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Vibe killed by overlong episodes and inflated runtime
Bae Seok Ryu and Choi Seung Hyo are played by very pretty people, but attractiveness alone is not enough to keep the sizzle going for these characters. Their lack of romance had been drawn out for decades already up to the point the show starts and continued to drag on for weeks and weeks of the 80 something minute episodes. They don't have the type of relationship with any kind of spice or sweetness to sustain interest for them as potential couple for that long. In the meanwhile, it's the family and family friendship lives that are explored in depth and the emotions of those storylines overshadows and engulfs all the screen time. It's relatable, but still ill balanced to the detriment of what should be the core relationship of the show. I do give the show props for the very believable reason to hide their relationship being their loving, but suffocatingly nosy collective family that will keep them on such a close watch and infantilized that they can't actually function as a couple of consenting adults. The second couple didn't take that long to get together, but they suffer from the very odd decision the show made to introduce them in a weird scene where the hot, amazing, adventurous, confident paramedic Jung Mo Eum grabs a drink from the shop freezer like a normal person only to have it yanked in her hand by the reporter guy who felt entirely entitled to take a drink out of a woman's hand when she already took it first fair and square. It's nonsensical and the show builds him up as a amazing guy that would help divert traffic for the ambulance and raises his niece who is the sole survivor of his entire family dying in an accident, but that kind of rude behavior is just too off putting to over look and I want Mo Eum to just keep going on her adventures rather than to obsess about that weirdo no matter how otherwise virtuous he seems. Let her be free.Was this review helpful to you?
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WHAT A LOVELY STORY!
Long time I have been waiting for this drama because I miss Jung Hae In in romantic vibes and here it is! I’m not so into Jung So Min but in this drama she succeed to make me fall for her instead of Jung Hae In. Their chemistry was superb and awsome!Who dare to comment that they are no chemistry? Their friendship really touched my heart. I also wish I had a bestfriend/childhood friend like them!
All actors are good. From ML, FL, second ML second FL, all the parents, all are awesome. Thank you to the director for choosing the right actor.
So if you looking for a good romantic drama, you can watch this. I hope to see Jung Hae In more in romantic drama. Thank you for bring him back in love vibes. Enjoy watching!
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Its a bore
In short, the episodes are way too long, its filled to the brim with redundant tropes and its boring.In long, I'm sorely disappointed with this so before get into the bad stuff let me mention some positives;
1. The actors. I think they're easily the strongest point if LND.
2. There are parts that hits you in the feeling. Mostly the ones involving Seokryu and her family. The family dynamic was an interesting one as a whole.
Now this series might have some good points but those positive points can be seen in many other dramas which aren't this boring. So many things are thrown in the mix here which had little to no pay off. For example the plot with their exes. None of them add anything meaningful to the story so why are they there? Or the plot twist about Dan ho and his kid? Or Mo eum mother disagreeing with her relationship so passionately just to change her mind so easily. Or even her moving to north pole. None of them had any impact whatsoever so why were they included?
The episodes where so long you could feel them trying to stretch out the story thin to fill up the run time and it was annoying. The slow burn wasn't a satisfying one. It was painfully slow. I used the skip button alot in later half of it.
The comedy bits are stale too honestly. Every woman was bickering and shouting over stupid misunderstandings that could've been resolved in minute had they talked it out but all the parents here are NOT comically immature.
This could've been a more enjoyable watch if it was shorter and had less overused tropes.
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Disappointing
I truly look forward to this drama, knowing Jung Haein and Jung Somin. The drama has an interesting premise and a somewhat strong start. However, it kept declining as the episodes went by.It is such a shame because I know Haein and Somin have excellent acting skills, unfortunately, they couldn't even make the story more mesmerizing. I don't know the problem, it might be because of bad writing.
Overall, it was bland, meh, and I kept dozing off. Wish it could be better.
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Cute but not cute enough...
I'll start with the good - I like the actors and they have chemistry. I really liked that one flashback scene at the end of episode two. I think it's one of the only scenes I really enjoyed. Lol. So because of their chemistry and cuteness when they actually have a moment I won't make this a 0/0And Dan-Ho. I like him. I'm interested to see where his character is going.
And now..
I really want to know what overcame the writers, who had two great actors in their hands, and decided to write a kdrama that has some of the most long and drawn out scenes that are so unfunny it's painful, (the entire scene where the mother is hitting the ML and screaming for ten minutes...what was that...) scenes that just don't make sense (why the heck her mother reacted to her daughters life choices the way she did?? What??) the weirdness of the second half of episode four...why are all the characters so dramatic? And violent??? It's getting weird?
Hopefully it gets better and an actual plot develops, yeah I forgot to mention, there is no underlying plot, at least not yet..
