First, I expected too much from it. Although it was a good melodrama, I think it becomes a bit too much "melo" as the story goes on for me to continue watching it. Especially, around the middle of the story, there was too much 'crying' and becomes a bit boring with this Lee Soo Yeon and Zoe thing. That's why I dropped it.
But I am glad that now, I picked it up and finished it because later episodes gets more intriguing.
Let me review it in a bit more details.
Story- it has everything in it, first love, revenge, money, justice and so on. I like how everything just fit into a single piece. But, like I said, the story was directed in a bit boring way, while trying to get the audience teared up too much.
Acting - From the beginning, I watched it because of the cast. And I think my decision was right. Yoochun played Han Jung Woo very well. Yoo Seung Ho was also amazing, playing out Kang Hyeong Jun. In fact, he was my favorite character in this drama. He has a dark but interesting and most pitiful character. But I find more chemistry between Yoo Seung Ho and Yoon Eun Hye instead of YC and YEH. Am I the only one? Maybe I was too overwhelmed by the two's too much crying thing.
Music - I think it has great music. one OST that gets my attention was Wax's Tears are falling.
Rewatch value - I don't wanna rewatch it because it is too much melodramatic. And usually, I rewatch dramas just for my favorite scenes. But in this drama, I didn't find any favorite scenes so, I won't rewatch it.
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It's a mixture of everything (school, friendship, family, life, comedy!, and a bit of romance (if you can call those romance at all. lol)). I never thought I'd finish this one in just two days, but that's what exactly happened. Actually, I'm not really expecting much from this one, but the plot and the sequence of events really got me hooked. The story, like what is written in the Synopsis above, is about a lawyer attempts to get students from Ryuuzan High School (students studying here are known to be stupids) enters into the prestigious Todai (Tokyo University). The plot may sound lame to others, but wait till you see the acting and the drama itself. Or maybe, it's because I just really missed studying :'( (huhuhu). The other great thing about this drama is the humor incorporated in it. Each episode never fails to get a good laugh out of me. It has this "here we go again" comedy scenes, that keeps on appearing in the show. And lastly, it has life lessons, that can be really useful in everyday's life.
Acting/Cast: 10
I beg to differ to other reviews. I really thought that the casts did a great job on this one. They really portrayed and did able to convince me the characters that they're playing. The emotions that the scenes demands are executed by the casts properly.
Music: 7
The music doesn't stick to my head as much as the other dramas that I have watched. Though the music they used when they are about to take the exam really gets to me.
Rewatch Value: 8
I'm not really a big fan of rewatching a whole drama. I only rewatched funny scenes and other interesting scenes. Since this one has a lot of funny scenes, I'll not be surprised if I find myself rewatching it in the future.
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This drama definitely had potential. The actors were quite good, the plotline grabbed my attention, it had a solid beginning... WHAT WENT WRONG?
Story: Generally, it was opposite of what most dramas are like. Most dramas have a pretty slow beginning, and the episodes build up exponentially to a grand finale, with twists and sub-plots in between. This drama had a good, fast-paced beginning, which then FLATLINED before spiking an ultimate climax in the last two episodes.
Episodes 1-3: The first few episodes were interesting enough to hook me in. There was a good mix of action, romance, and comedy. However, there was little to no creation of the main plot, which I could have overlooked, had it not been for the next dozen or so episodes.
Episodes 4-18: The writers/producers filled up the gas tank but forgot how to start the car. Honestly, I was on episode 16 or so when I looked back and asked myself what the heck I had been watching for the last dozen episodes. It was like I figured out something, but then had to watch the next 5 episodes as every single other character had their own "Eureka!". Not only did the plot deviate quite a bit from the main storyline (which was very repetitive/draggy), the sub-plots also did little to help push the actual story forward (scenes of Seo Won's parents etc.).
Episodes 19-20: AND... we finally see some action happening over here. The revenge that the "bad" people had planned for 18 episodes is finally executed. What the drama lacked for 16 excruciatingly long episodes is all cramped together into these last two episodes, which were full of action, drama and the true bond of friendship/love. I was so satisfied with the ending, that my initial review of 4.5 went up to a 7. It's one of the endings I've longed to see in all my favourite dramas (usually resulting in my disappointment), where most, if not all, the loose ends/sub-plots are tied up and concluded, and there is solid proof of a happy ending.
*Note: The different names of both lead characters was also quite confusing at first.
