Jasmine
USA
The first few episodes felt forced, like the director was trying to make the scenes unique by switching rapidly between past, present, and imagination scenes. By the 4th episode, however, I was hooked. The editing became much more smooth and the transitions between the different scenes started to make more sense towards to plot. The double meaning of the title is true to the plot- b*tchy women and the 'must marry' woman. The story explores both themes.
Story: The whole revenge plot in the first half of the drama was refreshing and definitely something new to watch. It set up many misunderstandings that while on the surface seem to be obstacles for the sake of having obstacles (in other words, 'dragging'), the misunderstandings were very uniquely directed and slowly revealed the characters' inner thoughts/motives. The interactions between Huan Zhen (Alice) and Hao Meng (Roy) of calling each others bluff were hilarious and full of chemistry. I loved watching Huan Zhen and Hao Meng's journey of falling in love.
Alice Ke and Roy Chiu finally collaborate again and their chemistry is still spot on! I find it hard to compare Marry Me or Not to Office Girls because the characters they portray are completely different. If Office Girls had a more chaste and cute vibe, Marry Me or Not is like the mature and sizzling version. I think Alice's acting was more natural in Office Girls but her crying scenes have improved immensely in Marry me or Not. Roy Chiu hasn't changed a bit; his crying scenes still get to me. The directing and cinematography in this drama was gorgeous and the date/deep talk scenes were so different than the norm. No cliche stuff here in that regard!
The supporting cast was great, no complaints at all. The office cast was adorable but didn't really stand out to me. Sheng Nan (Joanne Tseng) and Hao Meng's (Roy Chiu) sibling love was done so well and I loved how their relationship was portrayed. Many viewers disliked Sheng Nan but honestly I don't know how I'll act if I was so in love like she was. She's the perfect example of love can make you blind and do stupid things. But because of that, her character was so real that you could relate to her and that made her character come to life. The parents of Hao Meng and Huan Zhen (Alice Ke) were stark contrasts. One was in an 'unloving' relationship while the other was very much in love. Their respective marriages were a form of symbolism for the different kinds of romantic love and the director used that to set up the main plot between Hao Meng and Huan Zhen. Now, the other male lead, Qian Yao (Harry Chang), is the most 'evil'; character in this drama. Nevertheless, I still liked him and Harry portrayed this faceted, flawed character well.
Amazingly, there were no seriously vindictive second leads at all in this drama. Rather, their worst enemy was themselves and their pride. For those of you out there that didn't like this drama as much as I did, I do think that connecting to the characters in a drama really helps the relatability of a drama. Unfortunately, there are still some family problems in this drama but it doesn't detract from the drama- it actually unveils more understanding. I think a huge part of this drama was understanding the different forms of love and also understanding yourself when you're in love. Honestly, this drama taught me so many life lessons and although there were a few bumps along the way plot-wise, I still think this drama showed a lot of heart. Dramas like this, with lots of inner monologues, are hard done well because they can get boring but not only does Marry Me or Not keep them interesting, but they add so much to the episodes. Seriously, I cried too many times.
Music: The soundtrack was well rounded. There are lively upbeat songs, and super emotionally wrecking songs. A little something for everyone. I loved this soundtrack, even for my high drama ost standards. My favorites are Lost Heartbeat and the song sang by Joanne Tseng, also known as Sheng Nan in the drama! I listened to the soundtrack so much that I started to notice the lyrics for many of the songs correspond with the plot perfectly and describe many of the characters really well.
This drama kind of reminded me of the famous T-drama, In Time With You, not just because Li Da Ren (Chen Bo Lin) cameoed for a small part but also because this drama is more about mature, thoughtful, retrospective, love, not innocent fluffy young love. The monologues and self reflection scenes were also very reminiscent of some In Time With You scenes, but definitely still different. I wholeheartedly recommend this drama even for those people who don't like T-dramas because this drama felt completely different from the usual T-dramas I watched. Since I already re-watched a few episodes, I would assume the re-watch value is high! I most definitely recommend this drama for those romantics out there (like me!) and those looking for a incredibly well done drama that feels very fresh and has fantastic acting all around. (10/9.5)
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ITWY shows a lot about not just romantic love, but also family/friendship love. It's a drama about life and how life affects us. That said, the story is slow paced, and the romance develops even slower. It is not draggy, but the developing romance is slow because of the problems of daily life.
