Forgotten_Soul

And way down we go

This started considerably well. Chaotic and nonsensical from the beginning, it was so light, cute and sometimes hilarious that I really liked it. The filming locations were shot very nicely and everything looked aesthetically pleasing, the OST was decent, the setting had a couple interesting twists to it, so this was my favourite thing to watch Friday nights to end the work week - until it wasn't. It had the potential to be a good "brain off" drama, but it would've needed a lobotomy to not notice how this drastically declined. You absolutely can't binge this unless you like to get things over with once you realize it's bad. Although then maybe you won't notice how nothing's really happening.

The acting sways between good and massively lacking and the plot is absolutely random. I imagine the writers had two spinning wheels in their offices, one for first or second couple, the other with random typical BL tropes. Whatever the wheels showed would be the next scene. This lead to scenes between both couples being widely unbalanced and the plot not having a single stringent line. Despite having a "happy end", it was all loose ends. Every scene that allowed for a bit of emotionality was either cut strangely short or presented in a way that was more cringe than anything.

The bed scenes were okay, but unneccessary. I assume the overall runtime of these was at least one full episode that the plot desperately would have needed for the relationships to actually develop to reach that point. After all, it seemed they decided to prioritize a tropey mess that decided to leave its potential untouched for a deep dive into fanservice.

Will you like it? If you find randomness and the most out of nowhere plottwists to be entertaining, I absolutely recommend watching. For a proper story, please use your preferred exit to go back to the main page and try to find something different to watch.

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Let's keep it brief and spoiler-free - This isn't for everyone

I swear I expected nothing as I went into this and still got vastly disappointed. Until the end I wasn't sure if the drama even knew what it wanted to be - after finishing, I am almost sure it never wanted to know. Watching weekly, you couldn't know what you'd get, so we all had to speculate, only for some of us to be vastly let down. But now that it's aired, you won't have to guess, so here's what this really is:

1) It's slow paced. Very slow-paced. But slow pace can be nice too, right?
2) It's repetitive. While at first I figured it was for more details or atmosphere, I now have to conclude they either thought viewers are dumb or needed to fill screen time. If you can still enjoy something after seeing the same scene for the n-th time, you might not mind.
3) It's atmospheric and sad. If you like that, go ahead. But all the mystery and suspense is coming from the bad things you are anticipating to happen, not the actual mystery.
4) Said mystery as to why these things happen will never get solved. If from the description you expect to see a story where a guy uses statistics to find a realistic reason why things happen to a girl he knows, you will be so disappointed.
5) He uses statistics. But they (and the whole logic) are so damn faulty and flawed and pitted like swiss cheese, if you just use your brain once or know a bit about statistics, it will be hard not to notice. Will you mind? I can't tell, but it annoyed the hell out of me.
6) It's not a grand romance. In fact, ML is a big red flag for so many reasons - which, to be fair, the series notices itself to some extent- , and the romance only is included towards the end as the characters barely interact.
7) That, on the other hand, means the focus will be almost entirely on the main characters from various perspectives and times, so if you really like taking a deep dive into single character's lives, this might be for you - but don't stumble over all the plotholes.
8) If you don't like the first episodes, you might still like it towards the end, as the overall feeling, atmosphere and context change vastly. When it comes to showcasing just how life-changing the characters' research was for them, they actually did a great job. That being said, if you don't enjoy the middle or want something entirely logical, good luck hanging on. The last episodes did make up for some of my issues as I enjoyed the change in storytelling, but it wasn't worth it for me.

In conclusion, this is a series about a guy who is hellishly determined to solve a problem and incredibly great with collecting and anaylsing data. With the small flaw that his analysis is...not using the statistics my professors taught me. As this is the whole point of the plot, it fell apart entirely for me. Maybe I am one of the very few people who actually believe data, statistics and research can be fun, interesting and exciting and I was never the target audience to begin with. The storytelling, the angles, the focus on data, it all relies heavily on the one point that lacks execution the most. That's the one big issue I have with narrowly-focused, detailed series - if you don't get your details straight, it's an immediate failure, because people are more likely to actually take a closer look themselves. Let me warn you: Don't look. And if you can't - don't watch.

