Dear M. (2022)

Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Dear. M " is a Global Playlist drama, in the series of the Love Playlist.

However, it is nothing like the previous ones. The main problem with it is that it's boring and predictable. Pretty much nothing happens, with the characters simply going through their college life, with some ups and downs in their romantic lives. The big mystery with the mapple posts, often being forgotten when it didn't serve anything to the plot, was not interesting to keep things entertaining and its final conclusion was nothing to get excited about.

Probably the only thing that was interesting was the rivalry between the two ex classmates, but that's about it. No surprises when it came to the romance, some half baked plots, and a few unlikable characters. Especially the main lead was too much of a plain jane acting like a child all the time.

The performances, moreover, were decent.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Wonderful show!

Just finished watching the K-Drama Dear. M on the app Rakuten Viki, which stars Jae Hyun of the amazing K-Pop group, NCT 127 is his debut as the male lead.

Absolutely loved it!

A character driven, light-hearted, but mature and grounded coming-of-age romance drama with comical elements that follows a group of roughly nine students on a college campus and explores various issues: one-sided attraction/love, two-timing, jealousy, the highs and lows of relationships, and living up to parents' expectations and one's potential.

On a lean 12 episode format, the story focuses solely on these students and their experiences with each other on the college campus. Similar to K-Dramas like Hospital Playlist and Our Beloved Summer, the pacing of this show is very relaxed. Each scene feels longer than the average K-Drama and we the audience are almost like a "fly on the wall", eavesdropping on these dialogue-heavy scenes, one after another peeling away more layers of these characters and their desires and emotions. For as dialogue heavy as the show is, there are so many subtle, non-verbal moments, where there is no dialogue but the tension between the characters are conveyed with facial expressions and gestures.

The writing and acting is solid across the board, with solid leading performances from Park Hye Soo and Jae Hyun of NCT 127.

Whether your a fan of NCT 127 or K-Dramas in general, I think you will love this show as it is so well done and features a very satisfying ending.

Highest recommendations!

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Simple college drama

-May be spoilers-

Story:

With a mysterious love letter in the background, the story pans around college students with typical troubles like dating, money, clubs, classes, friendships etc. Nothing groundbreaking sure but lighthearted. The six main characters surprisingly all have their own wholesome traits and I learned some things too.

Story-wise I wish there was less DRAMA and more fluff- why not? I don't know why writers had to insert recycled toxic characters & give them so much screentime. There were tropes from the last decade which felt unrealistic for busy college students. Rosa would always magically appear in front of Jimin/Haneul for the sole purpose of causing misunderstandings and so much was predictable. Haneul Jimin's story got boring by the end and made little sense. Less stress from the other four MCs. Since it's a college drama it wouldn't hurt to have more college events and meetups in place of stressful characters who ultimately contributed nothing much but stress.

Cast Acting:

I'm so thankful they released this drama in the end because I really wanted to see Jaehyun's acting and he did well! I always liked Park Hyesoo on screen and she was good here too. (Hope that she's innocent in her case and is able to return to acting because if she's innocent then it's such a shame...) I was looking forward to their chemistry and they didn't disappoint.

My favourite characters were Young because she's rational and Mokjin because he's considerate and clean and that's underappreciated lol. They did well.

The other actors were decent too, nothing deep but just appropriate for how this drama's characters are written.


Music:

I heard an OST or two but they weren't memorable.


Rewatch value:

If I rewatch it'll probably be for characters Jooah & Minho. One of the best friends to lovers pairs done right, they were cute, cared about each other and were there to support each other at their most important moments, which is wholesome. Idk if such long time friends can become lovers irl but yeah.

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Incredibly frustrating midway, but it all ends well

Overall, the drama is a pretty decent rom-com, but some things along the way made the ride a bit difficult. First, I think the show focused way too much on the Haneul-Jimin-Rosa nucleus when they aren't even the main couple. Their story just kept repeating itself after a certain point and this really took a toll on the pacing of the drama. They could've devoted the screen time not just to the main couple but to other side characters, such as Mokjin and Young, Minho and his sister, etc.

