Through its different approach to love, Love Alarm also denounces the excesses of technology.

~ This review covers both seasons ~

There are plenty of spoilers ahead, but if you want to avoid most of them, feel free to skip to the conclusion in the comments. I know this is very long, so thank you for reading in advance.

P.S: I want to clarify that I do not hate Sun Oh (not that my username is related to him). I actually appreciate his character a lot, he's definitely interesting and saying that I didn't feel anything for him would be a lie.

I'm not forcing anyone to agree with me or to like Love Alarm, I'm just sharing my opinion in between so much hatred. So, if you don't have anything good to say, don't waste your time because I'm not open to further debates and will block before reading because I have no time to waste with MDL joy-killers. There are so many reviews and people out there that you will get along with. This is a review by a fan, for fans, and for people who are willing to appreciate the drama, or at least try to. That's it.

Forever NO to the Jojo slander. Oh but I know the Song Kang fanatics will target my boy Hye Yeong and my girl Yuk Jo as well. Meanwhile, much worse (male) characters are loved by audiences. I wouldn't care normally because I myself love some really awful characters but in this context... And if you think that Song Kang's character is some kind of perfect, kind & innocent boy fallen from heaven who deserves ALL the empathy while Jojo is the devil itself & deserves to be crucified, LOL, please block me.

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This conclusion is perfect because it's healthy and realistic. That Jojo should end up with Sun Oh was inconceivable, she loved Hye Yeong, not him. Sun Oh found happiness on his own and moved on, such is life. He wasn't the person Jojo needed, and vice versa.

From the beginning of the story, Sun Oh's character didn't come across as a very nice guy, but he's also somewhat pitiful. Is he a monster? No. He actually has a pure heart but that doesn't change his immaturity which turns into toxicity for the people around him. Yes, we can see that he starts to have genuine feelings for Jojo, but what he did was distasteful nonetheless. In fact, the story and the characters aren't so simple (despite seemingly clichéd) and that's obvious from the first episode. What I loved most at the beginning was how they actually showed a situation involving gay people. I especially appreciated how Hye Yeong handled that situation wisely (the fact that the closeted guy had feelings for him ahahah love this) and then later on fought back for his best friend no matter what.

On the whole, the drama focused more on the psychology of the main characters and I love this kind of romance, the transition from high schoolers to young adults really makes the difference with Season 1, the tone changes (highlighting the contrast), you can feel the characters coming of age and the fact that we've followed them through several periods of their lives gives way to a nostalgic feeling, the music etc. also plays a big part.

I loved everything : the cinematography, the styling of the characters, the acting, the writing, the music, the sci-fi aspect, the fact that so many things are represented in the form of drawings (even animated ones), the whole thing around Jojo's drawings and their meanings, the symbolism with the app, the shield, the spear, and so many details.

For instance, the distinctive use of color in Season 1—like the specific grading in flashback scenes—along with the psychedelic visuals and dreamlike atmosphere, added a unique and compelling touch. I’m also fond of the main poster especially, which stands out beautifully.

More about the drama makes it relevant. The complex family relationships, individual struggles and so on. Take Gul Mi's storyline, for instance—believe it or not, I grew to like her in Season 2. In fact, when she was just a kid, you could blame the way she was on her mother. We do all kinds of things to protect ourselves (already shown metaphorically with Jojo's shield). Referring to the collective suicide we saw at the end of Episode 5 in Season 1, the drama also shows people using Love Alarm as a scapegoat to justify their choices. We even see disturbing elements like pedophilia and obsession—such as the case with Jojo and how one deranged individual fixates on her drawings, sparked by nothing more than a trivial coincidence.

In Season 1, I recall a conversation between the teachers that struck a chord—Love Alarm itself wasn’t the cause of societal problems, but medias disguised it as that. And when you reflect on it, Love Alarm 1.0 has both advantages and flaws, much like any cutting-edge technology we encounter today, which always sparks protests—just as it does in the drama. I think the collective suicide is talked again in Season 1 or 2, I don't remember by who exactly and what they said, but it was similar to what I'm saying.

