The writer/s also did a good job connecting the two characters. i like how they complement and sometimes contrasts each other. and also love the way the complexities of the relationship was shown from the beginning til the end. the lines are so good too; lost young people like me would relate 10/10 to both of them. A+ for the chemistry! not much skinskip or cheesy worthy scenes but us them being together made their chemistry oozed (hahaha).
Indeed, a heart warming watch. a perfect mix of not being too complicated, too sad, too happy, and too cliche *.* love this! just the right movie for my mood right now~
PS: if you totally didn't like this, i suggest to close the tab and get back on this when you're in the right mood for this movie. a second chance won't hurt!
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This review may contain spoilers
Eternal Love is brilliant in the quality of acting but infuriating in the drawn-out angst of the plot. I watched 22 episodes consecutively, skipped forward while reading recaps, and came back to watch the ending episodes (45-58). The strength of Eternal Love is in its beautiful cinematography, music, actor expressions, and ability to go from comedy to tragedy. I'm glad that this one gives a happy ending. If anyone else felt frustration with Bai Qian's character, I recommend watching this YouTube video by AvenueX:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgNmjyYW5F0.
WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS INVOLVED.
All in all, a strong beautiful drama that can either make you sigh in delight or drive you up the wall.
Hope this is helpful.
-KA
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The story was not really new but you will not get bored with it because it’s not dragging. Every episode has surprises along the way and somehow it was not that predictable. The actors & actresses played the characters well, all of them have chemistry. The stares, the dialogues and the actions all add up to the building chemistry between them that at the end, it leaves you wanting more. Especially Yuriko & Kentaro’s scenes! ^_-
For the music, it was okay and well matched for every scene. For the ending song, I like the first part where it’s the instrumental that was only playing. It was well matched for scenes at the end part of every episode.
Overall, it was a nice and cute drama. Definitely gonna watch this again (because of the great chemistry between Yuriko & Kentaro)! A drama worth watching! :)
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This is a drama with an age gap, quite a big one. I'm not usually a fan of noona romance dramas, as you can tell through some of my reviews of such dramas like Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, I Hear Your Voice ..etc But something about this made it okay for me. I think it was the chemistry. The chemistry between our two main characters was electrifying and I couldn’t look away. And though this drama is about an affair, I don’t condone them and I don’t think they are right, I couldn’t help myself but root them on. They lived in a world where people were using them for their own gratification. Being abused by power, money, and greed, I thought these characters found each other in a rather important moment in each of their lives. Dramas like this, where the characters chemistry is beyond amazing, where you can cut the sexual tension with a knife, where the greed and money hungry people make you sick and you can’t help but weep a little, are the types of dramas I live for. Even though this drama was on the slower side, I didn’t mind it. I love a slow drama if it has a purpose and it did. It helped along with really getting to know the core of a character and seeing the situation in which they were forced into. It gave you a sort of suspenseful feeling to it because it seemed that all the love and drama was happening minute by minute.
This drama was shot in a unique way. I loved the camera work in this drama, and I felt like it was shot like a movie more than a drama. Each episode just seemed like its own short film, and I loved it. The artistic shots along with the beautiful music and outstanding acting really did it for me. It was a drama that I fell hard for, however, it may not be for everyone. Everyone might not be into the type of camera work that was put into this drama, nor the pacing of it either. Some may find it boring with all the business talk and mind games that the secondary characters were playing or even their story-lines. But I found myself impressed with it, and I couldn’t get enough. Sixteen episodes, though it did its job, really seems so short to me. I wanted more! But I got my fill and I loved it. I am a little disappointed in the fact that more people aren’t talking about this drama, but as I said before its, not for everyone and I think it takes a more “mature” mindset to really enjoy this drama for what it is and not just for the “oh he is so hot”, “where are the bed scenes”, “Look at them lips and booty”, type of person. Someone who wants to enjoy a well put together story with acting to go along with it, and isn’t only interested in the more romantic and superficial elements of dramas.
