Goblin (2016)

If you are hesitating to watch this at all, please....just throw out your reservations and watch this. Goblin has just made my favorites list. Even my husband got sucked in and loves this show. The cinematography was gorgeous, the music was amazing, the actors were perfect (Hello, Gong Yoo!), the story was heartbreakingly beautiful.

This is the first time I've watched any of the main actors except Yoo In Na. I have now officially developed a Gong Yoo crush and understand why drama fans are enamored of him. Gong Yoo as Kim Shin/ Goblin was mesmerizing. I could listen to his voice for days. Every scene he was in was a treat. Every emotion that his character had was palpable, and his smiles could light up the sky.
And Kim Go Eun as Ji Eun Tak was super cute. She had a lot of detractors and the writer got a lot of flak for making her so young. But the character and her age were perfect for this story and how it unfolded.
Lee Dong Wook as the Grim Reaper had the perfect deadpan (heh) delivery. And he may be the best male "crier" I've seen yet.

The story will make you laugh and make you cry. Not only is the love story epic, but so is the bromance between Goblin and Reaper. I've found that I'm quite fond of this fantasy genre and this has been done so well. I have hardly any criticisms of this show at all because even the flaws faded into nothing noticeable for me. It's sweet, funny, romantic, sad, tragic, beautiful...

The music was perfect and perfectly lovely. I don't always pay much attention to the music, but this show utilized it so well and chose the perfect songs. So many people loved even the intro song that they made a special recording of it to make it a full length song (Round and Round, but may also be found under Never Far Away). Beautiful by Crush was the best song in my opinion, and I believe that it was the theme song for our main couple. And Stay With Me by Chanyeol and Punch was another favorite.

Rewatch value is high - if not everything, then there are many, many favorite scenes that I'll go back to and relive the feels. :)

Leggi di Più

Worth watching despite the flaws

I loved this drama, such a unique story!

After this drama, whenever it rains I remember Goblin and think to myself: "Oh no, is he sad again? :(" The male lead of course is my crush :D but the female lead is also sooo cute! I loved her bubbly personality and positive energy! Yes, she did act a bit childish as many people said, but I personally didn't mind it because I thought it suited her very well.

In general, it's a very cute drama and one of the best ones I have seen. Although the last few episodes could have been better, in my opinion.

[Downsides]:

1) VERY slow
I had to watch 90% of this drama at x1.5 speed due to its slow pace. Many scenes were also shot in slow motion.

2) Fillers / Repetitive Scenes
I had to skip over A LOT of flashback scenes of past memories. Honestly, they could have made this drama 8 episodes instead of 16.

3) Age Difference
There was a huge age gap between the two leads. It looked as if he was in his 40s, dating a high school student. It was a bit weird, but I had to ignore it and focus on their adorable personalities to enjoy the drama.

Despite all that, I'm glad I watched this drama and I still recommend people to watch it.
Enjoy :)

Leggi di Più

This drama had been recommended to me quite a lot and I finally decided to give it a shot. A very cute and slow burn love story, while also having a really great found family story that goes on as well. The one downfall to such a great story - a not so great ending - so if you're looking for something that ends happy and leaves you feeling satisfied, this isn't the watch for you. While the overall story and characters make this drama so worth it, the end made it fall so flat for me and actually had me a bit disappointed and confused.

I will add - a lot of people have a problem or find it problematic about the age gap in the relationship (900+ vs 19), but if you can look past this it's a great love story about fated and destined love.

-- Spoilers Below --

Kim Shin is a goblin that has been sentenced to live out an immortal life as punishment for the many sins he committed in his first lifetime. He has a ghostly blade stuck in his chest and the only way for him to be able to die and rest peacefully is to meet his destined, Goblin's Bride, and have her pull it out. From the outside, you can tell that Kim Shin is caring, loving and kind. He loves giving out tiny miracles and helping people out, but also harbors deep trauma and sadness from his life. He has outlived everyone that he once knew and will continue to do so.

Eun Tak is a senior in high school who can see ghosts. From a young age, she has been able to see and talk to lingering ghosts, but avoids doing so after her mother dies. She runs into a grim reaper as well, but is able to make it away due to the kindness of a granny passing by. She lives her life out with ghosts pointing out and telling her that she's the Goblin's Bride. On her 19th birthday, she decides to finally make a wish after her life is in a rut. Dealing with her abusive aunt and family to being bullied in school, she needed something. After blowing out her candles, there appears Kim Shin behind her. It starts a whirlwind up and down relationship between the two, where she knows she's the Bride but Kim doesn't believe her. They slowly fall in love and begin to actually feel for one another.

