Goblin (2016)

Burden of the Past

There is no doubt that Korea still holds a major position in dramas in Asia in spite of the rise of China in this industry. This story is very interesting and well-developed - with the story spanning across centuries. The twists in the story were unexpected and very craftily woven. The two lead actors are good looking. Good looking actors and actresses often help.

In comparison to Chinese dramas, the male characters in Korean dramas tend to be more chauvinistic in behaviour. This may because Chinese dramas have been under scrutiny not to portrait certain values or indeed Chinese society especially in the larger cities have become a lot more receptive to women's status in the society.

The English title of this drama, however, was very poorly translated. A goblin is an ugly dwarf-like creature. But the lead character is handsome and tall - a complete mismatch. Wonder whether the translator knew this. A better title could be Immortal, Demi-god, Burden of the Past or the like of these.

Leia Mais

ONE OF THE FEW KDRAMAS THAT CAN EASILY GET A 10

Goblin is just everything you want in a kdrama. You probably read all the amazing reviews about how beautiful it is so I;m not going to repeat anything.
Goblin is a 10 for sure and just kinda perfect but also at the same time I had my few opinions.
And here they are

AGE DIFFERENCE (very controverial)

- The age difference is a little weird... but the romance is too beautiful and tragic to even look at that. I highly disagree with people who think they had no chemistry and instead had a father-daughter relationship. Ar first I was highly weird out and disgusted by the age difference but I looked over it and you will to. Hopefully. What's more weird is the fact that Gong Yoo looks 40 10 years ago and today's time as well. Koreans are usualy younger looking so I didn't expect him to look that old for a korean but hey not every korean is younger looking and so representation matters lol

SECOND COUPLE
- Second couple didn't really grow on me. It was just there... I would have loved it if the gream reaper and goblin fell for the same girl. Now how controversial and conflicting is that! However that would ruin the bromance and I refuse to sacrifice the most amazing bromance in the history of kdrama for that thought.

MUSIC
THE BESTTTTTTTTTTTTT. THE BEST OST EVERRRRRRRR
ITS BEYOND BEAUTIFULLLLLL
I LOVE THE OPENING SONG AND STAY WITH ME
the opening song lyrics make no sense tho lol

GOBLIN DESERVES ALL THE HYPE! AND THATS ON PERIOD!

Leia Mais

This is a tale of love and tragedy between a Grim Reaper and a Goblin-

I was here for the Grim Reaper and the Goblin. They kept my attention. I loved their relationship and these actors delivered. Forewarning, the main female character was a bit too much initially- I understand it was due to her age (she is a teenager). I LOVE THIS ACTRESS, even though I did not love her character. I feel the actress did a great job at portraying a very young girl, I just found the girl off putting. That just me. But please please please, get your tissue because when this actress delivers her tragic moment- JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, She ripped the tears from the depths of my soul. I saw this clip before and STILL was not ready. The connections and storylines were well written. THE CINEMATOGRAPHY!!! THE SCENERY!!! Yessssssss. I recommend this drama.

Leia Mais

Do not get hung up on the age gap, love is love is love

I Finished this masterpiece a couple of weeks ago, and I can’t stop thinking about it. The romance, the bromance, the comedy, the costumes, the jackets, the magic, the chemistry between the entire cast, the plot, the history, The memorable scenes, the beautiful kisses, And an ending that had me thinking about it for weeks. This is 100% worth the watch. Honestly if the music has been a bit better, this would’ve replaced my number one favorite. This is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, no matter the language and no matter the country. I can’t say enough good things about it. I know a lot of people get hung up on the age gap between the main female lead and main male lead, but She starts off the show as a naive, awkward 19 year old and ends the show as a strong, fierce 29-year-old woman....how can you not love a young woman coming into her own strength?! meanwhile he’s supposed to be 900 years mentally, 32 physically, but 18 romance wise. It evens out in my eyes. I say just Indulge in it and let yourself fall in love with them too. And don’t even Get me started on the secondary romance and how precious it is. But let’s be honest the real star of the show is the romance between the goblin and grim reaper. I hope these to do another show together someday.

