Love Alarm (2019)

I must admit that I may not be part of the target audience for this drama, but I'll explain why I gave "Love Alarm" this rating.

I freaking love Kim So Hyun (Jojo), so a new drama staring her as the main role again = I was super hyped. The only reason the "Acting/Cast section of the rating is not a 10 is because I really did not like the main Guy ( Song Kang ).
I dont know for real, how he approached Kim Jojo was really creepy in my opinion and not romantic what so ever.
The moral values are very superficial. The app can detect how in love people are, but every time they explain why the alarm rings, the reason is always the same, It's either "she/he is so pretty" or "idk man I cant control it whatever bruh it wont change"
The first episode is a bit silly, and it's okay but the only thing that motivated me to watch episode 2 is my completionnist instinct. The concept could've been even more interesting. I had hopes when the main couple broke up and Hye young was like "I want to try to do things the old fashion way" when him an Jojo were talking at the Library.
Sike ! One episode later he downloads the app again and they all depend on it . ( even if the momment when he turns arround her on his bike to ring the alarm over and over again was cute, I admit.)

The music is okay, not wow, but if you wacth 8 episodes of a drama and dont know the songs by hearth at the end, for me, it's a good thing.

But the main reason I did not like it that much is because it was presented as a "love triangle story", but it was really disapointing. Jojo and Hwang Sun Oh love each other pretty much for the whole time (except for the shield incident at the end) and Lee Hye Young, as much as I like him, did not have a big impact. Nothing happens in this "triangle" except for the end when they hang out as friends. So if you like dramas where the main couple live happily then break up out of the blue for plot purpose, good news.

To end on a good note it's still cool seing Kim So Hyun acting and here are some personnal suggestions, enjoy :

- A nice "love triangle" drama: Dream High
- A nice "cute couple" drama: Fight for my way

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(Spoilers further down)
I finished this in a few days (3 or 4) and I really regret staying up to watch it and spending so much time. The premise of the drama itself is interesting. HOWEVER, the characters are not well written AT ALL. They make irrational decisions with no reasoning and none of them are held accountable. It makes no sense how people can do such senseless things and have no repercussions. I enjoyed the romance part but I almost couldn't watch parts because of how frustrated I was with certain characters and how their actions made ZERO sense.
SPOILERS BELOW
My first problem with this drama is that they present Hye-yeong and Sun-oh as best friends how truly care about each other. Then, when Hye-yeong makes it CLEAR that he likes Jojo, Sun-oh decides that he for some reason has to be with her. Why? Because she stared at him a few times and didn't have love alarm? Who knows. It makes no sense that someone would do that to their "best friend" who clearly has a major crush on someone. Even when they talk about it and agree they will tell her together, Sun-oh still goes and asks Jojo out himself. And Hye-yeong does nothing! Wtf? Does he not like her?
Next problem: Jojo's family. Her cousin is the WORST. And Jojo just allows her to do it. The thing that she holds over her head (that Jojo survived? and not her parents?) would not really hold any weight over Jojo in real life. She clearly did nothing wrong and was a very young kid so why is anything her fault? It's not, but they needed something in the story to make things hard for her.
Next problem: Hye-yeong was rejected by Jojo SO MANY TIMES. Why can't he just take no for an answer. Yeah, she kinda likes him, but in real life, people don't reject others that many times if they like them. He is being a creep.
BIGGEST PROBLEM: there was no reason at all for her to break up with Sun-oh. Yes she was going through a lot of stuff emotionally, but ? ? why? ? there is no real reason and I hate it.

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Messy, but addictive

The premise for this honestly caught my eye, and I've been super excited for it for ages. It turned out to be nothing like what I'd expected, and to be honest it was kind of a hot mess. AND YET, it was addictive and I felt anxious watching it.

