Fantasy Sonata (2024)

The series needs more patience than usual

The problem and possible solutions to said problems lie within the premise of the drama. There is just a constant battle for the spotlight between all the subplots the writer(s) were aiming to showcase which in turn just makes the story sometimes seem sloppy and all over the place. I had a concern about this but luckily it was mostly resolved by the end, and the last 3 eps are the best imo.

To start off, the introduction is good, we are introduced to our leads and their background and importantly their first meet post past events. The narrative is well set with us being aware of the basic relationships between everyone especially with our male lead Sajo Hyeon/Akhee who has a split personality. We see the dynamic between his personalities and who prefers what, what their strengths and weaknesses are. Just a heads up for the first couple of episodes there's also a viewer battle/struggle of trying to figure out which personality he is especially when there is a hint to the switch.

Like in most sageuks (I am guessing, 'cause I've only seen about a handful atp), other than the revenge and personality disorder our ML has, there's the coveting of power by everyone around the throne and struggle for control of the throne. And that's where the thrill as well as most of the problems come about. Firstly, we all know Yoong wants the throne and is willing to go to extreme lengths to attain it which is not a secret to everyone but the question is why doesn't anyone do anything to punish/stop him? He just keeps getting a slap on the wrist for it and moves on with life which is a drag and ends up not being interesting. Secondly, I don't understand why Geumhwa (and her dad) wants power because she doesn't even use it for anything other than fight with Consort Myung, so her story is kinda lame but she is getting screen time that's for sure. Plus for someone who wants power she sure yields too much to other people. But imo these both pale in comparison to what they did to Yeon Wol. My girl came for revenge and it only lasted 3eps (and that's being generous) given what Akhee did to her. They messed up her storyline imo. Like she gave up too soon on revenge and she just became the plot driver into figuring out Akhee and Hyeon which doesn't make sense. Like, even if she isn't trying to get revenge anymore, is she going to set the record straight and reclaim her rightful position? (Also, she trained to be an assassin and didn't learn how to swim?)

There's obviously other plots like the late king's struggle with treason, Akhee and Hyeon's battles, Chung Ta and her lack of a backbone. But the exploration of all these plots simultaneously with a lack of direction of the drama are the problem. Rather than wondering what will happen in anticipation of what is to come, you end up wondering what will happen in a state of disbelief of the many things that have already happened. It's more of I wonder what absurd thing they will pull out next episode rather than plot development because there is little to no such thing in this drama. This may make watching feel like a chore rather than fun.

In every episode, the newest plot line takes front and center stage until the thrill wears off then another takes it's place with an occasional visit to pre-existing plots. This works both in favor and against the drama depending on how good the plot is, resulting in a sometimes good and occasionally bad episode. Then there is momentary plot introductions like that one of Eunuch and that palace lady that are unnecessary additions. Like why keep adding more plots instead of developing and better explaining what already exists? For instance, how Yoong and Prince Ga Ron and Co got acquainted to the point that he has influence, or how Akhee is only affected by Yeon Wol, or even the development of Hyeon and Akhee's interactions and dynamic, or how Yeon Wol learnt the things she knows.. but oh well..

All in all the drama is good & the sub plots are decent. They are just not well developed to have a lasting impression. Therefore you need more patience than usual. They did a good job wrapping up the show but imo I would rather it was 12 eps with a fast pacing and hoping for more eps than wishing it was shorter like I am now because mid season it started being a drag.

Leia Mais

Good start, downhill from there...

