romcom of the year (or decade!)
absolutely delightful from start to finish. almost every trope in the book was portrayed well throughout the whole series. this delivered romance, comedy, angst, fantasy, high school romance, college romance, mature romance and love that transcends timelines. sol and sunjae are both good hearted, strong-willed and well written characters who loved each other so deeply. it has such a satisfying ending too. also, every episode is a kim hyeyoon acting masterclass. she is the lovely in lovely runner. the heart of the drama. 10000/10 would recommend. <3Was this review helpful to you?
This drama has consumed my entire being
I hated mondays and i look forward to mondays now. Ryu Sunjae and Im Sol appeared out of nowhere and took over my life with their epic romance. Their love story was like a whirlwind, pulling me into their world of passion, trials, and triumphs. Every moment they shared was filled with intensity, from their stolen glances to their heart-wrenching confessions. They navigated through misunderstandings and obstacles with a determination that made me believe in love's power to conquer all. I really cant put into words how precious this drama is. If youre wondering whether you should give a chance or not, please do. Trust me on this.(How do i get over this drama y'all i literally dont know what im gonna do with my life when it ends next week ?)
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Delightful whirlwind of emotions, blending sci-fi thrills, heart-melting romance♡♡
If you haven’t yet fallen head-over-heels for *Lovely Runner*, prepare to be enchanted. This kdrama is a delightful whirlwind of emotions, blending sci-fi thrills, heart-melting romance, and adorable moments that will make you swoon.Im Sol and Ryu Sun Jae, our dreamy leads, have an otherworldly chemistry that’s simply off the charts. Their on-screen connection is like magic, making you wish you were part of their story. Im Sol’s portrayal is a perfect mix of strength and vulnerability, while Ryu Sun Jae is the charming, enigmatic hero you’ll find impossible to resist. Together, they create a love story so captivating, you might just get a little delulu and start daydreaming about their romance in real life!
From the fun and cute moments that make you giggle to the intense sci-fi twists that keep you hooked, *Lovely Runner* has it all. It even gives you that delicious second lead syndrome that has you rooting for more than one character. And let’s not forget the beautifully portrayed grief and tension that add depth to the story.
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surprisingly engaging story in a timeworn genre
I was half expecting a silly high school teen idol story & was half prepared to drop this show. I was only curious to see Byeon Woo Seok again after seeing him in Strong Girl Namsoon & thought I would just check out the 1st episode or two. My goodness what a pleasant surprise this turned out to be. It's along the same level of pleasant surprise as Legally Romance, another story about a woman returning to the past to change her fate. It's actually not a teen story because it's told from an adult perspective.Kim Hye Yoon plays Im Sol, a 30 y/o woman who travels back 15 yrs in time to try to prevent a trajedy from happening to her first love Ryu Seon Jae, played by BWS. As things don't quite turn out the way she hopes the first time, she figures out a way to travel back & forth for further attemtps to affect different outcomes. In the course of storytelling, I find the more times this happens, the more muddled things get & too many questions arise about just what the heck is going on. Some characters seem to retain memories you wouldn't expect them to if the time travel didn't involve them. Did Sol return to the past at a point before or after she told certain people certain things? I couldn't keep track. Sol also gains new memories from her new timelines, but the editing made it a bit confusing to follow. Finally comes the question of whether fate is strong enough that if things don't happen one day, will it happen on another day, in another way? And wouldn't that apply to all events, including trajedy?
You'd think the theme of going back in time is so worn out; how can it possibly be retold & still be entertaining? The strength of this drama, I realize, is in the skill of weaving in the developing relationship between Sol & Seon Jae. Sol drives the teen relationship with her 30 y/o maturity, & what she doesn't realize is SJ's own maturity which was far beyond her clueless younger self. Equally impressive was the steady & consistent performance of KHY, who could convey so much of Sol's conflict & hesitation without saying a word. I've read that KHY is not receiving as much attention for this drama as her co-star, which is itself very sad to see as she is the true star of the show. (Addendum: as of Aug 2024 it's reported that she has won an award for this performance).
