So why did I give it an 7 overall (instead of a 5 or a 6)? Well, even though the couple was frustrating, they were pretty sweet together. And I liked the acting and the chemistry. And I admit, some stuff was really cute.
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This review may contain spoilers
Draaaaaged. I liked the first episode and the last episode. But in between I skipped a lot. Daoming Si wasn't even Daoming Si. I mean, he was too mature. I missed the bratty, stubborn, spoiled, violent, Pineapple-headed Si. And I hate how the amnesia thing went on up to the 24th episode. And even afterwards he didn't tell anyone he remembered everything because he wasn't sure who he loved -.- Rainie Yang didn't even turn up! I liked Ye Sha. She wasn't like those wannabe girls from the other versions who pretended to be the girlfriend. And her letter to Loony was the only part in this drama that made me cry (besides Quinghe's Valentine message to Shancai). At least they didn't kill her off. That would've made me boycott this drama altogether. By the way, my favorite part was Vanness Wu and his matchmaking date. That girl was so pretty! I'm so glad he fell in love (: Overall, the series was frustrating but worth the wait. Sort of. Maybe. And I never shipped Lei and Shancai in season 1 and throughout season 2. But after hearing his true feelings that he confessed to Mei (along with flashbacks) I felt so sorry for him! To be very honest, I never really enjoyed his character. Probably because he never expressed his feelings directly and Daoming Si was much more interesting and pretty much overshadowed him. But now I can't wait to watch MARS! :) Was this review helpful to you?
Anyways, back to the drama - WHY DIDN'T I WATCH THIS SOONER?! WAE WAE WAE??? This is just amazing. The plot is so intriguing. Not just the romantic parts but also the stuff about mental illnesses and stuff. It's very thrilling. I LOVE VIC CHOU! I seriously cannot believe he didn't win the best actor award for this drama. Same for Barbie Hsu. I mean, their expressions (once again I'm not talking about expressions of love and longing.)were just so beautiful. Gave me goosebumps the whole time.
The kind of characters they built for this drama really impressed me. Ling is the most perfect guy in the most imperfect sense possible. His shades of his personality and different layers of his character, the laugh, the tears, the past. It just moved me, I don't know why. Same goes for Qui Luo. I love the way her character developed after Ling came into her life. I loved their little shack that they made for themselves. I loved the music of the show. I have most of the songs on my phone.
Coming to the rewatch value, I'll definitely give it a 10 because I already watched it twice (no kidding) and I am definitely going to go watch it again for sure. Especially a few favorite parts for which I even remember the episode numbers now (lol).
I'd say if you are an Asian Drama fan, don't skip this one!
PS- Still can't believe Vic Chou didn't win the best actor award for this. My faith in the world of righteousness is shattered. But I'll try not to dwell on that.
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1. The Plot - What I loved about Park Hye Run's writing (particularly in Pinocchio and I Hear Your Voice) was that she knew what to say and when to say it. With Korean dramas, things can get messy and all over the place, particularly when dealing with themes of past and present. She did a fab job tying lose ends before, but in WYWS the story was all over the place. The back-and-forth of the story was really messy and the "past" didn't have the impact it intended. It reminded me of Kill Me Heal Me (another amazing drama with painful back-flashes). I loved how original her idea was but it wasn't articulated properly.
2. Suzy - I have always felt Suzy has potential to be a decent actress but so far, everything she has done has been problematic to me. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I have spent some time thinking why I don't feel affected by her. It's not bad acting but it's the "cutesy" act. For some reason, Suzy's acting comes off as a half-hearted cutesy attempt. Instead of improving her acting, she focuses more on being pretty and sounding cute. When she acts, it feels like we're supposed to bow down to her beauty or something. And it hinders my experience because, instead of empathizing with her character, I end up feeling envious or annoyed. She has a hard time evoking that feeling of human-connection and understanding in me.
3. Lee Jong Suk - My two points are self-contradictory here. Firstly, I feel Lee Jong Suk is being typecast as this perfect character. In every drama, he practically plays the same guy in different professional fields and having different life stories. Secondly, he did try to do something new in this drama by pulling a Jang Hye Jung. He's literally the male version of Lee Bo Young's iconic character in I Hear Your Voice here. But sadly, he does not pull it off convincingly. So basically, he did try something new but it didn't work out well. But he really needs to keep experimenting more. I know he can pull it off and show more variety!
The chemistry was sadly lacking between the main couple. I don't know whose fault it is, but my disappointment was palpable while watching the whole drama. I was waiting for that "click" moment but they never seemed to click. At least not for me.
The rest of the cast was relatively better. I loved Woo Tak and the people in Jae Chan's office. The cases were interesting but not enough. The last case was the best out of the lot and the saving grace for me! Overall, I loved the idea but I wish they had built upon it some more and the lead pair had more chemistry.
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The cast is amazing! The two main leads express themselves so beautifully without any use of words. I would recommend it to everyone. One of the finest Korean movies I have watched till date.
