that chemistry...

Sometimes it happens to find a gem: this show is one. Just finished after a 20hours marathon to watch it in one shot, because after the first episode I just could not stop watching it. Literally. I waited for the last episode to be published on May 28 and I made a good choice. I was fully involved, and felt a lot of emotions, from amusement to sadness, from laughs to sobs. Great story. Great cast. Nice plot. Nice direction.
The two leads were simply adorable. I didn't know a lot Kim Hye Yoon. And she was a nice surprise to me: charismatic, talented, expressive, fascinating and what's about her stunning smile? While I had already chances to appreciate Ryu Seon Jae, who's not just a tall giant, but he's able to show charisma and scenic presence, from the comic till the dramatic scenes. But what I liked a lot was the chemistry between them: simply unbelievable, intense, moving, sparkling. Time has passed since the last time I found something similar. And I can even say when: watching Crash Landing on You and those Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin (who were also mentioned at a certain point). I guess that who wrote that there is not chemistry, well: he/she apparently watched something else.
I liked the plot and how the stories were presented, the personalities of each character, and also the way the other lead and support roles were developed, which often are overlooked. And among them I appreciated a lot the figure of Kim Tae Sung and the loyal relationship he shares with the leads.
Actually the structure of the story do not bring anything very new: this is not the first show seeing the leads wrappend around a story, which happens along an extended timeframe and enriched by fantasy elements. But who developed the plot did a very nice work in making it so intense keeping the spectator literally glued to the screen.
Well done!!

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the bittersweet taste of memories...

I'm starting writing this review with my cheeks still wet by tears.
When I was looking for new series to watch with good ratings, I was a bit hesitant when I found Reply 1988 because of the subject, and of the length both of the series itself and of the episodes (some last almost two hours each). So I parked it in my wanna-watch list, waiting for a good moment to watch it.
I did a good choice not discarding it. This series is one of the best shows I watched so far, because of the story and the screenplay, because of the direction, because of the cast and the performances of each, because of the OST too.
That's not a banal family drama, but a story, a nice one, about families, about friendship, about love, and about memories, a story about transitions and transformation, finely performed by a cast of actors in a state of grace. The shiny gem among all has been Hyeri, who performed Deok-sun amazingly. She is from one of those younger generation of talented actors who well impressed me in terms of acting and scenic presence (like a Kim Tae-ri or Kim Da-mi). Deok-sun is a shiny person, full of contradictions, but really intelligent, and kind-hearted person. And around her the story travels among the memories of a youth which will never come back, stud with the stories of her friends, her family and the families of her friends, within a timeframe relatively short, but associated to that crucial moment of the lives of all of them, when they quickly transitioned from their being teens to their adult lives, and from the warmth and cozy place which were their families to the demanding challenges of their lives as adults. That moment full of passion and of enthusiasm, which will never come back again: the shiniest moment of the life, short but intense, that is the youth. In the end, the story of each one of us, which can be felt more deeply moving by whom, like me, is a peer of the older Deok-sun and her husband, while they tell those stories.
The whole during a period of the South Korean history, characterized by a crucial transition itself, from the dictatorship to the democracy, from a society still anchored to the traditions to the frenetic one of the current South Korea.
I felt captivated and involved all time long by the plot, which was compelled, and never boring nor flaw. I might say also because in part they were also looking like my story when I was just a youth and passing through that same moment of transition. I felt like part of that micro-world tied around the small alley of Ssangmundong. The involvement was so strong that several time I felt sad or happy as they were my friends or my family. That place was not just an ally surrounded by houses, but the place were an entire community, made of families, lived as a big family itself, in that fascinating Korean way to do it, sharing things, feelings, food, passions, friendship, help, money, tears, and laughs, where each house is home, a place to find a hot meal, a hand ready to help you and an ear ready to listen to you. Honestly, I also saw again my past life of the 80s and the 90s, even if, under another point of view, I felt a bit dazed mainly because of the music, since from that period I remember George Michael, INXS, Guns 'n Roses, Whitney Houston, and Belinda Carlisle (randomly), and they look replaced by the singers and the hits of the Korean music of that period.
Among a spectacular cast, I wish mentioning (in addition to Hyeri) Taek, performed brilliantly by Park Bo-gum, and some support roles that I found irresistible, that are Sung Dong-il, Kim Sung-kyun, and Bo-ra (Ryu Hye-young), not forgetting the small Jin-joo who I adored, so cute she was. But in general, the whole cast was well sorted.
The OST was very nice. Of course the more moving among the songs is Youth by Kim Chang-wan, and that because of the lyrics, in addition to the music itself.
Strongly suggested watching it: definitely worth.

