Rooftop Prince (2012)

Rooftop Prince was a great drama with a fresh story line (for me anyway). The only other time travel drama I've watched was Faith and I'm a few episodes into Queen In Hyun's Man so I don't have much to compare it to. The concept was very original and new for me so I really enjoyed watching it. The whole idea of reincarnation of people from the past and trying to piece together a murder was very interesting. The scheming was at an all time high in Rooftop Prince and I finally had to fast forward through about 4 episodes. I just couldn't take it anymore. I did go back and watch them after I finished the drama but there are some pretty evil characters in this.

The cast was great! Micky Yoochun can really show passion and emotion through his acting making it very convincing for the viewer. I've only seen him in I Miss You and I noticed that about him in that drama as well. The bickering between Park Ha and Lee Kak was cute and funny, but they were also incredibly adorable together. You're heart really broke for them towards the end. Watching Lee Kak and the 3 men who time traveled with him figure out life in the present day was very funny. All 4 of them have great comedic chemistry. I HATED Se Na! I'm not sure I've met a character that got under my skin as much as her. She was truly evil! Tae Mu was bad too but he was pretty much clumsily trying to cover his tracks and getting really desperate. Se Na was just plain out to get Park Ha and completely ruin her.

Just like in Faith, Ali sang a very touching song for this drama and it was played often. I never got sick of it though. She's an amazing singer and loved listening to her song.

Overall, I really liked it. Is it the best I've ever seen? No, but it was still a very well written, very well acted drama. Definitely glad I watched it and will probably watch it again sometime in the future.

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The storyline for Rooftop Prince was ingenious. Rooftop Prince is by far my favorite drama of all time. The story was creative, and it also gave room for a lot of lighthearted humor. I also thought it was ingenious on the writer's part to parallel the past and the present day, and some of the serious scenes left me clinging to the edge of my seat. The casting was great. Taemoo and Sena made me feel really icky and hateful, but then I realized that it was the characters that I hated so much, which proves that the acting was good. The three men who follow Lee Gak to the present are HILARIOUS. There are some serious parts in this drama and some evil parts, but whenever the three "power rangers" appear, they have SUCH funny scenes. I was laughing my head off at so many parts. This drama balances out seriousness and lighthearted mood, the music is pretty great, and I would rewatch this 5 times over if I had the time. Above all, I was very impressed with Micky Yoochun in this drama. I liked him in SKK Scandal, but I LOVED him in Rooftop Prince because he made the character come alive, and at the heavy parts, you could really see the emotion in his eyes. Yoochun's acting overall was mindblowing.

The only thing I would say is the ending. No spoilers, but as the drama nears towards the end, it goes a little downhill. I still love it though.

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I usually don't watch dramas that have anything to do with historical stuff simply because I tend to find them really boring, but for this drama it's a different story. I loved the fact that they go in the the future and that's when things start getting really funny, and I mean REALLY FUNNY! The romance between the two main characters was really touching and I could feel the bond between them.
I'm guilty of always predicting whats going to happen next and ruin it for myself but this drama was unpredictable, there was twists and turns that I really enjoyed.

WARNING I'M TELLING YOU THIS DRAMA WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH A LOT! :)

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It’s not easy to give Rooftop Prince a final score because the drama is like three different series altogether. The first one, probably the one I enjoyed most, is very silly but it genuinely made laugh with its extravagances for daily life things. The second drags out a lot, becomes slow and fairly boring by repeating the same scenarios over and over. And the third and last turns up the drama until it almost gets out of hand—although, fortunately, not to the very end.

The drama itself ends up a bit disorganised, so I’ll try to make my review tidy in exchange.

PROS (some):

- Park Yoo Chun.
I was saddened to read that this amiable actor had been expelled from the industry. I thought him quite stiff for his role in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, but stiffness was partly what that role was about, and here he shows a lot more of what he can do. He brings a sort of sincere warmth (grumpy as the character may be) to the screen, so I would’ve liked to see more of his work.

