How to Buy a Friend (2020)

This show is such a standard for mini-dramas. The pacing of the drama was perfection and didn't feel rushed but was also substantial and managed to tell the story it aimed to tell within its 8 episode span.

The Characterisation: So wonderful. I still don't know how they managed to effectively portray and explain the motivations and personalities of the characters and develop them so well within 8 episodes. With the exception of one minor character, everyone is so beautifully captured and explained in this story.

The Plot: Amazing and really intriguing. It was a pretty crazy ride but it was completely realistic. One major credit to the drama is that it deals with some really H E A V Y topics but it is still hilarious and respectful. The way in which the drama unfolds this story is so realistic but also enjoyable without weighing you down. In this regard it is a similar watch to Sky Castle, there are really touching moments, very dark and sad moment amongst very important lessons while maintaining a fresh, light air to it. (Disclaimer: it is a very different drama from sky castle, I am referring here to the feeling of watching)

The Music: This was forgettable for me, didn't feel like I wanted to listen to the songs outside the drama. I will say that the music matched well with the show and there was never any songs that felt out of place with where the story was going at all.

Personal Fave: A lot of the script is very beautiful and poetic. This is stronger if you have a relatively good understanding of Korean but also translates into English really beautifully. Perhaps because one of the main characters was a budding poet it was a stylistic choice? The best part about it is that its poetic without ever being pretentious r feeling disingenuous to the setting of High School.

Overall: I am not a big fan of high school dramas as I am older and sometimes find the writing of teenagers quite unrealistic and overly juvenile. This drama was so wonderful in its portrayal of both teenagers, the people around them and the less flowery events that sometimes young people have to deal with. It is highly recommended to anyone that likes touching shows but also want to laugh. Great Quarantine watch!!

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This was a short fun drama to watch, could it of been longer? yes, but it was paced nicely, enough time to show development in relationships and enough for the story to flow and an interesting mystery to keep you guessing. The cinematography was one word, GORGEOUS, the scenery , the colors and just the beautiful angles that are aesthetically pleasing
The romance and friendship is a big part of the drama, especially the trio of unlikely friends, I loved the diversity of characters and how different each one was.
The mystery was intriguing but nothing too original, but it was fun to watch with a comedic spin on it, but the school violence seemed pretty unrealistic and confusing at times when is done in plain sight.
I liked the acting, each actor felt like they fit each character well with the personalities. I wish we saw more of Don Hyuk's and his girlfriend's backstory more though .
The music was average not really any songs I would put on my playlist.
Overall the drama was enjoyable and really pretty to watch It's an easy watch and is fun, with comedic and serious scenes which balance each other out.

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