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Solid throughout, addicting to watch - TL, DR below

I really wish I could give this a higher rating as it was hard not to binge through at once. But apart from a lot of minor issues and the fact that I am mad there's not more episodes, my expectations were a bit let down, too.

First things first: Since only the first season is available on viki as of now and the second hence might not be available to all viewers, let me assure you that you can absolutely watch season 1 without ever needing to watch season 2 to get closure. (That is, if you don't get insanely hooked and addicted for more.)

The plot: It's a crime series that is rather episodical with a hinted main plot that occasionally comes up and has its final arch towards the end. The cases take longer to solve which allows for suspense and more attention to detail, making it stand out from all those western crime dramas that mostly solve one case in one episode. We get drawn into the victims' and culprits' lives, discovering their motives and going through every little detail of their actions. While this makes it stand out, it also means you might like some cases more than others, depending on how much the backstories stir your interest. The final arch, despite not being anything unique and solved rather quickly, was as solid as everything else, but with the cases stretching over several episodes we got to see rather few normal cases before the finale.

The few episodes also allow for many details to be missed: When does a painter, who suddenly joins the police, learn all the things he certainly has to learn to be allowed to visit crime scenes, catch culprits and solve cases? We rarely get to see his professional development, he is sort of displayed as someone who's almost genius-like.

Individuality/USP: In general, this is nothing new. The concept of catching killers with a pen is, but everything else is the A to Z of crime dramas. But it's solid and well-made and by far not entirely foreseeable. Don't expect everything to be realistic, and you'll be fine. Also, of course MLs brilliance will be the preferred excuse to explain how he is able to do things that realistically probably wouldn't be possible (but I'm neither an artist nor a genius so what do I know). I do wish for the series to go a bit more beyond the standards and dare to be a bit more unique. The core idea of solving crimes with drawings was used througout the series but could have played an even bigger role, hence I can't give it a higher rating. I know I am nitpicking, but with so much potential already fulfilled, seeing the series leave the last bits to become a masterpiece untouched bugs me.
The limited screen time was this series' biggest issue, way beyond the "it was so good I want more episodes" problem I have right now (as that will be hopefully fixed with season 2).

The characters: I liked all characters but the main leads especially. We see character development and growth, although it's not huge, and changes in dynamics that were displayed really well and satisfying to watch. Side characters aren't left alone and forgotten but continuously interact with each other and play important roles throughout the story.

Acting: I am not good at rating acting, but the main leads did a great job. While both main characters are supposed to be rather reserved and hard to see through, their personalities obviously differed and had their own unique traits. They were proof for all those romance dramas out there that quiet and reserved ML does not equal stone face.

Also worth mentioning:
Despite being a crime drama with a couple of action or emotionally heavy scenes, there's so few screaming and yelling. Shen Yi's personality also had a very calming effect, not only on the viewers, but also those around him. It was awesome. It also isn't very violent, graphic or cruel, so it's safe to binge through in the middle of the night.
The art pieces were actually beautiful and Shen Yi does have his very unique style, making his drawings seem very authentic and easily recognizable. A lot of professionalism and thought went into displaying his art.
I actually learned more interesting facts about art and even got a bit of life advice out of it that I then tried on other people (who were impressed by my wisdom).

TL, DR: When do I NOT recommend watching:
- You are tired of typical crime series and their tropes
- You want a series about one single case that is investigated in detail
- You don't want anything complex at all, only episodical short cases
- You want to see detective work only, not know more about the characters

Other than that, give it a try!

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If it doesn't speak to you, you won't like this

Objective rating 7/10, subjective rating 8.5/10

This story is:
- a vibe (atmospheric)
- heartbreaking
- slow-paced and drawing you in slowly
- glorifying romantic relationships
- not about healthy relationships either
- delivering on all your dramaland fantasies

Storytelling:
We get thrown right into the very confusing relationship between both, no explanations given. Heartbreaking music wants to convince us that every single scene is utterly dramatic, yet what we see looks like a random dramaland breakup scene. Skipping between past, present and trauma, we only get to know each character painfully slowly. What do they like, what is their life like - all we get is melancholic slow-motion with heartwrenching music while watching the characters live their life. Something clearly is off, but what is it?

