Cherry Blossoms After Winter (2022)

Im disappointed...

This drama was very cringe...The story line is ridiculous. How do you all of a sudden fall in love with someone after ignoring them for years and yall were living in the same house since kids??? I had to skip a lot of the scenes because it was so cringe. There was not really any chemistry, it was kind of dry. There was this scene where the popular guy was walking down the hallway and all the other students were screaming and gushing over him like he was some kind of celebrity. It was so dumb I couldn't help but laugh. Honestly, I wouldn't watch this again, kind of wish I never did.

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The Blossoms were alright

At first this drama was going ok. I liked how they started out in high school and just giving some background story of their childhood. What I do not like is how fast they went for collage. I thought it was just not time for them to go because they have just started the show.

Jinwook's acting was ok. It was not the best. I wish he could have done a better job. To me he always looked sad. Never really had any good expressions. Just watching him some times kinda made me cringe. If you know what I am talking about?

Hui's acting was better. He had already been professional in acting so I was not worried. He expressed his feelings well but not too well. But I think he at least TRIED.

The side characters were funny and alright. I liked them a lot. I also do wish we could have seen more of Taesung's friends but you know what, its fine.

The music was great to me. I enjoyed the intro.

Overall I think the drama was pretty decent. I think I would rewatch it again but only when I am bored. I do wish this drama was a little better but this was fine. Really liked it. I would defiantly recommend.

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Honestly, disappointed

I've been a fan of CBAW manhwa for years now and when I learnt a live action would be made, I was exited. Still had my concerns because I know a-lot of live actions don't go as planned and are often not made well due to low budget. However, I still had my expectations because of how well written the book was (in my opinion) and thought this show would do well since they had such good material to be inspired by.

I have a hard time believing those who have not read the book first would understand what was happening in this show, so much plot was missing and random time skips between high-school, college, then at the end for the proposal.
I understand that remakes won't closely follow the book and things will be different. There is 4/5 seasons of the manhwa being crammed into 8 short episodes, and with the slow dialog, scenes lasting too long, and just plain awkward moments, theres a-lot of time wasted when important information could be protruded.
Instead of trying to pack all the chapters into this short time-span, I wish only the high-school chapters were acted out, maybe a glimpse of college, allowing for a second season if things went well. Giving time to have more in each episode and full stories rather than trying to get by everything quickly and lacking plot.

I can't judge the acting of the main characters since i've never seen any other of their works but it's clear that they needed more chemistry with each-other to portray this love they're meant to have. I wish actors that are actually lgbt would be casted for shows like this, it would add so much.

I hated the sound design from the first two minutes of the first episode. I get the feeling they were over-exaggerating the everyday sounds to include the written in sound effects of the manhwa, it was un-needed, I did not like it at all, and just made the scenes feel so fabricated.

Though I did find a small few scenes sweet and enjoyable, the awkwardness and plot skipping outweighed the replay-able moments. I have a-lot more I could go into detail about but I'll restrain.

In conclusion, I wish they did not try to portray moments from all the big scenes in the chapters and took the time to simply focus on the beginning plot of the first 1-2 seasons of the manhwa.

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Proficient K-BL That Get's it Half Right

CBAW is an unexpectedly decent K-BL, and it could even be labeled better than that. I've noticed with K-BLs to keep my expectations below surface level so by doing so, I won't lose any hope I had. Even with CBAW, I read the manga (my first one ever) and I still watched the live adaptation and thought it was on point from its book form (kinda). CBAW took me only a day to watch, it piqued my interest, and kept hold of it throughout the episodes.

Let's Dive In.

Cherry Blossoms After Winter is a live adaptation of the manga following the same name. The basic synopsis is that Haebom lost his parents, so his mom's best friend takes him in as her own where he would live with Taesung, his best friend who indicates that he doesn't want Haebom to be his brother. Years passed and they're now seniors in high school navigating their strange feelings for one another. It's obviously a lot easier to tell a story full of detail in a book than it is in a dama, but in my honest opinion, I believe they did an impressive job at following along with the manga, even having the same lines said from the book. Add that on top of perfectly casted actors and you've got yourself an A+ K-BL.

