Remember- Son's War

Remember- Son’s War

8.5/10

Remember- Son's War

Genre: Episodes: 20 Year: 2016

Mystery

Melodrama

Synopsis:

After his father is sentenced to death for a murder he didn’t commit, Seo Jin Woo becomes an attorney in order to defend his father and arrest the real criminal. As his father has Alzheimer’s it is very difficult to prove his innocence. As the trial continues, Jin Woo starts to develop issues with his own memory, and is diagnosed with the same disease as his father. 

Cast:

Yoo Seung Ho (Seo Jin Woo)

Park Min Young (Lee In Ah)

Park Sung Woong (Park Dong Ho)

Namgoong Min (Nam Gyu Man)

Song Young Kyu (Tak Young Jin)

Lee Shi Un (Ahn Soo Bum)

Eom Hyo Seop (Hong Moon Suk)

Lee Won Jong (Suk Joo Il)

Kim Jin Woo (Kang Suk Kyu)

Jung Hye Song (Nam Yeo Kyung)

General Thoughts:

What a cracker. This drama was interesting to watch from start to finish, with hardly any dull moments in between. It’s not the most original content (murderous chaebol), but the extensive cast gave great performances and populated the drama-world with an interesting mix of characters.

I love Dong Ho and all his flashy suits

The plot wasn’t exactly plot-hole free, but as the series didn’t linger too long on any one conflict it was easy to overlook some aspects of the story that weren’t exactly concrete, as you never really had time to think about it too deeply, and could just let it pass as this drama’s logic. The few beginning episodes when the story was setting itself up were a little slow, but once the conflict was presented the drama moved along at a ripping pace.

This expression made me annoyed rather than sad

Our hero was perhaps a little too weepy in the early episodes (I just didn’t find Yoo Seung Ho to be a moving, believable weeper, though I know many do), so I enjoyed the story much more when he was being a confident, in-control lawyer. He was an easy character to root for- underdog hero does everything he can to bring down a corrupt powerhouse. What’s not to like? Yoo Seung Ho was brilliant in scenes where he was strong and determined, and really sold the man-on-a-mission vibe. He was also excellent in moments when his memory loss came into play. While I may not be sold on his crying abilities, his gradual shift from innocent to confused to sad realisation was done perfectly. You couldn’t help but feel for Jin Woo when he had a memory slip and just had that expression of pure confusion and helplessness. Park Min Young was excellent as the heroine beside him, and although she didn’t actually do all that much, she still remained a strong presence in the show. It shows how strong the character was written and how well Park Min Young played her that In Ah could be pretty quiet for a couple of episodes but it always remained clear that she was a source of strength for Jin Woo, and was fighting her own battles in the background. And boy oh boy did those two have some smoking chemistry going on!

Kya~ look how cute they are!

The times they got to play around and flirt with each other were just too cute and actually left me feeling a bit sad that the show didn’t have more romance in it- because I so wouldn't have minded seeing the two of them interact while happy a bit more. It also made me remember just how darn wonderful Yoo Seung Ho is when he smiles- because Lord knows we didn't see a lot of that in the drama.

His accent was icing on the awesome-character-cake

And Park Sung Woong was just magic! I have never come across him before, but he’s totally on my radar now. He made Dong Ho such an endearing yet conflicting character. He was so dynamic and so interesting that I really wanted him to come over to team Jin Woo. My desire for Dong Ho to turn against Gyu Man lead to me having a rather unfounded belief that there was NO WAY Dong Ho would sacrifice Jin Woo and his father. Except…he kinda already had. It was a great effort on Park Sung Woong’s part that Dong Ho remained a likeable character, as he showed his confliction and his constant desire to do the right thing, even though for most of the drama’s run Dong Ho actually didn’t do the right thing at all. I mean, when you think about it, he buried a whole lot of Gyu Man’s crimes and didn’t go back and correct them. The only one we saw play out was Gyu Man’s rape case (which Dong Ho buried) and that was only brought up by Jin Woo and In Ah in order to get Gyu Man in the defendant seat so they could make the investigation focus on the murder Jin Woo's father was blamed for. How many other horrible crimes did Dong Ho help cover up? And yet despite all this, through Park Sung Woong's brilliant acting, he was one my favourite characters for the entire show.