Leia Mais

Definitely Recommend

I have to address something that people are pointing out as a flaw; the age gap. I'm going to start by saying that I'm not typically a fan of age gap romances at all, but I feel like there was a purpose in Goblin for the ages and the writers did a great job with their relationship development. They didn't do anything illegal in terms of intimacy while she was 19 - they had one peck when she tried pulling out the sword. They didn't kiss again until she was 20 and they didn't go further than that until she was 29 (if we go off of implication). Yes, when she was 19, Kim Shin admitted that she was his first love, but why is that inappropriate when she would age and he wouldn't? You have to remember that he's essentially stuck at the same physical age and his loved ones all age around him. And if she's fated to be his true love, he will love her at any age. From young to old. In addition to that, the love he feels for her isn't just about romance. Plus, the reason she was 9, 19, and 29 is because of the whole '9' thing in the show, so she couldn't be slightly older or younger than 19 at the age they met. I think I would have had problem with the age gap if they kissed properly (or went further) while she was still a minor, but they didn't because this series is about their fated true love and how they'll always meet. It's a beautiful story of their sad love and life. Age isn't really in the equation.

Story: I loved the entire story. It kept my attention so that I was never bored - despite the episodes being long. The writing was amazing most of the time. I laughed, smiled, squealed, cried, and even got scared by that asshole evil soul who shall not be named. Plus, I loved the fantasy and supernatural theme of the show. It had all the right ingredients to make me fall in love with the drama: romance, fantasy, supernatural, comedy, angst, found family and bromance. The development between Wang Yeo and Kim Shin honestly brought me to tears. Ugh. Anyway, the last four episodes kind of brought down the rating for me a little because everyone was taking turns dying or leaving. But, it does make sense for the show. All the characters were great too, there wasn't a single one I hated.

Acting/Cast: Incredible acting from the entire cast. Although I love Gong Yoo and he played his role perfectly, I feel like he would have been better suited for the role 5 years beforehand.

Music: Perfect.

Rewatch value: If I have time, I might rewatch this.

Overall: I highly recommend watching this if you haven't yet. It really is such a good drama.

Leia Mais

One of the best Korean drama, iconic

One of the best drama and I think everyone agrees with this. The production is so good, the story is compelling and it will really hook you up, I was never a fan of fantasy dramas that's why I watched this years after release but this opened my door to watching some dramas with fantasy elements.

My highlights of the film are Eun Tak's acting, her acting feels so real most of the times especially with the sad scenes, I also loved Sunny's character and how can we talk about Goblin without the OST? The OST of this drama alone is so good especially Stay and Beautiful Life.

Leia Mais

A tiny bit overrated but worth watching at least once in a lifetime

I watched it twice and the first time was a long time ago. But it was hard for me to make a review. Cause if you think about it… the plot is amazing, the performances are amazing, soundtrack is amazing, filming direction is amazing, special effects are amazing and it is rewatchable. So you cannot possibly give a bad grade. Like I can’t give less than 8.5 and a strong 9/10 is also understandable.

In a way when we talk about the real K drama with comedy, romance and all, we want this. An interesting and original plot AND great performances which is often lacking and often judged nowadays in a way I don’t like… Like Alchemy’s of souls or My demon or A good day to be a dog or King the land (to name a few recents) are strongly lacking in good performances. And Goblin doesn’t.

But in a way there is something a bit bothering which I have a hard time to explain. The age gap between the characters (characters not actors) is one of them but not only and that is why it was hard for me to give a review. Like… if it’s perfecr why does it feel imperfect ?

still worth watching at least once in your lifetime

Leia Mais

No lo dudes, no te arrepentirás.

