Pleasantly surprised gets 3/5 stars.
After rewatching the series, I decided to come back and edit my review on one of my favorite Taiwanese dramas.~
Story: There's food, there's love and there's a slice of life. I loved that this drama had more than romance. I'm used to dramas focusing on one or the other, so it's nice that we get to see a healthy blend between Kai Qi's career goals and her chance encounter at love with Zi Jie. It's also a bonus that the food was also very well shot, so my recommend is to not watch on an empty stomach!
One thing that I was critical about was the addition of the drama that was unecessary to the plot and only served the purpose of dragging the show further. Towards the end of the drama, the conflict started becoming overboard. Although, I love longer dramas and I love the opportunity to see cute moments in a drama, at some point, a drama needs to come to a appropriate close. I would've preferred the show wrapping up with less episodes than prolonging the show with over-the-top drama.
Acting/Cast: I felt that the main cast did fairly well in playing the roles they were cast with the exception of a few (i.e. ah jie's brother, du kai's mother, hao wei's sister). I love how affectionate the main characters were and how natural they became with each other. While watching this, I got to see maturity with the main couple, they don't pry into each others business and then get mad about it, which typically happens in many dramas. In addition, I love that the characters have the ability to put two and two together, instead of a long wait for the character to discover the truth about something. Lastly, the great thing about this drama is that there aren't really any despicable secondary characters or multiple love lines.
Music: The music was fantastic, it fit perfectly with the mood and it fit perfectly with the scenes. It also gave you clues to what was about to happen which I found a little cheesy but, It was perfectly fine.
Rewatch Value: Yes, I would watch this drama again through clips because of the excessive dragging.
Overall: I think you should give this drama a chance because it is a unique drama and It will make you laugh and put a smile on your face. Although there are moments where you just feel like WTF, but after those WTF moments you actually enjoy it even more to see through to the end.
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Story : The story is a typical romantic drama. Nothing new here : the rich heir and the not so bright girl fall in love. It is a story we've seen millions of times and it's getting a bit boring. However, taiwanese and chinese romances are particularly sweet, maybe because it feels more natural.The story dragged a bit towards the end, I think it would have been good without 4 or 5 episodes.
Acting/Cast : I liked the actors, even if it was my first time watching a drama they were in (I'm more of a taiwanese dramas fan). The thing that upset me a bit is that their voices always seemed to be dubbed when they were outside. Feng Teng seemed a bit too passive sometimes. Some of you may call him quiet, but to me it's more like no reaction at all. Well, see for yourselves! As I've never seen this actor it may just be his way of acting and not his character.
Music : The music was good but none of the songs really hit me. But they fitted perfectly at the moment!
Rewatch value : I don't think I'll watch it again, it was long, but who knows?
Overall : This was a good drama and I don't regret watching it even though some things may have been better. Don't be discouraged by everything I said and watch it!
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The cast are great and all characters are well introduced in the drama.
The drama is a little to long ( 52 episodes ) and some parts are to slow but is normal if you have to introduce so many characters like we have in this drama.
The main couple have a very stormy relationship with a lot of obstacles, what it's typical in all dramas.
For me one of the best family kdramas I have watch.
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Idea of the show is GOOD, a lot. What about realization... plot is captivating, you are hooked and so on, but some things were a bit annoying. First, have they heard of fingerprints or DNA? Lots of such silly details ruined the credibility.
Second, too much episodes in general (i'd stopped on 16) and two much series devoted to cat-and-mouse between Big Good and Big Bad. For these two years police haven't had any other cases... I wanted to see them. Like two eps about suicides in high school. They were great and very korean, where teens' suicides is an urgent question.
Third, lack of flashbacks about Hades (which I suppose, could be very interesting) and lots of annoying flashbacks which were on non-stop repeat. Some parts were shown about ten times in case that you have an amnesia.
And last...So Ji Sub is a very talented actor, but I didn't notice much difference between his characters here (If you know, which I mean)
What was AWESOME (no comments, just pluses):
-OST
-tension
-unpredictable plot
Bitchy Cow and other supporting characters
-good final
Sum: worth watching in many aspects.
Common sense is advised to be not ignored during the process of watching)
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Story: Well it wasn't anything different. I could pretty much guess everything that was going to happen. It was off to a good start, it was interesting and all, but about through half of it it went downhill and by the end it was so boring that I was seriously considering dropping it.
Actors/Characters: Rain was awesome! I haven't seen any of his works before but I was aware that he's a pretty good actor. I got to see it first hand in this this drama. It was like he really understood the character and all his expressions, even the subtle ones, were spot-on.
