Korean Drama
I didn't expect this drama to leave this much impression but from cinematography to acting, it couldn't be described in words of how beautiful this drama is. What made this drama impressive is the fact that the old-era storyline was so nuanced that I became invested on it as much as the modern storyline. This drama while maintaining its romantic essence manages to covers nuanced and serious themes that revolves around today's society such as political corruption, accidental deaths, online bullying and many more. The drama made an excellent way of making all the characters' likeable by having their story leave a deep impact. In addition, the veteran actors really shine in this drama by showing its deep chemistry and relationship with body language. Although some actors did need work, their relationship was still cute and bearable! Lastly, I would like to focus on Goo Chan Sung (Yeo Jin Goo) and Jang Man Wol (IU) relationship. This drama became one of the most prominent ones I have watched due to their face-acting, gesture-acting and voice-acting. Every words they say feels like they really meant it and you really become invested with the emotions which makes you feel like you first-handed experience it. Not to mention, the fact this is also due to assistance of excellent soundtracks and cinematography that made every scene become much more memorable!
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I did not feel the chemistry between the leads, Yeo Jin-goo's bad acting perhaps? To me it feels like the Hongs tried to recreate the goblin experience, but their writing just did not live up to the task. This is their worst work so far I think. Don't misunderstand it's not bad by any means, but it's like an empty shell compared to Goblin. Even though I think the last episode was pretty good, I just wasn't emotionally invested enough in the characters to really feel the melo, so to say.
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Clumsy but heartfelt
I'm a big fan of IU as a singer, so I watched quite a bit of her on youtube, and I couldn't help but notice some of those comments that mention her as an actress as well. The thing is, when you watch a dozen or two of K-Pop videos, you start to realize that all comments for all videos are more or less the same, they might as well be automatically generated at this point. If you take them all at face value, you might think that K-Pop industry produces nothing but masterpieces after masterpieces, all vocalists are world-class, and in case they also happen to be an actor, they are also a genius actor, because of course they are. Needless to say, all this can't be true at the same time (and it's not), so when I saw all those comments along the lines of "wow, IU is such an actress, such an actress, wow", I was unimpressed. Famous singers branching out to an acting career is not a thing that often yields outstanding results, or even good ones for that matter. But oh well, what do I have to lose. "Hotel Del Luna" was one of the latest things featuring her at the time, the premise sounded kinda anime-ish, and I love me some anime now and then, might as well give it a shot. Long story short, I was skeptical about IU's acting, didn't know any of the other actors, and therefore didn't expect a lot from the drama itself. Was I wrong? Well...First, let's address the elephant in the room. Saying IU's perfomance here is good would be a vast understatement. As I said, I thought she'd be passable at best, just stand there being pretty and maybe have a funny scene now and then, and honestly I'd be okay with that. Instead, right of the gate I got something wildly different. The ease with which this woman owns the scene is jaw-dropping, with force and confidence in every movement, every glance and gesture radiating such immense amounts of screen presence that at first it took me some time to even remember who I was looking at. That, mixed with (mostly) great comedic timing and several deeply powerful dramatic moments, make up a fascinating character. Words can't describe how fun she is to watch on screen, she literally carries the whole series. There's no ignoring it, I just have to admit: this time, youtube comments actually got it right.
On the other hand, IU carrying the show is precisely the issue, because it unfortunately does need to be carried. Despite it being overall solid, the problems are many, and they are hard to look over.
The first, and the biggest one, is the tone. The show is all over the place, jumping from genre to genre as fast as a hamster on coffee. Sure, you can combine a comedy, a horror and a drama, but it's hard, and boy oh boy here it's not done greatly. You can have a scene where the male lead runs away from a ghost with BLOOD-STAINED EMPTY EYESOCKETS and there's jolly "Benny Hill"-style music playing in the background. Like, look, what a wacky predicament this guy's in, don't you also hate it when there's an eyeless undead coming after you in the evening?.. Zoinks, Scoob! That's just one example that came to my mind, but there're many.
