Goblin (2016)

My Sept 2024 Recommendation Challenge

Long time this in my PTW, thanx to TianD and Recommendation Challenge, I've finally watched this...

The reason this so long in my PTW, because the duration of each episode. Make me watch more than 1h per episode, it's quite tormented. Haha... It always bored me at some point.... And as I predict, some episodes of this drama quite bored for me, those episodes make me feel when this will end and continue to the next one... Haha... So yeah, that's quite lowering the score for this drama for me. But of course there're also some episode that can evoke my emotion, so yeah it quite help the score for this drama.

Story about Kim Shin (KS) a general that's curse to be a goblin, due to his sin of killing innocent person just because he's stubborn & want to approach the king... With that curse, KS live immortality to wait for his bride to be born to kill him. After 900 years, KS help a woman & her baby, and with that decision, KS made his destiny, cause the baby that he saved is his bride...

19 years later, KS meet Ji Eun Tak (ET), the baby that he saved & also his bride. ET can see ghost as long as she remembered, and all the ghost always greet her as the goblin's bride. Cause when KS saved her, he also give her a mark & that mark indicate that ET indeed is the goblin's bride.

But that's mean everything went smoothly for KS & ET...? Of course not. ET has prove herself as the goblin's bride for KS, and little by little KS & ET are getting closer & closer to each other. They start to prove they're indeed the soulmate for each other & little by little their feeling for each other also grown into full blossom... So... How their relationship ended in the end...? Can they avoid the fact that ET born to kill KS...?

I think that's pretty much the story without giving any spoiler. Haha... Now let's talk about what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ The chemistry between Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun. They quite suitable for each other.
+ Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun are good actor/ess. I can see how captivated KS of ET from KS's first glaze of ET. And the grow of their relationship. How devastated when ET has to lose KS. Everything portrayed perfectly...
+ The interesting story of Grim Reaper & Sunny. Really funny to see Grim Reaper act like an idiot when they first met...

What I don't like:
- The long duration of each episode...
- The unclear Samshin Lady... Who the heck is this lady. See even MDL don't give the name to her... At first I thought she is the GOD, but turn out no... So who the heck is this lady...?????

Overall, this just another drama for my list. TianD said, "Goblin is a hit or miss." For me this is a miss.. Haha... And really until I finished write this, I even don't know what score to give this drama. So a little fair warning, I can still change the score many months from now... Haha....

Read More

Not worth watching

I'll admit that I watched it recently, 5 years after it aired and I may have enjoyed it more had I watched it then, the beautiful scenery and production would've blinded me. But since it's not the case and kdrama since then have a better production so it's not the only high budget drama anymore, I'll say it really wasn't worth watching.

The story didn't move at all, they spent so many episodes going back and forth, and they would go as much as 5 episodes without nothing substantial happening. The story could be condensed in a 1h30 movie, I'm not sure there was even a story worth telling to begin with.
The second leads helped me get through the show, their storyline was a little more interesting, but the second part of their story was a little boring to.
The bromance was on point though.

Read More

One of the best K drama of all time

This drama is a gem of the k-industry. The cast, acting, cinematography, dialogues, story line and music were top notch.

The reason why this drama is celebrated by many is due to the uniqueness of each characters. The drama shows how much past trauma can hurt someone. Though the ML is a goblin he's suffering to find his bride and from his past guilt, though the FL is cheerful she has had an abusive past, and on the contrary the grim reaper suffers from not being able to recall his past. This goes to show that no matter what you've to bear the consequences of your past actions.

What makes this drama extra special is its perfect blend of romance, grief, comedy and revenge. It's my comfort show that I've binged several times and would highly recommend to others too. Be prepared with a tissue pack cuz you're in for an emotional rollercoaster ride :)

Read More

Actingwise TOP, but storywise.... meh

I understand why there are so many people who really love the goblin. The reason are the really awesome looking actors and their great performance! You cannot help to fall for them, I fully understand that!If you only want to swoon for the actors, just go on, they are great! But honestly, the ending isn't satisfying at all. It just feels as if the sad ending is only delayed for an unknown amount of time. And the religious beliefs in this story are a great mess. A very strange mix of catholic and buddhistic elements called fantasy. Come on, there are reincarnations AND heaven and hell at the same time, to mention just one example... There were many funny moments, it is really moving because of the good acting, but the wishy-washy ending killed it for me.

