scenophile

This is definitely going to go down as one of my favorites. There's something really wholesome and heart-warming about the entire plot, and even though the problems that the characters face are sometimes really intense, I don't think the vibe of the overall drama ever wavered.

Shut Up Flower Boy Band is surprisingly realistic, and one thing i really liked was that there wasn't one evil antagonist they were all going up against—most of the conflicts were internal struggles or tensions with friendship, and the show handled it all really well. Even the characters who didn't really get along with the main characters were very three-dimensional.

Even though there were some noble idiocy plot points, which I usually hate, I liked them in this show and I understood, mainly because even though the characters were fighting, it never felt like they were no longer friends. The bromance was one of the strongest parts of the entire show and I loved the way they handled conflicts with one another.

Su-Ah and Ji-Hyuk were super cute together as well—after I finished watching the drama, I went back and rewatched all their scenes together. I also liked how there weren't a lot of needless misunderstandings between them; even though they found it hard to talk about their feelings sometimes, when it came to it, they really understood each other's choices. Ji-Hyuk was kind of a bad boy but also lowkey always soft for Su-Ah, which was adorable. Su-Ah was a surprisingly strong female character who spoke her mind a lot and stood up to others, even though she is quiet—but I do wish they had given her even more regarding her art. While the guys had their music thing going on, it felt like her artistic talent was hinted at but it never moved forwards. I wish we saw more of Ji Hyuk's family background too, as it was pretty much only hinted at throughout the drama and I think could've played a bigger part.

Hyun-Soo (L from Infinite) was also one of my favorite characters, who was given a deeper personality than the others. I wish we got to see more of his interactions with his sister. His romantic plotline, though, was something I had mixed feelings about—and I'm not sure I'm fully on board with the ship.

Overall, though, I don't think I was ever really annoyed with ANY of the characters, which is a rare occurrence for me.

I did get spoiled for The Catalyst Event at the end of episode 2, so honestly I didn't find that as heart-wrenching as all the struggles that the characters had to go through afterwards.

I love the OST too—especially Jaywalking and Wake Up, of course—but I'm not sure I love the soundtrack as much as I loved Heartstrings'.

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The premise certainly sounds a lot like Love O2O, and a lot of parts were similar (friendships, gaming), but the dynamic of the relationship and the plot was VERY different. Love O2O was a lot better for multiple reasons.

Firstly, I cannot get past the acting of the main female lead. It always felt like she didn't know what to do with her hands, and whether she was pointing, shrugging, or crossing her arms, it always looked SO unnatural. The same could be said for her "shocked" and "sad" facial expressions. Honestly, the personality of the main female lead was really boring as well. This drama did what fanfiction often does, which is make the main lead chosen for all the important roles and win the competitions when realistically that would never happen. The FL had no good comebacks to being teased or insulted, ever—her response is always to huff and pout. After the college years, I hated the main lead even more than I did already because she became the most annoying and moody person ever, for no good reason.

I loved her friend, Zheng Lei's personality ten times better, and I wish she was the main lead instead. Mo Xiao Lin was a pretty good character as well. I couldn't stand Pan Qi either, and I know that in real life I'd also be annoyed to death by someone who was as boy-crazy as her that every other sentence out of her mouth was about dating. Every time she did something wrong, she never apologized either, just threw a tantrum until everyone else came to her instead.

The visual cinematography in this was kind of bad. The gaming graphics were worse than Love O2O, and at the start it just looked like the actors were running around in front of a green screen. During actual scenes, the camera would move around and tremble, making me feel like I was getting motion sickness. During the last few episodes, what we got was basically 80% flashbacks, 15% characters talking to one another about the flashbacks, and 5% actual things happening; I honestly just skimmed through it because I had watched it all before. Speaking of that, there were SO many voiceover narrations, and they happened at the weirdest parts that needed the most detail, basically cutting the most important plot points down to a few minutes of brief explanation.

The plot was okay, but there was never really an overarching plot or direction. The drama felt like sub-plot after sub-plot, and it was painfully obvious when another sub-plot was being introduced because the main character would be like "Oh! I spy an issue! Let me think of a solution!" Having one plot after another meant that characters would come in and out of the story randomly. There finally seemed to be a more comprehensive plot at the end, but it was all stuffed into two episodes and by that point it seemed rushed, messy, and out of the blue.

Overall, I still liked some parts—mainly near the start, during college, and when the game actually played a big role. The last ten-ish episodes were definitely messy and not worth watching.

