To me, it's a perfect mix between a super sweet romance with great chemistry , a bunch of very good actors playing amazingly funny characters , and an original aspect brought by weightlifting, a not-so-commun sport.
The story is really well managed , i thought that the timing of the different events worked out really good.
The plot was kind of classic , but the weightlifting part added some spice and lots of funny situations in it.
The romance part was so sweet ( like melted caramel *^*), i really didn't want this drama to end. The acting was really good, and had its content of well done dramatic moments even though the comic part was way more present.
Appealing characters, funny story overloaded with sweetness!
If there is any negative aspects in this drama , they're easily overtaken by the good ones, so i totally recommend it !!!
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Most of us "drama watchers" who are in experts levels... usually get more picky from what we were in the past...
This Kinda drama is much different... although the 85% of the cast are new actors/ rookies and maybe first roles... but once you watch you wont believe that the leads (who made me fall in love even more with this drama) this is their first drama like EVEr...
the environment of this BL drama was kind "accepting" ... since its a BL drama... well its not gay but its two people fell in love .. and their problems are as simple as a high schooler experiencing feelings for someone who is just going through the same thing,
the music, story and the cast are a very good combination and its a re watchable drama for me like 10 times in row ???
thats its how its good!
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Without those expectations, I probably wouldn't have finished it either , because the story was a bit slow and lacking in different areas and mostly because the romance part was not working out at all for me.
The main leads had, in my opinion, no real chemistry and their romance had almost nothing to do in the middle of the plot .
For the rest , i really enjoyed the bromance part, the training and the maturing of Hwarang guys , and that's what kept me on this show until the end.
Some bad and good acting , a pretty good cast , i discovered Park Hyung sik's acting through Hwarang and was pleasantly surprised , he might not be the greatest actor of all time , but gives a sweet feeling!
To conclude, the plot was partly interesting (birth and development of hwarang unit) , partly out of place and boring (romance part) , the acting was not bad but not perfect either , and some very funny and light moments that ended up working out way better than the tragic ones .
I do recommend it , but without big expectations !
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I love the chemistry the chemistry of the lead couple - on cam and off cam (based on BTS).
However, I find the story messy with a lot of fillers. I was disappointed with the writer of the drama. The cast, the chemistry and the soundtrack are very commendable.
I just wish that the writer tried harder in providing better content for the actors to work on. I know a lot of the fillers are meant to be fun but they became tiring because of their redundancy.
Nonetheless, I will finish watching the drama instead of dropping it. The cast and their chemistry are too good to give them up.
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Story: The story is so refreshing, it is very light yet you still have the urge to watch it and it not like other light cliche dramas. I love the idea of using sports! I love how the story tells about what athletes feel and how do athletes live despite of their problems in life. This youth, sport, light drama is perfection!
ACTING/CAST: Joon Hyung and Kim Bok Joo are PERFECT for each other. Their acting is so real that I thought they dated in real life. I love their connection, especially when they are in a relationship. The kiss feels so real, the hugs, etc. Kim Bok Joo (Lee Sung Kyung) is so cute and beautiful at the same time, I love her acting cute because she is cute! Nam Joo Hyuk is perfect on the Joon Hyung character. He is really good at teasing, he made me cry, etc. Kyung Soo Jin plays perfectly on the Si Ho character, I love the acting of her being obsessed and depressed from her problems. And other actors/actresses did well too. Really awesome.
MUSIC: THE OST IS SO CUTE and it brings you to a different world. I even downloaded the OST and some background music (I don't know if it is weird or crazy to download the background), because you feel like you are also in the drama and it really relaxes you. The soundtracks are cute and it makes you cry for some songs. It is perfect.
OVERALL: It... is... PERFECT! I can't stop repeating the drama. It has been months now and I still can't get over it. You should watch it if you are into youth and light dramas. It really deserved to have higher ratings on Korea. It's sad that it is a bit low on ratings on viewers.
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But gotta say that the OSTs/music is very nice and addictive:)
Watch it for some eye-licious time.
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In a nutshell, Freeter/NEET (whatever you want to call him) Kwon Yoo finds himself beautifully set up for a murder. Like most NEETs he spends most of his day playing online MMOs. He is the chief or leader of a raid party in what appears to be his favorite MMO. There is a fantastic scene that takes place in the game. Honestly, I thought this would be on the level of certain animes that have people possibly stuck in their games like BTOOM! or even Log Horizon. It's not. The production team did a very good job introducing the game and the real world. They make it clear this is no fantasy. His team come from behind their computers to help prove his innocence. Because of that I found the story somewhat original.
The cast is great. JCW did a very good job as Kwon Yoo, especially once he realized he needed to toughen up and protect himself to survive. The cast has some of my favorite Korean character/supporting actors like Oh Jung Se (recently in Missing 9), Kim Sang Ho (Missing 9, TEN), and Kim Won Hae (currently seen in Strong Woman DBS). Woo Hyun also has a small weird role that fit him perfectly. The cast did a fine job. They had chemistry, whether be it friendly or hatred. The connections were there.
