Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
EDIT: This is NOT a rip off or the same thing as "In A Good Way". I'm going to assume that viewers who are saying that haven't watched more than the first few episodes and feel that because there is a group of characters the story follows over the years that makes them too similar. I feel those people are really losing out on watching a really great drama, but of course that's up to them, it's just a shame.I have to say right off the bat that this is hands down one of the best Taiwanese Dramas I have ever watched. The last episode is arguably the best ending to ANY Asian drama I've ever seen despite the bittersweet feel it had.
Story (10 out of 10):
Wow. Where to begin with such a thoroughly thought out and beautiful story. If ever there was a realistic drama, I feel this would be a great example. There is such depth and nuance that it is hard to put into words without spoilers. This series takes a story that has been done many times in dramas, but isn't afraid to go all out with it, it packs so many feels that you barely have time to catch your breath. Even if some things were arguably predictable, it didn't take away from the story, because of the realistic way it played out. 16 summers in 16 episodes feels so appropriate, and I feel is one of the best examples of demonstrating the passage of time. Too often it feels that dramas take place over the course of days or weeks. Fang Wei De states at one point how time passed more quickly when everyone was having a good time, and that certainly felt tangible in this show. I just can't praise the ebb of time in this show enough.
I really appreciated that we are presented with our core characters as children and see them through their experiences into adulthood, the character development is real in this. The ups and downs, and how words and actions DO have consequences whether it is in the form of regret or in the form of enlightenment. Often times, I feel like characters will say and do things in dramas with little to no repercussions, but that is not the case in TWWW, and that is why I feel it is certainly one of the best dramas I've had the pleasure to watch. There are no evil type characters, just times when people make bad or sometimes even horrible mistakes... but instead of going overboard, we're able to see each character as a person, with real problems, real emotions, and having to again really deal with what comes after.
Another big thing is closure. This is handled SO well, and it doesn't come off as though the writers were just trying to wrap things up in a nice neat bow, but to further demonstrate life in general. My only regret is not being able to articulate well enough just how great this story is.
Acting/Cast (10 out of 10):
I've only ever seen Leroy Yang in Love Forward (2012) and while I enjoyed his prickly businessman persona in that, I wasn't all that impressed. However, he more than impresses as Fang Wei De. He definitely plays jerkish well, but the latter half of this series, just took my heart and breath away. I'm definitely going to be looking into his other dramas when I can because I could seriously be missing out. I really can't think of any other Taiwanese actor to fill that role than him.
I've seen Tiffany Xu quite a bit and in general it feels like she always plays characters I can't stand. I first saw her in Autumn's Concerto (2009) and later Drunken to Love You (2011) and especially had the urge to want to slap her characters. She's had supporting roles in It Started with a Kiss (2005) and ToGetHer (2009). She's been in many other dramas, but those are the only ones I've seen so far. Having said that, I was glad to NOT hate her character in TWWW. She did something pretty awful, but the way things played out, I was even able to forgive her by the end.
Despite Ruby Lin having such an extensive drama/film career this was my first time experiencing her acting and I have to say it was great. I felt she played a great strong female lead. I always like the spunky female leads that don't take any crap. She's strong, but has a sensitive side and I think she handled them both really naturally.
Rounding out our Quintet is Jason Tsou (Ding Guo Qing) and Melvin Sia (Wang Jun Jie), this is my first time seeing them in a drama, so I really have no frame of reference but definitely I felt they owned their characters and made them feel relevant. I find sometimes when you have more than 2-3 leads in a drama the other tend to fall by the wayside or just blend into the background or at worst are just straight up forgotten. Not in this case though.
Each actor brought their A game as far as I'm concerned and it really paid off.
Music (9 out of 10):
I'm still upset that I'm unable to download Eric Chou's - Let's Not Be Friends Anymore song on itunes. Some may feel like it was overplayed, but I'm not one of them. It's such a beautiful song that was really much more than a theme song. It was the only vocal that I really liked, but even still, I felt the OST went very well with series and I enjoyed the instrumentals.
EDIT: Eric Chou's song actually IS available now on iTunes, I guess they wait to release OSTs until after the drama airs (I'm so used to K-dramas releasing singles while airing - I'm so spoiled :P ).
Re-watch Value (7 out of 10):
I wouldn't re-watch the entire series only because I don't think my heart could handle the intense feels, but there are definitely some funny and powerful scenes that are worth re-watching.
