WHOLESOME.

Hi! So I finished watching this series a while ago. Maybe almost 10+ days ago. And I carried on watching other series too but honestly my heart still lingers around this series a lot. It's 1 AM at my place rn and I am writing this series while listening to girl in red's Eleanor and Park. Had you known that song, you'll understand why was I talking about it here. Or you'll atleast get the vibe. I'll try to make this review short and to the point.

The reasons why I LOVED this series were
1) It's not just a regular/typical BL where two males fall for eachother and find difficulty in accepting it.
2) This is about accepting one's self. Self acceptance is something many of us fail at. This series portrays that real well.
3) Also about self awareness. It's not just about knowing things but confronting one's own self. Even that area was thrown light in this series.
4) Loving without expecting anything/loving unconditionally. Even though the series is short, they tried their best to subtly showcase how one lead fell in love with the other. And the things they do for eachother.
5) THE IMPORTANCE IF COMMUNICATION. This is something I can highly relate myself with. I am someone who shuts everyone when I get low/overwhelmed and I very well know this isn't the way it should be. In ther series, one character faces the same struggle and tries and succeeds at overcoming it. Communication and comprehension are keys to relationship and they portrayed them really well.
6) CINEMATOGRAPHY. CINEMATOGRAPHY. CINEMATOGRAPHY.
7) Screenplay, direction AND DIALOGUES.
8) Leads and their acting. Very beautiful and soulful.

Just go watch it. It's short and sweet and very much a slice of life series. No much drama. Just a home. A place to feel and be okay about being vulnerable. A place to find answers to questions and leads to doubts. Watch it, please.

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A little cute and a lot cringe.

Ummm I just finished the series and I still didn't understand the point of the whole series. I don't think they've executed the series/story the way they wanted. The leads who dislike eachother suddenly fall in love and cuddle and then suddenly go cold. I wish there was a flow from one scene to another. Screenplay could have been better. And with all these sudden emotion display in the series I found it very cringe to even watch it at times. There are a few nice points too, especially Nawee ending things with Aioon cause of the latter's girlfriend, Nawee saying his father died (meaning he prioritised himself over his father who disowned him), and a few more too. The trauma part too... I agree it plays a major role on how one looks at life but in the series I didn't find it to be a strong point for him to stay indoors forever. Maybe they haven't showcased his reasoning effectively.

Besides cringe, I found a few things cute.. like behind the scenes, or the actors' bromance on instagram (might be fan service, but STILL cute).

So yeah, overall the series was/is real cringe but the leads were/are cute. I might listen to the title song regularly but would NEVER rewatch this series ever again. But I'm all in for their future projects whether they be solo or together. Men need a better push to shine brighter. I hope they get nicer works in future.

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This version >>>>>> All the other versions

No really! I will prefer re-watching F4 Thailand over watching the other versions even for once.

Before we get into my review lemme put this out. The actual story ie. Hana Yori Dango is not a great one tbh. It has so many holes and the plot is nothing but a getaway from a busy and unsatisfactory life to a happy and deluded one. That's a fact. The probability of 4 rich-nice-kind-allrounder-handsome men to be my, for that case, to be any ordinary girl's friends is less than the probability of me turning back the time. But it's fiction and we don't actually have any rules here and also this story is we received and is still getting received too. So let rationality stay aside.

Now the actual review. The series is definitely worth watching. The wait was so worth it. From the trailer till airing. All of it. Casting 100. Acting 100. Overall production 100. Everything's just wow. What mesmerized me more is the way they made changes in the story. Even with a lot of superficial things happening this version still has a solid ground to not totally push off people into delusions. I really appreciate it. I will rewatch it just to be at awe for how they've improved a basic story to a bomb story. I also loved how there's no much screentiming for skinship and intimate scenes. They have proven them to be of no much use and I liked it. I won't write much but would only ask you to go watch it if you haven't yet cause it's nice, fun and beautiful.

Not dissing the other adaptions. But for me F4 Thailand tops all the versions of Hana Yori Dango.

#f4thailandisthebest lol.

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DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS .

I finished watching ep 4 of this yesterday afternoon and have been thinking about it for a while now. I felt the need that I should put my cents out on this somewhere, so..here am I. I will edit the review once I finish watching the whole of it too.

