Uma Odisseia Coreana (2017)

Ha assolutamente dei difetti questo drama, ma non riesco a non dargli un punteggio alto. Sinceramente al momento è la mia serie coreana più bella vista in assoluto, e nonostante il finale mi preoccupasse (mentre lo guardavo girando vari forum mi sono "spoilerata" il fatto che il finale non fosse proprio il classico happy ending) quando l'ho visto in realtà mi ha soddisfatta, in quanto rispecchia perfettamente il "mood" (passatemi il termine) del drama. È un finale si aperto, ma sappiamo tutti che il Grande Saggio pari del cielo la ritroverà sicuramente, è impossibile pensare il contrario. In più, se Sam-Jang fosse effettivamente sopravvissuta sarebbe comunque rimasta un'umana che avrebbe continuato il corso della sua vita si assieme a Son Oh Gong, ma prima o poi sarebbe morta, e sarebbe comunque stato un finale dolce-amaro. Invece donandole un suo occhio e promettendo di andarla a riprenderla nell'oltretomba da al finale qualcosa di epico in linea perfettamente con la storyline che ci è stata proposta, per cui si, posso ritenermi soddisfatta.
Che cosa invece non mi è piaciuto?
In primis alcune animazioni erano veramente inguardabili. Anzi, quasi tutte. Quel drago era veramente agghiacciante.
La scena in cui Son oh Gong si toglie il bracciale è animata veramente male, ma vabbè lasciamo stare altrimenti inizio ad elencare ogni minima scena animata.
Parliamo di Sam-jang. All'inizio ci viene mostrata una donna che si ha sofferto molto per colpa del suo destino di salvatrice, ma cavoli, ci viene anche presentata come una donna forte! Perché nel corso degli episodi si rimbambisce sempre di più? Meritava sicuramente una caratterizzazione migliore, cosa che la maggior parte dei personaggi hanno avuto, addirittura alcuni personaggi secondari risultano più interessanti di lei.
Per quanto riguarda l'interpretazione di Lee seung gi nulla da dire se non che lui è stato il motivo principale per cui ho iniziato questo drama, il suo personaggio mi ha conquistata sin dal trailer e la sua recitazione è stata veramente ottima, in più in coppia con cha Seung Won forma una delle più belle bromance da me viste

Se le ost di questo drama vi portano dipendenza non preoccupatevi, è tutto normale

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El elenco es grandioso

Historia

Me encantó todo el tema de sobrenatural y fantasía. La historia estuvo bien, me gusto (gracias al grandioso elenco) pero no la ame. No me llegaron al corazón sus historias de amor a través del tiempo y el destino. Tomaban decisiones para avanzar la trama cuando se podía hablar. Al menos avisar. (Varios capítulos fueron asi)
Pero aún así quería seguir hasta el final, a pesar de que lo que se avecinaba y me venían avisando por tantos capítulos anteriores. Tuvo un final abierto que no alimenta demasiado mí corazón, pero peor es nada.

Actuación/elenco
Los actores todos increíbles. Destaco al mono, el toro y el zombie (en modo zombie). Y el ayudante de la protagonista. La protagonista no me gusto mucho, no me gusto su personaje demasiado rígido. Así que su historia de amor no fue grandiosa para mí (necesitaba más amor) u otra pareja.

Musica
Me gusto una cancion en especial que su primera vez salió en los primeros episodios.

Valor de repetición
Recomendada. Mirala cuántas veces quiera. (Por mí, con una vez basta)

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translation made by Google translator, may have typos in the text

a drama that without a doubt for those who have been in the world of dramas for a long time know how acclaimed and epic it is by fans. the story, narrative, twists, are captivating and unique, it's a story that is hard to forget and is very striking!!! you get involved a lot with the protagonists and when it comes to the end you get obsessed with a new season, which you'll never have, but which you deserved!! an exceptional drama, which has few low points. you get involved with each of the characters, you want to know more about each one and delve into the drama, it's really a watershed for those who like kdramas.

but as nothing is flowers, unfortunately the ending leaves something to be desired, I particularly wanted something more for the ending, but I know it turned out nice and suggestive! I wish it had shown an alternate and happier ending, but the rest of the story is so worthwhile and remarkable, acting is great, character dynamics are comical and unique, a reference drama!

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I tried watching this once & ended up dropping it after a few episodes. I found myself being annoyed by Seon Mi because it felt like she was trying to be two (sort of) conflicting characters. On one hand, she's this BA ghost whisperer who has dealt with living in a never-ending horror movie her whole life; but on the other hand, she's this whiny, weepy recluse who spent 15 years waiting for someone to "protect her." She had this really touching moment early on where she argued with Son Oh Gong that she didn't need a normal happy life, because she valued herself and loved herself enough to keep going, but then she later went on and on about wishing she weren't able to see supernatural things anymore. The character never felt like it settled into a clear, REAL person. I don't know if this was an issue of the actress or the writing, but I never really felt like I had a clear sense of WHO Jin Seon Mi was as a person.

