The Secret Message (2015)

The thing that I loved about this drama was the cinematography and visuals. It was so beautiful that I was able to overlook the cliche and lack of a good story line. Another thing that made it good were the actors. Ueno Juri was awesome as usual with how she's able to depict the emotion of pain, loss, trying to be happy and act normal despite her past. Choi Seung-hyun, on the other hand was a breath of fresh air in this drama. I am so used to seeing him as a bad-ass guy who either kills people or save them. Can't miss him in movies without a gun and a car. Here, he's got none of those two things. Even the serious look, because his character is quite dorky and passionate as a wannabe director. So those character roles are the closest I could get out of the drama to make it seem interesting. I could have cared less for the supporting cast since I feel that without them, this drama could still go on... except for Yoo In Ah. I simply have a bias for that actress, so I love the fact that she got to support Ueno Juri through out the series.

Music wise, it was okay... until the part where Seung-hyun rendered a song... and because of that, I'm giving this drama a plus point. That's something to look forward into the whole drama.

If you're looking for something that's easy and short to watch but not mind blowing, this drama is perfect for you. It has 18 episodes that runs at least 11 minutes each, then it's going to be a fast watch and not a total waste of time.

I won't be rewatching this anytime soon, but I will definitely look this up in the future if I want to be inspired with my photography. This drama is simply full of photo clips that are awesome.

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I think the story is a bit disconnected at first to what is happening so it starts off really confusing with some scenes and the flashbacks. This series is very Cinematic there are a lot of beautifully shoot senses and has a interesting flow to the episodes, It isn't a fluffy love story that begins in a funny way and often leaves the viewers wanting to know more about how the lead characters ended up getting hurt before and how they are going to connect in the future or how they deal with the heart break. Top is a great actor I love the way that they talk about love or try to understand it and I love the connection of the two lead characters!

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i usually don't watch web-dramas but this was honestly a really cute one (yes, cute XD)

Two characters from and in two different countries who have been hurt by love find each other through a messaging app and form a bond. Normally this wouldn't be my cup of tea, but hey we're trying new things cuz of the watch challenge so I tried it out anyway and came out pleasantly surprised. I mean I got two adorable and goofy leads, a great supporting cast who have the best chemistry with the leads, such pretty visuals and cinematography and a decent main plot line so there wasn't much to not like. Except somewhere in the middle where things got low-key draggy dramatic and and i was like "lol why?" But ig it wasn't much of a big deal (i think)
And also just to put it out there the drama had the best first 9-10 eps and also the last scene of the last ep which was all because of TOP's Ueno Juri's being straight up adorable (they way they were communicating with each other just made me smile throughout)

Also surprised cuz of TOP's acting it was really great (from Big Bang's image i was TOTALLY NOT expecting him to be that good). Maybe I'll check out more of his works.

Anyway, The Secret Message was just a great break for me from all the intense dramas I was watching so yeah i think i'd recommend it ^^

Oh and just so you know this had a LOT of product placements -actually kinda funny imo xD

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This is a short web drama that had a very interesting premise (even if it was just a great long ad for the LINE app). It starts out sort of slow and quiet, and maybe a little confusing for some, at first because there are a lot of flashbacks. But something drew me in from the first episode. It may have been the sadness in the leads faces as they are trying to process their pasts and how to move forward. By episode 6 (which isn't as long as it seems, considering the episodes are only around 11-13 minutes long), they story really starts to pick up and I became more invested. Episode 9 had some weird but funny moments and ended very beautifully. The show had some stunning cinematography - very artistic, but not "artsy". There were also some funny visual moments as well. The ending was a bit unsatisfying, but totally understandable and realistically done. (I just wanted more because I'm greedy that way!)

Cast - The main leads were believable and real. I thought both Ueno Juri and T.O.P. were strikingly attractive actors. If I hadn't needed to watch the subtitles I would have been totally sucked into staring at their faces. I liked Yoo In Na's side character, but she is cute in pretty much everything I've seen her in thus far. I also like the actor that played Jae Soo, but he was also eye candy. The side actors were serviceable, but could have been played by anyone really, because the two main leads just dominated the screen for me.

The only stand-out music was the song that T.O.P. sang himself. It was really pretty and just right.

While this wasn't exciting ground-breaking drama, it was a cute romantic story and I think I would totally watch it again. It's short and sweet.
If you are looking for a nice rainy day romance to watch, this is a great choice.

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STORY:
The story is not extraordinary BUT it really left me wanting to finish it in one sitting. I loved that each episode is short and thematic. As pointed out by other viewers and reviewers, the story was further polished because of the cinematic elements included in it.

CAST/ACTING:
I think most of us was curious of how Ueno-T.O.P. pairing would go and I can say that they totally did well. Apart from the story, I watched the drama because of Ueno Juri and she never fails to prove how versatile she can be. T.O.P. is such a surprise because aside from music videos, it's the only time I saw him act and he was good.

I was just a little concerned/bothered with the acting of the supporting characters. I had a bit of a difficult time watching them (sometimes). Koide Keisuke (the phone thief) was such a charmer even for just a few minutes. <3

MUSIC:
T.O.P.'s song was sweet but other than that I can't remember parts in the drama where I was enthralled because of the music.

OVERALL:
The drama totally satisfied the part in me that wants to watch rom-coms with a twist.

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- A lot of flaws...
- The story was exciting. Just like sentimental girls like it. Only for it I give 5 to overall.
- Ueno Juri, from one her film to another, gets even more tensed, embaraced and awkward. She was my best japanese actress sicnce 4 years ago. But as time goes I get disappointed with her works...
In this drama UJ is too much awkward again.
- TOP is often cute. But he still was in idol, behaved like a star mostly. I didn't believe that he is just a guy in this drama.
- TOP and UJ didn't have chemistry, especially when they met.
- A mess. Collaboration of cartoon, serious drama, comedy, comics... And it collaborated in a disturbing way.
- DIfficult to watch the video, because of that mess.
-I don't remember any of music in this drama. So it means that it's at least not distracted. That's why I give it 4.
- Acting was jusk ok. Just because acting itself is not so easy, I give 5 of 10. Far from exellent, and not terrible.

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