I'm hesitant to say Youth is better than the original Kdrama, as it's been a while since I watched Age of Youth (I plan on doing a rewatch so I can do a comparison and analysis), but I'm confident in saying that this version is more strongly written and plotted. I adored the original with all my heart, but I would be lying if I said it didn't have flaws. Plotholes, plotlines that don't go anywhere, some story elements that come out of nowhere. Youth manages to address all of those issues while staying pretty closely faithful to the original story And giving it its own feel and vibe as a remake. This version fills in the plot holes, follows through on the dropped plotlines, and gives all of those random story elements purpose. I think I'll probably find I prefer the performances in Age of Youth more once I do a rewatch, but I have to commend this version for the way it handled the flaws in the original without losing what made the original so good.

I’ll start with what is arguably the main character of the original drama, Eun Jae. I don’t remember a lot of the specifics around Eun Jae’s background, why she believed she was a murderer and what exactly actually happened, but I was impressed with how this version took her backstory and expounded upon it, giving us more insight into what was going on in Xiao Chun’s family, etc. I also think this actress gave the best performance of all the actresses in this version and that her performance most likely rivals that of Park Hye Soo from the original. (Will have to rewatch the original to confirm that.) I was really impressed with the way this version made Xiao Chun such a complex character. She’s shy, insecure, socially awkward and uncertain, but there’s a hidden strength that comes out when you don’t expect it. She’s fiercely protective of her mother, feeling (and often being) responsible for her mother’s well-being after her father’s death, and she’s the only one of the girls willing to square off with Gao Lin when he’s holding Chen Chen captive.

Speaking of Chen Chen, I was very pleased with how the writers chose to handle her story in this version. When Ye Eun’s boyfriend held her hostage in the original, viewers were in general agreement that it came out of nowhere. We all remarked among themselves about how unexpected and unbelievable it was, even though the writers were ultimately able to make it work. In the original, Doo Yeong comes across as nothing more than a jerk, a user, someone who would gladly toss her to the side if given the opportunity to date someone he considered ‘better.’ He certainly wouldn’t be happy with Ye Eun breaking up with him, but kidnapping and assault seemed like a bridge too far, even for his jerk self. But when Gao Lin holds Chen Chen hostage in Youth, it doesn’t come out of nowhere. There’s a natural progression to that moment, dropped hints here and there that he feels intensely jealous of her family’s wealth, of how well-liked she is by others, and of his own destructive insecurity and selfishness. You understand what drove him to kidnap and assault her, and when it happens, you’re not completely thrown for a loop and wondering how we got here.

There is one moment in Ni Jin’s story that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, however. Namely when Zhi Qiang attempts to choke her to death in a fit of rage, and for some unexplained reason, she continues to meet with him. Its already illogical for him to blame her for his daughter’s death, as there was nothing she could have done, and it’s not like she herself was trying to drown his daughter. It was simply a sad situation that left many dead and many more devastated. But I can at least understand his motivation, the way his grief would drive him to such desperation. What didn’t make sense was why she continued to meet with him after his attempt to kill her. I think they could have given her a logical reason for doing so, namely her guilt over his daughter’s death and feeling like she deserves to die, but the writers never tie any of this together, so the character choice leaves you scratching your head. I like how their story concludes, however, so I chose to overlook it.

In the original, Ji Won doesn’t get any real backstory or central conflict to work through until season 2, something viewers greatly lamented at the time. And when it did give her that backstory and conflict, it was a real dark downer and not really what the audience was expecting or hoping for. This is perfectly fine for a drama to do, of course. Just because a character is feisty and peppy doesn’t mean they can’t have serious trauma. But the writing choice had the unfortunate result of taking a really fun and feisty character and zapping the life out of her for the majority of season 2. It also inspired the writer to give what was probably the crowd favorite character of the series a premature death in the future (something I refuse to treat as canon, because how dare you). This version takes a different tack with Yi Tong, dropping the dramatic (and traumatic) backstory for something a little more simple but still just as painful for a young person to go through. In this version, Yi Tong has had a habit of telling exaggerated stories since she was a kid, initially as a bid for attention from her often-absent mother, then later as a response to some genuine trauma from being accused of lying about plagiarism when she was actually telling the truth. I honestly think I prefer this backstory/central conflict more, not because I have a problem with stories that address serious topics such as child abuse/assault, but because this version does the work to give this backstory/conflict purpose and meaning. It makes sense that Yi Tong would lie to get her mother’s attention, and it makes sense that she would later use it as a coping mechanism/way to avoid things that make her uncomfortable.

This version does leave three of the four romances on a somewhat open-ended note, which will probably disappoint viewers (it disappoints me), but the way the romances are left is mostly appropriate. All three couples end on a positive note with hints of things progressing in the future (where we, the audience, can’t see them). My one frustration is that we still did not get a conclusion for our feisty Ji Won/Yi Tong and her news club buddy. After the disappointment in the original series, the way the writer set up such a comically intriguing couple only to break all of our hearts by revealing Ji Won’s eventual death and NOT at least compensating us by having the characters get romantically together in the present, I think it was more than fair to expect this version to give the couple a happy ending this time around.