I thought Yoo Ah In did a fantastic job. He is really a great actor and I’m going to be sad when he enters the military soon. I think beyond his physical appearance, he brings a lot to the table. Sometimes he doesn’t choose his dramas well, *cough* Fashion King *cough*, but any role he is in, I can tell he gives it a 100% and I enjoy that about him. He seems to play characters that are not as straightforward as they may seem and they have depth, and like this character, I really enjoy that. He pulls it off well. His chemistry with Kim Hee Ae was fantastic and I really enjoyed seeing them work off each other throughout this drama. I thought Kim Hee Ae did a fantastic job as well. This beautiful woman actually looks her age, and I loved that about it. They didn’t dress her up in young clothes or try to make her seem younger than she really was, her natural beauty shined through. Her acting was fantastic and I thought she played her role well. I loved her character and I thought she was so elegant even when she was pissed off, and I loved it.
Overall I thought this drama was fantastic. Though I am still suffering from some major depression because of it, I really liked it a lot. It was the type of drama that really gets me. I can go for romantic comedies sometimes, but a real deep and interesting intense melodrama are always going to be welcomed in my heart, and this was it. The music was amazing and it's a shame that it wasn’t released as an OST because I would have bought it right away. This drama had amazing writing with amazing actors and actresses who pulled it off well. The entire production seemed to be like watching an independent foreign film that you like to brag to your friends about because it's so artsy. I loved that about it. I would highly recommend this drama to those who are into more mature dramas, who don’t mind slow pacing and a lot of character development and story-line development along with it.
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This review may contain spoilers
I'm exhausted. I'm emotionally drained from watching this drama, and that’s a good thing! I am so happy that I actually didn't watch this drama while it was airing, because I know I would have had a hard time waiting for all the episodes to come out, and though I got a few spoilers here and there it made no difference because the journey was amazing. I still felt the stings in my heart from every single heartbreaking moment in this drama. This drama is a hard hitter, in my opinion, it had all the right plot points to make me interested, the characters were deep and complex, and the acting was compelling. I found myself immersed in the world of Triangle, and never wanting to get out. 26 episodes seemed to go by so quickly in the last three days, and it was glorious the entire way through.The story of three brothers who were separated at a young age and finding one another may seem like an overplayed scenario, but when you write this well and have a cast of outstanding actors and supporting actors it isn't hard to get a viewer emotionally attached. The relationship and the turmoil between the brothers were what kept me going, the fight inside myself that wanted to see them together and happy as a family was extremely strong. It was better than any romance could have brought me. But don't get me wrong, the love lines in this drama as great as well. They may not have as much screen time as many people may like, but it was enough to get you invested in their relationships (romantic) and have you rooting for whoever you wanted. The money, business, gambling, and mob side of this drama is not to be overlooked either. I found all that part of the plot interesting as well. The gambling kept me on the edge of my seat, I was so nervous throughout most of it, if World Poker Tournament on TV was this exciting I would be watching it, however, its not so I don't, but maybe if someone’s life or pride was on the line it would be. All the aspects of this drama, in my opinion, were really well-rounded and brought together well, I didn't find myself wondering what happened to so and so, or how this and this turned out, I thought everything ended the way it should have, and though it brought me to tears and I felt like I had been shot in the heart, it was great.
The acting in this drama like I said before was outstanding. Kim Jaejoong blew me out of the water in this one. Though I never really considered him a top actor, though I’ve always thought he was good, I found his performance in this drama to be outstanding. I enjoyed seeing him play his emotional scenes and his action scenes were top as well. He has improved so much and I'm glad, though I might cry, that this will be his last performance before shipping off to the military. He did a great job and it's really a great piece of work to leave us with while he is gone. Lee Beom Soo redeemed himself to me, though I've never thought he was a bad actor, his role in Prime Minister and I disappointed me, maybe because I didn't like that drama, but here I thought he did a fantastic job. He fit the role perfectly and he made me feel so many things. I thought this was one of the best performances I have seen of him, and I really got into his character. I hope I can see him in more compelling dramas like this in the future and less romantic comedies because he did so well in this. Siwan did a fantastic job as well. He had that look of crazy and sadness in his eyes the entire time, and it fit his role perfectly. His character was damaged and he showed it with a simple look and his body language. He was great, and I didn't expect any less from him. He is one of the idol actors that I think can go so far in the acting field because he just gets better with each drama he is in. I am excited to see him in another drama sometime soon (I hope). Both Oh Yeon Su and Baek Jin Hee played their roles fantastically as well. As the main females in the drama, they had a lot of space to fill especially with main actors who did such a fantastic job. I didn't find them to bring them down at all, and they heightened the scenes they were in. Sometimes I'm not really all the keen on the romantic interested (females) in dramas but they were interesting characters that were written well and played by two talented actresses that I would love to see again. The rest of the cast, who I wish I could talk about separately, Jang Dong Jik, Kim Byeong Ki, Lee Youn Mi, Hong Seok Cheon, SHin Seung Hwan, Kim Byung Ok, and the rest of the cast did an amazing job. All their performances were outstanding and I thought they each fit their roles perfectly. This cast was great!
