Cherry Blossoms After Winter (2022)

Consistency is nowhere to be found

Overall review: I don’t know where to start. The pace was awful, the buildup was horrendous, and they did so many things that seemed to happen out of nowhere (derogatory) I stopped at the beginning of episode 5 but I am 95% sure that my score would've stayed around the same and the story wouldn’t have made the watch worth it. 8 episodes each lasting around 24ish minutes, don’t even bother watching. Hit “not interested” and move on to the next thing in your watchlist.

-Pace: Time jumps that didn’t make sense
-Chemistry among the leads: boring not going to lie, Haebom was cute!
- Conflict: Bland, basic
- Character development: I didn’t watch it all to see if there was any, it seemed as if characters did a 360 with things and just.. the characters overall did things out of nowhere and expected viewers to go with the flow because it gets the romance going.

TL;DR: Don’t recommend at all. If you don’t mind inconsistencies then be my guest and watch but let me tell you, just skip this from your watchlist.

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Growing on me

Update after Episode 6: Okay, its growing on me I admit. The cringiness that gets to me of the first couple episodes has cleared into more bearable levels of cringe typical for genre, and i don't mind it at all; its part of the charm. The portrayal of the leads has improved for me as well. Taesung is emoting much more which makes helps. The chemistry between the leads is improving as well. They aren't setting the screen on fire or anything (especially the tucked lip that barely touch kissing) but I believe they like each other now which is an improvement. One gripe I have picked up for both our leads in episode six is that they both do so much pouting and speak so cutely, I still find it mostly charming though so I'm not that mad. I still love Jiah and wish we saw her more but Yonghee has grown on me. We love a wingman.
I'm having more issues with the plot in the last few episodes though. It really is starting to feel like they are just picking particular scenes from the manhwa to show and expecting the viewer to fill in the blanks themselves, like a highlight reel. I bet people who haven't read it feel like they are missing context a lot of the time. This really got to me in episode 6 which I think happens over a period of weeks but the show doesn't really show you that. Given that they seem to be doing the entire second season of the manhwa in 3 episodes is likely the cause there. On that note, I am surprised they have seemingly cut the stalker storyline which is the shows loss I think. Though it might clash with the tone of the drama and maybe thats why they cut it.

Overall, I'm enjoying watching it and would recommend it to people who know they like the genre and are up for a cute, easy watch. Worried about how rushed its currently feeling though.

Original Review after 2 episodes 'Flawed but giving it a chance': This drama is shaping up to be disappointing for me. The production quality isn't great and the writing/acting (especially the minor classmates, i nearly jumped ship when taesung was walking down the hall and the girls were freaking out) is spotty at best. I'm enjoying Haebom so far; he is appropriately cute and wholesome without coming across too saccharine or tryhard for me. I'm not getting as much of the effort to not be a burden to Taesung and Eunsun energy as I want though. I sort of expect him to be sacrificing himself to reduce the burden he thinks he causes. He has his (secret?) job but I'm not getting it in his energy or other interactions. On the other hand, Taesung's portrayal is so stiff and lifeless. I know his whole thing is that he is purposely stoic and hiding his feelings but he isn't conveying anything to me. I want his eyes at least to be showing longing or restraint or something but I'm not getting anything so far. I'm also not really getting any chemistry between them yet, which is too bad. I'm also weirdly enjoying Jiah in the show more than I thought I would. I find her to appear more natural on screen than maybe anyone else on the above cast list. I'm going to continue watching for now because I'm enjoying Haebom and Jiah. I hope the chemistry between the leads improves as the show progresses though.

