Arang and the Magistrate (2012)

Pas inoubliable

Je viens de finir le LONG visionnage de Arang and the Magistrate et j'en retire un bilan sympa mais presque oubliable par certains côtés.

L'histoire :

L'histoire nous replonge dans l'époque Joseon en nous orientant un peu plus sur le folklore qui tourne autour de la mort, du monde des esprits, de l'enfer et du paradis donc forcément on parle de faucheuses et surtout de fantômes. Même si le sujet est intéressant j'ai trouvé fort dommage que le drama n'explique rien de tous ces points de culture qui sont dévoilés, il est vrai que l'on peut faire des recherches par soi-même par la suite mais, ayant essayé moi-même, je ne trouve pas beaucoup d'infos sur internet...
Le rythme est bieeeeeen trop lent, je ne dis pas qu'il y aurait forcément dû avoir moins de 20 épisodes mais j'aurai aimé un rythme sinon plus rapide, au moins humainement normal. Toutes les scènes traînent en longueur sur des plans bien inutiles, à tel point que des le troisième épisode j'ai mis la vitesse de lecture multipliée par 1,25 parce que je n'en pouvais plus et là, miracle! J'avais l'impression que l'action se déroulait normalement (à part peut-être pour les scènes de combat).

Les personnages :

Concernant les acteurs, j'ai trouvé que Lee Jun Ki (Kim Eun Oh) jouait bien son rôle, concernant Shin Mina (Arang / Lee Seol Im), autant au début elle plante un personnage fort qui sait se débrouiller et ne se laisse pas faire pour petit à petit, retomber dans l'écueil de la caricature de la demoiselle en détresse ce que je trouve bien dommage, voire même usant.
Par contre, Kang Mun Yeong (dame Seo / Hong Ryeon / Mu Yeon) campe un personnage de méchante super crédible, selon moi, et sait composer également selon la personnalité qu'elle incarne.
Par contre, celui qui joue le fils du seigneur Choi, m'est apparu particulièrement mou, affichant tout le temps un regard éteint pour ne pas dire bovin (je ne veux pas insulter nos amis les vaches non plus) excepté vers la fin lorsqu'il

ATTENTION SPOIL
confesse son crime à Arang et qui, s'excuse auprès d'elle.
FIN DU SPOIL

C'est à tel point que, quelques minutes après le visionnage, j'ai déjà oublié son nom, c'est dire! J'espère que cet acteur aura fait d'autres dramas où il est mieux représenté.

La réalisation :

Alors là, on attaque le noyau dur... je pense que le plus gros problème du drama c'est que le script part bien souvent en cacahuète et je vais donner des exemples en SPOIL, vous êtes prévenus...
Tout d'abord, concernant un personnage qui est l'officier de justice (le gars habillé en bleu parmi le trio comique entourant Kim Eun Oh, celui-ci change de manière d'être à la vitesse de l'éclair, ce qi pourrait être une prouesse en soi vu le rythme du drama car

ATTENTION SPOIL
Il passe de personnage comique et lâche à assassin sans pitié quand il s'attaque aux personnages principaux puis à homme super loyal auprès de ces mêmes personnages
FIN DU SPOIL

Ensuite, les actions et leitmotiv de certains personnages sont parfois particulièrement absurdes ou ne sont mêmes pas expliqués.

ATTENTION SPOIL
Pourquoi la méchante de l'histoire crée des « soldats chasseurs d'âmes » puisqu'elle essaye de ne pas se faire remarquer par les divinités ou encore pourquoi doit-elle changer de corps? Elle « aspire » l'âme de jeunes filles pures en gardant le même corps et en gagnant des forces et du pouvoir, OK. Le corps de Arang va lui fournir la vie éternelle, OK. Mais alors pourquoi a-t-elle pris le corps de la mère du héros? C'est idiot selon moi de prendre un corps plus vieux que celui qu'elle avait avant.
FIN DU SPOIL

