In House Marriage Honey

Japanese title: 社内マリッジハニー

Other title: Shanai Marriage Honey

7 episodes

Aired on MBS from 2020 November to December 

Main cast:

• Itagaki Mizuki as Miura Manatsu
• Matsui Airi as Haruta Ami
• Wada Hayate as Matsushita Kazuya
• Oshida Gaku as Yamagata Yuki
• Miyata Tappei as Hori Ryuhei
• Nakamura Riho as Sakaguchi Sumika
• Asami Himeka as Miwa An
• Tateishi Toshiki as Mochizuki Kaimi
• Hyodo Katsumi as Nishitani Kentaro
• Kijima Asuka as Shinkawa Marina

Production credits:

• Original work: Manga by Fujiwara Emi
• Screenwriter: Uchihira Mio, Shimo Ayumi
• Director: Morita Ryo, Shingu Ryohei

Notes:

• So I watched this drama right after Coffee and vanilla, and they share a lot of similarities but I actually finished watching this one for reasons I will explain. It's also 7 episodes of 20 minutes so not that time-consuming.
  
• I also watch this one on Viki, with comments, and I didn't read the manga it's based on. 
• Again, warning: no explicit content but every aspect of marriage is covered if you know what I mean.
  

 

Review: -/+

Title: Two strangers get married on the day they met for... reasons. And then they realised that they work at the same company. Hence the title.

Girl: She's bubbly, outspoken and an accountant. Also "cunning". Be prepared to read this word (or the equivalent depending on subtitles) a lot. If you make it a drinking game, you would get very drunk.

Boy: He works at sales. He acts aloof but he's actually very cute.

Plot/ relationship: So there is no plot, because there are almost no conflict, and whatever conflict there is, it's resolved quicky and without too much angst. Which is refreshing in a way. Healthy communication in a drama is very rare. In this one, they have a problem or a misunderstanding, they just talk and it's resolved. On the downside, the main conflict is based on a motivation that doesn't make much sense and I feel like their reasons to get married with a stranger, which is the premise of the drama, aren't strong enough.

Other characters: They all have paper thin characterisations, and almost all of them are coworkers.

Funny? Yes. Usually Girl embarassing herself and Boy teasing. Also some expressions and reactions.

Cliches : People falling in love after marrying for other reasons. Borderline insta-love.

Music: Fine.

Bottom line: Like Coffee and vanilla, this drama is plagued with insta-love, no plot, underdeveloped character and universe. I hesitated between a - or a -/+, especially because the intimacy depicted sometimes made me uncomfortable, like 'uh, should I be here?" but, compared to Coffee and vanilla, it has more comedy, the dynamic between the couple is more interesting and I want to commend the communication between them. So -/+ it is.

Coffee & Vanilla

 Japanese title: コーヒー＆バニラ

10 episodes

Aired on MBS from 2019 July to September

Main cast:

• Fukuhara Haruka as Shiraki Risa
• Sakurada Dori as Fukami Hiroto
• Kuroba Mario as Akutsu Takaaki
• Ogoe Yuuki as Yoshiki Tsubasa
• Hama Shogo as Ichiyanagi Yuki
• Kita Noa as Ashiya Natsuki
• Tokoshima Yoshiko as Kitajima Akane

 Production credits:

• Original work: Manga by Akegami Takara
• Screenwriter: Shimoda Yuko, Date Sorami
• Producer: Kamiura Yuna, Furukusa Masami
• Director: Smith, Tsubakimoto Keijiro, Totsuka Hiroto

Notes:

• So I watched this one on Viki, and the only reasons I made it to episode 4 is that episodes are short and comments were really funny.
• Usual disclaimer: I haven't read the manga it's based on. I think I may have tried to read it because the title and the first episode remind me of something but I probably bailed early. 
• Warning: I don't know the rating but it's clearly not for children. It's not explicit but don't watch if you don't want to be exposed to mature material.
  

 

Review: DNF

Title: The title refers to a coffee shop but also to the main characters, male lead being coffee and female lead being vanilla, which is not exactly subtle symbolism. But it makes sense and it's not made too obvious in the drama so it's fine. 

