This review may contain spoilers
Empowering girl boss storyline
This drama has been sitting in my to-watch list for a few years now, ever since I've gotten into Kdramas really. This is an intense slice-of-line series that I would put on as soon as I finished work as a good de-stresser very fitting into the theme of corporate. I loved that the story highlighted the main flaws with corporate business within the country supporting the themes of work culture, nepotism, bribery, feminism, long working hours, excessive drinking etc. It's quite a handful but I was impressed with the controversial direction in plot that the directors had chosen to take in. Female empowerment was unreal and very inspiring to someone working in the same industry. In my humble opinion, the drama would've been perfect if it wasn't for the super toxic female and male lead relationship: I swear I stopped paying attention to it by the 7th time they'd broken up. In relationships, communication is key, and even though they were truthful and had communicated A LOT, that really didn't stop them through dragging their relationship through the mud. I forgive them because their chemistry was off the charts - well played. Quite an intense watch but addressing many problems within Korean society and making you feel empowered as a female in the end, so definitely put on your list to watch if you want to switch it up a bit.Was this review helpful to you?
While I've seen a couple of shows where the action is taking place in a manga / book, this didn't feel like a strange concept to me. Extraordinary You managed to take this a step further and make it more psychological in a sense. I was a very big fan of the "stage" concept of this show, and how characters were self-aware or playing character within the manhwa. The female lead was very-cartoony-like, and also becoming more human as the story progressed. The characters were also able to play the cliche "shy heroine", "bad guy", "handsome popular boy" tropes really well. However, what surprised me the most was Haru's character, considering that the actor was so fresh to acting at the time. I was very swooned and in-love with his demeanour, history and the way he carries himself throughout the drama.
Although so many people call this drama cheesy and "wasted potential", I completely disagree as this show combines both stereotypical KDrama and something above that. Please disregard the reviews, watch a couple of episodes and see for yourself. Needless to say, this was so beautiful I need a season 2!
Was this review helpful to you?
While I've watched the other Reply series and didn't think it could get any better, it certainly did get better with Reply 1988. It was refreshing to see a slide-of-life drama centred around family, or the Ssamundong neighbourhood - their daily lives and the dilemmas each of the family faces. With each of the character, you could definitely associate them with one of your family members. The plot was entertaining, simple and not over-the-top dramatic, and would leave you hanging and craving for another episode. This time-piece transported me back to the 80s with the rise of brand names and westernisation, Korean ballads, and a way different Seoul I've never seen before.
As for the romance, the love triangle and the guessing game for who's the husband had me scrapping theories left and right. While I was disappointed with Duk Seon's choice the first time I've watch it, the re-watch definitely gives you a whole different perspective on the character's love life. The actors were amazing, consider how little experience some actors had while playing their roles for this drama.
Truly a masterpiece which I'll never forgot. If I had to pick a drama to re-watch multiple times with different people, this would be it!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
I've seen that people have been rewatching this drama multiple times, and that's what I'll do in a couple of months as well. But as for my first time watching this, I really enjoyed it. And I can't find a single flaw in it. I haven't watched the parent story to this, but Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo was an amazing remake, I'll tell you that. It made me waver between characters, I still have a hard time letting my heart decide who should end up with who. Nevertheless, this great experience couldn't have been so great if it wasn't for the actors themselves. The star-studded cast was amazing, especially all of the princes. I'd read some criticizing comments about IU's performance, however, as her first major role, I think she did spectacular and even more experienced towards the end. I haven't looked how the plot coheres to actual Korean history, but I got so excited and interested, that I've picked up a book to read on it. To add, the OST increased the satisfaction of watching this about 50%. All of the songs were spot on with the lyrics, the artist choice is incredible, but I was a tad bit sad that IU didn't have a single in her own drama.
Overall, if you're not watching this, you're missing out big time. This drama is one of the best historical Korean series in my opinion, it sucks you in and let's you go all sad and weeping at the end, but it's so worth the bragging!
Was this review helpful to you?
I'm a bit generous when I give this drama 7/10 as an overall, but I couldn't give it less since I admire the movie too much. Just like many other Korean shows, it started off amazing, and slowly but surely went on to be a waste of time. The plot was a spin on the gender: now, a woman was going to change her appearance once a month, which I thought was a bit more fair, since she turns back to herself and leads a perfectly normal lifestyle after changing back. Furthermore, I'm a big admirer of the actress Seo Hyun Jin and her work, so naturally, I had really high expectations for this drama. I knew that the actress would still shine when the show went downhill, her presence kind of saved the show in the end??? But the main flaws with this series was how unreal the relationship between the leads felt. Also, the male lead's illness was the biggest wtf I've seen in a long time (way to go, Korean scriptwriters, you're very creative). In addition, some side characters lacked screen time and you couldn't really delve into their own little stories. And the biggest issue of them all was the amount of episodes. They just purely ran out of ideas. Example A: the last episode was utterly unnecessary and had no effect on the viewers whatsoever. As a big plus, I'd say the soundtrack is very nice to listen to. That's all.
So, before watching this, give the maternal movie a watch. I'm sure you'll fall in love with the film, then you can compare it with this show. I still don't know if it was worth watching with all of the empty-meaning episodes...
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This drama revolves around 5 flatmates, their struggles, love stories and every day life living together. The story is a refreshing slice of life and super realistic, not to mention the ever changing relationships between those girls. I guess that's what we, females, are: feisty, sisterly, weak, independent and courageous. Personally, I could relate to all of the characters, even though they are completely different and unique. In addition, I couldn't pick a favorite female lead because they had so much to offer personality wise. The other actors in this drama were so talented and they acted everything out so naturally too.
I kept on putting off this drama because I'm a huge sucker for anything romance and overly fluffy scenes, and I kind of knew that this drama wouldn't offer a lot of that. Surprisingly enough, the friendship theme won me over. Romance is still on of the main genres in the series and I had my favorite couples here and there, but believe me when I say that the comedy was top notch. Personally, I shed a lot of tears as well. When you live through so many emotions, then you know that the drama series was worth your time!
Another element that I just have to mention is the musical track of Age of Youth. From the very beginning, you can sense that the drama will have some sort of a French theme, with the apartment's name "Belle Epoque" and from the first sight of the landlady who is such a Parisienne. The OST includes not only Korean, but many English and French songs too. The music creates such a melancholic vibe and fits the storyline with the characters so well!
Overall, Age of Youth will now be on my top drama list for many reasons mentioned above! It makes you treasure your girl friends even more after the amazing end. Now, I'll be heading to watch the season 2 because I still can't get over it!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
