Twenty Five Twenty One (2022)

A really beautiful message

This drama speaks about youth and trying to treasure the memory of it. It overall tries to send the message of living it at the fullest, because is something that won't last forever.

The story was really interesting and the evolution of the characters and the relationships between them were nice to watch. The characters are fun and fascinating, I loved them a lot. I also have to add that the supporting characters were amazing too, they weren't there because they had to do something with the main characters, but because they had their own stories too, which is something that in a lot of cases doesn't happen, so it was nice knowing about their personalities and ambitions. They also showed some short scenes that made us see how they were advancing in life, short enough to not get tired of it and long enough to receive all the information they wanted to give us.

There are a lot of little romantic details, such as a hug, touching one's head with the other one's and so on. It was so cute. Can I mention the other couple? I'm not gonna say which it is but I love them.

As I said they try to teach us a lot of things regarding to life and youth, and they have really inspiring and strong quotes such as this: "They tried to break us without knowing how to fold".

The OST's were really good, specially the "Starlight" and "Your Existence".

Lastly, the ending... was really realistic, but I didn't like it. I mean that it was meant to happen like that and that it made sense, but even though I know that, I would have prefered it to finish in another way. However, it was okay.

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An important phase of life portrayed beautifully

So, I kept away seeing this series thinking it might be overhyped and because reviews kind of told this drama is traumatic. But I am glad, I decided to watch the trailer and give it a chance. And all it took was the trailer to convince me watch 2125.
And if you are reading this review with a dilemma to watch this series or not, trust me, and watch the series right away. (And come back later to this review so that you feel connected.)

I felt a lot of emotions while watching this series, be it inspiration, the will to work hard, motivation, happiness, pain and love.
There's nothing I can point out as a flaw in this drama. The story, the way it is told through this series, the actors and the acting, the ost, the emotions it conveyed, I couldn't ask anything better than this.
So what I liked about this series :
~ Both the main characters, Na Hee Do and Back Yi Jin
Tbh, Hee Do inspired me to live life and work hard no matter what, the sparkle in her eyes conveyed hw she dared to hope (the way she tells in the last episode .
I could relate to both the characters personally and feel every emotion the went through.
Yi Jin, I couldn't take my eyes off his eyes, his eyes conveyed a million emotions. The way he gracefully accepted his hardship and navigated through adulthood, the way he tried to manage both his personal and professional life, the way he could see the happier things of life (through Hee Do), as a teenager I hope I will be a little of him in this aspect.
~ the friendship and fencing
The other main characters, Ko Yu Rim, Moon Ji Woong, Ji Sweung Wan, the way rivalry turned into friendship and and how a girl and a boy can be just friends and how strong and supporting love can be (in case of Yu Rim and Ji Woong )
~The realistic portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship
~ the mature take on love ( You Jin and Hee Do)

I learnt so much watching this series and got to see a different dimension of youth and 2125 taught me to see my life in a brighter shade. I looked forward to see each episode, 2125 made me reflect on my own self. And about the ending, I personally believe that all love stories don't get a happy ending. So I believe the ending was realised ad just perfect.
My favourite dialogues were :
" I don't regret meeting you or loving you. Wanting to falter and letting myself falter is my mistake. A mistake that is clearly not minor."
"Life is long and fireworks are short."
" I don't think not living your dream means you have failed at life. And I don't think living your dream means you have succeeded either."
"It isn't a rainbow, it's love."
"My result was amazing and the process was beautiful."
My favourite ost is Very slowly and Go! (I am hooked on them).
I will definitely re-watch 2125 because I went through a lot of emotions while watching and I will definitely love to go through these emotions again.

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The one that got away...

Not every lovestory make it to the end, but that doesn't mean what you had in between was not good enough.

This series is a rollercoaster of emotions. You will love it , you will crave for it and you will be disappointed with it too at places . Unlike the happy endings in kdrama world , this series truly shows how sometimes just life doesn't work out the way you had hoped and it's alright!

The execution of the story is super fun. Actors have done there job perfectly. Yes, I wish I could rewrite the ending , but that's the truth in life.. not everything is meant to be..