Acting/Cast: Ok, I have to admit the cast was pretty good... it's just the characters that frustrate me. First off, there was little to no loyalty between the characters! There was just one betrayal after another, which frustrates me to no end! The only characters which stayed by each other's side throughout the entire drama were the "bad guys". By the end of the drama, I found myself rooting for their side because they were always there for each other, protecting each other, TRUSTING each other, something which the good characters completely lacked. There was barely a bond between families... the two main characters were always fighting with their parents and vice versa, while the two "bad guys" spent the entire drama attempting to get revenge for their families. I'm sorry. How can I sympathize with the good characters if you completely mask their good qualities with numerous, huge flaws (which, by the way, the characters never managed to fix).
Music: It was actually really good. I loved the music in this drama, and am currently searching for all the OST's and adding them to my playlist. There was really nice, soothing, romantic music to go with the romantic scenes (which were not as romantic as one might think). It's almost like the music was there to lure you into a false sense of romanticism to mask the fact that there was barely any chemistry between the characters.
Rewatch value: Ah... let's not get me started on this one. I'm 99% sure I won't be rewatching this anytime soon. (Ok, MAYBE I'll rewatch some of Joo Won's adorable goofy moments~).
Overall: A perfectly healthy drama went into cardiac arrest, died on the operating table, then miraculously came back to life in the morgue. It was decent. Not my first choice when recommending a drama to somebody, but if you're dead bored and have absolutely no dramas to watch, and are a fan of Joo Won or one of the other actors, then go ahead and give it a shot. But... before that, drop me a message and I might be able to recommend some other better ones for you :) Last but not least, I think this drama would have done much better had it split off into 2 completely separate dramas: an action drama with a spy/revenge storyline, and a romantic drama where the two leads have to overcome troubles with their to-be in-laws. The writers tried to group the two together and it didn't work out very well. If you're looking for the former, you're definitely in the wrong place. If you're looking for the latter, you're probably in the right one.
P.S. Just one last small note: my two favourite episodes were episode 6 and 19 if memory serves me right ^^
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I don't even know what to say about the acting. It is over the top, but it is obvious that it is suppose to be. Oomasa Aya is gorgeous...it is kind of funny that her character, Sunako was put down because of looks. I wonder what her voice really sounds like, because it seemed exaggerated. Kamenashi Kazuya's character, Kyohei had just the opposite problem. He is really cute and his acting was the best out of all of them. I liked the other actors too. The little boy is adorable. The guy in the cafe always wears great t-shirts...if you watch this, then you should totally make sure to pay attention to that. :-)
The music is good.
I would probably rewatch this at some point.
I recommend that everyone watch this for the romance, bromance, and deep meaning wrapped in a silly, fun package.
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As every one knows this is a drama-remake of a very popular and high grossing Korean Movie of the same title, of course the story is a whole lot different than the original movie's of course because we're talking about a 20-episodes-long drama compared to a 2-hour-movie.
This Drama had potential, the story's layout is quite interesting by most standards, bit of a "Mr & Mr's Smith" with all the spy Vs Spy missions and the romantic line involved causing the dilemma. But despite all that it would be fair to say that this drama didn't make the utmost use of all these weapons it had at hand, and sent most of them down the drain.
The first few episodes (to be specific until they got assigned to the NIS) weren't interesting enough to keep me hooked, but as an old K-Drama fan I know how most Korean dramas are a bit hard to warm up to at the beginning. To be honest with you, one of the main reasons why I couldn't get myself to warm up to the show quickly was my annoyance at the female lead's choice. I don't want to keep talking about how old she looks comparing to Joo Won (he should just call her "Noona" lol)coz I guess many people must have already killed this issue discussing, but also her acting wasn't that great and to add insult to injury the character she played had so many nasty points to it, in a nutshell it was mostly hard to sympathize with anything she said or did.
The romance developed quite fast, too fast that it made the watcher go all anticipating as to just how much we'll be getting busy through out the rest of the drama, and no argue we REALLY did get busy!! but not with the romantic or comedy plot, but rather with the plot that the writer just simply sucked at; "The Spy Game"
If this drama was a spoof for spy movies it would have made sense, I mean why the hell did nothing those NIS agents did that made any sense whatsoever. Let's say that this is a Rom-Com in the first place and that it shouldn't be judged on the whole spy line. OK even if I manage to agree with that, let's be honest, the whole idea behind the drama is that they are both agents who fall in love but have to keep hiding their identities from each other, so ultimately the two lines; romance and spy, have to end up getting tangled. And this is where it all felt so frustrating.
I enjoyed the first half of the drama, to say before the Baddies made their first appearance. I enjoyed it because it was full of cuteness and funny silliness not the type that frustrates you though. At the beginning I could to a certain extent feel empathy towards Seo-Won's character and even sometimes feel bad for her, but later the more the plot developed and all cards got revealed, her insistence on not sharing everything with him and acting all mighty made me just hate her and wish he would just do the same.
