El Hotel de IU
'Hotel de Luna' es un drama bonito, cálido y muy interesante que presenta una producción de gran nivel con lo que consigue una estética muy cuidada. ¿Cuáles son sus mayores virtudes? Podemos destacar varias, la primera de ellas es su premisa que logra captar nuestro interés después de episodio piloto. El valor de producción también consigue, gracias a un espectacular diseño y puesta en escena, querer ver más por lo bien que se presenta visualmente. Y, finalmente, unida a estas dos razones encontramos a IU (Lee Ji-Eun), quien consigue embelesar a cualquier espectador con su presencia. Además la propia serie, especialmente en los primeros episodios, parece servir como vehículo para que IU luzca un vestido/peinado distinto en cada escena. Lejos de criticar que parezca una pasarela exclusiva para la actriz, creo que es unas de sus principales bazas, especialmente par los que disfrutan de su gran presencia.Ahora bien, no todo es maravilloso y encuentro distintos aspectos que me han impedido terminar de enamorarme de la propuesta. El primero, y probablemente más importante, es que la serie no se vertebra sobre una gran trama principal, sino que presenta un objetivo que se va aclarando con el paso de los primeros episodios pero se impulsa en base a distintas situaciones y problemas que hay que ir resolviendo. Disfruto estos momentos pero cuando uno llega a la recta final, y después de conocer el tono tan blandito y feel good que tiene, cabe deducir qué tipo de resolución vamos a encontrar y el resultado son unos dos últimos episodios bastantes flojos. Entiendo que habrá quien los disfrute mucho, pero no viene a ser más que una colección de momentos intensos con música de fondo y despedidas de los distintos personajes que resultan en cierta manera previsibles y carentes del interés que suscitaba el planteamiento inicial de la trama. También esto viene a ser una consecuencia de respetar un formato de 16 episodios que no se ajusta a la historia, menos es más en muchas ocasiones y una menor duración hubiera logrado un conjunto más solvente y menos momentos de relleno que no aportan demasiado.
La segunda cosa que me molesta es la repetición de mismo patrón en prácticamente casi todos los dramas románticos: el destino entrelazado. Vale, aquí se da un pequeño giro y no es tan tópico, pero recurrir siempre al recurso de la reencarnación y el presente vinculado al pasado es agotador y aburrido. Hay que explorar nuevas ideas, el hilo rojo del destino ya está demasiado desgastado para seguir usándolo como combustible.
Es un buen drama que si puedes observar sin estar algo desgastado por la presencia de algunos de sus elementos vas a disfrutar muchísimo, además de que la propuesta visual está a un gran nivel y seduce tanto estéticamente como por sus buenos efectos especiales, aunque no por ello uno debe dejar de tener una mirada crítica en aquellos puntos que lo merecen. Eso sí, más allá de la contraposición de ideas, debe quedar claro que merece la pena su visionado.
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?Por si no saben de qué se trata, acá les cuento un poquito: Goo Chang Sung es un gerente de hotel muy famoso que nunca imaginó que terminaría trabajando en el Hotel del Luna, un lugar en el que se atiende a las almas de los muertos para ayudarlos a que vayan al más allá en paz. Pero esto no es lo único con lo que Chang Sung va a tener que lidiar... Jang Man Wol, la dueña del hotel, es peor que lidiar con todas las almas de Corea del Sur juntas.
?Lo primero que voy a destacar de este Kdrama, es el vestuario y la producción. El nivel de ambas es muy superior a lo que solemos ver en estas series: la protagonista cambia de vestuario en cada escena en la que aparece, y les puedo asegurar que cada uno es más lindo que el otro. Además, las tomas en exteriores son hermosas, la escenografía del hotel es una locura y en general todo se ve muy bien (salvando algunas pantallas verdes que son muy notorias).
?Pasando a los personajes, debo decir que me encantaron. Tanto individualmente como juntos, me parecieron muy buenos protagonistas. Ambos tienen un gran crecimiento y siento que el desarrollo de ambos como pareja está muy bien logrado. Además de esto, algo que me gustó mucho es que la escencia de la protagonista no cambió a lo largo de la serie (esto suele pasar mucho en los kdramas y me encantó que no lo hicieran acá también).
