Reviews

Well yeah....you will see what is the most scariest things when you are too obsession over something..Ya you know..Love can turn someone into anything...The rape things is (almost) exactly just with in its novel...Lu Feng's frustration makes him to do anything as long as he can stay beside Xiao Chen..It is still a love but the way he shows what the love is semi wrong (since his action reflects his biggest disappointment toward Xiao Chen)...

AND THE ENDING IS AMBIGUOUS..you may choose your imagination either it should be happy or sad ending..

Still hoping for part 3 ><

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It is a very good drama, but by faaaaar not one of the best.
(Truthfully speaking, lately folks on MDL just throw around the 10s, it is totally misleading.)

The best about this drama, is by a long shot, the ACTING. Superb. The male lead and the second female lead were the outstanding stars for me - you could feel their sorrow and mood and they did not overact. And the male lead had a tough part to act, because...

...the freakin' age gap! It made me cringe sometimes. I just couldn't overlook it, no matter how hard I tried. Sure, 19 and around 39 (or: 939) is not a total disaster, but it does come close to being inappropriate, especially since the female lead is written to be extremely teenagery, showing lots of little-girl-aspects.

Although the kissing scenes were really great and believable in themselves, the issue with the age just made it awkward to watch.

Anyways. The plot, not to forget, was okay, sometimes even really nice. The ending is really emotional and I liked it, because I did not expect it. (It squeezed even two tears out of me, and I am one of those viewers that never cry). The issue here is, that there were sometimes weird jumps between very, very serious topics and total slapstick. It was rather unusual and it made it sometimes difficult to follow the mood. The other thing was that in each episode there were several times that I was outright bored.
If you look at it from afar, there was not much plot going on besides the two lead couples circling around each other.

Is it a good drama? Yes. Is it a great drama? No.

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Due to the immense hype this drama received I was interested like everyone else to see what's behind the drama that got everyone speechless.

At the beginning I remember being quite judging towards the duration of the episodes because you can easily turn episodes with an average of 1h and 15min into a sleeping feast. To my surprise the episodes passed really quickly though - which means they structured them in a way which left me constantly entertained and/or emotionally tense. The plot by itself wasn't that complicated but the flashbacks to the Goryeo era and the foreshadowing made it more fancier. Plotholes definitely exist in this drama - especially at the end and I didn't really like their conclusion since it felt rushed.

What we all need to praise though is the amazing cinematography - it is unlike any other drama I've ever watched. First of all, at the beginning I was so stunned by everything that was presented to me that I honestly thought "how much effort did they put into this it is like a high quality movie". The special effects weren't ridiculous at all and everything harmonized so wonderfully. It keeps its well thought out quality until the end - it is seriously a nice experience. Dramas in the future will have to step up when they want to surpass this drama quality-wise.

The second best thing about this whole drama is the cast. The jokes are fresh and immensely cute at the same time. Be ready to laugh every episode. I think this drama achieved to be deeply emotional but hilarious at the same time without losing its seriousness? I am also happy that they integrated two male protagonists that harmonize the best out of all the cast members - and also built a happy trio with Sungjae's character. In addition we really need to take a moment to honor Gongyoo's acting - so incredibly good.

All in all, I would definitelly recommend watching this one since it is one of the best dramas I've ever watched. It manages to pull out fresh jokes left and right without having an overused plot. It is indeed worth the hype.