The one thing that I think stops me from calling Youth my favorite version is the performances from the lead actresses. All the performances in this version are solid and strong, but with the exception of the actress for Xiao Chun, I do think I will find myself preferring the performances in the original. I think the performances by Park Hye Soo and He Lan Dou are comparably wonderful and which viewers will prefer will end up being a matter of personal preference, but I have a feeling I’ll equally love both after my rewatch of the original drama.

Overall, I have to sing Youth’s praises for managing to take an already beloved drama and not only not screwing it up, but actually improving upon it in some respects. Many will probably still prefer Age of Youth to Youth, and for understandable reasons. It was such a standout drama for its time with performances that really stick with you. But I think Youth is a remake worthy of a watch and worthy of being loved, regardless of which ends up being your favorite.

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This is the story of a couple of oddballs (well, more than a couple) being odd together, lol. The mannerisms are exaggerated, the scenarios are outlandish, there's a whole side plotline that is five layers of silly, and that's honestly the entire charm of the series. The entire drama is intentionally silly and doesn't take itself seriously. If there's one thing you need to know about it going in, it's that.

Hwang Me Ri is admittedly unlikable for the first half of the drama, coming across as very selfish and thoughtless towards others, while Kang Dae Gu initially comes across as a leach and a slob. But as the story progresses, you begin to like and understand the characters more in spite of themselves. Hwang Me Ri becomes a more sympathetic character around the halfway mark, and Kang Dae Gu quickly proves himself to be a decent guy who's just struggled to find his way.

The story itself is very self-aware, poking fun at its characters and joyfully placing them in awkward or embarrassing situations for the viewers entertainment. The drama does take itself a little too seriously in the last few episodes, wallowing in a little too much 'woah is me' around some particular plot points that didn't need to be such a big deal (especially considering the literal dramatics of some of the drama's earlier events), but it's otherwise a solid drama that's likely to give you some pretty big, roll-your-eyes, belly laughs.

My recommendation for those thinking about watching Merry Mary is to not take anything in this drama too seriously, because you're definitely not meant to. Just go with the flow, and you'll have fun.

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I wasn't going to write a review for this season of Work Later, Drink Now, because, well, it's been hard parsing out my rather jumbled up feelings. Despite the excessive amount of drinking the characters engaged in, I greatly enjoyed season 1, and I was very hopeful and excited for season 2. These girls are a total mess, but they are an endearing mess, and I enjoyed watching them be both messy and heartfelt. But this season was...something else.

The first problem was the arc around Ji Yeon's cancer. It was fine with me that they went to the mountains. I don't even mind that they were 'healing' cancer with nature. Sure, it's not believable, but this is Work Later, Drink Now. Part of the purpose of this drama is putting the girls in somewhat over-the-top situations and watching them respond. But when we were still in the mountains 'curing cancer' by ep. 3, I was ready for the girls to go home. The whole 'healing in the mountains' bit was only going to work for so long, and they stretched it beyond what was reasonable. On top of that, some of the humor in those episodes was both weird and not funny. (The statue grossed me out, frankly.)

The second problem is that the unnecessarily long stay in the mountains completely messed with the pacing of the rest of the season. Everything felt slightly out of whack, like when you watch a video and the sound is constantly ahead or behind of what you're seeing on screen. It was so hard to get a grasp on what this season was meant to be about, what it was meant to be doing, and I was over halfway through before I got a handle on the story.

The third problem was yoga. As in, what exactly was there of value in the entire subplot with Ji Yeon's boss and her boss' brother? They made the plotline work in the end, but for much of the drama, it felt like a weird rabbit trail that took away from more important things that were happening in the story. Sure, the brother and sister had a sweet little reconciliatory family moment at the end, and yes, I felt moved...but why was I supposed to care in the first place?

And this isn't a story complaint, but the CGI in earlier episodes was pretty bad. I was willing to overlook it while they were in the mountains, because you are not training a hog to pose for a camera, but I did not find adding a CGI snake in a later episode necessary. (The events around the snake were equally as unnecessary.) This might seem like a petty, unimportant thing to complain about, as they are the only instances of CGI in the drama, but they stuck out to me because of how bad the CGI was, and if that's what it was going to look like, they should have kept it to as much of a minimum as possible.

But, and here's where I'll give this drama some praise, while everyone else hated how things played out between Ji Goo and Ji Yeon, I think it was some of this season's strongest writing. In fact, most of the seasons strongest writing was in the second half. The conflict between Ji Goo and Ji Yeon, how things played out in both romances, So Hee and her mom dealing with their grief (I have some problems with her mom's choices, but those are not writing complaints), there was just a lot of really good character exploration and development in the second half, and I loved all of it. It was also really, really great to see what these girls were like as kids, their upbringings, and then later as college students and how their friendship began. It gave us a lot of insight into who each of them is.

