Reviews

Why you may want to watch this drama?



+ plot line is very sweet

+ ROSE IS AMAZING (You'll know when you watch)

+ BL

+ hot hot hot main male lead with amazing seduction/teasing skills

+ he also has great hair! (and a killer jaw)

+ even the second leads don't do much damage to the main leads' relationships

+ potential misunderstandings are discussed rather than acted harshly on.



What should you be cautious of?

+ the hero and heroine literally do the mating dance (per say) for a long long time before they finally end up finalizing their feelings.

+ the main male lead gives too much of his attention to his idiotic ex GF (aka second female lead)

+ the second male lead is an idiot. I repeat, an idiot.



SPOILER:

+ A happy ending.

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Why you may want to watch this drama?

+ the OST is AMAZING!
+ the second leads' love story is the highlight of my life. I love them.
+ the first leads' also have a very cute love story. Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo are OTP.
+ amazing plot line. I was literally very impressed.
+ love. love everywhere!
+ Onew of SHINee is the most adorable little kitten to walk on this planet.
+ not a single episode that's boring.
+ no jealous second female leads
+ big boss' love rival was hilarious.
+ great English skills by the cast!
What should you be cautious of?
+ I loved the second leads' love much more tbh~ I lived for their love throughout the 16 episodes.
+ be ready to see a very sexy, yet evil villain.
+ subtle/ intentional/ unintentional racism on some parts.

MAYBE SPOILER:
+ A happy ending.

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7/10

Like cheese with holes in it.

I like dramas with the right kind of drama for the right kind of romance and because this, had that, I could enjoy it without any problems. Though I'm not too happy with the many plot holes here, it was still enjoyable if you try not to pay so much attention to it. The character development was good enough and because there is a twist to this typical high school story, it didn't get boring at all.

On the other hand, I didn't think the dialogue was well written because there were so many useless, time-consuming conversations that didn't even contribute to the story and sometimes the characters made me want to high five myself in the head with a chair.

Still, recommend you watch it though!

Enjoy!

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8/10

Because plot holes are inevitable in time traveling dramas

Although this is an adaption, you wouldn't notice that unless you already knew about it before hand.
I think they did a very good job on this live action and the characters are very talented considering how young they are.

Like I said, there is some time manipulating going on in this drama so of course, plot holes are inevitable but if you see past that, I think you will enjoy this as much as I did. It's a very beautiful story with smooth progression and character development and I liked it to the very end.

ENJOY!

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2/10

...because there is never a good enough excuse for using amnesia more than once...

This is by far one of the worst dramas I have ever seen. Not because the plot is average but because the execution is laughable.

So who doesn't like a good Kdrama with some drama and a twist, but when every episode is nothing but drama and plot twists, you kind of lose the thread. You know... that red thread that keeps everything together? I'm still looking for it in this drama... it's not there!!

There were so many things that didn't make sense to me and I feel like the writers had no clue what direction they wanted the show to take so they just did EVERYTHING. If a decision was made, they would change it a few minutes later just to change it back again and then lastly go with the second thing after all. So much back and forth for no reason. so many twists on twists I thought I was going insane.

I should have dropped it on the first episode. You can really see how bad it is when they add completely useless scenes that have absolutely nothing to do with anything, without any dialogue or mood set.

There was no character development or growth, what so ever and I was always surprised by the new things they added to the show, when convenient, that would disappear just as fast or would turn out to be a big part of the story. Which is crazy cause they never left any clues or anything.

I have one good comment about this show: Nice soundtrack!

I have one question about this show (actually, I have a million questions but..) : How much of the budget went from writing to bottle tears?

and lastly.... This is impossible to binge so don't even try

ENJOY!!!

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7/10 ...Because you shouldn't commit suicide for that reason...

I'd recommend this drama to those who are really in to romance dramas with a bit of conflict unrelated to the actual romance. This doesn't contain a major love triangle that would bother shape haters, like me. Even though I'm extremely allergic to triangles I survived this one without any difficulties.

I think the writers succeeded very well in surprising their audience in romantic ways and I got hooked so bad, once I started watching. I'm not a big romantic but I have to say, I really liked everything about this love story....

... except the part where her sister has committed suicide for the DUMBEST reason ever...

No spoilers, you will have to watch for yourself.

