More Than Friends (2020)

Being honest with everyone: there isn’t anything amazingly fresh nor outstanding about this show. Whether you will like it or not, depends all on whenever you will like the characters and their interactions.

It’s another show about a confident jerk male lead and a nice and madly in love female lead who is willing to get dumped countless times and still cannot give up on the dude. What is surprising, though: they are both somehow likable (many would disagree, so don't quote me on that). I wanted to slap Soo back to reality more than once, but I also loved all his scenes and found him to be an interesting character. Woo Yeon, even though desperate with her unrequited love, still seemed like a strong character that is slowly gaining more confidence and learning how to put herself first. The flaws were presented in a way that made me curious about the development, rather than annoyed with their current state.

The show is full of cliches, but I was weirdly not mad about them at all. I saw these plotlines in other dramas, I should be bored, but somehow I wasn’t. Why? Because I cared for these characters. I was emotionally attached to them and was genuinely interested in their stories.

I also have to appreciate they at least tried to give a better explanation for Soo being such a selfish jerk. It wasn’t just random, short conversations we usually get in dramas to explain the behavior. His past was mixed well in the overall plot and, even though it did not excuse his actions, it made me understand him more.

They took a similar approach with Woo Yeon. While she was a weak person in terms of her love life and the desperation she presented, she also was strong and striving to achieve her dreams. She wasn’t weak in all areas of her life. She was flawed in one. And that made her an interesting character.

The chemistry between all the characters was amazing. Not only romance felt natural, but also the friendship between the main and supporting cast. Nothing felt forced or unrealistic. Great acting from the cast for sure helped achieve that.

The sub-plots were also interesting, with 2 supporting couples bringing something different to the table. We got comedy and we got melo. Such a striking difference, but even when their scenes were one right after another, it never felt disconnected or like they belonged to different shows. The flow and transitions were just right.

For me it was just a fun romantic comedy that had a good amount of sub plot surrounding the main one. Nothing felt like useless fillers for me (though I am sure many people would disagree).

Do I think this drama could have been shorter? Sure. I honestly believe getting 12 and not 16 episodes would be ideal, but I have exactly the same opinion about ALL romantic comedies. They are just not meant for a longer format. The last 4 episodes were painfully full of cliches. I'm pretty sure I saw my brain a few times when I rolled my eyes so hard. That said, I am unable to name even one rom-com that avoided cliches at the end. I think it's just given and expected in the genre.

Overall, if you cannot get over the over-confident male lead that is extremely selfish most of the time and desperate for his love female lead, this ain’t for you. The characters are far more than the flaws, and I myself found them likable, but if these are your personal pet peeves, you will not like it.

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Wow.

I've been watching dramas for a very long time. And I've had a lot of experiences with these types of stories. But never in my life have I seen a cast that has just been so unlikeable from the very start of the show.

The female lead is an absolute doormat who can't stay away from the male lead to save her life even though she wants him to stay away from her? She is introduced as a bad person, she's incapable of giving affection to anyone aside from her crush but yet she continues to date people regardless. She plays with people's feelings and we're expected to feel bad for her? Why would I care about someone who repeatedly continues to step on other peoples feelings. Her drunkenly calling the male leads number is not cute... Its JANK af.

And the male lead has emotional issues
(cuz of his weird ass parents that I can't even begin to understand? The "trauma" that he has due to them just seems STUPID, with the way he was acting I thought he was abused or something?)

but instead of confronting them, he continues to play games with a female leads feelings? He's a narcissist and he is freaking annoying and I'm tired of the misunderstood jerk trope. He manipulates her heart strings like some Machiavellian villain controlling with his favorite puppet. He rejects her over and over and she STILL can't get a damn clue? She tells him to leave her alone but he forcibly invades her life like some sort of chronic disease. Even when she makes it clear she does not want to see him at ALL, He forces her to see him anyway and interact with him even when she's making the effort to try an get over him( good for her). He starts liking her magically when she starts giving the 2nd ML the time of day. His ego won't allow her to forget him and cease being a source of amusement for him. I honestly found myself wondering if he even thought of her as a person?

Women chasing men who don't want they ass is so tired and played out. We need to move on from that y'all, its 2020.

Aside from the second male lead none of the main characters are likeable. The idea of them having a relationship built on desperation and pathetic schoolgirl crush syndrome is honestly kind of disgusting, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE ML HAS NO RESPECT FOR HER WHATSOEVER.