The acting is really good. Ariel Lin fits her role, and Chen Bo Lin is the cutest best guy friend ever. Sunny Yang is also really hot in this drama, if you want some eye candy.
I personally liked the music. The song sang by Chen Bo Lin is super emotional and raw. I never knew he was a singer, and I loved his voice.
I rewatched this drama twice. Once in 2011 and 4 years later in 2015. After rewatching it, I gained a different insight because ITWY really is a drama that makes you think about what you want in life, and your perspective.
Thus, I recommend this drama but not if you want a easygoing no stress drama, rather a drama that makes you think. 9.75/9
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Wallace Chung has good chemistry with Tiffany Tang. Physically, they look great together and Yi Chen (Wallace) demonstrated his anguish for Mo Sheng (Tiffany) very well. Yes, he was dubbed but that's necessary since Wallace's pronunciation in mandarin isn't that good since he speaks Cantonese natively. It's fine though because his dubbed voice is nice and the dubbing is in sync. The story itself is nothing that new but this drama was calm and beautiful. It's an easy watch even with some annoying characters that I fast forwarded through.
The flashbacks were also a main aspect of this drama, they used flashbacks periodically within episodes to slowly unravel the misunderstandings and backstories. Though this drama was slow-moving, the anticipation created within the flashbacks made me want to come back for more episodes; in that respect, this drama was kind of addicting for me. I admit that they did repeat the same flashbacks over and over again in the end but I just fast forwarded it so it wasn't a problem. In the flashbacks, the director used different actors for young Yi Chen and Mo Sheng. Props to the young actors, they channeled Yi Chen's and Mo Sheng's spirits very well. Young Yi Chen even kinds of looks like Wallace and young Mo Sheng was so cute and bubbly.
I liked how their love never wavered for one another throughout the whole drama, and that the antagonists couldn't tear them apart. There were tons of misunderstandings in the beginning, but it didn't take that long, and once they were resolved their relationship was wonderful to watch. I really liked Yuan Feng and Xiao Xiao (Viola Mi) here. They were both hilarious and had such character depth; they felt like real people.
The music was lovely. It complemented all the tranquil and emotionally anguished scenes. Wallace's real voice in one of the songs was also really good.
Re-watch? Maybe, maybe not. I recommend it to people who don't want to watch a crazy plot, and just want to watch a beautiful romantic drama. (9/8)
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Janel Tsai, the female lead, is a decent actress. Some of her acting felt forced at times, but overall, I enjoyed her chemistry with Johnny. They make a cute OTP! Many people dislike Vivi Lee because of her always playing the second female lead, but I think she is a great actress with lots of potential- in this drama I thought she played her part very well.
The music is easy on the ears, but I do think it's a bit repetitive. Regardless, like the drama, the songs were nice and simple to listen to.
I personally would not rewatch it mainly because there were many plot twists/character developments that just wouldn't be the same if I rewatch in comparison as to watching this drama for the first time.
Nevertheless, I recommend watching this drama because it's a no pressure drama with a straightforward story line, along with an adorable OTP. (8/7.5)
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The plot was a bit thin, I admit, especially on the 'common' kdrama tropes side but the drama did put their own spin on it frequently. Putting that aside, however, the moral displayed throughout OMV was pretty inspirational. I can't say: 'Watch this drama. It's mind blowing and has a amazing story that you can't predict.' What I CAN say is: 'It's cute, fluffy, and adorable. Do watch this if you want some fun, bickering romance that is organic and is a genuinely healthy relationship.' At the end of the day, sometimes I just like some classic fare and OMV does just that with the added bonus of So Ji Sub and Shin Min Ah.
