This review may contain spoilers
I'm a little surprised that I watched this entire show, because I was thoroughly disappointed by it early on. Too much of this drama just didn't make sense. First off - let's start with the title. While Yoon Se Na was an honest and well behaved girl, she was not lovely or playful, as many translations of the title says. I don't quite see why all the men wanted to spend time with her, because she really sucked the life out of each encounter she had with other humans. For this I mostly blame the script, and some wooden delivery of it. The show did not make me believe that Se Na actually wanted to be a songwriter, she just seemed coaxed into it by Hyun Wook. It also did not help that almost every secondary plot point was either underplayed or completely disappeared. My Rating: 6.0
In Short: This love story between a boring young girl and a completely unprofessional CEO was truly dull at times and slightly enjoyable at others. The only plot point I enjoyed was lonely idol Shi Woo, though they could have done way more with that as well. SIGH
Pros: The setting is one that I usually enjoy, though it did not feel organic in this show. However, the lighting and filming is really enjoyable, and the dog is cute. The music was also quite good.
Cons: It really bugs me when most of the characters on the show are senior management for some company, and absolutely none of them know how to do their job. Everyone at ANA was unprofessional, and let their personal feelings decide at every turn. Also, the main lead kept his secrets (and lies) for about 8 episodes too long. And the last episode of the show was one of the worst episodes I have ever seen. Somehow, our leading lady was suddenly a complete a-hole for no specific reason.
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Although, I like the actors in this, there was no chemistry between them. It all felt forced and I really couldn't care about the characters or the romance. Krystal isn't a very good actress. I guess the age gap between her and Rain left the skinship to a minimum which left the romance between Se Na and Hyun Wook luke warm at best. L didn't have any chemistry with Krystal either, but at least Shi Woo and Se Na had a camaraderie that was believable.
The music is really good.
I will never rewatch this.
I don't recommend this drama unless you only watch it to see Rain and L...it Isn't even worth it for that to me when Rain and L have been in better dramas .
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Story:
The story is nothing special. It is quite "safe" - a basic love story with predictable high and low notes. My biggest qualm was the attempt to boost the melodrama in the latter part of the drama by the characters making illogical decisions.
Acting/Cast:
Krystal and Rain were an okay couple, but their chemistry was lacking. Also probably due to their huge age gap the drama kept their skinship to a minimum and this further made their chemistry and romance lukewarm. Krystal is extremely young and although she did portray most of the emotions well, I still felt her character was less real compared to Rain´s. All in all the cast was okay, but most of the characters seemed hollow and not very interesting.
Music:
This drama is mostly about music so you would think they would pull out all the stops to push the music, but I only liked one of the songs in the drama. The worst song in the drama was unfortunately the one they played every time something romantic was going on. Of course music is very personal and someone else might enjoy the songs in the drama, but they just weren't for me.
Rewatch Value:
I don´t think I will be watching this drama again. There were no epic love scenes in the drama, nothing especially memorable or exciting.
Review Summary:
I gave this drama 7.5, because it was okay, but it didn't offer anything new. I would recommend this drama to anyone who really watches a LOT of dramas and enjoys either Krystal or Rain. This drama is also a good newbie drama, because it has most of the drama clichés, but it isn't too over the top and it doesn't delve into Korean culture as it feels very global and generic.
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I have never seen her in anything before, but I did NOT like Krystal in this role. I could be wrong, but it seemed like she was trying to emulate Park Shin Hye's acting style, but she did it poorly. The expressionless face, always speaking slowly in the low tones.... only works if your voice is rich and your eyes alone, can express more than one emotion .
I don't know how Korean Culture views this, but I had a big problem with the idea of a girl hooking up with her dead sisters fiance'. It is just not something I can feel sympathetic about. Even if he was my soul-mate and I didn't find out the connection until after I was pregnant with his child.I still wouldn't date my dead sister's boyfriend. lol... okay, I am exaggerating, but you get the idea. That said, the story itself would not have been as much of an issue, if the Chemistry between the leads was even remotely believable.
On a side note: I enjoyed L in this part, I hope to see him as a romantic Lead in the future. I also always love the second lead female in everything she is in, and would love to see her as the lead in a noona romance... maybe with L. That would be worth the watch.
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Though I wouldn't deny there were a few unnecessary sub-plots that didn't really add much to the show, and in all honesty just filled up the gaps, but I'm willing to overlook those for the sake of the love story that was being shown. I liked the story. It seemed realistic and plausible. The characters in themselves were quite real in my opinion, I can almost believe that this was a real story. Sure, there aren't many thrilling or omg moments in the story, but it is still very endearing at a core level.
