Twenty Five Twenty One (2022)

Mature and real drama

It heals you, and then crushes you in pieces.

The story is real life. I saw myself in every character in different moments. I learned so much with them, I laughed and I cried so hard. What a masterpiece. There's so many thing that were really incredible in this drama: the chemistry between the main couple, the acting of Kim Tae-ri is profound, the music, and the development of each character.

The end is very difficult to watch, but it made sense for me that Hee-do and Yi-jin went in different paths, but it hurted me so much. That's why it's like real life.

"In this world there anren't many things that we can do as we want". - Hee-do, Twenty Five Twenty One

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A beautiful story, start to finish

I just finished this drama last night. I had been putting it off since I first started my foray into K dramas about a year ago after hearing of how devastating the ending was. I want to just say that the show absolutely lives up to the hype. This is one of those dramas where after the end your left both full and empty at the same time because you don’t know what you’re going to do to fill that gap in your life that the show occupied. It was a beautiful, poignant coming of age story about life, going after your dreams, falling in love for the first time, and having your heart broken. While the ending was not your typical K drama ending, it was absolutely something we were prepared for from episode one and an ending that I believe to be the most fitting and satisfying. I would say that it absolutely was still a happy ending, despite what other people have said. Besides, I don’t really believe that the romance between the two leads was the main focus of the show anyway. I don’t regret waiting as long as I did to watch the show, because I think that this is not an ending I would have appreciated as much 8-12 months ago as much as I do now. With all of that said, I absolutely recommend giving the show a try to anyone who is on the fence. I was hooked from start to finish!

P.S. One of the most impressive aspects of this series, however, is its remarkable OST. This show probably has the best OST of any that I have ever seen

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Its just not a drama its everything means everything..(Little bit spoilers, WORTH WATCHING)

This is the most beautiful, meaningful & one of my most favourite kdrama.
This drama is all about love, friendship, support, goal, ups and down, everything.. The storyline, dialogues, casting, acting, ost, background music, cinematography everything's top notch.
This love story is about having right person but wrong timing and the relationship that will last forever even not didn't end up together.
It's not about having good times together as well as facing hard time together.
At the end all remains are the memories but that memories u didn't want to be fade out.

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Be prepared for a emotional rollercoaster ride through a very realistic and logical plot!

Just completed the drama today and am currently feeling so empty after watching such a "emotional rollercoaster ride-like drama"... Honestly I won't say the ending is bad or what, I'd say it's a rather down to earth and realistic ending given the time period it was set in for the story.

A lot of viewers kept spreading unfounded rumors that Baek Yi Jin "committed suicide" due to growing depression symptoms but please watch closely in the scenes... He is not dead because if he did, it would have been a big news and Na Hee Do's daughter who read the diary would have known as well when she searched him up on the internet. In fact, it was implied in one scene when Hee Do encourage him to receive therapy when he's in the US showing that Baek Yi Jin wasn't aware he was showing depression symptoms... The moment he realized his mental issues and finally knowing why they should break up is when he cried and told Hee Do shall not put each other through suffering anymore. The current Baek Yi Jin is more like someone who is living in the memories of the diary.

I think it's a very true reflection of our lives and the society. I cried a lot when Yu Rim and Hee Do prepared a cake for the two friends who quitted school on the same day telling them it's a fresh start to their new live instead of what our society always telling young people like them that there is no future once they gave up what they have to been doing.

Highly recommended to watch and I really love all the casts' chemistry and the completeness of this story!

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It gives us a sentimental values above all...

1. GENRE — it's kinda slice of life drama which balances romance, sports, comedy and i bet tragedy. ? it's a show that gives off warm feeling and where you can literally relate with every character bcos they represent all the natural encounters that youth experiences once in their life.

2. PLOT — set on the year 1998, this drama gives off historical and retro vibes which would definitely brings you nostalgia and an exact amount of refreshing energy. 2521 also revolves around the beautiful friendship between five youth, how they pursue their dreams, surpassed their struggles, how they become each other's support system and how their friendship evolves into something more.

3. CINEMATOGRAPHY — this drama features aesthetic and relaxing sceneries, warm tones and very pleasing in the eyes settings! certainly an add-to-bucket-list destinations!