It's messy because it basically threw all the cliches into a pot and used all of them—rich man/poor girl, best friend love triangle, characters screaming their emotions into the void, backstabbing best friend, Cinderella's step-family...but the way they did it was completely unexpected and not in the order you'd expect.

I was really annoyed with all the characters' actions right off the bat: Jo-Jo for being a cheater, Sun-Oh for stabbing his friend in the back, and Hye-Young for being a creepy stalker. I felt like people were only rooting for him because they saw his perspective, but from Jo-Jo's point of view, he barely even talked to her and just creepily followed her everywhere.

Because of all the characters' immature personalities, for once I felt like the time skip was in the right place. And as someone who usually DETESTS all time jumps, I really liked how it was inserted, and how the characters changed during that time. I do hate that noble idiocy is such a huge plot point, but the fact that it took place in the time skip made it a bit better, even though I still found myself frustrated with the flashback scenes.

The time skip was also helpful in getting me to not hate Hye-Young, because I liked his character development and how he finally took action, instead of always looking from afar. Even though his character is growing on me though, I still definitely have second lead syndrome and am rooting for Sun-Oh.

The cinematography and visual effects were the best part of this entire thing. I loved the sound effects. how the app looks, how everything was filmed, and how the 10m radius is edited. EVERYTHING.

I really wish there was more sismance and bromance. The bromance was nice, even though it crashed and burned near the end. On the other hand, there was ZERO sismance, and I hated how all the female characters (other than Kim Jo-Jo) were portrayed as boy-obsessed, shallow, gossipy, etc. Honestly, Jo-Jo's minor scenes with her wedding work friend were so refreshing—and more friendship is needed in this entire drama, which would work out to balance all the romance drama.

Because it was so romance heavy, I also found myself loving the scenes that delved into more Black Mirror territory and talked about heavier topics, like the protests, exploitation, suicides, etc. I really wished that that was a bigger part of the story, because there's a lot of potential for the characters to get involved in more than the melodrama cliches.

I also appreciate the lowkey LGBT mentions and how it's addressed with "It's not like you can control your feelings." MORE, please!

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I think it's a mistake to take kdramas out of their original shape,specially the way Netflix did;cause it shows that the channel has no idea with the way these dramas work.
The writers had to cut so many aspects of this story,that is a new topic in drama land,just because of the 8 episode rule that Netflix had.What is the result of that? The show ended with a cliff hanger making us wait for season two.They could've at least give answers to some questions but were more like "No,lets finish this in the most incomplete way."

The acting is not bad,but it's not something amazing either.you could've either sense the lack of experience in the two main leads or maybe that was the way that the director wanted them to act,either way it wasn't perfect.

Another unbelievable fact for me is the way that this drama is so bad at the music and OST.

But what is strange and in the same time good,is the way the whole series wants you to stay and watch what happens to the characters.so is it worth watching? If you have time and want a good love triangle,why not.

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Why is this hyped?

This was such a bad drama, if I was the female lead, I would file a sexual assault case against the guy lmao. Not going to watch the next season, the premise is great but sometimes the acting is not that good. This drama does not show Kim So Hyun's great acting skills for me, she's better than what role they give to her in this drama, and the guy also has a better role on Sweet Home rather than in this drama. I don't think this drama shows the real potential of the actors maybe that's why I hate it, but the story is a little bit underwhelming too, I don't know why people is so hyped about this honestly.

The highlight of the drama for me is realizing that this show is bad and overhyped.

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It's hard to stop watching once you get into it. The story could get a bit confusing at time but with a bit if patience they explained it very well. The actors were extremely good at conveying emotions and Song Kang may be a rookie but he made it so easy to fall in love with him that you couldn't help but smile when he did.

I really hope Netflix won't dog as they have with most poc series they have with this one because the ending was so far from complete being only 8 episodes. I really hope people watch it because nothing about it predictable or familiar in the way most k-drama are after a while. Like you can't genuinely tell at all where they are taking this. How they use technology in this series is very Black Mirror in the best way whole maintinug a very real slice of life feel. I never cry watching series but this had me at times not going to lie.