The romance in the show was the key point that kept me hooked. I forgot I was watching Rain, Krystal, L or any other actor, I was just looking at the characters in the story. Some found the coupling of Hyun Wook and Se Na quite odd, which is surprising because they played their parts quite well. We have a thiry-something old guy who's just coping with the loss of his love and a young twenty-something sister of that guy's love, who in a turn of events fall in love with each other. Obviously you cannot expect it to be a typical by-the-book romance. There are too many emotions, too many things between them to have a carefree love story. But what you do have is a fundamentally understanding and loving relationship. It doesn't always have to be heady, some love stories are just plain sweet.
I'm going to admit I started watching the show because of Rain. The story was interesting but, Rain pulled me in. I loved watching him act, and since there's no doubt in his acting prowess I will not elaborate on that scene. This was the first time I heard of Krystal (I'm not an avid KPop follower) and was intrigued. I wouldn't say she's really good, or bad, just that she played her character well. It could have easily turned into a whiny annoying damsel in distress sort of a portrayal but she did better than my expectations (which were very low to begin with but anyway). L was okay. Frankly he seemed out of his skin sometimes, acting is definitely something he'll have to work on. I'm not judging him, I haven't heard his music, cannot comment on him there, just stating my opinion about his acting. The rest of the cast was fine, nobody stood out really.
I loved the music! It felt fresh and heart-warming. Krystal's voice in her song was too sharp for my taste earlier but it grew on me. But the song 'I Want you' was.. magical. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I hear it. It's a song that makes you want to be in love. The show's got a good OST overall. Worth listening.
Although I enjoyed watching the series, I wouldn't say I'd watch it again. For some reason, it feels like a story that I've heard and which I'll definitely remember, but repeating it might take away it's beauty. I don't know if I make sense, but there are some stories that I just read or watch once and then never again even if they're quite amazing. I want to relish in the feel of the first watch or read. Makes them more real, like something I might have actually witnessed in my life which won't repeat itself in the future. Makes me want to remember all of it.
All in all I'd say I was smitten with the show throughout the airing. I loved watching the actors, I loved how the story unfolded, I forgot about the cliches, I forgot about what's right what's wrong, all I focused on was the fact that love prevailed no matter what and that Hyun Wook and Se Na deserved to be happy together.
It's a lovely story, which deserves to be seen. But my unbiased verdict would be to watch it only and only if you're willing to keep an open mind and not get into the bog of what's right and what's wrong and what should have been done and how. Also, if you want an exciting and thrilling romance, this show is not for you. What we have here is a calm and ordinarily paced story that feels true to life. It's not everybody's cup of tea. I'd recommend it to the true romantics though.
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This review may contain spoilers
I have such mixed feelings regarding this series which my ratings pretty much reflect... here goes...>>>The Story/Writing (6 out of 10):
I'm likely to be in the minority, but there came a point where I just didn't like the writing and felt it went horribly wrong. The first half of the series was pretty decent, you have the set up for the love triangle, what I call the "Other Chick", "Other Guy" (which are just the secondary leads, but that's my lingo) and the "Other Other Guy" (the jerk that no one likes who is in love with the "Other Chick"), and the heartbreaking past of our hero and heroine and how fate steps in to bring them together. Everything is going pretty on par with what's expected and then inexplicably our hero just goes nuts. Not literally, but there are two major "WTF?!" moments for me where I was literally yelling "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? WAEEEEE?!" I was so flabbergasted that I just couldn't even anymore. I can't really say anymore without using spoilers, but by the end of the series, I no longer liked the "hero", Hyun Wook. To be fair, the drama deals with what is apparently a very taboo subject in Korea and so it was hard for me to wrap my mind around what was so wrong.
Regardless, I felt the writers wrote themselves into a corner with the hero and then chose to completely disregard his actions to concentrate on another obstacle for the main couple only to completely disregard THAT in the end, a la Heirs (don't even get me started on that series.... I'm afraid to even review that for fear of the hordes of rabid Lee Min Ho fan girls that would come tearing into my doors and reverse defenestrating). It's not even that this show really suffered from the usual problem writers seem to have of how to effectively end a series, but more with it not making sense due to refusing to tackle the real problem, which was the hero's lies and actions regarding his lies. I didn't have secondary lead syndrome, though it begs the question, was the hero trying to force the viewers into it at some points. I felt the "Other Guy", Shi Woo was one of the best secondary leads I've seen in a while, which made the ending that much more of a I can't even.
