Magic Number 7
Majority of the popular kdramas are a 7 for me. That's how I feel about OBS as well. It is good but not great and perfect. It is likable but not special and close to my heart.
It started great with a very compelling theme of documenting two high schoolers and an interesting screenplay going back and forth between past and present. The characters were flawed and relatable and so were their actions. I liked the comparisons of lifestyles of the two leads.
Oddly, I wonder what are the odds that all three leads have issues in the family. It was with a few unpredictable twists but I wasn't particularly thrilled to know about their family issues as I only came in for the documentary part. I was eager for glimpses of the final cut of their adulthood documentary but that didn't happen. Had they even spent like 15 mins showing that instead of all the family issues then I would have willing watched it. Guess, my expectations were different.
I expected a bit of comedy and a nice breezy romance with a slice-of-life setting. The initial comedy with a coworker and drunk scenes were hardly comical. I found this to be very minimal on comedy. Romance is more about feelings, talking, and bickering. But it was hardly breezy. There are many moments I felt "just open up and talk about what you are feeling or what went wrong". I didn't like how they got into a relationship without proactively discussing what went wrong. Yes, they were constantly pinning for each other, but getting back with an ex without resolving past issues is low-key problematic.
Character-wise, I can see what they were trying to portray: toppers don't necessarily become achievers and last rankers don't necessarily end up as mediocre. But I felt ML had more luck than most of all would have, to get rich and good parents and to have talent and to actually put that talent to succeed whereas FL was poor, had no parents, was hardworking, and got some job. I think this characterization felt forced and it more made me feel that ML was very lucky and despite his issues, I couldn't feel empathy for him. Also, there are these moments where ML gives up on something very easily whereas FL had been working very hard for a similar thing. For instances like these, I couldn't look past their jarringly different notions on life, money, and stuff. But of course, I'm looking into too much but on the superficial level, they are interesting characters. Likewise, FL opening up about her issues could have done better. She rarely got her cathartic "baring it all" moment of showing her vulnerable side in the relationship and if at all done, was hurried through. Ji Ung deserved so much more than the closure he was given. Rarely was anything shown about his mother's actual reason, and his occasional rudeness to Ung felt quite random.
The pacing felt good up to episodes 10 or 11 after which I was constantly skipping scenes and 2Xing. Similar to most of the kdramas losing their charm around 10 -12 episodes, OBS ran out of stuff to talk about. Maybe they could have added nice flirty scenes but their chemistry felt cute and okayish for me.
I really wanted to see CWS in a nice rom-com as a nice guy so that wish has come true. As for KDM, she felt reminiscent of her Itaewon Class character sometimes. I will be rooting for KSC henceforth. RJE's voice is really nice.
Would I rewatch the scenes during their school days? Likely. Would I rewatch adult life or romance scenes? Meh.
As for music, it was good and suited to the theme of the drama. But I won't bother about adding it to my playlist.
OBS feels intriguing as the Youthood but immemorable as time passes by.
It started great with a very compelling theme of documenting two high schoolers and an interesting screenplay going back and forth between past and present. The characters were flawed and relatable and so were their actions. I liked the comparisons of lifestyles of the two leads.
Oddly, I wonder what are the odds that all three leads have issues in the family. It was with a few unpredictable twists but I wasn't particularly thrilled to know about their family issues as I only came in for the documentary part. I was eager for glimpses of the final cut of their adulthood documentary but that didn't happen. Had they even spent like 15 mins showing that instead of all the family issues then I would have willing watched it. Guess, my expectations were different.
I expected a bit of comedy and a nice breezy romance with a slice-of-life setting. The initial comedy with a coworker and drunk scenes were hardly comical. I found this to be very minimal on comedy. Romance is more about feelings, talking, and bickering. But it was hardly breezy. There are many moments I felt "just open up and talk about what you are feeling or what went wrong". I didn't like how they got into a relationship without proactively discussing what went wrong. Yes, they were constantly pinning for each other, but getting back with an ex without resolving past issues is low-key problematic.
Character-wise, I can see what they were trying to portray: toppers don't necessarily become achievers and last rankers don't necessarily end up as mediocre. But I felt ML had more luck than most of all would have, to get rich and good parents and to have talent and to actually put that talent to succeed whereas FL was poor, had no parents, was hardworking, and got some job. I think this characterization felt forced and it more made me feel that ML was very lucky and despite his issues, I couldn't feel empathy for him. Also, there are these moments where ML gives up on something very easily whereas FL had been working very hard for a similar thing. For instances like these, I couldn't look past their jarringly different notions on life, money, and stuff. But of course, I'm looking into too much but on the superficial level, they are interesting characters. Likewise, FL opening up about her issues could have done better. She rarely got her cathartic "baring it all" moment of showing her vulnerable side in the relationship and if at all done, was hurried through. Ji Ung deserved so much more than the closure he was given. Rarely was anything shown about his mother's actual reason, and his occasional rudeness to Ung felt quite random.
The pacing felt good up to episodes 10 or 11 after which I was constantly skipping scenes and 2Xing. Similar to most of the kdramas losing their charm around 10 -12 episodes, OBS ran out of stuff to talk about. Maybe they could have added nice flirty scenes but their chemistry felt cute and okayish for me.
I really wanted to see CWS in a nice rom-com as a nice guy so that wish has come true. As for KDM, she felt reminiscent of her Itaewon Class character sometimes. I will be rooting for KSC henceforth. RJE's voice is really nice.
Would I rewatch the scenes during their school days? Likely. Would I rewatch adult life or romance scenes? Meh.
As for music, it was good and suited to the theme of the drama. But I won't bother about adding it to my playlist.
OBS feels intriguing as the Youthood but immemorable as time passes by.
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