No Gain, No Love (2024)

Realistic emotions portrayed

At first it just seemed like another Noona drama that didn't make sense. But after binge watching 8 eps I felt like this is a rom com. The plot is heart-warming. The characters did wonderful justice to their roles. The main lead is mysterious but kind. The female lead is ambitious but also warm hearted than she shows. The second female lead did the most amazing job. Her portrayal of emotions of a victim of domestic abuse weren't like concept but something her character experienced. She also has this really versatile range from penthouse to cheer up to NoLove, NoGain. The second male lead and his secretary make a really funny duo and it seems natural. The transition of second lead's character that showed him as a troller who wrote a comment on 51st chapter to getting to know he wasn't the one was surprising. Also,love how he starts putting positive ones later and for a moment it becomes clear that why the triangle becomes a line between the second leads. The supporting characters did a good job and did not have a typical role. The Ex-boyfriend's wife is not annoying. Sure she is doubtful and controlling but to the fl she is like a normal friend. I hope they don't make her the mean character because of her husband. Also a new concept of polyamorous relationship was shown. I think that was new for me to see such a normal one. The ending of 8th ep left many surprises like the secretary being the one to leave the comments on 51st chapter. The third sister seems to be pregnant. Sml got to know ml is his half brother. The male lead seems to have to do something with fl father's death. In all it was a good drama that should not be judged on the first look

Lire davantage

a fun, no loss no gain watch!

ignore the no gain comment tho lol. i gained my favourite second lead couple. a total win!

such an enjoyable watch 🥹 mondays were good again thanks to this drama. noona romance done right with the perfect mix of comedy, blended in with found family vibes that doesn't feel superficial.i loved the bond between the three sisters. all the characters are so lovely and even the side characters are fun and not easily forgettable.

ep12 the funeral scene was so real and natural like it felt like real life. shin mina broke me when she cried. i love hayeong realised the value her mom had on the foster kids and vice versa.
love they explored that topic.

lots of funny scenes, some emotional ones, a bit of action ( with a dildo no less lmfao), and some of the sweetest of romance with both the couples. heck even the third couple were sweet.

some semi bold topics explored right

small complaint being that they really could have done the ending better. kdrama writers have to insert a last minute breakup even if it's on the final episode like what did that even gain. fine jiuk got freed sure but the reconciliation could have happened earlier and we could have had some cute moments and even a reunion btwn all the characters!

anyway i was so focused on the second couple & squealing at how cute they were that i wasn't really bothered lol. gyuyeon are one of the best second lead pairing we have had in a while. can't appreciate the visionary who saw the potential and thought of the spin off enough! a real legend!

Lire davantage

SECOND COUPLEEEE

sooo cutie. started this just for the second couple and i was not disappointed. UGHHHHH HE LOVES HER SM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i watched this on 2x speed cuz i had to lfinish it in one night LOLL the main couple obvi not my fav, but the GUYYYYY SO HOT! anywhol. didnt like the girl... ABASOLUETMELY LOVED THE WRITER AND THE CEO, HOW FUCKING CUTE IS THAT. hes sso sweet, even tho he had the hatger comment blowout, he made sure to re read and rerate each episode, read all her sgtories over to cover, save her using dildos, care about her work, UGHHHHHH!!!!!!!! theyre so cutie and im so excitde to watach the spin off. also this was rly funny, like i found myself laughing a lot cuz some parts were just so unserious. ok anywho awesomeness.

Lire davantage

Brave characterization for an FMC, but finale left a couple of things to be desired

I truly haven't read any comments or any reviews because I can imagine what they'll say about Son Haeyoung. As it stands, for me personally, she is the most relatable FMC I've ever seen in a kdrama.

Typically, if there's a grumpy, seemingly cold MC, the love interest is warm and personable. Here's a story that takes place between 2 characters that grew up learning not to want things. For SHY, that made her resistant to taking anything from anyone and making sure to always get her fair share in every single aspect of her life, professional or personal. For KJU, it meant basically putting his own desires aside if it conflicted with anyone else's.

I love SHY. I don't think I've ever seen an FMC in a kdrama like her before. She's complex, flawed, intelligent, driven, and very protective of those she cares about. Her morals regarding loss/gain applied to everyone she cared about, meaning that she'd push someone in what she felt was the fairest direction, even if that caused her pain. I'd hope others could see how many things she did that were selfless and in defense of others, but I've noticed that these traits tend to be demonized in female characters. And in a show that clearly pushed other characters into more of a sympathetic light, I'm certain she rubbed other viewers the wrong way.

