Blue Birthday (2021)

I just want to live, with you around….

Time Travel Done Right !!

Ever happened, even when all the pieces of the jigsaw are in place ...you feel that it still doesn't fit...that's the case with most time travel stories ...even when everything falls in place there's still this sense of perfect fit that I have always felt missing …
and after being disappointed so many times ...you just want to give up on your expectations and start believing that you would never find a show that will give you a sense of perfect fit and maybe what you are looking for is something that doesn’t exist...
I wanted to give up too ...but I just can't, I still have my hopes up every time I start a time travel drama....but to my surprise this time I want to yell loudly …
"I am not disappointed .... !!”

what was all this not so necessary plot build for ...??
(just to make you realize how much I liked this drama ....)

The drama revolves around Oh Ha Rin and her best friend for 10 yrs or shall I call the love of her life Ji Seo Jun who died on her 18th birthday and even after 10 yrs, regret's still holding her tight. One day she comes into possession of some mysterious photos that her first love left behind...with painful memories relighted she decides to burn the pictures....and to much surprise (okay, not for us) finds herself in the past ...maybe now she has a chance to create a future she wished for....but you know in drama land and in reality too, things can never be that simple right.....

For every time you change the past, the future will change too ....she gets few attempts of traveling back in time ...and obviously, in all those, she tries to create a perfect future by saving her love and friendship...protecting the people she cares for...but you got to pay for what you get ...every action has a consequence...and so does trying to change the past …
What happens next is what you are supposed to see the show for ...lol

Similar in premise and tone to other stories that deal with time travel ...this drama holds it better than most hyped ones with a rookie cast that'll gradually adapt perfection (in their upcomming dramas in next few years-hopefully ...lol) and a storyline that's "simply amazing".....(it doesn't mean every second was perfect, and trust me it need not be...)

The overall quality and technical aspects, including the visual effects, background music are unquestionably well-executed within a relatively shorter duration of 20 mins and 16 eps, the storytelling is compact with explanation for almost everything that happens and without the intrusion of unnecessary fillers....it makes you involuntarily press the next ep button.

As for the characters ..they give off realistic vibes with their actions and decisions most of the time...and the overall friendship and all the happy moments they share make the whole show warming and beautiful as is ...a must-watch if you ask me …!!
I give a special mention to the photo studio owner ...I don’t know why but he made it so difficult for me to not appreciate his guest appearance.

As for re-watch value ...even when I know what happens ...I can still watch it (even tho I won't cuz I never rewatch) ...but yaa that’s how much I have come to like this show …!!

As always the column for my fav quotes and dialogues :
“We can draw lessons from the past but we can not live in it”
“I don't think about the past, the only thing that matters is the endless present.”
“All I want is nothing special ...talking to you, holding your hand, spending an ordinary day with you are all precious to me.”
“When you touch the past carelessly there will be big trouble and misfortune.”
"There aren't right answers. But what we confirm is that the least regretful choice ...would nearly be the most correct one."
“Finally your standstill time begins to flow, at last, it flows to me.”

In essence, if you are looking for a time travel with almost no plot holes, fast pacing, and well-written story ...then stop looking here and there ...go watch blue birthday!

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The Icing On Top Of The Cake With Yeri, But Not Quite Having That Extra Cherry On Top…

Unravelling time- travel where our frantic heroine finds herself rescuing her lost love or crush from moral peril, isn’t new ground for K-dramas. Yet the immediate status around idol actress Yeri ( Red Velvet) being cast as lovelorn female lead Oh Ha Rin, has undeniably attracted the web series to receiving hype .

On a strong note Yeri’s acting is pretty solid here. She has a vibrant ambience around her character, immediately dragging viewers into sitting up and paying attention to the storyline. As it has been said beforehand, there is no beating around the bush that ‘ Blue Birthday’ is a fairly “ seen and done concept”, but this doesn’t mean that the director isn’t willing to try something new either. Park Dhan Hee’s cinematography was really mesmerising in a lot of shots. You could tell by the array of palettes, the pathetic fallacies that the director was trying to convey. Light hues of daylight could animate Ha Rin’s jovial mood , whilst darker, moody blues of the sky, a room or the rain brought the scenes surrounding Seo Jun ( Hong Seok)’s death or Ha Rin’s bereavement into a more hard-hitting and colder reality.

