nastou19
France
That's actually quite simple. At one point, I thought « Wow ». I was already hooked from the start (or rather around episode 3 because that's when the main leads actually meet for the first time) but later I really fell in love with the characters and the story. I was impressed, which nearly never happens. I was so eager to see the next episode that I ended up reading the novel... only to be frustrated by not being able to finish it. Yes, unfortunately for now, you'll only find the first half translated in english on internet. (EDIT : now completed! Advice: watch the drama before reading the novel.)
Story :
It's a little difficult to follow at first because there are a lot of characters and informations to remember. When it started, I thought it would be roughly one case every three episodes. So I didn't really care about the criminals identities and that's where I was wrong. It's actually one big case. The first case leads to the second, which leads to a third even bigger, and so on. Episodes are short but intense on informations. You have to stay focused to follow this drama, be warned.
Drama vs novel
Personnaly, I love them both in a different way. In the novel, I love how intense the main leads relationship is. We don't have their inner thoughs in the drama, so the focus is more on the investigation, which gives off an intense feeling too. Hence, I did not mind the difference, but I'll surely see a lot of things in a different way when I'll rewatch it. For instance, Ji Bai feelings are less obvious in the drama. He smiles at her, confides in her, stays by her side... They just made Xu Xu realization of her feelings more obvious than the novel through her drawings. Still, I think you'll appreciate the drama more if you watch it before reading the novel.
Acting and characters reactions
Realistic. I have to word it that way because, when it's a romantic comedy, chinese and taïwanese dramas tend to exagerate situations. Fortunately, they choose to focus on the investigation for this drama, so the acting is also very serious. The one thing that actually doesn't feel right is Xu Xu drawing cartoons. I felt the way she was portrayed in the novel, being someone really mature and logical, was more realistic.
Music and cinematography
I loved the opening song and even more its clip. So beautiful and kind of sensual, even with animals drawings. It goes well with the cinematography. Some sequences are beautiful. I loved how they make use of some silent moments. One little thing bothered me in the first few episodes. At times, the camera trembled too much, probably to give a suspens feel. But overall, it was really well-done.
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I found this drama as I was looking for a teacher-student love story. I quite liked it. The beginning was very funny and romantic, and as usual in this kind of plot the middle part was really heart-breaking. (I'll let you discover the end by yourself :p) I would have rated it higher than that (maybe even 9/10) if their teacher-student relationship was their only obstacle. In my opinion, adding family issues was a mistake as it could have been a plot for an altogether different drama about impossible love. Nonetheless, it's still a pretty good show and I enjoyed it.
Edit : I rased my rating to 8 in my personal watch-list (7 before) since this drama grew onto me after a few rewatches, mainly the beginning of the drama.
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On my rating scale, this means « just boring ». When I started it, I had high expectations. The setting was interesting, this was supposed to be a cohabitation drama with a sort of forbidden love we're not used to see. There was even another interesting twist with a lot of potential to bring in some action, the male mc background. Yet, they managed to make it all sooo pointless.
Romance & comedy
I never watched a drama with so little chemistry between the leads. I don't even think it's the actors fault. How can there be nearly no skinship in a cohabitation drama? Just erase the kiss scene and they could have been real step-father and daughter for all I care! All they talked about was how to keep their land and make dumplings. There was nearly no tension between them, you can only expect some cutesy if you like it.
Highlight on the second male lead
On the other side, Lee Soo Hyuk's story was much more interesting. I actually enjoyed his scenes with Shin Se Hwi, his sister in the drama, more than the two leads together. He was a breath of fresh air. At least, I had fun watching him and he's probably the only reason why I managed to finish this drama. (That and because I watched it while it was airing.) On a side note, red really suits this actor. One more thing, if you don't like love triangles, this drama might still please you. Hong Na Ri never gives lawyer Kwon Deok Bong a real chance, neither does Go Nan Gil with anyone.
Background story
This is hard to describe without giving some spoilers, but I'll try. Let's just say that Go Nan Gil past is sure to bring some troubles, dangerous troubles. With that, you can expect him to save the damsel in distress while fighting in front of her, right? Don't. He does fight from time to time and, just because he's good at fighting, everyone seems afraid of him. But come on! His opponents could just try to kill him, it's not like they actually care about life. They could also try to hurt Hong Na Ri, but they don't think of it. With that, another potential interesting story just fell flat.