You can't not not love him- he's just so snazzy

The momentum of the show was pretty fast, with new, smaller conflicts being introduced to keep our minds occupied while the heroes prepared for the final showdown. The smaller conflicts always had something to do with Gyu Man or Jin Woo’s father’s case, so it never felt like we were watching filler in order to get through the number of episodes the show needed to air.

Great angle, great lighting, great face

Granted, there were a few plot holes now and then (though admittedly most of them have slipped my mind by now), but the show’s constant focus on the big picture made it easy to let minor details slide. I found the plot and the characters so enjoyable that I was happy to not let my mind focus on the messier parts of the show so that I could be fully engaged in the story the show was trying to tell. And as for something that was certainly not messy- the cinematography! The drama was just shot beautifully. A multitude of angles along with playing with light and shadow really made the drama visually appealing to watch, while also tightening the tensions or emotions of a scene, or giving a bit of insight into the characters. Jin Woo and Dong Ho tended to have a lot of shadow, while In Ah- our prosecutor of justice and hope was always filmed with a lot of light. In fact, there were times it seemed as though In Ah herself was actually glowing- as if her inner goodness was spreading to the world around her (cheesy I know, but not exactly untrue). The drama was just so compelling to watch, and the main characters are just so fascinating. 

What Was Great:

Cast:

There’s not much to say here, everyone was fantastic and they all did brilliant jobs. Namgoong Min really was phenomenal as our villain though.

Great actors make for great conflicts

Goodness, he’s dynamic. He’s one of the best actors when it comes to believable tantrums, and his switching between his two faces was excellently done, albeit a tad creepy. But it’s not just how excellent a villain he was, but Namgoong Min also made Gyu Man weirdly relatable.

How do I feel bad for you? You are quite possibly the worst human ever...so...how?

Like, he was a horrible, horrific human being with no redeemable qualities, and yet I found myself feeling sorry for him. How? Why? It really had very little to do with how the character was written, it’s just that Namgoong Min had this amazing ability to show how lonely and hurt Gyu Man really was with very minute facial expressions in very minute amounts of time. Sometimes in K-Drama you get so used to seeing a lot of actors and so used to the roles that come up a lot (such as rich boys with murderous tendencies) that it all kind of becomes the same. Then you’ll have an actor, such as Namgoong Min, come along and smash their role out of the park and it really makes you sit up and notice what a good actor they are. Because no matter how many Chaebol villains we get, Gyu Man is probably going to be one of the ones I remember most- and that’s purely because he was acted so perfectly.

Gradual Progress:

Generally speaking I’m not a huge fan of cat-and-mouse conflicts. I tend to find them a bit circular and slow, as our hero and villain fight all series long but we know the hero will come out on top. So in this sense, I appreciated that ‘Remember’ focused less on how our hero was going to defeat his enemy, but more on how he will change as a person and what he will have to sacrifice on his way to victory.

Gave up love for justice

In the end, Jin Woo spends his last years with memory fighting against injustice and gives up any chance at leading a normal, happy life. He could have easily given up after his father died and spent his time contently with In Ah, but instead he chose to give up his remaining time and his potential relationship with In Ah in order to catch Gyu Man. Cat-and-mouse conflicts also tend to put all their conflict resolution in the last few episodes,

Just look at Gyu Man burn those bridges

but this drama felt more like a net slowly closing around our villain rather than the usual constant circling before the final attack. One of the best aspects of the story is that it wasn’t just our band of heroes that cornered Gyu Man. It was endlessly interesting and mildly satisfying seeing how Gyu Man kept creating more and more enemies for himself. The way he treated those around him, particularly his assistant friend, were huge steps in his own downfall. It wasn’t just the hard work of the righteous that brought Gyu Man down, but his own inability to control himself and maintain his relationships. It’s rather a nice take on the psycho-chaebol element. I’m so conditioned to seeing chaebol villains being so smart and so manipulative that only a very special, highly dedicated and intelligent individual would be able to bring them down. But with Gyu Man it always felt as if he’d become his own undoing sooner or later, and with Jin Woo’s interference it just came on sooner. It’s almost a little relieving to believe that despite all his money, power and connections, Gyu Man’s own arrogance and superiority would have allowed his crimes to catch up with him eventually. Guy Man’s role in his own destruction also meant that there was steady movement towards the show’s finale.

