Completed
WhiteLilly
16 people found this review helpful
Jan 16, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This drama is so ENDEARING.
I just finished watching it and feel like I have been part of their families' lives.

It is a drama about life, love, friendship, anger, failure and family.
There is a huge amount of comical moments to ensure that it never
gets depressing or too heavy. (THE GOAT)
I laughed many time at the top of my lungs, because every episode will
deliver something totally ridiculous (in a good sense).

You have all kinds of characters and they are quite original. Each of them
is portrayed as flawed but loveable at the same time. The constellations between
the families are the reason that it feels like a tiny universe of emotional ties that
is shown at a moment (or some years) that are most important for their future
development.

And there is the issue of THE love-mystery...
I have never watched a drama where it was not clear which guy is the leading role
and who is the second lead - thus making it really difficult to predict who the main
girl will choose in the end. IMO the writers did a great job in making it ambiguous.
It is so fifty-fifty, that they could actually pull off an alternative ending taking the last
two episodes.

But this is NOT a love-drama, if you are looking just for romance then you will be
disappointed. When you look for an entertaining, adorable, higly emotional and funny
drama, then you have found it.

What a great piece. Applause to the producers and the team of Reply 1988.

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Completed
MomoSenshi
8 people found this review helpful
Feb 12, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Definitely one of the best dramas that I've seen in a long time, it went all the way up to my top list of favourites of all times.
Since the beginning till the end, I laughed, cried, got sad, angry, felt all the feelings that the characters felt.Their hurts, sadness, achievements... You truly get involved with the story of every character.

This one I'll certainly re-watch. It made me go back in time, specially for someone that is from the 80's.
Usually family dramas can get a little dull after a while, but not with this one.

I'll recommend to everyone that wants to laugh with the foolishness, the comic moments. Anyone that wants to relive the first love, get angry with the troubles of life and shed tears of happiness.

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Completed
luckz
13 people found this review helpful
Sep 24, 2021
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 5.0
Story 2.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 3.0

Nothing happens. You might or might not mind.

the various Reply series are good if you:
- enjoy slice-of-life content
- don't need story progression
- don't mind repetition
- enjoy having a 'life lesson' delivered several times in a row
- don't need many minutes of romance, action, or suspense
- think that goat noises make everything funnier
- derive happiness from seeing brands and fads you might fondly recall from decades ago
- love references not only to history and pop culture, but also spotting re-use of phrases, scenarios and characters from other Replies


they're a horrendous choice if you:
- require plot development
- are allergic to filler storylines (= don't like your time wasted)
- hate laugh tracks and the idea that dumb noises should accompany jokes
- want (actually) funny jokes/comedy
- hate preachy voice-overs and the writers droning on and on about the same point
- don't like information initially omitted just to show the same scene again except slightly longer (= don't like your time wasted)
- feel underwhelmed when the writers try to sell you the same thing they already did in another Reply time and time again
- don't miss the 80s/90s in the first place
- want *all* questions answered
- don't like sudden giant time skips, especially for the purpose of furthering the romance storyline(s)
- can't stand screechy girls & people yelling at each other at length



Except for virtually all actors in Reply 1988 being really bad at crying on command, the casting, acting and production are all great.

The 80s music is very good / appropriate, but on Netflix and other legal streaming sites, a lot of the music and otherwise copyrighted content will be omitted, replaced, or blurred out. Especially if you watch the show to 'experience those times', you don't want to watch it like that.
I didn't care for any of the original music, it was very much forgettable.

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Completed
rachso
11 people found this review helpful
Jan 17, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers
first spoilers. alittle 2nd let me laugh at y'all. hahahahaha people are so furious!!! lol. oh come on guys. if you want shows where the main lead is so obvious go watch.i summon you gold. am kidding dont it was horrible. i still have nightmares but that put aside this was best reply drama for me at least. the character development was well written in this drama. also along side the main couple we go more detail about other couples. and yes!! no cliches at all. may be one or two. i still cant pin point where i saw any cliches. the music was amazing. the acting. well..the young cast was fine. but the older cast (parents etc) was great. i will be rewatcching this one especially since i shipped the right couple. hahahaha. iam sorry....ummm... i cant believe the writers did this lol

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Completed
Nicolelodeon
5 people found this review helpful
Jul 16, 2021
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Can MyDramaList allow more than a 10 for the rating?

