Reviews

Story:
Maybe I am the odd man out, but I really love this drama. I have to agree that the pacing and story progression is off at times and it can get real awkward watching and asking yourself "How come we came here? Or how come that is happening or this is happening?" But at the heart of it all and why I continue to watch the story is perhaps the fact I simply love "Black and Swan".

Acting/Cast:
Lee Jin Wook acting is an okay for me and its not that he can't act, its rather as i mentioned previously, the pacing and awkwardness that I attribute more so to the directing. However, I do love the slow progression of Cha Ji Won into "Black". Despite the awkwardness I see Lee Jin Wok doing a great job in portraying that loss of innocence, trust, and focus on love (relationships including romance and friendship) into Black a man deeply scarred, jaded, and out and about for revenge for the loss of his father and search for his sister.

While my girl, Moon Chae Won, I have nothing left to say for her as every since Shining Inheritance I fell for her acting and it wasn't deterred by the least in this drama. Throughout the constant moaning and groaning about her character's appearance, I fell in love with the spunky, kind, upfront (blunt), and loyal Kaya or Seu Wan (Swan) and thought (so far) she has stayed true to her character as being someone who fights tooth and nail for someone that she loves, dependable, and is loyal.

Also Song Jae Rim, this is my first drama watching him but something about his smile and the consistency of his character and the fact that he is a second lead that hasn't annoyed the heck out of me. He comes off as a tsundere in the begining but he never changes to

Music:
Maybe because I have consistently blocked it out because after two or three episodes of the same love song, cute, but almost twelve episodes of the same love song at a certain point does become tiring. But at a certain point the song does change.

Rewatch:
I would re-watch this solely for the Swan and Black scenes, but also because of the hi-jinks of the supporting characters as they were hilarious during moments of intense scenes or when I just finish cursing out the stupidity of a character or when the evil guys piss me off from no end and makes me contemplate slamming my tablet on the floor from their nonsense.

Overall, this drama suffered in the beginning because of directing, a revenge plot that made no sense in the direction it was heading (which still has me wondering why? How come?) Because based on the synopsis I thought we were going full in with Black and Swan disguised as a married couple mingling in destroying his best friend and his ex-fiance for their betrayal while at the same time saving his sister and falling in love and being conflicting in destroying and losing himself as he went further went with his revenge plot but at the same time falling for Swan etc...

Instead we got a revenge plot where the revenger outed himself to the revengees (does that make sense???) in less than 30 minutes after (well we have a time period gap...but you get what I'm saying). But nevertheless, although I didn't get the official story that I wanted (or believed based on the synopsis) , I still highly recommend this drama because at the heart of it all it is a really, really great drama.

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I love this drama. The love story between a mother and child, friendship, family, and lovers is so well written, directed, and acted. I was skeptical of the chemistry between the leads at first because of the 15 year age gap, but I was absolutely wrong. Their love for each other is palpable. Although you would think that this drama is sad (and it is sometimes), I was left with a feeling of optimism. Live your life to the fullest because you never know if you have one day, one month, or years. The story does have typical Korean troupes such as rich, jerk man falling for poor, optimistic woman, but they are written in a way as to not interfere with the depth of the story.

Uee is phenomenal as Kang Hye Soo. I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed her performance and I was completely invested in the character. Where did Lee Seo Jin come from? I have never seen him in anything and I am wondering why. I can see why Hye Soo fell for Han Ji Hoon. He felt real. With all the fake in this world, that is my highest compliment. All the other actors are good also. Shin Rin Ah is totally adorable as Cha Eun Sung.

I enjoyed the music and have downloaded some of it.

I may rewatch this sometime.

If you enjoy dramas that are uplifting, then I think you would enjoy this. It is reminiscent of the drama Scent of a Woman which I also highly recommend.

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It's certainly the best drama I've watched this month. I'm a little sad to bid it adieu--it had everything you could want from a drama: amazing actors, heartwarming moments, an adorable little kid, and a BEAUTIFUL love story that immersed you completely in the lives of these characters. Everything they felt, you felt. This drama grasped onto my heart and refused to let go. These actors really did a phenomenal job; I definitely want to check out some of their other dramas.

I think whether you are a fan of melodramas or not, this is definitely worth your time. While the subject matter of having a terminal illness is sad, rather than being this forlorn, sappy pit of one depressing scene after the other, it instead had a nostalgic, hopeful, and just plain beautiful feel to it. <33

It was about family and friendships--the important people in our lives and what we're willing to do for them. Appreciating them full-heartily and embracing our present happy moments. The OST is stunning, SO SO beautiful. It really added to all the moments in this drama.