The writing suffers from this inconsistency too. I won't go into how the local "ghost world" doesn't really work, how they keep inventing new rules all the time, because to me all this ghostly stuff seemed more like means to an end, a medium to convey their ideas. There are other issues to talk about, for example how the episodes are divided. Episodes, except the first one, almost never feel like they have a beginning and an end, it always seems like the writers just chopped the whole script into 16 even pieces and each episode ends as soon as the runtime is over, no matter what happens. The final episode especially, it was literally like, "oh damn it, we still haven't wrapped up the bartender's story, quick, shoehorn it in! Ok, done, now back to the main stuff". It's really glaring.
Next. there's the most random stuff throughout the series. For example, IU's character happens to be a fan of some... dumpling-eating-champion dude?.. Huh? They make such a big deal out of it, just left me wondering, what it the world is this for. Maybe you have to be Korean to get it?.. Or another thing, this show has a strange habit of introducing new characters just to immediately kill them off (or despose of them in another way, given that some of them are already dead), Sanchez's girlfriend as the prominent example. This makes characters into plot devices, and it's not a sign of good writing.
The serial killer subplot was a huge disappointment. All that building up just ending in a wet fart. I get it, the Grim Reaper is an unstoppable force, but then why hype the killer's ghost up as this huge threat? What was the point of this dude in the story?
Most of all, after watching the whole drama, I'm still not sure I understand what IU's character did that was so wrong as to have to pay for it the way she does? From what I saw, all her deeds in the past warranted a prison sentence (ok, maybe an execution even, considering the times), but this? For killing that guy, really? She mentioned something about "a lot of bad things afterwards", are those "things" what's supposed to be her sins? Or it just guilt, like a self-inflicted punishment? Honestly, hell if I know, but whatever.
Acting is yet another mixed bag.
Yeo Jin Goo as the male lead is simply bland. As far as I heard, the guy is a really good actor, but for some reason here he always seems slightly out of place, always just a bit off, always just barely good enough. And the way I see it, it's not even really his fault, it's just the writing doesn't exactly know what to do with him with its tone jumping all over the place. His interactions with IU's character can be engaging to watch, but as everything in this show, it's hit-and-miss. Given it's supposed to be a romantic subplot, there should be much more chemistry between the leads. But it's... hardly ever there. His character development doesn't feel organic, he has like two and a half facial expressions, and with such a powerhouse of a screen partner, the guy's just kinda... there.
Hotel's staff I mostly didn't like very much. The bartender and the head maid were mostly there either to re-iterate what just happened (which required them standing next to each other and looking into the distance meaningfully) or to briefly announce what was going to happen next, with maybe a small occasional exposition dump. The receptionist had his own romantic subplot, because otherwise he'd have no place in the story. All three also got their personal quests just thrown in at the beginning and never addressed until the last stretch of the show. The "Miss Fourth Choice" girl I felt was the only one remotely interersting, even due to her circumstances alone, but even those were never really explored after she, uh, settled in. It was more like, oh okay, I guess I live in this body now, cool, and that's it. And yes, she's the receptionist's romantic interest.
One who was awesome was the Grim Reaper, I freaking loved that guy. He didn't have a lot of screen time but delivered a couple of one-scene miracles. Give that man an Oscar.
Now I have to vent a bit, please bear with me. The thing that started to really, REALLY annoy me several episodes into the drama was the soundtrack. Or, to put it better, the way the soundtrack was used. The playlist features a multitude of high-tier Korean stars, including IU herself, Gummy, Paul Kim, Red Velvet, the list goes on. So, what are they gonna do with such a cast? Of course they're gonna milk it dry! Every single there's an emotional scene, a ballad turns on in the background, most of the time the same one. After three or four episodes, it had me eye-rolling and thinking "please don't start the song, you don't need a song here, just let the scene play out", but my prayers were never heard. One time, the song had already finished but the scene still went on, and what do you think they did? Immediately put on another song! Because apparently the audience wouldn't know how to feel without Taeyeon singing in the background. This is one of the major directing problems with this drama, it seems to have no clue how to utilize its quiet moments, and hence there's barely any. I swear it made me remember Nostalgia Critic and his review of Disney's "Tarzan", where he bashed the cartoon for hammering Phil Collins into every "feely" scene. And it's a darn shame, these songs are great, too bad the authors didn't think of a way to use them sparinlgy. The funniest thing is, the soundtrack also has... "The Moonlight Sonata"! Because "moon", "luna", get it? I think it was the first track to play in the very first episode, and it was so jarring I couldn't help but laugh a bit. I don't know, maybe European classical music sounds exotic and otherwordly to Korean audience or something, but I just found it very odd and borderline pretentious, thank god it didn't play often.
