Extraordinary You (2019)

Wow, just 1 episode in and you already realise the extent of the cliches you're used to in kdramas lol. The popular male lead being the girl’s knight in shining armour for example, and the second lead who is her 'guardian angel' (they gave him actual angel wings lmao)

But let's talk about Dan Oh, aka: the love of my life. She is my spirit animal tbh, she is always just DONE with the author and his bs. Dan Oh really is one of my favourite female leads, she’s got such spunk and I can really relate with her.

And Haru, Haru my baby. Cinnamon roll, too pure. Give Haru the world

Then UGH fcking Baek Gyung, god. What a jerkwad. So violent, son just calm down.
In the words of Haru “I know you’re a douchebag - in both worlds” Haru you’re doing amazing sweetie.

I loved that most episodes were such high quality, especially at the beginning. I loved the plot, the characters, everything.

I also love that Dan Oh and Haru are confirmed soulmates. Every universe, no matter the character, place, time, memories or not, they always find each other and love again. It’s beautiful, just my kind of otp.

And I LOVED Yeo Ju-da’s character once she got her agency. Her written character is all:
#nice girl #wouldn’t hurt a fly #beautiful but doesn’t know it #so innocent

But once she gets her ego she is like "bACK OFF BITCH" and doesn’t take any crap from the bullies. Girl SNAPPED and I’m liVING. When she’s like "why did I never get you guys back before? oh yeah I’m the protagonist and they must remain 100% morally perfect." She doesn’t want Oh Nam-ju to do everything for her, she wants to do things for herself. A feminist icon

And Lee Do-Hwa! My boy! The 2nd lead but 1st in my heart.

I realise now that all I've done is talk about the characters but they ARE what make the show. I couldn't imagine reading the comic the writer wrote on its own, ew no.

My favourite parts of the show are when the characters are doing a stage scene and they are just like "seriously??" or "oh my god that was so cheesy!"

And my favourite line ever, from our bae Lee Do-Hwa: "Why is my scene with you always the same? Crying or playing the violin! I feel like I'm not the second male lead but a soundtrack player"

In summary: watch this gem of a drama!

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okay, so, before i get started, let it be known that i had such high hopes for this drama. with a 9.0+ rating, intriguing plot summary, and amazing first two episodes, i was looking forward to binge watch this show as soon as thanksgiving break started. and for a while, the hype was still there. eun dan oh was amazing and funny and brave and relatable and the storyline was still unfolding, which gave me hope and excitement to keep on watching. but then in the middle, the amazement just stopped? the story just got so repetitive (it felt like the main couple was literally saying the same words over and over again, but in a bad way) and cliche. though the show made fun of basic romance comic storylines in the beginning, they themselves used them?? and not for the better.

like in the beginning eun dan oh had a clear goal and motivation: to change her life for the better, to become the main character of her story, though she is only an extra in another's. but she literally lost the will to change it all for herself and decided that a boy should be her fate. A BOY. sis did not have any sense of living for herSELF. like she had an amazing father, amazing friends, amazing (and hot) doctor, amazing support system overall and for what???? she literally prioritized him over everyone else and gave no thought as to the idea that maybe, her life can really be something more than just him and her. and their love scenes -- don't get me started on its downfall. at first the puppy love was cute, the "annyeongs" and perfect smiles made me smile too. but when u see the same scene over and over again? it gets real tiring hellllla fast. by the end i wasn't even cheering for their love, i was just watching for the sake of finishing it and because of the amazing side characters who i loved and desERVED BETTER but didn't get because they're just extras >:(

and ok i get it, had a fine mysterious kind ass (but nameless) man with the ability to change my life waltzed right into my storyline, i too would have fell for him. HARD. but it really felt like he was nothing more than a romance mannequin. at first, he too had a motivation: find out who he really is. and we do find out his "beginning" and "end", but there's nothing more to him than that? he's solely there to be a love interest and nothing more. like i get it's a comic book world, but it's a comic book world inside of a drama that we're watching, and i'm sure the writers could've spent a couple more hours giving us reason to cheer for him other than "hot mysterious guy makes main lead girl happy".

there are definitely some good and great things here, like the amazing acting of the cast and the relationship between certain characters/friends, but the good did not lead up to the hype the writers created in the first few episodes.

honestly after forcing myself to finish this drama i feel too drained to write a full, thorough response highlighting all of my disappointments and the reasons why this drama could have been so much more. there are just too many plotholes for me to list out, too many "could've beens", too many OK BUT WHY SHOULD I CARE (especially with that messed up endings) that i can not reccomend watching the entire drama to someone else. maybe watch select cute and touching parts but honestly, skip the whole middle section, and you'll be okay.