If you're on the fence about whether to start this drama, I say barrel through that fence and just take a chance. It really doesn't disappoint: it's about life, family, love, and happiness. It's just so dang beautiful. I applaud everyone involved in it making it. <333

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I was slightly hesitant to start watching Marriage Contract back when it first started airing. While I've watched some very good dramas that center around a main character with a terminal illness, if they aren't done well the show ends up being flat out depressing. Marriage Contract, I am pleased to say, ended up being one of the best illness-centered dramas I've watched. It reminds me a lot of Scent of a Woman, but I actually think I prefer it over SoaW.

The story of Marriage Contract certainly isn't anything new. I'm sure we've all seen plenty of contract marriage and illness dramas. But I think that this was a strength for Marriage Contract. The whole drama had a very nostalgic and classic feel to it. It was very cliche, but still somehow felt fresh. It feels like it could be an older drama. The writers brilliantly used a simple plot and made mundane things into something special. The drama as a whole is very simple and doesn't have any crazy plot twists. We got many scenes of our characters enjoying the simple things in life (like singing, or kitties, or riding a bike). I think show did a very good job of making things that are normally taken for granted feel special. With a simple plot and no overly dramatic twists, the show was very relaxing, yet still engaging. We got to focus a lot on the characters instead of the typical tropes that show up in most dramas.

I was very impressed with the acting in Marriage Contract. I've seen bits and pieces of Uee's acting before, but was never extremely impressed. And while I haven't seen her as a main character in a drama before this (besides Birdie Buddy, which I never finished), I must say that she put everything into this role. I've noticed that many people have complained about her acting in the past, but looking purely at this role, I have nothing to complain about.

This is the first time I've seen Lee Seo Jin in a drama as well, but I thought he did a wonderful job. While he was a very rough and typical male lead at the beginning, I never truly hated his character. I loved seeing his growth throughout the drama. And while Uee undoubtedly played the main character, the show focused on Lee Seo Jin's character just as much. Together, Uee and Lee Seo Jin had surprisingly good chemistry. I questioned the pairing at first since we don't usually see such a large age gap between actors, but I think that somehow they really worked well together. The chemistry was very good and I really loved the progression of their relationship.

Shin Rin Ah was a very nice surprise as well. I think this is the first drama I've watched that has focused so much on a child character, but she played a crucial role. I was very impressed with Shin Rin Ah and was even more impressed to find out that she is only 6 years old (about the same age as her character in the drama). I could see her having a promising future in the industry if she chooses to pursue acting.

I really enjoyed the music and think it added to the classic feeling of the drama. The OST really set the mood and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Overall Marriage Contract was a very nice surprise. I went in expecting to watch a typical drama, but ended up with something that was somehow new and refreshing despite all of the cliches. I really enjoyed the ending as well. While it could have ended very differently, I don't really have any complaints about how it did end. They did a nice job of making a somewhat ambiguous ending feel final. While normally I would have maybe would have liked to see some ending for other characters in the show, I truly don't think it was needed. The focus was the main couple and I think trying to catch up with other characters would have thrown things off. Overall this was a very enjoyable show. It was solid and consistent and left me feeling more calm and happy than depressed.

Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B12PR5zlUk8

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Romance, in kdramaland, is usually cheesy, deficient at times and often highly corny. I think it is safe to say that when you’ve watched a-few-too-many romance kdramas they tend to become repetitive as they all follow certain rules by the book. And when you think you’re done with the genre, Marriage Contract happens, and makes you completely revise all your thoughts and beliefs. It is not that MC broke any rules or reinvented the genre. MC actually followed all the clichés and yet managed to come out so refreshing and stimulating against all odds, and that is why Marriage Contract is a must watch.

STORY
Marriage contract is your average, predictable and cliché kdrama. We get our over-used closed and shut-down, borderline rude and arrogant rich, chaebol male lead; the younger, naïve, kind-hearted and poor girl and we see their love story develop through a very foreseeable melo plot-story. However, even if you feel you can predict everything from the first episode, MC manages to pull you in with its incredible and unique feel of raw-ness.

The characters are ordinary, and yet they are so original. The male lead is overly rough and mean on the outside, but with such a marshmallow core that makes him completely loveable from the first moment; the female lead is your average girl in need, but she is a fighter and you will root for her and her wonderful personality to be happy. Characterization and character development are commendable and one of the main reasons i would recommend this.

