Dali e o Príncipe Arrogante (2021)

An enjoyable drama thanks to the two lead characters and a good plotline.

1/ WHAT I LIKED:

- The "thriller": Dealing with a case of "unexplained death" in a drama full of colorful eccentric silly insane people is not easy as the elements of the plot can be easily convoluted. It was not the case here and the plot is well handled. The drama introduces a mystery and then keeps a good pace to slowly unveil and describe the huge scheme behind, the schemers and their final fate. The way the "thriller" part was solved and how things panned out was good as one guy who looked unredeemable turned the table in a surprising twist.

- The romance: The romance works very well thanks to the two lead characters Da Li and Moo Hak . They are very well written. FL is naive, knowledgeable cultured elegant damzel but also an hardworking dedicated boss who fights for her people. ML is loud and not so bright but he has a good nature and good values of life even if money matters first for him. They are so different that they definitively attract each other. Their path to being together is not easy but it goes smoothly with no terrible dilemma. And when they are together or trying to be together, they are just too cute but they also look quite a realistic and modern couple.

- The bad guy: He contributed greatly to the drama by being so sneaky and despicable. The good thing is his bad deeds are slowly discovered to unveil his true nature. I only regret that in the end he had a punishment too light for what he did.

- Da Li's brother , Won Tak : Althought I wished his part was more important especially the "cop" side of him, I liked the relationship he had with Moo Hak and the way it evolved to become really funny. I also like how things ended for him. He who barely washes his hair still finds a new friend in the end.

- Ahn Chak Hee : She looks dumb and spoiled annoying girl at first but she becomes quite endearing and she has an happy ending as she moves from a sad situation to become independent.

- Yeo Mi Ri : Moo Hak's goofy secretary, lieutenant, guardian angel...


2/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

- Moo Hak's family: Terrible people. The step mother should be shot and fed to the pigs :D . Moo Hak's brother is a weasel who makes stupid choices when he is not taunting Moo Hak. The father is no better. He never treated Moo Hak right and in the end, he is still so selfish.
- Some character did not have very likeable personnalities: mostly the employee of the museum, the uncle and his son...
Annoying people who did their annoying but useful part.

- The time jump at the end of the drama caught me by surprised and I was a bit annoyed. But the ending was finally good and artistic.

3/ OST: Very good with some several good songs to contribute to a very original athmosphere. I had not noticed such a good OST since IOTNBO.

4/ REWATCH VALUE: Some very cute and funny scenes to rewatch.

5/ OVERALL: A good and entertaining kdrama with two colorful main characters who are lovable. 9/10

Leia Mais

One of the most refreshing Kdramas!

It starts straight away with the looks. Everything is a visual masterpiece, from the sets to the crazy smart retro outfits everyone is wearing. It all feels like the art it's honouring.
Then there are the two leads that are as unique as the clothes they wear, both looking like the best of the 50s, but with the most modern relationship of balance and mutual respect. And that same respect carries through to the support cast as well. This drama treats almost everyone kindly, showing a grace and sense of hope even towards the moraly gray characters.
It's rare that a drama that is so visually spectacular has something meaningful to convey, or has such a good script and storyline. Dali has everything, and it was very hard to find faults in it. Like most dramas it could have been an episode shorter, but otherwise it was as good as it gets. And then some, wrapped in a vintage package...

Leia Mais

The sweetest romance you'll ever see

So I went with a good amount of bias into this drama. Park Gyu-Young has been my favorite actress for a while now and I'm sure to like basically everything she touches... but I didn't expect to like it this much. I didn't expect this drama to straight up jump into my top 5 of all time and to set the bar for romance dramas on a level, which is almost unreachable.

