*first published on 25october2010
Ok, so I didn’t think much of this drama’s plot to begin with. A love story between a man and a nine tailed fox, duh, come on admit it, most of you if not all of you thought its preeetty lame if not downright …nevermind. If none of you will admit to that, then I would, it is a lame plot! But what do you know, so what if its lame, I kinda forgot that it’s a romantic comedy so I shouldnt take the plot tooo seriously. Serves me right for judging the entertainment value of a particular drama based on the plot alone. I should have known better, didn’t I learn anything from watching the jdrama Zettai Kareshi where a woman fell in love with a robot? I guess not. for starters, none of you should expect this drama to be a literary piece, it is a romantic comedy so the aim is to fall in love with the love team and to have a few laughs along the way. Its success will be based on how hard we fall in love with the leads and how often and how hard we laughed at the jokes. Did it succeed it doing that?
Let me start with the pilot episode, hmmm, now that’s what I call getting one’s attention from the get-go. All the scenes after our lead actors met are very good. The flow of the story was successful in delivering the scenes that defines the plot without leaving the viewers scratching their heads asking, Who? What? Where? When? How? It was a case of not expecting much but was rewarded by a very pleasant surprise. did I forget to mention that they are perfectly casted for their roles. it was an exciting first episode, no scene was wasted and it was very well crafted. The music that was used, most notably the love theme(the one sung by a girl) sounds wonderful, it has an ethereal sound to it that fits the plot of the story to a T. that’s how a first episode should be, making you want to look forward to the next. Nicely done :)
That last scene on ep3 and the start of ep4, when he attempted to abandon MiHo was so tastefully done that you cant help but feel sorry for the poor girl as she gazed at the sight of the man she trusted, running away obviously abandoning her. And when despite his selfish nature he had a change of heart and realized what he has done …didn’t we just cheer deep inside our hearts with the triumph of human compassion …or was it a budding …affection …then, he became oh so protective of her when her secret was threatened to be revealed as she stepped out of that cruise ship covered by a blanket, or was it a table cover, whatev ..hahahaay.
I know that SHE was good from the movies that I’ve seen of hers but HE was a revelation. He is not exactly cute and handsome by korean actors standards but HE continues to impress me, I didn’t think I would like him in Shinning Inheritance but boy was he good there too. He seems very relaxed and at ease with his role here, I even like how he portrayed this sometimes dorky character. I did notice that he bulked-up a bit compared to his last drama appearance. No complaints from me on that score. See, men don’t need to bare their torso all the time for us girls to notice that you have nice bodies. We can tell, so swallow some of that overly over-confidence sometimes, button up those shirts ‘coz seriously, it could be a little annoying when someone always finds an excuse to display their well-defined abs. to me its not a sign of self-confidence but … it hints of insecurity :) anyhoo, HIS often “in denial” attitude toward HIS burgeoning feelings for HER is pretty amusing. HE would often talk to himself over and over and over again that SHE is not human but a mystical fox. And HE is right, who in his right mind would fall in love with a gumiho? Haha, that’s why this is a drama and not real life, capisce?
Can MiHo be more adorable than when she swallowed the water she was suppose to spit out when being taught how to brush her teeth, too cute im telling you. Some of my favorites scenes here are when HE gets confused about his feelings for HER specially when she innocently flungs herself in his arms and when SHE tells HIM “I miss you so, so, so, so, so, so much” and “I really, really, really, really, really like you” ..sweeet . and when SHE wants or talks about mating with HIM ..super funny . I think its one of the most if not the most adorable female character that ive seen in a korean production AND im saying that largely because actress Shin Min Ah portrayed it excellently! Ive seen 2 of her movies, Beauty and the Beast and My Mighty Princess but I thought she looked her best in this drama and she hardly wore any make-up, nor any fancy clothes not even sport a trendy hairstyle and yet she was perfect. I have a strong feeling that I have been bewitched by that nine tailed fox! …haha… SHE is just perfectly cute and lovable, it only goes to show that there is nothing at all wrong with the classic korean look so to the ladies and gentlemen of the korean entertainment industry, please lay off those cosmetic surgeries already.
There are of course some things that I don’t like here, well, you know me. Some are more often than not, pretty shallow because of my obvious OCness about “some things” like glaring plastic surgery. But what can I do, im bothered by those kinda things. 1st, there’s the vet’s hair. haaaaa, it is ALWAYS sooo perfectly coiffed, not a single hair out of place its driving me nuts! Ok, so the hairstyle is trendy these days but ive always been bothered by hair the wouldn’t move, it doesn’t seem real , its like a freakin' helmet! Did I forget to mention that I also noticed that he was wearing colorless nailpolish? Can anything be more DOM’ish(dirty old man) than that? The guy is an attractive young man for crying out loud. If he is a fine example of a metrosexual, I don’t think I would want some of that for me …no thanks. 2nd, Hae In noona’s nose job. Ive seen this girl in BOF and I was bothered by her brief appearance on that drama. I was thinking then, could she breathe without difficulty when her nostrils are barely open, specially the left one. Here’s a close up of her nose and tell me im wrong.
3rd, it’s the older couple love team, ugh, they are sooo annoying. The action director and the aunt are trying way too hard to be the cute and funny love team, yuck !!! they should be penalized for doing half the things that they did on this drama, sooo over, OVER ACTING, specially the director! Thank goodness for the fastforward/jump button. 4th, in the last few episodes, in HIS attempts to make HER leave HIM, the story became very predictable if not downright pathetic. Havent I seen that often enough in all dramas, HIM pretending not to care and acting beastly to push HER away for her own good or vice versa. Later I was a bit lost as to who was pushing whom ‘coz HE ended up following HER around. Their attempts to protect each other from being hurt with the inevitable parting is sooo passe, let that style rest pleeease. Ok I’ll stop there, didn’t I say that im more forgiving of rom-coms and generally don’t take it tooo seriously.
Finally, the ending …its typical korean. in the “pinoy lingo”(filipino slang or language), its …”bitin”(lacking or leaves you hanging or wanting for more). Am I disappointed with the ending, hmmm …no. I have learned not to expect too much so im not disappointed. Besides, it’s a happy ending so I should’nt complain.
Ok, so, was it successful in making me fall in love with the leads and did I laugh often enough and hard enough at the comedic scenes …HOI, HOI, HOI… you betcha:D definitely highly recommended for its entertainment value <3 <3 <3
