Absolutely Hilarious

I've watched both season 1 and season 2, and I think each episode is absolutely hilarious. Although some topics were better than others, the cast really made up for it. The cast has great chemistry and never fails to make me laugh with their comments. I absolutely love Jae-suk's comments about Mijoo being a junior comedian, which I agree with.

Although I didn't know most of the guest cast, just the cast's interactions with them made me feel good. Trying to follow along and make use of my sixth sense was really enjoyable as well. I eagerly waited every Friday to get my laughing fix and it's a really great variety show to watch if you haven't ever watched korean variety shows before. Even if you are still dubious, it is a great show to watch in between dramas, and each episode is effectively standalone.

Can't wait for season 3 to drop! Excuse me, as I'll be crying that it can't come sooner.

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It's a nice short web series if you want to decompress between dramas. I really thought the witch character was interesting even though there wasn't a lot of characterization or explanation for her or any of the characters really. There's a loose plot that drives the story but it's not that deep. Two high schoolers have a mutual crush on each other but don't pursue it because they don't want to lose their friendship with their respective "love rivals" and an adorable side couple. Pretty much like other web series except this has a little magic on the side~.

The most enjoyable character for me was their teacher (who had his own mini-story). He was pretty adorable so look out for him!

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Refreshing

If I had to describe this show in one word, it would be refreshing. I had recently gotten tired of watching most kdramas, and when I saw the reviews on this and the length, I decided to give it a try. Boy, am I glad I did.

This show really made me pause and think after each episode. I usually binge my shows, but this was well-paced and makes you reach for the pause button so you can truly process what happened. I would not recommend it for people with triggers of violence, depression, bullying, etc, but this show was point-blank in the issues it wanted to tackle.

It really made me think about the military draft in Korea. We often forget because most kdramas are focused on romances or families, but the draft is part of every Korean man's life, and I'm really glad we got one of the few shows that focuses on that, but on the other side. We've seen shows like Search and Descendants of the Sun, where it seems like the military is just a passive experience with a lot of action, but to see the fundamental problems that no one talks about, DP does it better than any I have yet to see.

If you want a poignant fast-paced drama unlike any others out there that really makes you reflect, look no further and press play on DP.

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An interesting premise with a strong start and very melodramatic ending

This review contains mild spoilers. Please do not read if you do not want to spoil yourself. I decided to add some since some of these will make or break the viewing experience.

First off, reading the summary, I was very intrigued. It seemed not like many cdramas that I have watched, which have primarily been fluffly rom-com dramas. And the first episode made me very excited. We see Jianing in a lab enduring (very direct**) racist remarks from her boss and in the next scene, we see Xiaoshan punching someone, which made me think this would turn out to be a great corporate espionage plot. I was envisioning a cat-mouse chase for her research with a lot of nameless villains and action-packed scenes. Unfortunately, that is not what we got.

Although it is not necessarily bad, I want to point out that in the latter half it gets very melodramatic. This is not explicitly in the tags, so I was not expecting it. The thing that was bad was the pacing and character arcs. While the first half focuses on Xiaoshan trying to get closer to Jianing and her enduring office politics which seems new and fresh, the second half does the same exact thing except drags it out in a manner that seems repetitive and makes you want to skip a lot of scenes since you have already seen it in a much more exciting manner in the first half. If you are not fond of what I just described like me, it's best that you just stop the drama before episode 30 at most.

I kept going because the first half was really quality writing and it left a lot of questions that I wanted answered. We hear a lot about Xiaoshan's ex. Originally, she's mentioned off-handedly, so while I was intrigued, I understood they might not explain. However, it turns out to be a big plot point in the second half, that I wished the setup was better for that because it felt really random that a major character related to her popped up without explanation.

While I applaud LYX and SQ acting, they really did nail it with what they had, the character development leaves me a little iffy. LYX gave 110% to Xiaoshan and you can really see that through his scenes. I really liked how SQ portrayed Jianing with a low EQ. It made me frustrated at times with the decisions she made, but it makes sense considering her low EQ. The second lead couple did a great job in my opinion. If you don't like sad endings (a melodramatic ending usually involves one of the main characters dying), then the second lead couple really brighten up the screen and you can just watch for them.

