Review: Oh My Venus ♥
6:50 PM
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My heart can't contain continuous heavy dramas after watching The Princess' Man so I decided to watch something lighter. While browsing my favorite k-drama hosting website, I saw something intriguing. After reading the synopsis, I knew right there and then that I would be hooked with this drama.
Plot. A story about the struggle of 33-year old lawyer, Kang Joo-eun, to bring back her former glory as Daegu's Venus by shedding the excess baggage she accumulated over the years. She seeks the help of a professional trainer, Kim Young-ho (a.k.a. John Kim), who returns to Korea to escape a scandal with a Hollywood actress. The two eventually falls in love as they venture the road to health and fitness.
I've read a lot of negative reviews on Oh My Venus and I completely understand why. Poor writing and some minor lapses on the storyline may be the culprit why this drama didn't receive top ratings despite the overflowing cuteness and chemistry of our OTP. To briefly describe the plot: it is light and uncomplicated. I greatly appreciate these factors, honestly, since it didn't give me the emotional stress that I usually encounter while watching k-dramas. However, I believe the viewers would've appreciated OMV more if they added a little more substance to the background details underlying the characters' lives. I think the last few episodes also seemed shortened. Parang minadali.
I've read a lot of negative reviews on Oh My Venus and I completely understand why. Poor writing and some minor lapses on the storyline may be the culprit why this drama didn't receive top ratings despite the overflowing cuteness and chemistry of our OTP. To briefly describe the plot: it is light and uncomplicated. I greatly appreciate these factors, honestly, since it didn't give me the emotional stress that I usually encounter while watching k-dramas. However, I believe the viewers would've appreciated OMV more if they added a little more substance to the background details underlying the characters' lives. I think the last few episodes also seemed shortened. Parang minadali.
Despite the many loopholes on the plot, I really love how the drama demonstrated women empowerment and emphasized the importance of inner health over beauty especially now that women are so obsessed with their physical appearances.
Cast and Characters.
Shin Min-ah as Kang Joo-eun. Branded as Daegu's Venus during her teenage years, Kang Joo-eun is everyone's first love. She dreams of becoming a lawyer with both beauty and brains. But after becoming a lawyer, Kang Joo-eun gained a lot of weight and her self-esteem dropped low. She then meets Kim Young-ho who always come to her rescue during difficult situations.
One of the things I was looking for in the plot is the reason behind Kang Joo-eun's strong motivation to become a lawyer. At the beginning of the series, I was really expecting that maybe her father died and their family didn't receive any justice or she experienced something bad during her younger years, idk. I also noticed that despite her strong personality, she was sometimes a damsel-in-distress that needs to be saved, as she frequently utters "Please save me" and her exxagerated reaction when she was being followed on the street as if she had a traumatizing experience before. And I also want to know why always removes her band-aids and stick them to the wall?
I really really wanted to understand Kang Joo-eun's character more, but a part of her still remained a mystery.
Being naturally cute and charming, I think Shin Min-ah was effortless in giving life to Kang Joo-eun's character which is the wackiest that I've seen of her. If I were as cute as the chubby Shin Min-ah, I wouldn't even try to lose weight, jk haha~
So Ji-sub as Kim Young-ho (a.k.a John Kim). Like the typical male leads of k-dramas, a chaebol. He spent most of his childhood in hospitals due to a devastating illness which also led him to live a healthy lifestyle. After gaining the spotlight in America, he decided to go back to Korea until the scandal settles down. Unfortunately, his grandmother stopped him from returning to America and convinced him to take over as the Director of their family business.
Kim Young-ho can be described as strong (both emotionally and physically), determined, serious-type but bubbly, and of course, insanely sexy.
Given So Ji-sub's manly and strong facial features, I never expected that he can also pull off the cutesy and playful character of Kim Young-ho. Asdfghjkl~~ The way that he delivered the diversity of scenes is also highly commendable.
Jung Gyu-woon as Im Woo-shik. Kang Joo-eun's first love and long-time boyfriend. After 15 years of being together, he eventually lost interest of her and secretly went out with Oh Soo-jin. *** SPOILER ALERT*** Despite the break-up, Woo-shik still genuinely cared for Joo-eun even up to the point of beating up her stalker. *** END OF SPOILER***
Some may view Im Woo-shik's character as a total asshole. I was also expecting that, honestly. But over the course of the drama, you will find that he's not really hateable. Here are two of my expectations that didn't happen: *** SPOILER ALERT***
Yoo In-young as Oh Soo-jin. Kang Joo-eun's former best friend in high school, who is back with a vengeance. She was overweight back then and very lonely until Joo-eun befriended her. After a failed date set-up by Joo-eun, Oh-Soo-jin's self-esteem was crushed and thought that Joo-eun only befriended her out of pity. Now that she has also achieved her dreams: love, successful career, and killer body, she still finds herself lonely and full of insecurities.
