I felt that the drama was light and easy to enjoy in comparison to other secret agent dramas that I have seen! There was no great conspiracy, loads of secrecy, huge amount of fighting scenes, etc etc. I liked that the plot focused on a secret agent who becomes a bodyguard to an actor and still carries out his duties as an agent: it made the story work - of course very unrealistic but which drama isn't xD
I have to say the cast was great! All of the actors fit their characters and made the drama work. I really have to give kuddos to Park HaeJin's acting in this! His actions and facial reactions just brought the drama a kind of humour I really enjoy! And maybe because of this as well that it was nice to watch, and more light hearted than other secret agent dramas.
Of course, I did have a hard time to come in terms with Kim Min Jung's hair - seriously they cut her hair way to short!!
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Let me expand on that:
Park Hae Jin’s acting (or maybe he was just goofing off the whole time?) was hilarious. Though I really enjoyed a lot of elements in this show, his facial expressions throughout it made “Man To Man” my new favorite drama. [I spammed my MDL feed with examples, if you want to see what I mean.] Kim Min Jung was also great playing our female lead, Do Ha, a quirky, independent, non-cookie cutter heroine who, thankfully, did not cling to the male lead.
The Plot: For some, the drama itself might seem to be a half-baked combination of humor, espionage, romance, and bromance—but for me it was perfect. I get bored if I feel like a show is stuck in one genre. The only time I was disappointed in the plot was during the last episode, because I disliked how it concluded the various story arcs. Last episodes are very important; they are the final impressions of each character and should wholly complete the story. I was regretfully disappointed in the “Man to Man” finale.
Acting-wise, I thought all the cast did great within the limits of the characters they were given. What I mean is, that all the characters were enjoyable to watch because they were portrayed well, but the characters themselves were underdeveloped. I thought Seol Woo and Do-ha were developed enough, and since they were the two main characters I was content with that.
Long review short, I loved “Man to Man.” Park Hae Jin’s face is hilarious, the plot is a spy-romcom, and the OSTs are great. I say give it two episodes, but you can probably tell if it’s the type of show for you or not after just watching the pilot.
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The story surrounds a guy who is part of a secret government organization that employs so called ghost agents. Professional fighters/warriors (or whatever you may call it - agents) who get on secret missions around the world and are not allowed to have any deep feelings or connections with other people since that would compromise their work. These ghost agents here are the very cliché of every spy agent you can possibly think of.
The story starts to evolve in that direction. Agent K (Park Hae Jin) takes on a mission and unexpectedly starts to develop real feelings for a woman he has to con along the way.
I can stick with all kinds of dramas, even with the bad ones if they make me curious enough to want to watch the next episode, because that is one grave reason for me to either enjoy or be disappointed with a show. Even if a story makes me pull out my hair because the protagonists are acting all nonsensical. Yeah, I'm that kind of a shallow person. I can handle trashy dramas as well as cheesy ones - if they don't take it too far but entertain me.
So, the worst thing that can actually happen to a drama and that makes me lose interest throughout the whole way, is when it becomes plain boring. Sadly, Man to Man was exactly that for me. There's nothing special about it. It feels like one of the biggest cliché-heavy mainstream action spy dramas I've ever seen, and it gives off the feel that the producers wanted to reach as many viewers as possible, what is eventually the main reason why it failed to impress me at all. The (seemingly hidden) spark didn't reach me.
I didn't expect much when I began watching it, but I would have never expected it to be like that. I'm sincerely sorry to say this and I feel bad for the high-level cast but I was extremely disappointed with many things - not everything. There was also something that kept me going and therefore made me complete it, so don't be too frustrated with my opinion.
One thing that wasn't able to... touch me was the romance. Don't hit me. It was just suddenly there somewhere along the line. I never understood why K fell in love with this particular woman and not all the other ones he used for his previous missions. They had their cute moments, I admit that and I enjoyed them to a certain point. But it never made me excited.
Many people were annoyed by the female lead in the beginning but started to like her later on. For me it was the other way around. I liked her in the first episodes but as the story went further, she became a bothersome side character whose behavior annoyed me at times. Kim Min Jung had a strange way of portraying her role, especially the way she spoke. Though I admit that there were also some few scenes where I could empathize with her, for example during the more serious moments and/or when she got hurt. But the overall view of her character was plain and without any depth, and there was no character development whatsoever. And that was actually the problem with most of the characters. Superficial stereotypes who never stood out or made their appearance memorable.
The other thing and probably the biggest flaw in my eyes was the spy story, and partly at fault are eventually its characters who never made me invested enough in their circumstances to even be thrilled by their next move. The execution of the overall story, the hidden wheel in the background, the step by step revelations... everything had a choppy feel to it. It failed to build up the right amount of suspense to make me excited enough about its secretive picture.
