Anura
Thrilling and Gripping
This is replacing my old favourite crime drama Signal, that's saying a lot. (Also like Signal it's romance sits somewhere between 0-2%.) It's the most thrilling, suspenseful drama I've ever watched. Every episode ended in a plot twist I didn't see coming. I was on the edge of my seat the entire 3 days I spent watching it. I couldn't turn my eyes away for a second or I'd miss something and would have to rewind.It was so well written and directed, every moment was used to drive the drama forward, towards the end though it was going a bit too fast for me to keep up. I would've liked a bit more explanation in the last quarter of the drama, I couldn't tell if I missed those quick segways or it was left out but I'll accept its flaw, whichever one it was. Regardless I would've liked some sort of throwback to the initial slow investigative period in the last quarter. My brain was barely keeping up at this point with all the plot twists and character introductions. I do think you have to take this drama with a grain of salt, it's about a psychic detective anyway so it's not like it was ever truly grounded in reality. But I question the 'how' of some of minor aspects of the plot.
Generally I struggle a lot if there's too many characters, from the giant list of teammates to the giant list of bad guys, but lots of side characters stood out and managed to make their own lasting impression which is hard to achieve, especially in a drama with such a big cast. Even not individual characters but the wider pack (eg the mass of minor policemen) made strong impressions. I hadn't thought of that as a possibility before now. I wish it was longer just so I could enjoy more interactive parts between the characters. I loved the twists of the many love-hate relationships and how much relational growth there was.
Dong Baek is a character I will never forget, his inner strength was amazing and inspiring. I love that instead of the usual fairly emotionless male character we got one that was so full of emotions he didn't even know how to hold back. From bursting into tears at the happiness of a fan letter, to empathising with all sorts of victims. Although he seemed thoughtless and highly emotional, he knew how to act when it counted.
Yoo Seung-ho is of course brilliant and while I've never been a fan of Lee Se-young, I'm loving her in this serious role rather than the comic ones I've seen.
It was brilliant and amazing. I would recommend it to anyone who can handle a thriller. My only warnings are that it's fairly dark in it's topics and to repeat, it basically has no romance, nothing on screen anyway. I can always dream.
Quote:
"Being able to remain as yourself is what proves how strong you really are" - Dong Baek
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Beautiful, wintry slice-of life
I love slice of life and I'm so happy it's making it's way into the drama world. On one hand we've got more big production dramas like The King: Eternal Monarch and on the other hand we've got Something in the Rain and this drama right here.Wiki's description of slice of life is a 'narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character's life is presented, often lacking plot development, conflict and exposition'. That description makes it sound boring and it's true that if done poorly it is boring but when done well, and this drama has done very well, it delivers the emotional highs and lows that an 'everyday' person experiences.
This drama sets up that emotional experience from the start - in the title 'I'll go to you when the weather in nice'. What do you feel when you hear that? For more context how do you feel when looking at the poster of a snowy day with 2 people standing together staring out at the snow with their backs against a warmly lit building. Can you imagine those days where it's freezing but the snow is beautiful and relaxing, holding a cup of hot chocolate and staring out at the snow drifting, falling? If not snow, how about a rainy day? At your back is a warm heater that is safe and cosy and by your side is your best friend, your partner, who is all you need in dreary times, your comfort and your shelter.
The characters were great and there were all these little nuances that were needed to truly bring these characters to life. The cast delivered more than I ever could have expected. I've always known Seo Kang-joon to be amazing but Park Min-young was a surprise, she may be a veteran and Healer may be my favourite drama but I'd not have expected to see her being able to pull off the despondent, quiet Mok Hae-won. Her characters have always had more spunk.
I loved Kim Hwan-hee as Im Hwi, her character was the light of the drama as much as Im Hwi was for her family. Lee Jae-wook came out of nowhere last year and he is killing it. I went from watching Extraordinary You to this and did a double take at how different he was.
It was amazing how I was feeling those cold snowy days where you feel so alone and wonder what am I doing here, I have no where to go. But I was also feeling those warm moments of discovery and joy especially in the scenes where they would all gather next to a fire in the middle of a cold snowy night and chat and laugh while eating hot snacks and drinks. I travelled with Mok Hae-won through this journey and it was wonderful.
