What to make of this? As a high rated drama I had high expectations but unfortunately, the drama failed me.
I enjoyed the youth period and I think there is potential for a drama there (yes, I know it’s not the topic here but I would have preferred if the drama stayed in school with love triangles and violin rivalries).
When watching a drama, I like to be able to feel emotions, be it angst, laughter, sadness, twisting of the stomach but here? I kept watching hoping the show would give me something, anything to get my pulse to quicken; but no, we’re in LaLaLand and everything is cute-ish and that’s not my style of drama.
I’m not saying this drama is bad, I’m just saying it didn’t work for me.
I was gonna rate this drama a 4 but then again, because of Chan and the Dog I’ll raise it to 5.5.
I wish I would have stopped watching after episode 6 (11-12 if you will).

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Oh you could have been a 10, but end up being a generous 5

This show's premise was kick-ass, I loved the story, the world, the actors, it had absolutely everything to be a top contender, a 10/10 as we would say.
HOWEVER, nothing really holds up because they rushed through everything to fit into 6 episodes.
And while we're on the subject.... 6 episodes???? I've sat through horrible Dramas that had 20 episodes! why this one was so short?
They had no time to build characters, no development arcs, it's pretty much just people showing up, people dying and I couldn't care less because, how can I be emotionally invested in a character that was just introduced 5 minutes ago?
They had the potential to fly that balloon to the sky, but the balloon got deflated before really taking off the ground.
DISAPPointing, knowing what it could have been.

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I had such high hopes for this drama and it got me on the brink of tears and fist pumps a couple times but never managed to get me there.
The story is a solid 8, but unfortunately, episode after episode, I grew less and less fond of Hong Shim. Is it the way the character was written or the actress's (in)ability?
Icing on the cake, the finale really did infuriate me, we could have spend such quality time on the schemes from the Prince Vs Vice premier but no, let the Vice premier die like a chump and spend 45 minutes in Hong Shim's noble idiocy (or just plain stupidity). D.O was perfect, he actually managed to move me and THAT is why I watch Korean dramas, not to be annoyed and frustrated.
I'd rewatch this Drama just for DO, and fast forward the rest.
Too bad, this show could have really been something great, but it wasn't all that.

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E.P.I.C.
That’s if I had to judge this show in one word. A very Dark yet satisfying drama to watch.
It will take you on an emotional roller coaster, punch to the gut, brink of tears and a real urge to stand up and do a happy dance at times (you know, the one you never do in public).
You had me at hello and I never wavered till the end. A very dark period of Korean history and this drama had the stones to embrace its dark side till the end and I absolutely loved it.
The Characters were written perfectly (ok, many things based on actual events but still..) and the actors/actresses chosen for the roles could not have been better, they played them just how they had to be and convey emotions (good or bad) to the viewers in a very powerful way, even when they did not have to speak a word.
Jaw dropping ending, wow wow wow!
Saddest past, I wish I could watch this show again for the first time.
This Drama hit me so hard that I went and bought a book about the Japan occupation of Korea to understand more what was going on (being European, we don't learn anything really about Asia at school).

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To make a Drama based on a bad Movie (which itself was already based on a book) which got 27% on Rotten tomatoes, 5.4 on IMDB and 42% on Metacritic, and expect it to be successful is really daring, well, they tried.

I have read the book (In French) and seen the movie (disaster), still, Jang Geun Suk is the only reason I decided to watch this drama and boy oh boy do I regret it.
The actors did a great job (they carried me through the drama) with the weal plot/story they had, and I found myself caring for Bo Tong and Ma Te more than I really should have. Would I re-watch this again? No chance as a whole but there are some scenes I enjoyed and would not mind taking a peek at once more.

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Granted this drama is old (it Aired 14 years ago) but its hype got the better of me and I caved in: Full house, here I go.
The plot is very simplistic, so simplistic in fact that it becomes repetitive.
Boy does whatever he can to annoy girl, in a very immature way.
They bicker constantly, they fight, shout at each other and this leaves me, the viewer, in quite an unamused and/or uncomfortable position. Am I not supposed to be entertained by a show?
If the show wanted me to sympathize with this couple constantly on each other’s case, and ultimately buy into the fact that they fall in love, they failed miserably.
I came out of this show frustrated and rather annoyed.
I’d rather go to the dentist than watch it again a second time.