I'll start with the lesser relevant points:

The setting is great. Dali being an educated art scholar from a prestigious family gives the drama a very sophisticated vibe and sets up a perfect opposition to Moo-Hak being a slightly vulgar, from zero to self-made millionaire CEO of a food company. The fact, that Dali is from a prestigious family also helps greatly, to not fall into the classic "I need to be saved by the rich guy" scheme (even though it kinda turns out that way but mostly due to the story arc and not because of the character), because her social status is actually a lot higher than Moo-Haks. Dali's character, even though being a bit naive, is still written as strong and independent, who has literally been thrown into the worst-case scenario out of the blue, with huge and powerful villains fighting against her, so it's obvious that she needs help here and there but the drama never goes too over-the-top and keeps reminding us, what a strong human being Dali is. The same goes for Moo-Hak. Him having to review his life phisolophy and values during the drama, while also being put in unexpected and dangerous situations makes his character grow an incredible amount.

The sophisticated vibe is very much supported by the beautiful sets and music used in this drama. Especially the OST, a mix of soft english romance songs, which could have been right out of a 1920s folk love album and emotional korean ballads, was very well chosen and really helped consolidate the atmosphere of the show.

The supporting cast is the only nitpick I have. Even though all the characters are really loveable and have their own little story and character development, I didn't really understand why so many actresses and actors decided to overact massively. Maybe they were told to do so, that the main cast shines more but especially compared to the incredible realistic job Park Gyu-Young and Kim Min-Jae were doing, the supporting cast is the only dark spot on the beautiful painting, that is this drama. (Special shout-out to Kwon Yool, who is subtly acting his ass of. How can a person portray so much just through the movement of his eyes??)

But now let's get to the part, which made this drama an all-time classic for me: Romance done right!

K-Drama has this stereotype, of making romance cheesy and over-exaggerated and is often being memed for that. Maybe that's why this love story felt like a harmless tornado of fresh air to me. I have not seen a more natural development of a love relationship in K-Drama ever. After the "no electricity scene" in Episode 1 I already knew that I was witnessing something special. I don't know. It just clicked. The chemistry shot through the roof and showed everybody the cutest romance I've ever seen. From the subtle smiles, the hilarious Kissunderstandings (hehe ;) ), or the expectation defying twists (not so innocent after all). Everything seemed so natural and perfect. The two main leads could have not been cast better. They just fit with their characters and you believe every single line they say and every action they do, especially to and for each other. I enjoyed seeing them happy. I was smiling from ear to ear during each and every romance scene, because it just filled me with so much joy, seeing a cute couple in love with each other, knowing all the hard-ships they have endured and are going through.


What can I say? I am in love with this drama and I probably will be for a good while.

Leia Mais

Original rom com drama.....look simple but worth to watch

Watch episode 1 without any expectation but it catch my attention with their cinematography and both lead look soo refreshing. They suit the rom com genre. Kim minjae has a wide range of acting even he still young and for park gyu young look soo classy in this drama.
The story is simple but still made me smile watching it as the funny scenes happen so natural without any forced. Jin moo hak and Kim Dali match and complete each other even though their character is totally different. I never though i would enjoy this drama and this couple one of best couple for this drama out of all the drama i watch.
I give credit to kim min jae as he acted as jin moo hak very well and i surprised to see him acting. Jin moohak character is very hard to act if you did not had a wide range of acting. I glad kim min jae took this role and it one of his best character at least for me.

Leia Mais

Pretty good, although I did get bored and took me a year to watch the rest

Right as the title says, it was pretty good. But I did get bored around episode 13. Was watching when it was airing but completed it at the beginning of 2023 and I'm now writing this. Anyways it was a very nice K-drama, very funny the comedy wasn't too much it was the perfect amount (wish I could add emojis I sound incredibly dry rn). Now I wouldn't say that this series was boring, it really wasn't but I get bored too quickly. The acting was great and Kim Minjae really suited Mohak's character a lot lmaoo. And DALI WAS SOMETHING ELSE BRO I LOVED HER. She was so elegant all the time and so beautiful and should be the definition of a strong female lead. And Park Gyuyeong delivered that so perfectly. The plot was very interesting as well so we love thatttt. Tbh I don't think I'm gonna rewatch it anytime soon for now. And I'm sorry but the OST was straight up ASS, only one single song that I liked and it was a rap song. And I don't really focus on OSTs I only really notice if I like them or despise them, and sadly she got the wrong type of recognition. Although I did praise it a lot I didn't give it a very high rating, idk it just didn't feel right or honest to rate it higher, nor did it feel right to rate lower. So I think a 7 would be good enough. I think it's because they were dragging it on too much.