I enjoyed this but honestly there is still some work to be done. Too many loose ends and hazy paths and I honestly don't understand the way some characters think. Especially in the Chae family...

Other characters were very well developed though, and they felt very human. I think all the actors did a good job in keeping the awkward air when it was needed as well as getting the comic relief just right and giving us all "the feels", from time to time.

This Kdrama will set it's roots in you and you will definitely remember that you watched it. It's also totally bingable but you can slow pace it if you want. Just not sure you'll be able to cause I'm pretty sure you'll be shipping couples too hard

ENJOY!!

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9/10

...because for some reason I could not binge it 100%...

If you're not sure about watching this drama, let me help you decide. WATCH IT. It will be worth your time.

Although there are not many plot twists, the writers did a good job in preventing it from getting too predictable or boring. It had just the right amount of comic relief to level out all the seriousness and if you're a hopeless romantic, you're going to love the fact that this drama is packed with couple cuteness.

If you're not a hopeless romantic, don't worry, neither am I and I was not that bothered by it since it gave more depth to the characters, which I feel, was a big plus, since non-stereotypical characters have been rare lately. I feel like the writers got creative and made some memorable favorites. Not to mention the amazing cast who did an incredible job in all the settings and scenes.

Yes, there is a triangle (I feel like there always is) but it does not cover much screen time and it wasn't the kind of triangle that makes the drama frustrating to watch. The girl doesn't pace back and forth between the boys. It's a very comfortable change from one love to the other.

I also want to warn you about the comedy. It's very loud and over the top so when you enter the world of Do Bong Soon, brace yourself. It is so worth it though because some scenes were adlibs that the producers decided to keep. Those are hilarious.

With all that said, I don't think I left any important details out....

.....ENJOY!!

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Rated this 7/10

... Because a drama educating adolescens on love and loneliness in high school, can't score higher.

7/10 is not a bad rating and I did not dislike this drama. Honestly it was very entertaining to watch and it was very well made. The actors did an incredible job despite being so young and I have great respect for them, since they pulled off the "Mature" tag without making it seem trashy or unrealistic.

Before watching this drama you should prepare for:

sexual scenes (Underwear, over the bra touching, covered up sex scenes, making out, and other mature content.)

A lot of inside dialogue

Lesbian love

High schoolers making countless mistakes and being generally butter brained.

The feels.
This drama will not make you cry but since it is a Jdrama, don't expect things to go the way you want them. This is basically a drama showing how people grow with time and experience. YOU WILL FEEL FRUSTRATION

It was very well made, so if you have nothing against the things listed above, I think you should take your time to watch this. It will be a nice memory and each episode is only about 23 minutes long. Nothing to lose and it will surely be an experience.

ENJOY!

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It’s been so long since this drama ended so this review is going to be scattered, but my GOD did I love this drama.

I wasn’t even going to watch this drama. I had it on my list, but the initial response to it was so negative, I took it off. But then I saw this one gifset of the male lead stroking the girl’s face while lying in a bed and I felt so much tension just from those gifs, I was immediately taken.

And honestly, Hwarang was so dry I was like dying of thirst and when I saw that gifset just drenched in chemistry I was sold.

I could see where the negative reviews came from. The editing was very jumpy - jumping back and forth to the various different things going on but, like, I couldn’t tell what was going on.

The transitions were really weird. The writers were awkward with introducing the characters. And then the drama started out with a woman jumping off of a building, and it takes you forever to find out who she was. JUST FYI that scene took place three years before the rest of the drama. They should have put “Three Years Later” at the bottom of the screen, no clue why they didn’t.

They could have used a bit more depth in setting up the characters. Whereas most dramas take two to three episodes to set up the plot, this drama just dived right in. Pretty much “everything” was set up in episode one. And I say that in quotation marks because of the episode 5 situation (explained below).

BUT once everything started to make sense, I was really intrigued. They had a really good story, it was just a rocky start. Get past the rocky start!

Much of the controversy was surrounding the female lead Park Hye Soo’s acting. I can’t argue with it. She wasn’t awful, but it seemed like it was her first lead role. She seemed like the type that can act well in minor roles, but something felt off with her line delivery... it felt almost forced. I think part of it was the weird script, because it got better after episode 4. Obviously it didn’t bother me enough to stop watching the drama, I stopped noticing it much the later I got into the drama. I guess the experience did well for her.

