I'll begin by saying that this is not the worst drama in the planet, it just needed guidance. First things first, the main plot was good, we saw two characters well written, we could see a good turn of events, it just didn't make sense. OMG so many plot inconsistencies that are unforgivable even if you write an essay for your homework in middle school. The first 13 episodes had 5 minutes of main arc in it, at times it felt like they wrote 10 ideas for an episode and decided to follow them all. I feel like most actors delivered good roles, soundtrack was good, we saw very pretty things here and then and the food shots completely stole my attention but this was so all over the place that made me upset for it. Many things could be better explored in shorter times such as the secondary patients, and others felt so delayed and rushed in the final episode because they didn't write it better in the beginning. Also, no aid care will leave someone in the forest if they called. This last episode was so inconsistent that I wish I could personally call a writting teacher to properly show how cohesive writting looks like. This is an example that even when you have the right ingredients, it takes a good cook to make a good meal.

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I was very excited for the story but I feel like the plot lacked in deepness which led to some minor issues. I usually love dramas that are very warm and full of romance so I appreciate the amount of cute scenes we got. Unfortunatelly we had a lot of missed opportunities. I feel like the secondary characters had major development issues, some presented inconsistencies. Seon Ho and In Wook were very all over the place, not to mention the relationship between Ji Soo and her husband.
I will say however that leaving the writing situation aside, I think the drama was good but as the story is rather simple we have no build up and I don't think I personally would rewatch it only because it got to a point where it all was resolved and I was fine with it. I also think that even without 4 episodes, the ending had an unnecessary situation, so that speaks for itself as yet another case of bad writing.
On good notes, love the main actors here, even though I feel Hae In's skills are bigger than this specific project. Love the soundtrack and the photography.

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Hymn of death is based on a true story and maybe because of that I felt so unconnected from it. I feel like in many ways the whole Romeo and Juliet aspect is generally very stupid to me, I get that people react differently from each other and sure different times show different actions, but the whole life problem showed in the drama felt very solvable to me. I want to praise Hye Sun for her acting though, for me it was the main highlight of the drama, she was incredibly believable and this role was made for her, I felt every tear and every sound, if anything she was the reason I kept on watching even though I didn't like the plot. Jong Suk on the other hand, oh boy he was not a good pick for this role! His character was a real problem to me, I couldn't relate at all with his white people problems, I mean... Boy, go do something else if you don't want to work for your rich daddy who gave you everything. Jong Suk made it even worse, I didn't think he was even trying at points, I didn't feel the slight chemistry between him and Hye Sun, I didn't feel any of his character's emotions, specially because he basically didn't do anything, even his crying face was the same. I don't think he was on the same level of acting as Hye Sun, there, I said it. Music was good I guess, plot was stupid but life based so I can only dislike it for what it is, acting was overall okay. Am I ever rewatching this? Oh, God no!

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It's Okay Not to be Okay <3

I honestly loved this drama from the get go to the end. It's not often that dramas will show everything, the good and the bad and still make you understand that the bad moments or bad circunstances also bring growth! Every episode taught a lesson with a very heart aching touch in such a tender way that was very healing. I had written many words for this review, I wrote in depth about every character and I could just press down send to all of that, but I really think that the sensibility behind the drama deserves not for me to tell everybody in full disclosure, it needs to be seen regardless and with no heads up, so watch it! It's more than worth it!

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Unfortunately this plot could have been really good if not by the lack of consistency and overall coherence. I do think the main ideia could become a good drama but the decision making behind this show is beyond clueless.
We had thousands of misplaced propaganda, hundreds of plot choices that made no sense, cliches and ideas that were randomly placed in the storyline with no justifiable reason, soundtrack was bad, multiple genres not well integrated and I could go on for many lines.
I also struggled with the chemistry between the main couple, well... There was none. And although Lee Min Ho came a long way in his acting skills, to me his best drama acting wise so far, the project was yet too demanding for his capabilities in my opinion. I’m sorry, he’s still handsome though.
I wish I could point out everything wrong plot wise and direction wise in this drama, but I’ll leave it at that as a warning for future viewers. It’s somewhat watchable still if you have the patience to endure and pretend thinks that make no sense can be overlooked.

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It could’ve been much much better

I took some time today to reflect on my feelings towards Record of Youth. Often times I’ll finish a drama and have it all figured out and my opinions will be easily formed. With ROY however I felt like the aspects I disliked the most weren’t necessarily a bad writing choice and this is what I’ll say: the plot is not for everybody, the story is not exactly likable as a whole and it’ll be challenging to watch by the end, but it is realistic.
We have very interesting complex characters since episode one, unfortunately I felt like the plot focused a lot in conflicts and problems of the main (male) characters when it could’ve easily developed the amazing cast acting skills and their roles. It was specially disappointing to see how little we had from Park So Dam’s character when her part had so much to offer, in this case the writer is to blame.
Many situations could’ve been solved quickly and were dragged for an unnecessary amount of time, such a valuable time that could’ve made this reach a better overall result.
I won’t drag this review much longer. As pros we have many interesting subjects approached in the drama, a steady first half, an amazing cast, all love goes to Park Bo Gum as Sa Hye Jun and his grandpa, all love really. As a con we get many choices from characters that will feel awful, unnecessary and even annoying (which can be seen as a realistic point from the plot in a different perspective), we get much less character development than we needed and the final half of the drama is not the best.
Where you go from here is up to you.

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Things are momentary by nature, and that's not necessarily a bad thing

Wow, what a journey! I've been missing this style of drama lately so I found it very refreshing to watch this story unfold. I know a lot of people were a bit disappointed by how things ended but personally I don't think that the ending affected the overall quality of plot that Twenty-five twenty-one gave us on its 16 episodes. It's not often that we come across storylines that let female characters grow so much, I really really love how the women of the show are so well written. They have goals, they have flaws, they have their own personality and most of all, they find their own ways. I'll extend this to the whole plot, I really appreciate how the story let us see more and more from the characters, the level of acting of the cast involved shone through beautifully. We have so many emotions explored in the story, vulnerability was a hit on this one. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys slice of life style to give 25-21 a go. I won't say anything that is a major spoiler, I'll only say this, while many moments in life feel infinite, while we fall in love greatly or face tragedies that feel like they may never end, nothing lasts forever. I think for me the major theme here is that things come and go, that doesn't make anything less happy or less sad, it means we get to keep on living and we get to choose to write our own stories. To fight for the things we want, to enjoy the things we enjoy, to choose... Or to accept the things we can't do anything about, or to go different ways... I don't know. We keep on living. And as we go, we create more moments that are the happiest and the show goes on and on until it doesn't, because we are also temporary beings. I really loved this story, the one thing that lowers the grade for me was that I wish they showed a bit more of present Hee Do, the things she loves now, her actual life now, the things she got to live after her diary times ended. I think that would've made a full circle, so to help us see how wholesome her life now is just as once it was. But really, give it a try, even if you don't enjoy the final moments, I believe the other episodes are worth the view.

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