- Songs.
Rooftop Prince has a fun soundtrack that was characteristic enough for me to want to listen to it later. Quite goofy most of the time, and the dramatic parts were REALLY repetitive (they also added a sort of hilarious effect to the serious scenes), but then its two main songs are beautiful. Quite a highlight to remember the series by.

- All-in-one plot.
If you think about it, this plot probably has a bit of most things you’d think of. Romance, family melodrama, impersonation, murder, time travel, reincarnation… And then royalty, working people, rich businesspeople…


CONS (all):

- Again, all-in-one plot.
The series starts off really enjoyable from the moderately simple time travel comedy premise, but all the different genres it keeps on adding disfigure it until it’s hard to recognise . This could’ve not been necessarily bad, but its pace becomes constantly uneven, and some characters are affected too. For instance, for some reason the second Bak-Ha, who let her hair loose, seemed to act like a different person than pigtail Bak-Ha (I definitely preferred the feistiness of the initial Bak-Ha. The follow-up was kind of mild).

- The “evil” characters.
Probably because Rooftop Prince has little moderation and lets its dramatic events run loose, the “bad characters” (permanent enemies of the “good characters”) are so bad that it gets ridiculous. Every time you think they've done their worst, they go further. Se-Na spits out lies like a printer prints, and it’s exasperating how anyone still believes her. And Tae-Mu is just dead-set on revenge to the point of absurdity. There's nothing else to his character; certainly no credibility, and the the actor didn't help. The way the plot dragged on into unnecessary complications simply because these two did was often weary.

- It brings out the negative sides to dramas.
For the two points above, this drama tried my patience. A LOT. Eventually, it began to show a lot of the negative traits that I would’ve expected from bad Asian dramas, and which kept me from watching them altogether. Because I’ve seen mostly very good ones I had evaded them until now, but a good deal of this drama had that clinginess or cheap-looking feeling in the conflict scenes, and enough dumb confusions in the happier ones to muddle the plot further.


CONCLUSION (also TL;DR):

The drama drags a lot in the middle and it also grows a little tasteless when it switches comedy for drama. The misunderstandings, revenges, etc. pile up with far too much repetition and, what’s worse, come distressingly close to a soap opera.
But although most I’ve written sounds negative, that applies to a section of the drama only, and I eventually did not regret watching Rooftop Prince. Most of the parts focused on the four-coloured tracksuit Joseonites were great to watch, and the drama is so long you eventually feel pretty close to the main characters. Some are quite endearing.
Through some episodes it was so slow and repetitive that it exhausted my patience, but usually a better scene came up in-between to revive my interest. The underlying mystery that is present in the story from beginning to end was usually an aid in this, as the hints come up (very) gradually and build on slowly towards a very satisfactory ending, difficult as delivering one seemed.

Endings tend to be very personal so it might not work so positively for everyone, but this one redeemed a lot of the series for me. The last episode sorted out all the continued problems better than I thought it'd be able to, and on top of that it left me feeling good towards the series as a whole. It’s the endearing sensation that only series that have been worth watching can pull off.

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I finished Rootop Prince, finally. I put it off while it was airing because of my life situation, but decided to neglect my studies to watch it, and I am glad I did, though I doubt my professors feel the same. I have to first start by saying, that I was skeptical about watching this, because as you know, I am not into the Historical dramas, and I thought this is what that was going to be. Thank god, I was wrong, it was way more than that, and set in modern time. I loved it.

I loved this drama; I can’t even explain how great it was. I mean it had me in tears, laughing my ass off, on the edge of my seat because of the intensity, and made me want to go through the screen at times, and whip some people’s asses. All those things combined, make for a great drama, don’t you think? Something that can pull on your emotions and make you react to the characters and the situations, and that leave you hungry for more, well at least that is what I think a good drama consists of. I want this review to consists of a couple of things, a breakdown of my thoughts of the plot, my thoughts on the characters, my thoughts on the ending, and my thoughts about some technical bullshit.