Girl: She's a super shy student, "pure" in every aspect (some would say naive).

Boy: He's like 10 years older and lets say... a weird mix of considerate and overwhelming.

Other boy: He's a student too and... he likes to cook.

Plot: Plot, what plot ? Sometimes in these reviews, I write that the plot is the relationship but this drama takes it to the next level. The drama starts with Boy and Girl in the most passionate love relationship you can imagine. At least, it's different to a lot of dramas, in which it takes sometimes 20 episodes to kiss but it makes you think: "Umm, I wonder what will happen in the 9 other episodes?" The answer is: "basically nothing" except cliches second lead who goes from 0 to 100 then back to 0 in one episode, then a bad boy rival and then I stopped watching. The plot summary teased "secrets" about Boy but nothing in the first episodes made me believe that they would be interesting.

Relationship: I'm not a fan of insta-love and this one is insta-love on crack. The point is not to have two people falling in love but watching two people declaring and consummate their love over and over. Also Girl is so shy that even when she's into it, she looks like she's not, so it can be uncomfortable.

Other characters: For once, I didn't have to cut into the cast list from DramaWiki, that's how underdevelopped this universe is. The most interesting character is Girl's friend who is the audience's surrogate telling Girl that she should run from this insane, possibly murderous guy.

Funny? Not really.

Cliches: Insta-love. Shy young woman/experienced older man. Every guy is in love with her.

Music: Nothing to say in particular.

Bottom line: No real plot. Underdeveloped characters. Wish-fulfillment fantasy. DNF.

What's wrong with Secretary Kim ?

 Korean title: 김비서가 왜 그럴까

16 episodes

Aired on tvN from 2018 June to July

Main cast:

• Park Min Young as Kim Mi So
  
• Park Seo Joon as Lee Young Joo
• Lee Tae Hwan as Lee Sung Yun
• Kang Ki Young as Park Yoo Shik
• Pyo Ye Jin as Kim Ji Ah
  
• Hwang Chan Sung as Ko Kwi Nam
• Lee Yoo Joon as Jung Chi In
• Hwang Bo Ra as Bong Se Ra
• Kang Hong Suk as Yang Chul
• Kim Ye Won as Sul Ma Eum
• Baek Eun Hye as Kim Pil Nam
• Heo Soon Mi as Kim Mal Hee
• Kim Byung Ok as Chairman Lee
• Kim Hye Ok as Mrs. Choi

 Production credits:

• Production companies: Studio Dragon, Bon Factory
  
• Director: Park Joon Hwa
• Screenwriter: Jung Eun Young (ep 1-4), Baek Sun Woo, Choi Bo Rim
• Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jung Kyung Yoon  

Notes: 

• I don't know why but I'm less motivated to write reviews for dramas I actually like! It's easier to rant. Hence why this review is belated. And from memory.
  
•  Hwang Chan Sung is a member of 2PM, a K-pop group.
• This drama was my introduction to all these actors, including Park Seo Joon and Park Min Young. I get the hype now! (edit: after putting the labels, I realised I already had a Park Min Young one because she was Girl in Sungkyunkwan Scandal! Oops. and Kim Hye Ok was in Bad Guy too. Her character is really different here).
  

 

Review: +

Title: A good title! A bit long but catchy and intriguing. And for once, it's really satisfying to hear it in the dialogue.

Girl: She's a great protagonist. Though she's an insanely competent secretary, she's relatable.

Boy: A chaebol heir! How original! His narcissisim is actually funny and when we get to know him more and the layers of his character are revealed, we appreciate him even more. I feel bad saddling this review with the "arrogant jerk" because he's not really a jerk but he's definitely arrogant so yeah.

Other boy: Yeah no. I have some degree of sympathy for him because I'm not a monster but the character was really one note and annoying. Also, it's a bit random but he's supposed to be the older brother and the actor is 6 years younger than the actor for Boy who is playing his age. His behaviour tends to feel more immature too, so there was some disconnect every time we are reminded that he's supposed to be older.

Other girl: Look, there isn't one !

Plot: There is vaguely a mystery about something that happened in the past but the twist is quite obvious so I was just waiting for it to be revealed. However, the gradual revelation of what happened was quite well-done.