Leia Mais

Perfectly balanced mix of all things K-drama that is both good and entertaining at once.

what can I say that has not already been said, probably nothing and I have actually not read most of the reviews for this on here but this is just one of those few (ok not few) dramas that have all the reasons one fell in love with K-dramas in the first place with heart fluttering romance that will make you go all ohh and they are just so cute.... it has suspense, will keep you guessing just enough, and make sure to address some pretty important issues on the side without any of these taking over or distracting from the main attraction of this dram which is the romance.

I once wrote that all the great love stories start off with someone being vulnerable... and well here the screenwriters made use of vulnerability in such varied and creative ways that I regretted not waiting with my article till after I had seen this... But then there is always room for a part 3... anyway besides the 20 shades of vulnerability shown the drama does a great job talking about family bonds, distribution of wealth, social mobility, power relations and shows very clearly moetery capital vs cultural capital in a fun and easy to relate kind of way the leads come of as pretty interesting characters that complete each other perfectly having different types of capital, different types of intelligence, different needs and a whole lot of love and respect for each other. ok yes there is the classic wrist grab and some other stuff but the male lead can actually back off if told to back off, SHOCKING but true.

The female lead is portrayed as lacking in some ways but extremely booksmart, capable, caring and fun. I have seen Park Gyu Young in several dramas, all very different, in this drama she does a great job showing that she indeed is very talented and can pull off a variety of roles.

The male lead is portrayed as an illiterate uneducated cokey pretty boy that only knows and cares about money and food but is shown pretty competent and caring as the show progresses and is just the cutest little teddy bear. That actually does say some of the wisest lines in the whole drama. Kim Min Jae delivers his line beautifully as well as gets several chances to show off his very well sculpted body.

The side characters are mostly well written and fun and are very well casted, but the male leads family was a bit too much and annoyed me, I felt bad for the actors of these parts because I know they are otherwise good so it was not them it was the writers... That family is what pulled down the score of this otherwise close to all I want in a k-drama, drama.

All in all definitely worth watching, easy to binge and just an all round good and entertaining K-drama done right.

Leia Mais

A delight!

I totally loved this drama and binged it in a couple days around school and work!

I love the strong cast! The lead characters are great!

I don't want to give away spoilers but there were several typical Kdrama cliches that I thought were coming a bunch of times throughout the drama and they kept tricking me!

This drama is a great mix of romance and comedy with some mystery too! Anyone looking for a drama that does not involve making you yell at the TV and brings you lots of smiles, this is the drama for you!

I can never state the rewatch value right after finishing a drama. I am saying no right now but I could see that change and could see myself wanting to rewatch the romantic/comedy scenes.

Leia Mais

A True Gem

To be honest I’d passed this by on several occasions but I finally made the decision to watch it and I’m so glad that I did. It’s one of those dramas that you’re sorry to see end, it was a joy right from the very start. The chemistry was lovely, light and flirty in some parts and yet simmering with passion in others but throughout the series it was clear that the ML and FL had a great deal of respect and fondness for each other and it showed. The rest of the cast handled their parts well and the story dipped and rose naturally with nothing feeling forced or out of character. There were emotional highs and lows as well but nothing overwhelmingly traumatic even though there were moments that could have gone either way. All in all I loved it, every part and I truly recommend that you watch it. It was a wonderful journey that put a smile on my face more times than I could count. I hope you enjoy it as much too.

Leia Mais

Simple but Something Unique!

I started this drama without any expectations and fell in love with this. I wanted to watch an ongoing drama and only started because I saw somewhere it had high ratings for the first episode. Started it with two other dramas, but this took all my attention. A story where opposite attract, yeah, sounds cliché but it has a lot of fresh moments. A loud man who loves money more than anything meets a studious woman. Sounds more cliché, right? You may find it a bit uninteresting in first few episodes, But believe me, it is the best romcom of the year. No unwanted fillers and no unwanted characters, it never failed to entertain me. A perfect start and a very Perfect Ending.