4. ACTORS — the actors are all brilliant in portraying their own character! high-caliber talents that would make you sooOOO invested and simped! watching this drama would make you immensely absorbed by how good the actors are in playing the unique personality of their characters. (yijin, the walking green flag. heedo, the very extra and persevering fencing prodigy. seungwan, the intelligent and quirky homeroom president. yurim, the charismatic fencing gold medalist. jiwoong, the pretty boy who does pretty things!) together, they are so chaotic yet powerful. literally a squad goals! <33

5. LINES — striking, comforting and timely exchanged of lines between characters are present!!! VERY QUOTABLE SCENARIOS AHEAD, ISTG!!! ?

6. CHEMISTRY — pURFECT chemistry between the male and female leads, check!!!! honestly didn't expect the nam joo hyuk and kim taeri pairing but they complement each other so well, I'M IN TEARS ? the second leads has the same great chemistry as well! in short, perfect pairings so true!!!

7. OSTS — although 2521 is just in it's 4th episode, the first few osts featured were already so gooood. (especially starlight by taeil ?) it suits with every scenes shown in the drama and it would definitely make you listen to it countless times.

ISTG, THIS SHOW IS ANOTHER HEALING DRAMA IN THE MAKING. Y'ALL SHOULD WATCH THIS IF YOU NEED A NICE BREATHER FROM YOUR DEMANDING LIFE! WATCH #TwentyFiveTwentyOne

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El camino es más importante que el final, es un drama inolvidable

A muchos no les gustó porque pensaban en un final que les hiciese justicia a los protagonistas, pero te invito a disfrutar del proceso que sin duda fue más enriquecedor y hermoso que la resolución.

Na hee-do empieza desde abajo, con muchas complicaciones pero su poder es su fuerza de voluntad. Kim-Taeri se hace con este papel como si fuese la propia, su voz y gestos siempre expresan esa energía del personaje, que no se deja vencer, que busca la manera. Cada vez que se ve una escena de ella entrenando te crees que es deportista y no va a parar hasta que se haga de madrugada, o cada que ocurre un PARTIDO, dios. Que forma tan sencilla de hacer que te cautive la esgrima, y la entiendas. Esa expectativa cuando sientes que esta perdiendo porque esta desconcentrada, frustración, todo eso se plasma.

Pero ella no es la única personaje, está Baek Ijin, que si Na-Hee-do es un ejemplo de esa energía abrasadora que vence, este chico es el ejemplo de alguien al que pudieron arrebatarle vitalidad pero tampoco deja de intentarlo. Alguien al que le duele muchas cosas, que a veces cae en reflexiones profundas y se desalienta porque la vida es amarga pero vuelve a levantarse, siento que eso definiría un poco lo que es y haciendo gran esfuerzo porque es más que eso.

Los dos se complementan al máximo, como si pudieron ser grandes amigos al principio o su amor evoluciono pero no tendría porque tener nombre, porque ambos sabían que sean lo que sean igual estarían para el otro. Son apoyo.

Y los amo, aún siendo que no termina convencionalmente nadie quita los momentos que pasaron juntos. Felices, cómicos, de confusión, de es contradictorio pero igual quiero que estén de tu lado, de no estamos juntos pero estamos.

Y esto solo hablando de ellos dos, luego están Moon Jiwoon, Jin SeungWan y Go Yurim, que hablando de ellos y todas su cualidades y todo lo que aportan no acabaría o quizás no lo leerían, pero hacen que 21,25 sea LA serie. Porque a lo largo de la historia se hace énfasis en que estado se encuentra cada personaje, como piensa hasta una parte importante de su familia, como es su relación, y empatizas. No son solo un alivio cómico.

Hay arcos que te hacen lloran con ellos, un gran ejemplo... Adolescentes, pero sus convicciones son tan fuertes como para revelarse contra una figura de poder que perpetra algo que afecta al que quiere, a sus compañeros en general. Y sacrifica tanto por eso. Son cosas dichas entre líneas por las que deberías de verlo.
Igual que cada momento feliz junto lo vale, O CADA PARTIDO DE ESGRIMA, que de todos sacas una emoción que te hizo no querer despegarte de la silla, como, esta chica trabajó tanto y está dándolo todo.