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I think I've already said in other reviews that TVN is one of the most innovative channels when it comes to drama plots, scripts and direction. And I believe Flower Boy Next Door is no exception. Of course there is a fair amount of mistakes and clichés all along, but the story is enjoyable and the characters are endearing enough.
Above all, I connected with Park Shin Hye's character the most, even if I'm not a big fan of the actress. She did a pretty good job either way. And I appreciate that she is a little different from many female characters we usually see in k-dramas.
What can I say about Yoon Si Yoon? I had never seen anything from him even though I had read lots of praising about his work. And such deserved praising I must say. His acting style -even his physique, somewhat- remind me a lot of Lee Joon Gi's: he can go from adorably goofy in funny scenes to intensely dramatic in melo. His Enrique Geum should be a classic drama character, even if I cringed and felt second hand embarrassment everytime he tried to speak Spanish (Spanish is my second language).
The actors in supporting roles where also great, especially Kim Ji Hoon and Kim Seul Gi. However Watanabe's story felt like something just to fill up. His character doesn't add much to the plot and is a little stereotyped.
Likewise, Park Soo Jin is really good at playing bitchy characters, but I feel sorry for her because it seems that she's only offered this type of roles. Besides, I really hate this cliché character in dramas.
Anyway, she was funny in this, at least at the beginning.
But what I enjoyed the most were the dialogues between the OTP, which really helped building up the characters, their relationship and also the one with the second male lead.
All in all, I really enjoyed this, even though I'm sad because I feel it's a little underrated.

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Longish review ahead!

I'd never watched a Taiwanese drama before this one, so I wasn't sure what to expect after only watching Korean/Japanese dramas. I have to say I was quite impressed. I definitely wanted to keep watching and I marathoned it in 2 days. For some reason Netflix has this drama as 30 episodes and not 18 so it felt like it took longer. Overall I give it an 8.5, mostly for it's characters and the chemistry between the main leads. The plot besides the whole gender-bending thing felt very flimsy, like it was tacked on AROUND the gender-bending and romance. But it honestly didn't matter so much in the grand scheme of things, because I truly do feel like this is a romance drama before anything and that SHOULD take priority. It's a story of two people overcoming so much for the sake of love.

One of the things that impressed me the most was how this drama did quite an amazing job at showcasing how gender doesn't really matter when it comes to love. You fall in love with who you fall in love with - everything else will fall into place with time. If you're worried about any homophobia - don't be, is all I have to say. Really, it's all handled very well, almost to the point where I wished Yanuo WAS male.

A small problem I had was how separated the characters felt from each other outside of their pairings. I would have liked for them to interact more. Like Nana and Yanuo confiding in each other, more interactions between Qingyang and Zifeng. It felt like their interactions became all too rare. You ARE allowed to have friends outside of a relationship.

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Characters
(I will only do the characters you see early on - the rest I may count as spoilers)

All the characters were portrayed very well and none felt the same.

Yanuo, one half of a pair the story centers around. Forced to dress as a boy because her asinine parents believed some fortune teller when he told them their daughter would die before the age of 26 if they didn't try to 'trick' the universe. It's flimsy, but if you try to believe this story takes place in an alternate universe where fortune tellers are actually a real, 100% factual thing then it makes it vaguely okay. Though the fact you have to jump through those hoops is rather silly. Yanuo is deeply empathetic and loyal. She believes in justice over everything and won't stand for it if the people she loves are hurt. The chemistry between her and Zifeng is almost instant. Honestly, Yanuo was quite a well-rounded character that I couldn't help but find charming in her own way. Lai Megan did such a good job emulating the mannerisms of a guy, they way she walked and her body language all made her seem like one, even her outfits were well chosen. I was pretty impressed with how boyish she actually looked. Usually with gender-bending drama's they still look quite girly, so it was a pleasant surprise. Overall, I had very few gripes with Yanuo.

Zifeng the other half of the main pair. He didn't have too many flaws if I'm completely honest. He's good at seemingly everything he tries. Even his personality is pretty strong, he's loyal almost to a fault, caring and compassionate. Not to mention he is an absolutely gorgeous man. I am forever grateful he wore suits almost all through the drama. Because Chen Baron is such a good actor, you really feel the pain, struggles and happiness he goes through. All in all, Zifeng, and Chen Baron himself, was the perfect match for this role.

