I really liked the dynamic between the main girl and all the guys, but I gotta say that I was firmly on the Seo In-Jae ship until the very end. Still though, I LOVE that this drama has three endings, and I've been looking for a drama that does this so that everyone can be happy and see how different ways played out.

The characters' personalities remained true to themselves until the very end, and for that reason I really recommend watching all three endings just to see how different the relationship dynamics are.

The friendship between Se-Hee and her friend was also a nice plus, which was surprising considering how negatively kdramas portray female-female friendships sometimes.

Read More

Age of Youth had been recommended to me by a friend multiple times, but I had kept putting it off for one big reason: I knew that the story didn't focus on romance, and I was ALWAYS in the mood to watch romance.

And when I finally got around to watching it, that was still a problem, but not in the way I'd expected. There was enough romance—the problem was that it wasn't for the characters I wanted, Yi-Na and Ji-Won.

Those two were my favorites, followed by Jin-Myung, and then Ye-Eun and Eun-Jae. Let me go over my thoughts on each character separately.

Yi-Na: I loved her. Her character was the perfect blend of tragic backstory, badassery, and self-reflection, and her character development throughout the season was extremely strong. I loved how straightforward she was, yet how subtle she could be in her support for her friends. I so wish she had a romance plotline, especially how we were teased with it near the end.

Ji-Won: I loved her too! Her character had a little less depth than Yi-Na's which is the only reason she's second. Otherwise, her personality would be ranked first for me. She was always so adorable and upbeat, yet surprisingly insightful when it came down to it. It pained me that the character who wanted to find love the most was the one kind of left without it—even though there were some hints for this as well that I'm hoping are expanded on in Season 2.

Jin-Myung: This character really had to grow on me, but when she did, I grew to love her a lot as well. Even though she was a little bit of the cliche, tragic character, I thought she was extremely strong and her character development was great to watch as well, especially when she was connected with Yi-Na. Her romance plotline was nice too, but predictable.

Ye-Eun: I'm sure a lot of people were annoyed with this character, and I was too. She was very whiny and shrill. I will admit though that I really appreciated her plot and development, and she was surprisingly strong and logical about what a healthy relationship should be—which I'm glad wasn't dragged out.

Eun-Jae: Ugh. My least favorite of the five, and the one who got the most screentime and was the MAIN MAIN character. She was frustrating to watch at first because she never spoke up—understandable. But as the series went on, something about Eun-Jae just never sat right with me. I kept feeling secondhand embarrassment, the acting was a little awkward, and her entire personality was just the least interesting. Because of her, I couldn't really enjoy her romance plotline, which sucked because the love interest was the kind of teasing, playful male that I'd been looking for in kdramas. One scene that I did enjoy, though, is the one where she finally calls out her mom—another character that annoyed me to death. I know that the actress for Eun-Jae is different in Season 2...I'm partly thankful, partly worried that it'll throw me off.

Overall, it was still really refreshing to watch a drama with strong sismance, which kdrama doesn't usually have a lot of.

Read More

Underwhelming, but had its cute moments

I wonder if I'd have enjoyed this more if I'd watched it before I saw Legend of the Blue Sea and My Amazing Boyfriend. LOTBS was so similar to this one in its parallel characters/storylines, while My Amazing Boyfriend (China) is based on the same alien premise (even though the plot is different)—and so everything that happened in this show felt unsurprising.

I really liked Song-Yi. She's advertised as arrogant, and the first episode makes her come across as dumb, but throughout the drama she was surprisingly able to think on her feet, not to mention that she was an absolute SAVAGE, which I loved. But one huge downside for her was that SHE HAD NO ACTIVE ROLE IN THE ACTION PLOTLINE. This meant that everything dangerous and adventurous was happening without her knowledge, and her role was reduced to the girl who pined for Do Min-Joon and needed saving from the bad guys. I had been really looking forward to how her badass personality would help scheme against the antagonists, and it was really disappointing when she didn't at all, and instead spent all her time freaking out about Min-Joon.

In fact, overall I felt like the action plot was kind of underwhelming? The climax didn't really feel like the climax to me and it was solved pretty easily, especially since our main female lead never really got involved.