Woooh!!! What a super duper awesome ride! For someone who knew the ending and a big portion of the scenes, Reply 1988 succeeds in still capturing my heart from beginning to end. I’ve put this drama in my PTW list for the longest time, and I really really wanted to watch this drama at least once in my life because all I heard was how good this drama was. But as some of you know me from my reviews, I tend to avoid watching deep dramas, since I don’t want to cry a river while having people in my house watch me LOL. But I thought these past few weeks was the perfect time to start watching this drama, since I’m on my self-quarantine. So I did start, and wow, I think I found MY DRAMA.

Where do I start? This drama is just spectacular! From the casts, the acting, the storyline, all the editings and all the very beautiful quotes, everything was just beyond perfection. Never have I ever seen a drama and thought, “Wow, why is the acting so natural? Are all these lines an ad-lib? Why don’t they look like they’re acting? It must be nice to act without having to memorize the lines since all the lines you’re going to say is so relatable and realistic, and you’re just going to say whatever is in your mind.” There was one scene that shows how two families in the same neighborhood goes out to a restaurant and have dinner together, and everyone was shouting and running outside happily, and I thought, how relatable is this? I literally felt the pure joy they were feeling, and it made me so amazed with how brilliant the screenwriter and the director was! I saw enough deep dramas about life, friendship and family, but it was my first time to watch such a lifelike and a relatable drama. Although I could relate to the feelings and emotions portrayed in most of the dramas I’ve watched, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a drama or even a film that has the same conflict as what you experienced right that moment. When I saw the scene where Deok Sun had a hard time finding her dream, I felt a pang in my heart because it was the exact same thing I’m dealing with right now. I thought Reply 1988 would only be great and relatable to those who lived in that period of time, but as someone who was born in the early 2000s, I just think this drama discusses so many problems that still happen today.

I usually thank all the directors, the screenwriters and all the staff and casts involved in the end, but I really really want to thank everyone involved in this drama. For the casting directors, thank you. Thank you for picking beautiful actors and actresses and those that really fit with each of their characters. For the casts, namely Lee Hyeri, Ryu Junyeol, Go Kyungpyo, Lee Donghwi, Park Bogum, Ryu Hyeyoung, Ahn Jaehong, Choi Sungwon, Ra Miran, Sung Dongil, Lee Sungkyun, Lee Ilhwa, Kim Sunyoung, Choi Moosung and Yoo Jaemyeong and our little Kim Seol, thank you for bringing the characters to life. Thank you for acting out Deoksun, Jungpal, Sunwoo, Dongryong, Taek, Bora, Jungbong, Noeul, baby Jinjoo and all of the characters so perfectly for us! You did so so well and for that, I thank you. Kudos for all the directors and the screenwriters for the amazing storyline and for the idea to use the parents’ casts’ real name for their characters—it really helped me know each of the talented actors and actresses name better! Kudos as well to all the editors who worked so hard and managed to give us beautiful illustrations, and beautiful editings that brings a big smile to my face everytime I watch them.

No drama has ever made me cry this much, laugh this much, smile this much and hurt this much. It was super hard to say goodbye to this drama, albeit painful to watch at times. Since I watched this drama long after it ended, I knew who end up with who, all the sad scenes, even the alternate endings which I’m grateful it didn’t end that way. Love triangles are one of the things I don’t enjoy watching, moreover if there are no clear reasons to hate the SML, so I really tried my best to like the FML more, but I clearly failed at this one. The only problem I had with this drama is the way it ended for the SML, who clearly don’t deserve all that painful scenes. But it’s okay, all the happy family scenes showed in the end was all worth it, and it clearly made up all those painful and tearful scenes I had to watch in the last few episodes.