Overall (10 out of 10):
I would HIGHLY recommend this drama to every Asian drama lover. It really has it all and even though there are drama tropes scattered throughout they don't come off as tropes, but just great moments within a great story. It is not perfect, but honestly I felt especially in terms of writing and story this is pretty damn close. There are no questions regarding the characters motivations, there aren't any WTF?! moments that are never resolved. It's just a really well made drama that definitely deserves more praise than it may receive.
Some have compared this as a knock off of In A Good Way....please. Not even close. In a Good Way WAS a good drama, don't get me wrong, but it was not nearly as thoughtful as this drama, not nearly as well written. What they do have in common is that they begin in the past and you see the characters grow throughout the years a la Reply 1994 and Reply 1997. If you want something more upbeat, sure, that is In a Good Way, and then down right LOL by comparison is the Reply series.
Lastly, the writers did a great job of closing out this drama. The last episode was not filler or BS like most dramas seem to be nowadays. It was beautiful and I highly recommend having plenty of tissues when the onion ninjas come for your eyes.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Story: About a guy who falls for his prior girlfriends younger sister...
Cast: Lee Hyun Wook (Rain) the main reason I watched this drama and the best thing about this drama - Rain's acting is always top-notch, I loved the way he dressed on this drama and his hairstyle was attractive too <3 He was very compassionate and caring & had good business sense. His acting alone was a 9/10 at least. Yoon Se Na (Krystal) her acting is really weak (she needs to hone her skills) I liked her during most of the drama until the last few episodes where she started to irritate me by acting the way she did (I blame the writers) She had relatively good chemistry with Rain until the show got a bit too melodramatic where I believe her acting falls short in this department... Dal Bong (yes it's the dog) I loved him, such a cutie pie <3 Shi Woo (L or Myungsoo) I liked him early on when he had the blonde hair but after he dyed his hair his personality changed a bit and I found myself irritated with him constantly praising himself...Bae Sung Jin (Alex) a.k.a Lee Hyun Wooks best friend - I really liked him, he was a good supporting character who knew how to dress^^ He truly cared for Hyun Wook as a friend. The rest of the cast are fine but nothing worth mentioning (some of them I never understood and some of them had pointless storylines..)
Music: Nothing spectacular, nothing memorable, nothing I'd want to download or listen to...just ok.
Re-watch Value: 2/10 - I don't think I'd re-watch this drama...
Overall: rating 7.8/10 - I enjoyed this drama all except for episodes 14 & 16 (the two episodes where I found Se Na to be irritating). If the writers had more sense this drama could have gotten a higher rating from me - If they wouldn't have made the last few episodes a bit slow and melo - I personally would have liked to see more sweet cute and fun moments together between the leads - rather than the depressing feeling I got...
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata ~Ending Planner~
2 pessoas acharam esta resenha útil
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
I have such mixed feelings regarding this series which my ratings pretty much reflect... here goes...>>>The Story/Writing (6 out of 10):
I'm likely to be in the minority, but there came a point where I just didn't like the writing and felt it went horribly wrong. The first half of the series was pretty decent, you have the set up for the love triangle, what I call the "Other Chick", "Other Guy" (which are just the secondary leads, but that's my lingo) and the "Other Other Guy" (the jerk that no one likes who is in love with the "Other Chick"), and the heartbreaking past of our hero and heroine and how fate steps in to bring them together. Everything is going pretty on par with what's expected and then inexplicably our hero just goes nuts. Not literally, but there are two major "WTF?!" moments for me where I was literally yelling "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? WAEEEEE?!" I was so flabbergasted that I just couldn't even anymore. I can't really say anymore without using spoilers, but by the end of the series, I no longer liked the "hero", Hyun Wook. To be fair, the drama deals with what is apparently a very taboo subject in Korea and so it was hard for me to wrap my mind around what was so wrong.
Regardless, I felt the writers wrote themselves into a corner with the hero and then chose to completely disregard his actions to concentrate on another obstacle for the main couple only to completely disregard THAT in the end, a la Heirs (don't even get me started on that series.... I'm afraid to even review that for fear of the hordes of rabid Lee Min Ho fan girls that would come tearing into my doors and reverse defenestrating). It's not even that this show really suffered from the usual problem writers seem to have of how to effectively end a series, but more with it not making sense due to refusing to tackle the real problem, which was the hero's lies and actions regarding his lies. I didn't have secondary lead syndrome, though it begs the question, was the hero trying to force the viewers into it at some points. I felt the "Other Guy", Shi Woo was one of the best secondary leads I've seen in a while, which made the ending that much more of a I can't even.