Now onto the charcaters, Young is really nice and down to earth, Mokjin is okay, even though being a psychology major doesn't stop him from believing all sorts fo pseudo-science and occultism. Moonjoong is just detestable and the fact that he pretends to be a nice guy initially just makes him even more of a scumbag. At least his ending is decent, unlike Rosa. She does all sorts of despicable things and yet she faces little to no consenquences adn there's also that half-assed redemption last minute. Yidam is a very desposable character, also he felt really meddling and was all up Jimin's personal space even though he just met her.

Minho is a cutiepie and deserves the world. I think Jaehyun did amazing for his first acting role, obviously he can improve in certain aspects, but I never felt his acting was overshadowed by the rest of the cast. On the other hand, what I felt about Jooah fluctuated a lot during the drama. Initially I liked her, her relationship with Minho felt very natural, but she was way too childish sometimes. I know it's her first love, but she is probably already in her twenties, she just came off as really naive. Besides, the whole plot regarding her deciding to be a sports MC just felt really stupid. It's ok to feel lost during college and not knowing wich career path to choose, but deciding your profeesion based on something a guy you've known for a week told you even though you didn't even like sports until like 2 days ago just feels really idiotic. She didn't even know anything about this field and what it entails, again making her seem more like a twelve year old.

Besides that, Jooah was really cruel to Minho when he confessed. If she wanted to reject him, she could've been nice about it, but instead she invalidated his feelings and acted like he had a psychotic episode or something like that. And then she just acted like he didn't exist, I mean shoudn't she be like that towards Moonjoong instead?

Jimin on the other hand is one of the most annoying characters in this. She was just a goody-two-shoes with a martyr complex and as the drama went on and the way she treated Haneul was terrible. Sis can't take accountability for things to save her own life. Haneul was indeed wrong to lie to her, but so was she. Instead of admiting she was also to blame, Jimin borderline gaslighted Ha Neul into thinking it was all his fault because he couldn't read her mind and just did what she asked him to. Sis you just dig your own grave by shoving your boyfriend onto Rosa and never stating you were uncomfrotable with it. Honestly Jimin can die alone I don't care.

Regarding the whole Dear.M revelation, I actually liked it. It was quite funny and made Dear.M seem like a criminal mastermind, but at least it was refreshing and unexpected, and also resonated with the core of the drama. I also wished the main couple got together sooner, but the ending was overall satisfying and the interaction between the characters (except Jimin-Rosa-Haneul) throughout made this worth watching and I'm just glad to have been able to finally seen this show.

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AN EXCITING COLLEGE ROMANCE DRAMA! IT'S DEFINITELY A MUST WATCH!

First thing's first, who was the writer of "Dear M."? At some point I swore it was Ban Yi Dam because episode 12 gave it away but then Cha Min Ho said he also wrote a post.

Anywayss let's start, shall we? THIS WAS A GREAT WATCH!! I loved all the characters except a few that only brought bad vibes and jealousy (Choi Ro Sa heh). The actors portrayed their roles very well. The littlest of things had me squealing and replaying the scene. The OST?? OMG amazingg too!! JaeHyun and HyeSu did a great job. The drama flowed smoothly though I tried really hard to piece together who "M" was. First Love? Ahh it's really the best.

Various themes were displayed throughout the drama as i watched the characters struggle, regret, get upset, disappointed, you name it. However, they all overcame it. They trusted each other and protected each other.

I won't make this a long review so that is it. Go watch Dear. M. It hooks you from the very beginning and it's a drama you don't wanna miss out on!!!

xo,
Nicki.

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my love letter to dear m

i am impressed with the storyline, it had me have moments where i was placing bets with my mind that who exactly is writing to dear m and drama has so many couples and the ones i was rooting for the most were mok - jin & hwangbo young . to be honest, i started this series for two people ( 1 ) roh jeongeui , ( 2 ) jeong jaehyun but fell in love with the whole cast. i will say this story revolves around suspense of who tf is dear m, so i guess the rewatch value of this drama might be low ? since one knows the whole storyline after first watch, but u can definitely re watch it over and over again for the youthful romance ! i pulled a night over for this series and i def enjoyed it. ( also, ban yi dam deserved better. i hope he finds love too )

so happy for jaehyun, he aced the acting ! im so proud of him.

