purtysunshine
The Void
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==!! Contains some minor spoilers !!== This drama was one big, terrible train wreck.
Poor, inconsistent writing, poor production, poor character development, overall just awful.
I don’t think I have ever disliked a leading character as much as I hated Jin Xiu. She was given the perfect back-drop to be awesome: innocent country girl who moves to the big city to uncover the mystery of her family’s murder. There is so much room there for growth. Instead, Jin Xiu is portrayed as a sweet country girl but is actually a spoiled, helpless brat who somehow magically gets saved and loved by everyone around her for reasons I cannot even begin to fathom. She wines and complains that she wants to be strong and independent but is miraculously saved by someone every step of the way. She doesn’t know her limits and her continuously pushing Zuo Zhen away despite his best intentions and then turning around and running to him for help in the beginning was disgusting.
Later, when she realizes her feelings for him she becomes a loving, doting partner…only to go all 360 reveng-y the second her love is put to the test. Trust is not a word that exists in her vocabulary.
I get that Zuo Zhen wasn’t perfect given his possessiveness and arrogance. But his intentions were always good, and he sweetly stood by Jin Xiu no matter what. Whenever she was framed, he never doubted her. Instead, the moment he was set-up Jin Xiu hardly hesitated to doubt him despite his unfailing devotion to her. So. Frustrating.
The plot itself was a snooze fest, and that bothered me a lot given that its setting is in such a fascinating era and the potential for it to be epic was totally there.
If I hated it so much, why did I bother sticking it out? I think I was just in denial that something could be SO bad. I kept thinking that it HAD to dish out some awesome after putting us through so much awful, but it never did. The only redeeming quality it had was Zuo Zhen and his buddies. They were all wonderful characters who didn’t deserve an ounce of the tragedy they were given and they definitely didn’t deserve to have Jin Xiu thrust into their lives. Such a disappointment.
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I feel very generous with my rating considering the rage I felt after finishing this drama. I was all set and ready to actually mark Gu Family Book as one of my top favorites before the last two episodes had to come along and ruin it all. My feelings for this drama went through three stages: this blows, this is freaking awesome, and thisistheworstdramaever.
Plot wise, it suffered. There was an initial direction and motive but nothing was ever executed efficiently and the show really went all over the place.
The acting was just okay at best. I love Lee Seung Gi and Suzy both but they have done better. The other actors were similarly awkward for the most part.
Despite these flaws, the relationship between Kang Chi and Yeol Wool was refreshingly sweet and there were many characters who grew on me and made me love them. This was enough for me to be rather forgiving of Gu Family Book's weak points.
Having said that, the ending was unnecessary on so many different levels I cannot even begin to express my disappointment and anger. It was suuuuper out of place and only lead me to the conclusion that this drama did NOT accomplish what it initially set out to do.
In other words: Gu Family Book, you fail. I just wish you hadn't captured my heart and taken me down with you.
Excuse me while I go cry myself to sleep.
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I will admit that the 2 episode extension hurt this drama more than it helped it. The manufactured angst was blatantly obvious and unnecessary. But since things picked right back up to amazing territory with the last episode I finished off the series satisfied.
I will forever love this drama for all the laughs and fangirlie squees it provided me. I adore all the characters (and I mean ALL) and I will miss this cast dearly. HIGHLY recommend!!
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In retrospect, there were some good moments, humorous times, gorgeous shots, and even a few character developments that were touching and honest. But the story was clichéd to the extreme and full of recycled plot(s) (both from other similar shows and from itself...) and to be really honest here I was bored most of the time.
So, why did I keep on watching until the bitter end? I just kept expecting it to get better. I'm a little blown away that Kim Eun Sook actually penned this to the point where I'm actually considering the possibly that she has an intern who secretly wrote a majority of the scenes. I know writers can have "bad days" so to speak but I'm fairly confident that Kim Eun Sook has established a solid reputation and career off of having well plotted and witty dramas (that can, at times--admittedly--be a bit dull) but the long drawn out scenes of characters just staring at each other that happened over and over again (while pretty at first) where not only a waste of screen time but a huge waste of the viewer's time as well.
One of the only things that remained consistent with Kim Eun Sook's previous works was her spot on perfect hero Kim Tan (or "flawless namja" as my friend and I like to call him). If there is one thing that I've always been impressed with in Kim Eun Sook's shows, it's how amazingly perfect all of her leading men tend to be (even the ones that also make you want to punch them in the face).
