This review may contain spoilers
my high expectations left me disappointed
It has been a while since i finished this drama. It's still difficult to make up mind about it. I waited for this drama for months. Since it was announced. I am a big fan of Shin Hye Sun, i love to see Ahn Bo Hyun too and was excited when he was casted as the main lead. Add Ha Yoon Kyung, add a premiss that could lead to a plot full of pining and Bingo. You created a Drama that is fully my taste. Now after some time i kind of want to write a review.But... sadly something was missing. Don't get me wrong the Drama is good. But what is it that's missing? The Drama had sooo much potential. I have the feeling that the lack of chemistry between the leads is not the fault of the actors and actresses, but more the fault of the script. I didn't feel quite right. Maybe it was the way staged and produced it and the way they let the plot unfold. For example ake a look at the chemistry in Mr Queen and Yumi's Cells (or even Military Prosecuter Do Bae Man)... on a totally different level. So this might be not Ahn Bo Hyun's and Shin Hye Sun's fault, since i know that they are more than capable.
I don't need many plotlines or anything. Give me scenes which highlight the relationship between people and i am all here for it. With this Drama i don't know what went wrong and it bothers me that i can't name it. Especially since i wanted to love it. Don't get me wrong, it's a good drama. Just not as good as it could have been. At least for my taste. I still liked it. And the moment with Ji Eum's Mom (i think the end of ep3? i don't remember), the one where she is somewhat hallucinating... it grabbed me by my heart. They could have done more with her other lives, they could have explored more of her other lives. I liked the chemistry of the two sisters tho.
Please someone tell me, why this Drama is just a good drama and not a great one as it should have been...
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Great Acting!!
I haven’t written a review in months, and I didn’t expect too much from this Drama, Time travel stories are kind of hit or miss….or I should say reincarnation, or kind of both I guess. It had my interest from the first episode. I haven’t fast forwarded even once, which is a habit of mine during idle/slow times in a drama, and that is saying something. It started out good, and it keeps going. It has kind of a mixture of everything like…a love story, a mystery, death, sickness, feeling unloved, many surprises in the plot, great acting, and so much more. I loved Ahn Bo Hyun in My Name, so that’s part of the reason I decided to watch this, and he hasn’t disappointed me. The ending was fitting to the story. I think it could have been more than 12 episodes so I would be able to see future events with her life. I don’t want to give the story away by elaborating, but it should have continued. But still a great drama!!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Healing with true love: the promise of a lifetime and more!
I thought I knew what a captivating story was like—that is until I fell in love with watching, and in love again while writing this review—the manhwa inspired drama 'See You in My 19th Life'.This kept me on my toes from the very first moment to the final; an adrenaline pumping roller-coaster of hypothesizing my own theories to being left with clues that didn't exactly match up. The non-linear narrative made for missing pieces of whatever a viewer would be left yearning for to spread out over the course of the twelve episodes, building up on itself till it summed the core formation of its rising climax.
In the beginning, I was dedicated to being fully immersed in the female lead's mystifying character and ready to discover with her, the secrets even she herself didn't know her memory possessed. At the end of the last episode, I was tear-stricken with such an overwhelming compassion of having journeyed through this search-of-meaning-in-life encompassed series.
Emerging secrets, uncovered relationships, creepy coincidences that turned out to all have to do with past lives... I watched with engrossment as lies and truths twisted with each other until all but a captivation so strongly enlaced me to binge watch the tale-like story of Ban Ji-Eum and Mun Seo-Ha.
Its through the grief of the precious life she had loved the most (ending of episode 2, where Mun Seo Ha visits her old grave and she, for the first time, is able to see herself through another’s perspective), that she learned it wasn’t others she was losing, but it was rather herself all along. This is an essential-to-her-growth realization she makes during the act of rejoicing paths with everyone from her precedent 18th life as Ju-won Yun. Due to her time being cut short from a car accident that becomes a whole part of the plot on its own, her reincarnation as Ban Ji-Eum signified the first life she was able to see her own impact on the people she left with her death and see herself thru a new perspective.
As she tries to come to terms with past struggles, wholeheartedly faces exigent secrets she'd rather not know and contentedly attempts at a chance to concur past traumas, her life as Ban Ji-Eum becomes her first, 19th, and last all at once.
