An Endearing, Funny, Sweet, Healing, Uplifting, Beautiful Story with a Bunch of Lovable Characters

I love this show so much for the positive, warm-hearted, funny, quirky vibe it gives every episode. Yet it's not an empty calorie show at all. It manages to balance hilarious comedy with touching, deep moments and inspirational life lessons. This show will make you laugh and cry - sometimes at the same time. Though there are sad, heartbreaking moments, this show always seems to exude a sense of optimism underneath it all. In this stressful world with so much violence and inhumanity; it's nice to be able to have this oasis of a show to turn to where you can watch lovable, quirky, well written and acted characters who warm your heart and tickle your funny bone every week. I am never bored by this show, and the hour always goes by so fast for me. I've re-watched each episode too many times already and still love it.

This is a love story between two emotionally stunted 30-year-olds with the emotional maturity of 17-year-olds who help each to grow and mature into their chronological age of 30. The plot and the heart of this story is the emotional growth that each of the main characters has to go through to become who they were meant to be if not for the traumatic accident that essentially froze them emotionally in time. The life lessons from how to treat others who are struggling to how to overcome your fears, tragedies, and regrets to find the courage to live and love again are beautifully written and acted. I love that this story doesn't show this journey in a maudlin, boring fashion but does it with so much humor and heart.

Though there may seem like a few parts where things are not moving as fast as we the audience would like or then moving too fast because this show was scheduled to be 40 episodes, but SBS inexplicably cut it to 32 at the last minute out of nowhere despite it being the number one rated weekday prime time show and a hit internationally all through its run. Please trust that the writer and actors will make your journey with them worth it if you stick with this heartwarming and beautiful show to the end. Just enjoy the funny heartwarming moments for what they are. I gave this show a 10 not because it's perfect, SBS abruptly cutting the successful show caused some loose ends that would have been tied up if they had the time they were originally promised, but because it's the closest to the most perfect show I have ever watched in terms of all the elements I mention above and below. It's the only show were I have no major complaints about anything and I enjoy watching every character and every episode, even in re-watch. Plus the ending is one of the best and most satisfying endings I have ever seen. There are so few heartwarming, interesting shows where after you watch it, it restores your faith in humanity instead of making you question it.

The OTP's relationships take time to build, but once it "crescendo," their chemistry is in full bloom amazing mode. This will become one of the most beautiful love stories you'll ever see and I'm not just talking about the leads, but the entire cast. Both Shin Hye Sun and Yang Se Jong have amazing comic as well as emotional timing on top of being first rate, award-winning actors. They both have the ability to make the audience feel what their characters feel and elicit great empathy for their characters. Both can make you clutch your stomach in laughter and your heart in tears, and their love story will make you feel like butterflies live in your chest. They're such great actors that they can have an amazing love story with a broom much less with each other. The rest of the cast is also amazing; there isn't one weak link in this cast. Even the dog is a better actor than half of the human actors out there.

Very rarely can I say with certainty that you'll love a show because so rarely is there a magical coming together of great writing, acting, plot, comedic timing, directing, lovable main to supporting characters, location (even their house is full of character), and music in one show. Even if you like nothing else, the dog is worth the watch alone. I've never seen a show where I love each episode and don't forward through any part. The only disappointment I feel is when it ends. Of course we are all human and all will have different opinions on everything, but I think the majority of the people who give this show a try will find that they don't just like it, but will love it and it will become one of their favorite shows of all time or at the very least of 2018. It's one of the best feel good shows I've ever seen. You'll want to tell everyone you know about it and watch this show again and again.

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A Deeply Touching Romantic Comedy That’s a Feast for Your Eyes, Ears, Brain, and Heart

❤️ Beautiful smart leads ✔️
❤️ Beautiful acting ✔️
❤️ Beautiful touching deep story & writing ✔️
❤️ Beautiful romance ✔️
❤️ Beautiful OSTs ✔️
❤️ Beautiful locations ✔️
❤️ Beautiful cinematography ✔️
❤️ Beautiful directing ✔️
❤️ Beautiful (mostly ;) outfits, accessories, and styling ✔️

We’ve been blessed to get two amazing romantic comedies from Shin Hye Sun as the lead in a row. Hopefully many many more. Though her characters and circumstances could not be more different in ALML from 30 but 17, her amazing acting talent and skill at being able to touch your heart are the same. I didn’t think I could love a show more than 30 but 17, but I do with this show. They are 1a and 1b in my book.

If Lee Yeon Seo was played by a less talented likeable actress she could have easily been cartoonish and insufferable . Yet somehow Shin Hye Sun managed to make her a sympathetic bada**. It’s so rare to get such a strong KDrama female lead who says and does exactly what’s on her (and our) minds. Dan could have been a silly empty character yet Kim Myung Soo makes him hilarious and heroic. The main leads are amazing onscreen from their hilarious bickering to deeply touching moments. Some of their kisses in later episodes will make you blush and flutter your heart with their chemistry. My only complaints about this show are that there aren’t more episodes and the entire show can’t just be only the two of them on screen. I know the latter is unrealistic but that’s how much I love this OTP.

This show asks some touching and deep questions about God and why bad things happen to good people. The journeys the main characters take to find those answers will make you weep and touch your heart as well as tickle your funny bone. You will not regret investing your time and heart into this show.