Starting with the plot of this drama, I thought it was interesting. Though I may not like historical dramas, this sort of in a way combined modern and historical dramas into one, which I personally have never seen done in an Asian drama. This may be the first? No? Okay. The idea of bringing a crowned prince from another area, into 2012, is an interesting concept on its own, no doubt. But tying that in with reincarnation, murder, mystery, romance, and comedy, well that just puts it all on a whole new level. That was brilliant of the writers, because Historical and Modern Romance dramas are very popular among the Korean audience, and the international audience, some people like both, and some like one of the other, and by combining them together, they broadened their targeted audience, and may of sparked interest in historical dramas for modern romance drama watchers and vice versa. I personally do have an interest in watching a historical drama , thanks to this drama. Marketing, successful!

Now I want to talk a little bit about the characters, and try not to give any juicy details away, well sort of. I just want to say, that though we may hate certain characters because they are evil, you cannot deny the fact that they are good actors and actresses. I mean it takes a very skilled person to pull off such a role, and make an audience hate you to the core. That is some mad skill. The other characters also, the actors and actresses who portrayed them, also were very stunning. They did not let me down with their acting, and could be serious, romantic, funny, and all the things in between, which made them in my eyes, great at their craft. Though I have seen a couple of these people in other dramas, some of them were new to me, like I have never watched a drama with Micky in it, but I do love DBSK and JYJ, so don’t get me wrong, I knew who he was, But I had never seen him in a drama, I sort of try to steer away from dramas with Idols in them, because I don’t usually like their acting, but there are some who are good, like him. After watching this drama, I want to go to all the MAIN characters (including the evil and posy) and watch some of the dramas they have been in. (Ones I have not already seen). The characters in this drama were witty, and charming, some not so much, and they made you feel emotion, get attached, and feel either bad for them, or feel as though they deserved it, and you actually cared about the outcome of their lives and so on, which to me is a very important factor in watching dramas. You need to be invested in these fantasy characters, or there is no reason to watch one, it just gives for a boring drama, or movie, that you seem to just waste your time with, and with this one, it is the opposite.

Now for a little bit of my thoughts on the ending, I will not give anything away, but I just want to convey the emotions that I felt while watching, well, the last 2 episodes. The last two episodes had me nerves wreck. I mean I was crying like a baby, and was on the edge of my seat trying to know what was going to happen. I was in public, crying, while people stared at me, and I didn’t give a single fuck, because you know what? This drama is touching, and shows you the power of good over evil, true love, fait, and karma, and it hit my heart like a tornado and made my emotions swirl around inside me.

Now I have to go over some things with people. I watch my dramas usually on Viki.com, which most people know about. Well for those who don’t, viki has dramas from all over the world, and the users sub them for everyone. And while you are watching, you can comment on a scene in the drama, and it will play for everyone to see while they watch it. Sometimes this shit is funny, and sometimes, it can be annoying. People point out the dumbest things, like peoples speech, camera work, and how realistic the drama is. They say how this couldn’t happen, or this doesn’t make sense, or there is no way that would really happen. Exactly, this would NEVER really happen, because it’s a drama. One thing you need to know about Asian dramas, is that they don’t usually make sense, and they give unrealistic expectations of love and life, and people need to get it through their little thick heads that we all know that this shit is faker than fuck, and that shit like that would never happen. We understand, and there is no point in pointing it out, because if we only watched dramas that were accurate and realistic, I’m pretty sure 99% of the dramas would not be around or would not be popular because there is never a drama, in my opinion, that is 100% realistic and accurate with things, and that’s what we love about them, right? We love the faults and unrealistic expectations they give us, because they make us laugh and feel good, and make us forget the worries in life, and have us sitting around all day watching things that probably never ever happen. It’s like this, Asian dramas and most dramas around the world are basically science fiction in a way, shit is never going down like a drama portrays it, and we watch it for the fun of it.

So all in all, this drama was amazing, and has officially become one of my all-time favorite dramas. I think that this drama is for everyone, for those who love modern romance, those who love comedy, those who love historical dramas and even those who watch it for good looking people, because it has it all. The drama, the romance, the laughs, the cries, you will have all of that in this drama and that makes it amazing. So I recommend everyone who loves a well-rounded amazing drama to watch it, because I am 99.99% sure you will not regret it. In fact, you will be excited and happy with your choice, because once you start watching, you can’t and won’t want to stop.