>>>The Acting/Cast (7 out of 10):
The biggest draw for me was of course Jung Ji-Hoon (Rain) because I loved him in "Full House"(2004), and I recently started watching "Sang Doo, Let's Go To School" (2003) which started to grow on me. Rain is just bursting with charisma (and of course there's the part where he's really easy on the eyes) and he is seriously a talented entertainer and actor... which is why I feel bad that this was his first drama in 4 years. I feel bad because the writers ruined his character, Hyun Wook. Rain can definitely act and I hope to see him in a lighter rom-com because while he's great at intense, I enjoy his humorous side more, less of Broody Mcbrooderson.
I really liked Krystal in "Heirs" combined with her onscreen boyfriend Yoon Chan Yeong (played by the ever adorable Kang Min Hyuk). They were great and what carried that show for me. Now in My Lovely Girl, I'm not sure if it was the fault of the director or that the role was just to big for Krystal to carry, but I felt like her character, Se Na, had little to no romantic chemistry with Hyun Wook, the love of her life. Some called her the Korean Kristen Stewart, but I wouldn't go THAT far (I would if we are talking about Park Gyu Ri from Nail Shop Paris of Horrors though - if you want to know how I REALLY feel please see my review on that atrocity). I felt like Se Na unlike most female leads was more introverted, she didn't bawl when she got emotional, she shed silent tears, you could tell she was holding it in. To be fair though, she said a lot of things that never quite matched her actions though. I would've liked to see more passion towards her man, a little less talk a little more action please (and by that I don't mean sexy times...though there' wouldn't be anything wrong with some lovin').
I'm not going to go through each character, but I think I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Kim Myung Soo (L), as Shi Woo. I liked him in "Master's Sun" (2013); as young Joong Won where I first saw him and I'm looking forward to seeing him in "Shut Up Flower Boy Band" (2012) once I get the chance. His character made the most growth and made the most sense throughout and he was great at portraying that. He starts off as you'd imagine an immature idol would, but he definitely matured leaps and bounds by the end and the lead, Hyun Wook should've been taking notes.
I felt the rest of the cast could've been filled by just about any good actor, no one else really stood out - though some were enjoyable to watch.
>>>The Music (5 out of a 10):
For a show about the music industry it was just a bit ho-hum for me. Not bad, it was nice, but nothing I felt I really needed to download or even really stuck in my head.
>>>Re-watch Value (1 out of 10):
I will not re-watch or recommend this drama to anyone. I'm not saying it's an entire waste or anything. Some people, actually, the majority seem to love this drama, but in a sea of dramas I feel this easily gets lost and there's nothing special about it.
>>>Overall (6.5 out of 10):
I didn't feel like I wasted my time watching this, the last 5 or so episodes I was really struggling. I guess not so much with the last two because the thing that bothered me the most that most viewers didn't even seem to think it was a thing, I just decided to pretend didn't happen. But I feel that if you are forced to do that, the writing is pretty bad. Part of me wanted the two to be together, but I think that had more to do with liking Rain, and not at all liking the character he was portraying... which is what makes me wonder if that's the reason so many viewers were so forgiving of the things his character said and did, simply because they were seeing Rain and not Hyun Wook. Or perhaps, trust is not something they find as important in a relationship as I do. I don't know, but I was not really happy with the ending and found the last episode to be fluff that fell completely flat, rather than tying up loose ends of the plot....and some pretty important ones too. Again though, I won't be recommending or re-watching this, but I am looking forward to see Kim Myung Soo and Rain in their next dramas because they are really good actors that deserve a good characters to portray within a good solid story.
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This review may contain spoilers
I'm not really going to bash this show so much, Honestly I could give it a lower rating I get that, but it was an OK show. Story: The story of this centers around a music making company, mainly it being the romance between the producer, and he new rising songwriter. That the basic gist of I'm really can't go into much detail due to trying not to go into spoiler territory. The story I give a 7
Acting/Cast: I have a lot to say about the cast this time around. This was my first Rain drama, which I see now why many people love him. He a great actor, and I want to see him in more dramas after this. Krystal was the main female lead, and I was like OK with her performance. L the last guy I want o over with his performance, I like his character which made his performance great. The acting/cast I give a 9.5.
Music: For music their was really nothing that captured my attention. L song in the show was great though, and that was really great to hear. The music I give an 8.5.
