What. The. Fuck. Drama?
I almost feel bad writing this so soon after completing the unusually 10-episode kdrama Nail Shop Paris, since I'm still feeling sufficiently wounded.
But I'll try my best.
Show, why are you taking yourself so seriously? It starts as this weirdly episodic series where each episode involves helping some client with their problems, so then we get weird moral-of-the-story endings with super serious messages to the viewer. Even the novel Yeo Joo's writing about Alex, acted out in a ridiculously exaggerated style, starts off funny and then tries to reflect the seriousness of the love triangle plotline. Basically, this whole show SHOULD have been a comedy, but clearly wasn't.
Unevenness all around. I stuck with it when I thought I understood, finally, what I was in for, but even that is left by the way side with the slapped together nonsense of the final episode. Basically the whole thing feels like a bad fan fic as written by Yeo Joo.
There are two upsides, of course: Jin and Ji Soo are totes adorbz, and by far the best thing about the show despite there being too much weight given them for a supplementary plotline. And Song Jae Rim is super handsome and clearly the better actor of the group, so it was fun to watch him be silly in love for a while. He gets very little to work with plot-wise, and there's zero chemistry between him and Gyuri (who frankly has chemistry with no one in this show), but I'd probably watch him do nothing for 10 episodes and still feel I got something out of this.
Basically, listen to everything you've heard about Nail Shop Paris and skip it.
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The story was different than what I usually watched, so it grabbed my attention right away. The whole girl disguises herself as a guy has been done quite a few times, but I don't recall any where there are a bunch of flower boys painting nails for a living. However, the whole gumiho concept just didn't do it for me. It was introduced and carried along through the first like 3 episodes. After that, it just became irrelevant. And then out of no where, it shows up again in the very last episode. Not acceptable. Sorry, but NO. Also, I found myself drawing further and further away from the main couple. I found the love story between Jin and Ji Soo much more interesting and cute. I was more worried about them than I was for Bunny, Kay, and Alex. They are now officially my favorite side couple! (\(^-^)/) They are the only reason my rating is a 6. without them, it would've been a 4.
As for the acting, it wasn't horrible, but... it wasn't all that great either. I feel like there were only a few of the actors that portrayed their roles well. That would have to be (in my opinion. no hating) Kay, Jin, and Ji Soo. They may have not been excellent, but it was much better than the others. The others' acting was good at times, and was just a ship wreck the rest of the time. But they tried; I'll give them credit for that.
The music was nice. There was a song or two that I didn't really like and some that I thought were over played, but overall, the music was good.
I highly doubt I would re-watch this. Maybe if I was pointed a gun at my head or if I literally have nothing else to watch besides this (pretty much impossible).
All in all, it wasn't anything special like I expected it to be. If you want to watch a cross-dressing, fantasy, confusing, rushed ending, short drama, then maybe you'll like this. If not, then turn away and look for another drama. Hope I didn't spoil anything. If I did, I'm really sorry. Bye!
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The story starts out interesting, and to be fair, it had a lot of interesting ideas in it. A lot as in: too much. I always find it a bit painful when I realise what a show could have been, if it was just executed differently. There where some good plots started, but it all felt like 'so much to do, so little time'.
I did not really feel the romance in the story. To not reveal too much, lets speak of boy A and boy B.
I do understand why boy A liked her, because there is some development and some logic to it. I know love isn't always logic, but still. And to me it felt like boy B just out of the blue decided he loved her too.
And the boy she starts a relationship with.. arg... he just goes for it like: bang! I can appreciate that there is some action and he knows what he wants. But to me it felt like he nearly forced her into a relation she wasn't sure of she wanted anyway. I would have felt really pressured and uncomfortable. Isn't there something in between the 'I can't say my feelings' and 'you showed some interest, now you are mine until death do us part'.
And then the girl herself, she is a totally different story: make up your mind lady! The plot just keeps switching and switching and in the end it didn't feel like the choice was actually made...
The parts where she is 'writing her novel' were plain boring. I honestly think this whole subplot could have been erased. It was there that the acting was the most awful and the wigs made it even worse. To me it symbolized what a horrible story she actually must have writing, because the plot she wrote was worse than the plot(s) the actual drama had. Thankfully she had a change of career!
The Gumiho part was a nice twist, but it did make the story more confusing and forced in its plot.
There was only one scene I laughed. And it was a scene where she was crying. Because, you know... one of the boys she liked said he liked her like a little brother! (and not like a girl like she wanted).
Dear Bunny (horrible nickname), if you dress up like a boy, act like a boy, say you are a boy.. you can't expect straight boys to fall in love with you and develop feelings for you other than that of a brother or a friend. The rare exceptions who do develop feelings are what I said they are: rare.
