time to re-watch dramas (no matter how good they were) because I have to move on to the next new drama. So, I became very selective with what I watch. Unlike most drama addicts, I can forgo watching if the drama is not up to my taste. To me, SG has a high rewatch value. It is surely in my list of drama to re-watch when I get the time for it. I remember fondly all those scenes and lines from SG and hope that one day, when I get that break or holiday away from work, I will be able to re-visit it. So, yes, by all means, if you have the time, re-watch SG again. Better yet, go out and buy the whole original set of the drama. It is definitely a collector's item; one you will not regret keeping for years and years to come and one you probably can proudly show to your kids and next generation what "the good ol' Korean dramas were like in the early 21st century".



With this review, I end my thoughts about SG. All I can say, if you haven't watched it, you better do or else you would have missed an excellent drama that may well ended up as the k-drama of the decade!

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High powered tension, an intense love triangle, and imminent rebellion all come together to make a elaborate story I was certainly drawn into. I will admit, however, that the middle of the story seemed to drone on a tad bit and left me rather distracted, but it quickly picked up around the end as the plot unraveled and left me with my eyes glued to the screen.



The acting was absolutely superb in every sense of the word. I was completely and undeniably convinced they were who they said they were, and it's safe to say that it's rare for me to feel that way.



My only complaint is that I could've lived without the more inappropriate scenes...I felt they carried on for far too long when other more important things could've been happening.



Overall, this is definitely a movie worth seeing.

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Summary:

Over all in all, this drama has something to offer.

The twisted story about 49 days is the remarks of this drama. As it was titled of.

This all about life after death, and before death..

The romance, betrayal and corruption add ups the spice.

This is a recommendable drama to watch.



Plot of the Story:

I like the fallowing:

The main story about 49 days, it's a fantasy.

The life before death and after death.

The comedy scenes and some tearful scenes

I like the love story of this drama.

Dislike:

Some scenes are just too slow, it should be more shorter.

Cause it feels like this drama lost some excitement and importance of the story.

Some of the plots is so predictable.



Acting/Cast:



Even though it has powerful casts. There's something in this category that lock off.

I think the character of the SCHEDULER or REAPER is one of the highlights of this drama. Even though the character was a supporting role

I hate how this drama has a lot a crying scenes though it's not needed. For me it just too much.



Music:



All of the ost choices suits this dramas..

But where and when to play it, it was quite question mark? Does it should be played on that part.



Re-watchable value:



Yes, it is.. I will again watch my favorite scenes but the whole drama again

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