A Korean Odyssey (2017)

A good start but...

Listen, this drama has a really good incipit.
The story is inspired by "Journey to the west" they had the "romance" element and others details.
The first half(10 episodes) are really good. the direct has made some pretty good choices.
after the episode 11 the story loose sense.
The ending is probalby one of the worst in kdrama history.
First of all is an "open ending" so the watcher has to drawn conclusion in a really complex world building.
Secondo of is "the journey of hero" in every story we have a character that grows.
Son oh gong is a villan in the begining, so he has to learn to be a better person through love.
The problem is nothing really change at all.
In the begining he was a bad guy and in the end we have a bad guy with a love interest.
He didn't grows, he remain the same, this is really big problem, he didn't learn anything from his "journey".
So if you want a drama to watch when you are bored, this can be a good piece of entertainment.
But if you're looking for something with a good plot and a story with sense, this drama isn't for you.

Leggi di Più

I had mixed feeling about this drama. It started out pretty well, but lost its charm along the way, but not not enough to stop watching it. I was curious about how the ending would turn out, and I was disappointed about the ending. Lee Seung Gi did an amazing job as Son O Gong, but I didn't like the female lead. I've seen her do better in other dramas. I loved Buja and would have liked a better ending for her. The Devil King stole the whole show. He did an amazing job, annoying at times but attractive. Unlike many other reviews, I didn't feel the chemistry between the leads, something was lacking between them.
But the best thing about this drama was the ost. The ost should definitely win the best ost of the year. Even a bad drama could turn better if it has a good ost, and this drama is one of them. Overall, I liked this drama, but not enough to watch it again. I would recommend this drama to anyone who have watched every other drama and would like a drama different to typical kdramas.

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I stopped watching korean dramas a while ago. I'm just tired and bored. It's only about looks, cute boys and girls doing cute things, damsels in distress who need the protection of a superhero. Where are strong female leads like in "Secret Garden" or "City Hall"? Where are the smart storylines? People talk about dramas like "Pinocchio", "Love from a distant star" or "Healer". Who can watch this until the end? It bores me to death, even though Ji Chang Wook ("Healer") is a terrific actor (everyone should see him in "Fabricated City"). Well, I don't want to bash other series, I'm just really disappointed with Korean Drama lately. So I came across THIS. First, I love Lee Seung Gi, he is my favorite actor (worldwide, honestly), his acting is incredible if he gets a good script. "Korean Odysee" had this kind of script. The fantasy elements, how the story progressed, the interaction between the characters - it is all great. Even minor characters are doing an incredible job. The first 10 episode of this drama deserve a 10/10 - or even more. I was not bored for one second, I didn't skip any parts (which I normally do, because ... I mean, who has the patience to go through a korean drama until the end? I sure don't). It is really, really good and highly entertaining. The love story is something I have never seen before and they did a really good job with it in the first half. Son Oh Gong is a great character who doesn't change over night and falls head over heels for the girl. It's a slow process which I really enjoyed. The whole drama (side stories included) is constantly pulling on your heart strings. The zombie girl was getting to me. Very charming actress. The secretary was also very likeable. I think I don't have to talk about Ma Wang, everyone seems to love him. Chae Seung Won plays this kind of role pretty often, but it never bores me. I have seen him in more serious roles like "Man in High Heels", he is very versatile. So why only 9,5 (which isn't a bad rating btw)? They dragged it out. That's pretty typical for Korean dramas. They start out incredible strong and then they lose their charm pretty fast. "Korean Odysee" lost it somewhere around ep 12/13 for me. I liked the female lead at the beginning, but to the end of the series, her face just looked like she was constantly crying. And, honestly, it annoyed me to death. So now I'm sitting here, glad that I could watch such a great drama, but also sad, that at the end the female lead had to became a mess. I'm still waiting for a strong woman to appear. No wonder I always loved Kim Sun Ah ("City Hall", "I Do, I Do", "My Name is Kim Sam Soon"). Korea, give us some charming and strong woman, please! Only then good actors like Lee Seung Gi can really shine.