Some would disagree with just watching a drama because of an actor/actress. I think it's about priorities. I mean, everyone has varying reasons for watching dramas. For me, having an amazing story and amazing actors is lucky. That's how we get dramas like Healer, once in a blue moon. Back to point though, OMV has a lot of tropes that I guiltily like to watch and they're done well, for the most part. The writer even laughs at himself/herself for using some of the kdrama tropes through the dialogue. That's honestly just hilarious! I also loved some of the past and present scenes (tap tap anyone?); they were done so effectively and just added to the story for me.
It has a stellar three musketeer bromance that grows on you rapidly and makes me laugh every time I see them, a sincere romance that actually works, and throw in some side characters that I can actually kind of relate to at times. Sung Hoon and Henry were so adorable and were the perfect complement to SJS's John Kim persona. The 'evil' second leads, were for once, (for me) so relatable in the end that I was caught by surprise. I even cared about their happy ending which I did not see coming.
I even liked the angst in the third quarter of the drama. You heard me; I actually enjoyed it. It just worked for me and I appreciated how short it was but still made me tear up in all the right ways. It wasn't without flaws but it still showed me enough. I think this is actually the first time for me that I liked the 3rd-4th quarter of a drama slightly bit more than the first half.
The overall moral is that body image shouldn't be everything but lets be honest: it kind of is, in our society. In the beginning, I was a bit turned off because it seemed like everyone was mocking/laughing at Kang Joo Eun for getting fat (and lets be real, she doesn't even look that overweight) But KJE's flippant and "I am who I've always been' attitude made me fall in love with her. Shin Min Ah completely sold me on her character. Although I kept seeing Joo Joong Won (Master's Sun) in So Ji Sub's character, Kim Yeong Ho at first, SJS did eventually differentiate the two characters.
Music didn't catch me at first, but 3rd-4th quarter, I started feeling it more.
I struggled on whether to give this a 8.5 or 9 but in the end, I decided to give it a 9 on the basis that I purely enjoyed this drama on all counts (16 hours well spent) regardless of the fact that the story itself isn't by far up to par with some of the most highly rated dramas.
So, I recommend this drama so much. This IS a rom-com. Sometimes dramas are labeled rom-com and it ends up turning into something else.. I could've done a little less with the corporate plot but it's fine, the drama knew what its strengths were and kept it their focus-the couple chemistry and the comedy.
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Lets split the romance aspect and mystery aspect into two. The romance aspect of this drama was just terrible. I had no clue why this person liked this person, and so on and so forth. It wasn't even a love triangle, it was like a huge relationship web mess. This person liked this person but changed their mind and began to like someone else then they stopped liking that person and started crying for yet another person. Did that sentence really confuse you? Well, that's how I felt about the relationships in this show. I love romance dramas;they're literally my favorite drama. However, since the relationships in Black and WHite were so messy, I would've preferred no romance at all then or just focus on one couple. Unlike Love Me If You Dare, the romance wasn't balanced well at all.
Apart from the romance, the mystery plot was really tight and suspenseful. The show kept me guessing with them every step of the way. They wanted me to suspect one person? I totally fall for it then boom the bad guy was someone else. Is that really the truth? Nope, plot twist right ahead of you. When everything finally came together, I was mind-blown at how big the deceptive web reached. You really need to watch every episode to get all the seemingly meaningless clues that add up when you step back and finally see the whole story.
Cast was amazing. Seriously. Mark Chao and Vic Chou were both very versatile in their acting since they had to portray many conflicted emotions. Neither one is what they seem on the surface; they're the black and white, Ying Qiong (Mark) seems to be the straight laced, honorable cop while Zai Tian (Vic) seems to be the goofy, careless cop. Though true to some extent, this drama flips all their ideals around and throws them obstacle after obstacle. The female cast was strong. I loved Ivy Chen's portrayal of a misunderstood mafia's daughter. And contrary to popular opinion, I liked Sonia's character. Janine did well too. On a whole, every actor/actress fit their part perfectly.
