Twenty Five Twenty One (2022)

"Twenty Five Twenty One" best kdrama for first quarter of 2022

So far, i really admit that this drama is so so good. I realized that everytime i finished watching an episode, i'll say "this is the best episode so far" then after watching the next episode, i'll say that line again haha i mean this series is getting better and better. Every episode you can choose your fave scene, so many scenes that were really made my heart flutters. You will surely laugh, smile, cry and fall in love with this drama. The two leads' chemistry is too strong and no one expected that at first but damn even very small little details they did made me smile and scream.

Toptier directing, excellent acting, refreshing unique storyline, well written, beautiful OST, best cinematography

Lire davantage

BEST OF THE BEST

first of all CONGRATULATIONS FOR THIS MASTERPIECE!!! writer and director and the team SUCESS TO DELIVER EVERYTHING! honestly when i watched the 1st episode i thought it’s gonna be boring but after 3rd episode it become more addictive lols

today is the last episode and i didn’t hope much for the happy ending, it’s just beautiful looking for their love story, i think hee do and yijin not a soulmate but they are twin soul. also for their friendship and family matter it’s so real, not too much just ENOUGH! no more words can describe how beautiful this drama definitely BEST OF THE BEST!

this is my fave drama after reply 1988. i hope more drama like this in the future!! thank you so much for this beautiful 16 episode..

Lire davantage

A masterfully done coming-of-age story

I would like focus this review on addressing common complaints about the show.

1. Main love story and ending. Countless posts and reels/shorts list this show as an example of sad ending. That is understandable since it is rare for main characters to fall out of love and end their relationship. However, it is not so rare in real life, and people do overcome breakups and can still be happy in life. And due to the nature of this show, we knew that they do not end up together right from the beginning. This is a coming-of-age story rather than a classic romance, it is about young people achieving their goals and dreams, which they definitely did.

2. Characters of Yu-rim and Hee-do's mother. Since the show doesn't have antogonists/villains, these characters are sometimes seen as antogonists for different reasons. Yu-rim did say some hurtful things often time unnecessarily and unprovoked. She is immature, prideful and insecure in first half, but she is also a teenager. Many of those things can be explained by her situation and she was just too stubborn and prideful to acknowledge Hee-do, which is also realistic. On the other hand, mom is sometimes portrayed as a bad parent, especially in comparison to Yu-rim's parents. But we have to remember that most of the story is Hee-do's POV through her diary, a classic case of a biased narrator. As a single mother in SK of 90s she did an exceptional job of raising Hee-do (money, comfort and ability to pursue her dreams). And many of their fights were due to lack of communication, stubbornness and avoidance, not because she was a bad mother. Both Yu-rim and Hee-Do's mother are complex characters that do have their flaws, but they are also sometimes misunderstood by viewers.

From friendship dynamics to personal growth this show masterfully captures both youthful optimism and harsh reality of adulthood. Like the lyrics of the song "I thought it would last forever, twenty five twenty one", but here it is filled with nostalgia and warm memories.

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Not your typical high school romance but more of a coming-of-age story.

It was pretty obvious on how things were gonna end considering the direction it was going but the bittersweet feeling didn't leave me. I'm glad it was a realistic ending and not something fairytale. I wish more Kdramas did this where they go beyond the highschool life and show us the truth about young love and friendships. Really loved it.

The beginning of the story especially the first 6 or so Episodes present this illusion that makes you think that everything will stay like this forever but also sprinkles a bit of hints about the unforseen future here and there. The writing of the characters are perfect in my opinion. They feel very human and realistic and not fictional and stale like most 1-dimensional Kdrama characters. And the actors did a phenomenal job with the acting. I need to check more kdramas with them in it. The happy scenes made me happy, the sad scenes made me cry and every emotion which the show wanted me to feel, made me feel it; and very few kdramas have done that because not every sad scene or happy scene makes u feel the same way if it wasn't written good.

This might have become a classic. Definitely one of the best, if not the best Romance Kdrama in the genre. In years to come I can easily see people talk about this as generational show.