This drama is a Trainwreck but I will finish it. I must. Hopefully it'll get better.

Edit: Alright. Someone took a fat dump inside of a side characters car. I hate it here and I want to go home.

Final thoughts: the drama put me to sleep on more than one occasion. I loathe the progression of their relationship. Not to mention the needless pushing and pulling... This drama itself is a cliché and I'm tired of this. This drama gets a fat juicy F.

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I personally liked it but it’s not everyone’s type

Tbh not a lot of people like this drama but I really liked it .it made me feel all kinds of emotions i cried so much .I loved the main couple and even the side couples .I like the fact that it’s a relatable story and I love the fact that unlike other dramas they don’t make their relationship seem perfect like in fairy tales in the end they show that they fight for dumb stuff like couples in real like . I also really liked their chemistry and the ost’s were so good . But it does depend on the type of drama u like usually I’m not a fan of these types of dramas but I really loved this one

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It's not worth your time.

For what it's worth, I just can't seem to enjoy this drama. It's really not worth watching and wasting your time for. The story was dragged too long that I couldn't care less about the male & female lead. Their story is just too frustrating, boring, and sickening for me. On the other hand, I was more interested in the side couple's story that I could even finish this drama and gave 3 for the story rating. You don't know how much I've skipped the story because it was so boring and meaningless. I'm sorry but that is just my opinion.

The acting was ok. I like the male & female lead, even the second lead, but the story is just unbearable. There's no excitement because from the start you could already guess that the female lead will be with the main lead in the end. The drama in between is just too exaggerated not worth your while. After finishing this drama, I thought that I would feel somewhat relieved for the happy ending, but I just didn't. I don't feel anything except for a little bit of happiness for the side couple. I feel like I've wasted my time.

If you're the type of person who likes romantic-comedy, or feel-good type of drama, this is not for you. Don't bother watching, unless you want to waste 18++ hours for something meaningless.

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Underrated Romance Series

I’m very happy that I watched this k-drama despite the negative reviews I’ve seen here. Some reviews mention male characters being rude to female characters. I almost didn’t watch More Than Friends after reading that. I don’t enjoy cruel male leads in dramas or any emotional or physical violence against women. Any “rudeness” in this drama is not the Boys Over Flowers, Heirs, or other traditional k-drama type cruelty. This is the rudeness that mothers need to explain to their daughters when little boys are mean to them at school; the rudeness that means the little boy really likes you, but is too shy, inexperienced and not confident enough to tell you he likes you. This story is about the relationships of three couples, and how they learn more about themselves, to understand other people, and how they all grow into more understanding and self-aware individuals. There is some good relationship advice in this drama that anyone can benefit from. This is an interesting story that I quickly finished, and I recommend that you watch it, too, if you like romantic dramas.

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A disappointment.

Difficult to say what's wrong with this story, cause it's pretty much everything.
I would say the story has it's low points in the beginning but it's bearable. As soon as the narrative changes halfway through, it becames the most cliché and boring kdrama ever. The fights hold absolutely no meaning, our favorite secondary couple also starts to have the same fights over and over again, to the point you start to wish the guy would actually move on to a better person... it's a disaster. Kept watching cause i liked some of these actors, but I seriously can't handle how horribly written this was though.

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Very bad!

The story of this drama is very bad! They made the main couple's character problematic, I always skip every scene they have. The only reason I keep watching this is because of the side couples specially the story of the poorest girl among them. I can't even bear to watch scenes coming from the main leads. I love Ong seong wu and shin ye eun and they are the reason why I watch this but I am really disappointed.

PS: Kim Dong Jun visual is so perfect!! Mr. CEO why do you keep chasing for Kyung Woo-Yeon, you deserve better than her. Don't keep hurting yourself. It's good that you finally let her go in the end

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An absolute letdown

When we talk about ML and FL being complete pushovers, this series definitely tops that list. What started as a quirky and cute drama, develoved into a complete mess. I can't help but regret the time I gave to follow the development of the characters. However, the second half of the series was a blur for me, constantly skipping some overstretched scenes and over-the-place emotions.

Frankly, the ML could have done a better job in not being an obnoxious person, but hey, then how would the writers bring those extreme emotions? After reaching one point, the storyline becomes quite predictable leaving no room for improvement or twists, whatsoever. Whoever decides to watch this drama must remember that the leads are filled with regrets and then some more.