The production of this drama was awesome, from the start of the episode, costumes and to the end, everything was aesthetically pleasing, especially the Netherlands part. This drama is a mix of Romance, Comedy and maybe a bit Mystery? The Humor was on point, there were funny scenes even in between romance. You would never get tired of the funny scenes, had a good laugh watching this. Its not just romance and comedy, but includes fighting for justice and shows how the world is and how money controls everything.

Jin Moo Hak is the star of the show. His loud behavior is really an eyecatcher. He is a man who can't tolerate the things that he don't like and doesn't live to please anyone. A person who is uncultured when looked by the educated people. He is rich, not by birth, but by working day and night. That's what makes him special. He is not a person who is toxic , sits back and give money for everything the FL wants and treats her as crap and love her secretly, but supports her to the extend he can and let her earn the fruit of her own hard work.

Kim Dal li is not a simple innocent girl as often seen, she is educated, really hardworking, kind, don't judge people just by their behavior and not ready to sacrifice her life for others. She could be seen as weak sometimes, but she always gains back her confidence and try to learn the situation and find a solution. She is a studious girl and could realize every artwork in one look. But I am a bit unsatisfied cause her knowledge of artwork could've been shown more, but it was limited to the first episode. She is not a person who obeys everything others say, but has her own opinion.

The side characters did a good job, Won tak and Moo Hak could've had a really nice bromance, but the screen time was limited. Jin Moo Hak's secretary is not only a person who shows him his schedule and drives his car, but she really cares for her boss as a friend , maybe because its how sincere he is. I loved her character so much. I found Moo Hak's parents really annoying at times, but liked them at last. Chak Hee and Jang Tae Jin also did a great job. Won Tak was a brother like friend who took care of Dali very much. I was afraid if it could be a love triangle, but thanks to the makers for making him a really good friend. The gallery workers were also very good in their characters.

Their chemistry is out of the world. What I loved most is how they supported each other without being egoistic or jealous of each other as seen in other dramas. They loved each other and want to enjoy the rest their life together. I usually get tired clichés and skip some scenes when watching a romcom, but these people didn't let me take my eyes off the screen. Yeah, there are no drama without clichés but these people did not let me take my eyes off the screen. The only problem was that there could have been more screen time of them together. They were not together every time, may be that's why this was relatable. It have broken many stereotypes often seen in K dramas. Each episode ended with a cliffhanger and I always wished if I could watch one more episode and eagerly waited for the subs to be released the next Wednesday.

So concluded, I liked this drama as a whole, every scene in it. Trust me, It's worth it!!

Leia Mais

A bit annoying

First of all, rich arrogant guy & unfortunate girl. Ok, but what's wrong with female lead. Wasn't she introduced as intelligent & workaholic. Suddenly she is all sad and crying and everything gets resolve by its own. Jin ki chul revealed the video, Moo hak & tae Jin helped in exhibition. Tae Jin destroyed assembly ahn. She did nothing. When she got beaten up she did nothing. SERIOUSLY? SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE INTELLIGENT ONE?

Overall, the story is cute & funny but characters are annoying, the secret of death isn't big too. At the end, they broke the break up stereotype.

Leia Mais

Good for a Korean Drama

The drama shines with realy well written characters, amazing acting and a nice spin on a lot of classic cliches. Definitely one of the better KDramas I've seen over the years.

However it has one big problem, which is a running thing in the vast majority of kdramas: It focuses to much on the Problems. At the beginning it was better than kdramas usually are in that it split the screentime more evenly, but after around a third it dropped into the usual split, where 75%+ of the time aren't spent showing how a problem is solved, or how the characters working on it might solve it . Instead thosee 75%+ is just spent to show us the problem from different angles, how it came to be etc. creating an overall negative experience while watching it.
And while this shows is still one of the better korean ones in that regard, all to often problems still just get solved out of nowhere, with maybe a 30-60 second explanation on how the solution came to be tacked on later.

Leia Mais