don’t let the topic fool you

I watched this a while ago when I got sick, no reason why I started it except seeing chen xiao and a few other actors I like (liu yijun). Normally, cop dramas aren’t my cup of tea, I still watch them but not to an extent of getting invested in them but I still went in. To my surprise, it was really fresh to see polices getting involved with drug circles, at least in the scope of what I have watched before. Guessing who could be the informant among polices was rather amusing. Furthermore, the chemistry of the characters hit off really well. For example, younger and rather impulsive but smart police officer, chen yu, and a long-time captain of yunhe counter-narcotics who’s always stressed out because of his subordinates and senior, lin dezan. You might think the whole show might be “oh so serious” because of its theme and colors, but such relationships brighten up the whole drama and make it fun and wholesome. Wu zhenfeng is one of the most different roles chen xiao has ever tried and I couldn’t even recognize him when I first saw the drama. His wu zhenfeng is pretentious (not in a bad way), got beaten up and did a lot of questionable things but he made it all quite charmingly, you can’t help but root for him. Chen yu played by wang yibo was rather relatable, his character brought the perspective of the viewer into the drama, wondering along with him, which is why at times I got a little distressed at chen yu’s impulsiveness but it was only because he carried it well. Wu zhenfeng questioned the polices while chen yu stood for it. The two characters were like cat and mouse, chasing and running; their development really took the longest, which is a shame cause I wanted to see more of what happened later but by that time, the drama has already ended. Lin dezan played by actor wang jingsong was remarkable, he’s got to be my favorite character from the beginning to the end, you will know when you watch it. Him and Mr. Yang (played by liu yijun) also had a situation similar to chen yu and wu zhenfeng, and it’s good to see them in parallel. Guo xiaoting’s ling ling also brought the freshness to the drama, played a key factor between lin dezan and mr. yang. The villain characters were quite human like rather than being portrayed as “absolute evils” which kind of weakened the plot but also brought certain richness to it. All in all, characters’ chemistry and acting are solid 10/10.

Writing & Editing: Both started off really well for the first half. Every episode kept me seated, wanting more. A little until towards the end, the writing kind of became messy. Flashbacks were repetitive, and the characters can’t stop referring to what happened 3 years ago. Repetition of such events kind of robbed the backstories of certain characters, like how close chen yu and wu zhenfeng were, how did ling ling and chen yu meet, how close were wu gang and wu zhenfeng, etc. However, I feel like a lot more of it was made up in the story between captain lin and his nephew. So for this department, it would be 7.5/10.

Cinematography: night scenes are beautiful. The red & blue hues are very mesmerizing.

IMO, I do really wish there were more episodes so that all the backstories of the characters can be covered. Nevertheless, a lot better than I assumed despite the theme and I had so much fun watching it. Some moments were amusing and made the drama a whole a lot lighter and relatable, despite its heavy topic.

Would I recommend? Yeah, why not? especially if you want to try something else than murder mystery. Would I rewatch? Rewatch value is low since this is suspense drama but I still would rewatch it for the sake of characters.

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solid and packed storyline

I have so many good things to say about this drama, I don’t know where to begin but first off, the story is nicely-written and editing is well done. I usually hate the editing in cdramas but this is one of the fews that’s edited really well. However, I wish they had explained more about how the two characters got stuck in the time loop and I found the ending to be a bit forced(I don’t know if it’s the correct word) but even without these, it’s a good drama that I could easily get anyone anticipate till the very end.

The chemistry of the cast is also quite great, taking the audience along to sympathize and question as the plot goes. Both Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai did very well in terms of acting, as well as the senior actors, it’s quite flawless. This kind of drama isn’t something you would give a rewatch but you would remember it for a long time once you’re done watching.

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full of cliches (in a good way)

" Every moment is a unique piece of the jigsaw puzzle of our lives, but what if we end up losing an important piece of it "

I started this out of 'blue' during my holidays just for the pretty cinematography but god, I'm so thankful I did. The drama follows the lives of adult Yae Noguchi and Harumichi Namiki, the main subjects of the first love story, in parallel with their younger selves, and depicts how certain circumstances in their lives lead them to who they are now. Along with their heart-wrenching love story, other elements (for the lack of better words) such as family warmth, friendship and nostalgia are crafted beautifully in this series.

Inspired by Hikaru Utada's First Love, the use of music has a great impact on the overall storytelling. It makes the series more special than what it could have been without it. Editing overall is well done, the switch from older to current times is done naturally and each moment of it doesn't feel draggy or rushed at all. As for the acting, I really enjoyed Hikari's portrayal of Yae, you definitely see a glimpse of her younger self even when she was *SPOILER* ( please watch the show to figure it out). Satoh Takeru's also pretty charismatic and was able to deliver his role smoothly. The younger ones, Rikako and Taisei definitely deserve a praise! They truly capture the innocence of first love with their amazing chemistry. The supporting actors also did a pretty great job.

Last but not least, I saw some comments online that they're turned off by cliches (well everyone is free to have their opinions), but i disagree. They are implemented so well compared to other romance dramas actually. They somehow still manage *shake* your heart, even when you kind of already guess what is likely gonna happen, for me that's a good use of cliche. And come on! what are romance dramas if without cliches here and there!

Overall, a good show for those who want to dive start trying j-dramas, or those who just want to watch romance dramas just to feel something.

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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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a good watch

overall, enjoyed the story. What is striking to me is the stories of side characters and the wholesomeness of them. Was expecting a bit more from two main leads in terms of character development but personally they didn’t do much for me, their chemistry however sparks well. What I do dislike about the whole drama is the constant emphasis on how it’s a “healing” drama, which to me, it can barely scratch the surface of such genre. There are much more healing k-dramas out there to watch, but for those who might not know these dramas, Hometown ChaChaCha would be a good start.

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underrated, why is no one talking about this?

Watched this a while ago because of wang ziyi and also as a tribute Godfrey Gao. I started this without much expectations but I ended up really liking this. The plot can be a bit draggy at some parts but the story is well-told. With one event after another, the it’s well-paced and keeps you on the edge but what stood out to me the most was Lin Xiang character. I hated her and loved her at the same time, her story was what kept me looking forward in this whole drama. Besides, the show also shows the dark side of the showbiz market, along with the solitude and loneliness of one living in it. However, I find the ending quite rushed and disappointing, every good thing suddenly happened that I somehow felt cheated. The acting is fine, both two leads did well and their chemistry was great.

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