I wasn't a big fan of everything in the finale, but it was still better than the yoga sibling's plotline and having to spend so much damn time in the mountains, so I'm choosing to overlook it. What I can't overlook though is the incohesiveness of this season. There were some really great moments, some strong character development, some really good romance. There were also some bad writing choices, serious pacing issues, and some really weird and out-of-place gag humor (Ji Yeon loves farting now?). I'm not sure if I would watch a season 3 of this show. I won't say I wouldn't, but I think I definitely need some time in-between this season and another one. Maybe by next winter I'll be ready.

I have to end this review with one question though. Am I the only person wanting to know why they never addressed the final scene of season 1? Or did they address it, and I just missed it?

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This was a cute drama. It's not a new or groundbreaking story, but it is charming. It has just the right amount of teen angst to be enjoyable without making you want to pull your hair out, and it is often very thoughtful and heartfelt in how it presents its characters and themes. I do think the second half of the story veers a little too far into the angst and drama department at times, but it's not to a degree that is excessive.

I'm also mostly pleased with the messages the story conveys. The female lead lives with a lot of shame and regret as an adult and traveling back in time provides her with an opportunity for a do-over. But eventually, she realizes that she doesn't really belong in the past trying to fix all of its mistakes. Her life is back in the future. In coming to this realization, she decides it's time to make peace with her life rather than trying to change it. What she experienced in high school is part of who she was, which in turn influenced who she became, and she chooses to embrace that. My one complaint is that this realization and decision should have been accompanied with the acknowledgement that she is an adult, and that makes her different from her teenaged friends. As a 29-year-old woman, she's at a very different place in life then a 17-year-old would be. She has more wisdom and maturity, and her goals and desires are very different. It is simply not tenable for her to date a 17-year-old boy and have a 17-year-old best friend. Even in her 17-year-old self's body. So if there were one aspect of this drama I would change, it would be that.

Admittedly, the writers did create a plot hole in their story and their time-travel mechanics in the last couple of episodes that has already created some confusion for some viewers. My recommendation is to ignore the plot hole and just go with what the story gives you. For some stories, the science fiction/fantasy elements are meant to follow strict rules as part of the storytelling/world-building. For other stories, they are meant more to serve the narrative of the story, and if some rules are broken in the process, it doesn't really matter. This drama is in the latter category, and for my part, I think that's fine. The plot hole is not enough to break the world or the narrative, so I don't consider it a major flaw.

This drama was sweet and easy to watch, and I would recommend it.

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This drama is perfect for two very specific types of people.

1. Fans of melo/makjang/over-the-top insanity.

2. Those who love laughing at said melo/makjang/over-the-top insanity.

I do not fall into category 1. I spent years going into Kdrama rom-coms all bushy tailed and bright eyed and then pulling my hair out whenever the makjang/melo would make an appearance. I would keep watching, of course, because true love requires commitment. But I would always lament why they had to include a final hour bout of amnesia, or why couldn't the male lead just finally wake up and recognize his terrible behavior sooner rather than later?

I also do not fall into category 2. (At least mostly.) I do not seek out makjang/melo/over-the-top dramas, and when a drama I'm watching turns into one, I find it frustrating rather than entertaining. I don't enjoy watching people be terrible for terrible's sake, I don't enjoy having my heart put through a torture device for the 'exquisiteness of heartbreak', stupid decisions made for the sake of plot drive me up the wall, and while I can certainly suspend disbelief when required by a story, I cannot just turn my brain off completely.

With Husband in Law, we have the super common set up. A contract marriage, the leads move in together, male lead is completely uninterested in (nay, actively dislikes) the female lead, female lead is hopelessly in love with the male lead since youth, they end up working together with him as her boss, yada yada yada. This is very common Asian drama territory, and I'm on board with all of it. But on top of this is a secondary couple with the most insanely toxic, abusive relationship. The girl is basically treated as a rag doll by her husband, and the husband is a truly vile villain. He's also out to get the male lead because the male lead slept with the abusive husband's wife (not knowing she was married), and he even almost successfully ends the male leads life.

I fully admit now that I did not care one iota about what's her face and her abusive husband. I abhor abuse, and watching it play out on screen is certainly upsetting, but it happens so often and is so extreme in contrast to the rest of the drama that you eventually become numb to the abusive yo-yo relationship of the villain couple and just want them to go away. This is the first drama I ever fast-forwarded, and it was mainly their scenes.

The rest of the story is mostly standard for these types of dramas, but they would often incorporate really random elements (which I guess is also standard for most melo/makjang). The most extreme example would be when the female lead suddenly becomes a genius hacker because story reasons and hacks into the male leads company. There has been no indication up to this point that the female lead has any sort of impressive computer skills. Truthfully, there's no indication she has any skills at all, so this feels more like 'let's insert a random conflict here so we can watch him be mean to her some more' than it does anything else.

What really hurts this drama the most though are the technical issues. The editing and pacing are truly terrible. Scenes just end inexplicably, and we're mostly tossed around in the story without a very clear framework. They do such a poor job of conveying important information to the audience, explaining character motivations, etc. that I often struggled to follow what was supposed to be going on and frequently found myself on the wrong end of the stick with the story.

This point is less important, but the music is Frequently dramatic at odd moments. I get they were trying to give scenes a certain feel, but they should have invested in one more track of music that could convey the right tone without making everything feel like a tense stand-off in a crime thriller.

