Hotel del Luna (2019)

IU saves the show

I tried to like this unfortunately I fast-forwarded most of the episodes, especially after 11 or so.

I watched this because of IU and she did not disappoint. Her visuals plus the visuals of the drama itself is 200%. Her outfit changes were GREAT. Her acting is superb too with a lot of cold yet funny lines and moments. Part of the bg music makes it even funnier. However her chemistry with the ML was lacking.

The side characters were likeable, but not great. I did like their backstories. Mago is probably my favourite.

The ghosts had meh stories and endings. I sometimes expected more but each episode fell rather flat with how the ghosts were handled.

the FL's main story was good, but took too long to be explained. There was a huge gap in the middle where they were focusing on the side characters.

Overall, a 7/10 for me simply because of the stunning visuals.

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El Hotel de IU

'Hotel de Luna' es un drama bonito, cálido y muy interesante que presenta una producción de gran nivel con lo que consigue una estética muy cuidada. ¿Cuáles son sus mayores virtudes? Podemos destacar varias, la primera de ellas es su premisa que logra captar nuestro interés después de episodio piloto. El valor de producción también consigue, gracias a un espectacular diseño y puesta en escena, querer ver más por lo bien que se presenta visualmente. Y, finalmente, unida a estas dos razones encontramos a IU (Lee Ji-Eun), quien consigue embelesar a cualquier espectador con su presencia. Además la propia serie, especialmente en los primeros episodios, parece servir como vehículo para que IU luzca un vestido/peinado distinto en cada escena. Lejos de criticar que parezca una pasarela exclusiva para la actriz, creo que es unas de sus principales bazas, especialmente par los que disfrutan de su gran presencia.

Ahora bien, no todo es maravilloso y encuentro distintos aspectos que me han impedido terminar de enamorarme de la propuesta. El primero, y probablemente más importante, es que la serie no se vertebra sobre una gran trama principal, sino que presenta un objetivo que se va aclarando con el paso de los primeros episodios pero se impulsa en base a distintas situaciones y problemas que hay que ir resolviendo. Disfruto estos momentos pero cuando uno llega a la recta final, y después de conocer el tono tan blandito y feel good que tiene, cabe deducir qué tipo de resolución vamos a encontrar y el resultado son unos dos últimos episodios bastantes flojos. Entiendo que habrá quien los disfrute mucho, pero no viene a ser más que una colección de momentos intensos con música de fondo y despedidas de los distintos personajes que resultan en cierta manera previsibles y carentes del interés que suscitaba el planteamiento inicial de la trama. También esto viene a ser una consecuencia de respetar un formato de 16 episodios que no se ajusta a la historia, menos es más en muchas ocasiones y una menor duración hubiera logrado un conjunto más solvente y menos momentos de relleno que no aportan demasiado.

La segunda cosa que me molesta es la repetición de mismo patrón en prácticamente casi todos los dramas románticos: el destino entrelazado. Vale, aquí se da un pequeño giro y no es tan tópico, pero recurrir siempre al recurso de la reencarnación y el presente vinculado al pasado es agotador y aburrido. Hay que explorar nuevas ideas, el hilo rojo del destino ya está demasiado desgastado para seguir usándolo como combustible.

Es un buen drama que si puedes observar sin estar algo desgastado por la presencia de algunos de sus elementos vas a disfrutar muchísimo, además de que la propuesta visual está a un gran nivel y seduce tanto estéticamente como por sus buenos efectos especiales, aunque no por ello uno debe dejar de tener una mirada crítica en aquellos puntos que lo merecen. Eso sí, más allá de la contraposición de ideas, debe quedar claro que merece la pena su visionado.

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Eu finalmente assisti esse drama, depois de dois anos e três tentativas! Nunca era a hora certa, ou eu não estava no clima para continuar, apesar dele estar na minha lista dês de sua estreia! E o que achei?!