?Aparte de a los protagonistas, quiero destacar a los secundarios, ya que son todo lo que está bien y además le aportan mucho a la trama, en especial los empleados del hotel.
❌Algo que sí me molestó bastante es que hay un caso en particular que parecía que iba a ser súper importante (de hecho lo extienden por varios capítulos) y al final terminó sin tener mucha relevancia.
?¿Qué más puedo decirles? Obviamente tiene otras cosas malas o cuestionables, pero cuando pienso la serie en general y en lo mucho que me gustó, estas quedan en un segundo plano.
?️Si tienen ganas de ver un dorama de fantasía que los enganche de principio a fin, denle una oportunidad a Hotel del Luna (encima está protagonizado por IU).
Si quieren más reseñas sin spoiler, síganos en instagram @altoplottwist
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This review may contain spoilers
NECESITO SEGUNDA TEMPORADA!!!
Primero quiero decir que quiero felicitar a la productora por la calidad que tiene el drama, en todo efectos, actores, los escenarios y vestuarios. Se nota que no solo llevo tiempo sino que tambien demasiado dinero...En cuestión de la historia se me hizo que su premisa es muy interesante, sinceramente no logre encontrar el momento donde se cambia la relación de jefe-empleado a ser ya de pareja, pero aun asi fue muy buen drama.
Dure mucho tiempo en decidir verla porque de cierto modo tenia una imagen diferente de IU (como idol, ya que jamas la había visto actuar), sentia que este papel no le iba bien, pero sin duda lo hizo genial de hecho hubo momentos donde me olvide de la IU idol porque su actuación me dejo muy impresionada, quizas en el futuro vea mas de sus trabajos. Todos los personajes son muy entrañables, cuando contaban sus historias las sentia muy cercanas y lloraba, siento que no explicaron muy bien la vida pasada de Chan Sung y el como se conocio con Man Wol, sin duda me encantaria que lo explicaran mas, la relacion de Yuna y Hyun Joong se me hizo una relacion muy dulce. A todos los actores les empezare a dar seguimiento a su trabajo
La musica fue muy buena con ost que te marcan, que la escuchas y ya estas pensando en la historia, el ost es 10
El final, mmm me gusto este final pero si me gustaria una segunda temporada y no, no con la historia de Man Wol, sino la del nuevo dueño del hotel siento que tiene mucho potencial ya que todo el mundo ama a Kim Sohyun, la historia de como llego a ser el dueño sin duda la romperia
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Me gustó mucho el concepto de que haya un sitio de paso antes de ir al más allá. El hotel era fantástico, incluso con playa.
Las dos cosas que más me han gustado de este drama son la historia del pasado y el hecho de que los protagonistas formasen lo más parecido a una “familia” al final del drama.
En relación a la historia de Man Wol en el pasado, me pareció muy interesante. Sin ninguna duda, había una gran química entre Man Wol y Chung Myung, nada comparable con la pareja protagonista, que se veían más como hermanos o grandes amigos antes que en una relación romántica.
También me gustó cómo los empleados se van desarrollando y superando sus heridas para poder finalmente irse y morir. La mayoría de las historias del hotel están muy bien hiladas y emociona ver cómo se van sucediendo y encajando con la trama principal.
Los actores están fantásticos (un gran aplauso para Pyo Ji Hoon). Me gusta mucho IU, sobre todo después de My mister, y sinceramente creo que es una gran actriz.
La OST es fantástica, una de las mejores de los últimos años.
Probablemente una de las cosas que no me han gustado son, por un lado, que hay ciertas incoherencias en el guion (que son un poco estúpidas, lo admito, pero los guionistas podían habérselo currado un poco más) , como el hecho de que el mejor amigo se llame Sánchezzzz pero en teoría sea de origen italiano o que se llame “Hotel del luna” en lugar de lo que sería correcto que es “Hotel de la luna”.
Tampoco me parece que la historia de amor entre la pareja protagonista añada nada nuevo. Además, no fui capaz de percibir en qué momento la relación cambia de jefe a empleado a una relación romántica. No la vi por ningún lado.