The lead's insatiable wish for a happier self adventures above and beyond her romance life, into the depths of her inability to move on from past nostalgia of which although brought her tears of joy, negatively chained her motifs. It was only after going through the struggle of remembering it all—from her very first life to her latest—that she was able to garner the beautiful courage to free herself. Because although she was happy, she didn't yet feel the satisfaction of being complete.
To get herself back meant going after what she wanted, not from her self that endured the war to having to adapt to modern times, but who she was in the moment. And that was the desire to be able to let go, and start anew. Just like that, letting go was a renaissance, a revival of her true self. When she was ready, Ban Ji-Eum chose to keep her loved ones over remembering her past lives instead of having to let go due to ‘magical rules’ of the people she found that allowed her to be the best version of herself than remember them.
After both main leads amended what they most wanted with the treasure of extra time gifted to them with magic (Ban Ji-Eum to see how he was doing after being forced to break her promise to forever stay by his side, and Mun Seo-Ha another chance at saying his final goodbye), they, as a couple got the chance to see how they would've ended up if nothing had changed in the first place; if the car's collision with a truck never would've happened.
With a thrilling twist, the ending explores the theory of 'one will always love the other more' in an ironic switch, putting the aspect of a relationship's need for dedication and trust in favour. It introduced to viewers the beauty of true love, the strong dedication to be with the one you long for, and most of all; the promise of a lifetime and more.
A story line that makes you think, a relationship that makes you feel, and a realization that makes you heal is what most defines this inspiration-gripping show.
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A story of love, loss, family, and friendship
This drama is beautiful, truly. From the story to the cinematography, everything about See You in my 19th life is amazing. I became aware of this dramas existence a few days before the first episode dropped and I knew I had to at least take a look. This drama follows Ban Ji Eum, a woman in her early twenties who is able to remember her past lives. Her most recent past life, Yoon Ju Won, died as a 12 year old and Ji eum plans to reconnect with the people of Ju Wons life, mainly Mun Seo Ha whom was her first love and who was with her the day she died. However while inserting herself in the life of the now older Seo Ha, they both end up discovering things that will change their lives forever. Does that premise interest you, even if just a bit? Then I beg you to go watch this drama. I truly think this is the best drama I've watched in 2023, the writing, the cinematography, and the OST were all phenomenal and truly made this drama shine. Another thing that made this drama shine is the acting, it was excellent. The two main roles, played by Shin Hye Sun and Ahn Bo Hyun, are not easy roles to play. And both pull it off excellently.If you are a bit hesitant because serious dramas don't really do it for you, please don't give up yet. While this drama is serious overall, it has no shortage of swoon worthy romance scenes and comedic moments.
Overall I highly, highly recommend this drama and I hope my review encourages you to watch it :)
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Well made drama with excellent acting and gorgeous cinematography
Great drama overall. This series has excellent casting. The actors were superb — both the adults and the children. Glad to see Ahn Bo-Hyun as the male lead. Shin Hye-Sun was marvelous as the female lead. All the support cast did a great job. The cinematography is gorgeous — landscape shots are beautiful, close-up shots are thoughtful, framing is excellent. The editing is very good — interweaving flashbacks and current storyline scenes are well done. While there are other dramas whose ending is a disappointment, this drama’s final episode does not disappoint. The director did a great job in that there are no useless “filler” scenes. I think the cast and production crew did a fantastic job. I haven’t seen the webtoon so I cannot say if it is faithful to the original story. On its own, it stands as an excellent and well made drama series. I would highly recommend See You in My 19th Life.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Unfulfilled potential
I was pretty excited about this show, I was looking forward to something a little more original than what I've been seeing lately. Alas, disappointment followed. I enjoyed some aspects of it, but with the uneven pacing and the glaring plot holes, pretty much all I felt at the end was frustration. As with most everything, there were positives as well as negatives.LIKED:
1) Shin Hye Sun as Ban Ji Eum - I have loved her in everything I've seen her in. She's real, she's likeable, and she has a firm grasp on her acting ability. She knows when to give us more, as well as when to reign it in, to leave us WANTING more.
