Soooo I watched Playful Kiss because I absolutely LOVE Itazura Na Kiss (the Japanese anime). I literally watched Itazura Na Kiss in ONE (1) night. I literally started at like 8pm and stayed up ALL NIGHT LONG to finish it because it just really captured me. I love how the story starts when they're in high school and ends with them as parents/adults with careers. Something about the story really clicks with me - the girl is deemed undesirable because of her (lack of) intelligence and lack of "beauty" and the male is overly desirable and completely unattainable because of his "looks," intelligence, and wealth.

This story is cliche and we all know how it ends. Many people actually hate this story because the female MC is treated so poorly by the male MC, but I just can't help but love it. I don't really feel that the male MC treated her in mean ways, I just don't think he was receptive to her advances. His behavior toward her and tenderness eventually show through in positive ways. And that's good enough for me.

If you wanna talk about mean dudes, please watch She Was Pretty and then we can chat. I couldn't stomach how mean the male MC (in She Was Pretty) was toward the female MC, knowing that they would inevitably fall in love in the end, because he was just THAT mean to her. My heart would hurt for her and I just would not be happy for her when they got together in the end. If he could treat her that badly before he likes her, but then changes his attitude toward her so severely after they get together, it's just wrong. Especially if you think about how he treats others in that manner.

For me, the male MC in Playful Kiss isn't anywhere near this severe in his treatment toward the female MC and so I'm not bothered or hurt and I'm actually happy for them in the end.
I think Playful Kiss and the story of Itazura Na Kiss is something to take with a grain of salt and recognize that you might not be looking for a relationship like their's, but you can still appreciate their story.