After a lengthy break I'm back to writing a review and I'd like to start this one by stating my final verdict which is that yes, this is a drama worth watching. I'm writing this review literally a minute after I finished the drama and the feeling that I was left with was very satisfactory. The story was nice and compact, there wasn't a lot of dragging and character development throughout all twelve episodes was smooth.
I noticed in a lot of comments and some reviews, too, that people were saying they wished the drama had been longer but on the contrary, I must say I'm glad it wasn't. This drama held its stable stance precisely because it was on the shorter side. Had they extended it up to sixteen episodes, I'm pretty sure we would have experienced the same tragedy that happened with Song Ji Hyo's previous small screen success, Emergency Couple. The plot would have dragged out and in the end, we would have been left with filler scenes and pointless subplots being stretched to ridiculous lengths. This drama kept it short, tight and simple making it a lovely, eventful package.
To give you the plot in a nutshell: A man named Bang Myung Soo (Byun Yo Han) writes a webtoon about his three ex-girlfriends. This webtoon becomes so popular that soon the production of a movie adaptation is put into action and the producer turns out to be Myung Soo's old friend Kim Soo Jin (Song Ji Hyo), with whom he had a some-relationship in the past. When the three ex-girlfriends find out about details of their personal life possibly being exposed through this movie, they confront Myung Soo about it and drama ensues.
To me this plot seemed very original and interesting from the first time I heard it and in the end I wasn't disappointed. The idea of three ex-girlfriends of the same man in one room is already chaotic enough but add onto that the fact that all three of them are quite the ladies. They each have their own, strong personality, which is described in the webtoon with animals: a cat, a lion and a fox. And boy do these women know how to make a situation messy. I found myself face-palming at their antics in every episode and I must say it was one of the best aspects of the drama. The two main characters Myung Soo and Soo Jin are also lovable and make you 'aww' quite a few times with the deepness of their relationship.
Myung Soo is a real sweetheart. He is caring and kind but also very simple, a little clumsy and awkward in social situations. His relationship with Soo Jin really shows his sincerity but unfortunately, there wasn't as much character development as I was hoping there would be. Soo Jin's character was pretty static as well although it was clear that she became somewhat braver and more understanding while battling with her own feelings towards Myung Soo. While in the beginning episodes of the drama, I found the development between these two to be the exciting part, towards the end I noticed that it lost its spark, even got a little boring at times. It might be because the two started out as friends, but their relationship, cute as it may be, didn't make my heart pound in the way that I was hoping it would.
However, what really kept the drama going for me, was the three ex's. They are, hands down, the craziest bunch of women you'll ever find. Each of them is a unique individual but their personalities are all somewhat similar in the sense that they are definitely what you would call strong females.
The cat is Na Ji Ah (Jang Ji Eun), a classy older woman, who left Myung Soo to get married despite still having feelings for him and returns after getting divorced. She is in my opinion the most fickle of all the characters. Her opinions and thoughts are all over the place and change every other minute and she is quite manipulative.
The lion is a successful company worker Jang Hwa Yeong (Lee Yoon Ji) who is about to get married to the man of her dreams. She is fierce and quite obsessive and appears to be even a little crazy at times. She was my favorite character in the drama, cute and upbeat while also being capable of destruction if the situation so deems. Lee Yoon Ji was also the perfect choice for this role, with her quirky expressions and bright smile.
The last ex-girlfriend, the fox, is Ra Ra (Ryu Hwa Young), a not-so-successful actress who is used to taking advantage of her gorgeous looks to get what she wants. I was so glad to get to see Hwa Young acting that I'm sure I would have been satisfied with anything, but Ra Ra was a very well developed character. She is the one in whom you can clearly see a change. She goes from being arrogant and spoiled to humble and more hardworking. She also develops a... I'm not quite sure how to put it but let's say 'an ambiguous relationship' with a movie director Jo Geon (Do Sang Woo), who is gorgeous, too, if I may add...
All in all the characters in this drama were great. They interacted well together and really showed a wide scale of emotions that one would usually experience while dealing with such sensitive topics as love and breakup. Acting was also top-class, I have nothing to complain. There isn't much to say about the music either. Some of the OSTs were absolutely beautiful but not so memorable that I would have bothered to search them up. The best part of the drama, for me personally, was the ex-girlfriends and how their reciprocal relationship turned from hatred and contempt to something entirely else.