HOWEVER, the rest of the cast was really delightful. They were pretty over-the-top and caricature-y, but I found that fun and interesting. Honestly, the cartoonish antics of Son Oh Gong and Ma Wang were what brought me back to this after I had initially dropped it.

The STORY was fun and funny. The world-building around this supernatural/fantasy story line was engaging and brought out a lot of unique creatures and characters. The romance didn't feel too rushed which was a nice change for a lot of kdramas that I don't feel like really take the time to clearly illustrate the journey that brought the OTP together. I felt like I understood why JSM & SOG fell for each other, and I was rooting for them throughout (so much so, in fact, that I looked up the ending of the source material to find out that the character SOG is based off of goes to the underworld/afterlife in order to reunite with the JSM character!). I even felt the feels for the side characters' romances - especially the zombie/pig-superstar pair and even the weird body swapped octopus prince's crush on the pig. I didn't feel that strongly about Ma Wang's tragic love story, but I really enjoyed his bromance with SOG.

Overall, I felt that the story was fun and unique. I would definitely not recommend it to someone NEW to kdramas, but I would recommend it to someone who's been around the block and is looking for something fresh and fun.

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More than the sum of its parts

This was the first kdrama that I watched and enjoyed, which is strange insofar as I know that it's not, strictly speaking, good -- but it is so entertaining! The third episode is, truly, among the funniest things I have ever watched.
The show's strengths and weaknesses are kind of mixed so that there is not one single component that makes the show "good" or "bad". Taking them one by one:
1. The story is a little up-and-down at times; sometimes it makes sense and sometimes it does not; sometimes it's fast and sometimes it's slow. However -- the mood of the show (more comedic than dramatic) accommodates the inconsistencies. And the comedic scenes in the beginning of the show are absolutely brilliant.
2. The acting is a bit of a mixed bag. I admit to absolutely buying into and adoring the male lead and almost all of the supporting cast. The female lead and the Devil King are less to my liking -- but I think that a large part of that is the script / what they have to work with and the types of roles they have been cast to play. And there are scenes in which the FL and DK absolutely kill it!
3. The music: The songs in this are wonderful. The "dramatic" music sometimes is over the top -- but regarding the show as a comedy makes it work, weirdly.
So a lot of good mixed with some bad. But, really, I think that fixing the bad elements would take away from the lightness of the show and make it less entertaining.
Personally, I have already rewatched it a few times :)

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Daebak

I remember watching this for the first time, I really liked it.
But to understand everything, I had to re-watch it. (That's what I do sometimes) And I liked it even more.
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The plot was interesting, I really enjoy watching supernaturals based dramas.
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The actors were great. I actually really enjoyed Ma Wang's character. I think some of his scenes were so funny to do. I don’t know how he did them. 👏😂Amazing actor.
I also love Lee Seung Gi as an actor, he's amazing.
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I'd re-watch it maybe, or maybe only some scenes that I enjoyed more😂🙄

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I'm only writing this because I got zero info when I went online to find out if this would be a happy ending or not - if this would be worth investing 20 hours into. If you're into melodramas, a lot of 'will-they-wont-they', action/fantasy, steamy kisses and implied sex, watch this!
The progress of their relationship was obviously frustrating because it's a melodrama and you know how long it takes for k-drama leads to make up their minds and say that they love each other. But hey, this was good! There were plenty of sweet and steamy moments to make the watching worth it.
Before starting the drama I read somewhere that 'everyone dies except PK' and that's total bullshit. Ma Wang, Son Oh Gong, Secretary Ma, PK, Sa Oh Jeong - they all live! Literally almost everyone lives except Jin Seon Mi, Zombie and the Prince possessing Alice. More importantly, Jin Seon Mi's soul even comes back from the dead for Son Oh Gong. The ending is a solid happy ending, or a heavily implied one if you're a pessimist. Ma Wang finds his son, Son Oh Gong gets to confess to Jin Seon Mi that he was actually head over heels in love with her even without the Geumganggo (that he takes off by himself in front of her), Son Oh Gong literally gives Jin Seon Mi the power of one of his eyes so that when he goes to the underworld he can find her easily and make her his completely. It was worth the watch. Go watch it!