Yet ‘ Blue Birthday’ can truly be defined as a mixed party bag of flaws also. Whilst Yeri’s acting was decent, her fellow costars often struggled to pertain the same level of solidity over the course of sixteen episodes. Not unwatchable, just certainly not bringing these characters to life either. Admittedly this wasn’t entirely the fault of the cast as character writing could also be a cataclysmic problem with the mini series also . This is mainly because none of the characters ( including our mains) really seem like everyday people. Now it is arguable that this is the point of the series; it is a fantasy-romance mini series about two teens in high school and so nothing regarding their personal lives outside of this main plot is that important . On the other hand what makes a character feel relatable and real is drawing parallels and similarities with our own lives by their interactions and relationships with other characters which whilst it did exist, was only really shown to make the storyline move or crack into some “ comic relief” moments.

Again it’s wrong to entirely condemn the series here. There was some surprising twists and revelations with Seo Jun’s familial background which played a major part in unravelling the enigma of his death, as well as adding angst-ridden chemistry to Seo Jun and Ha Rin’s onscreen potential relationship.

On the other hand whilst Seo Jun was a useful plot device to keep the mini-series’ storyline on its feet, it’s hard to truly define Seo Jun’s greater calling as a character by his build-up, typically revolving around school ( rather than the series gradually building this up through small revelations of his family life) and his potential romance with Ha Rin. Sadly similar to Seo Jun was Ha Rin. Whilst it’s understandable that her main goal was to save Seo Jun through her “Groundhog Day” setup, it was baffling that Ha Rin seemed to have little interaction or revelations about her relationship with family or a personal past problem during this period that she wanted to focus on as an individual. To explain this further it’s fair to say that we’ve all made personal mistakes in the past and most likely often wish we could change them. Arguably part of Ha Rin’s “great mistake” is the feeling of letting down Seo Jun by being unable to prevent his death. That’s understandable and what made her grief resonate with audiences, but that’s also only necessary to the major plot line. Rarely do we see or delve into Ha Rin diverged subjective regrets on a personal level either with friends or others also.


In terms of our antagonist ( and without spoilers), it is fair to say that the storyline indicates subtly but early on through portraying this character in a negative light towards the true villain. Are they well-written? This character really just serves one purpose and that is to be a plot device to add tension and drama to the series. Whilst they do have some motives, they’re mainly disregarded and rarely fleshed-out in order to paint this character as “ being evil for the sake of evil”. Not entirely terrible for the pragmatic purpose of the drama, but certainly fitting more into the “ moustache twirling villain” category than complex.

On more nuanced note, there are also some seriously questionable moments within the drama’s writing logic that made little sense realistically in the drama such as Ha Rin ( despite being a fairly witty character when she wants to be) talking in a public place about a key plot revelation which could’ve easily put her in further danger ( and refuses to acknowledge further risks) or liability for her previous fatal mistakes , the main villain’s classic mistakes which could’ve been easily picked up upon earlier, the incompetency of the police ( including lack of DNA testing) and of course the shift between the present and a decade ago for Ha Rin not feeling that significant for viewers. It is arguable that perhaps the screenwriter was trying to show this from Ha Rin’s perspective by this suddenly becoming part of her normal everyday life. However for Ha Rin this is also a nostalgia trip down memory lane of her teens. It would have been understandable if small passing popular cultural references, slang, technology or fashion had brought it home for Ha Rin ( and viewers) towards being in the past. Instead it was hardly to truly grasp when we were stepping back in time. Aside from a quick wardrobe and makeup styling change for Yeri which was meant to indicate; “ Oh, Yeri had on a school uniform, and schoolgirl bangs. We must be in the past again.”