Wang Yeo, or known more as Mr. Reaper, is Kim Shin's friend that he lives with. He leads people on their death journey, helping them on their way before their next life. He himself knows that to become a Grim Reaper, you have to commit a great sin, but cannot remember his past life at all, not even his own name. He eventually runs into a woman on the street and feels as though he as seen her before and begins crying. This sensation doesn't only happen the one time, but again when he see's a painting that Kim Shin had been keeping of a woman. He falls in love with Sunny, a beautiful and witty business owner, and tries to be a normal human towards her. While at some point, she grabs him and he sees her entire lifetime, learning that she was involved in his and Kim Shin's, her being the latter's sister. They learn of his real past life, that he was the King that slaughtered many, and even was the cause of death of Sunny and Kim Shin.

Every single happening in their lives happens because of an evil entity named Park Joong Hun. He caused the car crash that Kim Shin reversed to safe Eun Tak, and he causes every little happening of possible death to her after. They eventually figure out his true identity and in the climax of the show, Kim Shin pulls out the sword and banishes him. Not long after he himself is banished to a world of nothing but snow and cold. 10 years go by and Eun Tak has no recollection or memory of the Goblin, but can feel in her heart that she is mourning the loss of someone/something important to her. Her and Sunny help each other out, both dealing with their grief of losing a loved one. Eventually because of the contract they made before his passing, Eun Tak makes a wish and he comes back. It takes a while for her to regain her memory, and after that it begins a happily ever after. They get married and everything seems well...

This is where I begin my small rant on the end of this show. After they get married, Mr. Reaper is waiting on a deadly car crash that is going to kill an entire bus of kindergarteners. Before this is slotted to happen, Eun Tak drives by and waves at him before continuing on. At this moment is when he realizes that she is about to die and get her death card and that HE was the reaper she was destined to see at age 29 just like he was at 9 and 19. She ends up sacrificing her life to save the kids, due to her destiny of having to die. A couple of years after her life ends, the Reaper's punishment is over and he can reincarnate in his next life. Before this he also leads Sunny to her afterlife and reincarnation. At the end, it's shown that all 3 (Eun Tak, Mr. Reaper, and Sunny) have all reincarnated, but Kim Shin is not apart of Mr. Reaper's or Sunny's new life, but they end up together again. Him and Eun Tak meet up again in Canada when she is 19 again. It ends with them seeing each other again.
My faults with this ending is in the bigger picture, was what he did that awful to deserve this bad of a punishment? Even the Reaper, who is Wang Yeo, has his punishment ended and can move on. It's also stated several times that you have 4 lives, and they should all be on their 3rd or 4th. So Kim Shin gets to continue and live on even after they can't come back anymore. Just a sad and flat ending for all of the build up.

Leggi di Più

Extraordinary

My favorite kdrama of all time
I have watched lots of kdramas which are really interesting but trust me on this one, Infact when I am being asked to recommend a kdrama for someone, the first kdrama that comes to my mind is "goblin", it isn't my first kdrama but somehow I can't forget it. Everything in this drama was on point, the acting skills, OST, story line, chemistry between both ML's and the second lead's.

If you're looking to watch something funny at the same time heart warming, romantic, exciting, almost realistic despite the fact that it is fantasy, you should definitely watch goblin
+ If you want to have a good cry too lol, it is worth every bit of your time.