É um bom drama. Poderia ser melhor? Com absoluta certeza. Ele tem muitos erros e clichês, alguns funcionam como sempre fizeram, mais outros... Só estão lá pra encher linguiça e deixar a trama entediante, sem falar que são desnecessários. O que mais me conquistou em Hotel Del Luna, não foi a história dos protagonistas ou o relacionamento deles, que não é ruim por si só, mas não foi o que eu esperava ou precisava que fosse, eles me decepcionaram um pouco, cof cof muito cof cof, mas IU e Yeo Jin Goo são super talentosos e possuem uma linda química em cena, por isso o casal Man Wol e Chan Sung fluem em harmonia maravilhosamente na tela e convencem a mim e a audiência perfeitamente, o roteiro no entanto é o que peca mais, por ser inconsistente, tipo queridas roteiristas, vocês seriamente querem que eu acredite que as magos escolheram o Chan Sung para ajudar a arvore estúpida da Man Wol a florescer, só pq eles trocaram duas frases quando eram crianças a mais de 1.000 anos atrás e isso ainda foi jogado de qualquer jeito nos 99 segundos finais da série, *risos* me poupe!

Tenho cara de trouxa? Pra mim parece mais uma mudança no roteiro de ultima hora, mal planejada, claramente querendo fugir de clichê! Teria funcionado melhor se tivesse ficado com o maldito clichê e o trabalhado da maneira correta em vez de tentar outra abordagem e falhar pateticamente! O que só me deixa mais irritada, pq elas preferiram manter outro clichê, o do tipo que tem em todos os dramas de fantasma, "o serial killer que está envolvido com o protagonista, e tenta matá-lo só para falhar fugir da justiça e tentar se vingar do protagonista, e falhar ainda mais pateticamente, de um jeito merda que quebra completamente a narrativa". Eu estou cansada desse tipo de coisa, já chega!!!

Entre outros problemas irritantes que ficaram sem respostas, que eu poderia citar cada um deles aqui, mas não tenho paciência para isso, nem tempo. As cenas do núcleo dos vivos com os amigos do Chan Sung foi outra coisa mal trabalhada, e sempre que eles apareciam eu me pegava revirando os olhos e acelerando para chegar nas partes verdadeiramente boas da série, que são os hospedes do Hotel Del Luna e o trio de trabalhadores principais também. Como eu estava dizendo, são eles, o núcleo dos fantasmas que torna o drama tão marcante pra mim, as histórias de todos eles, me conquistaram tão intimamente, que me emocionei diversas vezes, sorri, chorei me frustrei e odiei com eles, era como se aqueles personagens fizessem parte do meu dia a dia, e sempre que chegava a despedida uma parte de mim ia com eles. Sun Bi, Seo Hee, Hyun Joong foram os personagens aos quais mais me apeguei, chorei por eles sempre que uma parte da história de suas vidas e morte eram reveladas, torci por eles, e me despedi deles com ainda mais lágrimas! Sempre que ouvir falar sobre Hotel Del Luna vou sempre pensar neles em primeiro lugar.

Se eu recomendo o drama, sim, é uma boa história. Os protagonistas são satisfatórios e os demais elenco especialmente os fantasmas são maravilhosos, mas como toda série que envolve fantasma tem a obrigação de ser emocionante ou interessante, pelo menos. Mas, não se engane, tem dramas muito melhores por aí esse passa com boas notas, mas não é a estrela da classe.

Francamente, gostaria de escrever mais coisas sobre o dorama, especialmente sobre as decisões de roteiro que não gostei, já que sou especialmente reclamona, mas acho que já está bom, o mais importante sobre o drama já está aqui, então vai ser o suficiente pra mim.

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Don’t get me wrong, this drama was a fun watch. I loved a whole lot of things about it. From its OST, to the premise (who the hell can actually think of a hotel for ghosts???) and the acting, Damn the acting. It’s just that the writing had its ups and downs.

The up? Every story of a visiting ghost was a treat to me. I enjoyed seeing how the hotel solved their problems in the most human way possible, because afterall, they are humans... just dead.

