Bring It On, Ghost (2016)

It has been a while since I've enjoyed a drama so much! While I usually manage to finish all the dramas I start watching, I don't always feel that drawn to them and I don't hurry to watch the episodes because they usually don't catch my attention that much. But that wasn't the case with this drama at all! It was sooo good, from start to finish! The characters were interesting, the actors did their job perfectly and the story was an interesting one on its own!

I even shipped the main pairing and I can't usually say I ship the main pairings. I do enjoy them and I like their scenes, but they're not enjoyable enough to make me ship them. However, that wasn't the case with the main pairing from this drama at all! Taec Yeon and Soo Hyun's chemistry was off the charts for me, they really managed to convey feelings so well and made me impatiently wait for their next romantic scene.

Monk Myung Chul, In Rang and Cheon Sang were the comedic reliefs needed in this drama. I feel that the actors did a great job with their characters and they made me laugh a lot and enjoy the drama more.
And last, but not least, I think that Kwon Yool did an amazing job with the evil character, he managed to play two characters in one and I enjoyed it a lot.

I definitely recommend this drama! It has romance, drama and comedy and if you're into the horror stuff as well, it has that as well with the ghosts and evil spirits. Enjoy watching it!

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Childish FL and overused tropes

I didn't like the way they made the FL's character so childish and annoying. Not to mention, the women in the show tend to be victims or have things happen to them, as opposed to making things happen like the men. There are also too many male characters as opposed to female ones.

Dislike:
—Repetitive use of "will they, won't they?" It was bad enough the first time around, but they repeated this thrice. Old tropes.
—The way the FL’s character is written: she’s super annoying, but that is not the fault of the actress.
—One character hiding things and meddling for the other characters’ “own good,” and then telling the truth for no apparent reason. If they were protecting this character all this time, why the sudden change? So many awful things could have been avoided if he was truthful and forthcoming sooner.
—Conceited ML
—ML character is too tragic.
—Ratio of male to female actors

Like:
—Special effects
—Unexpected reveal for one character



Save your precious time and watch something else. If you’re interested in this genre, I’d recommend “Oh, My Ghost,” the Thai version. I haven’t watched the Korean version.

If you’re looking for supernatural or fantasy dramas, here are some suggestions.
—The Legend of Shen Li
—The Witch’s Diner
—Mystic Pop-Up Bar
—Sell Your Haunted House
—Missing: The Other Side (be prepared to cry)
—Memorist

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Let's Fight Ghost definitely isn't looking to break any records for style or originality, but I think it's a solid addition to any drama watcher's viewing history. The story itself is executed in a fresh, fun manner, and the humor is a great blend of dark, irreverent and slapstick--all combined with a lighter, fun directing style. The world could definitely have done with some more development, there were a few relationships or characters that could've been better fleshed out (detectives, grandma, Bong-Pal's crush)--even just some third party exposition would've been nice to lend context to their part in the story. But I laughed anyway, and don't regret watching it.

But let's break it down.

Acting/Cast: The characters themselves aren't super complex, but I'm well satisfied with the performance everyone put in (except perhaps our villain, who seemed a bit obvious in their acting at times to me. Taecyeon has improved since I last watched him act--although by no means a Ji Sung, he managed to portray Bong Pal like no other actor could have, I think. It was a great mixture of gruff and sweet, hard and shy, tough and marshmallow. I'd date Bong Pal, any day. Kim So-Hyun did a great job as our resident amnesiac ghost, bright and bubbly and fun. She carried some of the deeper emotions well, and I look forward to seeing more of her in the future. They acted past their real life age gap well and I didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable with anything that happened in that regard.

Music: I don't normally have a lot to say when it comes to music, but the OST here was fabulous. It's a bit more obvious than some other dramas, but that totally works for it, and the sound effects are pure gold. Enjoy every tiger growl, western twang and twinkly blink you can!

Rewatch Value: It's on my rewatch list, does that count? I watched a few episodes multiple times while showing it to friends and family, and it still held its laughs. Good job!

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Pretty Good Ghost Story

Story
This was actually a good supernatural drama. I honestly wasn't expecting to laugh so much here. It's a light and sometimes fluffy romance, with a hint of ghost. I wouldn't say this was scary, SCARY. But it did had a couple of jump scares that caught me off guard. The story as follows, boy can see ghosts, boy falls for an adorable yet clingy ghost. Evil ghost came back for boy, there is a link between boy, ghost girl and evil ghost. Lots of stuff happens in-between, then queue ending. (I was trying not to give away as much as possible here.) The best part of this series that I enjoyed the most was with the two best friends which were Bong Pal's seniors. That was the greatest love story ever. (LOL, you can't change my mind!!!) They were hilarious, especially In Rang.