Re Watch/ Overall: For a re watch value, I give it an 2, I will probably never re watch this. An overall value though is a 9, at least see if you can watch this once.
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I watched it when it was airing. I'm re-watching it now. And I'm enjoying it again.
This is the case, when acting is, well I admit, not good. Especially Rain is awkward in this role.
But the drama is made so good, easy, and heartwarming. There are not much of awkward tragedies, fightings, jerks, which I hate in dramas. Well, there are still jerk characters which i can't stand and just scroll their scenes. But it doesn't really spoil the heartwarming impression of the drama. It's not heavy and not overfilled with useless scenes.
Kim Myung Soo's and Krystal's acting is quite great! I'm not a fan on these idols, but I loved them in this drama. I'm not a fan of Rain as well, but I don't really like him here (let him be just a model or an action actor, but romantic... omg is awkward for him). But it's still okay, as his character is quite fine person.
Cha Ye Ryeon is also one the best in this drama. And the dog... It's really great to add such a beautiful dog in the cast!
In spite of its flaws this drama have got a great director, artist and other creators team who made it still really enjoyable. This is the most important in any drama for me. Though I don't know anything about the team, but I can see their work:
This is just a light drama to rest your mind when you need some fresh and sweet air ;)
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Cons: Bad Story, Bad match between Crystal & Rain. The age difference made the chemistry bad. It is also creepy whenever Rain see's the older sister in the beginning when it is actually the younger sister present. As a person from the U.S., I also felt that the taboo of not being able to date the younger sister because he had a relationship with the older sister was frustrating to watch.
The romance got better towards the latter part of the show, but the ending was also fustrating to watch. I recently disovered that most Korean dramas seem to have this ending where usually the female lead disappears for a while and the guy is helpless to find her. Most of the time it works to make the ending more dramatic and the reunion sweeter, but not this time. Just pissed me off.
Overall, loved Rain, Crystal was just ok, she was better in HEIRS, disappointed not much music in a drama about the music industry. Feel Good Value in the End: 7 out of 10. Rewatch value: 7
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The plot started out all right, Yoon Se Na was a girl with fire inside of her, but she had to suppress that fire in order to survive. Then Hyun Wook comes along and pushes her buttons because he's an arrogant little CEO who loves his dog more than most guys love their girlfriends. She explodes at him, he explodes at her, nuclear war between two very angry people. Then OOPS, wow! Turns out Se Na is his dead girlfriend's little sister he's been looking for for so long! Not that he did anything to make her hate him forever or anything...aaaaand we end the scene with Hyun Wook staring at Se Na across the street with tears in his eyes and Se Na glaring at him no doubt cussing him out in her head. I mean honestly it wasn't anything special, but I had expected it to get better from there. Little did I know, it completed flat-lined. And then from there complete plummetation. Which is not a word, but let's make it one. First came the Hyun Wook Tries to Win Se Na's Heart stage which lasted roughly about 2 episodes, then comes the Cute Fuzzy Mutual Happiness stage which lasted about 2 episodes. Finally, the stage you've all been waiting for: Hyun Wook and Se Na Pine For Each Other and Cause Unnecessary Drama and Pain. Essentially the rest of the drama until the last 3 episodes. Literally entire episodes were spent on them just pining for each other. Writers, is that REALLY necessary. We get it. Oh, boo hoo, they miss each other. Please get to the point.
I'm not sure if it's because Krystal's never gotten a role like this before, but WOW was Yoon Se Na blegh. I don't think of Krystal as a particularly bad actress, so I'll just peg this one as not so great writing. In the first three episodes, Se Na was an interesting character with a spine and passion for music. She was sad when she needed to be, and she was mad when she needed to be. Oh and most importantly, she had human emotions. Then as the drama progressed it's like she went on living throwing away an emotion a day. By the end of the drama she basically cried all the time and was overall just an emotionless soul sucking robot. Also, can we just take a moment to realize that even towards the end of the drama she kept on calling him AHJUSSI? Ahjussi. Ah. Ju. Ssi. That's what you would call someone twice, thrice, four times your age. Not the person you like. I mean, yes age difference but Oppa exists for a reason and so does Hyun Wook ssi. Another one of the many reasons why this drama was a bit uncomfortable to watch is the blatantly obvious taboo. She's his dead girlfriend's sister. Not only girlfriend, but also dead. Not just dead, but dead with the thought that he had been cheating on her. Their last moments together were spent fighting, and now he goes and falls in love with her sister. It's just not right. I know there's all those sayings like love prevails in the end, or love finds a way, but this is a bit...The one and only beacon of light that kept me watching was Shi Woo. He was straightforward and charismatic. He liked her and he was upfront about his feelings. He didn't beat around the bush, just went ahead and pursued her and that is what I like. Hyun Wook should take notes. Overall, Myungsoo did a great job with this character. It was so obvious, that Shi Woo and Se Na had two oceans more chemistry than Se Na and Hyun Wook, yet Se Na STILL ended up with Hyun Wook. Why is the drama cliché to always have the two main leads end up together? It should have been obvious to the writers that Shi WooxSe Na had more chemistry, yet they still stuck to the classic ending? Speaking of the ending, I can't even review it because I don't know what the hell happened. It just. Boom. End Scene. Cut off abruptly, no explanation. Roll the credits. Byethanksforwatching. I just. No.