Now that I've said all of this, it will probably surprise you to learn that I employed the 'laugh at the absurdity' method to watch this drama. I still don't fall into category 2, but once I'd gotten into the drama deep enough to be somewhat invested, I realized the only way through it was going to be with laughter. So laugh I did, and it mostly worked. Granted, it took me probably close to a year to finish this drama, because ^see above^. But laughing at the nonsense made it easier for me to enjoy the drama. And truthfully, there are some decent things about Husband in Law. The lead actors are fantastic. They sell their characters every which way from Sunday, and I found myself liking both of them in spite of myself. (And in spite of themselves, seeing as the male lead is a selfish ass most of the drama, and I spent most of the drama thinking the female lead was trying to convince him to love her when now I'm not so sure she was. (See critique about the editing.)) They also have fantastic chemistry together, which goes a long way in a drama like this. The male leads friends are fun (even if they're frequently a little Too goofy), and they were often much needed comic relief. They also consistently root for the female lead, which I haven't seen much of in dramas in the same style as Husband in Law. The female leads friends are equally wonderful, although not nearly as funny and not necessarily all that affective when it came to being of some actual benefit to the female lead. And the male leads family all love the female lead and consistently take her side. And of course, I'm already pre-disposed to enjoy the general premise/set-up of this drama.

Still, despite being able to get some enjoyment out of Husband in Law, I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't in one of the two categories I mentioned above. I was too far in to get out when I realized this drama was going to be too dramatic for me, but you don't have to make the same mistake. If you enjoy melo/makjang, this will be perfect for you. If you don't, watch something else instead.

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This is a movie very much of its time. The camera work, the editing, the type of storyline, the type of humor, they are all hallmarks of the period this movie comes from. It's filmed in a slice-of-life way (despite not being a slice-of-life story) with what another MyDramaList reviewer referred to as a series of vignettes that all connect together. I think that's an accurate summation and a good thing to know going in. There is an over-arching storyline with a beginning, middle, and end, but it doesn't feel quite the same as most mainstream movies today. This style of filmmaking isn't something that was done in all Korean movies made at the time, of course, but it was a somewhat common form of storytelling from what I can tell. Initially, I found it a bit confusing, but I got the hang of it about halfway through, and now that I've finished the movie, I think I like the directing/editing decision.

The one thing that really hampers this movie is some of the humor. The male lead is a rich, sexist, jerk in the beginning. This isn't a new trope, and it's not one that bothers me if the male lead grows as a person and sees the error of his previous behavior. But the way the filmmakers chose to portray him in the first half of the drama involved a number of inappropriate jokes/scenes that I found tasteless and unnecessary. For example, the male lead arrives for his new job and immediately a fantasy plays in his head of a bunch of teen girls (although the actresses look like they might be in their early 20's) coming out of classrooms and running past him in skimpy gym uniforms, all the while laughing and giggling with their long hair flowing behind them. I was not amused.

If you take out the crude jokes though, this movie does work surprisingly well. Like I said, it's filmed in a sort-of vignette sort of way that I came to enjoy, and the male lead actually becomes quite likable by the second half of the story. The catalyst for his character growth happens about halfway through. Something terrible happens to one of his students, and he really pulls through for her in a way you don't expect. From there, he continues to improve, and by the end, he's become a decent guy. The crude humor also goes away in the second half, for which I was very grateful.

I don't know that I will ever watch this movie again because of aforementioned crude humor, but it was funny when it wasn't crude.

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I don't remember when I started this drama. MyDramaList shows me starting it both 2 years ago And in 2014 (I definitely did not watch this in 2014), so my guess is either it really was 2 years ago in 2020, or it was sometime in 2021. Regardless, the point is that it took me quite a few months to finish, and I only finished it because I was dogged and determined to do so.

This drama is pure soap opera, very indicative of the time it came out of. Absurd situations, obnoxious/terrible behavior, a plethora of villains, the quintessential jerk male lead and candy female lead, plenty of goofy background music (that gets stuck in your head until you begrudgingly come to love it), and overall, not very well-written or well-acted. It's also all of these qualities that gives BOF its charm, a charm that can only come from a drama of this era. That and it's so absurd that the joy of watching often comes from laughing at said absurdity.

Personally, I don't really watch dramas like this anymore. They've never truly been my cup of tea, even when I first got into dramas and most of what was out there was at least somewhat soapy. But back then in my early days of drama watching, I wanted to watch every drama ever made, and I was constantly seeking the next crack drama to grab my attention and not let go. BOF definitely would have fit that bill, and I'm surprised I never tried watching it before now.

I would say this drama is perfect for that particular period of a drama lover's journey when you're consuming drama's voraciously and always on the lookout for something to take you on a wild ride of emotions. You might re-watch BOF years later and think 'Why was I so enamored with this???', but you won't forget the experience of watching it.