I'm a little conflicted about the soundtrack. In some scenes where they play the upbeat songs I thought I was supposed to feel happy but the scene ended up being very serious. So although I liked the songs, they clashed with the emotions of some scenes.
In the end, I think this was a wildly unpredictable with a stellar cast, and the plot did not drag at all. On the negative side, the romance plot was too all over the place. Re-watch isn't high purely because there were so many plot twists and knowing them now, it wouldn't be as interesting the second watch around. I highly recommend this drama, especially to those drama viewers out there where you like to try and link the clues together. If you want good romance, however, this isn't the drama for you. (8.5/9)
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Although the main leads were supposed to be Bobby Dou and PeiJia Huang's characters, I was more interested in Man Li (Vivi Lee’s) character and romance development. Her storyline had more chemistry than the main leads. To be honest, I liked the supporting characters more than the leads as well. Ying Jie’s (Bobby Dou) brother was adorable; I really liked his storyline. I wish it could have been shown more though. However, I felt that his plot line was better developed and made more sense, whereas I didn't really see how the main leads fell in love with each other other than the fact they were childhood best friends turn into secretly crushing on each other. The family scenes were heartwarming, albeit a little cliche, with the disapproving parents versus the warm-hearted parents. There was comedic relief as well; that was good.
Honestly, I’m usually pretty easily satisfied with the OST because I'm in the moment unless they are really terrible. So, I did like the music, especially the song played when Ying Qian’s (Ying Jie’s brother) storyline came on. My favorite character was definitely Shang de (Adrian Tan), who seems to be a newbie as this is his first major role, and I look forward to see him in more dramas.
I don’t think I would re-watch this drama actually. I personally like daily dramas, but I would only re-watch a few of my favorite scenes at most. Going through it all the way again would be too much. But, I do recommend this drama for those of you that like daily dramas like me, as well as multiple romantic storylines that are not developed within a few episodes, but rather a lot of episodes. Also, if you liked Fabulous 30 or anything like it (see my reviews), I do think you would enjoy this drama. (8/7.5)
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Of course, Danson was phenomenal in this drama; he has now become one of my biases. His relationship with Albee's character was adorable and I liked their romance. Darren being dorky was a completely different character for him; I was blown away at how realistic he made his character out to be. His romance with Vivi was pretty boring, but their friendship was fantastic and well developed. Jennifer Hong's crying scenes were really well done and I liked her strong+independent woman character.
The music was pretty repetitive, but I noticed there was like a 'theme' song for each couple when their individual romantic scene came on. I thought that was pretty cute; I personally liked the songs a lot.
The rewatch value is low because 76 episodes is really long, but I would rewatch some of the creative romantic scenes that I liked. I would recommend this drama for those of you that want to watch a longer story yet is still entertaining. I recommend this drama; it is definitely one of the better long length t-dramas out there! (read my other review; i think this drama is slightly better!) (The 8.5 rating is for its quality BASED on the fact it is a long length drama; if I was rating in comparison to all dramas then it is probably an 8) (9/8)
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The music is super catchy; they played it at the right emotional times and the songs make me emotional. The OST at the end is very cute as well.
I would rewatch some of it, but not the whole drama again. I would rewatch the scenes between the leads again because of their sizzling chemistry.
A definite watch if you like melodramas with poignant romance, with the factor of family (the little boy!)
**edit**
after watching this for the second time, and crying again (!), i came to appreciate this drama even more. It really is a classic, and one of the best dramas I've watched, especially since I hate super vindictive second leads, and this doesn't have that. I grew to like all the characters, even the cliche overbearing mom. The plot, though a "cliche" one, is one done right and all the elements are incorporated well. It's not too melodramatic, or too exaggerated. It's definitely lives up to the hype on MDL. If you're wavering on whether to watch this or not, watch it! (10/9)
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The saving grace of this drama is definitely the OTP. The two main leads, Jerry Yan and Tong Li Ya, had superb chemistry. They both had outstanding performances in this drama, and I was captivated by their scenes together. Usually in other dramas, the OTP is most important to me; in dramas like this one, however, the child is just as important. Unfortunately, the child actor was very average. He was cute, yes, but nothing about his performance stood at all. His dubbing severely detracted from his performance, and his acting was mediocre. The supporting actors were alright. Nothing particular. Zhong Mou’s(Jerry Yan) assistant was funny, and of course, Jerry Yan himself was just phenomenal. His acting was on point and his crying scenes were just so emotional provoking. I personally didn’t like Wu Tong’s (TongLiYa) character, although her acting was fantastic. She is a strong mother, but she is also such a pushover.
