ltspada
This review may contain spoilers
Friends Turned More, coming of age, fresh angle - one of my new favorites
10/10 is my rating! This is a 2022 South Korean college romance drama series. There are 12, 60 minute episodes. It is also known as love playlist.
I will first provide a synopsis then a review.
Synopsis: The gossip chain is set abuzz when an anonymous confession is posted on the University's forum. Everyone wonders who the "secret admirer" is and who they are enamored with. Ma Joo-ah (Park Hye-su) is majoring in business and interacts with the computer majors a lot because of her long term friend Cha Min-ho (Jeong Jae-hyun) who is a computer major. They have been besties for 12 years but you definitely sense that, Min-ho at least, might want something more. She has never had a relationship but develops her first crush on one of the guys in Min-ho's major and gets him to reluctantly play wing-man. Seo Ji-min (Roh Jenong-eui) is one of Joo-ah's roommates and is one half of the "it" couple on campus. She is beautiful, with many admirers, is completely happy in her relationship and dreams of leading the cheer squad. She is a "justic warrior" and has a talent for standing up to bullies. The third roommate, Hwangbo Young (Woo Da-vi) is a bit older than the others, and has a very cool, no-nonsense approach to dating. Her potential partners either meet her dating expectations or she quickly moves on. With a lot of dating experience, and deep insight, she gives advice to others on dating. Park Ha-Neul (Bae Hyun-sung) is Ji-min's devoted boyfriend and the second half of the campus "it" couple. He is well liked, personable and goal oriented. Gil Mok-jin (Lee Jin-hyuk) is a psychology major who actually struggles to understand the psychology of others. He is a neat freak who has driven other roommates away but finds tolerance and understanding in his current roomies Ha-Neul and Min-ho. These computer, economic, psychology and business majors all come together as roommates, friends, and sometimes more as they navigate toward their future and college life. And they now have a common goal - just who wrote this confession? It's a mystery that intrigues them and binds them together.
Review: This has become one of my new favorites. I am rarely impressed by these shorter series as I often feel they could have used at least the four more episodes that is the "average" length of 16 to fully develop the story. This one was perfect at 12 it had great character development, major plot points were explored and "tied up", and did not feel rushed. When there are multiple romances I often find at least one of them tedious but I liked all of the romances. I am a huge fan of the friend turned more trope and this one went to the very top of that list. I loved the two together. The "villians" in this were also interesting because there was some redeeming for one of them and the other never grew or learned significantly. It is a heart warming story and I found myself rooting for them both in pursuit of their educational and career goals, in their friendships, and in the romantic encounters. The "mystery" around who was writing the letters was also very well executed. Hints were dropped that would lead you to one or the other and I felt like it was surprising when there was the "big reveal." Highly recommend this to anyone that likes coming of age, heart warming romance, compelling friendships, the bully/"mean girl" angle, and the slice of college life you get in this friend group.
I will first provide a synopsis then a review.
Synopsis: The gossip chain is set abuzz when an anonymous confession is posted on the University's forum. Everyone wonders who the "secret admirer" is and who they are enamored with. Ma Joo-ah (Park Hye-su) is majoring in business and interacts with the computer majors a lot because of her long term friend Cha Min-ho (Jeong Jae-hyun) who is a computer major. They have been besties for 12 years but you definitely sense that, Min-ho at least, might want something more. She has never had a relationship but develops her first crush on one of the guys in Min-ho's major and gets him to reluctantly play wing-man. Seo Ji-min (Roh Jenong-eui) is one of Joo-ah's roommates and is one half of the "it" couple on campus. She is beautiful, with many admirers, is completely happy in her relationship and dreams of leading the cheer squad. She is a "justic warrior" and has a talent for standing up to bullies. The third roommate, Hwangbo Young (Woo Da-vi) is a bit older than the others, and has a very cool, no-nonsense approach to dating. Her potential partners either meet her dating expectations or she quickly moves on. With a lot of dating experience, and deep insight, she gives advice to others on dating. Park Ha-Neul (Bae Hyun-sung) is Ji-min's devoted boyfriend and the second half of the campus "it" couple. He is well liked, personable and goal oriented. Gil Mok-jin (Lee Jin-hyuk) is a psychology major who actually struggles to understand the psychology of others. He is a neat freak who has driven other roommates away but finds tolerance and understanding in his current roomies Ha-Neul and Min-ho. These computer, economic, psychology and business majors all come together as roommates, friends, and sometimes more as they navigate toward their future and college life. And they now have a common goal - just who wrote this confession? It's a mystery that intrigues them and binds them together.
Review: This has become one of my new favorites. I am rarely impressed by these shorter series as I often feel they could have used at least the four more episodes that is the "average" length of 16 to fully develop the story. This one was perfect at 12 it had great character development, major plot points were explored and "tied up", and did not feel rushed. When there are multiple romances I often find at least one of them tedious but I liked all of the romances. I am a huge fan of the friend turned more trope and this one went to the very top of that list. I loved the two together. The "villians" in this were also interesting because there was some redeeming for one of them and the other never grew or learned significantly. It is a heart warming story and I found myself rooting for them both in pursuit of their educational and career goals, in their friendships, and in the romantic encounters. The "mystery" around who was writing the letters was also very well executed. Hints were dropped that would lead you to one or the other and I felt like it was surprising when there was the "big reveal." Highly recommend this to anyone that likes coming of age, heart warming romance, compelling friendships, the bully/"mean girl" angle, and the slice of college life you get in this friend group.
Was this review helpful to you?