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Perfect title

Just finished and has small spoilers. I really enjoyed this drama although there seems to be many different types of reviews as we all interpret with different mind sets.
This drama had me sad at times but mostly smiling and falling in love with Ok Jin Uk plays Seo hae bom & Kang Hui plays Jo Tae Seong. They both do there characters justice in how they portray them and im still in awe about them being 25 & 30. Hae bom who is small in hgts, shy and a cute smile, but still has no friends which is sad. He tries and has a good personality if only someone would give him a chance instead of watching him being bullied. Now we have Tae Seong who is the polar opposite popular, good looks, tall, enjoys sports and smart. As we learn why they grew up together for over 10yrs and why they arent friends and why tae seong keeps him a secret from his friends. The mom Hun Sun is really cool and down to earth and an angel for taking in Hae bom in and treating him as family, but also clueless as to what is happening around the boys.
After years of school the boys are put into the same class for the first time and act as stranger and Hae bom is nervous. Tae Seong witnesses Hae Bom being bullied for the first time and emotions surface. Does he intervene and bring attention toward them once he see Hae bom cry? Later his mom reminds him that once Hae Bom graduates he will probably move out and they wont have much more time together that woke up Tae Seong hidden feelings. So how do you make up for years of ignorance and mis treatment due to a one sided crush or is it? The story of the boys begin after Hae Bom birthday and Tae Seong starts to show his feelings. After them being drunk one or two nights and they kissed hae bom was happy, but felt that tae seong forgot? They slowly open up and talk about the past and why Tae Seong treated him like that, the present when mom finds out and the future what could it hold for them.. Great drama good watch do wish a little longer. Enjoy

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Much deeper than anyone's giving it credit for

This show is one of my all-time favourite queer TV shows and I don't say that lightly.
The story starts off with the classic character tropes of "big manly jock guy whom everyone fawns over" and "timid, heartwarming orphan who wants nothing more in life than to repay the kindness of the people who took him in" - and then it flips the whole thing on its head.

From the very beginning Haebom is not your typical, heteronormative damsel-in-distress archetype. He is fairly introverted and clearly very conflict-avoidant, but he has boundaries that he enforces and defends uncompromisingly from the start.
Over the course of the show, as he gets more and more confident, he starts sticking up for himself slightly more often, but he is not and never has been a pushover.
Taesung, in turn, is far removed from the strong, protective hero stereotype. While he genuinely wishes to help Haebom and does occasionally actively confronts his bullies, he stays mindful of Haebom's wishes for him to not interfere and never tries to swoop in heroically during a conflict, he always lets Haebom handle it himself first.
This puts the two on a fairly even footing with each other and as the story progresses they begin to balance out each others' strengths and weaknesses exceedingly well - Taesung is good at confronting problems head-on and facing people directly, Haebom knows how to elegantly solve and de-escalate precarious situations.
The fact that Haebom at one point calls himself Taesung's "knight in shining armour" and Taesung agrees, is a further subversion of tired old tropes and showcases their deeply loving and respectful "Lean on me if you need to, I'll lean on you in turn" dynamic perfectly.

Another thing the show handles wonderfully is jealousy and insecurity in relationships. Between the two of them Taesung is the touchier, clingier partner while Haebom is more reserved and independent. However the two of them are always on the same page about these issues. They openly acknowledge Taesung's occasional jealousy (which, by the way, never stems from any fear of infidelity or a desire to control Haebom's actions) and find workable compromises.
It's okay to want to spend time with your partner, it's okay to be clingy sometimes. Just as long as all parties involved are happy with their situation and other important aspects of their lives, such as work or social connections, aren't negatively impacted.
From the first episode onwards these two continuously check in with each other to make sure they aren't overstepping any boundaries and that they are both happy in their current situation.
In fact, when Taesung does become insecure in their relationship, and when he does become overly clingy, Haebom immediately recognises this as odd and unhealthy behaviour and sets out to find the cause of the issue.
Furthermore, as an added bonus, we get to see two romantic partners directly asking each other for affection; "Can I have a hug please?" "Can I lay on your arm?" "Please just hold me for a minute". Depictions like this are as incredibly rare as they are wonderful, and I very much appreciate that the creators of the show chose to portray the characters like this.
All of the above then adds up to a nuanced and realistic portrayal of a healthy relationship that honestly made me want to weep with joy a little bit.

Lastly I want to mention one more great strength this show has - its cast of deeply likeable yet complex supporting characters.
From Taesung's mother and Haebom's complicated relationship with her, to Jin Ah and Yong Hee who frequently act entirely independently from the main characters rather than serving as nothing more than a duo of backup yes-men, all these characters are unique and their stories compelling. They bring some interesting depth to what could otherwise have been a fairly shallow, fluffy story and round out the show perfectly in my opinion.