I gave Boys Over Flowers a 6 overall purely because the absurdity and over-the-top drama gave me a lot of laughs, but based on actual quality, I would say it deserves a 4 or 5. The only reason I could think of someone wanting to watch this, outside of being in that particular period of the drama journey I mentioned earlier, would be because the drama is so absurd it's hilarious to watch. So definitely watch this if you enjoy wild, over-the-top, true soap opera style drama that makes your sides split from laughter. Or watch if you're in that phase where you want to consume everything, and you're looking for a drama that will grab you and not let go. BOF definitely that kind of drama. Otherwise, I wouldn't really bother.

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This has been one of my favorite dramas I've watched so far this year (and I have been watching a surprising number of duds lately, so it was nice to actually watch something good), so I can't really offer any complaints. I'll go ahead and get through the quick and easy bits of my review first.

First and foremost, I think this drama's pacing and structure was very well-done. All of the different plotlines are compelling and heartfelt and moving, particularly the backstory with You Nian's mother and Kia Tuo struggle with accepting his new family. The romance is a slow-burn, and I don't typically go for those, but this is definitely slow-burn done right. There's a lot of focus on friendship between the leads as well as between all of the secondary and side characters, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And the secondary characters are all great, and I like all of the couples that end up together at the end. I would have loved to see Miao Miao's best friend, A Xia, have a romance (she is the funnest character and the only one of the main recurring secondary characters who Doesn't get a romance), but she does appear to be paired up with someone at the end (and he's a real cutie, to boot), so I guess that's somewhat nice. I think all of the elements of this drama come together in a very complimentary and easy to watch way.

But guys, I Adore Miao Miao. From start to finish, Miao Miao feels like the same person, the same personality and quirks and struggles, but who is consistently growing and maturing in confidence. She's a shy and awkward high school student, like many of us are or once were, with this adorable crush on an older classmate (who is very worthy of said crush). Then she's a University student, slowly working to shed that awkwardness and break out of her shell and come into her own. And then she's a young woman taking charge of her life and her future. You really have to respect her as you watch her work diligently towards her goals. For awhile, that's just being near You Nian, but over time, that goal begins to shift. She finds a purpose for herself, something to work toward that isn't just prolonging her crush but rather something that gives her deeper satisfaction. I mean, she does an entire years' worth of course-work within 6 months on top of her regular coursework in order to successfully switch her major. That's an impressive achievement that shows not only is she driven and determined, but she also has the patience and perseverance to pull something like that off. In a world where being a strong female lead now means being aggressive in a power suit or a superhero costume and pretending like you don't have emotions or ever need help from anyone and you may even be a pretty nasty person to the people around you, I honestly think I prefer Miao Miao. (This is not shade towards female superhero's or female lawyers or even women who are complicatedly mean, but I think the sooner we recognize that strength in a woman is something a lot deeper than the stereotypes we've created around it, the better.)

Some people are going to have problems with Miao Miao's makeover in this drama (because everybody hates makeovers now, apparently), but I'm in the minority on that one as I enjoy a good makeover. And the makeover here is one of the best. It's not a quick, one and done, kind of thing, but a gradual change from beginning of the drama to the end. I guess you really shouldn't even call it a makeover but a transformation. Her friends ultimately doomed attempt at fixing her hair, wearing sunscreen more often that has unintended benefits, refusing to get braces every time her mom tries to convince her only to turn around and do it after a comment by a classmate, going through an entire trial-and-error ordeal with contacts and glasses before eventually getting laser eye surgery. I was very impressed with how they handled her physical transformation as something gradual over time, and never treating it as something she Had to do to be pretty, but also not acting like personal appearance isn't important to young girls, and none of us ever do things to try and be prettier. For better or worse, these are things most of us go through, and as long as there are humans, there will be the desire to mold ourselves and change ourselves in an effort to fit in and be liked. I would much rather have a story like this then stories that pretend young girls have to just be confident no matter what. Talk about Not realistic.

(I think it's also worth noting here how accepting western culture is of plastic surgery and other procedures that permanently alter our bodies for the express purpose of achieving a specific look, often to fit in or deal with some sort of insecurity, yet we're deeply resistant to makeovers. I find this to be a strange disconnect. The same underlying issues that make us desire a magical makeover transformation are what make us desire to change our bodies in more permanent ways as well. Just some food for thought.)

A nice thing about this story is that there's never any real meanness or bullying directed at Miao Miao by the majority of characters. She has actual friends who are encouraging and loving and want the best for her. The two main guys both like her when she's 'awkward/gawky/unattractive,' and not for inexplicable reasons, but because they genuinely like her. Her parents don't talk her down or lament that she's not like their friends' kids. If anything, her younger sister is meaner to her than anyone else, and that just comes with the territory of siblings, lol. I don't think they necessarily had to go this route. They certainly could have created some bullies for Miao Miao to face, but I think the route they took ultimately aided in the messaging of the story. There's an overall focus with A Little Thing Called First Love on perception and how it can affect us. How we perceive ourselves, how we perceive others, how others perceive us. It's not necessarily explicitly discussed, but I think you can feel it as you watch.