While, the FL struggles to have a decent life in the first half, she somehow survives with enough breakups every year. As for our ML, who strictly follows 'ascetism' and only believes in friendship with our FL, always finds a way to reject her. Even this doesn't deter our FL for a while but as she starts dating someone who is as good as the ML, the ML loses his mind. He can't see her liking someone else even though he doesn't want to move beyond friendship. As jealousy flares, he starts falling for her. Ironic, isn't? What actual love couldn't do, a jealous heart did.

This leads to a scrawny second half, with a more miserable ML and his low self-esteem which can't handle his friend dating another guy. I am fed up of these plots but nevermind those who want to dig in, I hope it is worth while for you.

Peace out ☮️

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The story of a woman who confronts an unrequited love with all her heart.

~A missed opportunity turns into a regret. If there are no more opportunities to miss, I'll make sure to create some myself.~
~In a world of misunderstandings, it's dangerous to make assumptions about others. So you should ask the question yourself. You should hear the answer directly.~
~Love has to touch someone's inner confidence. Then love won't be dragged down by the other, but will draw the other to you.~

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From this review: https://kdramadiary.com/kdrama-review/more-than-friends-kdrama-review/ "More than Friends Affirms How Despite The Tears, Experiencing Love Is Life's Greatest Bliss", "One of the best written Korean Dramas this year, More Than Friends has taken its viewers to stage of love that are equal parts blissful and painful - but ultimately the sweetest in between.", "It's interesting to note that More Than Friends is that one drama with such harrowing problems, yet there is not even one single villain present in the story. Remarkably conceived with an amazing cast who owned their roles to the hilt, this series evidently is one of my top drama picks this season."

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I thoroughly enjoyed this JTBC romance, as is often the case, and it left a lasting impression on me. I would recommend it to you if you are looking for a romance that's not necessarily simple and cute, for some it will be more a source of annoyance and boredom than anything else (it's a slow burn and it's far from being a frustration-free drama), or even depressing because yes, it's sad, but in my case I found it more interesting and I was totally hooked. While the drama might seem rather light, it is actually quite heavy.

I really liked the atmosphere, the meaningful and thought-provoking dialogues, the quotes, the narration, the literature, the calligraphy and photography, the cinematography and music, the tense moments and camera movements, the way they end the episodes, the many well-placed metaphors related to fairy tales (I even read an entire analysis to understand one in episode 8, Lee Soo compared to the Little Mermaid at that very moment surprisingly makes so much sense), the parallels, the play on words, even the episode titles, there are so many details I can't list them all.

I would like to add that never before has a drama made me want to visit South Korea, and Seoul in particular, so much. I felt like I was discovering the city as I watched. They did a great job of blending photography with calligraphy. It's rare that I'm so captivated or even amazed by the work aspect of a drama, but this was more than successful. Just like in "Now, We Are Breaking Up", where the male lead is also a photographer while the female lead is a stylist. So in the end, the match-up was really different. Knowing that here we have a very different male lead, he's cold, withdrawn and solitary whereas the one in NWBU is warm and sociable.

I started watching during my stay in Brittany (region in France), so I might as well tell you that I've stayed in the travel mood with this drama.

Lee Soo is quite a sad and annoying character at first, he has a lot of flaws but that's what makes him interesting and he has a beautiful evolution.

Overall this is the kind of drama that's best watched from the perspective of trying to understand the characters, or even empathize with them. We can't control our feelings, and not everything goes our way, and this drama shows that very well. Like it or not, the way the characters behave was very human. More than just a love story, it's a drama about relationships, be they family, friends, lovers, the misunderstandings we can have about ourselves and others, the difficulties we go through, the mistakes we make and the regrets that go with them... Simply put: life. You have to be patient and not judge the characters too quickly to fully appreciate this drama, because we're all different and nobody is perfect. Of course, it's also a beautiful love story and a drama that warmed my heart, with beautiful morals. It's just not what I'd recommend if that's all you're looking for, the drama shows how complicated love can be etc. If you like slow burn and bittersweet romances with complex characters, then it could be for you. It's pretty quiet and not really "dynamic", though.

Some of the topics are very relevant, but I'll let you watch the drama to find out.

