Story: 5/10
Andante’s story was soooo boring for me. I do have to admit that it was really realistic, but it had snail speed from beginning to end so I could never sense in which direction it was headed until the last fourth of the drama. But what should I expect? The synopsis is basically: “Getting through unfamiliar experiences, he [the MC] realizes the meaning of life and love.” This synopsis accurately sums up the entire storyline of Andante, and literally screams boring boring boring. However, Andante’s strong points come from its characters, their development, and their chemistry.
Acting/Cast: 9/10
I consider Andante’s entire line of leads to be rookie actors, and they did a pretty good job overall, in my opinion.
Let’s start with our leading man, Kai. I didn’t head into this drama with big expectations for him. He is, after all, an idol-actor, and this just his second project (after Choco Bank). While acting in Andante, Kai became humble Jongin, so if you are here for dorky Jongin, you will not be disappointed:) But since the focus is not always on Kai's character, you might find yourself staying for other things. Kai, as the naughty yet kind-hearted teenager named Shi Kyung, did an okay job. His acting was a bit shallow, and he did an okay job of portraying deeper emotions. However, Kai did seem super relaxed in his role and didn’t look as stiff as a piece of cardboard the whole time. Nothing bothered me about his acting and it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the drama, but he didn’t leave a lasting impression on me either.
Lee Ye Hyun, one of the female leads, is a rookie actor. This is fact, but I could not believe it. Ye Hyun made her character, the rebel Lee Shi Young, come alive. She could convey the emotions really well and make her character carry so much depth. Sometimes Shi Young felt like a supporting character, but at other times, I felt as if she was the main character of this drama because of the way her character stood out (it seems that every time I scroll past the cast section on this drama, Shi Young’s character would get moved up a slot haha). You might think that the way her character acts is annoying, but I feel like that makes her really realistic and relatable. I would definitely watch any future projects that she is in!
Kim Jin Kyung, the other female lead, also did pretty well for her first project, but her acting was not as memorable to me.
Characters: 9/10
This drama carries the power of making the viewer love all the characters introduced to the story. Why? Because it delves into the stories of every single character (yes, even the supporting ones), which shows the me their point of view while leaving little space for plot holes and unexplained story threads. Some time was spent on every character so that they got development, but the show doesn’t deviate from the main storyline of the MCs. All the characters were really realistic, well-written, and nicely developed.
Music: 6/10
Andante’s OST was okay. It did add a lot to the mood of the drama, but none of them were really memorable for me.
Enjoyment Level: 7/10
From episode 1 to episode 5, nothing really happened and I was about to drop this drama. But after I got past that point, the characters started developing and I enjoyed and appreciated this drama a lot more. The plot did bring down my enjoyment level by a lot since it was really slow the whole way through, and the only thing that convinced me to stay was the characters. Also, the comedy was pretty good. There was just the right amount of comedy, which helped balance out the sadder parts of this drama.
Rewatch value: 2/10
I wouldn’t really want to watch Andante again because how boring its story is, but I might come back to it one day to fall in love with all the characters again.
Conclusion: Great characters, slow plot, but not a must watch.
There were some small things that I didn’t like about this drama, but there were also other things that left a lasting impression on me. If you dig great characters, you should consider checking this out! Just get past the 5th episode and you will find yourself loving every character that you see in this drama. But if you can’t deal with a plot moving at 0.0001 miles per hour no matter how lovable the characters are, then it might be best for you to skip on this one:)
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This review may contain spoilers
The reviews and many of the comments for this drama seem to be from people who didn't really get what this drama was trying to do and don't personally enjoy dramas that move at a slower pace, which is rather unfortunate as that has unfairly colored their reviews, in my opinion. Yes, this is a slow drama, but that is intentional. You need only look at the title to be able to see this.Andante- moderately slow; usually used as a direction in music
It's perfectly understandable that slow paced dramas are not for everyone, and they're honestly not for me most of the time either. Even with Andante, a drama I clearly very much enjoyed based on my rating, I took multiple long breaks in-between watching episodes, because it really was just slower than what I enjoy in a drama. But that is not a flaw in the drama. That is a personal preference that I fully recognize. If you do not enjoy slow paced dramas, I recommend that you maybe watch something else, because you might not be able to fully appreciate the story this drama tells.
That being said, if you enjoy slow paced dramas with simple but affecting storylines, then I highly recommend Andante. It's thoughtful and moving with stellar performances by the entire cast. Even Kai does a decent job. But I have to say, my favorite character is Bom. It's technically not her drama, but it also kind of is. She's the driving force behind much of the story and character progression, and her story arch is a deeply emotional one that spans the entirety of the drama. It's ultimately through Bom's actions and words and presence that the rest of the characters are pushed into growth and reconciliation and developing new hope for the future. If no other reason compels you to watch this drama, then watch it for Bom.
Word of warning: The last two episodes are a sob fest, so have your tissues at the ready.
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This review may contain spoilers
I had to take a 1 month break from Andante
I had a real hard time watching this drama. The first few episodes made me stop the show for some weeks, most of the characters were just way too annoying and the story looked just silly. After those few episodes, around the halfway point, the story started to get better and became for mature.The show that started out quite silly became a sad story toward the end. Besides the characters that most times are just annoying for no reason, the pacing is not good and some plot lines felt out of place (like the hospice closing down). So, end up with a big chunk of time dedicated to plots that don’t mean much, and a lot of Bom and Dad rushed in the last few episodes.
