Recommending Guardian, the Lonely and Great God (2016).
I watched more than half of all the episodes, and I still can’t decide if I could recommend it or not. This is undoubtly the best kdrama I’ve ever seen (it’s very popular too), but… but. I have ambivalent feelings.
Things that bother me:
- Ji Eun Tak, aka the ghost-seeing Cinderella. Our heroine is a typical kdrama female lead: miserable, poor, but extremely beautiful. God, she is so miserable that sometimes I’m sick of it. She lives with an evil aunt, then the prince (in this case, the rich and handsome dokkaebi) comes and saves her from her family, and gives her a home. Oh, and her role from the moment of her birth is to be the dokkaebi’s bride. This is literally why Eun Tak is alive. So progressive.
- Her relationship with Kim Shin. Now, I really like Kim Shin, okay? But he still treats Eun Tak like shit - and not on one occasion. I could accept that he got her fired from her workplace (because her life was in danger), but he always says things like “no don’t talk to other boys” and “don’t wear short skirts” and “don’t walk on the streets after lectures, SHIT, why are you not home at 5 pm”. No, dear writers, this is not funny boyfriend.
- also, he never tells her anything, only if it is absolutely necessary.
- the age gap. 900 year old Kim Shin and 19 year old Eun Tak rather have a sister/brother or father/daughter chemistry, so sometimes that confuses me too.
- Kim Shin also called his sister ugly, treated her (too) like shit, and this is not funny??
Things that I absolutely love:
- a goblin, a grim reaper and a girl who can talk to ghosts live together. this is it. this is the series.
- SUNNY. God. She is so perfect, and so relatable, and literally EVERBODY (even the girl grim reapers) thinks she’s hot as hell. She has a chicken restaurant, she’s an independent women, and she is the one who basically courts the Grim Reaper. She’s so baddass and sassy I can’t even describe.
- now, THE GRIM REAPER. He looks like death (…okay) but is actually such a cutie pie. Real OTP material, I love them more than the main pairing.
- aside from the relationship part, Kim Shin is one of my favourite characters. i understand what he has been through, and I’m sure that he only behaves so controlling towards Eun Tak because she is his first love (just to remind you: he is 900 year old), and he is SUCH an akward person. i hope that they figure it out in the end.
- the friendship between Eun Tak and Sunny is sooo precious
- MEN CRY IN THIS SERIES. A LOT. I love how it’s not portrayed as unmanly, but rather as a natural thing, that happens sometimes when we are sad.
- though I mentioned that Eun Tak is miserable, she still works very hard. She works part-time, attends college - it’s not her fault that she is poor, but she tries to make her situation better
- the bromance between the grim reaper and Kim Shin is too real. they are basically a married couple (when Eun Tak tells Kim Shin that she loves him, the reaper also turns to him and casually mentions “yeah, by the way, i love you too” and you can see that Kim Shin just c’aNT)
- the music is heavenly
- the writing is brilliant (aside from the mentioned problems above)
I think there are more positive things, but you decide.
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