This show explored something very interesting in that I initially thought it was going to show a sympathetic take towards a child neglected while her parents served others. It explores that children growing up in the same household can have very different childhoods. SHY's mother was kind, generous, and attentive to *other* children. I could not understand why there was never a point where she's showing that same attention to SHY. It's implied the only parent that remotely did was her father. I couldn't understand why they bothered having a child if they weren't going to pay attention to them. I thought it was shaping up to be a rather brave story choice, but it didn't really stick the landing in my opinion. Not a single character validates that SHY was right to have wanted more from her mother. The narrative repeatedly pushes the idea that her mother was a "saint" and SHY is presented as selfish for wanting an actual childhood. If the show had shown at least one person understanding SHY's relationship with her mother, I probably would've given this a 9.5 and called it my favorite kdrama of the year. But... here we are.

To be clear, I think it's great SHY's mother was so kind to foster children. I don't think it's great the show implies SHY was selfish for wanting her parents attention. She says repeatedly that her mother was great to *others*. I don't get how anyone watching could fault her for not being super thrilled about her personal experience with her mother. Especially considering SHY still took care of her despite that.

Ultimately, I think it was a nice (intentional?) thing that the show highlights the many ways SHY was like her mother - helping foster kids, protecting abused children, protecting kids from bullies, and giving so much even when she suffered for it.

Anyway, I loved the relationship between SHY and KJU. It was adorable watching him flounder with relationship ups and downs and the misunderstandings were actually very funny to watch. I liked how SHY cared for him and encouraged him to seek his own desires and let go of the promises he made to his grandmother, birth mother, and foster mother. She was often more outraged on his behalf than he was outraged for himself. SHY fought for everyone and I just wished she had more people understanding of why she is the way she is without constantly pushing the "your mother was a saint" thing. It's honestly quite unhealthy when you think about it. Sidenote, the moment in the finale when he says he won't lie to her ever again, I laughed. To be honest, I lost count of how many things he lied about, but still, I liked them together.

I loved Nam Jayeon. The actress is great, she did a wonderful job, and her story was very moving. I enjoyed her romance with the CEO, though it is a bit strange the show has her flip flop on being loyal to SHY after she was unfairly demoted. The fact that he screws SHY over and its never remedied is pretty messed up. Anyway, I'll check out the spin off show.

I didn't connect with Huiseong as much as the others, but I thought the actress did a great job.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. It's paced well, I never really felt like the episodes were too long or just filler. This show does a great job balancing drama and humor. The humor of the "light saber" fight was a bit jarring after such a serious scene, but ultimately, it's one of the scenes that made me laugh out loud. The show discusses some very difficult topics. I found the handling of some aspects braver than others, but it's a clear recommend from me. I can't think of another kdrama I've seen with this many complex and interestingly written female characters.

Lire davantage

Bom

"Só voltei para onde meu coração ficou"

Eu gostei do final, mas triste porque acho que ele poderia ter ido embora no episódio anterior e voltado no último, não tivemos tanto deles dois juntos assim no final :( Mas gostei muito da construção do drama, dos casais e dos assuntos mais sérios tratados com um pouco de humor.
A química dos dois foi incrível, me apaixonei
A relação das três também foi muito bonita 🥺
E o casal secundário, nosso ceo e a escritora deram o que falar. Gostei muito da OST, acho que o drama poderia ter sido melhor sabe, principalmente com os poucos episódios... Mas foi bom.

Lire davantage

A Lighthearted and Enjoyable Show!

I have been waiting to write a review for this show, so now that I'm finally done I'm excited to do so.

Story: 7/10
Frankly speaking, this show is very on-brand with the current wave of Booktok-esque shows that have been coming out. It has lots of well-loved tropes: strangers-to-lovers, marriage of convenience, found family, and onwards. The premise of the show is interesting but nothing new--two strangers that get married for convenience. Even the subplots have a lot of familiar plots and cliches---enemies-to-lovers, rich-girl-rich-guy, and onwards. The show actually makes fun of its own cliches at different points, which adds to the lightheartedness of the show.

There are some more serious subplots, too, though which make the comedy more fun I find. There are plots about family abuse, foster family, what family really means. There is one quote I liked, which is when the FL states to the ML regarding her mother "just like you can like someone with loving them, you can love someone without liking them." I think it hits the nail on the head about one of the central themes of the show.

To be honest, overall, this show isn't anything really ground-breaking which is why I've only given it a 7 despite really enjoying the more "heavy" subplots too. The plot twists are all very easy to guess, which can get frustrating if you're used to watching heavier shows where you have to analyze or guess twists. I enjoy shows where I have to guess, too, but this was a relaxing change. Also, without giving spoilers, I must say that I found the last episode very rushed. I was hoping we could get more closure on some of the side couples' upcoming changes, the changing family dynamics, etc. I think if it had been 14 episodes instead of 12 we might have better closure. But that's okay too.