For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember when the news broke, the drama skipped a week to rewrite the script. This happened after episode 4. If you are watching and you’re not really feeling it, my advice is to wait and watch episodes 5 and 6 because that’s where a lot of things are fixed, everything gets explained, and the plot picks up.

NOTE: From what I gathered when watching, the writers changed the central conflict. There are a few continuity errors, but it’s understandable considering they film these dramas while they’re airing.

It was really quirky. The bright colors, the tone, the dialogue. It reminded me a bit of the extra-ness of jdramas. It had that lighthearted, fun feeling like Sassy Go Go, Surplus Princess, Marriage Not Dating (from what I’ve heard), Cinderella and Four Knights, Shopping King Louis, etc.

However, the deeper you get into the show, the more things appear to be not what they seem. So while “everything” is explained in episode 5, aside from the personal conflicts and episodic conflicts, there was this mystery brewing. A sort of underlying sketchyness that kept growing until the end.

I absolutely adored this drama. From the comedy (which was golden btw) to the use of irony to the characters to the romance. It is up on my list of top dramas for 2017.

The comedy: there was a lot of witty dialogue and utilization of each of the characters’ little quirks. The actors did amazing, a lot of it was expressions and motions tied in with dialogue that wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining if the actors delivered it badly.

Yeon Woo Jin did such an amazing job as Eun Hwan Gi. He made this character come to life in such a raw and realistic way, I am truly impressed. I’m looking forward to seeing him in his next drama. I, someone with a social anxiety disorder, relate to Eun Hwan Gi so much it’s frightening. But that’s what made me love the drama even more. It made me feel a deeper connection to any kdrama character I have ever felt, and his thought process was so much like mine (always overthinking things) it made me root for him that much more.

I felt so much for him seeing him make the efforts because I know from personal experience how hard it was for him. He was unable to do the mean thing despite it being the right thing because it was mean. He was so not the typical male kdrama lead, and he broke a lot of gender stereotypes. Plus he was freaking adorable. He had all these charms; his drunk habit for one lol, + he was caring, he watched over everyone, and when he did succeed in conquering his fear step by step as a viewer it fills you with so much warmth.

He’s just such a wonderful person and it brings you unbelievable joy as a viewer to see the rest of the characters slowly realize this too.

ALSO HE WAS LIKE HEALER’S BONG SOO ALIAS EXCEPT IN REAL PERSON FORM AND I LOVED IT.

And then when we finally got to see his frustration. Social anxiety is not this cute introvert nerd, it’s a pain in the ass and I am so glad/proud/thankful that the writers showed this side of it.

I want to take a second to mention the symbolism. I adored the symbolism behind his hood and what it meant for him to take it off/put it on. It was just one more key to understanding the character + it made you feel all the things when he was comfortable enough to take it off.

Chae Ro Woon... It was hard to judge her change because it was so sudden, but I thought her change was for the better. Yet there were still some things that annoyed me. A lot of time the writers used her inappropriate(?) behavior to move the plot along, but there were still instances I thought she was way over the line. However in my opinion, a lot of the hate towards her was out of line because her main goal was revenge and it seemed like people kept forgetting that. Especially later on, I thought Chae Ro Woon was just absolutely amazing. She was so understanding of Hwan Gi, even though it took her some time (which is realistic), and she was accepting of him. She didn’t push him too hard to change, she gave him space, and did what she could to make him comfortable. I loved it.

I was also a little disappointed with what the writers did with Hyo Sung’s character, specifically the way she treated Hwan Gi, but I’m going to attribute that to the story change and that if the writers could they would go back and take out that one scene from episode 2(?) to make her character understandable.

I’m not going to mention how I feel about Kang Woo Il, or Eun Yi Soo for that matter, because everything surrounding them is a spoiler. They’re complicated, especially Yi Soo. While I may not have been fond of them, I understood them. Especially Yi Soo. Which is what I believe is the most important when it comes to a character.

I LOVED YOO HEE. I don’t know if either of you have seen the Taiwanese drama Refresh Man, but it was another office romance and there was this older woman who saw the main character’s feelings for the girl and tried to set them up. I loved it. And the same thing pretty much happened here. It was hilarious.

Yeon Jung, usually I hate characters like her, but she was so amazing. She was annoying as a love interest but necessary as a friend, and I am actually glad a character like her was in the drama.

