Lembrary? Like Blueberry?

I’m surprised people rated this so low in their reviews. I honestly really enjoyed this drama. It was such a spectacularly weird story line in all the best ways and captivated my attention in every episode. I loved the ML and his refreshing weirdness. The whole world building was just really cool. The villain was nothing special, but the twist was unexpected and really added to the overall story. However, I do wish we got to see more of Lembrary’s world, and some of the plot points didn’t make complete sense at the end. Another drawback for me was how many scandals and controversies the ML got in and was able to resolve. Those didn’t really make sense and I felt like they didn’t add a ton to the overall plot. The romance between the FL and ML was not the greatest chemistry I’ve ever seen, and I actually wish the drama had shown us more romance-y moments between them. But - when we did get to see them, they were so cute. Other than those cons, I think this drama was really well done. It has a super nice blend of romance, action, fantasy, mystery, and comedy.

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*Cue Maniacal Laugh*

I'm not crying - you're crying. I'm crying happy but sad tears that this drama has come to an end. I started this drama with the thought that I was in a k-drama slump and I just needed to click something and watch. After a few minutes I thought I made a mistake again as I was immediately bombarded with weird characters and cliché plot lines, but as I kept trudging through, I fell in deep and I fell in hard with this drama and its characters.

Lee Gun - let's just say oh my god. This dude is an absolute character. And Jang Hyuk does a marvelous job. The weird, maniacal laughs out of nowhere threw me off at first, but I grew to anticipate and treasure them. He made me laugh so hard with his goofy and insane, yet loveable personality. And his therapy visits while Doctor Moon just sits there like "wtf is happening, what is my life" are just one example that drove me to tears with laughter. This character is an enigma of contradictions that just work.

I found Kim Mi Young less favorable, but she was not without character growth. In the beginning, it really ticked me off how often she let people walk all over her and how she would be blamed for what ultimately weren't her decisions. And the whole she-turns-into-a-beautiful-goddess-when-she-takes-her-glasses-off trope bugged me also. But I liked how with her growth she still kept her soft heart but didn't let people trample all over it. And Jang Na-Ra acted beautifully as well.

As for the side characters: usually I could care less and I find myself skipping over them, but in this drama the side characters had personality and loveable traits of their own.

This is a shorter review and if I had to name everything that I loved it would spoil the whole drama and there would be no point in you watching. So if you're reading the synopsis and reviews and you're wondering if you should give this drama a chance - I am begging you, give it a chance. You will laugh. You will cry (sob). You will scream. And you will have so much love for this drama.

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One Long, Repetitive Spring Night

This drama started out promising but quickly became insufferable. Before I get into the negative, I want to give some credit where it's due. All the actors were phenomenal and when the main couple finally became a couple, their chemistry was great. They were honestly so cute together, although I do think they fell a bit fast. The music wasn't my vibe, but it fit the drama well. I also loved the sisterly bonds and all the women supporting women in this drama. With that aside, I will now get into the bad. For one, the FL was totally unlikeable and I don't think she was meant to be. To start, she was often hypocritical and ambivalent. She would say she hates lying and yet she bent the truth, told white lies, concealed information, and told flat out lies. We're also told over and over again how she's such a catch and such a great woman, but I feel like much of that is just empty words and not really supported until much later in the drama when we see her with the ML and ML's child. She's strong minded, for sure, but she often wavers in her actions and it's so frustrating seeing her back and forth and having to read between the lines. I also often try to put aside cultural differences in kdramas because I think it's not fair to judge standards based off what they are in America. However, the parental control and patriarchal bs in this drama was just so over the top. The amount of times the FL told the second ML she was breaking up with him and did not want him and he flat out refused and was determined that they were still together was just absurd. I mean varieties of this situation were repeated over and over again throughout the show and it was just nauseating. The amount of people, mostly men, that thought they had a right to decide who the FL should be with, going so far as to force her into a loveless marriage, was just insane. I also know divorce is taboo (even in America it is for some groups), but it was just also infuriating seeing the FL's sister going around in circles trying to get divorced throughout the whole drama and having her father ignore her husband's abuse and deny permission for a divorce. Come to think of it, the sister's husband also denied the end of the relationship too, and that plot was repeated over and over to no end. Nevertheless, I feel like I really tried to give this drama a fair shot. I kept waiting for it to pick up the pace and stop recycling, and it did improve a little (which is why I kept going), but I overall I was just dissatisfied.

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Oh my fatphobia

*******SPOILERS********
The first few episodes of this drama were really hard to get through because of the constant jokes and remarks about Kang Joo Eun’s weight. I kinda knew instantly that with her transformation the ML would start to show his feelings and that just bothered me. I appreciated the emphasis on inside as well as outside health, so that was something done right. But I didn’t like the association that the FL was no longer “beautiful” with her added weight and that she needed to lose weight to be beautiful again.
I also found a lot of the other storylines kinda boring/unnecessary. It was really hard to root for the secondary couple because of the way their relationship started and how they treated the FL. And the fact that the ML went a whole year without seeing the FL to heal on his own was kinda dumb.
But - when the relationship developed between the leads I was just squealing at every cute moment. They really were an adorable couple and the actors did a good job displaying chemistry. That’s really what made me keep watching. A lot of kdramas shy away from overt affection, but I liked that these characters weren’t shy about it and the romance didn’t feel lackluster.
Overall I have a lot of problems with it but I also love it at the same time. It’s hard because I know that beauty standards differ in South Korea but I had to mention it since so much of the drama revolves around it. I would still recommend the drama through if you’re like me and a good couple can get you through it. I really fell in love with the actors.

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