Once Again

Crying while writing this...

“If you had the chance to save the person you loved most… would you do it, even if it meant losing them forever?”

Once Again is a devastatingly beautiful tale of time, trauma, love, and sacrifice. It begins with a simple premise—a 25-year-old college student, Shin Jae Woo (Moon Ji Yong), returns to an old study dorm 15 years after a traumatic event, only to be transported back to 2007. There, he meets his younger self’s best friend and secret savior, Kang Ji Hoon (Lee Hyun Jun), and is given the rarest of gifts: time. A second chance. A chance to prevent the tragedy that marked his life forever.

But Once Again is not your typical time-travel romance. It’s not about rewriting history—it’s about confronting pain, understanding loss, and accepting love in its purest and most bittersweet form.

The performances?
Moon Ji Yong was hauntingly restrained, portraying Jae Woo’s quiet desperation and fragile hope with so much depth it ached. Lee Hyun Jun, on the other hand, shone with a radiant warmth that made Ji Hoon the kind of character you’d mourn forever. Their chemistry was subtle, soulful, and gut-wrenchingly real.

The story?
Cleverly written and emotionally raw. It doesn’t shy away from the darkness of trauma, nor the cruelty of fate. And yet, it still gives us moments of light—of shared glances, quiet comforts, and the type of love that lingers long after the credits roll.

The production?
Visually stunning with soft, melancholic color grading that mirrors the emotional atmosphere. The writing was tight, each episode layered with symbols, and that OST?? It rips your heart out gently like a 2000s heartbreak anthem you didn’t know you needed.

“Let’s meet again. 15 years later… another 15 years later.”
—Ji Hoon (and us, crying)

Overall rating: 9.0/10
This is not just a love story. It’s a story about healing, letting go, and finding peace—even if it’s only through tears. Highly recommended if you want something soul-crushing and unforgettable.

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A Twist in Time That Misses the Mark — A Disappointing Drama with Wasted Potential.

I stepped into this time-slip drama with tempered expectations.. and walked away feeling vindicated for not hoping for more.

Let’s get one thing straight: this series isn’t a complete disaster. It’s not the kind of show that leaves you angry for wasting your time, but more the kind that earns a slow blink and a shrug.

“That was it?” sums it up well. There’s a shell of a great idea buried somewhere beneath the half-baked character arcs and incoherent narrative threads, but it’s a shell that never quite gets cracked open.

Moon Ji-yong’s performance is one of the few commendable aspects of the series. He clearly put effort into his portrayal, delivering emotion with conviction, especially during some of the more tender or desperate moments. Unfortunately, his character is written with the complexity of a soap bubble. His portrayal can only do so much when the script hands him so little.

The central conceit had serious promise: Shin Jaewoo travels back to 2007 to prevent the murder of Kang Jihoon, a tragedy rooted in Jihoon’s brave attempt to save 10-year-old Jaewoo from being kidnapped. As the narrative unfolds, the two form a romantic connection.. a storyline that could have been emotionally resonant, had the show earned that emotional payoff.

Instead, what we get is a rushed, underdeveloped mess. The story races through critical turning points without giving them space to breathe. The emotional beats feel unearned, largely because the writing doesn’t allow the characters to make believable or even remotely logical choices. Every decision made by the leads feels driven not by character motivation, but by a writer’s need to keep the plot limping forward.

Frankly, the logic of time travel isn’t even the issue here. Time travel is hard to get right, sure, but many successful dramas (“Signal”, “Someday or One Day”) have navigated its paradoxes with elegance. This show doesn’t even try. The problem isn’t temporal mechanics; it’s narrative laziness.

No one in this series acts in a way that makes emotional or logical sense. The motivations are paper-thin, and some actions are so absurd they border on parody. As a result, it’s nearly impossible to care about the characters’ fates. When the ending arrives, it carries little to no emotional weight. We’re told to care, but we’re never shown why we should.

Jaewoo’s and Jihoon’s romantic relationship could have been its emotional core, but it barely registers. There’s no spark, no real tension, no compelling buildup. It’s a romance that feels less like a development and more like a bullet point on a planning board.

Oddly enough, the only parts that do work are the lighthearted interludes. Hyungjin’s supporting role injects the kind of levity the show desperately needs more of. His few comedic moments, particularly a short scene where Jihoon carries Jaewoo back to the dorm, are the only times the series feels alive. But even that glimmer of charm is fleeting.

Had the creators leaned into a more slice-of-life, romantic-comedy angle, embracing the fluff, the absurdity, and the sweetness, it might’ve carved out a memorable identity. Instead, it feels like they dumped a bunch of disparate story elements into a blender and served it half-mixed.

