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This review may contain spoilers
A missing spark that crashes and burns
This is the first drama that I've watched after reading the original source material (in this case, a webtoon), so this will be a review where I inevitably compare some elements, but I'm still trying to be as objective as possible.I really loved the webtoon — the plot, the lack of cliches, the straightforward female lead — and was really excited for the drama. But from the start the spark was missing for me. It felt pretty well written but the development of the leads felt jumpy and I'm not sure the chemistry between the actors is all there.
Plot-wise, this was really a drama that needed a full 16 episodes because of how much plot there was. There's the 18th life backstory and Jieum's 1st life backstory, and I really feel like they glossed over the car accident (18th) just to make time for the other plot. The plot that seemed to kickstart everything felt very unimportant by the end.
Now, the biggest issue I have with this drama is the backstory behind the first life and all the changes they made to it. Just in general, the backstory of the first life felt lackluster, but if I hadn't read the webtoon prior to watching this might've been something I could forgive, but knowing what I know, I find myself realizing just how MUCH the overall message was changed. Whereas the webtoon seemed to give Jieum a lot of agency in choosing who could be part of her life and going against "destiny," the drama created a lot of rules to take that away. There were consequences from the universe telling her those decisions were wrong, and even more so, the fact that EVERYONE was incorporated into her first life (vs. the coincidental one in the webtoon) seemed to underline that fate does exist, and that people with so-called intertwined destinies would meet each other anyways. Being anti-destiny was one of the things I loved about the webtoon and I felt like the drama completely undid that.
Next, my other big issue is the ending. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate the amnesia trope, especially when used at the end, and this was the perfect example of why. It just leaves SO many plot holes because she lost memories of specific people instead of just her past lives — why wouldn't she question her life changes and memory gaps? How did she get her job back? What about where she was living? Wouldn't other people talk to her about the people she'd forgotten? The only direction I can see the story going is Jieum starting to second guess herself and the people who randomly started to insert themselves in her lives. But obviously, there were no more episodes. The story just...ended.
Overall, I actually think this had a promising start. The cinematography was gorgeous, and there is so much good material. Even if I wasn't immediately convinced, I was glad I gave this a chance and I did see a few scenes that I liked, some familial bonds that touched me. By the ending however, the backstory had become so messy, the philosophy had become unclear, and the romance had fizzled out. I'd lost all emotional investment in the story.
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Slow but pretty
I had watched Kingdom before this and despite all the hype about it, I just never felt like I clicked with the series and the way it was filmed. The same happened here; I felt like the story just took far too long to get into its meat and it instead meandered between settings and characters that I not only could not tell apart but also just didn't really care about.I'm just not a huge fan of the delivery, but on paper the plot itself is interesting, and the ending certainly sets up a really great backdrop for the Kingdom series and its world-building.
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It's missing something
This one got really glowing reviews so I was quite looking forward to it, and while I still like the essence of the plot and the chemistry between the leads, it just feels like there's something missing. Maybe it was the writing or the editing, but I constantly felt like the show was missing scenes or having really important reveals happen off-screen. I was looking forward to a lot of identity reveals — each of the leads and the villain — but they all turned out very underwhelming, like the characters found out off screen and then the next scene was them just stating it.The plot itself is interesting but it was also written in a weird way. I wasn't sure how the leads found out about the villain, and I wasn't completely sure about the antagonist's motivations either, compared to a drama like The Untamed drama where got to see exactly how the leads worked together and how things went wrong. There are characters who I thought would end up playing a bigger role considering how much screentime and importance they were given, but they turned out to just be a subplot and not at all tied to the final arc, which ultimately felt quite rushed.
Overall, I think there's a story here, but from someone who hasn't read the source material, the drama itself is not executed that well outside of the two leads.
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It doesn't really say anything new about anything, and this kind of "what if" romance has also been done before. Nevertheless, the film is absolutely successful in being mellow and slice-of-life, and it definitely shows that subtlety is a strength of Asian cinema.
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Outdated but the casting is still great
I'm gradually making my way through all the Hana Yori Dango adaptations to compare them, and had saved this one for two slightly contradictory reasons: One, I knew it was older and it might've been more problematic, and two, I knew how much of a craze this drama started and actually had pretty high expectations.I'm not going to talk too much about the plot — we all know what the story is and it's true that most of this doesn't age well, and this being from 2001, it's a lot less sanitized than the newer versions like China's 2018 Meteor Garden and Thailand's F4: Thailand in 2021.