Do Min-Joon and Song-Yi had really adorable and heart-fluttering moments, which I loved, but when it came to the more melodramatic and serious parts of the romantic plot, I found myself annoyed and thinking that the characters were overreacting and crying too much. Good acting, but unnecessary. This is especially because it felt a little repetitive when a lot of the romantic plot was Min-Joon not being honest about his situation—understandable, but frustrating to watch.

For the second leads: I wouldn't exactly say I had second lead syndrome, but he was such an intriguing character—more intriguing than the main leads, and I felt so bad I wished he would end up with the girl because he treated Song-Yi so damn well. Se-Mi was a different story; I was constantly annoyed by her presence and honestly, I couldn't see the point of her other than to be the annoying third wheel. I was more intrigued by that bookstore lady.

Read More

I have very mixed feelings after finishing this. I definitely didn't enjoy this as much as Reply 1997—it wasn't until the cameos did I realize how much I missed Shi-Won and Yoon-Jae. Yet, the series still had the similar Reply vibe, which made me enjoy watching it still.

I didn't really have a preference for the love triangle, mainly because the writers seem to very visibly alternate which character (Trash or Chil-Bong) had more screentime. I found myself rooting for whoever was on screen. Except, when they were both on screen and were insulting each other, I found myself not really a fan of either one of them. The way the love triangle went, though, it definitely went on for longer than it had to because it felt like Na-Jung was indifferent to Chil-Bong from the start and never wavered. There were some scenes where I really liked Na-Jung's chemistry with Trash, but other times they acted just like brother and sister and I thought Chil-Bong would've been better as the husband. Trash also really hurt himself when there was this ten-episode build-up around why he wouldn't accept Na-Jung's feelings and all we got was the most cliche "we're like family" explanation. Just a note though that I did get spoiled for the ending and I already knew who was going to be the husband.

Now here is one HUGE thing that bothered me: the fact that they used Yoon-Jin's drunk secret-spilling habit to advance the plot not once, not twice, but THREE times. If it was just once, I would've been okay with it. The second time, it got repetitive. And the third time was really just annoying, especially since nobody bothered to stop her (even knowing her habit) and just let her go on and on.

The series definitely dragged on for longer than it had to by including scenes and dialogue that would be in everyday conversation, and some episodes that were one and a half hours long killed me. But the vibe I still enjoyed because it felt very slice-of-life. At the same time, however, the scenes were longer but I felt like they jumped around so much and there were some scenes I wanted that were never shown. What was Na-Jung's initial reaction to Chil-Bong's first confession?

I'm honestly a little disappointed with how Hai-Tai and Bingguere's stories went. I LOVED Hai-Tai's banter with Yoo-Jin and his friendship with Na-Jung and it lowkey hurt me that he didn't end up with any girls in the main squad. For Binggeure, even though I get that sexual confusion is a thing, after Joon-Hee's intense presence in Reply 1997 and all the similar hinting for Binggeure being gay/bi as well, then suddenly giving him a female love interest in one episode and having them end up married...it just felt a lot like queer-baiting to me.

SCP and Yoon-Jin's relationship also had to take a lot of time to grow on me, because I was shipping her with Hai-Tai, and SCP just looked like an old man. I'm glad that that was a running joke though, which made it better.

I was honestly not a fan of Na-Jung at the beginning, because I was really annoyed by her fangirling. And I don't inherently have something against a main lead in an unrequited love, but the fact that she made it so damn obvious and overreacted with so much angst...that pissed me off.

Also, since the characters in Reply 1997 were friends before the drama started whereas the characters in 1994 had to meet each other, the friendship aspect felt very lacking at the start.

I definitely think this one incorporated more nostalgia and references, and my favorite was that of the Sampoong department store collapse, because it was the first time you really saw the huge impact of an event on the characters.

There are a lot of plotholes in this, it seems. What was the purpose of Na-Jung's younger brother? He was never at the dinner table or in the living room with the others except for when it was beneficial for the plot, and it just makes me wonder if the parents just left him in the room by himself. And where did Na-Jung's basketball fangirling go? It went from being the central point of her personality and the plot to basically being non-existent, except for a little mention here and there.

Note: Although this show was truly laugh-out-loud funny at times, I felt like the goat noise was also overrused.

7/10 is still quite a high rating in my eyes, but the high rating is for the Reply nostalgia and the brilliant metaphors and voiceovers and life lessons. If I used my logic, I'd give this show a much lower rating, but because it managed to tug on my heartstrings, 7/10 it is.

