MattPeddlesden
Kent, UK
Fun time!
Short: Webtoon style "hyper real" (expect the characters to be dialled up to 110%) like others such as Extraordinary You. TRUE BEAUTY isn't about makeup, TRUE beauty is the real YOU, confident and with courage. In this drama, she takes that journey. Great actors, great characters. Music is ok but didn't stand out as much as others have. All the usual tropes, love triangle, breakups, they-met-as-kids etc - it is kdrama after all - but I thought they were largely written in quite sensibly :)
Detail:
Some really interesting characters in this - the female lead struggles with her appearance and being bullied and it leads her to the roof of a tall building standing on a ledge contemplating her future. The male lead happens to be there because previously his best friend had jumped from that ledge and he was remembering him, he pulls her off to safety.
She learns about makeup, and moving to a new school arrives transformed as the most beautiful girl in the school, where she quickly gets lots of friends and happiness.
So... my initial thought as the drama starts in this way is... oh I do hope there's a bit more depth to it than "make yourself pretty so people will like you" and thankfully there is. She struggles with her appearance throughout going to extraordinary lengths to make sure nobody can see her "bare face" fearing that friends will instantly turn to enemies. Indeed, there is one moment in the story... which I won't go into... and it's played out really well as everyone reacts strongly but not all for the same reasons, and it ultimately provides a lot of courage for her as she realises if you're around the right people it doesn't matter at all, and if you're around the wrong people - they don't matter.
What was really good for the female lead was seeing her grow from a girl in school to a young adult as she steps into her working life - going from the struggles of school to figuring out what she wants to do and then pursuing it vigorously, as she goes from someone near the bottom of the school leagues to someone who is driven fiercely for what she wants to do. I think everyone goes through that transformation as they get frustrated with the doldrums and stress of school and switch to doing what they are truly passionate about.
The male lead doesn't go through the same length of journey at all, and while I have no objection to his character and enjoyed its participation in the story, he was there as the supporting character for the female lead, without a doubt.
The SECOND lead however - was easily one of the strongest and best characters i've seen in a drama in a while. His strength of character even in the latter episodes when he would have been completely ok to pursue what he wanted, took a better path instead, choosing what he knew she wanted. Difficult to go into detail about why this moment towards the end struck me but it was really well done. He's a misunderstood character at the start who is acting out, but this is not your average love triangle. Sadly, he's doomed to suffer the fate of all second leads unfortunately (I don't consider that a spoiler because if you go into a drama expecting it to end with the *second* lead... you're probably not reading the room ;) ).
Secondary characters... the female lead's sister and the teacher - funny as heck (as are her whole family tbh). So refreshing to see such a strong woman knowing what she wants and just going for it with all the force in the world. Absolutely her mothers daughter, but equally good to see the cheeky bit later on when it's clear that it's not entirely one-way and he can pull her strings too (I am probably explaining it badly - but suffice to say, it is a well balanced relationship :) ).
Her friends - one of them goes through a bad time and becomes the bad-person, and I was very pleased with out how that was concluded.
All in all, some really great characters and performed well by their respective actors and actresses.
It is a webtoon style drama, like Extraordinary You, so expect your characters to be dialled up to 110% - it's done in a nice way that works well and is fun throughout :)
The ending is nice and drawn out, it's chilled and feels really good.
Why not a 10? Purely because I think that while they nailed the problem with the way she felt about her self image and about the bullying at school I'm just not sure they actually nailed the conclusion to that quite as well as they could have. I can't put my finger on it, because she got her moment with the bully, she got the support from true friends, she supported someone else in the same situation and helped them, and got the courage to be her true self. So i'm not sure why it's niggling on me, but... it is. That's why I only took a half off.
TRUE BEAUTY isn't about makeup, TRUE beauty is the real YOU, confident and with courage. In this drama, she takes that journey, and it's the day she turns up to her new school in her bare face she becomes the True Beauty.
Detail:
Some really interesting characters in this - the female lead struggles with her appearance and being bullied and it leads her to the roof of a tall building standing on a ledge contemplating her future. The male lead happens to be there because previously his best friend had jumped from that ledge and he was remembering him, he pulls her off to safety.
She learns about makeup, and moving to a new school arrives transformed as the most beautiful girl in the school, where she quickly gets lots of friends and happiness.
So... my initial thought as the drama starts in this way is... oh I do hope there's a bit more depth to it than "make yourself pretty so people will like you" and thankfully there is. She struggles with her appearance throughout going to extraordinary lengths to make sure nobody can see her "bare face" fearing that friends will instantly turn to enemies. Indeed, there is one moment in the story... which I won't go into... and it's played out really well as everyone reacts strongly but not all for the same reasons, and it ultimately provides a lot of courage for her as she realises if you're around the right people it doesn't matter at all, and if you're around the wrong people - they don't matter.
What was really good for the female lead was seeing her grow from a girl in school to a young adult as she steps into her working life - going from the struggles of school to figuring out what she wants to do and then pursuing it vigorously, as she goes from someone near the bottom of the school leagues to someone who is driven fiercely for what she wants to do. I think everyone goes through that transformation as they get frustrated with the doldrums and stress of school and switch to doing what they are truly passionate about.
The male lead doesn't go through the same length of journey at all, and while I have no objection to his character and enjoyed its participation in the story, he was there as the supporting character for the female lead, without a doubt.
The SECOND lead however - was easily one of the strongest and best characters i've seen in a drama in a while. His strength of character even in the latter episodes when he would have been completely ok to pursue what he wanted, took a better path instead, choosing what he knew she wanted. Difficult to go into detail about why this moment towards the end struck me but it was really well done. He's a misunderstood character at the start who is acting out, but this is not your average love triangle. Sadly, he's doomed to suffer the fate of all second leads unfortunately (I don't consider that a spoiler because if you go into a drama expecting it to end with the *second* lead... you're probably not reading the room ;) ).
Secondary characters... the female lead's sister and the teacher - funny as heck (as are her whole family tbh). So refreshing to see such a strong woman knowing what she wants and just going for it with all the force in the world. Absolutely her mothers daughter, but equally good to see the cheeky bit later on when it's clear that it's not entirely one-way and he can pull her strings too (I am probably explaining it badly - but suffice to say, it is a well balanced relationship :) ).
Her friends - one of them goes through a bad time and becomes the bad-person, and I was very pleased with out how that was concluded.
All in all, some really great characters and performed well by their respective actors and actresses.
It is a webtoon style drama, like Extraordinary You, so expect your characters to be dialled up to 110% - it's done in a nice way that works well and is fun throughout :)
The ending is nice and drawn out, it's chilled and feels really good.
Why not a 10? Purely because I think that while they nailed the problem with the way she felt about her self image and about the bullying at school I'm just not sure they actually nailed the conclusion to that quite as well as they could have. I can't put my finger on it, because she got her moment with the bully, she got the support from true friends, she supported someone else in the same situation and helped them, and got the courage to be her true self. So i'm not sure why it's niggling on me, but... it is. That's why I only took a half off.
TRUE BEAUTY isn't about makeup, TRUE beauty is the real YOU, confident and with courage. In this drama, she takes that journey, and it's the day she turns up to her new school in her bare face she becomes the True Beauty.
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