What needed some work: I'm the type of person who usually doesn't read original work before watching the live adaptation, however, I wanted to give it a go here, and now I've unlocked a new hobby (great, something else to take up the time I don't have). But for the people watching without having read the manga, there are a few things that would seem very off and weren't given enough time for a thorough explanation. Like why Haebom just lets these bullies abuse him (and why they just vanish all of a sudden), or why Taesung is so standoffish and the reason Haebom thought he hated him. There are some other smaller implications, but those were the larger ones that needed more of a story behind them. If I wouldn't have read the manga, I would be partially confused throughout the series. Just a few fixer-uppers would've done the job.

I had to get used to the cinematography of this series that I've never (at least can't remember) seen in any other K-BL, let alone any BL. For a while, it looked like I was watching a vlog on Youtube and it kept throwing me off my wagon. Some of the scenes shot are a little shaky, I'm sure that's how they wanted to interpret the moment being shown, but if it's not fluent throughout the series, then those small moments when they do happen, it's a huge eye-catcher, and a bit of a bothersome. While the sets and the scenery were absolutely breathtaking, the color-grading and editing could use a lot of work. There were so many scenes that just got cut off in the midst, and it happens quite often, causing a stir of annoyance. There were a few very subtle ad placements that I appreciated for their subtleness, but by now, I can tell an ad from an actual motivated action.

Onto what I loved: The casting for CBAW was probably as accurate as I could imagine. Jinuk did an incredible job as Haebom, playing almost perfectly into his shyness, bubbliness, and everything in-between. I just wanted to pack him in my pocket and protect him for the rest of his life. Hui did an excellent job as well playing into Taesung's character. I'm also glad they decided to not make his character as stoic as the one in the manga, and this Taesung actually has some personality. Yonghee is hands down the best-casted character, and Gun did a fantastic job. Everyone else was really good too, even down to the guest roles.

The plot is handled very well and follows the exact same story. Obviously, some things are different (like Haebom working in a flower shop, or the friends all going on a camping trip) but their implications helped to move the plot along, and they were good anyways. Again, the story is about as accurate as they could've gotten it to the book, and it was fun catching all these different moments that I remembered from my read. The time jumps can be easily missed for someone not truthfully watching, but I think even those were done pretty well. The writers do a superb job at connecting the feelings and emotions of the characters in the story, which boosted its ability to give me the feels for everyone involved.

The chemistry wasn't as strong as it could've been between the main leads, but they still were able to give us a real relationship that wasn't full of forced touching and kissing. From the cuddles scenes all the way up to their more intimate scenes, both actors did a great job at making it look natural. I felt more of a connection closer to the end, but in the midst, it felt a bit lacking.

Not very important, but the height difference gets to me. Taesung was a whole ass head taller than Haebom. When he bent down to hug or even when Taebom reached up to hug, it was a-fucking-dorable. God, I can't explain to you how much height differences mean to me.

Ratings:

Story: 8 - Loved the story, also loved how accurate it was to the book. All the characters were genuine, everything flowed nicely, and I wasn't dissatisfied with any of it. I'll take off one star for some of the jumpy cuts and another for some of the weaker storylines.

Acting - 9.5 - Superb acting. everyone did an excellent job, but Jinuk was the best. Gun also put on a very strong performance that outshined the others.

Music - 5 - didn't pay much attention to it, meaning it wasn't distracting. Good.

Rewatch Value: 1 - Could come back and watch certain scenes.

Definitely recommend this K-BL. It's super cute, and if the story doesn't do it for you, the height difference will.

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The happiest of endings

I love a happy ending, and “Cherry Blossoms After Winter” has as good an ending as any BL in the fantasy sector of the genre. Credit to the casting - Ok Jin Uk as Hae Bom and Kang Hui as Tae Sung, the two main leads, are a pleasure to watch and listen to, and their characterisations meld well with the mellow dramatic tone of the series where even the early conflicts with the high school bully threaten but don’t overwhelm the central love story.