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6 College Kids, 3 couples, plenty of angst and drama

I picked up this drama because of the high rating (at least on Viki) and I can see where the fuss came from. It's a very cute super cheesy rom-com college drama. I'm usually not a huge fan of college age dramas because of the young cast, but you can't help but cheer on for the couples while you watch Dear M.

A lot of people love the ML, Jeong Jae Hyun and I can see why. He's very handsome to watch and his voice is raspy cool. But light should be shine on the FL lead too, I enjoyed Park Hey very bubbly personality and high pitch voice.

Probably the best part of this drama is that it's mainly about two couples and a little bit of camera time for the third couple. Each drama will face its own dramas and if you like push and pull relationships then this one is for you.

I had a problem with the angst level. I felt like every time you thought the couple would get together or figure it out, something external would happen and it would be back to square one. Some people like that kind of drama, I find it very frustrating.

I also had a huge problem with the FL's wardrobe! I know she is poor and the girl next door / best friend kind of character, but did you have to make her look so frumpy? The second couple dressed so cute so I know there is a budget of cute outfits or at least clothes that fit her.

Overall, it's a drama with young, pretty characters that go through intense up and down emotions because of the relationships with the people they care about it.

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Lighthearted fun drama

I started this drama because I feel korean dramas always have fresh take on school/university genre.
Though it may get repetitive from drama to drama, the execution does feel different in this case.

We know who our three couples are so no heartbreaks over the end game. The love triangle is also pretty much straight forward. Our main female lead wants to start her first love with the handsome, rich, polite sunbae(senior) and female lead's long time male best friend is not so much on board with this idea. Its a delight to watch Ma Joo Ah and Cha Min Ho bickering with each other, supporting each other, pushing each other in the right direction, consoling each other and getting aware about the romantic feelings for each other. We are also introduced with the other 2 couples, though the romance with the other 2 couples does seems scripted at some point. They do not shine as much as our main couple. However these 6 characters interacting with each other as friends, roomates in the background of university life is portrayed very beautifully.

And in all this mix of romantic feelings we have mystery regarding dear m. I personally found this mystery very unpredictable as you suspect every character to be this mysterious post writer and in the end you will still be surprised. Every student in this drama including the side characters have their own story and own struggles. So I liked the overall message that no matter what your family will always support you and your friends will always cheer for you.

Personally this drama does make you feel nostalgic about you own collage/school days where exams, assignments, mid terms, friends, study rooms, classrooms, collage festivals, first love, first heartbreak does seems like your whole world.
P. S. Thought I am familiar with students not being prepared for the exam or preparing for the wrong subject, forgetting that you finished that subject's exam and asking cheat notes for that subject to teacher makes me feel I was way too sincere in my college days. LOL. You may or may not guess who dear m is but 2 episodes into this drama and you will definitely guess who this unprepared character is.

Hope you find this review usefull.

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Average college drama but I liked it

been waiting for this drama since they announced it in 2020, with high expectations looking at the cast, and the production by playlist. I thought it would be a more mature drama but it fell in the cliche, it's not something bad but in 2022 it might look old fashioned. I liked the general concept of the letters dedicated to Dear.M and the plot twist at the end, plus the message is fresh and well done.

What I like:
- I like the chemistry of both, girls and boys squads, they gave me the friends vibes.
- the osts (wish they were released)
- the few relatable college situations presented, like looking for a dream, the reality of looking for a job, financial problems
- the three couples had good chemistry but my favorite one was Young and MokJin
- the inclusion of a character with diabetes, it shows a reality
- cha minho and his sister, i loved the story of the siblings

What I dislike:
- the way they put third parties in their relationships to make the story goes longer... Ro Sa, Yi Dam and the other girl.
- not a good closure, the main characters of course had their happy ending but the side characters like Ro Sa or Moon Joon barely show a character development, and they need it
- rushed ending
- would have liked to see more of the third couple
- the secondary couple doesn't feel like the one presented in Love Playlist, and its not because of the actress change, but 'cause they were written differently from what we have already seen, They should have just created other characters, it doesn't really matter if the drama is not connected to the webdrama

overall the drama is enjoyable, it has comedy, college life, friendship, first love stories, romance, slice of life

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Actually Kinda Sweet…

I’m a bit of cynic when it comes to “short” shows. I know that it’s wrong and trust me when I say that often my initial thoughts on shorter shows have been proven false, but often because of limited budgets, time frames and rushed writing (etc.), I can often find myself expecting the same old flukes and errors. Dear .M wasn’t entirely perfect but I would like to talk a bit about what I really liked and didn’t like with this series.

