The lead have such an amazing chemistry, potential whatever you want to call it. They make you fall in love with them, but then what after that? Where;s the character depth, how do you get where they're coming from, how do you relate to them? Everything just stps at 2 dimensions. Their backstory, and their current love. So disappointing especially when you rewatch it.
The side characters, though SO many, and so good and so much potential, were almost inexistent. This was so sad because they could havebeen used brilliantly to weave everything together.
The OST is beautiful though, especially the instrumental music for the lead pair and the various artist instrumentals. So good!
Over all I would say, they has a great exotic set of ingredients, all right equipments, even a great chef, but the recipe started out good but failed to take you to a level that is expected out of such a combination. I'm writing this a month after I watched this series, because I keep thinking of it, especially the first half. Sigh.
My verdict for a reccomendation would be - watch it, it's a good attempt, but do no, i repeat do not expect much out of it at all. It would be hard to do so though, especially since (I repeat again and again) the first half was so good!
PS - okay i'm editing it for the last time, because I cannot not mention that the romantic moments in the series are just so cute, it hurts. probably why I keep rewatching them lol. If you like sweet romance you'll love the romance, but hate it too because there's nothing beyond one dimensional romance, but hey, it's cute lol (this probably affects my credibility as a reviewer, but i had to mention it!)
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As with korean costume makeup, the ghost were scary looking. Some scenes were gripping and not for the faint hearted when you watch it at night
What amazes me the most is the script and the writing. Heres a team of writers who knows what it wants to tell and how to tell it in 16ep. The plot when you thought was predictable as they clearly show who the antagonist was from almost the start keeps surprising you as the plot unfolds a d continues to be exciting and suspenseful to the end.
Furthermore i was surprised with Taecyeon and So Hyun. When they first announce the pairing i was worried and hesitant to watch. Surprise surprise that they were adorable together and bashful which works for their character and school student setting. So Hyun was a gem and i love her Hyun Ji who was spunky, can kickass, and super cute. Bong Pal was dorky, grumpy turned sweet. The two sidekicks were fun to watch too. Lastly Kwon Yul's acting was spot on. So eery and scary. So this is another awesome tvn drama that i didnt expect to like but in the end love it.
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All the characters are based off the novel but some changes has been made to fit into a 100mins running time. These means some scenes from the novel did not make it into the movie. However it was still nice to spot the difference and also points for new originality. Further they included Gu man in the workings of this movie, so it retains her touch.
What is enjoyable is the flow and the ease of interaction between Xiao Nai and Bei Wei Wei.
Xiao Nai here is intelligent but not infallible, cool but still approachable and his gaze when he sees WeiWei is warm and familiar. But turn purposeful and masculine the scene where he kisses her. Their embrace and kiss was also done sweetly and feels like a believable couple as compared to the drama. Angelababy's Weiwei is more bubbly, fun, outgoing and even a tad tomboyish when she goes high over gaming. So this pairing for me works.
The only minus is the movie length is too short. So not only cut scenes from the novel but also not enough time to flesh out the bromance and the female friendships. The plus is theres no unnecessary scenes of unnecessary characters which irked me when i watch the drama.
I thought the CGI here were nicely done. Theres alot of sweet scenes that are memorable and beautiful (marriage scene, backhug on the creek, running towards the game showing portal from real life to game life) but it was done either subtly or sweetly and did not come off as cheesy.
Like i said i like some of the creative difference from the novel. Just to mention roughly without spoiling. From their first official meet up on their date, from how and why weiwei traveled back from her hometown to be with Xiao Nai and weiwei as part of the team for ultimate game they created. If you havent read the novel, its fine to watch it as it is too.
Ive already watched it twice and i wouldnt mind watching it again. But i wouldnt rewatch the drama. That tells you how i feel about the two. Everyone have their own preference though so keep that in mind.
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I watched this series prior to reading the book (which I only decided to read after so many people claimed how much better the manga was…) Because I was not married to the book before watching the show-- unlike many others, I was able to appreciate and enjoy the six-hour TV series for what it is. This is a sweet adaptation given its limited budget-- 12 episodes (each 30 minutes) "inspired" by the original 40-chapter manga. (I found this is a much closer and sweeter adaptation compared to some other "adaptations" I've seen where the TV shows butcher the original story.)