But anyway, I don't understand the hype for Heirs and I certainly can't relate or agree with anyone who enjoyed this drama (though to each his/her own). I CAN say that I'm living in South Korea right now (at the time of this review) and it's extremely popular here so it must have done something right. I think it all boils down to:
Pros: Great cast, cute character interactions
Cons: poor plot, long boring scenes, humorously-cliché, eye-roll inducing moments, very little character development (exception: Yong-do and Kim Tan's mom), HORRIBLE SOUNDTRACK (?love is the mooooment?), cheesy dialogue, and unnecessary angst.
Watch at your own risk.
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It has been a long time since I stumbled upon something so perfect and I cannot gush enough about how much I positively loved this little gem of a show.
It goes to show that the right combination of good actors, directing, music and writing can really produce good quality material without anything flashy (no exotic shots, no high-budget standards, no complex and intricate plot....) It's just a drama that's full of life and perfection even within it's (very minor) shortcomings.
Here is a show that's packed full of heart and humor. It dishes out life as it is but also sprinkles on some hopes and dreams in the form of an absolutely flawless character affectionately referred to as Sweet Potato. What I adored about Joo Won (his actual name, ha) was that even though he was so unbelievably perfect at times his character still experienced growth and had his ups and downs that made him seem so real despite the fairy-tail like aura he emulated.
This was also the drama to finally--at long last--suck me into Sung Joon's fandom. I've seen him in other stuff and thought 'eh, he's cute...' at best but now he certainly has my attention. To say the least, he rocked my socks off with his portrayal of Joo Won and now I'll be on the look out for his future works.
On the other hand, I have always been a fan of Kim So Yun and she has yet to disappoint me. She always plays challenging and unique characters and she executes her performances so seemingly effortlessly and smoothly that it's hard to believe her characters aren't actually real people. In this case, Shin Joo Yun was just perfectly imperfect. I love characters with a lot of depth to them, and that usually means they start out hateful but become more and more loveable as their layers are pealed back and they learn to be better versions of themselves. That's exactly what we get with Joo Yun and it was a wonderful unfolding to behold.
I feel like I could delve into other details and points of the show (because there is a lot more to it than this) but I think I've touched on what really maters the most to me and what (overall) made me mark this drama off as a 10. I WILL just add that the soundtrack is killer. Love it!
Again, I'm going to miss this drama so much I haven't exactly figured out how to move on with my life just yet (haha~ but seriously...). Here's a round of applause to the cast and crew for all their hard work!! I'm sure I'll be watching it again soon...
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Having the distance from the novel helped me appreciate this more, for sure. It’s been so long that all I can remember are important plot points and not the finer details so I never felt like things were left out or wrong. I did end up enjoying the cast for the most part, although I never felt Hu Ge was a good fit for Mo Xun (Meng jiu).
Eddie Peng did well with the cute, playful side of his character but we didn’t really get to see the portrayal of his colder/intimidating side. Since he did such a good job of showing all the love and affection Wu Ji (Huo Qubing) has for Jin Yu though I was okay with that.
The writing for this story is amazing in how it tied actual historical events and characters together around the fictional story of Jin Yu. Of course, names and such were changed in the drama because of Chinese censoring but if you’ve read the book, you know who they represent. It’s a brilliant tale and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Plus, CUTEST COUPLE. Ugh. So cute. Love it!
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This drama was both a delight to watch and an utter pain in the butt. I get where the director was going with the long drawn-out scenes but while those work aesthetically in a movie, they are just plain awful in a drama. I felt like for a majority of the screen time, absolutely nothing was happening. In fact, it was almost like the production company realized they had about 5 episodes worth of material so they had a pow-wow for ideas on how to stretch that into 16 looooong episodes. I also was not a fan of the 3 songs that continually played on repeat.That aside (and getting to the “delight” part) Jin Ah and Joon Hee were adorable and I loved every scene of them together. I especially loved how their romance bloomed and the moments playing up to them actually becoming a couple. Man, it made my heart race at times. I even enjoyed the different conflicts they shared in their relationship and how their various mistakes and misunderstandings were portrayed because it felt really real. I did, however, absolutely hate Jin Ah’s mother and felt like we never got justice for how terrible of a human she was, no matter all her excuses of wanting the best for Jin Ah (it just went too far and I couldn't get behind her reasoning).
Which brings me to the ending itself. Not the worst last episode in the history of finale’s but damn close. I could understand most of the conflict in Jin Ah and Joon Hee’s relationship because it seemed relatable and natural to me, however I could not understand most of what occurred in the last episode. It made me not really care about what happened to either of them by the time it was over. In the end, I don’t regret watching the drama as a whole but this is definitely getting filed with the ‘what could have been’s’ and ultimately, forgotten.
