What I can see the people were comparing are:
1. Set in sageuk period -- Hwarang in Shilla kingdom and Moon Lovers in Goryeo dynasty.
2. Heroine surrounded by a bunch of good looking young men.
3. Bad acting from idol group members
4. Typical cheesy romantic relationship between two heroes and one heroine.
However I can see there are many differences in the two dramas.
Hwarang projects a livelier and bubbly environment while Moon Lovers is always dark and filled with jealousy and greed for the throne. Both have different story lines and plots nonetheless the leads are always eye catching.
I must praise that Go A-Ra's acting is definitely better than IU (Lee Ji-Eun). Go A-Ra's character A-Ro is brave, intelligent and cheerful. IU fails to portray Hae-Soo's role from Moon Lovers and her acting is definitely flat. She fails miserably compared to Liu Shi Shi in the Chinese version's Scarlet Heart. Definitely a no-no for her expression and everything. It is so lacking that it couldn't gain the attention from viewers.
As for the secondary roles, I'd think Moon Lovers have scored a bit for Ji Soo and Nam Joo Hyuk's characters for the 14th and 13th Prince. Though I think Baekhyun is great in EXO but he has a lot to brush up on acting. Hong Jong Hyun's evil role was too short and ended quickly with his untimely death. In Hwarang- the scriptwriters have brought in Choi Min Ho, Do Ji Han, BTS's V for the supporting roles which I find quite delightful. The bantering among Minho and Jihan with fierce competition among the two have brought it to a new level.
The costumes in both dramas are definitely a main factor to be looking at. Goryeo dynasty costumes are bright and way too colorful to an extent that it just didn't look too right. The Shilla era was definitely a nicer match- more towards Chinese culture. The Hwarang costumes are nice and blends with their physiques.
Now to promotional poster- I think the Hwarang posters are way too cheesy and flowery.
I rather have the shots with them all wearing black or wielding their swords in a manly way.
I must give credit to Moon Lovers promotional poster as it defines Lee Jun Ki's features.
I started the first episode of Moon Lovers but before mid way I gave up as the storyline was not up to what I've seen from the Chinese version. I also started Hwarang the first episode but kept continuing to the 4th episode where I cannot wait to see how Sam Mek Jong will reveal himself as King Jinheung to the rest of the Hwarang members. The cutesy interaction between Sun Woo and A-Ro is lovely.
4 comments:
i keep seeing people praise moon lovers a lot more compared to hwarang. i actually watched hwarang completely. the beginning had so much potential but it definitely went down hill in the last half of the series. such a bummer. i couldn't wait for it to end so that I could get a conclusion and get it over with bc it was dragging so badly. it was a struggle to keep watching. i started moon lovers when it first came out (prob watched 30 minutes) but I stopped watching bc of iu. i don't like her acting. it's too generic. i might start moon lovers bc of joongi. i just finished flower of evil and I cannot get over joongi's acting. he was amazing in that series. his acting is great and extremely convincing. he made me cry many times. that's how you can tell an actor is great at what they do.
Ive always had a soft side to Scarlet Heart as, except for the idol-actors, the rest of the cast did great. I tried watching Hwarang but I just couldnt bring myself to finish even the first episode. Maybe because Im inclined to Sageuk dramas that are based on true people/ stories and I could easily visualize what Ive read in some history books. I gave it a shot and watched it simultaneously with Love in the Moonlight. If it were aired on a different month, I bet Scarlet Heart would have been popular in South Korea. Lee Joon Gi is such a good actor that he makes every character he plays make it impossible for one to imagine another actor playing it. The soundtrack of Scarlet Heart is still the best for me even after all these years. It makes you remember each scene each song was played (that iconic song they used for every death). Too bad they didnt air the supposed ending and cut it to stick daggers to our hearts. Ive watched it 4 times and I balled my eyes everytime. I might give Hwarang a chance.
For starters I personally liked both dramas just fine and don't find much to compare between them except the fact that they're both set in sageuk and have a bunch of good looking actors surrounding just one actress, as both dramas have different and completely independent plots and storylines. While reading this article and some of the comments here I felt it seemed a bit biased and unfair that these dramas are judged solely on personal preferences and a liking for some actors more than others instead of fairness and facts. I feel like the author of this article made it too obvious that the only thing they liked about Scarlet heart was Lee Joon Ki in the lead and nothing more, hence taking a better liking for Hwarang and giving it much praising than it generally deserves. For me, IU actually did a much better job in portraying and acting her role much more than Go A Ra did for her role. Frankly Go A Ra's acting in Hwarang couldn't be more horrible, to an extent that it was distracting and just annoying. She actually kept the same facial expression for the entire drama. In every scene her acting is the same and she gives off the same emotions for the entirety of the drama. That was just too much to take. You say IU was flat in here role, but I think Go A Ra just over acted everything and was just simply unnatural.
For me both are good but i like the most the Scarlet Heart Ryeo,IU is good and the other casts and also the story of how they fell inlove with each other of the 4th prince is unique unlike the other drama, probably i would say Scarlet Heart is so amazing movie worth to watch!!!😚💋
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