This is the first time I've watched any of the main actors except Yoo In Na. I have now officially developed a Gong Yoo crush and understand why drama fans are enamored of him. Gong Yoo as Kim Shin/ Goblin was mesmerizing. I could listen to his voice for days. Every scene he was in was a treat. Every emotion that his character had was palpable, and his smiles could light up the sky.
And Kim Go Eun as Ji Eun Tak was super cute. She had a lot of detractors and the writer got a lot of flak for making her so young. But the character and her age were perfect for this story and how it unfolded.
Lee Dong Wook as the Grim Reaper had the perfect deadpan (heh) delivery. And he may be the best male "crier" I've seen yet.
The story will make you laugh and make you cry. Not only is the love story epic, but so is the bromance between Goblin and Reaper. I've found that I'm quite fond of this fantasy genre and this has been done so well. I have hardly any criticisms of this show at all because even the flaws faded into nothing noticeable for me. It's sweet, funny, romantic, sad, tragic, beautiful...
The music was perfect and perfectly lovely. I don't always pay much attention to the music, but this show utilized it so well and chose the perfect songs. So many people loved even the intro song that they made a special recording of it to make it a full length song (Round and Round, but may also be found under Never Far Away). Beautiful by Crush was the best song in my opinion, and I believe that it was the theme song for our main couple. And Stay With Me by Chanyeol and Punch was another favorite.
Rewatch value is high - if not everything, then there are many, many favorite scenes that I'll go back to and relive the feels. :)
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Goblin is a great drama. I went into it with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised, or more accurately, I was blown away. You can recognize a good drama by the way it makes you feel exactly what the characters in the drama are feeling. That's the way Goblin was for me, with each character, I laughed and I cried.
I'll TRY to keep the review sweet and short, so here are the reasons I enjoyed Goblin:
-The premise is unique. It's one of a kind. I haven't seen any other Kdramas with a similar plot-line to Goblin, so that was a plus point.
-The actors do a superb job. I could feel their emotions from across the screen. then again, nothing less to be expected from such a spectacular cast.
-The drama has everything, ranging from bromance, romance to mystery and suspense.
-The bromance is spectacular. One of the most epic bromance I've ever seen in a Kdrama. It made me laugh a lot, but it also had its heartwarming and heart-wrenching moments. Goblin and Grim Reaper's relationship is one of the best reasons to pick this up.
-The two couples- Goblin & Eun Tak and Grim Reaper & Sunny. Both couples had their own story. The sweet and cute moments of the Goblin couple & the sizzling chemistry between Grim Reaper and Sunny was enough to keep the 'romance' meter of the drama pretty high. You won't be able to get enough of the cuteness of Goblin & Eun Tak.
-The mystery of the characters. From 'the lady in red' to the king and queen, each episode just gave enough glimpse into their lives to keep us engrossed. It'll drive you crazy in a good way.
-Each minute of every episode was enjoyable. I didn't skip a single moment of any episode.
-The unexpectedness of the drama was really great. Just when you'd think you had something figured out, some twist would come along and surprise you. The writer sure did a tremendous job.
BONUS: Beautiful and addictive OST
I personally didn't find anything even remotely bad about it, but that's not to say other people won't, so here's a few things you should keep in mind before venturing into it.
-The age difference between Goblin [ (~939) he was 39 when he died and then immortal for 900 years] and Eun Tak (19).
-Comparatively less screen time for Sunny and Grim Reaper couple. But I suppose that's to be expected specially since the title alone indicates that Kim Shin (Goblin) is the main lead, so it's no wonder they get the most screen time.
-Worst product placement you'll ever see in a Kdrama. You might think I'm kidding but sometimes even the smallest thing can annoy you. I personally found those scenes amusing though.
So, to sum up- I LOVED this drama! Do give this one a chance, you won't be disappointed. Once you start it, chances are, you'll end up loving it. Happy Watching!