In conclusion ‘Blue Birthday’ wasn’t an unwatchable mini-series. The ending was decent enough and in between aesthetic cinematography shots, Yeri’s performance and the plot premise as well as the mysterious events surrounding Seo Jun’s demise in the storyline remained enticing factors for watchers. On the other hand, the screenwriting with characters, mismatched dialogue and logic as well as the acting and pacing remained the mini series’ greatest downfalls. This was certainly not a terrible with an easy amount of fluff and darker themes to keep you watching , but not without its evident inconsistencies either.

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Turn back time thru pictures. A must see will not disappoint

This does have spoilers, but just the outline not everything : well maybe a little more.
Just finished up tp ep 5 and wow what a great idol web drama the cast is killing it with there professionalism. Its not your typical going back in time to change the outcome well it is and isnt. In this drama Oh ha rin likes Ji seo jun and he likes her, but both afraid to loose there 10years of friendship. Its 2011 Oh ha rin bday and shes gonna confess she likes him then he texted her he has a surprise for her, but when she gets there its all decorated she opens curtain and finds him dead as he committed suicide. Now 2021 10 years later on her bday she still sad when she passes a shop and see his camera in the window goes in and gets cameras & pictures. The owner makes a comment the dead cant come back and with changes everything has consequences. Once home opened his case to look at the pics then burns it as she read a letter he confesses he likes her. While crying we see the date burning and she open her eyes back in classroom 5/16/2011. She finds and hugs him, but still doesn't understand why he committed suicide. As she realizes that burning the picture she can go back to that date and try to save him.
Up to Ep. 8 and its just amazing story. So after going back 2 times she trying to figure out even while changing history she got him & stepmom talking and it save him. So once she returns hes alive, but his sister Hye min dies and she broke up with Soo jun. She goes back & saves his sister and soo jun, but he dies. She goes to Ji Hye min coffee shop to see Soo jin and to explain if she burns pic. she can go back. She is really convinced that he was murdered and starts to look for evidence past/present including his phone. She asks Cha eun sun to get the police report and phone records as she compares messages they dont match up. So she starts to keeps detailed notes of events past/present and desides to tell him he will be murdered. Then he says your from the future and he's been going back for years always saving her from injuries. He tells her to stop as there are consequences to her changing history, but she refuses to let him die. So they deside to help each other as he can send messages to her and she can invest.
Up to ep 10 and WOW did things get heated up.. They set up a camera to catch who goes into/out photo lab and it showed Sin u kim. She meets Eun sung at coffee shop and gives her the missing page that show Zoletil was used and now animal sedation. She finds out his job is with animals serviced and ask for a ride hes studders alot and scratches his left chest area which look raw. After she meets him they get a call that Zoletil medicine is missing again so she searches his van and finds it. They call PD and Sin u kim is acting little strange and states people are not what they appear, but tells the PO he didnt kill him, but saw who did it... The library lady. Then as PO walk out and she ask for info. he tells her he doesn't know who that is. She looks and he was murdered with no suspect and so she rushes home and finds photos missing. Now tracing back who she told she goes to coffee shop to look for evidence upon leaving she see a pail and finds a piece of photo. She goes home burn a photo and tells him Sin u kim is dead and the camera is missing. So they look for evidence and finds a burt piece and a crumbled cup with bottle/needle was how Hye min did but she doesn't tell him.
Finished Ep. 12 and daebak its just gets better and bett So he gets injured savings her when a signs falls, while in hosp. the police call and his family doesn't want autopsy. So she call soo jin to have everyone try and find the camcorders once found it show Soo jin walking on camera and they confront her about where she disappeared to then the PD show up and while investigating she states some delivery guy took her home. So her friends found him and he confirmed her alibi. So ha rin and seo jun go back to school to look for more evidence and just as they were to give up she sees her reflection in the glass so they zoom in on video and who do they see dondondaa????? Next we see Hye min being arrested by the police.
Just finished ep 14 Hye min is definitely crazy as she escaped from PD goes back to the school looking for meds in locker & the knife to still kill seo jun... Its not his fault he was adopted when she went missing. The end15/16 Hye min lures seo jun to roof and sedated him/ha ran comes w knife and bam 😥were back to ep14 and seo jin is trying to save both girl, but Hye min is crazy and want to kill them both he fights & gets stab. In jail she request to talk Ha ran and threatened her safety so Ha ran tells her she has to pay for going back in time. Ha ran gets a call from seo jin mom & rushes to hosp. as she open his door we see hye min escaping in cuffs as we hears horns beeping and then curtain being opened slowly. You need to watch ending now and a new camera is dropped off maybe a spin off or part 2.???