Sobre los demás aspectos, tenemos que los lugares donde transcurre son los correctos, la ambientación, cabinas telefónicas más conmovedoras que celulares, y el contexto del FMI, interesante. LA MÚSICA es genial, y no es por ser comeflor, pero tiene canciones con un sonido que se te queda y quieres repetir, les agarras cariño: Starlight es un tema principal que no olvidas, que es perfecto, su coro, lo que significa, y Your my existence de Wonstein tiene ese momento de descarga en el que solo suena la instrumental que es mágico, te hace sentir mucho, como si fuese una explosión de algo y tuvieses emoción de esa parte, una canción de dorama que no es comparable. La canción de bibi también, y se hace una mención especial a esa canción "With" que trata de pura amistad, que cantan todos los actores del elenco principal y de verdad, es hermoso, real.

Encuentros, momentos felices, conflictos, partidos, pérdidas, reencuentros, estrés, dolor, realización. Somos la niña del principio leyendo el diario de su madre y no puedes esperar a que sea más genial aunque siempre quisieses que hubiesen sucedido otras cosas.

Si llegaste hasta acá, muchas gracias y espero que puedas disfrutar de esto tanto como yo y todos los que les tocó esa fibra, el camino acá es the most important y sobre todo, velo lento, aseguro que será lo mejor que puedes hacer (No olvido el nombre nahedoo y baekijin desde que los vi ayuda). <3

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what does happy ending mean to you?

So far, my favorite k-drama of the year. As an avid fan of Kim Taeri, this is another refreshing role of Kim Taeri that moved me. But before I start talking about how much I love her as Na Heedo, I will talk some other aspects of the drama first.

I found the show a bit slow and draggy at certain places but nevertheless it really kept me expecting what’s next. Overall chemistry between the casts feels pretty good. The story is well built and balanced perfectly with comedy, romance and dramatic events. I’m not history nerd so I’m not sure if the props used in the drama are accurate to details but they really won that nostalgic factor for me, another point would be incorporating big cultural events that happened back then into the drama.

Now moving onto characters, most of them are created really well, I especially enjoyed the friendship between Na Heedo and Ko Yurim as much as I enjoyed the romance between Baek Yijin and Heedo. Kim Taeri’s portrayal of Na Heedo is very youthful and energetic, which takes audiences with her to witness the struggles and happiness Na Heedo went through in very lovely way. I cried and laughed a lot in most parts. My favorite was when Heedo and Ko Yurim had a dramatic fight at the press when she won her first gold, as an audience, I want to sympathize with heedo but later learning about yurim’s struggles, i couldn’t hate her either and in fact grows to sympathize with her. That kind of balance is achieved in 2521. Nam Joohyuk’s portrayal as Yijin was also quite good. I didn’t have much opinion on him before but this drama really proved that he can do well.

And finally, the ending. I don’t understand why people call this sad ending or bad ending, I think it’s realistic and achieves what the story wants to tell; youth also ends one day. I’m aware people think they kind of broke up really fast and their romance part was rushed, however the drama clearly foreshadows how the two aren’t meant to be since the very beginning. All in all, I love the portrayal of friendship and sportsmanship here. I think I won’t look at the fencers the same way again.

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Quite possibly my most favorite kdrama

Well, this is gonna be hard for me to be objective so I think I'm just gonna straight up subjective :)
One of the best things of this drama is the feelings and thoughts that it lefts after you finish watching. You will be absolutely overwhelmed with sadness, uncertainty, frustration but at the sametime hopefulness, bittersweetness, nostagia and content. Your heart will sunked when you're coming to accept that the couple could not find a way back together in the future. In the vast multiverse, surely there will be countless one where there's a happy ending. However, I respect the the writer's decision to explore the bittersweet of life and the human nature in accepting and living with the consequences of their own action. The outcome of their relationship is logical considering their own choices. It's disheartening that Ji Yin's profession is the one that caused Hee Do so much trauma in her childhood, although it's one of the trait that attracted her to him. It's fortunate that they come together in a time that they most needed each other, being each other's motivation and drive for all future success. However, it's unfortunate their relationship began when they're both too young, too under prepared for all the hardship that came their way. In this sense, the writer have done a fantastic job cultivating a tight-knit story portraiting love and life.
The casting for Na Hee Do is perfect. Her performance is off-the-chart when representing an student athlete who is reckless, driven, stubborn and full of positivity.
I would like to thank the cast and crew for all the hard work that they put into the drama, amidst post-pandemic. Their effort and love to this drama is clearly shown in each scene that I watched.

