A Fada do Levantamento de Peso, Kim Bok Joo (2016)

Romance is my favourite genre and I have been binging on romance fiction forever. But for the first time ever I felt terribly sad for being single. I felt bad for not having a boyfriend in my adulthood. It is very easy to fall in love when in your teens and today when I look back on those days I wonder what the hell was I doing when everybody around me was busy nurturing their relationships. I tell you I never craved for companionship even then but after seeing this drama I wanted to smack my head hard for leading a boring teenage life. I am not too old to love (no one ever is), but I am definitely not young enough for puppy love.
bawling in a corner
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo is the sweetest, cutest and loveliest young love story I have seen till date. Bok Joo and Joo Hyung’s love made me want to go back in time and re-live my college years. (OK! I just remembered the boys in my class and now I do not blame myself for being single. Sheesh! Even time travelling would be of no help in finding a decent option in that desert of a class I was in.) This drama faced some serious competition from two popular shows but of the three shows, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo wins my vote for being the best. Hands down.

Let’s weigh the cutest romantic drama of 2016 on our show beam balance and see what makes the drama click with the audiences.

Good Weights
Bok Joo and Joon Hyung Romance: Though the main romance on the show starts in the latter half of the series the build-up to it is reasonable and entertaining. The circumstances under which Bok Joo and Joon Hyung fall in love may not be totally believable but it all makes sense in the drama world. Once the two start dating their journey becomes so saccharine that I wanted could put them both in my cup of coffee and sip it for a long long time. The nervousness in confession, fear in admittance of feelings, the rush of love, the excitement of initial days of dating, jealousy, possessiveness, bickering, fighting and then kissing and making up, all of these phases in love was shown in the most adorable and convincing ways. Lead actors, Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk may be four years apart but the chemistry they brought on screen was adorable to the point that I envied them for being so much in love.

Sportsperson’s Challenges: Sports is the backdrop of this drama and the show writers have shown as many hardships faced by athletes as possible. The drama is mainly about Bok Joo who is a female weightlifter. Weightlifting itself is an underrated sport and in such a case having a drama based not just on weightlifting but a female weightlifter is a commendable attempt. However, the drama focuses not just on the struggles of Bok Joo but also Joon Hyung who is a swimmer and Shi Ho who is a rhythmic gymnast. The drama shows how weightlifting is an unpopular sport compared to glamorous sports like swimming and gymnast. But popular or unpopular, every sportsperson has his own set of trials that we rarely get to see. Though the writers did a good job depicting Joong Hyung’s set of struggles, they took a rather obvious option of an eating disorder for a rhythmic gymnast. I am sure gymnasts have more problems than what’s on their platter. Nevertheless, that was the least of my concerns when it came to the overall content.


Bad Weights
Slow Start: The first few episodes go into showing the daily life of athletes. Though it was necessary to give a background of the characters, it was too bland. After episode 2, I was contemplating if I wanted to continue watching this show or not. The story picks pace after episode 3 and though it slumps a few times, it does manage to pick instantly and move forward with fervour.
 
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo hits all the right notes of first love and makes itself stand out in a crowd of teen romances (though the characters in the show are not teenagers). I have followed this show religiously and waited impatiently each week for its telecast. I have fallen in love with all the characters on the show and have wished to be one of them.

This utterly sweet and delightful romance between two most unlikely athletes will make you want to fall in love for the first time, every time. Loved this drama. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 

Originally posted on www.alphagirl.in

Leia Mais

Les dramas mettant en avant le sport piquent toujours mon intérêt. On parle de natation et ça tombe plutôt bien vu que mon sport de prédilection c'est la natation. Ce que j'ai aimé dans ce drama, c'est surtout découvrir l'haltérophilie. C'est une discipline qui ne m'avait jamais intéressé et même si je reconnais que ça ne m'intéresse toujours pas, j'ai adoré découvrir ce monde qui m'était totalement inconnu.
La série aborde également des thèmes différents. Je pense notamment au poids. Prendre des kilos ou devoir en perdre afin de participer à une compétition, assumer les regards des autres, parce qu'après tout être haltérophile et fille ça ne va pas ensemble et tout le tralala. Y'a un réel message qui, pour moi, est plutôt bien passé. Après tout, la beauté est un critère très important en Corée et ici, on s'éloigne un peu avec une héroïne loin des physiques habituels.

A côté de ça, nous avons donc une petite romance qui se dessine. On n'échappe pas à l'habituel triangle amoureux et du passif commun. Kim Bok Joo, je ne cache pas avoir parfois eu envie de l'étrangler à cause de sa naïveté et ses actions surjouées, mais elle reste fidèle jusqu'au bout, tout en étant attachante. Elle fait un peu enfant de temps à autre, mais est capable de surprendre en agissant comme une jeune femme.
Jung Joon Hyung est... Il m'a fait penser à ces gars qui, pour séduire une fille sont de vraies catastrophes ambulantes, mais c'est une maladresse étrangement mignonne. C'est un acteur que j'aime beaucoup, donc je ne suis peut-être pas impartiale (oups).
Comme dans la plupart des dramas, on retrouve de beaux moments d'amitié, mais aussi une rivalité entre les sportifs pratiquants des sports différents. Quelques touches dramatiques par-ci, par-là, c'est régulier, mais ça passe bien.