In the now familiar fantasy BL world of privileged young men (for whom a university education constitutes no financial hardship of any kind) and whose friends are the most supportive in the world, the pathways to happiness are riddled with the bumps and misdirections of their own characters, not the world in which they live. Through gradual steps and confessions, doubts and then resolve, the young couple find reciprocated love and begin their life journey. Even the sudden last minute appearance of parental concern about how the wider world will treat the happy young couple is not a problem so much as an opportunity to showcase love as the ultimate decision-maker.

Feel-good stories such as CBAW look simple but require care to pull off. Credit to the production team; across the board, from Director Yoon Joon Ho, as much as in the wardrobe & makeup, the sets & lighting, camerawork & editing, this looked to me to be a team effort. It’s appropriate, in a metaphorical sense, that Tae Sung decides at the end that he is going to study to become a cake maker; the whole show has the pleasant feel of a cinematic confection.

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Nothing new, but made very well: sweet and cute but serious enough

Cherry Blossoms After Winter does not score with a highly original plot. The story is simple, even predictable at times, but everything is put together so nicely that you might not want it to be any different.

The set-up is simple: Hae Bom is an orphan who is taken in by his mother's friend, Tae Sung's mother. Being the adopted child, he predictably knows his place and is grateful to Tae Sung's mother. One thing that I wasn't expecting, however, is how the supposedly good looking and popular guy (Tae Sung) is the one having a crush on the other guy (Hae Bom) first, and not the other way round. So while we the typical attractive but seemingly cold male lead, the story is not about how the supposedly less attractive and socially awkward guy has a crush on an attractive, practically unattainable guy.

The flashbacks to the leads' childhood time are brief but effective in showing their relationship and how their personalities have been shaped by their childhood experiences. At the same time, the way they transform each other is endearing, with Hae Bom becoming more sociable after Tae Sung opens up to him and Tae Sung becoming more cheerful.

One thing that this series does especially well is the way it suggests the undercurrents of homophobia in society that may get in the way of the leads' relationship, whether it is through the school bully who taunts them by calling them a gay couple (even before they are one) or through how Tae Sung only tells one friend, Yong Hee, about his love for Hae Bom even though he has more than one close friend. There is hardly anything original about this, but I could clearly feel the characters' awareness of the situation they are in and their latent pain, such as when they see a straight couple holding hands on campus but they can only walk together and remark that they, too, are a couple.

This is not a series that breaks new ground. It is very conventional in many ways, but everything comes together nicely. The acting is on point, the scenes are beautifully shot, and hardly any time is wasted on unnecessary dialogues or scenes. From early on, the characters are people we can care about and want to see having a happy ending.

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Wish it was longer like the manhwa!

As someone who has read the manhwa it's refreshing and heartwarming to see it come to life in this short drama. With that being said I wish the show was a bit longer. The actors did a wonderful job of portraying their characters as well as show the chemistry and love that Haebom and Taesung have for one another. The producers did a good job of showing the main conflicts and events of the show, but I wish it wasn't only limited to that. It seemed that every time there was a conflict they rushed to end it. Considering the fact that it's a drama the drama isn't showcased in a way that leaves you satisfied when the conflict is resolved. There were lots of sweet moments featured however, which made me so happy to watch.

SPOILER BELOW
I wish it didn't end the way it did. The last scene where Haebom gives the rings to Taesung. There was nothing wrong with it but I did want more from that scene. In the manhwa Haebom and Taesung got married in the end, and that's what I thought I was going to get with the last scene. But there was only an exchanging of the rings, no wedding, no look into the future and no kiss. It is a very sweet ending but I felt like something was missing, the drama did not feel complete.

I'd say this is a must watch for BL fans around the world, it's short and the sweet moments are very heartwarming. It's just fun seeing these characters come to life and love one another. If you have time then definitely read the manhwa, you get more stories and some adult scenes in the manhwa!

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Blossoms ever after ?

