Twenty-five twenty-one is a youth-life record of 5 friends. It's about their bonding, their struggles, dreams and how they grew up. 25-21 is a beautiful journey that keeps you entertained till the end. It's nostalgic, funny, gloomy and inspiring. The overall concept of this drama from 1998 to 2021 has impressed me.

So what did I like so much in this drama?

✧ It has a dynamic story that made me emotional many times. I could feel for all of them and I literally smiled and cried along with them… a special mention to the screenwriter Kwon Do Eun for making this so special. The dialogues are absolute perfection. Even normal phrases appeared like quotes.

✧ the suspense. I bet no drama had so many "endgame theories" lol. I was quite satisfied with the ending. I do have some mysteries left unanswered in my mind but I don't mind them much. As compared to this destination they've reached, the journey was far more precious.

✧ Romance is definitely one of the main themes here and you'll end up rooting for our main "rainbow couple." They're the reason I rated this so high.

✧ I love things related to sports in dramas and two of the leads (Na Hee Do and Ko Yu rim) acted as fencers. It had many fencing matches and struggles as a player. I appreciate taking fencing as the main sport which is not a very famous game. And Coach Yang is still the best. “Don’t ever forget how you earned a new opportunity. Whenever you’re having a hard time, remind yourself how difficult it was to start.” – Coach Yang

✧ They chose the "right cast". They look like a bunch of silly teenagers who seek out their part of happiness. Their transition from being childish to understanding things slowly, being mature, taking decisions, falling and learning is beautiful.

✧ so many loveable characters ~

Na Hee-do (Kim Tae Ri) is my favorite character and it will be difficult to move on from this drama just because I was habitual to this voice for the past month. She is like sunshine. It's her straightness, her thoughts and her hardworking spirit that I fell for. At one scene she said "It feels better when I turn my tragedy into comedy." Gosh! How can someone not love her.

Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo hyuk) – He is not your forever perfect male lead and he gets sad, weak and tries to make things better. The way he and hee do become each other's hope is so heartwarming. “Because you give me hope. And I want more for you and it makes me want to do well too” – Baek Yijin

Ko Yu-rim (Bona) – Yu rim is the proud fencing gold medalist and Hee do's inspiration. She has her own problems. She is hardworking and honest at least. “It’ll probably hurt if you lose it all. But what matters is that you’ve had it at one point.” – Yu Rim

Ji Seung-wan (Lee Joo Myung) – I like her uprightness and being like the silent topper of the group. Also I love her changed look for the later half. Those perms look absolutely beautiful on her.

Moon Ji-woong (Choi Hyun Wook) – the loveable part of him is his nature. He's so carefree, chilled out and supportive. I like his bond with Seung wan.

✧ On the side note, they also show us different types of bonds between parents and children going through different conflicts… so they touch many small topics and present them in the most endearing way.

✧ OSTs —
I'm no critic in music but since this had many many songs I'll list the ones that I liked listening to often ~
❥ starlight – by Taeil (NCT) ( just my type of song )
❥ with – sung by all 5 leads ( just the news that they all sang it together made me happy. it's slow, soothing and the lyrics is beautiful. this song sums up all the feelings of the drama )
❥ I'll shine on you – Bae Ki Sung ( this is just the right thing for karaoke )

In the end, do you like youth based dramas with enough emotional ups and downs, realistic stories of growth, characters chasing their dreams and character development. If yes? Do give twenty-five twenty-one a try!