Music
That's one of the few things I liked. It was fresh, light-hearted and put me in a good mood.
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It's one of those feel good drama. This lakorn would definitely need a parody tag (spy genre mainly). Yes, the best way to describe this is a parody. And you have to watch it this way to truly enjoy it. When I first read the synopsis, I feared there would be little to no romance. It's actually quite the contrary. Ran and Din are very sweet together, all the more after they marry. Romance is central in this action and comedy drama.
Parody: spy genre
The couple meets in the first episode, so Din still has to seduce Ran. For that, he uses all kind of tricks. On that note, the police devices could easily earn this lakorn a science-fiction tag! And once they marry he still has to hide his identity. This leads to a lot of misunderstandings, funny and stressful alike, which could be dangerous given his job. But don't worry because Din is a super-cop. I mean, he can fight and still call his wife while evading gunshots! Also, sometimes criminals just act so stupid that it's funny.
Parody: romance
On the romance part, it's the same, also a parody. The evil mother-in-law tries to get her daughter to break up with Din. Usually, she'd stop when the two lovers marry, right? Not here. She tries to get her daughter to DIVORCE him, LOL. She's dead set on finding another potential son-in-law who would agree to seduce a married woman. Nothing could stop her.
Side characters
I liked them all, even the bad guys. Not one of them was boring, which was a first for me. I did notice their stories often were more developped in thai dramas, it's especially true here.
Overall
This was truly an enjoyable lakorn. I'll recommend it to anyone who is in a bad mood. Sometimes, I did fast-forward a little because of a flashbacks overuse in some episodes, mainly the last one. Usually, I end up rating romcoms between 7 and 8/10. If this one is an exception, it's mainly for one reason : I laught a lot.
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I'll do my best to be as unbiased as possible in this review. I'll explain what might put you off as well as why you should still keep watching. This is now, after all, my all-time favourite drama, at least for the crime genre.
STORY :
If you have watched the US movie Frequency, you'll find a lot of similarities as they use the same trick to communicate through time. As for the rest of the story, it's something else altogether. There is roughly one case every two episodes but it's not an episodic drama. All cases share a deep link together, even more so the later ones. There are two/three points which have raised a bit of criticism but keep in mind that very few people minded about that, so please, don't drop it just yet.
First : some complained that there was too much yelling. It calms down a lot after the team gets to know each other better. Personally, I didn't even pay attention to that. It seemed very naturally done to me.
Second : the fact that some cases are real ones (at least one, the Hwaseong murders case) might anger you for different reasons. You might think of the victims family still alive, watching this drama, and feel bad for them. Or think of the police which might have done a great job back then and still didn't find the culprit despite its efforts. But take this drama for what it is : a fiction. Just like any movie about Jack the Ripper, it's a FICTION based on real life cases.
Third : The big question, is there any romance in this drama ? There is but it's very, very slight. It's not at the center of the drama at all.
NB : The first episode is kind of slow-paced, unlike others. So don't let this keep you from watching.
ACTING / CAST :
Overall, they were all very good actors. Even the tiniest role was well-played. Still, Kim Hye Soo (aka Cha Soo Hyun) really was the best to me. She's present in both timelines. Although it's the same role, her character has evolved a lot in 15 years. She's a bit introverted in the past but became a strong and independent woman in the present. It's very interesting to see how this character developped so much and Kim Hye Soo portrayed that very well. As she has the most blatant personnality change, it's easier to see how much of great actress she is in Signal.
MUSIC :
Fantastic! At least, if you like that style ^^ I loved it, the ending song particularly. But the OST as a whole was great as well. It emphasizes the story really well.
REWATCH VALUE :
I highly recommend at least one rewatch, even more so if you marathon it. Why ? Because as they change the past each time, a few important details change as well. Still, you won't feel lost even if you watch it only once so rest assured. There are enough flashback to understand everything quite well.
It's such a waste to marathon this drama. Try watching 1 or 2 episodes at a time. Savour it. Ask yourself why and how things happened that way. You'll definitely enjoy it more.
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Personnaly, I gave it a 10/10 in everything so I actually think it still is underated ^^ But I understand why some people might think otherwise.