I loved Krystal in Heirs. Here though she fell a bit flat. Her acting was boring and her expressions were bland. She went well with her character though.
Oh Myungsoo. Why must you make me go through this pain? I would be lying if I said that L and Hoya weren't the reasons I started watching this drama. But it was so painful to see Myungsoo's acting, I even cringed at times. I wanted to stop the poor boy, he looked so awkward and in pain. I didn't like his character either. He was supposed to come off as cute and Myungsoo did pull it off,what with that face and all, but if you look at the character itself then Shi Woo was a bit obsessive and stalkerish and very irritating.
Hae Yoon was right there with Shi Woo competing for the 'most obsessive' award. She won by a landslide. She was ssssooooo annoying!!! Like girl he doesn't like you and never will. Give up, it's been 12 years!
Seo Jae Young was supposed to be the evil guy. He was okay, mostly he just annoyed me. The other characters were okay as well. Hyun Wook's father was very annoying. His wife was actually pretty funny and I liked her. I really liked Se Na's friends, they were such a cute couple. Hyun Wook's best friend was cute (for an ahjussi) but some of his opinions annoyed me. Oh that ANA employ was pretty funny too. I noticed that they introduced some characters but never showed them again. The best example would be Yoo Ra Eum who is also on the poster. I was sure she had a more important role but she only appeared for a couple of episodes and her scenes didn't make sense either.
Romance: I read in many comments that people didn't like the romance between Rain and Krystal but I actually found it pretty cute. Their scenes together were adorable, especially when they were joking around and having fun.
Overall: This was an okay drama. I would've liked it more had I watched when I started watching kdramas. But I've seen a lot of great dramas now and this was a meh one. I would only recommend it to new drama watchers.
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I will start with the cast. Rain is a brilliant actor who portrays all emotions with raw and real precision, staying as human in a fake situation as possible and that was more than simply eye-pleasing to observe. From heartbreaking tears to cute acts of love everything was well done. Krystal, to my mind, with this has proven she has acting in her and even thought, I think, this was not that much of a challenging character, she did great and a more challenging role would bring out even more of her talent. INFINITE's L aka. MyungSoo, my dear dear MyungSoo... this was not his best work, I need to be objective and say that. There were some very, very good moments, but so many scenes were plain awkward I just wanted them to stop. I applaud his effort and I still strongly believe that he has acting talent in him, but this somehow was not his drama at all.
The plot that showed the hidden things of music industry and also the personal lives of those involved was good. The bts of the industry was highly accurate and I do hope that plenty of those who watched realized that this drama preached the reality - not all groups that are all friendly on-camera are like that when they go back to dorms, that preparing for a comeback faces more obstacles than we can imagine, that as much as writing a song can turn in a drama. Those aspects were shown perfectly.
Yet the persona relationships between the main characters were so predictable it was not even funny. I swear, the drama was at episode 6 and I told my friend all major events that will happen in the drama and guess what... they did indeed happen. It had a very typical drama love-line with very typical obstacles and very typical outcome. If you have watched enough dramas you definitely know this.
I am not entirely sure if I would recommend it to others nor am I sure that I would ever watch it again, but it was bearable and watchable. If you have doubts simply watch it and see with your own eyes is it a 'yes' to you or a 'no'.
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A mix of so many things it became confusing - I could describe this drama like this. Corruption, spies, medicine, personal relationships, revenge, love and what not thrown in a big pot, which, here was a hospital and then stirred up with pain, lost, heartbreak and ambition. Did the soup from all this came out good? It was ok. Would I watch it again? Probably not. Would I recommend to watch it at least once? Yes.
The plot was so full of everything with so many ups and downs, that it became bad - too many cooks spoil the broth and too many 'problems' spoil the plot. It was, to my mind, saved by the cast of Lee JongSuk, Park HaeJin and Kang SoRa, they were like that universal flavor spice you use when you mess up something and want it to still be eatable. Lee JongSuk was the aspect that 'fed' the drama to me and I must say I really loved his acting here and I really hope he will get as many dramas where he is not a school boy from now on.
Back to drama itself. The bipolarity of some characters might be of putting, the focus on raw emotions built up by years of struggle might not be what people seek for, but the incredibly funny moments or small, cute romances can back it up pretty well, as well as the true medical suspense can. I must say I really enjoyed the suspense of operations and all what was connected with medicine in the drama rather than the political and romantic issues, and maybe it would have been better if not the focus of those but more the medical side. I am a not-so-very loyal fan of such iconic TV series as "Grey's Anatomy" and "E.R" so I approve of the medical aspect shown in the drama, even the supper doctor that was Park Hoon.