Bii sold me on Qingyang completely. His quiet, caring and sensitivity were illustrated very well.To people not willing to look past the surface, they may never know how he truly is. He's not a very emotional character, but that works for him. Seriously, I am a huge Zifeng fan, but Qingyang stole my heart so many times. If you're not impressed and inspired by him as the story goes on, I'd be very shocked. I can't sing his praises enough.

As for Nana, I don't know if it was the acting or something else, but I couldn't quite enjoy many scenes with her in. She is absolutely stunning and her hair is gorgeous. Yet I found myself getting annoyed when scenes with her in dragged on. I do think her acting was maybe a little sub-par compared to the rest of the cast. It didn't feel as genuine.

Zihan was a not-so-secret favourite of mine. The first thing I want to address is how much she reminded me of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. I know that's kind of a weird comparison to make but she did. It was immediately obvious to me. She is so, so pretty and I really felt for her as the story progressed.

Xiaojing was an absolute breath of fresh air. Her bubbly personality and her willingness to do whatever she can to make Yanuo happy was a wonderful thing to see. There needs to be more characters like her in dramas because I really couldn't take my eyes off her whenever she appeared. It really brightened up the drama.

Guangchao is what I like to call a comic relief character. Maybe even the mascot character - though that might be reserved for something else. He constantly makes a fool of himself and appears a little girl crazy. But just because I say he's a comic relief character, that doesn't mean he isn't actually funny, because he is, if maybe a little over the top, but I think that's the point.

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Sound

The soundtrack was good, though one song was played a little too much and I don't know if it was just the Netflix version, but sometimes the music would just cut out halfway through and enter into a new song very suddenly. It kind of took me out of the moment because it was so jarring. Other than that, I really can't fault it. Even the one song they played a tad too much I ended up humming along to when it came up.

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Rewatch

It's a bit long, but I could see myself watching it again if the mood struck.

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Overall

I had a good time watching this drama. If I didn't, I wouldn't have watched it in such a short amount of time.There is something oddly addicting about it. Besides all the cheesy moments, thin plot and maybe a slightly sub-par side story, you won't find many flaws at all with the main concept. So I recommend you sit back with a nice drink and let yourself enjoy it for what it is.

--For the full thing WITH spoilers, go to my tumblr: kanawafu . tumblr . com --

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I have a fondness for Faith as it was my first Korean drama and started my addiction. If you like a little bit of time travel mixed with romance, adventure and action this will work for you. I had never heard of Lee Min Ho before watching this and have since watched most of his dramas, and I still think this is his best performance.

One of the aspects I particularly liked is that there are two love-lines. I had no idea the love triangle was such a big deal in Asian dramas when I watched this, and I am not a fan of it. I found both love stories to be well done. I thought the supporting cast was very good with a favorite being Court Lady Choi. I also managed to learn an amazing amount of history as the writer weaves this story together through actual history.

Complaints I've seen about this drama usually involve Kim Hee Sun being whiny as the doc. I think she gets a raw deal and if you stick with it you see how she grows as a person. I think she maintains her modern mindset more than any other time travel drama I've seen, and I like her level of feisty. Also, the time travel element....it never makes sense in any drama I've ever seen and gives me a headache. I just go with it.

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I write this review with swollen eyes still damp from my tears.
This fantasy drama i know isnt perfect and its story takes on a reflective stand, sometimes choosing to dwell on moments. It may feel slow to some but i find it poetic and gave time to appreciate the people the place and their lives. Almost all scenes were so beautifully shot, the scenery is breathtaking and film like. The opening theme to the first ost Stay with me already tells you the music for this drama is equally daebak
I would never have imagined Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook in the same drama. But there must be drama gods hearing the people's prayers and hopes. The bromance of Goblin and Grim is so spot on, friendship, laughters and more. The main cast all pull their weight from Kim Go Eun whose natural beauty and calibre was suited as bright Eun Tak to Yook Sung Jae and Yoo In Na. Even its supporting cast (Samshin, Director yoo, Secretary kim, Park Joong Won) were all superb and each had commanding screenpresence and brought so much to the narration of the story.
Towards the end i love the message that humans though seemingly small and frail compared to deities and the almighty, but we can surprise you with our will that can change the course of fate. And lastly to live and love like its your last day. Its so simple but often forgotten. I'll cherish this drama. And for now there isnt a drama i can recommend that quite captures the gist, the tone, and the feels like Goblin does. Thats how unique it is.

