Orange Marmalade (2015)

I took my time with this drama. I watched the first four episodes, stopped, watched the next two maybe a few weeks later, another two after that, wrapped it up in one go. To me, this is not the kind of show to binge-watch.

Story:
Rough. The first of three sections this drama was split into was good; It really showcased the discrimination present in almost any society where someone is outcasted for something the majority population is uncomfortable or unfamiliar with. The love story was very rushed, and I understand that they had to fit it all into four episodes in order to transition into the Joseon era. Said transition was so confusing and ill-directed that I just stopped for a minute and thought.... "HUH?" When I finally watched it, the Joseon storyline made pieces fall into place for the first section, and although it was a bit harder to follow (mostly knowing who was in what clan), it allowed puzzle pieces to fall into place. As for the third section... I felt it was very cliched. We got the discrimination still, we have the amnesia, the Romeo/Juliet love story, the shunned second lead (who managed to get himself a good loving girlfriend for once), the "power of music changing people's hearts..." Cliched, yes, but also very sweet. Like marmalade.

Characters/Cast:
I am a fan of Yeo Jin Goo, when I saw him play young-Kim Soo Hyun in TMTETS (and young-Yoochun in I Miss You, what little I saw of it). Here, he played his part well, but i think the way he delivered his lines was very flat and his expressions neutral. He has a few good scenes, but I enjoyed watching him. Jonghyun is precious, and really did Shi Hoo well. He really gave off that depressed vibe, and I really loved watching his Instagram updates of behind the scenes. Shi Hoo is a broken and tortured soul (in both lives) and really deserves the true friendship he received from the members of Orange Marmalade.
Seolhyun is new to acting and she knows it, but she's very pretty and works hard. She has a long way to go in her acting skills, but she has a wonderful voice and made the music enjoyable. The supporting characters as well were very enjoyable.

The music:
Well... it's a drama not only about vampires and humans, but also about music. The songs are catchy and beautiful, but not something I'd listen to on a daily basis.

Overall:
If you've read the original webtoon, you might be disappointed. I haven't read it, but from what I've heard the drama deviates from the original story so don't be too angry when you see where the director takes it. It's really a meh drama to me, but if you enjoy non-suicidal Romeo and Juliet, a beautiful cast, and interesting story-telling, then I think you would enjoy this. ;D

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I thought this drama was really well done. It's misleading if you think it is another typical vampire trying to fit into today's society. This drama is sooo much more. In fact, it will take you into a roller coaster ride of emotions, not to mention different time lines. I really love how Korean dramas switch back & forth between historicals & modern day. The female lead, Seol Hyun , is beautiful, there is an innocence about her and really lights up the screen. I notice that she stars in a lot of Music Videos as well. The lead male, Yeo Jin Goo, is such a good young actor. I was so impressed with him in Moon Embraces The Sun. Though overall Orange Marmalade storyline is not as good, Yeo Jin Goo, still delivers a high quality performance.

Finally we come to CN Blues, Lee Jong Hyun. I love this guy, I can't wait for the day when he will become male lead and finally get "THE GIRL". My heart ached for him, yet he is so damn COOL.

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This drama is ICONIC.. and I appreciated the first few episodes, but honestly.. what happened?

It came to a point where it switched eras then failed to explain it and I got lost and bored.
I loved the actors, they were super cute and had decent chemistry, but the writers messed up. I don't know how it got lost so easily. I have no idea why they decided to do what they did with little explanation

Nearing the end it came to my attention that somehow their whole relationship had regressed and how he hated her?
I got confused all over again.

To be honest, It was good for like.. the first half till they messed it up. Wouldn't recommend.

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Honestly, I was excited as this drama was announced. I liked the story, so I was sure I would wach it when it aired, but then there was a changed in the storyline. I have to say that I don't know the webtoon, so I didn't know what I had to expect.

