Jeuhaen
Europe
A rock that turns into a gem
First of all, I must proclaim that it is quite a while since I watched this. But: This is one of those shows that you don't forget easily.I must also admit that the first episodes or so I wasn't really impressed. I think the female protagonist was a bit "over the top" for my liking.
But then, just as a rock that gets polished by the waves, the underlaying themes revealed themselves and I saw the beauty.
I guess my best way of describing it is to take some rather serious themes, spin a story around said themes that is a bit "over the top" to not make it feel too heavy, but rather make you laugh, feel some suspense, and love - both familiar love, and a bit of romantic love – and maybe you even got a bit emotional.
The acting was superb. Seo Ye-ji, Kim Soo-hyun and Oh Jung-se especially all gave convincing portrayals.
Seo Ye-ji's charachter Ko Moon-young (FL) was annoyingly crazy, but also managed to let you see the cracks in her armour every now and then.
Moon Kang-Tae, portrayed by Kim Soo-hyun, made you want to take him in, give him lots of hugs and support.
And then last, but not least: Moon Sang-tae, brilliantly brought to life by Oh Jung-se. He gave so much life and development to his character.
The supporting cast was also good – I can't remember a single one I frowned upon.
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Sweet and rather innocent easy entertainment
This was rather sweet, with the innocence of youth but with a small element of “what happened”.Lots of familiar plots and character-types we see in nearly every “young love” C-drama.
I would say it started off a bit stronger than it progressed. Kind of wished they had skipped a sub plot or two.
Good with short episodes, and even if I usually skipped intro and outro, the music was fitting.
This doesn’t really affect the rating, but it affected my viewing experience:
I watched this with subtitles on Youku, and some of the lines disappeared way too quick, and they often became very difficult to read on light background (white text no background/shading).
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It plays on one thing - and plays on it a lot
The amount of times the FL gets held, pushed, pinned to the wall/bed/sofa far exceeds any other dramas I’ve seen. If those kind of scenes trigger you negatively, then stay away. If not, it was the chemistry between the ML and FL that kind of kept this worth watching from my pov.There were things that bugged me in the story (which I’ve already forgotten after a few days), so can’t exactly say it’s memorable.
Although I didn’t really like him, the 2nd ML was an interesting character, and his acting was decent.
So, if you are looking for something with a bit of action and suspense but story doesn’t have to be very strong, and you don’t mind a lot of male dominance, then this is something that can help you kill time.
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A bit of everything
What would happen to a sommelier who loses his or hers taste? It’s an interesting foundation for a good story. Here, it is told with fiction, mixed with a bit of crime, romance, and what is supposed to be comedy?To be honest, it became a bit too much. I wish they had concentrated more on one direction instead of trying to cater to all.
Especially the influencer character (Xia Fan), who felt like he was supposed to bring the humorist element was over-the-top for me.
Other than that, the two main leads did a good job, although I find Gong Jun’s role is a bit stereotypical for him.
There’s no real surprise in the story, although it seems like the scriptwriters tried to throw a curveball it was a bit too obvious.
All in all, it was an easy, entertaining viewing experience.
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Could have been so much better
This review is for the complete series (1&2). My star rating is also based on the two seasons under one.Besides some illogical/unrealistic things, this started off fairly interesting. I felt it peaked as season 1 progressed, and then sadly, pretty much everything declined in season 2.
The quality of both filmography and sound was occasionally real bad, some dialogue and scenes felt very stiff and unnatural, and all the long and repeated flashbacks and other unnecessary long scenes (2 minutes theme park rides). The repeated flashbacks also occurred in S1 by the way.
There was also more (small) holes in the script in S2, and a few bloopers if I recall correctly (daytime/nighttime). Disclaimer: What I questioned as holes in the story might sometimes be due poor translations.
The highlight was the actors. Seven Tang brings a special energy to her performances, and although she might appear to be a bit over-the-top in some scenes, I still think she did a good job.
In some of the casual, relaxed scenes with the ML it kind of seemed like they were not acting, just goofing around having fun. It made me wonder if some lines were unscripted but they decided to keep it in ?.
ML (Jiang Chao) was quite good - I think to play a rather emotionless character well must be pretty hard. He did have some moments where he was really charming, so I am curious to see some of his other works now.
All in all, this could have been much better if it didn’t appear like they had to cut costs and/or rush it. Some elements were a bit too “soap opera-ish” for my liking.
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Sweet modern love story that are refreshingly non-solemn
I would say this grew on me as the story developed.I enjoyed the last episodes the most, when things were falling into place, and the script included some refreshing scenes like the diarreah-scene (!).
The main cast was ok. He was a bit too “flat” sometimes, but I guess it was really challenging to not be, due to his character.
She had some scenes were she was very convincing, and mostly her scenes were ok.
Second male lead I found to be a bit over-the-top childish sometimes.
Music I did actually notice for once; well suited.
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Familiar tropes in a fantasy-historic setting
Evil, scheming family members, cold, ruthless man, misunderstandings and love; this drama contains a lot of familiar tropes, but is still entertaining.Nice sets and costumes.
Could have been a bit shorter; some parts of the story was dragged out too much.
ML and FL was quite good, whereas some of the supporting cast was somewhat lacking.
The one thing I didn’t quite like was how her character went from appearing quite tough and brave to being helpless a lot of the times.