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I watched the trailer of this drama and got excited about it. Completed it within 2 days and would have to say that it is a rather good show. A lot of learning points in the show, for example, you gain and lose something. Love comes with sacrifice as well as to stand up for yourself and believe that something that seems so impossible, is possible.

At the very start, it was exciting and I felt eager to complete the show. However, towards the end of the show, there were plenty of repeated scenes that made the show rather draggy. The ending was rather okay but don't get your expectations high on this.

Overall, I would not watch this show again but it is highly recommended.

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I was first very excited about watching this drama because the ratings were really good and it seemed to have a unique plot -at least in dramas, I've seen similar plots in novels- but towards the the end of the dramas the overall ratings on MDL had dropped and i was wondering why because I still hadn't started watching the drama at that time... but It's probably due to the fact that the episodes were getting kinda repetitive with Dan Oh seeing the storyboard for a future event in the manhwa and then trying desperately along with Haru to change it only to mess things up in another way, and then the gaps between these scenes are filled with Haru and Dan Oh being all lovey-dovey, this particular thing didn't bother me but I see why it could bother others.
There also a lot of plot holes that you will notice throughout the drama and things that don't make sense that just ....happen.. for the sake of the plot, no matter how hard I tried to understand the rules of their manhwa world i just couldn't really. The whole plot is really interesting but I wished it had less loop holes. I wouldn't watch the whole drama again, but only rewatch the scenes between the the two leads and also Do Hwa's scenes after he becomes self-aware because his reactions amuse me.

buuuut the reason I ignored all that and gave this drama a high rating was because i found the relationship between the leads absolutely adorable and fluffy and Haru's character is really soft and just makes me melt,
so if you're looking for some light-heart fluffy drama to waste your time on this might be your fix

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Let me preface this review by saying that the writer of the comic book (in the show) is a little bitch. I have a theory that the writer is Kim Eun Sook cause who else writes female characters so shitty? Yes. I went there. Moving on, the plot of this story was surprisingly well done. It was romantic, cringe, suspenseful, angsty and repetitive. Oh so repetitive. Repetitive to the point where I literally did not even care in the slightest when the final four episodes came around and Dan Oh lost her memories. Matter of fact, throughout those last four episodes I was just like ARE WE DONE YET?

I will say that I did find a few things very confusing, like I don’t understand how things allegedly went back to its place once the stage was set but then somehow they’re able to keep other trinkets and stuff like the shoes and books and what not? I dunno.. I also did not understand the writer’s (comic book not drama) purpose for introducing dried squid’s lover from Trumpet Creeper?? I also was annoyed by how petty the writer was too, like how you gonna be petty and lazy? Didn’t even bother drawing new characters.. Using the same dusty names? Wack.

The characters were very fun and there was something for everyone. I actually didn’t dislike a single character and wanted each of them to get the happy ending they deserved. I was surprised to see that Do Hwa became my favorite at the end of the day because he was so absolutely endearing. I literally wished with all my heart that he got the girl, but he was so content with his story that I was just like uwu. Shoutout to Ju Da for saying she wanted to date Do Hwa on MWF, Nam Ju on TTS and be by herself on Sundays. LOL. I liked Dan Oh a lot, not so much when she tried to hide things from Haru, but I liked her throughout because she was so darn cute. I actually liked Kyung more than Haru, please don’t come for me!! I know I am an adult and Haru is by far the better guy in every way: tall, handsome, sweet, respects women, wasn’t a bully. But fuck, Kyung was so pathetic and lonely and I wanted to give him a hug and all the love. That being said Rowoon could still very much get it.