Read More

This started out interesting, though the way it was filmed felt so over-the-top and like a parody that I couldn't take it seriously. The acting was also kind of cringe-worthy at times, from Qi Yue's wailing to random close-up shots of Jiang Meng's creepy smile.

I also wish it was more of a slow-burn, because the progression of the main relationship turned from enemies to lovers SO quickly, it honestly felt sort of out of the blue. Something similar could be said for the second pairing—I felt like the writers were rushing to get the characters together and didn't really spend enough time developing the characters' feelings before then.

Overall, though, I'd still consider this a pretty light drama, and I liked the fact that there weren't any one-dimensionally evil antagonist characters. Still, though, it feels like they TRIED to make it into a melodrama by adding a lot of obstacles, but I never felt frustrated or even emotionally invested in the story.

Read More

I found this drama after looking for more things like Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, which I loved—but sadly this didn't even come close. All the acting was surprisingly good, except for a few scenes where everyone had to laugh at the same time and it was so awkward I had to pause.

But the only two characters I cared about were Kim Na Na (who was a badass) and Park Kyu Dong (who broke my heart on multiple occasions). Eun Ha was probably my least favorite—she served no purpose and many things she did just made zero sense.

I started out actually really liking the main female lead, as she was quirky and weird, very different from the typically k-drama female lead. She sort of gave me Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter) vibes, but I liked how she stood up for herself as though it came naturally. But her character went a little downhill,: she started not saying anything and letting misunderstandings continue, and overall at some points she was just unbelievably STUPID.

I couldn't get myself to like the male lead either, as he just seemed to get more and more obnoxious and self-centered as the drama went on. I'll admit that he gave us some silly laugh-out-loud moments though, but it wasn't enough. And so I honestly found myself rooting for Seon Woo more, even shipping him with both Se Yi and Na Na.

Even though Seon Woo's character had so much more depth, that didn't bode well either, as they REALLY dragged out the love triangle in this. Every time I thought it was over...it was brought back again, with the exact same reasons. This got super tiring after a while, especially since the plot didn't have much happening anyways.

There was definitely a lot of stuff crammed into the last episode, but still, a lot of things weren't explained or fleshed out. Sometimes one thing would happen in an episode, but then nothing would happen for that sub-plot until MUCH later. I don't think it's too far off to say that the plot was pretty predictable overall.

The OST was also not really my style of music. I think the only song I really enjoyed was the first battle performance, though I will say that the actress for Na Na really had a beautiful voice no matter what song she sang.

Read More

Full of miscommunication, but I still enjoyed it

Let me start by saying that I usually HATE time skips, and I was so terrified of this one that I watched up till the time skip and paused the drama for four months because I couldn't bring myself to continue.

But I liked this a lot more than I expected. For someone who usually hates noble idiocy and lack-of-communication as plot points, the storyline was serious enough for me to really empathize with Mu Cheng and understand why she did what she did, especially considering how fleshed out her backstory was.

There were a lot of scenes that were really heartbreaking, even frustrating to watch, because it felt like nothing ever went right and the story was just so tragic and angsty. At the same time, however, there were really adorable and pure scenes between the main leads, and like everyone else, I grew to love Xiao Le as well, who quickly became one of my favorite characters ever.

Yes, part of me wished the characters were just more open and honest with each other, as it felt like ALL the characters did that "lie for someone else's own good," but Autumn's Concerto managed to pull it off. I also commend the drama for tackling sexual assault/abuse AND how perpetrators often get away with it—it felt too REAL.

I won't lie, some of the things Ren Guang Xi did were REALLY problematic, but considering how much character depth he actually had and the other ways sexual assault was addressed, I'm willing to let it slide.

Read More

I'd been wanting to watch this for a long time, just from seeing clips—and I've never seen any other School drama. I was really just in the mood for something wholesome and in a school setting, and this definitely accomplished that.

I loved the main leads a lot, and I'd been looking for dramas with this kind of bantering relationship (kind of like Weightlifting Fairy) but this is only the second one I found. I loved the chemistry through, and though I expected a love triangle with the way Dae Hwi was filmed in the beginning, I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't one. I also liked that there wasn't a lot of unnecessary drama, miscommunications, and misunderstandings between them—there was one, which annoyed me—but other than that, they were always really open with each other.

