Super Cute Main Couple makes the day
I really enjoyed this series. Watch it!The Good:
- I love Chae Jong Hyeop, and have seen him in KDramas. He did a great job here, his acting being heartfelt and in a way innocent without being too sappy.
- Contrary to what some others have said, I also really loved the FL, Nikaido Fumi. I think that she was natural and engaging and did a great job.
- The FL was, in a word, classy. Her dress, makeup, expressions. So well done. Her smile was glorious.
- The story was cute, and even though I am not into fantasy dramas, I think the main hook and how the Korean ML fit into that, was a clever idea.
- Some very beautiful cinematography.
The Sub-Optimal:
- Yeah, the story had some holes in it. As another reviewer noted, the whole Ainu connection kinda fizzled. The way the relationship was saved kinda just came out of nowhere, which irked me. This was the reason I rated the series a 9 instead of a 10. It was just too cute to go below 9 :-)
Super Cute without trauma (clearly marked spoiler)
I’d just like to second what some other reviewers have said (much more eloquently than I will): This is a light, trauma-free series that is a great respite from all the dark trauma-driven series out there. If you want to just relax and enjoy a bunch of people being super kind and understanding, watch this!The Good
- Beautiful cast all around.
- Many couples getting together with no pointless blowups or breakups
- Loads of people in their social groups - all of who are kind and supportive
- The FL managed to be young, innocent, and cheerful without overdoing it and spoiling the role. And she has a gorgeous smile
:-)
Why not a 10?
I am tempted to give this series a 10. I didn’t for two reasons:
1) There were some of what I consider plot holes that I couldn’t help think about. (Spoiler) For example the FL’s big performance and her family was not there. This did not jive with her healthy and loving family dynamic. (End Spoiler)
2) I think they should have maybe squeezed it down by a couple of episodes, or given more time to two of the other couples, who seemed to get together all of a sudden which had me thinking, “Wait, what? How did that happen?”
So overall a 9 and highly recommend
Not great, but pretty good. I don't agree with the really bad ratings
TBH, my wife and I started this some months back and dropped it since it seamed very slow. And we were not sure about the acting. But we decided to give it another try and watched all the way through. Yes, it is a bit slow, but we still found it engaging and after a few episodes got into the story. There was a lot of voice overs that were quite philosophical and featured analogies with the weather, which I thought was very cool. The series tried quite hard to be thoughtful. Perhaps this is not come folks' cup of tea, but I liked it. The acting was good, I thought, from both the main and secondary couple, and the other characters as well.As others have noted, it is NOT a RomCom, but is more serious and has quite a few sad parts. But it ends well.
Summary: It is not an Epic series, it is not a RomCom, but it is pretty good and I think worth a watch.
Short and cute - worth your time
This series does not bring something new or special to the table. But it's really cute and the actors are beautiful. Especially Ms. Oh Yu Jin. I think she did a tremendous job and made the series worth a watch. I was surprised to find that she was True Beauty's FL's best friend in that series.The Good:
- Ms Oh Yu Jin. Beautiful and an excellent actress
- But overload at the end. A couple who really love each other and show it.
- Simple story, which was the right length
The Sub-Optimal
- Nothing new here
- Acting generally good, but not great
So...
Don't expect to much. Enjoy a quick binge.
Too depressing for too long for the payoff at the end
The executive summary here is that there was too much sadness and trauma for too long for the final payoff. I don't like series that give you happy only in the last 10 minutes or some such. This series did thatOthers have written excellent reviews, as usual, so I'll just put a few points out there to perhaps help folks decide if this is their cup of tea.
The Good
========
- The acting!
Ra Mi Ran is great as the mother, although the role was really annoying to watch.
The twins were, as everyone said, adorable.
Ahn Sun Jin was fantastic, We watched this series because of her, after seeing her in Hospital Playlist.
- The few, and unfortunately only a few, funny moments were done well.
The Not So Good
=============
- As noted, too sad for too long. We needed more of the happy times with Mi-Joo and Kong-Ho after the trauma was (mostly) resolved.
- Not enough Ms. Ahn! She is great and we did not see enough of her in this series.
- Something about Young-soon's mourning was just off. I can't place my finger on it, but that scene just did not work.
- The side characters were too over the top. For a very serious series, they may have wanted some comic relief , but it was often out of place.