What I Really Liked;

I have my peeves with the setup but I can’t deny that main actors Park Hye Soo and Jeong Jae Hyun were really good here. Their chemistry was surprisingly dynamic and you could feel a certain impassioned expression of affections between the leads which made their onscreen chemistry feel alive.

Another thing that I really liked about the show was the topics tackled. It was a simple plot and it didn’t exactly take a lot of mental strain to follow, but that didn’t mean it was entirely absent from thought either. A lot of the subjects weren’t brilliantly detailed but it was still pretty surprising for a fairly lighthearted romance series to bring in topics such as ethics as well as psychological, physical and financial toils on students also.

I also really liked the fact that the characters weren’t entirely one-dimensional either. We saw a lot of problems faced by the main leads as well as the side characters without the plot feeling really draggy by the halfway point either. ( The writing made a point also of showing the leads and side characters for the most part as actual students. A lot of drama fall into the honey trap of making them feel like they are hitching a free ride through studies whereas here the fact that a lot of characters actually had to deal with work, assignments and campus life helped to make them feel a bit more fleshed out.)

What I didn’t like;

I’m used to a lot of cliches with characters and in all honesty I don’t mind them but I like to see where shows can diverge these stereotypes early on. Here, the show followed a typical cookie cutter approach to its main leads and side characters. I won’t go into this too much but I will say that it does become a bit tiresome as a drama watcher to see drama with characters reinforcing the same old roles and stereotypes. ( Especially the jealous and envious female leads, as well as catty conflicts and miscommunication .)

I will say that the second-half did tone down this approach but it felt as though because the drama was so obsessed with trying to present final obstacles for our main couple as well as tie up events, it was lost to the fact of featuring our side characters with more prevalence in the second-half, often making them feel out of place aside from dragging out moments of tension and drama.

Personally I felt that the ending could’ve been a little better with helping to tie up loose ends a bit more and bringing key characters to the front and smoothing out the resolution but I didn’t feel there was much to really improve on here.

Maybe my only remaining pet peeve came through the OST. It wasn’t bad by any stretch but it wasn’t entirely define as particularly memorable. Yes, there were a few songs which were sort of fun to tap your fingers to or helped to define a few scenes but it felt as though it could’ve been a little less generic at times or varied with tracks. Maybe that’s just me but I can’t really say that a lot of chosen music was my personal taste in music.

Overall thoughts; Dear.M was pretty much what it said on the tin. I think if you’re going into this drama expecting tales of woe and joy and flawless presentation then you might be a bit disappointed. Though I do think if you accept that its a lighthearted romance drama with its rough edges and fun moments then you’ll probably like this one. I have my own personal annoyances with the series but for the most part, it was pretty fun. Overall I’m going to give this one a definite 7.5/10.

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Uma brisa calma com algumas tempestades isoladas

Este drama é muito adorável. Não só a temática universitária me atraiu muito, mas a ideia central de um apaixonado misterioso foi simplesmente o que me fez querer ver até o final. Achei a história um tanto clichê em alguns aspectos, mas foi bem construída e os personagens são muito apaixonantes - mesmo sendo uns chatos em alguns quesitos.

É uma daquelas histórias para se assistir ocasionalmente, não é bem pra maratonar, e fiquei até surpresa quando vi o episódio final pois não esperava que já estivesse acabando. Fazem falta dramas mais água com açúcar como esse. Na minha opinião são os melhores.

A revelação do Dear M não foi tão surpreendente, mas adorei mesmo assim. Realmente era o único que me parecia apaixonado o suficiente mas não a ponto de confessar logo haha

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