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Romance Is a Bonus Book korean drama review
Completed
Romance Is a Bonus Book
1 people found this review helpful
by Nikolean
Jun 16, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers
I really liked this series, as for me it was a big step out of what I usually go for- not a melodrama nor lots of twists and turns. In all, it had really great pacing and honestly three reasons made me go for this: Lee Jong Suk, the background of books and how it ties into everything, and the single camera work. I was very interested to see how a series using single camera filming would look and I think the director made really good use of everything they had.

THE STORY
I really enjoyed how it was a simple office comedy, with some established mysteries and nuanced characters. Most of the characters went through a lot of growth, and it was nice seeing leads and their seconds leads that weren't "too" perfect or messed up. I enjoyed the relationship dynamics between the two leads, and the change in how they realized the extent of their feelings. They had such a healthy relationship and were there for each other in thick and thin. I also appreciated that there wasn't a breakup from misunderstandings that led them apart- they knew each other for a long time and their relationship transition reflected that. They respected each other to not try and solve each others' problems, but rather lend small helping hands and a shoulder to lean on. They kept their intimacy while keeping their individuality. I found it pleasantly surprising that they managed to keep their relationship and living situation a secret from almost all of the office until the last episode- though I wish the reveal was a little better hehe. I don't have much to say about the story from how I really appreciated the pacing and the storytelling seeming so simple yet so important. The transition in relationship between Seo Joon and Hae Rin was believable and pretty and I enjoyed how their chemistry was shown together and the difference between how they treated each other to realizing they valued each other as more than friends- it was very natural. A few things that could have been done better though was Dan Yi's daughter- she kind of disappeared from the plot and I wished she would have been more integrated. Secondly, the story between Byung Jun and Eun Ho was good for the plot, but I wished that they showed a bit of their memories together earlier, because I couldn't feel much for the dying writer when he was lying there.

Just a personal note: Eun Ho's love for Dan Yi was so pure and you could tell these two were soulmates from their interactions of them being each others' home. I also found it so cute and smooth that he would always be confessing his love for her even when she didn't realize it. I loved the conversations that they had that urged them to think- especially when Dan Yi is sorting out her feelings and Eun Ho basically told her she was professing her love there and then.

THE CAST
I think the cast was well-casted and they really reflected their characters very well. I don't have much to say because I thoroughly enjoyed their portrayals. As usual, I'm a LJS fan and I felt that his EunHo was so alive and real, and him and Na Young had great chemistry! I appreciated how Ha Joon was able to portray Seo Joon as well- how he can show his attraction for Dan Yi but also show that there wasn't much chemistry between them compared to how he seemed friendly towards Hae Rin but had such great chemistry!This is the first main role I've seen Ha Joon do and I'm really glad he got this role because his Seo Joon was perfect and loveable.

MUSIC
I don't have much to say about the music- because it was really relaxing and brings a smile to my face. It's the type of music that I first hear and I'm like "it's good" (with a shrug) but as I hear it more I like it more and more. I think what made me give a higher rating for music was how well it was integrated and helped reflect the mood perfectly. The music in general was well-made and to my personal taste- I really enjoyed the piano background songs. My favourite OSTs would definitely be Take My Hand by Jannabi and SOMEDAY by The Black Shirts.

REWATCH VALUE
A nine for me! Not much else to say, I loved this story and the themes and motifs a lot :) Good for easygoing days and when I don't want to think too much about an overcomplicated plot.

CONCEPTS
The mini monologues at the end of Eun Ho and Dan Yi's thoughts at the end of episodes really helped the nostalgic and thoughtful feelings of the plot and the motif of books was well integrated to the point of it enhancing the plot a lot and not being overused. I really enjoyed the aspect of how books were integrated, especially the "moon is beautiful" words and the scene in the theatre when they were practically writing a letter to each other. I think the story in general had a lot of meaningful messages that will stay with me for a while.

CONCLUSION
I'm starting to enjoy these more "indie" projects that I'm finding that seem to be the trend nowadays with popular actors. I'm really glad I started this series and it left me with a lot of satisfaction. It's not perfect, but it had a wonderful message and the storytelling paced very well and thoughtfully that all the messages came out. I appreciated the fact that nothing seemed overly rushed or glossed over and the videographer also did a very good job in the scenes that they captured.
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