The music is as beautiful, soft, sweet and comforting as the drama is. Unlike other dramas they might use loud music for a dramatic moment, this one does the opposite and cuts off that music to descend into silence. Stillness. Like the tree that's lost all it's leaves and is silent, barely swaying in the wind.
This drama is all about the little joys in life, what do we really need to be happy? To feel secure? To be comfortable? Who is there for us when we are down? It's a beautiful masterpiece balancing the cold and lonely moments with our warm serendipitous ones.
Quote: All My Firsts by Cha Yoon Taek
Do you know what warmth is?
She asked me, and I answered
It's when my cold hand touches your cold hand and we both become warm.
When loneliness meets loneliness and becomes cosiness.
When sadness meets sadness and becomes happiness.
When a cool breeze collides against another cool breeze and becomes soft snow.
That's what warmth is.
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Written by a real judge
I was not surprised to find out the drama was written by a real judge (but how do they have the time?). The work culture felt very realistic although it's not like I know a judge's workplace, especially in Korea.I was on an L appreciation binge when I decided to try tackle this drama again for the 3rd time. I'm glad I finally got to the end. It has an exciting start with the juxtaposition of L & Go Ara's characters but there's a few episodes in the middle where it's not exciting enough with either the characters or the cases/drama but then it picks up again and finishes strongly. Apart from the first episode, the last few were the best episodes. Also I got to the end of the slow-burn romance and to me it seems people have been throwing that term around lately for slice-of-life dramas but this one really was a slow-burn romance, I kind of forgot about it until it appeared again it was that slow. The drama gives slice-of-life vibes but it's completely unrelatable, how many people are judges?
This drama aimed to tackle many issues in society today and luckily was able to tackle issues in the workplace, civil law and criminal law in one go. They don't explain this until the end of the drama but the name Hammurabi derives from the Code (Law) of Hammurabi which was one of the first law codes to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment of the perpetrator and have a presumption of innocence, according to Wiki. The Miss in the name refers to Go Ara's character which I found interesting since Im Ba-reun (L) is really the main character. But she was a very exciting character, one that doesn't stop to think or consider, sometimes taking things too far in one direction and forgetting about the balance of the other direction. Which Im Ba-reun had to then drag her back from and try find that middle ground. This drama is the perfect example of compromise, change, and trying to see the both sides to every story.
It was interesting though how in their highlighting of how terrible the sexualisation of women is in the workplace they disregarded it happening to men (just one man really). However while I found the female character who intentionally flirted and gave mixed signals then got offended an odd character (if she was real I'd be annoyed no matter how hot she is, really, what does she think would happen?) she did help strengthen them highlighting the issue of sexual harassment of women (at the detriment to the man?). Also I found the rich vs poor mentality in this a bit too much, it certainly highlighted it as an issue but the mentality was so strong, or really it was Go Ara's character that had such a strong mentality.
I really loved the 3 main characters, the juxtaposition between them were what made this drama. It was as serious as Sung Dong-il and Go Ara could get but they were still hilarious, especially together. L as Im Ba-reun's indifferent distaste for other people narration was so appealing. His uncaring indifference of just dealing with society. Although I think if he was real he'd be depressed.Honestly though what really got me through the drama was L in a suit, he got me through all those middling boring moments. L's improved so much in his acting skills.
I looooove the OSTs, most are in my playlist. Most importantly I love how at the end of every episode, matter how sad I was feeling, it would play "It's alright, It's alright...it'll all be fine, someday." and that comforted me so much.
There's so many good quotes from this drama but I'm going to end with:
"When wearing this judge's gown you should erase your face but not your mind. I couldn't see it, if I'd tried to see with my heart I could've seen it. " - L
Followed by:
"After 30 years here I still don't know what's right or wrong. Please become a judge who listens. Before you make a judgement listen carefully to others." - Chief Judge Han's mentor
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"How do you love?"
This drama is set up as a web series that answers dating life questions and answers. I'd say it's quite mature, I would not recommend it for a teenager/young adult because this is a set up with real life and realistically flawed people. If you are expecting some fairy tale of a story, this is not for you.To me this drama is a cross between Because it's My First Life and Reply 1997. It's very slice-of-life with some sarcasm and comedy. Each episode is based around a specific dating question, like Reply 1997, and the story jumps around based on that question.