He is his own worst enemy

As our heroes uncovered new ammunition to use against Gyu Man, Gyu Man himself was causing his own allies to turn against him, giving Jin Woo and In Ah even more evidence and information. The slow betrayals from those involved in Gyu Man’s crimes gave the plot a great forward momentum, and made sure the story was always moving forwards rather that just going in circles.

What Wasn’t:

Underutilisation:

There were so, so, so many characters in this series but they were sadly under-utilised. You’d think that with 20 episodes each of the characters would have enough time to get fully developed, but that wasn’t really the case. The biggest case of underutilisation was definitely Nam Yeo Kyung.

She is significantly less involved than I thought she'd be

She really is perfectly placed to be a deeply interesting character. As a prosecutor she has a sense of justice, but she is also a part of the Nam family who use their power and influence to avoid justice. Yet her father and brother are constantly ignoring her and treating her like a child who is of no real importance, so it was hard to gauge where her loyalties were. It could have been so interesting to watch her struggle with what she wanted to protect and what she wanted to stand for, but it never really came about. Her turmoil was hinted at, but was never used to its full potential. Surprisingly, another dramatically under-utilised character was Joo Il. The writers only just put in enough effort to make the story passable, but it was still a little confusing, and a fair bit was left to the viewers’ imaginations. It was clear that Joo Il and Dong Ho had a father-son relationship, but I still remain confused as to how that played into Dong Ho betraying Jin Woo and his father. It didn’t appear that Joo Il was being threatened, but rather that he was reaching for more money and/or power. Which doesn’t seem like a decent excuse to let someone go on death row for a crime they didn’t commit, just sayin’.

I kinda get what you're doing here...but I also kinda don't

It was kind of glossed over why Dong Ho decided to pull out of the trial, and so remained slightly confusing when Dong Ho decided to jump back onto team Jin Woo. Nothing had really changed between Dong Ho and Joo Il, and Dong Ho seemed to walk away from their supposedly airtight relationship pretty easily. It wasn’t clear what Joo Il was after in regards to Gyu Man’s company or really any of his actions around Dong Ho. The writers seemed to really be pushing for the whole ‘they’re trying to protect one another’ angle, but it just didn’t really come off, as the writers didn’t really spend any time developing Joo Il as a character outside of his involvement with Gyu Man and Dong Ho.

It made way more sense to me for Dong Ho to pick Jin Woo

The series was still excellent, and there was enough sense in the plot to get by on, but in hindsight there were a few characters that if developed more could have really given the show an extra punch of emotion.

Soft Take on Alzheimer’s:

Basically the series had its rosy-glasses on whenever it was dealing with Alzheimer’s. It focused most on the memory aspect of the disease, but this wasn’t done smoothly or accurately with Jin Woo’s father.

This guy got the worst deal by far

Although it was done in a simple way, it was still passable as Jin Woo’s father’s memory loss was kinda the whole point of the show. My main gripe is how the show dealt with portraying Jin Woo’s Alzheimer’s. I understand that the doctor giving Jin Woo 6-12 months was just to give the show a timeline and ensure that it made sense why Jin Woo was going for Gyu Man so hard and so fast, but it is just so ridiculously inaccurate that it really made the show seem a tad ridiculous. But again, it was passable as it wasn’t a huge part of the show. It was how Jin Woo chose to leave for apparently no reason that really got on my nerves. If someone that young actually had Alzheimer’s and the progression of the disease was actually that fast, there is really very little chance that a year later they’d be with it enough to be walking around unsupervised. Jin Woo didn’t appear to be getting any help for his disease, and it didn’t seem to be progressing much from where we’d left off a year before.

