So I Married the Anti-Fan – Full Review
Welcome to So I Married the Anti-Fan -Full Review. A journalist vows revenge on the idol responsible for her losing her job. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
So I Married the Anti-Fan
♥ Aired: April 30 – June 19, 2021
♥# of Episodes: 16
♥Where to Watch: Viki
♥Genre: Romantic Comedy
♥Starring: Choi Tae Joon and Choi Soo Young
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The Story
When a young journalist loses her job after following a story about a famous idol, she is convinced that he is behind her being fired. Desperate for revenge, she becomes his #1 anti-fan. When a tv producer approaches her with an offer to appear on a reality show with the singer, she sees her chance to expose him for the jerk that he really is. But as she spends time with him, she realizes that her assumptions about him may not have been fair and just maybe he isn’t a jerk after all.
The Leads
Choi Tae Joon as Hoo Joon
Hoo Joon is a popular singer who worked his way up from a trainee. After a highly publicized run-in with a journalist, Joon is hoping to never see the woman again. So he is not pleased when he is asked to appear on a reality show where they pretend to be married. But as they begin to spend time together, he finds himself strangely attracted to her quirky personality. But how will his fans take the news that he is really dating his co-star and will their relationship cost him his career?
Hoo Joon has invested everything in his success. Along the way he has given up his first love, his best friend, and allowed his agency to recreate his whole past. He has learned the hard way that the life of an idol is isolated and lonely. Because of this, he seems rude and arrogant. But when he meets Geun Hyung, he begins to envision a life where he can really just be himself. I thought Choi Tae Joon was good in this part. He has a natural aloofness that lends itself to these kinds of characters but also a down-to-earth earnestness that made the character feel sincere in later episodes. Joon’s desire to find someone who would love him for himself was endearing
Choi Soo Young as Lee Geun Young
Lee Geun Young works hard at her job as a journalist, which makes it easy for her boss and co-workers to take advantage of her. They make her do all the work and then take credit for her great ideas. In desperation, she chases a story that leads her to Hoo Joon. But things quickly get out of hand and Geun Young ends up losing her job because of it. So when tv producers approach her with the promise to pay her generously if she will participate in a reality show with Joon, she can’t resist their generous offer. Geun Young plans to use her time with Joon to expose his horrible character and redeem herself. But the more time she spends with him, the more she realizes that her first impressions were all wrong. Unfortunately, the closer she gets to Joon, the more angry and violent his fans become.
Lee Geun Young is a quirky underdog who has worked hard but never been able to get ahead. Because of that, she is fiercely independant and determined. But she is also naive and easily taken advantage of. She desperately wants to believe that if she works hard enough, one day her hard work will pay off. Choi Soo Young plays this socially akward role well, but unfortunately the story is really about an idol who falls in love. Her own character gets little development outside of her interactions with Joon. Even after meeting her parents and best friends, we still see very little about her as an individual.
Supporting Characters
Hwang Chan Sung as Choi Jae Joon (JJ)
Choi Jae Joon was a trainee with Hoo Joon, but he never succeeded in debuting. Now he dates Joon’s ex-girlfriend and works for a talent agency owned by his father. He is obsessed with beating Joon in any way he can. His inferiority complex makes it so no one can even say Joon’s name around him.
Han Ji An as Oh In Hyung
Oh In Hyung also traineded with Hoo Joon and the two of them dated before Joon left her and JJ to debut on his own. Desperate for a chance to debut as well, In Hyung joins JJ’s agency and begins dating him. But JJ has personally kept her from becoming successful because he is afraid he will lose her. Now she is just an older trainee who is past her prime. This may be her last chance to become a singer and she won’t let anything or anyone stand in her way.
Things I Liked
♥ Go Soo Hwan
At last we get a guy best friend who isn’t secretly in love with the lead. It was so refreshing to have a guy who had two girls as best friends, and never pined or crossed the line with either one of them. It’s a rare find in kdrama land and I loved him all the more because of it. I would have loved to see him get a little more story line but he was perfect as the supportive friend who was always available to listen and lean on.
♥ Lead Chemistry
Choi Tae Joon and Choi Soo Young worked well together. Whether they were bickering, teasing each other, or flirting they seemed to strike a perfect balance and never overplayed it. It always felt real and natural. I looked forward to their scenes together and loved the simplisity of their realtionship. Even toward the end when all the more serious plot lines were going on, they stayed strong and unwavering. I was thankful they avoided the last minute break-up and reconciliation.
♥ The Waiting is Over
It bears mentioning that this drama was filmed two years ago, before Choi Tae Joon went into the military. Faithful fans waited and wondered, for all this time, whatever happened to it. I am happy that after so long, they were still able to air this drama. The wait must have been equally disappointing for the cast and crew who worked so hard to produce it. In the end, we all win now that this one has finally seen the light of day.
Things I Didn’t Like
Mr. Pink Pants
Initially I didn’t really care much about the story behind the guy in the pink pants who was kissing Geon Young’s boyfriend. But then Geon Young brought it up again when she thought it might be Joon. Since they mentioned it again, I thought maybe it was going to be important later. But then we never hear about it again. Usually if something is brought up a second time, there is some significance to it, so I just thought it was a bit weird.
Last Episodes
This drama seems like it would have been better with fewer episodes. For me, the last few episodes seemed out of sync with the rest of the drama. Once Joon’s secret past is exposed, they suddenly tackle a bunch of serious stories that don’t really serve much purpose. I would have been happier if they condensed it down to 12 episodes and breezed over the melodrama.
JJ’s Brother
So, huge disclaimer here. I am a huge Sung Hoon fan, so maybe it’s my personal bias. But it would have been nice to see some resolution in JJ’s relationship with his brother. It seems like a wasted opportunity to introduce his character and then just forget about him. JJ was obviously in need of a lot of emotional healing, and mending some of his family relationships seems like a good place to start.
The Ending
“So I Married the Anti-Fan” is full of happily ever afters. Before going off on his journey to rediscover himself, Joon pays off all of Mr. Bae’s debt, to keep Shooting Star running. Joon’s biggest fans all speak out in his defense and do their best to restore his reputation. And Geun Young finally pursues her dream as a writer. After a three month jump, we find the gang back together for PD Han and Writer Noh’s wedding. Soo Hwan has opened his own business doing wedding photography. Mi Jung is back together with her boyfriend, who has given up studying law to become the “Hoo Joon of live streaming”. Joon and In Hyung’s duet is gaining popularity, but she is turning down agency offers to focus on taking care of JJ, who is finally speaking again. And our lead couple end the drama with a beautiful proposal in front of a crowd of fans.
Should I Watch
Every once in a while I just want a mindless, fluffy rom-com that gives me all the feels without making me work too hard. And in this year of so many heavy crime dramas, “So I Married the Anti-Fan” is just that. There is nothing new or groundbreaking about this plot. Especially in the beginning, this drama is unapologetically cliche and relies on some well-loved kdrama tropes. The fact that the drama didn’t try too hard to be more than that was part of the charm. Fans looking for a complex plot with lots of character development should definitely skip this one. But if you are looking for some light-weight romantic comedy that exists solely for the purpose of bringing the leads together in a sweet love story, this is a good choice. I give “So I Married the Anti-Fan” an 8 out of 10 ramen.
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