Another character that did not meet my expectations. Haha. I like how the drama showed her fragility despite her bitchy attitude towards Kang Joo-eun. Even if she claims that she hates her former best friend, you will see that she deeply cares for her and her bitchy attitude is superficial.
Before Oh Soo-jin, I first saw her as Han Yoo-ra in My Love From Another Star. Oh Soo-jin and Han Yoo-ra are quite similar given the not-so-friendly roles. Han Yoo-ra is the more bitchy and despiteful one while Oh Soo-jin is more of the irritatingly cute side. You want to hate her but you also feel sympathetic towards her. Yoo In-young was able to deliver a different side of malevolence effectively.
Sung Hoon as Jang Joon-sung. Joon-sung has a troubled past and he was saved by John Kim, who later trained him to become a professional boxer. Also known as the "Korean Snake", he was invited to do a CF with Jang Yi-jin who fell head over heels for him.
Even if I like the depth of Jang Joon-sung's character, I was really disappointed with how his love story with Jang Yi-jin was written. This is one of the flaws that I noticed with the plot. It was cute and promising, but it lacks substance. **Sighs**
I was really surprised with Sung Hoon's performance as Jang Joon-sung. Most of the episodes, we would see him act as a serious boxer during his training, as a cutie pie (during his scenes with the main characters), a little snobbish/irritable/surprised towards Jang Yi-jin. ***SPOILER ALERT*** But what impressed me the most was his heartbreaking scene on episode 13 where he sees an injured Young-ho inside the car. You can feel the intensity of the scene and heaviness of the atmosphere through his effective delivery. Very, very impressive indeed. ***END OF SPOILER***
Henry Lau as Kim Ji-woong (Ma'am!!). He acts as Jang Joon-sung's manager and initially, Kang Joo-eun thought that he is John Kim. Unlike his partner in crime, the Korean Snake, little is known about the background of his character. His character is light and goofy, but OMV definitely is incomplete without Ji-woong. The, Perfect. Mood. Setter.
As an ELF, Henry is definitely not my bias in Super Junior. But after watching OMV, I had to say that I grew fonder of him in every episode. (Ma'aaam!!!! Haha!) I know very little of Henry but I can say that Ji-woong's character is quite similar with the real Henry. After all, Super Junior is Super Junior if you know what I mean. Haha.
Cast and Characters.
Shin Min-ah as Kang Joo-eun. Branded as Daegu's Venus during her teenage years, Kang Joo-eun is everyone's first love. She dreams of becoming a lawyer with both beauty and brains. But after becoming a lawyer, Kang Joo-eun gained a lot of weight and her self-esteem dropped low. She then meets Kim Young-ho who always come to her rescue during difficult situations.
One of the things I was looking for in the plot is the reason behind Kang Joo-eun's strong motivation to become a lawyer. At the beginning of the series, I was really expecting that maybe her father died and their family didn't receive any justice or she experienced something bad during her younger years, idk. I also noticed that despite her strong personality, she was sometimes a damsel-in-distress that needs to be saved, as she frequently utters "Please save me" and her exxagerated reaction when she was being followed on the street as if she had a traumatizing experience before. And I also want to know why always removes her band-aids and stick them to the wall?
I really really wanted to understand Kang Joo-eun's character more, but a part of her still remained a mystery.
Being naturally cute and charming, I think Shin Min-ah was effortless in giving life to Kang Joo-eun's character which is the wackiest that I've seen of her. If I were as cute as the chubby Shin Min-ah, I wouldn't even try to lose weight, jk haha~
So Ji-sub as Kim Young-ho (a.k.a John Kim). Like the typical male leads of k-dramas, a chaebol. He spent most of his childhood in hospitals due to a devastating illness which also led him to live a healthy lifestyle. After gaining the spotlight in America, he decided to go back to Korea until the scandal settles down. Unfortunately, his grandmother stopped him from returning to America and convinced him to take over as the Director of their family business.
Kim Young-ho can be described as strong (both emotionally and physically), determined, serious-type but bubbly, and of course, insanely sexy.
Given So Ji-sub's manly and strong facial features, I never expected that he can also pull off the cutesy and playful character of Kim Young-ho. Asdfghjkl~~ The way that he delivered the diversity of scenes is also highly commendable.