How did he remember to go here? Hoooowwwww?

It’s unlikely that Jin Woo would be sick enough to not remember In Ah or any of the events involving his father and Gyu Man, yet still be able to remeber where to hang his notes and how to get to wherever it is that he’s staying now.

I hate to be the wet blanket, but he would be nowhere near that functional

Not to mention that Alzheimer’s isn’t just a memory thing. Along with his brain forgetting his memories, Jin Woo’s brain would also forget how to do other things- like eat, and speak, and walk. Understandably the series didn't want to go that far as it would massively take away from the happiness of the show, but if they were going to suggest that Jin Woo was sick enough that he wanted to remove himself from In Ah they should have gone all the way with it. Or, they should have gone all the way with the rosy-glasses and let him stay with In Ah and his friends, occasionally forgetting things but remaining happy all the same. The show’s indecision to go all out in either direction left the ending of the show feeling a little weak and a little emotionless when the rest of the show had been packed with intrigue and heart.

Recommend?

Definitely! This drama is fantastic. While it’s not free of plot-holes, the story remains engaging from the start to finish with very few drags in momentum. The hero and heroine are easy to root for, and Namgoong Min gives one of the most dynamic villain performances in K-Dramaland.

Endlessly entertaining

I'm Not a Girl Anymore

I’m Not a Girl Anymore

4.5/10

I'm Not a Girl Anymore

Genre:                                   Episodes: 12                           Year: 2017

Romance 

Synopsis:

Na So Nyeo is a top star, but a scandal looks like it may break out when one of her exes debuts and threatens to talk about their past relationship. So Nyeo looks back on her past boyfriends, and how her relationships shaped her into the person she’s become.

Cast:

Kyungri (Na So Nyeo)

Hong Jin Ho (Hong Jin Ho)

Joo Woo Jae (Seung Joon)

Ren (Shi Woo)

Seo Tae Hoon (Hoon Tae)

General Thoughts:

It’s a nice, easy watch and is a totally breeze to get through. It was a fun enough break from longer, more involving dramas as it’s easy to follow and is really quick to watch.

The whole thing only goes for bout an hour

It seems like it’s one of those web-dramas that was made purely for an idol though. The plot is engaging enough, but as it focuses so heavily on the character of So Nyeo, not a lot else happens. I prefer idols getting some acting experience in smaller productions like this rather than getting lead roles in longer dramas straight away, but Kyungri’s acting really wasn’t all that good.

Pretty okay for a web-drama

The parts of the show that showed her character ‘acting badly’ really weren’t all that different from her actual acting. The boys in the show weren’t really around long enough to get a grasp for their acting ability- especially Joo Woo Jae and Ren who just sort of had to stand there and look good. Admittedly, they were great at standing there and looking good. I liked the final reveal that So Nyeo was likely to try and love again after realising that her Manager had been protecting and looking after her all along, but I do wish it had been hinted at before the final episode. Until then, I honestly believed that So Nyeo didn’t even like her manager because she was so snappy and mean to him. It was a cute idea, but it was executed rather poorly. And considering that this was only a short show, there was a smorgasbord of product placement in there. I didn’t think it was possible to smack so many products in an hour long show, but there you go. I guess we should all be thankful that the products (makeup and such) could actually sort of blend into the show. Visually the drama wasn’t much to look at.

Two of the boys carried the visuals for the whole show

When you’re used to watching big 16 episode projects that have a lot of money thrown at them, you start to notice how important money can be in creating a visually interesting show. The cinematography was noting to write home about, and nor was the camerawork. They weren’t outright bad, they just weren’t very good. And that’s almost to be expected of a tiny little web-series like this. Perhaps the show would have won me over more had it included one of my own favourite K-Drama boys, because I’m a shameless fangirl, but I didn’t know any of these boys.