There was nothing particularly special about the music really. The only song I really wanted was the song Shi Woo sang for Se Na as a guide, but I couldn't find that anywhere. :(
If I were to rewatch this, it would be for the cute moments between Se Na and Shi Woo. This drama overall was just a bust on SBS's part. I find that SBS can either come out with REEEEALLY great dramas like City Hunter, My Love From The Star, and Pinocchio, or REEEALLY bad dramas that had good potential like the Heirs or My Lovely Girl. I wouldn't recommend it for experienced watchers, but if you're just starting out, try this one to kind of test your palette. It'll make it easier to compare to other dramas in terms of how good of a drama it actually is.
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Story: About a guy who falls for his prior girlfriends younger sister...
Cast: Lee Hyun Wook (Rain) the main reason I watched this drama and the best thing about this drama - Rain's acting is always top-notch, I loved the way he dressed on this drama and his hairstyle was attractive too <3 He was very compassionate and caring & had good business sense. His acting alone was a 9/10 at least. Yoon Se Na (Krystal) her acting is really weak (she needs to hone her skills) I liked her during most of the drama until the last few episodes where she started to irritate me by acting the way she did (I blame the writers) She had relatively good chemistry with Rain until the show got a bit too melodramatic where I believe her acting falls short in this department... Dal Bong (yes it's the dog) I loved him, such a cutie pie <3 Shi Woo (L or Myungsoo) I liked him early on when he had the blonde hair but after he dyed his hair his personality changed a bit and I found myself irritated with him constantly praising himself...Bae Sung Jin (Alex) a.k.a Lee Hyun Wooks best friend - I really liked him, he was a good supporting character who knew how to dress^^ He truly cared for Hyun Wook as a friend. The rest of the cast are fine but nothing worth mentioning (some of them I never understood and some of them had pointless storylines..)
Music: Nothing spectacular, nothing memorable, nothing I'd want to download or listen to...just ok.
Re-watch Value: 2/10 - I don't think I'd re-watch this drama...
Overall: rating 7.8/10 - I enjoyed this drama all except for episodes 14 & 16 (the two episodes where I found Se Na to be irritating). If the writers had more sense this drama could have gotten a higher rating from me - If they wouldn't have made the last few episodes a bit slow and melo - I personally would have liked to see more sweet cute and fun moments together between the leads - rather than the depressing feeling I got...
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I am not overly familiar with L from infinite and his previous acting but, I liked his acting here and the fact he was a second lead I did not mind overall and I even felt bad for on occasion. Krystal was great at acting and although her character was different than Heirs I enjoyed it pretty well.
The cast on dramalist does not include DalBong the dog of Rain's character, but, it should. I really enjoyed the dog's acting and I was sad the dog was not in the whole drama. Hoya is not really a supporting cast, but, more of a cameo appearance for a few episodes and Na Hae Ryung is the same way so, please don't watch just to see them.
I have no clue why they put Na Hae Ryung in the begining credits. But, although the acting was not bad, the plot lacked something, mostly logic. In the begining, the plot wasn't so bad, but, as it went gradually on it got worse and it got boring at times.
The last episode was really boring and skipped a lot that I thought might have been cool to see. The thing about this drama is there is a lot of classic Kdrama scenes, for example: hit by white truck scene, hand grabbing escape from bad guys/ loan shark scenes, and the classic try to stop me before I leave scene.
These are not bad in themselves and I usually enjoy these scenes but, this drama made them feel overused and overdone. I would personally only watch certain parts from this drama ever again, mostly scenes with the dog. It had a lot of good teasers and stuff for it, but, I felt it did not live up to it. But, if you want to watch Rain, I recommend at least watching some of this drama for him, because he is awesome!
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