Goblin (2016)

Goblin was the first K-drama I ever watched. And I think it is the best drama so far, hands down. If you haven't watched it, you probably should...like now!
For you question why you should watch it? Here are my reasons :

If we talk about casting- though I'm new to this, I do Google a lot- I don't think their couldn't be any better then this.
Gong Yoo did an amazing job. I watched his movie 'Train to Busan' and one could say it hands down that he is an amazing actor, who knows how to do his job. And God his smile....Killer!!!
I loved the 19 year old, over enthusiastic Ji Eun Tak who was portrayed by Kim Go Eun. The way we get to see how her character grew throughout the series was a treat.
I love Lee Dong Wook as the Grim Reaper. I probably have a crush on the character and the way Lee Dong Wook showed his emotions in it, was amazing. I totally get it why he wanted this character so much.
Sunny was my favorite. She was strong and I'm probably never going to see a chicken shop owner the same way. Yoo In Na, changed that for all of us.
Duk-Hwa played by Yook Sung Jae was so cute and such an 'rich heir'

The story line was perfect in it's own. The fact that it was a fantasy drama, it lives up the name with romance, comedy and mystery.
'The lady in red', 'The king', 'How Duk-Hwa knew stuffs' there are questions that will make sure you stick by the TV screen.

And then there is the 'Bromance' The fling between Goblin & Grim Reaper will make you love them so hard. They are funny and cheesy and you are going to love every second of it. The scene where they walk together from the tunnel and the music going on the background, I laughed so hard.
Goblin and his bride - Eun Tak is second in the cute couple. They're cuteness will make you cheeks hurt.
The story between Sunny and Grim Reaper is a little sad compared to the other. But the beginning was full of fluff and sweet stuffs.

Each and every song in this drama is perfect with the story. They will stuck in your head for days and you will be forced to play them over and over again. I'm doing this my self - while re-watching the show for the second time. Especially loved 'Winter is coming' it is just a wonderful piece to listen too.

In short..
The songs were perfect. The cast was perfect. The story was incredible. And everything about it ...will make you fall in love with it.
So if you are one of those people out there, who haven't seen it yet, I would like to tell you....WATCH IT.

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I think this drama just stole the first place in my favorites list! I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob! Go watch this amazing drama now! Stop reading! Honestly, this is the highest quality drama I have ever seen. Not just the best, but the cinematography, the sets, the costumes, yes EVEN the Visual Effects were magnificently amazing. I didn't have to cringe my way through a scene that looked fake! No, instead I would be thinking "Wow, what amazing camerawork, what an ingenious way to show that, look at that scenery!..." etc, etc, etc.

Story (10.0):
I have yet to give a 10 across the board, and rating the story a 10 is almost as rare. This story is literally gobsmackingly amazing! If you need some context, it reminded me of a mix of some of my other favorite dramas: Healer just for the vibe of secrets and connections to be found; Queen In Hyun's Man for the previous lifetime, man from another time sort of story with an impossible love; Legend of the Blue Sea with similar feels of previous lifetimes and fated character connections, touches of supernatural. But honestly, it was also completely its own thing. It reminded me of elements from those other dramas, but took those and transcended them!
Goblin was the perfect mix of romance and bromance, comedy and tragedy, love and heartbreak, life and death... This drama had way more than I asked of it and didn't ever once go off the rails. I won't spoil the ending or anything, but at the end of the drama I had SO MUCH FEELS I felt like I'd just watched a 50 episode Saeguk instead of a measly 16 episode package of awesomeness!
I've heard some complaints about the lead female roles characters, but honestly what really made me love this story and made it stick out from all the other dramas I've seen was the characters and the interaction between the characters, the ways they try to express their feelings and learn from those around them, the witty banter and dialogue! I can't say how many times I laughed in this drama! I think episode 10 was my favorite just from this one hilarious bromance scene... AHHH! I want to write more about this story because it was pure GENIUS, but I can't say much more without giving some spoilers. Read the plot if you--never mind just go watch this.

Acting/Cast (10.0):
Perfection. I can't say I've finished anything Gong Yoo has been in and I honestly couldn't deal with Cheese in the Trap; nor have I watched much with Lee Dong Wook... BUT THEY WERE AMAZING. All those main three... I seriously can't deal with it. The story and dialogue was my favorite part between these three and they delivered the heck out of this. The bromance between Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook was just the best. And I'm not forgetting the just as brilliant performances of Yoo In Na and Yook Sung Jae, on the contrary, I've seen these two in other dramas, most notably Queen In Hyun's Man and School 2015, and I loved them both there! How could I not like them here! I was always so sad to see Yoo In Na in the "evil" roles like in Secret Garden and You Who Came From the Stars, so it's a pleasure again to be rooting for her.
I mentioned I couldn't get through Cheese in the Trap, but it was nothing to do with Kim Go Eun. Seriously, she was perfect for this role and acted it out splendidly. At first I was wary of the romance between her and Gong Yoo, and while they aren't my favorite couple out there, they really did a great job together! It was just great.
As far as secondary actors go, I don't remember one bad actor... If I remember right, there may have been some of that classic KDrama cheesy English, but no biggie for everything else we get out of this show! Oh, props for Kim So Hyun! One of my favorite Actresses, I was so overjoyed to see her in this and she looks great in a historical setting! I'm so enjoying seeing her in Ruler: Master of the Mask after her role here in Goblin.

