Goblin (2016)

not thrilled with this one

I actually had started this drama once and could not finish it because I did not like the plot, but after a year or so I decided it was time for me to finally watch it. I liked it but I found myself cringing everytime she called him ajhussi. I loved the side couple.
I did not like the way the whole story ended, but the acting was amazing and the OST was so touching, I could listen to it all day. there was great action and suspense, but overall it was not my cup of tea.


I would recommend it so someone who is looking for a nice fantasy action romance and someone who does not care at alla about the enormous age gap and the cringey scenes.

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Female Lead Was the Only Problem

So many people love this drama, but I feel like the same amount of people also complain about the age gap with the main couple. I don't have an issue with it as he is meant to be like 900 years old so it's whatever. The issue I had is that the female lead acted like a literal 12 year old for most of the movie.

Again, she's meant to be like 18 or whatever, which some people already had an issue with, but why did she act so child-like the whole movie? It was super annoying and gave me the creeps. Like, a little part of me hated on him for liking her when she's like that, but mostly it was just her behavior that gave me the creeps.

I honestly only finished this because Lee Dong Wook is my absolute favorite actor ever and the bromance between him and Gong Yoo's character was AMAZING. Female lead is the reason for the 9/10 above, and despite her being super cringey, I would totally re-watch this just to experience the bromance again.

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Best K-Drama Fantasy I Have Ever Seen

This and Alchemy of Souls were the two shows that made me fall in love with K-Dramas. The plot of this story, considering just the Goblin's roommates, lends itself to so many funny, melancholy, and contemplative moments. The reaper, expertly played by LEE DONG WOOK, is a nice guy who offers the dead forgetting tea in a quaint room before they go through a lovely door to the afterlife. The goblin, Kim Shin, exquistely portrayed by GONG YOO, is a sympathic and lovable character with regrets of his past and a desire to protect the ones he loves. The girl who should not have lived, Ji Eun Tak, masterfully played by KIM GO EUN, is so lovable and level-heaed in this sometimes chaotic and fantastical story. The restaurant’s owner, Sunny, beautifully portrayed by Yoo In Na, is an eclectic and interesting character. I am not going to write plot spoilers, but I can say that this drama was one I really wanted to binge watch, and I came away loving the story, cinematography, and characters.

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My Sept 2024 Recommendation Challenge

Long time this in my PTW, thanx to TianD and Recommendation Challenge, I've finally watched this...

The reason this so long in my PTW, because the duration of each episode. Make me watch more than 1h per episode, it's quite tormented. Haha... It always bored me at some point.... And as I predict, some episodes of this drama quite bored for me, those episodes make me feel when this will end and continue to the next one... Haha... So yeah, that's quite lowering the score for this drama for me. But of course there're also some episode that can evoke my emotion, so yeah it quite help the score for this drama.

Story about Kim Shin (KS) a general that's curse to be a goblin, due to his sin of killing innocent person just because he's stubborn & want to approach the king... With that curse, KS live immortality to wait for his bride to be born to kill him. After 900 years, KS help a woman & her baby, and with that decision, KS made his destiny, cause the baby that he saved is his bride...

19 years later, KS meet Ji Eun Tak (ET), the baby that he saved & also his bride. ET can see ghost as long as she remembered, and all the ghost always greet her as the goblin's bride. Cause when KS saved her, he also give her a mark & that mark indicate that ET indeed is the goblin's bride.

But that's mean everything went smoothly for KS & ET...? Of course not. ET has prove herself as the goblin's bride for KS, and little by little KS & ET are getting closer & closer to each other. They start to prove they're indeed the soulmate for each other & little by little their feeling for each other also grown into full blossom... So... How their relationship ended in the end...? Can they avoid the fact that ET born to kill KS...?

I think that's pretty much the story without giving any spoiler. Haha... Now let's talk about what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ The chemistry between Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun. They quite suitable for each other.
+ Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun are good actor/ess. I can see how captivated KS of ET from KS's first glaze of ET. And the grow of their relationship. How devastated when ET has to lose KS. Everything portrayed perfectly...
+ The interesting story of Grim Reaper & Sunny. Really funny to see Grim Reaper act like an idiot when they first met...