Leggi di Più

A great watch

If I had to summarize this drama in one word, I'll be - fillers. In my opinion, the story was stretched unnecessarily, and it felt like forever, rather painful to watch through certain scenes. It got so annoying at one point that I nearly considered dropping this drama. Adding to that the whole age gap thing just felt pretty weird to me, the kissing scenes pulled the whole 'romance' out of the scene. I just couldn't take the 'love' part seriously for the first couple of episodes, it just felt very out of place? I dropped this after episode 13. But alas, I eventually had to go back. The awesome soundtrack and acting couldn't get out of my mind. The top-notched 'bromance' kept getting me curious about how the Reaper-Goblin relationship will grow and bloom into Episode 16.
For my money, the story was pretty decent. The bromance and the funny scenes added to an amazing experience. The acting was phenomenal and I LOVED every part of it. I'd be lying if I say I didn't want to see more of the story centered around certain side characters. Some felt like they deserved more screentime. Kim's General's reincarnation is a good example. Seeing his story, him happy with his family, living in comfort, possibly with Kim looking at him and iconically smiling would've been pretty satisfactory. The Reaper and Sunny scenes towards the end were SATISFYING. The best part after the bromance.
Goblin decided to have an open ending, which I would say was a pretty good idea. Despite wanting to know more about what happened to Goblin and the bride after they met again in Canada. I believe the open ending was more effective in leaving a strong impression on its viewers than a closed one. Ultimately being one of the elements that helped the show get a strong ending. Lastly, I wish there was some form of indirect interaction between the Reaper and the Goblin towards the very end. Leaving a "Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes" taste in the mouth, but well, guess it's too good to be true.

I didn't initially plan on giving a high rating to this drama on MDL, but I am an emotional creature and the last 2 episodes got me good.

Leggi di Più

not thrilled with this one

I actually had started this drama once and could not finish it because I did not like the plot, but after a year or so I decided it was time for me to finally watch it. I liked it but I found myself cringing everytime she called him ajhussi. I loved the side couple.
I did not like the way the whole story ended, but the acting was amazing and the OST was so touching, I could listen to it all day. there was great action and suspense, but overall it was not my cup of tea.


I would recommend it so someone who is looking for a nice fantasy action romance and someone who does not care at alla about the enormous age gap and the cringey scenes.

Leggi di Più

Female Lead Was the Only Problem

So many people love this drama, but I feel like the same amount of people also complain about the age gap with the main couple. I don't have an issue with it as he is meant to be like 900 years old so it's whatever. The issue I had is that the female lead acted like a literal 12 year old for most of the movie.

Again, she's meant to be like 18 or whatever, which some people already had an issue with, but why did she act so child-like the whole movie? It was super annoying and gave me the creeps. Like, a little part of me hated on him for liking her when she's like that, but mostly it was just her behavior that gave me the creeps.

I honestly only finished this because Lee Dong Wook is my absolute favorite actor ever and the bromance between him and Gong Yoo's character was AMAZING. Female lead is the reason for the 9/10 above, and despite her being super cringey, I would totally re-watch this just to experience the bromance again.

Leggi di Più

Best K-Drama Fantasy I Have Ever Seen

This and Alchemy of Souls were the two shows that made me fall in love with K-Dramas. The plot of this story, considering just the Goblin's roommates, lends itself to so many funny, melancholy, and contemplative moments. The reaper, expertly played by LEE DONG WOOK, is a nice guy who offers the dead forgetting tea in a quaint room before they go through a lovely door to the afterlife. The goblin, Kim Shin, exquistely portrayed by GONG YOO, is a sympathic and lovable character with regrets of his past and a desire to protect the ones he loves. The girl who should not have lived, Ji Eun Tak, masterfully played by KIM GO EUN, is so lovable and level-heaed in this sometimes chaotic and fantastical story. The restaurant’s owner, Sunny, beautifully portrayed by Yoo In Na, is an eclectic and interesting character. I am not going to write plot spoilers, but I can say that this drama was one I really wanted to binge watch, and I came away loving the story, cinematography, and characters.

Leggi di Più

My Sept 2024 Recommendation Challenge

Long time this in my PTW, thanx to TianD and Recommendation Challenge, I've finally watched this...

The reason this so long in my PTW, because the duration of each episode. Make me watch more than 1h per episode, it's quite tormented. Haha... It always bored me at some point.... And as I predict, some episodes of this drama quite bored for me, those episodes make me feel when this will end and continue to the next one... Haha... So yeah, that's quite lowering the score for this drama for me. But of course there're also some episode that can evoke my emotion, so yeah it quite help the score for this drama.

Story about Kim Shin (KS) a general that's curse to be a goblin, due to his sin of killing innocent person just because he's stubborn & want to approach the king... With that curse, KS live immortality to wait for his bride to be born to kill him. After 900 years, KS help a woman & her baby, and with that decision, KS made his destiny, cause the baby that he saved is his bride...

19 years later, KS meet Ji Eun Tak (ET), the baby that he saved & also his bride. ET can see ghost as long as she remembered, and all the ghost always greet her as the goblin's bride. Cause when KS saved her, he also give her a mark & that mark indicate that ET indeed is the goblin's bride.

