Enjoyable stupid rom-com drama!

You can arguably divide this drama into 2 parts: The first half of the show which centers around the romance and the second half which centers around the industry. The first half was more enjoyable for me but I was still entertained by the second part.To be honest despite its flaws, I still had a fun time with this drama. It's a simple lighthearted k-drama that don't take to much energy from you. Down below I'll go into some pros and cons with the drama!

Pros:
- Likable characters; Tbh both the main leads could easily have turned annoying for me but they never did. Prior to watching this show, I've heard negative things about Kim Young daes acting but I think he did a decent job here at least. And Lee Sung kyung is Lee Sung kyung, she's always good.
- Genuinely funny at times. it's pretty rare that I find k-dramas funny, probably because the comedy gets lost in the translation, but I actually laughed a few times during the show.
- It's just fun ok? Like thats it, it's a fun and lighthearted show which is exactly what I needed when watching it.

Cons:
- Pointless villains: Non of the "villains" in the show had a believable motive. It felt forced into the script just to have some conflict and fill out the episodes.
- Maybe one-too many couples and characters: There where times in the show where I was just like "what is the purpose of this couple/character?". I was tbh only invested in one of the side couples and could do without with the rest, as they didn't add anything to the plot or overall enjoyment of the show.
- Could have been a few episodes shorter: It dragged a bit by the end with all the different "villain" story arcs, got boring.
- To wrap it up: The plot is pretty badly written and presented. Don't watch this if you're looking for a masterpiece is writing and directing.

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One of the sweetest stories in k-drama land!

I'm not always a fan of episodic shows, but EAW kept it interesting and had a good balance of each case and the overall story. Overall the acting and character development is very good. I was a bit skeptical of Eunbin's portrayal of woo young woo, but was very soon convinced. I also liked a lot of the supporting characters, specially Attorney Jung and Attorney Choi. Also finally a male-romantic interested that Jane Austen would be proud of. I loved the romance in the show, it was sweet and simply and not over-dramatic. I literally don't trust people that say that they should skip the romance because why? all of the sudden the romance has too make sense, that is almost never the case for k-dramas. Also I feel like people only say this because they feel like someone "has too have a super good reason to fall in love with an autistic person", which in my very humble opinion is bs.

A big yeah for women's friendship!
One of my favorite things is EAW is the female friendships in the show. Both of them feel very realistic, but also so warm! The "Nickname" scene actually made me cry a bit and that's rare. I also love how both friendships are different from each other, yet both are filled with support.

A big yeah for symbolism!
This show has so much symbolism, the whales being the big and obvious one. I won't get into detail one this once since it's hard to discuss symbolism without spoiling something.

So why not a 10 star rating?
EAW doesn't get a 9 star rating because it has something obvious that knocks it down a star, but mostly because of my own preferences. I enjoyed watching this drama a lot, however I don't think I can compare it to some of my all time favorite k-dramas. And too be honest that might be because other dramas have most nostalgic value to me than EAW. The only thing the drama somewhat lacks is a memorable soundtrack. Nostalgia and music is super intertwined, so having a memorable soundtrack can really add to a story in my opinion. I put on the soundtrack on spofity a few days ago and I don't really remember any of the scores, besides the main intro. Even though the soundtrack in my opinion is a bit forgettable, the artwork definitely inst! I loved the opening animations for each episode as well as the final drawing.

A final note!
I have recommended this drama to a few of my friends (that usually don't watch k-drama) and 2 ended of watching it and both loved it. It's actually rare that I recommend a k-drama to my friends but I genuinely believe this is a show most people can get into, it has something for everyone! So if you haven't made up your mind yet I say GO FOR IT!

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RamKing carried!