Vent over, thank you, sorry.
All that being said, when "Hotel Del Luna" commits to something, it can be great, there are multiple cool little side-plots sprinkled in, and it can be genuinely funny and genuinely creepy, and sometimes deliver a good tear-jerker. It just doesn't always feel the right way to shift between the three or how to mix them up. I guess the whole point is to tell the story of this tormented old soul, and if you view it as IU's characters story, as opposed to a romance story, it does indeed work. When they speak of grief, guilt and learning to let go, it can actually be meaningful and touching. Though sometimes awkwardly put together, sometimes clunky and corny or even downright silly, it's still truly soulful, and it's still entertaining if you're willing to give it a pass on some stuff. This is not a masterpiece but more like "their heart is in the right place" sort of situation. It feels like they actually want to make something good. And if you haven't seen IU as an actress before, maybe it'll become your IU gateway drug, it sure became mine.
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Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
After all of the positive things I have heard about this popular Kdrama, I have decided to finally give it a go. It took me a very long time to finally finish the series, I kept on stopping and putting it off after intervals of watching 2-3 episodes of the show. I can see why it is that popular: the cinematography, the lovable cast, the amazing OST and the fantasy theme that takes you back to the times when Goblin was still airing. But I will never fully understand when people say it is their favourite drama. Personally, it is lacking in so many various fields, especially with the levels of engagement. As mentioned before, I was about to drop the show, but it suddenly became very good towards the end. Why did the director and the scriptwriters keep us on edge right from the beginning, but instead decided to make the drama full of thrill at the end? It is mind-boggling. However, I did enjoy the complete storyline, as I am a fan of folklore and the Korean cultural elements, which dominated the drama. IU was a brilliant actress for this drama, and she keeps on improving and improving with every role that she acts. Additionally, I loved the fashion and overall aesthetics that she brought out. The male lead, on the other hand, I did not like: nor his character, nor his acting or the chemistry between him and IU. The tragic love story of the hotel owner tore me to pieces, and I wish they would have chosen to reincarnate the general. I would say the secondary characters were more favourable than the leads. Moreover, the amazing OST is a huge part of why I like this show too. There are so many great singles, all equally as beautiful and sung by very talented singers. In the end, would I recommend this drama? Yes, I feel like it is a definite staple of a drama to watch, but for me, it is a watered down version of Goblin. There is definite room for improvement, but it is a great watch with fascinating cinematography and soundtrack! Cet avis était-il utile?
Story failed my expectations, wasted star-studded series
I was quite disappointed about the overall story which was filled with sub-plots that doesn't connect to the main plot and was pretty boring as well.I love seeing IU on those extravagant clothes and accessories and her acting doesn't really fail but I felt like the story is lacking in so many ways. The first half is specially boring but it gets better towards the end when the story finally had some substance in it. I feel sorry because the casts really did their best and most of them portrayed their role exceptionally well specially IU but then again it all ends up with a poor writing.
I don't think the plot is my cup of tea but I can say this series at least make it a little more bearable as I watch more episodes. I almost dropped it but because I really admire IU's acting I decided to continue. Maybe what's more disappointing was the hype when the show was first aired. It was so popular so I expected a lot from it.
Overall, I still enjoyed watching it. If you're an IU fan, definitely watch this as IU is stunningly beautiful and such a great actress here.
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Anastasialovesdrama
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IU dominated this drama...