Overall from the music, to the cinematography, to the script, to the acting it all came together so well for me. I thought that this drama was nearly perfect and it saddens me that I didn't see so many gifs or photo sets of this drama when it was so good. I would recommend it to every, even if you're not much of a melodrama watcher I think there is something in this for everyone. You have action and romance, and tears there isn't really anything better than that in my opinion. To me, this has to be one of the best 2014 dramas I have seen, so I highly recommend it to everyone.
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This drama features several love triangles and for people who can't stand the love triangle cliche, this might be an exception to the rule because the characters are so endearing and the acting is so good. The secondary love triangles have their moments and are somewhat cute, but the main love triangle is the best love triangle ever.
Jo Jung Suk was my favorite. I want to watch all his other stuff now. How did he he make his arrogant jerky character so lovable and magnetic? He shows Hwa Shin's inner turmoil, heartsickness and insecurity with a subtle change of expression or shift in the eyes. The second lead character Jung Woon is a dreamy perfect guy and the main character Na Ri is warm and lovable. They all have great chemistry together and the friendship between the two guys is so good too. They stole my heart. Thanks to the great character development and acting, it was actually believable that Na Ri would be so conflicted between these 2 guys that are such polar opposites. I totally understand people routing for the second lead in this drama. I admit I was conflicted too for a few episodes, but finally I was won over and satisfied that Na Ri found her soul mate.
The drama isn't perfect. The secondary story lines weren't as interesting to me as the main one, but they did have their charms. The story slows down a little in the second half and doesn't have the same flow as in the first half, but it's still good and it ties everything up in a satisfying way. Even though the finale took me a little off guard in how it was done, I think it was a fun goodbye to the characters. And the main love story brings the whole thing up for me.
Aside from the heart fluttering romance, this drama is funny and cute and had me giggling out loud many times. It also deals with some serious issues that bring more emotional depth to the relationships, but it never gets depressing or too heavy. If you have been putting off watching this you should do it.
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Even though there are still 2 other seasons planed I already love the series but sadly the book where it is based on isn't translated into English.
Have much fun with watching it!
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The good: The heroine is friggin' adorable. She's funny, sweet, and totally relatable. She was bullied in middle school and decided to make a "new" her by changing schools. I liked the story of her personal journey, ie learning to start conversations, making friends, etc. She was also totally adorable with the "angel" boy.
The bad: That friggin' devil. The first twenty minutes made me hate his guts. There is nothing likable about him. He force-kissed her, grabbed her by the chin roughly, and yelled in her face so many times I wanted to reach into the screen and punch HIM. He was the really cheap version of Tsukasa Doumyogi, who had least gave me hints that he wasn't all bad. I waited and waited for his character to go through some kind of transformation, at least to realize he's being a complete and utter asshole to her, but it never happened. I was actually mad at HER when she started looking at him differently, because he had literally done nothing to earn her trust or affection or even friendship. He was an asshole up to the very end.
I would not recommend this to anybody, much less someone who is actually looking for real romance in a film/drama.
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The first couple of episodes were painful to watch, since THAT letter was too cruel. I hated Asako, and I didn't like the boy. Actually, till the end, I couldn't figure this boy out. But on the other hand, I felt too sorry for Asako, in spite of all her many mistakes. While Yui was suffering for almost a decade for the lost of her baby boy, Asako's intentions of being a mother were mostly selfish. She wanted a son because of social pressure, because of loneliness... But still, what does being a mother mean? Doesn't it mean to love and raise the child to be someone, to be there for the child, to give him everything the child needs in order to become a better person?
