"So I married my Anti-fan" is based on a novel of the same name that was adapted to a webtoon (two different versions) and a Chinese movie. Each adaptation I've read or seen is slightly different, though they all start the same way. The webtoon is the best adaptation (though I have not read the book), while this show comes in second. I would have given it a higher rating had there been fewer toxic tropes and if the ending was closer to the webtoon.
Geun Young's relationships (besides Roy) with her friends and family were sweet, loving, and solid. Her friends would help her if they did not want to or even when it was hard for them. Soo Hwan was not romantically interested in either of the girls, which was nice because that is never the case in Kdramas. Geun Young's relationship with her parents was supportive, sweet, and protective (which should be all parents). It was good to see that her parents were not pushing her towards Hoo Joon because of his looks or financial standing in society, another cliché in Kdramas. Her parents stood up for her and gave Hoo Joon a hard time because of Geun Young's treatment in the media. This was great to see, especially since Geun Young's mom comes off harsh at the beginning. More interactions between her, her parents, and her friends would have made her character more dimensional.
In contrast, Hoo Joon seems to have no one but Seo Ji Hyang (his manager), Bae Young Seok (CEO of Shooting Star), JJ, and In Hyung. It was a nice contrast between the two characters; How Geun Young has so many people she can trust and depend on, while he has no one. This lets you make allowances for him and his bad behavior, which starts early. I was shipping the two but thought they should have done more to make Hoo Joon sympathetic and develop his character. The webtoon did a better job of gaining your sympathy. Misunderstandings were left unexplained, and he never really apologizes properly for it either. But he does enough cute and sweet things towards the middle and end that you forget about it.
The relationship between In Hyung and JJ was horrible. They should never have been together. The show figured out how to make both of these characters as toxic and unsympathetic as they could. You never feel bad for either of the characters. In Hyung uses Hoo Joon to try and further her career while also trying to get back into a relationship with him even though she initiated the breakup. For some reason, the show pretends that this is not the case. She emotionally abuses everyone around her and plays the victim. The worst part is she is a victim of physical and emotional abuse. Though JJ is warranted in his weariness and suspicion of the relationship between Hoo Joon and In Hyung he goes too far when he physically and emotionally abuses In Hyung and is just a horrible and jealous person. Though the ending wasn't the worst, giving In Hyung and JJ a redemption arc when neither of them did anything to deserve it was just so unsatisfying. Having them stay together was not only a horrible choice to make but a horrible message to send to young girls. Just all bad things here.
The show kept all the essential parts the same (except the ending), and most of the changes were good. It kept you guessing because it changed things up enough to make it appear new. Most of the time, I hate when adaptations deviate from the source material, but in this case, I feel like they made it work. The last three episodes would work better if combined into half an episode. Instead, they could have focused on Hoo Joon's character development in the earlier episodes and shown us more scenes with Geun Young's family and friends. This would cut the slow plot development at the end and give us more insight into the two characters. The cast and production team did a great job with the show. My two favorite characters from this show were Seo Ji Hyang and Go Soo Hwan. These two were my absolute favorites, especially Ji-Hyang silently laughing at Hoo Joon and Geun Young. He was just so sweet.
Geun Young's relationships (besides Roy) with her friends and family were sweet, loving, and solid. Her friends would help her if they did not want to or even when it was hard for them. Soo Hwan was not romantically interested in either of the girls, which was nice because that is never the case in Kdramas. Geun Young's relationship with her parents was supportive, sweet, and protective (which should be all parents). It was good to see that her parents were not pushing her towards Hoo Joon because of his looks or financial standing in society, another cliché in Kdramas. Her parents stood up for her and gave Hoo Joon a hard time because of Geun Young's treatment in the media. This was great to see, especially since Geun Young's mom comes off harsh at the beginning. More interactions between her, her parents, and her friends would have made her character more dimensional.
In contrast, Hoo Joon seems to have no one but Seo Ji Hyang (his manager), Bae Young Seok (CEO of Shooting Star), JJ, and In Hyung. It was a nice contrast between the two characters; How Geun Young has so many people she can trust and depend on, while he has no one. This lets you make allowances for him and his bad behavior, which starts early. I was shipping the two but thought they should have done more to make Hoo Joon sympathetic and develop his character. The webtoon did a better job of gaining your sympathy. Misunderstandings were left unexplained, and he never really apologizes properly for it either. But he does enough cute and sweet things towards the middle and end that you forget about it.
The relationship between In Hyung and JJ was horrible. They should never have been together. The show figured out how to make both of these characters as toxic and unsympathetic as they could. You never feel bad for either of the characters. In Hyung uses Hoo Joon to try and further her career while also trying to get back into a relationship with him even though she initiated the breakup. For some reason, the show pretends that this is not the case. She emotionally abuses everyone around her and plays the victim. The worst part is she is a victim of physical and emotional abuse. Though JJ is warranted in his weariness and suspicion of the relationship between Hoo Joon and In Hyung he goes too far when he physically and emotionally abuses In Hyung and is just a horrible and jealous person. Though the ending wasn't the worst, giving In Hyung and JJ a redemption arc when neither of them did anything to deserve it was just so unsatisfying. Having them stay together was not only a horrible choice to make but a horrible message to send to young girls. Just all bad things here.
The show kept all the essential parts the same (except the ending), and most of the changes were good. It kept you guessing because it changed things up enough to make it appear new. Most of the time, I hate when adaptations deviate from the source material, but in this case, I feel like they made it work. The last three episodes would work better if combined into half an episode. Instead, they could have focused on Hoo Joon's character development in the earlier episodes and shown us more scenes with Geun Young's family and friends. This would cut the slow plot development at the end and give us more insight into the two characters. The cast and production team did a great job with the show. My two favorite characters from this show were Seo Ji Hyang and Go Soo Hwan. These two were my absolute favorites, especially Ji-Hyang silently laughing at Hoo Joon and Geun Young. He was just so sweet.