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Drama starts out with all the right elements then, gets into a spin cycle of something that can't be identified in words beyond 'suck' ; but you don't want to admit to it.

I dropped this drama at ep 16 and realized I did the same with Seung Gi's last drama. I don't remember if the Hong sisters were involved but, the Donkey Kong ball setup in the Gu Book was too much for me.

Back to this drama though, I dropped this drama after I realized I wasn't enjoying the episodes as much as I thought I was. This usually happens for me after I finish a series a month or so after, not while watching.

watch this as filler while waiting for you main drama to come on.

I wouldn't recommend it.

*Edit* I came back to see how it ended.....I wish I hadn't. All this talk of prophecy and a big bad to do nothing but piss you off in disbelief. Don't watch this!!

A bunch of charming magical characters surrounding another boring heroine isn't worth it, especially with such a poorly executed story. Hong sisters, ya wrong for this.

Watch this mess and you'll see I'm right but, remember, I warned you. Dropping this from a 6 to a 4.5 because you should only watch it if you are a fan of the actors and want to watch all of that person's work.

Leggi di Più

This is a drama that gets set up spectacularly, and also crashes and burns spectacularly.

Hwayugi was my first introduction to the Hong Sisters and I am happy that I didnt allow it to taint my view of them because imo, the Hong Sisters are very good storyteller but the execution doesnt always live up to it.

If Hwayugi was watchable all the way till the end, its because it had an extremely compelling cast of characters as well as actors who had charm flowing out of their butt.

For 75 percent of the drama, you really get what you signed up for. Drama, flair, action, romance and the like. Its the last 25 percent that makes you want to throw your slippers at the screen.

On one hand, I do want to recommend it to people because on it's own merits, its a decent drama. But if things like plotting, pacing and neat endings get you going, it's best to stay away from this one. Or alternatively, watching all the episodes except the final one and plot your own happy ending.

Leggi di Più

Excellent story, could have better execution

I just finished binging so the feelings are raw. Wow, I'm going to think about this drama for a long while.

Where do I start? Firstly, I was hooked right from the beginning. Based very loosely on the Chinese legend 'Journey to the West', a story I grew up with due to my Chinese heritage, I was immediately intrigued. Also, the romance was a huge plus point.

The plot. It had many things going, don't get me wrong. From the start where it followed many parts of the legend while adding romance to the mix, I was very excited for this drama. However the plot gradually dragged on, for I think 20 episodes were too long. 15-16 would be perfect. The cast was huge, so that means that there were many sub-stories for our secondary characters, which were all interesting, but they diluted the storyline for our main leads. Seriously, the chemistry and romance had so much wasted potential, I felt like I didn't see enough. Also, as the drama progressed, we got to see less and less of our female lead. Like seriously? I was mildly infuriated, if you ask me. However, when we got to see our main couple, the romance was so cute (and sometimes heartbreaking, prepare yourselves), I learned to treasure those moments. The CGI- seriously, what the heck was that? Not the worst, but could have been so much better, sometimes I feel sorry for our actors, if they knew they acted their hearts out only for lousy CGI.

The ending. Too unsatisfactory. After all our leads been through, we only get that ending? Seriously. And our secondary characters were not given justice too. However all in all this drama was great, the romance, the plot, the fantasy aspect, the ending- unsatisfactory, but I'll live.

Now the actors. Lee Seung Gi as Son Oh Gong- fantastic acting- he really brought the character to life- and it followed the Chinese legend closely too: he was cheeky, mischievous, arrogant, and had his strong morals. The chemistry with our female lead was strong too- so overall, his acting was one of the best in the show.

Cha Seung Won as Ma Wang- acting was also superb by our actor- but the character seemed at times to only provide comedic relief for our male lead, which means: wasted potential. His backstory could have been given more attention too- I didn't feel as much for him as I wanted to. However, CSW was great, and his acting was fantastic.

