Ever since finishing up Shut Up Flower Boy Band earlier this year I've been looking for another great high school drama. This one really hit all the right buttons!

Story: The writing is both hilarious and heart warming. There's a great sense of realism and sincerity portrayed. For example, I loved how the show pulls no stops in showing the characters in some pretty humiliating situations. I mean what's high school without those mortifying moments where you just wish you could disappear? The show was ridiculously addictive with the whole mystery of who ends up with who driving me crazy with anticipation. Right from the get go you're hooked. My only complaint was I felt that the whole mystery of who Shi Won ends up with felt a bit dragged out in the final couple episodes.

Acting/Cast: Eunji steals the show as the spunky Shi Won and Seo In Guk is completely swoon worthy as the caring Yoon Jae. They were really able to establish an excellent rapport throughout the series with their dialogue and chemistry feeling so natural and real. I could really believe they had been best friends since birth. The rest of the cast does not disappoint and I found myself becoming incredibly attached to the whole crew. Joon Hee especially was portrayed with such heart wrenching subtlety and was the only character who moved me to tears in the end. This drama didn't appear on my radar early on because of the relatively unknown cast and rookie idol-actors but they ended up totally surprising me!

Music: Lots of awesome 90s Korean music and as a current Kpop fan myself it was a great way to get introduced to some of the original idols. Really great at setting the mood for scenes and capturing the essence of the era.

Rewatch value: I already want to watch it again! The characters and writing are such a delight I will definitely be revisiting this series in the future.

Overall: You don't have to be from that era in Korea to enjoy this drama at all. The show captured the pureness and all-consuming nature of teenage love and heartbreak perfectly. It made me miss those days when boy bands ruled the world, tamagotchis were cool, and your crush was your everything. Those times when you're immature, naive, and throw yourself head first into love. I've watched a lot of high school dramas but few have succeeded in portraying the bittersweetness of youth with as much honesty and heart as Reply 1997 has.

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