Music (9.5):
I really wanted to give this 10 all the way across the board and honestly this soundtrack is really good! I even listen to it on its own which I don't do unless I really enjoy a soundtrack. But it wasn't perfect for me as some of the songs didn't really fit with me. But I still gave it the highest possible rating I could without hitting that ten mark!

Rewatch Value (10.0):
Yes, a 10. Usually my rewatch values match pretty closely to the story value, and this is no exception. The story is just amazing especially the first time through when you don't know what's going to happen, but the interactions of the characters is just such a joy to watch that I've already started rewatching this! To be honest with you all, I watched the first half of this drama when it was first coming out; I loved it, but stuff happened and I never actually finished the drama... gasp! So when I was coming back to it, I was like whatever let's watch the first part again, and my rewatching hasn't stopped from there. This drama... I don't think I'll ever stop rewatching it. And I rarely rewatch anything, so yeah, it's good. Go watch it so you can rewatch it.

Overall (10.0):
How could I not give this drama a ten? The story was astounding, the acting was incredible, the music was amazing, everything was practically perfect in every way! I feel like I've said everything up above but that I still have so much more to say! I'm having trouble expressing how much I enjoyed this without posting spoilers... I'll probably be coming back to post new stuff in this review because I know I have more to say about this but it's all fled my mind to be replaced with the desire to go watch this again. Annyeong!!! Salanghae!!! P.S. Not my longest review, only coming in at a little over 1.1k words, but it's still a great effort. Hope this convinced you to go watch this drama.

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Um tédio! O casal mais sem química de todos os K-dramas

Eu simplesmente não entendo o hype em torno dessa série, por isso resolvi escrever essa resenha.

Goblin foi um dos primeiros k-dramas que eu assisti e foi por conta de muitas pessoas me indicarem. Ele também fez com que eu quase desistisse de assistir coisas do mesmo gênero, pois os episódios foram se arrastando e eu tive que me forçar a terminar. Vou listar alguns pontos sobre a série:

1. Química do casal
Nunca vi um casal tão sem graça! Eles não tem compatibilidade, na maioria do tempo o relacionamento é irritante e infantil. O casal secundário acaba sendo mais envolvente... Como a série foca no romance e o casal não tem química, isso prejudica muito o andamento e os episódios ficam arrastados e difíceis de ver.

2. Enredo
Eu costumo gostar de séries de fantasia, mas achei essa um pouco forçada. É interessante a forma como ele se tornou um Goblin e a sua convivência com o Grim Reaper (ponto mais engraçado da série), mas o romance é fraco e precisa ter muita força de vontade para acreditar nele. A história começa bem, mas por volta de 1/3 ela começa a se arrastar.

3. Fotografia e trilha sonora
Por mais que eu não tenha gostado da série, dois pontos positivos são a fotografia e a trilha sonora. Sem essas coisas eu acho que realmente teria sido impossível terminar.

Por fim, eu queria dizer que se uma série está super em alta, mas ela não faz o seu estilo, você não precisa se forçar a terminar. Eu aprendi essa lição assistindo Goblin e hoje em dia eu não tenho medo de "dropar"uma série só porque todo mundo gostou. O mundo dos dramas é muito vasto e com certeza tem uma série com o seu estilo esperando por você.

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First of all, I think one of the most important thing for a drama is the pacing. How many times have you watched a drama and it's only when you finish the 3rd or 4th episode that it's starting to get good ? In Goblin in episode 1 you are introduced to all main characters without an "in your face" introduction. The world building is enough for understanding the story, but keeps just enough mystery and details to catch the attention. The music is amazing and, from I remember, well timed between scenes. In some dramas you feel like by episode 2 you heard them all already, in this one it takes more and the ambience is fitting (plus I think they are very good, even though it's not really my type). The casting is phenomenal and every character have a story that is relevent and interesting. The second roles are not just a distraction from the main cast's story. I could talk about Goblin all day, but finally, The plot and ending, you dont see it comming and it's more and more rare these days I think, that's all I'm gonna say.
I'm a grown man in my twenties and I cried many times and that's what I want from dramas, to reach my emotions. whether it was from sadness, hapinnes or both is for you to find out.