What I don't like:
- The long duration of each episode...
- The unclear Samshin Lady... Who the heck is this lady. See even MDL don't give the name to her... At first I thought she is the GOD, but turn out no... So who the heck is this lady...?????

Overall, this just another drama for my list. TianD said, "Goblin is a hit or miss." For me this is a miss.. Haha... And really until I finished write this, I even don't know what score to give this drama. So a little fair warning, I can still change the score many months from now... Haha....

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Bewitching & Bittersweet Romance

If someone were to ask me to describe this series, I’m not sure I could do it justice. It’s about life and loss; joy and grief; hope and despair. It’s about letting go of the past to embrace the present and future; building a friendship with a rival; falling in love for the first time. It is, as Eun-tak says, a “sad love” story. Yet despite this show being an absolutely bewitching and bittersweet story, it didn’t quite work for me.

❤ This show works best when it focuses on the four main leads - Kim Shin, Grim Reaper, Ji Eun-tak, and Sunny. Kim Shin and the Grim Reaper shine whether they are bickering or bantering.

❤ It took me some time to get invested in the love story considering an immortal is attempting to romance a high school senior. I embraced their romance eventually, but it took me some time to get past the circumstances. Eun-tak’s sunny personality mixed with Kim Shin’s awakening emotions were the perfect mixture between silly and sweet.

❤ It’s too long for such a short story. Whole scenes from previous episodes we’re inserted into later episodes to pad it out to sixteen episodes, but it dragged down the pacing dramatically. I think it could have been well executed with half the run time.

❤ The person training to be the next assistant to Kim Shin, Yoo Duk-hwa, was only used as a plot device or the comic relief. The CGI was also pretty terrible, particularly in the earlier episodes.

❤ Be prepared for a bittersweet ending. This is a show that talks a lot about depression, loss, and grief. If you’re looking for a fun and feel good show, you might not enjoy this experience right now.

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If you are like me and postponed this Kdrama for 3 years then this Review is for you.

As I said in the title, I postponed Goblin for so long after my friend recommended it to me dozens of times. I just couldn't bring myself to watch it for two reasons:-

1) Is it really as good as everyone is saying or will I be very disappointed?

2)Heard it will make you cry a lot which I wanted to avoid at all costs because I absolutely don't like Tragic or Sad stories. Life is complex enough. Why should we watch dramas which are sad too?

For the above questions the answers I found are:-

1) Yes it really is as good as everyone is saying. I can truly see the magic of this Kdrama and why it so beloved by so many. This is one of those few Kdramas which is truly an experience to be felt and seen by all and I will highly recommend anyone who hasn't watch it yet to watch when it feels right or when you find the time. You will love it for the friendships all the people in this world share, the trials they faced and overcame, the beauty of their love, the tragedy in lives which will make us weep for them, the characters and the actors who played them, the music and even the end. IT IS ALL WORTH IT!

2)This is not just a sad drama for the sake of being sad. It truly is an experience and though I cried, I am also happy I got to experience the beauty of this drama. Also, it's not completely sad. Life is beautiful and it is shown in this drama. Also love the mini stories of the people the Grim Reaper sends to the afterlife. Don't be intimidated by the sad ending like I was when I heard of it.

All in all just give this Kdrama a chance like I did and Trust me you won't regret it. It has the perfect blend of happiness, comedy, heartfelt emotional scenes and sadness just like our lives but in a more fantasy setting.
Goblin truly is One of a Kind

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Exceptional

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God aka Goblin is exceptional in all aspects. Be it writing, directing, atmosphere, acting, ambiance, and even wardrobe. Nothing was left to chance and with a story this fantastical and emotional, it could easily have been careened into fluff and cliche, however, the actors all brought their A-game which made every second captivating and beautiful.

Special shout out to Gong Yoo who gave a brilliant performance; likewise, his wardrobe director who made his character stunningly gorgeous. Also, whoever styled his hair deserves an award.

If you're looking for an emotional and heartrending series then do not miss this. I absolutely recommend it to those looking for a mature and beautiful story.