Acting/Cast
They were all great. If you were into 2PM back in the day, you'll recognize Teac Yeon. He was pretty good in here. So Hyun was great too. She was a mixture of quirky, annoying and bad ass. I liked the chemistry between them. Even though I got more of a sibling/best friend vibe from them. (I think it's because there is a big age gap between the actors and she was like 16 or so at the time of this show) The acting from everyone else didn't seem forced or awkward. Maybe Ki Young sometimes acted WAY too over dramatic, but let's chalk it up to that being his crazy character.

Music
Love the OST

Re-watch Value
Sure.

Overall
It was a fun, action packed show that will keep you entertained for a good 16 hours. Don't judge it, just go into it for the pure entertainment and laughs. (I've learned to never put too high of expectations on shows.)

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Wow this drama far exceeded my expectations. This legit made it onto my list of fav dramas it's so good honestly if you're thinking about watching it, DON'T HESITATE! I love supernatural romance dramas and this drama expertly combined the two genres to create this masterpiece. Love it. Also, if you're put off by the "Horror" tag, don't be. It's not scary at all in my opinion. Of course, I know everyone has different tolerances of horror but the horror in this drama is very VERY minor so don't worry.

So the plot, very entertaining. Each episode has a new ghost with their own backstory that must be fought and each one is more entertaining than the last. Oh and I should mention, in the summary for the drama, it says the male and female lead "accidentally kiss and sparks fly". To be honest this is kind of misleading. This isn't a love at first sight, kiss, touch or whatever drama. In fact, maybe because of the age gap between the lead actors, the kisses are sometimes fake. You know, the camera trick kind of kiss where their heads just hover awkwardly close to each other. God I hate that. But they still have really cute moments that make up for the lack of real kisses so I didn't really mind. Anyway, the sparks it refers to have a completely different meaning and it's very interesting. Although, the main plot point that is revealed several episodes in is quite predictable, usually I don't like that. But, luckily, the comedic aspects of the drama made up for it. As with many dramas, I think the first half of the drama is slightly more refined than the last half of the drama. It's to be expected really, that's when everything kicks off and the writers are trying desperately hard to wrap the plot lines up into a neat little bow in 16 episodes. But again, the comedy makes up for it (though there is less comedy in the last half as the funniest characters aren't involved with the main plot line). Seriously though, this is quite possibly the funniest drama I have ever watched, but I will talk more about that later on. So yeah, the plot was good, I enjoyed it.

Acting, loved it. Ok Taec Yeon and Kim So Hyun worked very well together. They put across the emotions of the characters really well. I'm sure it's very difficult to be accepted in society when you tell them your girlfriend is a ghost and I think they dealt with the matter in quite a mature way. To be honest, I would rather they didn't have the awkward fake kisses and instead have more subtle intimacies. Can't turn down a tight hug or a forehead kiss. But anyhoo, despite that, they work so good together as a team. I don't know about you, but if I see a couple that have a cool handshake or high five a lot, I am on the floor. I don't know why, I guess I just love it when a couple are best friends as well as lovers, that just makes their moments extra special for me. Also, the way Bong Pal cares so much for Hyun Ji just squeezes, punches and slams my poor, sappy kokoro on the floor. The way he looks at her... UGH! Yeah anyway, I love their relationship and even when a spanner is thrown into the works they bring it back round.

Joo Hye Sung is the villain in this tale and he is your typical template psychopath. Talks slowly and quietly, smashes things, yells at random moments to scare you. It works. Damn he was creepy. Sometimes I find that villains in dramas have pretty weak reasoning as to why they are killing people and all. But in this one, his past is perfectly woven into the genre and plot of the drama. His actions aren't predictable either, you're constantly wondering how the protagonist and antagonist are going to meet and battle it out. I also like how we're not introduced to him at the very beginning. The writers weren't like, "Hey, here's your villain, watch out lol". They slowly introduced him and his actions became more and more deadly as time went on. All in all, he was a well written villain, though slightly stereotypical.

