Reviews

I saw the first episode of this drama when it came out, but I simply didn't like it, I don't know why.

But, a few days ago I finished a drama and I said to myself well if everyone is talking about it and it's getting so much recognition then it must have something good. And, as soon as I started watching it, I fell in love.



Story-It's really interesting because, as in Dream High, it gives you a chance to see a little of the inside world of Hallyu. Besides it doesn't get tiring at any time and it moves really fast, without losing any time. I specially loved that unlike most dramas, he was the one who fell in love first, and isn't afraid to admit it.



Acting-I was really impressed, specially with the main lead. I have to admit that at first I had my reservations because he was so OLD. But then I started noticing his acting and he's REALLY good. He is so much better than the female lead and is always setting the mood for the scene. The supporting actors were also very good and funny.



Music-It is great, there is always a great song accompanying each scene, completely according to the mood. I specially liked the suspense music because it made the scenes funnier. And of course I loved "Bum bum"! It is so catchy that I find myself humming it at times!



Rewatch value-I'd completely rewatch this drama, and probably will in vacations.



overall-so 10

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I must have been out of my mind when I started this one because I had never attempted or even cared to attempt a drama more than 45 episodes (Smile You) but the fact that I was a fan of Joo Sang Wook (Thorn Birds) & Hwang Jung Eum (Can You Hear My Heart)led me to try out a couple of episodes...

Story: It starts off with the child stories and here is where you see everything (father's death, siblings seperated, meeting of the romantic OTP #1) go down. When the characters grow up, there are multiple time jumps and twist and turns throughout to keep you engaged till the very end. Be prepared to cry a lot and be shocked at how the romantic pairings go (they are twisted). I loved the ending although it was bittersweet. I will say that this definitely could have been done with a shorter ep count because there were many filler scenes.

Acting: Excellent ensemble cast. Everyone from the 2 main couples to the supporting cast was amazing. I got attached to all the characters and it was crazy how everyone who is considered protagonists also showed a bad side to them. The writers did a phenomenal job in writing these characters. Just wanted to mention I wasnt too keen on Lee Bum Soo in the beginning but by the end I had become a fan! The chemistry btwn him and Park Jin Hee was perfect.

Music: The score was so fitting. Powerful when it needed to be and emotional in all the right places.

Rewatch: Although its a large ep count, I loved the acting so much that i would like to try and watch this every year if i have the time cause its so epic.

Overall Giant is a must watch for any die hard drama fan and the perfect introduction to Lee Bum Soo. Dont be turned off by the huge ep count or you will be missing out!

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I found this drama very entertaining. It is meant to be a comedy and although it touches on very moving subjects, it never fails to be hilarious! All the characters are very well played and very funny. They are all silly in their own way and although the plot is rather redundant, the entertainment the characters give makes up for the rather boring plot. Near the end episodes of the drama, I found it particularly funny when Unubore sang his own theme song. If you are looking for a drama that is a good solid dectective plot then this is probably something you would not enjoy. But if you like comedy (not in a sophisticated way I suppose) then you would thoroughly enjoy this drama. :)

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Well, todays is 21st of october and i finally managed to end watching this show. You can ask why so long? that because the only value (for me of course) was some soundtracks. When i heard for the first time about this drama i was way too excitied, but with every new episods i lose my interest more more. I dropped it many times and forced myself to see it again just out of curiosity like will this show survived, will there be some changes or at least what end will it has? Still i don't know is it lead actors just weak or supporting roles too strong. Story line didn't hide anything special or surprising, playing wasn't great, every time i had the feeling that i'm watching some homework for teenagers only. The chemistry between lead actors is apsent like someone forgot about it, sometimes there was also this feeling that actors were very shy but still forced to play it. Well, to sum it up, just nice drama and if you're bored to death than watch it or at least listen to soundtracks, just don't expect too much.

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As a person who likes mystery/crime dramas as soon as I started to watch this I knew this one would fly straight to my list of good dramas.



Plot is good and I think it's similar to American series "Cold Case". I liked that series but I think this one is better because this doesn't have many and many more seasons like non-Asian dramas usually has...



Acting was great. Ueto Aya is my favorite actress (well one of them) so I might be biased a bit. Her character was different from her characters before. I also liked every other character too. I think the "lab nerds" were amazing, especially Kimura Ryo.



