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I thought the actors did a good job. Especially Ou Hao, who played Zhang Yang. I am going to look up more of his roles. He was good at showing the character development.
Its a bittersweet story and you should give it a try.
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To start off, this drama initially began as your basic gender bender. Typical. However, as you find yourself deeper into this drama you find underlying in that plot is so much more. There is a balance between your heart fluttering moments of pure fluff, moments that will make you laugh and the absolutely heart-wrenching moments-- this balance continuously plays with the viewers' heart, and it's exactly what keeps them wanting more. Since it was a romance historical drama, there was plenty of political elements to follow along with as well. I myself am a huge sucker for historical dramas, so naturally I found that this particular plot wasn't that hard to follow along with. But for someone who doesn't find much interest for them, they play a huuuuge role in the plot development - so I probably wouldn't recommend it.
The only portion I had dissatisfactions with was with how the story carried out towards the end of the drama. It dragged on for a little bit and then at the very last episodes everything felt very rushed to tie all the loose ends. There were a couple story arcs that they could have expanded on a little more which was disappointing. If they had cut the filler episodes a little short and was a little more detailed in the ending, it would've been absolutely flawless as a drama. But overall, the story was nothing short of amazing.
The general performance of the whole cast was exemplary, having both a reputation for their acting and endless eye candy! I even found myself becoming a Park Bo Gum fan in the process.
For starters, Kim Yoo Jung never fails expectation, upholding her crown as one of the best upcoming actresses with yet another hit drama to her lengthy list of filmography. Her character Ra On is a charming, optimistic and extremely outgoing. As having one of the more complex back stories in the drama, there were a few plot holes dealing with her family but nonetheless, it was carried out very well.
Park Bo Gum's presentation of the crown prince Lee Young was all in all praise worthy. I didn't feel much awkwardness from him even though he isn't nearly as experienced with historical dramas in contrast to his cast members. His tone, stance and relaying of emotions (his eyes I swoon every time), were executed in a manner that truly brought his character Lee Young to life. Not to mention, he suited the hanbok extremely well (and was very good looking in it). Although he was one of the more dull character archetypes, it was still entertaining to watch him grow from a childish troublemaker to a mature and refined crown prince.
The romance between the two was also lovely to the eyes, and although there is a bit of an age gap I didn't feel it as the chemistry between Bo Gum and Yoo Jung strongly made up for it. Although the romance did over shine the development of the friendship plot.
I definitely wish they would have shone a bit more light on the other characters Byung Yun and Yoon Sung. There was a lot of potential that the writer could of utilized to enhance the plot. These two character archetypes were definitely more on the complex side and it would've been really interesting to see more of their development and more of their story all in all.
The music in this drama was definitely really lovely to the ears, nothing really too special but they did include an OST by Park Bo Gum himself which was definitely a treat.
Another thing that I would like to make note on is the cinematography. I absolutely adooooore when producers pay respect to these aspects and I was taken by surprise at how stunning some scenes were. From the first episode until the very last, it was extremely extremely beautiful.
On the whole, this drama was definitely an exceptional coming of age drama deserving of all the hype and you should definitely give it a chance.
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Basically this drama is about a women who works at an advertising company as she enters a crossfire of various love interests including her ex-boyfriend. Despite this, it's a hilarious comedy that looks into how she copes with her work and personal life.
The Good
Can I give a huge hug to the writers for not dragging on this drama at all compared to like 99.99% of the other dramas i watched?? Like damn, considering the 20 episodes- one wouldve thought that 'oh no... there must be some dragging on going around' but don't be deceived! Each episode is around 20 min; hence the reason why there are 20 episodes, but there is never a dull moment!
I seriously loved the storyline as everything gets resolved at the end and the main character isn't as annoying as other female leads. The actors and actresses were spot on! I loved their chemistry and their acting as they got along pretty well and portrayed their character well!
The music was fun and light and all the tracks were enjoyable!
The Bad
There's not much to say about the bad- but imho, i think that whenever there was a 'sick' scene where someone is coughing or sneezing- it was very obviously fake and not well done. I would prefer if they could somehow made the sneezing and coughing scenes not as forceful.