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Amazing Writing and Amazing Cast

As soon as I finished episode 1, I knew this drama was going to be amazing. The writing is touching and mature and the cinematography is stunning. I know Kim Taeri is talented and yet she still surprised me. Nam Joohyuk did too and I could tell how he has grown as an actor. This role was perfect for him and the chemistry with Taeri was amazing. This whole drama captured the softness and hardness of coming of age. One of my favorite things is that neither romantic love or friendship got privatized and they were equally important; This idea resonates a lot with who am I as a person. For the bad things, the only thing I have to point out is the last 3 to 4 episodes. This is subjective because I am a big fan of slow burn stories and usually when the characters get together I get less invested. However, I am of angst and I love how they wrote the fall out of Heedo and Yijin. Even thought I'm not the biggest fan of the ending, this still was an amazing and beautiful drama/

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Fun adventure

This is a great coming of age story about a female fencing student who aims for Olympic glory while navigating peer pressure amidst the backdrop of a society dealing with financial and political upheaval. This well written and acted TV show was cruising for gold, but blew the dismount in spectacular fashion. Still, for Kdrama fans, this is must-see TV. To paraphrase TS Eliot, sometimes it's the journey, not the destination, that matters most.

Spoiler alert

Problems. The main characters, fencer Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin (rich boy/poor boy/ then rich boy again) have great chemistry and their characters are well-developed. But both turned dull and listless when the story line moved to the 9/11 terrorist attack and beyond. Further, the concluding story arcs of the delightful secondary characters were trite to the point of embarrassment. For instance, in the last few minutes of the show we learn that Yin jin's brother becomes his chauffeur. Really? What's worse, it's implied that assertive female class president Ji Seung-wan might hit on him? What's that about? The show just rushed the ending, diminishing its characters.

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Imperfect Romances; Single Pringles Beware

So many people are disappointed with the ending... I can't say that I'm not either but it was meant to happen from the beginning.

TLDR: Very well written plot. The ending was justified. The characters were fleshed out and the acting was amazing. If you're looking for romance, it depends on what flavor you're looking for. This one is sweet, then sour, then sweet, then bittersweet. It's refreshing but probably will hurt those looking to live vicariously through the MCs. Probably NOT FOR SINGLE PRINGLES looking for a fairytale romance.

Formula: Reply series + sports anime feel + the tears of everyone who watched this
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Twenty-five twenty-one is written in a similar manner to the Reply series with someone from present day, looking back at the past but darker and heavier because it talks about the effects of the IMF crisis. It is nostalgic, comical, and very real.

It is a coming of age story aimed at a certain demographic because it doesn't just talk about the shallower aspects of growing up but also brings in larger crises that ended up affecting people's choices. Especially in these times, many people will relate to the MCs: young adults struggling to get their foot in society but keep getting bogged down by circumstances that are out of their control. Twenty-five twenty-one draws parallels between the IMF crisis and the pandemic in a way that is very poignant.

The main message was one of hope; that at the end of the tunnel, there is light. Both MCs (as well as the rest of the cast) were faced with obstacles that kept them from living how they want and from being happy. None of these obstacles were their fault and out of their control which makes them feel helpless. Regardless, our characters are able to find solace and comfort in one another and hope in their darkest time.

Caution, contents contain:
- crack-head energy
- friendship
- sport anime arc for FL and 2nd FL
- two people who fell in love, and grew apart despite still loving each other

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Interesting story but bad ending

The drama is very enjoyable, but when in episode 16 everything is very messy, the consistency of the character that was built from episodes 1 to 15 is broken. I suggest if you want to watch this drama, stop at episode 15.

I personally still don't like the character of Na Hee Do's mother, even though that have been told the reason for her mother's behavior like that. But I never saw her mother regret all the things she did to Hee Do. All that her mother asks is always Hee Do to understand her position. Very selfish in my opinion.

Actually i really love Hee Do character when she was eighteen. Very bright and optimist. I know became adult is hard, but actually it doesn't change people so much like Hee Do, maybe it does change, but it doesn't show the change as clearly as Hee Do. Adult Hee Do it's really dark and like have no soul in her body. I don't know, I'm just like, after she got adult, she never been happy again in her life.