The music was good. It helped at excitement and tension at the right places. I don't remember any actual songs, but, to be honest, one would have been out of place.
I would definitely watch this again. I hope that Netflix gets it soon so there can be actual subs timed correctly. That's right I watched a version lacking subs and what subs there were were poorly timed AND I still recommend it!
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Any BL fan would enjoy it. If you are looking for smut, this might not be for you as it focuses more on a romantic relationship rather than a sexual one. I would recommend this to those who are part of the LGBT community as well, as someone who is queer.
This story is really really cute. At first, I didn't like it because I thought it was going to be one of those cheesy BL stories that fill me with anger and hate. But it wasn't like that. The plot was very original compared to other BL stories I have read about, or even watched. I enjoyed every second of this movie, and wondered what would happen next. It was very unpredictable for me.
The biggest part in this movie that I would say had the hugest impact on me would be the characters. I felt like I could connect with them, I wanted to cry with them and laugh with them. The acting was so good. The silence in the movie had a huge effect on how I felt, and their relationship seemed so realistic. I could just feel their emotions. I found myself loving the characters as I kept watching and loved how we got to learn about their past a bit. There was a lot of character development. It was interesting to see how these two characters were exploring their sexuality.
Although the story mostly had instrumental music, I think it suited the story. It helped create the mood in the story as I kept watching and contributed to my enjoyment of the drama. The music is not very memorable though.
I would definitely rewatch this again. I hope they'll create a third movie maybe, or even a drama that continues this story... the ending is satisfying and I loved it. It was perfect, it hurts, but I love it.
Although this may not focus on the issues that LGBT people face, I think it's a wonderful love story. It was not forced, and seemed very consensual to me.
I'm definitely a huge fan of this movie now.
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What was done well: The film is heavy on the environment as it should be considering we're talking a sea creature and what man is doing to the oceans. The cast is also good for their roles.
What was done not so well: The CGI was iffy. The story is shallow (a little water humor there).
The story isn't your typical The Little Mermaid. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say Ariel isn't looking for her prince. Instead Chow did an interesting twist on the old Hans Christian Andersen story. A tycoon buys a gulf without any idea about the marine life. His partner (and crazed stalker) has a team of scientist using new tech to chase away protected marine life so the area can be developed. The mermaids aren't too happy about this. I think the idea is interesting and sound. I just wish it had been played out and developed more.
Like I said the cast was good for their roles. What I mean is they didn't have very much acting to do. It seems like the script was thin with very little meat on it's bones. Much of the cast was reduced to silly and primarily unfunny gags that Chow has done much better. That being said I enjoyed Deng Chao's performance. He was entertaining.
The music. OMG the music. Only if you are a lover of Chinese opera. I'm still trying to figure out how Chao was latin dancing to traditional Chinese music. The man has moves. It's weird, but it seemed like the music was mixed too loud. It was overpowering to me sometimes. It didn't really add to the story, help convey emotion, or push the story along.
I have no need to rewatch this movie. Admittedly, I wouldn't mind seeing the entire office scene including Chao's dancing again. They can keep the rest.
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But, I kept on through the first two episodes or so where the romance was very slow and at first did not seem to be what the story was going to be about. But, I was so dead wrong. Yes, there are parts of the plot just about the sport they are in, but, that just gradually became like the background to the romance.
The romance is best friends finally becoming more than friends, which comes off as really sweet and I just love the relationship they have. When they struggle they lean on each other and it is a really good example of a real relationship in real life. I felt like they were truly in love with each other and definitely I would love to see them in a drama again with each other.
The music was sweet and awesome and I love listening to the music all the time. For sure this is a romance to rewatch.
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Time travel is at time a hard thing to get right. Sometimes, if you use time travel too much in a drama it will end up not being even suspenseful and the audience will get very tired of the fact that all situations can be solved with time travel. If on the other hand you use a lack of time travel it will become only the backdrop of the story and your story could have easily gone without that backdrop. Instead, you need to make sure that your story could not work without time travel but not everything can be solved by time travel. Make rules and stick to them. Do not change them at the last minute.
This story got time travel right. Plus, it had a creative way to put in certain elements that left us intrigued on what was happening next. The casting although at first I didn't understand grew on me and loved the romance. Overall, this is a drama I would watch again and again and never get bored. It's sweet romantic and has the element of time travel!
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Hwarang for the most part is a light hearted fun bromance filled drama. If you want a drama with tons of eye candy this is definitely a good choice. But, understand that you may not end up caring at all about the main romance.
My favorite romance was not even the main romance, so that was depressing for me. Now, unlike others who got second lead syndrome I didn't it's just that the main romance did not have the same appeal as the secondary romance couple.
The casting was awesome and the actors they picked seemed to really fit with those characters. Also, since most the main actors are kpop idols it was hard to disconnect them from their characters as kpop idols. But, the drama rolled with that, and that is why I definitely love this drama. The music was awesome, as well, as it should be since it has so many singers in the show. The plot for the romance was the only thing that really lacked but for the most part that could be ignored. The plot for the rest of the story though ignoring the romance was interesting and intriguing. I loved this drama and would definitely watch it again!
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