I was not surprised to witness another stellar performance from IU. This woman is just so talented that she always over-delivers regardless of how big or small her role is. IU as Man Wol was the perfect angsty and badass boss lady. Her angry scenes were so scary and credible (and funny too). Oppa found those moments absolutely cute and adorable. But even if Man Wol's supposedly jaded after living a thousand plus years, IU is still able to convey Man Wol's fears and vulnerability through her magnificently dramatic eyes. She handles heavy drama really, really well. Some of my favorite moments were the scenes where her friend Yeon Woo (Lee Tae Sun of Prison Playbook and Suits) was executed and all of the scenes where she and her staff had to move on to the afterlife. Those were heavy moments but IU handled them with so much restraint (yes, no loud wailing) while still managing to deliver those emotions with a lot of intensity. I felt so sad for Man Wol. Living that long and unhappy life must have been really hell for her. But I also understood (and appreciated) where the Mago (various deities all played by Seo Yi Sook of Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol and Start-Up) was coming from. The Hotel was like purgatory for her - a place where she's given the opportunity to make amends for her past sins. She would have vanished as an evil ghost but the Mago probably thought that her crimes were somehow justified because she did them as revenge for what happened to her people. I was glad that she got that chance because I knew she was a good person. No, Jin Goo was not as spectacular as IU. I felt he struggled quite a bit during the heavy drama scenes that required him to cry, hence, he had to resort to covering his face most of the time. But IU's in a totally different level and I don't think it would be fair to compare them. Overall, I was happy with Jin Goo's delivery. I loved his steady and reliable acting especially during the scenes when he had to persuade the feisty Man Wol.I loved how Chan Sung always reassured Man Wol that he would protect her, be by her side, and never allow her to go into the dark side. And how he kept that promise! I loved how Chan Sung would always hug Man Wol whenever she was doubtful or afraid. Those hugs were definitely one of the things I looked forward to in the show. They made me feel so secure.
And Man Wol always did her best to protect Chan Sung too. I loved it when she said that although the dead are bound to lose their memories as they walk along the bridge to the afterlife, she would hold on to her memories of Chan Sung for as long she can. And I loved how she kept that promise when she sent off her first love, Go Chung Myung (Lee Do Hyun of Prison Playbook), on that bridge. Man Wol was not swayed and she never forgot her promise to go back to Chan Sung.
One of my favorite themes in the show is the inclusion of reincarnation, specifically Man-Wol’s past life characters showing up centuries later in 2019. It’s quite entertaining watching her hold grudges towards oblivious people that affected her in their past lives, such as Mi-Ra and Yeon-Woo. In their past lives, Yeon-Woo was Man-Wol’s best friend and Mi-Ra was her sworn enemy. However, in their new lives, Mi-Ra and Yeon-Woo are a couple, to which Man-Wol doesn’t take well. I have to say that I kept waiting for Yeon-Woo to get a more interactive role in his new life, maybe develop a heart-warming friendship with Man-Wol again to help her cope with the 1000 years of isolation and loneliness she endured being bound to the hotel.
There are a lot of twists and turns surrounding Man-Wol’s love life, with constant flashbacks to her previous life relationships we develop an understanding that she is waiting for her past love interest, Chung-Myung, to return to her and walk the path to the afterlife together. However, throughout the drama, there is a slow-developing relationship between Man-Wol and Chan-Sung that could seem forced to some or just inevitable, but it results in Man-Wol having to choose between the two further on in the drama.
I loved the music in this show. They definitely helped set the mood, especially for the drama scenes.
I was happy with how the show ended. Yes, it was sad. But that was the right and logical thing to do. Chan Sung's love for Man Wol was so great that he no longer wanted to see her suffer while living her long and unhappy life. He let her go and he trusted that their love for each other will bring them together again in their next lives. Overall, I think that IU well presented the beautiful yet avaricious character of Man-Wol and will forever be a fashion icon for me. It’s a show where you must pay attention to the plot and make up your own theories and conspiracies, which just makes it all that more exciting.
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Acting: I really never thought a combination of IU and Yeo Jin Goo. But after seeing this I started to ship this couple. I would especially highlight the work done by Jin Goo, he was just amazing. He is portrayed as a coward at the start but the way he transforms himself for IU was lovely.
