I also dislike a story when the writers have the characters do something that is totally out of character. I felt like in episode 15 and 16 that the writers did that with Young and Jin Sung. Honestly, after episode 15 I could care less what happened to Young. I hate wishy washy characters...Is she strong? Is she weak? The writers should have just picked something. It is like they thought they needed to add something to make it more interesting. I felt more deeply for Moo Cheol than Young and that is sad considering I saw a heck of a lot less of him in this drama than her. Beyond that, I think most of this drama is well paced and the cinematography is out of this world. I enjoy the basic story line. There are just so many things that I would change. I just felt disappointment as I ended this drama.
As far as the acting is concerned, it is excellent. Jo In Sung as Oh Soo is by far the best acting that I have seen in a long time. His facial expressions, the use of his hands, and the way he speaks just brings the character to life and I feel deeply for Oh Soo. Song Hye Kyo does an excellent job playing a blind person. I have seen her in other dramas and I think her acting improves with each role that she takes. If I didn't know better, then I would have thought she was blind. Of course, it is good to see Kim Bum again and I hope he gets a main lead soon so I can see more of him. I loved Kim Tae Woo as Moo Cheul and his character is by far one of my favorites in the drama.
I think the music was beautiful.
I won't rewatch this.
If you like melodrama, then this is one you should watch. Most people like it, so don't make a decision to watch it or not based on my review.
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Story: Twisty, Unpredictable, fast paced, melo melo melo! I loved that there were so many time jumps and the writer just kept changing the story but in a way that flowed so the viewer could keep up. Be ready for a dark plot all the way to the end filled with tragic romance, obsession, betrayal, revenge, lies, murder, and multiple deaths. The ending is bittersweet but everyone gets a closing fitting to their story.
Acting/Cast: Soo Ae and KSW as the OTP were perfect. They had chemistry which made their unhealthy relationship so painful to watch. Their acting was what you'd expect from A list stars. Just be warned that Soo Ae's character has no redeeming qualities, so you might want to feel like stabbing her in EVERY episode. The other female lead played by Kim Sung Ryung was sympathetic and I kind of wished she got a better ending. Yunho was the weakest link out of the 4 main leads. He was okay but he had zero chemistry with Soo Ae which made their relationship pointless and boring. The supporting cast were amazing and made their characters stand out. Oh yeah and Go Joon Hee really should be getting lead roles soon!
Music: The OST was powerful and fitting of the dark themes. I loved Ice Flower by Ailee and plan on downloading just that song from the OST.
Rewatch: It is a bit long and so dark but just exciting enough to watch again just not for a bit.
Final Thoughts: Queen of Ambition is a dark drama that is not for the light hearted fare lovers. You gotta truly be into melos to enjoy this one like I did!
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I could never get tired looking at them on screen. They are so good together especially when their faces are so near each other when they sleep together. And the beautiful scenes of nature does count to the beautiful love story.
The ending was perfect which I will never forget.
Indeed, fate is not created but as the wind still blows the bells will ring to it.
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first of all I'm happy to see Japanese adaptation of manga/anime. I've watched both Taiwanese and Korean version and I liked them (thought Taiwanese was more exiting). When I heard about Japanese remake I got worried, because You're beautiful's Jap version was disappointing for me. But wait! Did actors say that they know they'll be compared to Itazura na kiss's Taiwanese and Korean adaptation? Good! knowing problem will lead to solving it.
OK, than. First ep was difinitely good. Espacially I liked lead actress's reactions. (I replayed some scenes over and over again)
Acting is good, story- I know is good, music- ok, re-watch value- potentially highest possible and overall the best drama ever!!!
I know I a bit subjective, no, a lot subjective but maybe it's 'cause ISWAK was the first drama that lead me to dramaland.
SO EVERYONE WATCH IT!!
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Three words: Beautiful. Stellar. Heartbreaking.
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The character Da Hae, even though I know she didn't mean for everything that happened to happen, was just evil. I know she felt remorse for certain things (u will only understand if u watch), but she still continued to make choices that were selfish & evil (the only word I can think of to describe it).