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Overrated
I feel compelled to write a review for Goblin because I'm finding all the perfect 10s to be misleading and, if I can be honest, completely confounding. Let me first say the best thing about Goblin is the acting. The cast is fantastic. The worst is the age gap. I know most people talk about the age of the actors; however, the issue to those of us that have a problem with the age isn't the actors, it's the characters. The lead female character is a 19 year old girl. The lead male (taking out the fantasy of his living 938 years) is a grown man who appears almost 40. Personally, I find that the Korean's have been dancing too close to the line in the young girls with adult men in dramas for at least a year now and I'm not a fan. They're more daddy issue characters.There are many times when the relationship between the 2 leads are most like Father & daughter. She speaks to him like a father figure. And he speaks to her as a child. It's off putting when it becomes clear that he has fallen for this high school girl. Part of me believes the part of Kim Shin (the Goblin) was written for a younger man. Considering the life expectancy of the period and his postion, in his late 30s he should have had a wife (and concubines I would guess) and children. I think the character should have been at least 10 years younger (again the 900 years undead aside). The romance of the leads just did not work for me on any level. Conversely, the romance between the supports is a completely different story. It was endearing and very moving. I rooted for them.
The writing was inconsistent. It was great in some parts and just passable in others. Toward the end it almost turned into melodramatic schlock. Goblin works best as a bromance. The scenes between Goblin, Reaper(s), and the male humans were precious golden nuggets to hold onto until the next time 2 or 3 of them were in a scene together. Had the writers held on to that chemistry and nourished it, Goblin would have been much better.
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I enjoyed watching this drama more times than not. It was relaxing to look at, with the great cinematography and breathtaking sceneries. Music was great and very fitting. The actors were more or less very fitting in their roles and felt natural. The chemistry between the male cast was flawless.
I guess my main and only issue here is the writing. There are two types of supernatural dramas: the one that explores human emotions through the supernatural; and the ones that use it to tell your usual story. I think Goblin was somewhere in between.
I still appreciate some points of the writing. What I dislike is the plot as a whole. I liked the overall idea but not the execution. I like the idea of supernatural and powerful beings, like ghosts, goblins, grim reapers and gods, are living normally among humans without being noticed. I liked the story of the little boy we meet early in the drama to see his fate and effect on the Goblin (and vice versa). I loved the heartfelt story of Eun Tak's ghost friend, and enjoyed the company of the group of Ahjuma ghosts.
What I greatly disliked is the way the main story arc was handled. At first it felt overly dramatic, but later it felt so underwhelming that it removes and intensity felt before. When it ended the way it did, I felt there was no point to the whole story. Essentially were back to point zero.
I think the writer has some original ideas, but no guts to go deeper. As a result interesting topics were touched lightly, but never went beyond, hence felt shallow. I wish more time was spend in exploring the world, getting more concrete information on how demons are created and how to deal with them. Instead you just follow the characters' daily life of not doing much, and supernatural elements were just used as a convenience.
When it comes to romance, I didn't care much about the age difference due to the supernatural part of it, but I just didn't enjoy it, I didn't feel it. I don't know when it happened. Also Goblin was beyond childish. He was too moody and unbearable at times. While I was more invested into the secondary couple, I still felt the same, as in a missing episode of them going out and truly falling in love with each other was missing. I didn't like the way both couples went.
The non-romance relationships were great. The bromance, there was more than plenty. It was perfect. The focus and the growing relationship felt authentic and real. I also loved the relationship between Grim Reaper and Eun Tak. I did enjoy Deok Hwa's presence, but man was he so underused!
Other things that bothered me but not necessarily cause any deduction to the rating is over the top product placement. At one point it looked like subway was about to save the world, one sandwich at a time. And the wardrobe of poor little female lead, I just wonder how she manages to fit all those clothes in such little luggages and how she can afford them. I love how they presented Quebec at first, but I got mad that they didn't try to be accurate as to how the city looked at this time of the year. Worst of all is the episode length. It was needlessly long.
I don't regret watching this drama. I still had a great time watching. Although the last three episodes felt too draggy and less enjoyable, but it still had some good moments. Well all moments with GR for me are great lol. Enjoy! And don't hate me too much for the rating :P
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What makes Goblin good is it's featuring. It stars longing looks, teary-eyed longing looks, bromance, ignoring that he is 800 years old, trying to pretend you are not watching this because of the bromance and good looking leads and KES's obligatory three good episodes towards the end that makes you think this is so good. It also stars a very good performance by Lee Dong Wook. I'd like to say the rest of the cast were just as good, but I'd be lying. Gong Yoo is someone, I watch because he is in good movies (The Crucible/Silenced, etc) but not because he gives an actual good performance. He's like a Brad Pitt type in that regard. I was quite surprised by LDW as I find him heavily attractive and have for a long time but I've admitted he's a terrible actor. Suddenly he is Matthew McConaughaying me. The female lead is literally a copy paste of all rom-coms. Especially from this writer.
