Hwayugi

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.

The romance between Lee Seung-gi and Oh Yeon-Seo felt like a tug of war of give and take. It was some times funny, sometimes sad and sometimes warm. Their chemistry on screen was perfection. Cha Seung-won's performance was the best I have ever seen in my whole life when it comes to comedy. Comedy comes to him so easy and the range of what he can do feels limitless. His relationship with Lee Seung-gi's characters was the icing on the cake, always fighting and always funny.

Lives to the name the Hong sisters didn't disappoint us after failure of Warm and cozy drama. The romantic-supernatural beings is the main focus for this drama like their dramas before My girlfriend is a Gumiho and Master's sun. Once again the main casts including Cha Seung Won and Lee Seung Gi are the most important actors that breathing life to this funny yet memorable drama, while the heroine Oh Yeon Seo's acting is not bad.

The story itself is modernization of "The journey to the west" that I had watched like literally forever since they always remake this serial almost once every 2/3 years since I was little but none are like this where supernatural-beings live in modern time while the monk/sam-jang is portrayed as a girl. The great acting and the interesting plot that stays true to Sun Wo Gong's character are the main point why this drama receives high rating after Goblin, still the ending and the actress are much preferable than Goblin.

I even like the closing song which seldom happened to me.

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 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.