Reply 1997 (2012)

The first of the Reply series is a classic for the K Drama fans, but surely it's a nice watch for everyone as well. The story is quite entertaining, with the characters being very funny and cute, and the main romance good enough, although it wasn't a big mystery for long. Probably the only problem with the series was that it had too many references on 1990's culture, but my subs explained fairly enough and I kind of was familiar with some of the bands that the girls were obsessed with. And it was nice to see the early K pop fangirling, where it all began. Fortunately, the back and forth wasn't tiring, as it happened only once or twice in each episode, and mostly in the beginning and ending.

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Nostalgia to the gills!

Ahh, what a show! I laughed and cried right along with these crazy kids.

I have to admit, it took me a loooong time to get through this show. I felt so detached from the story at first. I didn't get the cultural references! Shiwon was such a crazy fangirl! The fights felt so overblown and unrealistic! In fact, I even fully dropped this show twice before finally plodding through.

But wow, I am glad I stuck with it. Eventually, each of those ridiculous youthful moments felt like fond memories — I suppose nostalgia does that to you. I have to give HUGE props to Dramabeans for keeping me in the loop on all the references and subtleties I missed in each episode. I can understand how this was a huge ratings hit, especially among those who grew up in 1997. One can only hope they make a new Reply version in the 2000s/2010s for my own youth. I would love to remember my own period of obsessing over Big Bang / rest of the Hallyu wave, Boys Over Flowers, Gangnam Style, BTS, and even cultural moments like Kim Yuna at the Olympics. Please?

There were two things that shone so brightly from this story. One, the relationships — oh boy, KEEP BREAKING MY HEART, REPLY 1997. Joonhee's crush was a real heart-wrencher, as was the brotherly love/competition/sacrifice story. Shiwon's relationship with her parents (Dad especially) was impeccable. I loved seeing her mom express her love through food, and seeing Shiwon and her dad go at each other's throats. But his reaction to sending her off to college practically wrecked me. Second, even above the relationships, I have to commend the writing and directing for the ability to frame situations with perfect foils and analogies, and hit you with unexpected twists. The story dragged at times, and was definitely hard to acclimatize to at first (just because it's SO different from other dramas), but eventually I became as invested as one can be. Somehow, the end of the series made me appreciate the beginning so much more — to the point that I could definitely see myself rewatching these sweet moments of their youth with fondness.

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