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This drama was on my radar for a long time as it comes from the same writer as Protect the Boss and also has Ji Chang Wook in it (swoon). But I think I had read some comments somewhere awhile back that made me hesitate. I’m so glad I decided to give it a chance anyway. I LOVED it! While the overall serial killer arch wasn’t nearly as creepy as I Remember You (also by the same writer) there were some interesting twists I didn’t see coming and the plot still had enough suspension and tension to keep you pretty invested throughout.
This writer also has a knack for writing heartwarming second leads and supporting characters. I really did love the whole cast! Rather than filling in those spaces with the a-typical (for example) bitchy second female lead, the forlorn and depressing second guy, the rich overpowering and stubborn old man, and the evil, spoiled mother...these roles were instead filled with love-able people who might not have always been “good” necessarily, but you end up enjoying them more for all their flaws.
I ADORED Ji Eun-Hyuk and his never ending adoration for No Ji-Wook. He certainly did him wrong in the past, sure, but he lived his life every day trying to make up for it and their interactions together were just so hilarious and sweet.
Cha Yoo-Jung really grew on me as well. Even though she was positioned to be the cheating ex-girlfriend who comes back and tries to steal No Ji-Wook away..she was never really all that detestable. The writer managed to throw in enough humor and just “human moments” into her character that you can’t help but like her despite it all.
Same with Na Ji-Hae. She started out as a character I was worried that I would hate but both as an enemy and a friend to Eun Bong-Hee she became rather like-able in the end.
Eun Bong-Hee herself is probably the only character I really took issue with. While I liked her *most* of the time, she had moments that really put me off. I guess No Ji-Woo was just so damn perfect it was hard for her to match up to that. But still, there were a lot of situations where he was so understanding and reasonable while she just immaturely acted on her own under the shadow of “sacrificing herself for his sake” when really it was her just being selfish and cowardly.
I get her misgivings but while he was saying “okay, let’s think it through.” She wasn’t even willing to try. Ji-Wook didn’t take things at face value. He was always a voice of reason. But Bong-Hee always lost confidence, and this happened repeatedly...which was all the more frustrating because it was such a good opportunity for character growth and I don’t really think she ever really grew out of that tendency.
Having said that, even during the times she pissed me off the most, she was always quick to recover and make up for it...so I can’t really begrudge the drama too much for that. Overall it was really great, and I would highly recommend it!
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I have seen nearly every version of this story (Itazura na Kiss originally) and I have to say this is one of my favorites. I’m relatively new to the Thai drama scene so the language/culture is still really unfamiliar and a bit awkward for me but if you’ve never seen one before I think this would be a great drama to transition to with.The base of the story follows the original Itazura na Kiss plot but they revised it a lot to make it different and more modern. I love that they did that. Just because it’s a remake doesn’t mean you can’t update it (looking at you Meteor Garden 2018). To be honest the way they changed it made it a lot more relatable and sweet.
Taliw is the smartest of all the renditions of Kotoko (Oh Ha Ni/Xang Qin). She is…normal. Not too book smart but in the way most of us are, and she can cook and is more upfront without all the snooping/awkwardness the other versions of her character had. She is also capable of succeeding at life and there is far less time spent here on her struggling in school.
TenTen is by far the nicest Naoki (Baek Seung Jo/Zhi Shu) and he has a certain normalness to him as well that made him even more loveable. He is still a “genius” by the books but there are times when he doesn’t know what to do or when he’s shown as being very vulnerable with his feelings. You can also really see him falling for Taliw (like when he sees her early in all dressed up and he gets all flustered because she looks so pretty).
Taliw and TenTen’s relationship develops a lot more normally as well (for example, we get way more kisses here before they actually get together than in the originals) so it’s not such a big shocker that TenTen actually loves her and while that took a little punch out of him finally confessing his feelings in the end it was still super sweet and felt more realistic. The twist that they threw in there as well was just so damn perfect. I love it!
My biggest complaint is probably that there isn’t really any HQ versions of this around (that I could find) so you have to stream it in all its pixel-y glory which was really disappointing because I think it would have been really pleasant to look at otherwise. Hopefully a higher quality stream becomes available. Other than that, it was pretty near perfect.
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I won’t say I regret watching, because it was cute and funny enough to be worth it. However, I will say that the majority of the drama was a waste of time. Watch casually and skip all the nonsense…unless you’ve never seen a K-Drama before or are relatively new to the drama scene…then you will probably be able to enjoy the plot.