Tiny pieces of Wen Yifan's past - the only thing that initiates and drives the plot - are thrown out to make up your own mind about it. For me, it was too little too late, but the atmosphere still had me hooked. Until these scenes became too repetitive as we never saw any of them from a different angle or adding a different detail - nothing changes. While at first that felt realistic, it later felt like buying screen time. As we saw Wen Yifan grow in character, so should have her interpretation of her past.

The plot:
There isn't much plot apart from the relationships forming. I really liked how they showed the couple do the most mundane daily tasks together and although it was slow-paced, the build up was made very well.
The family drama was realistic, its closure very anticlimactic. Wen Yifan's story ended up feeling a bit rushed, over the top and lost its relatability when they tried to make it even more dramatic later on. I wish they would have stayed closer to reality instead of one-upping it unneccessarily. For me, that sent the wrong message and the topic could have been handled with a bit more sensitivity, especially after they dealt well with it for the most of it.
Certain archs were understandable, but I still strongly disliked them and wish the drama had explored their neccessity for the characters in a bit more depth. And of course, nobody ever goes to therapy.

The couples:
This story should have centered entirely around the main couple or at least have portrayed the friendships they had a bit stronger. Instead, we got a second couple thrown in that I personally fully could have done without. Their story lacked depth, and as individual characters they got so few screentime that it was almost impossible for me to root for them. They barely had any relevance to the story and seemed to barely impact the main couple's life. It felt like they were meant to include some story about the true meaning of life and love without considering if that was actually the atmosphere this show was going for.

The second couple felt like that one person hitting the light switch after you've gotten cozy in a dark room. You get sucked into the pretty yet cruel world of the main couple, heartwrenching music, warm colours and soft imagery everywhere, just to then get thrown into bright, crystal clear images with standard music, standard bickering and standard "cute petite happy-go-lucky woman". Others might have found that relieving, I almost skipped their parts as I found them too disruptive.

Characters:
Wen Yifan was the star of the show and actually the only one with clear characterisation and character development. She had things she loved doing, a work life, a past and clear issues to resolve. Sang Yan revolved so much around her, he seemed to not have a life of his own. I don't mind romantic dedication, carrying the damsel in distress to her happy end, but he barely had any personality to him. Instead, we had a green flag guy with a big red flag called stalking. No hobbies, no work life, no past aside from her, no issue beside trying to win her over. The side characters in Wen Yifans life all worked towards giving us an impression of her life, adding outside perspectives of her, while everyone else seemed like an NPC without a real purpose.

Acting:
Zhang Ruo Nan did an amazing job at portraing that strong-willed yet always wary character, trying to be stronger than the past that kept haunting her. Her story spoke to me on more levels than it should. Bai Jing Ting did a great job at portraying his character with the few personality traits he was given. His facial expressions were the only reason he didn't come off as the guy with no personality who doesn't really care about the FL either. At least he visibly cared. Apart from that, I am very convinced they tried to pull the face-card with their cast to enhance the atmosphere they were trying to create.

OST:
The music was beautiful, but as mentioned above, seemed a bit over the top not knowing all that had happened. Slowly increasing its intensity through the course of the episodes instead of throwing it at the viewers right away could have helped build and maintain suspense even with the slow pace. The repetitiveness left an impression too, but I wish they used it more selectively. And sometimes, silence can create a lot more tension than any soundtrack could. 10/10 for the music, 6/10 for its use.

Final conclusion: This drama lived from the atmosphere it created, the mysterious depressing aura around Wen Yifan and the viewer's despair to see her have her well-deserved happy end. If you look behind its incredibly beautiful facade, you will find that this drama actually leaves a lot to be desired. But then again, a beautiful fairytale from time to time won't hurt. As I slowly grew to like the silent and calm beauty of it all, Wen Yifan's story deeply spoke to me. I never knew I could fall in love with heartache like this.

PS: I still can't get over the clock in the background of the living room always showing the exact same time.

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Nothing out of the ordinary can still leave you satisfied

I got positively surprised. Don't expect the unexpected with this and you might be, too. It's a short drama going through quite a lot of clichéd plot in a rather short amount of time, ticking a lot of the standard J-drama boxes. But although it has nothing unique to it, it's still worth watching for several highlights, including the perspectives on family, revenge and standing up for yourself.