The romance. The sexual tension between Eun Hwan Gi and Chae Ro Woon was tangible. I loved how he slowly opened up to her, and it was symbolic in his hood and the way his voice became louder the more comfortable he became. Spoiler: they kiss a shit ton of times. I loved every second.

The drama did a lot of things I didn’t expect. There were really straightforward conversations (the how-far-have-you-gone one), admissions of wrongful actions, actual apologies from multiple characters (all the characters that needed to imo) that I didn’t expect to happen, girls telling people off and breaking every drama stereotype.

A little thing I really liked was how, you know when dramas are like “we’ve wrapped up the plot but still have two episodes” so they create a conflict which is usually super random and off topic? This one tied back to the original roots of the plot and it fit so well with the theme of the whole drama. There was a huge presence of family in the drama, both Ro Woon’s and Hwan Gi’s, and I was very appreciative of how they wrapped up.

And, hun, while I stumbled over the time jump in the last episode, that ending was FANTASTIC. I don’t need to say anything else. Just that it was so damn satisfying.

Someone get me an Eun Hwan Gi please and thank you.

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I'm relatively new to Thai dramas. The previous drama I completed was I Wanna Be Sup'tar, and after that I gave up on Thai dramas, until the adaptation of Princess Hours came and I decided to get myself accustomed to the Thai language while waiting for the episodes.

I shall be completely honest; I watched this drama purely for Davika Hoorne (Mai). Imo she's arguably the most attractive Thai actress currently active (not that I've seen many though). The main reasons that kept me off Thai dramas previously were my general distaste for the male leads they pick [1] and the ridiculous tropes they employ [2]. I'm happy to say that the male lead was fine in this instance (exactly why I decided to try it) and the two of them have great chemistry but unfortunately the second half of this drama was riddled with typical Thai drama cliches.

Did I mention that Davika Hoorne is unbelievably gorgeous? She looked stunning in every single piece of clothing she wore; the drama was like her individual fashion show. She was absolutely hilarious as Rosalin. It's not the first drama I watched her in actually. I vaguely remember dropping a drama where she was being tortured by every single character in it and I thought then that she was a pretty bad actress. This drama changed my mind. She has great comedic timing and great gestures as well. I mean, some actors have awkward hands when they act (like they don't know where to put them and what to do with them), but perhaps playing such a flamboyant character makes things a little easier. On the other hand, Kan who plays the male lead... Well, I'd say that he was average? He didn't really shine, but he wasn't bad at all. I guess I just didn't remember much of him. The triad boss character did leave an impression though, in that he was so stiff that even I took notice. The other side characters were all decent. This drama is essentially a comedy, and I think they did the comedic parts pretty well.

SPOILER ALERT

The drama started out great actually. There were a couple of cringe-worthy staring-in-each-other's-eyes-for-longer-than-necessary moments, a couple of super-fake-fall-to-initiate-skinship moments, but they were tolerable. I mean, when the comedy was there, I can still neglect those. It not as if this is a Thai drama problem, Chinese and Korean dramas have this sort of interactions as well. However, following that, everything went wrong. I was expecting it though. They pretty much exhausted everything they could in the farm, and they had to pull all the tricks out of their hat to extend the story to 15 episodes (mind you, each was ~1h 30min long). What happened next? Well, they had a misunderstanding, he explained but the evidence was accidentally destroyed, she refused to listen, then the second leads came out to wreck havoc. It doesn't stop there though. There was this cycle of her getting injured and him getting injured, and those little moments of intimacy to appease the viewers for delaying progress (my assumption, that is). How many times did Rosalin get injured? I think about 10 times. By the time I got to episode 10, I could barely take it anymore. Then they played their last hand by using the amnesiac plot point. Faaaantastic.

There were more than a few moments where I was on the verge of pulling my hair out. Some parts were really incomprehensible. Like how Rosalin's grandfather claimed that he was totally not forcing her to marry Tawan but actually trying to help her. Typical dramaland bullshit. We all know that it's drama for the sake of drama. They should really stop using such weak excuses, but just brush over it. Why highlight your own flaws? And how Tawan objected to Rosalin modelling because it wasn't "meaningful"? *sigh* There's also Tawan's feud with the triad boss (his father killed his father) which was so lame. Additionally, towards the end where they encountered the thugs and he got off his car to check them out, I was shouting in my heart for him to just drive away. It was simply too illogical for words.