I love the idea of people falling in love no matter there gender. But a straight boy normally doesn't feel attracted to another boy. And if he did say he was attracted to you, you would have a completely different problem: what if he only likes boys and he finds out you are a girl...
Anyway.
The music. Uhmm.. I just watched the last episode and I can't remember it. But it didn't bother me, so that's a pro.
I somewhat enjoyed watching it. But that is not enough. I normally love gender-benders! This one.. well.. this one was just there. I started really enthusiastic, watched it, got a little bored, skipped a little, watched again, felt confused, felt more confused, felt confused but also a bit amused by the confusion and then I was relieved the ending was there, because I couldn't take any more episodes, but at the same time I realised it should have had a few more to just explain all the story lines, and... well.. you understand.
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the good this is that it was short coz girl i dont think i could take anymore of the ridiculous journal. the other is that song jae rim mostly and the rest were a hot cast so kudos. one major thing that gave it a 5 instead of 2 is unlike other kdramas this has alot of kissing scenes so i liked it. there really was also some cute moments seriously. thunder actually did a good job for his first role, he was cute and funny but sometimes i could feel his nervousness.
the bad thing oh gosh its like 99 problems. park gyu ri, how did this girl get chosen for this role coz its definately not her acting. one of the baddest gender bender. this girl couldnt pretend to be a boy for the life of her. i watch shows for the actual acting and not the cuteness. she supposedly was writing a journal by pretending to be a boy and find out about this guy she fancied. everytime they re-enacted her stories is when i would want to throw this laptop. it was fake beyond fake including her fake wig, fake gumihos, fake hunters, fake guns and gunshots......i could go on to 99. some story lines were really great like the grandma/grandpa fiasco. its just the story lines kept getting plugged in where they shouldnt.
give it a try, u gonna like kay as he starts getting feelings for her/him and seeing the different styles of nail art.
how do u tell about someone by looking at their nails **smh**
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The main problem I had with the show was the writing- there were too many elements mixed together. The supernatural element especially was only thrown in from time to time- as if someone occasionally remembered it was supposed to be there, but didn't know how to fit it in. The ending felt strange for that reason. The acting was a bit clunky at times, but I felt that the actors did the best they could with a dubious script- or in the case of the actor who played Alex, with a character who was written with very little personality.
But, like I said, I enjoyed this show. The romance was sweet, although I was angry at the main female lead more than once. Jin and Kay had a lot of personality and weren't bad to look at. The case of the day, while usually weird and (for some weird reason) leading everyone to forgive someone who committed a crime, was usually interesting.
If you are looking for something amusing and not overly coherent, this might be for you.
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The story made no sense and was just all over the place. It felt like the writers were just throwing things in just for the sake of it. Especially that last episode. And don't get me started on the fanfic clips...
Then the cast didn't help much. I originally watched this for Cheondung, he wasn't bad, in fact him and Song Jae Rim are probably the best part of this drama. Gyuri was so emotionless, like I could tell how Kei was feeling but in most of Yeo Joo's scenes it was more like, when did this happen? Did I miss something? Because I couldn' follow her emotions. Then Alex was just like a robot throughout the whole thing.
The drama was a farce. Luckily, Song Jae Rim did make it endurable for me and there were some really cute scenes between him and Gyuri. Actually, there were really cute scenes everywhere not just between Song and Gyuri, so perhaps the fluff had something to do with my scoring. Frankly, I wouldn't really recommend it though.
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Bunny a girl, who pretends to be a guy in order to work at a nail shop and ends up in a "love triangle". Oh wait and something about Gumihos...Yeah the story is just Crap.
Characters:
Bunny - Such an annoying girl who not only doesn't look like a guy and can't make up her mind on who she likes. (Wanted to slap her many times...my poor Kay >.<
Alex - Wannabe Dr. Phil or Mr. Deeds always trying to help everyone and can't even help himself. By far the most annoying character. His character is plain and emotionless.
Kay - Likes Bunny even though he thinks she is a boy. He genuinely cares about Bunny and is not afraid to show his feelings for her.
Overall: The only good thing about this drama is that its only 10 episodes long. I honestly wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I am a huge fan of gender-benders but this isn't one of them. Only reason I finished watching the drama is because of Song Jae Rim (Kay). Well you have been warned.