The romance between Haru and Dan Oh was the catalyst for the entire show and I loved it. They were beautiful and sweet and truly honed in on that whole “soulmates” thing. I mean they found their way back to each other during every memory loss and story. I mean if I were the writer I would just stop drawing their asses, but Kdrama gotta kdrama so what do you do? Heheh. While I am talking about ridiculous behavior why do guys get to wear full coats, trousers, pants and women still have to wear a skirt and jacket? Like I know Dan Oh’s ass was freezing on that date with Kyung by the beach. Speaking of that date, I will admit that it was cute seeing Kyung happy, even though Dan Oh had lost her memory and wasn’t aware of herself. I shipped them a little bit! I can’t help it!! I guess Ju Da had the tea about wanting to date both. Hhehe.

I guess overall this was a pretty solid and enjoyable watch. I would likely recommend this as a good drama to watch to kill time. I am not sure if I would rewatch it, but I think it has a decent rewatch value. I will say that I am a little bit curious about that other story where they met again because Dan Oh’s bundles were popping!

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Really Enjoyed!!

I watched this and thought this would be interesting to watch, and it was. I truly don't think I've ever watched anything even slightly similar to this before. So many emotions were captured in this and the cast was very good at displaying all the emotions of their characters. If you're doubting watching this just from the first few episodes because the FL is annoying, I'd say just watch it, she does have her moments but I do think her character grew as a person and I really could see a lot of character development, not just from her but from every character in this. I think there are cheesy drama stereotypes still in this, but the way they're presented feels very new... I don't think I will ever watch something like this again, I think this drama is one of a kind... I'm glad I watched this, everything was perfect. I especially liked the ending.

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ATTENTION! THIS REVIEW HAS A LOT OF SPOILERS!

This will be a comparison between webtoon July Found by Chance (How I Found in July) and a kdrama Extraordinary You.
I watched the kdrama first. Rowoon and Kim Hye Yoon did a great job acting, but I had some problems with the drama. I'll explain it here.

Regarding the webtoon, I wasn't much impressed bc I didn't understand all the parts. Later I realized web-site I was reading the webtoon on was lagging and didn't open all the pages for me, so that's the explanation for a few holes in the story.

There's few differences between the drama and the webtoon. What made me happy the most was that in the webtoon Haru didn't become Baek Kyung's rude friend after losing awareness. He just lost the memory from Tails. He became 'usual' extra again. Also, the way he lost awareness was different. In the drama, it's because they were changing the story too much. But in the webtoon, Haru saves Dan Oh and DIES. He dies in Tails, so he's still alive in the story in general.
Even though that's why I liked the webtoon more, I prefer one thing in the drama - falling in love. In the webtoon, Haru and Dan Oh have instant love. If there's one bookish trope I'm not a fan of, it's instant love. They fall in love gradually in the kdrama (I mean it takes six episodes for Haru to even start talking).

Fairy. That's one of my favorite characters. Not only because he looks really good in the drama, but he's also special. He's savage and has a deeper story than we know in the beginning. The story differs once again when it comes to Fairy's 'past life'. I can't quite remember what was his story in Extraordinary You, but in the webtoon he was a killer. BEING THE KILLER is such a good concept when it comes to his character. He fell in love with a girl bc she saw him that he's not bad in the Tails. It's a tragic story, but that's how I fell in love with him even more.

Ju Da. She is the character who is aware of her surroundings in the kdrama when it's coming to an end, but that doesn't happen in the webtoon. Do Hwa stays alone until the end. I can adopt him if he wants to. Him and his dimples.

Oh Nam Joo. DID YOU REALIZE that in the kdrama we never got to know what is the 'Secret' after which is entire comic named?! The secret is that Nam Joo has dyslexia. He can't read much and that's the way he and Ju Da come closer to each other. Also, I really don't like his look in the webtoon.

Do Hwa. Another 'Secret' is that Do Hwa's family of doctors made smth horrible to Ju Da's family (grandma) 10 years ago, but I didn't understand that 100% bc of that website I was reading on.

The ending. I did not like the ending in Extraordinary You. Mostly because I didn't understand it. It was just after I watched W and I wanted them to come out from the comic and live as real people. However, I LOVED the webtoon ending. In the webtoon, the creators decide to make Dan Oh the main character in the next comic, and she transforms into a woman who can travel through time. Even though she's a person from 21st century, she travels through history to find our Haru in hanbok. I really like the ending, them being together and wathcing the sunset. That's the reason I gave the webtoon 5 stars.