I know I said the plot evolving around the NIS' missions and spy work should not be my main point in reviewing this drama but I still can't hold back some of my comments concerning that one.
The whole baddie guys' revenge was stupid and badly written so I on purpose tried my best to ignore it so even if some parts didn't make any sense i wouldn't linger and wonder a lot.
The NIS itself and all of it's agents felt like a bunch of dummies playing 007 and not even managing to make it close. The mere idea that they get to cover such missions after only one year of training (which I bet involved basically drinking and dancing and gambling classes) felt so unbelievable. But I must congratulate the writer on one thing, the agents did seem like a bunch of rookies who just didn't have any idea what they were supposed to be doing.
Starting with the supposedly strongest and most experienced of them all; Do-Ha with all his spilling and tripping and pink-panther-sneaking during a mission! to Sun-Mi who fires a gun at headquarters by mistake, and instead of feeling any remorse just goes butterfly on her crush covering her!! (she should have been told to hand her resignation just there) To Seo-Won who can't even drive properly but can still snowboard and use a sniper even while shaking and sobbing!!!
Even the baddies most of the time seemed they just had no idea what they were doing, going around in circles not even reaching an agreement on the meaning of taking revenge.
Let all these plot-holes aside and concentrate on the romantic story line and you might enjoy the drama more (like I can say I managed to).
Putting the action aside and concentrating on the characters and their relations, you will still notice some irritating flaws with the characters:
(as I previously mentioned) Seo-Won with her meaningless wish that Gil-Ro believes her although she does absolutely nothing to gain his trust but rather act all the more suspicious.
Do-Ha, who says that he can even do bad things if it's for the good of his country but later on with the drama ends up conniving a crime that of course has nothing to do with anyone's good.
Sun-Mi, was by far the most childish character and should have never been an agent in the first place. So although I really liked her tomboyish character at the beginning I ended up hating her bad-loser clinging puppy personality.
The big guys (Won-Suk and Director Oh) with all their "if anyone finds about what we did we will be dead" bullshi*
(Needless to say) the Bad guys!!!!!!!!!!!! GO TO HELL!!!
So the writer nearly sucked badly at the spy parts which covered most of the drama, but somehow I still managed to enjoy this one, but only for the laughs. So the serious emotional parts I watched with one eye closed, and the action spy parts I watched looking elsewhere. lol
So why did I give it 7 and not less? it's because I loved the silly/funny/cute comedy scenes a lot, and also found some heartwarming plots to cling to (like Gil-Ro and father conflict).
one last advice, if you're going to watch this one through, better skip seo-won's parents' scenes, these are simply a waste of time and energy.
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Story::
I've always loved revenge plots and this one was written and executed so well its at the top of my list now. The twists, turns and curve ball this drama throws is very nicely done. Always a surprise, always keeps you on the edge. I don't want to say too much. But the main guy is a genius.
Characters/Acting::
Marvellous. Stunning. Fantastic. The chemistry between actors is fantastic. Oh the relationships are astounding, based on a very crumbly base that can either break under the pressure or lock together. The characters play their part so well. I was worried that the main lead actress wouldn't be acting very well (like in The moon embraces the sun) but it turned out to be alright!
Overall: Definitely worth the watch.
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I would say the story isn't quite as in depth as the series, but there is something that Next Innovation is shooting for, and that carries most of the special pretty well. The cast all returns flawlessly, and they've got even more chemistry now. Ishihara Satomi and Oguri Shun are squee-worthy and adorable, but also emotionally matched. When they argue, you feel it in your gut. When they smile at each other, you're heart's about to explode with happiness.
The music I down-graded because they re-use stuff from the show, when I kind of wished it had been all new music. miwa does a new tune, I believe, but it doesn't have a second version or anything fun like that.
I wouldn't say it's as re-watchable on its own, either, but if you watch it as another episode in the series it works great!
Basically I loved it for its pandering to fans of the original drama, but not necessarily as a stand alone piece. It's certainly cute, but definitely not as hard-hitting as the source. Worth watching after the fact, and as another episode, but as a special it doesn't feel very... special?
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Story::
The story was alright. Nothing special. I noticed that the main actor was supposed to be shown 'doing the right thing' but the things that she 'did' ruined the lives of other characters. And by doing so the viewer, you and I, began to think 'The hell is this woman doing?'. Even though she was 'doing' the right thing, it felt like she was being selfish. The writing for this drama didn't make much sense to me. Reactions by the characters did not at all match their situation. When they needed to be angry there weren't as angry as they should've been. The romance in the drama also felt kind of forced. There was always another love interest for the main female lead, and it never left the back of my mind that she had moved on. Even till the last episode.