Yes, the drama had some faults, but it also had plenty of good things from acting to OST, which, especially the instrumental one, is simply superb.
Don't be afraid to be disappointed at times, don't be afraid to maybe get annoyed or hate a character for a moment or two and gives this drama a go. I assure, you won't regret it in the end.
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mishil - this woman needs several awards for best female villan. Shes not the regular bad guy like in other dramas, she is a "daunting specimen" no one could contend with her. at first u will hate her for what she does but the more u are invested in the show by ep 30 u will realise her importance in the show. And how many babies and clans and followers does this woman got....
Bidam - wot in the wot, we dint need to see him shirtless or showering like normal but u will crumble inside with feels esp when his hair covers his face/eyes. Hes freaking hot and knows how to use the sword and fight and that smirk and smile will leave u dreaming. I wanted some romance but it doesnt go as far as huggin. For more u have to watch his movie "portrait of a beauty" he strips naked. i will miss bidam and bi-deok couple. He just wanted to be loved and touched and reassured, it was so pitiful i cried for him.
deokman -our favorite little girl is now a woman and a princess. The younger version did an amazing job to bring her character out. I loved her in 49days and i could see the two versions of her in this too. She did great being the ruler and was wise in her decision making.
yushin- just have to mention him coz his character was commendable to the end. He remained righteous all through the drama which was a trustworthy trait, others swayed but he never did. The younger version of him is my fav little actor lee hyun woo
Hwarangs- what was that about putting on makeup, on another note it was full of hot men in uniform (bojong shirtless i almost choked) . Wolya was hot too just had to mention him.
Music - from the theme song to the slow ones to the ending song the osts were great esp "come people of God by lee so jung" it just gave me feels
MUST WATCH
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Many consider the 1990’s a golden age in Japanese drama. It’s been said there was a certain spark at that time, an outpouring of talented writers and actors, even more daring scripts and sizzling romances. Unfortunately I have yet to experience many of these gems from another era. But after Hitotsu Yane no Shita (Under One Roof), believe me when I say they will be a priority and a must! As one whose go-to genre must be considered “family,” I cannot remember the last time I’ve seen one as memorable or involving. Plus the screenwriter is Nojima Shinji (Pride), so how can you go wrong?
Viewers join Kashiwagi Tatsuya—or An-chan—as he attempts first to reunite with his scattered siblings, then to keep them together again. But can blood ties bridge seven years’ worth of separation, resentment, and loneliness? Are they better off as a family or apart in their new situations? Hitotsu Yane no Shita ventures to answer these questions, focusing on the Kashiwagis and their struggle to live both as individuals and a family. Each sibling is granted their own plot line, from which many types of stories spring (some with shockingly mature themes); these build up throughout the series and connect to the final arc with a masterful touch. What stays constant across the board is the unique humor and gentle warmth that allows Hitotsu Yane no Shita continued relevance. One might connect deeply with the members of the Kashiwagi clan, and then leave the drama feeling they’d all grown a lot. What an incredible experience—though I must admit I didn’t watch quickly. It would have meant saying goodbye to this wonderful family, and I wasn't ready to for a while.
For those familiar with Wakamono Tachi, they are very similar to one another. They have the same high-speed bickering, brotherly wrestling matches, etc.
Casting a family must be tricky. If one member fails to ignite chemistry with the others, you can bet the whole thing will be thrown askew. But have you seen this cast? It’s pretty much perfect for the purpose. First we have Eguchi Yosuke, now an exquisite veteran actor, but apparently he could carry a drama even twenty years ago. His An-chan is a lovable dummy who follows his heart with admirable determination and adores Ken-Ken the Dog (Muttley from Whacky Racers!); beneath all his silly bluster, An-chan is reliable, hard-working, and every bit a pillar of strength. Eguchi-san proves his ability to perform comically and turn right around with the most believable tears time and again. The second brother Masaya/”Chi-niichan,” lands us another present-day veteran in Fukuyama Masaharu. Perhaps being a good friend to Eguchi-san helped, but their scenes make you believe they might actually be brothers. An early episode between the two could be considered one of the best of the series for that matter. And if you allow me a moment’s shallowness, both are as cute as anything in Hitotsu Yane no Shita.
Of the other Kashiwagi siblings, most memorable are Yamamoto Koji and Sakai Noriko. Sakai-san performs beautifully as the backbone of the Kashiwagis, the adopted daughter Koyuki; her presence is calm, gentle one without being pretentious, and there’s a maternal strength in her performance that’s very appealing.