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So I love the "fake dating" cliche, and I was really excited for this one. But so many of the characters were annoying and downright toxic. First of all, the female lead starts off as one of the worst leads I've ever seen—unbelievably naive, nosy, and always drunk. Even though it was kind of explained by the backstory, she was still unbearable. It took me a REALLY long time to become okay with her because even when her character grew a little, I hated the way she handled situations—silent during misunderstandings that could have otherwise been avoided with one line, and loud/obnoxious during the worst times. The other characters were not the best either; many of them were manipulative and toxic, but seemed to be intended as a "positive" character, which was just confusing. There wasn't one character I purely liked, and even Jang Mi's mother I couldn't stand.

The plot I really liked, though. It was a different take on the "rich evil mother" cliche and Gi Tae's mother actually had dimension to her (though she still irritated me). I felt like some of the plot near the end, especially with that breast cancer plot twist was kind of just out of the blue and random.

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The only thing that truly gets a 10/10 for this is the OST, which was just so calming and emotional for me. It really added to the "fairy tale" feeling of the drama, and with the cinematography, it just made the aesthetic of the drama that much more immersive.

I definitely didn't really treat this as a contemporary romance while I was watching it, because of how unrealistic it really is—I thought of it more as a fairy tale retelling, and suspending your disbelief is a skill that will definitely come in useful when watching this. As a retelling, though, I really liked seeing how the historical scenes translated into the modern ones. I was definitely not as interested in the historical plot as I was in the modern one, so it helped that there were less historical scenes as the drama went on.

I was honestly disappointed with the last episode. It felt like it was a little unnecessary to add another bout of amnesia and memory erasure so late in the drama, and I didn't like how it meant that the only person who remembered Sim Cheong was Heo Joon Jae. Once again—that goes along with the unrealistic parts of this story.

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Surprisingly, I found myself more emotionally invested in the murder plot than the ship. I'm not saying the ship wasn't cute, which it was—but it was also some back and forth wishy-washiness that kind of annoying after a while. I didn't really like how they kept keeping secrets from each other—this is always the most frustrating thing in dramas because you just know that realistically being honest would have made everything so much easier.

The actor for the murderer is honestly SO GOOD. That courthouse scene is one scene that I will definitely keep rewatching because of the small gestures and facial expressions, and just the raw emotion that comes across in that scene. Amazing. That guy deserves to be a main lead. Though I don't think I could ever see him as anything other than a murderer now because of this drama, haha.

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1. I love the main theme and the end theme so much.
2. I love the fact that there are no DUMB misunderstandings, and that the leads trust each other in their relationship. There are some moments where I felt like the leads were both a little TOO perfect, but ultimately it was refreshing.
3. I don't believe in love at first sight which this is based on, but everything is so cute that I'll honestly let it slide JUST THIS ONCE.
4. I am not on the ship for that second pairing. ER XI DESERVES BETTER.
5. I've honestly never been any sort of a gamer, and I also am not too interested in any historical aspects, but I surprisingly enjoyed the video game parts.

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To be honest, I went into this thinking I was going to hate it. The fact that the FL already had a huge crush on the ML and was super obvious and desperate about it was something I just knew I was going to cringe at—and that's the only reason why I couldn't give this one a higher rating. The main female lead was so annoying.

Obviously, I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I expected. It was super cute and I loved all the little things that the ML did for the FL without her knowing — but there was still a lot of lack of communication that bothered me. I know the second lead did a lot of stuff too—and that a lot of people had second lead syndrome but I actually did not, whew!

I was also hesitant about this drama because of the time jumps that I knew happened throughout the later episodes. These are so easily ruined, but the drama actually did a good job of dealing with the relationship growths during the time we didn't see. Still though, I'm not a fan of time jumps and I felt like their reasoning was very weak.

Overall, this was a really great story about romance and friendship, and I am so happy both the ships in this sailed :')

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This was honestly so much more heart-wrenching than I expected, especially since the problems faced by the character were so relatable and harsh, and I felt frustrated seeing the antagonists win again and again—but that just made it more realistic. I honestly really appreciated the way this drama handled mental illness and family issues. Even so, I felt like the antagonist had gone so far it was hard for me to empathize with her, and how the classmates acted at the end (as if they just accepted all of her and never asked her to take responsibility for anything ) was kind of unbelievable.

From the very first episode, I knew I'd love it. I loved the FL so much and it was so refreshing to see a female lead that was loud, badass, but vulnerable at the same time. I loved it up until around the 11th episode, when the characters started to do some really stupid things. Going off of that, I don't see the purpose of having Kim Yeol's dad and Yeon Doo's mom dating as a plot point at all. It was just unnecessary drama and wasn't really resolved in the end anyways.