Let me start in reverse: The ending was wrapped up pretty nicely despite being a bit rushed and I didn't expect to feel the amount of satisfaction I do now that I finished watching. We get a few life lessons, nothing new, but definitely heartwarming. We also get to see character development, although due to lack of time it was a bit rushed. There's barely any angst, issues are resolved quickly and the drama is more on the calm side. Let me use the word rushed for the last time to say that the overall pace was steady, but fast, and didn't allow for everything to actually mend together. You will have to do that yourself.

Other than that, the FL is calm and chooses her words wisely, which makes it a bit harder to relate to her. But it also becomes pretty obvious that she's a genuinely good person, making you root for her happiness nonetheless. ML and especially his reasoning is a bit...over the top at times, I'll be blaming them having to cut things short. But his character development and self-reflection did show after all.
Chemistry-wise I personally didn't feel it, but in typical Japanese drama manner they had both of them act reserved with one another throughout the relationship which makes it hard to actually judge. I found their overall relationship believable enough without the chemistry.
Almost all characters felt rather one-dimensional and I would have loved a deeper insight into each person's reasoning behind their actions, but it is very rare of such short dramas to accomplish that so I'm not deducting points here.

The acting isn't overly great, but believable enough to follow along with the story. It's not a highly emotional plot anyways, although I bet many viewers wished it was.

All in all, this is not a grand love story but rather a quick breeze through drama clichés, topped with a couple nice words and wrapped up to leave you satisfied enough to not regret watching. Before watching the last two episodes, I would have rated this a 6.5, but I expected a lot more unneccessary drama resolved last-minute and got a nice wrap-up with some wise words instead, so 7.5 it is.

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How to like this drama

Had I known about the ratings before starting this show, I probably never would have, but I am glad I watched this. Not because I particularily enjoyed this, but simply because I didn't hate it either. I was so indifferent with this that it was actually a nice relaxing watch in-between.

So, here's a guide on how to like it:
First, look for something calm, but not light-hearted. Not to say there was no message or strong emotions, but they are mostly implicit. In that regard, music, cinematography etc. all blend well into each other.
Second, look for a green flag (but young & inexperienced) ML.
Third, do not mind the FL to be a big red flag. This is not a pretty, beautiful romance story and never was supposed to be.
I really didn't feel the relationship at all and my only thought was "I hope he learns to run fast and far and she finally gets some therapy." Which stirs up the question whether someone is a green flag if they stay in a relationship with a red flag, a question I haven't found an answer to. The relationship does change in dynamics and, depending on your perspective, fosters character development, I just don't think I'd call it character "growth".

Fourth, don't expect the side characters to be more than NPCs, the focus is almost entirely on the progression of the relationship.

Fifth, expect backgrounds and backstories to be implicit, too. I have seen more than a handful of short series so far and some really impressed me with how much depth, understanding and context they were able to provide for several characters in a short amount of screentime. Here, the focus is almost entirely on the present with just small hints on what happened to get both characters where they are now. That also makes it really hard to gain "secure" insight into their motives and you need to use your own logic to connect the loose ends. Still, I wouldn't say the series needs a lot of brain cells, although the very open narration style does leave a lot of space to fill if you feel like it.

Sixth, you really like or really care about idol industry, their lives and the consequences it has to live like they do. The message there is clear, strong and probably all too real.

Last but not least, you don't expect a real "plot" as you are used to, but really just want to follow two people along their way of a relationship that probably never should have happend but takes place around the world on a daily basis.

Overall, this drama is probably very close to reality, although the execution might not appeal to everyone. For me, it just didn't manage to stir any interest, and I do like short and calm, slow dramas with lots of implications and a message. But as I don't care much about idols and have had my fair share of red flags already, it wasn't a message meant for me to hear.

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Slow burn? More so no-burn...

I fail to understand the high rating on this platform. I like slow romances, I generally don't mind clichés and I didn't expect anything when I started watching this.
I also like the quiet type who lets their actions speak for themselves rather than verbally express their feelings.
It's just that here, ML says "I don't like you", ML's actions say "I don't like you" and the script goes "He likes her." We never get much insight into why he is so very reserved, and the few things we do see come in way too late. We also never find out what the characters exactly like about each other, and the reasons they name don't really sound like love, but more like convenience.