Ou encore des fils du scénario qui n'ont aucun sens :

ATTENTION SPOIL
Le plan de la divinité, comment l'empereur de Jade a pu imaginer ce plan si Dame Seo était si bien cachée depuis 400 ans? Comment a-t-il su où envoyer nos héros?
FIN DU SPOIL

La seule réponse ici c'est TGCM (ta gu**le c'est magique!). Désolé c'est cru mais c'est vrai.
Je vous passe les autres incohérences et discussion entre personnages qui n'ont aucun sens et pourtant j'ai été assez sadique avec moi-même pour me les repasser à trois reprises en lecture normale pour bien comprendre que je ne comprenais rien.

ATTENTION SPOIL
Vous verrez l'épisode 18, la discussion entre le héros et son père...
FIN DU SPOIL

Enfin, il y a beaucoup de points négatifs, notamment la lenteur du rythme mais la romance, l'histoire ont réussi à me faire tenir éveillé.e (la grande majorité du temps) jusqu'à la fin. D'ailleurs mention spéciale pour la fin que j'avoue avoir trouvé sympathique.

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

Lire davantage

As a person who rarely (meaning almost never, you can check my list) watches sageuk dramas, I must say this drama rocked my world all the weeks I was watching it! Though you cannot pass it only under sageuk drama, as it is also a detective story(finding the murderer), a fantasy (mythical world with ghosts, fairies, gods of heaven and hell, grim reapers, goats with flowers growing on them, liver eating demons, etc.), romance (tell me about falling in love with a ghost, falling in love with a person who doesn't know and doesn't even care you exist/ed), family melodrama (EunOh's searching for his mother!), politics (satto against Lord Choi)...I can go on, but I won't. My point is, that taking on so many genres is risky, you never know which one of them is going to get loose and go very wrong and make the drama not so successful... you know what? This drama did not let any of the many plots get loose, the director, actors, the crew, the screenwriters - everyone has done a great job in keeping this drama meaningful, interesting, always keeping the viewer on the edge of the chair with a crazily beating heart.
One of the most important points of this drama is that is answers EVERY question it posts in the beginning and throughout the series, it has not even once made me hang and guess (not that I wasn't trying, but I mean before the answer was given :P).
The fantasy plot was the main reason I started this drama and it did not disappoint me. The detective story went on very smoothly and I like that my guesses were wrong, I like being surprised by the drama.
To say anything about the acting is really unnecessary, as I enjoyed every second with JunKi and MinAh, they are brilliant, but their brilliancy is mostly seen not in the general picture that I would write about if talking about their acting the drama overall, but in the little moments, and maybe that moments will even seen to you not that important, but I was gasping for breath (note: JunKi's acting when his father was reading the Royal Order, MinAh's acting when she was telling him she did not want to leave him in 19th episode). Also Yun Woo Jin - fell in love with him... I was crying for who JooWal had become and how perfectly he portrayed the pain and fear of that poor person. I'm going to follow this guy now!
I am almost sure the music crew of King2Hearts was working on this, as I got the same vibe from the score. Absolutely matched with the feel of the drama, bravo~
I am going to miss my dark-mysterious-ghostly-but-lovely Arang ^^

Lire davantage

1) The reason I watched this:

The synopsis felt interesting plus the existence of Jun Ki and Shin Min Ah as leads encouraged me to give it a go.

2) Storyline/Plot:

This is not your usual Sageuk drama; it’s really different from the usual historical productions that you’ve seen before; it has a unique storyline.

Positive Points:

*It was a joyful ride especially at the beginning since there were many intriguing events and characters. Speaking about the main genres in this drama, I will mention:

--->Mystery/Suspense: I believe it was the main element in here; it would’ve become boring without mystery and suspense thrown here and there. Every episode will leave you with many questions and thoughts, it will keep you guessing and anticipating but this element can completely disappear from some episodes , it would’ve been much better if it was present throughout the whole drama.