Although I wouldn't go as far to say that I had second lead syndrome because I shipped the FL and ML, my heart still BROKE for the second lead and to be honest if he had ended up with the FL, I wouldn't have complained.

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Almost great

This drama started out SO strong. The fake marriage trope is common but this was such a thrilling twist on it with Hee-joo's voice being a secret and the kidnapper — I was on the edge of my seat for most of episodes.

I still enjoyed this overall, but in hindsight it leaves some more things to be desired. A lot of the side characters are underutilized, particularly Heejoo's sister I-na and the second ship, Yu-ri and Sang-woo. Yu-ri being a reporter ends up not really accounting to anything, and I-na's return also doesn't do much. Instead, the main leads are put through the ringer, with the female lead being put in danger over and over again. The tension is there but it does get repetitive.

I also really have to talk the last episode. It was just...bad. (And yes, I know it's in the novel, but I'm reviewing this based on drama only.) The last minute ghosting/separation is a trope that I've long-hated in kdramas, and this drama took it to another level by making this last arc just utterly random, in an active warzone in another country. It not only feels completely out of place, but there's just not enough time for all of this to happen, when I would've preferred that they just leave time for the characters to just talk to each other, and for more character relationships to be wrapped up. Hee-joo's relationship development with her mother is interesting but so rushed. Overall, the ending just doesn't quite hit; I find it hard to believe that the ML and his assistant would be able to get new government jobs after everything they've done and been in the public eye for. It wraps things up nicely but feels lazy.

Ultimately, this was still a pretty good watch, but the last episode hiccup is quite a big one.

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Ultimate yearning

It’s official, the main couple in this drama is going up there as one of my all-time favorites. Wen Yifan is a rare FL that’s quiet and reserved but still straightforward and stands up for herself when the situation calls for it. And Sang Yan is just the most amazing ML I’ve seen — he’s supportive and unwavering and funny, and the way BJT plays him is just so heartfelt.

The drama plot hits the sweet spot between angsty and uplifting. The leads give us really adorable moments, but when it comes to Yifan’s backstory and how her family has made her feel unworthy of love, the drama becomes heart-breakingly relatable and both the lead actors play their characters beautifully, and the amazing OST certainly adds a lot to each moment.

I will say that this drama was a little more dramatic than I anticipated — it’s pretty steady most of the time but there are a few fights and backstories that were extremely intense. To add, I’ve always hated the separation trope, and yeah this drama has it. It lasts quite a few episodes and it is frustrating and depressing, but I think this is one of the few cases where I think it really makes sense, and I like how it was resolved not by the ML finding the FL again, but by the FL realizing there were good people around her, being brave, and choosing to call him again. This IS Yifan’s story, and that gave her a lot more agency. It also makes the conversation they had where she finally lays out all her cards on the table feel earned.

The biggest “blah” part of this drama for me is, unfortunately, the side characters. I loved the SFL in WIFTY, and I loved the SML in Your Name Engraved Herein, and they’re both fine when they’re acting either as Sang Yan or Wen Yifan’s friend, but when it comes to their romance, I really could not care less. They have a few arcs — something with a dog, something with a car accident. I’m sorry but I could not tell you a single thing that happened (lol). For this reason I've been bouncing between a 9.5 and a 10, but I think I love the main couple so much I can't bear to give this any less.

Other than that…folks, this is one for the books, and I mean it when I say I think this drama had the best finale I’ve ever seen. It wrapped everything up beautifully, revisiting all the moments between our leads and capturing their growth. I cried my eyes out.

I also just want to take a moment to say that the cinematography in this show is GORGEOUS. You can tell that there is so much thought put into each shot, and it captures the warmth, the angst, whatever the scene calls for — perfectly.

Watch this to understand real yearning.

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Soft and quiet

Let me just start by saying I was in the middle of this drama when the Kamimura Kenshin news dropped, and unfortunately it really did affect my enjoyment of this show by a lot. I sped run the last half. I'm trying to separate those emotions from my review of the show, but I just have to admit that I didn't like it as much as I think I normally would've.

I think the beginning was kind of rough. While I love the premise of a romance between a misunderstood delinquent and a good student who just tries to keep their head down, the amount of random and unprompted kissing in the first few episodes felt a little abrupt and confusing.