Warning: There are a lot of spoilers in this review so read at your own discretion XD!

The moment I realized that this drama was about to air I was super excited. I had read the manhwa a little bit over a year ago and I enjoyed it so I was waiting to see how it would look like when it was casted as a series.
Lets start slow haha!

~Cast/Acting~
I thought the cast was really well chosen and the acting for each character I found was close to what I could understand from the character's depiction in the manhua itself. The chemistry between the main couple is really good and even the friendships where really well portrayed.

~Story/Plot~
Okay this maybe a bit hard because I read the manhwa so I had high expectations on how much they would follow the story line. There are a lot of new scenes that were added to the drama that were definitely not in the manhwa like the camping scene with Taesung and Haebom and their friends from school and towards the end when Jia and Younghee somehow end up in this conversation about liking each other...? (i will come back to this). Another thing that bothered me when I was watching was how after Haebom accepts Taesung's feelings, they both graduate from high school and end up in university (but its a minor issue, it was still shot well and everything). I feel like because the series was to end in 8 episodes they had to rush and cut out some of the important interactions between Taesung and Haebom in the earlier parts of the story and even when they were in university. So in short, I compared the storyline to the manhwa a lot so its kinda short of my expectations but the scenes that were shot from the book itself were well done.
I was also confused about a couple of things in the last episode.
1. what is happening between Jiah and Younghee??? That was never in the manhwa for all of its 5 seasons and now when they are sitting and drinking in bar they admit feelings for each other...? really confused and this threw me off for the rest of the video
2. The ending between Haebom and Taesung when Haebom pulls out a pair of couple rings (which of course doesn't happen in the manwha XD). First of all was that a fast forward in time to after they left university and start working?

~Music~
The music was good and it fit well with the story and the placement of the music was nice. I haven't actually went and searched up the OSTs and listened to them but thats something I intend to do soon!
(maybe then I'll come back and add my thoughts to this section haha)

~Rewatch and conclusion~
Honestly its tough for me to say if I would rewatch this or not, I want to say yes and no at the same time. Yes because for a show it was well done, the actors and everything was okay, music was good too but I think what is holding me back was the fact that I had read the manhwa and so I had such a high expectation for the series. Since it kinda fell short of my expectations, I think it was hard for me to get into it and I think it would be hard for me to rewatch it. Who knows though... maybe I'll come back to it if I have free time just to relax you know. Would i recommend it to a friend? Yes (as long as they haven't read ithe book yet XD).

Overall I think if you haven't read the manhwa yet, you would enjoy this more than I did so watch the series first then read the manhwa ;)

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Very enjoyable and super adorable

I WON'T SPOIL THAT MUCH; YOU CAN READ THIS REVIEW. IT WON'T SPOIL YOU. I'M JUST GIVING SOME INSIGHTS INTO THE SHOW.

Okay, I had a good time with this series. This series has such a cute, wholesome relationship between the main couple. There was nothing to get mad at in the show, and I liked how everything was going smoothly. I did not have to feel angry; it was calming and peaceful. There are some things I wish they could've changed; however, I think this series was produced in such a beautiful way. They adapted this series from a manhwa which is currently ongoing.

I read the manhwa and enjoyed it. I love the storyline between the couple, Tae sung and Hae Bom. Within reading the manhwa and watching the series, I was able to identify some similarities and differences. Anyone can read the manhwa, but bear in mind that it is highly mature and contains a lot of adult content. When I watched each episode, I was impressed by how they were able to maintain the same storyline and depict each scene in the same way that the manhwa was adapted. Throughout the series, it was cute, lighthearted, and pleasant.

In the manhwa, when it comes to the transition from high school to college, they go more in-depth about their lives than in the show. In the series, it is understandable because, within the show, you cannot add every little detail. You have to change it up and make it unique in your own way.

I am not going to lie; I did get teary eyes when Hae Bom was being bullied. Those scenes made me sad. I hate seeing someone getting bullied. No one should ever have to go through that pain.