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"Rooftop Prince" is no drama, it is magic!
I cant believe it took me so long to finally decide watching it.
And I dont regret anything!

Story
Its a time traveling story. Im usually no fan of time travelinng stories and dropped the most of dramas of this genre, but Rooftop Prince just captured me. Once I started the first episode I found myself addicted to it.
The prince Lee Gak wants to find out who killed his wife, so he looks for 3 servant to help him with this case. Suddenly they find themselves in 21. century on the rooftop of Park Has apartment.
Also Park Ha is first shocked at first and thinks theyre just crazy man, later a great friendship...and love story developes.
This drama will make you laugh a lot, especially when you see how the guys get to use on the 21. century (and I can tell you, the 3 friends/servant of Lee Gak are really really funny&cute;) but it will also make you cry a lot.
Just be prepared on a rollercoaster of emotions.

Acting/Cast
I cant imagine any better cast for this drama as the people who are already in it.
The main lead do a really great job. Especially Yoochun made me fall in love with him. His acting was just perfect! he had to switch roles (Lee Gak & reincarnation of Lee Gak) both guys had more or less a different personality and he made it to fit his acting to their personalities, just to perfect! Not to mentioned how hot&cute; he was/is...
The next peson who also surprised me a lot was Lee tae Sung, which I only knew from Playful Kiss. In playful kiss he was a nice, funny and cheesy guy. Completely different from his role in Rooftop Prince.
In this drama he played the villain Tae Moo...one of the worst and maddest villains Ive ever seen! He made me hates him sooooo much, which is a proof of his great acting talents!

Music
Music were just great! Many beautiful songs, played at the right scenes. Still love them!

Rewatching Value
Rewatching value is very very high. Im already missing this drama and all the people in it, pretty sure I will rewtahcing it some day!

Overall
Give it a try! This drama is a masterpiece. Many friends reccommendet it to me, but I never listened to them early. And now I cant believe I was missing such a great drama.

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Not that good!

It's 10 episodes too long, cut it in half! Feels like a copy from every other time-travel joseon era drama, especially "Queen In Hyun's Man (2012)" which shares great similarities. In comparison, "Queen In Hyun's Man (2012)" was better than this thin lukewarm copycat.

A lot of things are thrown at you and you are meant to accept them without questioning or whatsoever. Se Na is a generic pitiful villain with no character. Diluted story, poorly executed. The chemistry is often too awkward between them. Don't get me started on the script/romance/characters/editing, all of which were distasteful. It's a shame, these kind of drama are the ones that get popular. 4.75/10

Don't watch it from NETFLIX, they cut scenes from every episodes. Watch the TV or Blu-ray version.

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I just finished watching this drama. I must say it's probably the most original and creative story I've seen in any drams I've watched so far. The concept of the parallel time periods and the mystery was really unique for me. It was so great to see a drama that, for me, really stood out against all the others I've watched. It lacked the predictability most dramas have. It was actually exciting to watch because I was never sure what would happen. My only gripe is that the ending seemed a little too rushed but I can still overlook that since I assume they probably had to cram it all in the episode. I'd recommend this drama to everyone. Fantastic!

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This drama was so much fun to watch! Based on the promo picture, and the synopsis, I expected this to be really corny, but I was so wrong. Rooftop Prince was funny, romantic, tragic, suspenseful, and enjoyable from start to finish. The story sometimes takes things to the K-Drama extreme, but the acting is so good that they made the unbelievable believable. I also liked watching the parallel story lines, and loved not being able to predict what was going to happen next.

The whole cast is great, but I adored the "Joseon Power Rangers", who I will just refer to as Yellow, Green, and (my favorite) Blue. Each had an endearing personality that made them real characters, and more than just comic relief in color coordinated outfits. They are definitely a huge highlight.

