No Gain, No Love (2024)

Great Story, Awful Ending

I like this show. It is a great one, although it's not special. The romance and comedy are mixed up and exectued well. The casts are all good, especially Sang-Yi and Ji-Hyun. Their chemistry is outstanding. They also include a "serial killer" which blends pretty smoothly into the story without making it looks like a way to "simplify everything".

The fact that I enjoy the second lead more somehow indicates that there is a problem with the storyline. The idea of the story is good though. The beginning phase is really slow, I would even say it is boring in the first two episode. They build a lot and complex problems in the beginning. However, the writer decided to develop stories around Hae-Young better than hers, causing the main story about Hae-Young and Ji-Uk to be outshined by other premises. The pace somehow turns fast after Episode 8, and this causes some conflicts to have a plain resolution, or even left behind. Sad that we don't have a chance to see Ja-Yeon story with Bok's family, Ji-Uk's family backstory, or make Hae-Young have a better closure with her mom. I am totally pissed after Episode 11 though. They decided to add more conflicts near the end, in Episode 11 and 12 (seriously why did they make a major conflict in the last episode??), only to have a rushed resolution.

(AND THEY MADE HA-JUN REALLY FINE AFTER HIS FORMER LOVER BECAME HIS EX-BOSS GIRLFRIEND. THAT'S TOTALLY IRRATIONAL!)
I was hoping they will do something with the abused child in the Episode 5, since Hae-Young has "some experience" with it. They also brought up the premise of "CEO should take lunch at the cafetaria", and did nothing about it.

Overall I will still recommend it. It may take time before you can enjoy the story. But I don't think it really match up the hype.

Read More

Funny first half but a more serious tone in the second half.

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25

I was quite surprised that I had a pretty good time watching “No Gain, No Love”. I wanted something fun and this fits the bill as it’s funny enough without going overboard, but the tone of the drama changes in the second half. I was also a little hesitant in the beginning because I am not a fan of noona romance. Luckily, the age gap was not mentioned much in the drama.

Shin Min Ah shines in her role here. This role reminded me of her character in “Oh My Venus” in a good way, as I didn’t like her in “Our Blues” or “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha”. But her chemistry with Kim Young Dae is not as good as with So Ji Sub.

The first half of the drama is hilarious. I like how the leads dislike each other, yet their interaction is funny. I enjoy the contract marriage trope, and how they come together in creating this fake wedding. When watching wedding scenes, I often have happy tears because I am moved or happy for the couple. This fake wedding moved me to tears because I am sad. The whole reason behind it is not funny at all, despite it being an interesting and exciting event.

The chemistry between Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae is decent. It’s cute at times but not sizzling. I actually think the portrayal of them falling in love could have been written better. There are a few kisses but nothing earth-shattering (maybe a slight disappointment because I expected more?). We don’t really see too many cute and fluffy scenes of them before the drama goes down a more serious path.

There are quite a few mentions of other dramas and guest appearances. The supporting cast did fine and I’m glad there’s no one evil or annoying. There are rave reviews about how cute the second couple is. They are OK to me but there isn’t enough screen time for me to truly fall in love with them. I guess I’ll just have to check out their drama special. The third long-time couple surprises me with their setup, but their story is boring. I do not miss them at all when they’re not on my screen.

The second half of the drama, especially the last few episodes, feel rushed and jam-packed with more serious side plots. Knowing the story of how FL’s dad died is enough for me. I don’t really need to know about the other father. I wish the drama could have tied up the sisters' stories without wasting precious screen time on him.

Lastly, there is a lot of product placement in this drama - all the snacks and Kopiko coffee candies, Subway, Banaespresso, cars, and beauty products. With all the revenue from advertising, they could have dressed the female characters with better clothes. They all dress like old ladies.

Overall, I did have a pleasant time watching “No Gain, No Love”. It started off very strong but only ended on an average note. But 12 episodes zoomed by in a jiffy!


Completed: 10/29/2024 - Review #506

Read More

interesting storyline

I had high hopes for this drama due to the ML and FL. They each played their part well. Stayed pretty true to their characters. Not sure of the age difference in the characters played any significant part. I wish there had been some clarification on how the ML grandma and FL mom relationship came to be. Also enjoyed the support casts storylines as well. They each brought a different perspective with their own story intertwined with the main story. The premise of the show was unique. Not too typical I feel. Overall it was an easy to watch, funny and entertaining drama to watch. I can’t wait to see the follow up drama to one of the support casts storyline. Only 12 episodes…give it a watch!

Read More

One hell of a found family

Found family is one of the oldest tropes in a writer-nim's repertoire. It has all the ingredients for a banging meet-cute plus bonus characters development as all the complex relationships change and evolve over time.

