True Beauty 여신강림 - Review

 

Title: True Beauty 여신강림

Genre: Romantic Comedy, School, Friendship, Youth

Release: 2020

Starring (Main Cast): 

Cha Eun Woo as Lee Su Ho

Moon Ga Young as Lim Joo Gyung/ Joo Bal

Hwang In Yeop as Han Seo Jun

Park Yoo Na as Kang Soo Jin

Director: Kim Sang Hyub

Writer: Yaongyi/ Lee Shi Eun

Rakuten Viki Rating: 9.6/10

IMDb Rating: 8.1/10

Audience Rating: 4.9/5

MyDramaList Rating: 8.4/10

Rakuten Viki Synopsis: Click Here

Watch VIKIPASS Standard on Rakuten Viki: True Beauty 

Episodes: 16 (abt. 1 hour and 15-20 minutes each)

Content Rating: PG-13

Violence: fist fighting, accident (car hits people)

Sexual Content: kissing, hugging, verbal references, one scene of couple kissing in bed with implied situation.

Language: Mild

Ending: Happy, satisfying

My Synopsis

Lim Joo Gyung (Moon Ga Young) was bullied in school to the point of nearly killing herself, when luck seemed to finally smile on her. Her family moved, and she was able to leave her old school, and life, behind. Learning makeup over the school break she begins her new school as a different person. All is going well until the cutest boy in her school discovers the truth. Can she keep her secret from spreading? And, can he help her realize what true beauty is?

Trailer

My Review: 9/10

Like My ID is Gangnam Beauty, this drama focuses on the misplaced importance of physical beauty. I was looking forward to watching this one as it got a lot of positive attention. And, even though I am not a huge fan of high school dramas, I wasn't disappointed. For one, I like the message that this drama presents. Two, I thought the actors and actresses, as well as the storyline was well done. I like that Lee Su Ho (Cha Eun Woo) knew the truth early on and that the focus of his character was really to show her what her real beauty was. The plot was not new... girl gets a new identity, old bullies threaten to expose her, etc. But, it was done well enough that it didn't matter so much. For those who may not know, this is based off of a popular webtoon.

Lim Joo Gyung (Moon Ga Young) is the star of the show as this really focuses mostly on her life; at school and at home. I think she was a good fit for the role. She has an innocent playfulness that adds a lot to her character. And, she pulls off quite well, the beauty she is at school vs. the more natural her in more private settings. She did a great job acting and I thought she had a natural chemistry with both the male leads... I don't want to compare the two, but I know from reading a lot of comments that many people favored the chemistry between her and Han Seo Jun (Hwang In Yeop). I admit to be torn over this. But, in the end I was happy with her choice.

This was my second time seeing Cha Eun Woo in a roll. Since this, I have watched one additional short drama with him. Looking at his drama list, I feel that this is a role he likes to play. The kind supportive lead; the encourager. I have seen a few episodes of Master in the House and from what I can tell, this is how he is in real life as well. Because of these roles though, I don't feel I have been able to see his full potential as an actor. That said, there is one scene in here where he confronts his father and I was very pleasantly surprised to see some great emotional acting come from him; anger, pain, etc. It made me excited to, hopefully, see him in something that pushes his dynamic. I think he can do it!

And to complete our love triangle we have Hwang In Yeop who plays the tough-boy character of Han Seo Jun. This drama does a great job of really making you torn. Even with the trouble he causes it is hard not to like Han Seo Jun. He has the backstory and the troubled present life that make you sympathetic. He genuinely cares for Lim Joo Gyung, which makes it even harder. This is the second time I have seen Hwang In Yeop in a drama. The first was a supportive role in the historical drama The Tale of Nokdu where he played a very different role as a sword wielding right-hand man for the main bad guy. He is a great actor and I am pretty sure we will be seeing him in many more dramas as he definitely made himself a hit with this one.

And to end it, I have to say that one of my favorite things about this drama is actually the relationship between the two main male characters. They also have a backstory that I don't want to spoil, but be prepared for their funny and touching love/hate relationship. Overall, this was a great drama that was a lot of fun, and has a great message. I highly recommend watching it!

OST

This drama has a lot of bonuses for you. Both our main male characters are also singers and each do a song for the drama's OST. And, Hwang In Yeop also sings a couple songs in the drama itself. So, listen and enjoy!

안녕! - 줄스