The down? The love story and the shift in focus let me down gravely. They’ve been building up the Man Wol - Chong Myeong story since the beginning and to have it end sadly with Man Wol leaving him by the bridge to after life... what the hell was that for? I mean, did we forget that this guy chose to live as a glow in the dark insect for 1300 years only to be forgotten because of a new, way younger guy she had a few meals with??? I do love chan sung’s character, and I rooted from them at the start, but it was always the flashbacks that dominated the course and mood of the story for me. To make that grudge disappear too quickly was really just... lousy writing.

Other than this huge disappointment, I loved the drama. Sadly I ended it without rooting for the couple they wanted to close the story with. Sigh

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A magical show with lots of exciting twists

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean tv drama with 16, 90 minute episodes. Hotel del Luna is a hotel located “in” Seoul. It is not visible to just anyone and undergoes a complete transformation when night falls. Kang Man-wol (Lee Ji-eun) became the “boss” of the hotel when she was transporting some souls of people she killed to the hotel in an effort to make up for her actions. She is unable to find it until she drinks a mysterious liquor which curses her to be the proprietor of this hotel for ghosts. She had run the hotel for over 1,000 years when a human wanders in which is normally a death sentence. However he strikes a deal with her to give her his son 20 years in the future in exchange for his life. Ku Chan-Seong (Yeo Jin-goo), was raised by his father to avoid Man-wol and her employees and even lives outside of South Korea until he deems it safe to return. Avoiding his fate may not be that simple and he soon finds being the hotel‘s new manager may be a job he cannot refuse.

Spoiler ? This was written by the Hong Sisters who have written other good dramas like ”Master’s Sun” and ”You are Beautiful“. They definitely know how to tell a good story. It is somewhat reminiscent of ”Goblin“ In that it has a delightful blend of spiritual and magical. It also has magical and ghostly elements like ”Master’s Sun”. I liked all the main characters and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each one and their back story. It was like ”Beauty and the Beast” in the way their relationship was transformative. Both leads were really gorgeous and their chemistry was really amazing. I would have given an even higher score but I’m not one that likes sad endings. It will be sad for some but for others it will not be. A lot depends on your beliefs and your own personal philosophy. If you like paranormal with twists of magic then you will really enjoy this one. I think everyone would enjoy it most of the way through. If you do not expect happily ever after it is easier to understand.

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Ghost plot wins, Romance barely survives

Pros:
Individually, FL & ML are on point
costume
make up
sets/props/decor
lively ensemble

Cons:
Together, FL & ML do not generate any feeeelllllssssss aka lack of sparks between the leads
Terrible second lead syndrome with the FireFlyGuy



*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Both ML & FL are good actors with their own charms and characteristics, yet i failed to feel their sparks :(
Both actors brought their A game, yet their romance was still born.
This may be due to the writing or the directing - which seemed to be more invested on delivering the mystery/resolving ghosts' grudges plotline than on the romance.
As a result of this, JangManWol (needing to resolve her own hefty grudges in order to cross the bridge) have more sparks with the FireFlyGuy aka Go Chung-myung rather than the human Go Chan-Sung.
Halfway through the series, I was more invested in watching JMW with GCM scenes (Oh, the angst when he was getting married!) rather than the impending separation of JMW with GCS.

Watch this if you are a fan of ghosts' story line (which this drama totally delivered 10/10) and amazzziinngg dresses/make up on JMW.

Skip if you are looking for thrilling sparks of romance - interlaced with ghost stories.

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Yeo Jin Goe should've done better.

It was really good, gave me some goblin vibes. That one person who said it Will have goblin-type ending was right! hehe

OST
It was okay, but i didn't really Pay attention, it wasn't ear catching.

ACTING
Maybe because i watched all dramas IU has been in that i love her so much, but she was wonderful! Her cold-hot, bratty attitude was refreshing and not annoying! Yeo Jin-goo was fine, didn't partculary stand out sadly. He was main lead but was lacking in comparison of Lee do-hyun (past lover). Lee do-hyun and IU had such good chemistry i felt sad he wasn't main lead. Personally i didnt feel anything from him, and it seemed that if he was crying or sad, i'd feel more émotion towards Sanchez than him! Even tho he is main lead!!! Everyone praised him, but personally he was the only one lacking hère. Other actors who played side characters (Mira, P.O, Yoona, Sanchez etc....) were also gréât. They weren't lacking at all, and for side characters They did a fantastical job portraying their own charisma.

