True Beauty (2020)

Shallow and repeatedly tedious

I don't know what I honestly expected from a series focused on such a shallow character and premise, but I suppose it was - character development. There were no changes to the people, no character development, no communication, and no reason to continue watching.

I expected her to grow as a character, and get better, but instead, I felt myself wanting to smack her and both the male leads. Each arc, each new drama, was tedious and forced, and was then fixed within an episode, which led me to wonder why they needed so much drama in between it.

I honestly don't know why I expected anything less, honestly. Considering it's about 100 chapters into the webtoon and the MC is still just as shallow and conceited as she is in this show in the manga. (Fun fact: the mc has the audacity to complain that people around her are "fake" and catfishing her on blind dates. What the eff is she doing then? Can you spell hypocrite?)

The ONLY reason I got to episode 13 is that I wanted to see if their relationship when it was finally here was worth the tedious leading up to it. And it was not. Even with the brilliant, hard-hitting actors that I've thoroughly enjoyed in other things. Even they couldn't save this train wreck, and I'm genuinely not sure why people seem to enjoy this waste of a show.

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The webtoon times 10

The show and drama are both ongoing. So how is it possible to come to the conclusion that the drama is ten times better than the webtoon?
Is it because I dislike the webtoon. No, infact i love it.
Is it because I'm Team Suho in the drama? No, infact I'm team Jugyeong and whoever makes her happy. [ In the webtoon I was completely in love with her wholesome beautiful relationship with Seojoon, and I was SO happy she got to be experience true love with him. But in the drama Suho is clearly the one for her, what with the the length he will go to protect Jugyeongs secret, to make her happy, to help her study, to defend her honour, to encourage her while she’s down. ]
Is it because of the change in plot? Partly. I like not knowing which direction this show is going to take. I like drama Sujin. I have a girlcrush on Heegyung who was wallpaper in the webtoon. I like seeing glimpses of my favourite moments and costumes in the webtoon brought to life. I like all the other show parodies and cameos by actors.
Is it because of the stellar cast? YES! EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER has been cast to perfection in this drama. It's like they were made for these roles.
Is it also because of the depth of characters and intersecting storylines?? YES. YES. YES. I cannot tell you how rich and well fleshed out the drama characters are. They pale in comparison to the ones in the webtoon.
It's also also because this show is light, fluffy, embarrassingly funny, totally over the top and exactly the kind of crack i needed to end 2020 on a high and begin 2021 with a bang!!

PS: To those who are disappointed because it's different from the webtoon. This is how I see it. They’re distant cousins. Like your mother’s-fathers-brothers-sons-daughter. They have the same roots and foundation but are intrinsically different. It doesn’t make one better than the other. They’re both special in their own way. Comparing them is pointless because they were never meant to have the same personality. You realise this from the get go. Right from the way Suho and Jugyeong meet, to the harsh bullying Jugyeong was treated to, or the early introduction of Seojoon. They are both unique. The more you compare the more disappointed you’re likely to get. Enjoy the two for who they are. Individually. I mean who likes to be compared to their cousins am I right??

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Not what you expect!

Now the headline might make it seem like this is a negative review but this is far from it, although i am not finished watching this drama I can tell that it's going places. THE RIGHT PLACES. With the way that it's progressing I really enjoy how they stuck to the main point of the drama as a whole which is basically in the title, true beauty lies within. I also enjoy that they DIDN'T STICK ENTIRELY TO THE SCRIPT. I will admit, at first I was a little disappointed but let's all be honest. It would be really boring if they did do that. It'd be like reading the webtoon except they'd be acting it out. Some of you may be yelling EXACTLY! THEY'RE ACTING IT OUT! But if that were the case I'd just reread the webtoon. ( I dunno maybe its just me) in any case! I just really love how they added their own twist to her backstory making it more interesting and full of depth. So far it's a really cool watch and it's funny. Her relationship with seojun is funny and heartwarming. Her relationship with seojun is complicated. AND THE CAST DOES SUCH A GREAT JOB. Before watching this drama I was suho all the way. I still am, I just want seojun to myself LMFAOOO. In this drama they make the characters more round than the webtoon does. The drama is circled around romance, but its much more than JUST ROMANCE. In any case I totally recommend.