What Was Great:

Diversity:

I did appreciate that not all the boys in this were stock standard K-Drama dreamboats. Don’t get me wrong, I love dramas fills with handsome men as much as the next girl, but it’s kind of nice to see not-so-spectacular men getting their moment in the spotlight.

Just a regular dude

It’s not that these boys were hideous, it’s just that they’re not usually the type of guys we get populating our screen- especially when the show is about the love life of an attractive, famous, rich woman. It wasn’t just the boys themselves that were different, but also each scenario. The scenarios might not have been surprising or exotic, but they were still different enough from each other that each one felt like a different, seperate relationship. So Nyeo was drawn to each of these men for a different reason- most often being the new man had something the last didn’t. Such as the second boyfriend being a man who gave lots of skinship and affection after the first was too aloof. Similarly, there was always a different reason for the breakup. It kept the show from feeling like we were watching the same two episodes play out just with different boys.

What Wasn’t:

Was There a Point?:

This does tend to be a bit of a problem with some short web-series. There wasn’t really a point to anything. Despite the show claiming to be about how these relationships changed So Nyeo, we didn’t actually get to see her change all that much.

The heroine was just not that interesting

Sure, she went from a pushover teenager to someone who was able to stand up for herself, but that seemed to happen right after boyfriend 3 with no warm up to her sudden personality change.

She was kinda a b*tch

If her romance with her Manager was going to be the endgame and the point was that now So Neyo was experienced enough that she knew what to look for in a man, then it really should have been hinted at earlier. If the point was that after some reflection So Nyeo was ready to love again, then the writer really should have tried making her a more likeable character. She was snappy and rude in the present time, and she seemed to have a bit of a victim complex about her past- none of those breakups were bad enough to hold a super long grudge over. So in the end, I didn’t really care about So Nyeo or if she was ready to be in a new relationship or not.

Recommend?

Look, not really. Fans of Nu’Est and Ren will probably love his couple of episodes though.

Not a great web-series, but I've seen worse

The Liar and His Lover

The Liar and His Lover

4/10

The Liar and His Lover

Genre:                              Episodes: 16                           Year: 2017

Romance

Synopsis:

Yoon So Rim is an aspiring singer with an amazing talent. She falls in love with Kang Han Gyul from the first moment she sees him. After hearing her sing, Han Gyul falls in love with So Rim’s voice. He lies to her that he is an aspiring composer, but the truth is that he is the songwriter behind So Rim’s favourite band.

Cast:

Joy (Yoon So Rim)

Lee Hyun Woo (Kang Han Gyul)

Lee Seo Won (Seo Chan Young)

Lee Jung Jin (Choi Jin Hyuk)

Hong Seo Young (Chae Yoo Na)

Choi Min Soo (Kang In Woo)

Sung Joo (Yoo Shi Hyun)

Shin Je Min (Lee Yoon)

Jang Ki Yong (Ji In Ho)

Song Kang (Baek Jin Woo)

 General Thoughts:

I’ve done it! I’ve finally done it! I feel like I’ve been watching this drama for half the year. Midway through, life threw some hurdles so I had a bit of a K-Drama drought while I sorted things out. Now things are (mostly) sorted and I could finally wrap up this drama. Admittedly, the long hiatus before I could watch the last couple of episodes has dulled my memory on the finer points of the show, so this isn’t likely to be a very long or detailed review (sorry).

My memory of the first half of this show is kinda vague 

It wasn't exactly a drama I was lamenting missing out on during my K-Drama-absent month, and I didn’t exactly rush back to it either. I kind of pushed off finishing it as I wasn’t all that into it, but it’s all done and dusted now. It’s not to say that the show didn’t have its own charms, but the drama as a whole just wasn’t doing it for me.