Es posible que la vuelva a ver porque es entretenida pero no es perfecta, aunque si merece la pena verla, sobre todo si os gustan los dramas de las hermanas Hong.
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En general una historia novedosa con fantasmas de por medio que no será de mis favoritas pero no está nada mal, es una historia romántica pero no muy amorosa a nivel besos y pareja.
Destacaría la OST que es preciosa, algo que echaba de menos de los últimos doramas que me he visto.
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Me enganchó, pero no me convenció
En los primeros capítulos la historia era muy prometedora, me mantuvo expectante de conocer las historias de cada quien y cómo se enlazaban, eso para mi estuvo bien. Lo que me costó era entender la moraleja de cada historia, por cómo eran los diálogos todo indicaba que querían que fuera un aprendizaje, Pero después no quedaba claro. Yo pensaba soy yo la que no entendí. Y venia otra historia y otra vez lo mismo. Ahí, me di cuenta, que los cierres no me convencían. Muchas historias muy buenas, con muchas moralejas, muchas maneras de sacarle el jugo y se aflojaban.Creo que es super difícil ver una serie donde te encariñas con los personajes y sabes que mueren o están muertos y se van, aunque al final el irse es lo mejor, no te mostraban eso casi nunca, era toda una tristeza y te repetían, lo difícil es quedarte. Super dramático, y al segundo siguiente era una escena cómica.
El romance, se fue lejos. Cuando entiendes la historia de ella, lo único que quieres es que se una con su amado y odiado, Go Chung Myung. El protagonista pierde toda la importancia.
Si quieres ver algo light, sin entrar en profundidades, esta bien. No esperes profundidad, aunque los temas sean profundos.
Solo tengo que reconocer que la escena post-creditos del final, me gusto tanto, tanto, tanto, que me olvide de toda la tristeza de las despedidas del final y lo único que quiero es la segunda temporada con Kim Soo Hyun, jajajaja.
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En general la historia es buena, no llega a ser demasiado tediosa más que en algunos puntos pero es hasta finales del dorama. El OST es simplemente increíble y creo que no podrás dejar de escucharlo, la química de ambos personajes es buena (dado que esto es el núcleo del dorama a mi parecer) y me encanta los detalles de producción de cuidar las locaciones y las tomas (algo que me recuerda a "The Heirs" de 2015).
Creo que lo hace más perfecto y diferente este dorama por que tiene los puntos clave de romance (obvio con un excelente OST de fondo) pero no llega a ser demasiado excesivo y a su vez conservan un poco lo cómico para no hacer todo el dorama tan meloso. Me gusta mucho la temática del hotel de fantasmas y se me hace algo un poco único a decir verdad sin llegar a darte miedo, sino plantearlo más bien cómico.
Llore en algunas partes es verdad, pero al final quede satisfecha totalmente en como pudieron resolverlo de una buena manera. En conclusión, si buscas un dorama diferente del romance habitual y lo meloso que pueden llegar a ser, pero que sigan teniendo partes cómicas y tengan su final feliz, te recomiendo 100% este dorama.
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An aesthetically pleasing, original fantasy drama
When I saw that IU would be cast in this drama, I felt that I had to give it a shot, and I'm glad to say that for the most part, it did not disappoint. Without a doubt, Hotel Del Luna is my favourite kdrama of 2019. There is plenty to love about this drama, ranging from its stunning cinematography, decent storyline, excellent cast, oh and how could I forget: the most beautiful OST in kdramaland.Plot/Storyline:
I thought that the writing was pretty solid throughout the drama. It is refreshing to watch a drama that ventures into foreign territory and breaks free of the traditional kdrama tropes and cliches to explore the less commonly visited genres of horror (though I wouldn't really consider this drama to be scary at all) and fantasy + romance. The plot is layered and has some depth, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge. The main character Man Weol's story captivates you right from the get-go, as the show uses flashbacks very well to reveal small snippets of her past at a time, causing you to be curious about her past, and eager to find out more. The generous use of humour also helps to balance out some of the heavier, more emotional scenes, while also allowing the drama to be easy and fun to watch throughout its lengthy episodes. Personally, the ending did not play out exactly how I had hoped it would, but it was fitting to the themes of this drama and very beautiful to watch, as well as very emotional. The drama explores the themes/ideas of 'letting go', 'resentment', 'unselfish love' and 'forgiveness', which are all very meaningful, thought-provoking ideas, not just in the context of this drama, but these themes also have a place in our lives as well.