I liked the insert songs/music in this drama. Opening and ending suited for the drama but they weren't my taste though..but I still liked them...maybe it's a bit weird..



I re-watch only rare few dramas and I think I might just re-watch this one day. Though there's still SP and 2nd Season for me to watch.



Overall I gave this 8 even though most of the ratings are 6...



This is a good drama for Ueto Aya fans and people who likes mystery dramas like I do :D

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My first Chinese drama ever! I just finished watching it and I still feel sad. How to begin? I was never really bored with this drama, even in parts where it started to drag a little I never skipped any parts because there was always something to pull me in and make me wanna find out more. And then the last 5 episodes happened - and made me think this drama is something brilliant.



At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to watch it. Let's face it - half balded guys aren't exactly eye candy. But I was wrong! And I'm glad I found people who were raving about it because it made me want to watch it! I got over that issue by the 5th episode - and some of the Prince's are still cute! And whatever else lacks, the story is the most important part - and it was excellent! I had mixed feelings about the princes' throughout the drama.



The acting was amazing! I've heard that Chinese dramas tend to not be acted out that well - but this one is certainly an exception! Wonderfully done - whatever the characters were feeling were clearly portrayed. They cried - I cried.



The music is beautiful! I love the soundtrack! Listening to it now, it just makes me sad - but I can't stop listening! Beautiful!



I don't think I'll rewatch this drama soon - only because there's already so many I have lined up to watch.



Overall - this drama was really worth the time. 35 episodes may seem like a lot - but the story is really done well and it made every episode worth it!



On a side note - keep in mind to expect some not so good greenscreen use and such. Actually some of it was bad enough that it made some scenes [when they're riding on a horse] look like something straight out of a video game. On the plus side - I found it comical and it added humor to a scene haha. Another thing to note that slightly bothered me - she's stuck in the past for many years: but none of them seem to age. It's not until it's almost over that they look slightly different. Because of those things I can't give this drama a full !O. I almost gave it an 8 but it's such a great story, the ending.... get some tissues ready!



Another thing - you don't have to know anything about the Qing Dynasty to follow along with this story. In a way I think it might be better if you don't. I didn't and it left surprises for me when I found out what would happen to the characters.

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Part of the reason why Nodame Contabile was so awesome, was in fact it had nothing to do with the show.



Everytime "Stressman" came on, it was usally to a dramatic classical tune called "Dance of the knights." In the UK, that song is also used as the theme for The Apprentice. Now Stressmen (and his ennunciation) is one of the funniest things about Nodame. So whenever he talked, or the music came on, I kept picturing Sir Alan Sugar (UK's version of Donald Trump) in Stressman's place. Because they're both old and grey see :) And ROFLing like crazy!



Hiroshi Tamaki was another big factor. He looks like the no-nonense type of guy, used to the more exclusive part of life. So whenever he stepped out the "norm" (quite a lot) by pulling exagerated facial expressions, I just loved it! He's amazing at rolling his eyes back ftw



Also Hiroshi's character is unable to leave Japan for the majority of the series, because of a childhood fear of planes. The one he was flying on as a kid took an emergency landing, and it traumatised him for life. The flashback (same one everytime) is pretty hilarious, and the reason is too...until you realize that plane ride has a more significant meaning to him than an emergency landing later on.



Nodame is pretty crazy too. Hands down, she's the craziest. But I'm glad in all that crazy, she doesn't become a magnetic leech so many female leads are demoted to these days. Ok...so she does follow him around a fair bit...but she's not afraid to part ways from him either



*winkwink*



A scene at the very end is soooo cute! I'm not telling you which one it is (you'll know when you come to it) and I replayed it twice.



On the whole I would recommend watching it, if you like crazy/slapstick humour. I, myself, only reached the end because the internet had so many glowing reviews about it. But I don't regret watching it! And I'm now in a position to go and watch the 2 sequels and know the entire back story :) For what it's worth- the movies come even more highly recommended!



Watch it for Hiroshi. Watch it for Stressman. And just for plain silliness :)



OH...and how could I forget the 10/10 music? Seriously. Like the other guys said...it opens up your eyes/ears to classical music and appreciate it in a whole other dimension. And I rarely mark music 10/10!

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I absolutely love the drama. I personally thought it was a well done special. It had everything the drama did. Silliness, emotion, amazingly hot guys going crazy all the time and friendships and that anyone would want and love to have.



