This review may contain spoilers
Story: At first it had an excellent beginning, but when I arrived at the episodes 10-14 it became a bit boring, I have to say that I stopped watching it (I was on holidays and when I came back I felt like I didn't want to continue watching it), since a friend of mine told me that since episode 14 until 17 doesn't happen so much, I just skipped them and continued it since episode 18, at last I found it interesting again. The 3 last episodes were good. The end was preety, but I expected a little different end so I just acquiesced to it.Acting/Cast: It was my first time seeing JoonGi and SooHyuk acting, and wow I specially liked the character of SooHyuk, he suited a lot his character of devil vampire, I think he was the most interesting of the story, specially I found so sad his story... JoonGi and YuBi were a cute couple, but sometimes I got desperate because they weren't moving forward. About ChangMin, I don't have something to tell about him, I had already saw him in 'Paradise Ranch' and I liked his acting. I saw YuBi in 'Pinnochio' and since there I liked her, of course her character somehow sometimes was a bit passive so I will just look the other way. SoEun's character was a bit hateful but I also appreciated her when lots of episodes proceeded.The best one was HeeJin, even if she had a supporting role, I found her acting very impressive, ****[SPOILER SPOILER: at beginning I thought she could be evil, but she was so lovely END SPOILER]****
Music: I really loved the music, I even donwloaded all of the tracks. All of the songs suited each scenes.
Rewatch Value: I would think about seeing it again, because of the episodes which turned a boring, but I won't say I won't see it again someday, it could happen.
Overall: It's a 6.5/10 because it was quite good, except the episodes I skiped, if they just made the drama shorter it could have a better mark.
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Lee Joon-gi was outstanding as usual and I expected nothing less. He played his character the way I wanted him to - at its finest and doing his best during every minute of the episodes.
This drama served as great entertainment with its magical effect and mystical plot twist. The music was great and made me feel the atmosphere better, it really contributed to the emotions you get while watching. G.NA did quite well!
The one actor that also gave me chills with his extreme handsomeness and skills when it came to acting was Lee Soo-hyuk. I will check another drama or movie of him for sure! His facial expressions, his professional gait of a real model, his height and his voice are something worth watching. Did I mention his acting talent?! I was convinced after the first few minutes that this casting decision was a good one, as Soo-hyuk portrayed the dark Gwi role brilliantly.
Fortunately, I haven't felt the drama drawn-out, but the acting of the main female role was from time to time, to explain it nicer, annoying or to be more accurate - I felt like Yu-bi was quite annoyed and upset, especially during the kissing scenes. If there are true Joon-gi fans here, they all know that the way he kisses in dramas can make you feel that he's in love with the person he's kissing. But the girls... There's no chemistry here like everywhere else he's playing with some exceptions. On the other hand, you can find chemistry between other characters but I don't want to spoil, the idea's to catch your attention after all.
In addition to everything I wrote, the timeline was exclusively clear! It wasn't hard to tell whether it had been days or months or years that had passed since the last time a given character had been on screen. And I think this is very important when it comes to series.
To sum up, Scholar Who Walks The Night is exciting, creative, dark and at the same time beautiful, magical and unique. It's well worth those 20 hours of your time!
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I planned to see SWWTN even before he was confirmed as the male lead. But when I read that he would play the role of Kim Sungyeol I was happy because I missed him in a drama.
The Story sounds interesting (I didn't read the manhwa) so I was excited for the beginning of July when the drama started. Normally I don't like dramas with Vampires but I thought that it would be different, if it is set in the Joseon period. So I started the drama from beginning when it was aired. The Beginning of the drama was very interesting, but some scenes was a bit...not boring for me, but not so, that I would give it a 10.
The Cast was very good. Lee Joonki plays his role as a Vampire scholar very autenthic and even though I wasn't a fan of him after this drama I would be one. Before this drama I thought already that he is the best when it comes to historical dramas, even though I would love to see him in a drama like 'Two Weeks' again. When I heart that Lee Yoobi would play the female Lead I was sceptical. I watched Pinocchio and there I found her very annoying. But I think she did very well and the Chemistry was very good. Kim Soeun is a very talented actress, but her role was a little bit confusing. Changmin surprised me with his role as the crown Prince. He acted very well compared to his drama 'Paradise Ranch'. Jang Heejin and Choi Taehwan did their rifht thing and were well, too.
But what I like the most of this drama is the Music. I love the OST. All of them. In my opinion it is the best OST in a drama this year.
All in all I would recommend the drama and I will watch it again, if my 'plan to watch'-List is smaller^^.
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This review may contain spoilers
A lot of people seem to complain about this drama and I can see why. The acting is pretty average, not awful at all but not that great either: just good enough to get across the general emotions. (Though this changes for each actor! In particular I loved Sung ChangMin's acting. When he cried he literally cried: red swollen eyes and all! The main villain is pretty badass too). While the story is...more interesting than usual, but more in the way of a rollercoaster: some bits were very predictable, while other bits had me sat on the edge of my seat in anticipation. I think with some tweaks here and there I would've given this drama a 9/10 instead of a 7.5/10. The general story has great potential, and though I personally wasn't pleased with the 'end of the ending' (for reasons I can't say due to spoilers!) a lot of people were.