As we see them go through several stages in life, there is almost no character development. No matter their relationship status, their dynamics barely change. Hence, I wouldn't say the story has a slow pace, I'd say it has almost no pace, because there is absolutely no progress whatsoever. The couples` chemistry in the very last episode actually was so adorable and I wish we could have had more of that. But it's just not worth going through the 22 episodes before where the characters experience the same things, act the same way and make the same decisions. Not once do they have an honest and open talk with each other. Their whole relationships is so, so unhealthy. I wouldn't use the words toxic or red flag here, because they're young and simply don't know better - but they also never learn from it. Had they shown the characters learn from each other during their relationship, this could have been a decent drama, but maybe 2017 just wasn't the time for a story like that.

As of the year 2025, I don't recommend watching this anymore. You can watch it, but you could also spend your time watching one of the other hundreds school nostalgia dramas that actually show characters growing up and maturing along the way. If you like the school nostalgia trope more than the maturing and coming of age trope, you might love this drama still, but this dramas repetitiveness and overall tone simply failed to catch me.

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Because this is...disappointment

There is a reason this series is taking first places in several "underrated drama" lists. After having put it on hold a couple years ago, I now decided to pick it up again and absolutely loved it. Until... I didn't.

When do I recommend watching this:
- You want to see something slow-paced and calm
- You want to see something different
- You like series feeling relatable or down-to-earth
- You don't expect great chemistry, a grand love or swoon-worthy romance (but realism)
- You still can enjoy a series even when the ending is messed-up / you're disappointment-proof
- You don't mind clichés, especially misunderstandings and back and forths
- You don't expect the series to actually challenge your way of thinking, but simply approve of what you already know in a creative way

This had everything to finally be different. It was slow and thoughtful, it showed the characters challenging societal standards, addressed common issues, and many topics were shown very directly and openly without palliating. It felt incredibly relatable. They showed that love isn't the only thing neccessary for relationships to work and proved that even romantic K-Dramas can do without clichés - until they didn't. Suddenly we have all those clichés coming around the corner, love is bigger than everything and issues are solved in ways I'd call irresponsible. You can admit this is your first life to show kindness and understanding towards your own (or other people`s) decisions. Or you can use it as an excuse. During the course of the episodes, the characters' actions and mindsets seemed to turn from one to the other.

As one person mentioned below in the comments, the FL's personality changes drastically when with ML. She suddenly appears so self-conscious and timid and the amount of things left unsaid between both of them started to massively bother me after the first half. FL is pulling the hardest series of back and forth-movements I have ever seen in a character. She is presented as a person who thinks everything through carefully - but she never really follows through. Towards the end I wanted to yell at the characters "being grown-up doesn't mean you never make mistakes - it means you deal with their consequences, so please, finally deal with them". For all the mistakes they make, I never saw an open conversation or a proper apology. In fact, character development was slow and barely existent, and most side characters almost disappeared towards the end.

What also should be mentioned here is the lack of chemistry between the characters. Actually, amongst all the life, relationship and marriage philosophy and the societal critique, we learn so few about the characters that it is really hard to like them for who they are. Which leaves the question - what do their partners like about them? We never find out.

I don't remember the last time I was so annoyed by a series' wasted potential. This promised to finally be different and I give them credit for that, but its messages seem to have turned into their opposites towards the end and that was a huge let-down.

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A well-made but pretty standard action watch

What can I say that hasn't been said before? I guess the main point whether you will like watching or not is whether you like the typical action-series tropes or you've grown tired of them.
The main principle is interesting but it's obvious they added the last story arch to leave room for a second season and I hate when writers do that. Especially with already having a second season in mind I would've loved to give the main issue of this drama - vigilantism - a lot more room and fully delve into that.