Overall? This drama really is good since it's light and not as melodramatic. If you want something to pass time with or something that doesnt make your brain hurt too much, i seriously recommend this drama!
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We've seen this story of a cross-dresser female lead stealing the heart of our hero but this time, the story had a more youthful vibe. I am a self-confessed Bogummy fan and I must say that I totally love him. After having him as Taek (in Reply 1988), I forgot how awesome an actor he was for all the diverse roles he had play. Having him as Lee Young is one of the best things that could ever happen. I love him as a mischievous prince who knows how to play his happy-go-lucky image to protect the most coveted throne against the evil forces. All kinds of emotions and definitely his portrayal of this role has undeniably the cause of the so-called "Park Bo-gum effect."
Kim Yoo-jung is definitely a very fine actress in the making. She is so adorable as a girl acting as a eunuch of a prince and as a love guru before she entered the palace. She's the prettiest in sageuks and I wish I could have seen her dress more as a girl. Bo-gum and Yoo-jung has good chemistry between them.
I don't find this drama perfect (despite my love for Bogummy) and there are certain things that I don't like about it. I am not a die-hard fan of sageuks and I find it difficult to care about the political aspects of the story and who knows if I overlooked anything. It's not that I only watched Bo-gum's scenes, it's just that I paid extra less attention to scenes where the dirty politics comes in. I had to bear with this for sake of plot development. Haha. This also means how effective Premier Kim and the other officials as the villain in this story because I am totally pissed off with them.
The thing that I think that this drama should regret is not utilizing Chae Soo-bin's role as Jo Ha-yeon well. Where else can you get a second lead that is smart, honest, and loyal as her? I love her character and I just wish she had more story written for her because her character deserves more than this.
I also felt cheated that I lost the bromance between Lee Young and Byung Yun early on in the story to give way to more romance between the Crown Prince and Ra On. It’s I felt that we spent too much time on how sweet the main lead is to each other that the second leads already lost their chance before they even tried. Well at least Yoon—sung has a lot of part in the whole story.
The beginning part of this drama is what really captivated me - Lee Young's antics as a troublemaker and his interactions with Hong Sam Nom and Byung Yun are the best for me. That felt like the glory days of the drama, and I'm not sure if it's about the extension, but it really became a stretch during the later parts of the drama. Though, in my opinion, the drama redeemed itself in the last two hours of its run.
To the drama's credit, it has its strong points since most the most of its run, I didn't feel cheated of the happiness and (sometimes) loneliness of the characters. The writer knows just how long is enough for us to feel the obstacle that the main lead is facing and when to resolve and wrap things up nicely. Every week feels like I'm having a fight with somebody and making sure that you don't sleep angry with each other. The scenes are well-directed and edited that everything about the drama goes together real well.
This drama has a very good collection of OST and having Park Bo-gum sing one is totally love, love. love.
Overall, the drama is adorable and cute mainly due to the cast, very well thought of in terms of the flow of the plot (most of the time), acted well from all of the characters. I kind of have a lot of complaints but its mainly because of the limited bromance I got and neglecting the second lead who could have done more. For all this, I still think that the drama deserves the love it's receiving. By the time ended, I have butterflies in my stomach, flowers around me, and a lot of hearts in my eyes. It was beautiful drama. Indeed, beautiful.
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I liked the characters, especially the main one since i could relate to her in more than a few ways. I liked the script i believe more than the actual plot, tehe. It really had great moments and sayings and what i really liked about it is that it was close to realistic. I'm not talking about the main plot here, just the little things. It wasn't over exagarated like boys over flowers (i mean come on kidnapping a girl on a daily basis and being a complete jerk towards her until she falls in love with you?). Anyway i really recommend watching this drama, it's quite short, interesting and...fun? I don't know it's late and i literally just finished watching it :')
Enjoy
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it's my first time to watch zombie film i don't like them but when i start watching this i couldn't stop, it's so touching.