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time travel done right

Sept. 12, 2021

Blue Birthday took time travelling to another level. I must say that for a web drama, the plot is fantastic but in terms of Kdrama standards, it is quite decent. and above-average There are some plot holes that might make viewers go WTF or maybe some will not notice it at all. In terms of acting, I think Yeri and Hongseok did justice to their characters. Obviously, I hate those kissing scenes with fish-eyed out type beat but it is what it is...

First of all, I just want to say that Hongseok is so damn fine. Like I knew him a long time ago from Pentagon but he really snapped so hard on this drama and in Move To Heaven!! As for Yeri, I really think that she will develop further into a better actress. I think that she just needs to work on her facial expressions more and she will definitely be on top of her game.

As for the plot, damn every episode I was always up for the suspense since it was really hard to figure out who is the killer. I am happy that they made it more suspenseful and it really made me interested to watch the later episodes. I barely skipped through and thank god the ending was not sad. I was about to fight the directors and writers of this drama. I will not allow sad endings in this household!! Also, this is one of the few dramas that did time-travelling plots that is good. Like even with plot holes, it did not bother me as much as other dramas. Maybe it's the budget but I did not mind the camera angles or lighting.

I hope y'all give this web drama a chance. It is definitely on top of its game. With all its flaws, I must say this cements itself as one of the best web dramas to ever exist in Korea. Give it lots of love ❤️

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Dear time-travel lovers : this web drama is for you

Spoiler-free part

Time travel tropes are very interesting and by using them, unique storylines can be created. When they aren’t used carefully though, unexplained paradoxes and plot-holes appear and create a messy storyline which destroys the watching experience. Fortunately, ‘Blue Birthday’ manage to use the time travel trope the right way.

The story’s concept is pretty simple : a girl is going back to her school years to save her first love who died the day of her birthday. At the end of every episode, rules about time travel are mentioned so it’s easier for the viewers to keep up with the things that are happening. The concept isn’t something new nor very complicated. The story sounds cliché and reminds of many movies, anime or other time-travel series but for some reason, it manages to catch your attention and keep it till the very end. Sometimes, it’s even unpredictable and unique on its own way.

Even though the main genre of the drama is thriller, the atmosphere of the drama is not very dark and moody. Considering also that the plot isn’t that complicated, ‘Blue Birthday’ is a light drama which everyone can watch and enjoy. The romance is also one of the main genres but there aren’t many romantic moments in the drama. Rarely you’ll find a romance-thriller that with two genres are perfectly balanced and ‘Blue Birthday’ isn’t one of them for sure. Maybe that’s the reason why I personally didn’t feel so much chemistry between the 2 main leads but this didn’t make me enjoy the drama less.

Starting without any expectations, this web-drama ended up a pleasant surprise and a very enjoyable ride. Don’t expect to see the masterpiece of time travel trope. Don’t expect to see Oscar-worthy interpretations either as all the actors have just entered as main leads into the dramaland with this drama. Let’s welcome them and hope to see them playing more roles in the future and to always improve their acting skills.

In conclusion, if you want to watch a sort, simple drama about time travel with a well-written plot, then watch and enjoy ‘Blue birthday’. You won’t be disappointed.


Now I have analyzed a theory about the time travel. It will be spoiler free but I’ve also referred the rules the drama has shown through the episodes so better read it after you’ve watched all the episodes.