Lire davantage

couldn't praise this show enough.

100% positive review coming up.

this show resonated with me so much. the characters were so likeable and I felt anger, sadness and happiness all with these characters.
the show explores many different factors, from teenage love, teenagers struggles, to world struggles and world tragedies.

i love how the characters are so well written that i couldn't help but feel what they was feeling at the time, and the acting from the cast were impeccable.

na heedo and beak yijin. lets get into it,

1. na heedo, were introduced as this ambitions, independent and headstrong late-teens girl. heedos character is defo not one of the smartest people out there, but this created many laughable moments within the show. we get to grow with her, and see her teenage problems adapt into adult problems. I enjoyed getting to see her character mature but not lose her personality.
2. beak yijin, were introduced to this humble, mature and hard working character that has a really sad backstory, who's trying to rebuild his life. yijins character is nothing but loveable and we get to watch how he grows himself and his career, although he faces a lot of different issues ( one being heedo lol ) we still get to watch him become more financially stable.

the acting from the whole cast was commendable and the story was also amazing, id do anything to be able to watch this for the first time again.

the side characters
1. the side characters as a whole create a perfect balance of enjoyable and not so enjoyable moments. they create many happy, sad and even angry moments. I think ko yurims character development was really good, and the development of her and heedos relationship was really special.

overall... ( mega spoilers )
the story line of this kdrama was quite different, by making the two leads not end up together in the end. although I did shed a good few tears, I think there decision to not have them end together was amazing, it made the show different and memorable. I liked how this show explores a relationship that was just not meant to be. in my opinion, the idea of these two people sharing something so special that can't be categorised into any specific type of relationship is more beautiful than any romantic relationship out there.
this show demonstrated all different types of love, from friendship, relationships, siblings and the special bond between heedo and yijin. I liked the realness of this show, everything down from the relationship goods and bads to the affects of 911, the show really demonstrated all them issues really well. and
overall
if I could give this show a 100/100 I would

OMG the ost was also so good, a lot of the ost songs are still in my Spotify playlist.

Lire davantage

This will be a masterpiece drama, but...

It's a good drama actually but so many plot holes. It's not that i didn't like the ending because BaekDo didn't end up together, i knew it from the start that they won't end up together but the way the writer titled this drama as Twenty Five Twenty One but only gave us (+/-) 2 eps of those age, it's just weird for me. I thought that age will be a peak moment. And also i think the old Na Heedo didn't really take important roles for this drama, if they reveal the Minchae's father maybe the old Na Heedo roles is more understandable but they didn't even reveal it..

And also what happened to Yijin after 2009? What happened about all the rest main characters? I mean eventho Na Heedo might not always being together with them, at least they should give us a glimpse about them after 2009. If there's the old Heedo at least give us the old Yijin...

I feel like the plot was so rushed at the latest eps. But after all it's actually a good drama, if the writer make it more good than this, probably i'm gonna say one of the best drama i've ever watched. Is this recommended? I can say yes, maybe? Honestly i love the plot in the early eps and i love the chemistry of all the main characters especially the squad.

Lire davantage

Plot could have been better but the rest is ace!

Despite the disappointing non-disclosure in the plot and questionable change of the main leads' characters/personalities in about the last two episodes through the conflicts that arised, I genuinely enjoyed this kdrama a lot. Some may have strong opinions on the ending, and even though yes it mostly made the present scenes useless, the story really was about the youth and the relationship development with Heedo and Yijin as they grow up, so personally it didn’t ruin the show that much for me. I really can't hate it because of the deep connection I felt with the characters as I was watching, I really felt like I was growing up with them. I'm not a very emotional person, but this drama brought a lot of this out of me. Whether it was the nostalgia, relating to certain moments, or anything of that sort, the show will remain close to my heart. I'd actually like to consider it one of my top favorite kdramas- alongside Reply 1988 which made me very emotional too so I guess yall see the pattern of what I like lol. Other than the plot, everything else was really a work of art. The actors/casting were AMAZING, I loved them all so much and you could tell they formed a nice strong bond together which made the chemistry that much better. The cinematography and flashbacks in time added a lot into that nostalgic mood that I love and the sceneries are beautiful. Lastly, HUGE PRAISE TO THE SOUNDTRACKS!! I LOVEDDD all the soundtracks so so much, I really have no words for them. (Faves were Wonstein's, Bibi's, and Dk's of Seventeen osts.) I find myself forgetting a lot of soundtracks from kdramas or at least not focusing enough on them, but 25 21 allowed me to multitask in that while genuinely enjoying the songs and making them unforgettable. In regards, to rewatching value, I will admit if we actually had a better disclosure then the rating would have been way higher. In conclusion, the plot could have really been fixed but everything else being incredible owns up to those mistakes for me and I truly enjoyed it. If you're still reading, thank you so much for your time. <3 (ps. Plz be kind to me this is my first actual review here :') )

