49 Days (2011)

This was a great drama. I really only watched it because of Jung Il Woo and he stayed my favorite character all through it (which usually doesn't happen), but I liked the rest of it just as much - Otherwise I wouldn't have watched 20 hours of it. In two days.

The story itself wasn't new and most of the characters were a little stereotypical, too, but somehow it was still different.

I liked how people were somehow related to eachother through tiny memories they couldn't even remember, things nobody thinks about after so many years. I loved how the world was turned upside down for a character and the story followed a clear path, a clear timeline and had a steady pace. It hardly ever dragged, but it never rushed either.

The acting was incredible. All the actors did a great job, but of course Lee Yo Won needs to be mentioned seperately - She played 3 roles in this with about 335345 personalities and so many emotional and blank scenes that I was completely amazed by her. She seemed completely in character, no matter which one she played.

The music was wonderful, too. I actually noticed it and really enjoyed it. From Ji Hyun's singing to her parents' CD to the Scheduler's ringtones - Everything just fit perfectly.

Though many people seemed to hate it I thought the ending was perfect and the only fitting one. Everything else would've been unrealistic (I know. This is fantasy.) and maybe perfect at the first sight, but I wouldn't have been satisfied afterwards. I loved it as it was, except one little storyline. But that wasn't important and I cried a lot.

Enough praising, just watch it. :P
(This must be my longest review ever..)

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Firstly I didn't want to see this drama; I was sure it was something not boring but challenging, I don't know why but I had this thought.
Then, a friend of mine said I should really see it.

The plot: The plot is very interesting, apparently it seems simple, but it develops very gradually and always surprises you till the end.
I have to say sometimes I got bored (there are 2 or 3 episodes I wished would end soon, but that's totally worth it.)

The characters: I didn't love them all. The female lead is just a normal cute girl in love, who doesn't know well how cruel the world can be, but that shows to be strong episode after episode. I really liked her pure soul.
The scheduler is my favourite character, and somehow to me is the male lead.
When he is on screen you just can't think of anyone else. His cold, hot, cute, funny, helpful, caring personality is just essential in the show.
The 'second' female lead (if we can say so, since she is more like the 'other' female lead)was just... ok, to me. I mean, I liked her very much, she was mature and very smart, but the thing in this drama is that every character rounds around the lead one. Because of that, even the male lead sounds just "ok", but that's not like unliking them: they are important, but the drama rounds around the things Ji Hyun discovers.

The romance: Romance is something important to me.
If there isn't romance I feel something is missing.
I liked the romance they showed in this. It is not too much but well balanced.
Actually I was expecting more, but it was not that bad.


I reccomend this, it is a very good drama!

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I loved watching this drama. It's definitely a memorable one, and probably one of the best dramas I've seen so far. The story's well-written and the mere concept of this story is a first for me, at least in dramaland so far. The acting done by the cast was amazing, everyone did an amazing job in portraying their roles. My favourite was definitely the Scheduler acted by Jung Il Woo. The music was great as well, and always matched the mood it started playing at.
However good this drama was, the ending was a bit sad for me.
Some people might call it 'touching' but because of it, I don't think I'll be watching this drama again.
This drama was sweet, but that last episode just made me cry.
And for me, no matter how great a drama is , if the ending is one as this , I won't be watching it again.
But however this review may sound, this definitely is a MUST-WATCH drama for everyone. I'm glad I finally watched it after it being in my PTW for a very long time. That's also a reason for me giving this drama a 10. Just because the ending was a 'touching' one, doesn't mean I loved this drama any less, and it definitely deserves a 10.

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"Live amongst people in such a manner that when you are alive, they crave for your company and when you die, they grieve over your death." ~ Imam Ali

After I finished watching '49 Days', I remembered the beautiful quote by Imam Ali mentioned above. It very well relates to the drama. This entire series was very thought provoking and it actually made me wonder about, well, a lot of things. It made me wonder about the people in my life- do they truly love me? It made me wonder about the people who might be backstabbing me while pretending to be caring and concerned for me. It made me wonder about my own life and death- am I living my life in the right way? What will actually happen to me after I die? These thoughts stayed with me long after I completed this drama, and I just HAD to jot them down here otherwise I would feel like my review is incomplete.

