Fluffy, no angst

What happens when you get married the day you meet someone? That is the story for this 7-episode show. You know, sometimes you just need a show that doesn't require a lot of commitment. This was perfect for that. This show is fluffy and cute, with literally no angst involved. No evil characters, no parents trying to keep them apart, no crazy woman trying to take the lead away from someone else.

Itagaki Mizuki is so handsome. It's a shame that part of the time he was doing an imitation of a sheepdog and his hair was completely covering his beautiful eyes.
Matsui Airi was so cute. I was kind of bothered by her attempts to try to BE cute. These two were very sweet together.

Aside from the show being nice and short, there was more skinship than I remember ever seeing in any Asian drama in the past. You know, sometimes it's also nice to get away from the open-eyed, arms-straight-at-your-side kisses. I realize that it's a cultural thing to a certain extent. One of the reasons I enjoy these shows is because they are clean and leave pretty much everything to your imagination. However, it's always nice to see a couple and get the feeling that they might actually like one another, and that she's not terrified of being approached.

So, I didn't feel like I wasted my time watching this show. Again, it was very cute.

Leggi di Più

Fate - it's funny, yet bittersweet

So, after being disappointed in the last couple of shows I tried, I saw a clip for this on Facebook and figured I'd give it a try. This show definitely showed me that you can have a truly engaging drama without the episodes going on an on. This is only 10 episodes, each about 25 minutes long. So, it's kind of got that webtoon feel. Kim Eun Sook is the producer and she's got serious writing credits to her name - Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, Secret Garden, Mr. Sunshine, The Heirs, King: The Eternal Monarch. This show definitely has the Goblin feel to it, and I'm not complaining.

The story has been told before. A god of destiny has written the female lead's destiny, wanting to make it a masterpiece. Once he gets to know her, he realized that the destiny he envisioned for her was all wrong. Personal involvement for a god of destiny is a no-no, you get eliminated and go into the ether somewhere. I love how the writers slowly revealed her past history with said god of destiny. The longer I watched it, the more I felt "If you're meant to be, you'll end up meeting in one way or another" (great line, by the way). Their lives were intertwined, and it was so interesting for us as viewers to discover that, and when the female lead makes that discovery, it's an "aha" moment, yet heartbreaking at the same time.

In this show, the K-drama cliches really worked - fate, coffee (do Koreans really love their coffee as much as it is portrayed in dramas?), rain, umbrellas, first snow.

I felt that the acting was very good. Our clues to the passage of time seemed to be driven by the hairstyle of the lead. Curly hair, straight hair. The chemistry between the leads was very good, as was the bromance between the two main gods of destiny. The lead actor's attractiveness, for me, grew as the show developed. His development of emotions was very understated and real and were always held in check, often revealed by only a small smile.

I loved the soundtrack. A lot of it was very haunting and went perfectly with the scenes. I especially liked the song Time Machine by Jeong Sewoon - he has the perfect voice for the vibe they were going for.

Special effects. Amazing! The effects they used for eliminating a god were surreal and wispy. When they went into the penthouse/book room, those effects were so good, the changing colors, the darkness, the mystery.

I had to lower my rating one point because of the ending. It was a little to ambiguous for me. It went in line with the rest of the show, but it just wasn't satisfying for me. Was he just going to keep being eliminated over and over? And what happened to the rule of it only happening three times? In my head I've written my own ending and guess I'll have to be happy with that. This show has definite re-watch value for me, though. The writing was very clever and there was more humor than I expected.

I'm so glad I watched this show!!

Leggi di Più

Very smartly written

It wasn't one of my very favorites, only because it was low on romance. However, this show was well-written, and the characters were developed very well. I loved the concept of the five main characters being friends for many years. One of the reasons that this show was so enjoyable was that the characters weren't cliched - a woman was the head of neurosurgery, a female soldier, a single dad - kind of the opposite of what we have grown to "expect". Each person had their strengths, as well as their idiosyncrasies. I also liked that the characters worked in different areas of the hospital, neurosurgery, general surgery, OB/GYN, pediatrics. This kept the story lines fresh. The stories of the hospitalized patients were often so heart-wrenching (There was a lot of crying going on by me), but that was balanced by the funny interactions between the doctors. This cast played well off of each other and you could really feel their friendships. There was a happy ending, of sorts, with a couple of things left hanging in the balance, I'm assuming so that they can be addressed in season 2. I also liked that this didn't have a lot of the K-drama tropes - such as love triangles with an evil person, and I don't believe I saw one wrist grab in the whole show!

Leggi di Più

Such a cute couple, but...

The main couple was wonderful. Theirs was a healthy, loving and supportive relationship. Things got a little hazy midway through - she got an apartment for him, was she staying there too? (after saying she wasn't ready to be with him in a physical way). I really loved the progression of the relationship and some of the friendships.