Note that the title of the drama in Korean is "Number of cases (to go from friends to lovers)". When you think about it, the concepts at the heart of the drama are some of the things that drama fans hate the most. The importance of timing is a huge part of the story. However, when it's the very concept of the drama, it changes everything. It's not just the story that creates conflict between the characters, and it's not because of external problems either, but internal ones. I'll take an event at the end of episode 6 as an example. At first it made me perplex, I thought it was too clichéd, even ridiculous. By the end of the episode, I completely changed my mind. I find it incredible that what I thought was stupid ended up impressing me. It was so meaningful and sad. Yet another cliché made its appearance towards the end of the drama, but I knew they would prove me wrong, and that they did. Sure, these are all familiar plot devices, but they're there for a reason—and honestly, it's not like such things don't happen in real life.

OST: The lyrics have a real emotional impact and make so much sense in relation to the story and the characters' feelings, especially as they were really well placed in the scenes. One OST is actually sung by Ong Seong Wu himself, dedicated to his character. The OST is called Late Regret, for those who want to know the name. There's also Spider Lily and Serendipity as interesting titles, since they mean something.

Side note: Yes, the story is frustrating and one could say it goes in circles, but no, it doesn't drag unnecessarily. Yes, Joon Soo deserves better. No, I do not put all the blame on Woo Yeon, and no, he wasn't innocent. What matters is that in the end, the journey was meaningful for everyone. Also, it's funny but not surprising to me how people just go for the simpler, kinder, more extrovert character who's a rich CEO, while I'm here finding Lee Soo much more interesting as an introvert, tsundere type of character. Of course I also loved Joon Soo and especially by the end I felt bad for him, so don't get me wrong.

In conclusion, this is a romance that is clichéd but still stands out from the rest because everything seems so realistic and different from other dramas, right up to the very end. Moreover, the division of the drama into two distinct halves is nothing short of brilliant.

The opening to discover as it does not appear on Viki (it does on Netflix) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKQazSzhFr8

Thank you for reading !

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A waste of good casting

Oh god, where do I begin? Maybe I’ll just start with that I have never written any MDL review but it’s 4am and this drama made me so angry, I just cannot resist.

I’ve watched the whole drama just for a perfect cast. Both Ong Seong Wu and Shin Ye Eun are my absolute favourites so I was really excited. Sadly, the actors (the whole cast, not just the main characters) are the only good thing that has came out of this trainwreck.

It’s not that the main lead is just a typical jerk. I mean, he is, but on top of that, he’s an ignorant narcissist who definitely needs a therapy. The number of times he did not take no for an answer was just threatening and I’m surprised that nobody has ever called cops on him. He wasn’t cute, he was just terribly creepy and manipulative. An almost unnoticeable character development he goes through is just not enough in this case – not after seeing all the crap that he has done before.

The female lead was… not as bad as him and I guess that’s the only compliment she can get. From the very beginning, she did not care for other people’s feelings and made everything about herself. Sadly, her developing relationship with the second male lead made her only more unlikeable in this particular matter. Looking back at her behaviour, the only sympathy I’ve had for her was because I really wanted to see her finally developing and escaping the relationship with the male lead, which sadly didn’t happen.

The main couple could have some chemistry at moments if only not the fact that their whole relationship was built on the red flags. I’ve watched several kdramas but I swear, I have never seen such a toxic relationship before. The fact that the two could not communicate for the majority of the time and called it a “bad timing” basically says it all. Even after putting all this effort to finally form a relationship, they actually broke up because apparently, they have nothing to talk about anymore. And then, after not being able to deal with a literally first obstacle they had to face, somehow they still feel the need to go back together but make it hard for themselves for, again, literally no reason. It’s just ridiculous.

I actually kept watching the drama for two side relationships, thinking they were really cute at first. Sadly even those two were tragically crushed by poor screenwriting and non-existent problems. Especially the long-term couple seemed to develop problems out of absolutely nowhere. As the couple was definitely on the same page from the very beginning, it seems like the screenwriters had a hard time coming up with a reason to make the two break up. As a result, we had to watch them part their ways for no reason whatsoever only to make us realize how absolutely bland Hyun Jae is. The break did also no good to Young Hee, who completely lost my sympathy, as her actions were just absurd at the time.

The message this drama gives is just… alarming to say the least. The last episode (especially the last conversation between the second male lead and main female lead) basically states that it’s good to stay in a mismatched, absolutely toxic relationship and keep having arguments all the time as long as you like the other person. What the hell? It feels really itchy, concerning the fact that the plot itself did nothing to justify irrational arguments and showed almost no growth of the characters. I feel generally concerned seeing so many teenage girls drooling over this drama and idealising such toxic behaviours just because of a good cast.

Again, it’s just a shame that those very good, young actors had to waste their time, talent and potential on this piece of crap.

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