This review may contain spoilers
Loved the Series, Hate the Format
I dont care what others say, i reallly hate this 2minute vertical series format - something that is designed and meant to be watched on your phones especially for short attention spanned viewers.Its a shame really because this series was actually good and could have been great. Ther story was simple but ample enough plus eventhough a lot of the cast is unrecognizeable but they all did a really good job. The main leads are really good looking and are very likeable plus they really did a good job. The music could is good too.
The format just didnt give the show enough time to breathe. Sometimes there are scenes when i felt like i missed or skipped something, The pacing felt rushed. I also dont understand why it has to be vertical. Didnt the makers know we can flip the phone sideways to make a wider view?
Imagine if this was a proper series, at least an 8 episode with 20 to 30 minutes each. They could have developed everything properly and gave us viewers enough time to bask in all its glory. It could have been so much bigger than it is right now but instead of being a great one, it felt like an easy to watch series that is also easy to forget.
I dont blame the creators for wanting to capture the GenZ audience and realeasing it in this format. Maybe there really is a market for this because there is already a few of these type out there. What im sugesting is if they want to keep doing it like this then maybe just release a fuller version of the same series in a more traditional format.
Was this review helpful to you?
first vertical series I liked
this was the first vertical series I liked. not once did I get the “low production” vibes I get with most vertical series, instead I got really good quality, great acting and a really good storyline for it being so short.the chemistry was off the charts and the kisses were great. you never know how it’s gonna be, especially when it’s the vertical app ones but I was so surprised here and I highly recommend it. yeah some parts weren’t as fleshed out but when it came to the Mcs I feel like it did a really good job. I’d love to see more of them in the future
Was this review helpful to you?
well done coming of age/romance vertical series, needs an international release
Overall: I really enjoyed their different personalities and how they changed to be more compatible with each other. Official platform is the app Shortcha which is only available in South Korea. 50 episodes 1-2 minutes each. I saw it with parts unsubbed or rough translations so my rating might change in either direction with an official translation.Content Warnings: punch, non con kiss, manipulation, non con picture taking/sharing, unwanted outing, slap, homophobia
What I Liked
- chemistry
- their dynamic
- how they had different personalities/goals but then they each changed because they wanted to and became more compatible with each other/their goals aligned
- caring moments
- the antagonists had their reasons, they weren't the typical cartoonish villains with nonsense reasons/actions
- it didn't seem as if everything was patched up with the mom which I liked and it felt realistic
Room For Improvement
- I was confused at the beginning with the punch, that was a flash forward that took place about halfway thru the story
- I wasn't sure about the sister/her reasoning and then change, perhaps better subtitles would help with that part
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
stupid format, cute series
As usual, the format is a pain in the butt... why are Gen Z too lazy to rotate their phone? Let's say I will never understand that. Besides of that, we will get a cute story with some plot-holes. The beginning is fine and the flash forward was not something to misunderstand, but the solution of their becoming a couple is more than strange. It just happens in a blink of an eye and also "Woo Jins" sister was a bit strange.Storywise there is a lot room for improvement, but production quality was good, acting was good and overall the vibe of the show was good. I did enjoy watching it even with the plot-holes and happily enough I found a version with all 50 episodes cut together. Otherwise this format is a clear pass for me. I understand they say that Gen Z has not the attention span to watch 75 minutes uninterrupted, but I think, that's BS. Imagining that I have to watch 50 episodes each around 90 seconds every day would be a chore for me. When you have the chance to watch it on your smartphone or even on your TV, you should do so, but beware the subs are flashing really fast, so sometimes you may need to rewind just to get what they said if you are not fluent in korean :) And because it's a low budget production my rating is a notch higher, so please don't be too harsh with me 🤣.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is cute
This was really cute. Will definitely watch again.I hate that Jin U’s friend/roommate betrayed him. I’m actually glad that when the friend confessed, Jin U said “I’ll resent you forever.” With the kind of rules that boarding school has there’s no way you can convince me that he didn’t know they would be expelled. There’s so many dramas where friends betray the other and the betrayer just apologizes and all is forgiven. I’m glad this betrayer is getting punished as well.