There were ups and downs in this drama but overall I found it enjoyable. I do recommend watching this, especially so if you are a fan of any of the actors because as mentioned before, their performance was outright great. A fun plot, interesting characters and a lot of alcohol would probably sum up this drama pretty good. And that's a killer combination right there ;) A solid 8 it is!
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This is more of a romantic comedy with melodrama aspects rather than a real melo. It has a lot of funny moments and characters, and a lot of plot twists. The story was nothing new but just when you think things got better or worse, something else happens, but it doesn't turn out like you imagined. The writer was very good at overturning situations and destroy old kdrama cliques we were fed up to roll our eyes at. It literally happened the unpredictable, and this is what makes a kdrama enjoyable. The main couple had a lot of adorable moments that made me like them a lot. If you like romcoms, this has a few RC moments and believe me, even if you don't like heart transplant dramas, this is nothing like usual. Everything about it is addressed and given an explanation.
The cast is excellent. I loved both leads and the secondary characters. Jung Kyung Ho was awesome as Kang Min Ho and he shifted from a heartess man to an eccentric and cute teddy bear in the span of a few episodes. His character will definitely be one of my favorites ever. Kim So Yeon played an 'iron lady' character, which is her best kind of role. She was very good at it and her chemistry with the male lead was spot on. The second male lead Yoon Hyun Min also had a surprising role of an evil man with greed. It really looked like he hated the male lead, when truthfully they are best friends in real life! Literally one of the few evil characters who did anything to get his way, somehow I applaud him because of his desperation.
I loved the music as well. The main theme Paradise by Davink caught me at the first listen and I still listen to the OST now.
I would definitely rewatch this several times, so you should watch it too! I assure you won't lose your time. :)
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As for story. It's not something special, it' s the same triangle, same love problems, same truth. It's no different from many books, films and even dramas. But what I can say about the story it's that it intrigues and catches attention. For me crime story was less interesting than love story. And to contradict with the negative reviews. I don't know why people said that there is no final point in the crime story. It's been resolved! Why can't you see it? It's real life. Never will you find a man who will tell you about whos and wheres, in real life you must think, you must decide for yourself because you will never know the truth. In real life there are people who have feelings that influence the decisions and the life itself. What I liked about this drama is that it's fictional, but it's fiction about life. There are no perfect people, there are no crystal clear stories. There are no bad guys. If the realtionship fails there are 2 people to blame at least. And this drama shows us once again that to make it work, to save love, you have to make decisions, you have to make choices, difficult ones. I liked how every character is unique and has it own approach, thoughts, desires. I hate that people don't see beyond the destiny of these characters. Jo Sung Gyeom is not just a nice guy. Didn't you see his progression? His pain? His desire? His lost love? As for Nam Sang Hyo and her crying. I'd like to see you in this situation. The situation when you don't know what is better or who to choose. The situation where you relive all the best moments of your life and you know that it won't happen again. And you feel pain and loss and regret and hope that is killing you. If it's so simple for you, then human feelings are simple too.
Acting was superb. I may be a little biased. I like Yoo In Na. I think she is the cutest actress, but at the same time she is believable. The greatest quality of hers is that you beleve that she's in love. Her story with Jin Yi Han you could see the love in their eyes, moves, voices. I felt the love in the air! Jin Yi Han was my discovery. I'm dying to watch something else with him in the main role. I fell in love with his eyes. So expressive! And his dialogue in the episode 14, I rewatched it and cried, it was so true, so real and so heartbreaking! And finally Nam Goong Min. I adore this man! He is fantastic. He played his character super well! I dream of the main role for this guy, because he is worth it. He is candy for eyes and balm for a sad heart.
Music was awesome, it fits the drama and the spirit. Appreciated the music a lot.
Rewatch! I will rewatch it when I will need some time to evaluate my feelings and to see a silver lining.
This drama is not for fun, it's a serious drama about relationships, about hardships, about taking into account your feelings and feelings of other people. It' s just life.
So I will advise to try it and give this drama a chance. It may seem repetetive. But actors, story and emotions are worth your trying, Don't drop this drama and have your own opinion of this work. It's a beautiful love story that I'd like to cherish.
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Uniqueness & Plot Depth ~ On the one hand, I LOVED the first 8 or so episodes! Original, intriguing, exceptional story-lines that kept me guessing and fixed to Lawrence the Laptop's screen in suspense. I'd probably give them a 5 star for uniqueness of plot and definitely good theme depth. The sheer amazingness of the first crime really carried the rest of the show for me - I kept watching just in case another glimpse of that kind of creativity would appear.