It's just a little immature for my tastes right now

It’s totally understandable that there are people who absolutely adored it, as there are sweet moments in it, the characters are all pretty likeable, and it delivers a nice enough story. However, I was just expecting something with a bit more depth. Although our heroine is still in high school, most of the other main characters are not, so I was expecting the drama to be a little less…well...high school-y. I think i’m just no longer in the stage of my life where love-at-first-sight seems like a solid set up for a real romance. Yes instant attraction can be cute and can make for some really good K-Drama relationships, but I kind of want something a bit more substantial. Five years ago I probably would have thought that this drama was one of the best things to come out of 2017- but alas, I’m not the young, idealistic teen I once was. Because of the stage of life I’m in right now, I found myself identifying more with characters that were dealing with heavier issues. I mean, next to Chan Young’s feelings of isolation and inadequacy, Han Gyul’s dilemma on wether to date So Rim or not just seemed a tad juvenile. It felt a bit like everyone else in the show was dealing with big, real world problems that belonged in a more adult drama while So Rim and Han Gyul were trapped in angst of their own making that was more suitable for a Disney TV movie.

For a girl whose sole dream is music, she sure seemed more focused on dating than singing

I was so distracted by how interesting and engaging the stories of the other Crude Play boys were that I actually started to dislike Han Gyul as a character. He seemed mopey and unnecessarily sensitive- particularly in the beginning stages of the show, and it was actually a little difficult to connect with him. He was snappy and rude to So Rim and the rest of his band, and it was kind of baffling as to why he felt so wronged.

I care for this whiney child very little

Every time he yelled ‘you just don’t understand’ I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I mean, come on dude, how old are you? In contrast, So Rim was a delightful character. She was chirpy and bright and tried her best at everything. All series long. She got no development at all. She was a nice enough character, but she was horrifically pigeonholed. All she amounted to was ‘that sweet girl with a great voice’, which is a bummer as K-Dramaland has really been coming leaps and bounds recently with giving us exciting heroines, and I’ve kind of been getting used to heroines that are bursting with personality. So while So Rim was nice and sweet, I wouldn't exactly say she was interesting or unique. Acting-wise it was okay. I wasn’t blown out the water, but the acting wasn't bad either. I’m not sure if it’s just because I haven’t liked the last few projects Lee Hyun Woo has done, but I feel like he's not choosing characters or projects that challenge him. His character here felt very similar to his character in ‘Moorim School’, and I actually think his performance is suffering because he keeps choosing safe roles. While his acting performance here was definitely passable, I do think that he's better than what he showed. On the other hand, I think this was a great project for Joy to choose. So Rim may not have been a diverse or dynamic heroine, but she was a sweet, simple start for Joy to find her feet in the acting world. 

However, I care for these boys very much

The support cast were all pretty fabulous. Jang Ki Yong and Shin Je Min felt pretty green, but Lee Seo Won and Sung Joo were just delightful. The music was pretty good all round and the songs were defiantly catchy, and it didn’t hurt that Joy has an absolutely amazing voice. The cinematography was all pretty lovely too.

What Was Great:

Boy Band:

The only part of the story that could really hold my attention for any length of time was the drama going on between the members of the band. Bar Han Gyul, the boys were all struggling with really deep, emotional issues and it was always interesting to watch how they approached these issues.

My favourite part of the show right there

Mainly Chan Young. He was by far my favourite part of the show. He was so confused about where he belonged not only in the group, but in the entertainment industry as a whole. His feelings of constantly being compared to (and losing against) Han Gyul were just heartbreaking, and it was so easy to see how he had created this negative image about how he fit into the band and the friendship. It has to be hard coming into such a tight-knit group, especially when one of the boys leaves so you can have a place. And Han Gyul was always around as a constant reminder that he was the band’s first choice of bassist. It was a really tough situation for Chan Young to be in, and it was easy to sympathise with his struggles. Sure, sometimes his actions were a little petty, especially in regards to So Rim’s feelings for Han Gyul, but his desperation at having something Han Gyul didn’t have made it hard to dislike him. It was also a saving grace that it was always clear that he had feelings for So Rim as a person and not just a musician. In fact, I was rooting of him for a good long while there as I really questioned Han Gyul’s feelings for So Rim- his need to own her voice kind of made me think he was forcing himself to feel romantically towards her just so he could get her to sing his songs, whereas Chan Young’s intentions felt much more natural.