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Ok, I can definitely say this is not for everyone, but for some reason, i really liked it. Why? I'm not really sure because the plot isn't that great, but i was really impressed with how its different from the norm. If you don't believe me watch the last episode! (SPOILER DONT READ NEXT LINE) I was also really happy and surprised with who she ended up with, until episode 10, I was kinda expecting the opposite. Maybe some don't like how the end turned out but the last episode was my favorite!So do I recommend it? If you only like the type of dramas that are realistic and melodramatic then no. I think this is the best type to watch between other intense dramas to take a break, or maybe if you really like nail art like me ;) (has nothing to do with the drama but there is some cool designs in there)
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As expected it was a typical idol drama which promotes the idols. The story was refreshing. It was my first time watching a drama about nail arts mixed with gumiho elements. Customers with problems go into this nail shop and get cured/help by/from the nice nail artists and slowly we get to know more about the artists - I emphasize slowly. The drama is mainly a mixture of the story of the drama and the story of the story in the drama (the main lead is a writer).
About the music - I'm not sure I've only heard one song and that one was good. Maybe I overheard the instrumentals or I focused too much on the actions.
After the first 5 - 6 episodes I thought that I was going to regret watching this because nothing happened! I mean you just didn't know anything about the nail shop artists, yes they helped persons, the story of the writer was going on and so but you were just like - oh, it's already episode 6? I don't know anything about them...
However in the second half their story started to develop and I started to like the drama and then it ended.
I would definitely recommend it to KARA/MBLAQ fans and drama watchers who think they need something totally different from your typical romance, gumiho drama.
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Man, this show. If there were ever a text book case of the old adage, too many irons in the fire, this show would be it. Some of the things this ambitious show aimed to cover: gumihos, ghosts, hidden identity, romance, love triangles, writing, nail art, medical issues, mysteries...the list could go on and on and on. Seriously. When I started episode 10, I knew the goal of my review would be to convince people not to watch this drama. At the end of the series, I still am so far away from recommending it, but I can argue that it really wasn't as bad as my brain kept insisting.
I think I'll start with reasons why you should save yourself the hours you would spend watching this show before jumping into the few redeeming qualities it possesses. First, this drama was just all over the place. I mean, one second it's about a girl pretending to be a boy so that she can get more info on the guy she wants to write a story about. The next, we are dealing with ghostly rape and shaman mothers. Yes, I did just say ghostly rape. Cause, you know, that's a thing.
This drama reminds me a lot of KPop TUA. Not because of the gender bender aspect, but because none of the acting is that good, and the characters are all so young and fresh and have no idea what they are doing as actors. I think if they wanted to have so many balls juggling up in the air, they should have gone with some veterans. But given the storyline, what veteran would have accepted a role?
The romantic aspect of the show was 4 parts irritating, 1 part cute. None of the characters could ever make up their minds about anything. I suppose in some way, that makes it pretty realistic. The indecision and fighting got old pretty quick though. I'd have liked it more if Bunny had picked Alex or Kay at like episode 6 and then we had happy episodes in between, not waiting til the end to find out who she will end up with. The constant back and forth was just tiring.
OK, now to the few redeeming things that make this drama, at the very least, skimmable. First, Kay. Even though his character was poorly written, the actor really did try and give his all in the role, and I really think there are times where he did an amazing job. His struggle with his sexuality was cute, and he was really graceful about it at times. The danger of gender benders is that writers can really make homosexuality sound like a fate worse than death. And while I understand that Korea is a different society than where I am, it's refreshing to see a character not too emotionally distraught over the idea that they might be gay.
Jin and Ji Soo would be the second reason this drama is worth a skim. Their relationship, for the most part, was the cute breath of fresh air this drama sorely needed. Even when they were fighting, it was mostly adorable.
I could have swore I had more redeeming qualities to list, but none are coming to mind. I wouldn't say that I regret watching this drama necessarily, but every single week I was yelling at the TV trying to figure out why I kept watching. It was oddly compelling, wanting to see how the characters would work things out in the end. That being said, I still don't think this drama redeemed itself enough in the end to be worth the time. I'm glad I finished it, but unless you have the patience of a saint, and the ability to MASSIVELY suspend disbelief, you might try something else instead. The popularity of gender bender dramas ensures that there is something immensely more enjoyable right around the corner.
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There should be a category for art direction/stage sets so I could issue the low score deserved. For an interior that was supposed to be a nail salon, the decor was drab, dark and colorless. The nail salon's employee lounge was much better decorated, as was the exterior of the building.
The only reason I stayed with this drama through ten episodes was for Song Jae Rim, who was fantastic as loyal bodyguard Kim Chae Woon in "The Moon That Embraces The Sun". Song was also the only actor that showed any degree of acting skill, along with Thunder as Jin, and Han So Young as Ji Soo. Hopefully this bad drama won't stain Song's resume. Guess every actor's got one bad drama skeleton in his or her closet.
The main female character was so uninteresting, I became more interested in her roommate's love triangle!
Even Thunder's inherent cuteness and high water pants got old by the end of the drama. Mercifully, 10 episodes put this drama out of it's misery. Save yourself 10 hours and watch something else.
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