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Amazing OST, Story
I read a review of this before going into it, from a person saying that they ended up dropping this because the villains were too conniving and it was too frustrating, so, as someone who gets attached and emotional easily, I was ready to feel the same amount of fury. BUT IT NEVER CAME. The so-called villains were surprisingly three-dimensional and characters who I thought I'd hate ended up with a conscience and even contributed to the humor.I ended up loving this drama a lot more than I expected, especially the romance aspect. The other parts of the story definitely were not built upon as much, like the backstory of the parents, and I wish that we saw the friends play a bigger role.
I'm also usually not a fan of time jumps, but this one pulled it off surprisingly well, and it pushed me to tears. There's definitely an argument for it being cliche, but I personally enjoyed it nonetheless.
And how could I forget the OST? The music for this is SO GOOD. It'll be stuck in my head forever.
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The main ship was quite cute at certain points, but they never really went through any actual adversity. I didn't ship them as much as I shipped the second pairing, and that second pairing was the main thing keeping me watching.
The so-called "second male lead" for the love triangle was honestly just downright annoying, and there were a lot of sub-plots that I felt were interconnected but in a very messy way.
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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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Comfort show
This was a fantastic watch! As a gigantic fan of WIFTY and similar youth dramas, this one hits a similar spot. The combination of romance, friendship, family, and the theme of following your dreams all make for a really comforting coming-of-age show. The conflicts are all quite realistic and relatable, and all handled with great communication and not dragged out. Even in the younger years, the show never shies away from really intense and serious conflicts, and the characters handle everything with surprising realism.I think the strongest episodes in this drama were probably the high school years, but that's what I've noticed about a lot of youth dramas. I know 30 episodes is already pretty long, but I would've loved a few more episodes to pace out the post-college years. We speed pretty quickly through a few romantic developments for the side characters, and even some moments of the leads deepening their relationship or pursuing their careers. I feel like the college and post-college years didn't have the same heartfeltness, though it did get really close.
Overall, I don't think the "friendship" theme is as strong as it has been in other youth cdramas, but maybe that's inevitable when you establish a love square within your friend group. I know Qiqi's character was frustrating to some people, I actually found her self-sabotage and loneliness extremely relatable to my own high school years. We also have a few side characters who had potential but were never quite "integrated" into the group, which I was hoping for. Still, we get a lot of great one-on-one friendship moments.
The romance is just really cute as well! This was one of the most natural romantic developments I've ever seen, probably. It was not a "I noticed you at first sight" or even a "we didn't get along at first;" instead, the leads were genuinely just family friends who got along, and gradually grew to care for each other as more than friends. Everything just felt so down-to-earth, and I'm happy to say there were no drawn-out misunderstandings and break-ups.
The drama wraps everything up pretty nicely, and we have a really heart-warming and nostalgic final episode with the full main cast. This became a comfort watch for sure.
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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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Would have been so much better without the guy
This film had such comfortable, mellow vibes and the relationship between the leads was absolutely the star of the show from the very first moment. Some questionable decision-making from the characters but I enjoyed the very human element of this and craved so many more scenes between the two female characters — and so it kind of sucks that there was so much emphasis on the love triangle and how it got in the way through the years. Dragging that out just got frustrating, especially when the guy was just so...mid.Was this review helpful to you?
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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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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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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Another fun installment to the series
I'm really glad we got to see this friend group together again — seeing all the characters and how they fit together to round out the team is still the highlight of this show.Plot-wise, though, I do think this one is the weakest of the three. The weekly cases, Do-Gi's different personas, and how the team infiltrates each situation are just overall not as memorable or creative. The pacing feels slower overall.
Part of this is that there's no overarching plot. The first episode made me think they were going international and having another "who's going to get to it first" arms race with Interpol, but those characters, who I thought were going to be secondary characters, never showed up again. And then the last case made me wish that there had been an overarching plot related to the military and Do-Gi's background; it makes for a really intimidating antagonist, and the personal tie would've added a lot of stakes. We didn't get either of those though, which means there's just no recurring antagonist and no ongoing tension throughout the show.
Nevertheless, I think this was a decent send-off for our Rainbow Taxi team — and it does leave room for another season if they end up making another one.
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This review may contain spoilers
A trope salad in the making
One of the most dramatic ratings spirals ever. I'd probably give the first two episodes a 8/10, while the finale is a generous 1/10.It's a real shame because the drama stole my heart in the first two episodes, when it wasn't afraid to be really loud and fun. The fearlessness towards physical intimacy was extremely refreshing, and the best part was that it made use of the great chemistry between the leads.
A few episodes later, I was still pretty locked in, but by now it felt that the drama was stronger in its quieter moments — a tense moment where the leads let the mask slip just a tiny bit, or Ji-hyeok's internal turmoil as the misunderstanding spirals further, etc. The other moments — like the female lead getting lost in the woods and needing to be saved, or getting kidnapped by loan sharks — at this point, those plot points are so recycled it doesn't add anything to the characters or the story.
I was nervous about this fun show becoming trope salad as it added more and more of those types of scenes, switching its focus to a typical corporate warfare plot that I didn't care much about, while making its leads go through the typical moments of poor girl/rich boy.
And it completely falls apart in the last episode, leaving our second couple in the dust with zero development, and rushing our leads through a Car of Doom and amnesia plot — which I cannot believe we are still doing, unironically, in the year of our lord 2025.
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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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