Meow, the Secret Boy (2020)

I started Meow The Secret Boy with low hopes. From the reviews I read, I gathered it was a pretty mediocre drama to some and in no way substantial. I have a new habit of watching shows with lower ratings because the first one I found :Melting Me Softly, was much better than it was made out to be. This was exactly the same case for this drama. I loved it. Sure, the idea of a cat turning into a human and falling in love with a human girl is a bit out there, a bit outlandish, but it's these kinds of dramas that are different and really sincere in the way they portray the emotions that are the best. Frankly, L must get tired of playing non-human roles haha. I saw him in Angel's Last Mission Love and there was a similar dilemma. However, by the very end, all was well and good. I'm very glad I watched this drama and I will continue watching those slightly less appreciated ones as they, as I've said, are sometimes the ones I appreciate the most.

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Firstly, I would like to say that 6.5 is not a super low rating for me, it just means average. For me, Meow, the Secret Boy is simply an average show -- not too bad but not exceptionally good either.

The fact that the drama was shortened is kind of upsetting, because I can't imagine how sad the production team was when they saw the low ratings. However, I can't deny that there was no enough story to fill 16 episodes. And they kind of gave a proper closure to the story which was good.

So Meow is definitely a very cute, fluffy show and as a huge cat lover, I can't deny the fact that I kind of enjoyed watching it. I mean, the story is not the most brilliant thing ever, but it was nicely executed. The main couple is actually very cute and I found their interactions very sweet.

However, the main couple was pretty much the only thing I really loved in this drama. The second lead Jae Sun was such a pointless character. Sorry but I don't usually like second leads and you have to be a lot more to impress me. Here's a very unpopular opinion - I don't like Seo Ji Hoon's acting. Seriously, this man has one expression on his face all the time and he isn't convincing at all. If you look at his profile pic here on MDL, you'll see that expression of his. That is all he has. All. The. Time.

The acting was fine. Shin Ye Eun stole the show for me, her expressions and reactions were priceless. Myung Soo did a nice job at portraying Hong Jo and I think he suited this role very well. The only problem I had with the acting was Seo Ji Hoon. And he had a looot of scenes, quite unfortunately.

I was very impressed with the cinematography, though. The drama has some very pretty scenes which were definitely pleasing to the eyes. The OST was also cute, it suited the atmosphere of the show well.

So overall, would I recommend this show? Yes and no. If you're looking for something light-hearted and fluffy, then it might suit your taste and mood. Otherwise, this drama is not a must-watch and I don't think you'll miss a lot if you don't watch it.

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I really love this drama, it's so cute and fluffy!

I wasn't originally planning on watching this, but I don't regret choosing to. This is the kind of drama that I could repeatedly rewatch multiple times because the story is so sweet and lighthearted.

Although the plots rather simple, I still loved every second of it. It's so visually beautiful, the bright and happy feeling you get when watching this ahh I'm so soft. The relationship between Hong Jo and Kim Sol Ah is so cute and my heart always flutters when they are together! The cast was really good too, I liked all the characters. I also found myself laughing a lot while watching this, the humour is light, it won't make you crack up and wheeze but I still loved it.

The drama overall was so heartwarming and I will definitely rewatch it in the future!

By the way, the cat isn't that creepy. Some people think it is, but it's not that bad. It's kind of cute

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Short: Fun, cute, many funny moments as the cat learns to be a person and still exhibits cat-like traits (finding a box to sit in...). I enjoyed it a lot until the ending which was clearly just abruptly cut short and frankly made no sense. Apparently this is another one that was cut from 16 to 12, but in this case they just lost 4 episodes of story from the looks of it. It *does* end, but a bit like "Abyss" it's unexplained. By the time you finish this, you'll firmly know the Korean for "cat" :-)

Detail:
Really good to see Shin Ye Eun in another drama as a lead, she was great in He is Psychometric too. Also thought Yoon Ye Joo did a great job in her role as the shy Ji-Eun - frankly all the actors were great but those two stood out for me. The cat was fantastic too, helped along some times by a Computer Graphics render of a cat where they needed particular things and couldn't get the cat to cooperate, but most of the time it's a real cat.