Let me start by saying I had high expectations for this drama because of Park Ji Hoon, his work is always outstanding. The story had everything to be good. A prince with dual personality, an assassin avenging her father, the late king... how can this lead to such a boring script? There were to many plots going on, with to many people and no real depth to any of them. It became this boring romantic cliché thing that dragged so much it took me forever to finish. The only interesting character was Ak Hee but they even managed to hollow him out in the last three episodes. Honestly, why bother casting someone has Park Ji Hoon, known for his out of the box characters, for this? If not, for him, I would have dropped this after the first episodes

Leia Mais

Has potential in the beginning, unfortunately was a let down (webtoon spoilers)

The show started off with potential, especially with the amazing webtoon material but the plot derailed for the worst TT. As someone who read the webtoon I find the plot of the show even more disappointing. The webtoon already has great premise enough for 16 episodes so I really don't know why the script writers fumbled this hard. My favorite part about the webtoon was the fact that it touched on mental disorders and how Sajo Hyeon and Akhee are ultimately the same person, just different aspects of his personalities. The show 'kind of' tapped onto this, but also ruined it in the same breath with Akhee being very much his own entity (the "spirit" entering Hyeon's body when he was a child right after his father committing the Yeon massacre) and many unnecessary fantasy elements with Cheongta and Akhee as well.
I also dislike the changing of Sajo Yoong's fate from the webtoon, where he was Gyera's twin and a Yeon descendent. Him ending up inheriting the throne and fulfilling the prophecy makes for a satisfying irony to Jin Mudal's and the late king's evil plans. The show took away the Shakespearean in it by making Sajo Yoong your stereotypical boring illegitimate heir, evil and villain hungry for a position he does not deserve. The beauty of the webtoon is how even though the main villain was Jin Mudal, ultimately it was Hyeon’s own trauma, aka what Akhee represents, that destroyed him from inside.
Also, their romance was so much more poetic with the enemies to lovers plot in the webtoon, where they both resent but still love each other. The show took away this tension and dynamic by making their ‘enemies’ arc end too quickly, with Hyeon not much involved in the Yeon massacre and having his father take all the blame instead. With little to do for their romance arc, the show started adding so many random plots, like why did we have so many attacks and deaths for NO REASON!! This kind of side plots would work better in a longer drama like 20-30 eps, with more time to get to know the side characters, but with only 16 eps, there was no need to cram as many side plots as this show did! The many cliché plots and the DOUBLE amnesia tropes were just terrible writing choices. Made no sense and served no storyline purpose other than to prolong the plot to fit 16 eps!!

Furthermore, why did Sajo Yoong live for as long as he did while we can all very well end him with his many crimes and him being illegitimate as well??? Poor logic there, writers! Finally, with Cheongta’s tricks and Gyera entering Hyeon’s mind realm, the many rituals, and the shaman association, like these uncoordinated fantasy plots are poorly written and leave viewers more confused than answered! They should’ve just kept to the webtoon’s plot if they wanted to add fantasy, aka MINIMAL!! Production was also a letdown. The saving grace was Park Jihoon and Hong Yeji's acting which I can appreciate, but the main villain was very meh for me.
In the end, I rated this show 3.75/5. Since I read the webtoon already, my feelings towards the show is even poorer, but the show itself was a recipe for a plot disaster, even if you haven’t read the original webtoon!

Leia Mais

A FORGETTABLE DRAMA.

Before anything else, it is necessary to say and repeat a thousand times that Park Ji Hoon is a beast of acting. At just 24 years old, he dominates the scene and has a striking voice when he acts, unlike colleagues of the same age or similar, whose ham acting is totally evident. I only watched this drama because of him. After this brief preface, let's talk about the drama itself. It's very easy to talk about this drama because it has an excellent synopsis, but the execution was terrible, with quite lazy narrative resources, to say the least. The use of the memory loss trope by the protagonist was quite anything, and the screenwriters did not use creativity to create more innovative situations in Korean drama. Another fact that bothered me a lot and was quite exaggerated were the excessive screams and shouts of the protagonist. In episode 14, for example, it was 60 minutes of just him screaming and writhing. The villains were all well below criticism. Personally, I can't see Hwang Hee playing villains. His comic and charismatic character in "Tale of the Nine-Tailed" mentally marked me, but that's just me. What annoyed me the most was that in the initial episodes, the screenwriters treated us to a cunning, intelligent, witty, comic, and fighting Ak Hee. However, to maximise Sajo Hyun's protagonism, they turned Ak Hee into a greedy and childish idiot. Anyway, it's a drama I'll forget after typing this review.

Leia Mais

As a reader, Im so disappointed but As a fan need to continue.