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When a series has such a high rating, there is only one explantion for it: It appeals to a majority of people. And what appeals to a majority of people? Something that's simple. Well, honestly, Goblin is really beautiful. If you want to watch something nice, calming and beautiful - watch Goblin. I cannot imagine that there are people out there who don't like it or don't enjoy it. The cinematography, the music, the scenery - spectacular. The best I have ever seen in any Korean drama to date. So why the rather low rating? It has no substance. The story isn't very exciting. After four episodes I felt like I knew everything I had to know about the main couple. What keeps you watching then? The love story of the Grim Reaper, I guess. Unfortunately he and Sunny only had a few scenes in every episode while the main couple is going back and forth. Again and again. There were so many recaps later on (I don't know when it started to annoy me), many flashbacks, I felt like they recycled scenes. The end product was somehow very artistic (I will admit that), but the story in general wasn't very deep. The emotions couldn't reach me. If I compare Goblin to the drama Korean Odyssee I recently watched I must say that the latter made me cry and weep like a baby many times while I had a hard time feeling sad for the Grim Reaper or the Goblin. I cried when the old men climbed the stairs to heaven and his dog was there waiting for him - just saying. That was sad. Maybe it was because of the comedy between the two characters (there was comedy between the couples too), but even though they had a tragic past, they lived pretty good lives for a very long time. I mean even if they would have died at the end of the series (for real) they had a satisfying life. This series was in general very "satisfying". Every single moment felt satisfying. I just think there was no real reason for being sad. I felt like they shared too many tears that couldn't reach me. So to make it short:
Story: 4/10 (not much depth), but the execution was 10/10, so I wil give it a solid 7
Acting: 9 (because I think Lee Dong Wook could have done a better job, I liked him a lot more in "Scent of a Woman")
Music: 10 (it cannot get any better)
Rewatch value: Well, if I want to relax and enjoy something that's beautiful for the sake of being beautiful ... 8.

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This drama is really something special and after watching it I feel kind of lost to find something similar amazing.

The story was kind of clear from the start but the cast made it very interesting and very very very emotional. Every character had it's own habits and weirdness but that made them even more loveable.
At first I had my trouble with the female lead Kim Go Eun because sometimes it seems as if she's trying to hard and it made me cringe but maybe that's because we meet her in different stages of her life, as a highschool senior and a college student and at her later work. So it is kind of understandable that she goes through some changes in life and in her personality and that made me really like her later on.
The relationship between the Goblin and his Bride developed with some ups and downs and even more interesting was the relationship between the Grim Reaper and Sunny - SO HEARTBREAKING! I loved the fact that the Grim Reaper probably went through the biggest and hardest change during the series as he starts off as an emotionless weirdo.

I loved the music! I even added it on my playlist and I'm listening to the intro song all the time!

I would rewatch it but this drama made me so emotional!! I think that I was crying all the time through the last 3 episodes...that's almost like 5 hours of crying.
It had kind of an ending I could be happy with but before I could be happy it had to punch me in the face and heart and everything came so suddenly...so I will wait until I have the nerves to watch it again.

Overall - I LOVED IT!

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One of the best

This drama is one of the best out there for story, acting, music, and production value. If you haven't watched it yet you should! The acting was absolutely amazing. All of the characters had chemistry and you could tell they enjoyed what they were doing. The bromance between the Goblin and the Reaper even became famous, but this time it actually seems like the actors truly became friends. The story was great, it pulled at your heartstrings. I laughed, and cried, and was scared (there are some spooky parts and I was watching this alone in the dark at night, so don't judge me -_-). The ending was sad, yet wonderful. The especial effects are actually really good. The music is great. All in all a well made drama, and I highly recommend it.

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Goblin was the first k-drama I saw. Until that moment I had just only watched Japanese dramas, but at the time I already knew Gong Yoo for "Train a Busan" and I had heard so much about the show that I gave it a try.
After this, I watched lots of k-dramas, so I guess this show is to blame that now I'm a k-drama addict. And even having watching so many of them, anything could be compared to Goblin. Without any doubt it's the best drama I've ever seen in my entire life.
Everything is wonderful. The story (from a non-used to k-dramas point of view) is kind of unusual. The photography, the settings (oh, Quebec, one of the most wonderful places I've ever been), the dialogues, the humor, the bromance, the romance...
I love Gong Yoo in every one of the things he has done, but here he is amazing as the lonely tokebi. For the rest of the casting, they are all perfect, overall Lee Dong Wook as the Grim Reaper (his bromance with the Goblin is mythic, so funny!)
Other thing that I really liked in this show is that you don't have a love triangle, nor the tropes so used in other dramas, and you have the opportunity to see the evolution in both couples.
The only thing I complain is that the main couple does not have much explanation time at the ending  as they should have. There were too much time to explain the Grim Reapers and Sunny (not Sun Hee) future and not so much for the main couple... Dommage!
This show taugh me so many things I could continue for hours explaining why everybody should watch it.
I have read some bad reviews explaining that it's so slow that is boring. I don't know but for me it wasn't slow at all. It had the right pace for a perfect development of the story and the characters.
Music: loved it. One of by k-drama OST.
Rewatch value: I've watched this show three times already and I watch it every now and then while I deciding what to see next.
So, last advise, DON'T MISS IT, BEST DRAMA EVER!