Recommendation
==============
This is actually hard to recommend, which really bums me out. But if you are looking to being bummed for the great majority of the series, and need a big dose of sadness, this may be for you
Great acting, interesting story - ending both brilliant and lacking (Spoilers marked)
This series was extremely well done. The acting, all around, was great. The couples were cute, and the chemistry, when the story allowed for it, was awesome. The main couple, the Kim’s IRL, were, of course, stunning. Wow! And when they were getting along, they were so cute! But it is another Asian drama with so much trauma and sadness. We eagerly watched each episode since it was so well done, but we kept hoping for some extended period of happiness.I feel sorry for the actor portraying Sun Song (Park Sung Hoon) because he did a great job of making you hate his guts! Ha ha. Obviously great acting.
Honestly, other than feeling bad for the ML and a couple of other characters, I did not get too emotionally attached to parts of the story, perhaps because so many characters were so bad for so long. Well, and some plot holes/irrational decisions. But that is all too common in these dramas, so it’s hard to focus too much on that aspect of the series.
The ending had brilliant elements, different than we had seen before. I loved the last few minutes in particular! That part of the story will stick with me for sure.
(Spoilers Here)
But the was lacking in that the post-reunion happiness was just not long enough! They should have cut out on traumatic story line and given us an entire episode of marriage and happiness. Dang that would have been great, and would have greatly increased our satisfaction with this series. It would have perhaps elevated the rating from us to a 9… or maybe a 10???
(End Spoilers)
BTW, I have heard folks were not happy with the Mercedes product placement bonanza. LOL - I loved it! Beautiful cars, made me jealous although I’m really a BMW guy. :-) Product placement in general is something I love since it makes the show seam more real and relatable. I mean, I can’t relate to owning a US$ 100,000 Mercedes, but I can relate to seeing cars and other products I have seen IRL. Bring on the Product Placement!
Decent but the end just fizzled out
This story was decent, but not great. The reason I would not recommend watching it is because the end just sort of fizzled out. Like others noted, it is like they cut down the number of episodes and just let things end without much satisfaction for the audience. The actual ending few minutes was lame and added nothing to the series. We were like "What the heck was that?"The big bright spot for me was the acting of Kim Ji-Eun. She was awesome, with spot of comedic timing, cute expressiveness, and energy. The ML, Namkoon Min was pretty good too, but was not a big deal for me.
Spoiler:
It *seemed* like they were gearing up for some romance between the leads, but nothing. Nada. Very disappointing.
Worth the watch for the acting of the 4 leads
I’ll keep it short and sweet, so to speak. This show was not great, but not bad at all. Please consider giving it a try and not pay attention too much to the really poor reviews.BTW, this is the first Thai drama I have watched, so please take that into account. Although my wife was born and raised in Southeast Asia, I am not familiar with Thai culture.
The story was OK and of course borrowed heavily from the Korean original. I think the Korean series fleshed out the characters a bit better. So I think it is not as good as the Korean original, but it good enough to invest your time in watching it. I think the acting by the leads (the 4 main folks) was actually quite good. It could be that you don’t like the way the ML was a bit taciturn, and even the FL was too low key in the beginning. This is writing/direction, rather than a problem with the acting, I think. But about half way through when the characters expressed their emotions more, I think they did a really good job. Some of the secondary actors were not quite as good, but no big deal for me.
I’d gladly watch the leads in other series if the story sounds interesting.
So, overall, a 7 for me. Your mileage may vary :-)
I actually laughed a lot - rare for me
Yeah, the amnesia bit is not believable, but this is a movie, right? The bottom line is the acting was awesome, the leads totally nailed it. Without their spot on acting this really could have gone off the rails. And, most of all, even though I watched this on a plane from Taipei to Osaka, I laughed a lot! And practically nothing makes me laugh these days, so the writers really did their job. I will have to get my wife to watch this (she was watching something else on the plane).So, as far as the negative reviews, I guess those folks have even less of a sense of humor than I do :-). Just give it a try. I think most people will really enjoy it. Just relax, suspend belief, and prepare for a wild ride.
BTW, some people said it was predictable. But one aspect of this that got me laughing was some of the comedic bits took me completely by surprise. Like, what the heck? LOL!
OK, but not great even given the constraints of a short series
I liked the leads. I liked the general story. But somehow I was not really drawn in. The chemistry between the leads was lackluster. The side characters were OK, but one-dimensional. The OST was just... not good. Kinda 70s pop or something?Anyway, not really BAD, so if you want to fill a couple of hours go ahead. Just don't expect too much.
Pretty good but to much sullen male lead syndrome
Summary:Pretty good show, but I am just tired of Male Leads that are sullen and moody for the whole show.
The Good:
- Overall good story
- Food and family focus was great
- Some good acting. Actually my favorite character by far was Han Meng played by Wang Pei-Han!