I read this webtoon because of PJH but I never thought that this will make me happy and sad.
To me , this webtoon is perfect example of Character development I want to see in protagonist of a story. This webtoon has many layers that make u hooked and amazing every new chapter arrived. I love how character made, especially sajo hyun from being distrustful man to a man with full of love because of gyera. The webtoon's plot is masterpiece but in this drama the plot is OVERSIMPLIFIED. I felt they rushing too much the story. Adding King participation in plot didn't help to build a strong impact in plot of the drama but make it worst. It only add some dead atmosphere in drama. Some character are poor written. I dont have problem in acting but I think the plot is a big hinderance to the actor's potentials to make this a good series. This drama didn't get the vibe of webtoon not because they make it like rom-com but plot is just messy.

NO HATE TO THE ACTOR, They are great especially PJH. Hong Yeji some your great also but there some needs to improve but I see how you act, someday you will be one of most finest herione actor in K-drama

BUT FOR PLOT I HATE. I know writer did your best but the story you made failed to impress me and made me realized that I wish never read the webtoon to not see the flaws you made.

Leia Mais

second-lead syndrome..

okay i just have to put it out there first, that i absolutely LOVED this drama. im not joking when i say this is a 10/10 drama, but you may ask why im giving it a 7/10?

listen, when i started this drama i was not expecting anything too good because i didn’t see much talking about this drama, so i thought it wasn’t being watched much and therefore wasn’t anything special. so i started it with no expectations at all, but oh boy was i wrong..

as i finished the first episode, i was immediately hooked because of the interesting storyline and the great casting. and you know park jihoon is just ITTT when it comes to duality so he was the PERFECT choice.

BUT, honestly my rating is just based on my own emotions because this drama gave me the worst second lead syndrome ever that i hadn’t felt in a LONG LONG TIME. i just could not take it anymore and so i had to stop watching at episode 15 ??

nothing personal at all, i loved the drama and i loved everything about it EXCEPT the ending but ofc that’s because of my own emotions and not rational at all.

Leia Mais

A thrilling and captivating sageuk

"who are you?", she asked.
He responded, "me? I'm your man."
This extract is from a scene I chanced on that piqued my interest in this drama.

Love song for illusion narrates an arresting tale of sacrifices for power, love and revenge. The story unfolds in the Asatae Kingdom. Prince Sajo Hyun who's considered a weaklin by his father suddenly develops a personality disorder (two conflicting personalities in his body) after seeing his father brutally murdering an entire family. His other personality goes by the name "Ahkee". As fate would like it to be, prince Sajo Hyun crosses paths with the only surviving daughter of the household his father murdered, Yeon Wol, whose thirst for revenge seems unquenchable.

The plot is quite fresh, thrilling, interesting and has an engaging and swift narrative. The way in which the story develops, the unexpected twists, great dialogue and character development are this drama's greatest strength. The drama has scenes that draws in viewers and keeps them completely hooked and engaged. Although action-packed, the drama has poignant scenes which appeals to audience emotionally.

One thing that sets love song for illusion apart from other dramas is its unique love triangle. In this drama, the love triangle is between a woman and two men who share the same body (Sajo hyun/Ahkee). This becomes another source of conflict bringing more suspense, intrigue and anticipation.

The chemistry between the leads, Sajo hyun and Yeon wol is palpable. Their deep affection and the length they're willing to go for each other is greatly felt in the drama. Their romance even feels sweeter as they overcome challenges together. They give some delightful lovers moments which is heartwarming.

The drama is full of wonderful characters. Each actor fervently performed their role by bringing authenticity to their characters making the story more compelling. The most incredibly played character is that of Sajo hyun/Akhee which was played by Park Ji Hoon. I am not exactly a fan of Park Ji Hoon but this is his third drama I've watched and he is very good. He really played the dual personality role well. The switch in language, attitude, facial expression, tone and demeanor were perfectly done.

This drama has made it to my list of most enjoyed dramas and i highly recommend it. It's a solid 10/10 for me.