While there were many painful scenes, and scenes that make you upset (like when Asako was telling Yui SHE was the one who raised Kou, SHE was the one who knew him better... thank Heavens for that slap!), there were also many light scenes, heartwarming scenes. This dorama is mostly about family, not only blood-related, but also people who are always there for support and interventions and good and bad moments.
I love the cast, specially the women. I think Sawajiri Erika may be too young to be a mother of a teenage boy, but she was dressed very homely in order to look more mature, with baggy clothes and light-to-zero make-up. Her friend, interpreted by Itaya Yuka, was excellent. She always plays the sweetest and kindest friend to perfection. I think it is her smile. But the one who deserved all awards was, for me, Koike Eiko. Her role, as the woman who raised the boy, was meant to be hateful. But her tears... oh gawd, her tears made ME tearful. For about 8 episodes I had a love-hate feelings for her, but by the end, I pitied her enormously. Poor woman, in spite of everything!
The husbands were good as well, nice sidekicks. But what impressed me the most was Nakajima Yuto. This guy has everything to play a romantic MC; he is tall, young, handsome and can act, and here again we have him, as a serious worker who should be played by someone older. WHYYYY...
The kids were ok, obviously with the least experience and you can tell, especially since the older cast is so good. Still, the boy who played Kou was adorable.
I love the OST! Very moving, and I love the EP, "Just you and I", by Amuro Namie. I am currently listening to it. The lyrics are very meaningful.
The ending was satisfying. I think this is one of those doramas that will be liked by anyone, specially those who like family genre.
The other cover is much better and meaningful that the one here on MDL.
Mini-reunions: "1 Liter of Tears", "Hotaru no Hikari", "Kounodori", "Date".
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A drama dealing with mental illness and love, that is right up my alley if you know the type of dramas I am into. The ones that can make you cry, sobbing and wondering how you will go on after that episode, and yet can make you smile from ear to ear from the romance and laugh till your stomach hurts from the comedy. Those types of dramas have a specific mixture that if one out does the other, it just might fall apart, but luckily this drama was balanced well. I am all for dramas where I cry every single episode, however, I think I may not have cried in a few because they were so heartwarming, and I loved that. It didn't have me dying of dehydration from lack of tears, but it didn't leave me wanting an emotional connection between the characters and their circumstances either.
There is so much I want to say about this drama, and yet I will not ruin it for those who have yet to see it. It is a drama you have to watch to be able to truly understand its greatness. The writing in this drama is fantastic. The way the characters are written and how the twists and turns in this drama come together, and when you finally see a character realize their situation and come clean about how they feel, it leaves you in an emotional state, whether happy for them or bad for them. I didn't feel like one character was written in, just to have a certain person play them or to be there for no reason, I felt that everyone had their part and they contributed to the overall story, even if they were not the main character, which is always good. I hate when there are random characters and they serve no purpose, but this drama gave them reasons and they fit well into the story line.
The acting in this drama was fantastic, how else can I put it? We had some of my favorite actors and actresses in this drama and I was not disappointed at all. It was really good to see Zo In Sung in a drama since his drama That Winter The Wind Blows last year, which still is one of my favorites. I’m going to have to add another one of his dramas to my all time favorite lists yet again. He did such a fabulous job as our main character. His story is our main focus and he did a wonderful job playing his broken character. The character we could connect with and love, and feel for. He did an amazing job and I expect nothing less from him. His acting, to me, is always top notch and I enjoyed him in this drama and I hope to see him in another drama this year if possible, if not I suppose I can wait till next year. Kong Hyo Jin is one of my favorite Korean actresses and I think she did an amazing job as well, coming back from her fantastic performance in Master’s Sun, which is one of my favorites from last year as well, I was not disappointed at all with her in this drama. I think she always plays a character that seems to go well with her appearance, and this is no exception. Her character can be rude and needed sometimes, but in the end, you have to love her, and she pulled it off well. I couldn’t see anyone else playing that role, and the two of them, In Sung and herself, make the best couple.