KIM IN RANG AND CHOI CHEON SANG! MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS! POSSIBLY MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS OF ANY DRAMA EVER! My god they were the funniest duo I have ever seen. Literally every scene they were in made me cry laughing. Usually it takes a lot to make me laugh in dramas, I have a very specific sense of humour. But they nailed it with these two. I'm laughing just thinking about it now. The choice of actor for these two couldn't have been more perfect and the way their characters were written was masterful. Even if you don't want to watch a supernatural/horror, just please watch it for them, you won't regret it. Kudos to Lee David and Kang Ki Young for portraying such hilarious wacky characters. They are what I miss the most about this drama. Incredible.

Finally we have Myung Chul. What a lovable character. Since Bong Pal lives by himself, Myung Chul is like a father figure who eats A LOT. That's probably why I relate to him so much. His character works as an exorcist who is in a bit of a slump. His glory days are long gone and now his reputation has hit rock bottom. Despite this, Bong Pal still trusts in him, mainly because he is his only confidant who is human and knows that he can see ghosts. I love the way Myung Chul is written in this story. He is so protective of Bong Pal and just wants him to be happy. What a guy. As he, Kim In Rang and Choi Cheon Sang are supporting characters, there isn't much to say development wise about their characters, but I still think they make one hell of a contribution to the drama.

I think the OST fit really well. Though the song Midnight Run is pretty metal and I think that was a bit over the top for the scenes it was used in. My favourite tracks have to be Console Myself and U & I. Console Myself was perfect in this drama, it was quite haunting in a way. How ironic. I love U & I just because it's a tune lol.

Would I watch this drama again? HELL YES. Mainly because of Kim In Rang and Choi Cheon Sang. I'm not even exaggerating they are hilarious. I watch a lot of melodrama and action/thriller dramas so this was a really nice change of pace.

Wow sorry this is a really long review but I had a lot to say, well done if you have read it all. I hope I have convinced you into watching this drama because honestly it's so good and it deserves more recognition.

Anyway that's all for now, bye lol.

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What a cute, fun show!

I will confess to binge watching this show over the course of just a few days. Before I started watching it I thought it might skew a little young for my tastes and wasn't really expecting to be that into it. However, the characters are all in college and are pretty mature. I love shows about outsiders so I was really invested in Bong Pal's forming some connections with the living beyond just the Monk.

If you love mystery, cohabitation hijinks, and stories about outsiders, this show is for you. Solid writing, acting, chemistry, pacing - just a fun smooth ride. It is a little cartoonish in style sometimes and can be silly, but has its dark turns too. The romance is cute and the ghosts are creepy and the bad guy is scary. The writing and directing make all the elements fit together smoothly though.

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i really liked the story & The show is light & nice, cause the main story is the same as (just like heaven) the american movie but i've to say that there were a huge weak point at this drama , which was the several ghosts side stories which distract u alot from the main story & made the drama a little boring they put it just to fill the drama we already knew that (Ok Taec ) is a ghost hunter so y repeating the events with different side stories doesn't serve the drama at all from my point of view it would be much better if they made that ghosts stories related to main leads like giving (Ok Taec ) & (Kim So) a hint or help about their past lives or just reducing the no of ep. which 'll be much better & i saw also that lee david & kang lee over acting i knew that these r their roles but it turned from being funny to absurdity two things provoked me so cause they were illogical at all first (kim so) didn't help (ok taec) even once in cleaning or preparing food although she can hold things normally second how come that a ghost didn't has a place to stay in, COME ON she can stay any where at the most luxurious houses like the president palace ~.~ & how come she can sleep, eat or feel hungry , get sick , drown, wash her teeth & body or wearing clothes she is just a spirit these things are for bodies not souls may be this 'll be SPOILER there were many flaws like how did the evil spirit knew that the incantation was with (kim so) how did her mom knew that she was making a favor for a strange man how come (kim so) remember every thing but not anything while she was with (ok taec) a spirit if u could skip these points u'll really enjoy that drama For me it began to be really interested from ep.11 I really didn't like the end for (Kwon Yool) i feel so sorry for him cause he was a real victim T_T

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Une merveilleuse découverte !

J'avais ce drama sur ma liste depuis très longtemps mais je n'envisageais pas forcément de le voir tout de suite n'ayant que peu d'infos dessus et le site (Netflix) ne proposant même pas de bande annonce, je me suis bêtement dit que c'était parce qu'il ne devait pas casser des briques.

Fort heureusement, j'ai lu une critique qui m'a poussé à regarder la série...
Je ne vais pas me lancer dans une critique très longue, je tiens juste à donner mon ressenti.

L'histoire :

De prime abord, ce drama m'a fait penser à Master's Sun car effectivement il traite de personnes capables de voir les fantômes et les combats et/ou les aide mais sans l'aspect Chaebol du lead masculin, ni l'aspect irritant que m'a donné la lead féminine et c'est déjà très rafraîchissant en soi.