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If I could describe this drama in one word.. : Refreshing!

Why: This drama is for those that are at home full of work and just want an escape of it all. It's a cute lighthearted series about a hotblooded buff cutie and a handsome arrogant swimmer. You'll see how they are meant to be. It's not heavy and full of misunderstandings that can't be solved till the end, instead it's easy to watch and keeps you wanting more till the end

Story: It's original and interesting.The plot sparks up our interest and makes us wonder what might come out of that. Overall the drama kept a good coherent structure of each episode sequence so as to make sure we don't get tired or frustrated about misunderstandings that might occur. A great insight on the life of an athlete.

Characters: The characters were endearing and funny, each to their own quirk. They are all very realistic and even the 'villains' of the story are shown to have a heart too and that they aren't unreasonable bullies who are just there to annoy the protagonists. I live for redeemable villains, really.

Overall: You'll wonder how this can be 16 episodes, because of how fast you watched them..

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I loved season one of Cheo Yong. The story was interesting and thrilling, the characters very likable. So, I was excited when I heard about a second season. But in the end I was rather disappointed.

Every case started with a ghostly incident and I admit that those were kind of creepy. Especially when you watch them at night, alone. Unfortunately each one of them couldn't hold the tension. Of course, they had their interesting parts. But I got bored many times during one episode and just wished for them to be solved already. The suspense falls by the wayside. Sadly, that pattern doesn't get better until most of the drama is already over. Only one third of it got me hooked, honestly.

It's a shame that the ghosts become something like bystanders who almost disappear after their introduction at the beginning of every episode. They should have gotten bigger parts, it's a drama about a ghost-seeing detective after all. That one student ghost who accompanies the police is just not enough. Though I like the actress and the character she's playing... She couldn't save the day either.

The main story is evolving almost too late, considering that the drama has only 10 episodes. The saddest thing though is that is has almost nothing to do with ghosts. Solely speaking of the basic concept of that certain case, it WAS interesting. But it still missed the point and had so many flaws in its execution. Again, it should involve ghosts... There was so much potential and so many wasted opportunities in the last episode where they could have integrated those things.

I had also a hard time with scene editing, story telling, sudden conclusions that appeared out of nowhere, confusing plot twists and the way they portrayed Korean police. Like there's only this one police squad of five people that doesn't call for back-up while storming a secret gathering? Or experienced officers who mess up a crime scene? Yeah, whatever... I know that it's somewhat like a drama cliché. But there are dramas where it doesn't look so bad.

Acting was solid most times. Not too bad, nothing special either. But I had a hard time with that new female member they introduced in this season. She had her good parts, too, but still couldn't win me over in the end.

I don't regret watching this since there were also some very funny parts, but all those flaws mentioned earlier didn't allow me to rate it any higher.

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STORY: This was probably the most inventive and creative dramas/story plot I've seen in the Korean entertainment industry yet! I adore fantasy because it strikes the imagination part of the brain in a fun way and I've seen some fantasy-genre Korean dramas but they don't involve a lot of fantasy elements. Most dramas I've seen that are labeled as "fantasy" or "supernatural" usually use these elements to support a story. They were more tools to carry the story along rather than being the main focus. 'Queen In Hyun's Man' was the closest I've seen to making fantasy as the main focus point, but still lacked emphasis on the genre. This drama really made the "fantasy" element THE main focus and you see the story support the genre rather than the other way around. I'm so proud and happy for Kim Eun Sook. She did a FANTASTIC job writing this drama! The world she created was so vivid and realistic in the sense that if there were such thing as goblins and grim reapers in this world, she made the idea fit into our 'real world' construct to make it believable that they might actually exist. I thought it was unique to have the idea that there were many grim reapers, instead of just one, and that they were organized in a governmental way. The reasons for their amnesia were pretty sound and the search for the goblin's bride was pretty inventive. Kim Eun Sook could've been lazy with the why of everything and make them the most conventional reasons possible, but she definitely took great stride into creating a story that weaved in and out with every action and every decision so that almost everything had a meaning and a real reason behind them. Kim Eun Sook did a sublime job fleshing out the characters too! They definitely aren't the cookie-cutter type of characters you usually see in almost all romance Korean dramas, and I super appreciate that! It gets soooooooo unbelievably boring when I see the same type of character over and over again in every typical romance drama. Especially the male characters. They always turn out to be super mean and only to the main female character, but has a hard time expressing their feelings from their golden hearts. -__- !!