The drama is packed with small, simple moments of everyday life that superficially are skippable, but they ultimately make the drama what it really is. Small moments, like hugging a friend, trimming your hair, talking to your kid, playing with pets; moments that are insignificant in dramas, but mean so much for a person in real life, because they express happiness and sadness; life’s core traits. THIS is what this show is, and this is where it is unique, this is where it is extraordinary and this is where it exceeds expectations and becomes an amazing show.

Basically, what exactly is Marriage Contract? MC Is a story about how family can completely destroy you as a person, destroy your life, destroy your dreams, destroy your hopes, destroy everything you love. It depicts perfectly the bittersweet/love-hate feelings someone can have towards their family, and how these problems can be confronted. Opening up to a special someone is the key to being happy. Letting go, forgiving yourself and others, and ultimately loving and sharing your life with someone else; and when you've found that someone, live in the moment, don't spend your time restlessly thinking about the future. Be happy, in the moment!

The background of the drama is the very dysfunctional family of the male lead who desperately tries to find an organ donor for his sick and troubled mother. This is where the female lead comes into the picture, hence the marriage contract. See? Super simple, super predictable almost enough for someone to skip/drop this. And yet…. the drama is exquisite, in many ways it reminded me of It’s Ok, That’s Love.

Lastly, I would like to talk to you about the chemistry here, because it is probably the best thing this drama has to offer. I think i can safely say that real chemistry between the leads is rare in kdramas. Some people can ship any pretty faced actors together, I can’t. I need sparks; I need them to prove to me that they are worth my tears, my time and my frustration! Lee Seo Jin and Uee not only had sizzling and magnificent chemistry, not only they looked phenomenal together, not only each of their moments was heart-wrenching and mind-blowing, but they re-invented the term 'on screen chemistry' for me since they managed to actually seem like a family.

What’s more, the most astonishing thing of them all, the kid actress Shin Rin Ah managed to develop such an amazing chemistry not only with Uee (mother-daughter relationship), but with Lee Seo Jin as well (father-daughter relationship). The three of them looked so unrealistically wonderful together they will destroy and revive your feelings over and over again. One of the best overall on-set chemistries I’ve ever seen.

This drama is arguably a masterpiece, not because of an innovative plot or anything like it, but because of its raw simplicity and flawless chemistry.

ACTING
I’ll be frank. I’m tired of people hating Uee’s acting. I am not completely familiar with her previous projects, I’ve watched bits and pieces of them, but she certainly gave the performance of her life here, and I pity people who couldn’t see that! She is an actress who is improving, and she should be praised for this. She puts effort in her acting, she cares! She was impeccable, exquisite and luscious in every way here, there wasn’t a single moment where I didn’t feel what she was feeling, amazing facial expressions, great body expressions, very emotional crying, really mature deliverance by Uee overall. People, who disagree, apparently need someone to hate, please hate yourselves and leave Uee alone!

As far as Lee Seo Jin is concerned, for one, he was so hot, manly and handsome I was taken by surprise. Secondly he managed pull off brilliantly, a pretty complicated character, who could have been easily hated. He delivered a great and sensuous performance; he made his character understandable from the very beginning - he apparently took the time to actually understand his character before taking the role. What I’d like to especially mention is his terrific deliverance on the emotion of happiness. His character was largely depressed, the worst kind of depression; the kind, that is not visible and seem ok on the surface. Happiness is a funny thing, everyone can imitate and say they are happy but which of us actually are? Lee Seo Jin send shivers down my spine, specific moments made, not only his character feel more raw and real, but also it enhanced the whole point of the show and helped the drama have more impact.

Lastly, I feel the need to congratulate the kid actress Shin Rih Na, she is deadly talented, best kid actor I’ve seen thus far. Her role here, wasn’t just to be cute, her role was essential for the drama to make sense and she was exquisite in it. She has a bright future in this industry. These 3 should act together in the future again!

RECOMMEND/REWATCH
This is a melo-romance. People who like melodramas, you’ll like it, it is not overly sentimental (although it does get increasingly depressing), people who like rom-coms, this might be too much for you, but since I know you love a good romance, this is recommended. This kind of chemistry should not be missed or ignored! I will definitely rewatch this at some point!