Lire davantage

5 stars if not for it's horrible turn

I would have given this drama 5 stars or even more if that was possible... if only it didn't change up like that in the last few episodes. The amount of plot holes in this drama is atrocious. Who is Min chae's dad if it was being built up and teased so much? Why did Na Hee Do forget about the beach scene? What about when when Her mom said she recently saw Baek Yijin? These are only a few unanswered questions. If they weren'tto be answered then adding it into the drama was completely unnecessary. The ending felt rushed and as if the writers let go of everything that was built up in the beginning. Baek Yijin and Hee do saying those things in the end like "we never supported eachother properly" that was in fact rubbish. People change but never that much, i felt like their entire individual personalitys changed and without explanation.

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About the ending!!

Am i completely satisfied/happy with the ending? No, absolutely not.
Was the ending justifiable? A 100% yes!!

I am very much mad and angry at others for not understanding what the story is about and how realistically it ended(though very much heartbreaking).
I seriously don't know why people commenting that the ending was rushed and bad, only because it was sad, even though the climax of 'what would happen to their relationship' was revealed earlier in the first episodes and you people choose to ignore it. Stop the hate just because the story/ending was not what you fantasized it to be.

Lire davantage

reality

i thought it is a healing drama that is why i watched it despite me having a hard time in real life. with the last 2 episodes, its very nerve wrecking. i am one of those people who loves unusual ending and if i was in the best position when i watched it, i might love it the first time i watch it. i grew to love the ending after some thought. its chracters and story line is very realistic so i cant blame the write. it even stick with the title 2521, their love at that time. i love it. super rewarchable. super relatable. i actually see myself to na hee do. very determined, stubborn to dreams, honest, transparent, always journal, looks extrovert but deep inside very introvert. i love it as the characters are very harmonious and so perfect *chef's kiss* nam joo hyuk and kim taeri's acting? wow speechless solid

Lire davantage

Great ending and the only ending it should have.

I absolutely love this show. I know some people don't like shows that have "sad ending" in my opinion, if this had a happy ending it would have been so forced and weird. Considering how their relationship started to fall apart by the end of the show.

The ML really was focusing on his career and in the beginning of the show he also had a clear goal in mind; was to help bring his family together. So the relationship, though was sweet, it was never gonna last
She didn't want to have someone who was rarely there and who couldn't be real with his feelings plus, considering she already went through the same thing with her mom, who was barely there for her.
Her mom always put work before anyone that includes her own daughter. I don't think the news channel ever even found that that one of the most famous fencer in Korea was the news caster's daughter. Pretty wild lol her mom was something else lol
The show is so well written though. All characters are amazing and super likeable. You get to know and love everyone

The FL here is super likeable, funny and caring and good ML as well.
He can actually act when the materials required him to.

The SFL is also good. Though, I didn't like her at first but as her story progressed , I learned more about her and her struggles and she ended becoming very likeable after she solved her issues with the FL and she got a happy ending. So, for people looking for a good or cliché relationship. There you go. I loved that she kept losing to the FL 😂😂

I would definitely revisiting this show again in the future. I saw some people skipping last two episodes don't do that. You won't get the full story if you do.
It's not a sad ending, it is the perfect ending.
10/10

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