1% of Anything (also known as Something About 1 Percent) tells the story of a rich chaebol (Ha Suk Jin) who finds out his grandfather has given away his inheritance to a teacher (Jeon So Min), and the only way for him to get it back is to marry her.
1% of Anything is a remake of the classic 2003 drama of the same name. It’s a pretty standard romantic comedy. The first half is light and breezy with a fun couple who bicker adorably.
We have Ha Suk Jin as as our spoiled chaebol heir Lee Jae In. He wants nothing to do with the woman his grandfather has set him up with, but he does want his inheritance. Ha Suk Jin played all sides of this character wonderfully. He was the spoiled jerk in the beginning, but he develops into a fun, adorable, and heartfelt man.
Jeon So Min plays our teacher Kim Da Hyun. She is also less than thrilled to suddenly be involved in these rich people’s business. But in order to settle things, she agrees to a six month contract to date Jae In, and then the two can go their separate ways. Jeon So Min was lively and sweet and brought us a very fun character.
The main strength of 1% of Anything was our main couple. Ha Suk Jin and Jeon So Min have great chemistry. They are entertaining when bickering, adorably awkward, and pretty swoon worthy. They also have plenty of heart fluttering moments with lots of great kisses that should keep most fans pretty happy. They definitely make the drama.
Sadly, I found the rest of the drama elements a bit lacking. Both the business side of things as well as the teaching side didn’t feel that developed. Also, none of the other characters really stand out or feel very important. The second leads felt flat and weren’t that well developed. Jae In’s grandfather and Da Hyun’s friend were decent characters, but still a bit flat and cookie cutter.
But the main conflict was possibly the drama’s biggest downfall. I’ve seen my fair share of weak reasons that a couple couldn’t be together, but I just couldn’t get on board with their reason in this one. The idea that “we can’t be together even though we love each other because we said we would break up after six months” is pretty flimsy.
If they wanted to be together, they could just be together! It made it very difficult to take them seriously and even more difficult to feel their pain as they “had” to separate. And things get a bit draggy in the latter third, especially as couple goes through the inevitable separation period. Them being together is what makes this drama fun, so when they’re apart, the best element is gone.
1% of Anything has plenty of good to offer though. Overall, it is a pretty quick and easy watch. The main couple made the drama with both Ha Suk Jin and Jeon So Min being fun and charming. So even though the elements surrounding them were lacking for me, they made the drama a worthwhile watch.
My Rating: 6.5/10
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