Speaking about the drama, there has got to be just one word to describe it- BRILLIANT. I had read the synopsis a long time back when this drama began to air but I was not quite interested in watching it because I was looking for some rom-com kind of stuff. After the drama was finished, there was a great hype among its viewers, following the reviews in its praise. So I decided to follow the crowd and gave this drama a try. And lo, I was hooked the moment I saw about the first fifteen minutes of episode 1 and I knew at once that I was going to keep watching it till the end because I believe in 'first impression' and do not continue watching any further episode of any drama if its first episode doesn't impress me no matter how good it is claimed by others. I believe this drama is truly a masterpiece. Hats off to the entire team who contributed in producing this drama.

The STORY is a perfect 10/10. It is not your ordinary love story. It is not even an exaggerated comedy or an annoying melodrama. It is a beautiful story with very realistic elements and human emotions although claiming it to be a fantasy. There are a lot of cliffhangers and twists that will have you glued to your chair/couch/bed/whatever! Throughout the drama, I used to make mini predictions in my mind about what's going to happen next but most of my predictions were proven wrong by the screenwriters. Just when I thought that 'okay, so this is how it is', something unexpected would happen which would leave me gaping at my computer screen and muttering, 'oooh~ I didn't expect that'. And yes, unlike a few people, I liked the ending very much. I don't think there could have been an ending to this drama better than this.

The CAST is a perfect 10/10. The two main actresses' performances are worth praising. I was really impressed by their acting, especially Lee Yo Won who had to put on two contrasting personalities and needless to say, she did it quite well. Nam Gyu Ri, as cute and pretty she is, her acting is also amazing even though we don't get to see her much on screen. Jo Hyun Jae is too good to be true. He had a great on-screen chemistry with Lee Yo Won and I wish to see these together in many other dramas. The antagonists are also pretty good and I actually found myself feeling bad for them in the end when I was supposed to hate them for all that they did. Oh, and how could I forget the handsome scheduler, Jung Il Woo? He was perfect there as a reaper. I liked how he was portrayed as a modern reaper, driving on a bike, listening and composing music- it was fun watching him.

The MUSIC is a perfect 10/10. I have the entire OST downloaded. The music is refreshing and goes very well with the drama. It adds to the enjoyment of watching this drama.

The REWATCH VALUE is 7/10 because if I rewatch this drama, the excitement I had when watching it the first time won't be there as I will know what's going to happen. But still, this drama is not completely non-rewatchable because it is very pleasing to see the character development, the on-screen chemistry between Lee Yo Won and Jo Hyun Jae, and the consequences of the antagonists' actions. So, I will be watching this again later on when I would feel like.

Overall this drama is very entertaining and thought provoking as I said earlier. It is definitely something to be watched. So, I would say that it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I am glad that I watched this drama and I hope you would too if you haven't yet.

On a side note, I would like to say that I love the DVD cover of this drama. It is simple and has a magical feel to it.



[Phew! This is probably the longest review I have ever written till date]

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STORY---- 9/10

The plot is a unique adaptation of the popular story line of a soul wandering the earth finding ways to comeback to her body. I warn you don't treat this drama as an ordinary romance chic flick. It might contain some cliché parts the writer creatively masked that it remained inconspicuous.

ACTING/CAST-----8/10

It was relatively familiar cast for me, even the supporting actors I've seen from other SBS shows. The acting I was particularly moved by Jung Il Woo's performance, this is the first time I've watch a drama he's included, I thought he's character was easy to play since he's just the punk scheduler but when he started to cry and when his story started to unfold, I just wanted too see more. I was really sad for him, for Yi Kyung and Yi Soo. More that the main characters. I paid more attention to his story in the end.

MUSIC-----8/10

It was a touching mix of songs. It made you cry some more when the scenes were sad and made you feel bad when you should. Sound amplified the feelings.

REWATCH VALUE-----9/10

It has a high rewatch value for me, If you feel like contemplating on your life and just looking back and for self assessment this will really do.

OVERALL-----9/10

I'll give this a 9 overall score because it was so touching at an aspect even if i'm not a sucker for down right teary series. I finished this without me noticing it. Although I want it to end utopian style. Like everybody happy and they get to be with their most important person. I looked it very much with a bright perspective.



"It’s so poignant and beautiful and meaningful…and even though I didn’t get the ending I want, the ending was one of the best orchestrated I’ve ever watched: totally consistent and wonderful in its own bittersweet way"


MUST WATCH!