Acting::
Very well done, except for what I mentioned earlier. The anger just wasn't there.
Overall, this is a fun drama to watch. You'll pull your hair out (granted you have any hair left from pulling your hair out during other dramas...you addict) and you'll laugh and cry. Definitely take this in light doses. Watching this in one go, is not what I'd recommend.
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No words to describe this drama better than Amazing, Wonderful, Outstanding, and many more!
Recommend for any one to watch cause this drama is amazing! Loving all the casts!this drama have all in it. The musical, humorous, competitive, and romance.
Please watch it.
From Dream high1 lover.
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This drama was so much better than I ever expected it to be. It made me cry, angry and on rare occasions, laugh, and definitely had those "pull your hair out" and "bang my head against a concrete wall" moments, but to be honest it's all worth it in the end. Although I feel like since we were viewing the whole background story thing, almost every event that took place (like Da Hae threats, or even Ha Ryu's (I don't want to give specific details out without spoiling it, but those of you who watched it should know what I mean)) you sorta knew how they were going to turn out because of the beginning. How she had already gotten to that high place she hoped for, but Ha Ryu's story took a bit of a twist, so it wasn't all predictable. I hope some of you don't consider that a spoiler, I'm trying to be as discreet as possible...Like the others have stated before me, this was so hard to keep up with. I can't even tell you how many times I wanted to drop this drama because things were turning out so bad and it always felt like the good people were being wronged, but I think in the end that's what I loved most about this drama. It wasn't your typical "cookie-cutter" drama. Bad things WILL happen. Everyone doesn't just miraculously kiss and make-up, and go on with life. You will become so frustrated with this drama it's not even funny. But in my opinion, that's what make dramas so good to me.
And it possibly even showed some meaningful life lessons you can take with you into reality. How people can change, and betray you, and how some aren't all that they seem to be. It may even show the dirty side of our government, and how money is always involved to get one's way. But despite all that, I'll honestly probably never watch this again... Unless I want to cause myself more emotional trauma. The amount of tears that fell from my eyes.... Well, that's a different story. I hope you have a box of tissues lying around somewhere because *warning* you WILL use them.. all.
I hope all of you take a chance with this. This drama won't make you happy whatsoever, but it's so beautifully written you really have to see it for yourself.
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I love watching dramas so even if you have more boring parts then fun parts I try to give you a chance. This drama is werid and very old.
The acting could be way better. The music was very different. I wouldnt watch this again ounce is plety. I like the main actors so I stay with it, I recommand you to watch it if you are bored or what somthing old and odd to watch.
This drama had its good parts but I think that up to you because where all different when it comes to drama. Well I hope this helped you enjoy.~Miya24
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Spoilers for S1 finale
The special picks up where we left off in the Season 1 finale. Toru is reinstated as President & CEO of Next Innovation; Asahina is paroled and living a simple life as a software engineer; and Makoto is a world away in Brazil, pursuing her dream of becoming a research scientist.For one week she returns to Japan to be with Toru, who can't seem to make up his mind about what exactly she is to him.
I thought these two were already officially dating, albeit long distance, but turns out this is not the case. In the special they're given a chance to develop their relationship from a question mark to a period. Their journey is, of course, fraught with professional obstacles, miscommunications & Toru's eccentricities. Like with every new relationship having another person share your life, your personal space is an adjustment for both parties. But Makoto learns to ask for what she needs & Toru learns to compromise.
Sometimes I watch TV couples and think if they were real they'd never make it beyond TV land. But I feel good about this couple. I love their bicker and banter. They already seem like an old married duo.
Along the way there were moments when I wanted to slap the sh.. out of Toru. I mean how obtuse, stubborn & cantankerous can one man get? Everything worked out for the best though.
The ending was nice. Left a huge grin on my face. I even started to hate Asahina a little less. I didn't take notice of the OST before, but here it was very fitting. The theme song is actually quite beautiful.
Overall, this was a nice addition to the series. I enjoyed it more than the drama because there was more focus on the development of Toru & Makoto's relationship. Hence the 9 scoring. Not everything was as I had hoped for, but I still really, really liked it. Now I just hope they produce a season 2 because even though we got some closure on the couple's relationship, their story still feels incomplete.
I'd love to see them again, juggling life, career and love, and preferably living under the same roof. But this is a Japanese series we're talking about. I won't hold my breath on that happening even if they do make a S2.
Anyway, give this a go. You can watch it without having seen S1. You'll still be able to follow. Would I re-watch? Yes. I don't know exactly when it happened, but these characters have really grown on me. I'll never get tired of seeing them together.
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