Venus de Altădată (2015)

A must watch

Sooooo, let me start by saying the cast is amazing; every individual in this drama was perfectly cast. The main girl is beautiful physically and mentally, if that makes sense. She is kind but has a little backbone. The Main dude is, hands down, has the right mix of cocky dude but sweet. I'm not gonna really spoil the drama, but the message I got from the drama is beauty is really in the eye of the holder. Losing weight wouldn't make you the most beautiful person in the world if you internally have no self-confidence or self-esteem. The main girl wanted to lose weight; however, the drama focused on losing the weight for her well-being rather than focusing on losing weight to become skinny. The drama highlights the importance of healthy eating and the determination to make changes in your life.

I wanna watch something that is lightly sweet and has a good life story behind the drama. I highly recommended this drama; I've literally watched this like 10 times so far.

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Great leads but flat side characters

I didn't expect it to be so comforting but it was! A smart and strong FL plus a nice ML, both of who have good communication...It was just so refreshing. This is how I think you should write a strong female lead; she has pride but isn't an emotionless robot and can get hurt, she's great at what she does, she stands up for herself and her friends and goes after what she wants despite Lady Luck not always being on her side. And the ML was great as well; I'm so sick of the cold jerk rich male lead it was fun to see a character that went against all that; he was kind and nice from the start while still being sure of his own boundaries. Together, the ML and the FL made such a great duo; they had great chemistry, full communication, and mutual understanding.

The main side characters, particularly the ML's two friends, were great as well and I loved how bubbly and fun they were while each still kind of having their own hobbies and doing their own thing. Something about this group with the FL just felt so much like found family.

Overall, I actually thought the weight/health theme was done fairly well — it's usually something I'm very hesitant about. There are still some throwaway lines, especially at the end, that made me a little uncomfortable and felt like the writers had no more time left to insert good development, but everything in the early part of the drama was great; the FL was so much more than her weight and her work/friendships/family showed that, and it was more than appearances and "getting revenge" on her exes — she did it for herself.

Other than the main leads, however, I felt like the second and side ships really fell flat. It was hard to root for the second ship considering how it was her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend and the latter was so snarky and pouty, and the other side ship felt a little random and obsessive.

There are honestly a tad too many side characters and many of them were related to family drama and office politics, neither of which I really cared about; and tied in with them were some kdrama tropes that would normally bother me a lot. I'll never like some of them but I was surprised how it actually didn't bother me as much in this drama — mostly because there was a really strong understanding between the two leads which other dramas ruin, while this one made use of it.

Overall, this drama was very fluffy, light-hearted, and cute. There were some cliches and some side-plots that didn't really get fleshed out as much as I wanted, but for a rom-com it was great, and watching this was just FUN. The OST is a bop too.

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first of all I should say thank you to all cast and crew of this beautiful romance drama .. this drama was one of my best .. because of several simple reasons .. the first one is that it hasn't any deep suffer things .. like cruelness, malice, lie , and... that we can see in most of the Korean drama which make you feel sad ... in one word story was awesome..
the second reason is that , the drama has very calm and friendly and nice atmosphere that makes me feel good and relax .. when i was so tried about everything and start to watch it , i completely forget about my bad feelings.
the third reason is that so ji sub is my best .. No 1 now and forever .. he is wonderful talented actor .. all the roles that he played before were brilliant and in this drama he shows his talented personality in love .. showing love and make viewers feel his pure love .. excellent
and the last reason is that all the actors and actresses were completely match together.. ost was nice .. I gave 10 from 10 to this drama ..

