The plot is quite ridiculous honestly. It makes little or no sense. However, the cast is lovely and the main actress played her role quite well. I have seen her works previously and trust me, she has improved immensely here. This was a drama for me in which I stopped caring about the romance after midway. The murder mystery and villain was what it was all about! The villain is damn good and it helps that he was so, so attractive to look at. :D
This drama had some high-riding moments where you'd wonder who did what and why. A lot of things were wonderfully executed. For me this drama was a solid 9-9.5 till the last four episodes where things happened out of the blue.
This drama is no different from any other Kdrama because like every drama out there, it starts out with a bang and ends leading upto nowhere.
The OST was nice to listen to. It wasn't my favourite but it wasn't bad either.
I recommend this drama to people who don't mind mindless fun. Watch the first couple of episodes to judge if you like it or not.
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Story wise, it's unique. The whole seeing smells is something I never would've thought would work but it was all written in extremely well in my opinion. There was plenty of suspenseful scenes throughout the whole drama which kept me hooked for at least 14 episodes. I'd say overall the story was planned nicely, some things were left dry but had they gone into anything more there would've been more then 16 episode, and I think 16 episode was just enough for this drama.
Cast I really, really loved. I liked Yoochun and Se Kyung as the leads (heard people aren't fond of her acting but most like her in this) Their chemistry was enjoyable to watch, especially their comedic scenes. But what really made this drama was Goong Min and all the other character actors. I've never seen a drama with Goong Min and boy did he impress me. He played his character so perfectly it'll be hard for me not to imagine Kwon Jae Hee whenever I see him. The police force was always entertaining to watch. Jin Seo's serious character fit in too well with the three detectives, though they were somewhat useless at time, they were much needed comic relief at other times.
Music wise, I can't really remember much, just the music they always used for Kwon Jae Hee (which I weirdly liked) but OSTs weren't anything to remember.
Overall it was a good drama but nothing to be wow'd about. Unfortunately the last few episodes were kind of a disappointment considering how good the 13ish episodes were, hence the low score. I felt after a while they geared away from Cho Rim's ability and it was hardly used like I thought it would be. Even with the disappointment, I don't regret watching this, and I would recommend people give this drama a try. It's also nice that it's only 16 episodes so anyone could really plow through this drama.
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Plot: The biggest issue in the plot is probably the pacing. In the first half of the drama, the pacing is fast. Things happen every episode and the plot moves quickly. And then around the halfway point.. the writing loses steam. I think it’s a shame. When basing your drama off a comic, you already have the source material available. You know beforehand where the story is going. I think they could’ve planned this a bit better and divided the revelations a bit more equally over the episodes. In that way, the drama would’ve been a lot more consistent in its pacing. As it is, it’s mostly the first half of the drama that was gripping, pacing-wise. Sadly it also leaves a whole lot of loose ends, despite having enough time to wrap it all up.
Another thing that was a bit of an issue is that the drama is a mix of fantasy, crime-solving, and romance. It was a blend of many different genres, and maybe because of that not all aspects of the plot were as well developed. Definitely the most time was given to solving crimes and the romance, which is kind of a shame, when you’re naming the drama “The Girl Who Can See Scents”… true, the plot of a girl who can see smells was always going to be slightly farfetched. What surprised me then, was how.. mundane the plot actually was. The ability to see smells was not often utilized, except when Oh Cho Rim did the police’s work for them. Just like Choi Moo Gak’s inability to feel, it was used inconsistently during the drama. Yet the way they presented the scents was kind of cute, a little childish in the animation maybe, but still, I think it added to Oh Cho Rim’s personality. It was bright and felt young, just like the character.
The second genre I mentioned was crime-solving. While the killer-plot was interesting (and surprisingly well acted), the role of the police in trying to solve the case was seriously sub-par. I wonder if this is the result of translating the manhwa’s humour to the drama. If it isn’t, it still feels like the police’s role in this was mostly supposed to be funny, and I’m just wondering if there’s something I’m missing. The thing I did like a lot about this part of the drama was seeing all the police officers get together and create their own tiny family. I loved their outings together, though I’m seriously wondering how they went about their job before meeting Oh Cho Rim.
The romance part was, for me, clearly the best thing about the drama. The romance might not have been overly romantic, and the chemistry might not have been sizzling.. but it felt natural. It felt cute. Oh Cho Rim and Choi Moo Gak respected each other, and gradually became closer. They made a good couple. Both outcasts in their own way, who complemented each other and made each other better. The drama was full of fluffy scenes and no unnecessary romantic drama. For me, this was definitely the heart of the drama. A good, natural, healthy relationship. It’s not often I watch a K-drama and think “I’d really like a relationship like this”. But I wouldn’t mind having a relationship like this. I’m going to miss these sweethearts so much.