However, I do think the pacing was just...sort of off. I felt like it was really slow in between plots — 29 episodes is way too much for this type of story. At the same time, when one plot moved to the next it felt kind of abrupt. I also just felt like the level of drama didn't necessarily match up what was actually happening on screen, maybe because of screentime distribution, or because side characters often came in and out without enough exposition.
Ultimately, I think the strongest part of this drama was the casting. This is maybe the only version where you really feel F4's commanding presence. Dao Ming Si is actually a good balance of intimidating/imposing and brainless loser, and Lei manages to pull off aloof and gentle but also powerful. The other two are a little less memorable, though.
I also think the casting and acting for Shan Cai was great. Compared to the other versions, she's still spunky but feels much more down to earth. There's no overacting (which the Korean FL is the ultimate culprit of), and she all around seems much more grounded and logical, and less whiny than the others.
A final comment I have is — and this might be more of a fault of the source material than the drama itself (which I haven't read) — but I just think this version had too many boys fall for Shan Cai when they could've just kept it platonic.
I haven't watched season 2 of this one yet, but so far my favorite adaptation of HYD is still the Japanese one, which seemed to hit the perfect pace with many less episodes.
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Right Person Wrong Time
The chemistry is hands down the best part of the drama and I think the show did a fantastic job of intertwining historical events with the personal story of two people who just happened to meet and fall in love with each other during that time. The first few episodes were more lighthearted and fun, and even as the story became heavier and life became more difficult, I felt like we still saw the soft moments between the two leads, the stolen moments of safety and comfort. It really felt like two people against the world.Maybe my only gripe with this is the ending. I have no problem with the plot itself, but pace-wise it felt like a rushed and forced tragedy and the aftermath wasn't explained well either.
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Relatable and heartfelt
It took me a little while to get into this and I liked the younger timeline a lot better than the older adult one, where there was a lot more annoying slapstick humor. It just felt more comforting and the family theme was really strong.But the adult timeline really grew on me as the drama went on, and in the end, it was that one that hit the hardest. It was just a really beautiful depiction of family life in Tainan, and the bits of political and historical context that it included were also really raw and realistic.
I also have to especially give props to the lead actresses — both the adult and the younger versions did an amazing job of bringing the character to life and making it feel cohesive and natural. And the relationship between the siblings was actually one of my favorite parts in this show. Would highly recommend this.
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Amazing Chemistry
The best part of this drama is, without question, the chemistry between the two leads. From the very start they had the best kind of relationship — playful bickering, but with the added fact that they were two people who each had their own trauma, who had somehow found each other and the emotional support they hadn't been able to get anywhere else. There was something so beautiful and heart-breaking about every scene with the two of them just being together, something so intimate about the conversations they had whether or not there was any skinship (which we did get, satisfyingly).Other than that, the second and side ships were also fun to watch and had their unique dynamics that added to the story. Even as independent characters, I really liked all the side characters.
The main plot of this drama surrounds Taeyang's past catching up with her, and this really takes center stage in the second half of the show. It was a decent plotline, but I definitely wish that it was resolved sooner because as much as I loved the angst we got between the leads because of it (those super emotionally packed scenes were where I cried BUCKETS), but I felt like the badminton part of the drama started to taper off — there was less about the risks that athletes take and their motivations and goals, but it was more about forgiveness and guilt. I have nothing against this drama veering into melodrama territory but I definitely think it lasted a little too long and we barely got to see any badminton matches, whereas the first half was a lot about the characters training and trying to improve.
With that being said, the ending did feel a little rushed too. I disagree with some of the main themes that the plot ended up seeming to say and wish our two leads had been given more agency; it felt like some plot development either happened out of convenience or they were waiting for other characters to change so that they could make decisions. While I understand that our main leads are simply two very selfless and patient (perhaps to a fault) characters and that Asian culture is very family-centered, if you're more confrontational and about self-interest/self-love (as I am) you might find it frustrating and plot-convenient.
Overall, still a really fun watch for me. Taejun is hands down the best male lead I've watched this year and will go down as one of my permanent favorites. This entire drama is just full of green flag male leads.
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Nice aesthetics, lacking story
I really liked how this movie vibed in general, from the cinematography to the overall quiet of certain scenes. For what it's worth, the actresses filled their roles well and had some nice scenes together.With that being said, however, I just didn't like the characters themselves — this movie was by no means character driven; there's little to no character development and I felt like the toxicity in the relationship wasn't explored much either.