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True slice of life drama

If you hope to witness a love story, be it sad or happy, this k-drama may not be for you. While romance is present there, the story does not revolve around it. In fact, viewers might be left disappointed in the end, provided they focus only on romantic scenes. On the contrary, for those who succeed in grasping the bigger picture watching experience likely will end up being wholesome:)

To put it simply, though, 25/21 is hilarious, cute, inspiring, tearful, nostalgic and swooning.

+Things to think about during/after watching:
*Every generation welcomes new technologies, while also hearing about geopolitical threats and environmental problems; ultimately, the world d o e s n o t change.
* 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened'
*Parents are main characters in their life, too:)
*What makes relationships work? (an allusion to two couples that had different outcomes in the drama)

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approaching perfection and giving insights into choosing a hero's side.

The movie is simple, telling the story of an idol and her success in reaching the point where she has reached the same level as her idol in an era where the pressures of the economic situation are in decline and it affects every character differently. The movie combines storytelling perfectly and flawlessly. The story is told in a way that cuts back and forth between past and present scenes. In a step-by-step and amazing way, the characters in the movie that stand out are the heroines who act perfectly. Credit must also be given to the screenwriter. that tricks the audience back and forth and teasing and tempting you to think accordingly Tricking people into misunderstandings until the end.

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??

I just can't describe howmuch i loved this drama....
The characters...
Na hee do .... She's just awesome
Baek yi jin .... Cutie pie
Thier love story..... How the love build up ..how they started to know each other..became so much for each other...
Thier first kiss...
Second one??
But....
THE END
made me cry the most..
I cried for the whole episode..it was so heart breaking...
I wanted a happy ending for them when I watched their breakup .. but as the episode ended i realised ...yup it was a happy ending...
Not to talk about the group ....??
Their friendship...
All three were also so awesome...
Altogether...
School life, love , friendship, rainbow, no need of a name for relationship, dreams, sacrifice, struggle,,. I just loved this drama ...so much...
After a very long time some drama made this big impact on me ... And it's just totally added to my very selective favourite list....
And yup...this drama made me cry the most
I will not recommend it to anyone ,so that their hearts can be healthy ???

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High on nostalgia

Twenty-Five Twenty- One is more about the journey than the destination itself. It's about two people who propel each other forward during difficult times and get each other to a better place in their individual journeys rather than focusing on being together ❤️ it has a beautiful message on individual growth in relationships and the joy relationships bring to our lives even when they're momentary. And sprinkled on that is the magic of nostalgia ✨️ I'm not from Korea and it still took me back to a time of innocence and when internet was still fairly new.
TFTO has great characters, and very talented actors who do them justice. Both the leads have great chemistry and I really enjoyed watching them on screen together. I also really enjoyed their friends, coach, and others. Fencing is obviously at the center of the show, and the creators make sure that it's the focus till the very end unlike some other shows where the FL's dream and profession is quickly forgotten as the show progresses.
What didn't work for me is that the show is mostly set in one stage of the characters' lives, it sort of gets stuck in high school. The later part of their lives is rushed through in last 3- 4 episodes. So the show premise and title is deceptive in a way, because it made me think that it'll capture the lead characters' lives in different stages. So like another comment here stated it really wouldn't have mattered if the daughter and older FL weren't there. I found the FL very engaging and it would have been great to see her life in her 30s, some more of her marriage and motherhood. I also didn't buy the ending. It didn't seem like a natural course of their relationship although I believed in the sentiment behind it, that you can't have everything but you can preserve the beauty of the moments. But, their relationship had been shown to be so strong early on that it seemed a little forced that it ended the way it did.
Overall, of course this is a great show, very well made, and showcases the best of its lead actors. But, don't expect too much from the ending. Go in thinking of it as high school sport drama with some flashback and you'll come out happy ?

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