Fantasy romance genre in K-drama is one of the popular genres that mixes romance with fantasy elements to give a unique concept and a visual treat for all the fantasy lovers. “See You In My Next Life” starring Shin Hye Sun and Ahn Bo Hyun in lead roles, is a fantasy romance drama that ended recently. Check out the review to know whether “See You In My 19th Life” meets the expectations and whether it is worth adding to your watch list.
Plot Summary
Ban Ji Eum (Shin Hye Sun) has an extraordinary ability to remember all her past lives. Considering it a curse to remember every painful memories of all her past lives, Ban Ji Eum has always wished in every life not to remember her past life memories.However in her 18th life as Yoon Joo Won, she meets a shy but sweet boy Mun Seo Ha (Ahn Bo Hyun) with whom she develops an instant connection.When an unfortunate car accident along with Mun Seo Ha cuts her 18th life short, Yoon Joo Won promises Mun Seo Ha in her last moments that she will make sure to meet him in her next life.
Reborn as Ban Ji Eum, She remembers her past lives yet again and this time she is determined to meet with Mun Seo Ha, her first crush and love in her 18th life and starts pursuing him from the moment she catches up with him.
Drama Review and Performances
Shin Hye Sun as Ban Ji Eum was perfect as a young woman, determined to reunite with her first love from the previous life.Every emotion and feelings very brilliantly portrayed in her acting making us feel connected to her character.
Ahn Bo Hyun as the troubled lonely CEO of MI Hotels, nailed his role through his subtle acting and calm composure. His troubled feelings towards Ban Ji Eum who reminds him of his first love Yoon Joo Won was portrayed well. It was fun to watch him getting flustered by Ban Ji Eum’s bold confessions and advances. The chemistry between the actors was excellent.
The drama had a steady pace with interesting and fun scenes until the first half.It was intriguing and exciting to learn about Ban Ji Eum’s past life glimpses and how she pursues Mun Seo with a sole purpose of winning him over with her love.Her relationship with Kim Ae Kyung (Cha Chung Hwa) who was her niece in one of her past lives was endearing to watch.
Ha Yoon Kyung as Yoon Cho Won (Younger sister of Yoon Joo Won) impressed us with her portrayal of a young woman yearning for love.
What we really liked about the show is how both Ban Ji Eum and Yoon Cho Won confess their feelings boldly and upright to their loved ones not caring about the fear of rejection.Both the woman are unfazed when it comes to the matter of heart and loves freely.
Although the story of Ha Do Yun (Ahn Dong Goo) and Yoon Cho Won seem to be promising with a scope of becoming something beautiful, to our disappointment their story never picked up. Their relationship remained the same with Ha Do Yun rejecting her advances all the time while pining for her in secret.What frustrated us more was the fact that Ha Do Yun did not even have a proper reason for not accepting Cho Won’s love except for his insecurities and suddenly he confesses in the final episode and we are given a forced happy ending for the couple that failed to touch a chord in the first place.
Our Final Thoughts
While the drama had a captivating first half with hint of mystery, the second half took a serious nose dive with the main plot falling all over the place.The mystery behind Ban Ji Eum’s memory of past lives and her first life fell flat and failed to have a major impact.However the ending was satisfying with Ban Ji Eum taking the right decision for the sake of Ae Kyung and how her loved ones finds way to be a part of her current life.
Overall , if you are a fan of fantasy romance you can give this drama a try for its great visual effects, peppy OSTs and good performance by the actors.
Telly Express Rating :7/10