Luchando por mi Vida (2017)

This drama focuses on four friends who grew up together and are now in their mid-20s, struggling to recapture the dreams of their youth. Ko Dong Man (played by Park Seo Joon, of the very pinchable cheeks) is a former Taekwondo athlete who suffered a defeat at the top of his game and is now a 20-something guy getting by on his somewhat soul-crushing, mediocre part time job. His best friend is Choi Ae Ra (played by Kim Ji Won), the undeniable boss of this quartet, who dreams of being a new anchor but has to live with her job as a greeter in a department store/mall. Her roommate and other best friend is Baek Seol Hee (played by the adorable Song Ha Yoon), whose dream in life is to be a wife and mother, and who has been dating and half living with her boyfriend of six years, Kim Joo Man (played by Ahn Jae Hong - what a teddy bear), while she works as a customer support rep for a home shopping network. Joo Man works for the same company, but as a producer/buyer for the food segments on the home shopping network. While the story line follows Dong Man and Ae Ra's movement from friends to romantic partners, Seol Hee and Joo Man face the break down of their six year relationship.Throw in a surprise birth secret in the last third of the series for a bit of added flavor. This show was a lot of fun to watch - though I often find Park Seo Joon utterly delightful, so I'm not surprised. When hilarity ensues, it is very well done. The pacing is a bit off, as the ending felt a little rushed in comparison to the slow set up at the beginning of the series. There's also an early on plot line that felt almost entirely pointless, though thankfully it's wrapped up pretty quickly and never mentioned again once it's done.

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Leve e divertido

PONTOS NEGATIVOS
• O casal secundário na maioria das cenas era irritante, imaturo e não sabiam conversar e resolver seus problemas
• O Dong Man apoia a Ae ra em todos os momentos que ela quer seguir o sonho dela e ela, por ter medo dele se machucar acaba não retribuindo tanto assim o apoio o que gera algumas cenas chatas
• Cai em alguns clichês que são incômodos como por exemplo: quando eles começam a namorar o Dong Man implica com o tamanho das roupas dela e faz ela mudar de roupa
• Tem um Plot familiar envolvendo um dos principais que eu achei mal desenvolvida a relação

PONTOS POSITIVOS
• A personagem feminina principal é muito divertida e determinada sem cair em estereótipos, protege os amigos com a própria vida e é super dona de si, amei muito ver as cenas dela durante o drama.
• A química do casal principal é perfeita, eles ficam confortáveis perto um do outro e tem um desenvolvimento super natural
• Tem uma visão mais realista da vida adulta, mostra o dia a dia com as dificuldades e os sentimentos reais
• A amizade do quarteto é muito fofa e tem vários momentos de interação super engraçados.
• Achei as cenas de luta super bem feitas e legais de assistir
• OST muito boa

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FFMW revolves around one of my favourite tropes of close friends that have great chemistry and might become more. And this is done very well, almost to perfection. It also contains strong female characters, amazing friendships and a message that will make you wan to go out, find your dream, chase it and fight for it.

The cast is simply excellent. The Fantastic Four could not have been better cast, I enjoyed every single performance and not only in the couple set up but also in their individual friendships. They also feel like real people which is sometimes rare for a kdrama. The secondary characters are also great. I especially liked Kim Sung Oh who just keeps surprising me in every drama I watch with him. His comedic range and ability to play various types of characters so believably is amazing. The parents were also great, just good actors and performances overall.

Music was excellent as well, playful and filled with songs that just dominate your head for days to come.

The story is very well done, the main plot is approached with proper attention do detail. First half of the drama has such a tempo that you will not be able to pull yourself from the screen. The plot later on becomes a bit hectic - there is a lot of small plot lines that culminate at once and the episodes before that suffer a bit in the anticipation of it. In my opinion, this is not harmful to the drama but you will notice it a bit.

