W (2016)

A well deserved happy ending

Absolutely loved the premise! The fact the Cheol was, initially, a fictional character inside a webtoon, then, one day, he becomes aware and free will starts coming into play against the webtoon's creator wishes.

Honestly, it was amazing and flawlessly executed. The "cartoonization" was so incredible! I loved all the special effects and transitions that were added.

Both leads were great in their roles. I especially loved Kang Cheol's character. It's not everyday one comes across a k-drama lead who's comfortable in his sexuality and an outrageously charismatic, arrogant flirt. The main couple had great chemistry and were so earnest and emotional in their performances. I couldn't help but root for them and shed a few tear during the heartbreaking moments.

The drama was insane and never ending. And it'll all get worse before it gets better. Like, way worse than you'll imagine. But if nothing else, this show guarantees you a crazy, entertaining ride.

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Really enjoyed the kdrama.

What I liked:
1. Central theme - This drama reminds me of Frankenstein. Debates about creator who perceives himself as god. debates about freewill.
2. Plot twists - I like the tricks derived by Yeonjoo to get to 'To be continued' in the first few episodes. Kang Cheol looked genuinely surprised. I love the suspense element.
3. Acting - I watched W after watching Han Hyo Joo in Moving. Love her performance in this series too. My first Lee Jong Suk's drama and I enjoyed his acting. I also enjoyed Kim Eui Sang's acting - he played Yeonjoo's father and the comic creator.

What I disliked:
1. Romance - Romance was ok. Wish they had more disagreements. Yeonjoo was quick to give into Kang Cheol's needs and demands & she was quick to fall in love too.
2. Plot - I can't compare the writing of this drama to the writing of original source but I find the drama lost its momentum once Kang Cheol's perception of "reality" change.

Favourite scene
When Kang Cheol shot someone in Mr Oh's house

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A drama like no other

It's a drama like no other. It's unique and it's fast paced. You certainly don't get bored and the story is extremely unpredictable. That is both its greatest strength and weakness. It really keeps you on your toes but since it's constantly fast-paced, it also tires you out. I needed several breaks - not because it's bad but because there was so much happening that I needed to recharge. Also heads up, because this drama will also require some brainpower for you to understand why and what is happening, so it's not something you should watch on the side. I saw many people being confused and dropping/disliking the drama because of that. Many perceived "plot holes" actually make sense when you pay enough attention. Not to say that there are no plot holes whatsoever, but it's not nearly as bad as some people claim.
I'm extremely conflicted on the romance. It happened extremely fast (and I honestly didn't understand why he fell that hard) and these romantic moments seemed quite unfitting in certain moments. The ending also left me feeling conflicted.
But overall, it's so unique and different from any other drama that it's definitely worth a watch.

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Original storyline

Stories based around alternative realities and timetravel can either be done well, or be very confusing. This is done quite well, and combined with a strong cast and good visual effects I would definitely say it is worth watching.

There were some instances when I found it confusing as to where they were, but that could also be because my attention was not fully on viewing (I was multitasking 🤹‍♀️).

It felt a bit dragged out at times, and the ending was not really surprising, even if the scriptwriters tried to trick us with some twist and turns in the events.

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I have never had a drama suck me in as fast as this one did in the first twenty minutes of the show. The first episode was a masterpiece that immediately captured my attention and I can't think of many other shows that accomplish that level of interest out of me with just one episode. This mystery thriller really stands out in a lot of aspects and while I have seen several other dramas with the concept of comic book characters becoming aware this one had so many new ways to go about it. Even watching this in 2023 for the first time this drama still stands strong against other more recent ones I have seen. It follows the main protagonist Chul in a very popular cartoon that has his whole family murdered and the murder then pinned on him. He then spends ten years searching for the real culprit by overcoming every obstacle in his path. The creator of the cartoon ends up becoming weary of his creation and tries to kill off Chul to end the story. Chul does not take that storyline laying down and finds a way to save himself by dragging the creator's daughter into the cartoon. This event begins the disastrous and anxiety ridden road between the two as they navigate the dangerous circumstances and fall in love.

Where this drama truly stands out is in its nail-biting edge of your seat twists and turns. Every episode delivers something surprising and unexpected at a fast pace that will have your heart racing as you watch. These unexpected events keep you guessing all the way till the end of the show so if thriller dramas is what you are looking for then you will find it here. The twists do often connect the coherent dots as the story moves along, even if you don't particular enjoy those dots at times it will still have your emotions on hyperdrive.

Where this drama had trouble was with the romance portion. I don't know if it was a lack of chemistry or not enough scenes to really convince you that the two actually like each other but the romance here was just boring. There were several cute moments in the first few episodes as they get to know each other but then too quickly and without reason the relationship progressed and that forced story line began to feel a bit awkward. The emotionally heavy scenes were not carried well between the couple either which just left you feeling a bit blah about their relationship. There was also too much hopping between worlds that occasionally got confusing and tiring. The ending also did not give me the sense of completion that I was hoping for. Almost like it just wasn't enough of an explanation to make me happy.

Even with its flaws I would still highly recommend you watch this drama as it kept me firmly attached to the screen and continuously guessing.

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I decided to watch this drama after reading the plot although by the review and comments read, people were not liking it.
When i started to watch.. It got me excited and anticipate the next episode more. I really like it. Then comes episode 9 which I think was the best episode.
I can almost feel the sadness that the characters felt. Then it started to become something that I really hope would end fast. Episode 10++ doesn't get me excited, it made me feel like dropping them. It was so much complicated that I felt bored watching it and hoping that it would end. I watched it until episode 14 and then decided to skip watching episode 15. Well I glad I skipped it because it doesnt feel like I actually missed 1 episode althought I didnt really know what happen lol.
The ending was.....rough...well..I'm not sure I like it. but it was okay.

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The plot is quite unique. so If you are looking for some drama to keep you motived watching this is your drama. You will enjoy it a lot - at least up to 12 episode.

Lee Jong Suk did a great job. Also Kim Eui Seong did, mainly in the last chapters.

But... there is many problems with the storyline and the interpretation of the main actress. These problems don't make of this drama a terrible one, but is enough to not give to it 10.

The story works well, more or less, until episode 12. Until this point is one of best drama of this year, after that is a very regular drama. It is because the drama begins to lose direction and logic.

The end is more or less expected.

I don't like the behaviour of Oh Yeon Joo, each episode she was becoming increasingly aphatic and annoying with her actitudes. In fact, the most important criticism is the poor performance of the main female. Several scenes lost even more their meaning by the way she played badly some emotions.

Park Soo Bong has the worse lines of dialogs of all drama.

I did not see him again.

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Failed execution

Y'all... I tried to finish this, I really did, but after maybe 7 or so episodes, I just had enough.

Actually, when I first started watching this, I was really invested because it had such an interesting premise, and I liked the two main leads (never watched any of ML's drama's I think but I watched HYJ's from like... 10 years ago lol). However, after the FL revealed to the ML the secret, it all just went downhill for me.

Everything just felt forced, and the more I watched on, the more it was evident to me that the two main leads just did not have any chemistry, which was a serious pain because they apparently already fell in love by the 7th episode and we weren't even halfway through the series yet (which normally, is totally fine, but again, no chemistry = painful to watch). The FL really grated on my nerves with her bumbling personality and her constant shocked/worried face and after watching one more episode, I was done with her antics.

I personally wouldn't recommend this, but maybe a good time waster for those that want to go for it.

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