You won't find as much action as in City Hunter neither as much comedy as in any romantic comedy. And though romance is present (just the right amount in my opinion), it's not the main object of this drama...
But, plotwise it's a MASTERPEACE. I can asure you there won't be a single episode where you won't be dying to see the next one ! Although it's supposed to be about lawyers, this drama actually feels more like a police drama. I'm saying it because that's what kept me from watching it for a long time. (And just so you know, I didn't started because I find the main actor cute ;) )
On a side note, it took me seven years to make my family watch a whole drama and it was with this one that I finally succeded. They were even the ones asking for more episodes ! So trust me and give it a try.
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The first episode focus on how homosexuality is seen in Thailand. We even get to know some laws about LGBT. I had seen homosexual relationships in other lakorns, which made me think thai society was a lot more open to it than it actually is. Hence, I learned a lot through Grey Rainbow. The second episode focus on real development of the mc relationship. Very natural, not effeminate at all, beautifully done. I even shed a tear. It's not easy to accept oneself when you know you have to sacrifice so much. Then the drama progress on how to annonce such news to their parents and their daily-life. In short, how to love each other like any other couple.
Overall, a very sweet and interesting drama with great sceneries as bonuses.
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STORY : I love gender-benders so I'm biased. And for this one I'm biased x2. Why? Because there are two women dressing-up as men. As a result, you get two types of gender-bender in one since they have very different characters. One definitely wants to hide her sex while the other would love to reveal the truth to a certain someone. The subplot, the 'spy' story, is more developped towards the end of the show, making it more interesting. Still, don't expect some exceptional plot, it's a romantic comedy first and foremost. Just enjoy it ;)
ACTING / CAST :
I was surprised at Sompong and Somchai. For gender-benders, one of the criterias is the disguise. The actress playing Somchai could really pass off as a man, especially when she changes her voice. Plus, she is gorgeous when dressed as a woman. The same could be said for Sompong. Although you can see more clearly her feminine side, she could pass off as a young man with her strong punch.
MUSIC :
Nothing much to say. I liked the song, it was catchy. There's one downside though... Because they dance on Tewa's song, there's nearly only this one during all 13 episodes. So if you don't like it, don't watch it.
REWATCH VALUE :
Well, it was enjoyable but the video quality will prevent me from any rewatch. Maybe a bit of the last few episodes because I really enjoyed them...
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A life-lesson drama
Why 9/10?I usually rate romance dramas around 7 or 8 at most. I gave this one an extra point because of its focus on the understanding needed for a couple and how well it was portrayed. From start to finish, this was all about what happens when:
1 - you don't try to put yourself in the other person's shoes,
2 - what happens if you do try,
3 - and what happens if you try too much.
Story:
I liked the parallel with the weather but as I said the most interesting thing in this drama is its psychological aspect.
The secondary couple was fun to watch, I guess that's how producers justified to call it a romantic comedy. But with the main couple, it's a borderline melodrama at times so I agree that the comedy tag had to be removed.
Acting/Cast:
I'm not a big fan of Park Min Young but it's the first time I actually liked her acting. I'm guessing that's because she doesn't smile as much in this drama so it doesn't feel forced. I suppose her character's personnality is closer to her own actual self.
As for Song Kang, it's my first time watching him as a main lead and I quite liked him.
What is this life-lesson you'll learn in this drama ?
Do try to understand how others think and why, but above all don't just assume things and go talk to them to be sure you're right before doing anything stupid.
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BUT THIS IS A DRAMA YOU MUST WATCH!!!
What's in this drama? Suspens, action, love, sometimes a bit of humour... In short, a great plot! All along, I kept wondering how Lee Yoon Sung would take revenge for his father's death.
Well, you might find it strange I didn't rate the story 10/10. Actually, there are two minor things I didn't like.
1°) I tought some love / sentimental scenes were way too long.
2°) As for Nana, I've got nothing against the actress but the character sometimes seemed too frail to be a Blue House bodyguard. I know City Hunter is supposed to be the best of the best but the gap between them was just too big.
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If I hadn’t read it before, I most probably would have had a difficult time understanding what exactly happened in the first half. Moreover, the pace was a bit slow in my opinion. But the story is still interesting enough to watch the movie at least once.
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