But with the in comparison rather standard plot coming up, it also started to show all the standard issues I have with almost every action series I ever watched. The police are stupid, we have a police officer going rogue yet never really seeing consequences for it. The series overall is utterly violent and I saw a lot more people die than I expected to (yes, I have read the description and watched the trailers, but it's a lot), yet for the sake of the plot people survive the craziest stuff whenever it's needed and heal crazy fast. On the other hand, of course not only the police, but also other characters make the stupidest mistakes just because.
Furthermore, we have tropes like "just in time", "one person attacks at a time" or "talking a bit before the final blow so the other character can rescue themselves" just as "bored evil rich guy" and as these tropes added up, it started to annoy me. The female main character is way over the top, we only gain little insight into her motives way too late and many other characters' motivation stays in the dark as well.

It was a very thrilling and exciting watch with a very good premise, good music and a nice approach to challenging moral principles, especially with how likeable the main character became in the course of the series. Without that main character, everything else would have fallen apart. But after all, MDL is suggesting I give this a 7.5, simply because of all the tropes that in their abundance I cannot overlook.

I am rating this an 8.5 as of now just due to how much I liked it (and I am not sure whether an action series can actually do without all these issues), but that surely has less to say about the quality of the series and more so of my ability to overlook its flaws. With season 2 I am almost sure they will lose track, the plot will become crazy and utterly predictable and a whole lot different than what this series started as, but the first season is watchable without ever having to see another prequel, so don't let that hold you back.

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In comparison... don't compare | When you should watch this

Disclaimer: I have watched Go ahead but will write this review so anyone can follow no matter their knowledge about the plot.

In general, I recommend watching both versions, but it doesn't really matter where you start. If you really hated one of both, though, I won't recommend watching the other as the main parts of the plot stay the same. This isn't a romance drama. It is about family, growing up and redefining what family means to you while going through the process of finding a healthy way to cope with (your) struggles. The plot elaborates perspectives of people at different life stages, although young people of course are the main focus.
While the Chinese version is a lot longer and its plot felt more realistic, this remake managed to resolve or at least smooth out some of the issues I had with the Chinese version (some I didn't even realize I had until I saw this remake). It does come with its own issues though you will need to be able to overlook.
The fewer amount of episodes means, of course, they had to shorten parts of the plot and character development I would have loved to dive deeper into, but overall, it seemed like this version portrayed more of an ideal version of how things should be. Someone in the comments described this version as quite healing and I found that word very fitting.

While many people described the chemistry to be wearing off after the first couple episodes, it was the opposite for me. With the progress of each episode I could also feel each character grow just as their chemistry with each other became more and more apparent. The music was used so well to bring out the emotions of every scene and support the already great acting skills instead of overruling them. For everyone being hesitant, I want to reassure you to stay patient, watch the characters grow and rethink their (past) decisions just as you probably have done in your life, too. While I understand watching this can feel draggy, boring or frustrating to some people, I loved every step of their way.
What I also really loved were the comedic scenes that almost always lit up the atmosphere. The humour was just perfect to me and even though there were heavy scenes of course, overall, almost every episode had something to make me smile or laugh.
As I already watched the story twice in two different versions and liked both, I don't know what should indicate I couldn't watch it a third and fourth and fifth time.

So, as a general recommendation: Don't watch this if you want to watch a pure fast-paced, heavily dramatic romance drama. Don't watch this if family issues trigger you easily. And, of course, don't watch this if you hated the Chinese version.
But go watch it if you want something about family, something deeply emotional, something to make you smile or something to make you overthink your own idea of what defines a family. I for sure will go and call mine now.

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A lot of potential not fully used

While I agree with most of the criticism mentioned in more sceptical reviews, I was still able to enjoy watching this drama, mainly because I didn't expect much. So here's a heads-up on what to expect before you get disappointed:
- E-sports will play a big role and the tournament games will create a lot of the excitement other drama series create differently. I am not knowledgeable enough to determine how realistic everything shown is. To me as an uninformed viewer, it did not feel false, unrealistic or exaggerated.
- There's only little explanation on terminology, so for anyone who doesn't know anything about e-sports, this might not be something you watch easily in-between because following might need focus. I recommend especially looking out for the scenes where they show who plays which character in order to be able to follow the animated scenes.
- From what I've read, it will be different than the novel it's adapting.

Due to the focus on e-sports, I, like many others apparently, felt the emotional side of the story to fall a bit flat. I liked that emotions didn't bubble up constantly, creating a lot of tension and drama and hasty decisions (which I usually find unrealistic and over the top anyways). On the other hand, that also made character and relationship development as well as reactions a bit hard to follow since as a viewer, we do not get a lot of insight into the character's way of thinking and feeling (not saying there is none, it's simply not the focus of the story).