Read More

One of my favorite dramas of all time

I don't have a lot of talent in writing reviews, and English is not my mother language, so ill try not to be confusing.
I was hesitant to start watching this drama, but I'm so glad I gave it a go!
I'm not one to cry when watching dramas, or anything really, but I cried like a baby in this one. The actors are great, and you really get tangled up in the feelings the story is portraying. It's a heartbreaking, beautiful story and I felt every second of it.
The only downside for me was the way they wrapped up the last minutes of the drama. I hoped we would see at least some development, and that the friendship between the goblin and the grim reaper would get through the forgetting past aspect, just like the bride. Another aspect was how they ended the nephew role, it just kind of ended, and we never got any update on him, as he doesn't remember anything from the past. Little bummers, but not major.
It is still a great drama and I definitely recommend it! Every second is worth it.

Read More

this drama destroyed me....

Goblin is a fantasy romance about a modern day goblin (Gong Yoo) who seeks to end his cursed immortal life and needs a human bride (Kim Go Eun) to do so.  His life then becomes intertwined with a grim reaper (Lee Dong Wook) who is unable to remember his past. But when the goblin finally finds his bride, he suddenly realizes he wants to live and be with her.
Goblin is an epic tale with a story that spans centuries. It was quite an interesting ride filled with some amazing characters, talented actors, and a fresh and unique story woven beautifully throughout each episode. I really love seeing a kdrama with such a heavy fantasy concept. It creates a full mythology surrounding the characters and how certain things work. That makes discovering this world and its secrets very interesting. There are some very impressive shots in the opening episode featuring an intense battle during the historical portion and a huge ship caught in raging waters. The historical portion as a whole had a very cinematic quality to it that was also very gripping right from the start.
Gong Yoo plays our cursed Goblin, Kim Shin. There are many different sides to Shin’s character, and Gong Yoo played them all perfectly. He’s a brave and fierce warrior in the historical portion where he finds himself at odds with the king.
We then have our Goblin bride, Ji Eun Tak, played by Kim Go Eun. Kim Go Eun was very endearing as Eun Tak. She was bright, adorable, and full of life. Her youthful exuberance is like a ray of sunshine that warms up Shin’s heart. It’s easy to see why our Goblin falls hard for her.
Lee Dong Wook is our Grim Reaper. I have a soft spot for Lee Dong Wook, and I absolutely loved his character. He has such a commanding presence that instills power and fear, yet he easily transitions to a sort of awkward and bumbling character.
Yoo In Na was lovely as Sunny. She seems a bit bored with life, but things really liven up for her when the Grim Reaper shows up doing all of these things she finds strange and fascinating.
Yook Sung Jae did well as Yoo Duk Hwa. His family has served the Goblin for 900 years. He’s immature and a bit spoiled, but he has a good heart. He was a nice addition to our Goblin family.
The story is very rich, and I loved delving deep into it. The drama sets up the story very well with high stakes and plenty of questions. While it does take a while to get answers, once we continue deeper into the story, the drama just gets better and better. The drama does include a lot of humor which is something I greatly appreciate, but it was also sort of a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I thought they spent a little too much time on basic character interactions without a whole lot of forward plot development in the first half of the drama. Ideally, I would have liked more of the meat of the story to be better dispersed throughout the drama.
In the beginning, Shin and the Grim Reaper are mostly the deadpan style. Initially, that made it more difficult for me to warm up to them. But the more I saw of their interactions, the more comfortable I became and the more hilarious I found them to be. As the drama progresses and they grow more comfortable with each other, their humor also became more of the fun and goofy style that I like. And that produces some truly hilarious scenes!
Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun were a really sweet and fun couple. Their relationship has such a strong importance right from the beginning. Eun Tak was able to warm up the lonely Shin’s heart, and he was able to provide her a family.

Goblin is a unique drama in the kdrama landscape. Its rich fantasy story that intertwined everyone’s fates was done very eloquently. Each character is memorable and engaging and completely brought to life by all of the talented actors portraying them.
It’s an epic story of love, friendship, and forgiveness that tugs at the heart. It’s a poignant and moving drama that definitely left a lasting impression.

Read More

Iconic drama in every way

Sorry for being late, just caught up on that now...if you would have to recommend a kdrama to a newbie, this is definitely one to choose. Starting from the acting, story, romance drama and mesmerizing soundtrack...none a failure, all over the top. Okay, if you can't deal with a guy alive for more than 900 years, you're not into fairytales anyway ;-)

The FL is may be one of the most lovable, cute and pretty of all times. I guess the director must have smiled along with her acting. I guess Kim Go Eun surpassed any expectations. Sometimes you'll just watch her talking without reading the subtitles and begin to smile for yourself. The ML fits well also. Beyond that the SML and SFL story and acting is perfect, too and of course the interaction between the SML and the ML is anything from positively weird to hilarious.

Besides all the fun you really wonder if the script writer knew for how many litres of tears and pain she would be responsible :-) How can you do this to us !?