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Unexpectedly good

So this is a drama that's been hyped up for so long that I went in thinking I was bound to be disappointed. So I'm glad that I wasn't. I've been doing an immortal-beings-falling-in-love binge, and this is where I arrived at after a sequence of DAYS, Del Luna, A Korean Odyssey, and Destined With You. Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of person who can watch something that's almost purely romance, so the first 9 episodes were bit of a drag for me. The peak of the show for me was 12-13-14 where most of the important things happen, and I enjoyed those episodes enough for me to look past the sweet albeit boring beginning, so I suppose I ended up being more forgiving with ratings. And while I was satisfied with the ending, I wasn't quite happy with it. It was good, but had had potential to be great. Also, I'm fundamentally not made for age-difference, and I could never fully enjoy the fluff either because that thought was constantly on my mind. Maybe why my favorite part of their romance was 14-15-16 (minus the ending).

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Non un drama ma IL DRAMA

Che dire…ho visto questo drama per colpa di squid game primo drama in assoluto mai visto dove trovai nonostante la piccolissima parte molto affascinante lo schiaffeggiatore /reclutatore dei giochi..così mi dissi ma si devo vedere qualcosa con lui…trovo goblin…l’inizio della fine…visto in 4 mesi 3 volte…comprato cd della colonna sonora meravigliosa…innamorata persa del cupo mietitore ossia l’adorabile bellissimo e poliedrico Lee Dong Wook…storia non banale che ti tiene attaccata per tutto il tempo…cast veramente bravo ed azzeccato…personaggi tutti ben definiti e non scontati…fotografia e location belle e ben contestualizzate colonna sonora meravigliosa…considerando che sono entrata nel loop drama coreani da gennaio e avendo visto in questo tempo più di una ventina di drama posso dire che fino ad ora nessuno lo ha battuto in nulla nel mio cuore e ho visto un po’ di tutto fantasy storici scolastici horror romantici tragici…io credo che davvero non si possa fare a meno di vederlo per considerarsi drama dipendenti e competenti…consigliatissimo!!!

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Overrated and most of all, a failed ending.

I watched it because it had so much good ratings. What a disappointment.
The story begins with a plot that is classical and plain. There is the overused trope of fate and as soon as Eun Tak meets the Goblin the love story is forebode. But that's okay, it's well done and their firts encounters with both of them searching any interest in a potential relation is interesting ( she wants to use him to escape her life while he wants to use her to die ).

However, it does not get better.
The rythm is too slow, and the side love story between the Gream Reaper and the shop owner is boring and useless.

Even the bromance is not that good. The transition between being ennemies to friends is not smooth.

The whole stuff of reincarnations is so bad as well. Kim shin is shown as a bright man ( he won a lot of battles because of physical strengh but also by strategical means ) yet he does not make the difference between his sister and her new life ??
Furthermore at the end every reincarnated people have the same face as their previous life body, yet it had been specified that people randomly reincarnate into different bodies and having the same is rare.
The backstory of the medieval plot is thin as well and the characters are not fully developped.

The final fight with the main ennemy is failed as it is teased for some episodes ( and visually he is scary and charismatic, his dark tongue gives goosebumps ). But why is he killed with almost no fight ?? Kim Shin awaited more than 1000 years for 30min of dodging ??

And the 3 last episodes, a disaster.
Kim shin finally dying wassad but actually it was a logical ending : he was released from his suffering and allowed to live happily by embracing love at the very end of his existance. Eun Tak would cherish her memories of him and mourn him knowing that he left peacefully.
Making her die at his place is such a nonsense. First she embodied the future as the younger character. Second, it means that Kim Shin will never die, and that it was a punishment of god ( rather than a way to relieve him from his pains ). Not only did he suffer for years because of the betrayal of the King, but now he has to eternally suffer from the lost of his wife. What is the moral of that ? "No matter what you do to repent you will suffer ?" It does not make sense since we know that the sinner is the Grim Reaper and not Kim Shin.

On the whole it is not the worse drama ever, but it lacks in many points. It is still fully watchable, the characters are attaching, and the fate of the Goblin is touching : we want to know how he will find some happiness.

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