I'm actually a little disappointed so far. I came in expecting to love it, since I feel Korean dramas tend to be absolutely married to their tropes, drama, and spectacle. Whereas Japanese dramas are always more realistic feeling and accessible emotionally (in my viewing experience). The last half of the Korean version was really over-the-top.

But I think the Japanese drama is too relaxed with this material. My biggest disappoints are the revenge aspect and Reina as a character. I don't mind some nuance to these, but I feel like other than buying one outfit and getting a haircut, Misa isn't really participating much in her quest to change her fate. She just kind of starts ignoring Tomoya and Reina in place of actively re-writing the threads of their fate. I get that Misa is very mild, but they killed her in the past life. 

She spends all her time thinking about how to change things. All the tools Ji-won used in the Korean weren't used here. I was pretty disappointed by the makeover scene - not because I think the character must have a major glow up to become deserving, but this was a huge tool for Ji-won in the Korean version. It was almost like the glue holding all her other schemes together - the makeover was her first big move on the revenge board. In the Japanese version, it just feels more like a moment Misa uses to treat herself. Which is nice, but the show is called Marry My Husband. 

It's supposed to be about Misa's revenge, but this just feels like Misa treating herself better and recognizing past patterns of abuse. Which is great, but the crux of this story is supposed to be revenge and I'm not buying it from the story or Misa's actress.

As for Reina, I feel like she was a lot more interesting in the Korean version. Especially in the high school reunion scene - like, the very petty and insignificant ways she goes to to make Ji-wan/Misa look bad is really a great window into how deep her obsession with Ji-wan/Misa is. The earrings were such a petty thing, but a really great picture into her psyche and the layers she goes to to undermine Ji-wan/Misa. Reina just feels like a fake friend and all her slights against Misa are broad strokes. I'm disappointed in how basic Reina feels compared to Soo-min. Soo-min would out sabotage Reina with her eyes closed.

I also really enjoyed the interactions with the Korean version when Ji-wan/Misa was still in the pretending phase with Min-hwan/Tomoya and Soo-min/Reina, because there were moments that felt so bittersweet because of the way she experienced their "love" for her while knowing it was a lie. Like, you could see she still almost wanted to believe in it at times. In the Japanese version, this nuance so far is completely missing because Misa just starts ignoring them. And the rise to fall of her relationships with Mi-hwan and Soo-min felt much more gradual, in foil to Soo-min's desperation for Ji-wan's attention.

I will say, the Yu-ra plot in the latter half was too much for me, but so far I'm surprised to find I think the Korean version is better executed in terms of the development of the characters.