What I liked about the series:
- The main couple had good chemistry
- Jin Huk, who played Hae Bom, did a fantastic job of portraying the character
- Jo Tae's sung best friend, Yong-Hee, was one of my favorites
- Production, acting, and cinematography were amazing
- The ost was specular
- The storyline was beautifully done.
- The side characters were funny

What I think could've been better
- duration of the show could've been longer. I needed more!
- Jo Tae-sung could've been less forceful in the beginning when Hae Bom needed time to think about the relationship

In ep 8, when Hae Bom found out that Tae Sung's mother knew about them dating, I am glad that he used his voice and let Tae Sung's mother know that they love each other. Also, at the end of episode 8, I was happy that they added the scene of Hae Bom giving Tae Sung the rings; that scene was just precious. Also, the way that Hae Bom had his hand out when Tae Sung was putting the ring on his ring finger had me dying. I found that scene to be so cute and funny at the same time.

Literally, Tae Sung would die for Hae Bom. Tae Sung is super protective of him, which I enjoyed very much because Hae Bom was lonely at the time because he did not have his mother to grow up with. Tae Sung and his mother were the only people that grew up with Hae Bom, and they were always there for him. Tae Sung had a one-sided crush on him since they were children; however, when it came to them being in High school and Tae Sung found out that Hae Bom was going off to college soon, Tae Sung finally got the courage to admit his feelings for Hae Bom, because he did not want to lose the love of his life. Although Tae Sung was cold-hearted before the relationship, it made Hae Bom feel uncomfortable. When they were kids, the words were misinterpreted, and this caused Hae Bom to feel that Tae Sung never liked him back then. They lacked communication before they got into the relationship; however, with the problem that they had going on, Tae Sung made sure to always stay by Hae Bom's side. Hae Bom thought that Tae Sung's mother was providing him with those cakes for his birthday, which she never did; it always has been Tae Sung.


Overall, I truly enjoyed this show, and I would rewatch the show. Also, I recommend those before watching the show to read the manhwa before. You will gain a better grasp of the show if you read the manhwa.

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Subtle, Feel-Good, Sincere Romance.

To me, this series felt like a higher rating than the sum of it's parts (technically, more like a 9/10 but enjoyable and satisfying enough to be one of my favorites). It was like being wrapped in a cozy blanket of hopeful sincerity. It's slice-of-life with a focus on feelings and while there are multiple emotional moments, there's no big drama (other than school bullying at the beginning). I enjoyed every minute and will watch again.

Notes on general differences from the manhwa at the bottom of review.

There are eight 25min episodes. I liked that we got to see HaeBom and TaeSung's story over a couple of years even though the time constraints meant that time passed quickly. The passing of time was slower in the beginning so it was easy to understand and connect with the characters and watch the transition of their bond into something more romantic. Then time jumps became a little bigger and more frequent but still retained character arcs. The mother's arc near the end felt the most rushed but it still worked; it feels like she would have gotten to that point anyway so doing so quickly didn't really break character.

I would have loved to watch more details of HaeBom and TaeSung's relationship as it unfolded, but was still very satisfied with what was shown. The staying power of their bond is reiterated over time so their happy ending and hopeful future is believable.

Their dynamic may seem stereotypically simple and unbalanced at first, but over time it's demonstrated how their strengths compliment each other's weaknesses and they balance each other well. They also put effort into understanding each other. Fondueforkharpoon's review expands on that and pretty perfectly sums it up.

There is a lot of skinship and cuddling and a couple passionate kisses.

While HaeBom was adopted by his mother's friend when he was 7 and grew up in the same house as TaeSung, I appreciated that the story *didn't* feel like a fetishization of brothers.

I enjoyed the friendship that the side characters YongHee and JiAh had with TaeSung and, over time, HaeBom. They were very much supporting roles but still felt like real people, not caricatures.

Cinematography was often soft and lovely, though some of the handheld camerawork was a little unsteady for my preferences (the constant small movements felt like maybe it was done on purpose to underscore high emotions but I found it distracting). Music fit scenes and emotions well.