Sung Dong Il and Lee Kwang Soo did an amazing job as well, playing our housemates and fellow doctor and patients. Sometimes I feel like Kwang Soo isn't given the credit that he deserves, but after seeing this drama I think it’s safe to say that our baby Kwang Soo (even though he is much older than me) is a great actor. No one ever doubted Sung Dong Il, I love seeing him in more and more dramas as the years go by. He is such a hot tempered man, if you have seen Dad, Where Are We Going, and he plays characters like that well, as well. However he can put his emotions into a scene too, so he is the total package. I love that man and Kwang Soo and I was so happy to see them perform in such a great drama with such well-rounded characters. Jin Kyung also did a fantastic job as well. I love her, and she always plays characters that I love for some reason. I loved her in this and I thought she was a fantastic addition to the drama cast. Lastly, I want to talk about D.O. from EXO. I would love to talk about the rest of the cast but for time sake, I will have to sadly gloss over them, however, D.O. is someone I must talk about. He played such an important role in this drama, and I was a little apprehensive, to begin with. You know I'm not a huge fan of dramas using idols, especially since in my opinion 95% of them cannot act and are only put in dramas to raise the viewer ratings. However, D.O. can act, and I was super surprised by that. I'm not an EXO fan at all, but I'm giving him credit. He did a fantastic job playing such an important character. He had me tearing up so much in this drama and I think he will make such a great actor as time goes by.
This drama had one of the best OSTs of this drama season, and I may go as far as one of my all time favorites. The songs went with the scenes well, and they had lyrics that made you feel even more when the scene was going on. I loved it, and it's a total must buy in my opinion. The cinematography was also outstanding in this drama, and that is a very big deal to me. I loved all the shots, and the drama just looked so clean and bright, when it needed to and dark and bleak when the scene called for it. There weren't any strange and out of place angles or extreme close-ups for no reason. I love that. Though everything seemed to be flawless in this drama, in my opinion, it did have one setback, which I don't think is really such a big deal, but I want to point it out anyway. The ending.
[READ ON IF YOU DONT CARE ABOUT KNOWING IF THE ENDING IS HAPPY OR NOT]
The ending left me happy, and that’s a good thing, however, it didn't leave such a strong impact like I was expecting. I went into the last episode thinking I was going to bawl my eyes out and die after watching it, but in the end, I cried maybe in the first half or so but the ending just made me smile. I thought that maybe more details on the life of Jae Yoel after he had said goodbye to Kang Woo would have been more interesting, not really happy, but more interesting than a cheerful happy ending, however that being said I still loved the ending and I was happy things worked out in the end.
[END THOUGHTS..SAFE TO READ]
Overall, I thought this drama was fantastic. It's a drama I can see showing my friends and watching over and over again because it has such an impact on me. I had such an emotional and strong connection to its characters and it always left me wanting more and more. It had all the makings of what I love in a drama, so if you like tears, cheers, and love then I think you will like this drama, and I recommend it to hell and back for everyone because of Im pretty sure this is one of my all time favorite dramas now.
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To my surprise, I didn't hate this drama. I know a lot of people thought maybe I wouldn't be into it, but I actually was. I think I am being a little bias however since I was just really excited to see Eric and Jung Yu Mi in a drama/romance together since Que Sera Sera…which is one of my all time favorite dramas ever…plus it had Sung Joon, one of my White Christmas babies in it so I like to support them as much as I can. Now I know a lot of people didn't like Yu Mi’s character, from the viki comments…god they are scary and annoying, however, I enjoyed her. I think that people bashed her because she didn't live up to the expectations that we have of people in a relationship, however, she was real..maybe too real for some people. Yes, she played games to get here way and what not, but if you want to admit it or not…we all do in relationship..now maybe not as much as she does but she is a fictional character where things are dramatized obviously. I also found that both Eric and Sung Joon’s characters were both likable and dislikable at the same time, which is also realistic to people..one day you really like someone and then the next day they do something that you personally don't like and you dislike them. That's just life. I thought this drama just gave an extra realistic outlook on life and relationships between people, I mean just like their Que Sera Sera characters they were only human and make mistakes and have trial and error to go on with life and to find the type of love and lifestyle they ultimately want to live, and in real life, just like the drama, you can end up hurting people along the way.