I rarely drop dramas, seriously. I want to watch the whole thing when I start something. So, if there is even ONE thing that got my attention, I'll see it through. Man to Man does have some good parts to it, too.
First of all would be the villain. Yeon Jung Hoon. I was so happy to finally see him again after such a long time and he didn't disappoint me. His performance was great in every aspect and to the smallest details. Whenever he appeared, my attention level rose to new heights. He was calm, smart and cocky. He played one greedy bastard but he also felt human in some ways. He was playing his role with such passion that he made me root for him all the way. And his story even had a satisfying wrap up.
The other thing that I enjoyed alot was the bromance. They managed to pull off that part quite well, although I wasn't always completely pleased with it because it lacked screen-time. I would have loved to see more interactions between all those guys and the bonds they had developed over time. Of course all their hilarious moments together were priceless and filled me up with joy. So, when it comes to this I definitely need to mention Park Sung Woong. I was looking forward to his appearance in this show and he never let me down. He was the epitome of bromance and needs special appreciation next to Yeon Jung Hoon.
I was also quite attached to Jung Man Shik's and Tae In Ho's characters here, and I think I need to include this to show that I did like some things.
Park Hae Jin is a special case in this drama. I'm not saying he was bad. He definitely wasn't. His acting was good most times and I enjoyed it. His character-display was just a bit average. Honestly, I've seen way better performances of him in Cheese in the Trap and Bad Guys.
See? Not everything was bad. And I admit that they had some short-while thrilling scenes during the last episodes. I give them that.
Don't take my personal opinion to heart. I know that many people enjoyed this, so it's a controversial issue in the end. But maybe there are some others who agree with me ;) Would I recommend it? Honestly, I have no idea. I would probably prefer other dramas over this.
Btw, my rating for the music... Well, it's not very high, I know. The drama had some nice songs but those themes that were played during the spy and action scenes were getting on my nerves at some point.
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Man to Man's handling of its comedy was top notch! There were a number of moments that just had me rolling, especially when they were featuring the dynamic between stoic Kim Guard, Cha Do Ha and Yeo Woon Gwang. This trio kept me rolling. The effect that Woon Gwang and Do Ha have on the normally straight faced and unflappable Seol Woo kept me in stitches. I think this drama initially touted an amazing bromance between Seol Woo and Woon Gwang. I personally feel like there was some untapped potential that the drama could have played up a little more.
Overall, I think the drama had some trouble with balancing the suspense and romance. I tended to get a little tired of the political power plays. Nor was I ever all that intrigued with Mo Seung Jae's role as the main antagonist. I felt like the romance between Seol Woo and Do Ha seemed a little unnatural. I loved how they played off each other, but as a romantic couple ... the drama never really got me there.
Even though this drama can come off as a little unbalanced and a bit all over the place, its comedy is its saving grace. I so enjoyed watching Park Hae Jin play in a comedic role. His acting chops and range are on full display in his role as Kim Seol Woo, ghost agent and body guard. To be honest, I wish this drama was touted more for being about friendship and the family you choose. I worry that this drama will be remembered for not being able to live up to its hype, but I think it's a worthwhile drama. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a comedy with a little action on the side or anyone that is looking for some amazing Park Hae Jin eye candy haha!
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My issue is that it focused 30% of its story on a romance that appeared out of thin air. I never connected with them as a couple in love and never really understood why Agent K would fall for this particular woman. Strangely, I don't dislike the female character, I just do not see any chemistry and missed out on the leading-up-to the romance.
I will talk about it more below, but I want to intersect by saying: this is still a good drama to watch for action fans. Just ignore the romance and you'll be fine. The rest all works very well. The humor isn't making anything ridiculous and the action is fastpaced and cool. Definitely a drama I would want to use in a youtube edit. It's just not at all a romance drama.
Near the middle, roles have been assigned and some secrets have been revealed, and Agent K reveals part of his identity to save the girl he - apparently? - likes. However, I don't know if he really does, or if it leads up to a bigger plan by then. Maybe Park Haejin wasnt allowed to display hearteyes? Maybe the writer focused so much on making the action drama well thought out and only decided to add romance (to please more people) near the end so it wasnt fleshed out. Either way, I don't connect with it at all. I can understand the trope and I would have loved it if it was written better but in this case I don't see how she goes from "who is this dude" to "let me hold your hand and love you forever". Everything sure does look good though. (Except the girl's hair. Why oh why would you do that)
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Writing of this drama could have been even more strong. I think the makers couldn't create what they wanted to. But nevertheless, the comedy and bromance part of the drama was the highlight point. The bromance between K and Yeo Un Gwang & K and Prosecutor Lee Dong Hyun were the best. He seemed so much more comfortable with them than Do Ha.
I really liked the music of this drama. They were catchy enough to be hummed while watching the drama.