The story was great...at first. However, after it changed to a sageuk drama I dropped the drama. That was, when it aired. Now, a few days ago I wanted to watch a drama with less than 16 episodes, so I decided to end this drama. I skipped most of the historical scenes, because in my opinion it was too much. I mean, why did they go back to a long time ago? I didn't understand it. Well, maybe I didn't wanted to know it.

Honestly, the one and only reason I watched this after months until the end was Yeo Jingoo. I watched him in Warrior Baek Dongsoo, where he played the younger version of Dongsoo (later played by Ji Changwook). In that drama I loved his acting, so I wanted to watch this drama. He was the best Actor in this whole drama (in my opinion). But sadly he couldn't save it.
Seolhyun...She is a good dancer, but her acting is...not good (I could say awful, but I think it is too harsh). Normally, I don't expect much from Idols when it comes to acting, but I thought she would be better than Hyeri (In my opinion Hyeri is a better actress, after I watched her in Replay 1988). All in all I was not satisfied with her acting. In the end I shipped Jaemin with Ahra. Lee Jonghyun of CNBlue was okay, i think he has potential, although I liked him in Gentlemen's Dignity better. Gil Eunhye was better than Seolhyun, but she could have be better, too.

The music was good. It suits the theme and the storyline, but in my opionion it wasn't special v.v

Lastly, I haven't the desire to watch it again. If I would do it, I would watch the modern scenes with Yeo Jingoo, but no more v.v
However, I would recommend it unless you a big fan of one of the main actors.

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Ahh where to start? I have mixed opinions on this drama. First of all, I did read the webtoon, but I didn't want to spoil the webtoon by watching the drama first nor spoil the drama by reading the webtoon first, so I read/watched simultaneously. I shouldn't have worried: the two are vastly different. You won't give much (if anything) away by reading/watching one at a time, they are that different. I liked the female characters better in the webtoon, and the male characters better in the drama. I couldn't relate or feel sympathetic for Shihoo in the webtoon but Lee Jong Hyun's portrayal of Shihoo in the drama ripped my heart out and stomped on it a few times. The main male lead Jae Min was even more likeable as played by Yeo Jin Goo than the webtoon version. I know some would disagree with that but here's why I feel this way: To me, Jaemin in the webtoon was almost bipolar in his actions. Hot and then cold (back and forth from the extreme of being a complete stalker to not being able to stand the thought of Ma Ri) at the slightest provocation. I felt the extremes in his behavioral swings were unrealistic in the webtoon, but the drama dowplayed the extreme-ness a little bit, making the character of Jaemin more realistic. The downside of this was that he appears to have less noticeable character development during the course of the drama. Straight up comparing his first episode behavior with his last episode behavior you can see a change, but over the entire drama it's barely noticeable. The webtoon Ma Ri as well as her various friends and enemies however, were all so bland in the drama compared to the webtoon. Ma Ri for example was more bold and plainspoken in the webtoon, but in the drama she was not like that until the end; in the beginning she was a timid, shy, and cowering. I don't have a problem with a female character who isn't loud, bossy, and outspoken personally so it didn't bother me. I'm not one of those females who looks down on other females who have a "quieter" personality, but I'll admit that for the sake of dramatic effect I liked the dynamic of Ma Ri's don't-care attitude in the webtoon and kind of missed it in the early episodes of the drama. I liked the storyline of the drama better than the webtoon, especially the addition of the historical backstory, though it was a bit disconcerting to be watching a modern highschool drama for 4 episodes, then a historical drama for 5 episodes, then a modern highschool drama for the last 3 episodes. Halfway through the historical episodes I wondered if I was going to remember the modern storyline well enough to know what was going on when they switched back. Thankfully there were flashbacks to help reorient the viewer to the modern storyline so that wasn't a problem. If you don't like historicals, you could probably skip episodes 5-9 and still not be *too* lost for the ending. A happy ending, for most of the characters, by the way.
I will warn you that the comments on this drama were exceptionally obnoxious. Repeatedly asking if the comments are a live chat. (No but wouldn't that be nice, then the annoying comments would actually eventually go away.) The people (there were so many of them) who somehow missed that JaeMin is the male lead (HOW do you even miss that?!) and thus is destined to end up with Ma Ri, and decided that if they whine and complain loudly and obnoxiously in the comments then Ma Ri will wind up with Shihoo instead... They even went so far as to bully and hate on the young actor Yeo Jin Goo in the lowest and most classless manner as though being hateful would change the story. Then there are always the perverts who just say gross things for no real reason, and those who spend endless portions of the drama arguing about what other Korean celebrities the actors each supposedly look like. If you are a Drama-Vampire then keep the comments on, you'll love it. If you'd rather watch it in peace however, I suggest you hide the comments. ;)