When it comes to the story that took place within the drama, I enjoyed it. Personally I would have love to see all the guys in California instead, I think that would have been much more hilarious and a better storyline to tell. As to the rest of the special which took place after the end of the drama, I couldn't help crying, especially during the graduation. It was truly a nicely and touching moment for everyone and really showed the friendship everyone had formed. A friendship that I feel will never be broken.



Overall I think that this special was a nice little cherry on top of the cake that was the Hana Kimi drama.

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I was really excited to watch this drama. As soon as I read what the story was about I wanted to see it, because it reminded me a lot of Autumn's Concerto.

So, it started really good, and then it got tired and in the end it just sucked. The characters aren't well written so it's like hearing them say the same thing over and over again. You never really get to know them. It doesn't have good secondary characters either. Her friend, Hyung Sung is really stalker, and I got the creeps watching him, he didn't make me feel anything, just annoyance. The female lead isn't likeable, as opposed to Mu Cheng in AC. Here you don't feel sorry for her situation, you just get tired of her not sticking up for herself. The male lead is really just cheesy, you don't sense any real feelings. And the story has like really huge holes, and in other parts it just keeps repeating.



One of the main reasons I started to watch this drama was because of Jo Hyun Jae, I just simply loved him in 49 days and I thought he was a really good actor. But here, I don't know if it's because he was just starting his career or because the script wasn't really good but he just came out flat. Han Chae Young, who is really famous for her role on Delightful Girl Choong Hyan, really didn't stand out here, she didn't make me feel anything. As for the other two who completed the love square, they were just creepy.



The music wasn't anything special, although it did fit the scenes. I specially liked one which was like the intro to Aerosmith's "I don't wanna miss a thing."



In rewatch value, I wouldn't ever watch it again, specially because I got really bored at the end and just pressed fast forward in the tiring scenes.



Overall, it really isn't a good drama, although if you like soap operas, you probably will like this.

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I loved this drama. It's quiet and thoughtful. Each episode can exist on its own. The story is original and the cast did a wonderful job. Although there isn't much music, the music they use is very good. The opening theme song is amazing. I immediately googled it and will buy it as soon as I can find someplace to get it.
I recommend this drama to anyone who is looking for something different. There isn't anything supernatural, there aren't any ikemen or suspense, but it draws you into the hearts and minds of the characters. It perfectly communicates the loneliness that can sometimes find you when you live in a big city.
If only I could find a Midnight Cafe here....hehe.

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Story: A perfect telling of a love (fated and unfated) that transcends time. What will you do if the man you love was too ambitious that he was willing to give you up for his ambitions? What will you do when the man you hated loved you instead? What will you do if the man you treated as a good friend wanted you as well? What will you do when the man you loved and respected as friend and brother was betrayed not by others but by yourself? What will you do if you have no choice but to marry the man that was chosen for you? The main female lead tackles all of these questions and more. There are a lot happening in this drama that there is never a boring moment. You'll find yourself "chasing" after the episodes because you'll want to know what she will do next and what the ppl around her will do next. Despite so many challenges in the female lead's life, the story was told at a nice pace and each matter addressed adequately that you'll never feel as if you were left high and dry after being shown a tasty morsel. What's more... you'll even get to see how the female lead matures as the story progresses. A full rounder! Beautifully told and executed!



Acting/Cast: Lovely cast and most of them are experienced actors and actresses, hence excellent acting. I must also mention the costumes, props and sceneries in this drama as well. They sure invested a lot on them! Definitely worth watching! I personally, fell in love with the costumes!!!



Music: Endearing, sad, beautiful, melodic, longing, love....they are all gorgeously portrayed through the OSTs. This drama boasts a wonderful array of excellent OSTs that will bring a sigh, smile and tear to your heart. A worthy collection!



Rewatch value: I am personally not a big fan of re-watching dramas as I am very time poor. However, I'd purchase the DVDs, downloaded the mp4 versions and the OSTs of this drama. This says a lot about this drama and its songs! I'd since re-watched selected episodes of my favourite scenes. Due to my time and work commitments, I have yet been able to re-watch the entire drama but the thought is very tempting.



Overall: A beautiful drama that will remain in your memories long after the last song was sung and the curtains are drawn. This is one drama that will always be at the back of my mind as recommendation for others who are looking for a good historical chinese drama. Well done to all the casts, director and writer!

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