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Cute but flat

The biggest deal-breaker for me is that the characters are flat and caricaturish, and IMO the writing is cheap and shoddily done, full of cliches that will probably be new and thrilling to most young or new kdrama watchers but are stale and boring to old-time kdrama fans (old as in pre-webtoon era) like me. I did not read the webtoon so I am not sure if the characters are as one-dimensional and cliched there as in the drama. Pretty sure there are those who are in love with this type of "cuteness" but if you want dramas with characters you really feel for, who are fleshed out and feels real and are not just cute cartoon characters, then this would not be for you. You could do romcom and ridiculous and silly while still having well-rounded, fully fleshed out and relatable characters, like in Full House, for instance. I found the storytelling here scattered and all over the place, as you would expect from something adapted from a serialized webtoon that has a lot of senseless fillers. I also find the main guy (Suho) bland and uninteresting even though he is playing out one of my favorite tropes -- the cold genius. It takes a certain character/personality for an actor to be able to pull that off well, and this one didn't do it for me even though he looks gorgeous. Overall, cute but flat and boring. Lacks good writing and characterization.

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Creative Entertainment

Entertainment is what the director have in mind when he make this drama, there are a lot of creative funny scene inserted in many situation, and that what's actually make me appreciate this more.
A lot of cliche scene are also inserted purely for entertainment, and they've gone deep with it, so you have to keep that in mind when you watch this.

For someone that want to watch K-drama seriously this might be not for you.

Although they've started with heavy subject (bullying & suicide) in episode 1, they took their time and focus more on the love triangle and FL transformation after she changed with make up until they continue touch it again on episode 10. I do hope they still maintain their comedic tone between those heavy subject scene, and can wrap it up high.

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Ainda me sinto mal

Deveria ter ouvido meus extintos quando senti vontade de adiantar o primeiro episodio sabia que era um mau presságio pois depois de 89 dramas assistido essa é a primeira vez que acontece no primeiro episódio, mais fui teimosa e continuei por que sou orgulhosa.

Quando li a sinopse desse drama logo me interessei, pois achei que iria tratar de um assunto serio de uma forma leve com comedia, ou seja tinha tudo para dar certo porem contudo todavia não deu, a receita que tinha tudo para dar certo desandou. Eles colocaram tudo que mais detesto neste drama, uma tonelada daqueles clichês batidos que ja está desgastando de tanto uso, uma comédia forçada chega ser infantil forçado, artificial e o maldito triangulo amoroso que faz parte do clichês da maioria dos dramas esta lá mais uma vez e eu realmente não gosto disso. e aquela vontade de adiantar os episódios estava cada vez mais presente , Meus olhos sangraram em ver esse drama talvez em curtisse isso quando tinha 10 anos de idade talvez.

A protagonista feminina tentou seu melhor porem com que deram para ela fazer só milagre para ela salvar, e como não ouve milagre , seu personagem na maioria das vezes era caricato, infantil , forçado como a maioria dos personagens, falando em forçado que voz era aquela que ela fazia, gente é pisar na minha inteligente era irritante demais , Deus ainda me sinto mal só de pensar.

O primeiro protagonista masculino pelo conseguiu entregar um trabalho melhor mesmo com mesmo com o enredo fraco roteiro bagunçado e com aquele excesso de comédia ele conseguiu entregar algo melhor não fizeram o personagem dele tão estupido quantos os outros. Vou dizer a mesma coisa do segundo protagonista masculino também, gostei até que bastante dele e me peguei simpatizando mais com ele .

Agora quanto os assuntos sérios que deveriam ser tratados para mim ficou tudo muito raso estranho . Não me entendam mal não é que eu não goste de comédia, eu até gosto porem que seja bem feita.
O enredo era tão previsível, enfadonho que 16 episódios foi realmente desnecessário acho menos que 10 já estava ótimo. Achei os episódios demasiadamente grandes desnecessário podiam ter 30 min ou menos. Talvez se fosse mais curto esse drama seria mais fácil e menos doloroso de se assistir.

Aprendi que meu orgulho não me levou a nada, da próxima vez que eu me deparar com um drama assim vou escutar meu coração e parar de assistir, esse meu orgulho não me levou nada. Acabei esse drama frustrada com raiva de mim mesma por ter assistido, e com aquela sensação de que perdi meu precioso tempo com uma lista enorme de dramas para assistir ainda.