COMPARING TV vs ORIGINAL MANGA
Firstly, the FL is always crying in the manga. She might have had a better office job in the manga, but I found her character weaker and very annoying, in general. In the book, the ML is royally handicapped when expressing his affection-- except when sleeping with his wife. In contrast, both leads are more responsive and communicative in the TV show.
Their feelings and frustrations are all bottled up for 66% of the manga. She gets upset with him, throws tantrums, locks herself up in their bedroom for over half the manga… She is capable of fully discussing feelings with her friends and office mates, but unwilling to communicate/work and hash matters out with her husband in the book.
We already know that ML is emotionally challenged…
Mind you that ML is a senior executive putting intense hours in a highly politically charged environment for him to be trying to second guess FL's annoying and repetitive lower-school mood swings and silence… I find that their character development is better in the TV show and as couple they grow to have better quality time together. Plus, Dean Fujioka and Seino Nana make a nice couple. In fact, I hope Dean gets to lead many more rom-com's.
Yes, the drama changes the details of the plot and the personalities/story of the secondary characters. However, the gist of the love story and plot is there and I care significantly more about the protagonists' story.
The 6-hour TV show is sweet and to the point (compared to the 40-chapter manga, which I found draggy). Sorry to those who started watching this expecting the same storyline and could not enjoy the show. I do wish this series had more episodes…
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For those people who like a fresh and new story concepts, I'm sad to say you won't find that here. But! I personally think the way the actors interacted was pretty sweet and in a way "fresh". Then again, I am absolutely a fan of the cliché "Cinderella" stories and love/hate relationships. I don't know why, but for me, you can either make the cliché story your own or you can majorly fail.
I personally think that these two made it loveable and absolutely adorable! (The handcuff bit made me laugh so hard!)
All in all, I liked the movie for what it was: Light-hearted.
It's a great movie for anyone who has a little time before bed on a weekday night to unwind, have a couple of laughs at the cute and cliché couple and go to bed with a fluffy feeling inside.
I personally have a saying with food that I love to apply to movies as well: Don't knock it 'till you try it; loose the expectations, and experience it as it unfolds.
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good for a flufft, uncomplicated watch though.
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Story : The main story is nothing new even most of time was full of cliche but I loved the way it's being directed and how both the main plot and the subplot complement each other. It was perfectly balanced and there's nothing to complain about. I never get bored while watching it. This drama also has subtleness in every scene thus make the story has more depth despite having a light theme. Furthermore, I also loved the fact that each of the character has it own importance in the story as none of the side character get left behind. About the ghost,some of them were really scary combined with the CGI and sound effect.
Acting/ Cast : As I mention above, I'm not into the main cast. I found Taekyeon's acting to be average at best in Who Are You. Here, I can see there's a lot of improvement in his performance especially in later episodes. Maybe because he's paired up with Kim So Hyun who's acting is a lot better than him . Together they help each other thus resulting in believable acting and top-notch chemistry despite the age difference. I also enjoyed and had a good laugh while watching our comedy duo which provide comic relief in this drama.
Music : It flows well with the story. The sound was pleasant to my ear. Maybe I'll download them later and add them into my KDrama OST folder.
Rewatch value : Don't bother with this rating as I rarely rewatch a drama even my favourite one.
Overally, I rated this drama 8/10. I recommend you to watch this drama if you get tired of melodrama at the moment and want a lighter one, if you're a sucker for horromance as me or if you want to watch something to pass out time. Give it a go as you might like it like me.
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One positive aspect is its semi eerie atmosphere. I've never seen such contrast with movie's setting and it's tone, the main lead's vacation with his wife is quite possibly the gloomiest vacation ever.
The sound is fantastic and whoever is responsible for it needs to be praised. He skillfully extracted those nature sounds which helps creating that fantastic semi eerie atmosphere. The location for this movie is beautiful too and the director didn't make shy in showing that.
Acting is quite strong, nishijima and takeshi kitano are both solid, and shiori is a bit of a revelation here. I see it as a start for her on tackling more mature roles. But as we reach the conclusion part, it gives us the ultimate headscratcher, you'll ask yourself "just what the heck did I watch".
Recommended for people who enjoys using all their braincells while figuring out what the heck is happening in the movie.
Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/
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