Some of the music didn’t fit with the scenes, especially the english songs played at the club scenes made me cringe. Jerry Yan’s ending song, and Jin Sha’s song, however, were amazing. I loved it.
For me, re-watch value isn’t that high. I would re-watch some scenes between the OTP, but I don’t think I would watch the whole drama again. In the end, I do recommend this drama if you're in the mood for a heavy melodrama. Even with all the ridiculous plots, it still managed to make me tear up in some scenes. If you also care about an amazing OTP, like me, then I recommend watching just for the OTP. 7.5/8.5
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I thoroughly enjoyed the show's demonstration of how media and news really are. Fact is fact. You can't warp it into a distorted version of the fact. The show explores the consequences of media impact and the individualized sacrifices made along the way because of it. Pinocchio really pulled on those ideas and created a well-rounded world that was compelling to the viewer. If there was one sentence I could give Pinocchio, it would be: the truth always comes out. The theme of retribution keeps coming around throughout the drama. 'What comes around, goes around.' The audience also feels a sense of deja vu when past words comes back to haunt other characters.
Now, the main plot and dilemma. I liked how it played out. The brotherly relationship was poignant but also an explosive bomb waiting to happen because of all that has happened between them. However, although the plot is mostly pretty solid and concise, there were some aspects that felt rushed. I really wish they explored that plot line longer. The bromance and the strong sense of family got to me more than the romance which is surprising since I usually like romance dramas. Nevertheless, I appreciated that every decision, every word, said by characters had meaning; in other words, everything, for the most part, happened for a reason so there seemed to be little to no dragging.
I'm not sure why but In Na and Dal Po's chemistry just didn't click for me until around the 8th episode. I think their almost sibling-like relationship deterred me from completely falling for their chemistry.
I came in never seeing any dramas from Lee Jong Suk nor Park Shin Hye so I didn't have any bias. Shocker, I know. Lee Jong Suk's portrayal of emotions was raw and completely real. Shin Hye's character was blunt-loved her. Shin Hye made her hiccups so realistic that I almost believed Pinocchio was a real thing! Neither character outshone the other. In that respect, In Na and Dal Po complemented one another well, creating a more comfortable, rather than passionate chemistry. Because of that comfortable chemistry, their characters are always honest with each other and have complete trust in one another- it's great to watch! However, I didn't unequivocally trust their trust in each other until the 12th episode. It was then that I seriously respected In Ha and her love and trust in Dal Po.
I really liked the side characters, for the most part. In some dramas, the main couple is what keeps the drama alive. Here, the supporting cast makes the drama better, and more hilarious. I loved Cap and even the guy with the weird hair from YGN- Lee Pil Mo and Min Seung Wook respectively. I liked Jin Kyung in It's Okay that's Love but dang did she pull out acting chops here-completely amazing. Props to hyung as well, Yoon Gyun Sang; I'll definitely be on the lookout for your future works. I honestly didn't hate anyone since nearly everyone had their chance at redemption, which I wholeheartedly appreciated.
Music, unfortunately, was pretty mediocre, and forgettable.
I must say this though. I liked Pinocchio but I didn't fall in love with it. At the end of the day,though, Pinocchio is a great drama with lots of heart that explores morals, and has sincere relatable characters.
(8.5/9.5)
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The first half of the drama started off very strong, the clothes, the backgrounds, and storyline were all vibrant and creative. The second half started to be unrealistic, but I continued to watch it. I really liked the ending, and although the drama was unrealistic, it was still a fun watch because there are many cute scenes that make it worthwhile. In terms of the cast, I really enjoyed Peter, Lynn Hung's friend in the drama, and Vanness's character's family also added to the story.