Au final, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo est un drama rafraîchissant. On sourit, on s'amuse, on y croit et on ne voit pas le temps passer. C'est plusieurs thèmes abordés qui piquent notre intérêt et se révèlent intéressants sur bien des aspects. Un petit plaisir à découvrir.

Leia Mais

A very warm drama that touches on elemental themes in an encouraging way.

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo is first and foremost a youth drama . Its intended age group is definitely 16 - 25 years old but that should not deter anyone from watching this warm drama. Because of its context and set up , Weightlifting should be thoroughly excused for being juvenile in set pieces and the like.

One of things that make a drama great is when a drama takes a chance and authentically lives out its set pieces without added soapy angsty drama that has no place being there. This drama is all that and more. Its the only drama I have watched so far where I thoroughly enjoyed the couple BEFORE they got together. Usually, I am in a huff and puff for them to get together or annoyed at the detractors of the Main Leads love but that was not the case here . Everything progressed in a warm and realistic manner that was quite encouraging .

I especially loved the sports element and the commentary on doing what you love because you can and why not ?The juxtaposition of the insanely talented Bok Joo and Joon- Hyung and their averagely talented friends was quite special on the commentary of 'you shall surely succeed if the work is not heavy on the heart."

There were also beautiful specks of mental health commentary and I particularly loved how Weightlifting aimed to be corrective on usually stigmatized issues . The portrayal on visiting doctors and psychiatrists was positive and the overall message that its fundamentally okay to not be okay was also gratifying . The insertion of bulimia , pressure from parents and peers and corruption was also good food thought which removed all shallow marks from this youth drama.

The acting was great especially by the main cast . The main leads are amazing OTPs and I will struggle to see them with other pairings in other dramas.The messaging of friendship being supportive and inspiring was particularly heart warming and I appreciated all the friendships in the drama.

The reason why this does not get a 10 is because I found certain elements of this drama a tad bit too draggy . I fastforwarded some scenes I found repetitive . This drama could have been helped by a better editing team but other than that - I have no qualms and its pros seriously overwhelm its cons.

OVERALL- Go into this appreciating that this is a youth drama .No need for Cannes critique and you will enjoy. I really think its worth the hype. Aaaaad I say that as someone who has a list on MDL of dramas not worth the hype . Sooooo ;-)

Leia Mais

Cute and complex. A must watch!

Ok ok this was a really cute series, it really explored a strong women and them learning to love themselves, to not have to fit the thin, frail image that many people use for the ideal.
The female lead and male lead grow together throughout the series, learning about each other and learning that love comes from learning to trust and expose your flaws to the other person.
I really loved that it showed that not only was the female lead a strong woman but that she was also very in tune with her emotions since many archetypes will only have one or the other since showing emotions are normally associated with being weak. Also on that note showing the male lead crying and dealing with the twisted history with his mother gave a lot of dimensions to his character and showing him maturing.

All in all I loved this series and really recommend it to anyone wanting a more complex romcom

Leia Mais

Lighthearted and natural

There is not a lot of things to say about this drama other than.

There are a lot of dramas where the main leads have good chemistry. Theirs however, was on a whole new level.

Their interactions were so beautiful and natural.

It was real and lighthearted and so sweet my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. It was kind of like a work of art.
………………………………….

……………"…………………………………………,.,,…,,……..,……………………….l…………………….

Leia Mais

I knew this drama has good reviews but I was not attracted to the poster (laugh) so I did not click it ;p
I almost drop it after watching 3/4 of the first episode, maybe bec I was not familiar with the casts. So I read some reviews again before continuing to watch it.
Then I was not able to notice I have been wating 8 episodes already :) that's how much I enjoyed it.
The Nam Joo Hyuk is the my new Oppa! So much appeal, a campus hearthrob indeed! And how come he has that perfect body at a young age. The plot is common but because of the characters it looked totally fresh,it was not exagerrated just suuuwaaagggg! Lee Sung kyuk's acting is commendable it's nice to see such talent in her generation, she was like Yoon Eun Hye in coffee prince, Nam Joo hyuk is as charming as Gong yoo as well.

It's frustrating sometimes of how we can not turn back time, especially the onces we miss so much, thanks to dramas like this that can bring us back to those times for awhile (16 hour to be exact) ughhhh those campus days :)

Leia Mais

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo was a breath of fresh air. I found the story, the characters, and the music to be light-hearted and refreshing. Initially when I heard about the show, I was conflicted whether to watch it because I had never been fully invested in the sports genre for dramas and found this particular drama to be unrealistic (i.e. Kim Bok Joo didn't look similar to the weightlifter who the show is somewhat inspired by, Jang Mi-ran, or a weightlifter in general...). Even with these concerns, I am definitely glad that I ended up giving Weightlifting Fairy a chance. The story encompassed the themes of comedy and school, but most especially of friendship, romance, and youth. These themes just happened to use the sports genre as a 'backdrop' per say. The cast's chemistry really tied together the themes of friendship, romance, and comedy (this may have been the case as several of them worked closely together in Cheese in the Trap). Lastly, the music matched the cheerful story and the noticeable chemistry between each of the characters and the actors who played them. This can most especially be heard from Kim Min Seung's "From Now On", which I believe was played at least once in each of the episodes (or as often as one would hear the word, "swag", in the series). It is likely that I would rewatch some or all of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo when I'm in need of a break from the stresses of a busy life or when I'm in a reminiscent mood.

Leia Mais