This message is especially strong towards the end when Miao Miao and You Nian break up, and it's where I think the crux of the drama's message is. The circumstances of Miao Miao and You Nian's breakup are a bit silly, on their face, but there's something going on in the subtext that's important and that a lot of people have probably missed. Miao Miao has gone through this beautiful transformation throughout the story, not just physically but psychologically as well, and she's now at what would typically be considered the final stage in the transformation. She's now conventionally pretty by her culture's standards, dating a good looking and very talented young man, and she's on her way to pursuing a serious fashion career. She's also gained a lot of real confidence over the course of the story. At the beginning of the drama, she never would have approached You Nian herself, but now she's doing it all the time. By outward standards, she has emerged from the chrysalis and is a beautiful butterlfy. But the insecurity that always made her so unhappy with her appearance and too afraid of openly pursuing a friendship with You Nian is still there. It hasn't gone away just because she now has pale skin and straight teeth and pretty hair. It's why she followed You Nian around for so long but could never openly try and be his friend, it's why she avoided telling others about her and You Nian's relationship after they started dating, and it's the real reason she breaks up with him. She's never felt good enough to be around him, and she has doubts about their relationship. Maybe he doesn't really like her after all, and one day, he'll realize his mistake and break up with her. So she beats him to it, cuts him off at the pass, probably thinking she's saving herself from future disappointment. But it's really just that big, mean monster called insecurity holding the puppet strings. In that way, I think breaking up was good for her. Through breaking up, Miao Miao had to learn how to be alone, not constantly pining for someone but being okay with just being with herself. She'd never had to do that before, because she always had You Nian to pine after. I really don't advocate for final hour breakups/separations in dramas. I never see them work. But I fully understand and appreciate it here.

This part of the review is a side note, but everyone always wants to know about second lead feels, so I'll share my experience. I don't typically experience second lead feels. I go into every drama with the desire to support the story's OTP. Sometimes that means dropping a drama if I can't get behind the main couple. Other times, it means taking any possible feelings I might have for the second male lead and placing them in a locked box and throwing it into the ocean. Usually, it means wanting to throw any second leads trying to interfere in the main couple's relationship into said ocean, because meddling with true love should be a crime.

In what is part of a select group of extremely rare cases for me, I had some strong second lead feels in this drama for a portion of its run. Not in a 'I wish the second lead were the lead' kind of way, but definitely in a 'I am having a hard time choosing between these two characters' and also somewhat 'Can we have this version with this OTP and then the writers go back in time and make another version with the other OTP?' My second lead feels don't last the entire drama, and the writers ended up doing a pretty good job of killing those feels for me later on in the story, but it was a little touch and go there for awhile, lol. For me, both You Nian and Kai Tuo are really great romantic options for Miao Miao, each in their own way. You Nian is a thoughtful, gentle, conscientious, and considerate young man whereas Kai Tuo is more impetuous and brash but with a lot of underlying vulnerability and that perfect ability to tease his crush without it going way too far over the line into mean (they could just be my opinion though). He also outwardly shows (and develops) feelings for Miao Miao a lot sooner, while You Nian takes his sweet time recognizing his feelings and doing something about them, so you really you can't blame a girl for being swayed by that, can you? Either way though, University me definitely would have been swooning over both of them, lol.

In conclusion, I would say this drama did great justice to its source material while making the story its own. I love the original movie to pieces, and I can definitely see the inspiration peeking through, but I never felt like I was watching a reduction of something else or like I was watching a beloved story be butchered. This was a strongly written and portrayed remake that I will most definitely be re-watching in the future.

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I recently created a private list on MyDramalist for dramas and movies I want to watch with my future children (if God ever brings such a blessing to my life), and after finishing this charming little series, I definitely have to add it.

This is a short-length drama about friendship and young love and finding your courage. It's hopeful and eager and earnest, both in its characters and subject matters. You'll definitely like everyone, and the way the plotlines play out on screen is very thoughtful and realistic. These are characters I would want my future kids to see, as they are a great example of how to handle conflict and disappointment while still being very much young and working through their emotions. The story also touches on some deeper themes such as bullying and self-isolation without being too dark or depressing. There's obviously a place and time for more gritty stories around these subject matters, but I'm glad this was something more lighthearted and youthful with very hopeful messages. And as a nice little touch, the opening sequence changes periodically showcasing all of our high schoolers in various locations at school with little nods to events that have transpired in the story. It was almost its own bit of storytelling, and I looked forward to each change.

If you enjoy youthful stories with lots of heart and not too much drama, I recommend this one, for teens and adults. It will warm your heart.

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Initially, I didn't really think I liked this drama. Not for the reason most people would suspect (the over-drinking), but because of the main characters. They are...not very likable in the beginning. They came across to me as rather selfish and self-involved and self-destructive (not to mention just weird). But once I got through the first few episodes, the more I came to realize that my first impression was very wrong. I slowly came to understand them and empathize with them and like them until I found myself watching the next episode then the next episode then the next until I'd finish the entire series, and now I'm eagerly awaiting season 2.