Leia Mais

The story had potential, but they wasted it so bad

Park Ji Hoon acting was what carried the whole drama, Hong Yeji really needs to improve her expressions, she's not that bad but sometimes she couldn't feel the emotions her character should feel.
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FL wanted revenge for the death of her family killing the king but the funny thing here is that never happened, Sayo Joong literally went ahead and killed the stupid king so what we would see later would basically be a story without any sense, since episode 6 everything became BORING There wasn't really a plot, they just caused problems and more problems to fill those 16 episodes.
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Ak Hee >>> Sayo Hyun
I'm sorry but the whole rivality and drama of them fighting in what was like the mind of Sayo hyun was weird, we all know Ak Hee was so much better than Sayo Hyun since the star
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Leia Mais

Another historical drama that I'm happy I watched

I am not a fan of historical dramas until I watched Alchemy of souls and moon lovers. So what actually dragged me here was Park Ji Hoon and I don't regret it. The storyline was even more captivating for me because I was curious of how they would put it and overall back in those days and I was impressed. The Female lead was wonderful, beautiful and this was my first time seeing her and I liked her... a lot. There were funny scenes, there were scenes that made me be like...wow...everybody for themselves in this palace oo. I liked his other personality a lot, sometime annoying but overall, loveable.
The characters acted their part well and I'm happy I got to watch it. To be honest, I either can't remember or don't have anything against the k-drama, but I highly recommend it.

Leia Mais

This is my humble opinion. Just an office manager from Bds who loves dramas.

This is the first Korean Historical Drama I have watched, I have seen a few contemporary ones, but this is my first historical one, and it is a fantasy. So to be honest my expectations were not that high. After the first episode I was a bit skeptical and read the webtoon ( meah). I am not a fan of sad endings so before I went any further I needed to know that everyone wasn't going to die. (Trauma last year)

The ML played by Park Ji Hoon was exceptional, I don't speak or understand Korean (read the subtitles) but he acted 3 parts in this series and I could see the distinct differences in each character he portrayed. The Crown Prince (with all his past trauma), Ak Hee (The Evil Spirt or alter ego ) and The King (without the trauma) with the strength to overcome the pain within himself.
Bravo, exceptionally done. Especially for someone his age. He drew me into the story, especially the way he expresses his emotion with his eyes, I really hope he can keep this passionate acting up, looking forward to seeing more from him.

The FL played by Hong Ye Ji was not bad, perhaps she needs a bit more seasoning, I felt her emotion and understood her character, maybe it was the script, but she did not show allot of depth in her performance. She is beautiful and elegant and in this role meant to be strong willed, but her character lacked more. . . . . . . everything.

Grand Prince played by Hwang Hee, fantastic, I really began to hate his character from the beginning and that only grew till the end. Any actor who can play a antagonist role and have the watcher really feel that "I would like to slap you" feeling, is doing his job. Just needs to work on his evil laugh, not sure if it was meant to be humorous but it didn't work for him.

Lastly the ML father played by Kim Tae Woo. Wonderfully done, he showed the torment he was feeling, he showed the distain for his son, he showed the wanting to numb the pain. I was very moved by his performance and will look for more work with him, hope I am not disappointed.

The rest of the cast was bearable.

The storyline itself was quite fun and different from the usual drama. However it was shortened too much in some areas and drawn out in others, there were so many directions, plots, twists and turns that could have made the story much better. The soundtrack was ok. Cinematography was lacking especially for such a short drama, and the editing was not the greatest, despite this I enjoyed it.

I do have a few questions about some things and this is purely from a lack of knowledge and not a judgement.
1. why was it so easy for the FL to come and go from the palace as she pleased, I know she is meant to play an assassin but still.
2. the grand prince's mother, was her part just supposed to be the comedy of the series, because she was not funny and i did not see the point of her being there at all.
3. the beginning was well planned out up till episode 8 but I felt like the rest was rushed especially the ending (last 4 episodes), is this because of having a set number of episodes allowed.

If you are looking for something to kill a few hours this is it, not too much thinking needed.

RTRC

Leia Mais