So...don't treat it too harshly and you'll be in for a good watch.
I have no regrets at all about starting this drama. In fact, it was this drama which broke my vampire-drama-ickiness! (I don't know why, but I usually find them really...'cringey'.) It isn't the best drama out there but it is certainly worth your time! I know I've definitely got a special place for it in my memory.
Thank you, 'Scholar Who Walks the Night', for breaking my vampire drama prejudice!
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The acting was 7/10 and the cinematography is 8/10. It was close but I wont deny that I liked the plot. Overall, it was 8/10.
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Vampire behind the Throne
For me, I must admit that Lee Joon Gi is the reason I watch this and have to bear watching till the end. I am his fan.The opening is interesting, after Ep. 4 things got too boring. I skipped the boring scene all the time. Many people said the bad storyline put down this show but I do not agree. The story itself got some good points but the scriptwriter messes many scenes to the stupid boring of the female heroine. Her role always shows her innocent and mistakes. I should be ok if it is only one or two times, but this was like too many stupid loops running. Girl, I am so sorry, you are annoying.
Things get better after Ep 12 to14 and yet I still have to skip. It became my routine for this show.
Acting:
I tell you Gwi (Lee Soo Hyuk) has his vampire aura and I don't skip is his scenes. I gave him 9.5/10.
I saw some reviews that said Lee Joon Gi and the female heroine got good chemistry. I am like "what, really" what is he saw in her to make him love her.
LJG acting for this show I score 8/10, he did a much better job in the other shows.
For the second female lead, Kim So Eun, I like her role much more. Mostly because her role is complicated, sad, deep and she makes no stupid mistake. The development of this character is well done. She and Gwi hit the top point for the talking after killing.
I think the whole drama should be made for 10 episodes long and cut the stupid scenes.
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Amazing Villain Who Stole The Show
This is already my second review titled "Amazing Villain Who Stole The Show" and it's even more true in this case. I was not a fan of this show, I'll be upfront about it. Let's break down some pros and cons, shall we?PRO
- Gwi was an amazing villain and Lee Soo Hyuk stole the f*cking show with him. His scenes are so consistently beautiful to look at and his arc is so good that I was wondering sometimes if the whole show was written around him.
- I love the idea of a vampire story set in Joseon. I love vampires, I'm onboard with everything having to do with vampires.
- Quite enjoyable side characters. And there's a lot of them. And they all give decent performances. Special shout out to my girl Soo Hyang (played by Jang Hee Jin), and Lee Yoon (played by Changmin, who did a surprisingly solid job).
- I liked how this show looked overall. Great costumes, lots of night time scenes (which I like) and, again, Gwi looks great in every scene he's in. I know I'm repeating myself but I cannot overstate to you how sexy Lee Soo Hyuk is in this drama. There's a scene where he's splattered in blood, staring sadly into the middle distance, if you need anymore convincing to do what I did and skip through everything else and just watch his parts.
CON
- If it hadn't been for Gwi I would not have been able to finish this show. I couldn't have done this without him. And for that I'll be forever grateful to my president, vampire overlord Gwi.
- Everyone spoke incredibly slow and the shots lingered a little too long in almost every scene. To fill screentime I presume?? It was weird and awkward.
- The main couple was completely miscast, had no chemistry and were outshone by about every side character. I don't think Lee Yoo Bi was very good in this, I felt like she was phoning it in, but I've never seen her in anything else, so I don't know whether she's a more competent actor usually. Lee Joon Ki was better, but not by much. But at least he gave a decent performance. You could tell he was trying but no trying in the world would lead to these two people having any kind of chemistry and I was left wondering what the casting director was thinking putting these two together. It didn't help that Lee Joon Ki looks like he's 40 and Lee Yoo Bi looks like she could 15 and that he was constantly scolding her and ordering her around like your mom's new boyfriend drunk on power.
- The romance was terrible. I hated seeing the two leads together. And yes, this point is different from the last because this time I'm talking about the writing. By the end Lee Yoo Bi's character had barely any relevance and up until that point all they had been in together were incredibly clichéd romance scenes which you've seen a hundred times in other dramas.
- By the end it was so convoluted and I was wondering whether the screenwriters had any idea where they were going anymore. They seemed to have about four post-it notes with vague scene ideas in front of them that they kept cycling through several times per episode: "Someone gets hurt and has to be nursed back to health in a romantic way", "Gwi looking sexy and menacing (let's put effort into this guys!!)", "someone's scheming inside the palace", "the peasants are dissatisfied" and "side characters explaining what's going on and how everybody feels about that." It got very boring very quickly.
Conclusion: Watch this if you're into the vampire master brand of evil sexiness and skip everything else.
But that's just my two cents.
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The story was OK. I think it could have been shorter and there really wasn't enough going on to sustain the length of the show. If you like a vampire story it's solid, but it had so much potential. There are plenty of slow episodes that could have been done away with and we could have more information about Kim Sung Yeol at the end.