I'll just add a short comment on the depiction of disability, which I've yet to see portrayed as anything other than worse than death in an Asian drama. Seeing Sol's independence while in a wheelchair, but being denied job opportunities because of inaccessibility which is no fault of her own, it might've been an opportunity to make some sort of statement by having Sol advocate for accessibility, especially since she ends up working at the place that initially rejected her. I was actually excited at the thought of a show featuring a disabled lead character, but alas the show was not up to that level & I decided to let this one go for now.
One of the co-writers of this show also wrote for True Beauty, a show I was far less impressed with. This show was quite entertaining overall, and with good performances. I've rated it higher than I might normally with this type of fluff piece, but only because it was nicely shot, had more than a few truly funny moments, and raised interesting questions about fate. If I had to compare, though, I'd say Legally Romance is a better show.
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The show that gave me the biggest comfort in 2024
I don’t trust anybody who finishes this kdrama and doesn’t like it. Lovely runner gave everything I have ever wanted from a show:Comfort green flag characters (even when sonjae was jealous HE WAS JUST SO CUTE it wasn’t a bad red flag move)
Hilarious scenes
Absolutely adorable romantic scenes
Beautiful cinematography and ost (and literally every song in the show was a masterpiece)
Outstanding acting from literally everyone
Some adventure and fantasy (and because of that we got so many protective cute moments, they were protecting each other all the time I wanted to scream)
Nice little plot twists and attention to the details,
A clever script
An ending with no loopholes, just comfort and happiness. And something really important? NO boring episodes! I finished this in 2 days, while in most kdramas I take (at the very very least) a week (or even months tbh).
All the unrealistic and cliche moments were because it’s based on a webtoon like come on if they got rid of some unnecessary trippings etc you would be like “but you erased scenes from the webtoon you ruined it” WELL here they are!!!!!!!
Overall 10000/10
Please watch it you won’t regret it. Now I gotta see how I’m going to move on from my post masterpiece show depression cause it’s hitting hard right now
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You will be missed!
First of all, the chemistry and acting of all the characters were excellent. The storyline was clear and well thought out. I love how the main leads realistically portrayed their emotions and thoughts, even in an idealized, unrealistic world. This drama demonstrated the power of love and the fate of the characters always finding each other. Lovely runner has a special place in my heart.Was this review helpful to you?
Lovely Runner is the best Romantic Comedy, better yet, most satisfyingly epic show of all time!!!
It was a delightful ride watching our dear Ryu Sun Jae and Im Sol’s tumultuous love journey filled with sacrifices throughout their Teens, College and Adult eras. RomCom is my favorite genre and this drama was my cup of tea! I especially loved witnessing the ML’s POV as a loser-in-love-who’s-forced-to-be-cool, it was so refreshing to see as a RomCom lover! BWS & KHY’s chemistry are unparalleled, allowing for them to effortlessly convey their feelings across this reel. They're so convincing that my hunch is that they’re completely enamored with each other in real life! Stop feeding my Dimple Couple delulu! The writer and directors’ expertise and execution, intertwined superbly into a storytelling that was unblemished by PPLs, resulting into a beautifully organic masterpiece. It’s awesome how they injected the comedic timings to be consistent throughout the episodes without fail. The OSTs sounded amazing and were all so fitting with the moments of love, comedy, angst, and tears. My personal favorites were all the Eclipse songs sung by BWS! SGH, LSH and all the Supporting Casts did so well with their acting, making their characters so memorable. I look forward to their future projects. Last but not least, a round of applause for the production team and all your hard work in making this kdrama happen. They collaborated this nostalgic gem of a kdrama to me, reminding me of dearly of my original love of 20+ years kdrama. Overall, the re-watch value of LR is extremely high for me and I’ll be unwrapping this gift for many years to come!Was this review helpful to you?
I found my fav rom-com fantasy angst drama
This is just for me, its my drama. And i dont care about other but this is the almost perfect drama for myselfThinking about how can I enjoy more and more when I rewatch this drama, found another detail about this is so beautiful
They played with my feelings too well. I laughed when I cried and I cried when I laughed. Feel so loved but the brought that down
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This review may contain spoilers
A KDRAMA WHICH DESERVED ALL THE HYPE! Best drama of 2024!
