WhiteLilly
Germany
And I really loved this drama. I wonder what person wouldn't appreciate such a sad but beautiful story, especially knowing, that it is based on a real person. I didn't cry at all (maybe because of my experience), but I was really moved, especially at the end of each episode where we are shown pictures of the real Aya and excerpts from her diary - these sentences are so real, so important, so dramatic, so beautiful - it really is, what you feel and think when you are in such a situation, and thus Aya helped even me just by watching this.
About the story: Well, you know she will get sick, it will get worse and eventully she will die. So what is there to gain from this story? First, the setting: You have a quite realistic take on how the patient and her family and friends react. The actors did a great job here. Nothing was over the top (proving that J-drama can be "normal", too). The story progresses steadily and surprisingly with a good pace, that does never bore you, nor does it dive into huge melodrama. Aya's courage and her relationships carry this beautifully.
And about the love story: Other than the real Aya, drama-Aya was so fortunate to have this amazing class-mate, who knows what loyalty is. The male lead was my favourite actor, I just loved his performance.
Of course, drama Aya was depicted in a more collected and beautiful way than it happened in real life. When this desease progresses, your face becomes distorted, too and nothing is as "sleeping beauty" like as it was shown here at the end. However, it is okay, since this is a blurred improved version of sickness, that protects viewers.
What can I say at the end? I am glad I watched this. Throughout this drama I will remeber the real Aya and when I think about my own sickness, I will remember her couragious way of living.
Thank you, Aya.
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HOWEVER... in some other aspects this drama is insanely unrealistic. And I do not mean the overall story, which is great - the whole plot of revenge and everything. I mean many of the individual plots and scenes. Courtroom, police work, order of plans and many more border on fairytail. They are just so far off of normal procedure and what would be realistically done, that its impossible to overlook.
Then, the female lead, although well acted, is one of the weakest, unprolifically written female characters I have ever seen. They could not have made her more naive, believing in good, crying here and there, being always forigiving, and a tag-a-long. Gosh.
The finale felt very cheezy and at the same time oddly dissatisfying.
All in all I cannot give it a higher ranking. It's a good drama, but not outstanding, although I really appreciated the few plottwists.
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And it is really good in its own way, because it depicts things waaaaaaayyyy more realistic than N.C. which was as much over the top as Japanese dramas get.
Plot: A very talented pianist wants to be a conductor and leave for Europe, but he can't because of a childhood trauma. He meets his neighbour, who's a pianist at this school and the exact opposit of him - childish, comical, messy, non-ambitious - and now she's following him like a puppy. There are several characters that come together in an unusual orchestra which was build by the visiting and widely known and excentric maestro Stresemann, who shakes everything up a bit. We see how characters strife for their goals and how even the childish girl has something hidden...
The Japanese version is a living manga, you could say, and is foremost freakily funny.
The Korean version somehow manages to be just as entertaining (for me) without leaving the realm of realistic settings and possibilities. Tomorrow's C. is also longer, because it added some plotlines, that weren't in the original version: The love rival, who's a nice guy and has a secret; some drama in the mangament and storyboard section (you know, the evil chaebol-mom is represented here); some minor events like the expedition to the swimming-pool. And let's face it - T.C. just serves a love story that can be taken seriously at some point :)
While the female lead character remains almost exactly as crazy as her Japanese counterpart, the rest are the water-downed versions, which is NOT a bad thing. As funny as they were in the original, I appreciated a more realistic take on them, as well. From hairstyle to behaviour, I really like this version. Especially Rak, the violinst, is a superb supporting role. The only let-down was the actor who played Stresemann. If you compare Japanese and Korean Stresemanns, they are like black and white. And this wouldn't be bad, if the Korean one was at least good. But seriously - this man NEVER changes his expression, it is SO not fitting the character! But okay, he's a supporting role and has not much screen-time.
I don't get the low score, because this drama really deserves at least an 8.0 and you should try it definitely when you want to see sth endearing and funny.
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I was promised something else here... but it was practically the same good old memory loss, just that it took over 20 (!!) episodes to solve it (and we all know that Mr. Memoryloss gets always back together with his first lover, don't we). (Btw. this drama is 34 episodes long, I don't know why MDL shows just 21...)
So you have the original rich but unhappy douchebag (and wow, this one's as douchebaggy as it gets for the first two episodes) and the unlucky, but beautiful and good-hearted female protagonist. From here everything develos exactly as you are used to: The rich, awful tiger-mom, the ever-unlucky second-lead-guy etc. However, Until about episode 10 (don't remember the exact number) the whole plot is practically resolved. The douche turns into a protective prince, the girl gets away from her awful family, they love each other and... then cancer hits. Duh. From then the get-the-memory-back-whilst-loving-the-wrong-woman continues for over 20 episodes. Yeah. Not a fan of that.