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This is a melo. If you know that, then you know what you're getting into from the start. Stop pretending you don't get it. It's all about the over-the-top concepts and dramatics. You're meant to get frustrated, cry, and get angry... ...a lot...
That being said, one of the most recent melos I watched was I Have A Lover, and I actually enjoyed it. With that in mind, this melo, UF, was much better than that by far. It wasn't overly frustrating. I cried just enough. It kind of felt cathartic because, from the start I knew the end, and I did enjoy knowing, so I could savor and cherish every bit of well-done acting by Woo Bin, who utterly impressed me with himself, for the 1st time I might add. If you haven't watched and are curious, this statement about Woo Bin should be enough to make you take the leap, I should think. I've never been on the Woo Bin hype train. I never found him overly attractive, and actually the first time I saw him in a show it was awkward watching him because I felt like he had a lazy eye and it would distract me from his acting [what he was saying or doing]. I never found him to be a "lacking" actor, just, you know, the typical model turned actor, playing the idol figure in the high school dramas. But this, this show right here is where he surpassed my expectations. I felt his emotions... it felt real to me.. he neither overly acted sick or cool. He had the right amount of everything at every turn....
...and not to discount Suzy, because her role was dark, but not as "meaty" as Woo Bin's role, she still played the shameless idiot who got screwed over all her life and took it in the rear, yet, somehow managed to show a immense amount of dignity caring for her love, Joon Young [Woo Bin]. I was pretty happy with it all for what a melo has to offer. ;)
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Must say, I was very disappointed. The cast were great but the story was so absurd. The concept was good but the actions by the characters were so illogical. Especially in the last, I was so annoyed when theere was unnecessary debacle regarding the rescue situation.
I enjoyed a couple of scenes, the actors were great, the bonding was cute but the writing fell severely short.
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I never thought I would think the traditional Korean dress was cool. It took me a long time to work up the courage to watch a historical. But I'm converted! Haha. This show is really easy to watch and easy to skip over the politics and still enjoy the growth and the progression of the premise.
In this drama more than ever, I can see how the characters humble themselves even when they are so freakin' angry because they know they have to self-regulate to achieve their long term goals.
I liked how they explored their corrupt society and how they were worried about distinguishing between right and wrong because they had so many bad role models and unfair structures in place.
Things start to get serious as the drama begins to wade into family relationships and betrayal and being a role model.
“Hey, big brothers, live life correctly, cause I'll be following your lead.”
Cheeky, but respect man.
They had to question what was culture, what was their values and why they were brought up in their traditions.
“Watch me with your own two eyes. Whether I'm going the right road until the end.”
Kdramas explore characters in a way that I can understand.
I also like how they take into account past and future. “So will you remember? One day, when you have to make a difficult decision like you did today, just once...that there was someone who trusted Lee Seon Joon more than himself.”
Yoon Hee
“I'll still have to dress in a man's hat and robe....And even if I can't do that, I'll have to marry anyone...To me, there is no tomorrow that I should want to protect with all my might.”
Girl's got skills. And she's incredibly smart with a photographic memory (but the drama forgets about that later).
The opening of this drama, with the ladies chasing after our heroine, thinking she's a man, I knew we were in for some ridiculous, but hopefully amusing moments.
I like the sort of manly friendship that Yoon Hee makes with Lee Soon Jun, even from her perspective as a girl, she treats him like a dude.
“I believe in you more than I believe in myself.”
I was quite pleased at the little ways in which Yoon Hee showed how tough she was. Getting into a fist fight, and stopping a punch was all pretty normal for her.
Seon Joon
Yoo Chun is a pretty stiff guy but it kind of makes his human character really really very funny.
I first saw Park Yoo Chun in Rooftop Prince. I didn't like his arrogance there. He continues to be a dick in this one. But maybe more within reason because he's just a scholar and not a prince. Still, his concerned, sad face is the best.
He's a lot more reasonable and forgiving. But he's still self-righteous as ever.
He really admires Yoon Hee's rebel nature of standing up against the unfair laws of society.
“Sungkyunkwan is a place of study because of the citizens, if you do not agree with this, then we new students, will not recognise you as seniors.”
