Friendly Rivalry

A very unique drama, in all the best ways

Friendly Rivalry stands out from most of the dramas I've watched in my life. There is much to love in here: the cinematography, the experimentation, the flow, the unafraid heavier tone and more. Some of the scenes feel like watching a movie with the way they are constructed, and the script excels the most in those special scenes - which I believe were not present in the manhwa, so special props to the team behind the drama. It's so cool to watch!

I admit I started watching because of *that* scene preview. but I really won't mind if there are no more "explicit" romantic moments. Female-focused stories feel way more close to my heart, so it's not hard to love this one. The relationship and complicated friendship between Jaeyi, Gyeong, Yeri and Seulgi is enough to keep me entertained, but Friendly Rivalry delivers much more. If you're looking for a drama where you can play detective and try to figure out what is going on everytime an episode ends, look no further! Friendly Rivalry has it. And it's so much fun.

The cast is really great, especially the two main characters played by Chung Subin and Lee Hyeri. Seulgi and Jaeyi's roles are somewhat complex, and it would be very easy to make the characters end up a little cringe or just not that good, but instead they deal with the many difficult scenes with ease. To top it all off, their chemistry is great. The casting is on point.

Maybe because this is being streamed online and not on TV, it seems Friendly Rivalry has a bigger amount of creative freedom. This makes for a really interesting drama to watch if you're trying to get away from the same old stuff.

I am truly glad to find artsy dramas like these. I hope Friendly Rivalry gets more and more popular and becomes a big success! Wishing it the best :)

Read More

THIS SHOW IS A REVELATION

I only rated the Music 4 stars because I want more!! This whole show definitely inspires so much emotion and reactions as you can see from all the edits on Tiktoks so I was hoping for more emotion evoking music to go with it. But, this doesn't take away from the show's superb performance. The actors performance and story-telling is definitely enough to keep you at the edge of your seat with your heart in your throat. Hyeri is especially INSANELY GOOD in this series. We have seen her in many dramas and it is no secret that she is a good actress. However, this show definitely shines a new light on the usual friendly good girl next door we were familiar with. This Hyeri is CAPTIVATING in ways I never thought she was capable of. SHE IS THE MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE.

The casting is exceptional. The chemistry between the leads is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Not many shows are able to hit the chemistry jackpot the way this show did. And, despite the blistering chemistry between the leads, I love how the story-telling makes you curious and tries to shed light on all characters featured on the episodes as well. it gives a holistic and solid world-building. This show gotta be laced with some drug because I AM HOOKED. I only watched 9 episodes because there are only 9 episodes available as I write this review. I am seated for the next episodes and DYING for a 2nd season!!

Read More

Obsession, bullying, power imbalance, late subs made the plot and overall drama unenjoyable for me

as an mdl feature we are allowed to review dropped dramas, and I have a point to just review everything
like most webtoon adaptations, it lacks reasons for characters behaviors, everything is flashy and overdramatic, for example fl took a pic of an after school class. and they chased her like she was a thief that she had to hide on the roof? ridiculous

the drug things are also way too unbelievable, everyone is popping pills to study better xD and going to drs to get prescriptions to resell, in this economy?

Read More