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Local Hero is an OK drama. It was hard getting through the first 5 episodes, but it got better after that. The story is interesting and for the most part well written. Beyond being a spy/suspense drama, the neighborhood togetherness and supporting cast stories are more enjoyable. It is weird for me to write that because normally I feel like a lot of characters and side stories are unnecessary in a drama. This time they ARE the story. The whole point is to protect the people and it was nice to get to know the people that are being protected both good and bad. I also liked the dynamics between all of the characters and the character development. It ended as I thought it would.

It was interesting seeing Park Shi Hoo in a drama after his big "scandal". I have always thought he was cute and a good actor. Nothing has changed. Lee Soo Hyuk was excellent as cute, conflicted but loyal Choi Chan Gyu. The other actors are good too.

Yoon Tae Young as Yoon Sang Min stole the show. I know he was a bad guy, but I was totally infatuated with him from beginning to end. He is pretty much the only character that I cared about. I think it was worth watching this drama for him alone.

The music is good in this also.

I won't rewatch this.

If you enjoy community and action dramas, then I think you would enjoy this.

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Ok so let me be frank, I really liked Flowers for Algernon, so don't look down on this review only because I'm giving it a 6.5. Please let me develop first. My 6 equals a "fine", an "ok", something that goes beyond mediocrity, but that didn't manage to make use of the full potential and that partly managed to ruin my experience with it. However, Flowers for Algernon made me get really emotional despite everything, so i thought it deserves that + 0.5. I usually don't go out of my way to explain my rating this way, but in this case I think it was necessary. With this out of the way....

Story - 7 (Good)

I must be honest, this is actually my first J-drama and, while I know that Flowers for Algernon was adapted after an American novel with the same title, I think that Japan managed to give it a real emotional touch with how it managed to portray it. At first I was going to say that it was rushed, but then I looked back at it and it really isn't. The original novel has only more or less 300 pages, there was nothing else to say besides the main point of it: the life vision of a person affected by phenylketonuria,( or in common terms, a literally "stupid" person), as well as the people around him and questioning what would happen if this person suddenly became intelligent. What is the barrier between a stupid, a normal and a genius? Can these people get along with eachother or there will always be something that stops these people from caring for eachother and others that are different from them? I don't know how common this theme is in Japanese fiction (animes have a lack of these types of themes in general from my experience, I don't know about books or dramas), but I found it really refreshing from a general point of view; it's not something I usually encounter often in other mediums either.

I must start this with mentioning that in our lives, we tend to always be pushed to strive "normality". Society demands it. Most of us don't have a particularly high or low IQ, so sometimes what's common is accepted as "how things should be". But when you think of a person that is put in the position to not even be able to strive for that "normality" that connects most of us, then he or she is going to be treated as an outcast. No matter how one tries to change things, it has always been like that. Most people have a hard time to deal with people that are "different".: some think they're a bother, others don't know how to act, others just simply don't care. Flowers for Algernon is exactly about that.

However, while I can praise how it dealt with the topic on one side, some other times I don't think it did very well. While I understand that it tried to say that "being stupid" should be generally accepted (idealistically) and it's not a shame to have this problem, some other times it seemed almost selfish to say that. Maybe the point was exactly that: to leave that aftertaste, but it's a still difficult to deal with this topic and I don't expect it to manage to do it all perfectly. There will always be other stuff that you can say, other stuff that just don't always come right even if you never had any intention to make it sound bad. It's one of those touchy topics. So, I'm going to put up a disclaimer as well and mention that whatever I say in this review is not supposed to be discriminatory or offending or taken in any way other than what it is. Ok? Great! Moving on...

My main issue comes with the "side-stories" of this drama. I don't know if it's the thing of the actual novel too (someday I will read it and maybe come back here), but in the drama they looked almost like they tried to shove romance down my throat when it wasn't even remotely needed: Yanagawa and Mai were like that comic relief couple that were just there to talk about stuff and when it all ended, they weren't needed anymore. Hiyama and Rio were even worst with Hiyama getting this over the top, fast attachment to Rio after only seeing her 3 times in his life (believe me, being near a person in her condition is something difficult even for people that have been with that person for a lifetime. You can't tell me that a crush solves all that, unless Hiyama had this "hero" syndrome and felt in debt to mourn her when nobody else did). For me? They were both plot conveniences. Because they needed to do something for themselves, only for drama to be able to say "see? they have feelings! Now feel bad for them!".