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It started out good but then....

For someone who has never read the webtoon, I think it started out pretty well, but after a few episodes it just became a typical love triangle with a pretty expected ending. At the beginning, I was really hooked to the story and was expecting a korean drama to finally adress that physical beauty is not what matters the most, but unfortunately I think they ended up giving the wrong message since we can see that only after she got her makeover is when she started to have tons of friends and some guys attracted to her. For some reason, I disliked the fact that they made her be bad at studying, because I felt like they related it with being "ugly" and "clumsy" (since the best students at their school are so good looking). Just stereotypes and more stereotypes. I wanted to see the end of this drama, but as I continued the episodes, it just became more boring and cliché.

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Com ou sem maquiagem, você é sempre você

"Se você se sente confiante, ninguém pode tocar em você. Com ou sem maquiagem, você é sempre você".

Evitei dar play em "True Beauty" por saber que ia rolar triângulo amoroso, mas assisti os 14 episódios em um fim de semana pra poder acompanhar a finale.

True Beauty é uma série baseada em um webtoon, e conta a história de Im Ju Kyung, uma estudante insegura com a sua aparência. Ao aprender a se maquiar, ela muda de colégio e também de vida. Depois de sofrer bullying por anos em sua antiga escola, agora ela era a mais linda e popular do colégio.

Apesar do tema central ser o bullying (que é muito relevante e necessário), outra coisa que me tocou na série foi a relação dos protagonistas. Como eles se distanciaram pela simples falta de diálogo. Quantas pessoas nós já perdemos na vida da mesma maneira? Os momentos que mais me emocionei envolviam a amizade dos dois sendo reconstruída (e os flashbacks com o amigo idol).

Também amei os personagens secundários, principalmente a Unnie gamer e o seu Grapefruit. A inversão de esteriótipos no casal foi sensacional!

E pela primeira vez na vida meu bias foi o second lead. Shippei certíssimo para a Im Ju (#teamsuho), mas a escolha pra mim (na vida real) seria o 🐯. Is that true? Yes! E quem falar que o shipp oficial não balançou no episódio 15 tá mentindo. Louca pra ver mais dramas do Yeop! E eu seria facilmente do fandom do grupo do Seojun.

Se você gosta de séries leves, de drama escolar, cheias de clichês que te tiram um sorrisinho do rosto a todo momento, personagens divertidos e atores incríveis, pode dar play sem medo em True Beauty.

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Relieves Depression & Stress this Pandemic Times

Its the perfect Korean Drama for me to watch in this time of Pandemic, considering how depressing this times are.. i just badly needed to watch something that would take my mind off from all this stress and luckily True Beauty did the Trick, it contains funny comedy scenes, that made me really laugh. I also find The romance between SuHo and Jukyung soo Cute (this is why I love Romantic-Comedy Kdramas. they definitely serve their dual purpose of being comedic and romantic, noice 10 Stars for this drama.) I love how all the actors did their best trying to be as entertaining as possible by means of portraying their roles well specially to the comedy scenes. The music was also nice, cute and catchy, it suits my tastes since I really like cute things ♡

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Basically another 'My ID is Gangnam Beauty'

^ EXCEPT only Cha Eun Woo plays a role in both dramas (also the male lead in MIIGB)

*outline*
This is probably the first time I've watched a long drama and accepted it that all the scenes were worth the wait till the end. I'll admit though, the ending was sweet but I didn't like it. I feel like not all the characters got the ending they deserved. The pacing was perfect now that I've watched the entire thing, but otherwise it was a bit slow during the last few episodes. Despite it all, the last few episodes are the best episodes; they're hilarious, sweet, and you don't realize you've finished the drama until you have. ()


*thorough*
STORY : I haven't read True Beauty yet, but I'm pretty sure the story told through the webtoon would be equally as amazing as the drama. Usually, dramas based off of webtoons don't live up to our expectations, or at least mine. I'm not a harsh critic, per se, I just want the mood to be reflected? I don't know if that makes any sense :0. As I mentioned, the pacing was brilliant until the last few episodes, but I was distracted by all the funny scenes anyways so it made up for the slow ending. The confession scenes and the dates in this drama are one of the best you'll see. I had high hopes for the second male lead which didn't come true though :( so I'm a little down about that but I'll probably distract myself somehow. This drama also has the perfect amount of everything; a little bit of action, love, comedy, fantasy, music, etc

ACTING/CAST : I loved all of the characters, even Kang Soo Jin's despite what she did. She had her reasons and I totally understand that. I feel like she had it worse than any other character throughout the entire story. I didn't like Lim Ju Kyung's though. I just feel her character was unnecessarily selfish at times and kept running away from all the problems. Although she did make up for this right after by acknowledging herself. I felt really sorry for Lee Soo Ho throughout her run-aways though. Poor guy had to deal with it and she didn't even bother to talk to him.