For someone who grew up in the 90’s, Hitotsu Yane no Shita is a delightful nostalgia trip. Every single track sent me back in time and was an utter delight, especially paired with the series. Probably most memorable will be the fantastic theme song, “Saboten no Hana” by TULIP; between this and the family Muttley-laugh, there's a lot that I'll take away from this series. You can bet it's worth watching twice, too~
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Well, there are a lot of things that happen in this drama which you must have seen in other historical dramas as well. So what sets this apart from all the rest? I think the answer to that lies in the whole drama itself. After watching from ep 1 to 62 I realized that it is one of those dramas which need to be watched in entirety before one can fully appreciate it.
This is a cleverly written drama. It has a nice script and all the right elements in it keep you engaged. For a drama to have that pull factor, the characters need to be fleshed out well. It is a cherry on the top when you also have the right actors to play these characters to make them more real. Here the cast is made up of actors I consider a class apart like Ko Hyung Jung and Kim Nam Gil. So of course, they HAD to be good. These two actors not only impressed me as usual but blew me away is the right way to put it. They probably took the drama to an entirely different level than it would have been otherwise. Apart from them, Lee Yo Won, Uhm Tae Woong and Yoo Seung Ho also did a great job. The cast seemed to have been chosen wisely and had great chemistry with each other. I would also like to mention Nam Ji Hyun here who did a spectacular job of playing the child version of Deokman and I daresay made more of a lasting impression than Lee Yo Won did. I have liked Nam Ji Hyun's previous portrayals as well and she never disappoints.
I liked the entire span of the drama. Right from the historical events depicted in the beginning to the childhood episodes to the ending. Most Korean dramas (especially historic) are a disaster with their endings and here is one which did it right. All writers should take a clue on how to end a drama from this writer. The events were always flowing at the right pace and surprisingly- the melodrama in this was kept lower than I expected from such a long one. There is makjang in it but it somehow seemed smart makjang than something used as filler.
I also loved how the drama focuses on its title. The queen is actually given importance and we get to see her be one. I loved Deokman's character. She was smart, flawed and strong. She always knew how to do the right thing and pulled out from every hole she fell into. Of course- she had two amazing guys beside her which made life better for her. Yushin is seen as nice, righteous and loyal. Bidam is sly, calculating, fierce, passionate and much in need of love. LOL. I can never ever forget Bidam's amazingness thanks to the almighty Kim Nam Gil. He made the character impossible not to love and made him so real to me that I felt his every pain and happiness as he did on-screen. I also loved Yushin but I prefer Bidam a bit more. Deokman was lucky enough to have such amazing guys who loved her more than anything. Although romance is not a central part of the drama, the dynamics between these three characters were exceptional.
The fight scenes, costumes, sets, politics and battles always keep the drama going. There is a lot regarding the throne and battle for power in this drama. It will always make you question what is right and what is wrong and what is fair and what is not. It shows how big a burden power can be. This is the driving factor of the story in the later half.
Plus, the characters are all so wonderfully messed up and tragic. They all have abandonment issues, mommy issues and what-not. They constantly go from good to bad and vice-versa, taking you on the crazy ride with them. The character development of Deokman and Bidam was phenomenal. I liked how Deokman acted like a ruler when she was one. She was pretty believable in her struggle to fit into the role of a queen. Now this brings me to the hotness called as Bidam. I wanted to hug him because of all that emotional baggage he seemed to carry with him. I have a thing for misunderstood bad boys like him. Mishil is one of my favourite antagonists ever now. She puts all Kdrama antagonists to shame with her badassery and cunning attitude. Others can only hope to be half as awesome as she was.
The soundtrack of the drama is pretty good. The song 'Windflower' by IU has become one of my all-time favourites. The background score and ending score in the drama are brilliant. I can never forget the ending score. It will always bring back all the feelings and memories.
I can go on talking about this drama and it will never end. LOL. So let's just end it here and go watch the drama if my point of view convinced you even one bit. :D
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So this is another of my top fav dramas. I dont think Ive ever laughed so hard from watching a drama before watching this and I dont think I ever will. If you're seeking a series of good laughs then you should start watching this right now. It seems quite long at 50 episodes but it could be over before you know it if you're a drama lover as you'd find yourself laughing through each episode. You could also try out the highly successful 1992 movie versions of this (Its broken into part 1 and 2) as they are shorter and still hilarious. Then if you find yourself wanting more, you can go for this. But this tv series is at least 3 times funnier than the movie and has much better production. Your choice. The synopsis for this has all the info you need and even some extra I'd consider spoilers but even that wont stop anyone from enjoying this show. The story is based off a Jin Young novel which I think is titled The Duke of Mount Deer. The show basically revolves around this lazy lecherous street rascal, Wei Xiaobao, who is thrown into the wuxia world (or martial arts world) of conspiracy and life-threatening situations and thus he constantly has to rely on luck, his glib tongue, cheap tricks and street smarts to survive his way through because he barely knows any martial arts. A lot of laughs would come from the show revealing the thoughts that go through Wei Xiaobao's head but even besides that, this show would have you laughing one way or another. Another major character is the Kang Xi emperor and the story revolves a lot around Wei's relationship with him.
