finnnelsonn
This review may contain spoilers
Watch it for Minho - no plot, just vibes :3
I think it is important to set expectations before you start watching this drama. Dont expect an intelligent plot or fleshed out characters. Suspension of disbelief is also key. Instead, prepare yourself for beautiful cinematography, great outfits and excellent visuals. If you are a fan of Minho, thats probably the only way you will be able to breeze through this drama like I did. Minho's beautiful face and steamy scenes with FL is the only saving grace. I wouldn't say he is the best actor though and some of his emotional scenes are delivered in a flat monotone but he looks amazingly chiseled and his face and skin tone isn't all whitewashed - which seems to be getting increasingly rare in recent kdramas.The storyline is all over the place and it is hard to like the characters or support the choices they make. Which is fine, not every character needs to be "likeable" but the grey areas of human characteristics need to be explored for it to be considered a good script. The FL is particularly boring and it is not clear as to what motivates or drives her. She is repeatedly described as "career driven" but the work she does is the most vapid, meaningless work there is. At one point she talks about how the basis of human existence is clothing, food and shelter and because she works in the fashion industry she is contributing towards that basic need - that reasoning alone is enough to show how stupid and superficial the script is lol. Her personal life is also a bit messy since she starts off by cheating with her bf and is fully intent on lying about it only to be dumped by her bf because he doesnt think they are a good match. Except he comes back a few episodes later, claiming he broke up with her to "test" her and actually he does like her after all. It is almost comical that the FL hesitates but starts dating him again simply because the leads cannot get together again this early into the drama. The rest of the drama is about the FL rekindling her relationship with the ML who is her ex turned friend except it is never explored as to why they broke up in the first place. Something about the ML not being very vocal about his feelings?? Except he seems to be the show not tell kind of guy and literally goes out of his way to do all sorts of chores/work stuff for the FL. It is also vaguely mentioned that the ML lacks "passion" bc he works as a photographer on a freelance/part time basis - yet he still owns an expensive looking apartment of his own but like I said, you need to suspend disbelief. Oh and another aspiring model not originally part of the main friendship/ensemble group is randomnly inserted into the drama and he starts living with the ML for some reason????? Honestly couldnt follow the plot at all. It was just messy with random people popping in and out simply to add the "com" in this romcom.
Ultimately the only thing we learn from this drama is that these people are rich, pretty and entitled. A lot of the conflict and setbacks they face are also borne out of their own impulsive actions or for silly reasons that are quickly resolved or cast aside. The other two characters are also pretty forgettable and one dimensional. The model's friendship with the ML, as a male/female friendship without any romantic subtext, was refreshing to see and had a lot of potential but was not fleshed out because much of the screen time is dedicated to the FL's nonsensical work woes. The SML (Joseph) was also reduced to a stereotypical gay designer used for comic relief.
In the end though, you know these rich pretty people will continue to breeze through life and magically get opportunities in this supposedly cut throat and competitive world of fashion. All will be fine in the end and I guess there is solace in that. Though I do wish the characters were actually worth rooting for. Still, I love Minho and his character had the whole puppy dog love down pat which was endearing to see but the object of his affection was not someone I cared for.
I am giving this a high rating because it is easy to breeze through bc of Minhoo and his chemistry with the FL. The rewatch value is also high because I will deffo go back and watch his cute scenes with FL. I also liked that the FL broke up with her bf as soon as the ML confessed and they didnt beat out the bush too much - though I think we are supposed to ignore the fact that she cheated on her BF and never told him the truth even after she got back with him. She could've chosen to tell him when he was pursuing her again and she seemed irritated by it. Anyway, I already complained about the plot so all this seems repetitive. Watch it if you can get past the cringe and the bonkers plot line. MINHO SARANGE ?
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I have been looking for a good jdrama to help me with my kdrama slump and so far I had not been able to find something I actually adore until I watched this and fell in love.
This drama is character driven more than anything so it is definitely for viewers who are looking for to watch the slice of life genre. The drama is simply about how people in a shared house come together, adapt, grow as people and pursue their dreams. But there is beauty in this simple premise because the characters are written and acted out with warmth, care and unique idiosyncrasies. You cant help but root for them and relate to their setbacks, insecurities and wins and losses. I feel connected to all of them long after I am done watching all 10 episodes and have to woefully bid them goodbye.
The star of the show is definitely the female lead. The actress who played her has this immense grace and her acting is AMAZING. Seriously, I was blown away by some of her emotional scenes and I could FEEL her pain with every tear. Her character growth is spectacular but she remains the same person at her core which is a kind, resilent and thoughtful individual - and it is these traits that have her friends, love interests, parents and us viewers rooting for her every step of the way.
I adore her chemistry with the ML. I read some reviews about how there is not a lot of romance and that is true. I think the romance is just enough because ultimately the focus is on relationships of ALL kinds. There is a great beauty in her platonic relationships as well. Her love with ML is a warm, quiet kind of love. It is not passionate in the way we are accustomed to think about passion with the leads yearning and pining for each other. People looking for steamy scenes might be disappointed as their kiss scenes are also quite chaste (though I would argue that the ML delivers some smouldering looks her way and that compensates for any kind of passion viewers may be looking for). There is also not a lot of yearning because the main strength of the leads relationship is communication and respect. They are direct when confessing and direct when seeking clarification and forging a way forward for themselves and each other. Ofcourse there are issues that spring up because theirs is a opposites attract kind of pairing and at first I did wonder if they were a good match, once the honeymoon phase fades away and long term commitment is required, but through communication and great courage they both make changes and adapt to the others needs. By the end of the drama I was blown away by how they were able to merge each other's dating styles : his being spontanous and free flowing "like water" with some boundaries and her requiring preplanning and assurance every step of the way. They both work and settle for a healthy change and the gradual shift is simply heartwearming to watch.