The cast in this drama was fantastic, for the most part. Eric obviously did a great job, I'm usually always impressed by him. I think he pulls in emotions very well, especially for an idol actor..which I do consider him since is in an idol group..and I tend to be very opinionated about the acting abilities of idols. Jung Yu Mi was great like always, as well. I love her acting style because she can emote emotions from her eyebrows to her toes, her whole body shows how she is feeling as a character and it always impresses me…she is a full body actress and I love that. Sung Joon did a decent job, this, to be honest, want his best performance I have seen of him, but he did well enough that it didn't take away from the drama, and given the circumstances of the drama and his character I thought he did a pretty decent job. Yoon Hyun Min, it's good to keep seeing him since Heartless City, he is a very appealing actor and he plays a role that you can't help but love.I think he keeps getting better and better as an actor as he becomes more and more popular, and that can be said for Kim Seul Gi, coming from a comedian standpoint, she always brings the laughs but she is also a great actress and she can pull of more emotional and serious scenes as well, and I can't wait for the day that she becomes a leading female and not just a side character or the best friend character. Lastly, Yoon Jin Yi was the only person I really had a problem with in this drama. I'm indifferent about her character, to be honest, but her acting wasn't something that I particularly liked. I thought she was decent in A Gentleman’s Dignity, and that's the last time I've seen her, but in this, it seemed more rookie than she was in AGD. I don't know, she just didn't do it for me, and she just didn't pull off the emotions I thought she should be showing, very well. I don’t know it was just a stale and lackluster performance on her part, in my opinion.
Overall, I am surprised that I really actually enjoyed this drama, I was in the opposite half of the spectrum that I thought I would be. And to point out about the documentary style setting where they would speak to the camera, I know some people didn't like that but I actually found it interesting and helped with being able to hear what the characters really thought without having to put them into some over-dramatic, out of place scenario or some boring voice over..it was creative and I didn't mind it at all. Overall I thought that Discovery of Romance took me on a journey about love and life, and how it can all come crashing down in a second and how nothing in love and life is easy and has a simple one answer..its a roller coaster ride and they don't say “love is a battlefield” for no reason because in the end..no matter what someone is going to get hurt, even if you don’t know about it.
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I was really excited to watch this drama since by running this blog, I see so many gifs and pictures from dramas I get to know the story, this being a drama I saw a whole lot of while it aired. Though I knew most of what was going to happen from all the gifs I posted, and the fact that it isn’t the most original drama out there, I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I feel like contract relationships are back in style in dramas, but who’s to say they ever went out of style. With a contract marriage, you can add your twists and turns but we always know exactly how they are going to end up, and though we know how the ending is going to be..it’s still fun to watch all the events unfold in front of us.
I thought this drama was extremely cute and had a great sense of humor when it came to the situations that the characters were put in. The little cute sound effects are usually not my style, something that I really don’t care for, but for some strange reason, I really enjoyed them here. The cheesiness of this drama was to the point where I could take it, it didn’t go way over the top and it wasn’t such a serious drama that it made itself look too serious for the sake of having serious moments. It was balanced. It gave me just the right amount of laughter, cute moments, and sadness where I was able to shed tears, and I like that with romantic comedies, I still want to be able to have some sort of emotional connection with the characters and it, not all to be too big of a joke. So I really appreciate this drama for that. One thing that did bother me, but it's not that big of deal, is how our characters towards the end did a real big 180 in their personalities and affection towards one another, it seemed a little out of character and I didn’t feel as though their relationship was up to the point where they could be all cute together yet, but I don’t mind since it was cute. Maybe they just wanted to explode with the cuteness that they held inside during their relationship together? Who knows, but other than that, I thought the writing for this drama was good. I really connected with the characters, and characters I disliked, in the beginning, I found myself fond of when it all came to an end.
