inci_i
she/her
The red thread of fate and reincarnated lovers, a plot like that is hard to perfect. To be honest, even though I gasped when I read the plot, I was ready to be disappointed. I'm so happy to say that I was overjoyed! Some might think that the main couple dwelled on their past more than necessary, but I'd say it was essential. If you found out that you were a reincarnation, wouldn't you also question your existence? Dean and Pharm had a relationship that made me feel true love through the screen. (and I felt single but that's not the point.) In some dramas, even though there's a romance between the main leads, you only know that they're in love, you don't feel it. They're in love, that's it. No depth or whatsoever. This wasn't the case for Dean and Pharm. In UWMA, throughout the endless events we see, we become more and more sure of their love. In some stories, you even feel like one side loves the other more. I never saw that in DeanPharm. Their love was felt when they were together (so, in almost the entire drama). Their love exceeded the red thread of fate that tied them together. UWMA has its own unexpected events too, those events gave the story a different type of depth. UWMA also had one of my favorite second couples of all-time, WinTeam. Some loved WinTeam more than DeanPharm, and to be honest I can't guarantee that you'll love one couple more than the other, because I adored both.
The acting was spectacular. A plot like this also needs to be portrayed well. Multiple actors caught my eye in UWMA. There were excellent actors, like Samantha (as Manaow) and Earth (as In). And there was one of the best actors I've seen, Fluke who portrayed Pharm. Did someone say the actor who does the best crying scenes? Yep, that's Fluke. His acting made me forget that he's an actor and none of these are real. He is so good and I realized that I don't have enough rich vocabulary to do him justice and say how superb he is. If you're not sure if you want to watch UWMA, let me tell you, this guy is a marvelous actor. Even if the plot and the trailer weren't enough for you to decide, the actors should be convincing. Fluke made me feel every emotion Pharm felt. If Pharm wasn't portrayed as well as Fluke portrayed him, he wouldn't be one of my favorite characters. Pharm needed to be portrayed flawlessly, and Fluke did him justice. Let's stop here before I turn this whole review to a novel about how excellent Fluke is.
Rating: As you can see from the gigantic paragraphs of love, the story and the cast are both 10/10. The directing was okay, as I find myself too amateur to rate directors. And UWMA was okay in terms of directing. The songs, I can't believe I'm feeling songs now. They were good, tearjerker good. I loved the OST. I don't like to rewatch dramas, UWMA is one of the very few dramas that made me want to watch it again and again. If I weren't challenging myself, I'd probably have rewatched UWMA like, three times.
I want to recommend UWMA to anyone and everyone. I started UWMA because of the plot and tags (UWMA looked like everything I have ever loved in one drama, can you blame me?) and I was ready to drop, ready to be disappointed. UWMA was just, the best for me. I remember that directly after finishing UWMA, I thought, "What could make this drama better?" and I couldn't find an answer. No matter how much I love a drama, I can usually find a minor thing to make it improve, but when it comes to UWMA, I can't think of a way to make it better. To me, UWMA is perfect just the way it is.
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Character Analysis of The Main Cast: Lee Yoon Sung (played by Lee Min Ho) is a classic character who refuses to show emotion for the sake of his loved ones. He grew up learning martial arts and became the City Hunter whom people either admired or ridiculed. Lee Yoon Sung has his own flaws, which makes him human. To me, he is great and as a character deserves a 9/10. Kim Nana (played by Park Min Young) is our classic, lovely poor love interest with parent issues. She is trained in martial arts as well, but during the story, she gets attacked but can't defend herself. Why does a physically strong character get in so much trouble, isn't she supposed to be strong? She also cries in random scenes and refuses to leave Lee Yoon Sung, no matter the troubles they face. Kim Nana, as a character, is supposed to be stronger physically and mentally. At one point, the problems she faces become boring. The story could've gone better if the writer(s) focused less on her, and she became a character we all waited to see in the drama. But at one point, they focused a lot on her, and this turned out to make Kim Nana a boring love interest, even though she's a great feature in the story. To me, she's 5/10. The story should've focused more on the second male lead, Prosecutor Kim Young Joo (played by Lee Joon Hyuk), who is a very important character. He has his flaws and traits, and I love him as a character. A further explanation might lead to spoilers, so I won't explain him, as it would be much better to experience him. But let me tell you, he's a solid 10, along with Lee Jin Pyo. Lee Jin Pyo (played by Kim Sang Joong) is Lee Yoon Sung's revenge-driven somehow charismatic father. We see different sides of him throughout the story. He's also a quick personality test for the watchers: If you dislike him, you like romance more and are presumably a romantic person. If you like him, you prefer the action side of this drama.
Ratings: The story, on its own, deserves a 10, but the characters and their relationships lower it to 9. The cast is a solid 7, as Lee Min Ho's acting is unfortunately not good. Surprisingly he suited the role of Lee Yoon Sung, as his appearance was made for this. Park Min Young poorly portrayed Kim Nana, but compared to her works after City Hunter, she definitely improved herself, which makes her a respectworthy actress. The rest of the cast did an excellent job. OST definitely is a 10, as all the songs made me sing its lyrics and almost made me cry at one point. Like most of the crime shows, City Hunter can get boring if you rewatch it, excluding the action scenes. The action scenes were so fun to watch (and is the sole reason why my father rewatched City Hunter multiple times), but I haven't seen anyone talking about the weird sound effects, perhaps I was the only one bothered by them. The action scenes are so exciting that they can be reviewed on their own.
Overall, City Hunter has its good sides, bad sides, and weird sides that everyone can approach differently. I enjoyed watching City Hunter considering all those sides. I recommend City Hunter to those who like action and/or political dramas with romantic relationships.
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