Moment at Eighteen (2019)

" Moment at eighteen" had a really strong start. The drama was perfect, with the issues such as bullying and gap between the social classes were nicely presented.

However, as soon as the romance started progressing, the drama lost its character and became a weak teenage rom com. The main character's problems, like the death on his one and only friend, were put aside and left for good. Let alone all those side characters whose story was never concluded. The drama got boring and the ending was open and unsatisfying.

Other than that, the performances were good from all the actors and actresses in this drama.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Whats most annoying about this show is that the supporting characters and their stories are 10 times more interesting than Soobin and Junwoo. This show could have been amazing if it focused on all of these characters evenly, instead of dedicating 40 painful minutes to Junwoo/Soobin every episode. I especially wished that Hwiyoung got more screen time and that they took more care with his character. Same with Ohje. And Sanghoon. And the mums. And the teacher. And literally every other supporting character in the show. Oh well. Luckily the boring and bad parts of this drama were so forgettable that I can only remember the first few episodes, meaning I look back on this drama quite fondly. Even though I don't think this drama is anything amazing, I still find myself thinking about it and the (supporting) characters all the time. I think I could rewatch this quite happily up to about episode 8.

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I can honestly say that this show is probably on my top 5 list for ALL of 2019, period. There is literally something about these young actors and actresses that makes it amazing because when they get older and just keep it up, they're going to be the best in the industry.

The story is a familiar one but not familiar all in one. It's not your average teenagers in love with some love triangle but it's so much more than that. It's family drama, it's the stress of being a teenager, it's young love and heart break all in love. You feel the pain of loss, you feel the anger because of the scum of characters and drama that happens but you're also going to be excited because it truly keeps you on your toes and it's such a good watch. Like the story is just good, you have Jun Woo who thinks he's just a shadow and Soo Bin just happens to be the light that sparks everything. The wanting to be number 1 to get to the best college and just everything all together, this story is just so good. The jealous old friend who's a piece of shit abusive rich boy; it'll rage you inside but honestly, you just need the drama sometimes.

The acting is PHENOMENAL. LIKE OH GOD THE CHEMISTRY, I LOVED IT.
For a first role for Seong Woo, I'm amazed, I don't care what anyone says, he plays an amazing part, he's so good at the emotion and being a good person and you can't help but just fall in love with his character, honestly.
Hyang Gi has so much potential and she just did a good job at this role, just like when she was in sweet revenge because he's honestly just so good at what she does, for someone that's still so new, I loved it.
Seung Ho played a good bad guy, is all I can say, I hated his character. lol
Ki Young plays an amazing person at anyone he plays, let's be real. HE'S SUCH A GOOD ACTOR.
Also shout out to my girl Young Gi from Kara; I just love heerrr!!!
DO WAN'S ACTING AS THE SMART BAD BOY DANG.
Everyone else from the PARENTS to the FRIENDS to the TEACHERS, the acting was just great. I loved it all. Like OH JE!!!! MY boy, he was sweet. Someone give him his own story because he deserves happiness. AND THE MOMS, I LOVE THEM, IDK THEIR RELATIONSHIP OHEMGEE.

The OST was amazing and catchy, with brand new songs that are still coming out and people you haven't heard of yet so they really sought it out.

I would rewatch this in a heart beat, after I even finish watching it, that's how good this show was, it's like my top for sure.

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Wasted potential.
I feel so bad. I was really excited about this one and I liked it, to an extent, some of it was done so well. But then they dealt with a few things so ridiculously it really ruined the experience.
First off, if you introduce a character that is supposed to be the male leads best friend and you show that love and you start caring for them and then you harm the character just so the hero can get to be emotional that's fine, nothing wrong with that. But what does it say about your main lead when literally the very next episode the writers forgot he even existed!
And they show Hui Young's TRAUMATIC life but not ONE single 'friend' ever so much as sympathizes with him or shows empathy! But they're quick to see him as the villain when he does things out of desperation.

Basically everything they set up in the beginning, they ruined it and suddenly a nuanced good script was becoming boring and bland.

So by far, we have a main lead who found a girl and forgot his childhood friend and isn't the least bit affected by what happened to him! When he was practically the only friend he had since they were kids ffs!

And then the female lead again, even when she found out about hui young and what happened she's only worried about the new shiny guy she JUST met and doesn't feel ANYTHING for Hwi young who again, they've been friends since childhood!
Do either of these characters seem not selfish to you?

And no one among the writers seems to have ANY FREAKING CLUE what trauma is. Obviously, they were trying to be edgy but ended up writing extremely shallow characters. And don't even get me started on how they handled Moonbins character! Ugh. Just probably added that bit for edgy brownie points and it went nowhere and was completely pointless!