The balance between the sad scenes and the funny scenes are awesome! The transition between all that tearful scenes, the heartfelt scenes and all those painful scenes to the funny scenes and that ridiculously happy scenes were just so smooth. It’s like one minute you cry your eyes out watching a really touching scene, then a funny character like Mr Yoo or Dong Ryong comes up and does something funny. I’m thankful for those funny characters, because without them, I’m not going to be able to sleep well at night, because I’ll still be crying thinking of the scene.

Lastly, let me talk about the music. The music was just amazing! If I could rate more than 10 for the music, I definitely will! I am one to enjoy 80s music to begin with, so the OSTs and all the retro musics picked for this drama just fits well with my taste—Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You, How Deep is Your Love, Time of My Life, I Just Called to Say I Love You, Right Here Waiting, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. Some of the OSTs was a remake of old songs which I know some of it and loved them—Purple Rain and Don’t Worry.

For those of you who plans on watching this, prepare your hearts! Prepare tissues as well. Hang on tight because you might fall off your seats and your belly might hurt from laughing. You might also wake up with swollen eyes because you’ll cry your eyes out watching heartfelt and relatable scenes. But you’re not going to regret watching this drama one bit! Everything was just the way I liked them: dramatic but meaningful. “I can’t go back to my youth, or to this street. They are both the same. Time will always flow. Everything will pass by. Everything will age. That might be why youth is beautiful. It shines blindingly bright, for just an instant. But, to it, you can never go back. A time when many tears were shed. The time of my youth was like that as well… To the things that are already gone, to a time that had already passed, I want to say a belated farewell. Goodbye, my youth. Goodbye, Ssangmundong.” Goodbye Reply 1988! Welcome to my top 3! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Completed
catherine
5 people found this review helpful
Aug 23, 2019
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Heart-warming but bittersweet

I have too many thoughts. It's true that this drama focused less on the romance plotline and more on friendship and family, which I can get behind. BUT—for fifteen episodes, the romance barely progressed, and I honestly found myself thirsting for any sort of development. The triangle was one of those situations where for once I wouldn't mind who got the girl because I loved both love interests so much. It definitely wasn't who I expected at the beginning, where I was firmly on Team Jung-Hwan, but the way they went about making Taek the husband was so natural that I fell for him HARD along the way, and their hotel kiss scene turned out to be my favorite scene. which I've rewatched at least 50 times since finishing the drama an hour ago.

I really appreciated that Deok-Sun fell for him on her own and, unlike the other two, didn't just like the idea of being liked first (in which she was unlikable and had stilted character development); to add, the fact that she lied and didn't chase after him because she cherished him so much as a friend...that broke me into a million pieces. Their relationship was honestly all kinds of natural, and even though everyone treated him so preciously and she did too, she was also one of the few who weren't afraid of wrestling him and treating him like everyone else. Like I said, even though Deok-Sun seemed to have some stilted character development because she was such a passive part of the love triangle for so long and didn't even understand her own emotions after the time skip, I really liked how everything ended up playing out—I just wished her pacing was less bunched up towards the end.

My heart still hurts for Jung-Hwan, especially with all those episodes after the time skip, and I wish he had more development even after it was clear Taek was the husband. But one huge thing I loved about Reply 1988 in comparison to the other dramas was that, even though it was heart-breaking, it teaches that you have to ACT and fight for what your heart wants. Jung-Hwan might've loved Deok-Sun, but he never fought for her, treated her indifferently, said hurtful things, and for once the tsundere-with-lack-of-communication didn't have that hail Mary / miracle at the end and get the girl, which is a much more accurate representation of real life. Jung-Hwan's episode 18 revelation was one of my favorites: when he sees that Taek got to her first, blames the red lights, then finally realizes that he had had all the time in the world and could only blame his own hesitation and cowardice. It can all be summed up in that on scene where Deok-Sun says she has indigestion, JH only asks if she's okay, but Taek follows her out and gives her medicine.