Oh Yeon Seo as Samjang. I've read many complaints, however, if you guys knew about the original character she was based on (Tang San Zang)- it would explain a lot more: the original character was passive, powerless, and meant to guide Son Oh Gong (Sun Wu Kong). He was Ohgong's mentor or shifu in fact. However, this could make her character seem very one-dimensional, which I agree, but she also had many points going for her- she was strong-headed and stood her ground, and very independent and mature. OYS's eyes are beautiful and I wished she used them more to her advantage- her acting definitely falls from LSG's or CSW's. But not horrible to that extent, for I still enjoyed her character and her romance with LSG was fantastic.

Lee Se Young as Bu Ja/ Ah Sa Nyeo. Loved her- my favourite character in fact. When she was Bu Ja, she brought out the lifeless zombie character, when she was Ah Sa Nyeo, she was bolder and more charismatic, and I could see the difference. Of course she fell to our more seasoned male actors, however she was impressive for someone building experience. My favourite character because she had so many layers- when she was Bu Ja, she was finding her place and identity, when she was Ah San Nyeo, a supposed antagonist, she displayed many signs of humanity, that made me feel for her. Sometimes she was confused too because she didn't know if it was Ah Sa Nyeo or Bu Ja that made her act/feel this way. Ahhh, the layers. Seriously, just watch the drama to see what I'm talking about.

I'm only going to talk about my favourite characters/actors haha. As I mentioned above, the cast is huge, so i'm not going to bore you guys any further.

The OSTs: 'Let me Out' by Nu'est has been stuck in my head ever since. Music was definitely done well in this drama.

Lastly, the rewatch value: Maybe if the feels get too great I would open this drama again. However I would skip some of the secondary leads' stories because all I want is our main lead's haha. Their moments were simply not enough.

Overall: watch if you have the time, for you are bound to get drawn into this mystical world and and the feels that our main leads are going to bring to you. Great show that left me thinking and wishing that there'll be a season 2.

Leggi di Più

****This contains MASSIVE SPOILERS!!! It is a completed series rant. Do NOT read if you haven't seen the entire drama yet.********

Can I also point out that the main couple did not have their proper and official third wedding where she wears a proper and nice wedding fress !!!!!!!!!!?????

and about the ring or bracelet , I thought that it will shine and save the day, or do something but NOOOOO.

AND FINALLY , why , just why most of the important female characters DIED, I'm not sure if anyone noticed but out of the main cast that were important, women dies while men remained ??????

First the summar fairy died (i know she died before but still she went and her brother remained), then ma haon's wife/lover also died in the end while he remained and thank you for the fact that he finally found out his son (I think that is the ONLY good part here), Bu Ja also died and her "brother" piggy remained and lastly the couple star femaled lead died too !!!!!! while He went to search after her.

OK from what I saw, I strongly feel that this drama needs desperatly a second season, if not then the writers, directors and everyone that worked for this drama FAILED !!!!!!! (maybe not the actors since it was agreat cast that just acted acording to the writers/directors etc.) So yeah, dear writers/Directors this needs a second season ASAP , I do not care just please bring it Back nicely and sort out every female character's death since it is not fair. Believe me even if Bu Ja was burned and dissapear, in a story they can do something, BUT if they want to be mean and leave it to be realistic lets talk about the quality of the dragon, that was not realistic/real or scary, not even in 1,000 million years. So Yeah, I don't care HOW, or WHY just please do a season two with a lot of adventures or twists to somehow bring back the main females characteres please.
Thank you.
This is all I had to say, Also, sorry for the super long comment, I just had to say those stuff.

P.S.- Seriously the most failed part was the "dragon" XD come on, you can't tell me that was scarry or real.

Leggi di Più

My favorite Korean drama yet to date and I've seen probably over 100. Lee Seung Gi is one of my favorite Hallyyu stars and major eye candy. The coats he wears in this are pimp. I've seen the majority of his dramas and this is by far my favorite although I'm enjoying his newest one Vagabond. The bromance was epic! It reminded me of Lee Dong Wook and Gong Yoos in Goblin, a major love/hate relationship. The chemistry between the leads was HOT, especially the kiss scenes. It was a slow build romance but so worth the wait. The ost was bomb AF. I even added the main song to my YouTube playlist. PK (Lee Hong Ki) was one of my favorite characters. The CGI could've been better towards the last half but still pretty good for a Korean drama. All the acting was brilliant by every main and supporting characters.