Some viewers blame Jojo for kissing Sun Oh in the beginning. She was on bad terms with Il Sik and eventually she was able to breathe thanks to Sun Oh. It's true that he was forcing, but she ended up accepting the kiss. They were where no one could see them (well, obviously it's a drama, so it doesn't go as planned), and she was tempted. When we know that many adults (men and women) have already cheated in their lives, it's not a teenager who lets herself go with this kind of context that shocks. One can argue it was wrong, but what about Il Sik? And Sun Oh? That’s where the complexity lies. Like so much else in the story, it’s not black and white—it’s human. This isn’t a story about perfect people.

Jojo didn’t initiate her relationship with Sun Oh. He pushed for it, despite knowing she had a boyfriend—something he learned from his best friend, Hye Yeong, who also had feelings for her. Sun Oh knew all of this, yet still chose to pursue her. And they dated for what, two weeks if we remove the time after the accident?

After the breakup, four years passed before Jojo met Hye Yeong. At first, she was emotionally distant, but his persistent efforts eventually paid off, and she gradually began to open up to him.

What can we expect from a character whose childhood was so painful, whose youth was full of struggles, a traumatized teenager with burdens so heavy to bear? Yes, you could say she acts in an annoying and selfish way, however, unless you are biased because of Song Kang and that you have a superficial view of the drama and her character, you will feel nothing but empathy. Don't even make me start on the impact that such an event can have on someone. Survivor's guilt, yes, but it was her parents who tried to kill themselves with her.

Again, I want to emphasize the fact that she needed to do what she did, and had the right to. You can’t just expect her to suddenly accept everything and be happy. Life doesn’t work that way, and to think so shows a shallow and limited understanding of the complexity of human emotions and experiences. Unfortunately, the haters here...

Please read this post : https://www.tumblr.com/lucymontero/646944171870109696/love-alarm-lovestruck-in-the-city-and-a-womans - It's not long and I love what she said. It fits into my review but I'm not gonna copy it all directly.

Sun Oh's behavior can be explained because of his family situation, right, I do get that. But if you think it's all Jojo's fault or that what Sun Oh did at the beginning is right but what happened afterwards isn't, I don't know what to say. Oh and the people shaming the writers for "making Sun Oh dirty" in Season 2, ahahah, it couldn't get any funnier. It was, in fact, as true to his character as it could get after the time skip and the events in the story. :)

Conversely, Hye Yeong is portrayed as a loyal and kind-hearted individual, yet he may also yearn for his own independence and quietly struggle with the weight of his connection to Sun Oh's family. Then slowly, we learn even more about him and his family. I immediately connected with him because of his personality, and I found myself deeply relating to his experience, as I too have had my life negatively impacted by my father.

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What Deuk Gu says to Hye Yeong, "It was Jojo's will to use the shield and spear. Without it, she would never have gone out with you. It was because of the shield that she broke up with Sun Oh and you appeared on the list of people she could love. The shield being a variable, Jojo's will intervened, and you became a potential love interest. She wanted to ring your Love Alarm, even if it meant using the spear. She was willing to go that far to express her feelings for you. If that's not being sincere, what is?" This sums it up perfectly.

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Another thing about the end that I love is that Jojo still doesn't ring Hye Yeong's Love Alarm without the spear and she still has the shield, but they know their love is sincere and it was really beautiful when they confessed their feelings out loud. It reminded me of when Hye Yeong was courting Jojo the traditional way without relying to Love Alarm, and the fact that he wanted to build his relationship with her bit by bit was great. Of course, there's that final scene where we see the key moments when Jojo rang Hye Yeong's Love Alarm, they left before it started working but anyway, it was obvious. Nonetheless, it was perfect as a conclusion, for us viewers.

Fun fact: Everyone noticed it but I appreciate how "Love Alarm" in Korean is said "Joalarm" which obviously refers to Jojo, and clearly, her role is important in the actual story surrounding the app.