The chemistry between the two main leads was off the charts and my heart was palpitating hard at their every romantic moment. I knew a drama with Ji Chang-wook and Kim Ji-won would be amazing and I couldn't be happier. I was also loving the other characters, their backstories and their chemistry but I agree with some other reviewers that their stories could have been tied up more nicely. Although I was in it for the two main leads who were the definite focus of the drama. I love how their story came about, how it flowed, their focus on the positive and negative. How they dealt with each other and each others flaws. It was amazing and I can't critique anything related to them.
I will say it ended abruptly. I was expecting more but I suppose it kept to their "web series interview" style, sort of. As I said this is not a clean, well laid-out fairy tale story with a start, middle and end. It's about the modern view on dating and different dating styles.
I loved it and was not expecting it to end any time soon, I think I watched the whole thing in 2 days. So now here I am reminiscing and wondering what other good dramas are out there that I could possibly watch after this one.
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Slowly Fall by Ha Hyun Sang & Rain or Shine by Elaine (OSTs)
These OSTs sum up the first 3/4 of the drama perfectly, the lovely heart breakingly touching part. So if you are in the mood for these songs, you are in the mood for this drama. It teetered a bit towards the end and felt less slice-of-life. It got shortened to 12 episodes from 16 so I can understand the writers had to cut their original plan and (because I knew that) I can tell the direction they wanted to head in if they had the time. I don't even want to call it minor plot holes because they were that minuscule, I only remembered because I was looking out for it. So if it were given the 16 episode chance it could've been great or it could've been the opposite and bombed. I didn't like where I think it was heading with the minuscule plot holes (it could've been tiresome and repetitively dragged out) but this drama surprised me from the start so it could have surprised me at the end. Because they had to cut it to 16 episodes I feel sorry for the writer who couldn't fully deliver the story they wanted to deliver but unfortunately they cut out too much of the ending they wanted to tell. Instead of trying to squish it all in they basically ending up with nothing in the last few episodes so it was dragged out anyway. Which is why they decided to cut it because too many people were dropping it.Jung Hae In is killing the slice-of-life genre and I've loved Chae Soo Bin since I first saw her in Cheer Up! They did not let me down and I'm keen to watch both their next roles. Outside these two though the actors were passable, they fulfilled their role but they didn't surpass it and Moon Soon Ho annoyed me, especially when she started getting longer scenes towards the end. None of the characters are meant to be perfect, though Moon Ha Won is pretty close, but Moon Soon Ho was too much. She was realistic, annoyingly realistic! Ignorant and pushy and so annoying. Sure she doesn't know but please stop making comments, I wanted to shush her, like how I want to do that to people in real life. Including myself sometimes.
This story is one of healing, love and loss with amazing music so if you aren't in the mood for either I don't recommend it. "A memory which becomes a button to elevate your will, everyone has a memory which allows them to survive, which cheers you on. Something. A piece of one's own mind." - Moon Ha Won.
A key thing to note is to not take the sci-fi part too seriously, they don't really explain the device and it's very much not possible (or is it).
Quote:
It's not a big deal, just a person I've seen for the first time. He came in as though burrowing into my heart - Han Seo Woo
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"Breathtaking and Thrilling"
I don't know what this other reviewer was watching but my heart was going *thump thump* . But also I had 0 expectations going into it. I just happened to click on the link without knowing anything. It was perfect for the mood I'm in which is simple and cute but was a nice change from the usual high school web dramas, less cute & more sensual.It was like a combination of Romance is a Bonus Book & Misaeng squished into 1 hour and 15mins. The best of both worlds. It could have had more of a plot, because the link I clicked was all in Korean I spent 20mins wondering if I missed the first episode, but then it flashed back. The plot's not explicitly set out but it's easy to fill in the gaps. I prefer how rather than bothering wasting time explaining the plot they instead used the time to make it interesting and different (Misaeng-like).
I loved the main 2 characters the most, they were not 2D characters at all and (partly due to time constraints I'm sure) that's what I usually expect out of web dramas, even movies. They had so much realistic depth squeezed into 1 hour. The time jumps weren't specified but you can feel the differences in how they act between who they were with, their environment and what's their relationship. I was impressed. Nothing felt too rushed or too slow. I'm also loving how they switched it up and made the male boss the quiet and reserved one while the female lead was playing this quiet junior at work but shows glimpses of being the dominating one in their childhood friendship.