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Pity...

A very nice concept stands as basis for this show's plot. Nice and original.
That should be enough as reason for a high rating. However, for the rest I might say that the chance to have something epic was just wasted. Pity...
The cast is good, the acting was more than convincing, the music good, also the CGI was well developed, but it was the story that at a certain moment started derailing towards a complete, confused anarchy. The solidity of a story stands into the presence of a structure within which the story itself moves. The structure was initially present, but episode after episode it was simply dismantled and the story potentially could turn into whatever without any logic or sense. Funny thing is that the final itself was "explained" as a consequence of the rules governing the interaction between the two worlds: someone should explain me at this point why someone had to disappear, while the only reason behind the reviving of another one was that the W. world started working independently... So, both of them could have been survived, because there no longer were any rules. Hurray for the fantasy, that's sure, but not for ridiculousness. To explain what I mean, I might say that a good webtoon is the one which has an actual story to tell, a credible one, where the rules and the boundaries are clear or it is just a waste of paper and ink.
In addition to this, some nonsense hit the villains' characters. I understand that the predetermined fate for each of them should be the reason for some illogical actions taken by the same. But the continuous obsession towards the leads, at a certain point became paradoxical and not well credible.
The free will that the W characters start showing and which should be the main reason for their changing from toons to humans, is itself incredibly not explained, not clarified, thus not convincing. Why, for what reason all of that happened? Why did they start acting and choosing on their own and no longer following the plot decided by their creator?
Who knows?
Pity, really...

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Outstanding

What to say? Outstanding. A masterpiece for its genre.
This is not a conventional love story, but an actual melodrama which will keep you glued to the screen till the last second.
The story is intense, intricate, and well developed in general (apart some minimal plot-holes). I liked the way it was structured in order to keep the spectators constantly in suspense, sipping the details episode after episode, but at the same time leading them to figure out the potential developments so that the attention as well as the expectation is always high. Tears (a lot) are assured. Some moments and key scenes are really cruel in their tragedy.
The Leads, simply awesome all the three. Seo In Guk confirms his talent as handsome and damned, able to recreate the dramatic traits of his character as expected, constantly immersed in his role. Jung So Min, perfectly suited for the role, well impersonating her character also phisically. Both of them showing an intense chemistry. Park Sung Woong, the gentle giant, who hides a dark past, loyal to her sister so far as to make extreme gestures. He's well completed by a brilliant Jang Young Nam, all along the story. Also the other support characters were developed and defined. Maybe the villains were on the verge of psychopathy, which could compromise their credibility.
Music, excellent. I confess that I fell in love for Lost by Lim Yeon.
Just a word to some who criticized, complaining about the lack of continuity, gigantic plot holes and not nice performances of some: you should watch and understand what you watched prior to saying nonsenses. Unless you were writing about other shows.
For the rest, keep the tissues ready and enjoy it.

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Make the screenwriter changing work

A WTF is necessary, because the screenwriter should change work. HTF is possible massacring in this way a nice story? Unbelievable! This show could have been a small gem if written by someone else. The idea is nice, and the cast did his best. But seriously: the plot is a nightmare. Cast well sorted, and capable. Also, the chemistry between the two leads is very nice, and Nana's simply stunning. Again, pity for the terrible plot making nonsense: the cast did not deserve such a garbage.

Update: that "bye bye" led me dropping down from 7.5 to 6.5
Come on.... bye bye... jeez

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