Not just Guns, Glory and Sad Endings. Guns, Glory and Sad Endings - check, check, check - but it's not all doom and gloom and there are many laugh out loud moments. I've watched it several times and it made me laugh and cry each time.
Mr Sunshine had a big budget and it shows. It's visually stunning and features a star studded cast, an interesting story, beautiful costumes and a great soundtrack with different musical styles.
Many K-dramas feature a love triangle and Mr Sunshine goes further with a love five-pointed star set in late-19th and early-20th century Joseon (Korea). At the centre is Lady Go Ae Shin, a beautiful and elegant aristocrat and secret freedom fighter. She is the love interest of three men: Eugene Choi, an American Marine Corps captain, Gu Dong Mae, the local leader of a Japanese yakuza-style gang and Kim Hui Seong, an aimless playboy and Go Ae Shin's fiancé. Added to the mix is Mina Kudo, the owner of the Glory Hotel, who is intrigued by Eugene Choi and has a bond with Gu Dong Mae.
The main characters are all memorable and supportive of each other, even when they are rivals. Go Ae Shin and Mina Kudo are strong and independent women and aren't helpless decorations waiting for the men to rescue them. The men develop a reluctant and fun bromance and only want the best for Go Ae Shin.
There's a huge cast and if you find so many characters confusing to start with, you can google a relationship chart to help with who's who. My favourite stand-out actors are Kim Tae Ri (Go Ae Shin) and Yoo Yeon Seok (Gu Dong Mae). The character of Go Ae Shin is chalk and cheese with Na Hee Do, the teen fencer in Twenty Five Twenty One, and Kim Tae Ri does a magnificent job with both of them. Badass swordsman Gu Dong Mae is a big change from the doctors Yoo Yeon Seok often plays (eg Hospital Playlist, Dr Romantic). The supporting actors are also wonderful, particularly Lee Jung Eun, who plays Go Ae Shin's devoted servant/nanny and provides a lot of comic relief.
Mr Sunshine is an epic story and don't be put off by the historical setting, the title or its length. The long number of episodes allows the unique characters to be fully developed and they will linger long in your memory. Mr Sunshine is one of my all-time favourite dramas and I wholeheartedly recommend watching it.