Individually, they were great characters as well. Eun Ho was a really strong female character, and I loved that she always stood up for herself. Tae Woon made my heart melt with all the little things he did. Bo Ra was another character who I loved; even though she definitely pissed me off in the beginning, her character development was so good and I loved her after it.

Sadly though, I'm a little unsatisfied with the ending, and even though it's not sad, exactly, it was still a little bittersweet to me Firstly, the character development for some side characters (like the chairman) seemed a little rushed. Secondly, I wish there was a bigger scene where the students of the school were more united against the corruption. And I wish there was more closure for some of the other bad characters, who I felt never got the bad karma they deserved.

Read More

Hm. I had read so many reviews about the plot of this being horrible...but I surprisingly enjoyed it. It was definitely a little all over the place, but at the same time it was quite cliche which made it easy to follow. The plot point of Eun Sang hiding her real economic class was honestly just frustrating because obviously there was going to be a dramatic reveal scene

CHOI YOUNG DO BROKE MY HEART. To be honest, he was a much more interesting character than Kim Tan, and it kills me that he didn't get THE happy ending.

Other two characters that were so good were Chan Yeong and Bo Na, who were one of the cutest, purest, drama-free ships ever. I loved them. And I want Krystal's English "Oh my god" to be my alarm tone. Honestly, her English was perfect, and it was the only one I could bear to listen to. The American actors, especially at the beginning (when the scene was set in LA) were so bad, and every conversation sounded unnatural.

One thing I didn't really like were just that there were SO MANY CHARACTERS. I totally thought Hyo Shin and Kim Won were the same person at the beginning. I didn't care about any of the adult ships at all.

I know a lot of people were annoyed by the OST, but I actually really loved the songs so much that I was down to hear them over and over again.

Read More

I have to admit, I absolutely HATED the main lead in the beginning. She was just the most annoying killjoy ever, and she cried every time she talked to her mother. The plot was also all over the place. I was ready to drop the show.

But I continued, and WHEW, thank god I did, because this drama totally grew on me. Firstly, I definitely started to like the main character better. Secondly, I liked that the plot got darker, more real, and more tense, but it take me a little while to get used to because the "humor" had been so absurd and parody-like that I couldn't take anything seriously.

There were still some episodes that were super frustrating, like when the plot was so painfully obvious that it physically hurt that I had to wait 2 hours for the characters to figure it out.

In the end, I continued watching this for the main plot. It was a little LESS dark than I had wanted, considering how much build-up it had.

Read More

AHHH, I just love the aesthetic of Playlist Global's videos—cute, adorable, but at the same time the cinematography is breathtaking and calming. WHY was no different. I definitely don't love it as much as A-Teen but this is my second favorite series behind that one.

I definitely cared more about the second ship than the first, which I felt like was more wholesome, but I also found myself becoming more invested in the plot of the main lead. It's an interesting feeling to kind of be intrigued without actively rooting for the ship, but I guess that's what I did.

Read More

I added this to my watch list without knowing that it was a web drama with only twelve 15-minute episodes. I also definitely did not expect something so weird and absolutely absurd. It wasn't exactly my kind of humor, so I found it more nonsensical than funny.

I was surprised that the drama actually talked about more serious topics in the later episodes though, and I did enjoy the vibe of it, though plot-wise there wasn't much development (which is understandable considering the shortness of the drama).

If you're looking for anything with actual substance, I'm not sure I'd recommend this.

Read More

I definitely liked this more than season one! There was a little more romance (which we all love, haha), but the friendship part was a really strong aspect as well. I also liked the character of the ML's grandmother a lot, which made the story really heart-warming and added more backstory.

Like I said in my review for the first season, I still wasn't a fan of all the imaginary scenes. They still were boring and unnecessary to me. Other than that, however, I still really liked the humor in this, and the fact that they tackled a more serious plotline near the end of the season was great.

Read More

I loved this a lot, honestly. The friendships were really heartwarming, and the male lead was perfect. The female lead was definitely a little annoying sometimes, but even so, I liked how she was able to stand up for herself.

The main thing that makes me want to rip my hair out is...THE ENDING. UGHHHH. The ending could be definitely seen as realistic and bittersweet, but to me, it just left me upset and unsatisfied. My heart hurts because of it and it will hurt forever.

Overall, the entire vibe of this drama was so wholesome and cozy; it was refreshing to watch something a little less modern and a little softer.

Read More