Recomend to everybody. Especially if you like something unpredictable and original. Netflix did a whole lot of right in this series.

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One of the most weak storyline featuring the most illogical romance ever

This drama just proves that the writer has never been in a relationship or in love before.

The first season started off well with an interesting-but-yet-realistic creation of love alarm app, aesthetic visuals and mystery of the missing creator of the app, Duk Gu. Hwang Sun Oh and Kim JoJo were made to be the main leads in this season. Their puppy love was undeniably weak and unconvincing. I simply couldn’t understand why Sun Oh and Jo Jo were attracted to each other. It made Jo Jo looked like an indecisive cheater. She had a boyfriend but she liked Sun Oh. Their chemistry never made sense because she couldn’t reason out why she liked Sun Oh and it completely didn’t even make sense as to why she decided to end the relationship with Sun Oh when she actually liked him. She ended the relationship by using the shield that Duk Gu gave her exclusively to download in order to lie to Sun Oh that she never liked him. Perhaps that’s the essence of puppy love. Nevertheless, I shipped the two because the director wanted it that way. At the end of the first season, Duk Gu was hinted to be alive and it showed that sun oh’s new girlfriend rang her alarm for Sun Oh while Sun Oh and Hye Hyeong rang their alarms for JoJo. Jo Jo’s alarm didn’t ring because of the shield that conceals her feelings which was why she desperately wanted it to be removed.

Season 2 made the whole storyline went down hill. In season 2, Kim Jojo decided to date Hye Hyeong even tho she did not like him. She flinched when Hye Hyeong kissed her at the beginning and let Sun Oh kissed her in the later part. This shows how indecisive and needy Jo Jo was. She looked like a lonely and needy girl that that didn’t mind dating a guy she did not like. In this season, you are going to be confused as to who you are going to ship because Hye Hyeong became the male lead of this season with greater screen time. In this season, Jo Jo was desperate to find Duk Gu so she could have her shield removed, be honest with her own feelings and hope to ring someone’s alarm in the future. She was always triggered whenever she bumped onto Sun Oh. Initially, I thought the reason that Jo Jo wanted to have the alarm removed because she wanted to be true to herself. But no, she wanted to get it removed because of Hye Hyeong. She wanted to use it to ring Hye Hyeong’s alarm. The ending was evident that Jo Jo chose Hye Hyeong and Sun Oh going back to his ex-girlfriend. This storyline is basically telling viewers that as long as you make an effort to love someone who loves you and treats you right, you will love them eventually. Sounds illogical right?

I waited almost 2 years for season 2 because I was curious if Duk Gu had actually taken his life because of a rejection. It hinted that he was alive. I thought his disappearance was going to be way more interesting in season 2. Turns out that he as been hospitalised for 4 years and his brother was the one running his love alarm app business. Duk Gu later woke up and gave Jojo an armour to download so she could ring Hye Hyeong’s alarm. Yea I just wasted my time on the season 2.

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Interesting Concept but Poorly Written Story

Love Alarm's dull narrative voice and excessive flashbacks undermine the interesting concept the story has.
This series might have been better if it had more episodes to slowly unravel the plot and to let the viewers sympathize more with the characters. However, everything feels so hastened, from falling in love with a stranger to breaking up with hardly a closure that could have been easily fixed. This drama is overhyped, to say the least. Sun Oh gives me chills because he is like one of those nice-looking stalkers. His stalking and unrelenting efforts to make Jo Jo his girlfriend should have terrified the viewers but it has done the exact opposite. Sadly, I was among those who fell completely under his spell. If it weren't for Song Kang's mesmerizing eyes and abs, this drama would have been a total flop so kudos to him.