As far as evil characters go, Lee Tae Sung, and Jung Yoo Mi do their very best to make sure you absolutely HATE them. I immediately forgot any other drama that I liked Lee Tae Sung in, because my anger at Tae Mu took over completely. Jung Yoo Mi managed to anger me even more with her outstanding performance as evil Se Na. Together they made me yell obscenities at the screen, and I loved watching them top themselves with new reasons to make me hate them in every episode.

The two main leads were so good. Han Ji Min was great as perpetual victim Bak (or Park?) Ha/, and won my sympathy without coming across as a weak doormat. I absolutely fell in love with Micky Yoochun, and thought he was great balancing multiple parts, and making each distinct personality work. I loved them both in previous dramas, and I really loved them together. Their chemistry was impressive, even though their first kiss scene was not (although they do make up for it later). There are so many rewatchable cute moments, romantic/sweet moments, and tearjerking/heartbreaking moments between them. The plot involves mysteries of the past, and present, being revealed, but romance is what drives the story. There are a few repetitive moments, but overall their romance is done very well.

By the end, all the important questions do get answered, although I thought that the last episode felt a little rushed while doing so. Some people may find the ending confusing, but I think they are just over thinking it. I wasn't quite sure how it would all end until the very end, and I think that's a good thing. I was also satisfied with the end, though it definitely left me wanting more.

Now I can't finish this review without mentioning the music. I immediately had to have it on my iPod. I get amped by the cheesy "Happy Ending" song, my heart breaks when listening to Ali's "Hurt", and I even loved the instrumentals. The songs enhanced each scene, and were memorable without being distracting. The soundtrack is a sure 10.

Rooftop Prince has the charm of a beloved fairy tale. I am hesitant to give dramas a 10, even if I love them, so I'm giving this a 9. If you focus on plot holes, unrealistic scenarios, and what is or isn't probable, I'm sure you will find flaws, but I was too into the story to be bothered by any of that. I just finished watching it, and I miss it already. I am almost tempted to watch it all again right now!

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I have mixed feelings about this drama.
The story is great- quite different,with interesting narration and well paced, though it does drag a bit in the middle.
The actors were good, almost surprisingly so for me, especially with Micky (having seen him only in 'Sungkyunkwan Scandal', i was unsure of what to expect here) and Lee Tae Sung (who played the polar opposite of his character in Playful Kiss).
There were many things I liked about this drama-
the light heart-ed humor, the past-future lifestyle variations,and especially the three guys, who were cute and fun throughout. The music was good and fitting to the mood of the scene.
The female lead was cute and pretty, more so when she wasn't trying too hard to play the 'innocent' girl. The negative characters were very believable and felt real.
What I didn't like so much are-
the innumerable number of cliched situations, the situations that are made overly dramatic and artificial, the ridiculously obvious way that the 'good' people are repeatedly manipulated by the 'evil' ones (makes you want to knock them on the head and tell them to keep their phones safe and doors locked).
So, if you take away all the minor irritants, 'Rooftop Prince' is a good drama, with enough fun and intrigue to keep it entertaining.

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I started this drama because it seemed interesting and god was I right! The first episode starts a tad bit slow. This drama makes you laugh, cry,get frustrated, and then laugh again. You go awww a lot as well. I adore this drama! Mickey is so cute! The main girl is also strong, sometimes you get annoyed as to why she won't say somethings but still she's funny and very amusing. The other 3 guys with the price are complete spazzes and are very interesting to watch. They're so cute at how awkward they are.
I wanted to wait for more episodes to come out then watch it so I could see one after another but I cant! I keep watching the episodes as they come out.

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Ok guys, brace yourself, this is one of the best drama i've ever seen.
Seriously this drama is really a masterpiece, every single episode is awesome, and you'll be suprised EVERY SINGLE TIME! I'll certainly watch this drama AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN ! the story line is amazing and not boring at all. This drama is surely going to be enjoyed by everyone who's going to watch it !It's the first time that i don't know how it's going to end up like, and this amazing !
If you like, action ( like city hunter ),suspence, comedy (like my girl ), romance, historical drama (like Iljimae) and fantastic dramas ( like secret garden ) with an awesome OST THIS IS YOUR DRAMA guys!
THIS IS A MUST WATCH !

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