2) Kim Shi Ah as the young lady that was Ji Eum in her 18th life. For me, she was the standout in this. She was lovely and poised beyond her years. As I watched her, I felt that she had the knowledge from all her past lives and was somewhat jaded. Kind of like she was forced to act like a child when she was an adult. She was so sweet with her sister and Seo Ha.
3) Cha Chung Hwa as Ji Eum's niece from her 17th life. I love this actress and she brought humor to the role that was welcome.
4) Costuming. I loved the clothes in this, especially everything they put on Ahn Bo Hyun. He must have lost weight for this role, because I've always seen him as being in a sportsman role. He looked great and he wore everything well.
5) OST. Some beautiful music.
6) Cinematography, for the most part, was very good. I especially loved all the colors and movement from her first life. I just wish I hadn't had to see her first life over and over again.
7) I liked how the FL brought all of her skills from her past lives into her current life.
NOT SO MUCH:
1) Who did hair and makeup!?! Her hair was very "Cheese in the Trap" and distracting. Most jarring was the makeup on Ahn Bo Hyun. He looked so white, actually pasty. It looked like someone had slathered on the makeup with a trowel, and the lipstick on him was entirely too obvious and dark. There were multiple times I thought that I was watching a vampire movie, he reminded me of that.
2) I didn't like the forwardness of Ji Eum at all. "let's date". I didn't find it cute or endearing at all. To a certain extent, I felt the same about the 2FL. If someone isn't interested, move on.
3) The murder plot. It started out interesting and ended in a fizzle. What a waste of time!
4) I was never clear on why the guy with the bells was so intent on her remembering her first life, especially since he was there and NOT a good guy.
5) There is a difference between not remembering your previous lives and not remembering the people in your life currently. She didn't have amnesia, for heaven's sake! If she didn't remember them, how did she remember where she used to work? For me, the whole ending was clunky, like they didn't know how to resolve it and wrap everything up.
6) Lack of chemistry between the leads.
So, if asked if I think you should watch, I wouldn't say to run away, but there is a lot of better stuff out there to watch.
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The two major flaws of this series is 1) the lack of chemistry in the romance and 2) the lack of purpose to the story. I was so frustrated I dropped it just a few episodes from the end.
Shin Hye-sun as the main female lead does an excellent job, as she did in Mr Queen, at portraying someone who isn't what they seem on the surface. I fully believed that she had lived many lives beyond this one. Ahn Bo-hyun, however, played his character so straight, wide-eyed, bumbling and a bit gullible that you couldn't understand WHY the main female lead was so intrigued by him as a romantic partner. Where was the depth of many lives in HIS eyes?!?
On top of that, the fantasy mysteries were all dragged out, why was she being reborn again and again? Who were these weird people popping out from the past? Why was everyone around her suffering bad luck? etc. These mysteries were introduced at the halfway point, but 3 or so episodes later we were no closer. Everything had stalled.
If the romance had been better OR the fantasy and themes been better, I would have stuck with it. But both fell down, and being cinematic and pretty was just not enough to hold my interest.
PS On a bit more of a petty note, Ahn Bo-hyun's suits were atrocious and I couldn't tell whether that was supposed to portray something about the character - it started to really irritate me.
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THE BETTER DRAMA
I wish this has more episodes. I can't believe we're 6 episodes down to its endingFirst, the cinematography is so good even the characters outfits. The story is slow paced but not to the point that you'll be bored. They're good at cliffhangers that you can't wait for another episode.
Acting is on point. I did not expect that Ahn Bo hyun will nail his role as Seoha. Shin Hye Sun is Shin Hye Sun. Give her a role and she'll slay. The second leads are so adorable makes me wanna ship them more than the main leads
I also love the kids in this drama. They were perfectly casted.
I can't wait for another episode.