There is no romance to this drama, in fact not much of a personal touch at all until the end. The three stars are randomly brought together to resolve the first crime as Gil is summoned by the criminal, Jo Bo-Ah joins for her talents, and Oh Dae Young as a watch dog for the potentially uncontrollable Gil. They walk step-by-step though each crime, trailing the lost's footprints from the beginning to the end. I loved the little touches each character contributed to the process, they really had great chemistry for a tv team and worked well off of one another!
I particularly appreciated the fact that sometimes the ending was good, sometimes it was bad. That really did seem to be the guiding theme throughout this drama -- sometimes justice saves the day, more often it doesn't. But still we fight. It was a lesson Gil and Oh especially had to learn as they try to answer the age old questions of justice-fighters everywhere. When is it okay to shoot to kill? When do you have to let people face the consequences of their actions. How long will you continue to defend the guilty against vengeful revenge-seekers? Who exactly deserves our protection?
The drama was extremely thought-provoking in both theme and detail; the complexity of the mysteries, the easy manipulation of evidence within the plotline, the constant return to the issue of why not just let the evil die? All of it pulled me in and I just couldn't stop.
Wow. Just, Wow.
Then, boom. We hit the conclusion. I'm highly recommending you watch it anyway, because it is still a marvelous show. But, in comparison to the beginning, it felt like a bit of a let-down. I knew the moment they introduced the missing victims where they were going with this. Plus, it was a little bit harder to follow. I watched it twice, and I'm still feeling like I missed something.
Still, I wasn't expecting the exact ending and it was very well done -- I've never seen a drama end this way, and it's left me a bit stunned and grasping for straws. It was extraordinary!
Acting: by and large, the acting was pretty good. Kang-Woo is gorgeous, and plays dark and mysterious pretty well - I'd watch him again any old day even if a couple scenes did come across seeming forced. But Hee-Soon was awesome, he held it together until the very end; had me sobbing for his loss right along with him. (And can I just say, I adored this marriage!?!) Jo Ba-Ah was also really good for her part - I admit I focused on the guys in their roles more, but she didn't annoy me with her character, I felt she was realistic pretty much, and I genuinely liked her as a person. That always makes a drama better in my eyes :)
Trust me, I'll be checking out season 2! Hope you join me!
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The bad guys in this drama is cliché enough to give me cancer; the boss man is all talk and no action, his minions are 2 dimensional with no personality and easily killed off by himself or Ji Sang, their goal is some nonsense that is never revealed in the drama. The good guys are not any better; in fact they are worse. I can't count the number of times i face-palmed at Ji Sang running into a 5 vs 1 and getting beaten up then repeat. Does he have some psychic powers to know the bad guys won't be carrying a gun and therefore he is in no danger of being unloaded with bullets? There is no 'cool' factor or 'wow' factor in walking into a beating over and over again, therefore i have no clue why the scriptwriter keeps pushing Ji Sang into a mob of bad guys with no plan whatsoever.
The romance in this drama is one of the few times romance just seems completely out of place. To say there is no chemistry is an understatement. Between looking for a cure and discovering who murdered his parents, Ji Sang literally has no time or effort to fall in love. That's why the chemistry between the main leads is so awful. Normally I am a pro Nona/Donsang relationship person but in the case of Ah Jae Hyun and Goo Hye Sun I believe the pairing failed spectacularly XD
The soundtrack employed in this drama is mediocre at best. The problem is that there is only ever one soundtrack for action scenes and every single time something is about to happen the soundtrack plays and gives away the scene. Nothing really stands out in the music score that really caught my attention except maybe the ending theme I liked the piano.
Overall my gripe about this drama is its failure to live up to potential. This drama would have been much better without the stereotype bad guys and romance to mess up the pace and create needless conflict.
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I can feel the emotions from every actor and I am specially surprised with Sungjaes acting. it was totally fantastic
Also the ost Reset is truly beautiful. everytime I hear it it gives me all those drama emotions. This ost will be stuck in my head for a really long time
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The good: The storyline is very good and if the execution was a bit better it would have been awesome. The basics- a 400 yr old vampire is looking to undo the vampire curse and ends up getting help from a pretty and young artifact restorer. There are no evil mothers, not a whole lot of typical clichés, and some funny parts. The romance is legit and the chemistry is off the charts (the leads were actually former lovers). The ending is a good, sweet ending that ties up all the ends.