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I transcribed two other dialogues that are important :

(the discussion between the two brothers) - Five years ago, I told you that we shouldn't release 2.0. - You don't realize that the Love Alarm you created makes people feel lonelier. Version 2.0 was created for those lonely people. If they'd known that lots of people would love them, there wouldn't have been any mass suicides, 23 lives would have been spared. - Is that really what you think? People only go out with the app's recommendations. Just like we only read articles from our search portal. Just as we only watch movies recommended by the algorithm. - What's wrong with that? - It eliminates countless possibilities. If there's an error in the suggestions, version 2.0 prevents love from being born. - An error? How are you going to prove it? - Kim Jojo. When she installed the shield, the person she loved changed. - Programming bug. - It wasn't a bug. It was Jojo's will. With the introduction of synchronization and willpower, this little mistake changed her life. Do you understand now?

(Deuk Gu talking to Jojo) "It was obvious you liked Hye Yeong. Do you know why you hesitated so much? You've never seen his Love Alarm ring. That's why. Even though you knew it was because of the shield, you doubted your feelings, because his Love Alarm had never gone off. That's why I wanted to stop the new function. People have become too dependent on technology."

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Going back.

Season 1 Episode 5 analysis (accident scene) : Exactly as shown with the narration and the cinematography, it was like a dream of happiness for her. She ignored and escaped reality thanks to Sun Oh. During the trip to Jeju, her trauma was already triggered once, but the accident heavily triggered it as it involved Sun Oh (who became really important for her—so no she didn't "not consider his feelings", it's not that simple). The call from the hospital where is her grandmother, the memories from her childhood if we can even call it that, her memories with Sun Oh, the flashback of Gul Mi threatening her... It was a build-up of different factors until she had to take a decision. She lost her friends, people judged her, she became the center of attention, and because Gul Mi knows her too well, it was also easy for her to use all the guilt that she tried so hard to hide deep inside. Then as if it wasn't enough, Sun Oh was locked up by his family because of her (that being the final trigger, the last straw), and she was also aware of Hye Yeong's feelings. Also, like, you're telling me that's the normal life of a high schooler? I'm not doing a recap but in case anyone forgot, this person explained it all in her review : https://mydramalist.com/profile/9262161/review/150547 - I really like how she ended the Jojo paragraph with "Because she doesn't want any help from anybody, BECAUSE she feels and will feel small. And that's actually one of the reason why she was burdened on being in a relationship with Sun-oh and finally installed the shield." And yes, it's also true that their final year of high school was coming.

On a side note, it is known that people can live with the memories of their childhood, but for the people who don't have anything happy to remember, they live their lives trying to heal these scars. (Jojo has some good memories with her grandma, but it's still really sad, her grandma had to fall ill and then all this) It's not easy for them to be happy and live a normal life.

Because it still wasn't enough, she literally became someone's target.

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Unfortunately, MDL reduced the character limit, and this review is so long that I now have to add the rest in the comments. (aside from the conclusion)

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Conclusion under

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Bonus links that I recommend to save :

- https://www.mentmagazine.com/issue001/sensus
- https://mydramalist.com/profile/imanirine/review/155009
- https://mydramalist.com/profile/Claraamorim/review/133999
- https://www.tumblr.com/lucymontero/646944171870109696/love-alarm-lovestruck-in-the-city-and-a-womans (in case you haven't read it when mentioned in the review)

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Ending explained in the comments.

Overall, Blood is a dramatic and philosophical show that isn’t for everyone, but it excels in delivering its unique tone. Unlike many other vampire-themed stories, Blood stands out for its logical and medical approach, offering a refreshing alternative to the teenage shows like Twilight. It’s grounded, sober, somber, and refrains from excessive romanticization, making it a compelling watch even for those who might find typical vampire stories cringeworthy.

See the poster? Blood is a battle between light and shadow - conveyed initially through Ji Sang's battle between his human self and his vampire self.