Taek was the one who was always there for her, and even after knowing about Jung-Hwan's feelings and folding his own, Taek still dropped everything for her—not because didn't care for Jung-Hwan, but just because Deok-Sun was that much of a priority.

The time skip in this one surprisingly didn't bother me as much, even though I still felt kind of iffy about it at first, as I do with all time skips. Unlike Reply 1997 where Yoon-Jae and Shi-Won didn't talk to each other for six years, I liked that characters kept in touch throughout the years and still met up, which was why their relationship was so natural even though we could see them growing up.

The ending broke my heart, and honestly I wish it ended at episode 19, where everyone was happy. But since we DID have episode 20, I wish the things introduced in that episode were wrapped up, like their family and friends' reactions to Taek and Deok-Sun's relationship.

I also HATED Bo-Ra at first, because she was rude and angsty and bossy and yelled ALL ThE TIME. But she grew on me, and I loved that her political activism was a storyline. Her relationship with her dad was also a dark horse that I didn't expect to cry so much for them.

One thing I wished we had more of was friendship for Deok-Sun within the group. I loved her scenes with Dong-Ryong which were JUST friendship, and I loved the bromance between the other characters. But since Deok-Sun was the only girl, I couldn't help but feel like she was left out of some of those deep talks.

It took me a little longer to understand who was who, simply because this one had the most adults and family members. At some points, there were some plots that I didn't care for and felt like they were filler, but they really grew on me as the story progressed.

Another thing that really didn't work for me was the different actors in the present day scenes. I liked that it meant we didn't have the guy's face obscured at all times, but I really felt like I disassociated the older characters from their younger selves and just could not get used to the different faces and voices.

Lastly, the 1994 cameos were woven in beautifully. They tied into the message of the episode perfectly. I loved the Reply 1997 characters and their cameos in 1994, but I wish they had the same impact as the ones in this serial.

I honestly would give 10/10 for the last 3 episodes because they had the perfect balance of romance, friendship, family, culture, etc...but overall, my rating would still be 8.5/10. As much as I liked that this one didn't focus on romance, some of the episodes felt more filler, and I felt like some of the plotlines were recycled from previous Reply dramas, like the realize-you-have-to-treat-your-parents-right-after-a-health-scare.

ALSO - give the actress for baby Jin-Joo an Oscar. She was hilarious, adorable, and stole every single scene she was in.

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Completed
Lou
11 people found this review helpful
Jan 17, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
The Reply series has always been an awesome series to watch. They have that great nostalgic factor and story that just about anyone can relate too. And Reply 1988 is no different. Similar to the previous 2 shows in the series (Reply 1997 & Reply 1994), Reply 1988 takes us back to a time where there were no cellphones, no flat screens TVs, no social media like today, and people learned to co-habitate amongst families and neighbors. Imagine, no Facebook! Ack!

The 3rd installment in the series takes the cake! Charming, well written, wonderfully casted and a great ending, the story had me hook from beginning to end. from the moment you are introduced to the neighborhood, you want to see what happens to all of the characters. Granted like it's predecessors, the plot is the same, the leading lady will marry one of the guys that she grows up with, and you- the viewer -have to watch the show to see who it is and how she ended up with him. Which is only part of the fun and has been a major beat to all of the previous shows. However, this time around they did something different. Where as in the previous versions, the story revolved around the main lady and her struggles to find love, Reply 1988 not only introduces you to the leading lady, but to 5 unique families as well. And boy did they make this show fun to watch.

I really think that the the writer learned how to fine tune the Reply series after watching this one. It didn't drag on and was clear about presenting all of the different scenarios leading up to the finally when the husband is revealed. The other 2 in the series didn't do as good of a job. The conflicts here made sense and played out well. They didn't drag on longer than they needed to. Also, all of the cast members had equal shine. By the end of the show I gave up on picking a few cast members to "like" overall and came to the conclusion that the show would not have worked as well as it did without everyone.