I really like the main actor, his voice has such a nice tone. He really reminds me of Kim Young-dae crossed with Baekhyun (EXO)/Minhyuk (BtoB). I can't figure out who he is.
Super good, super sweet and easy to watch if you're in the mood for a lovely romance movie.
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Exciting and mystifying
This was a wonderfully solid drama however the start was the most exciting, I wish it was as exciting all the way through. I love the visuals and Hwang Jung-eum's costuming most of all. They were beautiful enough to give IU in Hotel Del Luna a run for her money.I started watching this because of Yook Sung-jae, I've been following him since the start of both his BTOB and acting career. It'd been so long since I've seen him act in something and I knew he'd be awesome. How has it been 3-4 years since Goblin? The premise sounded interesting but I was wary of Hwang Jung-eum, not because I think she's a bad actress but more so that I don't think she fits a normal Kdrama romance lead. She's good at the comedy though.
A few areas could've been more developed especially the 'bad guy' part. I'm still confused in regards to the bad guy but I also wasn't interested in that person so I don't really care. It felt like they were evil for the sake of being evil and they were so vengeful despite being the one who was evil in the first place. Basically everything about it wasn't that believable, especially when they hid in someone else's body, they were alternately too calm and too vengeful.
Overall this was a solid drama with some great acting and great visuals and I recommend it for any supernatural comedy lovers.
Quote:
When you run a race, you either come first, second or last. But it's important to have a fair start. - Wol Joo
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For a slice of life lover
"While men stay friends when they still have some feelings left, women stay friends when they have no feelings left." - Lee Soo's fatherA great drama, any narrative art piece, is one that foreshadows and alludes. This was filled with alluding lines. This was a deep drama where every essence added to a beautiful masterpiece.
For instance Lee Soo says near the start of the drama "If you knock 10 times, I'll give in."
When looking for a cafe they said "It's annoying because we went around 10 times and it's been here all along... like feelings you didn't know about that just show up."
If you don't examine the drama you won't see it's beauty. Watching them walk in circles 10 times might seem slow but with someone you love, it's no time at all. And I loved these characters. If you pay attention then with every circle they grow closer and slowly realise their destination. And what I love most about slice of life dramas is that I am meandering with them and growing with them.
This is one of the best slice of life dramas out there. These characters are not shallow beings that are created just to kiss. These are real people. Woo Yeon did not blindly fall in love with the school bully like in Boys Over Flowers and many other dramas. She fell in love with someone cute and entertaining who cared for her and she had deep conversations with. Who teased her and protected her. He was not a stupid jerk who was playing with her just because, he was scared and alone. These are real emotions people have and these are real reactions too. Plenty of people are scared of being alone but are even more scared of being abandoned and reject bonds before they can be formed to protect themselves. This topic is also explored in Healer. "Everyone wanted to be free but not everyone was able to come the way they wanted to."
and "People are wasteful, they throw things out then coming looking for it."
and "Running away doesn't have to be anywhere far."
People have flaws and there's good and bad in everyone. Do you think love stories always end in a happily ever after? No, a couple can be together for 70 years and love each other dearly but can also fight all the time. Even for couples like this there are misunderstandings and a want to be selfish. This drama is not about the destination but the journey.
I loved Ong Seong Woo knowing how hot he is, I love Shin Ye Eun in everything she does. In fact this might as well be Meow the Secret Boy take 2 with how cat-like Lee Soo is. Just when you think your cat doesn't love you, it comes back purring and rubbing your legs. Lee Soo referring to an animal... or perhaps himself... "Do you think it could've had a new start if it wasn't abandoned?"
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Short & sweet
A cute little workplace-romance. It is so little it's less than 1 hour in total.I love the little anecdotes on life and time. I can really relate to that 3pm snooze at the office and the coffee pick me up.
It's great seeing Kang Hoon pre-Meow the Secret Boy. In general the characters were well balanced and as far as web dramas tend to go the actors were all really good. The two-faced female team leader was a great addition as a character. She was so smoothly two-faced and unfortunately a very real character in the workplace.