The Sub-Optimal
- The male lead, played by Gao Han-Yu, was just too sullen and cranky for 90% of the show. This is NOT a criticism of his acting, but of the writing of the character. It is just me, but that drug the series down too much.
- Love triangle. Tired of those also. They need to find other plot devices to (supposedly) keep our interest. FLs need to just shut down love triangle right from the get-go!
Feel good romcom with more fun elements than trauma - watch it
Executive SummaryLots of fun. Watch it!
There are some pretty bad reviews out there and obviously this is not everyone’s cup of tea. But I don’t get how this could be rated so low even if you prefer something different.
There is trauma that is needed to set up the whole story, but unlike in some Asian dramas it is, IMHO, just a setup, and the bulk of the story is the growing relationship and romance between the leads.
The main couple was so much fun, and despite their past traumas were actually pretty darn positive in their interactions and lives. Even when they were not getting along (in the beginning) it was more funny than mean-spirited.
I also like the secondary characters who all did a great job. The second couple was just as adorable as the main couple. Loved them, too!
I was tempted to give it a 10 since there was basically nothing that I did not like about this series, but I’ll try to hold back 10s for series that truly blow me away :-).
The Good
@ Very cute lead couple that played the parts well and had great chemistry and expressions, IMHO
@ Great secondary characters that also nailed their roles
@ More than the usual 10 minutes of happiness that all comes at the end. We have lots of nice happy wrap-up in the last couple of episodes
@ The male lead was fun, not just an unsocial, sullen guy, unlike lots of Asian dramas. Yay!
@ Interesting story setup
@ Very positive message and encouragement to wrap things up. Some might think it is a tad over the top, but hey, we need more positivity in our lives!
The Sub-Optimal
@ Really not much
@ Yeah, in some ways the bad stuff that was important setup was a bit over the top, but it didn’t really detract from the show
(Mild spoiler) Cute but with a pretty heavy dose of trauma and some plot holes/weirdness
Executive SummaryWatch it. It’s really pretty good and has a very nice ending. I don’t agree with the very low ratings, although it is not a “great” series. Fantasy is not my thing, but I did enjoy this series.
There is a mystery running throughout the series and they don’t reveal what is really up until near the end, and it was a bit of a surprise. So they did a good job.
The cast is great, especially the main couple (Nana and Jang Dong-Yoon) and the FL’s roommate (Gong Min-Jung). The main couple is pretty dour most of the time, because of their sad past. And that may be why some folks think the main couple lacks chemistry. But what makes the series work, for me, is that the lighter moments are really cute. When the FL is happy she lights up the room and steals the show! I would love to see her in more of a RomCom role where there is more happy and less sad. I think she would absolutely knock it out of the park in such a role. I’ll cross my fingers :-)
(Spoiler Alert)
And super extra points to the writers for giving us quite a few minutes of happiness at the end, and glimpse into the future of the couple after they are able to reunite. We need more of these types of upbeat and more complete endings. Yay!
Decent Show with Good Acting
No Spoilers, just some pros and cons.Pros
===
The acting was very good. I would call out Kim Kyung-Chul for his portrayal of Sea In-Ho, the jerk husband. Of course we don’t like his character, but he did a truly superb job of navigating jerkiness and having regret. I would also call out Jo Adam for her role as Jeon So-Ra. It looks like she does not have a lot of acting experience, but the way she portrayed a cranky, domineering personality was quite subtle and skillful.
I liked the storyline and the message they were trying to communicate.
Everything that happened in the story was believable, even if unlikely.
Cons
===
Somehow the series did not draw my wife and I in as much as our favorite KDramas. Despite some touching scenes, we were not too emotionally invested in the characters.
The ending was O.K., and I think sent a nice message, but again we were sort of just, “Oh, it’s over. What will we watch next?” Rather than feeling like we would miss the story and characters. The story just sputtered to a halt. There a number of things they could have done to tie everything up to a greater extent.
So overall, not bad, but not great. So a 7 ranking.
Stunning Lead Couple with Great Chemistry (Very light spoiler which is called out)
Spoiler StartI think this is a 9 rating show on the merits, which is great. But I am going to give it a 10 because we got pretty much a whole episode of happy to wrap things up! They didn’t just give us happy for 15 minutes at the end like so many dramas. Thanks to the writers and director!
Spoiler End
What can you say about the lead couple. They are so cute and have such great chemistry. They both did an incredible job that made this drama work. I’ll watch anything with Kim Yoo Jung in it because she is so beautiful and has such an incredible smile. And, yeah, she is an awesome actor as well :-)
The story was fun and a bit different so I enjoyed it even thought fantasy is not really my thing.
My recommendation is watch it for sure!