I’ve mentioned this show a couple of times here on my blog already, but I haven’t really had the chance to write about how much I’m obsessed with it.
(I’ll try to avoid posting spoilers in the first part of my review, but you’ll find a lot towards the end.)
“You’re Beautiful” is a fairly new Korean drama which ended late 2009. My sister has been bugging me to watch it ever since it ended but I haven’t had the time until recently. She warned me that I should only start when I have about 16 hours to spare (the show has 16 episodes), because she knows I’ll definitely be hooked, and she was right! Seriously, if you’re going to watch this, be prepared to stay up all night because you won’t be able to stop.
MY QUICK SUMMARY (no spoilers):
The show is about a nun in training who is forced to take the place of her twin brother, Go Mi Nam, while he undergoes corrective surgery. Her brother has recently been accepted into Korea’s top band called A.N.Jell. She must keep her identity a secret while living in a dorm with 3 other band members, all of them guys.
MY THOUGHTS
One of the best Asian series I’ve seen in a long time. Although gender benders are quite common in Asian dramas and mangas (Hana Kimi, Coffee Prince, etc), I still love them since they always guarantee lots of comedic scenes.
The story was very well written and the I love how it was directed. I can tell that a lot of effort was made in the production of this drama. The actors did a great job in portraying their characters.
THE CAST
A.N.JELL members:
Jang Geun Suk as Hwang Tae Kyung
Park Shin Hye as Go Mi Nam (Male)/Go Mi Nyu (Female)
Lee Hong Ki as Jeremy/Kang On Yu
Jung Yong Hwa as Kang Shin Woo
Extended Cast
UEE as Yoo He Yi
Bae Geu Rin as Sa Yu Ri (Fan club president)
Kim In Kwon as Ma Hoon Yi (Mi Nam’s manager)
Choi Ran as Choi Mi Ja (Mi Nam & Mi Nyu’s aunt)
Kim Sung Ryung as Mo Hwa Ran
Jung Chan as President Ahn
Choi Soo Eun as Wang Kko Di (Coordinator Wang)
This show had me cracking up so much. There were moments when I had to literally pause it because I was laughing too much and I couldn’t read the subtitles properly. Of course, there were a couple of sad and touching scenes as well.
There are a lot of love triangles in this drama so I expected it to get messy. I’m not really a fan of multiple love triangles because they usually give me headaches, I tend to get confused about who loves who. But “You’re Beautiful” was just so well-written that I just kept on wanting more.
One thing I’ve got to tell is you is how much I loved the soundtrack. I have the entire album on repeat right now. I even downloaded some sheets online and have started learning a few songs on the piano. (You can see me play “Without Words” on the piano here.)
Soundtrack:
Still / As Ever – Lee Hong Ki
Descend from the Sky – Miss $ ft. Oh Won Bin
Without Words – 9th STREET
Lovely Day – Park Shin Hye
Promise – Lee Hong Ki ft. Jung Hwa Young
My Heart’s Calling – Kim Dong Wook
Without Words – Park Shin Hye
Still / As Ever – A.N.JELL
Promise – A.N.JELL
Without Words (Piano ver.) – Various Artists
Still / As Ever (Bossa ver.) – Various Artists
Song for a Fool – Park Sang Woo
What Should I Do – Park Da Ye
Good Bye – Jang Geun Suk
I would give this series full marks, 5/5 stars. Yes, I love it that much. It’s been over a year since I’ve been this hooked on a show (the last was the Taiwanese drama “It Started With A Kiss”). I love everything about this drama: the cast, the plot, the twists, the soundtrack … everything! I highly suggest that you go and watch it!
(There’ll be a couple spoilers and pictures in these next parts, so if you plan on watching the show, it might be best if you stop reading now.)
One reason why I love “You’re Beautiful” so much is because of the A.N.Jell members. They’re all really talented actors and singers. I think that having them actually sing the band’s songs was a huge plus. It made the show a thousand times more believable.
Jang Geun Suk as Hwang Tae Kyung was perfect. I don’t think any other actor could have played this role as well as he did. I loved his facial expressions and the special way he says “Go Mi Nam”. He reminded me a bit of Tamaki Hiroshi when he played Chiaki in the Japanese series “Nodame Cantabile” (another fave of mine). Another thing they have in common is that deep and beautiful voice that I can just listen to all day. I wasn’t really a fan of his guyliner in the show, but I guess they did that to make him look a bit older since he’s supposed to be the leader of the band.
Park Shin Hye played Go Min Nam extremely well, I loved her from the start. She’s just so cute and bubbly. Her innocence and her scared expressions won me over. She’s adorably stupid, you can’t help but love her.
I was thrilled to see Jeremy being played by Lee Hong Ki, the lead vocalist of the Korean band FT Island. He’s more of a singer than an actor but I still think he did an amazing job in this series. He reminded me a lot of Ikuta Toma playing Nakatsu in the Japanese version of “Hana Kimi”. He was the one I was most attracted to in the first few episodes. I only wish they didn’t give him that horrible hairstyle towards towards the end of the series, I mean what’s with those blunt bangs?? But overall I still think he’s great. (I’m slowly becoming an FT Island fan because I keep searching for videos of Lee Hong Ki on youtube XD)
The last A.N.Jell member, Kang Shin Woo, was played by Jung Yong Hwa. According to online polls, Shin Woo is the most popular A.N.Jell member, probably because he’s the kindest and sweetest among them (and he’s extremely good looking too XD). He’s the most mature out of the members, and probably the smartest among them. His one-sided love for Go Mi Nam made a lot of fans cry because it was just so pure. His character reminds me a lot of Hua Ze Lei in the Taiwanese series “Meteor Garden”.
I really wish A.N.Jell was a real band, I’d definitely support them. I’ve seen some videos on youtube where they actually perform together on stage to promote the show. I’m hoping they’ll form a temporary group in the future just to please the fans (just like the Taiwanese F4), haha.
There are many scenes in this drama that stuck with me after I watched it. These are just some of them:
-The phone call between Tae Kyung and Mi Nam after she was hit on the head by a trophy and had to pretend that she was in the hospital.
-Tae Kyung’s expression while he watched Mi Nam and Coordinator Noona on the webcam
-When Tae Kyung’s phone accidentally fell on top of a parked truck and he made Go Mi Nam get it. I loved the part when the truck started backing up and Tae Kyung was just standing there concerned about his cellphone.
-The scene when Mi Nam destroyed Tae Kyung’s room
-When Tae Kyung and Mi Nam gets lost after leaving the restaurant because of Tae Kyung’s allergy
-When Mi Nam had to choose a member to share a room with (adorable puppy eyes!)
-Manager Ma’s imaginary bed scenes!! I loved it even more after seeing the director’s cut on youtube.
-The scenes where Tae Kyung torments Yoo He Yi (throwing away her shoes, sending her dad a message that she was pregnant, LOL)
Continue reading →
Cute Jeremy and Tae Kyung
Awwww~
One of my favorite scenes in the series 😀 Look at Shin Woo’s face! LOL
Jeremy and Shin Woo
Tae Kyung and Mi Nam – so cute!
A.N.Jell doing weird things
What I have shown you is reality ... 