I love how Eun Hyeok’s friend/bandmate played Cupid. She knew he cared for Jin U and found away to bring them back together. And the fact the she even remembered what Jin U looked like shows how much she cares for her friend Eun Hyeok.
Eun Hyeok‘s mom seems like she will leech all of his money. She didn’t want him to be happy she just wanted dad to be happy and send money. And one of sisters can go fall off of a cliff. It made me so mad when she said “he’s not real family.”
I’m happy the boys reunited and will get to be together.
Jin U giving his sister the money so she could pay for tuition and go to university as well was the icing on the cake for me. He truly loves and appreciates her and you can tell. Even though the parents fled, they should have been sending money back to help their kids.
Was this review helpful to you?
Complete story!
Can't ask for more in a vertical storyWith a short story, all aspects are wrapped in a good pace and ending.
Character development: With opposite personalities, both characters exhibit good progression and find themselves complementing each other.
Story: There is not much to explore since the story only lasts around an hour, but it gives us enough context, conflict, and resolution it's needed.
Acting: Both actors have potential! I hope they will get more projects soon. The chemistry is built up slowly, but it is still understandable since in the time of the story (or irl), they are only meeting for a few months.
Final Verdict: Worth watching, and hopefully it will raise the bar for vertical story.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This was okay, as far as shorts series go. You’ve got the typical shorts issues, in that the runtime is inherently short so the romance is relatively shallow, and the vertical format sucks as per usual. The acting was fairly decent compared to other shorts series, though. The pacing and overall production quality was pretty decent too.My main issue is that the story didn’t make much cohesive sense. I don’t know if maybe the subtitle translations weren’t completely accurate and that was the issue, but I couldn’t really make sense of the character motivations or why they would suddenly go from mad to forgiving.
After Jinwoo and Eunhyeok kiss in Jinwoo’s room, Jinwoo seems fine until his roommate finds Eunhyeok’s watch in the room. Maybe he freaked out about getting caught (it wasn’t clear to me), but he tells Eunhyeok that they should be strangers from then on. But he tells Eunhyeok that the reason is because he doesn’t want to be distracted from his studies and that Eunhyeok is a bad student. So Eunhyeok proves him wrong and gets his grades up, and when they happen to meet for drinks as part of the same friend group during break, they’re suddenly acting friendly again. Jinwoo never apologizes for what he said about Eunhyeok being a bad student, and Eunhyeok doesn’t seem upset about it. And whatever concerns Jinwoo had seemingly disappear because they start acting like friends again like nothing happened.
After Eunhyeok non-consensually kisses Jinwoo and they both get expelled, I really didn’t understand either of their reactions. Jinwoo was actually the first to reach out to Eunhyeok, watching his Instagram story (so Eunhyeok would see he viewed it) and calling him. Eunhyeok ignored his call, I guess because he had just fought with his mom, but he still liked Jinwoo and it didn’t make sense to me that he was ignoring him instead of groveling. And it didn’t make sense to me that Jinwoo wasn’t angry. When Eunhyeok shows up at his house, Jinwoo is happy to see him until Eunhyeok pretends he was just using Jinwoo to get expelled on purpose. Forget the fact that Jinwoo got expelled…why isn’t he mad that he was sexually assaulted? Eunhyeok apologizes for getting him expelled, but not once is the sexual assault acknowledged or apologized for by a single character. Even when the teacher saw the video of Eunhyeok forcibly kissing Jinwoo, they’re both expelled for dating when it was so clear in the video that Jinwoo wasn’t a willing participant. I don’t know why he was expelled too and not treated as a victim of sexual assault.