Work Later is somewhat reminiscent of Be Melodramatic, which came out in 2019, and truthfully, I think Melodramatic paved the way for dramas like Work Later to exist. Melo was not a ratings hit when it aired and was a risky drama to make to begin with because of its tone and storytelling style, but I think it definitely made an impact on the Kdrama landscape. Both dramas share some common features. Atypical Kdrama female leads, addressing some heavier topics, don't rely so heavily on tropes (Work Later does use more tropes than Melo), and a story about 30-something/late 20's women that isn't strictly romance but a more rounded look at their whole lives. But Work Later is much more comedic in tone overall, even if coupled with some very emotional plot points. I also think the characters in Work Later are more likable than the leads in Melo. I would be more likely to be friends with the Work Later girls.

As Choi Siwon's character, I saw some comments on MDL describe him as creepy, and for the majority of the drama, I didn't get those comments at all. His character is a slob, most definitely (although that changes in the latter half of the series), but he's not exactly a creep. More so just...weird. His sense of humor is strange, and his mannerisms/approach to things equally so, but his behavior never made me uncomfortable. Of course, he makes a mistake in the final episode that would definitely make him look like a perv, but that's later explained in a small moment at the end so that you realize he wasn't intending to come across the way he did. He's just...an odd sort, as they would day.

There are going to be potential viewers who are concerned with the amount of drinking in this drama, which is a legitimate concern. Most of the heavy drinking happens in the first 4 eps, ep 1 and 2 especially, but it does tone down significantly for most of the rest of the drama. They do definitely drink way too often and often too much, but I read an article on Soompi where Eun Ji (who plays Ji Gu) says she saw comments of minors saying they wanted to start drinking after watching the show, and her thoughts in response to that were 'No, don't do that. That's not what the show is trying to tell you.' So I think it's fair to say that this show isn't necessarily attempting to glorify drinking culture, just trying to show the lives of these three women and Why they drink so much. But it's understandable if some won't be comfortable watching people drink themselves under a table, which does happen a few times.

What is unexpected about this drama, is its overall tone. I expected this to be mainly a comedy with maybe some heartfelt moments sprinkled in, but there's a pleasantly surprising amount of heavy drama. What's so surprising about this is the way the story incorporates these two genres. It has a unique way of shifting between comedy and drama, and by unique, I mean we'll be in a comedic scene and suddenly, we've jumped into a very dramatic moment (realistic dramatic, not melo). That sounds bad, but it's very well-done, and I never felt pulled out of the story or like the two genres didn't mesh with one another. It actually made me like the drama more.

If you're concerned by the drinking, I say get through the first 4 eps and if the drinking is still too much, then you should probably drop it. But if you like drama's that are both full-on comedic and full-on hit you in the feels, then this is a good drama to watch.

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I wasn't sure if I wanted to write a review for this movie. It's certainly not a bad film, and I enjoyed watching it, but it did not have the impact on me similar films have had. What ultimately made me decide to write this review were the lingering feelings of frustration/incompleteness due to some specific elements of the story.

First, I think most everything in the film was very well done. You can't really dislike the characters or the overarching storyline, and this is a movie that does the feelings of youth real justice. But this is also one of those movies where I think the adult versions don't have as strong of an impact as the teen versions, and it hurts the story in some ways. The adult versions are more compelling here then some other films of this theme that I've seen, but you do still ultimately feel a stronger pull towards their younger counterparts. I also have some frustration with the ending, when the movie takes what could have been a very realistic life situation and dramatizes it more than is necessary. The male lead's mother becomes very ill towards the end of his time in high school, and he has to quit his plans for University to go to work in order to care for her and pay her hospital bills. It's a very heartbreaking turn of events, and you feel incredibly sad for him. But instead of treating this with a more delicate and thoughtful and realistic approach, the writers chose to use it as a means to create some melodrama for the adult versions which I think was neither earned nor suitable for the story.

I do think this is a sweet film, and it does it's genre and theme well. I'm also pretty sure the ending will not be as frustrating for other viewers as it was for me, so if you enjoy this genre/theme of story, then this is a good film to check out. You may find you like the ending more than I did.

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I don't have anything super profound or revolutionary to say about this drama other than to reiterate what I said about season 1, so I'll copy and paste that here, because this season really deserves at least one review on this site.

The Wakako series as a whole has everything to commend itself; a really interesting female lead, lots of delicious looking food, an overall cozy feeling, an unspoken exploration of belonging and purpose (there's a lot going on in the subtext that I think most viewers probably don't notice.) Each episode hosts, so to speak, 2 real-life restaurants and some of their dishes and spirits, and the show serves as a lovely way of advertising for what look like some really great mom and pop restaurants. I imagine the viewers found themselves frequently compelled to seek these establishments out after each episode.

Really, there's just nothing outside of the slice of life element that could deter someone from watching this drama or it's future seasons, and I would caution anyone from letting that stop them from at least giving it a chance. There's no hyped up drama or high stakes or heartbreak, just lots and lots of charm.

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In general, I'm not good with slice of life dramas. It's not the genre that's the problem but rather me and my attention span. Of course, I haven't watched very many dramas in this genre, and so far, I've only had good luck with them, but I do tend to gravitate towards stories that have a little more going on to keep me interested. So when I started Wakako, it took me some time to really get into it. It truthfully wasn't until starting season 2 that things really began to click for me, and now I'm sad that there doesn't appear to be anywhere to watch the future seasons.