The intro of this drama is unique and creates what has the potential to be a very good plot, but ultimately this is a meandering slow stream of a journey that I heavily recommend you skip some episodes. Yes, skip from ep 5 to 13 and you'll miss very little. The juicy parts of the plot are thrown aside for a slew of teary-eyed longing looks and cliché romantic scenes that at ep 4, I started to wonder when they were actually going to focus on the juicy premise.
Character wise, the bromance sells this stale plot as personally, the romance between the male and female lead just looks awkward. I should be gushing at romantic scenes but they look as uncomfortable as I do and when Gong Yoo pats her head, he at times feels like her father. The drama has a lot of potential but the writer didn't seem to know what to do with it and I feel like a traitor who deserves to be hanged for saying this, but as a huge lover of bromance, dare I say it, I actually got bored of the bromance. I started tuning in to cast longing looks at Lee Dong Wook. My obsession made me run out into the street and jump in front of a car, but I heavily recommend you don't do that as the Grim Reaper never appeared and now I'm writing this in the afterlife.
The writer here also inserts her I suckered you into thinking this was good by having her obligatory three good episodes that make me think, Oh this has potential. It's always towards the end too. Melancholic episodes with good editing that make me wonder where was this for the previous ten episodes? I feel the drama is a seven at best as in, I would be very generous to give it a 7. It has its good melancholic and humorous scenes but it ultimately never quite gets its pacing right and never seems to know what to focus on making this really not as good as it could be.
PS. I also urge you to cast aside any logical questions you might have especially towards the end. They will not be answered.
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This review may contain spoilers
My review will be short and sweet with a link to my very extend review at the bottom if you wish to do some extra curricular reading!The Good:
1) Reaper and Goblin's Bromance
2) Soni and Reaper's Relationship
3) The theme song
4) The cinematography
5) The locations shot in
And that is ALL!
The UGLY:
1) 60% of the episodes are completely plotless.
2) The last 5 or so episodes are completely rushed with about 6 major plot points in each of them
3) The cringey, over-obvious product placement
4) EunDak is the worst character ever. She's so selfish and so stupid and she gets so lazy once the boys take her in.
5) Eun Dak and Goblin's relationship should NOT be romantic. It would've been much better as a Father/Daughter realtionship
6) The editing was rough in a lot of parts
7) Deok Hwa's character was so undeveloped and so underused. he deserved better!
8) The lack of relationship and character development for all of them actually
9) The ending is an absolute mess. Why did the not all die so they could start over again?!
10) So many scenes felt half done. I feel like so much was either not filmed or just simply edited out and I feel like I was missing whole chunks of scenes that were needed.
11) The over the top ridiculousness such as the SnowBoard accident, and the Goblin pushing EunDak and causing massive problems in the car park scene. Those scenes were so stupid. Those scenes were far beyond being able to suspend disbelief.
12) Completely ruining Soni and Reaper's personality and all their charm in their new life in the final episode.
13) Rushing through the final. Those last 15 or so minutes DESERVED and entire episode. Not the rush through that it got.
The excessive overhype this show gets. It's really not that good.
If you really want my Essay-long review of this show, check it out here: http://sambart93.tumblr.com/post/179925136539/dokkaebi-goblin-its-not-bad-but-its-not-good
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This review may contain spoilers
Somewhere inside Goblin, buried under a mound of PPL and tears, is a good show trying to get out. The first two episodes suggest what might have been, deftly mixing intense action and off-beat humor in a dark world filled with ominous reapers, wounded goblins, ghost-seeing teenagers and cabbage-wielding grannies. The stage seems set for a life and death clash of epic proportions. Alas, it soon becomes apparent that the writer forgot to include an antagonist. The goblin-reaper face-off devolves into a chummy bromance, leaving “fate” to play the role of spoiler. Unfortunately, it’s hard to fight disembodied destiny. Whole episodes are spent weeping in pretty scenery and eating Subway sandwiches. The talented cast tries to up the urgency, but with nothing tangible to battle, the pacing slows to a crawl. The extended episode lengths and the director’s tendency to linger a little too long on every moment exacerbate the problem. Even the romance falters on the uncomfortable age gap between the protagonists.Every so often. interesting ideas pop up about guilt, redemption, and the role of kindness in a cosmos more random than rewarding. Alas, the fickle gods that rule this universe stay above the fray. A drama that actually allowed its characters to take them on rather than simply lamenting their cruelty could have been powerful indeed.