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For me: This is quite good drama despite of the worst CG effect

This is the 1st time i'm writing a review (sorry for my bad english)
I think this drama is QUITE GOOD and have great potential to be top drama but lost the steam when reaching the final episode.
STORYLINE is GOOD and i love it. (Although, there's a lot of people say that, this is a copycat of Goblin. Not at all, its totally different.) The thing that i HATE is the unnecessary scene, the drama duration is too long, so they add too much of unnecessary story.
ACTING is 10/10. Lee Seung Gi, Oh YeonSeo, Cha Seungwon & all other characters really save the show. I watched until the final episode because of their great acting skills.
MUSIC/OST: The OST IS GREAT. If you don't plan to watch this drama, i PREFER you to listen to all of the OSTs (Seriously, its Gold but very underrated, idk why)

WEAKNESS/LACKING:
1. Too much unnecessary scene (Might be because of long duration)
2. WORST Cinematography/CG EFFECT
3. The finale episode is slow

My advice is don't compare this to other fantasy drama, watch first then judge

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This Drama Gave Me Something That Made Me Want to Forgive its Flaws

I may be too late for a review but this I want to say what I have to say. I badly want to watch it when it was on-going but I'm so busy in my study back then that I stop watching dramas.

This drama started of fun and is really intriguing. They open up the variables little by little and open up many loopholes for each character and feature new characters (plus the side stories) as the story progress that slows it until everything turns out devastating as you became aware of what tragedy might happen yet having a little hope that things will turn up differently. But it was indeed tragic that I ended up crying straight the last two episodes. I don't really expect a happy ending, like happy- happy ending since I don't expect much of that in genres like this but this is just too tragic and disappointing because things turn out just the way it really is, like you expect from the characters they build whilst the story process only to end up like all of those progress don't made sense. Another thing, a lot of loopholes still are left open that it just left you hanging

Acting was great! Lee Seung Gi and Cha Seung Won really pulled this one really hard. I'm getting curious why a lot don't like Oh Yeon Seo but I think she just build the character perfectly for it. The supporting characters are good, even though some of them needs improving. The romance line seems new to me but the tension between them is exciting and they don't fail to bring up the chemistry anyway.

OSTs are bomb it will end up playing in your mind. The cinematography, effects, etc. are good except for the CGI in the finale.

All in all this drama is really something that you can enjoy but don't expect much on the ending.

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Twisted Story from Original Chinese Journey to The West

A Korean Odyssey is a twisted rewritten story from it's origin story about Sun Wo Gong (The Monkey King). Growing up with the original Chinese story, this Korean so called adaption is really far from the original story. It twisted the original story about the journey of Sun Wo Gong with Priest Tang San Zang and other disciplines to find the sutras into a merely love story between Wu Gong and Sam Jang.
I admire the creativity of the writer to twisted the story so much until lost the original meaning of the story, but on the same time it also make it lost the meaning of the story. TBH, if only want to write a love story, no need to take big name / character from ancient history.

On the original story the so called Sam Jang in Korean Odyssey is supposed to be a monk / priest, whom all evils / demons want to eat, as his meat can make them have eternal life. Well overall this drama still watchable, quite boring from episode 1-5, but picking up after with some funny scenes. And the thing that make me can continue watch this is the great acting from almost all of the casts!

My first impression: The story setting is similar with Cronicles of Narnia / Alice in Wonderland, when Sam Jang was a kid releasing Wu Gong.
Afterwards is just a RomCom Drama with some mystic factors. The most hilarious part to me was when the East Dragon prince sold in the fish market! And that Jonathan reminds me of Severus Snape on Harry Potter.
The ending is not really satisfying, maybe they wanted to have a 2nd season?
Conclusion: If you are not into the original Journey to the West story and watch this, I think you will find this drama entertaining. For those have watched the original Chinese story and not fans of any of the actors /actress, then maybe this drama will not be so satisfying.

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my one [big] issue.

this obviously has a LOT of issues but i actually had fun watching it so i don’t mind most of them, i finish it in less than a week and i enjoyed most of the time.
however there is something that bothers me specifically and it’s that i just can’t be 100% on board with this romance when we know that his feelings were forced that way. like i do believe he felt some sort of remorse/guilt (and that’s a stretch) before the geumganggo because he abandoned her when she was a kid so he definitely does threat her differently (like him fixing the umbrella) but that’s still not love.
and it’s not that i don’t like her character (though she is so badly written, like she truly had the worst character writing). i wanted her to be safe and that’s why i understand that at the beginning she had to give him the bracelet, but she should have taking it off of him a couple of episodes later and simply go with the original deal they made in ep1 and afterwards he could had still fell in love her, it would have feel natural and more deserving of him feeling heartbroken.
or if they wanted to go with the whole “its necessary to use the geumganggo in order to protect her and save the world” they could have made someone else to put the spell/bracelet on him and make it so he would start loving her and therefore having to protect her, and also making so in a way that she can’t take the bracelet off even if she wants to, that way at least it means that she is not the one who has the control of the geumganggo.
but we instead have to watch how she doubts all the time whether or not his feelings are real yet we already know they are not real, at the end he simply gave up and the show wanted to sell us this as if it was true love. we are told several time how the bracelet can actually harm him or even kill him yet in every moment she refuses to take it off.
there is a time when he tells her that she must not love him enough because she doesn’t want to remove the bracelet and that for him the geumganggo is actually a prison, i’m sorry but after those lines how can i believe this a real love story?

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