PLOT
It was refreshing to see it, a girl being stuck in Life forever, hosting a hôtel for dead. Pretty unique for me, and characters were unique themselves. They all had a part in the story and weren't there just to be there. They had history which is nice! Altho there were a few cliches that i hated, it was a drama where nobody was stupid enough to let a misunderstanding drag on and have a huge impact. I loved how writers didn't pull out a wild card at the end that something magical happenes and everyone is happy! I teared up réal hard at the end, but loved the cameo of someone spécial, it created a perfect opprotunity for a second season which i hope happens. The plot was nicely written with minor plot holes, overall it wasn't the best drama out there, but for a reason its hyped and loved so much....
BUT
The ML was actually very shallow. Now that i reflect on this drama, i dont like him any bit. The actor wasn't boring per say, because that is his character. He has a personality? Where? If you told me that he was a male lead i wouldn't have believed without watching all of it, since he seems too...boring. Was he only there to drive Man Wol plot or was he suppose to have a purpose? Heck Man Wol, who wasn't suppose to be expressive emotion Wise, was more than him. Which is terrible! The only reason i would watch this again would be because IU really performed well.

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First It was Woooow
Then great
Then just OK
with a failure FL with dead face expression and stupid ending for me

AS USUAL THE END ??‍♀️
The writer made them all apart
He could make mi na go with p.o because she is already a ghost

And I saw it was so unfair for do hyun the fl's ex

And simply the writer could compensated the FL By making her choose to be back to the ML after living all these years suffering

But NOOOO
THEY should make stupid open ending which was really annoying
left us with a ML wishing he will be gathered with her oneday
And I don't know why?

I like and dislike at the same time
And the last 3 eps. Weren't necessary
The drama was full of many unnecessary side story and they dropped the main past one
They just came through it quickly and you should figure out what happened by yourself
And I think it was going to be a spectacular drama if they focused more on the past and present story
And a little bit side stories
But this was stupidity

And the romance was lukewarm
So I can't figure out whether I liked or not
But think not

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This Drama is Overrated

This review will be short.

I liked the cinematography...really beautiful
The 2 OSTs by PUNCH were incredible
The cameo at the end - damn fantastic
Jung Mal Wol was quirky and not your typical FL - that was interesting to watch

That's it for me.

Even the great acting by the 2 leads could not save a lackluster plot. This drama is totally overrated.

The episodes were soooo long and they dragged and dragged. I just hate the fact that I can't not finish a drama once I am a few episodes in. That and my respect for IU as an actress were the only reasons I made it to the end.

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I finished Hotel Del Luna late night. The cinematography is unbelievable, and this one is the best so far when it relates to paranormal drama. After I watched the first episode, I knew it will have a big potential. The plot is good, but it is a little unbalanced when it comes to quality of writing. They just need to have less ghost hunting and focus fully on character developments about Jan Man Wol and few supporting characters. Each supporting characters have one or two episodes of explaining their past. I can see it is little slow after a few episodes; however, it still executes magnificently until the ending. It does have a happy ending, but it is rather rushed and it is a cliche. Despite this one, the plot really grabs my attention quickly. It is better than Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (both have similarities), IMO. IU is one of the highlights of the entire cast due to her acting as Jang Man Wol. IU have excellent job at her role, she is very good at portraying different personalities and facial expressions. She is the reason for watching until the final episode. I am more interested in Jang Man Wol’s storyline and of course, I am prepared to learn her tragic past. Yeo Jin Goo have a great job with his emotions. His character is hilarious. The soundtrack and music are amazing! Big shouts to the writers, directors, actors/actresses, and production crew for making Hotel Del Luna an amazing and enjoyable. It is very masterpiece!

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