The character Ha Ryu was just too sweet. I know he did the whole revenge thing, but that wasn't his motive. It was more along the lines of making ppl pay for what they did. If u ask me all his actions were totally justified, but I still think that he was too sweet for his own good.
The other characters were awesome. Each character was necessary and the actors that played them did such a good job.
I have to say that this drama kinda blew me away, but b/c I had such an angry feeling most of the time I had to give it lower scores. I don't feel that anger is a good way to feel entertained. But b/c I was so invested in each character I had to continue to watch till the end. I am glad I did b/c the ending left me w/ happy & sorrowful feelings. It was appropriate for the drama. Don't go into this drama thinking that you're going to come out all sunshine & roses, b/c that is so far from this drama. I suggest only those that can handle a serious melodrama should watch this, b/c it is like no joke.
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I loved the story. It was rly good. My only prob was a w/ certain character. I watched the movie of this story so I had certain expectations. And, it's not that they weren't filled to a certain degree. I just have issues w/ how the writers made Oh Young revert back into a depressive state that she was clearly out of, and made her seem weak when she had been strong for so long. I mean I totally get where she was coming from. Total trauma that started from childhood, but come on rly! Did they have to go that far w/ her character & then the total reversal again in the last episode. I'm like WHAT??? Serial pick a personality for the character & stick w/ it. At least they did that in the movie.
Now that I got that out of my system...
The rest of the drama was totally daebak. I loved the way they had Jin Sung do something he was totally against in the end. That part was much better than the movie. Oh Soo was the best character of them all w/ his own complex of abandonment. The flow of the drama was good. I didn't feel rushed at all. I was kinda upset about Moo Cheol's character, but I understand y they wrote his part that way. He was like a guardian angel that no1 knew was there. The whole combination of actors was great b/c they had such a great chemistry. The anger, brotherhood, love, romance, etc. was all there & I was never left w/ a feeling of uninterest. I was always anticipating the next episode. I was interested to see how each situation would play out; even though I alrdy knew the story b/c I watched the movie.
I suggest that MDL-er's give this drama a try. It is exciting to watch. ENJOY!
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Deus, por favor, me dê mais tempo.
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Queen of Ambition is no joke. I really wanted to give it top scores, but there are some things that are missing. BTW...this has a lot of adult content, so I wouldn't recommend this for just anyone. Joo Da Hae is the epitome of evil. I understand that she goes through some major horrific moments when she is young, but wow... I really can't explain this story without spoilers. It has murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, twin switching, etc. Ha Ryu is so pitiful and sweet that it is hard not to fall in love with him. I enjoyed the ending. They took the time needed for the main characters before spending time on the side stories. I really appreciate writers that do that. Ok. Now for the acting. I will tell you the bad first and why I couldn't give this drama higher scores. Soo Ae to me is just not the femme fatale that I thought was needed for that role. I get that she is supposed to be cold-hearted, and I did see her expressions change, but there just seemed like she was missing something. Honestly, I just don't think that she was pretty enough to ensnare all of the men that she did...especially since she was never sincere. Is that too superficial? I would think that Kim Tae Hee or Chae Jung Ahn would have been a better casting choice. They are prettier and their acting abilities are better.
On to the much better...Kwon Sang Woo was daebak as Ha Ryu. I felt so deeply for his character even when I was mad at him. There were times when I blamed him for what he was going through even as he blamed himself, then I would realize that he is just too kind-hearted. I also thought Yunho did well in his role as Do Hoon. I kept yelling at him to wake up and realize who Da Hae really was.
I also liked the other actors. I'm not much for extra characters, but all of these were needed to add to the story. I really liked Kim Sung Ryung as Do Kyung.
The music was good.
I probably won't rewatch this just because I already know what will happen.
It is full of angst and at times I was just yelling at the characters. If you like melodrama, then you will love this.
Edit: After watching Soo Ae on 1N2D Korean variety show, I realized that she seems to be a soft person and that may be why her role isn't really that believable. I give her props for trying something that seems to be completely out of her element and doing a passable job.