Cinematography was on point. The soundtrack has already been ordered from Amazon. Yeah, it's that good. One of the best. Remixes of old songs remade that enhances the show, like Deulgukhwa's Everyday with you. Great track.

All and all, this is a great series, so do your self a favor and check it out!

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Completed
Unnursvana
11 people found this review helpful
Mar 25, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Started off super well. Then it started to decline in the end. Still, this franchise continues to do what it has been doing for years now. It is still all about the nostalgia of the youth - and the people - in Korea during the time-period that the drama is set it. It still manages to make me feel very sentimental and nostalgic for a period that I didn’t experience on my own - being an Icelandic girl born in 1991 - and the approach of the material is still very mundane and raw.

TvN know what works when it comes to this series, so changing that formula - as well as the who-is-the-husband-baiting-plot - isn’t probably that high on their list. Still, the Reply franchise is honestly not like any other drama series in terms of friendship and family-relationship. Or at least not out of all of the dramas that I have watched.

In some aspect I found I think this series - the third series of the Reply series - to be better than the second series. It is just as long as the second one - with 20 episode per series and about 90 minute to almost two hour long episodes, twice a week - but it didn’t feel like it dragged as much as the second one did. The episodes are all way to long, but then again TVN isn’t always about quality over quantity when it comes to this show. But I still found myself having fun watching them.

Some things really are just unnecessary fluff and fillers. It is just that I didn’t mind most of that unnecessary fluff and fillers. I got a lot faster frustrated with them in Reply 1994 than I did in Reply 1988. It didn’t go on and on and on about the love-triangle, since it focused more on the other relationships of the other characters.

Sure, both Reply 1994 and Reply 1997 focus on the friendship between the main characters and their friends and the family-bond that exists there, but Reply 1988 does a bit more of that. We get to explore all of the families on this one street that Reply 1988 takes place, which gives us more stuff to watch over the 90 minute episodes.

Much more than in Reply 1994 at least, where all we had was the family and friends of the main girl and guy. So more time went in baiting us with Chilbong and the love-triangle. Reply 1988 is the drama that feels most like a family drama in the Reply series and that is one of the best assets of Reply 1988. Seeing them all move away, after spending so much time together, at the end was very painful to watch.

There is a lot of baiting in Reply 1988 with the love-triangle. But it felt more similar to the baiting in Reply 1997 than in Reply 1994. Just a whole lot more mellow than in Reply 1997. There was a lot more happened in the love-triangle there. Here we just had two guys pinning after this one girl and never really doing anything about it. They really could have done a better job with it. Sometimes it felt like they were taking some time that they could use on that on some cute, fluffy, filler with the other characters. Like Jung Bong and Mi Ok’s relationship.

In the end I felt very indifferent toward the love-triangle. Which makes one of the main points of the drama - the husband-hunt aspect - kinda pointless to me. They should have made me care, but since no one really did anything, then I couldn't really care less about it.

That made the Reply 1988 drag a lot toward the end for me. Sure, I didn’t feel like they were milking the story as much as they did in Reply 1994 and I didn’t feel as soon frustrated with Reply 1988 as I did with Reply 1994 - but Reply 1988 didn’t have Chilbong - but it still left me a bit unsatisfied. She is in some way better than Reply 1994, but not nearly as good as Reply 1997 or as good as it could have been.

I also feel like I care more about Reply 1997 and Reply 1994 than I do with Reply 1988. It pulled more at my heartstrings, despite it all. Even if I felt like Reply 1994 dragged on for way to long and milked it’s story for it popularity - all of the Reply series do that to certain extent - and Reply 1988 told a better overall-story. I just cried more during the first two series.

Not to say that Reply 1988 didn’t make me cry, because it did. The Reply series is made for sentimental and nostalgic-loving people like me. Of course it is going to make me cry. All of the warm-family stuff tend to get me teary-eyed. It just didn’t make me bawl my eyes out as much as the other two did. Maybe because I started to feel a bit indifferent toward some of the stuff in it. And the episodes could be a bit - OK, a lot - shorter. Reply 1997 was the best, when it was just 45 minutes per episode.