I think Andante might have worked better as a shorter series. I don’t think they would have been able start the dramatic stuff (Bom decease, Bom’s death, grandmas’s decease…) earlier and explore it better.
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- I personally felt disappointed while watching the drama. The story was okay. And I'm saying that due to the rate of progression throughout the whole thing. It felt very slow, and everything was being dragged out a lot more than it needed to. Nevertheless, if you truly feel that you want to give this drama a try; I can't stop you.
Story:
- The story progressed at a very "snail-like" pace. Therefore, it was quite easy for me to lose interest in it as I watched. The plot overall was a very simple plot, so there wasn't much to expect.
Acting/Cast:
- The overall cast was well selected. Considering that for many of them, they are rookie actors. But they did a good job of portraying the characters that they played.
Rewatch Value:
- It is quite unlikely that I will watch this drama once again in the future, just mainly due to how boring it can get.
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The cast consists of three new-ish actors and an experienced surrounding cast. Kai, Kim Jin Kyung & Lee Ye Hyun being the three newcomers.
Lee Ye Hyun was the standout of the three for me. According to MDL it was her first credited performance and she was the strongest over the course of the show.
Kim Jin Kyung also seems to have her first credit in a dramatic role and she was alright.
Kai had some experience and he started strong but as the show went on I was less impressed with him, I think the writers/directors share some blame though.
The writing and directing was a subpar. It was messy to me even when you give them the benefit of the doubt and recognize slice of life can be messy but entertaining and have value. They were stringing things together in a very unconvincing ways. There have been lots of movies and shows about death and loss from South Korea and I don't think Andante stands out despite its entire focus being on those subjects.
I don't see any re-watch value. It's slow and once was enough for me. It's not a bad show but it's not a very compelling show either.
I'll end on a positive note and re-iterate that Lee Ye Hyun did a good job and I hope to see her cast in more dramas.
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This whole drama and storyline is so dumb and done so poorly. I feel like they did everything half-hearted and did not care to even make it a little bit believable.
Acting was just okay. They didn't care to show relationships between the main characters a lot and their real feelings towards each others. To be honest the only part of this drama I genuinely enjoyed was Eom Yonggi and Hyunwoo teacher fighting over aunt and Yonggi trying to seduce her.
Overall, I had low expectations and still got disappointed. It took me 4 months to get through this drama and I will never ever re-watch this for sure. What a waste of time...
I recommend this drama only to die-hard EXO and Kai fans because those are the only people who might enjoy it since Kai holds the main role of this show.
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No!
Kai made me realize the true meaning of life and love and that is not to watch his other projects. This drama was purely a promotional piece for his non-existent acting career. They didn't have anything to serve the viewers so they went the terminal illness route.Was this review helpful to you?
So honestly I watched it for him and I don't regret it.
Even when it was on the last few episodes I would have given it a 9 or 10 but the problematic script and plot just kept getting worse and I can't in good conscience say it was worth a 10 rating.
Good points for me were the male lead's adorable dorky but kind nature. He doesn't resort to violence and believes in kindness despite not being good at studies and at first I thought they were going to change him into something else by the end but I liked that they showed not everyone is the same. That when people don't apologize resort to violence they might feel proud but it's not the way to deal with life in a civilized world.
Another great point was the friends and family members and other people and the relationships they formed. How when they were able to speak their heart they were able to communicate their fears.
The cons, the sheer cringe worthy scenarios. The worst was many of them had nothing to do with the actual point of the story. For instance wasting the resolution episodes on the idol story what does it have to do with the main story! The main plot was the female lead's story arc and they completely resolved it in ep 14 ! So the rest was honestly pointless and Kai coming to terms with what happened so damn fast was completely against how his character was ! And the resolution with the female lead was nonsense in the first place!
The way the characters all around were behaving like ok if you're going to get ugly with cancer might as well go somewhere to die alone! Seriously? Who came up with this nonsense?
So yes not without its faults but certainly not as bad and entertaining with some good stuff.
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Andante nos ensina o valor da vida
Quando comecei esse drama foi muito por acaso, estava passando e vi o Kai no pôster do drama e claramente me interessei, sendo o exo-l fervente que sou, no entanto decidi colocar meu amor e admiração por Kai de lado e vê o drama com olhos mais críticos. Dentro dessa perspectiva, me vi diante de uma história simples, porém cheia de significados, você até pode pensar que é somente mais um projeto feito pra estender a rede de entretenimento de idols super famosos da Coreia mas claramente vai se enganar.A História de Andante se passa em um hospital para pessoas em estágios finais de doenças terminais e logo temos o contraste do personagem Shi Kyung, interpretado por Kai, como alguém bobo e imaturo, desprovido de qualquer senso de responsabilidade, Dessa forma, a medida que o drama passa é possível perceber como um ambiente realmente tem o poder de transformar um indivíduo, eu sei você deve pensar "Ah mais um drama pra nos dizer que devemos valorizar a vida" pode parecer clichê, no entanto, essa é a maior verdade que temos desde o dia de nosso nascimento até o dia de nossa morte.
Portanto, eu busquei aproveitar a história com a maior sensibilidade possível, é claro que você vai se deparar com alguns erros de atuação e algumas falhas no roteiro, e ter a compreensão que algumas obras nos exigem que mudemos de perspectiva para realmente aproveitá-la ou seja a história de Andante é leve e ao mesmo tempo triste e emocional nos traz o valor da vida e a apreciação de quão belo e precioso é o fato de a cada dia podermos acordar e viver com aqueles que estão ao nosso redor, dessa forma, eu digo vale muito a pena assistir.
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