The main couple quite annoyed me as well. I don't care that Sakuto is a really handsome guy, I would never be able to see him as a man, in a sexual way, after having to deal with him when he was "stupid". And if that sounds discriminatory, again, I'm not trying to be. I sometimes WORK with these people too and from my experience, i would never be able to look that way at a person that I'm taking care of as a mother and as a teacher. Or if I could, then definitely not as fast as it happened in this case. So again, though subjective, I felt like this romance was needed only as plot convenience for "feel bad for me even more!". Sure, it worked, it was really sad, but not as sad as it could have been if they kept the "motherly" feeling of the relationship only. But it was still nice how it tried to say that love and kindness doesn't always solve everything, despite being Sakuto's main philosophy. Life is just not that easy and it can't turn well for everybody.

Characters - 6 (Fine)

Besides Sakuto, Sakuto's mom and Hachisuka, I can't really praise anybody else. From this point of view, the drama was lacking. Maybe I can't even praise Sakuto till the end, but Sakuto is simply "Sakuto". There was nothing else to say.

Who impressed me, however, was Hachisuka. He is an ambitious man that started off by treating everybody as his tools towards success. A genius that arrogantly thought was above everybody else because of his intellect. But ultimately, there's no barrier between a genius and a stupid, not if you let it be one. Hachisuka realized that sometimes love is enough, letting go and giving up is sometimes needed and expected. It's no shame to give up, never too late to stop what you realized as wrong. His last scene, with the team accepting everything and going back to him despite him thinking he had enough, was simply very well executed and emotional.

As for the others, welp, I personally had a soft spot for Yanagawa, but not anybody else. Hiyama and Rio? Didn't really care, though I did like Hiyama in the beginning. I just thought he didn't grow as a person as well as he could have and it all revolved around Rio's condition way too much. Mai? Who even is Mai? Haruka? Eeh, I guess? Haruka was selfish till the end to me. Can I blame her? Not really. In her own way she was also one of the characters that maybe grew up the most, but just fails to impress. She doesn't have a breakthrough, she just goes with the flow, stubbornly holding to her own believes, sometimes selfish, sometimes rightful; it might be subjective from me that in the end i was kind of "meh" about her.

But going back to Yanagawa? I might have fallen for Kubota's charms here, but he seemed to be a more roundabout character than most, even if it doesn't come out as that. We didn't really have a solid background besides a mention, he didn't have a very important role and sometimes he doesn't even appear a lot, but everytime he does, I thought that it mattered. I felt like he was that normal person we needed to relate to and that he was useful in order to set the bar to what's "normal" between all those "differences". Let me explain. If Algernon-Sakuto represented the "genius" and Sakuto represented the "stupid", then Yanagawa represented the "average". Yanagawa was always that model of "normality" that Sakuto always yearned for, but both Sakuto and Algernon-Sakuto were never able to feel that "normality". Also, while Yanagawa used to use Sakuto, maybe not always with good intentions, once he was faced with the reality of it, he couldn't just pretend the issue doesn't exist, though he was painfully aware of his inability to do anything about it, because he was an "average person". He finally was able to feel what Sakuto felt for all his life: incompetence, not being able to do anything even when you desperately want to.

And then, I must speak of Algernon. Some of you might not even consider him a character, but this mouse just played with my feelings way too much. Maybe because he's just an animal, maybe because it was just portrayed in a very bittersweet way, but he was the character that I cherished the most. Like Sakuto, i thought Algernon was not just a mouse. He was a main character and shouldn't be ignored or forgotten.

Acting/Cast - 7 (Good)

I was initially almost looking down on it because I thought Japanese acting was kind of over the top for me, but in this drama it wasn't. it really wasn't.

I have some minor issues with Yamapi's acting as Sakuto, but I can't really blame him. it was a tough role and he didn't really fail, which is still commendable. He wasn't afraid to look funny or like an idiot and this is everything it was about, so i still praise him. Then, yes, Kubota is a very charming actor. He might not be the best, nor the most handsome, but he has that "something" that impressed me.

Music - 4,5 (Bad to Average)

Repetitive. The main song was pretty, sure, but everything was overall repetitive and very limited.