I hope I'm helpful enough :)

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49 days is the second drama I watched, and it became the reason why I became seriously intrigued with the whole Kdrama universe. What this drama did for me only a few other dramas have been able to do. What I mean is, this drama made me cry (a lot, so get your tissue box ready), made me laugh, made me angry and feel impotent like I wanted to jump inside the story and slap In Jung. The acting is really good, specially when it comes to the interpreting two different characters inside the same body. Character development is there all the way, so it's not like other dramas where the characters are static the whole way through. In this drama, almost every one goes a transformation and becomes completely different from the characters we meet in the first episode. Above all, the music is heart touching, the atmosphere is magical. I love it.

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I watched this drama awhile ago, so forgive me if I forget anything or if my information is incorrect ^^
--Story:
A woman dying of an accident (on accident) who must find people who will weep sincere tears. A pretty uncommon idea, if you ask me.
I liked how it delved into Scheduler's own life when he was alive rather than focus all it's attention to Ji Hyun's. Ji Hyun finding the truth of her own life was something I enjoyed; also, it shows how blinded we ourselves could be. Oh, and everything connected and had a reason!
--Acting/Cast: The acting seemed pretty natural. Shows character development along the way, mostly with Ji Hyun.
--Music: I heard some of it on seoul.fm and could not get why the people in the chatbox were bored with it. Yeah, it's not DBSK or some other band playing but it's still music. The rhythm of the songs went with the events quite nicely.
--Rewatch Value: For me, I'd most definitely love to rewatch the drama if I had the time *cough*ispendtimereadingmanga*cough*
--Overall: a great drama. You must definitely have to watch it. A friend convinced me to watch it, and we both obsessed over it for awhile. She even rewatched 49 Days. Then I got my guy friend to watch it; he liked it. Just make sure a tissue box is handy!

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I really think that this story was well done. It isn’t original, but the concept of an afterlife is achieved in a way that I have not seen previously. I like that all of the characters are consistent even as certain characters grow. It isn’t a happy drama by any means, but it isn’t overly sad either. I think it is thought provoking. I love the twists and turns this story makes as well as the love stories. The only point of the story that I don’t like is the reasoning behind In Jung’s behavior. It is a convoluted explanation that really makes no sense to me. I can’t write more because it will give things away, but you will see what I mean if you watch this drama.
I give this a 10 in acting for Lee Yo Won alone. She is amazing. I really could tell the difference between Yi Kyung and Ji Hyun. In an acting situation that could have easily confused the person watching , it was never indistinguishable which character she was playing.
Bae Su Bin/Min Ho, Jo Hyun Jae/Kang, and Jun Il Woo/Scheduler do a terrific job playing their characters. Min Ho is easy to hate and Kang is easy to love while the Scheduler is just all together adorable.
I really don’t know much about Seo Ji Hye, but she seemed one dimensional to me. I’m not sure if it is just because I hated In Jung or if it was her acting. I mean is it really acting to use the wide eyed look for every emotion??? Her character is certifiably crazy though.
The endearing little extra couple that works for Kang is just too delightful.
The music is good. Not the best, but it doesn’t suck.
I would rewatch this.
I would say this is a really good drama to watch.

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I didn't love this drama as much as other people have. This drama did have a good story line and good actors, but I found myself forwarding through parts of each episode because it started to get boring. Maybe it was just me. But this drama didn't appeal to me as much. The story was captivating, but kind of dragged on. Actors were fantastic, though the main female actress kind of threw me off with her fake eye contacts. (Im not sure why, but it bothered me through the whole show). Music was okay aswell; however, it isn't something that would get stuck in your head. Overall, everything about this drama was great; Story, actors, character developement and relationships, were fanastic. I was just not a fan of some of the things going on.

Over all 7/10.

Would recommend for light drama watchers.

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49 days completely hooked me up from episode 1, It is one of the best dramas that I've ever seen because it combines a very dramatic situation with a lot of funny scenes and also a lot of romance, like pure love. Also, it doesn't get draggy at any point and you're always expecting what will come next.



This is a drama that combines reality with magic and transports the viewer to that magical world where anything is possible and true pure loves exists.



This drama tries to make us think about our lives, if we are truly loved by someone, if we are good people, it makes us wander if a person can be recognized for more than physical appearance.



The acting is superb, especially on the male lead, but truly all the characters and actors combine to form this thing where you forget that they are acting and start to believe their story. One thing that made me laugh a lot and maybe most people didn't notice was the waiter and waitress. I've seen them together in other 2 dramas, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and Only You, in which they also play a waiter and waitres and is even with the same male lead also.



The music completely merges with the drama and becomes one of the characters, it makes you feel what the director wanted you to think, completely brilliant.



I will rewatch this drama very soon, it is a drama that really made me think and laugh and cry.

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