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Oh my fatphobia

*******SPOILERS********
The first few episodes of this drama were really hard to get through because of the constant jokes and remarks about Kang Joo Eun’s weight. I kinda knew instantly that with her transformation the ML would start to show his feelings and that just bothered me. I appreciated the emphasis on inside as well as outside health, so that was something done right. But I didn’t like the association that the FL was no longer “beautiful” with her added weight and that she needed to lose weight to be beautiful again.
I also found a lot of the other storylines kinda boring/unnecessary. It was really hard to root for the secondary couple because of the way their relationship started and how they treated the FL. And the fact that the ML went a whole year without seeing the FL to heal on his own was kinda dumb.
But - when the relationship developed between the leads I was just squealing at every cute moment. They really were an adorable couple and the actors did a good job displaying chemistry. That’s really what made me keep watching. A lot of kdramas shy away from overt affection, but I liked that these characters weren’t shy about it and the romance didn’t feel lackluster.
Overall I have a lot of problems with it but I also love it at the same time. It’s hard because I know that beauty standards differ in South Korea but I had to mention it since so much of the drama revolves around it. I would still recommend the drama through if you’re like me and a good couple can get you through it. I really fell in love with the actors.

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Honestly I’m very picky about my dramas and I stop lots of them halfway, but this is by far one of my favourites! It’s up there with My ID is Gangnam Beauty. The story is so refreshing, and shows all the ups and downs of weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle, and dealing with chronic illnesses. The relationship in this drama was so realistic. There was none of those cliches you see in usual dramas, and it seemed so real and healthy. The actors had incredible chemistry, oh my god. I can’t count all the times I almost cried or squealed with joy. Again, it was so refreshing to watch. I can’t imagine better actors for these roles. So Ji Sub and Shin Min Ah have gained a new fan for life. I really recommend watching this drama.

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Love, love,love!!!! It was so sweet from beginning to end. It was a very realistic kdrama dealing with real situations. I loved that the lead female wasn't a pushover or depressed just because she was fat. I loved that they made her so strong because in real life that's how women are. She had so many aspects to her personality. Also the relationship between the two females was well done. I usually don't like misunderstandings but theirs was a situation that could have happened in real life. I actually like that I was able to sympathize with both female characters. I really enjoyed how their relationship was so outwardly hostile. It was so refreshing to see!
I loved the relationship between the guys. Their friendship was so fun. The love between the leads was just so sweet and cute. I took. 5 points off because of the ending but it was not a deal breaker. The ending left me wanting more.

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Oh My Heart.

I recommend this drama for people who love rom coms.

First and foremost. THE CHEMISTRY. There is a level of familiarity between our leads, almost from the beginning. They bicker a lot, but come to an understanding (and almost affectionlike) relationship rather quickly. Even throughout advancements in the plot, this doesn't change, and I think that's the nicest thing to see.
On top of the leads you have one of the best bromances I have ever seen. I think the friendship between Ji-woong, Joon-sung and Young-ho might be my favorite friendship in my drama viewing history. They're tough with each other, but do it in a way that shows that they care, more than if they were to actually say the words.
There is also a great commodore between the boys and Joo-eun. Even in the beginning when they were around to simply try and get rid of her, they still treated her with respect, and that only grew as time went on. The friendships, all across the board, were a very high point for me in this show.

The plot was good as well. It didn't dwell on a "fat" girl that wanted to transform herself. By all means, that exactly what she did, but it was more than that. She wasn't just looking to have her pretty face back, though I think she looks beautiful before AND after, she was doing it for herself and after learning of her hypothyroidism, was doing it for major health benefits.

I really like that the guys didn't mock her weight (with the exception of a couple ignorant looks and statements by Young-ho).

I also liked that our female lead (Shin Min-ah) was a strong person who always stuck to her morals, no matter what. Her character didn't change after the weight gain (except for maybe her self-consciousness) and didn't change after she'd lost it again. She didn't have a damsel in distress attitude (except for when she actually was in distress or danger) and always spoke her mind, offending people be damned.

On the other side, you have a strong male lead who is actually vulnerable and extremely soft hearted. He takes on almost a fatherly role within his friendships and it works.

Wasn't too keen on the second leads, but they served their purpose and even had some redeeming qualities to them, which is more than I can say for other second leads.

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better than I thought after reading the bad reviews

I read both positive and negative reviews and I wasn’t sure to start, but I don’t regret it. In general I think it was good and a cute romcom, it has flaws but I still enjoyed it.