Jung Gyu-woon as Im Woo-shik. Kang Joo-eun's first love and long-time boyfriend. After 15 years of being together, he eventually lost interest of her and secretly went out with Oh Soo-jin. *** SPOILER ALERT*** Despite the break-up, Woo-shik still genuinely cared for Joo-eun even up to the point of beating up her stalker. *** END OF SPOILER***
Some may view Im Woo-shik's character as a total asshole. I was also expecting that, honestly. But over the course of the drama, you will find that he's not really hateable. Here are two of my expectations that didn't happen: *** SPOILER ALERT***
- He would eventually try to win Kang Joo-eun back after she has achieved her Daegu-Venus-figure, but no.
- He will do everything just to ruin Kim Young-ho's image and try to stop him from being the Director at all cost (hey, that's a norm for dramas right?), but no. *** END OF SPOILER***
 |
| Relationship goals na sana oh.. Haha~ |
Yoo In-young as Oh Soo-jin. Kang Joo-eun's former best friend in high school, who is back with a vengeance. She was overweight back then and very lonely until Joo-eun befriended her. After a failed date set-up by Joo-eun, Oh-Soo-jin's self-esteem was crushed and thought that Joo-eun only befriended her out of pity. Now that she has also achieved her dreams: love, successful career, and killer body, she still finds herself lonely and full of insecurities.
Another character that did not meet my expectations. Haha. I like how the drama showed her fragility despite her bitchy attitude towards Kang Joo-eun. Even if she claims that she hates her former best friend, you will see that she deeply cares for her and her bitchy attitude is superficial.
Before Oh Soo-jin, I first saw her as Han Yoo-ra in My Love From Another Star. Oh Soo-jin and Han Yoo-ra are quite similar given the not-so-friendly roles. Han Yoo-ra is the more bitchy and despiteful one while Oh Soo-jin is more of the irritatingly cute side. You want to hate her but you also feel sympathetic towards her. Yoo In-young was able to deliver a different side of malevolence effectively.
Sung Hoon as Jang Joon-sung. Joon-sung has a troubled past and he was saved by John Kim, who later trained him to become a professional boxer. Also known as the "Korean Snake", he was invited to do a CF with Jang Yi-jin who fell head over heels for him.
Even if I like the depth of Jang Joon-sung's character, I was really disappointed with how his love story with Jang Yi-jin was written. This is one of the flaws that I noticed with the plot. It was cute and promising, but it lacks substance. **Sighs**
I was really surprised with Sung Hoon's performance as Jang Joon-sung. Most of the episodes, we would see him act as a serious boxer during his training, as a cutie pie (during his scenes with the main characters), a little snobbish/irritable/surprised towards Jang Yi-jin. ***SPOILER ALERT*** But what impressed me the most was his heartbreaking scene on episode 13 where he sees an injured Young-ho inside the car. You can feel the intensity of the scene and heaviness of the atmosphere through his effective delivery. Very, very impressive indeed. ***END OF SPOILER***
Henry Lau as Kim Ji-woong (Ma'am!!). He acts as Jang Joon-sung's manager and initially, Kang Joo-eun thought that he is John Kim. Unlike his partner in crime, the Korean Snake, little is known about the background of his character. His character is light and goofy, but OMV definitely is incomplete without Ji-woong. The, Perfect. Mood. Setter.
As an ELF, Henry is definitely not my bias in Super Junior. But after watching OMV, I had to say that I grew fonder of him in every episode. (Ma'aaam!!!! Haha!) I know very little of Henry but I can say that Ji-woong's character is quite similar with the real Henry. After all, Super Junior is Super Junior if you know what I mean. Haha.
Overall Production. For Kang Joo-eun's chubby face, it really looks realistic and you might think that she really gained some weight just to fit the role perfectly. However, for the body I think the fat suit is quite obvious. Still, I want to applaud the production team for a job well done and dedication in transforming the sexy Shin Min-ah to the oversized yet cute Kang Joo-eun.
Just what I've mentioned earlier, Oh My Venus might have a number of flaws with regards to poor writing of the story line, but I would assure you that it's not a total waste of time. As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed watching it and I may watch it again some other time. It is light and less dramatic, and it would definitely make you laugh your asses out. Every episode is worth looking forward to. I would still recommend this drama to every k-drama fans out there.
Just what I've mentioned earlier, Oh My Venus might have a number of flaws with regards to poor writing of the story line, but I would assure you that it's not a total waste of time. As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed watching it and I may watch it again some other time. It is light and less dramatic, and it would definitely make you laugh your asses out. Every episode is worth looking forward to. I would still recommend this drama to every k-drama fans out there.
Final verdict: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡ [3/5]
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