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The Pinnacle of Youth Dramas
Oh my god. I really don't know what I'm going to do with my life now that this show is over.At first glance this might seem like every other Chinese youth drama — sunshine FL/quiet ML, some grade-obsessed parents, sports day, a playful second couple — but so many things actually made this drama shine above all others.
The first thing is just how the plot really feels like a coming-of-age drama, without being overdramatic or sugary. I know it might be fun and inspiring when we watch a youth drama and a friend group is depressed when they find out someone's transferring schools, only to band together to stop it. But in real life, there are a lot of things outside our control and the only thing you can do is let it happen, know you can get through it, remember everyone still cares for each other at the end of the day — no matter the circumstances. That's what this drama did: physical obstacles were rarely overblown into emotional obstacles. It might sound bittersweet, but the fact that the plot flowed this way made it ten times more relatable to real life.
It really also meant that each character was given their time in the spotlight. Every person dealt with something themselves and everyone else was there to support them. Each person in the friend group had a distinct personality and subplot and it never felt choppy or random. It felt simply like learning more about your friends over time. WIFTY struck a perfect balance between giving its characters freedom and still making them feel inseparable that I don't think I've seen done so well in any other show.
I need more drama writers to take notes from Su Zai Zai, who seems like a typical bubbly FL on the surface but was actually really straightforward, stood up for herself, was smart in her own right, and had her own goals and was realistic in chasing them. She's absolute proof that giving an FL a crush doesn't mean it has to become her entire personality.
Zhang Lu Rang was a fantastic ML too. Once again, he might seem like the typical quiet and smart ML, but he was never mean or rude or overly perfect, and he had his flaws too that SZZ perfectly balanced out. This drama perfectly encapsulated why they belonged together. This was one of the rare dramas where the couples didn't get boring for me after they got together.
In fact, the chemistry is absolutely amazing between both couples, who also had their distinct dynamic and plot development.
Between the friendship warming up your heart and the romance giving me butterflies, there are absolutely no moments in this drama that I would skip. The OST fits perfectly and the cinematography is beautiful. The only bad thing I can say about this drama is that it ends.
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Light-hearted fun
This drama starts out really promising, with lightning quick pacing and really interesting characters. The ML was more stoic but never unkind, and the FL was bubbly but not annoying. The snowboarding theme is fun, and the OST has two songs in particular (one upbeat and one slow and romantic) that really clicked with me and added to the great vibes.I’m not completely sure the second half of the show keeps the same energy. Both the ML and FL’s arcs seem a little anticlimactic and vague. While I don’t need the show to get in the weeds about the manhua industry, I would’ve loved to see a clearer journey, starting from storyboarding the story, pulling inspiration, actually drawing it, and especially going back to conferences with volumes and merch, since that’s where the first episode started. Instead, it felt like she was just constantly “gathering research” and then the next thing we knew, her manhua was steadily successful. For the ML, I think there also wasn’t much to his snowboarding journey; he was good at it and never stopped being good at it. While 23 episodes is short and doesn’t really allow for a lot of arcs, I think having some more organization and struggle could’ve made their journeys feel more worth it.
The romance is really cute, but it also sort of hiccups in the second half. The leads go on a break (or whatever that was) but they basically don’t interact for a stretch of episodes, which is unfortunate because it could’ve been an opportunity for each of them to support each other in their blossoming careers. The “getting back together” scene is just fine, but I think this is the type of more emotionally-charged scene where the cutesy acting of the FL doesn’t quite work.
The side characters are fine. The ships have their cute moments, but they’re also not that memorable.
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Political Strategy
For the record — this is my first saeguk, so I have to admit that some of the political positions, customs, and terminology was a little confusing at first. I don't think that necessarily has an impact on how much you might enjoy the show, but I just noticed that this was one of those shows that doesn't really explain itself.I think the blurb that I read was a little misleading with how it was marketed as lovers to political enemies/rivals. While it's true that the leads are technically on opposing ideologies, I don't think that ever bled much into their emotions in the form of hatred or even as physical clashes. It was more about the political strategy, and for me I think I was definitely expecting something that was much more action-packed and fast-paced. Instead, the characters had plans, executed them, and had conversations about it.
