I liked it, but...

I don't care for bullying, corruption, violence, and gore. If you like all those things, definitely give this show a watch, because it is extremely well-written. It's fast-paced (a little draggy toward the end), and pretty interesting throughout. There's a lot going on at all times, and I think you'll have a hard time deciding who is worse, humans or demons. This drama really highlighted man's capacity for evil. Personally, I think there was too much evil coming from too many places. It might have been better if there had been one Big Bad, as opposed to multiple bad guys.For the aforementioned reasons, my rating is lower than I'm sure most people think it should be.

However, can we just talk about the cast? I'm a sucker for found family, and this drama really did a good job of demonstrating that. The Counters are people that, in normal circumstances, might never even travel in the same circles, let alone be friends. Once they got together, they truly were a family, bickering and all. The bickering was so great, because that's what real family does, "I can badmouth you because we're related, but no one else better say anything bad about you!" There were numerous emotional scenes that really worked - they made you feel their pain, but they also brought something that made you root for them.

Cho Byeong Kyu as So Moon - he's the newest Counter. He did amazing things with this role. His grief, his anger, his disability, and portraying teenage hormones all worked together to make him so interesting. He's a beautiful crier. Trying to learn his powers, then trying to control them, often skirting around what Counters are allowed to do. I loved his relationship with his grandparents, as well as his school friendships. The transfer of power from them taking care of him, to him watching out for them was really good. Also, I liked that, for the most part, he and Ha Na had a sibling relationship, and the writers didn't try to force a romance.

Yoo Joon Sang as Mo Tak. He's the strongest Counter. His character seemed to be the most fleshed out, since a lot of the show was about corruption, and he had been a cop. The romance aspect was a waste and completely unnecessary. He becomes the father-figure of the group of Counters, and he had some amusing scenes.

Kim Se Jeong as Ha Na. Angry Counter (that's what I called her). She had a chip on her shoulder a mile wide. She doesn't like to be touched, she doesn't attach to people and she's got that "keep away" vibe going on. First, this role was completely different than her role in Business Proposal (of course!), and if I didn't recognize her voice, I might not have known it was her. This was a character that, if not played well, you would totally hate her. She made it work, and I enjoyed watching her coming to terms with letting others into her life.

Yeom Hye Ram as Mae Ok. I hated her so much in Goblin and loved her so much here. She was the mom of the Counters, looking out for the others. She formed such a strong bond with So Moon, and when she had to heal him of his wounds, that just wrecked me. I loved her character.

There were some beautiful songs in the OST. As for re-watch - no. I'm not even sure I'll watch The Uncanny Counter 2. Just a little too much darkness for me.

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I couldn't get past the student/teacher relationship

This show was totally played for laughs, thankfully, but still... why couldn't they have made her just a few years older than him, but still in school? The low rating by me is pretty much due to this, it was uncomfortable for me to watch. That said, you should try it if...

1) You want somewhat over the top humor.
2) Don't mind overacting (purposeful in this case, I think)
3) Like the "fated to be" trope
4) You are in the mood for something light to watch, without angst
5) You don't like 2FL storyline. There is one, but it is resolved really well
6) You like to watch shows about friendships and the importance of friendships
7)You like some fantasy in your shows. I mean, she thinks she's in love with a manga character!
8) You like a cute ending.

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Rating number is based solely on my lack of enjoyment

Up front I'll say that this show is a slow, slice-of-life comedy/drama. Wonderful cast. I loved the idea that they all grew up together and lived in the same alley. We got to see their day-to-day lives. I LOVED the scene where they kept taking side dishes to the others in the alley and it became a seemingly never-ending travel from house to house with side dishes. They knew each other so well; they didn't knock before entering the houses of others. That's the kind of closeness that's developed over the years, creating comfort for all involved. Every character had their flaws, but they also had redeeming qualities (except perhaps the FL's sister, she just wasn't a nice person). I can totally see why the rating for this is so high, and why people liked it, but I didn't care for it.

I loved the character of Jung Hwan. He was fascinating to watch. Still waters run deep. This character was like watching a cautionary tale of what happens if you play it safe all the time, if fear or insecurity drives you, relationship-wise.