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I’m not going to say it was bad, because I did enjoy it for the most part. However, it just did not mesh the various elements of the story well. When it was funny, it was funny. When it was romantic and sweet…it was romantic and sweet. And when it was serious…well, it tried. But it all felt very separated and it just couldn’t blend. I wish it had, because it would be SO freaking amazing had the flow of the story progressed better. But as it stands, I will remember certain moments fondly but not look back with much nostalgia. Here’s to another one for the “what-could-have-been” pile *raises glass.*
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Oh man. To preface: I loved the first 3/4 of this drama. The story wasn’t that original or creative...I wasn’t really a huge fan of Ling Qiao (Monster Qiao) who was a cookie-cutter Supernatural male lead character (boring)...but I LOVED Tian Jing Zhi! She was hilarious and adorable. Even though she could be immature or naive I just enjoyed watching her interactions with the various different people in her life and how she persevere through all her misfortune with such resolve and good humor.
That all changed in the last ten episodes or so. I really started to dislike BOTH leads and found it difficult to get behind rooting for their success. The writing was an absolute mess and the story fell apart (in my opinion). It also had a terrible ending. I know they were leaving it open for a sequel but in hindsight it was a poor decision (because here we are, getting that sequel...with different actors). What a disappointing disaster.
Also, this has been said (I’m not sure if officially or unofficially) to be the Chinese version of the Korean drama "You Who Came From the Stars" but it is VERY different. Basically the only similarity is that she is an actress and he is a supernatural being. Otherwise: not at all the same. So I think it’s unfair to compare them.
I gave it 6 Stars because in the beginning it made me laugh but I still think that’s being generous. Boo.
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*sigh* This drama...I have really conflicted feelings. On one hand, it had AMAZING moments. This is defiantly my favorite roll of Dong Wook's. As my bestie pointed out to me, DW was just MADE for comedy and he fits riiight into his role of Park Moo Yul. Plus, Lee Si Young totally stole the show with her performance as Yoo Eun Jae, I adored her! Both leads had great chemistry, the side characters of Eun Jae's best friend and Moo Yul's manager were SO FUNNY and adorable, there were moments that induced side-splitting laughter from me and some interesting, unusual circumstances (such as the fact there is no "Guy 2" in this drama)!
And yet...something went horribly wrong somewhere. It was as if this show kind of forgot what it was supposed to be about. Since the beginning there was the whole "stalker" plot that had us wondering 'Who dun it?' for the first half of the series and it worked well until they revealed to us who the big baddie was and thus killed all the suspense. The show became all about the CHARACTERS figuring it all out while we had to suffer through watching them fumble around. It was almost...boring. And there was SO MUCH POTENTIAL WASTED! Oh, how I could just weep tears of frustration. So much could of happened that didn't happen and there was way too much time spent on things that were either uninteresting or unimportant. Plus, there was a seriously cheesy climax to the stalker plot.
I really wish there had been more development with the main relationship and less focus on the stalker-plot. It would of been so much better. Unless, of course, they had actually made it really suspenseful and exciting. Then that would of been awesome. But alas...
Oh well. I'll take what I can get I guess. The ending was very cute, at least. Had me giggling. But also left me wanting more. I'm not even sure if I would recommend this or not. It's a toss up between YEAH! and NO STAY FAR AWAY!
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Anyway, in my opinion this is one shiny gems of its genre.
Ps. It will make you CRAVE ramyun like mad. Be prepared!
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The first half - A sweet re-telling of the most infamous woman in Korean history.
The rest of the series - A melodramatic sageuk with bickering politicians and fizzled chemistry.
I love shows that try to shed a new light on popular stories (whether they be fictional or otherwise) because it is always so interesting to see things from a different point of view. I was also so pleased in the beginning of Jang Ok Jung because it did exactly that - it took a typically hated character and gave her a story where we could root for and love her.
But then it lost it's original purpose and started sticking more to historical facts and traditional sageuk shenanigans and in the process gave up all of the glorious chemistry between the leads. It also lost its lovely cinematic screen in the later half as well, which was just sad (this drama was so very pretty at first).
I would like to blame the ratings for most of this, since even with such a strong start Jang Ok Jung suffered from low viewership. And it's unfortunate but around the time the series started to go downhill is also when the ratings started to pick up (but only slightly) which probably encouraged the producers to continue forcing it down a road it was never meant to travel.
Having said that, I've never read the novel or seen any of the writer's other works so I can't say that either weren't also at fault. I CAN tell you that it is full of disappointment and misfortune.
It's such a shame and such a waste of what could have been a very original and beautiful series. Props to the actors for at least giving it their best.
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