--->Fantasy/Supernatural: It was good too; the supernatural moments were really enjoyable. It added a different taste to the storyline’s development. The fantasy wasn’t entirely believable but it doesn’t deny the fact that there were many great scenes and characters related to this genre.

--->History: Historical dramas haters don’t run away! Like I said before this isn’t your usual sageuk drama; it didn’t focus on the boring historical elements neither on the usual historical development so it would be much better if you don’t judge it basing on its sageuk background.

Negative Points:

--->Humor: It was hilarious at the beginning then the whole concept faded away as the episodes went on. I was disappointed in this genre because I expected more yet its absence didn’t ruin the drama.

--->Romance: I never considered this drama as a romantic drama since there was a huge lack of romantic development. Well, it wasn’t entirely off since we had great scenes thrown every once in awhile but I wouldn’t call it “A romantic drama”.

*The storyline can get really slow and the plot twists can be completely absent in couple of episodes which makes it so boring at some points.

Story: 8.5/10.

3) Acting/Cast:

*I was delighted to see Jun Ki and Shin Min Ah together in a production; I expected a lot from the both of them and I was proven right after watching this drama. Both actors, delivered great emotions and portrayed great roles.

*As for characters, Arang’s first episodes character was much better than afterwards; it’s not like the character was ruined but it felt more serious which made it less interesting.
Eun Oh’s character was good throughout the whole drama; yes it was stiff and arrogant but still captivating and charming in some ways and let’s not forget the nice character development that the magistrate personality went through.

*The rest of the cast was great overall, some good actors and characters appeared in here.

*Appreciated characters: Ju Wal and Moo Young because they added an appealing atmosphere to the general storyline.

*Relationships:

--->Romance: There were some great chemistry moments but it wasn’t the kind of chemistry that would make you jump off your seat.

Cast: 9/10.
Acting: 9.5/10.

4) The ending:

I have to admit that the ending surprised me; I never expected this genre of drama to end that way. Don’t worry, it was good but I still think it was fan-service.

The ending: 8/10.

5) My impression (How did it affect me):

*At the beginning, I was really obsessed with this drama but I was annoyed with slow moments afterwards yet I haven’t lost interest.

*I was mostly invested with the mystery/suspense elements so when it was absent, I felt a lot of emptiness yet fantasy can fill that blank sometimes. However, I would’ve never given it a try if those elements were absent (especially mystery/suspense).

*Is this drama memorable: Yes, simply because it had a unique storyline. I think that I will only remember the great suspense and mysterious events because honestly speaking; romance didn’t deliver a lot of feelings that deserve to be remembered.

My impression: 8/10.

6) Overall:

*If you like Mystery/Suspense dramas then you should give this a go.
*If you like supernatural dramas, you would enjoy this.
*If you like Jun Ki then you have to watch this because you will get to see a different side of him.

*Arang and the magistrate was a drama that had different genres wrapped up in one story, it may not sound like a great combination but it felt differently creative from any other sageuk drama.

Overall: 8.5/10.

Lire davantage

At first, I can honestly say that I watched Arang and the Magistrate simply for Yoo Seung Ho's prettiness (c'mon, he was rocking the Barbie hair and the Chinese robes!). However, I soon started watching it because of the show itself. The story was quite exceptional and the plot was quite original in my opinion. Arang is about an amnesiac ghost that requests the help of the city's magistrate to discover her identity, and her eventual murderer. Each character suited his/her role (especially Lee Jun Ki- his fighting scenes were kick-ass!). The supporting characters (Bang Ul Ri and Dol Soe) added a lot of heart and laughs to the story. Of course, the music selection was amazing; I had goosebumps during the creepy scenes and chills during the romantic scenes XD. The directing was top notch and the script kept me hanging for each episode. I was dying for Wednesday and Thursday to come around every week. :P

On the other hand, the actors were not exactly mind-blowing, except for maybe Eun Oh's mom. The rewatch value is sorta low because the drama is mostly suspenseful, and all that suspense would be gone if the drama was rewatched.