Of course, the Wakako series as a whole has everything to commend itself. A really interesting female lead, lots of delicious looking food, an overall cozy feeling, an unspoken exploration of belonging and purpose. (There's a lot going on in the subtext that I think most viewers probably don't notice.) Each episode hosts, so to speak, 2 real-life restaurants and some of their dishes and spirits, and the show serves as a lovely way of advertising for what look like some really great mom and pop restaurants. I imagine the viewers found themselves frequently compelled to seek these establishments out after each episode.

Really, there's just nothing outside of the slice of life element that could deter someone from watching this drama or it's future seasons, and I would caution anyone from letting that stop them from at least giving it a chance. There's no hyped up drama or high stakes or heartbreak, just lots and lots of charm.

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I would place this drama in the meh category. It's a pretty typical female ensemble drama with romance, career trajectories, pleasant friend group dynamics, and it has it's share of charming and moving moments, but there are also far better female ensemble dramas out there to watch, so if you're looking for one that is realllly good, this one probably isn't it.

The number one thing I didn't like about this drama is the main female lead. There wasn't anything wrong with her. There just wasn't very much To her. First and foremost, the writers did a poor job of creating real motivation for her sudden desire to become a baker. There's a paltry attempt to tie it back to her dreams as a child or something (at least I think that's what they were trying to do), but they barely make any effort to do even that. And outside of baking, she feels bland and personality-less. You learn almost nothing about her other than she really wants to bake all of a sudden. I was also not impressed with the actress, as she left the character feeling like she had no depth. A weak character on paper can be elevated by a good actor or actress. Sadly, this actress did not succeed in this respect.

Inversely, my favorite female lead by the end ended up being Emi-Chan, the housewife. Most modern viewers would probably find her story bland or passé or maybe even mildly offensive because she decides to follow her husbands dream, but in a time where everything seems to be about women, what they want, what they like, what they need, I found it refreshing to see a drama where a female lead sees her partners hopes and dreams and desires and takes them seriously. And not only does Emi-Chan take them seriously, but she chooses to support them. She recognizes that her husband has needs, and they are just as valid as her own, and she just wants him to be happy. It was also a surprisingly funny twist when we discover in the first half of the drama that her husband has Not been cheating on her like she suspects but is actually...in an aerobics class and has just become a little obsessed with it, lol. I don't know why such a seemingly silly story worked for me, but it really did.

I would say I like Kaoru and her story trajectory second best out of the four. I don't agree with some of the presuppositions it presents about about love and marriage, but her story was thought-provoking, nonetheless. I was also glad it didn't turn into a 'Women have to be at the top' sort of storyline. She's good at her job, and she enjoys what she does, but it isn't an obsession with proving herself to everyone. She does her job because it gives her satisfaction, and that's honestly enough.

For Michiru, the only reason I don't dislike her story as much as Kaede's is because I did actually enjoy her parts of the drama in the first half. My engagement with her character began to fizzle out, however, in the second, to the point that her boyfriends proposal didn't inspire much emotion in me. (Which is sad, because I'm a sucker for Noona romance.) Of course, I think others might like her story more than I did.

Lastly, I think the biggest disappointment of this drama is how they created for themselves a neat opportunity, by bringing in younger versions of the leads, to weave the two timelines together and give the audience a deeper understanding of the main characters. The younger versions are immensely charming and lovable, but they are also barely utilized, and it's a terrible waste.

So all in all, I found this drama to be rather boring. But that's fine, because there are too many dramas out there to let one not so great one bother me. On the next!

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Obviously, comparing one film or television show to another can only go so far in terms of giving the viewer an accurate understanding/expectation of what they are about to watch, but I think it is a fair assessment to say that this little film is very reminiscent of such gems as Our Times and Crazy Little Thing Called Love (the movie, not the drama). They are not exactly the same, of course, as they each utilize different prominent tropes, and just because you like one, that does not mean you will like the other two. But for me, all three evoke similar feelings and explore similar themes, thus my comparison. There's ample parts nostalgia for the best parts of childhood (on behalf of the adult viewers like me, obviously), the pangs of a crush (requited/unrequited), the awkwardness of being young, the heartbreak and disappointment of wanting something and not getting it, how Intense everything feels when you're still growing up. For me, these three movies just get all of these things right, and that's pretty important for a youth film to work.

As far as Love the Way You Are is specifically concerned, I love most everything. I love the main characters, I love the storyline, I think the acting is pretty fantastic, I will never get tired of revisiting the themes of these sorts of films, and even the expectedly silly and nonsensical bits were immense amounts of fun. I did find the ending to be a bit over-drawn, which is not necessarily a surprise to me. I always enjoy getting to see the male leads point of view after seeing everything through the female lead's eyes for so long. Even though his feelings are pretty obvious, it was cute to watch them unfold. But it was such a long sequence of him going through every single meaningful moment of the film that I couldn't help but feel that maybe it didn't need to take quite that long. Cest-la-vie, I guess.

For me, this was a charming little movie that I would gladly watch again.

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