Its been while since I've watched a rom com kdrama which is so hyped and after finishing it, I HAVE TO SAY-- "This drama deserved all the hype." NO, in fact, it deserves way more recognition than it received. Half way through the drama after watching ep 8 i had rated this drama 10/10. I had decided that if the writer gave us an unambiguous, happy ending with lots of Soljae fluff, I wud rate this my top 1 fav kdrama of all times and thankfully the writers n directors didn't disappoint us.Time travel has always been my favorite trope but a lot of them have ambiguous confusing endings where the entire thing turns out to be a dream or something most of the time. (I hate that.. Srsly!!) Lovely runner gave us time travel, romance, comedy, high school, crime, etc. -so many genres all in one and they executed all of these so beautifully capturing their audience's attention throughout the 2 months of its airing.
To be honest, i hadn't really watched any drama of either of the leads n i just started watching this bcz i didn't want to miss a time travel drama -being my fav genre n all... and I am so, so glad i didn't miss it.
They gave us LOSER SUNJAE n CRAZY SOL who were made for each other. One of the many things i liked about it was how they executed the part where Sunjae remembers everything. Especially thankful for the fact that they didn't just make it the last scene and BAM! end- but gave us ample Soljae scenes after that. The whole memory thing was carefully spanned over 2 eps n not just a sudden thing with no explanation. All these scenes were so beautifully filmed..
For the past 2 months, we all cried when Sol n Sunjae cried, we were happy with them when they finally defied their so called fate and got together.??
Thank u Taesung for being such a supportive friend to Sol-ah , n rival to Sunjae ofc in any timeline. Thank u Baek Inhyuk, for helping your loser friend in his confessions (?).
As Sol's grandma says- Memories can be forgotten, but the soul always remembers." Even if they didn't remember each other, their friendship/rivalry remained.
AND THE BIGGEST THANKS TO THE WHITE TRUCK OF DOOM!!!!!! ?
SOLJAE's role was made for KHY n BWS. Now I can't imagine anyone else playing uri loser sunjae n being Solchinja.
The OSTs ?made me feel as if i was falling in love myself while hearing them especially - Sudden shower, like a dream, spring snow.
I'll definitely miss my days where i waited for this.... no more waiting for preview, theories, pre releases or next week for new eps.
Anyone else debating whether to watch it or not-> PLZ,PLZ,PLZ,PLZ GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!
You won't regret watching this masterpiece!
Miss u LOVELY RUNNER??!
Miss u uri pouty baby loser Sunjae-ya n crazy Sol-ah??!!!
I sincerely hope this drama and the actors/actresses of the drama sweep all the awards for the year!!!!!!!!!!
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FEELINGS
I LOVE THIS KDRAMA? YOU MUST WATCH LOVELY RUNNER? AYOKONG MAGING SPOILER. GANDA NG TWIST NG STORY. KUDOS TO BYEON WOO SEOK, KIM HYE YOON, TO THE DIRECTOR AND THE WRITER??♀️? WILL RE-WATCH THIS FOR SURE !!
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My favourite drama yet in 2024
Lovely Runner stole my heart! The writing was near perfect – no filler episodes, unnecessary misunderstandings, or dull moments. The humor was spot-on, and the romantic scenes, especially the ending, struck the perfect balance – neither too over-the-top nor underwhelming.The characters were beautifully crafted, each playing a vital role in the story's richness. The parallel narratives were woven flawlessly, leaving no plot holes behind.
Goodbye, enjoyable Monday and Tuesday nights. I'll miss you!
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I love this drama like Seonjae loves Sol
Sorry for my English. Lovely Runner is the best drama I have seen so far this year, each episode made me feel like I was on a roller coaster, sometimes I laughed, other times I cried. The best thing is that each chapter left me wanting to see more, it didn't become tedious or boring as it usually happens in other dramas that I already finished in the last chapters out of obligation. But it didn't happen to me with this drama. What's more, I feel empty now that it's over. The chemistry, the acting, the script, the ost everything was perfectly executed. That's why this drama deserves all the love it's receiving, I don't think it's overrated when it didn't have adequate promotion from the beginning. This drama will have a place in my heart forever.Was this review helpful to you?