What I didn't care for:
The FL - I felt that she played the character over the top a lot, with a lot of shrieking, screaming, crying. This actress has a very expressive face, but it just felt like too much to me. She liked one person, then another, then another.
The romance storyline. None of it felt natural to me. I wasn't seeing/feeling chemistry. And I definitely didn't agree with who the FL ended up with, that's all I'm going to say.
SO MUCH yelling and hitting between all of the characters. Parents hitting kids, sisters hitting sisters, friends hitting friends. And in the midst of all the hitting was all the yelling.
WHAT was with the goat sounds. That was SO overused!
The "grown" FL and ML. To me, they were too different than the characters we'd been watching.

If you like slice-of-life, give it a try. It might also be enjoyed more if you don't binge watch it, but savor each episode.

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Sweet story

This was a sweet story about two lonely people becoming family to one another. The actors were good, but maybe it was where I was emotionally when I watched it, but the "passivity" (for lack of a better word) kept me from enjoying it more fully. The extremely quiet FL with her hair in her face, head down, shoulders slumped, that bothered me here. That said, once they got to know each other more, both actors were beautiful to watch.

I especially enjoyed the last episode. Their new family, that included blood relations as well as friends that they'd acquired along the way. It was a lovely ending.

This is a good show to watch if you are in the mood for no angst and a slow, easy story progression.

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sweet movie

I had a difficult time not comparing this to Always (the Korean version). The actors/characters in Always are older, so I think I related more to that one because the main characters seemed lonelier, and I appreciated them finding one another more. The thing that really stuck out in this version, when he was trying to convince her to have the surgery, he was talking to her about being able to see her children. When he talked, it was like he was talking about her marrying someone else and having children. In Always, he asked her "what about when WE have babies" - that touched me so much more.

Yokohama Ryusei and Yoshitaka Yuriko both did a good job and were cute together. The actor that played his coach overacted quite a bit and that was bothersome for me.

The bonus for me was the BTS song Your Eyes Tell.

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Kind of cringy at times

I have heard of NCT-Dream and I was looking for something light to watch before continuing on my LONG list of dramas. I didn't hate it, but neither did I like it much. The biggest problem was that the team members didn't have any chemistry with one another. I haven't researched to see how long this group has been together, but there didn't appear to be any bond between then. There was actually one member that I got the impression that the other young men didn't like, and that's hard to watch as well. After watching reality shows with members that have amazing chemistry (I'm not going to name names, but...BTS), this was cringy to me, in that one minute they seemed like they were trying too hard, and the next they just seemed like they felt uncomfortable with one another and would like to be anywhere else but where they were.

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Oh my goodness, just why?!?!

Bad costuming, bad hair, and some bad acting. It was an old show and didn’t age well. I realize that production values have improved over the years, but this felt like watching a bad home movie. I'll be the first to admit that I don't care for people that are liars or con-men, so this one was problematic for me. Their separation throughout the show made no sense at all. They had no respect for one another and no chemistry. I had some second male lead syndrome though. It's also one of those shows that I watched again because I hadn't reviewed it and hoped it was better than I remember, but unfortunately, it wasn't.

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Hours of watching a depressed person

This show irritated me on so many levels! The story was so simplistic, which in and of itself wasn't a problem, but there was SO MUCH TIME of watching the main couple walking around, her being depressed, him trying to cheer her up. I didn't have problems with the actors (though Park Shin Hye does tend to stick with the doe-eyed somewhat unhappy girl), but the characters were so tremendously irritating!
The character of Go Dok Mi is a recluse as a result of something in her past, WAY in her past. She seemed to be someone that wallowed in her misery, so it was hard to like her or root for her. She seriously should have sought counseling. Throughout the whole show, I felt like I was watching Eeyore whenever she was on screen. I was starting to feel like I needed to take antidepressants.
The character of Enrique Geum - I didn't like him at all. He was hyper, extremely immature, pouty, talked fast and yelled a lot. I never was able to warm up to him, even up to the end.
The character of Oh Jin Rok - I loved this character and he was the saving grace for this drama, as far as I was concerned. Deep, quiet, abiding love. Always wanting Dok Mi to be happy. He was the maturity that this show needed.
All of the women side characters were awful and were typical trope-filled caricatures - evil, manipulative, lying, bullying.

I felt there was no chemistry between the leads. She was too cold, her was too immature. Sure, he finally got her out of her apartment, but I didn't feel them growing toward one another, or even in their separate lives. Two kisses, one really staged, the one at the end was better.