The story is basically about Japanese colonization of Korea and how (much) it affected the then people, and the generations after. When you look at the broader perspective you will understand this is the story not just about the Japanese Korean issues (rivalry?), but also of all the countries many of us are from. In this biggggg world where the countries are divided into the first, second and third world's, the third world nations are always looked down. And within the same country there is (are) whole pyramid(s) of hierarchy of people - as in who stands where in the society, and then them calling eachother low and roaches. I have seen a world like that. TBH I'm living in one too. So I found this drama very relatable on many levels due to many reasons.

Moving on, this series also deals how one has to (read, is forced to) leave their land, culture, traditions and language in order to survive. Barely survive. These are also somethings we can find on newspapers every single day.

The production value is ✨. The actors, OST, CINEMATOGRAPHY, coloring (are they same?), SCREENPLAY, everything, everything is just so fine you wouldn't wanna move away from it.

I heard the series is a lot different from the original book(which I haven't read yet) and also about the backlash it got in Japan. I need to finish this totally in order to totally understand about the whole situation.

Even if you find it to be a bit slow paced I hope you hang on to it and watch. I'll be back here again after ep 8 and I hope you too will finish it by then.

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A slow paced, soothing lovestory

If you haven't yet, go watch it!! I suggest this drama not because of it's crazy production values or beautiful cinematography or anything as such. I suggest you this drama cause it's just a 4 episode-d short, warm and a beautiful portrayal of unrequited love. The story is very basic. TBH, if it's not for PHS's post on his instagram, I wouldn't even have watched this. I am glad I came across this. The cast did a very good job. Very less number of characters but numerous emotions portrayed. The screenplay, cinematography and overall production is very fair too. But I couldn't really embrace the songs/the lyrics written by Eunwoo much. I got the essence but that's it. This story or series isn't something you should watch or so. You can just watch this over a weekend. It's light hearted, no unnecessary scenes, and an overall a pleasant experience. I probably would not rewatch this, but I suggest you to watch this atleast once.

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A very beautiful story AND an ending as well.

I hope I got your attention with my title. Contrary to many people who had breakdowns after watching the climax, I felt relieved. I felt the ending was not only realistic but also very beautiful. I have watched this series over the span of two months, so there is a possibility of me missing details with respect to the story and stuff, but I am going to write this review with all the emotions the series has put me through. This review might get long and will have spoilers.

As the plot summary says, it is a story of 2 friends, Na Hee-Do and Baek Yi-Jin with an age gap of 4 years growing closer and closer and finally starting a relationship when they turn ~21 and 25. Hee-Do is a fencer and Yi-Jin is a news reporter.

More than saying they were in a relationship at their 21 and 25, we can say, they faced very big twists, learned lessons, and matured emotionally during their 21 and 25. So yes, unlike many people saying they got together at their 21 and 25, I'd say they experienced love as well as heartbreaks at 21 and 25, and this my friend brings even more beauty to the title of the series.

This series is more than just 'romance'. This series speaks about rivalry, admiration towards colleagues, friendship, sportsmanship, unsaid apologies, AND LOVE. The series starts off from Min-chae's (Hee-do's daughter) POV and pretty much continues the same till the end. She is a ballet dancer who wants to give it up as she is in a slump/ lost interest. And in a break she took off from the ballet, she visits her grandmother and ends up finding and reading her mother's diaries. The story is in those dairies;

1. The story of how 'Na Hee-Do, a very outgoing high schooler and a fencer in a slump, does everything to practice fencing in the same school as her fencing idol Ko Yu-Rim and ends up becoming her RIVAL and thereby a very dear FRIEND'. ---> This talks admiration to rivalry to friendship.

2. The story of how 'Ko Yu-Rim, a very kind-hearted, family-oriented, gold medalist fencer, who was finding ways to project all her insecurities and hate towards her co-fencer Na Hee-Do but ends up finding solace in that same person'. ---> Sportsmanship and empathy.

3. The story of how 'Moon Ji-Woong, a guy interested in anything but education finds his passion, love and does everything to make a life out of those and to keep them sustained'. ---> Passion.

4. The story of how 'Ji Seung-Wan, a topper and a private talk show host, despite having everything still feels how empty and boring her life is and how she holds on to all the principles she believes in.' ---> Determination.