Furthermore, I loved the fact that even the side characters fit well into the story and actually had various and complex relationships with one another instead of fulfilling one designated purpose . The team's dynamics for all the e-sports teams were so nice to see as they each differed and had their own "personality". Each team's dynamics was great and heart-warming to watch.
Speaking of chemistry, the comedic chemistry between all the characters felt great. Xu Kai did a great job of making his character seem interesting and complex despite not showing a lot of emotions openly. The character's dynamics allowed for a lot of comic scenes. The romantic chemistry, on the other hand, could not develop fully as the viewer didn't get enough insight into the characters. It was the romantic relationship issues that I disliked the most as they felt so constructed and weren't resolved well.

What is also playing a role for the story is the public opinion/ fan's influences, which some mentioned to feel exaggerated. I did not feel as it was too much, but rather realistic, especially in regard to the different reactions each character had. (And I say that as a person who doesn't use social media outside of their work because I don't like them and think they are playing a way too important role in our daily life.) I didn't like how certain characters dealt (or didn't deal) with this, though. Here, too, I agree with some of the negative reviews.

Towards the end, and that's where I deducted most points, we did get more of the typical drama moments that felt unneccessary to me as with the fan's and family's reactions, the e-sports games, the (side) characters' stories and the development of the romantic relationships the series had more than enough to create suspension with, which would've been a lot more inventive than the classic tropes it relied on.

Overall, we have a lot to enjoy on the plus side. It is up to you whether you feel like this series wasted its potential, as it didn't execute its positive aspects to the end, or if you are simply glad this series even has those points where other series fall flat immediately. I, personally, think the series would have had to be longer to be able to really follow through with all the different aspects it tried to show, while furthermore not accentuating the focus to where viewers would have preferred to have it. Rationally speaking after having given it some thought, I would rate this series 8/10, but from how much I felt entertained personally while watching, I'll give it a 9/10.

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A very nice distraction - I need a second part

As I was scrolling through iQIYI shorts, questioning my own sanity, stumbling upon this drama was like finding a dollar on an empty street. I was so close to putting my phone away a moment before just to end up almost binging this one.

Let's stick to the facts: This is a mini, vertically filmed drama with a runtime of around 2h and that's exactly the quality you'll get. Forget relationships establishing slowly, characters developing and the plot to be anything less than foreseeable and you're good to walk into this with your eyes wide open.

The acting didn't surprise me. They had facial expressions, but all of them were widely exaggerated. The music was hilarious at times, disturbing at others, but didn't make my ears bleed either (you can tell how high my expectations were here).

What really surprised me positively was the plot's quality. It was fully cliché and unrealistic at best, but all the plot lines they opened never contradicted each other. It would've been even better had they resolved all of them, but with the runtime they had, they actually put them together very nicely and without any (obvious) plotholes.
The chemistry was there, although with so many plot archs and loose ends we barely got to experience both together as a couple.
They made up for that with the comedy they brought in with almost every episode that was actually funny and not cringe at all (for me, at least).

It was good enough for me to want a second part.

I laughed, I frowned, I laughed some more, I killed the time I had to kill. If you're bored or have to wait somewhere, I highly recommend watching.

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How can nothing be so good at being everything?

Everything about this movie screamed "this is not for you", but I decided to start watching anyways. If you too are wondering whether you should watch, here's a couple points to consider.

Having read all the reviews about this being a calm slice of life countryside movie, I thought my hyperactive brain could never focus on this. And I won't lie, the first 30 minutes felt like an hour. But at the same time, I didn't want this movie to end.
I don't like movies for a dozen reasons so it's rare that I watch any, and I never would have thought I'd like a movie where absolutely nothing happens. Turns out, when life is being crazy, nothing happening can be a blessing. I just wanted to immerse myself in the images and never stop looking at how beautiful they were, be it large wide or close-up shots.
Nonetheless, it is not the indeed very beautiful scenery that's this movie's biggest strength.