Conclusion: I want the story from July Found by Chance to be played by Extraordinary You cast with slow falling in love.

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Finalmente terminei este título, após muita enrolação. No começo me empolguei muito com a história, já que se tratava de um universo dentro de uma história em quadrinhos, e devorei os primeiros 10 episódios bem rápido. Porém, assim que as coisas começaram a mudar e Ha Ru foi revelado, sinto que deu uma decaída na qualidade. Era fofo o romance entre ele e Eun Dan Oh, mas a história ficou um pouco perdida neste ponto. Em vários episódios a gente conseguia apenas sentir a insegurança quanto ao que o autor iria fazer em seguida, algumas brigas de triângulo amoroso e nada mais.
Então, na reta final, algumas coisas começaram a ficar interessantes. Descobre-se a história do primeiro livro em quadrinhos, e é muito mais empolgante (talvez essa tenha sido a intenção, o autor os colocou em uma história clichê monótona após todo o drama da anterior), há um conflito para descobrir quem matou Eun Dan Oh. Eu adoraria que Yeo Joo Da tivesse se tornado mais corajosa e ido atrás de uma mudança de cenário com Do Hwa, e me decepcionou muito ela apenas aceitar seu destino, embora ela não fosse totalmente indiferente ao personagem que deveria ser seu par romântico. Tinham um bom sub-enredo, mas escolheram mantê-lo como estava, então acabei aceitando eventualmente que não haveria chances para Do Hwa.
É inegável que Baek Gyeong evoluiu demais ao longo do drama, e ele certamente foi meu personagem favorito em questão de desenvolvimento e amadurecimento. A verdade é que este é um dos únicos personagens que a evolução é tão grande quanto a de Ha Ru - em questões de conseguir uma história e uma consciência, e posteriormente melhorar sua personalidade para algo diferente do programado.
Foi um drama muito bom para passar o tempo e morrer com as cenas fofas da Eun Dan Oh com o Ha Ru.

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The irony of Deconstructing a trope only to be Reconstructed again

So did the writers never realize that in the second half of the show they are doing exactly what they were making fun of? So let's begin shall we:

1) Love Triangles, where it is painfully obvious who the main lead is - check
2) FL crying because she will die soon and be separated from her Love Interest- check
3) "Extra" characters with rubbish plotlines - check

So let's begin with why I loved the show. I was about to give this show a 7.5 overall score, but the show was so addictive and intriguing at the beginning that I ended up binging and completing it within 2 days, that too on a working Wednesday. The show has a lot of amazing things to boast about, the music, the screenplay, the acting, etc.

Right at the beginning, we are introduced to a very interesting concept, where we find that our FL is an extra in someone else's novel. What I loved about the show initially, how the characters were self-aware of the romantic tropes and cliches often found in such types of novels. My favorite part of the show was obviously the parody of Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flower/Meteor Garden. As someone who has literally seen almost all the versions of that material, it was hilarious to me to see the subversion of the many plotlines of that story. I mean my favorite were the self-aware Do Hwa and Ju-Da. I mean lovers of the Korean BOF will know how strong the second lead syndrome was, even though I preferred the original pairing.

Another thing I loved about the show's premise initially was the existential questions about fate and destiny and choosing to change fate. It also played with the narratives about what if the writer wants two characters to be together, but the characters themselves are not into it. Like how many readers or viewers ship the second lead with the main girl.

So episodes 1- 10 are golden, and I might even rewatch them. But by God, the second half is so draggy, cheesy, and repetitive as mentioned by so many reviewers that it breaks my heart of what could have been the potential. I binged till the end because I waited for many of my answers to be resolved. If we are doing world-building, I don't care about the romantic plot as much as I care for answers for the world. Ok, let's take an example of Goblin episode 12, where it gives the biggest plot twist of the show. Or Sword Art Online 1st season. I wanted something like that to happen to understand why it is happening the way it is happening. But alas it never came as it was never the point. The show in fact made me indifferent to the characters as I realized that they would always be stuck in this never-ending cycle of rinse and repeat. All these things really made me frustrated because there was never a proper resolution at least to me.