Just in case WARNING SPOILERS




First these are the rules/facts we have learn through the episodes :

1) Burn the photo and the time travel starts.
2) When there’s tinnitus you go back to the present.
3) Burn a photo and time goes back. But no one can be brough back to life.
4) A changed past affects the present.
5) Time travel is only available on the day of the photo-taking before the midnight.
6) Photos of time travel can’t be copied.
7) Only photos taken with old films and cameras with young Seo Jun enabled time travel.
8) A damaged photo can’t active any time travel.
9) Anyone can have a time travel.
10) Misfortune comes with time travel.
11) Completely faded photos can’t be restored.
12) Changed memories come back when they are activated.
13) More than one person can time travel at the same time.
14) During the time travel, the real time is frozen.
15) According to how you roll it, you’ll get a different number of photos.
16) Someone also has the films and the camera that can enable time travel.

According to the rules and facts of the drama, the kind of time travel we might have here is a multiverse time travel in which there are: one main world, one timeline and many parallel worlds. I have to mention that parallel worlds are not referred in the drama, it’s just my theory.

A parallel world can be created by someone who changed the past. The new-created parallel world becomes the continuation of the main timeline and the present changes. When time travelers go to the present, they go to the new world and not to the present they were before. That explains why they don’t have new memories but they can slowly gain them as they become part of the new world.

The creation of the new parallel world doesn’t mean destruction of the main world, it only means continuation of timeline in the new world. Thus, the main world still exists, as also all the created ones. That’s why the time travelers have also their older memories and can spot the differences the parallel worlds have.

All the time travelers can acknowledge when the world changes, even if they weren’t the ones who change the past. That happens because they have experienced the creation of a parallel world before. They have broken the barrier of space-time, so now, they have different perception of the cosmic reality.

The more the timeline moves to different worlds, the more it diverges from the main world. This brings unbalance to the whole universe and that’s why misfortune comes with the time travel. The cause of misfortune can be also explained as a consequence of the butterfly effect: a small, seemingly insignificant change can cause huge deviations in the course of events, creating a completely different reality.

Last but not least, the photos are like tickets for time travel. No matter how many worlds are created, the numbers of the photos and the owner of them won’t change. All the rules about the photos have been explained clearly through the episodes.

As you see, according to that theory, the time travel trope doesn’t include any paradoxes. Also, there aren’t any plot holes in the sci-fi part of the drama, as everything that happens can be explained, which make the story well-written.

That’s all! I hope my theory makes sense somehow and help the watchers understand better the kind of time travel ‘Blue Birthday’ has. Thank you for reading!

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Surprise package

When comes to time travelling thing, it can be a mess. But this one is not thankfully. It has a strong story base that revolving around burning photographs that kind of make sense for presenting a new way of time travelling.

Definitely the story and direction is that makes it interesting. Detailing shown is quite impressive as well.

Even acting of lead actor was noticeable (he is very cute too )and antagonist but sadly for me same couldn't be said about main actress. She kind of overdid it specially at being happy-happy moments kind of childish. Other characters had poor acting that can be noticed easily.

The ending is abrupt. How she didn't return to the future is still a question? I hope the answer is not because of her true love she stayed and even studied high school again for second time. That means she could be topper as she has brain from future.

Overall definitely enjoyable and at times need to scratch brain.

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ONE OF THE BEST 2021 WEB DRAMAS!

Story:
Time-traveling was well done. The rules of time-traveling were explained in every episode and made us not confused with the flow each time we enter a new ep. For a 20-min./ep drama, this was an easy watch, but at the same time, it feels too short since we're always getting cliffhangers at the end of each ep and stressing also because of the conflicts which were well-executed. I have seen people creating their own theories while watching this drama, yet some of the scenes were beyond expectations. This drama is a fantasy-thriller one. So I have fewer expectations on the romance side between the MC. The FC is smart, but she also made reckless decisions (out of her emotions) which was a reality when we were put in the same situation. Overall, this is really fun to watch and will make you think of so many possibilities during their time travel.