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It seemed like I would especially enjoy it because of the historical/fantasy aspects, which are genres I love, but these are only very small parts of the drama. Although I did expect these to be only small parts, I didn't enjoy the rest of the drama anyway. I found myself wanting to skip lots or sometimes felt like I was falling asleep. The plot skips ahead often and feels a bit all over the place, as if the writers didn't really know what they were doing. I constantly found myself frustrated and bored with the story.
In saying that I loved the parts involving the Grim Reaper, and his relationship with the Goblin and Sunny, and when the fantasy/historical elements did appear I enjoyed them. The acting was also very good. However, overall I did not enjoy this drama and would not recommend it unless you like watching generic, boring romances with poor writing (or watch it and skip all of the main romance- lmao).
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The female lead made me cringe. there were moments that had to make her look mature but failed... The writers probably wanted her seem like strong person- bullied and neglected by a lot of people, but even with such a hard life she keeps being super kind and joyfull, tries her best in school and ect... ok, that is good... but the writer forgot about her behavior. They trully over did it. She acted like a 8 year old girl, she way too cozy in a strangers house . I dont know if the actress (she is good) is in the wrong or the writers. I really tried to force myself to watch this till the very end ... Maybe the drama should have been about the grim reaper, cause I always saw the goblin more as a father figure to the female lead. Its seems creepy and she doesnt help with acting kind of spoiled sometimes. The goblin legit acted like a creep sometime tho, how is that sweet or romantic? I hope that those that liked the drama wont feel bad if they read this~ XD
I just wanna add, that I have seen similar type of "relationship" in real life to the one in the drama. Thats why maybe I am a little triggered. He legit can get registered as an offender (done something or not), cause she is a minor in the start. So ya, think about that and other unwise things Eun Tak did though the drama. Then you will understand maybe why I kind of dislike it :(
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I'm not sure if I can call this a flaw. I know a lot of viewers love this sort of thing and there's nothing wrong with preferring the lighthearted and none-too-heavy in terms of plot. I know it can be a great stress reliever as well. I prefer my dramas more on the plot heavy side though; even the most romantic stories I like have about '50 percent of something-else-going-on-other-than-the-romance.' But for what it's worth, Goblin is extremely successful as a rom-com. I just happen to be more interested in the supernatural or dramatic parts of it. For me, the most interesting scenes where when Eun Tak had to deal with the ghosts she could see, when Grim Reaper had to transport the dead one drama at a time and when a deity or god would pop up in the story to mess with the characters. Overall, Goblin was an adorable little show but it could have been much bigger.
I loved the world that it introduced me to. A world where Grim Reapers would meet and convene on their deadly assignments, where Goblins could make gold out of nothing and where special people (like Eun Tak) could help the dead get over their unfinished business. I wish there could have been more of that. Was the Goblin (the main character) the only Goblin in the world? Were there others like him? There were moments where I wanted to see more of what made a Goblin special (and how they were able to tie this Korean fantasy creature to a modern day adaptation) and what he could do to make people's lives more magical. While his telekinetic fight scenes with Reaper were adorable, I kind of wished to see his powers put to better use. I wanted his 'Goblin persona' to make the story more interesting. This drama offers a tantalizing glimpse of a supernatural world in the modern age but there is so very little of it :(
Now the chemistry between the OTP was fine. I felt that they had their best moments in the last two episodes (where the drama really made it worthwhile and where I finally got the Gong Yu hype!) but the earlier episodes (all 14 to be exact) were somewhat boring for me because the development of their relationship consisted mostly of:
Goblin: 'Oh can she see the sword in my chest?', 'Will she pull it out?' 'Oh, I need her to get it out of me', 'Oh, I don't want her to pull it out now!'
Eun Tak; 'Am I the Goblin's Bride?' 'Oh, I won't pull the sword out for some reason' 'Oh, I want to pull it out but he won't let me', 'Oh, now I know what will happen if it gets pulled out I'm never going to do it- how could he ask me to!'