Ensuite, effectivement, les effets spéciaux sont au rendez-vous, c'est bien fait, crédible et ils s'inscrivent bien dans l'histoire sans en faire trop. On découvre ainsi, beaucoup sur le folklore de la vie après la vie vue par les coréens et je trouve que certains aspects sont mieux expliqués et/ou mieux inscrits dans l'histoire que dans Arang and the Magistrate, ce qui également, est un bon point a mon sens.

Les personnages :

Concernant les acteurs, je suis allé.e de découvertes en découvertes car je ne connaissais aucun des rôles principaux mais j'ai hâte de les voir dans d'autres productions tellement leurs rôles respectifs et leur jeu d'acteur m'ont bluffé.e!

Si on se met à parler des rôles plus secondaires, j'avais déjà « rencontré » Kim Sang Ho (le moine Myeong Cheol) notamment dans le City Hunter coréen où il joue un rôle qui comporte des similarités avec celui de ce présent drama. Il apparaît ici à la fois comme père de substitution, ami mais également guide voire conscience du lead masculin. Bien qu'il lui arrive de commettre des erreurs car il n'en est pas moins humain, il fait tout pour se rattraper et malgré sa mise ou ses actions parfois plus que négligées, c'est quelqu'un qui m'apparaît comme pur dans ses intentions profondes.

Ensuite, le duo comique, j'ai nommé Lee David (Kim In Rang) et Kang Ki Young (Choi Cheon Sang) que je connaissais bien car l'ayant vu dans de nombreux drama comme, par exemple, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim où il joue également un rôle qui m'apparaît assez similaire même si moins poussé qu'ici. Alors, ces deux compères sont non seulement drôles à chacune de leurs apparitions, mais aussi je pense qu'on peut leur décerner la palme des « best bro' ever », en effet, même s'ils sont terrifiés, quelque soit les épreuves qui se présentent, ils restent ensemble et sont toujours là pour aider. Et ils vont jusqu'à inclure le couple lead à leur petit duo.

La réalisation :

Le drama est bien rythmé à mon sens et l'intrigue se déroule sans accroc. Les secrets sont dévoilés en temps utile et on a pas de trucs type Deus ex machina qui ruine l'ensemble comme dans d'autres production sur le même genre d'histoire (de fantômes!) que j'ai pu voir jusqu'à maintenant.
La romance est bien présente mais j'aurai aimé qu'elle soit un poil moins sage sur la fin concernant les relations entre les lead et la mère de l'héroïne mais ça n'enlève rien au reste de l'œuvre.

Finalement, je dirais que le plus gros point négatif de ce drama c'est de n'être pas assez représenté et pas assez connu, j'ai adoré le voir et il restera longtemps dans ma mémoire et dans mon top ten.

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

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After watching the first episode I was so hyped that I just couldn't stop watching it until it finished! There are many things that I loved at this drama (e.g. the ghosts, the side characters, the mystery and fantasy elements, the monk, the stories behind each ghost etc.) but also some that slightly bothered me (e.g. after the female lead woke up she wasn't that badass anymore as she was as a ghost, the last episode was lacking and their romance somehow wasn't as interesting, even started to think that she doesn't deserve Bong Pal or their ghost hunting club, I really hoped that they would continue their job after she woke up , or her mom... I understood at first why she was acting like that but later on it annoyed me so much etc.). Loved Bong Pal's character, his personality, his way of being. Tough his ghost killing started by saving money to repair his eyes at the end it turned into giving peace to the dead (as the monk said why he does exorcism). They helped many good ghosts to find peace. Their backstories sometimes broke my heart (e.g. the ghost child). The way he meets the female lead is definitely funny, laughed so much. It was a pleasure to see how they started to fall in love and how Bong Pal's heart started to open up for her ( he cooked for her, bought the dress she wanted, took care of her etc. ) The fact that he met the two crazy sunbae's helped him to be a more sociable person and their teamwork was also on point (even tough Bong Pal did the dirty job). They actually made me laugh so much each time I saw them, they were like the pepper and salt in this drama. Loved the fighting scenes. The ghost were absolutely amazingly made and in the same time so creepy, some of them scared the s out of me. :)) At first I really hated the professor, the way he could mask his evilness just stunned me, I cannot believe how many people and how easily he could kill just to get what he wanted; however at the end I felt pity for him because he wasn't a bad person, he at first wanted to protect her mom from her abusive father but after the evil spirit went into him and killed his downfall started. His mom shouldn't have pushed him far from her, I think that also contributed to his dark side. I was really happy to see that at the end he forgave his mom and she realized her mistake and started acting like a caring mother. The monk was an another favorite character. He was always trying to protect Bong Pal, he would have even give his life for him. I was so glad when Bong Pal asked him to move in with him and thought of him as a family member. The pace of the episodes are really good, I didn't felt draggy at all. Sometimes there were so many things happening in one episode that it kept me hooked. It was a pleasure to watch this drama, laughed and cried a lot , I enjoyed each episode! Definitely worth watching! (sometimes with the lights on)