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Aoi Ryosuke may have a devil’s curse, but he is terrified of his own abilities, while his counterpart Ryuzaki Shinji is a devil himself, with the gift of god. When they are brought together however, the game really begins.
From beginning to end, the mystery behind their powers drives the plot of the drama: just how much they know about each other and what are the implications of their gift. Is it a curse or blessing, or both, and how are they to be used? What is their purpose on this world? While a larger mythological background is hinted at, I actually appreciated how the drama focused more on the immediate repercussions. This isn’t a tale of gods and demons. It’s the story of two men who behind their powers are just as human as you or me. Their entanglement with Detective Hasebe gives this even more of a humanly-backing as she struggles to learn more about them - to trust or fear, protect or arrest.
“If I were able to change this world, would God be the only one who could allow that? If humans were able to hold God’s powers, would they be able to change the world?”
Thus begins the story as Ryuzaki stands overlooking a city drenched in rain. The camera pans down to reveal Aoi,as he walks into the nearest police station and turns himself in for murder:
“Coming here on my own makes the distinction, of what sort of person I, who has taken away that life, will become.”
The Dog of Orthros: The name comes from Greek mythology. Orthros was a two-headed dog beast (brother of the more famous 3-headed dog Cerberus), and minion to a giant. I'm sure other comparisons could be made between drama and myth, but there's not much known about the dog. Rather, it's more interesting to me that nowhere in the show does it say which man, the angel or the demon, is the actual beast. Both are just two parts of the same whole.
Not to ignore the drama’s political plotline (because, in this kind of scenario unfortunately one just has to exist), but that part was a little more on the predictable side of things – the only questionable outcome is which man, if either, would align with the greedy and power-hungry parties and politicians.
What was more subtly done I thought were many of the side characters, including Detective Hasebe’s young daughter (who often seemed to understand important things better even than her mother), and delinquent youth Kumakiri Masaru (Yaotome Hikaru).
Should you watch it?
I could barely turn away from this drama, and not even the political plotline bored me for more than a few minutes at a time. Like most Jdramas, the romance may be a tiny bit lacking, but the relationship between the three main players was anything but lacking in overall chemistry. The thriller/mystery aspects were also extremely well done (if not completely perfect) but enough that even knowing the outcome, I’d be likely to watch it again.
Read more (with pictures) on my blog:
http://shinealightrose.blogspot.com/2013/03/jdrama-review-orthros-no-inu-2009.html
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This show was one of the most surprisingly amazing shows I have ever watched. I was so reluctant to start it because I don't really watch high school dramas very often, but this show was just so amazing and just completely sucks you into its grasp.
The brilliance of the show lies in the way they laid the story out of the viewer. We were never given more than snapshots of certain time periods in the lives of the characters. There were flash backs and flash forwards and the way they revealed the different aspects of each character made you fall in love more and more each episode.
All of the characters had such intricate stories and had flaws that made them so real. You could find yourself identifying with all of the characters at one point in time. My heart stayed with Yoon Jae from beginning to end, even when I couldn't understand exactly what he saw in Si Won that had him so enamored. She was a really fun character to watch, but her clueless-ness bordered on pathological and she could be pretty selfish. Si Won's parents were just absolutely hilarious most of the time, though there were scenes where I thought the dad went too far in his anger and I wish they had scaled it back some.
I really did love Tae Woong too, and my heart broke for him when they revealed what happened to his past love and who she was to everyone in the group. I wanted so much for him to be happy, but I did not like that he went after Si Won. How he never realized his brother was in love with her blows my stinking mind. Maybe because we are the viewer and given different clues than he was, but it seemed plain to see from a mile away.
The rest of their group, Hak Chan, Yoo Jung, Sun Jae, Jun Hee were always a delight to watch and you will want so bad for all of their dreams to come true. Without spoiling too much, once you start watching it and you find out Jun Hee's secret, I was really really happy with how well the people who found out about it handled it. I worried I would end up hating some characters once they found out, but it was all really great.