The Bad: The worst non-evil clueless family ever they are incredibly annoying and are super over protective. I don’t know if its just me, but all of the women in this lakorn were super whiny, omg it was so annoying! While I love a strong female lead character, this one was unable to admit her mistakes, pretended to be strong, got into trouble and needed saving, and talked way too much.
Typically I have second lead syndrome, but all of the other men were depicted with some major personality defect that you could only root for the main male lead. Part of the fun is being torn between two hot guy characters for the female lead- but our only choices were a perfect rich guy with a dark secret or a nosy, overbearing, childhood friend who is fixated on one girl. Of course there was very little character development, and it was only for the two lead characters.
All in all: I am a sucker for hot guys, romance and vampires- but I won’t come near this one again. There were too many flash backs, way too much time given to long contemplative glances, and the most I have yelled at my computer in a long time. By the end I loved the end characters, loved the story, hated all supporting characters, and hated the theme music. I wish someone had told me how annoying the people were before I dove in.
p.s. I have never seen such shoddy police work in my life- literally the police made unsupported guesses all 11 eps!!
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The acting of Kim Kang Woo as Gil Su Hyeon, Park Hee Soo as Detective Oh and Jo Bo Ah as Jin Seo Jun is exceptional. They all have a way of pulling me into the story and I was fully invested in their characters. Also, there are a lot of great actors like Kang Ha Neul, Jung Chan, and Jang Gwang that make cameos.
The music is really good.
I will probably rewatch this right before the 2nd season (fingers crossed).
I recommend this drama. It kept me interested from beginning to end.
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As you might tell from the poster, I started this drama for Kim Min Jong. Kim Min Jong is my favourite actor. Period.I honestly had no expectations. The drama was poorly rated -as usually the case- and it was not available online. So I started it with absolutely no expectations and ended up loving and Kim Min Jong in it.
So the drama started well but Kim Min Jong had almost no screen time and I was getting restless afraid he had some kind of supporting role or something but they finally set the story and he shone.. Hallelujah!! Chohwa's ultimate happiness.
The drama is refreshingly not about starting relationships but more about ending them. Though of course we have new relationships in the drama, the drama aims to tackle the different ways people manage their break-ups, how they react differently, how they manage their grief and the length of post break-ups. It presents people's contrasted views on relationships, like vs. love and goodbyes. Everyone likes in a way and dislikes in a way, and the drama sets to show us that.
The drama is beautiful in how human and realistic it is. There's love and there's life. People do move on and forget. There's nothing as qualifications and suitability in relationships. You just open your heart to someone. But what comes afterwards is not as easy. Rules of Love show how fickle the human heart is and how crucial it is to treat it carefully.
I will present the characters and the story through the relationships between the main leads:- No spoilers apart from what you find in the synopsis-
Han Jae Min & Seo Hee Won
This couple's story gets the drama off the ground that's why I'm starting with it.
Han Jae Min (Shim Ji Ho) is a young and talented photographer who's in love with his childhood friend Hee Won (Kim Ah Joong). Hee Won is an Elle journalist. She's bossy, arrogant, prejudiced but beautiful. She believes she's always right and talks down to people continuously. She's no more interested in Jae Min and she gives him the cold shoulder. To be closer to her, Jae Min gets a job at the studio she works with.
I didn't like this couple's moments. They were full of negative energy; lies, obsession, back-stabbing and hurting other people. Together, they formed a really creepy couple. But because of them the story evolved.
Han Jae Min & Kim Geun Young
So to achieve his goal and work at the studio, Jae Min decides to use Geun Young (Choi Kang Hee). Geun Young is a naive girl trying to pass the educator's exam. Her younger brother In Soo works at the studio. In Soo is Jae Min's high school classmate and they weren't on best terms. So Jae Min's only way to convince In Soo was through his sister. Jae Min approaches Geun Young. Geun Young falls into the trap.
Despite Geun Young being naive, she's a bright and honest girl. She gives her all when she does something and is dependable. When she finds herself tricked, she doesn't confine herself into a room and cries; she takes action.