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solid adaptation
when I first heard about this show, I got super excited by the premise and immediately binged the entire webtoon. and I *loved* the webtoon, it completely caught my attention and made me more excited to see the show. I started watching when it aired but ended up taking breaks through the watching of it for various reasons, so I'm only now finishing itI think this is a pretty solid adaptation, though of course it's not perfect. there are things about the original story that were changed to fit the small screen -- I wish that they had kept the original story, but by the end of the show, I had learned to appreciate the changes. it feels like an au and that's okay (I'm gonna be upset about doyoon losing his plot forever tho)
one thing I didn't enjoy was the sound of this show. it got better by the end but it def wasn't perfect. there were weird sound effects and the songs came in and out clumsily enough that it was noticeable and took me out of the scene sometimes. however, one thing I really loved was all of the call backs. every time they ran together while juicy played was like a breath of fresh air and it was incredibly sweet
the last episode had me absolutely bawling, I didn't expect it to go there (by the time I watched it, I've honestly forgotten the exact ways the webtoon ended) but it was done in a really nice way. I love seoha and jieum together so much
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Saved by the female lead's acting
Story: Ji Eum(female lead) remembers most of her previous lives(17 except the first) and from her last life(18th), she fell in love with a boy and wanted to know what happen after she died. The story was easy to follow with some snippets of her first life to unravel the reason why she kept being born again and again. The plot was a bit boring as the twist felt predictable for me and some villains and characters was just like a side story to make the episodes longer but didn't really add value to the drama.Acting: 10/10 for Shim Hye Sun. She's just hands down a brilliant actress but the rest was just flat, she carried the whole show, imo. I would like to praise Cha Chung Hwa(Ji Eum's niece) acting as well, a veteran and versatile actress.
Music: I scored high for music as they seemed appropriate most of the time and I liked most of them. I remember the songs from the last episode and the piano bgm.
Rewatch Value: I wouldn't be rewatching the drama but Shim Hye Sun has a lot of cool and memorable scenes here.
Overall: 7 - 7.5 for me. This one has a good start and cute ending but the acting from most of the actors are pretty flat that didn't provide deep impression and any exciting feelings while watching them . The chemistry of the main leads felt forced as well but i did have few butterfly moments in the middle of the drama. Ahn Bo Hyun still needs to polish his acting skills plus his wardrobe was really bad, so his charm was lackluster too and as a CEO, it wasn't believable at times. I felt like they just added some eye candies(the secretary, his brother and the first life guy) but nothing really special to each of their character.
*may contain spoilers*
Issues(apart from above): feel free to correct me as i could have missed the logic behind this, if the people from previous life is supposed to die, why was her niece(Ae Kyung) able to live until that moment? it took 8-9 years for her to live(although verbally mentioned that she's been having issues for a while) but in Ji Eum's previous lives people were taken away much earlier? Apart from that, her reborn life is much faster when there's foul play behind her death but she wasn't really the target so why would it affect her? Even so, why was this 'thing' brought up in the plot but had nothing to do with her previous lives? So, i felt like there are so many things that were not answered by the end of the series. However, i do love Ji Eum's character so i just brushed off these plot holes or maybe i was just thinking too much. Maybe, See you in my 19th life is just a simple story that doesn't need to analyze profoundly.
Side Note: I didn't read the Manhwa so my review is just for the drama itself.
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É bom, mas falta algo
Comecei esse dorama pq sempre vi todo mundo falando dele.Eu gostei e achei interessante, mas senti falta de algumas coisas e achei o final meio corrido. Mas de toda forma, o final ao mesmo tempo que é lindo, é triste. A forma como eles arquiteram pra que eles pudessem se encontrar de novo e não a esqueceram, da mesma forma como ela não os esqueceu das vidas passadas. A forma como o Seoha usou das mesmas formas e frases para reconquista-lá me emocionou. Mas também é muito triste que ela tenha se esquecido das pessoas que amava.
Enfim, foi um dorama bom e fotografia é muito linda. Uma pena terem apressado algumas coisas.
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bittersweet but so good!!
I watched itIt was so good, I loved it
I had read the webtoon and it is different but honestly they did a great job regardless
the FL is an amazing actress wow those emotions I cried just bc of it and the story
it was beautiful honestly
the ending people don’t like bc
*spoiler alert*
she’ll forget her past lives but … were you not watching? she would pray every single life to not remeber her past lives for her next life; it’s what she always wanted, it’s haunting and sad remeber everything that’s happened to her — she wants to lives in peace and those who she loves come to find her and build a relationship with her bc they remeber and it’s so cute! the was ML went and treated FL the same when the tables were turned was just chefs kiss it made me smile although it’s bittersweet it was a good ending in my opinion it made sense - after every episode of FL saying she wishes to forget her pay lives it’s only obvious that’s what’s going to happen! to each their own but, personally, I loved it!!
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