The soundtrack will stick in your ears for days after you complete the drama and even the ending was on the good side compared to others.

Read More

Goblin was a drama I was avoiding to watch for a long time and Idk the reason, But now I have watched this drama I can say I was little dumb for avoiding it this drama is best due to his it's story telling but mainly due to it's suspense making for things which I can't tell due to spoilers but I can surely say people will like it's suspense for almost every episode. Well I can say there were little things that should been done like giving characters little more screentime in episodes and explaining somethings which I didn't understand or maybe it's just me who didn't understand those things but anyway thanks for reading my review and please don't mind my english, I hope y'all have a good day. Hare Krishna

Read More

sad love ?

Omg !!!!! I have so much to say but ill try my best to shorten it fr u guys , i'll try my best to avoid any spoiler 😃. If you've seen the 5 stars and hv already gone to watch the show you did a great job , but if you're still here reading this review ill give you guys some 'more than satisfactory' points so tht u go and watch this master piece!😁
First is the storyline ! Its unique and has its own plot twists... I love how each and every characters stories get together with each other forming a beautiful complete circle! The cinematography and directing is great! I love how chronologically they have arranged all the event's of the story , all the events fall in the exact place and time where they should be in both the past and the present storyline...! The dialogues were awesome , it had a great effect causing on the mood and emotional impact! I specially love how they sometimes tried to make the dialogues poetic for some of the characters lines wherever there was a heartfelt romantic or emotional scene!
The humor in this drama is super hilarious and sometimes savage 😂! Love how they try to give us some good giggles during an emotional scene!
Now comes the characters and actors , I loved all of them so i'll give separate credits😁 :-
Goblin/kim shin - the lonely and great god who's been alone all this time , saves and helps people a lotta times,waiting for his bride so tht she can remove the sword just so he could die and lift the immortality curse upon him since the last 900 years! If theres a problem , call him , he will be always there for you all you need to do is blow a candle😉. He is loving, caring & a great warrior.
Grim reaper - became a grim reaper bcz of the sins committed in his past life , now guiding the dead to the right way , this reaper is different than the ones you've seen before. He's cold , clumsy, cute and stupid!😁 but tht doesn't stop him from being a good person and being a really good friend!
Ji eun tak - an orphan , life full of miseries until she knows shes the goblins bride ! Falls in love with the 'ajussi' 🥰 . she has a really adorable 😍smile! On a dark silent night , she comes bearing the stars in her hands singing songs of angels without wings😌.
Sunny - 'SHE IS PRETTY'💖!!! She is the most straightforward yet cool , loving person you'll ever meet ! She deserves a lot more happiness!!!
Duk hwa - one of my most fav character 😍😎!!! A chaebol heir , handsome, goblins right hand , loves his end-room-uncle and goblin uncle,loves credit cards, silly yet smart, knows each secret from the age of 6 , will call NASA if the weather seems sus !😁
President kim - the TT dancer , trustworthy, obedient,adviser.
Things I loved the utmost - kim so hyun , kim min jae ,the chemistry between all the characters, hated the villain,suspense, the bromance , friendship, humor, ost !!!🥰 overall enjoyed every bit of this show , highly recommend to anyone who has a good choice for dramas !!!!

Read More

.

Chorei. Chorei muito. Tem muito coisa nesse dorama. A história dos dois casais foi muito bem trabalhada, a trilha sonora tbm é muito boa. As histórias na casa de chá me fizeram chorar um monte, a história dos protagonistas tbm, tudo.
A única coisa que eu teria a reclamar é a diferença de idade dos atores E dos personagens. Se eu nn me engano os atores tem quase 20 anos de diferença e a personagens da trama tem 19 no começo. É umas das coisas que eu só fui me importar dps de terminar pq eles tiveram um carisma tão grande na série que eu só fui perceber as idades quando comentaram.

Read More

must watch

Since Goblin is known as such a classic and must-watch kdrama, I finally decided to watch it - and didn’t regret it.
At the beginning this drama was a lot more mystical than I expected, but I got used to it pretty quickly and it didn‘t take me long to get invested in the story. I guess it‘s fair to say that Goblin has a quite unique story that is very emotionally investing and made me both laugh and cry. This drama definitely has its fair share of laughs and funny moments, but also serious scenes and moments that made me tear up.
I also loved the cast and their chemistry - especially the bromance between Kim Shin and the grim reaper never failed to make me smile. To be honest - I had to get used to the thought of the age difference between the Goblin and Eun-tak, but their chemistry was still great. I don‘t think I even have to mention Sunny and the grim reaper. <3
This drama has a lot of really pretty shots and scenes in Canada and Korea and I also really enjoyed the OST.
Would recommend!

Read More