Elaboration on themes for those that are curious:
For example, the drama shows that it takes a greater act of love to let go than to hang on, which the same can be said about many situations in life. Suppose this: a severely ill person is given a few months to live. His family can choose to convince him to receive the surgery that would extend his lifespan by a significant amount, but which would also drastically reduce his quality of life (place him in a vegetative state), or let him die naturally of his illness. One may argue here that the greater act of love is to let go and allow the man to live out the rest of his days to the fullest, eventually dying a dignified death, rather than trying to desperately hang on and cause the dying man even more pain. Don't quote me on this sketchy analogy, but this is my best effort at trying to explain the themes that the writers explore in this drama.
Cinematography:
the cinematography of this drama is frankly top-notch, and can be compared to the likes of dramas such as Goblin. It is that good. The elements of fantasy were conveyed by great camerawork, skillful use of special effects, and excellent editing. The drama truly bought the supernatural fantasy world of ghosts to life, creating a vivid and charismatic viewing experience. It is difficult to describe in words, but once you see it for yourself I'm sure you'd agree that it is spectacular. The production team also did a phenomenal job of picking out Man Weol's outfits. IU looked absolutely incredible in pretty much all of her scenes, and I've lost count of the number of unique, beautiful outfits that she wore throughout the drama.
Acting:
the cast for this drama is a highlight for me. After watching IU's brilliant performance in 'My Mister', she was one of the main reasons I came across this drama in the first place. The drama is largely centred around her character Man Weol, and she absolutely nails her performance. She plays her character like it is second nature to her, effortlessly conveying emotions through her facial expressions, while also managing to bring out the complexity of her character. Her character is the focus of the drama, and IU does an excellent job in portraying her character's growth arc in the drama, all while making it seem very believable and authentic. And as a bonus, she looks absolutely gorgeous flaunting her giant wardrobe of high-end clothing. Furthermore, this drama exposed me to Yeo Jin Goo, who also delivers a very commendable effort and holds his own against IU. He appears to be much more mature than his age (considering he is only 22 years old), and the scenes of him breaking down emotionally feel raw and sincere. The chemistry between IU and Jin Goo both on and off the screen is also evident, and the relationship they develop seems to be very natural and genuine. The supporting cast also complements our two leads well, providing some comedic relief and some interesting side-story.
Soundtrack:
Although the soundtrack is supposed to complement a drama, Hotel Del Luna's soundtrack is far from ordinary and deserves a shoutout. Not only does the OST include big-name artists including the likes of Taeyeon, Punch and Heize, the tracks also have excellent synergy with the drama. The OST helps to effortlessly set the mood of multiple scenes and makes the emotional scenes even more powerful. There are many excellent tracks in the OST, but the standout for me is the special, unreleased OST by IU that is used at the end of one of the episodes. This track only plays once throughout the drama, but it merges into the emotional scene perfectly and elevates it to another level. (end of ep 12, )
Overall, this drama performs strongly across the board and ticks many of the right boxes for me, other than a few imperfections here and there. Although I wouldn't call this drama perfect, it comes pretty damn close in my books. I think I'm already experiencing withdrawal symptoms having finished the final episode an hour ago. It has been one heck of a ride, and now that it's over I feel like there is an empty void within me that's not going to be easy to fill. But giving credit where credit is due, hats off to the Hotel Del Luna team, as they have created something quite special and unique. Worth a watch, especially if you're an IU fan, as this drama is all about her.
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Every episode of Hotel del Luna is amusing, captivating, intriguing, stirring, and thrilling due to the perfect balancing of humour, fantasy, myth-making, drama, romance, and horror further enhanced by the gorgeous costumery of the female lead, visually-dazzling production, heartstrings-tugging soundtrack music, cameo roles, and socially-relevant sub-plots that tackled: molka epidemic; prevailing patriarchal assumptions; and toxic netizen culture.
