toast_sunbae
I want to start this off saying that the undeniable stars of this drama are the leads, played by Kwak Dong-Yeon and Park Se-Wan. Those two have some of the best chemistry together and they were the reason I started watching this drama in the first place.
That being said, while they were the reason I started, they weren't the only reason why I kept watching. There are two families at the center of this drama's plot. The first isn't a biological family unit, but one of circumstance. Several different individuals wind up staying at the Nakwon Inn (or Paradise Inn as it's translated to) and develop a tight-knit family of their own. The second, the Na family. They're a chaebol family consisted of some (mostly) egocentric individuals, and Hae Jun (he's the only one that doesn't suck royally, in fact, he's pretty cool). Both families filled me with a different set of emotions. The found family was beautiful, the love and support that they provided for each other is enough to give you the warm fuzzies. I was particularly a huge fan of the brother-sister relationship between Woo Jae and Bak Ha. The chaebol family, as expected, pissed me off quite frequently. What I wasn't expecting was to find all of them (well, almost all of them) to have charming aspects to themselves. This doesn't typically happen when I watch a chaebol family in a drama, so it was quite refreshing.
Now, let's talk romance. The central romance was definitely my favorite, but all (but one, Woo Jae and Hae Ri are my ultimate NOTP) of the other romances were also interesting to watch. They had so much chemistry and it was fun to watch their relationships gradually develop. For sure one of my favorite parts.
One of the cool things about this drama is that all of the characters' stories are linked. In the beginning most of the central characters were at the area where the prime conflict (the death of Bak Ha's husband) took place. What's also interesting is that each member of the Nakwon Inn family has some sort of bone to pick with members of the Na family.
Last, and not least, we have the other star of this show, an adorable baby named Yeol Mu. Yeol Mu manages to make everyone love and take care of him. He has an incredible charm that will make your heart melt.
Overall, it's a great drama filled with family, love, and growth. If you're good with longer format shows, it's worth giving a shot.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is a nice, quirky fantasy/romantic comedy. It features an excellent cast, and a lot of charming and interesting characters. It has quite a few twists, and is really cute and interesting. The main character is a kind but naive fairy, who has lived on Earth for several hundred years. The main love interests are a professor and his young assistant (they also live together). The two characters are like night and day, the assistant being sweet and willing to believe the fairy, and the professor being cautious and skeptical. One of the two love interests is the fairy's reincarnated husband who died suddenly several hundred years ago. What likely makes this show a hit or miss for several people: the show is a bit on the weird side and does not go as expected. A love triangle is also a big player for the plot here. Typically when you watch a drama, you can point out who the female lead will end up within the first couple of minutes of the first episode, even if there's a love triangle. This drama gives you a bit of a guessing game, and the answer...is not what a lot of people were expecting.
As someone that dabbles in story writing, when a storyline isn't super predictable, I like it a lot more. I also enjoy finding clues to upcoming plot twists within the dialogue and events of the show. This was the case for "Mama Fairy."
This is a drama where you have to pay close attention (especially in the flashbacks) in order for everything happening to make complete sense. It had me hooked from the start, so I was never confused. I was extremely happy with who the female lead ended up with, but this was not the case for quite a few people. But when watching, it was clear that the drama pointed in that character's direction, via other characters' opinions of the love interests, the flashbacks, and the female lead's feelings toward the guy she ended up with. It's subtle, but the hints were there.
Romance aside, the main characters are each interesting in their own individual ways. It was interesting how each of the reincarnated love interests shared traits with the people/creatures they were in their past lives. Learning more about them through the flashbacks was a highlight of each episode. One of the main characters had a very tragic back story, and his story developed into a great one of friendship and redemption in the end. It ended up being the highlight of the end of the series.
That said, this show isn't perfect. Even as someone who loved and enjoyed it, I disliked a trio of supporting cast members at first. I eventually grew to like them a little bit as they started playing a part in the main storyline, but that took a few episodes. The other issue I have is the CGI. At some points I can see where it was necessary, but practically every animal that appears (even if it's a random cat running by) is CG. It's very fake and cartoonish looking, so it took a bit to get used to.
I adored this show, it's a new favorite of mine honestly. However, if you're off-put by eccentricity, love-triangles, and/or quite a few plot twists you might not like it. Even though it's a romcom, there's a complex story behind it, and that's one of the main reasons I enjoyed it so much. This series is best approached with an open-mind, and a willingness to accept that not all is as it appears to be.
I gave it a 9.5/10 as I was interested throughout, and fell in love with the story and characters.
(I also rate heavily based on personal enjoyment)
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