Quote:
A collection of time becomes a day and a collection of days becomes a life. - Lee Sa Rang
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I thought it'd be typical but...
I started watching this because I wanted a break from crazy intense dramas. It sounded like a typical romantic K-drama. Had a typical genius, emotionless CEO character. Had a normal woman who was just trying to get by. Joined both trends of AI intelligence AND prosopagnosia, the inability to recognise faces (I still don't understand how it could be a trend). I thought it was trying to be too on trend and it wouldn't give enough thought into making a good drama.I was so wrong. I stand by my way of thinking that 'tropes' in and of itself aren't bad. You can have a story that's entirely filled with tropes but it's amazing. Because that's what makes a trope doesn't it? There's something good and intriguing about it which makes other creators think that's good, I'm going to use that too. In one sense this drama is typical and, to make it 'worse', completely on trend so I wouldn't call it particularly innovative but despite it basically being a mash of I'm Not a Robot and The Beauty Inside, two great dramas by themselves, this drama manages to not only be as great as it's possible inspirations but even surpasses them. They both had a bit of a fizzle when it should've been the climax whereas this one was quite strong all the way through. I loved the respect the leads had for each other, another thing I loved from The Beauty Inside, there were ups and downs but it was respectful.
Starring Yoon Hyun-min who I loved in Witch's Court and Tunnel and Go Sung-hee who I've also loved from her supporting role days, it's so exciting watching someone's career blossoming. I'm glad they not only met my expectations but exceeded them.
It ended up being so much better than I expected, there was more to the plot, more to the character development, more to the relationship development. It was funnier and deeper, both in the plot and emotionally, than I expected.
This review definitely ended up being all about how I thought it'd bad but actually it was good so I think that if I raise your expectations you might not think it's as good but even then it's still a great romance sci-fi drama.
Quote:
Because people aren't like machines that can be fixed when they're broken, sometimes they just need to be left alone. - Go Nan-do
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My dreams are expensive - Oh Ji Soo
This was an amazing drama, I binged it over 2 nights and at only 10 episodes which are not even 1 hour long it was easy to do. I recommend it if you like crime shows & Stranger Things (not that I've seen it). This is also by Netflix and like most Netflix crime shows it's not for kids despite being set in a high school. So it's great but it's not for the fainthearted. The first 2 episodes were (in my opinion) the most suspenseful because I was not expecting that but there were a few later scenes that were definitely not for kids either. As a benchmark for age limits I would compare it to the movie Parasite.I started watching this because although the trailer looked interesting (I love school dramas) it also looked too dark and like it would have 0 romance. But someone online called it underrated and I saw a picture with the female other main character (ie. maybe not 0% romance) so I thought I'd give it a chance. I'm glad I did, I'm tossing up whether to put this at the top of my favourite crime dramas or not. The best parts were the characters and there was no wasted time. It was neither as intense and suspenseful as Memorist nor did it drag on a bit like Signal. It was a great crime drama with a lot of commentary. Crime kdramas always have their commentary but this one has that added spin because the main characters are just kids and how much can you punish a kid? How much does a kid deserve punishment compared to the definite punishment an adult should have? Are the crimes kids commit a factor of circumstance or are they bad kids?
This was a hard watch because I loved Oh Ji Soo and it's impossible not to sympathise with him and root for him but at the same time I'm not someone who can root for anyone who commits crimes, even petty theft. I sympathise too much with the victim. This was not a drama about something as small as petty theft.
I also really loved Bae Gyu ri and her entire set up and characterisation. In saying that I'm sure us as the audience aren't meant to be rooting for her completely, she has her flaws as well as her redeemable qualities. Which has it's own pros and cons. She's a realistically imperfect character. But regardless I love this transition into strong female leads the Kdrama world is having.
Kwak Ki Tae was a surprise, he's another character I usually wouldn't be into but I liked him more and more as the episodes went by. Nam Yoon Soo's dimples and cheeky grin were a big factor I'm sure. Surprisingly I also really liked the teacher character. He could've played a bigger role.