All in all, this show is a must watch! I mean, seriously, if you haven't watched it yet for whatever reason, stop being stubborn and watch it! It will remind you so much of your teen years, even if you weren't a teen in the 90s. I grew up in the 90s in America, so a lot of the pop culture references flew straight over my head, but childhood is childhood and universally the teenage years tend to be the same. At least in obsessions, that is :p What teen girl hasn't been obsessed with some pretty boy in a band at some point in time? What teen didn't fall in love? What teen didn't fight with their parents or with their best friend or their boyfriend/girlfriend? This show is just so wholly satisfying and a nice walk down memory lane, even if it isn't your memories.
Side Note: There was A LOT of pop culture stuff I didn't get. I recommend having google handy while watching it, just to fully enjoy all of the quirky references. For example, so many of the characters told Hak Chan how much he looked like one of the group members from Sechs Kies. It didn't occur to me til over halfway through the show that he might actually be the guy from Sechs Kies, so I looked it up on here and he was! Others might not have been so dense about that, but it really did just go over my head :p
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First a brief introduction because the one here on MDL doesn't really sum up the show well enough:
Unexpected You is about driven career woman Cha Yoon-hee, who is newly married to the dashing Korean-born, American-bred doctor, Bang Gwi-nam. Because Gwi-nam was raised in the US he’s presented as prime husband material. He's willing to follow his wife's lead & capitulate to her every wish. Yoon-hee's pleased with herself for having landed such a "perfect" man, and best of all? NO worrisome in-laws to fuss and fight with since his adoptive parents are back in the States. Life’s sweet for our Yoon-hee. With a cute, somewhat neutered husband & no pesky children running afoot she can focus on her work AND rule her roost the way she sees fit. As fate would have it, however, Yoon-hee's blissful existence comes to a screeching halt when they unknowingly move in across the hall from Gwi-nam's biological parents.
Sounds like fun to me. So I used my one week Easter break to watch this drama. I jumped right in hoping for a hilarious, heartwarming family drama.
Let me now explain to you why these hopes were dashed.
What I Liked:
1) The fact that we had an established couple who were happy & affectionate toward each other for the entire drama. I haven’t seen that many dramas, but this is a first for me.
2) In the long run I didn't care for the character she played, but I do like lead actress Kim Nam Joo. Mature actresses tend to get a raw deal whether they're in Hollywood or Korea. However, KNJ proves that dramaland is better off with older artists whose life experience adds layers to their performances. I think in a better role, where she's not trying too hard to push an agenda & prove a point, she'd be great.
3) Lee Hee Joon as the witty, smart talking, smooth operator, Chun Jæ Yong. He turned into a lovesick fool toward the end, but for the majority of the show he was absolutely hilarious. I thought he was very well cast in this role. Just the way he spoke, his mannerisms, provided some really good comic relief.
4) The youngest Bang son & his family. My mom always tells me to look at a man's heart, not his face. Jung-bæ and his family are like a visual reference of this lesson. The guy isn't much to look at by any means & his wife is a complete ditz who a lesser man would have come to belittle & ridicule over time. But in Jung-bæ she couldn't have found a more devoted and loving husband.
5) This drama broke away from the usual clichés. Not completely, but for the most part. And whilst the story itself never quite took off for me, most secrets & lies were revealed within a 10 episode interval which was nice. I hate it when they drag things out until the very last minute before everything’s out in the open.
What I Disliked:
1) The script - it had a few great moments. I thought the overarching story of the lost boy who reunited with his real parents was pretty okay. But the individual stories of the Bang women were underwhelming & frustrating. There were a few twists & turns in the plot that made you go WTF? The script felt constructed, rather than fluid. As a result, characters, both old & new, appeared out of nowhere at the most inopportune times in the most inopportune of places & caused the story to go off on a tangent that was better left unexplored.
2) This drama had an agenda & it got very, very preachy - Now don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the show's attempt to challenge gender stereotypes and the sexism Korean women face in their society. I'm all for female empowerment and bettering the status of women, but beating your audience over the head with all this stuff defeats its purpose. Every woman has her own definition of "empowerment" so a tad more subtlety would have engendered more of my support for the women’s situation. There was too much righteous grand standing. Characters literally preaching at each other -- and thus the audience -- about gender equality, what they should think & believe. Too much. It got very annoying. Furthermore, it's funny that this drama is about empowering women, and yet most of the conflict arose from pitting women against each other.