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Completed
GreenRose
6 people found this review helpful
Nov 13, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Okay I think I'm being biased with my ratings but seriously this drama is waaay beyond amazing and deserves more than 10/10.

This drama is a complete story of friendship, family, and romance. It will make you laugh and cry and give you butterflies in your stomach and laugh and cry again but you will never regret it watching it over and over again.

As someone who grew up with technology, this drama made me realize and see that there is more to life than the internet and social media. This drama particularly shows the value of family and friendship without being boring. Every episode and every scene are very anticipating. It helps you cope up with life and assures you that it is okay to be selfish at times and feel hurt and always reminds you that what other people say about you, your family, and your friends, doesn't matter.

I loveee this drama sooo much. Astounding casts, superb acting, splendid staffs, excellent production. Highly recommended. Must watch.

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Completed
Mia
5 people found this review helpful
Apr 29, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
I just finished this drama and although this was such a roller coaster of happiness, in the end, I still left with a pang in my heart. I wish I could keep the characters in this drama eighteen forever, but the finale kinda reminds me that the beauty of youth lies in the fact that it’s fleeting.

Reply 1988 is actually the only drama in which I don't really care who she'll end up with. Because damn Deok Sun-she seems like she has chemistry with each of the characters. For me, Reply 1988 outshines the previous series. It exceeds way beyond my expectations. And I'm personally not the type of person who likes to watch family oriented dramas, but Reply 1988 is such a heartwarming drama in terms of family relationship and bonding.

If you're expecting a cliche love story line then nah. You won't get that. It doesn't have the typical female lead being the only one having a crush nor a male lead who said and did nothing but ended up with the girl. This drama is beautiful in its own way since it gave the person who is brave enough to cross the line-and took a risk-the chance to get what he wants. The show gave many chances for each character to take and it was their decision that leads them to what they have. Because after all, life is full of deciding over things.

The cast did a really great job. Hyeri's acting as Deok Sun is superb. I actually not expecting her to act so natural and fun to watch. Deok Sun is a character that radiates happiness vibes, she's funny and yet good in understanding others. Sun Woo is basically the teacher's example of a role model and yet he also has a sensitive and romantic side within him. What can I say about Dong Ryong, he's basically one of the characters that I'm always waiting to be on screen. Because he's just this careless guy with a really great humor that makes everything got more fun whenever they're together-let's just say he's the ace of the group. And there's Taek with his strong competitive trait and yet he radiates dongsaeng vibes which just makes people want to take care of him. Also Taek's killer smile is like ayeee part of me melts every time he laughs. And not to forget the quirky yet naive Jung Hwan. He is just your definition of hotness. He's actually the first character that I got attached to. On the outside he seems like he is such a careless person, but in fact he's just a guy who doesn't know how to express himself and always misses timing. Yet, he's the most adorable one.

The parents are also the main focus in this show. And they're charming in their own way. Kim's family is my ultimate fav!

Don't even ask about the music. The OSTs are gold [with those oldies vibes] and they suit the scenes really well.

Reply 1988 is one of those dramas in which you just don't feel like watching the finale because then you knew that it's gonna end. Seeing such friendship where you'll be there for each other anytime and anywhere gives me a pang of jealousy. I wish I could stay in one neighborhood throughout my youth.

“I could not return to my youth or that street either. Time always flows. Everything passes by and ages. That might be why youth is beautiful. Because it shines, blindingly bright at a brilliant short moment. But you can never go back (to it). A time when many tears was shed – like my youth.” -Deok Sun-