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Mediocre at best, but nice if you have some time to spare

I believe that there’s not really much to say about Bring it On, Ghost. And I’ll not try to sugar coat it. It’s not bad overall, but it’s not exceptional either. It’s just average, and I think that writing about average dramas is the hardest task there is.
Bring it Ghost is mostly carried by secondary characters that mostly work as a comedy relief here. The pair of students and always hungry old monk are usually the most interesting thing that’s happening on the screen.

So this drama started off as bad as it could actually. From the start I wasn’t really liking it, it felt mediocre at best. We’ve already had ghost motive in other dramas that made it more interesting than this one. Secondary characters helped a bit and actually were the reason that I’ve decided to stay by it (I mean, who could resist Kang Ki Young’s appeal, king’s of the secondary characters?). The main couple was promising and chemistry between them seemed to work, as long as they wouldn’t make a romantic couple out of them, which obviously happened.

But still, I’ve decided to watch it till the end. First, because I really don’t like dropping dramas, secondly because after Vincenzo I was really curious what Ok Taec Yeon was really capable of.

And the villain was honestly interesting from the beginning and surprisingly didn’t end up being completely over exaggerated character.

This drama certainly needs it’s time to get up to speed. Which isn’t necessary good, since you need to actually survive to have any form of fun here.

The ghosts’ side stories were mostly interesting on their own, sometimes even more than the main plot. They certainly made the whole drama easier to watch. In the end this is a “monster per episode” type of drama for most part and it swiftly was pushing everything forward.

The thing that I couldn’t get past here was logic behind the way ghosts function.It just seemed so weir idea that ghosts need actually food and sleep to function that I wasn’t able to get used to it.

In the end unfortunately it become just a mediocre and forgettable drama at best. The one that you need a synopsis to to actually remind yourself what it was about. I don’t want to be harsh here it’s not that I regret watching it. It actually had some quite good moments when I believed that I can really start enjoying it. Like I’ve said before, it’s not a bad drama. It’s just a drama to watch in the middle of things, where you don’t necessary need to focus much. If you need something to watch in between series like Mouse or Strangers from Hell, this is something for you.

And honestly, if Ok Taec Yeon won’t make you feel better then I don’t know what will. This guy can emanate really cute vibes when he wants to and he created surprisingly likeable character.

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Light-hearted, No Frills Supernatural Romantic Comedy

Don't be fooled by the ordering of the genre tags: this is definitely a romantic comedy first and a supernatural action series second. Is it bad? Well, no, but it's not amazing either. I think it's about as you'd expect with gorgeous actors and a workable plot. Kim So Hyun stars as the cutesy, loveable but sassy, gorgeous female lead. Ok Taec Yeon is the dorky, sometimes shirtless, good natured, earnest male protagonist. Lee David and Kang Ki Young play the silly but endearing side kicks. Kwon Yool, Kim Sang Ho, and Baek So Yi round out the cast with good performances as well.

The story has a sensible beginning, middle, and end and is consistent with being about...well fighting ghosts. There are some twists and turns but nothing earth-shattering. A lot of 16 episode Kdramas struggle to wrap up their story, but this one doesn't. It places the story climax squarely in Episode 15 with 16 left to tie up all the loose ends in the way that you would probably expect. I actually found myself thinking that the ending was dragging a little bit, but honestly I think that's because most Kdramas have developed the bad habit or cramming in a billion facts into the last episode.

On the more negative side, I found the soundtrack to be relatively forgettable. All I can hear in my head is the ending/main theme swell of "I'm just waiting for youuuuuuuuuu" but otherwise I barely remember that the show had any music at all. It had a lot of stereotypical, spooky ghost music but I couldn't even tell you what it sounded like (aside from some screaming tracks here and there).

It's a fun watch to just turn off your brain and enjoy something, but don't expect anything groundbreaking here.

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