This drama certainly doubled down on this premise with the parents being saintly foster parents to a string of disadvantaged kids. This did not go down well with their own daughter as she sees her parents giving them more love and attention than their own flesh and blood. There is a lot of unspoken angst and resentment bottled up inside her. What is a little odd is that her BFF's are two of the foster daughters, so her feelings towards at least some of them are ambiguous to say the least.

As in dramas of this ilk, there are always secrets and double dealings. In this case, everyone is pulling double duties. It did not go down well when some of the secrets were revealed. I must admit that some of the twists were clever but there is a lack of finesse. You feel that the dice is loaded from the start.

To be honest, this aspect of the show leads to some of the best and worst plot developments. It gave us some surprise revelations and swoon worthy moments as well as misfires that pile on the angst and take us down several garden paths.

I suppose if you want to be brutal about it, there is not a lot left to the A-plot once we get past the cute and swoon-y start and sort out who's who after some surprise reveals. The middle section was stretched to fill in the allotted time. It leads to some odd plot developments which are quite contrived and added little of substance.

The ending was as sweet as you can expect. Every loose ends are tied up with pink bows. However, there is minimal fan service surrounding the OTP. Similar to shows of late, the 2CP seems to be more interesting and is given a lot of attention. I'm not complaining per se, but it does feel a little odd.

In the end, I enjoyed this show. The ML was the star for me. He looks cute in many scenes, and he will make you swoon. The FL is solid as ever, but I feel that she is in her comfort zone and is happy to stay there for now. The support cast, production and OST are all fine.

This is a solid series that delivers but there is not a whole lot to distinguish it from the rest of the pack. I’m happy to have watched it but I’d be hard pressed to remember it in a few months’ time. That is a shame.

Read More

Alright, I guess?

K-dramas can't cope with 12 episodes these days either, y'all. They should cut it down to 8 once and for all 🤦‍♀️

Either way, this was entertaining of course. It's worth a watch just for the wacky comedy and maybe the secondary couple bcz of their chemistry. The main couple, on the other hand... It's not that they DON'T have chemistry or anything, their story is where they lost me.

The first half was seriously fun and romantic, but they looked like they were running out of ideas as their story went on. Therefore, what we saw was unnecessary backstories and plot twists being shoved in left and right. It felt like way too much was happening at the same time, and in the end, everything was only slightly brushed along and half-assedly concluded. Had they only focused on the romance and the comedy, this could've been a really good romcom. Unfortunately, the writer (who also wrote 'Her Private Life'-- which suffered from the same repercussions towards the end) seemed to run out of ideas and it was... obvious.

I like Kim Young Dae.... when he's being unserious and funny. The man cannot play a quiter/less animate role for the love of god, I'm sorry. On the other hand, Shin Min Ah was quite nice to watch. I really liked her character for 70% of the drama, and I think she was able to bring that extra oomf to 'Son Hae Young' as well.

The music was whatever. None of the tracks were catchy or distinctive.

In conclusion, even though it was a 12 episode drama (plus the screentime they wasted on Kopiko, Subway, Bananapresso Coffee, BMW), it could've benefited from lesser episodes and lesser dumb plotlines.

Read More

started off good, but went a bit down hill for me

I was looking forward to this drama. I was like « something different » and I like fake dating trope.

I enjoyed more maybe the first half, I think it was funny and I liked where it was going. But around ep 7, I started to loose some interest and became boring for some reason even if I still enjoyed the comedy in general. I think the writing wasn’t that good. The romantic story of the leads became less interesting and not that develop well.

I think the leads have good chemistry and look good together. maybe not enough romance for me.

I also liked :
- the friendship between the sisters
- assistant-ceo duo
- brothers duo
- in general I liked the second couple, but I’m not sure them falling in love made sense with such few scenes. they were cute and think had chemistry. the office date was perfect, when they had matching energy by playing the novel’s character. they had a good ending too
- the fake wedding was beautiful
- ML fake proposal was so cute
- I think the acting was good
- SML coming to save SFL and fighting her dad
- few romantics moments between the leads
- 3FL finally ending her relationship and deciding to raise her child alone (with her sister of course). That relationship was just weird and very uninteresting to me.

SML was a bit annoying but not really

FL’s ex, he was trash. they didn’t give proper closure. what happened ? guy is living happily and getting recognition at work (unsatisfying) and what happened with his wife ? who seemed like a decent and kind person, still think it was trash of FL to not tell her she dated him, he literally dated both of them at the same time and wanted to have an affair with her.