Let me narrow it down:
What I liked:
The drama touches three difficult issues: 1) Abuse of women, even by their family members and 2) women, who raise children by themselves - always a touchy subject in Asia and 3) sicknesses like Diabetes. That's some serious stuff right there.
This drama showed one of the most touching and maybe the most BELIEVABLE LOVESCENE I have EVER seen in dramaland. It was cliché, in the shadow of the sickness, with rain and tears... but holly molly - the actors actually acted like real lovers! Unlike other dramas, especially Japanese and Korean, where I cringe everytime when the couple FINALLY kiss in what is supposed to be a passionate scene, solving it all... but you can just tell how awkward the actor/actress feel, their bodies often even not touching whilst kissing, totally stiff... HERE you actually believe it. The kisses are natural, the touches, too. And the first night is not just excluded from the whole plot, like - Sex, no, no, we Asians don't do that (in dramas). So Kudos for maybe the best and most endearing love-scene you will encounter in Asian dramas. (Of course, I haven't seen all, so there maybe better out there)
What I did not like:
Although the emotional settings are nice and believable, which makes it a good drama, the outer settings are... bordering on fairy-tale. Like, it's as if police doesn't exist in Taiwan, because obviously, no one ever called the police: Kidnapping, gangsters, attempted rape, violence, you name it. Everything is tried to be sorted out by the characters themselves... which often leads to unbelievable situations (The courtroom in the beginning, seriously? You got attempted rape and more on the table and they solve it at a SCHOOL court setting??? What the...) This made me sometimes feel like watching a drama for teens, because the reality level was just too low.
Then there is the female protagonist. Her actions post memory loss are often very... frustrating. Not unsimilar to the girl from The Heirs, the character here decides often to just do nothing or be silent or not search help - just not to do what most other people would do at given situation. They explain it with her selfless behaviour, but it's to a degree that can be called medical - lol.
And then there is the last 5 episodes... The way the memory loss problem was solved was really quite exhausting to call the least. I don't want to spoil it, thus I can say not much about it, but the last episodes just dragged and the ultimate conclusion was relatively flat. There is OF COURSE a happy ending, as every memory loss plot requires, but how the couple get back together and finally make up just felt hastened in the last episode and well... not as important anymore.
All in all it was a good drama, certainly worth watching, and I am sure I will revisit at least until the infamous lovescene :) But it could have been shorter by about 10 episodes, if you ask me.
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Arang and the Magistrate
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Here are the points that I liked:
1) It didn't need several episodes to introduce you to the characters or the plot. I appreciated this a lot since I find struggling through the first episodes always very hard until you can get really into it.
2) The ghost wasn't the usual "Rescue-me-princess".
3) The Magistrate is somewhat a dickhead, but his beginnings and development seem believable unlike in many other dramas
4) The change of their surroundings was great, too, and fitted good into the overall plot
5) I actually did like the background story that tied all together and how the Gods put their tactics into it
6) I liked the ending, it was dramatic, neat and satisfying
This drama is not a huge masterpiece, but it is well done altogether and was good entertainment.
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It was great. You feel with the main characters, you learn new things about
them during the episodes and you want them to be happy.
This is one of the shows where you sit in front of the screen and scream mentally
"Please, let it be a happy ending, please..."
It will leave you satisfied and content.
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THIS DRAMA IS SO SWEET! (~^-^~)
No joking. This is a perfect drama to make you laugh.
AND it will give you some good vibes about yourself and add some boost to your determinations
for... whatever (e.g. doing sports).
Personally, I wasn't interested in the plot with her boss/old friend/the-bitch-of-the-series at all,
so I just focused on the good stuff.
Love the crew around Young Ho, his two pals and his "butler" (lol).
And now I know - I totally need a "You bastard", too!
Ahhhh, this was so cute and entertaining... I feel content like after eating a sweet cupcake
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There is a great plot idea and you can see the skeleton of a great drama, but it just falls
short of even average standards.
What is great: The friendhip and rivalry between the two main male characters.
The two main female characters can kick butts and are cool/dorky and absolutely admirable/adorable.
The mysterious setting of a hidden school... this by itself could have been fascinating for a longer-run drama.
And the first episode wasn't bad at all, even the directing was as good as you are used to by other dramas. But then....