>>>The Acting/Cast (7 out of 10):
The biggest draw for me was of course Jung Ji-Hoon (Rain) because I loved him in "Full House"(2004), and I recently started watching "Sang Doo, Let's Go To School" (2003) which started to grow on me. Rain is just bursting with charisma (and of course there's the part where he's really easy on the eyes) and he is seriously a talented entertainer and actor... which is why I feel bad that this was his first drama in 4 years. I feel bad because the writers ruined his character, Hyun Wook. Rain can definitely act and I hope to see him in a lighter rom-com because while he's great at intense, I enjoy his humorous side more, less of Broody Mcbrooderson.
I really liked Krystal in "Heirs" combined with her onscreen boyfriend Yoon Chan Yeong (played by the ever adorable Kang Min Hyuk). They were great and what carried that show for me. Now in My Lovely Girl, I'm not sure if it was the fault of the director or that the role was just to big for Krystal to carry, but I felt like her character, Se Na, had little to no romantic chemistry with Hyun Wook, the love of her life. Some called her the Korean Kristen Stewart, but I wouldn't go THAT far (I would if we are talking about Park Gyu Ri from Nail Shop Paris of Horrors though - if you want to know how I REALLY feel please see my review on that atrocity). I felt like Se Na unlike most female leads was more introverted, she didn't bawl when she got emotional, she shed silent tears, you could tell she was holding it in. To be fair though, she said a lot of things that never quite matched her actions though. I would've liked to see more passion towards her man, a little less talk a little more action please (and by that I don't mean sexy times...though there' wouldn't be anything wrong with some lovin').
I'm not going to go through each character, but I think I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Kim Myung Soo (L), as Shi Woo. I liked him in "Master's Sun" (2013); as young Joong Won where I first saw him and I'm looking forward to seeing him in "Shut Up Flower Boy Band" (2012) once I get the chance. His character made the most growth and made the most sense throughout and he was great at portraying that. He starts off as you'd imagine an immature idol would, but he definitely matured leaps and bounds by the end and the lead, Hyun Wook should've been taking notes.
I felt the rest of the cast could've been filled by just about any good actor, no one else really stood out - though some were enjoyable to watch.
>>>The Music (5 out of a 10):
For a show about the music industry it was just a bit ho-hum for me. Not bad, it was nice, but nothing I felt I really needed to download or even really stuck in my head.
>>>Re-watch Value (1 out of 10):
I will not re-watch or recommend this drama to anyone. I'm not saying it's an entire waste or anything. Some people, actually, the majority seem to love this drama, but in a sea of dramas I feel this easily gets lost and there's nothing special about it.
>>>Overall (6.5 out of 10):
I didn't feel like I wasted my time watching this, the last 5 or so episodes I was really struggling. I guess not so much with the last two because the thing that bothered me the most that most viewers didn't even seem to think it was a thing, I just decided to pretend didn't happen. But I feel that if you are forced to do that, the writing is pretty bad. Part of me wanted the two to be together, but I think that had more to do with liking Rain, and not at all liking the character he was portraying... which is what makes me wonder if that's the reason so many viewers were so forgiving of the things his character said and did, simply because they were seeing Rain and not Hyun Wook. Or perhaps, trust is not something they find as important in a relationship as I do. I don't know, but I was not really happy with the ending and found the last episode to be fluff that fell completely flat, rather than tying up loose ends of the plot....and some pretty important ones too. Again though, I won't be recommending or re-watching this, but I am looking forward to see Kim Myung Soo and Rain in their next dramas because they are really good actors that deserve a good characters to portray within a good solid story.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Story: This drama is your usual romcom drama. It has a very US tvshow feel because the audience is lead to discover stuff about the main leads' past very slow. The stories also have a realistic pace, unlike some dramas where the main leads fall in love or kiss each other after four or five episodes but you don't understand where their attraction came from, making that romantic side of the story not much believable. Thankfully, DOR's story, which was realistic yet very simple, tried to explore how two people behave in a relationship and what happens when you meet your ex again and the inners dilemmas and issues of men and women of our modern society go through and not the stereotypical storylines of kdramas. This drama was alright and while I watched I felt myself agreeing or getting mad at the characters as if they were real and not fictional. When a drama makes me feel something, whether it be a bad or a good feeling, it's a good thing. In this the drama didn't fail, but I would have loved more mystery and intrigues - guess I'm asking too much from a romantic comedy.