This show isn't perfect, it does have its flaws, but it is so much more than what it appears to be on the surface.
So if you are looking for a low-angst show with truly interesting queer characters and a story with much more complexity than anyone seems to be giving it credit for, then this is very much the series for you.

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This is a quality series.

This is a quality series. I say that because it is not in your face every minute. I think a very good comparison would be the Thia series Oxygen. Very similar in its laid-back approach which makes it one of my very favorite series. Cherry blossoms may take on that title too. I think the shorter episodes made the overall a little shy of that because of the lack of support cast development which I believe the support cast here is very strong. Ok and Kang were great together but if I had to pick, I would say that Kang gets to top billing. A special shout out for Cha gun who I think should have had more scene time. Again, the support cast were all very strong. Nice, respectable steady characters are very watchable are good characteristics for series to have.

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Good korean bl series

This is going to be a short review.

After watching Semantic Error and Blueming, i've decided to watch CBAW and i was surprised how much i liked it.

The production is okay, its the standard for korean bl dramas, nothing special.

The story is good, ive not read the manwha so i cant say anything about the source material but the adaptation does adapt the main points, probably. theres not too much time, only 8 episodes of 20min each, so some things will not be as explained as it should have been.

The acting is good. So, to finish this review, i liked it because i felt captivated by it. I could argue that Blueming is better because it addresses more mature themes, but i think these two shows are equaly good. Semantic error remains my top korean bl series.

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Cherry Blossoms After Winter is the story of Kang Hui's Jo Tae Sung and Ok Jin Uk’s Seo Haebom. The story is simple. We have a guy who have fallen in love with the person that he grew up. They are not the best of friends but what happened next are just scenes after scenes of really sweet moments that will surely make you fall in love with these two. There are so many things to be thankful and their chemistry is one of them. It is insane to the point that I am just smiling weirdly at my screen because that feeling of being in love with someone is just what you would feel with these two. The performances are pretty strong as well. They both had good connection to their characters that one can just really fall for their characters. They are so good together. I actually like when they are being excessively sweet to each other when they are at home. I feel that they are just being natural. I like the moments when they were at home because these are moments that seemed most natural to their characters as they are familiar to staying at home. Then, we got that super cute scene in the bed which is probably the best bed scene that I got to watch. They are so cute seeing in different sleeping position and how Tae Sung is just wanting to hug him constantly. It is so cute that my heart is just in its happiest state. I love it so much. I think the best thing about Korean BL is that they will surprise you with how mindful they are of the details. This may not be the best in terms of production and cinematography but they surely stepped up their game with the story. They avoided a lot of cliches by attacking the situation in a more realistic viewpoint which is important. The characters really moved with the story and we got to see them in different times of their lives. This is why the ending is so rewarding. It feels like a reward to everyone who supported and have watched them. It is a beautiful testament to true love and the lines that were thrown were as sweet as the cakes that they were eating. The supporting characters at pretty interesting but the focused are always on the main characters. This is a decent show with a decent storyline and a decent cast. It had sweet moments and the actors did an amazing job in breathing life to their characters. As an audience member, it is important for me to fall in love with who these characters are because I want to be invested with them and if I will not know who they are, it will be hard for me. Luckily, this is something that they were able to do really well from the very beginning until the very end. It may not be the best out there but it is worth watching and worth the wait. It knew where to put the characters and they were such big parts of the story. We also got the chance to meet them well. It is a job well done. I want more.

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Cute fluffy and short

April 17, 2022

Cherry Blossoms After Winter is a short K-drama BL that is easy to watch, and easy to follow. That being said, I did read and a huge fan of the manhwa so I definitely was a bit wary when this show was first announced. I think the casts fit the character, especially our two lovely main leads. Though, I wish the drama was longer because there were so many details that they missed from the manhwa. But for those who didn’t read the manhwa then you probably won't mind the shortness of this drama.