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Romanticizing a Toxic Relationship Does NOT Make It a Healing Drama

I love Shin Hae Sun. My acct. pic is of her. I've raved about her other shows that were healing and wonderful and have said nothing about the ones I didn't love as much out of respect for my love of her. I cannot in good conscience not speak up and warn people of the trigger warnings in this show. If you want a healing comfort show, go look at my other reviews of her other shows.

⛔ Trigger Warnings:

⚠️ This show seems to want to convince the audience that it's a beautiful true love story between a woman who doesn't love herself & the man who doesn't love her either who reaffirms her low esteem beliefs about herself. It's shown as romantic, sweet and healing not sad, tragic and infuriating. Though the latter was what I ended up feeling anyways.

⚠️ Toxic ML says the most cruel things to the FL that's usually reserved for the villain of the show or a toxic ex that the FL escapes from.

⚠️ Abusive behavior like rejection, gaslighting, negging, abandonment, ghosting, verbal cruelty that lead to years of insecurities and pain that lead to a mental breakdown are never treated as such, it's shown as a normal part of a great love story. As long as a woman "loves" (more like obsessed & addicted to) a man, "love" of a toxic man is all that matters. Not Sanity. Not self-respect. Not mental well-being. Not self-esteem. Not self-worth.

⚠️ Gaslighting messages from both the show & the ML are normalized & romanticized. Healthy green flag men who love consistently and are good for a woman's self esteem and confidence are not good matches but a man who gives mixed messages and keeps a woman unbalanced & feeling like she was never good enough for him because he said that to her face multiple times in words and actions is a good match.

⚠️ Sexist ageism is portrayed in the show as just what happens on top of the fact that the real age of the leading actor is 8 yrs older than the leading actress but in the show they are supposed to be the same age. The ML clearly looks at least 10 yrs older than the FL but we're supposed to ignore that and believe they are the same age while being told that the FL lead is "too old" for the 3ML when she was maybe 1-2 yrs older but looked practically the same age as the 3ML.

⚠️ Severe mental illnesses like depression and Dissociative Identity Disorders (DID) are "cured" by ways in the show that in real life would most likely lead to that person ending up dead or permanently broken - or both.

Toxic messages to pick the red flag men over the green flag men were the reasons why I stopped watching American shows and "romantic comedies" and why they don't make money anymore at the box office. It's sad that in 2024 this kind of unhealthy, ignorant and even dangerous messaging still exists. I'll always love Shin Hae Sun's other shows, Thirty but Seventeen and Angels Last Mission: Love. If you want comfort shows or a love story that will make you feel good vs icky & despair, then go check out those shows.

This show was so disappointing that I don't think I can ever trust the Screenwriter: Han Ga Ram or Directors: Jung Ji Hyun, Heo Seok Won ever again. I definitely won't watch anything by them in the future until after the show ends and I see lots of ratings before ever feeling safe to watch something of theirs ever again.

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Hilarious Show with an Extraordinary Heroine That Won't Just Make You Laugh, but Cackle and Guffaw.

LOVED the acting, characters, humor, heart, love story as well as the mystery. There wasn't a wasted minute or bad performance during this show and it was a rare C-drama show that I wished every episode could have been longer. Though not just a romantic comedy, because there were some heavy, dark, serious, and violent parts, the humor was sometimes so funny that I found myself not just laughing, but actually cackling. Luckily I wasn't eating or drinking anything during those parts. Eat and drink while watching this show at your own risk for more than just one reason.

The heroine was amazing though ironically the story was centered around how her family and the people in her life thought she was anything but great (to put it kindly). I love that her story pulls at your heartstrings in a natural, sincere way instead of feeling manipulative and forced. I also love that she's kind but not weak nor a pushover. She's lovable, hilarious and so root-worthy. She pulls off the rare feat of being naive without being annoying or TSTL. She somehow manages to be very clever and yet unworldly at the same time in a very charming and sympathetic way.

Even with the high rating, I'm surprised the ratings and viewership aren't as high as Mr. Queen (at time I wrote this) because it's just as funny as that show and the story just as compelling if not even more so. This show was so good from beginning to end that I broke several cardinal rules to watch it and I am so glad I did. I usually avoid C-dramas because they can oftentimes be the same stories packaged with different actors and titles, thus repetitive and slow or have terrible middle and endings despite starting out really well. So I tend to wait until the show ends then check the spoilers and rating as it has saved me many wasted hours and unneeded stress doing that. However, the title of this show drew me in and the description as well as the ratings made me want to take the risk of watching this show before it ended and I'm so glad I did. Though there is a part two, it's so good that even if the rest of this show, meaning part two, is terrible, what's been shown so far is so good that I will not regret the time I have spent watching all the episodes so far.

I binged watched it and I was not bored once. I can re-watch it all again easily. I didn't like the violence and abusive behavior but I FF those parts and still got the gist of the story and enjoyed the rest. I cannot wait to watch part two and since this show was such a huge hit in China, they decided to release the second part immediately so there's no interruption between part 1 and part 2. I will definitely check out the two main leads' other highly rated hit shows to help me with the wait in between episodes.

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