Jae Min is childish, arrogant, selfish and irresponsible. He has to have things his way. Jae Min's character is one of the character's I've hated the most in dramas up till now. Not that he's-doing-his-really-hard-bad-role-excellently way. But in the what-on-earth-are-you-trying-to-do-with-this-character-dear-writer way. He has no edge, no charms and no depth. Even after he changes, I still don't like him. A waste of an interesting actor.
Kim Geun Young & Lee Seo Jun
Here comes what made the story, the story.
Talk about one adorable couple in one healthy relationship. It's been a while since I watched such a perfect couple.
So Kim Geun Young falls for Jae Min's trap and starts frequenting the studio. Lee Seo Jun (My Kim Min Jong) is the chief of the place. He's an established and well-known photographer. Geun Young's stubbornness and selflessness catches Seo Jun's eyes and it's no time before he falls for her. He takes a step back because Geun Young is supposedly in a relationship. But till when??
Oh my god!! How i fussed and turned watching Kim Min Jong here. In an interview after the drama aired, the interviewee complimented him at how charismatic he was. But KMJ replied that it was the character not him. Well I don't care. Whether it's the character or him. I'm really bad at splitting these.
Lee Seo Jun is a character that developes slowly; giving us time to think and feel with it. His facial expressions, eyes, hand gestures, posture, the way he lies, sits or stands, when he locks his hands like in a prayer or dreamily looks away. Whatever Lee Seo Jun does shows his mental and emotional struggle. His eyes gives him away; a sweet man unable to forget his past or express himself properly. But a man ready to change. That change got me personally involved and was the cutest things ever. Just laugh at his confused expressions.
Lee Seo Jun & Han Jae Min
I keep reaching a conclusion in life no matter how hard I try not to label things, but a man needs a rival to bring out what he's got.
So the two men share a complicated relationship; employee-employer, seonbae-hoobae and rivals. The push and pull between them was cute. No exaggerated subplots thankfully. Thanks to Seo Jun's maturity, the two could have a good relationship at the end. No bromance, no heated rivalry, again, thankfully.
Lee Seo Jun & Seo Hee Won
Lee Seo Jun has always known about Hee Won's feelings. But he's one straight man. He has nothing to give her so he ignores her completely. Well, I love that straightforwardness but he's gone too far honestly. Though I couldn't sympathise with Hee Won. She's one bitch character who never gets redeemed. One who wants to step on everyone else and doesn't realise she's committing any mistakes. Serves her right.
Made me hate Kim Ah Joong chincha!!
Kim Geun Young & Seo Hee Won
Guess what this relationship is about?! One lovely girl snatched the two men the proud beauty thought she had in her hands. How would the beauty react?! That's what Hee Won did to Geun Young.
What I liked about these two is that Geun Young never felt intimated because of Hee Won. Not after she woke up to the situation she was in that is. And at the same time never stooped to Hee Won's level. I kept applauding Geun Young.
here are negative things about the drama of course. It's a 2005 drama. So talk of weird fashions and styles, OSTs without dialogue and some dragging. The drama was set in a studio and revolved around photography but didn't really teach me anything new about the field.
And ah!! Kim Min Jong should never rap.
I learned so many things about relationships in this drama. I loved the OSTs and the acting of the main couple. I enjoyed the drama completely and it was a nice journey. Will definetly re-watch Kim Min Jong's parts one day.
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The plot was interesting and was full of suspsense. The ending, although very beautiful was not very believable with regard to Kang's illness. It had the right mix of seriousness, tension and humor to even out the excitement of the story.
There were so many quotable quotes from this series, that really captured the moment and the feelings of how it is to love even if circumstances may not be perfect.
All in all, I really enjoyed this show more than I thought I would. Pretty good watch for the latter half of 2015.
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The acting was stiff at times, but that was part of the drama's flair: Movement and character's positions weren't necessarily natural, they concentrated on posing and looking good. It's a great drama to take screenshots of but it did seem a bit ridiculous at times.
This all sounds very negative, but the cute friendships between the characters, funny and emotional scenes and the talented actors made this a worthwhile drama to watch.
I was very pleased at the absolute lack of a serious romantic subplot! I would recommend this to everyone else who enjoys platonic love more than the romantic kind. I would not recommend this to anyone who thinks romantic relationships are the most important part of any storyline - You will not enjoy this.
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I give this drama a 9.5 as it had some flaws and some unanswered questions and the last 20 mins or so of the series was irrelevant but overall a really good drama that I would recommend to everyone.
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