Two of the most popular young actors today, Lee Ji-eun or better known as IU and Yeo Jin-goo exude palpable chemistry in their memorable lead performances as Jang Man-wol and Gu Chan-seong, respectively. The accursed millenium-old Man-wol is the alluring, chic, ethereal, luxurious, and petulant chatelaine of the mystical and marvellous Hotel of the Moon while the dashing, dutiful, empathetic, and courageous Harvard graduate Gu Chan-seung serves as the hotel's 99th or current human manager.
Veteran thespian Seo Yi-sook leads the trio of superb supporting cast as the mysterious deity with several identical manifestations. She is joined by Shin Jung-geun who plays the 500 y/o untimely-killed Joseon top scholar-turned-hotel bartender and by Bae Hae-sun, the 200 y/o grudgeful murdered daughter-in-law of a privileged clan who is the hotel's meticulously efficient room service supervisor. Also starring are promising actors Lee Do-hyun and Lee Tae-sun; idols P.O and Mina; and Cho Hyun-cheul and Park Yoo-na. Jung Dong-hwan as ex-Manager Noh and Kang Ho-seok as Grim Reaper are also endearing in the portrayal of their special characters.
Hotel del Luna, although a fantastical drama, is actually a foray into the reality of life. It teaches among other things: that like flowers from the moon tree, life is beautiful yet fleeting - and so, we must make the most out of it; that humans are endowed with the ability to make choices and are consequently tasked to bear responsibility for the choices they made; that life is not always easy or fair - as such, we must learn to play the hand we're dealt with much courage and grace; that if the past is a source of suffering or ill-feelings, we must learn to let go and make peace with it and with ourselves if there's nothing anymore that can be done about it; that our way of thinking and feeling can have a powerful outcome or influence; that revenge is sweet for it provides an outlet for pent-up aggression and wounded feelings, but, at the same time, it is also burdensome and masochistically painful for it recoils and does not diminish with time, thus inflicting endless pain on the person who exacted vengeance; that forgiveness has a rending and liberating power; that love has a transmogrifying power which can contour our character - either for the worse or for the better; and as Gu Chan-seung has perfectly shown us - that true love is self-abnegating or it makes you forget yourself and seek the welfare of your beloved.
Unfailingly riveting until the end, Hotel del Luna will for sure hold a place in the hearts of many of us. A big kudos to the writers, director, actors, and production crew for making this drama an enjoyable and worthwhile watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
This may be the only drama, after Goblin, that made me cry- and I'm not much of a weeper!The story line was new and refreshing, and it was filled with moments that were relatable, hilarious and heart breaking. After watching the final episode,I came to the conclusion that this was, in my opinion, one of the many masterpieces of Korean television. The actors all had great chemistry together, especially the main leads. I really liked the way each relationship was explained and portrayed. Because if this, the last episode had me bawling my eyes out as we said goodbye to each of the staff members. Also, the ending to me was brilliant. The way that they all were connected in their next lives made me so happy as I felt like they all got the happy endings that they deserved, especially Man Wol and Chan Sung.
Don't even get me started on the OSTs for the drama. Although most of them were quite slow and emotional, each artist brought their own flavour. My personal favourite was Done For Me by Punch as I really enjoyed the music, and the lyrics had so much meaning behind them.
Overall, I can say without a doubt that this drama is an incredible story, and is now one of my all time favourite dramas ever!
P.S. I really wish that Kim Soo Hyun's cameo in episode 16 was a hint at a possible season 2?
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If ghost stories lie within your watching preferences, perhaps you would have a better time with Hotel Del Luna. As for myself, I was not a fan of the overall plot. It came off as a tad too shallow. For one, there’s a severe imbalance between plot filler (which is how I classify every individual ghost’s story, each of which occupies 80% of each episode) and the truly interesting main plot, which falls off to the wayside. Unless you enjoy brief appearances of random guest ghosts, you’ll probably end up like me: sitting through over an hour’s worth of time per episode, helplessly asking when the Hong Sisters will address Man Wol’s story—which is rarely, until you cross the halfway point of the entire show. What the writers do with Man Wol’s history when it is addressed feels lackluster, if only due to all the unnecessary time buildup prior to it.