Lee Soo Hyuk was excellent. I've only seen him in HSK and I hated him, but this role really suits him and he revels in it. If you're a fan of his, definitely watch this drama, you'll love the scope he's given and what he does with it, he's absolutely mesmerising to watch and plays his character perfectly.
I've never seen Shim Chang Min in anything before. He played his character believably and put in good work, he was likable when he should be likeable and horrible when he should be horrible. I cared about him too.
Kim So Eun. I'm adding her to the list of women capable of playing good strong accomplished characters. She was exceptional and so was Jang Hee Jin who i really didn't like in the beginning but by the end I really wanted her to be happy and I was proud of her and her hard work.
Lee Yu Bi is solid as Jo Yang Seon. There's nothing too special about her. At first I thought she was a bit too much like Park Shin Hye in You're Beautiful, but then she settled into her character and I really cared about her by the end.
Now, Lee Joon Gi. Sigh. He's either over-acting (screaming, crying and writhing) or not acting at all (staring). The only reason I cared about him at all is because I wanted Jo Yang Seon to be happy. I'm pretty sure the king says as much at some point. I'm SO GLAD HE WENT TO THE MILITARY INSTEAD OF PLAYING CHOI YOUNG IN FAITH. I felt like he was trying to mimic that character and the way Lee Min Ho played it instead of making Kim Sung Yeol his own, and it's sad, because we all know he can act.
Overall, there was so much potential here and one of the best bad guys ever and it's such a shame that it wasn't enough to make this drama good enough. As for the ending...sigh - without giving anything away, there's just no excuses for that kind of mediocrity. no excuses at all. Cut the guff from the middle and use that time to make a proper end.
The music was all over the place. Too loud, too mediocre, used inappropriately. I found it annoying when it should have been contributing to my feelings towards characters and plot points.
While I don't regret watching this drama, I won't ever re-watch it.
I'll recommend this drama for people who are fans of any of the actors except Lee Joon Gi. Otherwise, just skip it and spend your time on something better.
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Vampire Diaries
The poorly written prologue wasn't a good sign going into this drama. The leads didn't develop their relationship naturally, most of what we got to signify their romance was long dreamy stares. That's pure lazy writing. This what their romance was based off which made it hard to care about their romance, let alone their unmatched chemistry. If we were to ignore the romance, then we are left with the vampires which were equally lacking. The pacing of the storyline seemed uneven, resulting in moments of sluggishness followed by rushed progress. The bad guy barely showed up in the first half. Although I didn't expect much but the ending was just too boring.Was this review helpful to you?
So now that the fangirling is over.... This story starts pretty boring. However, by episode 6, things start to pick up and by episode 8, it gets really interesting. However, there were moments it dragged and I skipped scenes looking for Gwi who is the most interesting, and smartest character in the show. His intelligence compared to the other characters would blow you away.
After the story picked up, things went well. I liked Lee Joon Ki - his portrayal is good as always. However, there were some moments I found myself thinking he should take vampire lessons from Gwi. Acting lessons too - which is strange and taboo because he is a veteran actor! Also, his romance with Lee Yu Bi is flat. The viewer never really cares what happens in that romance. They keep watching for the outcome of the mission.
Also, a bone to pick with the writers - Lee Yu Bi's character is pretty smart,, outgoing, and fearless when she is dressed as a male. However, put her in female clothing and her intelligence and bravery hits -5. Not even 0, but -5. Why is that? What are they trying to imply? Given that, Lee Yu Bi's character turned out pretty lacklustre and you forget to care what happens to her. Sad when you don't care for your main leads much and cheer for the villain through all 20 episodes.
The acting by all the leads and supporting cast were awesome. They all carried their characters well. Shin Chang Min took about 3 episodes to really get the acting straightened out, and Lee Joon Ki's vampire was laughable in the beginning, but they got waay better by episode 10. Only thing - those baring teeth by Lee Joon Gi was boring. He could never do it as smooth or believable as Gwi. Plus, this was his only vampire mode. I mean...really?
I also loved Kim So Eun's and Jang Hee Jin's characters. Sure, there was a time in the beginning I didn't like Soo Hyang, but she develops nicely. Hye Ryung too. Their character developments were well done. Sung Yeol and Yang Sun's characters did not develop but remained flat. Maybe that way why the romance fell flat. That and the lack of chemistry. However, their acting were perfect. The script's characters were the problem.
I would not rewatch because... read the above. The story was pretty boring. I just watched for all the actors. This story would fail as a book.
The music... was laughable. In the first few episodes, I was hoping they would fire the music consultant. Happy music in killing scenes, up-beat tones for sadness etc. You'd go crazy, so go with care. I think they changed the consultant though, because it does get better at around ep 7.
I would advise to watch this for the actors and the scenery. If you can pull through the first 5 episodes, you might like the story. I watched for Gwi so I regret nothing. I'm a lifelong fan of His Prettiness Lee Soo Hyuk now. He makes evil look so hot for 20 episodes. I never lost my zeal for Gwi because of his amazing portrayal.
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