Acting:
Acting was good. I can't say it was the best, but it wasn't bad either. The leads were improving and satisfied my expectations until the end. Their chemistry was on-point and overflowing (even without a kiss scene). Yeri pulled out Harin's bubbly character well and Hongseok made Seojun's emotional scenes effective. But I really want to appreciate Hyemin and Sinu's portrayal! These characters added flavor to the tension of every scene they were in.

Music:
The 2021 versions of the OSTs were on point! Both of the 2 songs were released 10 years ago and it was well-planned along with the storyline. On Rainy Days showed us Harin's POV while Even Days showed us Seojun's. I really love how it was also inserted in the emotional scenes (particularly in the flashback scenes). However, I felt like there was excessive use of some BG music which I think is unnecessary in particular scenes.

Rewatch Value:
I'd love to rewatch this whenever I don't feel like watching new series.

Kudos to Yeri and Hongseok and all other casts and staff for creating this masterpiece!
If there would be Season 2, I'm hoping this will still be directed by the same PD.

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Had my doubts, but they proved me wrong

Starting off, I just wanna say that Blue Birthday improved a lot as it progressed, the plot became more and more unpredictable as it goes, and each episode managed to leave us in suspense, curious about what's going to happen next. Yeri and Hongseok did great as Ha Rin and Seo Jun, considering they're both new in acting. I'm gonna be honest in saying that their acting bothered me a little in the beginning, but seeing as they got better throughout the episodes, I'm just gonna assume that they haven't quite immersed themselves in their characters at the beginning. Personally, I think that Hongseok really fit Seo Jun's role. He managed to pull off that first love kind of vibe well. Considering my initial response to the first few episodes, it's surprising how I'm finishing this drama with many positive thoughts about it. So if you're having doubts about starting this drama or continuing on, I suggest you give it a shot. Who knows ? It just might surprise you as it did me.

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Great twists that keep you on your toes just not as good as Someday or one day

This drama is a twist filled ride that reminded me allot of Someday or one day yet was simply not as good. It was good and if I had seen this one first I probably would have rated it higher but having seen someday or one day I could not help but compare them and though this story is interesting filled with twists that are nothing like Some day or one day it had enough in common to make me compare the two and well Some day or one day is just better in every aspect.

The male lads look great and show allot of potential but the fact that they are beginners as actors is noticeable, however all the characters are lovable, and it is most definitely an enjoyable watch, The females in this drama rock, they are versatile, complex and show better skills than the men acting here. there are also a bunch of sweet fluffy animals adding to the general fluffy feel to the drama.

All in all definitely worth watching, and if you have not seen Someday or one day I recommend you watch this and then watch someday or one day and not the other way around.

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Did not disappoint!

First of all, I would like to mention that I started watching this because of the storyline and I actually really liked it. It would've been nicer if the episodes were a bit more longer. Either way, this has to be one of my favourite web dramas till now!

It had good music, good storyline and I overall enjoyed it BUT I think the acting definitely needed some more work. It felt a bit awkward at times but since they all are pretty new to acting and the acting was bearable I didn't mind it much.
This is definitely a must-watch if you would like to watch a short web drama.

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A Web Drama That Leaves You Guessing From Start to Finish

If it's one thing I like about this drama, it's the amount of theories I had when watching this every week. Like literally, you couldn't tell the direction the writers are going. Just when you thought you figure it out, it changes to something different, which is great because being surprise about something is what makes a mystery drama so interesting.

The story overall was pretty good from start to finish. It's just that a lot of times, it's presented in a way where you have to think, process, and put the connection together on the events that happen in the past and how it ties to the present time. For me, there are some plot holes here and there, that I wish would've been explained better but what can you do when the episode length is about 20 to 25 mins per episode.

Loved the cast but the acting from the actors & actresses is a working progress. It's not the best but not bad either as their acting is watchable for me. I'm not gonna critique too harshly here on the account of it is a web drama and they got to start somewhere. But I do see potential in these cast members.

Great OST for this drama. Loved every music that was played in this drama.

And most of important of all, with a topic as heavy as this, I'm pretty sure all of us are glad this is a happy ending.

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