SPOILER END

I gave a passing mark for the story solely because of the first part (the second half should be forgotten). The acting was 8.5, on account of Davika Hoorne's acting as well as the cuteness of some of the secondary characters. I swear it's completely unbiased. The music was so-so. The drama actually has rewatch value, if someone is willing to cut off parts in the second half and end the drama where it should have ended. Overall it's not great, but compared to other Thai dramas where I was turned off by their synopses immediately (or by the cinematography in the first episode), I think this can actually be considered "refreshing". Just skip to the last episode when things get bad (or end it after their first kiss [3]).

-- Footnotes --

[1] I think some Thai actresses can be very beautiful, but in comparison the Thai actors are less appealing. They also tend to pair someone I like with someone I just don't get a good vibe from on first glance (I call this a lack of audience affinity but it may be just me). I've seen pairings with HUGE age gaps as well.

[2] Thai dramas also tend to sway towards the makjang end.

[3] On the topic of kisses, it's really weird that the only real lip-on-lip kiss in this drama is in the first episode.

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Shopping King Louie Review.

I didn't expect to like this drama so much. In fact initially I only watched it because I had run out of other things to watch instead.

It's hilarious, because by the end of it I almost was embarrassed at how judgmental I was when picking dramas. It served as a nice occasion to remind myself not to judge a drama only at face value.

I must admit, it was partially because of Cinderella & the Four Knights why I may have judged Shopping King Louie so superficially — but I'm an glad I finally did watch it.

For anyone wondering why I brought in Cinderella & the Four Knights — I didn't complete the drama because the second female lead was the queen of pettiness & she didn't deserve to finally get the guy. She actually needed to just stop, move or something and learn to love her own self. Aish. Rant over.

Back to the current review!

I'll just give you guys an easier way to decide if you want to give this drama a go, okay?

Alright!

Really consider watching this drama if you:

~ love Seo In Guk

~ really want to see Seo In Guk being the most cutest little puppy alive! #FR

~ or see him being super clingy, which is totally contrasting most of the previous roles he played where he was completely in charge, like in Hello Monster and Master's Sun.

~ want to laugh like crazy almost 70% of the drama.

~ want to watch a drama where no one is actually bad. Where you understand even the villains. Where villains actually repent.

~ don't like having an super rich aunty, mum, grandmother or stepmother from the rich Chaebol dude's side completely against the poor girl and wants to make her life hell. Have no fear, there is no such female or male present in this drama!

~ love sweet grandmas #RIPDoctorsHalmeoni

~ don't like second lead syndromes. Tired of getting the SLS, guys? If that is the case! HAVE NO FEAR! The second lead in this drama doesn't cause ANY SLS! Because you will eventually start shipping him with Louie! (Wait.. maybe that is SLS, too?)


--
The only reason the rewatch value is 8/10 is because I don't usually watch a drama more than once, but I'm sure to watch this again ... maybe 10 years along the road?

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According to the recommendations in MDL, this one is similar to "Juhan Shuttai", which I can totally understand. It is about work and the heroine being inspired by it and inspire people around her.

I think Ishihara Satomi was spectacular as Konno Ecchan. She has that bubbly personality that fits the character. Her laughs always made me laugh, they are so silly and contagious. Her clothes were beautiful and fit her like glove. I love the various hairstyles and accessories she wears throughout the episodes. Since I am a huge fan of nail art, I was a bit disappointed to see that her nails were simple done, nothing fancy. I get that her character is based on a girl who loves fashion, but it was also a bit unrealistic that she wears a different outfit every day, wears a different piyamas every day, and has a elaborated hairstyle every day. Oh well, at least she repeats the shoes...

But more than anything, I liked how hard she worked (even though Proofreading wasn't her vocation) and how her work inspired her co-workers to give it all. Maybe Proofreading is a bit tedious, and I don't think it involves all the research they did, but I wanted so much to work in that Editorial, it looked so much fun. Reading books and researching, to check that all facts were correct. With a calm work group and a nice boss. What more to ask??

There is more romance than I thought it would be, but I wouldn't watch this for it (in my humble opinion, I think she falls for the wrong guy...not that he is a jerk, quite the contrary, he is the nicest, but she has more chemistry with another guy). The beauty of this show is the characters and the the motivation to and for work.

I loved the OP sequence and song, catchy and fun and kinda girly.

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