Hwayugi

A wonderful story based on the monkey goes west legends with a beautiful twist and a totally ok ending. Actors exceptional in my opinion. As this is the third kdrama i have seen, starting late in life (76 years old) watching netflix, as i'm an old woman living in a country in europe, where people are getting too cynical, this drama really made me laugh and cry at the same time. Thank you all so much especial the monkey king.

The TV show is quite unique and the concept is pretty interesting. It has a lot of funny moments and it is really an amazing experience to watch it. The acting is quite good and so is the story. It combines romance, drama, comedy and also horror in the most unexpected way which makes you feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster. It is a very balanced mix and you end up wanting to watch more and more. The characters are very interesting and have the potential to grow. If you want a lot of CGI and a lot of special effects - this is not the show for you. There are some special effects and they are not that awesome, but they are not that important to the story line. I hope this show gets as many seasons as possible because it certainly has the potential to last long.

I think there are certain problems tied to the contemporary social reality that the series inform about implicitly. Such as how it is a mass consumption society and these values (about opulence, vanity, ostentation, disposibility, materialism, etc.) are now predominating and renegotiating more traditional values. I think it is sad that in K-drama the lead male characters are usually pumped with opulence, as if it is an element that adds to their real value. This series both deconstructs and at the same time reproduces it. Anyway, it could have been done more elegantly, for instance by being more careful about the costumes of the lead male character. At the beginning he had a style, which was cool, to be completely destroyed later on. White turtleneck sweaters, florescent red jackets or kitsch suits that make him look silly. Also his character should have been developed further. Obsessing him with alcohol is evidently not enough, he should have other interests/preoccupations. Fortunately, the actor brightly builds a persona in spite of these flaws. The other issue is the special effects. They could have been more creative and come up with metaphorical representations rather than trying to show off with really badly done ridiculous digital effects. It is not a problem of budget or technique, but of laziness and pretension. Seriously, there are million ways to represent a dragon. The action/fight scenes should have been better worked as well, they could have add more value to the series. Another problem is the soundtrack. I understand they wanted to use popular Korean music, but it could be so much better with a little bit more attention. There were some good ones, such as the song of the punished goddess. But overall it makes me think they just didn't want to pay a professional for a more intentional and fitting soundtrack. Also it could have focus more on the main characters and their story. Sometimes side stories were boring and characters were annoying instead of being "funny". While with a little bit more reflexivity it was possible to improve it to a great extent, overall, it was good enough to leavs you with emotions, difficult to forget.

How to rate this series?! The plot is weird, the story so full of inconsistencies and the special affects are poor.

But the chutzpah is immense! The central relationships are entertaining. I was particularly taken by the character of The Monkey King, played to perfection by Lee Seung-gi. And I enjoyed it immensely.

The TV show doesn't really remind me of anything - it's unique; the acting is decent. There's a lot of characters to build upon and it seems that the show isn't limited (there's no end game) - could easily become a few seasons if it pulls in good numbers.

The story is vast and interesting, it seems to have a lot of genres built within itself - comedy, horror, romance. That being said - the show is most likely for the younger audience.

The only obvious flaw(s) that I can think of is music - they've recycled the same song 5 times in the first 2 episodes which was disappointing. The special effects are quite poor, although if you can overlook them - and you're just looking to relax/chill and watch something simple - this wouldn't be a bad choice.