Relationships: There wasn't any B-couple but two C-couples among their coworkers. I'm not complaining as there were both very different but still cute and funny.

Other characters: his parents, her sisters, his best friend and their coworkers. 

Funny? Yes. It's a big part of why I like it. Special mention to his best friend (and his disaster of a secretary) and to Bong Se Ra.

Clichés: Office romance. Childhood connection.

Music: I don't remember it so it must have been fine.

Bottom line: I'm surprised that I remember so little of this drama, besides liking it. The mystery is hit or miss and the brother character is annoying but there are some genuinely funny moments and characters, Girl and Boy are strong characters and their relationship is believable. +!

Goblin

Korean title : 쓸쓸하고 찬란하神-도깨비

Other title : Goblin: The Lonely and Great God / Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

16 episodes

Aired on tvN from 2016 Dec to 2017 Jan

Main cast :

• Gong Yoo as Kim Shin
• Kim Go Eun as Ji Eun Tak
• Lee Dong Wook as Wang Yeo
• Yoo In Na as Kim Sun / Sunny
• Yook Sung Jae as Yoo Duk Hwa
• Lee El as Samshin Granny
• Kim Sung Kyum as President Yoo Shin Woo
  
• Jo Woo Jin as Secretary Kim Soo Bok
  

 Production credits :

• Production company: Hwa and Dam Pictures
• Director: Lee Eung Bok; Yoon Jong Ho (ep 3-16)
• Screenwriter: Kim Eun Sook

Notes : 

• I mentioned that I would watch this drama in my review of Touch your heart, in which Yoo In Na and Lee Dong Wook were reunited as the romantic leads. Park Kyung Hye who is a ghost here would become one of their coworkers in Touch your heart.
• This drama was huge, from what I gathered, so I had high expectations.
  
• The screenwriter also wrote Secret garden (and A Millionaire's first love, which is a real blast from the past!). I don't see many similarities except for the fantasy aspects. She also wrote The Heirs!
  
• I have watched episode 8 weeks ago and I don't feel like picking it up so it's a DNF but I may resume watching at some point. It's the first time I felt that way. Usually when I DNF, it's definitive. OK, when I came back to this draft, I had tried to pick it up again and still didn't feel like going through it all so after episode 9, I jumped straight to the final episode. 

 

 Review : DNF 

Title : Straightforward. Maybe too much? I make fun of titles but I wish this drama had a more poetic name that would better reflect the feel of the drama. But it's ok and recognizable enough.

Boy : He's a goblin. I tried to look up what it means in Korean folkore but didn't find much. Anyway, here is what I got from the drama. He was once a mortal but was resurrected after his violent death as an immortal being with powers such as teleportation. When we met him, he's hundreds years-old and waiting for the one person who can put an end to his life. I actually don't remember much about him or his personality.

Girl : Spunky high schooler with a terrible homelife. Oh, and she sees ghosts. And she should have died. And she is the one who is supposed to end Boy's life. I like her, she acts cute and she is also really fierce, determined in adversity.

Other boy : He's a grim reaper. He's resigned but when there is a perspective of something more, he doesn't quite know what to do and how to act. There are hints of a backstory which could develop his character but I didn't get it in the episodes I've watched.

Other girl : She runs a coffee place. Of all 4 main characters, she's the one I understood the least. She is human with no supernatural powers... I think? But I think she acts weird? Again, there are hints of a backstory but when I stopped watching, it had not been explored.

Plot / relationships : Here is my main gripe with the drama. I didn't get the plot. It's at the same time simple and convoluted. There was not enough momentum for me. As for the relationships, the most interesting one was the "friendship" between Boy and Other Boy. As for the romance, there were many moments that were very romantic, and the actors sell it for the most part... but "destined love" is not my favourite trope.

Theme : death. I don't have a "theme" bullet point so I've added it just for this drama. I don't agree with how death is presented but it's an interesting theme to explore.

Clichés :  Hundreds years-old and teenager in love. Star-crossed lovers.

Funny? Surprisingly yes. I am impressed by how they managed to get the tone right and how successful they are at both the tragic/poignant and the funny/light-hearted.