Ultimately, however, I also just felt like the story in this was lacking; it didn't feel like a story about running or dying — I didn't feel any sense of urgency or even any sort of direction. The time jumps back to the past felt like they didn't have much of a purpose either.
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Large Cast of Characters
There are so many characters in this show and that could either be positive or negative. The Reply series did it well but here, for me, there were so many characters that I didn't care about, like the side characters of the Senior Writer or even the two main leads. With that being said, this isn't that much of a character-driven drama, but those characters who did have personal growth turned out to be my favorites (Eunjung, Somin).There's sort of a drop-off with the plot as well and some lost opportunities for exploring but this show packs its punches in many of the right places, especially in the beginning where everyone is being introduced.
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Super fun
I haven't laughed this hard at a drama in a long time — and it came at such the right time because I was getting so sick of slapstick humor. All the characters (the main leaders, and especially Zi Rui) had the most amazing comedic timing.This has my favorite type of female lead — you don't have to be the best at everything and physical fighting to be smart and make good decisions, and of course, it has my favorite type of male lead that's lowkey a badass but goes soft for her.
The chemistry between the main leads was so good and I just love the relationship that the two of them had together. The sidekicks were hilarious as well and worked so well with our main characters and with each other. And it really felt like all the characters had their own personalities no matter how small their roles were.
I do think I enjoyed the first half a little better when it was our main character trying to navigate the new world and all the subplots that were going awry. I felt like some of the magic was lost a little near the end (especially after the goddamn noble idiocy!) because it was reduced to the main plot around government control. It also seemed to reduce a lot of characters to their cliches, and I had loved that they subverted the tropes in the beginning.
Nevertheless, I really like how this show's plot turned to a darker tone without ever really losing its style of humor. Sadly I can't really say if it surprised me — I'm still mad at myself for obsessively watching clips on YouTube before I decided to binge it in a day — because I knew the scenes already. But overall the plot is still really clever.
Overall, I still had a really fun time watching this — I cannot wait for season 2 even though I have to wait an entire year!
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Loved the second ship, hated the mains
The second ship really saved this for me. From the start I knew I would love them so much better — the playful, teasing relationship that they had is my favorite type of ship. And I really watched the drama for them, even though the plot went OFF THE RAILS for them. The second female lead had the personality that I loved — outgoing, bubbly, straightforward with her feelings.I also had really terrible SLS for this drama honestly, I felt like second lead had so much more character and backstory to him, whereas you barely knew anything about the main lead and the development with the FL was absent as well. My stars are also for second lead, who I feel like got the short end of the stick, as second leads in cdramas often do.
With that being said, I basically could not stand either main lead.
The guy was unlikable. I'm just not a fan of cheaters and he did it multiple times, and always seemed to blame it on the other person.
The female lead was the worst part. The acting for the female lead was not only bad, I think it was simply a terrible character who couldn't hold a conversation for more than two minutes, NEVER learned to stand up for herself or be herself for that matter, and also maintained the same facial expression throughout all 16 episodes. I couldn't, for the life of me, see what was so interesting about her, and as the drama went on it felt like she only got worse — more dependent on her partner, more selfish in what she asked of him, and more delusional in the idea that nobody should change and that she was for some reason owed a relationship.
In fact, the entire drama seemed to put such an emphasis on "how dare you change?" for each character. They fought over promises they made years ago that don't make sense to keep considering the obstacles that life threw in their way, and it was like only the second ship managed to learn how to navigate new situations.
Ultimately though, the pacing was done pretty well with their coming of age being evenly spread out; I'm obviously a larger fan of the high school days, before things haywire, but I'm super glad the second lead got their ending.
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To be honest, though, I might have enjoyed the first half better than the second, mainly because of one huge plot twist that broke my heart and never really got resolved the way I wanted it to. Still, it was hard to stop watching.
Soo Bong was probably my favorite character. Though he was so minor, the character development was there, and he was ALWAYS relatable.
Last thing: I swear this drama has like the longest and slowest car rides ever?? ESPECIALLY when the characters are in a rush...
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The kidnapping sub-plot was also super intriguing, and I was really invested in how the characters would deal with it. It scared me but also ended up creating a really good balance between light, fluffy scenes and darker moments.
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The main ship is starting to get a little on my nerves because of how wishy-washy they were being, and I actually liked the new character better. Other than that, I still had quite a good time watching this, and the fact that the episodes are short and updated frequently makes it easy to get addicted.
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