Real and nostalgic

There's something so nostalgic about these Taiwanese coming-of-age films, about everyone in a class growing up together — and this movie was no different. Part of me really wanted this to have more runtime, maybe as a drama or mini series. There were just only two characters I really cared about (the two leads) and I couldn't really connect as much with the side characters and the feeling of friendship, although I knew what the movie was going for. Still, I loved the main leads a lot and they had really good chemistry.

At the same time, this had a really "movie" ending — bittersweet and not that satisfying, maybe a little more realistic than I wanted it to be. In the end, this movie just kind of left me with mixed emotions.

Great background songs also.

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Soft but problematic

I really loved the cinematography and soft vibe of this drama, but I have to admit that I liked the younger timeline much better than the characters as adults.

There's a really adorable softness and innocence to the younger characters, and I loved seeing what they were fighting for and seeing the feeling of us against the world.

The adults started out quite promising also and I liked that they had to deal with more adult problems like their children and experiencing firsthand corruption in business. However, I felt like there were actually so many typical kdrama tropes that I hated, like the overbearing ex. I also just felt like their adult development was so unnatural and rushed — I hated how overbearing the ML was while he was still in a relationship and I hated the financial disparity and the uncomfortable power dynamic it resulted in.

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Love the main leads

As the title says, my favorite part is undoubtedly the two leads and their interactions with another; this drama was peak enemies-to-lovers and I really liked that there weren't any stupid, clingy characters — each person had their own thing they were good at and their personalities. The families were all different as well and I loved that we actually got to see a lot of examples of healthy relationships, whether it's romance or familial, even when there were tidbits of noble idiocy.

I really enjoyed the first half of this drama as the classes merged and they got to know each other through different events, but honestly ever since the third-lead was introduced I just feel like this drama tried to take on too much. It dedicated a lot of time to just the third-lead, whose plot was really cliche and I didn't care much for, and the character development started to feel a lot more dragged out and slow. Even though he had his moments and jealousy scenes are always fun, I feel like he's a bit unnecessary and I would have rather spent more time in the school setting rather than suddenly decending into the entertainment business universe.

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Gets better

This was one of those dramas that gets better and yep, by the last few episodes I was getting really into it and I loved the direction that the plot took.

It did, however, take a while for me to reach that point; I kind of wish the earlier episodes had played into the plot more instead of just feeling like story set-up. without really answering or asking any big questions.

I also really loved a few of the characters — namely Hyun-su — but the cast was just a tad too big and I really didn't care much for many of the characters until the latter few episodes.

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Fluffy but inconsistent

To be honest this started off so frustrating with a string of bad things happening to the FL. And while I understood that and, what grew to be more annoying was the main FL's consistently bad decision-making and the repetitiveness of misunderstandings. There was pretty weak character development on her part — it seems like she just waited to be saved and still made the same bad decision next time, and it was always the same kind of miscommunication issue.

There are also a boatload of tropes in this that just got a little too cliche and cheesy, and this drama also suffered from the unfortunate syndrome of the big conflict coming in late and everything falling apart haphazardly, then rushing to get everything back in one or two episodes. Even with this issue, I liked how they tied in amnesia and the backstory.

The way they handled some situations just made no sense to me, and I also hated the way they diminished the best friend's anger with something like "Girls are just emotional like that."

Overall, this has its cute moments and the theme song is a bop.

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Adorable

This was the typical rom-com — very adorable and never really high stakes because you knew things were going to be okay.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed it, and it helped that the secretary and boss didn't fall too much into the cliche cold jerk/weak but warm stereotypes. JGH stood up for herself when necessary, and DMI was nicer than a lot of other bosses. The chemistry was really good.

I do, however, have a natural dislike for characters that keep these kinds of secrets — the kind that involves and hurts someone else and is purely for selfish reasons — and while I think the drama did a good job of balancing how JGH wanted to be someone else and yet felt trapped in her lie, I still think it might've been dragged on for a little too long.

I also wish the rules around DMI's face blindness were worked out a little better; how it was resolved at the end honestly felt deus ex machina, though I was still kind of relieved we got a nice resolution.