People always say this drama is very realistic, but actually I didn't find that in this drama. The adults I know, they can act like they forgot the past and move on with their lives. while Hee Do is like an adult who is still stuck at the age of twenty-one. And it feels like the younger Hee Do is dead from it.

I just hope that Na Hee Do grows up to be brighter than that, because that's what life is for. People come and go. That way we can take lessons in life that not everything we want will go according to plan. And we know that we must always be ready to overcome it all.

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really nice storyline, except for the ending

I actually loved it, the storyline was so friendly and everything was so soft and funny too, though it made me cry a lot when they had to be separated because of Yijin's work 🥲 and I think that moment was kinda disappointing cause I thought they were going to make it work, especially when they both went throught a lot while figuring out their feelings for each other. I feel like it was my least favorite part of the drama, not because I wanted them to end as a couple, but because they really deserved better than that after all. 😞

On the other hand, I really loved the friendship they all had, my favorite one was Heedo's and Yurim's, it was soooo unexpected the way they became friends, and it was super genuine, you can see that when Heedo is one of the first people and almost the only one who supports Yurim unconditionally when she has to leave the country, I guess is there when you realize that even after all the fights they had at the beggining, they forgived each other and became the bestest friends. 💗

Anyway, I guess it was one of my favorites k-dramas, except for the ending 🥲 I didn't like the way it was developed, it could have been better, but skipping that part, it was a really beautiful and emotional storyline.

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EVERYTHING WAS GREAT UNTIL THE FINALE HAPPENED

I was really ready to give this series a rating of perfect 10 because it gave me that fuzzy REPLY 1988 feels, but then the finale happened. I know not all real-life stories have happy endings, and I wasn’t expecting one, tbh. I am disappointed with the execution. And the fact that many loose ends were left dangling. The biggest one of which is the identity of the father of HEEDO’s daughter. The viewers were expecting a twist or a big reveal in the finale – but that didn’t happen. You get the feeling of having been taken for a ride – because ALL the previous episodes were really, really good and were like teasing us to guess who the father is. It’s like they’ve made you invest in the characters and their stories, but shortchanged you in the end.

The cause of the breakup of the main couple was also not well established. So, male lead went to the US to cover victims of the Twin Towers attack. What was not made clear was why he decided to accept the job as a correspondent – and therefore live in the USA – without consulting or at least telling the female lead about it (she had to learn this from other people). And in their breakup scene, HE accused HER of thinking on her own! Really doesn’t make sense at all. Made me want to bonk him on the head. Big minus points for his character.

We were given updates on the other major characters – but up to 2009 only. What happened to them in the present – during the pandemic where the series took off? Would’ve been nice to know.

OVERALL

Despite that disappointing finale though, this is still an impressive series – great mixture of drama and comedy, one that we can easily relate to. The lines are good, very well written. It’s still a delightful experience, all in all. It leaves a special warmth in your heart; the way RELY 1988 did.

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Never thought another show would affect me so deeply

I've watched many dramas over my five years of getting into the K-drama, but only two have greatly affected me: Goblin and twenty-five twenty-one. From the beginning, I was hooked. The wide array of emotions I experienced was like no other. I felt like I was a part of the journey they were on as characters. I celebrated with them when they achieved their goal, I cried when they cried, I got angry when they were wronged, and I felt the love yi jin and hee do had for each other. This is why this show was just excellent because I was fully invested in every moment of the episodes. Additionally, I cannot forget to rave about the soundtrack because my god, was the music phenomenal. After the last episode aired, I felt empty and lost because I no longer had 2521 to look forward to. Nam joo hyuk really outdid himself in this role. He fully embodied the character, Baek yi jin. Kim tae ri is one of the best female actresses ever. In each performance she tackles, she does exemplary. The rest of the cast did excellent jobs as well and I don't think any other actor or actress would have been able to make the characters as successful as they were. My 2521, you have left an impressionable scar on my heart that can never be replaced by any other show. I'm always proud to say that I got to experience phenomenal dramas such as Goblin and 2521. I recommend everyone to watch 2521!!!!
P.S. I don't claim episodes 15 and 16 because of what happened. Like really writer-nim!!???

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