Goblin (2016)

Seriously... What is this? I mean, I thought I'd be open for any type of genre, but this genre is seriously really weird. I Can't live in a realistic world, and then all of a sudden enjoy a drama about goblin and these things. Sometimes I just think to myself that some dramas have high ratings because of the famous actors in it, and less about the story. Terrible story this was me thinks. Just my opinion, I actually even dropped it after 5th episode. If you want to watch realistic and(Or) brilliant dramas with good stories then I recommend gems such as Tunnel, Defendant, Ghost and these things. These are the real deal, u hear what am saying. Am so cba with this goblin drama. The real goblin here is the writer.

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What's the hype?

Another one that didn't enchant me.
I've been stalling on this for ages, finally after getting back into kdrama gave this a watch and I am not in love. Yet? I dont know....10 eps in, probably not.

Gong Yoo isnt enough to keep me going, the Reaper I find more annoying than interesting, the "bromance" as some reviewers call it is not something I see at all, mainly because the reaper seems particularly lifeless to me. Didn't like the actors looks in this either, sinister in his suit, too boyband-like without. (Might be my hatred of korean forehead hiding mushroom haircut tho, dunno)

I don't mind the age gap between the leads but I have to second another reviewer's view that they seem more like father/daughter than a romantic prospect. Can't really get into it.
Later when they kiss I felt really weirded out tbh, almost like watching siblings kiss. The whole thing is just so rushed, like, she meets him, declares her love and just like that, bc she is the bride of the goblin suddenly he loves her and she loves him, this dude she barely knows, just met and has not a single thing in common with? What?
She's a pretty girl, that actress, but smiling and waving at her "lover" like a 7yo kid is just way too nope for me.

The music was engaging so far, I especially like the score/instrumental parts.

The plot itself could've given way to so much more than we got delivered. It was all very inconsistent to me, there are parts throughout almost every episode so far that bored me into playing with my phone instead of watching while others held my interest like a thriller. This might have benefited from not trying to be funny and comedic all the time but instead focusing on the dramatic/sad parts of eternal life and everyday death. The scenes whenever Reaper picked up souls were all really heartbreaking, how average people are ripped out of life, just like that...or how a fallen cyclist can cause that much damage....ouch! Instead the drama seems to focus on establishing and selling a romance that is anaemic and forced at best.

And for me, that's really all there is to this. I found myself most attentive during the parts that played in the past (the manipulative magistrate, the sister and the mislead king, all these were more interesting to me than Reaper and Sunny), and I will stop watching after ep 10 because I am bored. So bored.

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The only word that could come to describe this show would be PERFECTION.

Everything about Goblin is set so right that you can never regret watching and rewatching and rewatching it again.

Story- one of the best fantasy stories you will ever come across. It is not only beautifully set, but moves forward with a wonderful pace, blending both past and present stories together. The story of Goblin is such that you want never want it to end. The funny moments will have you in splits and the sad one will rip your heart into pieces.

Acting- tremendous. Every actor is on spot with their acting but Kim Go Eun is particularly brilliant. Her playing a teenager and a mature character is so well put that you will actual believe there's a time gap.

Music- OH MY GOD. I have each track of Goblin and I listen to it almost always. The music adds more value to the show.

Rewatch value--I've already seen it over 7 times. No matter what show I watch, I always end up going back to this one.

Overall- without even thinking about it, go watch it and you won't ever regret.

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I wanted to leave a review while the show is still fresh in my mind. I just want to say exactly what I felt. This show is downright one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see. From the casting, to the cinematography, to the writing, everything is sheer perfection. It's kind of EPIC. You can feel the beautiful way the creator sees the world, with its particular touch of darkness. It will hurt you, and make you laugh, even in the midst of your pain, like the Grim Reaper in that one scene, you'll not have a choice. Rating the show the highest possible rating wasn’t even up for debate. The thing about a good story is that you can have a massive budget and top rated actors but if you have a stale, unworthy story and half boiled characters, it just doesn't work. The value of this show is that every character is so deep, so believable, so REAL, you can't help getting lost in them. Few minor gripes I have was that Duek Hwa and Jung Hae In should have had better storylines. Second, toward the end the amnesia bit dragged a bit for me. (Minor spoiler) Even the whole finding love in past lives instead of present was again a bit typical for a show of this caliber. What you can do in a next life you can do in this one, for this reason the last two or three episodes in places it got a bit boring for me. Still, I'm happy to have seen this show, I've never quite seen anything like it. All in all, bravo!