ACTING/CAST: This has been the best casting I've seen EVER! I'm not even joking! My favorite actress (for the current time) is Kim Go Eun and even though she's still young in the industry, she has AMAZING acting talents! She pulled off her character without a hitch. Same goes for Gong Yoo, who is a veteran in the entertainment industry and brings flourishes of experience from his time in the k-drama and k-movie business. Lee Dong Wook also did surprisingly well in this drama, although I still wish he was a bit more expressive. Maybe I'll get some upset comments about this, but he always seems to have this same indifferent look about him in every drama I've seen him in. But still, he did great in this drama, despite this fact. I considered Yoo In Na as a bit of a newbie in the entertainment business, but glad she got to be in this drama because I definitely see good potential to grow her acting talents and be a very talented actress. Also have to give props to Yook Sung Jae and Lee El for their great portrayals of our Gods. Lee El has really good potential to be a great actress as well and hope that after being exposed in this drama, she'll have the opportunity to be in many more dramas as well. Maybe in a lead? She's always been the side character, haha!

MUSIC: I don't really pick on the music unless it's extremely good or extremely ill-fitting. Goblin's soundtrack was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! It fit the tone of the drama so perfectly and carried the emotional and lighthearted scenes so PERFECTLY! This is one of those rare moments where I want to download the whole track list to my phone so that I can listen to it whenever and where ever! What people don't often notice is that the music of a drama and the story is kind of like two halves of a whole. They really do have to fit well together or else the overall picture/concept of the drama becomes a little....off. But these two fit together absolutely perfectly!

OVERALL: I was going into this drama with big apprehension because the writer was Kim Eun Sook, who also wrote Descendants of the Sun, which I was absolutely bored to tears with. With the awesome cast in this drama but with Kim Eun Sook being the writer, I was worried that she would do the same thing as she did with DOTS. But I was thankfully relieved and pleasantly surprised! I know I sung praises up and down in this review for this drama, but please keep in mind that I rarely ever do this unless it demands that kind of praise. There's really only one other drama I gave a 9/10 or above and that was Liar Game (Korean version). This drama was well-directed, well-acted, and put together so well and so impressively that I really can't help say nothing but great things about it! The only reason why I gave this drama 9.5/10 instead of 10/10 is because of 'the contract' reasoning for our goblin (don't think that's a spoiler because you'd have to watch and know what the contract was) But other than that little lazy reasoning, Usually, I leave about a week to review a drama because I don't want the added hype of my own excitement to affect a review, but I'm very confidant that my thoughts and feelings for this drama will not waver for the reasons I wrote in this review, even as time passes. I would wholeheartedly watch this again and again! The cast, the story, and the music all blend and mesh together so well that it's painted the most beautiful picture I've seen yet!

NOTE: This is a somewhat slow-paced drama, so please understand that before watching. Some people don't like slow-paced because of our tendency to want instant gratification (especially with the younger folks, haha) But to be honest, this drama wouldn't have done so well if it were more fast-paced. I think being slow-paced as it is was the perfect speed for the story. If it were any faster, we'd be left with a less desirable ending and very rushed story.

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