5. The story of how 'Baek Yi-Jin, the first son of a bankrupted once-rich family, struggles hard to make ends meet and bring his dispersed family together by starting off with small jobs and rising till a news anchor position'. ---> IDK man, he is everything. He is a RAINBOW!

All the other characters, Hee-Do's mother, Yu-Rim's parents, Seung-Wan's mother, and Yi-Jin's brother, all of them added to the story very much and brought so much life.

Story: I will give it a 10/10. The writers did a terrific job. If this sort of story isn't real I don't know what is? It is time we accept not every love story ends in marriage even in the K-Drama world. This story covers so many emotions that many of us experience on a very regular basis.

Screenplay and Direction: I will give this a 10/10 too. Not a single unnecessary filler scene, no unnecessary character, everything is in the right amount.

Action: 10/10. Am I giving too many 10s? Nam Joo-Hyuk did a wonderful job. His tears feel very personal. He is the right choice for the character Yi-Jin. Another actor might have done a nice job too, but now I can't imagine someone else doing this role. Kim Tae-Ri, Bona, Choi Hyun-Wook, Lee Ju-Myung all have shined very well in their high school roles and uniforms as well. Totally loved everyone's acting, especially the main 5 actors'.

OST: This series despite having many BOMB OSTs, I personally loved 'Your existence' by Wonstein. And towards the end, in ep 16 we hear 'Your world' by Seol Hoseung. This song hits rightly. I might have misheard, but this song has got some mix of 'Coldplay - Fix you' in its instrumentals. And if that's the case I would be even happier cause then the song adds more depth to the scene.

Ending: This is where many people called out the writers for their 'poor writing'. But if you ask me, the series stands out because of its ending. Hee-Do and Yi-Jin broke up cause they can no longer make it work. It was in 2002 that they broke up. There was no video calling, no WhatsApp or Instagram to stay in touch 24*7. In a timeline as such, when each other's love is not providing the same support anymore, the breakup is the right decision. It is better to cut on it rather than endure it till they both break. Some say that Yi-Jin had a chance to make it 'right(?)' when he read Hee-Do's dairy. Yes, he did, but after reading how the words went from 'we bought couple of suitcases' to 'goodbye' he chose not to chase her anymore BUT accepted that their relationship fell apart. None of them are to be held responsible for the breakup. In the 20s even we lose our friends and many relations and they are portrayed the same in the series. I personally think not making them get back together is a nice and mature move. One more thing many people were upset about was not showing Hee-Do's husband. Does she have one or not? But hey! isn't the series about the 5 friends? They have shown how those 5 have grown up and that is enough. Hee-Do's husband is never important in this story, TBH Min-Chae too. But she is the reason this whole story started (via diaries) so it is OK to have scenes around her. But it is fair to never show Hee-Do's husband if she has one.

The story is of 5 friends, their ups, downs, love, laughter, and lives. We got it all in the right amount. I have no complaints about this story. I would definitely re-watch and re-watch it. I suggest you watch it at least once. I enjoyed watching Twenty five - Twenty one and I enjoyed writing this review too. I hope you do too, watching and reading my review.

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I was enchanted to meet you.

Let me keep this review real real and talk all things pros and cons. Let's begin with the pros. Before we begin, lemme say, I have no favourite genres or story types. I can watch anything and everything and I usually don't drop titles. I watch them till the end to properly appreciate and analyse the work put by the crew in it.

Moving on to the pros:

Leads. Force and Book were really good with their roles. At some places you really find book's character being useless or dumb and force's character being too laid back or not courageous enough to make moves sorta. Which means, the roles were rightly justified by the actors. They did their best to bring life to the roles. I am happy with their acting. All the supporting cast did support well. That's all about them. Nothing or no one to be mentioned specially.

Tracks. The sound tracks especially the Je t’aime à la folie by Gawin is good. It's nice how they introduced that song as a part of the story itself.

Duration. The story, getting concluded in 10 episodes is actually a relieving thing. By not putting unnecessary drama and scenes they ended the whole story with an additional end twist within 10 episodes and I am very happy about it. You can perfectly binge watch it allllll in one day. And still be attached to the roles.

