Greutățile Vieții (2016)

Great, comforting watch!

This show is one of those shows that will stay with you after watching. It's nice to see a female lead that has her own life and ambitions apart from her love interest. It was great to watch how the characters grow. Not just the main characters but even the supporting characters.

The cinematography and color grading reflected Bok Joo's character which was warm and inspiring and reflected how she saw life. It was like the world she lived in was very inviting and made you hopeful of the future. Like walking home at sunset.

The music was very cute and refreshing especially when Joon Hyung realized his feelings, the music also makes your heart feel light, warm and fuzzy at the same time.

The acting was very good and Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk had great chemistry even when they were still friends. You can feel their care for each other and that they genuinely enjoy each other's company. The way they portrayed the characters, Nam Joo Hyuk's mischievousness, and Lee Sung Kyung's happy-go-lucky portrayal of Bok Joo really made you laugh and sympathize with them.

Even though the story doesn't really have anything big happening, you'll still get hooked because of the characters. Plus I think the story is still relatable and people who like watching slice of life or character-driven stories would really enjoy this.

I think this is one of those shows that you can rewatch a couple of times just because watching it is comforting. It's the equivalent of your favorite comfort food and I highly recommend it to everyone.

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Give This Series All Of The Messi Love It Deserves!

So I stumbled upon this series from Tik Tok actually lol. That sentence sounds so cringy, but it's true. Somebody had posted a clip of the show which was the car splashing scene between Bok Joo and Joon Hyung, I was dying from laughter. So I looked into more clips and knew I had to watch this series! The series is set up as this quirky and funny romantic comedy with sports mixed in, but it's actually much more than that. It's heartfelt, overwhelmingly sweet, explores serious topics and is incredibly bingable.

We've got 4 primary characters in this show. Bok Joo, Joon Hyung, Shi Ho and Jae Yi. There's other side characters as well, like the sadly sick dad and hot wise uncle who were tops as well. But these 4 are the main focus. All are really solid characters with interesting stories, but my favorites were Bok Joo, Joon Hyung and Shi Ho because of how layered they really are. Bok Joo is our MC and she's great. As a viewer you really root for her success, shes strong, sweet and hilarious. Very adorable. She can be shy but doesn't let it hold her back too much unlike a lot of other K-drama female leads that I've seen. Joon Hyung at first took some time to get used to. I didn't like how he called Bok Joo "fatty" at first and he was came off as quite arrogant. However, in episode 3 he completely redeemed himself punching those gross bar guys out. His plot points were mainly around swimming, mom problems and love interest for Bok Joo. I will say, these two had fantastic chemistry (Bok Joo & Joon Hyung) like seriously it hurt my face how much I loved these two and was grinning like an idiot whenever they interacted. I'm pretty sure these 2 actors are pretty close in real life (possibly dating) so makes sense!

Joon's mom arch though got me, his poor little heart dealing with his aunt and uncle replacing his mom. Ugh! This actor (Nam Joo Hyuk) was my favorite, he was really good at conveying various emotional ranges. Also he's freaking gorgeous, tall and his style was killer. There was a line later on in the series where he's like "try me out!" to Bok Joo and I took this very inappropriately. I meannnn I'm willing to take a ride lmao, totally not the context of the scene AT ALL but who can blame me? Moving onto my other top character, Shi Ho. I really liked that she wasn't just a crazy ex-girlfriend or a jerk. She's actually really cute and I felt for her deeply in this series. Sure she let jealousy and longing get the best of her in situations because she thinks everything can go back to before, but it can't. I actually became concerned for her character in this series! She was so unwell with the sleeping pills, eating disorder and clear depression going on. It was heartbreaking to see, but done really well. By the way, gotta show the love for the fact that the show discussed mental health and counseling in this. All of it was much appreciated, and shown from various male and female perspectives. Huge claps to that!

The whole older brother/actually cousin with Jae Yi could've been super stale, but it wasn't surprisingly. It was actually pretty funny and concluded well. Some of the more romantically fueled scenes that I enjoyed and stuck out to me were when Joon Hyung goes all out trying to date Bok Joo. Conquering his fear of heights, using his jacket to warm her hands, 2 straws in the cup, So freaking sweet. As well as the scene where Bok Joo is finally like "I like you too! I don't wanna return you!" and then there's just an onslaught of them kissing each other. So fu***** cute I can't. I have to say, the series is really well-shot too there's some really pretty shots of Korea in this. And I loved the soundtrack/music played throughout. There were times when Kpop was played in the background and I freaked out because I recognized it.

The only issues I had with this series were pretty minimal. The teachers specifically annoyed me in this occasionally. Mostly because I didn't really care about that plot point, but also you don't EVER hit students ever or treat them poorly. I don't care if they are going against "rules or regulations" or whatever. You can be frustrated with a student potentially throwing away their potential away, but come on! Also telling students from gymnastics to basically starve themselves. Wtf. Either way, when this series was coming to an end I legit got teary eyes. I didn't want it to end and I miss the characters already!