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My own first love for korea

The first Korean drama I watched, and it was my first love for Korea. I'm watching this because it's a manhwa adaptation that I really like on the webtoon. Jin-goo was 18 at the time, but his acting was so stunning. This is Jin-goo's debut as a male-lead, while Seol-Hyun, this is also his debut as a female-lead. (Previously I liked Seol-hyun Eonnie on SBS ugly alert 2013). I really like the grooves, and their chemistry is great. I watch many times and it's always the best (because my first love of Korean dramas hehehe). At the 2015 KBS Drama Award, Jin-goo was awarded the best new actor award and Seol-hyun received the female popularity award. I was deeply moved by that. This drama is so good, you will smile, cry and laugh. You will fall in love with this story, believe me! (I also love the ost!) JAEMIN♡MARI

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The worst drama, possibly the worst tv show in general, I have ever watched. I have nothing positive to say about this show other than that the cast was very attractive. However, the acting was sub par, the plot line stupid and contrived, and the overall drama was boring and cliche as a result. I went in with an open mind hoping to delve into a fantasy drama heavy on idol actors. I was even open to the vampires in high school trope. The first 3 or so episodes were quite bearable. Not great but not yet the worst thing I'd ever seen. The plot seemed straightforward if not a little dumb and the characters were all easy to understand. Yet somehow, less than a fourth of the way through the show, the drama fell apart. The characters became caricatures. The plot became weirdly political (as in political within the world of the drama) and everyone got angsty in less than an episode. I just didn't see where it was going but i stuck with it and hoped it'd regain its footing. Then the flashbacks started, the weird introduction of a period drama right in the middle of everything. I didn't understand. Why?? What was the point? At that point I started skipping large parts of episodes and eventually whole episodes altogether. I watched the last episode in its entirety just so I'd know how it ended but wow what a huge waste of my time. Never watch this drama. It's truly trash.

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I dropped this probably for many of the same reasons that many people did. I read the Manhwa before watching it. As anyone who read any reviews of this show knows, it doesn't follow it at all.

That disappointment aside, I still think dropping it wasn't a bad choice. The shift between the 4th and the 5th episode is too much. It's like the writer was hit by creative inspiration. They had this story as a base and then went to the moon with it. Which is wonderful, really. I would love it if more writers took more risks with their stories. But as the writer went off to the moon, they needed to take us with and they didn't. It wasn't just hard to follow, which would have been more forgivable, but honestly jarring. Jarring's not good. Jarring is dropping.

Besides that, the Pretty was good. The actors were great, even if Seol Hyun was a little green and awkward, the two actors really stepped in and then none of that mattered. I was surprised and impressed by the sexuality (as a tangible feeling of lust, not showing actual sex) displayed in the first couple of episodes, which Korea seems reluctant to show in most adult dramas, let alone ones based around teenagers. But still I wish they'd show it more in more Vampire type shows, as that's half the appeal of the lore, the sexual tension around it.

I can't recommend the show because of how it doesn't take you with it, but I can't be mad at it because it does everything else so well.

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fast forward

So it started off rough but as soon as it started getting better it went off into the past halfway thru and became a period drama. if this was something that would be done they should have at least had snippetts. I fast forward to see the ending. The Series was overall disappointing………………………………………………………………….,,,,,,……………………………………………………………,,,.,,,,,. xxxxxxxxcccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxooxoxooxxoxoxoxoxooxoxooxoxoxxoxo

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