The secretary subplot was honestly really interesting, but I really wish it had been given more screentime and had been fed to us earlier. It's also rare that our two main characters are so uninvolved in the subplot and rather just victims of it (which was interesting to see actually). But I also felt like it wrapped up a little unsatisfyingly, though that could've been because I just didn't spend enough time with those characters to care deeply for them.

I liked JGH's siblings as well — even though they were parent-less, there wasn't ann overdose of angst and I loved how they still teased each other and supported each other.

Ultimately, this was a really fun watch, and I gotta say Veronica Park was HILARIOUS and cast perfectly. Favorite character.

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I feel like this had a lot of potential for good bromance, backstory, and personal character growth — but the thing they zoned in on was the love triangle. We spent so much time with the guys jostling each other and the girl debating who to pick, we didn't spend time on other topics I were really interested in: the guy who ran away from home, the ramen shop, ML's relationship with his dad, etc...I know tvN's Flower Boy series sort of always goes for that type of subtlety, but it also always seems to fall short of satisfactory closure.

There was also a lot of humor at the start, which I appreciated even though it wasn't my type of comedy and because I felt like the FL was acting so ditzy when she was supposed to be the more mature one. Even as someone who's not a huge fan of age gap romances, I really missed the power dynamic in that I liked how the teacher was in a position of power at school. I'm also a sucker for the school setting and kind of liked that part of the drama the best.

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This was a surprisingly wholesome and complete story, considering it was only 4 episodes.

It took a while for the main female lead to grow on me, as throughout a lot of the drama she really just felt like another cliche quiet, top-of-the-class good girl lead. The few scenes we saw her with her best friend made me like her a lot more and I wish we had more time to get to know the more talkative, smiley part of her.

Another character I really wanted to know more about was Brown Bear, and part of me wanted him to end up in the main ship instead, as his personality and backstory just seemed much more interesting than the main lead, who I didn't like as much. The few minutes of flashback we saw between Brown Bear and A-young's brother made him grow on me A LOT. Overall, I just wasn't a huge fan of the male lead, and I didn't think there was enough time for his character development.

Story-wise, however, the plot was really strong and I liked how we saw very subtle but well-paced character development in the side characters. The open ending (which is a style I'm not a fan of in general) left a lot to be desired in my view, but it can still be considered a happy ending, which I'm grateful for.

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The main couple's on-and-off-and-on-again relationship started to get really repetitive, and to be perfectly honest I was rooting for second lead a lot more.

Now, the special episodes I loved, because NOTHING beats the friends-to-lovers trope and even though something about Pu-Reum doesn't quite sit right with me, I love Ha-Neul and I will root for his ship.

I'm also surprised about something else—I'd always thought Jae-In was the main female lead, but it's been three seasons and she doesn't have much plot. I'd definitely want to see more of her in the next season.

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This drama was super cute from start to finish, and I love how the relationship between the main leads was different from a lot of cohabitation relationships where they start off hating each other. It was refreshing to see a male lead that wasn't arrogant and cocky; right off the bat, we saw that he was compassionate and caring for the FL, not because he liked her but just because of his personality. The little easter egg scenes at the end of episodes were also super cute because we got to see more of this.

Si Tu Mo was a lovable main female lead as well. She definitely stood up for herself, was straight and to the point when it came to romance and friendships, and it was really great to not have to get frustrated at those stupid misunderstandings that too many other dramas have.

Sadly, the last few episodes of this drama really slowed down the pace, and I felt like it dragged without any real storyline—they seemed like filler episodes.

The OST is also okay, but I love love love Time For A Love Song by Luna!

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The aesthetic of Playlist Global is still so sweet and adorable, but I feel even less invested in the characters and plot than I did in Season 1. Just like in the first season, though, I really loved the friendships between the characters, and it was interesting to see new characters get introduced.

The main ship is starting to get a little on my nerves because of how wishy-washy they were being, and I actually liked the new character better. Other than that, I still had quite a good time watching this, and the fact that the episodes are short and updated frequently makes it easy to get addicted.