And even if it was often nonsensical, I did like the humour in this drama. Maybe it was a bit on the silly side, but I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been laughing by myself while commuting. This drama always was a good start to the morning, and a reason to help me get up on Thursdays and Fridays.
Acting: As the role was written with Yoochun in mind, it’s not a surprise he’s a good match. It’s a character with a hard outer shell who is actually a warm and sweet person underneath. It’s a return to similar characters he played and received good reviews for before (see Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Rooftop Prince). The drama also brought out his funny side.. and for Yoochun lovers, the Chunface made a regular appearance! So nothing groundbreaking for Yoochun, but I’m still glad to have seen him in such a role again before he enlists.
Shin Se Kyung for me was also a good match for this role. I’ve never seen her in a full drama before, but I think she fit her character really well. She brought life, charm, and cuteness to Oh Cho Rim. Though her character was no good at comedy, Shin Se Kyung did well in this lighter comedic drama. Her laughter makes you want to smile too, at least that’s what it did for me. I’m not sure she has what it takes to act heavier roles, but she fit this role wonderfully. Plus, she worked really well with Yoochun. I’d go so far as to say that the romantic part of this drama would not have worked as well if they’d picked someone else for Oh Cho Rim. Like said, it wasn’t a sizzling chemistry, but it wasn’t a sizzling romance in that sense either. They complemented each other, like Choi Moo Gak and Oh Cho Rim in the drama.
The real stand-out of this drama actingwise is Nam Goong Min, who took on a role completely unlike the ones I’ve seen him in before. I never liked him before, but in this he gives in a subtle but very convincing performance. I’ll be giving him more chances in the future.
Music: I really enjoyed the songs for the drama, I thought they fit very well. They were upbeat, and happy, and fit the atmosphere very well. They really helped to set the tone. Though there’s no real stand-out song, I still love turning on the songs in the background. The OST is a little thing of happiness.
Rewatch value: I’m not one to rewatch dramas often, so this is a low score. I will probably rewatch the cute couple scenes a lot, though.
Conclusion: I know I may not have sounded very convincing, but I really did enjoy this drama a lot. I can’t quite pinpoint why, but for me the drama simply worked. I know it didn’t for everyone, so, I’d say, only watch this if you like natural romances, cute and fluffy dramas, Yoochun (or the infamous Chunface), or Nam Goong Min, and can suspend quite a bit of disbelief. The strength of the plot mostly relies on the heart in the characters and the friendships. If you like that sort of drama, you might enjoy this a lot. If not, it might be best to pass on this.
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But this wasn't a perfect drama, that's for sure. If we look closer to some aspects we'll realize that this drama lacked in so many things.
I think the directing and the writing was mediocre (specially in the last episode which was terrible in my opinion XD) There were many illogical scenes and also some holes in the plot. Writers didn't approach the crime-mystery genre as they should have. They created a great villian but also the dumbest heroes -Except from Yeom Mi, Moo Gak and Cho Rim- (sometimes)
Well, I must give them some credit tho, because the romantic comedy part was good and well done, in my opinion. So props for that!
The acting was good too. I have no complains, Shin Se Kyung did a good job, I liked her a lot in this. I think comedy is perfect for her. As for me, she isn't blacklisted anymore -not that I have a black list or something like that actually hahaha- But let's say she wasn't my favorite actress.
And of course I have to talk about Nam Gong min's great acting. I think this drama is worth watching because of his character. He played it so well. I think he should stick to these kind of characters from now on. And overall the acting of everyone was good, nothing outstanding, nothing unwatchable, just good.
About the music, well... it was ok. I liked almost all the songs and also the instrumentals.
Then, should you watch it?
Well guys, it depends on what you want and expect from this. Don't expect great quality in directing or writing or a crime thriller or something like that because you will be disappointed.
You can expect cute and romantic moments, also funny scenes and an average show. Nothing much.
What I mean is that this show is technically bad, but it's entertaining so it works. At least for me.
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Unfortunately this drama just didn't live up to my expectations. Park Yoo Chun and Shin Se Kyung were cute but even that couldn't hold my interest; once they got together they just seemed to lose any sort of passion for the other.
The only character whose story I wanted to follow was the killer, the writer could have made so much more of a plot with his back story and actually filled the episodes rather than leaving us feeling like half of EP15 and Ep16 were completely unnecessary.
The Seeing scents plot was laughable from animation to inclusion in the story arch, if the police here were to base their case on such intangible evidence as presented for all the cases I think the defense lawyers would laugh them out of court! Let alone the amount of protocol they must have broken to have been working on those cases. I realise this is dramaland but a little plausibility is necessary!