Chan Young loves you AND your voice. Han Gyul...well...it's debatable.

Chan Young’s eventual acceptance that So Rim would never feel the same way about him was done smoothly, as was his transition into feeling comfortable in his place in the band. It wasn’t just Chan Young that had great conflicts, but the other boys as well.

I was so onboard this love-line

Shi Hyun was always trying to keep the peace in the band, both by managing the turbulent relationship between Chan Young and Han Gyul and trying to manage the boys’ unhappiness in their musicianship by posting videos of the boys themselves performing. His side romance was super sweet, and I was really happy when he finally got the girl. Even In Ho had a great segment that focused on his fears and insecurities. The fear of coming clean with the truth had a huge impact on the band’s mentality, and I’m glad the drama went into what extremes the boys were willing to go to in order to cover their secret. In Ho was willing to seriously harm himself so that he wouldn’t have to face the negative backlash of the world finding out that the band used pre-recorded tracks, and that’s a pretty big deal. I liked that the show was willing to go to that less than cheery place considering that the rest of the show was pretty rosy. The challenges the boys in the band faced and how they overcame them with the love and support of each other was (for me) the highlight of the show.

What Wasn’t:

OTP:

I’ll keep it short and sweet. So Rim and Han Gyul just aren’t a K-Drama couple I’m particularly fond of. So Rim fell for Han Gyul really early on and the only real reason behind it was love at first sight. I mean, this girl fell for him real hard and real fast.

You have literally no idea who that dude is

But the way Han Gyul was treating her at the start wasn’t very nice, so I kind of struggled to see why So Rim was so insistent that she was in love with him. Like, why would you even feel like that- you don’t know him at all. Similarly, I wasn’t sold on Han Gyul’s feelings for So Rim. He was wishy washy and a little stingy with his feelings and once the triangle with Chan Young was brought in (both romantically and professionally), it felt more like Han Gyul wanted to keep So Rim just so Chan Young couldn’t have her as opposed to actually wanting to date her.

Just not feelin' it.

I wasn’t blown away by the chemistry between the leads either, and seeing as the story is so heavily focused on the romance, it’s probably why I didn’t enjoy it all that much.

Cartoonish:

Even if I hadn’t known beforehand, I could have pegged that this drama came from a cartoon source. So Rim is the exact kind of chirpy, mildly naive heroine that populates Japanese manga. But more than that, it’s the lack of depth that really announced that this wasn’t an original K-Drama.

Knows nothing. Except those times when she's the font of all knowledge.

Not that all cartoon to TV adaptions are bad, I’ve enjoyed many many dramas based off both manga and manhwa, but ‘Liar’ wasn’t really selling it. What I started to notice more and more was how heavily the story was driven by dialogue. Rather than action and situations, quite a lot of scenes comprised of characters sitting around talking at each other. It’s not a huge deal, but when a show is so heavily dialogue driven it takes away a bit of excitement. It’s almost as if we’re being told that the characters are changing and developing, but we’re not really seeing it play out, because the characters never really do anything except talk to each other. Another aspect of the show that felt distinctly cartoonish was the relationship between the leads. In almost every situation So Rim is a bright, cheery girl who doesn’t have a lot of experience with the world. I mean, at one point she even says ‘what does it mean to fail at love?’. And yet as soon as Han Gyul is around, particularly if he is struggling with something, suddenly So Rim is filled with Sage knowledge and understanding of the world and can give great, life-altering advice.

Look at everyone just sitting 'round talking at each other

For some reason these kind of interactions work really well in manga (like ‘Fruits Basket’), but don’t really translate well to a show. I could almost see the manga panels while the show was running, and that’s not really a good thing.

Recommend?

If you want a simple romance in a music setting this drama will be the one for you. If you want to watch an adult relationship develop with a lot of depth and sincerity…pick a different drama.

I'm off to watch something with (hopefully) more substance