I have to say that her cousin needed to be run over by a truck or something. He was beyond irritating throughout most of the show and a girl blindly liking a total mean guy just never makes any sense to me. There was also the obligatory "you're not good enough for him" wanna be girlfriend as well as "I can take care of her better than you" wanna be boyfriend. That cliche gets really tiresome. And some of the secondary characters were seriously overacting. And the dubbing was somewhat problematic - most of the girls sounded the same.

I had to rate down based on the other cliches of the evil mother and the two year separation. This story arc really bothered me on so many levels. She stood by her man up until this point and then was leaving without letting him know?!?! So immature and it wasn't true to their relationship up to that point. It would have been so much better had the mom said at the airport that she had changed her mind and the daughter didn't have to go. And why leave for two years to "study" when you are part owner of a company?!

All that said, the ML and FL were both wonderful, him especially. When he looked at her...oh my. And can I just say a big THANK YOU for giving us a wedding at the end?

Leggi di Più

Sweet story

I was looking forward to this rom-com since I first heard about the casting of Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na. I love both of their works as actors, and I already knew they had amazing chemistry after watching them in Goblin.

I'll have to admit, the first couple of episodes had me a little worried. I was afraid her character was going to be too over the top. But this is an example of why you should be a little patient with Asian shows. By episode three I was pretty much hooked. There wasn't really anything original about the story line, but the way the story was told was Lovely! Romantic, funny, touching, believable. The two main leads were just wonderful together and watching this gave me such a warm feeling. The nod to Descendants of the Sun was very funny. My only complaint is that the ending was too rushed, but this is one I can definitely watch again.

Leggi di Più

Personally, I preferred this over the show

I watched this movie after watching the show and I have to say I preferred the movie. There wasn't a lot of ancillary stuff going on, and Park Hae Jin's character (Yoo Jung) was more likeable (although, not really until the very end). The storyline was still dark and you didn't often know what to think about him. Seol was very standoffish throughout, so I couldn't really warm up to her. In this movie version, though, I really got the sense of them BOTH being square pegs in a round hole, and the fact that they were both different drew them to one another. I didn't like seeing girls get hit by a man, but I realize that was part of the storyline. I didn't feel the strong sense of disappointment at the end of the movie that I did at the end of the show.

Leggi di Più

Watch it for Riley Wang's character

15 episodes that felt so much longer than that. The only reason I stuck with it was because I was able to binge watch it. If I was watching it an episode at a time, I would have given up and moved on. The concept was good, but the execution left something to be desired. Li Zheng and Shao Xi were children whose parents decided before they were born that they should marry when they grew up. That fact was mentioned numerous times, but was not explored at all. The female lead character of Shao Xi was good - she was rough around the edges, good at sports, and very loyal to her friends. I liked the fact that she was upfront early on about her feelings for Li Zheng. The character of Li Zheng is where I had the problem - every episode was him looking at her longingly and not telling her how he felt. I never understood why it took him so long. The trauma in his past affected him, but I didn't think it was enough to warrant him being so emotionless toward her. They were cute when they finally got together, other than the fake-looking kisses, plus the writers made us wait until too late in the show to bring them together. The ending of the show was a happy, though lackluster, one.

The saving grace of this show was the second male lead, played by Riley Wang. When we were first introduced to him, he appeared to be a player, so I was slow to warm up to him. He was always around, and just never "got" her rejections. As the show went along, he definitely matured. Granted, there was a progression of years from the beginning to the end of the show, but let's be honest, some people never grow up! He appeared to watch out more for Shao Xi's physical and emotional safety than Li Zheng did. Even though he cared deeply for her, he was able to put that aside for her happiness. He was a wonderful character to watch.

Leggi di Più

Just my opinion, but...

I decided to watch this for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was Park Seo Joon. However, for me, this show didn't work on a number of levels. Normally I don't have a problem with the characters having a large age difference. In this case, though, I couldn't seem to get past it, especially since I found her to be extremely immature. I also felt that she was trying to be funny, but I didn't feel she carried it off well. Over-the-top physical comedy isn't really my cup of tea. About halfway through the show, I felt that there were just too many misunderstandings, too much angst and depression, and for Pete's sake, if you'd just talk to one another this whole mess could be cleared up!

