The Legend of the Blue Sea (2016)

Pleasantly surprised by this drama! Felt the first few eps dragged and was a bit predictable but as we moved further along the story the character interactions really pulled me in.

LMH's acting definitely improved a lot and I can finally understand why he has hoards of fangirls (sorry LMH for not jumping on the fangirling until now!) JJH is an adorable mermaid, the best. I liked how the characters stayed consistent throughout the show and also grew.

Highlights:
- all the cute romantic moments between the two leads had me swooning
- cute tie-in with their past lives
- beautifully shot show
- supporting characters were a riot and I almost never fast forwarded through
- the SFX and OST were amazing!
- cameo from JJS was the best cameo I've ever seen
- ending was satisfying
- villains did a great job acting

I would have liked to see more LMH planning out scams but the story focused on the romance than action. I thought the overall show was well-paced

I didn't expect to like this show as much as I did but glad I finally watched it!

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Storia di amore, di destino e reincarnazioni!

Un drama veramente interessante oltre che molto romantico, il che fa sempre bene da vedere.
Con un lato noir davvero ben realizzato, ma che per fortuna non ha tenuto troppo sulle spine.
Una storia che si collega al passato, al destino, a come la volontà possa superare il destino stesso, se il cuore lo vuole davvero,.
Un amore predestinato che è sopravvissuto al tempo fino al proprio completamento.
Un finale meraviglioso, completo e che fa stare bene.
Bravissimi i protagonisti, fra di loro c'è intesa. Sono entrambi bellissimi e si sono calati bene nei loro personaggi rendendoli veri.
Anche gli altri attori sono stati all'altezza, le uniche parti che non ho gradito molto sono state quelle di Cha Shi Ah che pareva sempre sull'orlo di una crisi isterica e quella di Moon So Ri, esistono davvero donne cosi superficiali e stupide?
Il cattivi di turno sono stati molto convincenti.
Bravissimi tutti.
Come sempre grazie al team di traduzione italiano senza i quali non potremmo godere di qualche ora di relax e bellezza!

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Second Time Watching It, First Time Appreciating It

This is the second time I watched it but this is the first time appreciating the series overall so I am writing this simple review. It did not have an impact on me the first time I watched it when it was released. Now, I feel like this is my favorite Jun Ji Hyun's drama, and this is one of my favorite Lee Min Ho's dramas alongside City Hunter and Faith.

The chemistry is top-notch. Jun Ji Hyun is so good at carrying her male lead the same way she did with Kim Soo Hyun (My Love from the Star). She's my favorite character here, very funny yet charming.

What I love about this the most is the parallel-world concept of the plot. My grandma usually has a hard time understanding the changing of timelines in a series, but she seemed to be enjoying this.

OSTs? The best here.

A little downside for me here is how Sung Dong Il's role (Ma Dae Young) felt discarded at the near end of the series.

Still worth watching.

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It's a MESS, but it's a really fun MESS!

Let's start with the obvious! You're NEVER gonna watch this show, because it's well-written, because it's not! I could tear apart the story like a piece of paper.

The base of the story is a mess, there are no rules, basically. I know, every fantasy is different, but I think they made a mistake with some things like that water part. That's basically the biggest plot hole in the story. If one simple drop of water can change her back to mermaid, she couldn't leave the house, basically. They should've done it like in other mermaid shows, like she's only changing when it's seawater.

Also, the crime story was handled poorly. Not to mention the mother story. I get that she divorced and left the house, but for the love of God, how can she leave her son as well? We didn't get a proper explanation of why or how it happened. That's not a real mother in my eyes! The law doesn't work like that, not even in Korea, she could've seen her son at least on a weekly or monthly basis.

The whole story was predictable, BUT with shows like this one, it's not really about the story. It's about the characters, and basically every character were great.

Jun Ji Hyun and Lee Min Ho were amazing together. Especially Ji Hyun. I can't believe she was 34 when they shot this Kdrama, yet she looked like the cutest puppy ever. Her (face)acting is something else! She was not only cute, and obviously beautiful as hell, but badass as well. The love story between them was not ordinary or new, but still, I was invested 100%!

Honestly, at first I was like: "20 episodes, why?" But it didn't felt long or stretched, because most of the episodes are like fillers, in a good way. It was like a weekly American show.

My biggest problems with the show, other than the writing, is the last couple of episodes, AGAIN! After they finished all the main story, I just can't understand why they had to start a new drama with her leaving, not to mention erasing everyone's memory. That was 100% pointless, and ridiculous. At first, I was like, why is her heart has a problem, but later we find out the reason, and that made the whole FAKE DRAMA even worse! If she had to leave because she needed time to heal, she should've just said it, not making a fuss about it, so the writers can waste time for unnecessary scenes.

She should just leave, for 3 years, everyone knows what happened, and come back later. End of story. I mean, two of them already knew she's a mermaid, they could've told his mother and the other kid as well.

The last 2 episodes could've been like those filler ones, living in peace, raising their kid etc. Also, we never get any real explanation about that girl who can hear her thoughts. I mean, sure, she remembers her past, but that's not a real explanation. Just because in the past she was a mermaid, it doesn't mean she's a mermaid in the present as well. We never see her mother or her father as well. At first, I thought the father is the guy who died. That would be a nice side story.

Anyway, like I said, you won't watch this show, because it's the best ever, it's a show that you're gonna enjoy if you don't about the story too much, because it's a LOT of fun, and the drama is well-written, most of the time.

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I hated the ending SO MUCH

The last episode was completely nonsense. Why did she have to make everyone forget about her like that? She destroyed friendships and made people feel alone.
I just can't buy that excuse that it was her only and last option. For me, it was really awful. Just vanishing like that for years, like sea bubbles???
Ok, in the end she came back to him, married him and had child. But it was..so nonsense? A happy ending built over a nonsense disaster.
Aside from that, I really loved the plot and all the story about their past lives. I enjoyed so much the OST also. But some stuff REALLY ANNOYED ME, such as the lack of characther development around the "villains" , they were ridiculous. Ughhhhh I wish his father had not died...

Well, I liked it, recommended it to my friends and also will probably watch it again someday. Every k-drama has it's mistakes and flaws. This one has way less than others out there.

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