Over all, I would say give Arang a go, though! If only for Yoo Seung Ho's hotness ^__^

Lire davantage

Wow... where to begin. First of all, if you have never watched a historical drama before, i suggest watching this. Why? Because i think this is the type of drama almost everyone will like, and has a happy, cute ending(one of the best endings for a drama I've seen).

Second, I absolutely loved the actors in this. They were all so amazing and into their parts, that you will feel the love for the good characters, and hate the bad ones.

However, I did have some problems with this drama. Although i gave it a rating of 9, I thought some parts in this drama were a little boring. Honestly, I think they could've made this a 16 episode drama. If you feel the same way though, I advise you to not skip over parts anyway because they could explain whats going on.

You wont regret watching this! :)

Lire davantage

At the beginning I thought this will be an amazing drama! I really enjoyed the fantasy elements of it from the beginning, the actors/actresses were very talented, there was a good chemistry going on, and the story seemed very interesting! I was storming through the episodes and I was congratulating myself for deciding to watch this ...

However, the drama soon lost its magic for me; they made the horrible mistake of letting us know the whole freaking story half way through the drama!! The main characters were trying to unravel the mystery, but I already knew what the big secret is!! So it was very hard for me to make myself continue finishing each episode! Even the other mysteries/sub plots that they were trying to solve were either not interesting or very predictable! Imagine u knowing the answer and u're watching ppl trying to solve the puzzle ... It's pretty boring!

The ending was cute, and even though I got very bored during the second half of the drama, I don't regret watching it! I loved the characters and their love stories ( both the main and supporting characters)

ps: I have an interesting point about the music that I really want to mention! Obviously, this is a historical drama. Yet, for some strange reason they've decided to put a rap song in it!! Yes, you heard me right, a rap song!! I don't know about you, but it's very bizarre for me to listen to rap music when watching ppl in traditional clothing fight!!! To be honest the first time I thought the rap music/singing is coming from one of my other pages!!! then I realized that nope it was from the movie O.O!!!

Lire davantage

when i saw the opening pictures at dramabeans i knew i had to check out this show..i had been waiting for 2 months and then when it aired..i was blown away..honestly i never thought that the writer could wrap up so many different genres in one and im glad that they took the risk otherwise we would have missed such an amzing piece of work

i LOVED the acting..i knew Lee Jun Ki from My Girl and he wasn't much of an actor there but here he proved me wrong which led me into stalking his other dramas...:D
he's improved a lot from his My Girl days and it shows.The guy sure can act and he made his character,the satto(magistrate) who was arrogant,exasperating and totally full of himself into this gentle and caring man so believeable.his character growth is so convincing.Those few things that one misses..you can't..if one watches this closely u'l see that LJK does not only act with his body and face but with his eyes too.So many emotions they express that only builds up the fact that he's one good actor.I loved him in traditional clothing here.especially in the mourning clothes he looked the best..:D..His fights are simply superb and add to the excitement being played at Rap music..

Shin Min Ah doesnt need an introduction at all..her name speaks for herself..she does an amazing job playing Arang.i love her kicka** personality here.i love heroines who have some spunk and lots of spark at that..who won't be deterred by the arrongant hero and cry in a corner..she's the sort where she'll talk in witty repartee..throwing the arrogant hero off..as she does here

When such accomplished actors are involved there are sure to be lots of sparks and lightining in the drama.ther sure are.The tension kept me glued to my laptop in the initial episodes where all i wanted them to do is stop with the inhibitions and just grab and kiss.the chemistry is pretty much awesome but there isnt much of it though.the romance is not the strong point of this drama but it does come around here and there to make us satisfied enough

the plot is pretty unique and delivers on all the angst and the tears and the heartbreaks that i expected this show will give me.The fantasy and the mystery element is strong and that will keep any watcher glued.
The sub plot in this one are just too interesting.Dol Soe and Bang wool's romance is just so cute.There comedic timing was perfect.Yoo Seung Ho as the jade emperor is just too awesome..never knew God could be so handsome..and then Han Jung Soo as Moo Young is very good.He brings the right emotions to his character.Kang Moon Young as Eun Oh's mother is one good actress..loved her in this.I'l miss Yon Woo Jin as Ju Wal because he's one character we can't help but sympathize with.He's vulnerable and so heartbreaking at the same time.His puppy eyes are the best and im sure he has a long way ahead of him as he can act..:)