If you’re seeking a drama that will stir your emotions, draw you into a compelling narrative, and leave you thinking long after the credits roll… this isn’t it. What could have been a touching, thought-provoking story about fate, regret, and love becomes a paint-by-numbers time-travel drama with characters who feel like strangers and a plot riddled with holes.

This is one of those rare shows where more episodes might have actually helped. An additional two to four hours to develop emotional arcs and resolve narrative threads would have gone a long way. But without stronger writing and a clearer sense of purpose, even that might not have saved it.

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Lovely Series. Had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I really enjoyed this little series.

The characters where natural, well written and well acted.
The production was pleasent and over all I really didn't think of production, cinematography, costumes, ect. Which is always a good sign, as it means I was sucked into the story.

Spoilers:
Ok, so with the time travel you have to go with the flow. Because it was not explaned, but I can get on board with that.

What I didn't get in the plot was, why Kang Ji Hoon had to go to the 'crime scene' alone and without anything to protect himself. He could have called the police or in the very least taken a bat or a knife along... I mean when you know what is gonna happen, you can change something.

If the writing team wanted to have him not change anything, so that everything happens the same way... ok. But you could have explained the reasoning.
I was intrigued by the different clothes that Shin Jae Woo wore in the last scene. It means something changes every time.

Spoilers End.

Apart from this I really enjoyed this series and will rewatch it. It's so nice to see characters that act so natural around each other and that accept themselfs without drama. Loved it!

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Love on a loop

I've watched this multiple times, and I've enjoyed it. Every. Single. Time.

The falling in love part of the overall storyline is so soft and beautifully executed. It's not a slow build-up, but it also makes sense that "yeah, these two are obviously in love." There's no questioning it.

The last time I watched it, I actually watched it twice; from start to finish.

The ending is gut-wrenching and impossibly sad, and you wish that Ji Hoon could have been a little bit more selfish; but his actions are totally logical because he dies to protect the child version of the man he is love with.

The ending is absolutely gut-wrenching and impossibly sad.

There IS a glimmer of hope to be had in the ending, though, because of the time-loop aspect.

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Someone needs to go back in time and improve this script

This is a series that is trying to manage a lot of social and psychological issues at the same time but the execution has been anything but exemplary. Showcasing Time travel in a show is difficult as there are many moving parts that you have to be careful about so as not to lose the continuity. This show more or less manages to stay within that line.

As a child Shin Jae Woo is traumatised as he witnesses the death of Kang Ji Hoon who saves him from a serial killer. Shin Jae Woo carries this guilt all through his life and returns to his home town and the dormitory where Kang Ji Hoon used to reside. He goes in to the room that belonged to Kang Ji Hoon and while using the intercom and hears Ji Hoon’s voice. As he tries to run out he finds Ji Hoon alive and realises he has travelled back in time. Shin Jae Woo is determined to save Ji Hoon’s life this time around so save him from living in guilt.

The premise is very promising. There are multiple inter-connected things at stake. Jae Woo’s success would result in Ji Hoon’s survival and possibly his own guiltless existence. But this is where Jae Woo’s plan starts to lose me. There is more than one way to resolve this issue but Jae Woo’s decisions have always been contrary to an easy and sure-fire way to achieving this goal and you start doubting his sanity.

Jae Woo has a special connection with Ji Hoon even as a child, hence when we meets him again there is a burst of emotions and of course the feeling of love but when and why did Ji Hoon fall in love with Jae Woo? Jae Woo has always been acting creepy around him but instead of keeping his distance he indulges with Jae Woo. I found that quite bizarre. May be if the series had more episodes, they could have fleshed this out further and given us a slow development of feelings.

Moon Ji Young and Lee Hyun Jun did a great job playing Jae Woo and Ji Hoon respectively. Kudos to Ji Young as he had a more complex character and he did justice to it. If only there was a better script for these two actors or may be more episodes, they could have been able to showcase much more of their talent.

In conclusion, this series plays around with some great concept of childhood trauma, time travel and missions with lives at stake. Where it lacks is in execution. S. Korea should look at making series with either more episodes or longer run time. It would do justice to the amazing stories that they want to showcase. I would still recommend this just for the marvellous acting by the 2 leads and wonderful background score.

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Ambitious premise but an execution that failed to give it justice

I decided to give this a try because the premise sounded interesting and despite the not so high rating, I've read comments saying they enjoyed it and that it was an emotional story. I don't really have much to say other than my expectations weren't met.