Acting/Cast: I came to watch this drama not only for what I mentioned above, but also because I had liked Sung Joon on "I Need Romance 3", which had the same writer of this drama, I think. I didn't know Eric nor Yu Mi, and I was pleased to see them acting together because they have great chemistry. I rooted for them from beginning to the end because compared to Sung Joon and Yu Mi, I felt more for that couple and it was the exact kind of couple I look for on a romcom. Speaking about SJ again, I think despite he's younger compared to the other two, he has nice chemistry with noonas, but it's not yet perfected so I hope he will improve that in the future. Everyone acted believable portrayals and they really felt like true characters to me, as if I knew them in real life. The side characters were good as well. Han Yeo Reum's friends were funny and they made a cute couple.
Music: It was cute but honestly, I already forgot about it. I like that there were a couple of english songs put there casually, like in the last episode.
Rewatch Value: Well, despite I enjoyed this, I don't think I would watch it again for the moment. It's a light drama, but very predictable, so one could be bored if they know the story already, since it's not that big of a story.
Overall: I would give a 7+ to this drama. If the story had been deeper, perhaps it would have caught more viewers and would have gotten more of my love as well. In general, it was a nice thing to watch to pass the time. If you are looking for something that doesn't require too much attention and you loved the "I Need Romance" series, then this is perfect for you.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Although, I like the actors in this, there was no chemistry between them. It all felt forced and I really couldn't care about the characters or the romance. Krystal isn't a very good actress. I guess the age gap between her and Rain left the skinship to a minimum which left the romance between Se Na and Hyun Wook luke warm at best. L didn't have any chemistry with Krystal either, but at least Shi Woo and Se Na had a camaraderie that was believable.
The music is really good.
I will never rewatch this.
I don't recommend this drama unless you only watch it to see Rain and L...it Isn't even worth it for that to me when Rain and L have been in better dramas .
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
The story wise was geat even tho it's not the perfect mystery as i expected but it was good enough. This drama is something different from its genre and also stand out with a good setting and story teller even though it's a slow pace but it was suitable for this drama. Even though, its very slow and very detailed but its got my attention throughout every episode.
The acting is briilant, you can tell from the cast if you are j-drama fans i think you probably know all of the casts, they did a brilliant job as usual.
I have to point out about the setting, its was great, its adding more charm to this drama with the setting and the costumes were perfectly fit with the time period and setting. The music is also another point that make me love this drama, the jazz musical was perfectly fit with the drama.
I'm looking forward to more drama like this with a better mystery that keep me onmy seat until the end, i would say that this drama is almost there, it just need something little more excited scenes, well its just my personal taste. However, this drama will shine on you with the setting and the calm and cool pace that give to audiences throughout the whole show.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Though I did read the synopsis and knew that there would be a love triangle it really did take precedence over the whole drama. If you were looking for a good mystery and a hotel full of people with secrets then you are bound to be disappointed with this drama because though there are secrets afoot , this drama focused primarily on this love triangle. The first few episodes were good and I had a good couple of laughs in between even when I started to get annoyed with where the show was going and overall it wasn't an awful show in my opinion.
Now in terms of the thirst, it was just a bit too real for me at times. Obsessing over someone whose just not that in to you is the kind of thirst I am referring to. I can't make references to all of the blatant thirst without spoiling things but I can say that there are some characters who have been blatantly told through words, actions, or both "I don't like you" and their failure to process this as a sign to move on really baffles me. I know some people find these kinds of situations cute or funny but for me there is almost nothing more frustrating then a person that does not take no for an answer and continues to stalk you and interfere in the love life you are trying to have that does not involve them. This is called thirst and it's not cute. lol!!! I also got fed up a few times with the childish antics of the ex but I cannot go into detail on that one.
While about 85% of this drama revolved around a love triangle the other 15% revolved around the murder mystery. Which was a bit too much of the former and not enough of the latter for me. Everything unfolded pretty quickly in this drama and then took ages to wrap up. By the time things started to wrap up I frankly just didn't care anymore and had already figured out the big whodunnit before they even disclosed it.
So in a nutshell this drama is not bad and I'd say it's just ok because I had alot of laughs and there were some cute moments I really enjoyed.Perhaps if the drama was wrapped up sooner and the murder mystery wasn't so poorly executed I would have really liked this drama. They focused so much on this love triangle that all the all the questions you really want answers to barely get answered until the tail end of the show.In fact, I still have an unanswered question or two.