All in all it's cute, nothing more nothing less. The deeper messages are poorly handled and super forced.
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Good Enough
Korean Drama '' Love Next Door '' is a romantic melodrama with a healing story as the main theme.The drama is pretty relaxing in pace, with a focus on the healing process and the family dynamics being its strongest part. The romance was, in that light, a slow burn with the final episodes being, however, just fillers as the story was pretty much done in the previous ones.
Still, the drama has a sweetness to it, as the characters overcome their difficulties and rise above them. So, yes, the romance was sweet too, but inferior compared to the core of the drama.
Finally, the performances were all great by everyone in the cast.
So, overall, seven out of ten.
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Absolutely Disappointing and Annoying
This is another disappointing KDrama that I have seen. The storyline is horrendous and the FL is very annoying. I do not understand how a man can love a woman who screams at people, kicks others and throws her shoe at him. This is so disrespectful it is not funny. In the majority of cultures in the world, this is unacceptable. The FL’s English intonation is some of the worse I have heard. The entire premise of the story does not warrant 16 episodes. They could have ended everything in four episodes. The ML’s character is very pathetic and childish and borders to the point of being considered a loser. The FL’s character attitude is so schizophrenic - meaning that she can shout and scream, be aggressive and physically abusive to the ML but when it comes to other situations, she is quiet as a mouse. I also hate her dishonesty. The writers could have done a better job in this day and age of writing better and more realistic storylines. I also find that kdramas pretend that characters do not sleep together after being in a relationship for several years and that is so unrealistic and moronic. All these thirty something year old virgins - so laughable. Don’t waste your time to watch this.Was this review helpful to you?
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cute
very cute, the cancer plotline made the quality decrease slightly imo but i understand that with 16 episodes something's gotta happen lmaothere were other things that i didn't love as well, mainly the mom. it takes her daughter having cancer for her to realize that she's treated her like crap yall who does the worst mother award go to
also missed oportunity to have a single parent storyline with the secondary couple but this is still a kdrama so what did i expect
the main couple were very very cute but she annoyed tf out of me on the latter half, it just felt like he was doing everything and she didn't care
but yeah the best character was the ml's mom, she was so cute and pretty and stylish and her husband and her were adorable and i just loved her sm
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Could have been better
This drama had so much potential and the story was going on good until the 5th or 6th episode. The ending was quite satisfactory, the cast was the best. I understand it had a simple concept so there wasn't much to the story so they included some completely unnecessary plots. The second lead romance was the best, much better than male leads. Also I guess they forgot to show the third lead i.e Seokryu's brother's romance.The Ml, had already realised that he liked her in 5th ep ig, but to extend the storyline, he had to realise it again in the next episode only to ignore her in next few.
I understand the slump part, somehow the stomach cancer part was unnecessary, but still made sense.
The ending was little bit rushed, neither they showed their wedding, not the second leads meeting again and I mentioned the third leads.
FL's mother was a really annoying character but the character development was okay.
The storyline was predictable and very simple. It would have been a comforting drama but left traumatising, the only thing I probably liked was the cast, definitely not the storyline. Their chemistry was great. The romance was okay. It could have been so much better, I had alot of expectations from this but I was quite disappointed.
Also I felt like this drama was really similar to Doctor Slump, byt Dr. Slump was better
Kudos to the staff and actors who worked hard on and off screen ❤
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No
Should you watch this drama? No.Is the plot interesting? No
Was this drama comedic like it states it is? No
Did the leads have romantic chemistry? No
Basically, this drama has absolutely nothing to offer as a romantic comedy. TVN should have given this drama 12 episodes, since clearly the writer and director had no idea what direction they were going. The same two people who created hometown cha cha cha, giving us the worst drama of 2024? Unbelievable. I am convinced the people who enjoyed this drama are either fans of the actors, but so am I, and will love any drama with romance and a hot kiss scene. It is indeed my opinion that they are all in denial about what a huge disappointment this was, but I believe one day they will accept how bad it truly was when the actors go on to be in an actual romantic comedy that is good (fingers crossed!).
Jokes aside, your time is precious, and this drama is way too boring and wishy washy for you to spend hours watching it. the writer wrote the FL and ML in such a weird way. In the beginning, the ML really hated the sight of the FL, and somehow the viewers are supposed just to accept it when he actually has always been in love with her? The FL on the other hand, never seems to ever like the ML in a romantic way, its kind of like she just feels sorry for him and gives in to the thought of being with him. Oh, and apparently they're both in their mid-thirties, but show absolutely no signs of it. The way they acted in high school and in the present is the exact same...
All in all, you are better off closing your eyes and dreaming of Jung Haein in your dreams than watching this. I'm sure your subconscious brain would come up with a better romance.
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