And so I also really expected the main leads to reach an emotional hatred, but they never clashed much — it was more about keeping each other in check and conflicts of interest. And I think I was just hoping for something a little more harrowing and angsty, but something about the show felt very passive.
However, all that is not to say the show wasn't good — but rather it wasn't for me. Objectively I can tell the writing was solid and I really liked some of the relationships between the characters, particularly between Yoojung and her servant friend Ttongeum.
Plot and characters aside, the cinematography was beautiful and the OST was great as well.
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Sweetness overload
This one was really sweet but I do think it was strongest when there was some sort of conflict going on. It was interesting to see the main leads work through their past misunderstanding, and while I know the second lead is very much hated by the viewers, I liked his character and the FL's arc with it as a representation of how poisonous insecurity and self-sabotage can be.When there wasn't conflict, I found the show kind of...flat? The main leads are nice together but they have a lot of cheesy lines that start getting quite repetitive and surface-level; the other story elements with the corporate scenes about solar panels was also something I didn't really care for, so those speeches were a lot of nothing.
I also think there are similar issues I had with this author's other works (Love O2O and You Are My Glory) where the main leads are just a little too perfect sometimes. It makes for an easy watch but hinders the depth of the story — like how financial hardship is a very real and difficult thing. I'm not expecting a show like this to write a PhD thesis on the socioeconomic landscape, but it brought up these issues and then never quite addressed them. The FL is given a pass because she's kind and a hard worker, but I just wish she had a little more of a confrontation with her own privilege. That might just be my own political leanings shining through though.
Regardless, I think this show works if you're looking for a light-hearted watch, and the chemistry is good. I appreciate that the relationship between the leads is mature. Kind of a good second screen watch.
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Makes you think
I liked this a lot at the start but I think it sort of fizzled out a bit.Some things that happen feel a little convenient, and there some other plot points that are set up but don't have the pay-off I expected. While I understand that this is more of a quiet and contemplative slow burn, the final episode left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
With that being said, however, there were a lot of interesting themes introduced here — it addresses depression and envy in extremely creative ways, and I appreciate the drama even more for being brave enough to make its main character unlikable.
I think My Mister is still my top Park Hae Young drama by far, but anyone who enjoyed that and My Liberation Notes will like this one too.
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Heart-poundingly fantastic
I was a huge fan of All Of Us Are Dead and that's why I jumped at the chance to watch this; despite that, I went into it with middle-of-the-road expectations, and was actually really surprised by how much I ended up loving it!I think the biggest hurdle for me was just the sheer load of characters there were. In other ensemble dramas like AOUAD, Alice In Borderland, or Squid Game, characters are either split into different groups with different subplots, or the big group is very quickly whittled down to about five, and then new characters are introduced gradually. Here, we're following the entire class, and even though there are some losses along the way and the occasional split-up, the cast is gigantic and there's about 20 characters you need to pay attention to. A few stand-outs are easy to remember but the rest blur together for a few episodes. Even as I got to learn everyone, I don't think I found a "favorite" the way I did in other shows and that's just mostly because our knowledge of backstories are still pretty thin.
As a result, the drama is more plot-driven, as opposed to character-driven — and whether or not you enjoy that will just be up to personal preference.
After a while, however, I really grew to appreciate that it was a big group because the dynamic of everyone sticking together and growing up in unison was so interesting. You see common classroom dynamics come out in a high-stakes situation and it exemplifies everything I love about the high school survival genre.
For this genre, the show is surprisingly heartfelt. I didn't expect this show to make me emotional but it definitely did by the end. Anxiously awaiting part 2!
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Not better than the Korean version
This adaptation actually stayed quite loyal to the original Korean series, so it had some of the same charms. However, I do think it was a little less endearing in terms of its characters and plots. I wasn't a huge fan of Xiao Chun (yes, her bangs are awful but even that aside), and the backstories for all characters felt a little less in-depth and all over the place.The only characters that I really loved were Sheng Nan for her backstory and character arc which is always a heartbreaker, and Yi Tong for her personality and playful banter with He Lin.
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I couldn't help but compare it to Shut Up Flower Boy Band in my head, and one thing I noticed was that bromance in that drama was so much stronger, and I wish Yellow had more of it.
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BUT, it definitely felt like I was watching a show for an age group that was younger than I was. The way one friend was added to the group basically every episode seemed to get a little repetitive.