The best part of the drama was how it ended. Everyone got their closure and there were no unwanted answers left, making it one of those rare dramas with the satisfactory ending- especially with Park Hae Jin in it. I may have only discovered him on Cheese in the trap, but in Man to Man, he really did blow me away with his acting skill. I will definitely re-watch this drama after some time.
Special mention- Park Hae Jin's eyebrow flicks are LIFEEE
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The plot is quite ingenious, even when almost all the situations these characters are thrown into range from slightly unbelievable to surreal, all spiced up with action and laughter. I don't think the drama ever intended to be taken seriously, and if you keep this in mind, you'll enjoy the whole show very much.
Let's get rid of its faults quickly, then. No matter what country they are in, everyone speaks English. Korean seem to live under the impression that the whole of Europe were a substation of the States, where, say, Russian people speak English among each other, prisoners wear orange in Hungary, and French eat cereals for breakfast. Ingenuities like these are scattered throughout the whole drama, but as I said, to fully enjoy Man to Man one needs to overlook the incongruities and stay focused on the characters and their antics.
In fact, the characters are all likable, even the villains. There's an ever-present light undertone to the drama which I personally found charming. No trace of melodrama is to be found, so that you can watch with due expectations but without having your heart shatter in a thousand pieces at every turn or boiling for anger at the injustice of life.
Park Hae Jin is a sight to behold. He's believable and engaging in the action scenes, kind of goofy in the romantic ones, clever and quick-thinking in his job and invariably gorgeous looking in his sleek costumes and generally suave style. Therefore, if you watch M2M for the sake of him, you won't be disappointed.
I loved the female heroine too. I'd read critical comments about her being annoying and inconsistent, but I honestly agree with none of them. I even liked her hairstyle: it makes her look younger and more breezy than she actually is, but it all adds to the inevitability of K falling for her and not for any of the stylish, fashionable women he meets for his assignments.
The love story between these two is sweet, but has to be taken as a side plot, not the core of the story. If you want to be swept away by a sizzling passion, look elsewhere. I was happy with this too.
The Hallyu Star made me laugh from start to finish and the same goes with all the secret agents whose actions are so conspicuous I had to laugh hard at their preoccupation with undercover and secrecy.
The music is kind of atrocious and badly edited, at times too loud and most of the time unnecessary. Some pieces got a smile out of me, which is the best I can say about this soundtrack.
Since this story does not rely too much on high voltage suspense, it can be re-watched again and again without losing its charm.
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This review may contain spoilers
Let me preface my review with the fact I’m new to Korean Dramas. This is my second one completed, and I loved the show and everyone who was in it. I read the other reviews, some not liking the romance, some not liking hair styles, and some not liking the ending (valid concern). Because I watch this with subtitles, watching the series only once doesn’t work. I watched this all the way through twice and recommend that to anyone who is watching this with subtitles.Hae-Jin Park did a superb job as the undercover agent “Kim Seol-woo” and might I add, his facial expressions are priceless, and the very reason to watch it twice. I found his performance funny, touching, and believable. He not only is easy on the eyes but has a fabulous range as an actor. I’ve looked for other shows with him in it, hoping to find the same magic.
Sung-woong Park was wonderful as the second lead “Un-gwang” and made it impossible for me to hate him. At first, he appears as a prima donna but soon shows his heartwarming side and was a perfect foil for the HJP character with their “bromance.”
It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, Min-Jung Kim did a fantastic job as Do-ha. Before you complain about her hair or personality, realize she is the personification of a normal every day woman. I loved that she wasn’t overly made up or her character was a smooth operator. I was able to enjoy her more because she was more like me, a boring normal person. Watching that type of character interact with an entire cast of characters that were so far from normal was fun and a perfect piece of escapist television.
The bad guys were awesomely bad. The good guys were quirky and just enough bad that it is hard to tell who is bad and who is good at times. The side characters are funny, and I was never bored, even the second time through. Here is the spoiler. The last episode was fine until the last five minutes. It just didn’t give me the satisfaction of seeing the story resolved. Its almost as if the writers wanted me to make up my own ending. While my imagination is that expansive, I would have liked to see it play out between the three main characters on the screen instead of in my head.
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the female lead mainly ruined my impression of the romance
To be honest this is the kind of drama that starts off really fresh and cool with a cool agent, but starts getting so draggy I rather wash my socks.For the cast, I think that all the characters were all really decent and especially Park Hae Jin since I'm a pretty big fan of him. However, the main problem really lies on the female lead which is really just a walking nuisance that I simply do not understand why anyone would ever fall for. Yes, it may be her bubbly personality or whatever cuteness that is supposed to be potrayed. Most of the time when the leads get hurt it would either be her just being brainless or her thinking that her actions were even useful. At the start, it was quite obvious that she was genuinely interested in the male lead but she seems to be playing hard to get far to much needed which is what makes me question what is attractive about her. Afterwards, when agent k was exposed for being a ghost agent and that all his actions were just part of his job, she got really sad when she was the one playing hard to get at first??? ok I think that the write focuses too much on making her the cause of many troubles they face.