The Kang Xi emperor as well as many other characters in this are real historical figures that existed in Chinese history because even though this is a fictional story, it is based on real Chinese history (I actually learned more about Chinese history due to this show ^__^).
Unlike the movie counterparts, this show starts off with Wei as a child, who is equally as hilarious as his grown up counter part. One reason I mention this, is because I was really taken aback as to how exceptionally good the child actors were (I sincerely hope they won oscars or some sort of award for the roles they had). They could really bring in a sense of realism to their roles. Perhaps the older actors performed really well because they didnt want to be outdone by them lol. The other reason is because the child actor scenes last for about the first 6 - 8 episodes (Perhaps their screen time got extended because they were that good? Idk). You might miss their faces when they're gone but their older counterparts did just as good so you might not mind too much.
The only downsides of this show I remember is that towards the end (I think during the last 10 episodes or so), you start to get a lot of scenes that drag on or feel boring. Still it ends on a good note (both happy and sad things occur but it'll probably leave you feeling nice and warm inside) and overall it carries meaningful messages on conflicts that occurred during its time period. Honestly, just do yourself a favor and start watching this whenever you can. You can thank me later ;)
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My Rating: 6.5
In Short: This show started out with funny humor and a fantastic comic-booky vibe, but this was unfortunately lost in the melo of it all. I really struggled to understand the motivation of all the characters. For me, they all seemed nonsensical. WAAAAAH
Pros: Secretary Ko was unbelieveably adorkable. He and the set design really stole the show for me.
Cons: Quite difficult to understand what is going on, and I think that it might not be a language barrier thing… So many of the plot threads were just really badly though out and badly executed. Plus, there were entire episodes with just melo staring and flash-backing. Lee Dong Wook did a good job with hilarious overacting which fit the show well, but he looked really tired.
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Such a good, different drama! Watch if 1) you feel like everything's the same in Dramaland these days, 2) you're sick of seeing the same kind of main leads, 3) you want to watch a show that's not about some rich chaebol and a Cinderella in the making. Don't watch if 1) you're looking for a well-developed, emotional love story, 2) you don't like stories with many secondary characters, 3) you don't like characters with flaws.
THE STORY
A story like you don't find in Dramaland, with characters that don't typically hang out over there too, and I loved it. I love reserved and down-to-earth Yoona, who is neither naïve, innocent and bright girl nor cold, distant and apathetic (it's usually one or the other); I love open-minded, caring Changman, who is neither a cold and arrogant prick nor a naïve and childish boy. I love how they interact with everyone around them; how loyal Yoona is, which inspires loyalty from others; how empowering Changman is, making others believe that they can aspire for more. I love the comedy, especially in the first half of the drama, and the glimpse into the world of petty crime. There's just so much good in this show. The only downside to it is that although it seemed as though the romance between the main leads and the character development of Yoona would be at the center of the story, they slowly were forgotten in favor of secondary characters and dragging plot elements, so that her changes kind of look incoherent or abrupt, and their love story, bland. The show would have been perfect if it weren't for that *sigh* The ending though, is satisfying, so it's okay.
THE ACTING
I didn't know the main leads before this show, but their acting was good. I liked her more than him, I thought she really had become Yoona. They also weren't bad together *sigh* Such a waste that the romance wasn't exploited some more. Some other actors were also quite good in their roles. Particularly the actress behind Yoonji, she was awesome. Because most characters are realistic, they aren't easy roles, but they were pulled off fine.
THE MUSIC
Just as the story and the characters, the music is sooo fresh. It's not every day that you hear K-country (does that even exist?) or Carla Bruni in a drama, it's so weird - in a good way - and totally fits with the mood. Of course, there's also Leesa's awesome song, Love will find a way. Absolutely addictive. From episode one, it got stuck in my head, and I had no choice but to download it.
REWATCH VALUE
I'd rewatch it, whenever I get in one of those moments in which all dramas just look too much the same. It's like getting some fresh air, without pulling the plug.
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