The FL actress Kim Hye Yoon was there in Sky Castle as well and her acting was very well suited to the character she played on that show. While I agree she is a good actress, she did the same variation here which made her character really annoying especially in the second half where she is trying to be aegyo. Rowoon really made me swoon with his innocent characterization, it really suited him. Lee Jae Wook as Beak Kyung really stood out to be and in fact, I was rooting for him far more than the main couple sometimes (till obviously he tried to kill the FL in the 14th episode but doesn't because why not).

Overall, I just wished I had more closure which makes me really angry, but overall I really enjoyed the concept.

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This was cute and easy to watch. Just leave your brain behind and you won't be disappointed.

A universe is setup that leaves a lot of questions with unsatisfying answers to most while others are forgotten.
The transition from comic scenes to off-stage was well-done and thought out. It is almost a character itself as it lends the tension needed to drive the feeling of unpredictable and unfair world these characters inhabited.

Near the ending episodes you'll wonder why you liked it as much as you did.

Skip it if the teen scene isn't your thing and read the manhwa instead.

Watching once was enough. I honestly don't remember the ending. Totally forgettable.

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Very Creative And Intriguing!!

Hi there!
Please tell me where and why you agree and disagree with me after reading this review.
Suggestions are welcomed.

BE CAUTIOUS, SPOILERS AHEAD!!

So getting to the drama~
I would recommend watching it as I totally loved this drama.

Story: 9.0
The storyline was totally fascinating and creative. I would say the comic book they were actually living in was too monotonous and typical with a rich male protagonist and a poor female protagonist (the usual Cinderella thing). "Let's see my fate lies in whose hands." this is my favourite line said by Dan-Oh. Her character in the comic book that they were living in was so cheesy and sweet type but the real Dan-oh was so courageous I would say. "Dear writer, please forget all the gibberish I said until now." She was like a naughty child.
The parts where the story when wrong:
It was too confusing sometimes, people appear and disappear, even the past changes, rules keep on changing and also we never got to know what that dangerous black hole thing was. And we don't know how they met at last, they seemed to be in a different comic book but that wasn't introduced at all.
Also I agree with Dried Squid Fairy that this was a high school comic book but the students never study.
I liked the fact how they had pasts (as to being used again and again together in different comic books by the writer).
It has a happy ending though it isn't that clear.

Acting/Cast:8.5
So we have,
⨠Kim Hye Yoon as Eun Dan Oh, she totally fit the role, the hand movements seemed to fit her character but she failed to make people emotional in the emotional scenes. So, I think I would have liked Cheng Xiao to take her place, although she's a chinese actress, she totally seems to fit this role. But she was pretty alright as well.
⨠Rowoon as Ha-Ru, his acting was pretty good, as we can see in the behind the scene videos he's quite of an extrovert but her played the introvert and protective character really well.
⨠Lee Jae Wook as Baek Gyung, he plays the dominating side the best, the loving side seemed a bit lacking but I guess that was his character so, he was pretty good.
⨠Lee Na Eun as Yeo Ju Da, maybe it was her character or her acting, I'm not sure, but nothing seemed to be coming out from her heart, it all seemed too superficial, I would have really liked somebody else to take her role, anybody who would seem a bit more realistic.
⨠Jung Gun Joo as Lee Do Hwa, his acting was very nice throughout, especially when he says those thing related to "the way a supporting character would have" or "I seem to pity myself" and all, the only point when his acting was fake is when he is reading the comic and starts crying for Ju Da.
⨠ Kim Young Dae as Oh Nam Ju, he played it pretty well. The cute person, the domineering person, each side of his character was played well.
⨠Lee Tae Ri as Dried Squid Fairy or Jin Mi Rae, his acting was superb! He very properly gave his expressions when being childish, worried, giving warnings and all.
The acting of all the support actors and actresses was very well as well.


Music: 9.0
The music was very nice throughout. Although it was very repetitive, I liked it.

Rewatch Value: 10.0
Although there were some confusing parts, it has a very high rewatch value because you'll rarely get tired of some of the actors and actresses and the intriguing and unexpected twists and turns.

Overall:9.0

Hope it wasn't boring.
Lots of Love <3

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