It's a cute little show and I enjoyed watching it so i'll take it for what it is. My biggest issues with the drama was 1. Too many couples. I don't mind multiple romances in shows however this show had 1 too many of them and it ended up feeling cramped and just not flushed out. 2. They are a group of friends but we almost never see them interact with each other?, just in the beginning and the end. I literally forgot that they know each other because the stories doesn't intertwine at all. You can pretty much just chose a couple and only watch their scenes and you'll still understand. Furthermore, the acting is just ok and the actual story is pretty bland, it's more of a slice-of-life kinda drama. Also the intro is super long for some reason, small detail but I digress. That being said, Ram and King carried the show for me. They had the best chemistry and the most natural progression through out the show. I really hope they end up making a second season just because I want so see them again. Overall it's a very simple show and if you're in the mood for something very lighthearted this might be for you.

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I went in to this drama pretty blind despite it being a very popular drama. Despite it's flaws, this is a must see drama!

Acting/characters: This is where the story truly shines. Both the male leads are very well casted and they did a great job with the characters. (I could go on a ramble here about how much I love Wen Ke Xing but i'll spare you that and just keep this part short.) This goes for the rest of the cast as well, mainly the scorpion king and Ye Bai Yi, which both ended up as my favorite side-characters.

Plot:
The plot is compelling, however I will say that the story sometimes felt a bit convoluted and at times it was difficult to follow along, this might just be me though and the language barrier might be a part of it. The ending felt a bit rushed and there where a few episodes in the middle with a lot of exposition which felt a bit too much.

Music:
Wasn't a huge fan of the opening at first but it grew on me, and the overall score is beautiful.

Technical Aspects
They made this drama on a tight budget and this does come through in technical aspects. However I still feel like they tried their best with the limitations and they put a lot more effort into the elements like staging and costuming.

Overall:
I gave the drama a 8.5, the parts that drag the score down is mainly the flow of the plot. However I would recommend this drama to pretty much anyone and i promise you, you will end up loving the characters and want to re-watch it the minute you finish it.

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A stunning heartfelt drama!

This drama is probably the most visually pleasing show i've watched. So much detail is put into the costumes and the surroundings of this show, that during the first 10 episodes or so I couldn't take my eyes away! I will say that I would not recommend this drama to everyone, it's a slow show with not the most likeable characters. Our two mains are flawed and the show doesn't gloss over that, this made the characters much more realistic and combined with the great acting they really came to life. However, I do know that some people couldn't bring themself to like either of them.

This show was a solid 9/10 for the first 30 episodes, however I felt that the show started to drag a bit and the story got a bit to "soap-opera" for my liking, we also was shown less opera scenes which was a bit of a shame. I wasn't as invested in the last 19 episodes which makes it hard giving this show anything higher then a 8.5/10. Nonetheless, it's a great and well-crafted drama.

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One of the best (if not THE best) chinese drama in recent years.

I started to watch this drama because of the good reviews and I had also just finished The Untamed (which was my first costume cdrama) so I had high hopes for this drama. My expectations where definitely meet!

Acting/characters:
FanXian is a very lovable main character, both capable of being serious but is also a very witty character. The entire cast is amazing with some of the best acting i've seen from a drama. The older cast is especially phenomenal, even the "evil" characters" are captivating too watch. One of my favorite things about this drama is the care for the minor characters. You can tell that the production team really put in alot of thought into even the minor characters, they all have a purpose and is well flushed out.

Story:
At first I thought this drama would just be another political palace drama but there is so much more to it. And even though the story is pretty serious, there is still plenty of comedy and lighthearted moments sprinkled through out the drama, making it easier to watch. There is romance but that is not the focal point of the story. I didn't necessarily care too much about the romance but it didn't take anything away from the story, I do however wish that Wan'er had more to do (hopefully she will in the next season).

Other points:
- The intro is probably my favorite cdrama opening!
- If I where to critic something, it would be that the show slows down a bit during the last 10 episodes, but I was still interested in the story nonetheless.
- The show is very beautiful, I know that some people thought that the coloring was off and I can see why, however this did not bother me at all.

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