In all honesty, I started this show on Monday, with the intention of maybe writing a review of it. Now it's Thursday, I have watched five epidodes, and I am so hooked. So super hooked. Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is a hit for me. Let me list the ways.
First off, the overarching plot is one we see often repeated - rich guy falls for poor yet strong willed woman, trouble ensues, and then they get married anyway. That's all fine. What really gets me is the fresh take they did on it. The male lead is an 18 year old who looks, and actually is in real life, 24. Through a series of events that involve his butt getting kicked he falls for his student teacher...who is 24, but she has no interest in him. Meanwhile there are also the secondary characters who are meant to compete for the primary characters affections...but they don't. They are fighting for each other's affections. Yay! Finally a male character that is not pursuing the lead female character of similar age. So refreshing. Also refreshing is that the person competing for the female lead's heart is not a scoundrel, but a kind hearted narcoleptic (sic) who would be super hard to hate. That being said, there happen to be a lot of attractive male characters in the show. This makes me think that it's probably geared towards older female teens.
...Since that wasn't a list here's another try at it. Why Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is a good show.
1) The manner in which the plot is played out is refreshing and different
2) There are a lot of attractive male characters... like a lot alot.
3) The female character did not and does not include having a boyfriend as a life goal.
4) The episodes are short. Only about 50 minutes each. K-dramas are usually 75 minutes long, so it makes them easier to watch.
5) The plotline moves both fast and slow. Slow in developing the background events and fast in developing major/fun events.
6) Thus far there are no evil antagonists. It's just people being people.
7) The name of the show sounds ridiculous in English.
And that's why I declare Flower Boy Ramyun Shop to be a good show. It definitely deserves a 4 out of 5...or more.