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And thanks to this show stopped hating In Hee (from Personal Taste). If you have the same problem, this show is HIGHLY recommended! :D
Special Credits to the Odd Jobs President Cha did during his community service. Lol. Everytime, he said he was busy, and I thought he was talking about some hi-fi President Wallstreet-ish work and all he ended up doing was making children cross roads or scrape out chewing gums or gossiping with ajummas x). And the 'Whoo Whoo' song!
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The story is quite simple and slow actually. A couple of friends who swear to never get romantically involved. Da Ren is the sweetest and the most considerate drama character (male) I have come across. Seriously, all the guys of the world should watch this and take notes on how to treat a girl. You Qing is amazing. She is an awesome person and most of the time she doesn't even realize this. She sees herself as cold and bitchy when she's actually very caring. And as for Wei (Sunny Wang) I don't know about you guys but for me, the guy's a creep and a perv. Seriously, even when he's being all serious and sincere I can't contain myself from rolling my eyes. And those tattoos are no joke! Scared the hell out of me when I first saw them. But overall, great acting by everyone. No wonder they bagged so any awards this year. Highly deserved.
Coming to the music - I love it. Especially the song that Da Ren wrote :)) I'm definitely going re-watch this. Especially all the funny moments and the cute moments. Might skip all the stiff with Ding Li Wei though :P
Ok, I've changed my mind. I would recommend it to everyone. If you're in a dilemma over this drama I'd say - GO FOR IT! And if you're in a dilemma whether you should continue watching this drama, I'd say DON'T GIVE UP! Really, the ending would be worth it. After all, all's well that ends well, right? ;)
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The only slump for me was the plot. It was a great plot, beautiful and touching. But the end was..ridiculous. It was stupid. I didn't even cry. All I was thinking was "Are you kidding me?". If that's the kind of end they were supposed to have, why go through so much hassle? I was real disappointed with the end. But overall the plot was good. I might've given this drama a 9 if they had a different ending. I'm not even asking for a happy ending exactly. Just something that makes more sense.
The OST was really good and powerful. The kind that attracts you with it's beautiful voices, not the catchy music. It was great and I want it on my phone!
Overall I feel people should give this drama a try. It's a little underrated here on MDL.
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I think this drama had the right balance of suspense, comedy, fantasy and romance.
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Acting wise the drama was pretty good. I enjoyed everyone's parts. But quite surprisingly I enjoyed Little Sun's part the most! She was so funny at times, even though she could be a little annoying. But I was really happy with her ending. I liked the main couple too. But somewhere it felt like So Ji Sub's character was being made to act like Dokko Jin (The Greatest Love) and that sort of ticked me a bit. Don't get me wrong - I love So Ji Sub! I'm sorry I love you (starring him) was the first drama I ever watched and it's like First Love, you can never forget it. It's just that Dokko Jin is EPIC. Every line coming outof his mouth is classic and no one can pull that kind of role better than Cha Seung Won. So somewhere along the way I couldn't stop myself from making comparisons.
And not just So Ji Sub's character, I was also left making comparisons in a lot of other aspects. Like how The Greatest Love was funnier and had a sweeter ending. I think this is the only reason I'm giving this drama 9s. Because in my eyes it can't surpass The Greatest Love.
But it does surpass it in one aspect. Music. I just love the entire OST on this drama. In fact, if you ask me, this drama has the best OST so far this year. The songs made it top 10 billboard too and it' fully deserved.
The rewatch value is a bit low for me, because I won't really come back for any funny scenes. I might come back for a few ghost stories that were super touching. I might come back for Kang Woo and little sun. And the aunt and her awesome husband! But that's all for me.
Overall this is a good drama. Much, much better than Big, but I think other Hong sister dramas are funnier. Nonetheless this drama deserves a good average, despite being a tad bit overrated.
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And I think while Koreans are best at making dramas about love, Japanese are the best in making dramas about friendship. :)
Special credits to Nakatsu and the times when he's talking to himself with gestures. AHAHAHAHA. Gets me every single time! And the Panty-On-The-Head-I'm-Not-Homo dance. OH GOD!! Super special credits to the the dorm leaders' reaction on seeing a girl in the school. EPIC!!! xD xD xD
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I would recommend this to everyone, regardless of genre preference. The only problem is that this drama is very difficult to catch hold of. This is probably why it's not as popular on the internet. I didn't even know a Chinese version existed until a classmate of mine told me about it. She gave me it's DVD and I dramathoned the whole thing in 3 days. I hope this drama gets more attention and I hope someone uploads it somewhere with subs.
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I also liked Park Se Young as a gloomy, quiet, oozing-with-confidence class topper. I also loved Min Ki the angel, Chang Hwan the sweet sweet boy, Jung Ho the gangster, Jung Ho's friends, Kang Joo the bubbly bestfriend and others that I can't really recall right now.
And, you know, the thing is that romance is great to watch and all that but watching these friendship dramas once in a while leaves us with a warm, fuzzy feeling which we feel in life when we hang out with our friends at school or wherever. Friends and schoolmates - we make unforgettable and probably the best memories with them. And dramas that portray that - we can personally relate to them. What I'm basically trying to say through this mini-speech is that even though there's no romance in this drama, don't let it stop you from watching it. It's a gem.
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