• If the acting and chemistry were better then maybe I would have given this a higher score but that aspect wasn't satisfying enough for me. But for the sake of appreciating the staff and cast's efforts as well as the fact this was made in 2022, I tried to be generous with the score.
• Production was too obviously low-budget.
• Ost was okay but nothing memorable or impactful.
• Characters and their motivations as well as attraction towards each other weren't convincing or compelling enough.
• Too much plot holes affected my immersion to the story and characters.
- There were some moments which seem intended to elicit an emotional response to the viewer, but I didn't really end up feeling anything other than frustration about the characters' actions.
• Time loop thingy was too confusing for my smol brain.
• This could have been better but eh my generous suspension of disbelief can only do much. It might have been more acceptable when there weren't much Korean BLs yet, but now there's much better shows to watch and waste your time on.

There honestly wasn't much for me to hold on to other than that one scene where I saw a 2019 kpop song's mv (if i saw correctly it was for Seventeen's HIT?) playing on an arcade machine when the setting was supposed to be 2007 (now that somehow made me chuckle and probably the only highlight of the show for me lol). And for that moment alone i added a 0.5 to make it an overall score of 7.

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Couldn't it have been a happy ending?

Soo.. first of all..
The acting, the casting, the music, the vibes and everything.. fantastic, i swear, but maan, PLEASE.. Really??!
I hope wasn't the only one, who thought while watching the last ep, that what if they'd have done stg against the murder??? Like.. Maybe tell the little Jae Woo's mother, not to let her son out?? or something! oor... (hear me out).. CALL THE POLICE!! MAAAN...
For me, this ending was just dissappointing. I don't think I'll rewatch xdd

Anyways..
Despite of this LITTLE little detail that I just COULDN'T understand, I loved, simply LOVED this show. I've watched a LOT of kdramas, but unlike lot others it really was gripping. I thought it would be a cliché, but it actually turned out to be so wholesome and cute, I almost cried when that mf died. I love them so much. xdd
Another thing I was fond of, is that how Ji Hoon cared about both the older, and especially the younger Jae Woo. I thought it was really beautiful and lovely. Their whole relationship was lovely. I especially liked, that the fact, that they got together, their love, and everything, was not overcomplicated. They accepted it, and moved on. I was really suprised by this, but I was so happy, that i didn't have to follow through their identity crisis xdd. (srry, english is not my first language, hope it was quite clear what i wanted to say xd)
And the scene between the runner of the dormitory and Hyung Jin on the balcony, or what was that, was soo wholesome in my oppinion.

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PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW ITS REALLY GOOD

I am in love with this drama so far. I have cried twice so far and i anticipate more crying. The story itself is thought provoking and intense and the subject matter is quite heavy. I wmrt into this thinking it would come out in the wash but was i ever wrong.
The acting is superb, the emotions the actors embrace takes you to a dark and emotional place yourself. I felt every tear and every moment of curiosity and every snide remark, friendship and even budding romance. The actors will take you through a range of feelings. Im not ready for upcoming episodes, i can already feel my world shifting.
This is going to rip my heart out,I can feel it. The soundtrack is a killer the songs make every emotion 70 times deeper and heavier and sadder, now i want to cry again... its a must watch.. i ❤it.

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Different and compelling even if the ending

is heartbreaking but to me it made sense and was realistic. The story was interesting and different and I like how certain countries are moving away from traditional BL's. South Korea was one of the first to do this. The writing may not have been the best, but I give them huge credit. I liked the idea that past trauma led by guilt can be ket go off if you get a second chance with a loved one. I also like that even if the story is heartbreaking there's still that light of hope that things can and will get better. As it is the norm with time travel stories. Well with any kind of stories that is.

I think the best thing about the series was the acting since there's still room for improvement when it comes to wfriting, plot and certain themes. But back to the acting Lee Hyun Yun and Moon Yi Yong gave incredible performances. Seriously, the emotion that both LHY & MYY portrayed was top notch to the point that I cried with them. I had never seen them before but I'll say that both are extremely talented. BRAVO!

The OST was also beautiful. Great choices made by the production team

Overall I give this series a 7.5 out of 10. Like I said more room for improvement but still enjoyable due to the acting.

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a bucket of tears

There wasn’t a single episode where I didn’t cry my eyes out. I had no idea what to expect from this story, but I never thought it would be this heartbreaking.

I cried so much it felt like I was the one who had lost a loved one. I had never felt such pain watching a BL before. A solid 10/10 — it delivered exactly what it set out to, with flawless acting. The actor who played JaeWoo made us feel exactly what he was feeling in each scene, which made everything so much more emotional.

It’s now on my list of favorites, though I don’t know if I have the emotional strength to rewatch it anytime soon — maybe in a few years. This BL truly changed my life.

One of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard.

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