Mo Li, on the other hand. Damn, they did my girl dirty. I actually did like her as a character. Yes, she was impulsive, but we see growth from her in the first half. I really thought she was going to have a lot more scenes with the guy from the gym cause I really thought they were funny. However, she just disappears in the second half until the end where you realize all that character development from the first half is just gone, which was just disappointing. I did understand that she might have some reversal, but I didn't realize they would remove everything.

I did like Uncle Zha as villain even if he was a little cartoonish, but I felt the secondary villain Wenzhao was unnecessary. He really doesn't do much and it's just really a sad boi. Honestly, I know cdramas tend to add one last villain to defeat towards the end, but nothing could have prepared me for the last 5 episodes.

The OST was really great tho. I don't usually pay attention to them, but this one was too good to avoid. Although I will probably never rewatch this, I don't really rewatch any dramas again, I will definitely listen to the music.

**Now to refer to two things that really offed people.
First: how racism is portrayed. To give this perspective, I am an non-East Asian woman who grew up and lives in a Western country. I have worked in a lab. The racism portrayed is way too blatant and direct. This would most likely land Dr. Harry in hot water irl. A lot of the racism we endure is subtle aka passing over a promotion or making small digs (oh so that's how you do it?). Also, I agree with a lot of people that it was weird that Dr. Harry spoke in English while Jianing replied in Chinese. It was only a couple of lines and they had Chinese subtitles for Harry anyway and it could have showed another way Jianing was othered.
Second: the patriotism. Look, this is a Chinese drama. Regardless of whatever country you are from, they probably make patriotic movies/tv shows. I think it's personally normal that this had Chinese nationalism. This drama intended to show how research in non-Western countries aren't regarded with the same prestige which is true. It is geared toward Chinese viewers. You could take this and apply it to another country and it would work. Did I enjoy seeing the national scenes like the flag raising as a non-Chinese person? Nope, felt very awkward for me. I didn't know where to look. I bet a lot of people felt the same. But I did agree with the statement that scientists regardless of nationality should have a chance.

So while people have many reasons not to watch things, it doesn't mean it is necessarily bad. I read the summary of the drama and liked it, so I watched it. Was it what I expected? No, I did have my expectations high. Did I enjoy all of it? No. Do I feel like it was waste of time? No. I didn't really like it overall, but I wouldn't say that I wasted all my time.

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Nice Short Historical Short

I actually liked how this drama special didn't focus on romance and instead decided to focus on politics and friendship inside the palace. Historical dramas with political action are my favorite. If you are looking for romance or comedy, you're not going to get that here, but if you want some heartbreaking moments and sismance (with a side of jealous woman), you've come to the right place.

Although some of Sae Ron's acting is left to be desired (for some reason the small romantic scene she had didn't seem that romantic but in fact extortion), for the most part, she and her costar Da Eun do a great job portraying the characters they are given. I really like Da Eun's character even though originally I thought I was going to hate her.

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Do you like banana snacks?

Half an hour is not enough to cover a basic storyline, but it is cohesive enough to count as a solid moment where boy meets girl and the aftermath of trying to woo her in a split-second decision. There is a time skip and the story doesn't feel wrapped up at the end, but treating it as a glimpse in someone else's life via them telling a 3 minute summary of why they decided to do it, the story is actually pretty solid. While there isn't much, it is consistent and very comedic. Boy did I laugh a lot when watching this. All of the side characters are amazing and deliver a lot of comedic moments. Here are some of my fav quotes:

"I'm sorry but I am shooting a movie right now. Oh... it's for a petty loan. Fund? You're saying it's 37% of earning rate?"
"Do you like banana snacks?" "Er yes?" "You're in."

Honestly, none of the side characters have names but banana snack guy is cream of the crop here. So if you decide you need a break and pick me up, come watch this especially for banana guy's pick-up lines.