All the actors were on point. I'm surprised at how new and young they are. They are amazing. I didn't watch much of Itaewon Class so I don't remember Kim Dong Hee but I just finished A Piece of Your Mind and Park Joo Hyun is not like your typical Korean actress, her voice is so distinctive, I recognised her by her voice straight away. I'm looking forward to all their future works.
I'm contemplating if I would want a season 2 or not. I want more but I also think it was a good ending. The best combination between the commentary & wanting to root for the characters.
Quote:
You two only know how to hold it all in and bear it alone. - Jo Jin Woo
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Exciting rom-com
This is by no means the perfect drama but I don't understand why it's receiving such low reviews as I'd recommend it! It's really exciting and well-balanced from start to finish. I was expecting it to focus more on the deeper reason of the good souls looking good and bad souls looking bad (although who can ever call Park Bo-young plain, she is the opposite to model-esque I suppose) but apart from some comments here or there it doesn't really delve into that. Instead it's a crime rom/com.It is first and foremost a rom-com so while it was a bit rough, the small details weren't important because it was enjoyable and I wasn't bored at all watching it. We aren't supposed to take the story or characters too seriously. It created to entertain us and I was entertained. The action was exciting, the sorrow was sad, there were great plot twists, the romance made my heart beat, the backstory was interesting, the couple was adorable and had great chemistry.
Park Bo-young delivers her cute and sassy self, she is basically a sassier version of her Strong Woman Do Bong Soon character. Ahn Hyo-seop's a very fresh rookie and while he's rough around the edges at the start he delivered his bright, fresh, good-hearted character as intended. Every time his smile would break out after some tension would make my heart skip a beat.
I recommend it for the exciting crime & sweet rom-com.
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My life's been a series of impossibles. Impossible is an opinion, not a fact - Hwang Woo Yun
*Spoilers: Ending hinted atI'm rating this so highly because it was amazing not because I would watch it again. Not because I couldn't watch this 100 times and it would be any less amazing. But because it was so good my heart is still aching so badly. Of course it doesn't help that I watched this to get away from my Reply 1988 heartache. It made it worse not better! What luck I have. To make some comparisons - I'm still heartbroken over Reply 1988 (currently in the middle of my second attempt 4 years later, so heartbroken), it's similar-ish but better than 100 Days of Summer.
I started watching this because I love Kim Young Kwang and Park Bo Young but watching their chemistry on screen was even better than I had imagined. Maybe I will watch this movie again one day after all. Their chemistry was so good.
After watching the movie I read some comments to see if I can get over my heartbreak even 1% and I was laughing at all the comparisons to Reply 1988. I was trying to escape Reply 1988 but I just watched an in-depth shortened version. To quote Reply 1988 "Fate doesn't always come to see you. If you at least use that term, it is during very rare coincidences happening in a critical moment - that's how it is fate. Therefore, Fate has another name called Timing. But Fate and Timing does not only come in coincidences. Those abundant choices lead you to desperation creating that moment like a miracle. Unwavering surrender and decisions without hesitation makes the timing."
More in-depth spoilers below:
Watching this I felt like they wanted to turn a typical Hollywood romance film on it's head. Seriously, which Korean plays American football? To name some films they wanted to flip - Sweet Home Alabama, The Wedding Planner, The Wedding Crashers, Made of Honor, Shrek. I had to do some research because I don't remember the ones I'm thinking of.
So it's amazing but the ending is just TOO realistic! Way too realistic! I didn't want it to end in the only other alternative which was way too typical and like literally every Hollywood romance movie (remember the title is On Your Wedding Day) but this ending was even worse because it's although it's good, I'm heartbroken! It was the saddest happy ending ever! Or is it the happiest sad ending? I rarely cry while watching anything, of course it helps that I try and avoid sad shows as much as possible, and while I didn't exactly cry at the end, I genuinely felt and still feel completely heartbroken. I wanted to cry and still want to cry over a happy(?) ending.
The character growth was amazing and realistic, something that needs to be shown but also something I don't want to see (haha). The characters' are so amazing together and it felt like their whole lives revolved around each other but in the end I love the speech and they may be happy with where they are at but I'm not! But it's realistic and I'll just keep telling myself that. Most people feel like their whole lives revolve around each other but we don't NEED to have that other person. We shouldn't live just for the other person but romance fiction gives us that kind of thought, there's so much more to life than romance. I love that the writer wanted to share this realistic story of romance that millions of people have gone through, even multiple times. It doesn't stop me from being heartbroken though.