Honestly, I loved this way more than I expected. I managed to chug it down during one of my busiest weeks of this year and I don't regret the lack of sleep at all. I will probably come back to it at some point but mostly focus on the first half of the drama where it really hit my spot.

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If you are checking reviews to decide if "Fight my way" is worth watching, don't waste your time and just give it a try!

I was looking for something simple and easy to watch, so I could sit back and have my "relax time", but I wasn't expecting to find such a good Kdrama. After watching the first episode until the very end, I couldn't stop myself and finished the whole drama as quickly as I could!
Park Seo Joon is one of my favorite actors, so I could be bised, BUT!... Everyone has struggled with their future at some point in life and that is what makes this plot great. You connect with it, 'cause you already felt what the characters are feeling.

"Fight my way" approaches the eternal question of what to do, when you can't follow your dreams - Should I give up or is it worth trying a little harder? - in a cute and funny way.
You won't get bored, 'cause every episode has something very new and intersting, and they all end in cliff hangers that make you want to watch episode after episode, what I personally love!

For those who love some good romantic scenes, you're also making the right choice! It has the BEST SKINSHIP I ever seen in a drama.
You can relate very easily with the romantic problems shown in the episodes. The struggles that the couples go through are put together in a very real and mature way.

Fight my way will get you immersed in the life of the 4 main characters, and you won't feel sorry for it, I promise.

Ps. Don't forget to watch the episodes until the very end! The ending scenes are the cutest and funniest thing ever!

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This plot catches me strongly. Seeing the persistence and determination of Ko Dong Man (Park Seo Joon) and Choi Ae Ra (Kim Ji Won) I was involved with the story and started to cheer for them. The story was consistent until the end and I love this. I'm very happy that I didn't handle the usual "couple problems" of the most part of the rom-com. The problems were on another level and everything was surprising and very emotional. As I said, I had some unknown feelings about Baek Seol Hee (Song Ha Yoon) and Kim Joo Man (Ahn Jae Hong), and this was revealed in a few episodes later... I loved the fact that Seol Hee didn't follow the cliché of the "regular girl" that pass through a makeover and then finds herself. She didn't need a new appearance, just a new path and self reveal, very amazing! About Joo Man... I didn't enjoy his acts, but also I could see a human doing human things. He wasn't a prince, just a regular guy, and this is also cool to show in a drama.

I have to say that the OST was the high point for me here. Amazing songs in the right moments! The edition also capt my attention, it was very fun!

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I came here after watching Reply 1997 and craving a longtime-friends-to-lovers plot. Now, this was nothing like Reply 1997, but I actually still enjoyed it a lot.

The chemistry between the main leads was great. I liked that it was more balanced, and they teased each other but were also extremely supportive. Choi Ae Ra was an AMAZING female lead; I'd been craving a strong female lead (who wasn't bratty and selfish) and she was exactly that. It was refreshing, and you could see how much Go Dong Man loved her for it. I also thought that the big issue they had between them after they got together was very understandable and realistic, but it did get a little repetitive.

The pacing of the relationship was great, but the sub-plot could've been faster. Many of the earlier episodes felt like pure slice-of-life, but then the later episodes starting dealing with more dramatic family histories, which threw me for a loop.

I also ended up enjoying Baek Seol Hee and Joo Man's plot, even though I didn't think I would because I lose interest a lot after couples get together. But the issues they faced were surprisingly realistic, and my heart hurt for them. I definitely got annoyed and picked a side (Seol Hee!) but her character development was probably the strongest out of all the characters, and I loved her for it.

There actually weren't as many friendship scenes as I thought there would be, which is why I appreciated the scenes where Ae Ra was standing up for Seol Hee so much.

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A drama about ordinary people, for ordinary people

This is a drama that I believe resonates with a lot of people. Not everyone wants to become rich, powerful and famous, most of us just want to succeed at our dreams or even just find them. This is exactly what this drama is about, and it's where its strengths and one sole weakness lie.