Overall - 6.5 (Fine to Good)

I suffer for the wasted potential when it comes to the execution of it. Story-wise, it did everything that it could do (if we don't count the side romances), but I can't not penalize the feeling of dread that I felt through episodes 6 to 8. It was almost painful to go through it and when it was all over, I didn't feel accomplished. Like "Yeah, this was one great story. One great drama that I'll always remember,". Nope. I just couldn't. I know that I'm not going to forget it because of the themes and it because it's my first J-drama, but it's also true that it didn't really leave me too emotionally attached. And that counts in the long run. Am I being too severe with it seeing everything that I have wrote? Probably. But this is also why I wanted to explain my rating; it was very subjective in the end. I wanted something more and I didn't get it and that reflected onto it. But don't think of it as a bad rating or a bad drama, on the contrary, it was so good, that it just couldn't help but not being able to match up to everything happening around it.
Do I recommend it? Definitely. There are not "but"s and "if"s. Just watch and see for yourself, then judge for yourself and maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to see the world with different eyes.

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This show is love. This show is life. This show is everything.
The first 2 episodes were like meh i wont be too excited for this drama next week. I might even skip it. Who the hell is that ahjussi and Uee is too young for him thats just a mood ruiner. And its like the drama told me *hold up son, we are the real deal* and it hit me from episode 3 to 16. The drama started killing people with its perfection, cute and beautiful moments that arent forced ( its not cheesy its bittersweet ) .
I see people talk about chemistry between acting couples. Here it wasnt chemistry it was lioe rocket science. Beauty overload and the mood of the show was just like old kdramas with the musoc and clothing and just how they value the family and love and emotions.
Best drama i finished this year. ( yes i like it more than the epic ones )
This will be my first review on this site and probably the last because my feels are all over the place.
"Promise that you'll meet me in paradise inevitably
No matter what, I'll keep your love forever with me"

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" It's competition not sympathy. Nor is it modesty. Competitions rely on abilities. Using all of your sweat and desperation, taking out all of your efforts, trying to the best of your abilities to get the champion cup. That's the spirit of competition."- Ruo Bai I loved this drama. Yes I did like it and no I didn't think I would. I love sport so much, I love sport theme and genre in dramas and this one is one of the best in that genre. It was so refreshing, so relaxing, it got me all energetic, persistent, happy and in love. It may seem a bit draggy in first 10 episodes but once the whole story is there it really gets cool. It wasn't some mind blowing drama nor it wasn't some masterpiece but it was clever enough. Why I liked it this much I have more than one reason. First of all, character development is great, I really like the way they made characters grow, become mature and how they changed for the better. I loved many sentences in this drama, I think the script is pretty decent for this kind of drama, comedyromsport drama and two leads are cute and amazing. Qi Bai Cao is brave, cool, impulsive, loyal person who doesn't give up even if she had to die, she fights 100% to become the best, she trusts in her people and her teacher no matter what anyone else says, she is hardworking girl who got there on top with her own abilities, sweat and efforts even if she wasn't the most talented one she believed in hard work and withstanding till the end. Ruo Bai is..well he became my favourite male character from modern dramas (after Mahoro's Gyoten and IWGP's Takashi). Ruo Bai is selfless, intelligent, cold guy who is an ordinary guy without money or prestige or rich family to support him and give him everything. He through hard work got there where he was and through his beliefs he succeeded. I fell in love with him cause of his mind, cause of his selfless deeds, cause for him actions are important, not words, cause he did so many thing for the people he cared about without even telling them what he did. It's when his friend described him "He will always talk less but do more", that was it. In one sentence he actually said everything I thought about him,and that's why he became my dearest guy. The guy has it all. ;) He didn't need any recognition for what he did. Cause it's simply his deepest honest heart. Admirable for sure. I love how slowly feelings are developing by each episode, how story is so realistic and ordinary, I like both of them, they are hard working people who have faith, determination, will and courage to live, fight and strive for the best with their pure, honest and loyal hearts. And their chemistry is so good, I'm so sad they won't be in second season, it won't be the same. :( Side characters are also funny, my cutie pie Wu Leo aka Fei Liu, he is so cool in here and made me laugh, smile and happy all the time. :P He added much more comedy and some awesome bromance scenes too, his relationship with Ruo Bai is one of a kind. There are others who didn't grab my attention, the other two main guys weren't that interesting but they weren't boring to death either. Music was fine, nothing too catchy and some parts did annoy me but considering 32 episodes it was totally bearable. Lots of good feelings, competition spirit, cool moments, great friendships and support, good chemistry and gorgeous beyond words Yang Yang were enough for me to enjoy in this drama and become a fan of two leads.