Acting/Cast: 8/10
I know I always say this, but I really enjoyed the acting of most of the characters on this show! Starting with the leads, this is the second show I've watched of Shin Min Ah's (the first being Hometown Cha Cha Cha) and I honestly have no notes. I love her comedic timing and her cute smile, along with how she deals more fierce lines and her emotional scenes. She's really a wonderful actress.

As for Kim Young Dae, this is the second show of his that I've watched to the end (the first being Penthouse seasons 1-3). To be honest, I tried to watch Shooting Stars but really coudn't due to the off-putting plot and his acting. I had my hopes up but unfortunately, I really did not like Kim Young Dae's acting in this show. His expressions are very stiff, he seems to have the same tone of speech in every scene regardless of the emotions his character is going through. I did find his crying scenes very good and his startled expressions in comedic scenes good, but in terms of classic rom-com ML energy, I didn't really get that.

In terms of chemistry between the leads, I disagree with people who said the age gap was too big. I don't think the age gap was the problem at all, I think both actors look good together. However, I think with KYD's acting being so stiff that SMA had to carry the show especially in their romantic scenes which was definitely a let down.

As for the side characters, I enjoyed everyone's acting. I really liked the acting of Lee Sang Yi in his role as the rich CEO (I've previously watched him in Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Bloodhounds, and more), I think his expressions and comedic timing are really good. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the characters of Ha-Jun, U-Jae, Hui-Seong, and onwards. I did have a bit of a hard time with Han Ji Hyun's acting (who plays Yeon Bo Ra / Nam Ja Yeon), I found she was also stiff at times and her line delivery wasn't always the best. But I also really liked her in comedic scenes and enjoyed her romantic chemistry with LSY's character.

Music: 8/10
I say this on all of my reviews, but I'm not really an OST person. The music was enjoyable, so 8/10.

Rewatch Value: 8/10
Full disclosure, I'm not really the type that re-watches shows, so it's always hard for me to give a rating in this category. But that being said, this show was fun to watch and a nice break from my day-to-day life. I also plan to watch the spin-off with the second leads. So, there's a good chance I may come back and re-watch it someday.

And that's all! As always, no hate to any of the actors or team members, these are just my opinions :)

Lire davantage

Achei que seria outra coisa...

Quando comecei esse drama confesso que achei que iria perpasar um outro contexto, não esperei em ipotese alguma que seria um dorama que iria muito mais para um romcom. E foi isso o que me pegou!!!
Para mim a trama foi envolvente do inicio ao fim, senti em alguns momento que alguns dos personagens secundarios deveriam ter tido um pouco mais de tempo de tela, mas não me encomodou de forma tão severa. Todos os atores desse drama entregaram uma atuação que é imprecionante, mas quero destacar aqui a atuação da Shin Min Ah apenas uma rainha.
Entretanto, o que me fez ansiar toda semana para assistir esse drama não foi o enredo principal, mas sim o CASAL SECUNDARIO, apenas um enemies to lovers perfeito (para quem ainda não esta sabendo, terá um spin off sobre o casal após esse drama).
Amei a esperiência de ter assistido esse dram, recomendo a todos.

Lire davantage

PANG PANG COUPLE JAYA-JAYA-JAYA

wow kenapa banjir ya😭 dr kmren bzirr nangis mulu😭 keknya krn lg pms si, nangis krn takut sad ending bzirr td, sialan bikin ketar ketir😭🫵🏽 kocak bgt tp dramanya definisi komedi woi, orgnya tulil2😭🫶🏽🫶🏽 tp tetep ada cerita sedih2nya huhu cerita ortu son haeyoung ayah nam jayeon, itu asli gakuattt, alurnya ringan banget tp ga yg flat bgt fokus romcom doang gtu jd ga bosanin samsek, trus kim jiuk vibesnya literally brondong yg kecintaan ama son haeyoung, gemath bgt trus patuh nurut tp bisa diandalkan🥹 wlopun org2 dh judge dluan acting youngdae terlalu flat, tp kata aku ga kok, oke2 aja aktingnya ga flat yg ampe mengganggu, malah raut mukanya ekspresif gasi apalagi matanyaa, mana cakep bgt YOUNGDAE ALLAHU, shin minah juga cakep bgt buset dh umur segitu ttp kiyowokk🥹🫶🏽 trus kisah second couplenya juga kocak woi, yg couple satu lg unik ceritanya tp endingnya bahagia juga 🥹senang krn semuanya happyyy, fix bakal masuk jd drama favorit aku si iniii🥹🫶🏽

Lire davantage