The music was beautiful, in my opinion. The song sang by Vanness is also very good.
Personally, I would rewatch the few scenes I liked, but not again from beginning to end. (9.5/8)
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The side characters' romances were also adorable, and I enjoyed the office cast as well as the parents, since there were no very vindictive characters per usual drama cliches. The music was enjoyable to listen to and it was played at the right emotional times. The music really gets stuck in your head for days and I found myself humming along to it often.
All that said, I would rewatch it if I want to experience the immense love portrayed in this drama, whether it be love between lovers, love between family, or love between friends. I don't usually cry when I watch dramas but I teared up when watching this drama, mainly because of Chris Wu and Jade Chou's fantastic acting. Thus, give this drama a chance- the first few episodes might be hard to swallow, but it's really worth it- especially if you love Chris Wu! (8.75/8.5)
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This is the best I have seen Aaron. Having to act two characters that are completely different, Aaron was able to pull off two personas very well. His crying scenes were spot on and just so real! It's unfortunate Leo (Jack Lee) was a such an one dimensional character. Seriously. Though Huan Huan's (Beatrice Fang) incessant whining was beyond irritating, I have to give props to Beatrice: she played her role very well. The other characters were averaging from alright to okay. No one really stands out other than Aaron, but even Aaron couldn't carry this drama.
I did like the music though. It was basically almost all Aaron's songs but I didn't get sick of his songs at all. They're super catchy!
Although I didn't finish this drama, I did skim quickly through the rest of the episodes. The Li family debacle was crazy, and that was only through the few minutes I skimmed so I'm glad I didn't have to go through all that. I also skipped ahead to watch the last episode. Honestly? Tia and Aaron look so stiff in the wedding attire and the chemistry is just gone. Tia actually had really good chemistry with Xiao Lu, Lu Tian Xing's alter ego in the first half of the drama. In the end, I really don't recommend this drama but if you must watch it, watch the first half then watch the last episode, then done! (8/6)
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This review may contain spoilers
I don't know how to say it but it took me until I watched half of the drama to become really interested. However, I think it was because I followed the previews and waited until it was nearly done airing before watching it. And thus, I recommend you to not watch/see/hear about ANY spoilers. That way, I think you'll be much more interested in this drama since the plot is pretty unpredictable. That said, there are dramas that are still like crack even when I know what happens. So there is something that is missing, a spark, an attraction in this drama for me. Set in 1989, I liked the retro vibe; the production did a good job at making sure everything was authentic-from the bb caller things to the attire. The drama also explored some delicate issues and in my opinion, it was done very well. This is my first time traveling drama and yeah, it's surprisingly kind of believably done, not extremely far-fetched.
Most of the actors are pretty new or have only been in a few dramas. Marcus Chang is cute but his acting is fresh. It makes it hard for me to become extremely invested in his character's dilemma when I feel like he is trying really hard to show his anguish. And frankly, Ivy Shao's character, Zhen Zhen got on my nerves quite a lot. She is very, very naive but at least through it all she has a lot of heart. Her character did contrast well with Chen Che so it was cutely done, just not the most innovative one out there in dramaland. There are quite a bit 'Romeo and Juliet' love line aspects so I guess that was another one of the reasons I didn't just love this show.
Negatives aside, I did like the family love shown throughout this drama more than anything. It was raw, shown especially well through the hardships the families had to face together. The drama also demonstrates that the simplest choices can result in something drastically different, which forces us- as viewers- to really think about the choices we make in our own lives and if we're making the correct choices-for both ourselves and our loved ones.
OST is nice, catchy, but not my favorite.
I don't think I would re-watch. It was a decent one-time watch but ultimately, I didn't fall in love with it. Would I recommend it though? Yeah, sure if
-you like retro vibes (the clothing, the music, the atmosphere)
-you like 'forbidden'/denial from family love lines
(7.5, 8.5)
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