The place some of the clues led them to find more clues in regarding 8th prince was a bit too far-fetched; it didn’t sit quite well with me. Could have been scripted in a different way.
The ending just reminded me a bit too much of other drama; I won’t mention it (spoiler).
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Entertaining but not very memorable
Decent story, although not very original (or memorable).It has a kind of light-hearted feel to it; good time-killer if you want something entertaining but not too heavy.
Acting was ok, though chemistry between the leads could have been a bit stronger. They didn't manage to leave a strong impression on me.
It had some funny moments adding a bit of charm, and those scenes let the FL shine a bit more, in my opinion.
I also liked that it wasn't "too extreme" in neither the dramatic plots nor the "moralizing" content.
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Can satisfy your "soap-opera hunger"
This is OK if you want something entertaining in a plot-filled, soap-opera-style.The storyline has some obvious weak points that (for me) pulls it down quite a lot (like: not possible to unlock a car from the inside, and - since he could - why didn't he check location when she didn't turn up after his phonecall).
FL is a bit unconvincing in her emotions sometimes, and (this is my personal opinion) I really dislike ML's overly white face especially in the earlier episodes. Made it look like he was wearing a stiff mask.
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Don’t let the title fool you
This is definitely not a typical Cinderella story. The synopsis (neither here nor on Viki) doesn’t really give it away either, but although there is romance and fate encounters and funny moments, there is also an originality to the story.I liked Fumi Nikaido (FL) in “Eye love you”, and I think she is good here too.
Gordon Maeda (ML) seemed a bit too old for his role, even though I see he was only like 4 years older than his character when this was released. Other than that he acted well too.
Takanori Iwata (2nd ML) was kind of anonymous - I wished he could have had a bigger presence.
Matsui Rena did a brilliant job portraying Akira/Kikuno, which was a very interesting character adding a lot to the originality of this series.
Grandma and the “butler” added both warmth and humour, and some elderly wisdom.
The length was good; episodes were not too long, and it wasn’t dragged out over too many episodes.
What bugged me a little bit, and I see others too, was the ages. Not so much the 10 year age gap, but 17 and 27. It would have been better if it had been just a few years older, say 20 and 30. But then I guess the storyline with his games wouldn’t really have worked…?
So to sum it up:
Not a typical romance, but entertaining, and a nice little break from my usual C- and K-dramas.
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Charming and enjoyable
One of my first Jdramas, and it was an enjoyable watch, with some funny moments adding to it’s charm.The storyline had an original twist to it, but do bear in mind it is in the fantasy-genre.
I found the FL charming and suitable, and thought the chemistry between her and the ML was quite good.
I must admit: 80% of the time when I set the stars here I don’t really remember the music, so I usually put that “around the middle”, unless I actually really noticed the music.
Overall, this was sweet and entertaining.
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Rather original
Quite an original storyline, with decent acting.The story does have some twists and turns, creating a bit of suspense.
ML is OK - a bit too "stiff" for my liking sometimes, but in other scenes, he is good. I find the FL a bit stronger.
I really liked Huang Sheng Chi as the supporting role of Jiang Bo; I think he manages to portray his inner emotions better than the ML.
It’s not highly memorable (I have to read the synopsis to refresh my memory about this), but a good watch that is a bit different.
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Entertaining
This was a good blend; a bit funny, a bit of romance, a tad bit of mystery/suspense, and good acting.I ended up half-binging it, and it did kind of surprise me in a positive way.
The leading cast both did a great job, in my eyes. ML might seem a bit “over the top”, but that was suitable for the character.
Even though it’s not that long since I watched it, I forgot to write my review straight away, so sorry to say my memory is already deluted to write a detailed review.
Main point: Entertaining and easy to watch, good acting, and doesn’t shy away from showing a bit of the backside/behind the scenes of the showbiz industry.
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Interesting main theme
The main theme, mysophobia, is an interesting one, and even if it feels a bit exaggerated I feel it is important that his reason for it is explored.The love storyline(s) are quite sweet.
Overall, however, I feel the script is a bit weak in some places, and leaves some loose threads.
It does tick off quite a lot of the typical boxes, like a trip, (some heavy product placements), an amusement park, love rivals, business competitors... not all are as extensive as others, though.
Some of the episodes had way too much flashbacks, so I ended up skipping through.
I would have liked to see more of his assistant's story; he was an interesting character. Could even be a spin-off!
ML and FL are ok; he had some moments where he was really strong, and both of them were mostly consistently portraying their characters in a decent way.
I watched this, and not the Korean version, first, as I did read some saying this was a better version. Not sure if I will watch "Clean with passion.." as well - maybe sometime down the line.
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Sweet and innocent about growing up
Very sweet story about growing up and loving someone.The script is what I would call quite "mellow", as it does not contain many intrigues or big dramatic events, rather we participate in the characters' development and growth. It’s not super original, but it is kind of memorable, much thanks to the cast.
The cast does a good job, and the filmography is quite lovely. Some scenes might feel a bit unnecessary or dragged out, but not so much I skipped forward or felt annoying.
The group of friends works really well as a whole; the different characters complement and contrast each other.
I can see myself rewatching this show in the future, either with my daughter or if I'm in the need of something uncomplicated and sweet.
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