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Uncomfortable at first but a truly emotional resonant drama

I give it a begrudging overall 9/10 .

I just want to start of by saying that Goblin is a really sad drama . I just want to put that out there because all the top comments and reviews out there on the World Wide Web rave on in a fan girl manner that you would think it’s Boys Over Flowers . I was misled and the sadness genuinely caught me off guard. It’s SAD.

Now that’s out of the way - let me address why I give it a begrudging 9/10.

Goblin did not convince me at all that it is a perfect show. It’s age gap and high school lead was really uncomfortable for me to fathom .Why did they have to make her into a high school kid though ? And though Gong Yoo is hot and all ; he really looked considerably older than his female lead and that was just uncomfortable. But that’s an internal personal bias and has nothing to do with the plot unraveling . Creep factor aside - this was a really original story with an interesting and dare I say new premise. I admired how the writers stayed true to their intentions and you could tell they never fell off but kept focused . It had great quotes too and I loved the deity aspect of the show - it gave it a divine elegance.

However - This is a tricky review to write because as a romantic drama - it ticks all the right boxes . Great sweeping love declaration scenes ? Yes . In fact they are touching. Angst ? Yes - sure to cry like a baby . Great supporting leads with equally engaging angsty story lines ? Yes , yes and yes. Great romantic kissing scenes ? Yes.But nooo. It’s not a 10 . The plot was not tight enough . It was repetitive using the same set ups over and over again that it actually wasted time in setting up other important relationships such as the supporting leads relationship progression and the reincarnated relationships that were discovered along the line. Kudos though to the plot twists which were very much appreciated. Sure to keep a viewer tuning in.

It also had time in its 16 episodes with rich story to insert a villain which I thought was deft. I also liked the way they handled the past informing the present and the notion of reincarnation and it’s supporting motifs. The romances were also lovely. Emotional resonance was very strong too. I cried like a baby in Ep 13 which is one of the best moments in tv history . The last episode was so poignantly sad too. Comedy was also very well done .

The acting and cast were unblemished . Gong Yoo was so funny and melancholy at the same time . The Grim Reaper was gorgeous and grim at the same time and the female leads were assertive , spunky yet passionate in the same this show
The soundtrack is quite possibly one of the best of the best and does much to bolster the ratings . I loved every song and my standouts were Beautiful Life , Hush ( Goblin lullaby, the second leads song I miss You , I Will Go To You Like the First Snow, oh my word - I’m listing the whole sound track ! That’s how good it is !

The fashion was off the charts! Deok Hwa’s coats and suits , Grim Reaper’s cozy oversized sweaters and Goblin’s coats were amazing! Sunny’s outfits are worthy of a Pinterest board alone.

Rewatch value is quite strong once I get over the creep factor . Souls are apparently immortal and ageless right ? So we will stick with that and suck it up ...

As for the OVERALL - don’t waste anymore time and go ahead and watch it ! If there’s anything this show convinced me of other than a sad love of a lonely and great god Is that it’s definitely one of those shows you need to have under your belt for posterity reasons . Also ,If you loved My Love From the Star , you will surely find this pleasant too. If you like some supernatural and super sadness then this one is for you .

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This is a Masterpiece!

Can't even put in words how much this series has affected me. It is a Masterpiece. The Ost, the editing, the storyline, the chemistry, the acting every single thing is just awesome!! Every character had it own story and the actors did a marvelous job to inact it.
The continuous bashful comments by the Goblin and the Grim reaper are savage. It never misses an opportunity to make you laugh till the very end and I was laughing my ass off throughout. Not only comedy, it is full of romance and drama. The lines are beautiful and everything connects so well ( things said in past connects later to a thing happening in present) Just WOW❤️
A moment i felt goosebumps and in another I was crying (literally a lot) and in next i was laughing like anything, its that level.
I recommend this to everyone who loves Kdrama ( even if you don't you'll after watching this?)

A Classic of all time❤️

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OHHHHHHH My HEARRRRRRT!!!