For the ending, it was quite expected since the male lead was an agent. So in conclusion, if u are interested in a questionable romance that has no link, chemistry, or any flow, u could totally watch it for the action and cool of the male lead. -_-
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This review may contain spoilers
A nice drama with woefully poor rounding off of character arcs and main story
Firstly liked all 3 leads yes including FL. I thought she was perfect for ML could totally ship them and the writing let them down especially the ending.The action and general production were good premise was great execution really poor.
My biggest single issue was the story arc of the 2ML and his ex. We are clearly shown they are in love in the past, then suddenly she marries a chaebol. It is not explained but the hint is it was something weird like she had no choice. This feeling is reinforced all throughout she is always looking out for him and he obviously is not over her and was obviously heartbroken when it happened. So what they do with this intriguing plot line. Answer NOTHING. Unbelievably we never find out what happened and why she left him like that.
But there is worse. Her husband is basically a total bastard the villain of the piece. He threatens her is a violent psychopath and controls her by threatening not to let him see her son. He hates that she even indirectly cares about 2ML. She also helps bring him down he is clearly portrayed up to a point as her enemy her captor not lover or husband
But then unbelievably in the endgame she goes to prison with divorce papers and instead of having her triumphant moment of telling him where to go. She tears them up he smiles she nods sympathetically and says we will wait until hes older at least. Total character assassination IMO.
The only comment in the script to explain this even remotely. Is when her friend tells someone she has a complicated relationship with both men but cares for them both in her own way. Eh no not complicated one guy loved you with his whole heart the other guy "took" you and was a psycho.
Her last interaction with the 2ML is pathetic no closure no explanation. He just lets her off the hook and she is as smug and unapologetic as ever.
This epitomised the whole problem with the drama great cast great premise terible execution and poor script. Its like halfway through they backed out of dealing with the 2ML past and just threw in this terrible endgame for him and his ex
That alone was enough to ruin it. This was not a 2ndry couple this was a main lead it made me regret watching it.
That and the MCs incomplete ending as well which was really unsatisfying.
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For myself some of the appeal of K-dramas is the that when extremely cliche characters or moments appear, the cheese somehow charms me despite my skepticism. Unfortunately, for most of Man to Man, there were too many problems to be balanced by its few strengths.
My first complaint, which some others have addressed, is the chemistry between the leads. I don't have problem with how Cha Do Ha was acted, but how she interacted with K. I can't recall a single instance where I really bought into the relationship between the two leads. I will differ from many others' opinion here as the bromance between K and Yeo Woon Gwang also didn't jive with me. It suffered from the same problem as the lead romance in that it felt abrupt and completely forced. It just felt like there was a relationship time skip the audience wasn't privy to.
On the other hand, every secondary relationship I bought hook, line, and sinker. The acting by the cast felt solid and their work is what got me through the show. Interactions between most characters was believable with some real tension to match. I particularly enjoyed the moments between Song Mi Eun and Yeo Woon Gwang. I would also say that each actor made good use of any solo time in front of the camera. I never found myself doubting their characters, just the interactions between the leads. Their strong performances never achieve excellence for me, but I don't feel like it's the casts' fault.
It was the writing that never sat well with me. I can forgive egregious plot holes, of which there were many, if there is great character interaction or development, but with the strongest character interactions being outside the main leads, the relationships struggled to make up for the flawed story. Almost every plot device used to further the show could have been solved in much easier and less convoluted way, which is fine. I came into this somewhat expecting it since it's a k-drama, but the show also had the problem of approaching many things with the subtlety of a mallet to the face.
Which is probably my biggest problem with the show. I am unsure if this stems from cultural differences, but the show kept telling me how to think and feel and that kept breaking my immersion. Bros don't have to repeatedly tell me they're bros; I should be able to gather that watching their awesome interactions and general bro-yness. The music was much the same way. While the music themes may not have been poor in choice, their execution was god awful. I am a firm believer that music when used well, or consciously not used for that matter, greatly enhances the audience's feelings. Instead, the timing and volume of the music felt like the director was screaming at me "GET HYPE!" at occasionally silly times or worse yet, during a later scene in the show "YOU FEEL SAD NOW!". Uhm no?
This show reminded me a lot of one of my favourite shows thematically which may have contributed to my poorer opinion of this show due to the comparison. I've seen a strong romance, great character development, and a reasonable plot all wrapped in a spy action/comedy. I was more than willing to overlook that show's flaws because of its strengths. As good as this cast was, they were given some very poor material to work with and in the end, they really couldn't save it.
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