Rewatch value... definitely imo

Leggi di Più

El elenco es grandioso

Historia

Me encantó todo el tema de sobrenatural y fantasía. La historia estuvo bien, me gusto (gracias al grandioso elenco) pero no la ame. No me llegaron al corazón sus historias de amor a través del tiempo y el destino. Tomaban decisiones para avanzar la trama cuando se podía hablar. Al menos avisar. (Varios capítulos fueron asi)
Pero aún así quería seguir hasta el final, a pesar de que lo que se avecinaba y me venían avisando por tantos capítulos anteriores. Tuvo un final abierto que no alimenta demasiado mí corazón, pero peor es nada.

Actuación/elenco
Los actores todos increíbles. Destaco al mono, el toro y el zombie (en modo zombie). Y el ayudante de la protagonista. La protagonista no me gusto mucho, no me gusto su personaje demasiado rígido. Así que su historia de amor no fue grandiosa para mí (necesitaba más amor) u otra pareja.

Musica
Me gusto una cancion en especial que su primera vez salió en los primeros episodios.

Valor de repetición
Recomendada. Mirala cuántas veces quiera. (Por mí, con una vez basta)

Leggi di Più

translation made by Google translator, may have typos in the text

a drama that without a doubt for those who have been in the world of dramas for a long time know how acclaimed and epic it is by fans. the story, narrative, twists, are captivating and unique, it's a story that is hard to forget and is very striking!!! you get involved a lot with the protagonists and when it comes to the end you get obsessed with a new season, which you'll never have, but which you deserved!! an exceptional drama, which has few low points. you get involved with each of the characters, you want to know more about each one and delve into the drama, it's really a watershed for those who like kdramas.

but as nothing is flowers, unfortunately the ending leaves something to be desired, I particularly wanted something more for the ending, but I know it turned out nice and suggestive! I wish it had shown an alternate and happier ending, but the rest of the story is so worthwhile and remarkable, acting is great, character dynamics are comical and unique, a reference drama!

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I tried watching this once & ended up dropping it after a few episodes. I found myself being annoyed by Seon Mi because it felt like she was trying to be two (sort of) conflicting characters. On one hand, she's this BA ghost whisperer who has dealt with living in a never-ending horror movie her whole life; but on the other hand, she's this whiny, weepy recluse who spent 15 years waiting for someone to "protect her." She had this really touching moment early on where she argued with Son Oh Gong that she didn't need a normal happy life, because she valued herself and loved herself enough to keep going, but then she later went on and on about wishing she weren't able to see supernatural things anymore. The character never felt like it settled into a clear, REAL person. I don't know if this was an issue of the actress or the writing, but I never really felt like I had a clear sense of WHO Jin Seon Mi was as a person.

HOWEVER, the rest of the cast was really delightful. They were pretty over-the-top and caricature-y, but I found that fun and interesting. Honestly, the cartoonish antics of Son Oh Gong and Ma Wang were what brought me back to this after I had initially dropped it.

The STORY was fun and funny. The world-building around this supernatural/fantasy story line was engaging and brought out a lot of unique creatures and characters. The romance didn't feel too rushed which was a nice change for a lot of kdramas that I don't feel like really take the time to clearly illustrate the journey that brought the OTP together. I felt like I understood why JSM & SOG fell for each other, and I was rooting for them throughout (so much so, in fact, that I looked up the ending of the source material to find out that the character SOG is based off of goes to the underworld/afterlife in order to reunite with the JSM character!). I even felt the feels for the side characters' romances - especially the zombie/pig-superstar pair and even the weird body swapped octopus prince's crush on the pig. I didn't feel that strongly about Ma Wang's tragic love story, but I really enjoyed his bromance with SOG.

Overall, I felt that the story was fun and unique. I would definitely not recommend it to someone NEW to kdramas, but I would recommend it to someone who's been around the block and is looking for something fresh and fun.

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