Dating Agency Cyrano

Dating Agency Cyrano

6/10

Dating Agency Cyrano

Genre:                              Episodes: 16                           Year: 2013

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Cyrano is an agency that helps people with their love lives. The Agency sets up situations that help their clients get noticed and express their feelings to those they love. Gong Min Young is a new employee and a hopeless romantic. She is surprised to find that her three male colleges have very low opinions of romance and love.

Cast:

Sooyoung (Gong Min Young)

Lee Jong Hyuk (Seo Byung Hoon)

Lee Chun Hee (Cha Seung Pyo)

Hong Jong Hyun (Moo Jin)

Jo Yoon Woo (Ah Rang)

Kim Jung Hwa (Yoon Yi Seol)

Ha Yeon Joo (Hye Ri)

General Thoughts:

I haven’t seen the movie that this drama is based on so I don’t know how it comes across to those who have, but as a stand-alone drama it’s pretty successful. I never felt like I was missing out on anything just because I hadn’t seen the original movie. This series certainly doesn’t break any new ground or deliver anything exceptional, but it’s enjoyable as a light, easy watch.

Simple love stories are pretty cute

The 45 minute episodes made me wish more dramas had slightly shorter episodes- despite not having a heap of depth or quality, the episodes seemed to whiz by without ever becoming boring. The episodic format kept the cast rotating with a bunch of cameos lasting for a few episodes before moving onto the next client storyline.

My reaction to K-Drama romances

The short stories kept the show interesting while also tending to comment on aspects of our main characters. Admittedly though, none of the characters had a whole lot of depth. They were enjoyable enough, particularly our heroine, but all remained firmly grounded in their character set-ups without much development. Min Young was a cheery hopeless romantic and Sooyoung played her with a sweet charm. Despite not being a groundbreaking character, Min Young remained likeable and was an easy heroine to root for. I mean, if you're watching this drama (about an agency that sets up romance) you’re probably going to identify with the heroine who enjoys watching romance develop. The two young boys were always fun to watch when they had some screen time and tended to deliver a lot of the comedy. Hong Jong Hyun’s straight-faced humour was always delightful. I was a little less convinced by Byung Hoon though. He’s the type of character you’d expect next to this kind of heroine (K-Drama law states that the hopeless romantic must of course fall for the practical realist and vice versa), but I never really liked him all that much.

Such a party pooper

His character could be funny at times, and did have some nice moments, but he was overall kind of an ass. He was never really all that nice to anyone, especially not to our heroine. Despite my less than warm feelings for the hero, Lee Jong Hyuk did play him well.

Maybe we'd take him more seriously if he wasn't wearing a Hawaiian shirt

Granted, it’s not exactly a taxing role, but there was a risk of Byung Hoon just being flat out dislikable. While I wouldn’t say I liked Byung Hoon, I also wouldn’t say I really disliked him either (I just preferred Seung Pyo), and I think a lot of the character's redemption came from Lee Jong Hyuk’s delivery- Byung Hoon may act snitchy, but it was clear he had some warmth underneath. The continuing plot for our main characters was overall pretty simple, but was enjoyable all the same. Seung Pyo's hostility towards Byung Hoon was justified, and the way the love-triangle was concluded was lovely, with Seung Pyo working with Min Young to help Byung Hoon realise his feelings. The dead brother story arc that turned Hye Ri into a villain was pretty interesting, but could have done with being hinted at earlier as it felt a bit like it came out of nowhere to deliver a final conflict. On a side note, the soundtrack was a little odd. I’m not sure if it was just that the videos I was watching were old and a little jumpy (no other sounds were jumpy though), but the music tended to sound quite off-beat and disjointed- and not in a unique, fun way, but more a mistake kind of way. 

The quiet achievers

What Was Great:

Even Level:

Everything in this drama is on the same kind of level. None of the actors are a lot better or a lot worse than anyone else, the stories were all the same level of tension, and the characters were all developed about the same amount.

Easy watch from start to finish

While it can be good to have some things that are really a cut above the rest, there’s also something nice about watching a drama that’s pretty safe. None of the acting is disappointing so it’s easy to watch, and it’s easy to like the characters without becoming too emotionally invested in them. Emotional investment can be great, but in a light, breezy drama it’s really enough to just have likeable characters. There’s no great evil to challenge these characters, so it’s fun and simple to just watch them go about their crazy yet delightful job. The final conflict with its kidnapping almost seemed a tad comical because it just wasn’t on the same level as the rest of the show. All series long the stakes have been pretty low, so it was jarring and almost laughable to have such a serious issue arise out of nowhere. Thankfully, that plot was wrapped up pretty quickly, and the show returned to its charmingly chilled-out ways. 

What Wasn’t:

Chunderella:

You didn’t think I’d forgotten to talk about our darling Lee Chun Hee did you? Of course not. Boy was he just delightful in this. He was sweet and likeable, even when he was surrounded by an air of mystery.

But...but...he's so perfect for her...

Seung Pyo was your typical nice guy second male lead (once he established that he was not an evil mob-boss) and he was always fun to have around.

Team Chunderella right to the end

So if I liked Lee Chun Hee and his character so much, why is he in the not-so-great section? Because he was just too likeable. I much preferred Seung Pyo to our hero. He liked the heroine and wasn’t afraid to tell her, and he treated her like she was a wonderful, special person. Not an annoyance the way our hero did. I really wanted Seung Pyo to get the girl, even when it was clear that he wouldn’t. It just felt like the drama was pushing way too hard for Min Young to fall for Byung Hoon, when it felt like she should really be falling for Seung Pyo. All that we know about Sooyoung (which admittedly is not very much), is that she loves romance, grand gestures and falling in love. So it’s a tad confusing that she didn’t fall for Seung Pyo who seems like the perfect man for a romantic girl.  

Lack of Depth:

The episodic format of the show was nice as it let us have an array of side characters and a variety of different stories, but the downside is that it takes the focus away from our main characters. While each side story definitely revealed more about our characters as they unfolded, it’s nowhere near the character development you get in a series that focuses heavily on the leads.

But the side stories were still fun

As a result, it could be a little hard to connect with the characters. Sure, they were likeable, but at the end of the day, I just wasn’t that fussed about what happened to any of them. 

Recommend?

Nah, not really. It’s light and cute but it’s not the best light and cute drama ever. 

Simple, short and sweet