Music : Do I really need to talk about the OST? I feel like it's iconic. Stay with me and Round and round are so so good and go so well with the atmosphere of the drama.

Bonus : Goblin has the best cinematography I've ever seen in a drama. The production value and the special effects are amazing.

Bottom line : I feel bad DNF-ing this drama because I'm a completist, because it has a lot of impressively well-done things going for it (tone, music, atmosphere), and because it is so well-liked. But as objectively good Goblin may be, it is not the drama for me. It also felt to me a bit too self-conscious, too enamoured of itself, like a collection of striking scenes that don't add up to a satisfying whole. Anyway, I applaud the ambition but it's a DNF.

Trot lovers

 Korean title : 트로트의 연인

Other titles : Trot Romance / Lovers Of Trot / Lovers of Music

16 episodes

Aired on KBS2

From 2014 June to August

Main cast :

• Ji Hyun Woo as Jang Joon Hyun
• Jung Eun Ji as Choi Choon Hee
• Shin Sung Rok as Jo Geun Woo
• Lee Se Young as Park Soo In
• Yoo Eun Mi as Choi Byul
• Kim Hye Ri as Yang Joo Hee
  
• Yoon Joo Sang as Jo Hee Moon
• Kang Nam Gil as Choi Myung Shik
• Son Ho Joon as Sul Tae Song
• Kim Yeo Jin as Bang Ji Sook
  
• Shin Bo Ra as Na Pil Nyeo
• Jang Won Young as Lee Chul Man
• Yoon Bong Gil as Lee Yoo Shik
• Park Hyuk Kwon as Managing Director Wang
•  Ji Soo Won as Hwa Soon 

Production credits :

• Production Company : JS Pictures ; Chief Producer: Kim Sung Geun ; Producer: Yoon Sung Sik
• Directors : Lee Jae Sang, Lee Eun Jin
• Screenwriters : Oh Sun Hyung, Kang Yoon Kyung

Notes :

• Hello Father AND Newspaper boss from Capital Scandal ! 
• I've never heard trot songs before (though I knew it was Korean traditional popular songs) and I really like the songs in this drama.
• You might know Jung Eun Ji from K-pop girl group Apink. Since I started to get into K-pop, I pay more attention to idols, and it's funny to realise that Choi Si Won, Micky Yoochun are/were idols. Also f(x) Krystal in the Heirs and AOA Shin Hye Jung in Good witch.
  
• So before this drama, I thought that maybe I was over Korean dramas, after my disappointment with Good witch and it felt like ages since I last watched a drama I really liked. But I really liked this one !!
• This review is from (recent) memory because weirdly I wasn't really inspired to write it. I'm not sure this review will be interesting enough to do this drama justice but I want to share that it was good and introduced me to trot.
  

 

Review : +

Title : Kinda embarassing. Litteral but not totally accurate since only Girl is a lover of trot while Boy doesn't care for it.

Girl : She's confident, headstrong and resilient. She loves singing trot because of how it makes her feel and how it makes other feel. Her energy is communicative.

Boy : He used to be a big star and has been disgraced. He's vain and arrogant but in the funny way, not in the annoying one. He's also talented and has a real passion for music.

Other girl : She's also a singer. She works hard to succeed but it's hard to know what she really wants since her mother (a former singer) is so overbearing. What they do with her character is really compelling.

Other boy : He's the heir of an entertainement company. He's... odd. He does things his way, not caring how he's perceived.

Plot : There is a plot, which is what it is. It's a bit meandering at the beginning and I have to say I skipped some parts, basically all the scenes that heaped misery on misery on Girl. It's handled better, with a lighter touch, later on. Not everything makes sense but at least it shows the struggle to succeed and not everything goes right. I also like how the romance develops and root for these two character's love so that's what I expect from a romance drama.

Other characters : Girl's little sister who is very cute, put-upon assistant, over-the-top mean girl, excentric CEO, nice mentor... most of them are well done.

What the... ? There are "nice gangsters" characters ? They're involved in a very weird scene that's quite dramatic then turns funny but I'm not sure it's successful. I like these characters as comic reliefs but it's not consistent with how they're introduced.