The music score was just beautiful..flowing into the drama at the right places and made the impact of emotions all the more real.

Its hard to say that this was a flawless drama.It definately had many.It wasn't edited properly sometimes and the sets became too repetitive after some time and the fantasy element looses out in the last episodes.The story becomes dragging too as at the ending episodes everything became too serious and we missed all the comedy.

It had such potential on the romantic front but writers didnt deliver on that.I wouldn't call it a romantic drama like scent of a woman and secret garden were since it doesnt make romance its main focus,but what romance it did deliver it was good enough to hook us to our sets.The cinematography at some places was too beautiful for words.

Its the perfect drama to watch for any drama fan as it encompasses so many genres perfectly

you won't be dissapointed..go and watch it NOW..:)

Lire davantage

The first thing that came to me upon reading the synopsis was like..." a ghost in a sageuk is kinda cool." So I gave it a shot...besides Yoo Seung-ho looking like a real GOD of heaven; I'm also curious about Lee Joon-gi. I read sooo many reviews about him being a good actor, and so since, this was his first project out from the military, I decided to try it out; and I'm not sooo disappointed at all!!!!

What attracted me most here is the plot. Of ghost wandering around finding her true identity. I am used to watch sageuks in a very SERIOUS manner and I think this gives a fresh plot to those who doesn't watch sageuks too much. So, in Joseon period, there are people around who can see what other people doesn't normally see, is another plus for me. I think, this kind of thing is a bit taboo since it was in the Joseon era. That kind of plot wasn't fully explored, until this drama came out.

My curiuosity to Lee Joon-gi lead me to prove me that HE is one of the best actors out there. He bought balance to the story and did "enough" for his role. I know he can play the character better, but I think the story just asks for that much, and its a good thing he played it just way iot should.

SHIN MIN-AH is did a very good job here, specially the stunts in Episode 1, and she immersed herself in the role perfectly. She made me laugh, and she made me cry. That's more than enough for me to commend her in this drama.

The only character that balances everything here is Yoo Seung-ho. Besides looking beautiful, he did a fairly good job on being the one who knows the faith of two characters.

I didn't find any lame characrter here. Every character is important for the story be effective. GOOD JOB!!!!!! :)

Lire davantage

"Arang And The Magistrate" is a great mythical/fairy tale type story that comes together via the excellent acting skills of the main characters. Awesome CG effects and beautifully composed scenes make for a convincing fantasy world. Lee Jun Ki does his own fight scenes, and as a martial artist myself, I can say that the fights were very good, some of the best fight scenes in k-drama that I've seen so far.

Beautiful wardrobe and period buildings complete the sets. Especially awesome was the character Moo Young, his makeup and wardrobe made for a very convincing Death Angel. Very creatively done.

I gave a poor score for the musical score because rap/hip hop is used during some fight scenes. I get the attempt to appeal to younger audiences, but that music was very out of place for a saeguk, even a fantasy one. I was actually checking my ipad to make sure a music app hadn't suddenly started up unbidden.

Even those who do not generally like saeguks might give this a try. The journey into Arang's fantasy world is worth their time.

Lire davantage

Lee Jun-Ki. Shin Mina. What more can you ask for from the perfect face value cast?

Oh yes... the consistency of the story. Hence my self discussion of like and dislike from this drama.