Notes on the manhwa:
General Spoilers below.
The show follows vol.1 very closely then makes a few adjustments when incorporating vol.2. The show smartly makes the give and take between TaeSung and HaeBom clearer and more balanced, which I love. The one thing the show left out that I felt missing when I watched it (before I even read the manhwa), was the Mom's concern that TaeSung forced HaeBom; that HaeBom was in a position where he didn't feel he could say no. That's one of the Mom's biggest issues in the manhwa.

The show also integrates their growing physical relationship smoothly and believably once they start living in their own apartment. The manhwa on the other hand, is very chaste except for some kisses for vol.1 & 2, while vol.3 is mostly all R rated scenes (which are well done, by the way, and focuses on the progression of their physical intimacy). I've just started to read vol.4 and it seems to be bringing in more plot from the world around them again.

Fondueforkharpoon has a wonderful review that says other things I was thinking as well.

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Disappointing Second Half

STORY
The story revolves around high school life with Haebom being bullied and Taeseong as the "savior" brother.... for the first half of the drama. The second half suddenly catapults them into college and a whole new issue of the mother not accepting them.

The side characters in this story are extraordinarily underdeveloped (so, too, are the main characters, but to a lesser extent.)
- Taeseong's two friends are remarkably 2-dimensional and seem to serve no purpose other than appear in random scenes to support the main couple.
- The bullies disappear into thin air around episode 3.
- The mother begins as just a plain supportive mother, and we DO get to see a little of her backstory with Haebom's mother/her marriage, but both subplots are just dropped after they're introduced. She gets a dramatic change near the end of the drama, where she opposes the relationship between the MLs (which is understandable, seeing as they were basically siblings in her eyes) to randomly accepting them in the last 10-15 minutes of the drama, and then, boom, happy ending.
- ALSO (SPOILER, but I already marked spoiler at the beginning so....) something minor that peeved me...
That scene where Haebom's pushed against the wall and Taeseong tries to force a kiss on him (icky.) and the mother catches
them (Taeseong quickly makes it seem like they were fighting) and tells them off.... and then that's it. No stern talking-to, just
moved onto the next scene and then they're having a meal.
- The issues underlying Taeseong's (and Haebom's) childhood are brought up for 5 minutes every two episodes, and never expanded on.
- The college girl that crushed on Taeseong served no purpose whatsoever, and neither did that freshman drinking scene.

ACTING
While I understand that Haebom is meant to be the shy (as someone else put it, "damsel in distress") character, we never see his acting style or personality deviate from this preset character trait. In other words, there is NO character development and NO change... ever. There are some rare moments of banter between the main couple, but otherwise Haebom is always the quiet, shy, hands clasped in the front, eyes down, fidgety character.

Taeseong was more bearable, but only because he wasn't annoyingly childlike (HAEBOM). He saw a little development, although it's just the typical tall, dark, handsome, and stony guy becoming an affectionate and clingy boyfriend (which also got annoying at times, but as I said earlier, was more bearable.

There was little to NO chemistry between the two. Some of the kiss scenes were awkward as heck, but the lack of chemistry really showed through their daily interactions. Sorry, not sorry.

MUSIC
Forgettable, only really noticed the music through the 1 minute 25 second intro and the 2 minute outro in every episode.

POSITIVES
- There were cute moments, I will not deny that.
- The supporting characters were fine actors.
- Production was fine, nice color palette :)

I really truly wish I could rate this higher.

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Solid

*KOREAN BL IS ALWAYS SHORT* Just in case you weren't aware yet lol
Anyway, I loved this series! Definitely one of my fav KBL because it was nice to see something different. It's usually enemies to lovers and it gets old QUICK. Because this series is short obviously I don't think they gave enough references to their childhood together but based on what we received, I thoroughly enjoyed. Visuals for miles and there was no unnecessary drama, side couple situations or excessive characters to take away from our MC. This series was literally short, sweet and to the point. Exactly the way it should be for KBL.
BEWARE: Cavity overload from cuteness is to be expected!
Enjoy...

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