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Balancing angst and comedy

Combining the angsty plot of terminal illness while also trying to maintain loud and slapstick humor is a very difficult feat but Mr. Plankton managed to do it extremely well. The humorous scenes are laugh-out-loud funny, while the sad scenes still hit really hard, and I never felt like I was getting whiplash between them.

As much as I love green flag MLs, I do think several kdramas have overcorrected recently; it's actually refreshing to get a drama that gives both its leads stories that have equal weight, and to see an ML that has more purpose than to just be in love with the FL. With that being said, Hae-jo's character is absolutely the best part of this show, and WDH plays him to perfection.

I feel a little more mixed on the other characters, to be honest. While I liked Jae-mi's plot, I wish we focused more on her desire to be a mother and have a family. The flashback we got of her at the orphanage is extremely touching. Instead, it seems like we get a lot of her relationship with Eo Heung and his mother. I don't necessarily dislike this, but it's weird. The drama does a fantastic job of making Heung a sympathetic character. His capacity for love is so great and his relationship with his mother goes through such important development, but I still never quite felt the emotions of it, not when Jae-mi and Hae-jo's dynamic is so strong and heart-wrenching. I also felt liek the love triangle was dragged out just a little too long; we saw clips of Jae-mi/Heung and they're cute but as a viewer I never once believed that they belonged together.

I did, however, still enjoy the humorous scenes with the three of them, and I almost wish we got a longer road trip type plot, with a new character (Gi-ho, Bong-suk) joining them in the car ride to each next sperm donor. It would have made the party scene at the end feel more meaningful, because I actually don't think we saw them spend much time together before then.

Overall, I think the first half worked better for me. Something about the bickering and the chaos was just so fun, whereas the last few episodes seems to have Hae-jo leaving Jae-mi stranded as a plot point multiple times. The ending also needed to be extended a little longer for things to get tied up. The plot is pretty outlandish — sometimes it works because it absolutely leans into it, and sometimes I had to remind myself "this is a DRAMA and that's why Hae-jo is still allowed to drive." Either way, it's fun.

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Broke my heart and then healed it

I've recently been wondering if I prefer melodramas over romantic comedies because they seem to hit harder, but watching this drama reminded me just how amazing a rom-com can still be if it manages to hit the right emotional beats.

Go Back Couple grabbed my attention in the first episode with how deep it was, and immediately I knew that this show took its subject matter seriously. The drama isn't afraid to touch upon important topics like grief and guilt, and throughout all 12 episodes, the emotional scenes were extremely hard-hitting, especially surrounding the theme of parenthood. I loved every scene between Jin Joo and her mother, and I loved how JJ basically had to choose between going back to see her own child or staying with the mother she never got to say goodbye to. The way grief affected the communication in the leads' relationship was so realistic and heart-wrenching; I cried so many times watching this show.

With that being said, the show also did an amazing job staying lighthearted. The second thing that stood out to me was that this drama is actually funny. With so many rom-coms now relying on drunken antics or slapstick humor (which doesn't quite click with me), this drama does instead uses a lot of callbacks or taking the time to set up situations that are funny but still very touching. I laughed just as much as I cried.

I love how much depth there was in both our main characters. Neither of them are perfect, but the breakdown of their relationship isn't their fault either. It makes the characters and their story feel extremely real. As much as I love the golden retriever archetype we keep getting nowadays, sometimes it feels like MLs have no purpose other than to love the FL. It's extremely refreshing to get an ML that is very flawed, but still so in love with the FL when everything is said and done.

There were only a few things I didn't like that much. One was the second ship; it's not that I disliked them, but I cared much more about those side characters' friendships with the main leads rather than their own romances.

I also didn't love the "getting hit by a car" trope at the end of Episode 11. While I admit the acting of the leads absolutely shined because of it, it feels like another common out-of-the-blue kdrama trope. I think we could've either done without it or at least picked a plot point that was pre-established, like Ban Do getting into an alley fight with some bullies.