That's basically what their relationship dynamic was like for most of the show. I much preferred Grim Reaper and Sunny's dynamic because it touched on the difficulties of a Reaper/human relationship better. The Reaper's past was also more intriguing because it explained why he was doomed to such a fate. In the Goblin's (aka Kim Shin) case, the immortal life he was given was meant to be a reward but it played out more like a punishment. This made no sense to me because in the very first* episode, his past life as a noble warlord was established. He was betrayed, he committed no crime whatsoever...so every time the gods would make things difficult for him...every time the story would make him suffer...these consequences didn't really fit in with the logic of reward-punishment the story was trying to make. The character was blameless so the suffering he went through had no basis and felt hollow to me.
Other Things I Took Note Off:
Gong Yu wasn't the best actor but his charisma as a leading man was appealing. I didn't get it until the very last episodes (this is where the romantic angle finally worked out for me and the OTP moments became squee worthy); I just wish it happened sooner ;0
I liked the actress playing Eun Tak. But the problem I had was that the director told her to act too childlike. I get that the whole 'naive and innocent' candy girl is a staple in these dramas...but her version was too exaggerated and went way beyond the trope. I've watched (and appreciated) plenty of other candy girls before but Eun Tak was a little too much for me at times. She was a 19/20 year old woman and she played it like she was 13, squealing over a bag she got as a present, jumping up and down the bed and hugging her stuffed toys, crying in the bed while it rained outside...the last time I saw this peculiar behavior was in the Hollywood action movie Taken, where Liam Neeson's daughter "Kimmy" acted like a 7 year old kid instead of as a teenager/young woman. In hindsight, perhaps it was a good thing that the OTP moments came at the later episodes, as it was only then that Eun Tak started acting normally -_-
Lee Dong Wok may be the best actor here. He was definitely the best crier. He brought so much depth to the flawed but intriguing Reaper, who easily became my favorite character. The way he expressed emotions seemed extremely heartfelt.
Now, I don't have that much familiarity with Yoo In Na; the only other time I've seen her was in My Love From the Stars where she played a similar supporting character. But her Sunny is very likable -the no-nonsense types female leads usually are.
One thing Goblin excels in is that it had some of the best special effects I've seen in any drama. Viewers can feast their eyes on some of the most beautiful landscapes abroad and in Korea. The fight scenes, exploding cars, etc., all were great to look at. The historical parts were done well, too.
The OST is nice to hear but like plenty of other Korean dramas, when you pause to really listen to the English parts in the lyrics- they don't make much sense. "Never go my way...never quite some day..." what?! XD
Overall, Goblin was a good show but it wasn't great. I think viewers who don't mind extremely light (as in, 'hardly nothing ever happens but we are all so cute anyway!') plots would appreciate this the most. I'm glad I watched this; I feel like I can understand the hype more although I can't participate in it as much as I would like.
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Yes the actors are good, the cinematography is great and the music also. There is clearly a big budget and the special effects are awesome fo a tv drama.
But despite all of that, even if the main plot is interesting, the rythme is extremely slow and all of each episodes are flashback scenes over and over again. I found myself nearly sleeping while watching this.
And I do not like the main couple (the 2nd one is really touching on the other hand). Why? Well in my opinion the age cap is too much (not the actors but the characters in the way they are written), she is speaking to Gong Yoo like he is her father and she is acting really like a teenager, I found this disturbing.
Conclusion, yes it is a good drama but for me the lack of action and the slowness of it is not compensated by the rest of the positive points.
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There is not much depth to the story and to be honest I didn’t care much for any of the characters. For a man who has lived for 900+ years, Kim Shin has about as much maturity as a 16 year old boy. Moreover, the lead pair is terribly mismatched. A younger looking actor might’ve been better suited. If this were real life, I would go so far as to think that Ji Eun Tak was a vulnerable girl who loves goblin only because he is someone that pays attention to her and takes care of her. Not exactly the best reasons to love someone.
That said, not all is bad with the show. I enjoyed watching the second pair as well as Deok Hwa. I was never a fan of Yoo In Na in her previous work but I think she did a good job here. As did Lee Dong Wook and Sung Jae.
Music was pleasant to listen to. I especially like “Stay with Me”.
The best part of the show was the cinematography. Maybe I have a bit of a soft corner since Quebec is my home province. But I must say, they did a wonderful job shooting around the Chateau Frontenac and surroundings. The Goryeo scenes were good too.
Rewatch value is none since the first watch was painful enough. For such thin plot line, what was the need to have 1.5 hour episodes? Tighter editing or fewer episodes might have made the show a bit more bearable.
Watch if you’re curious like I was, because of the hype. But I would not recommend it.
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