I thought the acting in this drama was good. The actors had good scripts where they didn’t need to act too serious, and they could be lighthearted and fun, and yet turn on the water works when needed and I appreciated that so much. I thought Han Groo did an excellent job. I wasn’t very sure about her in the beginning of the first episodes but I grew to love her character and her acting. I thought she fit the role perfectly. I haven’t seen her in any other drama, though she has been in a few, I will be careful to keep an eye out for her in the future, and the same goes for our leading male Yeon Woo Jin. He was really good, and I loved his character. I appreciate a man who isn’t just a handsome face, he is realistically handsome, and that goes for the rest of the cast, excluding out Idol co-stars of course. All the characters weren’t drop dead gorgeous, but just realistically attractive, like every day people and I really like seeing that in a drama, it makes it more “real” for me. I thought Yeon Woo Jin did a great job, and his cute scenes were the best, he brought the laughs with his little eye looks and shakes and I loved it. Heo Jeong Min also brought the laughs with his jesters as well, in the beginning, I thought I was going to hate his character, but how could I hate someone who brings such a smile to my face? His character was written so well, and every time he was on screen I could help but let out a little giggle. I thought he did such a good job of acting pretty much like a fool the entire time. Jinwoo of 2AM and Han Sun Hwa of Secret both did a great job as well. It's no secret, pardon the pun, that I don’t usually enjoy Idol actors but these guys did a pretty dang good job for the most part. I wouldn’t say they were amazing and fantastic, but they fit the mood and characters and that’s all I can really ask. I can see that they have the spark in them to become more talented as actors (I haven’t seen them in anything else..) so I won't let them being Idols stir me away from any other dramas they perform in the future. The rest of the cast was fantastic as well, we had many older actors and actresses that I have seen plenty of times doing wonderful as always and its always good to see familiar faces in dramas.
Overall I thought this was a good watch. It was something to give me a smile, and I watched all sixteen episodes in three days so that must mean it was worth my time. I wouldn’t watch sixteen episodes in three days if it was a drama that bored me. Though you can get frustrated with characters and want to throw something at them through your TV, that’s a part of drama watching, and the drama made me feel many other feelings and emotions and that’s all I can ask it to do. It's a cute romantic comedy, that may be a little bit predictable, but we all know what we are getting ourselves into with the contract relationship/marriage type dramas in the first place, so when it comes to one of those dramas it's a really good watch and worth the time.
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Doctor Stranger has been one of the most hyped up dramas of 2014, with everyone oozing their love for the drama and its leading male star Lee Jong Suk. I’ll be the first to admit that yes indeed he is a handsome actor and yes indeed he can act well, but just because amazing actors are in the drama doesn’t mean that the drama always turns out to be the best ever. The last two Lee Jong Suk dramas I’ve watched were both hyped up, however, I don’t feel all that excited about them as most people do. Doctor Stranger was a good medical drama, but the rest of the plot line wasn’t worth all that, in my opinion. I was more excited about the surgeries than anything in this drama really and found myself either dozing off and blanking out during the rest. When I watch a medical drama, I do embrace all the political drama that goes on in the hospital, but for some reason this story just didn’t really grip me, and I felt as though all that had happened, for what was executed by the drama could have been done in a shorter time frame, and didn’t really need to be dragged on and on. But that happens in a lot of 20 plus dramas, sometimes they don’t need to be that long but they stretch them out. The whole North Korean refugee thing really didn’t come that much into play, in a personality and social circumstance type of way as they made you believe in the plot line and in the first few episodes. It seemed that they got over that rather quickly, though myself wouldn’t have seen it as much drama in the first place, however, I am not a South Korean citizen so I don’t have those types of feelings towards North Korean people. The romance left me wanting more, and for the first time, I had second leading female syndrome instead of second leading male, which is always cool I suppose. I just didn’t find myself emotionally attached to these characters are that interested in their stories which is a bummer, and has seemed to happen to me too often in this 2014 season of Korean dramas. I need more, I need real character development and I found that the writing in this drama didn’t give it all to me, what could have came from this drama, with better writing, less fillers, and more character development and not just sudden “Oh I’ve changed my personality or my ideas” would of did this drama a lot better I think, then again I’m just giving my personal thoughts so you don’t have to take that to heart.