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A wholesome romance set in education with a side of murder mystery

Crash Course in Romance, or its literal title, One-shot Scandal, is a drama I thoroughly enjoyed after a year of not watching kdramas. I really loved the characters and the varied focus it had. I loved seeing the spotlight on the high schoolers as well as their parents, even though in the beginning their parents made me want to tear my hair out by their ridiculousness. Although many people did not like the additional side of a murder mystery, I am always a fan to see it, so I didn't dislike it as much. It was pretty obvious to guess halfway through the series who was the actual killer even though there were red herrings.

I personally loved the actors and their portrayal of their characters. Even though most people were hung up on the casting of Jeon Do Yeon as Nam Haeng Seon, I didn't think it was an extremely big deal since I think she was nailing it regardless of her age. She was fantastic as a mom to Hae Yi, sister to Jae Woo, and friend to Young Joo. She was pretty realistic with her relationship with Chi Yeol, which Jung Kyung Ho nailed by the way as an ego-filled star teacher turn puppy for love. I also loved Shin Jae Ha as Ji Dong Hee. He was a refreshing character, although I have to admit, he was done dirty by the writers at the end. I wish we were able to him face the consequences of his actions. The kids were amazing, and I really loved Hae Yi's whole arc and would wait every week just to see the kids instead of the main romance lol. Although I did hate the moms, I do have to applaud them for doing a great job since we were supposed to.

In terms of romance, it was pretty simple. Starting with a misunderstanding, getting closer, denying the feelings, and obstacles to overcome. The mystery had some plot holes lol. The girl that gets murdered in the first few episodes, we never hear about again, which made me sad even though she was annoying. The kid and teacher who get murdered after get more screen time with the police searching into their deaths. Heck, Hae Yi's abduction wasn't looked into properly, and we never see it resolved on screen. It seems she would have gotten some trauma from that. While I understand that since the main focus is romance and a police procedural, we're not going to see a lot of it, but I wish there was a bit more resolvement of this storyline rather than justing killing off the killer. Up to episode 14, it seems like everything would be wrapped up nicely in a bow, but I was personally thinking how they could cover everything in 2 more episodes, and they didn't because they added extra subplots that weren't necessary. A lot of the side stories with the parents and their parents felt good but lackluster. It seems like the writer wanted a nice bow on everything and redeem everyone, and hey I liked it, but it didn't feel necessary.

Overall I really did like the mother-daughter relationship with Haeng Seon and Hae Yi, especially the flashback scenes, and the high school plot, which overshadowed everything else for me. I would definitely suggest watching this if you are looking for a feel-good family drama, since it felt like it at times, with a splash of mystery and realistic portrayal of the Korean education system.

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Realistic kdrama portraying teen athletes

I want to note that Racket Boys is the first kdrama I watched while it was airing. This means I had to deal with waiting for new episodes to come out instead of just clicking next. Why is this important? I feel like many dramas are good for binging but not enough for waiting for new episodes to come out. Racket Boys definitely survived the test of me wanting to know what happened even though they made me wait two weeks for the final episode.

First off, I like how this drama focused not only on teen athletes but also on the people around them. We get the backstory of Haekang's parents which I think was interesting and definitely contributed to the character development of the parents. Yes, you heard that right, even the parents have a solid character development even though the show is teen-focused. Some people might not have liked the extra storylines involving the villagers (I originally did not), but I started fall in love with each of the villagers featured from the city couple to Big Grandma from Busan (lol I really love how she had a lasting impact if you know what I mean ;P).

Onto the teens! I thoroughly enjoyed the acting displayed by the actual teen actors! Yes, you heard that right! The teenage characters are actually portrayed by actual teens! A lot of them have been featured in works before inclusing Tang Jungsun (who I loved both in CLOY and Move to Heaven). Although later on, the writers decided to focus on the romance between the teens, I think each of them have solid character development, even the class president lol. He turned out to be one of my favorite characters. I really liked how they brought cameos into the show to show the teens interacting with other adults (aka badminton players) and didn't have them just interacting with their parents.

For the episodes themselves, I felt like they were always laggy in the middle, but they made up for it on a lot of cliffhanger endings. I'm the kind of person not to watch previews, but in this case, I always watched them several times to figure out what could happen in the next episode. I also really enjoyed watching all of the badminton scenes 10/10 for cinematography there.