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Okay, so I wrote an article based on The Village: Achiara's Secret just under six months ago, and I'm slightly ashamed to say that I have only just finished it because I put this drama on-hold after watching eight episodes. Honestly, the only reasons I watched it was because of Yook Sungjae and the fact this drama was horror based. Not many good dramas have been themed around horror (excluding The Master's Sun) and, unfortunately, this drama didn't do any better.

As with a lot of dramas I watch, the series had a good concept to it. It seemed quite original and wasn't afraid to try some risks (for example, jumping almost immediately in with the scares and tension). But it was poorly executed. The Village: Achiara's Secret tried too hard to be scary that it couldn't give the viewers a proper thrill. But that wasn't just it. There were also a lot of unnecessary scenes, some of the supporting characters had way more screen time than the actual main cast, there was barely any subtlety when needed, and finally, I absolutely loathe it when dramas use issues with transphobia and homophobia. However, I do applaud the writers for creating a good pacing for the events in the series, and for making the final three episodes really interesting. Everything else though was pretty boring. Also, I'm not sure whether I liked this or not, but the family tree based around Kim Hye Jin is seriously messed up.

At least the directors did something well done for this drama and that was picking the cast. Of course any drama that picks Yook Sungjae to be part of the main cast is bound to have a good choice of acting, even though my oppa couldn't exactly help save this drama (like Hyun Bin with Hyde, Jekyll, Me). Sungjae oppa was flawless in his acting, and he deserved to win the New Star Award from this series. Anyway, moving on. I'm not sure how I felt about Moon Geun Young's acting. At times, her character felt genuine and quite realistic, but at other times, her acting was stiff and not too great to watch. She's not the worst actress I've seen but far from the best. After watching The Village: Achiara's Secret, I take away any criticism I had for Shin Eun Gyeong because her acting went so perfectly with her character, I'm amazed at how immersed she was in acting - this also applies to Jang Hee Jin. Finally, Ohn Joo Wan. He could have done a lot better, but he did good with his character.

Music probably had the worst execution I've ever seen in watching anything. Okay, I'll admit that it was good for a few scenes (especially the cliffhanger endings to each episode), but besides that, it was all over the place. There would be extremely dramatic music in scenes where they are only talking about what happened to Hye Jin, it was so poorly done.

The only reason I would watch this again is if I was doing a Yook Sungjae binge watch of all his dramas, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Overall, probably the worst horror themed media I've ever watched. The story needed a LOT of work, the music director needs to get his act together and some acting choices may need to improve. I would only recommend for the actors I praised.

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This show hit all the spots. It was an extremely good and unusual story with relatable characters and situations. It felt like the characters were real life people experiencing these things that do happen in real life. The acting was excellent as well, but our leads and every body else. There was common sense in this show displayed by the writers, the characters, the actors, the production team - everyone associated with the show. That is rare in kdrama world, which makes this extra special. There's also an overload of cuteness which I adored. 10 for everything. Would give it 100 if I could.

First, the romance may sound typical between a Special Forces Army guy and a Doctor (every other romance novel, right?) but in the framework of an Asian drama, it's not. Military heroes are not a thing in Korea that's why Yoo Shi Jin was a ground breaking hero. The romance as well wasn't one where the couple spent time longing for each other and doing nothing about it. They were both always straightforward about their feelings, talked to each other about it, and acted on their feelings like two mature people who knew what they wanted. That's rare in a kdrama. When you get shows like that, it's golden. They spent time with each other, thought of each other, behaved like real people starting a real relationship in the real world. 10 stars.

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Some people didn't like Dr. Kang Mo Yeon's character because she was a little hesitant. At first I thought she was brash and rude, but I warmed up to her the first time she smiled at our military man. I loved her for taking the time to think the repercussions of the relationship through and not let her feelings lead her blindly. That's what a normal woman in real life would do and that makes her relate-able. She had to decide absolutely if she's strong enough to deal with a military man and his secretes and tragedies if it ever happens. She had to make sure she would't end up resenting him and his job. No one can fault her for taking the time to figure it out, no matter how handsome and sweet he is or that the audience wanted him to have everything he wanted. 2 people make a relationship and both have to want to make it work.
===SPOILER PARAGRAPH===

The villain... omg, he was hot. But I hated him. He represented a real, present evil in our world. He's not just makjang or there for the story to have a story. He exists in reality and it's so much worse than this drama could portray. I liked that they got rid of him fast and the rest of the drama was fan service. He was a heavy villain... like looking into the mirror of the world.