MUSIC : I appreciated all the tracks that were played throughout the whole story. Whoever wrote the music really made me feel like they delved into the drama as though it was their own story they were trying to relay. Also, in these dramas, usually the ost track is played repeatedly and it gets to a point where it can either be annoying or you can just tell when the track is gonna be played. However, that wasn't the case here. There were many tracks that were played according to the scene. I like how they didn't just focus on one.

REWATCH VALUE : I personally wouldn't come back to this drama, it's like a one-timer for me. It's way too long, and it didn't really make a great impact on me. I didn't feel like the drama played around a little with my emotions after maybe 10 episodes in so it became a little dry until the funny scenes started again.


*recommendations*
Yes, I would definitely recommend this to a friend, whether an old or new K-drama enthusiast. Especially if they're an AROHA. Cha Eun Woo played an amazing role and it has to be called out upon.

'My ID is Gangnam Beauty' is a really good drama to watch next if you're into a similar story line. Cha Eun Woo also plays the male lead in that drama and overall, True Beauty and My ID is Gangnam Beauty are no different from each other. At all. Kinda.

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WHAT A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE!

Story (9.5/10):
First off: No, I have not read the Webtoon. I only have read up to chapter three like two years ago. However, after watching this drama, I probably will have to pick up on where I left off. So I won't have insight on the similarities and differences between the webtoon and the drama.
Regardless, I love the set up of the storyline. Lim Jukyung is a girl who does not fit into society's beauty standard. The most heartwrenching part of this story is that she is well aware of it, not only that, there are plenty of people who made sure she was aware of it. Due to this, she "transformed" herself using the gift of makeup and "beautified" herself. That is the heart of the storyline. Then comes two handsome and charming boys who enter her world and things happen.
What I liked most about the storyline is that even though it follows the typical Korean drama tropes (a love triangle, rich boy/poor girl status, cold and aloof boy/warm and down to earth girl, and etc.), it wasn't boring or repetitive. Instead, I find that the storyline was very refreshing and relatable. There were plenty of tear-jerking scenes (I cried three times watching this drama) but I also laughed like crazy. The majority of this drama focused on the main girl's character development and her love story (and the love stories of the people around her).
The only thing that refrained me from giving this a full 10/10 is that even though the main characters were well written, the side characters (specifically the "villains") were lacking character qualities.



Acting/Cast (9/10): SPOILERS AHEAD
Moon Gayoung plays as Lim Jukyung, the girl who struggles to fit into beauty standards but eventually becomes a goddess. I have only seen Moon Gayoung in Heartstrings (2011) and EXO Next Door (2015). I haven't seen any of her recent works. However, in the two dramas I have seen her in, I liked her a lot. She played as the bratty but sweet sister in Heartstrings and the shy next-door neigboor in EXO Next Door. I've seen clips of her in Tempted and her acting skills really wowed me. I can say her acting has definitely improved since 2011 and she did a really good job as Lim Jukyung. I know everyone wanted Jisoo from Blackpink to be Lim Jukyung, but I honestly think that Moon Gayoung really aced this role. Besides that, I really enjoyed the character development of Lim Jukyung in the drama. It took a while, but with all the love and support she had, she overcame her biggest fears and insecurities.

Next up, Cha Eunwoo as Lee Suho. Oh my goodness, he is hot (obviously)!!! Everyone knew that Cha Eunwoo was for sure going to get this role, like come on, he is the living Lee Suho. The only drama I've seen Cha Eunwoo was in My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018) and the first half of Rookie Historian (2019). His character as Lee Suho was similar to his character as Do Kyungseok in Gangnam Beauty but very different in many ways. Some similarities are that he's hot, rich, cold, got daddy issues, and he already liked the main girl before she became "pretty". However, I would say that the biggest difference between his character in Gangnam Beauty and True Beauty is that in True Beauty, you can actually feel his character. Like, his character was more human. He showed more emotions and felt real.