Story: There is everything in the synopsis so I won't go with the detail. This story has a lot of fun elements and you'll never get bored. The thing which I liked the most was that it does not just focuses on the male lead or the female lead. But every single character's life is very well portrayed. Coming towards the end, it has lots of uos and downs. At some point you might feel like-" No this can't happen " But slowly you'll be able to overcome it.
Overall,... I loved it. And if you are planning to watch it, then please don't waste your time here and just go watch it now. It's worth your time..
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they had the best teamance, and those final scenes with them was beautiful...
the best compliment I can give a drama is "I wouldn't have been able to writer a better drama than this"...
this is my soulmate of fantasy dramas, the best of the best! probably the only real fantasy I truly enjoyed from start to finish~
one of the things I loved about this was that they didn't make the plot the only point. usually they give us a glimpse of "conflict" at the start, then forget about it and bam last ep is here and everything is solved...
here the characters -all of the characters- were the main focus! they solved their plot gradually ep by ep.. and each side plot was related to the characters journey. by the time we get the last two eps (minor spoiler) they got their sweet time to solve the final chapters of the main characters stories and that was beautifully done~
I actually want to brag and compliment this drama way more, like manweol is my perfect woman, and chansung is a dream....
and so I'll end it with this: this is what happens when top notch acting meets top notch characters, plus a well balanced well thoughtout story~
my rewatch values are 1 or 10, but I'm already planning my rewatch of this~
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I loved the entire main cast of this drama, but IU's character is so amazing that I became a fan from the moment she appeared on the screen. Yes, I've liked her in other dramas (especially in My Mister), but in this role, she is not only a bad@ss, and funny (I loved her sarcasm), but she had an elegance that was epic and even regal! I also love a good villain and Man Wol was the perfect balance of heroine and villainess which made me never quite sure what she would do. She is matched with the super talented Yeo Jin Goo as way too empathic hotelier Goo Chan Sung, who I thought was a good match, but I admit that there were moments when he seemed a little out of his league with her, but that also worked for their dynamic in the story. He mostly plays the straight man, which I'm sure isn't easy to do in such an over the top drama, but he has the right kind of likable innocence to make him perfect for his role too. As far as romance, it definitely plays a large part in the main story, but it's pretty platonic. Their chemistry is basically some cute flirting, funny banter, and eating so don't get your hopes up beyond that.
I also have to mention the rest of the hotel staff Bae Hae Seon, Shin Jung Keun, P.O, and Mina. Instead of just being comedy relief, these characters each have strong stories of their own, and by the end, I became attached to each of them. Then there are the flashback sequences, the stories of the hotel guests, poor rich Sanchez, The Grim Reaper, and of course Seo Yi Sook as the many faces of Ma Go Shin... and every single person in the cast is great! With a story this over the top it can be hard to make certain moments not feel too silly to be believed but they really pulled it off. The fun visuals also helped. Many of the stories are light horror stories, or are mysteries that need to be solved, but mostly centering around revenge or longing. I unexpectedly connected emotionally to a few of the stories. Maybe it's because death is a touchy subject for me, but I also think it's because the writing in each episode was good, and made me think about how precious, and sometimes cruel life can be. So keep this in mind if you have recently experienced a loss. This show may be comforting in some ways, but it may also be too much to handle.
The only reason I gave the overall story a 9 instead of a 10 is because some of the explanations and resolutions seemed convoluted. The overall story is so ambitious that I think they sometimes missed the mark in tying loose ends in the story. The last episode is a perfect example of that. I loved most of the last episode, which resolved things so beautifully in so many ways and had me in tears throughout, but in the final moments, I was just left scratching my head. It didn't make me like the drama any less. I'd rather watch an imperfect but original drama like this than a predictable and boring drama.
Would I watch this again? Yes. I know a lot of people seemed to want a second season (Oh, make sure you keep watching past the credits), but I'd rather just watch this again. It may seem less mysterious with a second viewing, but maybe I'll catch some things that I missed the first time.