A disappointment but did give me some entertainment hence the rating. The actors definitely deserved better.

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I really liked the start of the drama, but the more it progressed, the weaker the plot became. The series started to become more focussed on the main character's romance. The stories of the side characters were left unfinished.

One of my favorite characters was Ma hwi young, and I really rooted for him. I know that he had issues and I really didn't condone his behavior. In his defense, he did realize his mistakes and he changed for the better. But I became annoyed when no one realized where his behavior came from. The fact that he was abused, both mentally and physically, was something that most characters weren't aware of. They judged him without knowing all the facts. His environment played a huge part in who he became as a person. Not everything that happened was his fault (I'm talking about the changing of his grades that he wasn't even aware of), and I wished that the other characters had noticed that as well. He deserved better.

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A teen drama but also a sort of heavy slice-of-life

(Spoilers at the bottom regarding a character's sexuality)

Such a down-hearted and sweet ML. He's such a good-natured person that he sometimes lets things slide or doesn't stand up for himself enough when he should though. But, he is true to himself and his morals, and he does stand up in his own way later on. 

The big "misunderstanding" was annoying but the payoff was perfect. The lesson was genuinely learned and the FL was apologetic and did better afterward.

This was a teen drama but also a sort of heavy slice-of-life. It's slow, but purposefully so. These are teenagers dealing with typical problems/more serious problems but also bigger things out of their control that they shouldn't have to face. It covers emotional/physical abuse, overdemanding and anxiety-inducing parental pressure, divorce, child abandonment, a form of self-harm, peer pressure, a victim choosing for themself how they handle things, bullying, etc. 

It's about being more present in life, realizing what you can and can't control, and accepting what is and isn't your fault. Parental pressure and abuse is never the fault of the victim, but maliciously taking out that pain on others is. And you can understand why someone would act that way because of their horrible environment but it doesn't mean you condone or forgive the behavior. Life circumstances can get in the way of us and being with our loved ones but it doesn't mean the relationship is lost.

We do the best we can and we still struggle. But there are moments to cherish in our past and moments to look forward to in the future.

Regarding Representation: We had a Gay SML, Jung Oh Je, who had unrequited feelings for one of the MLs, Ma Hwi Young. He didn't have a lot of screen time but he was a calming presence and his character had an impact, particularly when the drama was airing.

The way they hint at his real feelings is nicely subtle in the background. Even when he doesn't have lines, if you pay attention and follow his stare you notice who he's looking at. And he has a very openly thoughtful yet guarded expression to him that speaks of someone who is figuring something out within themself that they are scared of.

I think they did a good job. Realistically the outing likely would have gone much worse but I think them toning it down helped in showing acceptance of someone's sexuality as being the right and natural thing. Even Ma Hwi Young wasn't really a jerk about it in the way he would be about anything else.

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Terrible acting with the most boring ML and FL in history

I started this drama with high hopes, but, ended up finishing it only because I was curious how Hwi-young would end up. The ML kept a consistently pathetic and helpless expression on his face, walked with no confidence and approached his life in exactly that way. Not once did he step up for himself and to me, it seems like he'll be a doormat for the rest of his life.
Same goes for the FL. Always kind and saintly to people like Ro-mi who constantly put her down and are mean to her. I mean, really? Are there any teenagers like that, even? I felt that Hwi-young, Sang-hoon and Mr. Oh showed character development and acted well. The other characters including the moms were all one-dimensional and acted terribly. Terrible storyline, and they kept the episodes going by showing the kids in the class constantly gazing at each other for five minutes. I mean, that's all that seemed to happen. This person gazing at that person, then having a thoughtful expression on their face, eavesdropping around the lockers, asking if the other is ok - on repeat. Sorry, but, I have higher standards for my K-dramas.

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The concept of showing the coming-of-age emotional turmoil is far from being new but I liked the effort to choose the perspective of an introvert to tell the story and to do it well which is actually very rare in dramas.
I also surprisingly got hooked on the secondary story of the perfect-looking leader who's actually suffering from all the pressure and destroying himself and others behind close doors. Because here again the concept isn't new but the secondary cast did an amazing job.
But somewhere in the middle, the drama changed its timing and instead of giving enough space to school life, it focused on the romance and also modified JunWoo's personality a little.
So we got too much of a romance, which was sweet at the beginning but got bland very fast. And we got the cliche that introvert are just overall quiet people, which is true but once they open up, there's also much more to their personality and that part was lost here. So bland romance with bland characters.
And at the same time, they rushed the side story with the secondary characters which turned out to be much more interesting for me.
I still gave it an 8 for the beginning and the amazing performance of most of the cast.
Also please give Kim Do-Wan playing Sang hoon and Kim Sun Young playing the main girl's mom an award, they were unbelievably good.

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