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Don't let those bad reviews fool you (like fr)...

There are some negative reviews on this drama but it is what it is. This drama was really worth it because after watching episode 7 to 16, I was so invested in watching this drama because the story got really interesting although there are some part of stories in this drama that many people don't like and that is the ML Jung Joon Hyung story. His story or "trauma" was really basic tbvh and it really didn't interest me because it was very predictable and basic again so that really didn't make want to watch WFKBJ and also with his ex thing from the past was annoying too. Overall I do like the character development to all characters in this drama and especially JJH and LSK and they really did a good job on this too, the acting was on point too! The OST is really good too and my favourite song is "Dreaming"! And yoo the comedy in this drama really spice things up LMAO and especially the "WHAT!" part lollll...

Also one thing I love about this drama is that, the love story only evolves on episode 11 of 16. It means that the story also tackles about friendships, family problem and how to move on from your ex's...

Please give it a try and see how you go with this drama! I'm sure you'll love it!

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Good show ! Took maybe 4 episodes before I started enjoying it. But then it took off, at least for me.

The title kind of threw me off a bit.

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Drama sorprendentemente carino.

Un drama semplice con una trama leggera incentrata sullo sport con studenti alle prese con gli amori e le loro vite.
Lei una ragazza un po' maschiaccio che pratica sollevamento pesi ma che è anche piuttosto carina e femminile quando si innamora amata e protetta sempre dal suo papà che farebbe di tutto per lei e le sue amiche inseparabili.Lui un ragazzo bello e affascinate pratica nuoto ed è abbastanza bravo.Si incontrano scontrandosi e sembra non si piacciano ma poi invece scoppia un bel amore dolce e carino,come quelli delle prime volte.
Nel complesso è un drama molto piacevole da vedere divertente pochi grandi drami famigliari o altro,semplicemente una storia d'amore. un bel cast anche se giovane completa l'opera.
Merita sicuramente la visione.

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BEST ROMCOM

I LOVED THIS DRAMA SO MUCH!! The characters, the ship, the acting and the story,! It was all amazing.

I'm so in love with bokjoo and joonhyung. My otp ship together with manchan from htdl.

Honestly, wfkbj is my new fav romcom drama. It was funny and had character development. The only part that I disliked a little bit was when bokjoo was crushing on jaeyi but I'm happy he got his happy ending with ahyoung. I shipped them so much! Other couple that I shipped too was Seonok and Taekwon. I didn't expect to love them but here we are. Wish I could've seen more of them! They had a lot of chemestry and it was only shown on the last 3 episodes I think? Now about the main couple. Like I said, they are one of my faves now and I loved them so much. I loved how it is shown that the girl cares a lot about him too! The jealous part of both of them was hilarious and cute. They had bunch of chemestry and development too.

I loved that Joonhyung and bokjoo's father got rlly close in the last ep. In business proposal, it wasn't shown that growth between the relationship of hari and taemoo's grandpa, but in wfkbj was different. The progress was there and u could see it how joonhyung wanted to have a good relationship with him.

Now the characters. Joonhyung is obviously my fave. He is the best boy seriously! How he cares about bokjoo and how he is a good man is revealed to us through the episodes. I loved bokjoo too and her friends too. Their friendship was really special and wholesome to see growing.

Now I just have to thanks wfkbj for this wild ride. I will mis thiss drama forever.

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Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2016)

A romantic-comedy done right. No overly dramatic, absurdly over the top, bang your head against the wall nonsense. Sure, it has its moments of "eh, really?" at times but overall, it delivered a classic vanilla romance built off the friends-to-lovers trope, executed beautifully.

The character dynamics, not only from the main leads, but from the entire cast were very good. Supporting characters came alive when they appeared on screen and the leads... just tremendous chemistry and worked off each other wonderfully. Maybe it was the school setting placebo but it genuinely felt like the character groups were a really close-knit group of friends. Perhaps, that was the main charm of the show.

Even with basic presentation, the show's appeal is that of a fun, casual slice of life with a slow burning romance that offers you bits and pieces at a time. But once all the pieces starting falling into place it really gets all "warm and fuzzy" inside. It's lighthearted yet still flexible enough to get into its emotional pockets.

And seriously, the female lead sure is an absolute cute, weightlifting fairy--- that Kim Bok Joo.

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Sports stories were never my thing and I never thought this kind of scenario would be a special part of any drama in my opinion. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo changed that for me. Even though that’s not the main focus of the story, it was an essential element of the story and I rooted for the characters and suffered with their (often problematic) training all along the show.