This drama is easily one of my Top Favorites, no matter how many times I watch it, I always fall in love all over again and get shattered in the process. This is such a good drama. It packs one hell of a punch! The cast couldn't have been better, they did a phenomenal job with their rolls. The soundtrack was great! This story is a tragic one, it will have you on the edge of your seat so consumed by the lives of each character and trying to unravel the past and find the connections to the present. Some would call this is an age gap romance. Our male lead is guardian god (a Goblin) has been living since with an immortal curse for the past 939 years, the only one who can release him from his life of immortality is the Goblin's Bride. Knowing that you should be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster! Our little bride is a 20 year old girl who has lived a very hard, exhausting, sad life. When our two cross paths it's a hilariously beautiful and bittersweet thing. I was so unprepared. I fell so hard for the Grim Reaper, who is just simply existing, neither alive nor dead, carrying out his duties a punishment

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The two biggest complaints I’ve read about this drama are regarding the age difference and lack of external conflict. Normally, I’d be right up in the stands blowing raspberries with those people, but not this time. I watched the one episode that had been English subbed on YouTube and it hit all the pleasure centers in my brain. Being new to the Kdrama world I couldn’t find it on-line and ended up buying it on Amazon. I don’t regret one penny spent on it.

Story
I didn’t have a problem with the age difference. The ML is 939 years old. Anyone under 800 wouldn’t have anything in common with him. But seriously, the ML and FL have been touched and in their eyes cursed by the supernatural, so these are not two ordinary people. Most importantly, she is the Goblin’s bride, not wife. She has one job and I won’t spoil it here but it is not to warm his bed. He never comes across as some old geezer trying to seduce her. Even by Kdrama standards, this one is chaste.

The Goblin knows what her job is, anticipates and accepts it. But the moment she brings hope and light into his life the conflict within him and the story explodes. As he watches her and feels his heart begin to beat again the poetry that springs forth from him was so beautiful it gave my brain a little orgasm.

The conflicts in this story are mostly internal but the stakes are high.

I usually skim the secondary characters’ stories because too often they seem like filler and distract from the main storyline. Not this time. The Reaper’s and Sunny’s stories were seamlessly interwoven and integral to the main story.

The bromance between the Goblin and Reaper is legendary so I won’t go into it.

I watched every minute of this drama, savoring each one. Forgiveness plays a big role in this story. Our characters find it is not easily earned or given, whether it be for the self, others, or The Powers That Be.

Acting
This was my first time for all these actors and I wouldn’t make a single casting change.

Gong Yoo did an amazing job as ruthless warrior, tragic guardian angel and Oscar to the Reaper’s Felix.

Kim Go Eun did a good job as the girl both afflicted and blessed by her special case.

The secondary characters were all spot on and Lee Dong Wook has to be one of the most beautiful criers in the business.

OST
I don’t normally pay attention to the music unless I love it or despise it. The music in Goblin enhanced the story without distracting from it, a difficult task. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The cinematography was stunning. I had to shush my photographer husband who kept commenting on it. Which brings me to the rewatch value.

Rewatch Value
My husband who has only watched a few scattered episodes of Asian dramas sat down and watched this with me on my second go around. We laughed and cried together (damn allergies!). I will watch it again. And again.

This story of love, family, friendship, redemption, and forgiveness is definitely worth a try.

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After thinking about this overnight, and some more thought it time to give my thoughts.

Story: AI'm Not one for historical dramas, but I feel this was a great start for me, in historical dramas. It not really all historical but it a very intriguing part of Goblin. The Romance was really great in this, I have one flaw but can't really go into it because of spoilers

Acting/Cast: I'm not going to be doing the acting/cast the way i usually do a person in the cast but I'm going to do the chemistry. Gong Yoo, and Lee Dong Wook, is the first two I want to discuss. They had the perfect bromance in this that made me really love it between the two were really what made the show for me. the other one is Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun had great chemistry, and they had great chemistry with their romance was really well done. Honorable mention to the second lead chemistry.

Music: The song that stuck out to m the most in this drama was Stay With Me. It fit the show so well, and It lets me have somewhat I call, that it made me love the show more. the other songs were OK, but they did not stick much (which is saying much because music is what I rate hard in dramas).

Rewatch/Overall: Overall this is a 10 for me, I love this show so much that it worth a watch. The re watch value is also a 10, I will rewatch this.

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seriously i just love this drama so much..the endings are so filled out
and you don't even yearn for a new season because it ended so
beautifully...i just really like how they sorta made a great conclusion
to the love that was happening here and really show us how everything
will/would end. They didn't leave the ending in the open which honestly
way too many dramas do.

Goblin was seriously the best drama i
have ever seen and the animation and direction of the drama was
gorgeous. The Actors were simply perfect and let's be honest

THE BROMANCE WAS ON POINT!

Never seen this great bromance before!!