And Jinwoo immediately sees through Eunhyeok’s act and knows that he actually likes him and is lying when he said that he was just using him to get expelled. So why does he go off on him and tell him that he wasn’t going to like him anymore and that he’d find someone better in college? Why does he cut ties and block him? Meanwhile Eunhyeok had only said all that because he promised Jinwoo’s sister to stay away so Jinwoo wouldn’t get hurt again. But when they run into each other again, they’re both completely friendly. Jinwoo doesn’t act at all angry. And Eunhyeok seems to have forgotten all about his promise to stay away, because he immediately asks Jinwoo out and Jinwoo immediately agrees. So what was that giant period of ignoring each other about?
Also, in the end Eunhyeok does what he’s always wanted to do, and drops out of college to make music. It’s not particularly good music, and he’s most definitely not making any money from it. And he’s not working a part time job to make money either. So I don’t really understand his character arc. He went from repeatedly failing the college prep school on purpose to rebel against his parents, to studying for and passing the college entrance exam, presumably due to Jinwoo’s good influence, to dropping out to rebel against his parents. What was the point?
Consent / boundary issues: Eunhyeok nonconsensually kisses Jinwoo the first time they meet. Eunhyeok is drunk and kisses him as "revenge" because Jinwoo put something in his mouth (a mint to mask the alcohol). It's a peck and Jinwoo immediately pulls away and leaves. Also, during the whole jealousy arc, Jinwoo threatens to tell the teacher that Eunhyeok is dating, and Eunhyeok responds by saying something along the lines of, "Go ahead and tell them. And tell them about this too." Then he forcibly kisses Jinwoo even as he's struggling and actively trying to push him away. When they're arguing outside of Jinwoo's house, Eunhyeok tries to leave and Jinwoo forcibly grabs his sleeve to prevent him from walking away.
There are two consensual kisses, and neither are dead fish lip presses. But physical affection was fairly lacking as a whole. There's no casual physical intimacy, and although they alluded to a kiss in the finale, they didn't actually show one (Jinwoo stops Eunhyeok when he leans in for a kiss, saying there are cameras, and then pulls him out of shot).
Was this review helpful to you?
It was ok.
Just watched this drama, for me it was not great, but not bad either. Just a good drama to watch.The story was not very special, the acting was good but not exceptional.
The dynamics between the leads was good, but i didn't get much chemistry.
I wont watch this again, one time was enough.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Did they really......
Did they really make this to be enjoyed or to frustrate the viewer? The format is horrible. I've said this before, 2 min bits do not make a series worth viewing unless it can be seen in its entirety at once. Even if the show has potential, the experience is fragmented which detracts from the fluidity. These are usually uploaded on apps to encourage traction and revenue. Unless, it's worthy of an award, it doesn't make sense to do so with low budget productions. Thankfully, I got to view as a whole.Having said that, I did like this series mainly because the characters were well thought out and reacted in accordance to the situations as it occurred. The support cast, who are usually just placed to create a credible environment, were used effectively. Plot was not different from the usual school bl but it kept moving at a pace that didn't create boredom. The mls acting was good enough to keep the interest and not solely reliant on visuals. The person behind the betrayal is not forgiven and refreshingly so. This made the character more real in his plight. The sister and mother of the respective mls gave an admirable portrayal of sacrifice though with differing agendas. One for power and wealth. The other for survival and happiness. The hug was truly rewarding.
It was an nice watch
Was this review helpful to you?
A great KBL
I loved this one! The plot, the flow, the acting... everything is great! The main leads acting is really good! The kisses? Lovely 💓. They had very good chemistry together. There are some parts of the narrative that feel rushed, but it's completely understandable as it's a short reels format. Some people really don't like this format, but if it's something well done like this one - that even showed some of the struggles of coming out queer in Korean society - and we can get more KBLs thanks to it, then I really appreciate it. After all, a good production is a good production no matter the format.Was this review helpful to you?