While I would not say this is the best kdrama I watched, it was definitely different and intriguing enough for me to enjoyably remember even after it ended.

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A different take on Will they/Won't they

Before I dive into the story, I just want to say even if you don't watch this, please listen to the OST. This is probably the only time I heard songs in a drama and was interested enough to look them up to listen to them after. 10/10

As for the story: the tagline states realistic. Now, what is a realistic portrayal of love? For me, it can really be anything because everybody has a different view of love and every relationship is different. The love story here is definitely different from normal romance kdramas. Does it mean it's good? Depends on your taste.

Nabi has recently come out of a relationship where she was belittled. She encounters Park Jae-eon while she is still recovering from it and trying to find herself. Park Jae-eon himself is probably not the best candidate for a rebound with the state she is in. She knows this and we as the viewers know this. Yet throughout the series, she is indecisive about what to do about it. And that probably best describes Nabi: indecisive.

As we get to know more about her, she tells us that she feels mediocre at best, both in her life and in her art. She struggles with continuing/giving up a lot of things. Her desire for going abroad, her motivation in her artwork, her relationship with Park Jae-eon. We as the viewers are banging our heads thinking let go of Park Jae-eon and focus on your work! But I think this makes her more realistic to us. Not everyone is headstrong and has a direction in life. Nabi shows us that there are other people in life who might feel aimless and lost as we do sometimes.

If you approach this drama thinking that there is a plot, I would advise you from expecting progress in anything, especially between our main leads. This drama is really about thinking introspectively. It is similar to a slice of life, but here the focus is on a single relationship that can't really be defined. We see a lot of push and pull between Nabi and Park Jae-eon. We see a lot of bad decisions and repetitive behavior. Our leads are far from perfect. They keep making the same mistakes over and over. There are times where Nabi makes decisions that I would have made (such as distancing herself from Park Jae-eon), which I applaud, only for her to go 180 again in the next episode.

For some, this might look like bad writing or terrible pacing. For me, it just shows an unhealthy relationship which this drama captures perfectly. This drama is not about making good decisions. This drama is not about a healthy relationship. This drama tries to show the other side of "love" that we don't often see in other media. Sometimes, a story doesn't need a plot. Sometimes, a story can just be about a character and their view of the world (watch the french movie Girlhood and you'll feel the same vibe). And I think, Nevertheless does this beautifully by portraying Nabi as a flawed character who makes bad decisions even though she knows they are bad.

As for the character Park Jae-eon, while I do agree he has red flags and is not the best character, he is similar to a lot of guys in real life. I didn't really know what to expect for the ending. I would have been fine either way: showing that Park Jae-eon doesn't change and just moves on with Nabi being heartbroken or him trying to change for Nabi and attempting to start a decent relationship with her. For the first, it would show that hey not everyone is changeable, which is realistic and part of the webtoon. For the second, I definitely think a 180 change would have definitely not suited him, but I think the trying he does counts. I am happy with how it ended.

Apart from our main leads, who eat up most of our time, I really loved our second couple. Yes, they are lesbians! They also had a similar push and pull but with a much healthier ending. I was really rooting for them throughout. Probably the most enjoyable parts of the drama. I also liked the similar push and pull found in other couples like Bitna and Gyuhyun as well as portraying a much friendlier relationship with the sunbaes and their friends to contrast.

What about our second male lead? I really do feel bad for him, but considering he entered the drama mid-way through with Nabi and Park Jae-eon already establishing a lot of their situationship, it really didn't feel like he had a chance. Obviously, I did root for him being the most realistic choice, but I did agree with Nabi when she said it herself that she doesn't Dohyeok. She would just be stringing him along when she actually likes Park Jae-eon which wouldn't be that cool. In a perfect world, maybe if Nabi recovered from her first heartbreak and was in a better mind space, I would see him as a viable contender.

Overall, I will keep listening to the OST and think about this drama a lot. Han Sohee and Song Kang did a great job along with the rest of the cast. I really did look forward to every Saturday morning. I know according to other people I shouldn't like it, nevertheless, I enjoyed it a lot.

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