As someone who's lived through something similar to what Dongman went through, his story especially resonated with me. I feel like there's something to resonate with you in at least one character. It's a simple plot, but it works for the drama. There's no added cliches to embellish the drama, except one. The birth secret trope is something I believe this drama could have very well done without, and it's the only reason I rated the drama so low. I feel like if you're trying to write a drama about normal people, you wouldn't include such an unusual thing. I mean how many people do you know that have had something similar happen to them?

The cast was amazing, you could really feel the camaradie between the Fantastic Four and the awkward blossoming love between Dongman and Ae Ra. The scene that shocked me the most was when Dongman lost his hearing, you could truly feel the panic coursing in his veins at that moment. The casting was also great, I feel like the actors fit their roles very much.

The OST was not something to write home for, it was neither beautiful nor memorable, but it served its purpose as background music and it had me jamming along at times. I feel like the mixing could've been done more professionally at certain times too, especially when Dongman got hit in the head and the cutesy girly song was still playing in the background.

I will definitely rewatch this drama whenever I feel discouraged in achieving my dreams. It's the type of feel good drama that will definitely cheer you up if you're feeling discouraged. I really recommend watching this drama if you're feeling low.

In all, it's a sweet drama that definitely serves its purpose. It's not the deepest plotwise, it doesn't have masterful cinematography, it's not a once in a lifetime drama but it relays a message everyone needs to hear from time to time. Never give up on your dreams :)

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This drama is a to go drama for me it’s a good funny comedy drama, every scene of PSJ is hilarious. Not just PSJ but I find all the characters that plays the lead are so cute in this drama, and also with the cute handsome coach. But more likely have to say I love PSJ, he have such a cute/ idiot side of him in this drama this the second drama I’ve seen of him, besides his movie he just so handsome. The story line is amazing, with strong character trait, both ML/FL scene are so cute whenever they are together and lastly gotta love the coach and the bromance between him and PSJ Love the friendship and bonds they have in this drama, from the childhood to adult nothing have changed from them, love those little childhood kids they play there role so good. Love seeing the flashback of the childhood days, usually I’m not the type that will like watching flashback childhood but this drama childhood is cute so cute. This drama not only about relationship and friendship problems but about how much sometimes you want to achieve want you want in life and what you want to be but you can’t always have it the way you want, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream of having it if you don’t try hard enough there’s nothing in life that can stop you if you never give up and put your heart to it. I sometimes feel like im related to this drama, because there’s something in life that I do want to achieve and pursue, but I can’t because of family problems. But that won’t stop me because it’s not to late to achieve it if I want a better future for myself. Love this drama:)

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you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll definitely re-watch

The first half of this series had me in stitches, it was so funny and interesting. I couldn't wait for the next episode and never really felt the need to skip through any scenes either. The second half was also good, but less in a funny/entertaining way and more in a sentimental way. All throughout the characters and their experiences tugged on the heartstrings. It was so relatable and easy to empathize with them and you were rooting for their dreams all the while. The writing was very well done with stellar acting all-around. A fun, relatable story about friendship, love, surviving life, and chasing your dreams.

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The biggest thing I liked about this story was that it spends a lot of time with the two main leads and their friendship, they've been friends for the last 20 years and probably know more about each other than most married couples do. Every silly behaviour, characteristic etc - how they laugh, fight, argue, make up, and support each other are shown really well with no hint that they've considered anything beyond friendship.

That was one of the big things for me, because i'm a firm believer that every strong relationship has to have the foundation of a strong friendship, love will wave up and down over time and circumstances but friendship is the glue that keeps everything together.

The journey that the couple take as they progress from friendship through to romance is very warming and fun to watch, there's lots of funny moments to enjoy from all four of the group.