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Completed
Jay noona
15 people found this review helpful
Jul 28, 2019
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 16
Overall 5.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers
first of all i'm the black sheep

i skipped lots of scenes & i pressed the forward button for many episodes specially the last 4 eps

and what provoked me soooooooooooooooooooooo
that stupid voice of the sheep & the goat they made the whole drama

i didn't like this drama i've to admit it has it's moments and that's it
this drama could be much better
cause this period was one of the best periods ever
this drama is so boring and very monotonous
how come any drama could be 110 min per one ep with no much events and lots & lots of details that has no meaning
and towards the end the writer skipped many important events suddenly after bothering us with meaningless details
and as usual the meaningless tragedy should take its place

suddenly bo ra left sun woo without any reasons and suddenly she want to return back

and suddenly they all left each other at the ep 17
and treat each other as if they were colleagues

how come years pass and they know nothing about each other
after eating , sleeping, hanging out, playing, laughing even breathing together
and i saw the development of the characters was nearly zero

i loved the idea that deok sun will end up with jung hwan much more than choi taek
although both r amazing but i loved jung more
i was really sad for him so much

what was really beautiful in this drama it reminds me how much life was amazing at this period before technology
and how much i missed it so

at last i really took a deep breath when it finished ... pphwwww

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Completed
B_ann1
12 people found this review helpful
Jan 19, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers
One of the best things about the Reply -series is that you get to experience those specific years as though you were actually there yourself. Like it's predecessor Reply 1997 (I have yet to watch 1994), Reply 1988 starts off with a current event from that particular year; introduction to the Olympics held in South-Korea. I'm immediately sucked in with the believable and well-portrayed characters and their antics and this drama grows to be the one that I am craving for every week, so much so that I'm devastated when they take a two week hiatus, only to return to this drama after what feels like an eternity and be gravely disappointed. The drama has changed completely. For the worse.

Discussion as to who makes the best husband is something I don't even dare to start because there are loyal supporters on both sides of the argument. I am among those people who ended up rooting for the wrong guy, although I must wonder, for how long? Whether you agree with the choice of husband or not, you possibly cannot disagree with me when I say that ending was horrible. It was rushed and ambiguous. Some of the characters that we had grown to love since the beginning of the series were completely cast aside. We weren't even told what happened to them in the end. Did they get married? What kind of a job do they have? Are they even alive? None of these questions were answered, so don't go telling me that "No, it was wonderful, don't you dare say a bad word!" because that's complete bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.

"For how long?" is the question that presses my mind constantly. From how early on were the writers aware that they would be creating one of the worst endings I've ever seen to the one drama that could have otherwise been the best I've ever seen? I don't think they had much time. I mentioned earlier about the hiatus and in case you weren't aware, before the break a few very drastic spoilers were revealed about this drama. Ones that didn't come through in the end. The production team is now suing the medias that revealed those spoilers. So perhaps... just perhaps (honestly, I'm pretty certain), was the writing team forced to change the ending of this drama after the spoilers were released to avoid a predictable outcome? I don't know about you but to me having a good ending is more important than being surprised. Sometimes the most obvious ending is the best one. I'm sure that that's how it would've been here as well.

So am I telling you to not watch this drama? Absolutely not. I'm telling you to watch this, but to know that the ending will most likely not live up to your expectations. Up until episode 16, everything is fine. A good plot, lovable characters and most importantly, important messages about life. One of my favorite messages that this drama sent out was that it's okay to ask for help. People you love will always be there to support you. This drama, for the most part, revolves around family and it warms my heart whenever I think about the interrelationships of the families. Yes, I'm still enraged by the ending, but that doesn't mean that the entire drama suddenly becomes meaningless. It's possible to criticize something even if you still like it.

So consider watching this, because there are a lot of good things. Ryu Joon Yeol is magnificent as Junghwan; he made the character seem like a real person, that's how natural he was. The same thing can be said about Lee Dong Hwi and some of the older actors. Hyeri, Park Bo Gum, Go Gyeong Pyo and Ryu Hye Young do a good job as well. It's unfortunate that so many promising young actors ended up getting completely screwed over by the changes of script later on. However, as a total package this was a good, very nice continuation to the Reply series. I won't be re-watching this because of obvious reasons but another series would be nice. Can we get a little 1979 next? preferably without spoilers this time around, pretty please and thank you :)

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