Leggi di Più

Beautiful love story

I don't give 10's easily. I think of the hundreds of K-dramas I've watched, I may have given four 10s. I adored this show!! The picture put me off for so long, and the explanation of the drama, as well. I don't care for period dramas, I find the costuming too distracting. However, the other night I couldn't come up with anything else I wanted to watch, so I decided to give this a try. This is one of those "stay up till 3am just to watch another episode to see what happens" dramas. Chemistry between the main characters was lovely. They were so beautiful together. This show had drama, romance, suspense, mystery, comedy - it had it all. I'm not a believer in reincarnation - I think that there are times when you watch shows that you have to totally suspend disbelief, and this was one of them, but it was so well done that I enjoyed it all. The connection between the past and the present tied in well. There were TRUE villains in this show - I don't like watching bad guys, but they were like watching a train wreck, you wanted to turn away, but you couldn't. I liked how the writers let the prince figure things out pretty quickly, so the audience wasn't way ahead of the game all the time. I ugly-cried through a number of episodes. I'll admit I'm a sucker for a good love story, and oh my gosh! When I got to episode 19 and it all looked pretty grim, I started to get a little worried. I was watching the timed comments during the last episode and a lot of people didn't feel this was a happy ending, but I think they just didn't get it. When he came into her juice shop, she didn't look up, because she was just working on auto pilot due to her grief. But you could tell it was the prince by the smile when he turned away and walked to the door. And when he met her at NamSan tower, you could tell by his posture that it was the prince. I think they had them meet there, rather than at the palace so there wouldn't be confusion as to whether he was really there, or if she was imagining it. When they changed him into his Joseon costume, that was just to verify that it was the prince. Whether he time-traveled back to her, or was reincarnated with his memories, the bottom line was that their love was so strong that they HAD to get back together. I cannot recommend this drama highly enough!

Leggi di Più

The writing falls short

I recently saw Kim Min Jae in Tempted, so I was thrilled to see that he was the lead in this show. I liked the show, there were a lot of really good things about it. The music was wonderful, as you'd expect it to be, and I was impressed that Kim Min Jae played most of the music himself (I can barely handle Chopsticks). The Moonlight Sonata/Happy Birthday scene was one of my favorites.
The cinematography was very good - back lighting, warm color tones, and I especially loved the multiple times they filmed different scenes, showing the main leads at exactly the same distance apart. Also, the scenes where they superimposed the female lead between the male lead and the 2FL "will there be room for me between you?"
I was impressed by the costuming, the female lead wore a lot of classy, yet slightly edgy outfits. The people that were together in scenes were color coordinated so that no one person glaringly stuck out. I loved that they put the male lead in jeans a lot - they're in college for heaven's sake. I have to say that his plaid shirts were a little distracting, but oh well.
I felt that the acting was good, everyone played their parts well, but I'd have to say that the writing is what I had a problem with. The characters were somewhat flat and not fully fleshed out. Both the male lead and the female lead's expressions were pretty one-dimensional throughout. ALL of the characters had problems, which is necessary for the story, but, especially for the leads, I didn't see growth with them. They had issues from the beginning, and though he tried to keep communication somewhat open, there was so much not addressed between these two that I don't think you could actually call them a couple. They were precious when they were getting to know one another (and his smiles are worth the price of admission!), but once their relationship should have been further along, the scenes where they were together were almost painful for me to watch - they seemed so uncomfortable with one another. They both suffered from low self-esteem from things that had been said and done to them, but to never lean on one another just didn't make any sense.
The ending was sweet, and we got to see a bit more cuteness from our main couple, but it didn't make up for all the wasted time in the middle of the show.

Leggi di Più

Too many people trying to keep the couple apart

I loved all the foods in this show, the beautiful displays of culinary delights, as well as the scenery, which really made me want to go on vacation. The concept of the show was good, and I liked the idea of the male lead falling in love with her by seeing her inner beauty, but they made her entirely too frumpy. When you are dating someone, you want to try to look your best, and when she went to meet all his friends, she looked even more dowdy than usual. I didn't care for the absurd numbers of people trying to keep them apart. Multiple ex-girlfriends, family members, etc. That said, the main couple was very cute together. He had a smile that completely lit up the screen. It had a lovely, happy ending.

Leggi di Più

What's wrong with a little eye candy?

I loved this little show, though it was basically a commercial for the Duty Free shop (actually, I think that's why this was made). This is not a show in which you need to think at all. I thought this was the perfect little snack before moving on to my next full-length drama. I'll be honest, I thought this was a lot more romantic than a lot of the so-called romantic comedies out there in K-drama land.

The premise of the show was very clever, and I loved the little snippets of each male character. This is one of those shows that is perfect for people like me, people that can't decide who is the most attractive male Korean actor, each is wonderful in his own way. And as I watched each storyline, I recalled other dramas that I had seen each actor in that made me love them in the first place.

This is fluff at its finest. I was kind of disappointed in the ending, but I'm willing to forgive that due to the fact that you put some of my favorite Korean actors in one show for me.

Leggi di Più