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wasted potential

when i watched i did it within a day since it was kinda addictive but the overall story was cliché as hell and the characters the worse except for hyeyeong imo.

two best friends fell for the same girl but why? she was the poor girl but what was so special about her? we didn't get know anything about her personality, like her personality was her past. the protagonist was boring as hell to me and you never really root for her bc she is just.. yea boring lmao.
and ofc these two best friends kinda fought for her (i wonder why?! she isn't rlly worth it) and its so sad bc they were best friends and in the ending it's just over. idk how season 2 will be tho.

the concept was actually interesting with the love alarm and IF hyeyeong and jojo will get together and it should've started differently and jojo's whole character shouldn't be so plain th. and sun-oh is the worse. idk why many people hype him up bc he is just straightup selfish and betrayed his friend and BROO when sun-oh and jojo kissed in episode 1 i was like what?! you know damn well that your best friend likes her AND that she got a boyfriend- same way w jojo. it's just messed up and none of the characters are good except for hyeyeong and his mom. + the editing was good and the cinematogtaphy btw lol and the actors weren't bad.

the app with love alarm had so much potential and you could've written something more interesting with it. i kinda liked the webtoon better too so i'm only criticising the drama.

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WROST KDRAMA

This drama was a waste of time. The second season was a joke. The female lead was the most confused character. All the love relationships were toxic and others forced. This drama has really bad definition and vision of relationship and friendship. Would never recommend it. This is the worst kdrama I’ve ever seen. I repeat “THE WORST KDRAMA” ... The second season was boring and so bad written. What was the point for a sequel if is to destroy the all drama. Should have just saved this money and make another with a better story. This drama is just overrated. Really wasted my time. Shame on the writer

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I think this drama really opened up eyes to how the world would be if something like this actually came to real life. If an app like this we’re to come out if would destroy friendships and would cause bullying all because of who liked who. I think the drama showed really well how the world would act, how many feelings would be hurt. I’m sure everyone has probably had this fantasy before, like what if there was an app that let us tell who we like that we like them anonymously, but it shows the reality of how this app isn’t as blissful as it sounds. The heart wants what it wants and sometimes it’s not returned and it was really shown in the drama. Episode 3 especially hurt watching that boy get beat up because he was attracted to another man, and then the boy who beat him also liked men it just really made me sad, but also how people were getting assaulted because of not recognizing peoples feelings through the app, which happens in real life already and brings a reality to how harmful the app is, it shows how yes they’re attracted to you, but doesn’t guarantee happiness or safety. Now based on characters Sun Oh really bothered me, yes he’s attractive, but he was possessive and creepy in my mind, but he also went after the girl that his best friend liked, I thought it was kinda an asshole move, he’s gone for 2 years then comes back and steals the girl. Like yes their relationship was cute, but I thought he was really overdoing it, there were times however when I was like “damn I wished someone was like that towards me,”. I felt very bad for Sun Oh though as Jojo broke his heart basically and lied to him that she no longer loved him. I thought it was very messed up on Jojo’s ends because you can tell he really loved her and it really hurt to see him like that. I’m excited for a season 2 though and see how it plays out, I hope she doesn’t end up playing both of them and tbh I’m on Sun Oh’s side. I hope there’s more character development and for season 2 I hope it starts with where it ended.

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An interesting concept that fails to translate into an experience worth watching

I really wanted to like this drama. The concept surrounding the love alarm was intriguing, and there were so many cool things that they could've done with it. Unfortunately, very little is explored with this.

In addition to the love alarm theme not being used to its full potential, I disliked the acting/writing. The main character just seems to exist, it was difficult to tell how she was feeling, and she doesn't speak often. Not to mention the unbelievable scenarios that happened throughout the drama, starting with following a complete stranger to a secluded area and being kissed by him.

They touch on homosexuality for about two minutes, and it had me thinking that they would continue this plot-line into something more substantial for the show; however, it just... disappeared. I thought that was quite unfortunate. Overall, this drama has an interesting concept but failed to execute it in an entertaining and engaging way.

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