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This drama hit me like a truck, I heard it was good but I was really not prepared. Note to anyone who is even vaguely emotional: You will need tissues, you will probably cry. A lot. And hopefully laugh a lot too!

The actors chemistry for this drama was perfection, they gelled so well and the stories intertwining with one another was amazingly well written. I wasn't as keen on the Grim Reaper at the start but I warmed to him as the drama continued and he became a firm favourite, although in fairness, I loved them all, apart from that Aunt and her kids, they can go away! Although a lot of it is serious and deals with a lot of difficult subjects/themes, there's a lot of hilarious moments too and you get to witness budding friendships between an unlikely group of characters which also results in some very funny sections of the drama.

The story is full of twists and turns which leave you at the edge of your seat, I for one am SO glad that I didn't watch this whilst it was airing where I'd have to endure waiting for the next episode week to week, it would have been torture!

I've only watched 23 dramas, giving 2 including Goblin a 10 (the other being "It's ok, that's love" because of the difficult topics it deals with incredibly well) but honestly, I'd give Goblin a 100+ if I could, I've never laughed and cried so much for one drama. You will feel happiness, sadness, elation, loneliness, grief and heartache at various stages of this but it's worth it thousands of times over. I'd rewatch this over and over again when I need a good dose of feels or just a laugh at a certain secretarie's dance moves and super serious bromance moments.

The OST is beautiful and I have got it all saved on my Spotify for when I need a Goblin moment! It captures the mood of the drama so well, it's worth a listen away from the drama to fully appreciate it.

I've seen people complaining about the age gap which I can kinda understand but at the same time, in this day an age there being an age gap in a relationship isn't uncommon, she's 19/20 in this, I don't see it as being particularly 'creepy' as her character is immensely mature and has a lot of depth. Love isn't confined to age.

There has also been criticism of product placement but it doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as the obvious sticky tape over brand labels that I see in man other dramas. I'm so used to product placement in TV shows and movies that it doesn't really bother me, some of the placements were quite funny anyway. If anything, Goblin has done a great job at making me want to go back to visit Canada again ;3

I held off from watching this for ages as the plot sounded a bit weird but I regret not watching it sooner as I would have been able to re-watch it a few times by now so if you are hesitating, please just go and watch it and you will understand what all the fuss is about.

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I'm a complete goblin fangirl, I confess.
the story is lovely, I cried right away in the first episode. When I started to watch, I just could not stop watching! I shivered every time the opening begins, and even today when I hear this same song from the opening, my heart is filled with joy. I tell all people that goblin is a work of art, it is almost impossible to stop watching after you start.

the actors are captivating, you learn to love them more and more throughout the episodes and then you feel miss them when you finish watching all the episodes. the friendship between the goblin and the reaper is really something from another world, I love it when characters create sympathy throughout the episodes and create a bond of strong friendship. in general, the relationships in this drama are well thought out and everything was thought out very well.

the scenarios and soundtrack of the drama really are good, I listen to the soundtrack every day, I feel so happy listening to these songs. All the scenarios and the palette of drama's colors are magnificent. All the people who worked on this drama deserve the congratulations, it really looked very beautiful and I will never forget this drama.

And concluding: Goblin is first on my list of favorites, I'm completely in love with this drama, I want to be able to re-watch this drama all my life lol. Deciding to watch goblin was one of the best drama choices I've had

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I hold the opinion that Goblin is THE best Korean drama of the past decade, and perhaps of all time. The latter statement is more bold, but this drama holds to your expectations and will fly past them.

I've rewatched this drama a countless number of times without finding substantial flaws, even if I'm being nitpicky. You'll love these characters and their relationships (be it romance, bromance, or friendship) long past your first time watching it, and you'll remember their most iconic quotes, too.

Goblin is a masterpiece with gorgeous cinematography, writing, and one of the best OSTs I've ever heard. Not only that, but it's completely different from any other drama out there while being down to earth and heartwarming as well.

The only reason I would not recommend this drama is if you have never watched a KDrama before- Goblin is so perfect that once you've seen it, most any other drama will be lackluster thereafter.

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