Yo soy una de esas personas a las que les cuesta mucho empezar con un drama porque piensa que no le va a gustar, que se le va a hacer largo, etc. Con Goblin me pasó exactamente eso, que no me decidía nunca a empezarlo pero, cuando lo he hecho, no me he arrepentido, para nada.
Con este drama, me he reído lo que no está escrito, así como he llorado a lágrima viva en muchos momentos. Estos cambios dentro de un mismo capítulo me han parecido geniales. Creo que no he reído y llorado tanto en un drama como con este. La relación entre el Goblin y la Parca es asombrosa. Tienen una química increíble, hasta el punto de que, en muchas ocasiones, parecen ellos los protagonistas principales. Es con esta pareja con la que más me he reído, aunque no ha sido la única.
La historia de fantasía que nos cuenta el drama es, para mí, maravillosa. Además, los efectos especiales que la acompañan son muy buenos, haciendo que te metas más y más en la historia.
La historia en sí no es demasiado complicada, es muy sencilla de entender, aunque tiene más giros que una peonza. Estos giros a mí me han gustado muy mucho. No hay un solo episodio en el que las sorpresas me hayan defraudado.
Sobre la banda sonora... Es que es el complemento perfecto a un drama maravilloso. Las canciones están muy bien elegidas y ayudan mucho al desarrollo de la trama. Por no hablar de la música de fondo. Sin duda alguna, la canción de "Amnesia" ha sido una maravilla para mis oídos, así como el "Eun Tak's Waltz", que también se lleva una parte de mi corazón.
Por lo que respecta a los actores... Soberbios, espectaculares, magníficos. No ha habido un solo momento en el que no me haya creído la historia que me estaban contando. Y no sólo de parte de los personajes principales, sino también de los actores secundarios, que han dado la talla en todo momento. La química entre los protagonistas principales y los secundarios ha sido espectacular.
En cuanto a los cabos sueltos de la historia... Es cierto que tiene algún cabo suelto, pero está tan bien llevada la serie que, para nada, me han importado esos cabos sueltos. Me hubiese gustado ver algo más sobre Duk-Hwa y la representante escolar (amiga de Eun Tak), o qué sucede con los primos de Eun Tak. Pero todo esto no impide que la serie me haya maravillado.
Por último, comentar el vestuario. Madre mía qué ropas me llevaba Sunny... Ojalá las pudiese llevar yo misma. Y nada que objetar con los abrigos de la Parca y del Goblin.
Si estás dudando, no lo hagáis. La historia te atrapa y no te defrauda. Eso sí, tened a mano pañuelos porque los vais a necesitar, eso tenedlo por seguro. Dadle una oportunidad, que siempre estás a tiempo de dejar de verla si no os gusta.

Leia Mais

Okay I’m done bawling my eyes out now.

But man. Oh. My. God. I get it now. I understand all the high ratings. I understand the love for this drama. I understand it all.

This drama was just too high quality for me. It is a masterpiece, through and through. Everything about it. A few points:

- Stunning scenery & cinematography
- Gorgeous soundtrack, beautiful (just put on Winter is Coming.mp3 or And I'm Here.mp3 and I’ll be a wreck)
- Quality storyline
- Slow and steady pacing
- Great acting
- Superb chemistry for our main 2 romantic couples (and bromance couple)

I took my time watching this show in order to savour its beauty. This show was such a rollercoaster. Since there is a lot of angst, when our characters smile, it is like seeing the sun come out after years of rain. You’ll have the fluffiest scenes of all time that you are unprepared for and then more angst comes and smacks you in the face. But god I loved it all - it made me feel SO many things. I had never seen two characters that encapsulated the word ‘soulmates’ like Kim Shin and Ji Eun Tak. Those lovers deserve the world and more.

My final thoughts are the immense satisfaction and gratification for allowing myself to watch this paragon of a drama.

Leia Mais

Words cannot express how good this drama is. Goblin goes above and beyond any drama I have ever seen. The acting, the story, the music; everything is just so superb. I cried my eyes out, and I laughed even harder. When I finished this drama (the first time) I immediately watched it all over again. The music is so good that I'm still listening to the OST on Spotify a year and a half later. I fell in love with each and every character like they were real people in my life. If I could recommend any drama, it would be Goblin. The only flaw this drama has is that it didn't have even more episodes. We can only hope one day they make a sequel.

Leia Mais

After watching Goblin, I find that the thing I love the most about it is the chemistry between the cast members, and not just the main couple but, for example, between Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook. I think that the OST is very very nice, and at times when I heard it in the background, I felt that it was suitable and made the scene even better. I feel that the story is quite unique and the uniqueness of it was handled well. Although I didn't love the ending all that much, I really loved the general story and the process to which the ending ws reached, thus I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone who wants to watch it.

TLDR: The story was great, the ending ok, amazing chemistry, would recommend

Leia Mais