But that's mean everything went smoothly for KS & ET...? Of course not. ET has prove herself as the goblin's bride for KS, and little by little KS & ET are getting closer & closer to each other. They start to prove they're indeed the soulmate for each other & little by little their feeling for each other also grown into full blossom... So... How their relationship ended in the end...? Can they avoid the fact that ET born to kill KS...?

I think that's pretty much the story without giving any spoiler. Haha... Now let's talk about what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ The chemistry between Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun. They quite suitable for each other.
+ Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun are good actor/ess. I can see how captivated KS of ET from KS's first glaze of ET. And the grow of their relationship. How devastated when ET has to lose KS. Everything portrayed perfectly...
+ The interesting story of Grim Reaper & Sunny. Really funny to see Grim Reaper act like an idiot when they first met...

What I don't like:
- The long duration of each episode...
- The unclear Samshin Lady... Who the heck is this lady. See even MDL don't give the name to her... At first I thought she is the GOD, but turn out no... So who the heck is this lady...?????

Overall, this just another drama for my list. TianD said, "Goblin is a hit or miss." For me this is a miss.. Haha... And really until I finished write this, I even don't know what score to give this drama. So a little fair warning, I can still change the score many months from now... Haha....

Leggi di Più

Bewitching & Bittersweet Romance

If someone were to ask me to describe this series, I’m not sure I could do it justice. It’s about life and loss; joy and grief; hope and despair. It’s about letting go of the past to embrace the present and future; building a friendship with a rival; falling in love for the first time. It is, as Eun-tak says, a “sad love” story. Yet despite this show being an absolutely bewitching and bittersweet story, it didn’t quite work for me.

❤ This show works best when it focuses on the four main leads - Kim Shin, Grim Reaper, Ji Eun-tak, and Sunny. Kim Shin and the Grim Reaper shine whether they are bickering or bantering.

❤ It took me some time to get invested in the love story considering an immortal is attempting to romance a high school senior. I embraced their romance eventually, but it took me some time to get past the circumstances. Eun-tak’s sunny personality mixed with Kim Shin’s awakening emotions were the perfect mixture between silly and sweet.

❤ It’s too long for such a short story. Whole scenes from previous episodes we’re inserted into later episodes to pad it out to sixteen episodes, but it dragged down the pacing dramatically. I think it could have been well executed with half the run time.

❤ The person training to be the next assistant to Kim Shin, Yoo Duk-hwa, was only used as a plot device or the comic relief. The CGI was also pretty terrible, particularly in the earlier episodes.

❤ Be prepared for a bittersweet ending. This is a show that talks a lot about depression, loss, and grief. If you’re looking for a fun and feel good show, you might not enjoy this experience right now.

Leggi di Più

If you are like me and postponed this Kdrama for 3 years then this Review is for you.

As I said in the title, I postponed Goblin for so long after my friend recommended it to me dozens of times. I just couldn't bring myself to watch it for two reasons:-

1) Is it really as good as everyone is saying or will I be very disappointed?

2)Heard it will make you cry a lot which I wanted to avoid at all costs because I absolutely don't like Tragic or Sad stories. Life is complex enough. Why should we watch dramas which are sad too?

For the above questions the answers I found are:-

1) Yes it really is as good as everyone is saying. I can truly see the magic of this Kdrama and why it so beloved by so many. This is one of those few Kdramas which is truly an experience to be felt and seen by all and I will highly recommend anyone who hasn't watch it yet to watch when it feels right or when you find the time. You will love it for the friendships all the people in this world share, the trials they faced and overcame, the beauty of their love, the tragedy in lives which will make us weep for them, the characters and the actors who played them, the music and even the end. IT IS ALL WORTH IT!

2)This is not just a sad drama for the sake of being sad. It truly is an experience and though I cried, I am also happy I got to experience the beauty of this drama. Also, it's not completely sad. Life is beautiful and it is shown in this drama. Also love the mini stories of the people the Grim Reaper sends to the afterlife. Don't be intimidated by the sad ending like I was when I heard of it.

All in all just give this Kdrama a chance like I did and Trust me you won't regret it. It has the perfect blend of happiness, comedy, heartfelt emotional scenes and sadness just like our lives but in a more fantasy setting.
Goblin truly is One of a Kind

Leggi di Più