I also have ARFID, which is roughly the complicated word for "picky eater" and "dislikes food". So me admitting that after watching this I want to try almost every dish they showed is the biggest compliment I could ever make about someone else's cooking.

Regarding the characters, as much as I disapproved of the FL's decisions at times, I was still able to like her as a character. Maybe, sometimes we judge someone's decisions on the grounds that we wish we could do the same but feel we can't. The FL's acting fit her character really well and conveyed the character's love for cooking and nature convincingly enough to make you want to join her. All side characters and their interactions felt very realistic and there wasn't a single character I disliked - not even the ones I thought I'd hate after the first couple minutes.

The biggest selling point of this movie though is that it doesn't romanticize the countryside, nor does it make it look terrible. It's able to portray that to some people, the pros simply outweigh the cons without failing to demonstrate the cons have to be addressed nonetheless. While we actually see characters addressing their issues instead of just mentioning them, the movie never even once loses its calm, relaxing, inviting and healthy atmosphere. And while it feels like nothing happened at all, looking back at the end you will find that, just like the seasons, things indeed have changed.

I'd recommend watching this if you:
- Like slice of life and calmness
- Ever thought about moving to the countryside or enjoy being in nature.
- Like food OR don't like food and want to change that
- Want to take your time. If you quickly want to watch something, you won't be able to enjoy watching. Sit back and wait for this movie to have its effects on you.

PS: No need to get the snacks out. After being twenty minutes in, I put aside my chocolate because I suddenly craved a salad.

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Well-made story losing potential in execution

The story of this short drama was what I imagine is pretty close to today's teenage lifes. Except all the not-studying, but I guess nobody wants to see that. That means, if you don't like the typical teenage drama, you won't like this one. Had this been an American series or a series in full length, I probably never would have watched beyond the trailer. I'm glad I watched though as even understanding I'm not the target audience this felt like a cute youth-series that a teenager might really like.

Story-wise, I thought it was really good, with an interesting premise executed well overall. The pacing was a bit off in the middle as it seemed a bit slower then suddenly picked up rapidly for the last two episodes. To me, the ending didn't feel rushed, but the middle part definitely was a bit slow.

Other than that, the message here wasn't out of the ordinary, but very nice, and I loved the friendships between all characters, but both FLs especially. Although the identity swap of both FLs was the focus point, we got at least short insight into all other character's stories which allowed for a wider picture to make the message more relatable and convincing. Unlike many others, I didn't dislike the FL's personality and found it to be realistic as I do know people like that irl. With changing dynamics, the chemistry between characters changed, too, but sometimes seemed to be lagging behind the relationship status.

Watching this felt like eating a fancy dish you put a lot of effort into making just to realize you forgot to add salt. So many scenes were so slow. Slow walking, slow camera movements, slow focus onto the faces, slow responses. Every dialogue felt like it took twice the time it would take in real life. It was odd and made many characters look a lot more stupid than they were.

The actors are young, playing even younger characters, most of them also had their debut with this and it sadly showed. You could see they tried hard, but with all those slow scenes focusing on their barely existent facial expressions, it was like the direction put a spotlight on the one thing they shouldn't have highlighted. Maybe they were trying to play the face card, but that doesn't work on me. Even when I was a teenager I wouldn't have been happy looking at the same "pretty" straight face for six hours on end.

It's a cute, calm and slow teenage drama with young actors acting almost their age. If you want something to watch between heavier stuff, you won't be making a bad choice watching this.

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Almost no reason not to watch it

I watched this show when I didn't have time in-between to watch a full episode of other series and I liked it a lot more than I initially thought. The story isn't very original or complex, let alone logical, but it's sweet. I usually don't like the misunderstanding trope that is heavily relied upon here to drive the story, but they actually solved it considerably well and quickly. Overall, this is a series with not much drama, angst or red flags/toxicity. The main character still had her backstory, although I wished to see her grow a bit more.

The acting wasn't top-notch, but not horrible either, and I'm almost sure they exaggerated certain expressions on purpose to make it funny (as it was). After all, I wish this was a tad longer, because I really enjoyed watching.

I would recommend watching it on platforms other than YouTube, though, as the music is almost nonexistent and they had to remove the lyrics. I watched the later episodes on a different platform which really improved the show's atmosphere.

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