Basic premise is a cat finds he can turn into a human when around his owner Sol-ah, humorous things happen when she mistakes him for the step brother she hasn't met yet. She's a webtoon author and finds herself inspired initially by the story of her and someone from her past who just stopped talking to her, that she represents in the webtoon as a cat - and then starts evolving the story based on Hong-jo's thoughts (while he's pretending to be her step brother) and the story takes on a new life. In many respects it mimics the events happening in the drama.

It's fundamentally a fairly simple plot really, some nice bits where he helps some captured cats out as he's captured himself, and talks to other cats who can turn into humans too.

I've seen commenters (not sure if on here but certainly elsewhere) expressing negatively about the idea of a person and cat in a relationship but... its a person, there's worse out there in drama land, just chill. :)

But the fundamental problem with this is that they set down some rules eventually for the changing from cat to person, and ultimately break them without explanation to give the ending. My gut feeling is that given this was shortened from 32 to 24 episodes - that the missing 4 hours are the journey from where they end up in episode 24, to where they end up in the last 10 seconds of episode 24 :) I think 24 episodes ultimately would probably have been enough, in retrospect there was a bit too much meandering, too much time spent where she doesn't know that he's the cat, and probably if anywhere that's where i'd re-balance things.

Still - it IS still worth the watch, it's good fun with some funny moments and the music is entertaining too.

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Cute Korean drama, but that's it

When I started watching Meow I fell in love with the general pace and story of this drama but the half-end was kinda disappointing...
I really enjoyed the first half of this series, it had everything: cats, romance, handsome main leads, adorable female lead... I also loved Ji Eun's character the most, I found her so funny and cute, I could relate her introverted cutesy kind of personality since most of my friends are like this including me. She's the best!!!
As I read somewhere, this drama had that old kdrama feel to it at the beginning, still I wasn't that much satisfied and I had to skip lots of scenes because I was bored. The main couple was cute but I liked the other couple more, probably because I consider their acting was much better than the main leads. Still everything felt a bit too rushed, even the secondary couple story.

I would recommend the drama just to kill time if you're bored or you want a fresh splash of cute romance in-between more heavy dramas!

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I will keep this short (hopefully).

TL;DR. Highly recommended to those who don't want to think too hard and just watch a drama to fill a gap from a better one. If you think too hard on this it'll hurt (I should know, I did.)

STORY: I would be lying if I said I didn't see this coming from Day 1. The drama played exactly according to how I was expecting it to. That doesn't mean I was happy by its turn out, quite the contrary. For those who might be aware with screenwriting terms, there are two phrases that are often used when referencing to scripts/stories: a high-concept story (one that is written to mostly pander to the masses, think Goblin) and a low-concept story (one that is either targeted to a specific audience, or is a story that requires you to invest yourself into it, think My Mister.) This drama falls into the latter category, though not for its incredibly gripping storyline (because where was that lol?), but for the concept which made many run away.

That's the thing with interspecies romance stories. They always end up becoming serious. People hated this fluffy, comforting drama for taking itself too seriously, but I was thankful they took the time to constantly hammer it home how tragic the idea of an interspecies romance is.

CAST: Lovable characters played lovably by a lovable cast. That's a lot of love you say? Yes, yes it is.
Special mention to Seo Ji Hoon AKA Lee Jae Seon for being the best buzzkill! A left field character so out of place, that I wanted to slap, hug, kill and protect him from the world in the span of one episode. I lost my sanity over trying to shove him into a box so that my feeble mind could be at rest. No, I did not have SLS in any way, shape or form.

MUSIC: Starts off super chirpy and upbeat, then evolves (or should I say devolves) into some of the most tear-jerking ballads, that make you want to claw your hair out because WHY even? Kudos to the OST album though, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to everyone regardless of whether you watch the drama or not. Actually, you can call it a pass on the drama but LISTEN TO THE ALBUM!!!

REWATCH: I don't rewatch dramas. My memory (no flex) prevents me from doing so. Is this drama something you would generally want to rewatch? Not really. Would I watch clips of it over and over and over again? HECK YEAH!

CONCLUSION:
Come for the visuals, stay for the second leads, listen to the music on repeat, and hate on the writer for not explaining the fantasy element enough! I need to sleep this one off!