To fans who complained about fan-service.... there are millions of people who loved the fan service. We watch dramas for fan service. If they didn't cater to what their fans wanted, why watch dramas? Dramas do excellently money-wise when there's plenty of fan service. The last 4 episodes was so much fan service that I squealed every few minutes lol. Plus I watched the reruns on KBSWorld. Couldn't resist. It was so sweet. Didn't mind the product placement in the show either because it's a show I'm getting to watch free of charge, but somebody had to pay for it. It had great cinematic quality and production, don't be cheap and complain when investors are advertising their products. They paid for you to see this show, you didn't. Stop complaining.

The secondary couple was extra sweet as well. I adored them. I loved the bromance, and the girl-bonding. Loved everything about the whole show. I even loved the mean old apa. This was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to watch.

Now... the show is full of English, more than in any Korean drama ever. But the English was very good. I had no problems understanding anything and it was music to my ears lol. If you want to complain... remember... they probably speak English better than you speak Korean.

And this show was cheesy. I love cheese. The action was cool and excellently executed, so it was nice to see our badass hero turn into a complete sweet pincushion with the cheesy lines. Some of it was too much cheese, and some had me going... "Ew, did you really need to say that? And in that manner?" ... because sometimes the cheese was delivered with an over dramatic atmosphere. Overall though, 10 for the cheese.

The medical aspect of the show was intriguing as well. Loved to watch that. It was like a mellow dash of Grey's Anatomy, watching a slice of personal and professional lived of doctors. There was just enough.

If you're not an avid romance fan, this drama may seem silly to you. It's barely got any military or war stuff. The military aspect is that the characters are in the military and work around a military aspect. There were a few 'missions' but nothing with gritty meat to catch die hard action fans. This was primarily cheesy romance with a side of military, medical, action.

Kim Eun-sook and Kim Won-seok, please, write another like Descendants of the Sun.

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Story :
This drama is totally about love life of a soldier and doctor who fall in love at first sight. All the dangerous things that they'll go through together and how they love story will end up that's what this drama told about. I rate it at 9 because the writer wrote the story way too good. It's light story, entertaining. Well that's the reason we watch drama rite? To be entertained :) This drama includes many cheesy lines which told in different way. One of my fave is &quot;Should I apologize or confess my love?&quot;. I rate it at 9 because I read article about the reason why Kim Eun Sook and Kim Won Seok decide to not put triangle love inside it. I thought their decision was right. I'm totally bored with classic love story k-drama which is the main character will hate each other first and then they'll fall in love, or chaebol love story with triangle love. DOTS offers you something different and fresh. You'll regret if you missed it. (everytime you end one episode you'll be curious about what happens next, the production team edited the preview in smart way. so when you already start you'll never stop haha :p)


Cast :
- SJK : This is the first time I watch his drama and he totally steal my heart. He worked so hard to play YSJ. I mean he struggles on every single action scenes without stuntman. Even he got injured a month before last shoot and tried to started again 2 weeks later. His decision to pick this drama as his first project after out from military was right. Definitely right. He's good at acting. I'm waiting for his next project.
- SHK : I admire her acting quality. She brings out the emotional side of KMY way too good. I even can cry when tears came out from her eyes. She's definitely not just beautiful but also good in acting. I'm also waiting for her next project.
- JG : I never knew him. I mean he never showed up in drama that I watch. I thought he hasn't married yet hahaha He also will be a shining star this year. He did a good job to play SDY :)
- KJW : Yoo Racheeeeel! I ever watch her acting in Heirs. But I don't like her character and heirs's plot (sorry kim eun sook). But KJW as YMJ? She's perfectly got it. She even cut her hair to become a woman soldier. I'm waiting her new drama with Seo In Guk :)
For conclusion the cast of DOTS is the best cast that a drama could have. I have no hesitate to give it 10 out of 10.

OST :
I watch many drama before DOTS. But having all of the OST on my playlist and repeat it in every my spare time? Only DOTS's OST can do it. This drama also has best ost I ever hear. All of it was easy listening and perfect. My fave is K.Will Talk Love and Chen,Punch with Everytime.

Rewatch Value :
Even when the drama hasn't finished yet I watch last episode while waiting the next one. So it's definitely 9 out of 10 to rewatch.

Overall this drama was good for you who wants to be entertained by light story. Who needs cheesy things but not the cheap one. Who needs jokes to release your stressful feeling. Who wants to see how SJK acts as cool and cute soldier :)

HAPPY WATCHING!

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