If you are looking for a plot that is different from the usual love triangle then give it a go but if you are looking for a passionate police drama look elsewhere.
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Story: The story is pretty good and interesting and kept being fun to watch untill the end of the show.The maincharacters where acting good and funny at times.
If there is a negative in this show is that the story could have been more sepperated with mini storys inside with Oh Cho Rim solving some other cases with her special eye to see scents so they could save the Climax for more towards the end.It started way to soon from episode 6-7 till the end of the show which some people maybe hate,however it was still really fun to watch and i didnt really bother with it.
To sum it up it was a great ride of story and emotions.
The ending of the show is ammazing in my eyes! Since its very long and makes you feel completed when its over thats why i have to attack the negative feedback on this show and i feel that there are allot of trolls ammong them or just haters that wanna bash everything thats only a bit bad!.
Romance:This part was one of my favorites of the show since i think the couple was really cute together and made me laugh and love them at many times.
Music:The music is nice,especially the opening them of the show i loved.Also in the love monents and in the moments of action it gave a nice feeling.
Conclusion: Dont read the negativee feedback people give and watch this show! Its worth your time and its really fun!.Drama should be watched with a relaxed view and not only to try to find the minus points just becuz it became a bit draggy.The ending of the show made up for that and thats why its a great watch in overal!.If i had to give a comparrison to an other show it would be to You're all surrounded and that was a great show as well.
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On the positive note, the acting was good. Yoochun fit his role perfectly and Shin Se Kyung did great job, I feel like she has develped a lot in acting (she has been on my hate list forever but now I might reconsider). Nam Goong Min was god but I already knew that he is a great actor and didnt expect any less from him! Yoon Ji Seo again disappointed me. She mostly had the same dull face throughout the drama and felt more like a robot than a human being.
After a few first episodes the drama gets entertaining for a while but soon slides into the boredom. The police force is downright stupid, I have never seen as stupid cops as in this drama. Well, at least I liked it how the "seeing scents" was implemented, it was very cute.
I didn't really expect anything from this show so I can't say I am disappointed. From the beginning, I was going to skip watching it but watched anyway. But I really don't recommend this drama to anyone. It's boring.
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The story is a good one, it keeps you in suspense for a long time. But at the same time the conclusion is disappointing. It didn't get draggy for me, but it got a little predictable. I wish there was something more about Kwon Jae Hee's back story, his reasons. Something shocking, some kind of a connection that brought the whole story in a full circle. But it just fell flat in that department. There were cute scenes to devour and Officer Choi's comedy skit was hilarious. I still laugh.
Coming to characters, my favorite was Elena Vashilivnashivanova. Lol, okay. Just Kidding. But I liked her for someone who only appeared once (minus the contact log). I was so happy she was real! But I think my favorite was Lt Yeom. She was smart and beautiful. Her ideas were spot-on most of the time and I ended up loving her more than the main couple or any other character.
Yoo Chun and Shin Se Kyung. Like, what's with people hating on Shin Se Kyung all the time? I think she was great here. I mean, I guess she picked a lot of bad roles before and I've never watched them but they were just bad choices, doesn't make her a bad actor or anything. She did a good job here. Yoo Chun was great here, although I'm still hunting for a drama where he surpasses his role from Rooftop Prince. That one was epic.
The rest of the cast was great. The police force was a little incompetent at times but they got it going in the end and well, they were funny so I don't really dwell on their stupidity. As for Kwon Jae Hee. He was such a genius character in the beginning, but I just don't know what happened to his character in the last three episodes. I wish they'd done something more interesting about him.
The music was very cute. Especially that song called Confusing. It just calms my nerves whenever I listen to it in the car. Very soothing vocals.
Overall, everything about this drama simply shouts out 8. Amazing in some parts, disappointing in some parts but overall a drama I don't regret watching and looked forward to every week.
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There's all so much stupidity I can take in a drama,before it all becomes too much and starts to have an actual affect on my brain. TGWSS was never the most clever of stories, with its presentation of wholly incompetent cops who spent more time eating than trying to catch a serial killer, but I forgave it - for a short time - for being able to work its way around the laughable police work in favour of exploiting our heroines smelly eye. However, once we hit episode eleven, the contagious disease of stupidity seemed to have spread to our heroine, herself, who became both a Noble Idiot and a Complete Idiot. From then on out we can see a continued series of events where characters decide to confront known murderers and get in murderers' cars. Even the intelligent and bitching Lieutenant falls victim of the strain of stupidity that seems to plague the innocent characters of Smelly Girl.