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Show, you had all the ingredients to be absolutely amazing, but you chose to sell yourself short, why?
The story is this:
“Kim Tae Hyeon is a talented surgeon. Desperate for money to pay his sister's medical bills, he adopts the code name Yong Pal and offers his medical skills to those in need of medical attention but who cannot do so publicly, dealing with gangsters and corrupt plutocrats”

Why add the whole “Yeo Jin” and the chaebol’s stories, politics…? Why oh Why not stick to the initial and simple plot above?

Yong pal is a total Badass but Tae Hyeon (the character) disappointed me to no end. I believe they had the perfect actor for the role, but decided to turn a tiger into a house cat.
I am disappointed with you show, because we could have been best buds and now, you’re just the brother in law I only want to see during Christmas holidays (and I’m being nice).

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I could not give more than 6 for this and it deserved better

If you would have removed that useless character that is the mother and her self-centered selfishness, I could have been on board 100%.
Not only is she selfish but she pushes (or tried to) her daughter to be the same: an empty shell that marries for money.
Disgusting attitude (for lack of better word)

If you can make abstraction of this person (she really irked me anytime she was on screen) the drama is pretty enjoyable. Could have been done in half the episodes (yes it was draggy and the plots were pretty similar).
Thank to the acting skills of both ML, the very endearing FL, plus the gangsters (adorable) they carried the drama.

Would I rewatch it? No, but I had a pleasant time. Would have given this a higher score but the selfish mother dragged this down a point.

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Ok so I’m completely biased because I love Lee Sun Kyun.
This drama went a little all over the place and as I said above, if it wasn’t for LSK, I would have dropped the drama.
LSK didn’t have a stellar performance here but it was okay enough to carry me through.
The main plot (VIVI Cosmetics) wasn’t really that exciting but at least we had stakes; the rest was just some fluff fillers and side stories I did not really care about.
At least some of the characters were charming so that’s that but if I look back, I would not want to re-watch this drama.

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This is one drama you either love or hate and as far as I am concerned, I LOVED it, plain and simple.

It’s always difficult to review a complex drama like this one because it had so many things going on, different messages that it’s easy to lose track.
What I liked the most was the growth of our main Character, all along the drama he learns and gets closer to the idea of being a hero. He’s also lucky to have a woman next to him that supports him in every thing he does (whether she agrees or likes it). I also stuck by this show because all the characters were so well written and well acted, I got to care about them and was difficult to say goodbye at the end.
The ending was weird, I know but I also liked it in a strange way and I think it does fit perfectly.
One of my top 3 dramas of all time so far.

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My first Kdrama, Love at first sight, 4 years later, my heart is still pounding when I think about The Princess’ Man.

I live in Thailand and one evening, as I was flicking through my Cable channels, someone called me just as I stumbled upon this show, on Korean network. As I was talking on the phone watching the image (muted sound) I really got curious. The sceneries were breathtaking! What was that exactly I was watching? A Chinese movie?
It all came clear after my phone call; Sound on, watch a little bit and realized it’s Korean and it’s not a movie it’s a series.
I watched the episode (3 or 4 I don’t remember) and right there and then, I was hooked. I found my crack and it was going to take some effort to satisfy my hunger.

Took a long time to find all the information about what the Drama was and how to watch it with subtitles (Cable TV was not reliable and I wanted to watch from the start).
I found a website to watch it and it was very painful (episodes divided in 4 parts, low quality, lots of ads), but the drama was so different from anything I had seen before! It got me right in the heart and never let go. I was hooked.

The setting, the actors, the angst, the stakes! This Drama procured some emotions I had never felt watching something on TV (I got teary eyed). It would be a real shame to pass up on it. I highly recommend it. 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

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Reading the synopsis of this drama, I must say I was really excited to watch it. The potential it had with the Fantasy of future self warning past self (back to the future feel to it)… very promising.
Then I started to watch and it all went downhill from there. Characters I did not really care about, weak plot execution. I kept watching, waiting for some deus-ex-machina that would make me care and give me a reward for all the hours I invested. Sadly, the reward was that horribly disappointing ending.
I can’t take back the hours I wasted on this drama, stay away.

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