The real problem is that we are hardly given reasons to care about each visiting ghost in any major emotional capacity. Although they have interesting stories, it’s a bit like walking down a city sidewalk: you see someone with a pretty wardrobe, “ooh” at it for a second, and then forget your appreciative impressions of it an hour later. Maybe it seems as if I’m being coldhearted, but as much as the Hong Sisters try to emphasize that these ghosts were human with human sufferings, the way the show frequently relies on shock value and horror elements over the ghosts’ pain and healing resulted in me not being able to build true sympathy for these souls. Imagine repeating this apathy for every episode: it’s exhausting trying to force an emotional connection.
The only saving grace of Hotel Del Luna is Man Wol. The way IU presents her character’s conflicting ego and heart is as poignant as it is mysterious, and she executes the identity of a CEO with a low economic IQ with hilarity. Had it not been for this quirkiness of Man Wol’s character, I would not have stuck around until the end. And that’s despite my love for Yeo Jin Goo: though his acting is excellent as always, Chan Sung is a perfect example of a supporting character who hides behind the guise of being a “main character.” There’s only one protagonist in this story, her name being Man Wol. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it is a bit of a letdown that everyone else has the potential to be equally interesting, yet doesn’t get nearly enough development. Chan Sung, for example, is a nobody—beyond pushing Man Wol to address her emotional wounds, he doesn’t possess the individualism that a lead character should have. This means that while the interactions between him and Man Wol may be compelling to watch, the moment that you isolate Chan Sung away from her, he devolves into a character who’s mediocre at best and painfully boring at worst. Seeing as I view Chan Sung like this, that should give you a pretty good idea of what I think of the other supporting characters: meh.
That all being said, I can see the reasons behind the hype. I just wouldn’t say that they’re justified: gorgeous cinematography, a cast list riddled with famous names, and an amazing soundtrack are all great assets to have within a drama. If future shows could continue Hotel Del Luna’s ability to create an effective atmosphere, I would have zero complaints. But what use is all of that if the show at its core doesn’t match up to the level of its decorations? Hotel Del Luna is almost sadly entertaining in that it may be fun in the moment, but doesn’t leave a deep enough impression to be phenomenal.
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The plot is totally unbalanced when it came to quality of writing, one part of the story is about Jang Man Wol's past and her personal story, a wonderful story about a character who is serving an eternal punishment for a revenge happened in the past. The flashback moments are basically the best part of this show and the contrast between old/present Jang Man Wol is superb, IU did a great job in portraying different personalities.
Instead of making a drama entirely dedicated to this plot, the Hong Sisters decided to fill in the rest of the drama with boring sub-plot about hotel management and ghost hunting. Qualitatively speaking, the present story doesn't hold up to the past story.
In addition, the Hong sisters failed to develop interesting characters outside IU's role. None of the other characters can compete with IU's performance, the show was made for her, written for her and invested tons of "money" on her, with beautiful outfits, make-up and accessories. It almost seems that the Hong sister first wrote the role of IU and her personal story, then when they realized that they had to fill 16 episodes they added crap as much as they could.
Even the great Yeo Jin Go couldn't do much about it, his role was weak from the start, a scary kid that end up working in a hotel full of ghost, despite his good acting skills, the personality of his character wasn't strong enough to compete with IU's charater. Other characters were mere filler, they explained a bit about them but most of the sub-plots were closed only during the last 4 episodes, sign that the show didn't give them much space and importance.
The romance is another giant failure of this show, the initial chemistry felt between IU and Jin Goo during the first episode disappear complety when the role of Go Chung Myung came out. I was too curious about their story to care about a Jin Goo, in addition IU and Ji Goo moments together were very slow and the romance take a long time to sail.
If we consider that most of the drama was shot inside the hotel, the director had to exploit a lot of other elements to entertain the viewer, as already said, they have invested a lot in the appearance of IU, with beautiful outfits. They also used a lot of scenes that provided color games (the tree in the hotel) and the beautiful soundtrack. But as I always say, making the most of some good element of the drama doesn't hide a weak and poorly written script.
They say that Hong sister are a hit or a miss, HDL was a miss and it survived only thanks to the hype.
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