One thing that this drama had going for it, was the big cast with the amazing actors and actresses in it, for the most part, that is. Lee Jong Suk as I have said a million times before is a great actor. I think he can portray his characters well, and he can give an emotional performance throughout it. He can be funny and goofy at times and give us seriousness when needed, and I really appreciate him for that. He isn’t just a pretty face that girls and guys alike can squeal over, he actually has talent and I admire him for that. However, our leading female, Jin Se Yeon isn’t my favorite actress of all time. Her acting style is not just for me, and half the time I don’t believe the emotion that she is portraying. I don’t think she was up to par with the rest of the cast, however that being said I think she has greatly improved since the last time I’ve watched her in a drama, and that’s something to be proud of. I just found that maybe if they had a different actress in her place, the emotional scenes between her and Lee Jong Suk and their situations would have been more powerful to me. It was nice to see Park Hae Jin again, even if he wasn’t the lovable second leading male character like he was in You Who Came From The Stars. This time he was serious and wasn’t there for comic relief, his performance was great. I found myself entranced in his performance, he did a 360 from the last time I watched him and it really showed me the diversity he has as an actor. I hope to see more of him in the future. This was also my first time seeing Kan So Ra, she hasn’t been in that many dramas, and I can say I was somewhat impressed by her. I thought she did a great job with her role and portrayed the emotions well, I did find her crying a little fake, somewhere between the pretty cry and the real emotional ugly cry that people actually do in real life, and I’m hoping that she can pull from the whole pretty cry and embrace the ugly cry which is more realistic to me, then I think she would be a pretty awesome actress. I also want to lastly comment on Cheon Ho Jin. He played a rather bad man this time around, from the last drama, and every time I see him as a great old man who is so kind and sweet my heart melts, but when he plays an “evil” character I find myself scared of him. He is an amazing actor, and his entire speech he gives in episode 19, at the end, was fantastic and showed how great of an actor he is. I really enjoyed his performance the most, and I love watching him in dramas, and I would say that he is the actor that brought this drama to life for me.
Overall, I thought the drama was pretty good but not as great as everyone led me to believe with all the hype, though I never believed that in the first place. I enjoy medical dramas, and from the medical perspective of the show, I enjoyed that the most, the rest of the story were just plain okay to me. It didn’t grip me like it should have, but the actors and actresses brought it along. The plot could have been really great to me, if it was just taken a few steps forward and really pushed, but just didn’t have the pizazz that I was expecting or looking for, leaving me uninterested and rather bored of it, however the actors and actresses got me along through the parts that weren’t about surgeries with their amazing acting skill. I say this drama was pretty good, and I would recommend it, it’s just not the big amazing deal that people made it out to seem, in my opinion. So if you’re just a little bit interested in the drama, I say hey why not go for it, what do you have to lose?
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From body gags to laugh tracks a sitcom was exactly what I was expecting, something over the top and cheesy that really isn't my style. Boarding House 24 is full of those extreme jokes and gags that you would find yourself seeing on variety shows and gag concert, Korean humor which I get sometimes but the over the top stuff really isn't my style. This was far from anything I really was hoping for, and the acting as well wasn't the best. It kind of disappoints me through and through, HOWEVER, I did find myself extremely entertained by it at the same time. Though I wanted a more serious drama, I did find myself laughing at the twelve episode long sitcom. It was kind of refreshing watching something that wasn't all the serious for once, and it's strange how I actually found myself interested in it when this type of thing usually turns me off. I guess I just wanted to stick with it because I knew about some the cute things that were going to happen.
Overall, it's the type of show I can’t say I love or would enjoy watching several times over, but I don't regret the experience at all. Sitcoms are something new to me, and it's not really my taste and even though I really was disappointed with how over the top the show was, and how some of the jokes were rather lame, it made up for it with a lot of cuteness and some jokes that actually made me laugh. It was an experience and I can't dock it for that, it's a show that I think a lot of people would enjoy watching..it's just not my cup of tea. However, I did enjoy the 12 episodes as much as a person like me could, and I think it's defiantly worth giving a shot if you are mildly interested in it.
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