So if you enjoy love triangles, thirst and having no clear answers until the very end then this drama is definitely the one for you ;)
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Story:
The story is nothing special. It is quite "safe" - a basic love story with predictable high and low notes. My biggest qualm was the attempt to boost the melodrama in the latter part of the drama by the characters making illogical decisions.
Acting/Cast:
Krystal and Rain were an okay couple, but their chemistry was lacking. Also probably due to their huge age gap the drama kept their skinship to a minimum and this further made their chemistry and romance lukewarm. Krystal is extremely young and although she did portray most of the emotions well, I still felt her character was less real compared to Rain´s. All in all the cast was okay, but most of the characters seemed hollow and not very interesting.
Music:
This drama is mostly about music so you would think they would pull out all the stops to push the music, but I only liked one of the songs in the drama. The worst song in the drama was unfortunately the one they played every time something romantic was going on. Of course music is very personal and someone else might enjoy the songs in the drama, but they just weren't for me.
Rewatch Value:
I don´t think I will be watching this drama again. There were no epic love scenes in the drama, nothing especially memorable or exciting.
Review Summary:
I gave this drama 7.5, because it was okay, but it didn't offer anything new. I would recommend this drama to anyone who really watches a LOT of dramas and enjoys either Krystal or Rain. This drama is also a good newbie drama, because it has most of the drama clichés, but it isn't too over the top and it doesn't delve into Korean culture as it feels very global and generic.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Though I wouldn't deny there were a few unnecessary sub-plots that didn't really add much to the show, and in all honesty just filled up the gaps, but I'm willing to overlook those for the sake of the love story that was being shown. I liked the story. It seemed realistic and plausible. The characters in themselves were quite real in my opinion, I can almost believe that this was a real story. Sure, there aren't many thrilling or omg moments in the story, but it is still very endearing at a core level.
The romance in the show was the key point that kept me hooked. I forgot I was watching Rain, Krystal, L or any other actor, I was just looking at the characters in the story. Some found the coupling of Hyun Wook and Se Na quite odd, which is surprising because they played their parts quite well. We have a thiry-something old guy who's just coping with the loss of his love and a young twenty-something sister of that guy's love, who in a turn of events fall in love with each other. Obviously you cannot expect it to be a typical by-the-book romance. There are too many emotions, too many things between them to have a carefree love story. But what you do have is a fundamentally understanding and loving relationship. It doesn't always have to be heady, some love stories are just plain sweet.
I'm going to admit I started watching the show because of Rain. The story was interesting but, Rain pulled me in. I loved watching him act, and since there's no doubt in his acting prowess I will not elaborate on that scene. This was the first time I heard of Krystal (I'm not an avid KPop follower) and was intrigued. I wouldn't say she's really good, or bad, just that she played her character well. It could have easily turned into a whiny annoying damsel in distress sort of a portrayal but she did better than my expectations (which were very low to begin with but anyway). L was okay. Frankly he seemed out of his skin sometimes, acting is definitely something he'll have to work on. I'm not judging him, I haven't heard his music, cannot comment on him there, just stating my opinion about his acting. The rest of the cast was fine, nobody stood out really.
I loved the music! It felt fresh and heart-warming. Krystal's voice in her song was too sharp for my taste earlier but it grew on me. But the song 'I Want you' was.. magical. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I hear it. It's a song that makes you want to be in love. The show's got a good OST overall. Worth listening.
Although I enjoyed watching the series, I wouldn't say I'd watch it again. For some reason, it feels like a story that I've heard and which I'll definitely remember, but repeating it might take away it's beauty. I don't know if I make sense, but there are some stories that I just read or watch once and then never again even if they're quite amazing. I want to relish in the feel of the first watch or read. Makes them more real, like something I might have actually witnessed in my life which won't repeat itself in the future. Makes me want to remember all of it.
All in all I'd say I was smitten with the show throughout the airing. I loved watching the actors, I loved how the story unfolded, I forgot about the cliches, I forgot about what's right what's wrong, all I focused on was the fact that love prevailed no matter what and that Hyun Wook and Se Na deserved to be happy together.
It's a lovely story, which deserves to be seen. But my unbiased verdict would be to watch it only and only if you're willing to keep an open mind and not get into the bog of what's right and what's wrong and what should have been done and how. Also, if you want an exciting and thrilling romance, this show is not for you. What we have here is a calm and ordinarily paced story that feels true to life. It's not everybody's cup of tea. I'd recommend it to the true romantics though.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