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Reply series creators, you're amazing
Firstly it's pretty rare but I watched this series as it came out instead of bingeing it once it finished. It was so good I spent the first 5 weeks just re-watching the series again from the start, every week. So by the time I'd gotten to the end, I'd watched the first episode about 4 times. That is crazy. It also goes to show how amazing this show is. The creators are so conscious of everything they show us as an audience, they are continually thinking so far ahead. Even when I know that and try to think ahead they outsmart me.There was never any doubt but I love the friendships between all the characters. Like how in the Reply series they'd spent their childhood growing up together, here they've spent their adult life growing up together. I love how they're all different but connected with each other. The side characters are engaging, different and full of personality. It's to the point where it feels like there's 20 main characters rather than there being side characters. There was so much character introduction, which is why I had to keep watching the first episodes, but it was amazingly integrated in. Every line builds the character and the following scenes. It's hard to keep up with consciously but when I watched it again I would spot cues to a scene in the next episode.
Chae Song-hwa is my new girl crush, I love how Jung Kyung-ho is basically replaying his playboy Prison Playbook character. He's even hotter in doctor form and I've never appreciated a tsundere character until now. Jo Jong-suk of course delivers flawlessly his comedic and familial sides. There's so much depth to everyone's characters, only a great cast like this could pull it off so well. How they may do it differently but they all have their brash sides, their friendship sides, their relational sides, their caring sides.
How can I forget the Playlist part to this show? You'd think it's out of place but actually it and the lyrics to the songs they are singing are what tie the show together. Pay attention to the lyrics, it can only make it better.
Quote: Have you never had a friend? - Kim Jun-wan
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In essence it's about crazy rich people playing crazy rich people games. However it's a lot more romance focused than I expected. I feel like they could've done more crazy games since that's what it was advertised as and was what made it unique. But keep in mind this is a Korean drama adaption. So it's more innocent than how the book probably is. Although it's lacking in crazy future mother-in-laws, it's got all the crazy twists, turns and links of rich people in old Korean dramas. While it does have a strong focus on family and friend relationships it's done in a different feel to most Korean dramas. Most importantly it's got what I love about Korean dramas and that's character development. More than any real plot or story it's a slow unfolding of the characters and how they change and grow.
The acting was pretty good, especially considering the main cast are all young, rookie actors. I already knew Kim Min-jae is good. Joy's improved since her last drama, she had no faults in this one so I'm not sure what the complaints are about. I'd never heard or seen Woo Do-hyun before but he was a really good surprise. He outshined Kim Min-jae and I'm looking forward to his future works. Moon Ga-young was the weakest out of the four main leads for me. Her stare was too blank sometimes but it's hard to play a 2D angsty tantrum thrower for long periods of time. I won't go into the supporting cast but they were mostly fine. Rather than the acting the characters and script were a bit weak, especially outside the main leads, but not so much that it deserves such low ratings.
I'm not sure why people didn't like Eun Tae-hee, Joy's acting or Woo Do-hyun's acting. Eun Tae-hee was less annoying than 95% of Korean drama female leads in my opinion. She was independent, believed in herself, those around her, and in her decisions. If we are going to talk about annoying characters I would name tantrum-throwing, self-centred Choi Soo-ji who lives in a woe-is-me world. Also it's been a while since I squealed at the cuteness of a couple, they were utterly adorable, romantic, and probably in the top 5 couples I've shipped in recent years. I've found my couple squealing to be stale of late so it's quite impressive.
Overall it was very angsty, somewhat sweet, and I love the main couple. They were really cute and mature in the handling of their relationship. I was strongly rooting for them the whole time. The script and direction could've been developed more to make it a better drama. It wasn't plot driven either so I understand some people find that boring and the angst frustrating. Another thing to note is I skip parts of dramas all the time, usually the old crazy people parts, and this drama wasn't an exception to that. It wasn't perfect but what was good was great and I don't believe it deserves the negative criticism it seems to be receiving. Especially the amount of criticism on the main cast which was the best aspect.
Quote: What's so great about men? It's not like you die if you don't date. - Eun Tae-hee
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