The time jump, that apparently has to be in EVERY Asian drama, was poorly handled. In this day of cell phones and air travel, him being gone for over a year made no sense, especially since they both had jobs where they could literally work anywhere.

So, this one is a definite NO on the rewatch list for me!

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Loved the friendships, the rest? Not so much...

I love a good school drama. This, however, wasn't one. There didn't seem to be a terribly cohesive storyline. I did enjoy the friendships and how they supported each other. So, other than the so-so storyline, I also had problems with some of the acting.

Park Ji Hoon as Gong Jo Young - he's as cute as the day is long. There were numerous scenes where his makeup was so obvious it was distracting. I guess his acting was okay, but his character was like a hyperactive puppy. Bouncing around, talking to inanimate objects, panting after Wang Ja Rim. He was exceedingly immature, and I found his behavior very irritating. Opposites attract, but there is no way a mature person like Ja Rim could like him.

Lee Ruby as Wang Ja Rim. She is stunning to look at. I found her acting wooden and the fact that I watched 30 episodes and her expression changed exactly one time left me extremely underwhelmed. When an actor has to play a character that has hidden depths, they need to be able to convey that through their actions or the expressions, even if just using their eyes. This did not happen here. Even at the end of the drama, I still didn't believe that Ja Rim liked Jo Young,

Kim Young Hoon as Lee Kyung Woo - he is an example of being able to use his eyes to express what he is feeling. The final scene in the drama, with him talking, leads me to believe that there will be another season. Why?

If you want to watch for the friendships, that's great, but personally I didn't find anything else noteworthy about it.

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Must pay attention!

I must admit that I struggled with this movie, if only for the fact that I usually do other things while watching movies. You CANNOT do that with this movie. The storyline changes on a dime! This movie is like the best sleight of hand - you are looking at one thing, and while you are, they do a bait and switch on you. I never knew what was going to happen from one moment to the next.

Excellent cast. I've seen everyone in other works, and enjoyed them each time, but You Ji Tae as Park Hee Soo, was outstanding, playing a different character than I've come to expect from him. Charismatic and yet cold, I never knew what his character was up to. The entire cast had good chemistry with one another, different Swindlers forced to work together. Hyun Bin, I'll be honest, he could probably stand in an empty room and read the phone book out loud, and I'd be in. He was good in this, I kept going back and forth as to whether I liked his character or not.

Low on the re-watch value for me, only because once you know what's going on, you wouldn't be surprised by anything. My only complaint was, and this is just my prude-like personal opinion, but I wish they wouldn't translate the curse words. I don't like to hear them, but if they are in another language, I can pretend they aren't cursing. Seeing them in writing was very jarring. Again, just my personal opinion.

If you've got the time to pay attention, give this movie a watch. You won't be sorry you did.

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Not a fan

I'll admit to having watched the Korean version, and the Chinese version before this one. I pretty much liked the Korean version, the Chinese less so. Unfortunately, this one came in third for me.

I found this one too slapstick, I didn't care for the acting at all, and the clothing wasn't very good either. The ML basically lived in a brown suit, which he also wore to his wedding. The FL clothes were okay, but everyone else seemed like caricatures of real people, both in the way they acted and the way they dressed. This is the first version that I didn't get SLS. Don't get me wrong, he was sweet, nice and took care of her and everyone else, but he just looked sleazy with his little moustache and goatee. I also thought she was inordinately attached to him - especially when she was going to let him kiss her when he left,

I thought the ML's behavior and attitude were better in this version, he was more likeable. I didn't find him terribly attractive, though. The FL was dowdy at the beginning, but in no way ugly. She was beautiful throughout.

My biggest problem with all the versions is the fact that the FL best friend does what no best friend should ever do, and basically the FL keeps apologizing for it, when she was the one that was wronged.

I thought the main couple was very sweet in this version.

I've watched a couple of other T dramas, and I find their acting to be over-exaggerated, which bothers me, but that's just a personal opinion.

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If you want to watch A LOT of on line gaming, this might be the one for you.