Ultimately, though, these are all small potatoes and I still enjoyed this drama SO much. The "back in time" concept is nothing new but Go Back Couple manages to make its mark with stellar characters and excellent writing. I will be recommending this drama to everyone I know :)

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Great, except for one big thing

Folks, it has been quite a while since I've gotten second lead syndrome and even longer since it's been so bad that I've had to start my review out with it, but here we are. I think the thing that was so jarring about this one, though, is that I did not see it coming at all. Contrary to other dramas where you sit through 16 episodes of a SML pining for someone you know they'll never get, I sat through this drama with the continuous thought that this drama had one of my favorite tropes — the one where the main lead feels like the second lead but ends up getting the girl because they were the one that stood by her and laid out all their cards on their table while doing it (see Dream High). I was unfortunately, very wrong, and you cannot imagine the absolute whiplash I felt when Kaga, my favorite golden retriever who spent all six episodes unabashedly spending time with Ayumi and making her laugh...ended up being the second lead. It's not that I dislike Koshiro and in a way it makes sense, but the problem is that we, the viewers, didn't get to see any of it beyond the childhood flashback and a few speaking scenes — because we spent all this time seeing Kaga with Ayumi instead. I have a big soft spot for the storyline where Person A loves Person B but ends up falling in love with Person C because of a big life change (see Vampire Diaries) and thought this was going to be the case based on screentime alone. Long story short, my heart is SHATTERED.

Okay, with that out of the way, this drama actually had a lot going for it. It grabbed me right out of the gate and kept me on the edge of my seat. There's the more "fantasy" and "thriller" aspect where you have the leads trying to figure out how the body switch happened and how to deal with it, and there's also the more down-to-earth part of the drama where they just have to go about their day, attending classes, eating lunch, dealing with bullies and school events, etc. The balance between the two is done extremely well, and I was also really touched by the story.

The theme is common but really interesting. The drama does a good job of showing "pretty privilege" — not just in terms of your genes but also how wealthy you are, if you grew up in a good environment and with good parents and were able to take care of yourself, etc. But it also shows that sometimes people who are dealt a bad card let it define them forever and blame others for it to a fault. I was really happy to see Umine's redemption arc and loved that everyone became a friend group by the end, though it was a little fast.

Plot-wise, I do think the short length of this drama hampers the pacing somewhat. It feels really well-paced and fast at the start, but it starts to drag a little bit before it just completely speed-runs the ending. I'm not sure if the manga originally montaged through it or had more, but I wish we got more scenes about the "shuffle," had more time to develop Umine's redemption arc, and explained more about the lore and how switching worked. It felt like they introduced a researcher character who was supposed to have a lot of answers about the process, but ended up not really doing anything other than some lore dumping early on.

Ultimately, though, SLS aside, I still really enjoyed this one. In my heart of hearts Kaga will always be endgame, but even if he's not, I hope it doesn't deter anything from watching this.

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Needed a bit more

The premise of this drama is super interesting but it was just missing something for me that made it not as exciting as it could've been.

Despite quite a lot actually happening and the main character traveling to the past multiple times, it feels like not a lot is actually happening. I think we needed to feel higher stakes for the main character. While I actually really liked seeing a selfish and greedy main lead — there's a lot of potential for character growth — I felt like the ML wanting to become rich by marrying the "10 billion girl" was not really a strong enough plot motivator.

The character of the FL was also kind of thin. The childhood connection and contrast of the FL being selfless and kind-hearted is nothing new, but next to the ML it felt like we needed a character who was righteous but just as headstrong. Our FL was so quiet that I didn't really feel her presence in the show, especially after she was revealed to be so normal after her ominous introduction.

With that being said, I like the concept of the romance but I'm not sure if I actually bought into it emotionally. I wish we'd gotten more scenes of them just spending time together or, once again, just having higher stakes that would push them closer and give us a sense of desperation and trust.

I actually liked Takauji for this reason (not just because Mackenyu plays him, although that certainly helped) but also because the character added an intensity to the plot that we really needed. I wish the drama had taken it a step further by giving him the tools to travel back in time as well. It would've made the "race" between the protagonist and antagonist SO interesting and added some much needed competition.

Overall, I still quite enjoyed the plot. Though it was a little rushed at the end, the character development works and everything is wrapped up nicely.

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