So to sum it all up, this drama is perfect for those who want a short, fluffy, easy to watch, and easy-to-understand kdrama. ALSO, HELLO THAT ONE SCENE I WAS SO SPEECHLESS ? , HE IS SO HOT ? I CANT-

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I thought for sure I'd give this a 10/10

Episodes 1-4: 10/10, obsessed, kicking my feet, loving it.

Episode 5: 7/10, uncharacteristic behavior. Was not loving the way Tae was suddenly acting.

Episode 6-8: 7.5/10, hated the mom's personality transplant, time jumps unclear, math ain't mathing.

I'm sad I didn't end up loving this as much as I did at first. The couple was SO SO stinking CUTE. I agree with the other reviews that mention too much plot and not enough episodes. The shortness of the series plut the uncharacteristic behaviors in the second half, hurt it a bit.

Still would rewatch. They're too adorable to pass up!

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Don’t concern yourself with the misunderstandings and prejudices of others.

The series was very enjoyable, but it felt a bit choppy at times. The series covered a lot of events that happen over a longer period of time which meant that a lot of the backstory was left out. Things seemed to move very fast at certain points of the series. I think making this into either a two-season series or adding a few more episodes would be the better option.

Jo Taesung & Seo Haebom: I found the two adorable. They seem to be quite different from one another, but they are a good match. Taesung appears colder and can be quite scary when he wants to. Haebom is a sweetheart, he is very forgiving and kind. The height difference between the actors made the couple appear even cuter. I really liked the fact that Haebom is the older one, even if only a few weeks / months. Haebom’s character growth in the series is amazing. He went from this shy kid who feels like a burden and just wants to make friends to someone who can express what he wants and what makes him happy.

I really liked the fact that the two characters respected each other’s boundaries. We can see this especially from Taesung. And the fact that he both addressed and apologized for what he did wrong, was a surprise. A good one. Something we don’t really see in many BLs. The apology doesn’t make things right, but Teasung really regretted his actions.

I enjoyed the OST and the intro and outro sequences too. The locations were beautiful, the warmer colors really suited the series nicely. But the shortness of it made things really rushed and there were a few times when the scene transitions didn’t fully make sense.

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Great casual BL to binge watch!!

I put off watching this one because I didn't have many positive expectations (mostly because I read the manhwa a while ago and I didn't remember enjoying it too much) but I'm glad I finally got around to it because it was actually pretty worth it!! So here's my breakdown on my thought on this series :)

Story & Production -
(Basing my rating off of the overall plot of the drama not how the manhwa nor how well it follows the manhwa) Pretty simple friends to lovers kind of story but because of the characters' circumstances and prior relationships with one another it still made for an interesting love story. The overall plot of learning to accept one another and trying to gain acceptance from those around them was a good way of keeping the drama going. Granted, they only had 8 episodes, 25 mins each to work with, so I'd say with those time constraints the story was well told.

Acting/Cast & Romance -
Not gonna lie, probably one of the reasons I rated this so high was because of the romance scenes. Very very adorable!!!! I gotta hand it to the main leads, they really convinced me of their characters' chemistry! And all the support roles, the mom, the friends, did an amazing job, it all looked so natural, I really enjoyed it.

Music -
The opening OST was nice but nothing too extraordinary. The bgm however was well placed and absolutely helped whatever scene it was being put with!

Rewatch Value -
I'd say it's pretty rewatchable simply because of the cute romance scenes hehe...

TL;DR
If you go into this series expecting too much, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a quick BL with an easy to follow/relate to story and cute couple scenes, then this is a great option.

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Cliché yet Captivating.

I know it's a fast paced drama but I love it. It definitely one of the common love story falling for you childhood friend and guilty for the parent that took care of you and what not; but it is a nice story in my opinion for it get straight to the point.

25-30mins of drama isn't enough, yes! but the quality given by the production wasn't as great as one hopes, hence the fast-paced timeline is good. There's so many questions I wanted to know though; then again it's back to the production.

The actors do have an amazing chemistry with one another and they are so adorable ! Their acting was on point but they did not get to portray as much; which was disappointing. Overall I like the fluffiness of the story.

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