The main thing I didn't like were the imaginary scenes. I know it's supposed to show how crazy the main character was, but they just seemed boring and unnecessary to me.
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Great premise but fell flat
I felt like this had a really good foundation and there's the interesting part about everyone being trapped in a grey situation — it's unclear who's to blame and the answer might be no one. I also just loved the vibe of the entire movie with the child's narration and such a serious topic overlayed with doodles.Overall, however, I just felt like the development in the actual relationship between the characters was paper-thin. I didn't really like any of the adult main characters, though a few side characters were really endearing and stole the show for me.
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So cute!
I'm a sucker for noona romances and this one really hit the spot. The ML is stubborn but passionate while the FL is practical and strong-willed — they're very golden retriever bf and black cat gf which is one of my favorite dynamics. And the chemistry between them is so good, whether it's skinship or them just sitting on the sofa and talking about dreams and goals.I do wish we got a little more about the FL on this point — she's a coach so the show follows the ML's dreams more and we don't really see if she has any further career goals other than finishing the postgrad program she's already a part of. On the ML's development, I also think the show kind of drops the ball in the final act. We just needed to spend time on one more important competition where the ML could face rivals that the show had been building up, instead of the overseas arc we got.
Regardless, I thought this was such a fun watch and the leads made me giggle and kick my feet. I might need another noona romance to fill the void.
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Half-half
My favorite part of this drama has to be the romance. Mi-joo is just such a lovable character, with so many heart-warming scenes between her and her kids. I loved every single time she was on screen and wish we got more romance — though I get it would've been difficult considering Kang-ho's amnesia and state of mind throughout most of the show.The main selling point of this drama really is the relationship between Kang-ho and his mother, and while I do think it's written with a lot of depth and the gray area leaves you a lot to think about. I didn't quite connect with it on an emotional. The same could be said for the country-side gang in general, who are kind of your typical comic relief characters.
With that being said, I think I was actually much more intrigued by the high-stakes revenge plot, but it's pretty much glossed over by the end and the steps Kang-ho took to get there doesn't make much sense. I get it — this drama has a revenge plot but it's not a revenge drama; it's mostly a backdrop to the story of Kangho's relationship with his mother. So I'd just say to anyone going into this to have the right expectations.
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Not as good as Part 1
I loved Part 1 but Part 2 honestly didn't quite hit the same way. There are still some great scenes, but I had a lot of trouble with the pacing, and the romance moves to a pretty frustrating place. There's like 3 separate subplots (near-death experiences and all) crammed into the last three episodes alone, and we seem to skip over a lot of important moments to get there.I will say that with all the dramatic scenes we get, Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei's acting really get to shine. They have wonderful chemistry and even though the plot itself might be frustrating, I can't lie — the angst is very satisfying to watch.
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Wow.
Wow. As someone who's had a lot of trouble getting into historical dramas, I found myself going into this one with a bit of hesitation, but it ended up hooking me and never letting go.This drama balances romance and royal politics perfectly — there's elements of the show that are extremely romance kdrama-esque (you know, the slow motion falling, the silly misunderstandings), but the story still chugs along, all while keeping the tone very consistent.
I'm also just completely floored by the chemistry between the leads. Fantastic performances all around, and this drama reminded me just how great it is to see ACTUAL YEARNING on my screen.
There are some subplots that I found a little too long, or weird ones (like that tiger one lol) but ultimately, I found the show very cohesive and enjoyable.
On the ending...I was also a little nervous knowing the 17th episode was added later, but it really felt perfect to me. The pacing made sense, and it managed to come full circle while still letting the viewer do some of the lifting. Just a stunning show from beginning to end.
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This review may contain spoilers
Sweet, but
This was an extremely sweet movie and it really hit the right notes to get the feeling of nostalgia and youth friendship, without making anything too over-dramatic.I do have one big gripe with this movie though; the tone stays pretty consistent and light-hearted throughout but it does what a lot of Asian movies seem to do in the third act: the noble idiocy break-up, followed by the time jump reunion. While this movie subverts the trope a bit (thank god for that), I'm not the biggest fan of it being there in the first place and felt like there had to be a better way to incorporate character arcs without doing it.
Still, a cute film.
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