Hwang Inyeop as Han Seojun, can someone grab me tissues! My, my, my. My goodness are you perfect. I haven't seen any of Hwang Inyeop's works before but I'm already a big fan. We can all agree he has taken our hearts away. From the first appearance to the last, I just keep wanting to see him. I was a Team Seojun until Suho shows up and vice versa (hey, I'm indecisive). Words can not explain how much I loved his character, especially how Hwang Inyeop portrayed his unrequited love for Lim Jukyung. This second lead syndrome was similar to the Netflix movie "To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You". Laura Jean/Lim Jukyung and Peter Kavinsky/Lee Suho are made for each other, but John Ambrose McClaren/Han Seojun are made for the fans. As a wise woman once said, "A hero has to stay with the heroine. The male supporting role belongs to all." (Chen QianQian from The Romance of Tiger and Rose).

Park Yoona as the scary Kang Soojin. Can we all agree that Kang Soojin had so much more worth than just being an obstacle for the main leads? Like, she was a very, very likable character. How could they do her dirty? But then again, from what I heard, she was the bad character in the original webtoon. She had bad issues with how her dad raised her, but besides that, she was a good character. She didn't judge Lim Jikyung for how she looked, she protected her from bullies, and accepted her willingly. Her biggest mistake was betraying Lim Jikyung out of jealousy. I remember watching Park Yoona in Hotel del Luna and every time I saw her eyes, it gave me chills. The same goes for her character Kang Soojin. When she turned "evil", her cold eyes and look of satisfaction can give you nightmares. I'm waiting for the day when Park Yoona would get her own drama as the main lead!

The side characters were great! My favorites were definitely her family, especially her siblings. They each made the story fun and diverse. Did you know the actress who plays as Lim Jukyung's sister was also in Heartstrings? I was so shocked when I finally realized it was her. She played as a cute college student in Heartstrings and seeing her all grown up now made me feel nostalgic. Seojun's sister and Jukyung's brother had the cutest side story ever! Her parents also made me laugh and cry many times throughout the drama!



Music (8/10):
I didn't pay a lot of attention to the OST's. The only time I actually listened to them was when Seojun sang them. They were cute but very fitting with the emotions during each scene.



Rewatch Value (10/10):
This is definitely my to-go-to rewatch drama. There are just so many scenes where you can rewatch and not get tired.
I remember rewatching Seojun's okie-dokie yo scene a billion times before I was satisfied (I still rewatch it to this day). I don't think I can get enough of the sweet yet funny moments. It's cringy, but it fulfills the inner girly-girl in me.


Overall (9/10):
Overall, great drama. I know some of the webtoon fans were not too happy with the deviation of the original story, but I fairly enjoyed it. The only reason I'm not giving it a full 10 is that I really felt like the villain characters lacked depth. The bullies were there to bully because they felt superior to Lim Jukyung, but why so? They showed up multiple times even after when they weren't really needed and so I was expecting more for them. Same with Kang Soojin. Yeah, I get that her jealousy got to her but I really felt that her character got played dirty. More realistically, the Kang Soojin we know from the beginning of the drama would tell Lim Jukyung that she just got her feelings messed up and is fine that Jukyung and Suho are dating (they really should have ended her jealously there, they could've used the bullies to do the "exposing" and such). However, they didn't end it there. They really brought out the darkness in her, which I found really upsetting. I think it's because I really, really liked her character and couldn't accept that she could turn "evil". I was happy that she eventually got to apologize, but it still didn't do her justice. She just left the scene and came back as a more mature woman. I really wished we got more of her side of the story.
Otherwise, I'm glad at where it ended.


(P.S. Am I the only one who's curious if Han Seojun can find a woman who he can like as much as he did with LIim Jukyung? Someone who he can actually love more than her? I sincerely hope he does find the one. Jukyung was great, but I honestly did not think they were meant to be. Not because Suho came first, but because Jukyung was not even able to develop feelings for him even after 3 years. And at that point, even if she knew he liked her, I don't think she could've forced herself to like him since Suho left such a big imprint in her life. Can we get an extra episode of Han Seojun finding the one?)

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