Cliché : The whole premise of you-have-to-help-out-X-in-doing-Y-to-get-Z. And then a "plot" cliché that I can't tell without spoiling that I personally think is way overdone (though I actually like the angst it brings). I groaned when I realised they were going there.

Funny : Yes.

Music : As I already said, music is one of the draw of the drama. Unless you don't like trot. Warning, the same song is used so much at the beginning that I feared they would only use one song throughout the whole drama. Fortunately, it was not the case.

Bottom line : The plot wasn't the best but it was good enough to not distract from the great characters, their compelling relationships, the comedy and the music. + !

Touch your heart

 Korean title: 진심이 닿다

• 16 episodes
• 
  Aired on tvN
• From 2019 Feb to March

Main cast:

• Yoo In Na as Oh Jin Shim / Oh Yoon Seo
• Lee Dong Wook as Kwon Jung Rok
• Lee Sang Woo as Kim Se Won
• Son Sung Yoon as Yoo Yeo Reum
• Oh Jung Se as Yun Joon Kyu
• Shim Hyung Tak as Choi Yoon Hyuk
• Park Kyung Hye as Dan Moon Hee
• Park Ji Hwan as Lee Doo Sub
• Jang So Yun as Yang Eun Ji
• Kim Hee Jung as Kim Hae Young
• Lee Joon Hyuk as Yun Joon Suk
• Oh Ui Shik as Kong Hyuk Joon 

Production credits:

• Executive Producers: Lee Joon Ho, Han Suk Won ; Chief Producer: Jang Jung Do ; Producer: Jung Da Hyung
• Director: Park Joon Hwa
• Screenwriters: Lee Myung Sook, Choi Bo Rim

Notes:

• Based on a web novel by Yegeo (예거).
• Full disclosure: I started to watch this drama because of Shim Hyun Tak. I liked him a lot in Good Witch. Side note: why does his DramaWiki profile pic is this, on the left, when my screenshots of him looks like this? (sorry for the bad formatting, it hurts me too but Blogger is what it is.)
  

Anyway, this drama and my foray into K-pop made me realise that I tend to find men more attractive when their forehead is exposed. I'm sure you're happy to know this.

• I was well into the first episode when I realised that the lead actress was Girl's best friend from Secret garden. I was pleased since I liked her and she brings the same qualities to her character in this drama (while Shim Hyun Tak plays a character so different that I got whiplash. But it shows his versatility.)
• Yoo In Na and Lee Dong Wook were previously in the popular drama Goblin, which I intend to watch at some point.
  
• So, like with Dating agency: Cyrano, I stopped to rewatch an old favourite (this time, My lucky star, which I binged in a few days) and didn't really want to go back to this drama so...
  

 

Review : DNF after the 6th episode

 

Title: I'm not sure what the title refers to. Google translate tells me that the Korean title is "Be sincere" and it may be a play on words since Girl's birth name means "sincerely" and Boy is the only one who insists on calling her by that name. There are also some talks about people being able to see Girl's sincerity.

Girl: She's a famous actress who had her career ruined because of a scandal. In order to win a role, she takes a job as a secretary of a lawyer. She's nice, cute, bubbly and quite smart.

Boy: I didn't connect with him at all. As I said, stoic types are hard to make engaging and Boy comes off as blank. He's smart, clueless about feelings, not the worst person and that's about it.

Other girl and other boy: They're supposed to be the second leads but they have very little screen time and characterisation, at least to this point. They were friends with Boy. They are ambitious. They were in a relationship but broke up but are still in love though they don't admit it.

Relationship/plot: The plot is the progress of the relationship, with some legal cases thrown in the mix. Problem is, there is not enough drama. People are nice, Girl and Boy like each other but don't say anything for whatever reason. And the legal cases aren't interesting enough.

Funny? Side characters are comic reliefs. It's funny at first, but then, the same notes are played again and again and I gave up on actual fleshing up of these characters.

Music: Fine. It goes well with the light tone of the drama.

What ? I complained before about the inconsistency with famous characters who are sometimes recognised and sometimes not at all. At least, this drama is consistent about Girl's need to conceal herself.