The other couple are good and are going through a different kind of challenge, once you've been together for a long time it's easy for a relationship to feel stale, or for one or both to feel that things haven't moved the way that they'd hoped and thus feel responsible or diminished because of it. It's all nonsense of course, because at the end of the day as long as you both still love and care for each other - what house you live in and what car you drive, what role you have at work and how much you earn, that's all just background noise but people let it get in the way, and that's what's presented with this couple.

There's a secondary story that comes in from the sidelines with the new landlord / building owner which was really nice but I won't go any further into that - keeps you guessing all the way through though.

If I had a beef with the story it's towards the ending, without going into any spoilery detail, essentially an ultimatum is issued, a choice is made and consequences occur - fair enough. But then a bit later, declaration to reverse that choice is made, a different path is taken - and then it's all doubled back on, but this time, apparently it doesn't matter and is glossed over. That was the only bit that really fell apart for me in the story though I can overlook it for what was otherwise 16 episodes of glorious fun to watch.

Definitely recommended.

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Frustration abounded for me

Let me start with what I liked and go from there. I REALLY liked the relationship between Dong Man and Ae Ra. They've been close friends for over 20 years. Theirs was the kind of relationship that they could hit each other, call each other names, and make fun of each other, but if someone else tries it? Then their fighting spirit comes out. They lived next door to one another, ate together, drank together, and hung out together. I loved their bickering. They brought out the worst, and yet the best, in each other. They were a joy to watch and there was a lot of comedy. Park Seo Joon impressed me, he had the body of a grown man, but emotionally he had some growing to do - his immaturity was endearing. I also enjoyed watching them interact once they developed feelings (or recognized) their feelings for one another. Suddenly they were uncomfortable with one another and very aware of what they were wearing and what they said to each other. Just a cute, cute couple. If they had stuck with them, I think I would have enjoyed the show a lot more. Instead:

Second couple. Joo Man and Seol Hee were good friends of the main couple, and as their friends they were fine. But I REALLY had a difficult time with them as a couple. He's a salary man trying just to survive. Her whole goal in life, for most of the show is to just be with Joo Man. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but she appeared to not have any thought outside of Joo Man. They had been together for six years, his family was terrible to her, and he kept getting upset at how nice she was to him. I also didn't like that the costume designers put her in the most frumpy, unattractive clothes. I felt like Seol Hee thought that since she had this boyfriend, she didn't have to try to look good anymore. I really felt like she was just living through him, and whatever he wanted to do, she just went along with it.

Then we had not one, but TWO ladies that were willing to do whatever they needed to in order to get their man. These people bother me in dramas, so to have two was doubly irritating. "I broke up with him years ago, but now I'm back so step aside, because OF COURSE he's going to prefer me over you." Ugh! These characters not only make themselves look bag, but they also make the male characters appear weak, because they don't say or do enough to discourage the women. In the case of this drama, I think both women needed a restraining order against them. And then to call a meeting with the offended party to apologize, yet say that they just couldn't help themselves, they just like the guy so much. There was too much screen time spent with these irritating women.

Adding unnecessary storylines. There's the mystery woman upstairs. I felt that it was just something unnecessarily added to the mix, as well as the doctor that liked Ae Ra (what a douchebag!) Granted, it was terrific casting - with Choi Woo Shik's sweet and innocent face, his ultimate behavior was a surprise! The creepy producer friend - ultimately did a good thing but spent every time he was on screen being creepy.

I had one problem with the main couple, which was unfortunately toward the end of the show, so it left a bad taste in my mouth. Her giving him an ultimatum, "Give up fighting or I won't see you anymore." The man had no other dream! There was nothing else he was able to or wanted to do. And giving an ultimatum like that just seemed so immature and non-supportive. I get that she was afraid of him getting hurt, but it was his passion. Think of a way to make it work - maybe don't be an announcer at his fights or something.

Bottom line, I loved watching the main couple and could have done without everyone else. Oh, there was one other plus for me - hearing BTS Fire every time Dong Man was getting ready to fight!

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