When I started watching this drama, I did not have any expectations at all. I liked the subject of weightlifting – it is the reason I started watching this in the first place –, other than that anything else seemed familiar. It is a story of friendship, growing up, personal development, and the first love/crush, and it is done quite well! It is a calm, funny slice of life drama, nothing really extraordinary happens. There are very few cliffhangers, but they were nasty ones so I had to watch the next episode immediately. The first half consists of subliminal messages and hints, while in the second half things start to get real. What distinguishes this show from other dramas is that, despite some exaggerations and the utter silliness, the realism is strong with “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo”. I think a lot of you guys could relate to some situations and Bok Joo’s behavior, at least I could. Furthermore, the plots are surprisingly well-balanced, and even though most of them have been used several times already, they still are nicely presented and built up. Another thing that I considered positive is the fact that the makers did not focus totally on the romance part towards the end, but still had other stories to tell. Don’t expect explosive feelings and hot kiss scenes, because this main couple’s relationship is purity, innocence, and awkwardness combined. It is perfectly fine the way it is in my opinion. The acting was good. The main couple has really good chemistry together. Jung Joon Hyeong is a kind and caring character, yet he is not as one dimensional as a lot of the good guys out there. Often this type of character tends to become shallow and uninteresting, but Jung Joon Hyeong does not, because he is well thought through and charming. For me, Song Shi Ho underwent the greatest character development in this series and I was very happy for her. I did not like Jae Yi, and I was not interested in his story that much, he was too much of a device. Kim Bok Joo is hilarious. I really, really liked the actress’s facial expressions and movements. Bok Joo’s friends and Joon Hyeong’s pal were enjoyable and generated lots of comical situations. I do not have any complaints about the music, it suited the situations well, and I enjoyed the funny sound effects und the meme-like reactions. If I were someone who is not bothered by rewatching stuff, I would not rewatch this. I do not regret watching this series and 8.0 is a solid rating, but I did not feel like it was somethings precious and special to me. Let's talk about the things that bothered me. It might be a highly subjective matter, I will say it out loud nonetheless: I felt like the entire drama is loaded with filters. The colors are artificially bright, their faces extremely beautified, especially the face of the female lead. It was irritating. That brings up another point that irked me. But first off: I think Lee Sung Kyung is gorgeous and a good actress. However, as far as I understood Bok Joo is a girl that actually doesn’t use makeup... Honestly, you can almost touch it through the screen. And I’m sorry to say this, but she is too pretty for this role. You simply cannot recruit an objectively pretty woman for your show, put makeup on her and depict her as “not that pretty” in the series just because she lifts weights and wears baggy pants. The makers should have dropped the makeup completely leastwise. I wished I got answers to some questions that were brought up, but in the end, I was not bugged that much. All in all “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo” is an enjoyable drama, but I cannot say I went totally crazy about it.