I stumbled across this drama never thinking I would really like it that much I had read the synopsis in MDL & was intrigued, anyway I was hooked from the first episode (which is rare). The main actors played their roles really well sweet without being saccharine.
What I liked best about it was the story yes its a a makjang & if you don't like that then steer clear, I personally love makjangs :D
The story had twists & turns & always kept you glued to your seat breathless with anticipation as to what would happen next. I found myself shouting at the screen at the near misses/missed opportunities for the protagonists & I am sure you will as well.
The whole look of the drama looks a little dated (fashion wise) as it is from 2004 but that didn't really phase me.
I have given a low score to the music simply because it wasn't particularly memorable to me.
Also a low re-watch score as I rarely re-watch dramas as I have too many to watch on my Plan To Watch List.
If you like dramatic, fast-paced storylines with lots of cliff hangers & good acting then this is the drama for you.
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Save the last dance is melodramatic so don’t expect yourself to smile all throughout the episodes because, I’m warning you in advance, you won’t. There would be action scenes in which I have noticed in most Korean melodrama series, they never cease to insert any fist-fighting-kick-ass-moves to make a statement that this is where all troubles began. Then after all these, the romantic moments come in along with conflicts.
The story revolves around two different people who have an entirely different family background: Kang Hyun Woo get’s the dose of amnesia, while Ji Eun Soo helps him recover his memories. In that period of time, romance blossoms and when things were going smoothly for both of them something tragic happens in Eun Soo’s end. Then the plotline gets pretty much out of this world after that.
I like how the story ran not letting you know what would happen next. The twist and turns at the ending and the portrayal of the characters were a bit refreshing after watching too much rom-com with predictable sub-plots. It’s quite amusing to see them running around, chasing something which may or may not be there because in truth, they’re just confusing themselves for the things they’ve done to each other.
Another highlight of this drama is the sound track. If it’s possible to be in love just because of a song… then I was probably already in love when I was watching this drama. The main theme song had a very nice composition and the lyrics (yes it was translated to English as well, that’s how good the song is) was simply love.
What made me recommend this drama are the story line and its romantic moments. That hooked me into the drama big time, then throw in the OST, ah… just perfect.
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I just finished watching it, so I'm still a bit disappointed that it seemed a bit redundant towards the end.
But overall it's an OK drama:it's interesting from the beginning;
you get charmed by the romance, even more so thanks to the beautiful theme song; the pull to go on and see what's going to happen (even though at times you can easily predict it)is somewhat strong; the actors aren't so bad and lastly taking into consideration that it was aired in 2004, when the dramas seemed to be a bit more exaggerated than now, I think that it's not a bad drama.
I got annoyed by the plot at times, but the overall feeling made up for it.
So I didn't fall in love with it, but it wasn't bad either.
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The story was really nice from the beginning to the end, I love how they met and how their relationship developed. To me this drama depicted the true "strength" of love - no matter what other people were telling them to do, they stayed true to their feelings. The poor guy (Ji Sung) loses his memory twice in this drama lol, the first is how he got to meet (Eugene)'s character, and the second time is when he forgot about her and the life he lived with her, when she comes back into his life however - the feelings are still there and it is beautiful to see how they are drawn to each other again (obviously she knows who he is, it's just him that doesn't remember).
Like there is on other dramas like: Stairway to Heaven, Tree of Heaven, 49 Days ectra - there is a significant necklace that holds their memories <3
Cast: is amazing, Ji Sung played his role really well and he was the handsomest I've ever seen him in a drama (p.s - this is also the drama where he met his wife Lee Bo Young). Eugene plays her role exceptionally well too (been a fan of hers longer than his).
Music: is to Live for! my favorite songs (there are 2 versions of each - one in Korean and one in English): Give My Love and Our Love Will Always Last by: Edward Chun - they are beautiful in both versions <3
Re-watch Value: is a sure thing - since I've already re-watched it and can re-watch it again anytime <3
The title of this drama is revealed somewhere in the middle of the drama - it's really neat (and based of the original song)
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This drama is melodrama personified.
The story started out with great promise, but quickly got derailed by ridiculous, nonsensical plot devices (I mean, how many damn time can one person disappear?), unreasonable character behaviours (faced with a problem? Don't stick around and deal with it - disappear!), convenient changes to the story line to suit the writer's purpose. Needless to say, such changes did not make a lick of sense to the over all set up of the story thus far.
The writers certainly did not appear to be writing with thinking people in mind since they pretty much went on a rampage of insulting the average viewer's intelligence and common sense.
With the exception of Ryu Soo Young, the acting was exaggerated and unengaging, but I'm not sure if this is due to the actors being bad performers or if it's just the bad material they were given to work with. I have a sneaking suspicion it is the latter rather than former. Whichever it was, the heroine and her perfectly flawed reasoning for doing the dumb sh-- she does got on my nerves. The hero wasn't much better. At the beginning of the show I was really drawn to his rebellious streak -- he was doing his own thing whether his family approved or not, but as the show progressed he became this wimp of a man who allowed others to yank him around like a puppet on a string.