First, why I like it is the mention from above. Eye candy couple always help bring in more viewers anyways. Then there's the team of solid characters. I believe these individual characters where built up in a really good way, even the flashbacks (which I personally dislike) were essential as a foreground. Not annoying but instead, needed. So I'm letting that one slide.

I love Arang. She's such a feisty ghost/woman. She talks brash, she's persistently cute and most of all she knows how to care. What I hated about her character is the inconsistency of her self-defense behavior. She's supposed to know how to defend herself by kicking ass of both human and ghost alike, but there were slips along the way which makes her such a damsel in distress and THAT is what I dislike about her character.

Sato Kim Eun Oh. *sigh* I want to look on forever at that face. I totally feel how Arang feels. *shakes head to come back to reality* Okay, back to what I like about him - it's the way how he progressed as a person. I love the fact that his personality evolved gradually after meeting Arang, PLUS the fact that he knows how to fight. (I am an action fan so learn to deal with it.) As a wishy-washy character, Sato is still influential and yes… yes… yes… we already know that he is good looking, but besides that he is a man with integrity. What I hate about his character is the fact that he gets all mopey when it comes to his mother. That part irritates me the most. If Arang feels annoyed by it, so do I, in triple folds.

As for the other characters like Dol Soe and the Shaman, the three other officers whom I get to call the three stooges because of the multiple mischief they try to conjure within Miryang and the Great King Jade (Oh man, oh man! My dear Seung Ho, how I adore thee!!!)is also one of the characters that's a dessert to look at. There's also the constant bickering of the King of the Underworld which by the way is cute, but let's not forget the insightful conversations regarding the humans and their hearts. The grim reaper has a good role in all of this as well, I like the fact that he's supposed to be a bad-guy-but-not-really-bad kind of character. The idea that he's also a confused soul but still has to harvest other confused souls feels rather eccentric yet interesting.

Then finally, we also have the REAL bad guys. Not much to say about them but they are very much helpful in building up the story to what it should be. Basically all in all - the mix of all these characters were simply great.

So what went wrong?

The characters were great, the MUSIC was a lovely mix of eeriness and sometimes soulful, the cinematography was love and then… the story line went bland. It was a Sageuk Fantasy fusion with a mix of Rom-Com Horror, it had a good premise but there was that feeling after episode 8 that the story began to drag on. Maybe it's just me, but it felt like there were moments in the series which could have been cut short to emphasize more on the main story and the fun sort of died out and became too serious for my liking. The ending wasn't my cup of tea as well, there was so much that could have been done with that. That's why I would give it an over all rating of 8.

I may not re-watch this drama, but I would recommend it to those who love the actors, good set of acting and well… a ghost filled episode per episode.

Lire davantage

Arang and the Magistrate is one of my favorite dramas ever. It's nowhere near a perfect drama and yet it will be one of the best you'll ever see (that is, if we enjoy the same kind of dramas). This is coming from someone who doesn't watch many sageuks.

You do not need to be a fan of the main actors to decide to watch this drama. Believe me when I say this- they are incredibly talented and will impress you no matter what. This drama has a good plot and that's interesting because it is a mixture of mystery, fantasy and romance.

The biggest strength of the drama lies in the compelling romance and characters you would want to root for. Lee Jun Ki is an absolute sweetheart as the Magistrate in this drama and he made me fall hard for him. Shin Min Ah is a stunning beauty with talent to go with it. She is bubbly and lively in her role as Arang. There was no way in which I couldn't root for these two together.

Then there's an unusual second male lead in the drama too. The main antagonist in this one made me laugh at times because she wasn't a very good actress. That brings me to the Gods who were very entertaining to watch as well.

This drama has one of the best OSTs ever and will keep you listening forever to it. Of course, it suffers from a few flaws and repetitive moments but it will not irritate you. It isn't very fast paced nor is it slow- its got just the right pace to keep one hooked. I didn't like the ending, but I rarely ever expect good endings from Kdramas. Trust my word when I say it will be worth the time!

I recommend this drama highly to watch and also to rewatch.

Lire davantage