The heaps of plot induced stupidity that riddled Smelly Girl is a clear sign of poor and undirected writing in an attempt to make enough story for a 16 episode drama. Smelly Girl was a brainless plot that was far too long; ten episodes, max, is all it needed to set up the murders, investigate, romance, and catch the killer. There was absolutely no need to throw in some sacrificial lambs to ruin a perfectly healthy relationship in order to drag out an already thin enough piece of string.
I was only half watching by episode 13, and by episode 14 I started skipping a ridiculous amount of scenes so the damn story would actually *go somewhere*. It wasn't until episode 15 that I become interested, once a more, before I promptly switched off all concentration and fell asleep.
The only possible saving grace of Smelly Girl was the romance which could have been perfect - emphasis on the could - if only the writer had left it to blossom, instead of unfairly cutting it off because the heroine felt 'guilty' for a totally nonsensical reason. I absolutely hate Noble Idiots/Sacrifical Lambs, but I hate them even more when the reason for their behaviour is absolutely pathetic (not that Noble Idiocy can ever be justified). It was so frustrating to see the heroine making the decisions on her own and taking the hero's right of agency away from him even when he said her guilt did not matter. She became unbearably thick, so thick that I thought someone would have to beat the goddamn message into her.
If you value your brain cells I strongly recommend that you stay as far away as possible from 'The Girl Who Sees Scents'. Don't be fooled by its snazzy premise and cute OTP, because that all goes down the gutter in favour of general foolishness.
NB. If I was a cop in S. Korea, I would be highly offended by how absolutely useless the police force is portrayed.
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Now to the disaster part: Well basically the story and the writing were horrifyingly bad ... this was supposed to be a crime drama, but it was as if a child (not even a teen) was trying to write a crime story and was hoping to put twists to the plot but failed miserably each time. The end result was me rolling my eyes and shouting 10 different ways that the whole plot could have been solved. on top of that it was 16 episodes ... like really why this long ...
obviously when the story lacks, the characters have to be weak as well. Hence the detectives were extremely unqualified and simply put very very very bad at their jobs. They were dreadful ...
There was no character development, no nothing, the story was just bland and flat. The only redeeming feature was the main couple's relationship, they were very cute together, bringing light fluffy feelings to the drama. Yeah, it's hilarious how through all this horribleness I still managed to enjoy myself! lol! I guess if you're in mood for some cute adorable love story and not caring much about anything other than couple's relationship give this a try :D !!
As for me, I would love to watch Park Yoo Chun in something well written next! :D
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Lots of sugary sweet parts across the two main leads. Spice from the very attractive Mr. Namgoong Min.
The drama dragged a little, the police investigation was done very kdrama style (a.k.a. not the most logical, but watchable). However, a very solid beginning and end, lots of comedy injected throughout and lots of genuine laughs from watching the drama.
Shin Se Kyung does a great job in this drama. Her and Yoochun's acting are on par so they made for a good match as neither overpowered the other in their acting. Lots of cute moments between the two leads.
Namgoong Min is a charismatic villain here. Mysterious and sociopathic, you can't get enough of his screen time.
The rest of the supporting cast was well chosen as well.
Good use of music - I like the sound effects they used when SSK activates her seeing smells ability.
Watch this for adorkably cute moments and a new interesting way to solve crimes.
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What really kept me hooked was the thriller/mystery aspect. I swear, I became anxious and nervous waay too much in this drama. It was harrowing and uncomfortable when it was happening, but when the plott holes became bigger and things started to drag a little (not to mention our fav detective losing a few brain cells) I missed the nerves. Nerves indicate a good drama.
The romance here was top notch. The actors did commendable work, especially Shin Se Kyung whose acting improved by leaps and bounds. She's great here. Our hero as well is flawless in his work. He was smart (-ish sometimes), funny, comforting, clingy, jealous, and bada** when he needed to be. I was of course, impressed with the progression of the romance. It developed quickly, they hugged and showed more closeness than I've ever seen in a kdrama. Also they didn't let misunderstanding cloud their judgement and halt their relationship. They leaned on eachother and stayed through thick and thin, giving eachother strength. I look for that in dramas and I'm glad I found it here. They really represented a normal dating couple. I loved their lines and their actions.
But, the person who carried this show is Nam Gung Min. His character had me curious as to what he's going to do next. He was super smart, but unlike other dramas, our main leads and their colleague was smart too. It was refreshing to see a smart lead like Oh Cho Rim and the team leader. Finally!
I may rewatch this. The music was fitting in every scene too. This was a good drama and it did not drag much, just the last 3 episodes. I didn't mind because it was full of fluff and I love fluff, so it didn't drag for me. Plot holes though hahahha. Watch out for plot holes after ep13.
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