Bottom line: This drama and its characters had potential. I really like the first episodes. But it didn't develop fast enough to keep me interesting. There are so many characters that could have been spotlighted and threads that could have been explored, but these 6 episodes didn't show me that they would do it. I could have been invested in the second main couple, in the coworkers and in Girl's scandal if only I'd been shown more. I seriously have no idea how they're going to fill 10 more episodes. It was too chill for me. Maybe it works better with a week-to-week watching experience instead of binge-watching. Anyway, finishing the 6th episode was a chore for me. DNF.

 

Interestingly, even someone who has enjoyed this drama recognises it. Belinda C, in her review of the final episodes, writes: "Now let’s be honest. While the writing does have its moments, there’s barely any real content. The cases in the earlier episodes were always wrapped too conveniently and within 20 minutes of their introduction. Characters like Yeo Reum and Gang Joon (the stalker) were obviously set up to be significant players, but lost steam before they even kicked into gear."

Link to her review and my thoughts on what she says happen in the last episodes after the jump, due to SPOILERS of the ending.

 

Good witch

•  Korean title :  착한마녀전
• Other title : Nice Witch
  
• 40 episodes (but same length overall as 20 episodes)
• 
  Aired on SBS
  
• From 2018 March to May

Main cast :

• Lee Da Hae as Cha Sun Hee / Cha Do Hee
• Ryu Soo Young as Song Woo Jin
• Ahn Woo Yeon as Oh Tae Yang
• Shin Hye Jung as Joo Ye Bin
• Bae Soo Bin as Bong Chun Da
• Ahn Sol Bin as Bong Chun Ji
• Yoon Se Ah as Oh Tae Ri
• Shim Hyung Tak as Chae Kang Min
• Lee Han Seo as Bong Cho Rong
• Lee Duk Hwa as Oh Pyung Pan
• Geum Bo Ra as Byun Ok Jong
• Yang Geum Suk as Lee Moon Sook 

Production credits :

• Director : Oh Se Kang
• Screenwriter : Yoon Young Mi

 

Review : -/+

Title : It's actually referenced several times in the drama. Sun Hee and Do Hee are twins with different personalities and lives. Do Hee has become a flight attendant and the face of the company, but she's known as the cold-blood witch. Sun Hee has to take her place and, as she can't help being kind, changes her image. She's now the good witch.

Girl : I thought she was interesting. She's the super kind girl character but the drama showed how being too nice can also be a flaw she has to overcome while still being true to herself.

Boy : He's good looking, smart, kind, courageous, honest, understanding, loyal, funny. I could go on and on. He basically has every quality there is and no discernable failing (apart from a quirk in the beginning which was his only original trait). The problem is that his character didn't change at all. Now that I think about it, he's like the one-dimensional love interest in action movies, except that he is a main character.

Relationship : I wasn't invested at all in Girl and Boy's relationship since Boy was such a non-entity.

Plot : So I kept watching because of the plot. I was curious to see where it was going and how everything would fall down. Also because of the antagonists. Basically, they were 50% of the reason why I didn't DNF this drama. I was really intrigued by their dynamic.

What the... ? There are some stuff that didn't make sense and instantly took me out of the drama. The first is the whole housemates situation. The second is Girl's daughter. There are precocious child character and then there is this perfect life coach confidente child character. It's like they didn't want to add another character and thought "why not give the role to the 5 year-old kid ?" (I have no idea of her age but the point is that she's way too young to be giving life advice to her mother, expecially about her relationship to her father... yikes).

Funny : Yes, some moments are funny but this drama goes to dark places. There are some heavy betrayals.

Music : Not memorable.

Cliché : See the premise of the drama in title.

Bottom line : If I don't care about the romance and the Boy in a romantic drama, I can't rate it more than a -/+. Besides, the mix of stupid and of well-done stuff was confusing. Still, it wasn't a minus because the plot and most of the characters were interesting. In the end, I don't think I can recommend it : -/+

 

2020 October 24th update : From commentary about Red Velvet Irene's scandal, I've just learnt about the "nut rage incident", which I think inspired this drama. More after the jump (spoilers, though it's about something that happens in the first episodes).