Production. I am not sure if I totally know the meaning of the word production, but I'll go with what I know. The series, I won't call it pleasingly aesthetic but it can surely be said to have right amount of colouring and lightning done. The scenes blended one into the other very well. The editing is nice. I assume they used green screens here and there, I mean obviously, they wouldn't have gone to France for a few shots. The editing there was done so dreamy that we won't find it awkward or annoying anywhere.

Now let's go to cons. Not coms exactly but something's that ain't so good in the series.

The story. I very well guessed the entire story in the second episode. Appreciate me for me! The story could have been explored a bit better. Much deeper and longer. But that's still alright cause they added pretty good elements towards the end of the series which brought so much life to the whole series.

Screenplay. It gets very very slow paced and boring in the beginning episodes. Till 5. Which is the reason for many people dropping the title. It could have had a better narration.

Overall, I would suggest you to watch this series. This starts off real slow and boring, but trust me and hold on to it. It gets interesting. This series, is infact worth rewatching too, because of it's light hearted story and lesser duration in comparison to many other BLs out there. And to end this all, I enjoyed watching enchanté. I wish I could really meet someone and say enchanté and feel enchanted to meet them, just they way Theo and Akk feel towards eachother.

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It's OK.

Hello! So I just finished the series. TBH my major drive to watch this series till the end is to see how exactly they would capture the events after the loss of one dear friend of a group and also to see if Ji-hyun(the one who plays Ji-hoo) gets more screen time. Well, the series got its end pretty well, they made sure it's heart breaking but not to the point that you can't move on from the drama. But my other wish to watch Ji-hyun ssi for longer duration isn't fulfilled and I am highly disappointed for it. This series being categorised into slice-of-life genre seemed less of it and more of a romance with a dying supporting cast. Might sound harsh and would feel like I'm dissing all the efforts the crew had put in making this series, but they missed/got lost on capturing the true essence of a friends trio. It was more like a main lead, her love life and her friends. Of them one is dying while the other is ready to read the script. They should have worked harder in the trio portrayal. They DIDN'T do enough justice to the friendship. And I HATE it. Now I don't even want to talk about the friends'(Chan-young and Ji-hoo) love lives. Okay they atleast have shown Chan-young's till the extent they should. But they CLEARLY yeeted out Ji-hoo's story, as if it isn't important at all. I liked the story. The acting is good too. While being happy with the takeaway/lesson 'to cherish things while they last', I am more than just disappointed about the their failed portrayal of the friendship. I'd like to clarify again that the reason I watched this series was to see how they'd tackle a friend's death, it's consequences and Ji-hyun ssi's screen time.

Would I rewatch this? No. But if I ever do, it's only for Chan-young and Jin-seok. Sorry Ji-hoo, they made your story so short, I can just find your clips on YouTube.

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Life goes on, love lives on.

You'll understand my title maybe after you finish watching the movie. First things first, I deeply disliked the main story line. The theme they chose is nice, they portrayal is fine too, but the story in general seemed really lame. I accept delulu world has no boundaries or rules but bro!!! What is this bro? I am certainly not from biology background but I am sure the parasite shown in the film isn't that real. If it is then... WTF?! We have such shit in the world?

Anyhoo, the leads did nice work. As two people who got constantly rejected by the society and found comfort in eachother, the development of their bond is not shown that deep but it's not too plain too. You can watch this once, in 1.5 speed. Getting the story outline is fine. There are no dialogues that would actually move us. But a few scenes where the lead roles try expressing emotions were moving. I'm a sucker for romance and such emotions so I got moved even more ㅠㅠ. The conclusion/ the ending of the movie is nice. I give them that. They have shown what we already know in a very soft way and I liked the two liners at that single scene. Rest all is just ok. In short, story is disappointing but the work that was put in the production and action is good.

The movie, watching it for one time itself seemed a lot to me, I shall by no means plan to rewatch it.

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Meh

Meh. Too much angst, too much lag, and too many unexplainable events and dialogues. I finished watching it with difficulty and would NEVER re-watch it. There are some plot holes the characters reveal themselves in the dialogues. I also didn't find any emotion/infatuation that was carried by the lead roles which were later turned into love. The intimate scenes were not cringy or awkward, I give that to the actors. They were comfortable playing the roles. There was a lot of unnecessary hurt in the movie. Too many lives were disturbed because of one woman's stupid request. IDK is such things happen IRL. Overall this movie by no means empowers/helps the queer community which was expected after reading the plot. Sad. You could give this a watch but I am not sure how far you'd appreciate this.