For those who say the romance is a slow burn, yes it is, but the story is very fun and entertaining (there is a lot of good mystery, suspense, action and plot twists) despite being sad and serious, although many won't agree. Even the characters' psychological state is well-done. AND YES, mind you, I absolutely love the romance. This couple is dear to me. It shows that there is no need for a quick development or kiss scenes to be endearing. I also really like the other characters (bad or not), the friendships and their sense of teamwork without toxicity (for once... looking at you, The Guest).

Hahaha... But the drama was still a hit worldwide.

While the actors' personal lives (they got married and divorced later but it was a public mess) have stirred media attention, this is none of our business. K-Media isn’t everything either. We don't know them and we weren't there. We should wish them to be happy and well as both obviously suffered, it's been a long time already. I do not want to hate on anyone - and even if Gu Hye Seon seemed to be the most problematic, she has stepped down from the mainstream entertainment industry (sadly...), probably because of the backlash. She has however decided to finish her studies instead, and create her own niche works in Korea (though she has been doing that since the start). She also isn't really in her last drama, because she reportedly had to leave (early) due to health reasons. Ahn Jae Hyun, on the other hand, recently had an amazing return in "The Real Has Come" (my first weekend drama, loved it, go watch it) and the new K.Will MV with Seo In Guk.

For a supernatural drama from 2015 broadcasted on KBS2, Blood offers impressive special effects and well-executed fight scenes, proving itself once again as a unique and artistic work (it is in every way). This is an old drama but I love the cinematography and soundtrack. Ohh and the opening is literally so good and artsy. Never skip it. The characters and overall style drew me in right from the start. I was especially hooked by the use of religious symbolism in the very first episode. Ahn Jae Hyun’s performance, especially for his first lead role with little prior experience, was commendable. Gu Hye Seon’s character, while initially unlikable, grew on me over time. I loved her dynamism and how fun she was. The drama also sprinkled in moments of humor and charm that balanced its serious tone.

On top of that, I find the ending very well done and meaningful, for those who get it. It was beautifully written like a poem and was mind-blowing event after event. If you look at the whole story, the ending has many parallels starting from the beginning. The story was also different in many good ways, I didn't find it boring nor predictable. Some moments were very chaotic and tragic, and especially by the end, the story got seriously dark. I watched it with a friend and we were both so hooked that we could rewatch it any time, it's this good. It sparked so much thoughtful discussion and was so much fun to watch together.

Besides, I wasn't a fan of Gu Hye Seon in Boys over Flowers. I couldn't even watch this drama. However, her monotone and dislikeable attitude in the first episodes was a proof of her good acting, and her character development starting from the 3rd or 4th episode, was even more. For me, she's a unique actress. (She would even be a favorite of mine if she had continued acting in dramas. Unfortunately, none of her other dramas seem appealing to me. Except her last, in which she only stars for 6 episodes.) The same goes for Ahn Jae Hyun's subtle, emotional and intense changes - he showed me again why I love stoic characters. Actually, I really liked the facial expressions of both actors. And by the end, both made me bawl my eyes out.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for something different in this genre, Blood is worth your time.

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Do not miss these artsy teasers :

https://youtu.be/gWCjhD3BqTI
https://youtu.be/9MogMyyGLhY
https://youtu.be/dyVMYcYEAOE

Full trailer: https://youtu.be/p7CDSwd6Nuc

Posters: https://ibb.co/album/9Z4gPf - Lmao, having watched Vincenzo, the writer clearly has a thing with bubble gums, comedy, dark stories, philosophy, and biblical references. I shall watch The Fiery Priest someday.

Favorite FMV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW-3S3PD1CI - This one really conveys what I loved the most about the vibe/atmosphere of the drama. The past timeline at the beginning was already too good, and Ji Sang's young actor was so good. His mother too. The villain so charismatic.

OST Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/album/0wGU2KIXz1lTCEXyu6b3aC

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