Overall I liked this drama a lot. It's not going to make my favorites list, but it's certainly one of the most memorable dramas I've seen in a while. I usually don't like dramas that focus on random side stories too much, but I guess these stories are my taste (I admit Halloween is also my favorite holiday), and I loved the repeated theme of making peace with the past at the end of life. It's also surprisingly lighthearted considering there are so many dark aspects to this drama. Think of it more like an old school fairytale and you will have a better idea of what to expect. It really is a beautiful world, full of amazing imagery (That bridge!) and a gorgeous hotel (I really wish it was real!), so the director definitely deserves praise for that. I also love that it all centers around such a strong female character, and her amazing wardrobe! Seriously, every single outfit deserves applause! This is not your average ghost story, and even if I loved The Hong Sisters Master's Sun more (So Ji Sub has A LOT to do with that though), I understand why this drama has so many fans! I recommend adjusting expectations and giving this drama a chance. Who knew that a drama about death and deep resentment could be so cute?
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Crazy about Asian dramas
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Last i have some question
1.In the starting episodes lead actress told that how she started living with yeon woo (past) ,how his father search her and help her then why at the last episode had been shown that the small child whose father help her is lead actor ,got confused
2.when lead actor asked the dieties that why she send him to hotel so she told him that one of your dream still remain which he didnot seen yet,when he saw that dream so how his dream related to his question which he asked from her ...may be i didn't understand th answer.again confused.
As a whole i like watching all the episode .
Everyone did the great job....
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Well this was an interesting show to get into. Even when I was 2 and a half episodes in - I could see this show’s super high quality. I felt it was really well written and that a high budget was put into it. The highlight of the show is Jang Man Wol. Her personality is unlike most female characters and I loved her stern but playful personality. It’s the first time I’ve seen the cold woman/warm man trope and I was pleasantly surprised by it. Jang Man Wol had a past that I was interested in for once. Most flashbacks do nothing for me but in this show I was keen to learn more about her backstory. And her fashion sense!! Every outfit was breathtaking, stunning and on point. Her makeup, and hair as well. IU is a truly gorgeous woman. [She also reminded me of Kaguya from Love is War. Both shows were released in 2019 and from the personality to her looks, Jang Man Wol is almost the real life version of Kaguya.]
And may I just say, I have seen endless dramas where we get a glimpse into the main character's past + first love (when the main character has lived for decades) and this is the first time I've actually really shipped the couple!! This couple has so much chemistry - just like the present couple. I am impressed. Not many dramas have succeeded in this, nice job writers. Their story was tragic like Romeo and Juliet. It made me wish they could be together in another life. I really wished when they met again in the present that they could have had a tad more closure. Even if they could have just hugged, or something. It broke my heart that he stayed with her since the beginning as firefly, as her guardian and she had been waiting for him the whole time and never knew. I just think they deserved so much more. But you know what they say; first love doesn’t always work out.
But of course our main couple had just as much chemistry, and they got a happy ending. Let’s talk about Koo Chan Sung - aka the most perfect human male on the planet. At the start he may seem quite vanilla, and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But he honestly just has a heart of gold. He does the right thing every time, is good at everything, is intelligent, and will help anybody wholeheartedly. He sticks by Jang Man Wol through thick and thin and helped her start to make better choices. I loved how at the end, the reason why she likes the plump food-eating star is because of him. In a way, they kind of did meet in their past lives. I found it so funny that he told her past-self “I must return to where I came from, to return to the woman I love very much” and she was jealous, and then when reunites with her present-version he says “I just denied a drink from a very beautiful woman” like XD. He loves messing with her and I live for it. I really did feel like their love was just so genuine and real. Their dynamic just worked and a great example of opposites attract.
Another thing I loved about this show was the colouring and all the magical elements. I really liked how the fantasy setting was done. In fact, this show reminded me of Goblin in many ways. From the reincarnation, deities/gods, immortal-having-lived-centuries main character and ghost-seeing love interest. Both protagonists are immortal beings who are paying their sins for the deaths they caused in the past. The overall vibe of the show is very similar.
And finally: the soundtrack was so beautiful too. Had so many emotional songs and they fit with the show SO well.
Overall, this show was a solid 8. A good watch.
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