What went wrong:
From episode 2 onwards the directing, cut, cinematography and script went down the drain and hit the level of 90s kids' series.... It is such a shame. Especially the footage inside the school is almost on amateur level. Really, really weird. The acting of the main cast was good, with the exception of the guy playing Wang Chi Ang - this was maybe the worst performance of a main cast I have EVER seen in drama. Some of the supporting actors and actresses playing the other pupils weren't great either, but you can overlook that. Except: For some reason (budget?) this school consists of about 14 pupils altogether, and adds to the weirdness of the whole setting.
Why I have watched it till the end? Mainly because of the three good main characters, especially Shi Woo and Seon Duk, there were some great shots and facial expressions going. This is the reason this drama does not get a 5, but a 6,5.
Should you watch it? Give it a try. It is worth breathing the idea and seeing the three original characters of Shi Woo, Seon Duk and Sun Ah. But if you are looking for a masterpiece, you should skip this one.
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There are a few minor flaws, but they are at a minimum. And I would have preferred a slightly different ending, a warmer one (unless they plan a second season).
I think the best thing about this drama was how it makes you change your feelings towards some characters and reflect on your perspective of good/evil and who is a victim and who isn't.
Altogether I would have given it an 8 of 10, but because it kept me glued to the screen it got a 9.
It's worth watching, that's for sure
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This drama set out to be goofy and funny and crazy and just the literal translation screen-for-screen of a manga. And it achieved this goal.
Sure, there are many scenes where I couldn't decide whether to laugh or facepalm myself, but it was entertaining either way. And it took the crazy as far as J-drama go. I really liked it because it was a very nice funny and romantic snack in-between - and not pretending to be taken seriously.
The acting is insane if you consider the crazy scenes they had to act... The male lead is hot, no denying that, and he seriously manages to keep a straight face throughout all the lunatic expressions of the female lead.
Take episode 6, when the whole bunch went to this crazy SM-meets-maid-cafe restaurant. You could actually see every single shot taken from a manga drawing. It was HILARIOUS.
I will rewatch it, because I need some stills for the pure enjoyment of the faces. XD
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And I have to say - it was beautiful.
No Japanese goofyness, no exaggerated clichés that are played out. Just a story about friendship, love, emotions, suffering and happiness.
Sure, it is not a 100% real-life depiction, and of course the timidness of the main female character is difficult to understand for us Westerners, but this doesn't hinder us to feel the amazing sincere vibe that is portrayed here.
This really does not require any more elaborated words or descriptions - it is a movie that is an enrichment. Just go and watch it and feel the warmth of it in your heart.
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It is not only a great sports-drama, but overall very good.
It is a serious drama unlike the usual goofy J-drama-style, but never tragic or anything like that.
It portrays even some sites of women that are not cliché.
The acting is great, too, and this one scene... man oh man, the guy even forgot to take off his shoes! :D
(not gonna spoil it)
The OST is awesome (and I am not a huge fan of J-Pop and stuff like that).
If I had any critique, it would be the unrealistic setting of the main characters at the end (which happens often in dramas, like seriously - as if they didn't have mobiles and skype and whatever...).
The ending is a good one, though, so no worries about being unsatisfied.
Just go for it! I think I will rewatch it now, too :)
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It begins as the most GOOFY K-drama I have ever seen, totally over the top with modern
vibe and music and awful, cheap wigs. You learn to appreciate it all. Some moments are so
ridiculous and funny, that you will laugh out loud.
But THEN.... the mood of the drama shifts and it becomes something totally different, very
serious and political and tragic. I would have so muched wished for the good vibe to stay
or return at least in the end.
Although I did not appreciate the seriousness and tragedy of the last episodes, I still have
to say it is a very good drama, that will make you laugh and maybe cry.
The main character Gil Dong changes exactly at the same rate as the mood shifts, from a funny
dochebag he becomes this street-hero that fights for his dreams, and it is a transition that was
very radical and yet belivable.
The main female role has a bit too much "I am dumb" going on for my liking, but she was portrayed
very well and remains loveable...
Aaaiiishh... still cannot get over the ending, though... If you want something funny and uplifting, watch
the first 10-15 episodes and then leave it at that, be warned.
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Although there is a serious background story going, it never becomes tragic.
There are many moments, that are funny and the episodes are enjoyable and addicting without
ever being ridiculous. The heroine has two admirers and you can choose whom you root for, although
in the end she chooses just one.
All in all this drama was pure joy and the ending was perhaps the most satysfying in a historical setting ever, although slightly unrealistic.
So go watch it, it is lots of fun!
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Really, it is entertaining, but the story... And the low level of police work is so obvious that it almost hits kids' series level. Fortunately, the characters develope quickly after the first 4 episodes and some actors (like the Team Leader) are just awesome.
It is a very sympathetic drama "for in between".
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