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I'm a cat person, I absolutely adore those little murder machines, so because of that I managed to finish watching all episodes, but I was close to dropping it quite a few times. I like Shin Ye Eun, but she wasn't a good fit for this drama, or maybe just her character was too ridiculous? I don't know. As for L he is still a weak actor, but ultimately the main problem here is not acting, but rather the script. The story is on the boring side of terrible. I mean honestly what qualifications does one need to become a kdrama writer? I'm typically not the type to look at a painting & say "this is nothing I could do better", but in Meow the Secret Boy's case I think I could come up with a better kdrama plot in like 20 minutes. I mean sure plot is not all that important in a cute fantasy romance drama, but even the basic romance is just not done very well here, also "cat life span melo" is like the worst idea ever in a show like this.. As for the ending, it's basically a noneding. The last 2 episodes were especially boring & there is no satisfying conclusion, I don't think. We see a deus ex machina thing with the webtoon & then he is human again! Great, what's next? Is this the cliffhanger for Sabrina the Teenage Witch season 4? The whole point of the kdrama format is to give viewers a proper closure.

Honestly who is the target audience for this? The whole thing feels incredibly juvenile..
I'm okay with silly romance shows, last year I loved watching "The Secret Life of my Secretary", but that show has much better romance, it's much funnier & also it has more charm.

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Pet lovers will enjoy and understand the deeper meaning of this drama.

I’m not sure why other rate this drama lower than 8/10 but for me it a almost 10/10. Probably because I’m a cat lover. This drama had me laughing, crying as well as thinking. Oh, how I miss having a cat by my side so much. The story line and acting was quite good (including the cats’)the actors both handsome (including the cats’). The story line was a lot deeper than just the simple magical fairytale it plays out. If you have a pet at home, you’ll probably be one of those that will give this drama a good 10/10 because you‘ll understand the feelings of the characters first hand. My re-watch 5/10 is because in general I avoid watching ANY dramas or movies more than once.

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If I was to describe Welcome in one simple world, it'd be "silly." But being silly isn't a bad thing. In fact, we all need a bit of silly in our lives now and then. This drama might not be the most elaborated, but it is a creative idea executed in a very lovely and heart-warming way, just like a cup of warm coffee, strengthening you with its goofy humour. It makes you relax after a hard, stressing day.

For most of its runtime, the drama lacked in various aspects: it has a very bare minimum character development; the romance and male lead were overshadowed by the oddness of the whole human-cat relationship - which also left very little room for any "personality" outside that (as in, L's character didn't have any personality, any meaning besides the paper of love interest nº1), and they had a weak excuse of a "villain" that I bet was mostly used as a lazy way to keep the plot going. Also, let's not forget episodes 21-22 which had a terrible pacing. The ending was also... not how I'd do it.

With this, I'm not saying it is a bad drama though. Only that it's lacking - but then again, not all dramas have to be masterpieces. You can, and should be allowed to enjoy whatever you want, as long as you don't feel like you're wasting your time.

One last thing: their narrative about time and its importance deserved far more screen time than the one it got; if done so, I think I'd be able to give this drama yet another star. Also, the cast was so good, I think I became fond of everyone here!

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What is time?

Ok, I don't know how long this review is going to be. It's been 30 minutes since I finished watching this drama and I'm still crying. Bawling my eyes out.
A lot of people may not have liked it, but to me? It was such a heart warming story.
Time....what is time? How do we spend it? With who? We are so busy running around like ants that we forget that time runs out.
Have you spoken to a loved one today? Have you smiled at those close to you? If you knew time was running out what would you be doing?
Maybe it's time we start using all the time we have.
I am seriously hugging my cat to death from now on. Might adopt 20 more.
Ok let's talk about the small stuff:
I personally don't think they could have chosen any one better for this role. I loved all the actors. Kim Soo was the best cat ever. He played his role so well that you start to wonder if this boy isn't really a cat.
The soundtrack was good as well. It suited the mood brilliantly.
I would watch it again when I get my emotions under control.
By the way, my cat isn't allowed while I shower or dress........

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The first two episodes are little plain but the next two episodes will get you more feel interested on how the story will go on. If you like cats, you'll probably have a reason to somehow enjoy this drama. I like Myungsoo but if I'm gonna be honest, the 2nd lead couples have more chemistry and interesting than the main characters. This drama has no big impact on me. Before I started to watch this drama, obviously, I know it's a romance but in the end, I find it absurd for Sol Ah to like Hong Jo even though she already knew that he is a cat. I didn't get the feeling they have for each other. I think those high school romance drama is better than this. Not highly recommended.

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