Over time, the characters and story definitely grow on you. I think the cinematography is great and the vibes of the show are really warm. The actors have good chemistry and the dialogue is really insightful and thought-provoking, and it's overall pretty well-written, with some really dramatic plot points that somehow manage to never feel over-the-top. The plot unfortunately does fall victim to the break-up and separation trope, and while I don't think it's completely out of left field here, I still didn't love it and I feel like their reunion should've been slower, even knowing that there's limited screentime.

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Great visuals, terrible writing

I was absolutely sat after watching the first two episodes. While “country girl who moved to the city to escape her past but now goes back to her hometown” is a plot that has definitely been done before, something about this one just felt especially raw. The main female lead was carrying a lot of emotional baggage that added this really good heaviness to the drama, and the main male lead carrying a torch for her for so many years promised some really good tension.

As the drama went on though it just got SOOO repetitive. The FL pushing the ML away was understandable at first, but it should not have been 8 episodes of a 12 episode show. Each week, the ML or FL would say something mean to the other, they would separate,\ in anger, and the instigator would feel bad and run back to the other (in slow motion). The episode would end. You’d think that they’d talk it out the next episode but nope, and the cycle would just repeat. This happens so many times where the main leads meet and end up NOT talking it out — even in the penultimate episode — that the entire journey just feels utterly tiresome and pointless.

When the leads finally got together, it did not even feel cathartic, and it felt like they’d barely had one full conversation that was not filled with animosity. As much as I liked the flashback scenes of their younger selves (so cute!) it wasn’t enough of a strong foundation once their present selves had changed so much and weren’t communicating.

The second leads are unnecessary, but I actually did enjoy the smaller side ships — I think this drama could’ve focused less on a love triangle/square that made no sense and instead had more scenes of their friend group and showing more of the town.

The tropes in this show aren’t all that uncommon in dreamland, but for some reason they felt especially frustrating here.

You have the disapproving parent, who had a motive that was so unreasonable it became annoying that the characters didn’t stand up for themselves for so long. And then you have the car accident (two, if you count the one in the past), which is used to dissipate the disapproving parent and make them suddenly empathize (but only for a moment). And then a character having cancer (also two, if you want to count one in the past) and wanting to keep it a secret…leading to our ML still lying to the FL, in the second to last episode.

With all these conflicts, the plot just feels so incoherent. It was particularly frustrating too because we had such an interesting set up in the setting. We had a motel, complete with social stigma and pretty visuals, and then we had an architect lead. Remodeling the motel and dealing with the discrimination from the other townspeople would’ve been an adequate plot so I don’t know why we had to add all that other stuff. It just feels like lazy and unnuanced writing, which is a shame because the leads are really good at showing emotion, and the emotional scenes would have hit me if the writing actually built up to them.

The last episode wrapped things up nicely, but the road to get there felt very bumpy. I also just figured that most people had checked out by then anyway. I certainly did, emotionally.

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Vibes but no plot

This review is coming at you from a non-novel reader, just FYI. But it's another one of these beloved dramas that I ended up just not quite clicking with.

The concept is fantastic. I love a good time travel / isekai type story à la Scarlet Heart Ryeo or Romance of Tiger and Rose. The acting is sometimes good and sometimes a little awkward.

I feel like my main issue with this drama is that so much of it feels unearned and aimless.

There's a sort of "mystery" subplot surrounding a conspiracy reveal that appears for maybe three episodes, and it's all played out so fast from the moment it's first mentioned to the final reveal. We never really follow the story; we just know it's happening in the background, and then the big reveal happens and the story just ends.

The romance, which is the biggest part of the story, gives me much of the same feeling. I am absolutely a hater of insta-love and "destined love," and here it really does show my biggest problem with it. I'm just not understanding why or when they fell in love with each other, and we're given these romantic moments when I feel like they should still be getting to know each other better. It's weird because the potential is definitely there — the massage scene, for example, is A+ — but it would've been even better if it felt earned.

It also feels aimless in the sense of Jom's time travelling not being explained. It's explored at the start when he's so frazzled and trying to figure out what's happening, but he gradually just starts living a normal life. His situation is only addressed when he's forcibly confronted with it, and it leaves a lot of questions by the end. I constantly wished the drama went deeper into this aspect and upped the stakes. I think this is where the conspiracy subplot could've been used, because it could've given Jom a goal, and a "oh, THIS is why I came back" moment.

Ultimately, the ending also feels quite rushed. I know there's a sequel though, so maybe it'll help. Nevertheless, I think the vibes are still there, and I know the novel probably explains more, but from a drama-only perspective, that's what I felt.

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