(this review isn't a spoiler review, however, I do mention some information that may come accross as spoiler.

irst of all, I have been wanting to watch this series for a while but kept postponing due to the comments on how we should be mentally prepared to watch it, which also oddly made it even more intriguing. I finally did watch it and I agree - you need to be mentally prepared to watch a show like this one.
That being said, was it as "traumatizing" or "life-ruining" as so many comments say? No. It was definitely shocking, dark and heavy but I wouldn't deem it extremely traumatizing or life-ruining, unless you can relate to the mc on a deeper level such as having experienced what he does first hand. There's only so much we, as viewers, can feel and relate to. However, of you do suffer from ptsd or are triggered by mentions/depictions of r*pe, violence, self-h*rm, su*c*de, etc, I would recommend you to stay away from this show.

I also want to point out this isn't really a BL show so if that's what you're looking for maybe this isn't the right choice. The theme of this show goes so much beyond that and explores way heavier themes that not everyone is ready to witness.

Overall, it's an 8 for me.

x STORY x
The main focus on the show is, as the title says, on THE EFFECT. The Effect of what people do, what people say, what people think. The effect of every little thing we do in our daily life, that to us is minimal, but to others can be life-changing or, in this case, life-ruining. Actions have motive and consequence. This show highlights that in a very dark, realistic way. That's really what makes this show so uniquely heavy, how realistic it is.

We follow our MC, Shin, as he starts university, makes his first friends and begins what should be one of the happiest moments in his life. We're then introduced to Keng, who is a university senior, an ambassador, who's so popular everyone knows who he is. And then we see how these people's lives intertwine and literally, have an effect on each other. The show then explores their friendships and how everything affects everything, and I mean - everything.

A thing such as rumors on social media can literally destroy lives and this show depicts that very realistically, tangling it up with mental health to give us a real emotional rollercoaster in the most horrifying way possible. The deterioration of Shin's mental health is gradual and it makes the viewer feel so bad because we're unable to help, we can only watch - that's how immersed one becomes on the themes dealt with in this show.

Episode 1 is light and rainbows and flowers and then it's from episode 2 onwards that it gets really scary.
Episode 2 ends on a way too terrible note. But really, what needs to be highlighted is every single action of someone has a motive and consequence, the effect, there's the effect that propels the action and then the effect that action ends up having. Really couldn't have chosen a better name for this show.
Episode 3 is the culmination of all the feelings ever shown on the show, love, happiness, fear, anger, shame, guild, sadness, pain, etc. It's heavy and difficult to watch, especially because this is a show where it's difficult to be impartial and not feel anything towards the characters/events. It becomes quite painful even.

x ACTING x
I have to say, the acting in this one surprised me. I didn't know what to expect in terms of acting but this was super well acted. I have to applaud James as Shin - you can see every single emotion in his eyes, how brightly they shine in the beginning and how dull they are by the beginning of episode 3. Oat also did a great job as Keng - the ability to portray almost two completely different people, the contrast of Keng in episode 1 and in episodes 2 and 3 is just way too massive and he did it flawlessly.

x MUSIC x
I never know what to say when it comes to musical value in dramas as I don't really care about it but here I can say the music score was very well thought-out and chosen. A few scenes made me sad but it was truly the background music that had tears well up in my eyes. It was the music that led me to cry in a few scenes too. It just goes along very well with the scenes it is inserted in.

x REWATCH VALUE x
If being completely honest, this isn't a show that I say I want to watch again the future. I mostly usually rewacht shows that make me feel safe and that bring me joy or shows that really made an impact on me. I might rewatch a show if I'm watching with someone else. And this might be the case for this one. While it isn't a show that'll bring me joy if I rewatch it, quite on the contrary, it is a show I feel like more people should see and I would like to watch it together with my friends so we could discuss the themes and topics inserted in it.

x OVERALL x
Overall, this isn't a show I enjoyed watching per se but watching it makes me feel like I learned something, that it somehow made a tiny part of me grow. I love it when shows make me feel this, like the time I spent watching them was worth it. I also want to say that maybe I'm broken? Cause in most reviews I saw people said that this show ruined their mood, left them with too heavy of a heart or that wouldn't recover from it. I am okay. I'm okay after watching this. I am genuinely okay. I do have a bit of a heavy heart and I'll probably think about this show in the future but maybe it's because I had prepared myself to watch it when mentally prepared so I was in a good head space for it but truly, while it was impactful, I do find some reviews a bit exagerated. And I'm a person who tends to cry and be overly emotional. I guess it really depends on people and their life experience.

However, as stated above, no matter how this show affects you, we all have a lesson to learn from it - reflect well on what it is before you say or post anything online and offline.

Stay safe and well everyone ~~