This is a very sweet and fresh slice of life romance and I recommend it to anyone that’s looking for a light-hearted coming of age romance. About that, my opinion is a bit biased because Nam Joo-hyuk is the ultimate eye-candy for me and his chemistry with the equally stunning (and loud) Lee Sung-kyung is very cutesy. Yes, there’s a bunch of whining and screaming, but, all of that seem very insignificant compared to all their loving moments and constant support.

One of the best things about this drama is that Kim Bok Joo doesn’t exist solely for her romantic interests, a common problem in rom-com stories. However, I feel like the characterization of Jung Joon-hyung felt short and this burden was transferred for him. Don’t get me wrong, I really like his character, but I pity that his background was under-explored considering what was initially presented. I wish we had seen more about his family and his relationship with swimming, dealing with his trauma.

I do have to write a word about the weight issues in this drama though. I don’t know a thing about weightlifting so I might be talking silly, but I felt Kim Bok Joo should be, at least, more muscly. Specially considering the athlete she’s based on (Jang Mi-Ran). It was nice to see a bit of light in the weight requirements both in sports and society - how draining and dangerous that can be. On the other hand, the character representing the “fat” and “chubby” was not even 60kg. Maybe that’s very accurate for South Korea, but it seemed a bit scary to consider that standard. All the eating and suffering was a bit relatable, but also a bit triggering too. However, the drama did discuss the topic and there are hints of self-love here and there.

When it comes to rewatch value, I think it falls under the category “rewatch favorite scenes only” - which I’ll certainly do. I’ll miss the “WHAT” sound effect and the “SWAG” of the girlfriends. I will miss our quirky Kim Bok-Joo. And my, oh my, I will surely miss Nam Joo-hyuk.

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Not to be a hater, but I’m honestly shocked this show is so positively reviewed. I didn’t know much about the plot going in, but I knew the romance was really hyped. I did not expect so much of the storyline to revolve around a ridiculous weight loss plot. The show did not handle this issue in a meaningful way at all and seemed to also ignore a lot of the disordered eating behaviors throughout the show.

Even though I did not love Bok Joo, my biggest issue was the side characters. I hated almost every character in this show. There were multiple characters depicted as being severely physically abusive but the show chose to try and make those characters sympathetic. The depiction of her coaches and teammates also felt disturbing to me, especially the way they would basically force feed her. I did not understand for a second why she continued with weightlifting, as it seemed like actual torture for her during the majority of the show.

The only reason that I kept watching the show was because of Joon Hyeong. I found this character to be so adorable and the acting performance was really good. His relationship with Bok Joo developing from friendship into something more felt organic. There were a lot of times that I felt his character was too good for Bok Joo. I had to remind myself many times that this show is meant to take place in college and not high school, because Bok Joo acted so immature. The kissing scenes felt extremely awkward as well.

Even with the sweet male lead, I don’t think I would recommend this show to anyone. I ended up needing to skip so much. If anyone has struggled with disordered eating or body image, I think this show handles all of that so poorly and I would steer clear.

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I found weightlifting fairy to be a very lighthearted and fun-filled story. It had its share of moments that were very thoughtful and moved the viewers. The lack of particularly evil characters is a gigantic plus point for this drama. It avoids several cliches and shows the good relationships between people, their families and friends. The story lacks a major antagonist and beautifully displayed the struggles of athletes before they are exposed to fame. I was however disappointed with Lee sung Kyung being cast as bok joo. She doesn't have the figure of a weightlifter. This shows how even if the role demands a person who is not thin, a moderate sized actress with good arm strength could not be cast as bok joo. This goes back to the demands of a woman's figure by the industry even if the role demands the exact opposite. There were a few overdramatic scenes that I didn't like by a side characters (Nan hee). One of the crying scenes was also cringey as it sounded like a toddler screaming to me. But overall it was a good drama if the overdramatic bits were ignored as the story teaches us a lot. But the moral values depicted here can be interpreted in a sexist way too. This story shows us how weightlifters can express their feminity regardless of pursuing sports but it also in a way suggests that all girls care about the way they look and it should be expected of them if thry are really girls. ALSO FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO HATED THE DRAMA SINCE THE CHARACTERS ATE A LOT AND THE PARENTS WERE ABUSIVE, PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS SUPER COMMON. ASIAN PARENTS OFTEN USE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND IT IS CONSIDERED A NORMAL WAY TO DISCIPLINE A CHILD AND IS ALSO A SIGN THAT PARENTS LOVE THEIR CHILD (I AM AGAINST IT BUT THIS IS A TOTALLY TRUE SITUATION). IT IS ALSO NORMAL TO EAT SO MUCH FOOD. EATING 3 PLATES LIKE HER, WOULD MAKE A PERSON HAVE A DECENTLY ABOVE AVERAGE DIET IN MANY ASIAN COUNTRIES.

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