The only notable performance was that of Ryu Soo Young who was surprisingly good at portraying the ruthless, tortured antagonist. I had previously seen him in 18 vs 29, a drama in which he played a cute, wholesome guy next door type. It was a role I thought suited him well, but his spin in Save the Last Dance For Me made me look at him in a new light. In fact, there were times when I wished his character was the lead, and not just because he's cute and I have a major crush on him, but because he was so much more interesting than our limp noodle hero. Because of him and a few of the supporting cast members I'll give acting/cast a 7.
I probably would not have cared about all the absurdities that take place in this drama if the romance was solid enough to distract me from it. But as soon as the characters had a moment of happiness some nonsense would occur to tear them apart.
Ironically enough, though, this show was like a train wreck you just couldn't look away from no matter how ugly it was. With all the eye rolling I did it's a wonder my damn eyes aren't permanently stuck in the back of my head.
I can say with a fair amount of certainty that I will not be re-watching this anytime soon, if ever. If you're like me and you can only suspend belief for so long before things start making you go WTF, skip this drama. The ending is satisfying, but overall I don't think it is worth the emotional investment to get there.
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The story is very promising. IT has really great potential and great cast. But as you go on and continue with the story, 70% of it is flat. Meaning, its lacking. 10% for me goes to the first episode which slapped my interest and the remaining 20% goes to a very beautiful few last episodes.
The cast are great if you look at them now but this drama showed that they are not that great wen they were young. The acting for me is forced. It showed a lot of crying but I did not feel the emotion (except for the last few episodes). Aside from that, several scenes showed they're just acting. They don't feel their roles.
The music hit the spot on those last few episodes. IT was playing the whole time through out the drama but it doesn't have the FEELS if you know what I mean.
So all in all, I feel that if there would be a remake of this one, with ji sung and eugene, this will be a big hit.
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The soundtrack to this series is very beautiful. I remember listening it frequently when I was in college. To be honest this is not the first time I re-watched this series. I watched it so many times before but it has been a very long time since then.
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The acting was very well done. Lee Bo Young and Ji Sung have great on-screen chemistry together, especially in the first part. Even though a lot of the scenes were things you saw coming or cliches you've seen before, they were done with such heartfelt emotion that you don't really care.
It definitely has it's flaws, bit I had emotional investment to watch to the very end. Though that being said I doubt I'd sit through the whole thing again. Maybe if they did one of those condensed mini versions like they did on Love Rain? (Which I personally think didn't need any shortening.)
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Really loved it ; but there are some episodes that story line is longer than necessary .
Thumbs up to both male and female leads acting skills.
Ji Sung became my favorite Korean actor :)
Hope he can save the last dance for me >LOL
Review wants me to write 500 characters ; but I am not good at this ; so you better watch yourself and see how hooked you will be come .
Come on make a reply to my review :)
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This review may contain spoilers
According to the year i think it was a real good drama suitable for that daysBut i found it has too much drama,
a lot of no need sacrifices and long illogical events many times
I guess at love stories couple should be happy more than crying most of the time as this one
Lots and lots of selfishness and lots and lots of sacrifices
The many coincidence events to discover the truth wasn't normal and smooth for me
Like when eun soo found hyun woo at the hotel after gaining bk his memory and disappeared and she was searching for
And when he discovered how his ex hide the necklace and
The most important when he discovered eun soo place again and many other events like this ....etc
The character development wasn't good for me
And i saw tae min actions till the end was selfish
Sometimes i felt pity wz him then not
And hyun woo ex was a real crazy selfish B****
And according to the events i thought jung mi is going to marry ho jin
How suddenly he got married to sun young which he wasn't connected to her most of the time
I don't know but this drama was really good to watch once cause starting from ep 16 it raised my temper many times till i was going to break the screen
What bothered me that the end focused only at the main couple dropping the other side stories totally
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All the main leads are good here, acting wise. It really is a makjang drama so there are a lot of scenes that is really frustrating. Scenes of heartbreak is also emphasized in this drama and some scenes that I find questionable but while I was watching this, I felt nostalgic.
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Enjoyable drama
Once in a while, I like to watch older Korean dramas. I think there are certain aspects that are done better than in today's dramas. First of all, there were a lot of events going on in 20 episodes! Yes, there might be some melodramatic moments but I enjoyed it a lot.The acting was good especially from Ji Sung. Eugene was fine. Even though I like a lot Lee Bo Young's acting, she annoyed me here most of the time, because of her character and her pouty expressions every time something didn't go her way.
The music was so beautiful, dramas back then had more meaningful soundtracks, most OSTs now are quite forgettable, this is one I won't forget easily.
Rewatch value - 7, mostly because it was getting dragged in the last part, but overall, it was really worth it!
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