Of course there are probably many demanding a new season because they'd
like to see more of the ending but i feel like this would ruin the whole ending, it was just too beautiful. This drama should not have anymore episodes because it's just dat well
finished.
(Specials and Cuts scenes are always welcomed tho)

Goblin 10/10

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Goblin. The lonely and beautiful man who had to undergo sadness, happiness, sadness and happiness again. And he brought along with him the viewers to this roller coaster of emotions.

It definitely deserved its hype. It's one of those few dramas that actually deserved the hype. It has SUBSTANCE (very important for me) and you can not not finish it or else your questions about the drama will just remain as questions. Most episodes left me at awe and a lot of scenes gave me goosebumps. The second half of the drama was exceptional and I'm glad because a lot of dramas lose its beauty as they reach the second half. Goblin didn't.

Most of all, I love the relationships in the drama specifically of the four main leads: the goblin and his bride, kim woo bin and sunny, goblin and the grim reaper, part timer and her boss, the missing soul and the grim reaper, the queen and his brother, the king and the sister of the traitor, the king and his warrior. And you should never just shrug off the side characters — they play significant roles to the dramas's story.

And do I even need to explain why I rated the music a 10? The whole universe would agree that Goblin's OSTs were beyond amazing. And it wasn't just their music that was pleasing, the cinematography itself was aesthetically satisfying.

I gave the rewatch value a 8.5 only because if I rewatch again, I'd only focus on the second half of the drama and the humor of the first half (except episode 1 and 2 those were amazing episodes).

Overall, Goblin was an amazing drama. Not only because I cried a bucket of tears, but because it showcased how rich human (and nonhuman lol) relationships can be. How a single person can change your once believed "life full of punishments," how forgiveness can heal not only the person forgiven but also you yourself and that actually, the existence of death makes life even more meaningful.

I can't even express myself properly through words *sighs* thank you Goblin. You are a gem.

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Goblin was an ambitious drama-a high production value drama with gorgeous cinematography-and TvN pulled it off well. Granted, the ~90 minute episodes were a bit hard to adjust to and the drama did linger on some moments. Nevertheless, I never thought the drama was overhyped.

The combination of the breathtaking way scenes were filmed, and the wealth of heart Goblin possessed was enough to pull me in. I don't usually talk about editing but I have to say that Goblin's editing and stylistic filming are one of my favorites out of all dramas. I love the historic backstory, sometimes even more than the present. The historic story was the anchor of the emotional resonance of the present timeline.

Goblin's world of fantasy was fun, woven well, and interesting. The rules aren't always the most clear but I can accept that. The core of the story lied in the actions and consequences of the Goblin, and the lives he touched. Of course, the bromance between the Goblin and the Grim Reaper is my favorite relationship by far. The dry insults they pass back and forth amongst themselves are the best because under the insults lies affection, as much as they hate to admit it.

The romance in Goblin wasn't the most important to me until the second half of the drama, when the stakes were raised higher and the emotions felt heavier. Admittedly, I didn't love the romance between the Kim Shin and Eun Tak in the beginning because their relationship seemed to be more of a lost soul to lost soul connection, and not a romantic one. It wasn't until later did I finally feel their subtle chemistry, then I fell head in for them in the second half. Disclaimer: I cried so much, so freaking much. Be prepared to cry in the latter half of the drama. (This is a good thing, I think!)

The romance between the Grim Reaper and Sunny is poignant and heart wrenching. Their history lent their romance more weight but their present romance is filled with charged, tense chemistry all on their own. I loved them together honestly! SO much chemistry.Everyone's performance was fantastic. I have no complaints.

The soundtrack is AMAZING. OST's of a drama are so important to me in creating a more emotional bond with the scene and Goblin's is just on point in every take. Every song is utilized so well in the dramas and just add so much depth to the scenes.

Now, the not so good:
As I mentioned in the beginning, the drama did tend to linger and prolong many moments, which made them feel long. There were also times, especially in the beginning, where I feel like the plot became a little repetitive. However, the drama definitely became better and faster as the episodes went by, maybe because I got used to the length of it, but the plot also got tighter and more emotionally thrilling.

The ending, to me, felt very bittersweet. I cried loads and I feel somewhat unsatisfied. It is very memorable though, so there's that.

I definitely recommend Goblin to everyone, if anything, at least to try to see if it fits their taste. Disregarding the complaints about this drama, especially about the age gap controversy, I still think Goblin is a drama for everyone to at least try because Goblin is so much more than just the romantic relationships.

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