1
2
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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!
Was this review helpful to you?
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?
Story 1 > Story 2
I actually really enjoyed the first story in this movie — it was quirky but endearing and despite some questionable moments, there was a very subtle layer of comedy that actually made the characters seem like very real and relatable people.The second story, however, just didn't click with me very much, whether it was the characters' personalities themselves or the kind of haphazard and illogical direction that the plot went in.
Overall there's still a nice nostalgic feeling to this movie, but I didn't found myself that invested in the plot developments.
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
Firing on all cylinders
I enjoyed this season a lot too, and really appreciate that once again, this drama manages to balance small, episodic cases with the overarching plot and building tension. I thought Jun-ho was an interesting character, but the emphasis on his internal conflict and shifting mindset this season is done incredibly well.It still sort of feels like the drama is setting up for a season 3, so I hope we get one.
Was this review helpful to you?
Heavy, with very few silver linings
This film has fantastic cinematography and acting — which is exactly what I expected from the team behind "I Told Sunset About You" — but I honestly don't think I'll be re-watching this one ever again. It's really heavy in a kind of...miserable way, with characters constantly behaving awfully and having terrible things happen to them, until the very end. I'm not sure it's a feeling I want to experience, though I can't deny that the film itself and the plot was really engaging and interesting the first time around.Was this review helpful to you?
