I decided to watch purely for kim go eun. The cast was perfect, they all acted really well and did their best with the script.
The story however was a bit floppy to say the least. They never provided the backstory of the father or even showed the mother in flashbacks, it would have helped set the mood.
Weirdly enough, knowing the lead guy was a jerk, I really hoped he won’t end up with the lead girl, she deserved someone innocent and kind. I don’t think he changed at all. The fights towards the end was confusing. Why though? The romance randomly happened at the end and they are married. At least he could’ve been given character development and time for romance to develop because I really didn’t understand was going on. They did have some chemistry tho.

The positives include the acting and the music. The lead guys rapping was good and the scenes where he rapped were probably my favourite. Also I managed to watch the whole movie despite it being so bad.

The film was over 2 hours long but it still didn’t seem to make use of that time to develop the characters.

Overall I suggest you pass on this. There are much better movies out there.

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This was essentially a typical Korean high school drama but with an element of fantasy brought in by the app Love Alarm.
The characters were not extraordinary. You have your quintessential poor hardworking orphaned heroine with a tragic background. Right now I don’t know who the first or second lead is. The male character who does date the heroine is rich and attractive whose otherwise easy life is made more difficult by a ignorant mother, so I’m going to call him first lead. The second lead is his best friend however he is a kind and thoughtful boy who lacks confidence. I’m totally rooting for the second lead. The way the first male lead betrayed his best friend was truly cruel and I guess I easily forgave him because he was so kind to heroine. The heroine and first male lead definitely gave me the heirs vibes but I suppose the male lead was up to date because he asked for consent before kissing. The heroine ends up breaking up with first male lead as the show progressed. There was answered to why she did that but I hope it’s because she realised how he betrayed his best friend.
Why everyone liked the heroine is quite unclear. She succeeded in having handsome boys to fancy her but yet had no healthy friendships.

Whilst the show clings to cliche, it was interesting and enjoyable to watch.
I finished it all in one day. It’s definitely a guilty pleasure. The music was amazing too. The actors did a good job, although there was nothing special brought in by the writers.
I will half-heartedly recommend this.

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I absolutely loved this drama. Each episode was pure gold. I haven’t felt this good about any other Korean dramas. Surprising how I never clicked on it although I’ve known about it on Netflix for over a year. If there is anyone who is reading this review and hasn’t seen it, I highly suggest you watch it. I promise it will be hours well spend.

I will explain now about what I enjoyed in the drama. Firstly the character development. Wow. Each character, was so well written and deep. I especially liked Loony, the druggie. He was hilarious, tragic and endearing all at the same time. There were characters who showed me that you should never judge a person until you know them really well personally and some who showed that positive transformation in behaviour and mind really is possible. This was of course helped by the largely talented cast, who all acted exceptionally. I ended up rooting for many characters, not just the leads.

Secondly the comic timing was great. It perfectly blended comedy and drama with a pinch of romance. The inclusion of a gay couple in normal light, was just so beautiful. There was just enough violence to reflect a genuine prison.

Each episode Is as long as an average feature length film. If this was another drama I would have complained. Fortunately each moment was justified. The writers have done a superb job.

The OST was amazing! It was very versatile and really complemented the excellent writing.

Overall this drama will make you feel some empathy for prisoners, prison guards and their families. The drama reinforced how important family support is as well showing how forgiveness and repentance can have positive consequences. I hope this review leads people to watch it. It will make you cry, laugh and think.

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I absolutely adored this show. I must thank Netflix for bringing this beautiful show on because otherwise I would’ve never known about it.

Firstly the drama is a slice of life. It felt quite realistic and the pace is slow but satisfying.
Each character was endearing and relatable. portrayed. The actors all did an amazing job. From the four friends, we can all find someone who is most like us since their personalities are so varied.

With many Chinese dramas I’ve noted they follow the infamous trope of arrogant lead leads. Here the male lead was so pleasant and soft spoken. He seemed pure at heart albeit some flaws but that only made him more humane and relatable. The chemistry between the leads was subtle but unique.
I never felt the age difference with the leads as a hindrance or disadvantage to development of romantic relationship. I felt both characters brought the best of each other and they were soul mates.

Usually I seldom care about plots of supporting characters but in this drama I found myself caring for them just as much I did for the leads. The drama definitely had some subtle surprises in store. Whilst I didn’t agree with some, it did not disappoint me enough to even contemplate dropping the drama. And I’m the queen of dropping dramas, if I can say so myself.

For those loving dramas with romance, this is definitely one to go for. I wholeheartedly recommend this. I truly hope the cast achieves greater success because they were all very talented. I will end my review here.

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I knew even before watching it that it was filled cliche but since I enjoyed Boys over Flowers I thought I’ll enjoy this too. How wrong I was about that! It honestly was a terrible execution of romance and melodrama. The leads seemed way out of place and mature to play high schoolers. There was too many characters and side plots which I didn’t care less about. It seemed like the director wanted to cater for every demographic by serving every dish on one plate. The scenes featuring the family seemed to cater for the older demographic whilst the high school scenes were for the young.

The play on coincidence did not look cute to me but it could’ve been because I sensed no chemistry between the leads. It was never clear why the male lead liked the female lead, it was somewhat like he was forced by the director and he was full on stalker mode in many different scenes. Their first kiss scene was far from romantic and could be classed as sexual abuse.

The show featured pretty much every Korean drama trope one can think off. A few examples; rich boy and poor girl, awkward kisses, boy has a big family secret, the mean rich girl has unrequited love for rich boy, the second lead falls in love with lead girl and changes but of course we know that doesn’t go well at all, both leads live in the same house, family against the relationship, elite school contained of arrogant rich kids, the female lead is the only poor girl, and I could go on but I think I’ve said too much already.

I don’t know why this drama had such high ratings. I can say for sure that I will never finish this drama. But let’s end on a positive note. The OST was good and it may have helped me to watched up to the point I stopped. I recommend this for research purposes only, to study a drama featuring every trope.

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I put off watching this drama for over a year because of the negative reviews I’ve been seeing. I honestly wish I didn’t do that because I can now say that this drama is one of the best from Korea. I felt it was honest and realistic in comparison to others. The acting was great. Each character exhibited strengths and weaknesses, making them interesting to watch it on screen. In real life everyone is multi dimensional and this drama portrayed that effectively.

The drama was consistently good despite some cliches. I definitely thought some could be avoided but in the end I did find most characters either relatable to me or someone I know.

I can understand many viewers got second lead syndrome after watching it an a due to that. But this is my take on it. The whole story is basically about how two the main lead has a mysterious side and the female lead grows to accept and love him despite the conflicts. If female lead and second male lead got together, there would be literally no essence to the story. I’m going to refrain from spoilers because I want this review to encourage people to watch it. I hope you aren’t put off by the negative reviews like I was. This drama delves into many deep issues and it not your typical fluffy romance. It will make you think, laugh, cry...

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