It's nice to see the hero for a change rotting away when he is lovesick, barely being able to function.
Seon Jin does say a few nice things too. “Not just my classmate...but my good friend. Someone who is willing to be my good friend, Kim Yoon Shik, you are the first.”
“If I made a friend, I thought it would be nice if it was you. It's just...I didn't know how. Since it was my first time. I'm sorry.”
Lee Sun Joon isn't so bad after all. A lot different picture of the arrogance he often portrays.
I really like how he didn't know what to do with Geol Oh.
I loved how he learned to joke.
Romance
Lee Sun Joon on the romance front is actually not that bad. His feelings, his expression of them, his role in the romance, I was actually pretty impressed. I love how he wore his heart on his sleeve.
He's not petty or childish in his love for Yoon Hee. He thinks about her feelings and what she wants rather than always pushing his feelings.
It's quite unusual for the hero to be outed for his affection for his heroine so pitifully. And for it to happen to a proud hero like Lee Soon Jun was pretty darn hilarious and satisfying.
I like that even after Lee Soon Jun realises Yoon Hee is a woman, they're still on even ground because Yoon Hee doesn't allow it to be any different.
Lee Soon Jun is amazing in his love for Yoon Hee and really doesn't let pride get in the way.
And his uppity rationale for why she should kiss him some more was so hilarious. “One shouldn't start something one can't finish. Stopping in the middle is worse than not having started at all. This is a teaching from the Analects. To stop something you've already started isn't something a Confucius scholar should do.”
I really loved how the drama showed Lee Seon Joon exploring his desire for Yoon Hee in such a cute and funny way.
And how she was the one that had to be direct. She's also really confident in the relationshia pnd likes to tease him.
I really appreciated their clear communication with one another. How they talked things out and put their hearts on the table and didn't hold things back or didn't hesitate to make things clear.
“What you're pushing away is not greed It's me.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? I'm so scared.”
I feel like it's been a while since I've seen a nice and caring romance like this. And also to see the hero go all out for his woman, is bliss.
Geol Oh
“Why should I be afraid? Living isn't fun anymore.”
I like that Geol Oh could pull rank when it suited him.
I love Yoo Ah's new look. Really surprised to see the ruffian is a gentleman.
His personality is so much fun in this drama. He's really good at treating Yoon Hee like a man even when she messes up. He so subtly reminds her that she's supposed to be a boy.
“Don't bow your head to anyone. Don't kneel for anyone. It will become a habit.”
Yoo Ah is the best in this drama. I like how his character managed to keep treating Yoon Hee as a man.
Oh those sleeping arrangements made me laugh so much.
“Sunbae, this isn't your usual sleeping place.”
“My usual sleeping place is this whole room.”
He has this beautiful moment in Episode 15. He's such a wonderful character.
Gu Yong Ha
“Tell me whatever it may be. I can keep a secret better than I look.”
Song Joong Ki's gleeful smile is so cute. He plays so many mind games and plays both sides of the school factions. But I loved that despite that, Yoon Hee still got to mess around with his head.
He's a rich and insouciant kind of guy who is bored with people so he likes to play games.
One thing I liked about him is that when anyone is down, whether they are right or wrong, he's there for them so they don't have to be alone.
I like how there are different relationships in the school that even though one might technically be on one side, he will still help the other and look out for people on the other side even though “politically” he is opposed.
I liked his friend with Moon Jae Shin.
“The one I trust is not the king, but you, Geol Oh.”
Bad Guy
The amazing thing about the bad guy is that he is so nice to his daughter. Haha. I really liked how evil he was and then how much he loved his baby girl. Even though he is full of pride and ambition, “I am not the kind of father to get in the way of my children.”
The music can be quite pretty.
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Seo In Guk really shines in the show, seriously. I didn't care about his role in Reply 1997 (great show, but didn't move me like many other fans). He's great at playing cold to sweet characters. I was baffled by his performance. He's really good a playing cute, immature guys without being annoying. His character is really sweet, likeable, and charismatic. Also female lead, is pitiful but likeable without being super annoying unlike other female leads for comedic effect.