There were some cute things about this drama and it didn’t have a “typical” evil character, but, for me, this show was just too long and drawn out. There were so many scenes of the gaming battles that were just a waste of time. I get it, it’s a show about gaming, but come on! This show would have been so much better if they had done a better job of editing and decreased the episodes by half.
SCRIPT: The script was okay, but too long. Rather than the evil parent or the evil girlfriend, the evil in this show was social media. It really addressed the issues that pervade our society today, and how social media can not only make or break someone’s career, but can totally affect the way you see yourself. It was an effective hook, but it went on so long I wanted to tell the female lead to just turn off her phone. This script is more about gaming, some about friendships, and I would have to say that romance comes in third. The team friendships were fun to watch, and their responses to having a girl in their midst was amusing. The progression of them accepting her into their circle was handled in a realistic manner. I didn’t find the romance totally believable – the progression of this wasn’t written in the best way, and I felt that it wasn’t clear why they really liked each other. I did, however, appreciate that there wasn’t the obligatory time jump where they are separated for an extended period of time. The ending was very abrupt and unfulfilling.
ACTING: I thought that Xu Kai (as Lu Si Cheng) did very well. I didn’t see him as a “cold” character, but more as a driven and responsible leader for the team. He looked out for all of his teammates, he took his job seriously, and he was fair in his dealings. I've not seen Xu Kai in anything before. I'll have to keep an eye out for any contemporary dramas he might do in the future. He's done quite a few historical dramas, but they are not my cup of tea. Chen Xiao (as Tong Yao) was not impressive to me. First, the fact that her online name was Smiling made absolutely no sense. She hardly ever smiled. She spent an inordinate amount of time either looking surprised, confused, cranky or pouty. She seemed weak to me as well, placing so much value on the online comments and she let these comments affect how she dealt with Lu Si Cheng.
CHEMISTRY: Some very good kissing scenes that seemed realistic in the context of their relationship. I hate the shows that have the woman, even after admitting that she likes the man, act like she’s terrified to be touched by him. There were some hand-holding scenes that went well in line with the progression of their relationship as well. Secretly holding hands was a cute touch. Once they were a couple, I really liked his character. He was all-in on this relationship, while she seemed to be on the fence for quite a while. Xu Kai’s smiles alone are worth spending the time to watch this drama. There were a couple of episodes toward the end that were very sweet to watch.

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My opinion strictly based on my lack of enjoyment

When I first heard about this show I was so excited. Honestly, Ji Chang Wook could read the phone book (do they still make those?) and I'm all in. However, his character in this show was just pitiful! He was such a sad sack of a character, it was really hard for me to watch. Everyone just ran all over him. A spine was needed for his character.

I didn't care for the "bad girl" image of the female lead. Her toughness I found to be very off-putting. I didn't like the way she treated others. Unlike a lot of others, I couldn't really feel the chemistry between these two, maybe because I just didn't like either of their characters.

And I know it's a given if there is high school involved at all, but I'm honestly so tired of bullying.

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Didn't feel the love

So, I was looking for a romantic show that wasn't filled with too much angst. Based upon the reviews, I felt that this might be a good fit. It was a disappointing watch for me.

Jeju Island - beautiful. For me, the high point of the whole show, other than the So Ji Sub cameo.

Acting/casting - The acting was okay, except for the second female lead. Her acting felt really wooden to me, but the script certainly didn't help. I felt that the mayor of the town was miscast - he looked like he would have been a good "bad guy" but I didn't buy him in this role.

Writing - this is where the majority of my complaint lies. Sometimes it was somewhat slapstick, then it would move to melodrama, then move back to a typical romance. What did it want to be? I did not care for the male lead character at all. He was all over the place as well, but what stuck out to me most was that he was a doormat and I couldn't respect him. He's liked a girl for years that is an absolute nightmare (how anyone with any intelligence could like her, I have no idea), even goes so far as to say that even if she marries someone else he'll still like her, but then almost immediately switches to the female lead. Wait, what? Then the contrived situations that keep the leads apart were just unnecessary, it was one thing after another, including the "separated for a year" trope. When I'm watching a romance, and they are apart more than they are together, can that really be called a romance?

Chemistry - I didn't feel the chemistry between the leads (which is partially a problem with the script). Consequently, I didn't feel too invested in wading through the show until they got their happy ending (which was rushed, by the way). Some really bad kisses, but then they finally got a clue.

I realize that reviews are based on personal opinions, but if you are looking for a show that is really romantic, this would not be one that I would suggest.

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