I feel like I could go on forever about this but this review is already so long. Yet I cannot end my rambling by commenting on the ML who I think I am now obsessed with. Weirdly enough, I have actually seen this actor in atleast two other drama/film but didnt recognise him at all - perhaps because he really embodies Shun San's character. I loved his minimalist quiet lifestyle in the beginning but also supported the lifestyle changes he undertook for his personal and relationship development. More then anything I loved a sneak peak into his thoughtful kind ways and his adoration for the FL in the epilogue scenes. Every ending scene had my heart turning into mesh because the epilogue goes back and show us a special insight into how he thinks and expresses love through small gestures. He is not a grand gesture type of guy but offers warmth through acts of services. You see his hesitation, insecurities but also his confident declarations of love in these epilogue scenes and they always tugged at my heartstrings.
I adore him to death and could honestly watch him cook forever.
Like I said, there is more to talk about and dissect but for now, I hope everyone gives this gem a watch. It is a rare find, I believe, because the previous romcom jdramas I have watched have exaggerated anime like characteristics and acting. But this drama feels realistic, heartwarming from start to end.
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This review may contain spoilers
Man, I really wanted to like this drama since the premise is so good - a great set up for a slow burn romance! Granted, the bromance is excellent but really that is the only saving grace.I liked the first few episodes when we are introduced to the characters and I love that the FL is not some gullible love struck woman, as is common in most japenese dramas - she's reserved, introverted and rational while still sporting a warm but wounded heart. She wants so desperately to be loved and cherishes her relationship with her family and friend. I love that she knows how to take care of herself and that episode where she eats ramen and drinks by herself on her birthday is honestly so special and rare to see in any kdrama or japenese romance drama I have seen. I like how she takes her time to warm up to the ML and her reservations are valid. Unfortunately, when she does open up to the ML and takes a chance, there's hardly any chemistry between the leads and it's not because they get together so late into the drama but because the leads simply are not able to act out their chemistry real well. They are awkward together and their conversations a bit silly despite them being grown adults. This is my main gripe with most romcoms - the leads simply do not talk about things that matter and their relationship is akin to that of high schoolers and it is simply not cute. If I wanted to see that kind of relationship, I would watch a high school/coming of age drama and not this.
The ML started off as endearing, passionate and determined. He is not aggressive in his pursuit but quite patient and kind. I was afraid his relentless pursuit of her may border on stalking and boundary pushing behaviour but he is careful and seems to takes on rejection well - it helps that destiny and "god" is on his side and they keep having chance encounters and so perhaps he doesn't need to be creepy. I liked that he was kind of a dork in the beginning but then it got old & boring really fast and his chemistry with the FL just fell flat because of his awkward and shy ways. I also felt that his acting was a bit over the top - I am new to Japenese shows and so I am wondering if thats just the nature of Japense cinema? The acting is kinda exaggerated, anime-ish and it takes time getting used to. It is particularly exaggerated in the comedy genre and so some of the "funny" gimmicks came off as a bit cringy to me - simply not my cup of tea.
"God" was perfect though. He was hilarous, bossy, rude and arrogant. He had excellent chemistry with the ML - I loved all of their interactions and they looked like they were having a ball of a time while on scene. His departure in the end was not really a tear jerker for me but that may also be that I had stopped caring for the drama by the end though I still enjoyed his scenes and he is the reason I would give this drama 5/10 for acting because he is just that good.
Finally, even though the second leads were excellent, kind hearted and loyal friends they were pigeon holed into caricature like roles. A lot of their buildup probably happened off screen and that's fine, I guess, but may have been interesting to watch especially when the storyline started to get more and more contrived with the dad objecting to the leads relationship for no logical reason, the ML having to force his boss to eat carrots (WTF was that lmao?), long montages of him excercising and learning how to detect people's ring sizes and other such nonsense tasks he was assigned by God. Some of the tasks made sense and I understood the overall message of the drama which is that effort + destiny together makes or breaks the final outcome but it was just dragged on for so long and took up way too much screen time. The space could have been taken up to flesh out the SMLs or even build the chemistry of the leads themselves.
I am not going to bother talking about the other characters such as the workplace employees and the parents because they were all so cringy and annoying to watch. The FL's mom was nice but the dad's acting was again so OTT and I did not care for these side characters at all.
Anyway, my final verdict is that it was just an okay watch. I am still on the hunt for compelling japenese romcom in order to get me through my kdrama slump and I guess I must keep looking because this was just not it.
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Makjang, Crazy Hijanks & Best OTP
This drama is so wild but also so fun! It has a very soap opera feel to it and a lot of crazy hijanks are tossed together to produce something incredibly riveting.It is pretty fast paced which is important because otherwise it would probably be a pain to watch. Conflicts are introduced and then quickly resolved within an episode or two which also explains the plot arc in episode 10 - they had to introduce it because they had already exhausted all the other tropes lol. The characters are deliberately exaggerated for the purpose of satire - meaning the characters speak like they are in an anime, complete with giving long preachy monologues or cackling maniacally - and if you prepare yourself for that beforehand or during the first episode you can sit back and enjoy this bumpy ride.
The main leads are the bedrock of this drama. There's no miscommunication between the two which is refreshing because miscommunication is the worst plot device in my opinion, even worse then amnesia , personally speaking. The leads have amazing chemistry and theirs is not a passionate love affair but a quiet, warm, supportive love, fitting for that of a married couple.
Another strength of this drama are the backstories of all the characters, particularly the women. Great and deliberate care is taken to humanise the women even if they come off as bitchy and "crazy" in the beginning. The drama explains their motivations and childhood traumas and allows us to see a glimpse of their redemption and change. I loved that!
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