The conflicts between the leads in the last few ep were just cliché and unnecessary… don’t talk to me about the stupid breakup in the last ep and 5-10 min reunion-happy ending. that was trash and lazy writing. Actually, the leads in the last ep in general was bad writing to me. Rushed and unsatisfying ending. The leads dated for real for like 2 sec

And feel like no proper ending regarding the brothers and their father(SML parents I could say too) even second couple and his parents

Read More

a true romcom that's really romcomy

a drama where i think our writernim have found the right balance between seriousness and absolute ridiculousnes , drama and comedy .. my respect, writernim.
this show was so good , one of my favorites second couples ever to be honest was looking forward to their scene as much as i was the leads if not more , it was so good , i love their story .. i like the leads as well so much , lovely kisses as well and the couples are just too cute
the drama was so good that i stayed up all night til 4 am binging all episodes , the final could've been a bit better but it doesn't take away from how good this was
it was such a one true romcom .. not much else and i like that about it , nothing too cliche in my opinion i love it .. it made me laugh so hard and made me happy ..... there were of course a few serious things but they don't take up that much space and everything is like really well balanced whish is how i wish most romcoms are tbh
the feelings and fun count in my rating so yeah subjective all the way with this one , when i enjoy a drama i no longer rate it objectively and i don't care about it's flaws ... bok gyu truly hilarious he and the writer are my fave characters tbh they have my heart and don't forget to watch the spin off , after this as you won't have enough of them

i really really adore this one i have to give it a 9

Read More

A good show that could've been great.

The first 8 episodes of this are pure romcom excellence: captivating characters, strong chemistry (romantic, platonic, and familial) between the actors, lots of fizzy comedy seamlessly blended with more substantive, heartfelt moments and some smart analysis of workplace discrimination against single women. I also appreciated the refreshingly open and mature attitude the characters (with one notable exception) have towards their own sexual appetites. The way the show engaged with common romance tropes in a fresh, creative way was just a joy to watch. Another banger of a performance from Shin Min Ah, I can't praise her work highly enough in this.

However, things started to go awry in episode 9. The second ML acts like a hardcore jerk to the leads in episodes 9 and 10, and never makes amends. This made it hard for me to enjoy the cutesy scenes between him and the second FL, as winning as their performances were. While I enjoyed his performance for the majority of the drama because I think he did a good job with the comedy and his dryer, low key delivery contrasted well with Shin Min Ah’s effervescence, Kim Young Dae was flat and didn't emote well when he had to play angst. The other lead actors are so good the difference in their skill vs his was apparent to me. Finally, the the show had too much plot to cram into 12 episodes and as a result we were really short changed in terms of good couple moments between the leads. I was so annoyed they’re barely on screen together in the finale.

This is still an enjoyable watch but I'm a bit frustrated it faltered down the stretch.

Read More

so balanced so good so peak...they hate it because they don't get it

This is romcom of the year for me along with lovely runner, one that I didn't expect to like much when I started but quickly fell in love with.

It had the perfect balance of comedy fluff angst sentiments it's almost too perfect, no episode seems unbearably draggy, all characters are fun and the plot does not take itself too seriously, as it shouldn't.

This is a kind of drama you watch after coming home from a long day and just feel giggly and satisfied! The various relationships portrayed in this romantic familial etc were the highlight for me

For example haeyoung and the sisters, relying on each other despite their differences, gyuhyun and his lucifer, who he couldn't bring himself to hate properly even when he was forced to, even haeyoung and her mother was so interesting. It was so bittersweet and sad for me when they showed how haeyoung was such a stranger to her mother, cause being both of them partially, still the love was very much there.

Watching Sangyi finally get a girl made me so giddy for no reason like hes so amazing!! please give him more lead roles. Shin Minah obviously shined as the star she was, and Kim Youngdae also played Jiuk like he was written just for him, the entire cast had great chemistry and comedic timing.

One thing that damped the experience for me(by a VERY tiny amount) was the freaks in the comment section of this every week though lol. Even before I type this review I saw a bunch of misogynists in the comments and it's just infuriating to see people would keep up with a whole series just to spew hate and slutshame women, well whatever goes around comes around, I hope the cast and team thrives and are proud of their work, they made a great drama.

Read More

disappointed

This drama started off really well in my opinion and had great potential, but I quickly lost interest in the leads, mainly due to poor character development and the glaring incompatibility between the ML and FL.

The side stories are entertaining, and the second leads are adorable, which kept me motivated to finish the series. However, the dynamic between the FL and ML was really off-putting. Their relationship felt unbalanced and infantilizing: the FL seemed entirely self-centered and focused on her work, while the ML came across as a lost puppy, willing to sacrifice everything for her. I have no issue with her being career-driven or less empathetic (I actually LOVE that), but their relationship simply didn’t make sense and felt completely one-sided.

The final episodes seemed rushed, which only added to the disappointment. All in all, wasted potential.

On the bright side, though, the casting was great and I really loved the sisters' dynamic.

Read More