The good points :
- I liked the leads. I think they are good chemistry and I love their dynamic. He for sure started to like her even before she started to lose weight. Good kissing scene.
- I liked the friendship and the bromance
- I found it funny and entertaining most of the time
- I think the general plot was okay, I wasn’t bothered by the fat comments or the plot about her being « fat » (maybe overweight, it wasn’t actually bad » and blah blah blah. I was expecting something bad with the comments or reviews. It wasn’t that deep for me and she was the one who wanted to lose weight.
- the music became good
- I like that there is not really annoying and unnecessary love triangle or second lead. Or even annoying characters in general or annoying plot and drama. Much appreciated, in recent dramas that’s often annoy me a lot. After FL breaks up at the very beginning of the drama with SML, her ex like the SFL and we have the relationship between the leads. Yeah there is some scenes with FL and SML, but there is no love left and I wasn’t annoyed by it. I understood that, they were in a relationship for 15 years… It was in the firsts eps and very few scenes. There was no annoying side characters with unrequited love in the drama.
- Happy ending, I found the airport scene funny too
- there is no break up. just ML who leaves for like a year after his accident to get better, physical therapy, etc. but that didn’t last more than 1 ep
- I liked secretary Min

Now some minus points :
- that second couple wasn’t it. The cheating ex and the coworker/friend from school. That’s not a couple I was interested in, they got their happy ending, good for them... It became better to watch later on, but still. At some point I actually felt bad for her though.
- The dimples kiss was cute at first, but after a while, enough
- the guy talking in English, that was annoying at some point
- the third couple, I actually think they are cute. the girl was kinda a stalker at first though. But there are so few scenes of them that I felt like their relationship time line didn’t make sense. Seems like they are a couple in the last ep or her with his mom, feel like we missed a few chapters. I would have like to see more of them and the development of their relationship than that second couple.
- ML that didn’t talk for FL for the year he was gone
- mL’s father, he got some redemption at the end…
- became a bit boring later on, I was on my cellphone sometimes
- too many flashbacks


So, I would recommend. I think it’s an easy to watch and fun drama without trash problems or many annoying things.

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This romantic drama is funny and full of positive messages. It have all the cliche drama plot line but it’s done in a way that is fresh and well paced. It also have an overall positive vibes that is refreshing and up lifting. I also love the fact that they did not rush the ending which usually happen in this type of drama. They give a proper conclusion on all the main story line not just putting in a one minute clip or a few line of dialogue of how everyone is doing at the last episode.

It emphasizes that you should be in a normal weight (not fat but also not skinny) not because you want to look good, but because you want to be healthy. It also emphasizes that you should have regular exercise along with healthy diet to achieve a healthy body.

They not only show case Kang Joo Eun who want to loose weight to be healthy, but they also give example of Oh Soo Jin that lose weight just for looking good. It’s really interesting to see the difference in them, and you could see the effect of what a difference in diet and reason of losing weight could lead to a very different live style and health effects.

I think the casts are top notch, I love everyone in this. So Ji Sub is great as usuall and ‘dripping in sexy ness’. His interaction with everyone is great. You could see how he was like a brother and father to Jang Joon Sung and Kim Ji Woong. His romance with Joo Eun grows naturally and so believable. I also love his interaction with Manager Min, who act also like a father to him.

Si Minh Ah as Kang Joo Eun is also great. She bring such a positive attitude, ‘I could do anything if I put my mind into it’ is definitely my favorite quote from her. It’s her mantra in life and the reason she could conquer any problem she faced, including losing weight and become healthier.

Love Sung Hoon and Henry Lau, I think this is the first time I see them in a drama. They are so good looking and adorable. I wish they give more background story to Ji Woong. The background story and development for Joon Sung is good.

The music is very romantic which fits in with the story. Nothing that I really love but it’s nice.

I definitely would rewatch this drama again. And everyone should give this drama a try, you would not regret it.

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This may not be a drama which you can not wait to see the next episode the next day, but it does makes you feel good watching a few episodes whenever possible. In fact I got used to looking getting a dose of Coachinim and Mem everyday.

It’s my second time watching Ji Sub in a drama after Im Sorry I love you which I’ve watched many years ago. I always knew he’s a good actor and can be good looking and that he must have aged. But didnt realize he can be this sexy and good looking still.

I enjoyed seeing the charcters. Not an epic drama but definetly a good watch!

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