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Semantic error: Clear!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED WATCHING THIS! ABSOLUTELY! I haven't read the manhwa and I started watching this on my friend's suggestion. It has the entire story fit well in 8 episodes. I wished it were longer tho! There's no touch or unnecessary cheesy cringe stuff anywhere, but trust me, my heart raced like crazy during many episodes. It's the chemistry the leads had and the emotion they carried. This is definitely a level up for K BL, or just BL in general. This series can be referred as a guide on 'how to make a short yet heart throbbing series IRRESPECTIVE of genders and orientation'.

Casting: CHEF KISS. I loved their height difference and they're very pleasant to the eyes. I loved their chemistry and how gay they were in the series. Was totally invested in those homosexuals.

Plot: ❤️ This is a rabbit ?️. You'll want more of it. Rumours are there about a season 2. If that happens you'll hear me scream.

Production: Very good. IDK much about technicality, but from what I know, this is nicely done. Less characters, less mess, great quality output.

OST: I liked the glitch they incorporated in titular BGM. Suits well.

Rewatch value: More than a 10 on 10. Now i'mma go read the manhwa and then immediately watch the entire series.
You SHOULD watch this series. You'll enjoy it. Trust this stranger.

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RINKO SAN DID IT!!!

Hello! So I recently finished this title on my friend's recommendation and I totally enjoyed watching it. It is fun. It is, perhaps, as dramatic as manga/ one's imagination could be. The sudden frame pauses, the over expressive close-ups all those gave a very comic touch to the series. I laughed a lottt while watching it. Starting from the titles till the ending credits there are a lot of scenes that make you laugh. The male lead seemed a bit stiff in the acting and idk if it's me or anyone else, I find many Japanese actors' action very stiff. But hey the female lead is very cute. Her face is really expressive and so are all her scense. The supporting cast did good too. I might not rewatch it but it won't hurt you to watch it atleast once. You'll have a good laugh. Btw did you do IT?

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.....?

I agree that anything is possible and acceptable in drama and delulu world, but what in the ultra pro max delusional plot is this? Many things made no sense and the bare minimum rating which I am giving rn is just for the leads especially seo bin. He is nice. Rest, many things are just for the namesake. I didn't like the series from the beginning but kept watching it in a hope to have a happy ending. But the drama said not today. They could have atleast made it a happier end. TBH TO BE REALLY HONEST, the ending is the only sensible thing in the series. So yeah, it's okay to not have a happy ending afterall, I guess.

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Swim. Against the current.

Before I write anything I wanna admit that I got confused between infidelity and infertility. I don't watch trailers so, I thought the series is about babies. Applauds for my dumbness.

Moving on, this story mainly explores a very sensitive aspect of life - 'infidelity' aka 'cheating' in a very decent way. They won't just make anyone hook up with anyone. The reasons, perspectives, desires and guilt all of them are portrayed in every episode of it. I liked it. The series also portrays domestic abuse, fetishes, male dominance and many as such things found very commonly in everyday married lives. This series is not promoting infidelity, and at the same time it is not opposing it. It just talks why and how certain people get entangled in relational mess and TBH we have no place to pick a side. But it seems to be nice to witness their journey and try to view things for the characters' perspectives and process them. I really liked the male lead. He seems so bland at a moment and looks so apt for that role in another. I learnt a little about the gold fishes too, in the series. Now I know how I was able to kill so many of them in my childhood. Sorry for those souls.

My title 'Swim. Against the current.' is mostly for the female lead who stays strong and firm with her decisions. I really admire people as such. So one more takeaway from this drama is to stay firm and be there for yourself. Ganbatte! I was not so happy with the ending and not sad too. Cause it is an open ended series and you can interpret however you want. With the given signs I would like to consider it a happy ending but you have to watch it to find how you'd feel.

The actors seemed to be more comfortable with extreme intimate scenes but not with hugs. It killed me. I hope they hug Better in their next works. Despite not having any filler scenes or no much dragging I still found the series to be long and I don't know what to point out as the error. It was good and fun to watch it. Some episodes were fun to me and the remaining were good. Overall the series deserves a decent rating. And I probably won't re-watch it anytime soon.

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