The supporting characters are well written and well acted. Seriously, like the writers gave them purpose without ruining the flow of the show. I never seen a show that fully utilizes entire supporting cast compared to other romcoms that focus on the main couple 95% of the drama and then like 2-4 supporting characters. Also, most of the supporting characters were likable.
There is some realism in the show, even though the show is a comedy there is character development. There are a lot of details in the show that make it unique compared to other dramas. I wish I could explain the details, without spoiling the show. You just need to watch it, yourself.
A flaw of the show was that camera was always shaky. I don't know if it was like that when it aired on tv but all of the streaming sites, the camera shaky. I need to focus on subs or one character to not get sick. Also, the ending of the show was kind of weak (I just felt like it could've been slightly better, it was good but what I expected from the writers) and the hyung wasn't fully utilized as I had hoped. I felt like they could've done more with his character.
This is lighthearted, rewatchable romcom that can be very sweet and touching. I highly recommend giving the show a try. It also helps that there is a lot of eye candy!!!
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This Thai teen romance is pretty similar to Filipino teen romance. But Thai is a bit bold for tackling homosexuality for their young age. The kiss was awkward and conservative but the sexual preference is not. The plot was light and a bit entertaining to some level. I did get a few laughs from the scenes and I found some moments to be sweet. Compared to other teen romance I've watched like The Heirs, Boys over Flowers, and Meteor Garden, this Thai drama is simple and less melodramatic, not glamorous unlike Korean dramas, more relatable in the sense that their dialogue is light and they actually communicate their feelings and their situation. Korean characters dont have this kind of communication. I like that this is more realistic in a way that it's just simple. The way they portrayed their interaction and respect with each other seems more natural to me than how Koreans portray each other with such high respect. Korean culture is definitely more conservative but their romantic scenes have so much heart that even with just how the characters gaze at each other and with simple touch of holding hands gets me all giddy lol.
This drama is probably not enough to interest me in watching more Thai drama but I'll give it another shot with a different genre that has an interesting and complex plot. Overall I did like the series and 4 hours is enough. So if you're looking for something light, mindless, and non-stressful you should give it a try.
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When it comes to the actors, I commend Lee Yo Won for taking this very challenging role. If you are not following the story very well, you can say that Song Yi Kyung has split personality or worse multiple personalities on the highest level. She was able to bring the quirkiness of Ji Hyun's personality. She should have received a Daeksang for this role.
On the other hand Nam Gyuri as Shin Ji Hyun is a very interesting character as well. There are moments when she look like a doll.
Jo Hyun Jae as Han Kang is a very vulnerable character. If I were him, I would go crazy over the resemblance of Yi Kyung to Ji Hyun. I love his character here because he was like a martyr. It was hard for him to express his love to Ji Hyun so he somewhat become a bastard towards her because that's how he he deals his pain of longingness. But also he deeply cares for her. (Jo Hyun Jae and Jo In Sung are my favorite Korean actors).
Jung Il Woo as the Scheduler, what can I say about his character? He was perfect, he brought a lot of fun and one of the reason why this drama is highly entertaining to watch.
Bae Su Bin as Kang Min Ho is quite a dark character and even if he is the antagonist here I love his character, it was well represented. There are moments when I kind of hate him but as the story progress, you kind of understand his character. But still a villain is a villain.
The music used in the drama was perfect for me. The production knows when to inject the music that suits the scene. It adds drama, it adds thrill.
When it comes to re watching this drama. I would but not right away. Give me 4-5 years and I would want to re-live the drama brings.
Overall, this drama never disappoints. Previous comments and reviews I've read are correct. It's quite difficult to put it in a genre. It is something refreshing to watch, something you could never thought is possible. Something you have never seen on TV. The plot is very interesting and the story was very well executed. It was close to perfection. There are moments when you can't help but laugh at the quirkiness of the leads and there are times when you just can't compose yourself over the emotions you got from what is going on. I felt that the funny moments were unintentional but it really works.
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