3) This drama was dripping wet in cheese & not the good kind - Those who know me here on MDL know that I'm a romance junkie. I love love. I do. I love when my heart is touched by a good love story, but please don't go overboard. I get that, in Gwi-nam, the writers wanted to present a man that’s more sensitive & supportive of his wife’s needs as opposed to the old-fashioned, insensitive, uncommunicative Korean man. But it was too much, especially for a couple who, though newly married, has been together for a while. Instead of making me sigh, I was gritting my teeth while skipping that sh**. All the grand romantic gestures came off very inauthentic and felt too much like wish-fulfillment rather than a realistic portrayal of love between two grown people who've long since left the playground.
4) The women - This drama was very popular in Korea & if I had to take a guess maybe it's because the drama was an outlet for frustrated Korean housewives who harbour grudges against their in-laws & husbands. For me, as an outsider who doesn't live the same reality, this show was somewhat burdensome to watch as it was a complete & utter whine fest.
That's also probably why I couldn’t identify with any of the women. At the start I liked Yoon-hee a great deal. She was put on this pedestal as the ultimate woman's woman, and at first she did project an aura of strength that I liked. I also sympathized with her struggles in a very sexist work environment. But as the series progressed she slowly took on a cloak of victimhood & wore it like a trophy, especially when it came to dealing with her in-laws.
I really have a problem with shows in which women wallow in victimhood. If Korean women want to be the only queen in their hen house, make a drama that encourages them to break with tradition & live on their own with their families. To me it's a better solution than pitting woman against woman the way this drama does, albeit unintentionally.
By the end of the show my perception of Yoon-hee was that she had turned into a shrill, selfish, entitled and conceited woman. Pretty much everything had to go her way ALL THE TIME. She bullied her husband with emotional & sexual blackmail. And ironically, instead of sympathizing with Yoon-hee, I ended up feeling like the mom-in-law was the real underdog.
The other women weren't any better. One, a self-centered, spoiled, bratty gold digger; another a clueless, childish virgin who was sooo hot & cold it's a wonder any guy was able to put up with her; the mother who was filled with covetousness and resentment toward her husband and children; the older daughter who cast herself in the shadow of a man even though she says she wants to be an independent woman. They were all very human characters, but given that I encounter these people every day in real life, I'd rather not spend time with them in my entertainment too.
5) Last but not least Bang Gwi-nam, the female lead's husband - At first I liked him, but he seemed to lose his manhood as the show went on. He’s incapable of standing up to Yoon-hee, even when she’s out of line. To me Gwi-nam was not an ideal partner. Sure, he's a gentleman, but he was also a complete wuss. I fear most men in real life will never be able to live up to his lofty ideal, not for long anyway. So I'm not sure planting such unrealistic expectations in women's minds is a good idea. Moreover, guys like Gwi-nam end up like the desperate housewives who capitulate and sacrifice too much until the day they cheat, walk out or both.
This is a drama for women, but not a woman like me. That said, I wouldn't encourage people NOT to watch this because there’s a chance this drama was made for a woman just like you.
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Culpada: A Mulher que fez um Pacto com o Diabo
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While glancing through the other reviews, I noticed that this drama didn't get a lot of good reviews. I thought it was really good. I watched it in two days. It is light and deep at the same time. Although I figured out the family dynamics pretty early on, I still enjoyed watching how it played out. If I have one complaint, then it is not seeing enough romantic time between Panda and Hedgehog. I can't post spoilers, but I could have watched an episode 17 with a celebration and some added romance. The ending seemed rushed, but it was good. I enjoyed all of the actors in this drama. I had no idea that Donghae could act, but he did great. My favorite character is Oh Yi Na as Won Yi. I will be looking for more dramas with that actress.
The music was good.
I will probably rewatch this.
If you enjoy light romance with very little angst, then you would enjoy this drama
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