Twenty Five Twenty One (2022)

Twenty Five Twenty One is my first true experience in the realm of K-Dramas and I could not have asked for a better start. This show has delivered in many more aspects than I could have ever dreamed. The simpleness of the story, but the rawness of the actors brings together a spectacular slice of life series.

At first I did not like the main lead Na Hee-Do as I felt she was a bit too over the top, but as time went on slowly but surely I started to relate with her and see my own self in her character. Her experience with being an individual with great potential but not acting on it slowly turned into just another talented person that could have been something special. She never backed down from anyone and always stood her ground believing in what she thought was correct so no matter if you like her or not, you would always respect Na Hee-Do.

The maturity shown in this series was refreshing. Even though most of the cast was teenage to twenty years old, they really behaved in such a sophisticated manner. Never taking anything personally no matter how harsh they must have felt it to be, they always thought that there must have been a reason behind it. This speaks volumes to real life in the sense that if you love someone but do not agree with their decisions do you really love that person whole? People do things in life that will benefit them as we are all selfish beings, so why is it that we are always so surprised when it happens directly to us? We think we are special and therefore we should not be betrayed to an extent, but in the other person's brain, it is not betrayal, it is simply making the best decision for themselves.

A compact 16 episodes really tells this story in full. I do not feel like it dragged, or even went on longer than it should have. It was enough… just like friendship and relationships are. Though it might not be as long as you might have hoped, without that person or persons, could you really say you would be the person you are today? So in that sense, was it not worth it?

I feel as though Na Hee-Do’s mothers character is one that can garner some intense views, but personally as harsh as she was I do agree with her. I believe Na Hee-Do would not be the champion she became without the strong womanly presence her mother brought to her. Tough love is not always agreed upon, but it is how I was raised and I thank my mother as well for that. It brings true strength. This one line from her mother encapsulates her character in a whole “ It is not my job to congratulate you, it is to make you worthy of congratulations``. She loves her daughter as most mothers do, but feels that praising her daughter will make her be content with her standing so she does the opposite and never praises her. Forever leaving Na Hee-Do to be in a constant state of trying to win her mothers approval while at the same time bettering herself in the process.

This show is a constant tearjerker especially during the controversial final between the two main women. Seeing Na Hee-Do get comforted in the restaurant by those old men telling her that she truly did win was a fantastic portrayal of grief being overcome. Till then, no one has really congratulated her, not even her mother. Seeing the love she received in the most unlikely of places was beautiful. If that was not enough, we also see that the main male got in contact with the referee and convinced him to get a piece of his opinion on the action. This show is perfect as showing all sides, it brings up a problem and tackles it in such unique ways from all different angles. The relationship between pretty boy and Ko Yu-Rim is also moving extremely slowly but perfectly in the context of the story. Also one of the aspects I love about K-Dramas is how they portray love in such an innocent way. It all starts as friends first and slowly moves further and further as we see both characters are in love but too shy to express it in their own ways.

One of my favorite scenes in this drama is when Ko Yu-Rim is singing and later jumps into the pool. Na Hee-Do is there to watch all this and as much as she might believe she hates Ko Yu-Rim, you could see the worrisome nature in her face seeing the jump. She was genuinely fearful because as much as she might see her as a rival, she still respects her as an individual and a person. The music, the tense but relaxing atmosphere, the sight of Ko Yu-Rim being in her feelings and showing emotion made this scene absolutely unforgettable to me. Both these women are broken, yet found the solitude in fencing. As much as they compete, they do not yet know they are the exact same person. Twins born of different parents even. The next scene is the two women messaging on the chat board yet unknowing that they are speaking to each other. Truly a prophetic moment, two girls with everything in their hands and the world at their fingertips, yet at the end of each day, all they can do is go and message the one person that has been there throughout everything. The one person that they have not even seen in person yet trusts them with all their hard difficulties.

I also love the scene where Na Hee-Do hears two women in the washroom gossiping about Ko Yu-Rim and her family situation. It is at that moment where she takes charge and goes into the stall and attempts to beat up the two girls in protection of Ko Yu-Rim. This is one of the true moments we see Ko Yu-Rim and Na Hee-Do work together and it felt absolutely fantastic to see. Ko Yu-Rim had always disliked Na Hee-Do but after learning that she was the one Ko Yu-Rim was talking to, she does a complete 180 and realizes all of her past mistakes which takes a truly grown person to do. The actress that plays Ko Yu-Rim has great facial emotions. Whenever she is in a sad scene, it really makes the viewer feel exactly what it is that she is feeling. You just can't help but want to give her a hug and tell her everything will be alright.

Seeing the two embrace each other after Ko Yu-Rim confesses she is the online friend is so heartwarming. I just could not help but smile the entire time through. The two girls finally found their platonic soulmate and it is beautiful to see. All that hatred and all that anger at one another just vanishes and it turns to embrace and lovingness.

The second last episode was absolutely heart wrenching especially towards the end. Seeing the differing situations between Yi-Jin and Hee-Do was just setting this show up for a sad finale. Growing up is an occurrence that no one can ever help. You can not ever beat time. We should have known that this would eventually happen to the couple that fell in love so young, but we just never learn as humans. Relationships between humans are the most difficult thing to work out because of them having two fully functioning people. Two smart and in different mind stated individuals.

No one was simply to blame in this couple's ending, if anything it was simply the cards they were dealt. Having to be apart so early in the relationship, and on top of the already difficult long distance was the added agony of both and especially Yi-Jin’s day to day life. He wanted to succeed and in doing so he took all opportunities, but the cost was the life he imagined with Hee-Do. We see when they break up first, that Hee-Do does not even seem like the same person. She is so cold on the outside and has just fully checked out from an emotional standpoint. She thought of all different routes this relationship could go and came to the conclusion that it was a lost cause and there was no way to pick up the already broken pieces.

It gets to a point in some relationships where even if you are one of the people within, you look as a bystander. Some relationships are just not meant to last, and it gets to the point of simply watching either yourself or your partner lose the attachment once felt.

All in all, this show was a great entry and had magnificent points throughout its 16 episode run time. I do believe that it had a bit of a fall off later in the series, but the last 2 episodes were done greatly. Some questions such as how Yi-Jin and Yu-Rim know each other from their childhood, I feel could have been incorporated into the story a lot better. I definitely would not say this show has failed potential as it had a great ending and accomplished what it set out to, but I was not satisfied quite fully after the show ended.

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EMOTIONAL FOR SURE!

I loved every episode but the last two. I tried to watch the last two but all I could do is cry. I mean big girl tears. I had to get that out of way.

Watching almost every single episode, I was impressed with what love looked like from the beginning to the end of it. Every emotion in my body came through, my smiles, my laughter, my sadness, and in the end, my tears. The main leads did not die... let me start there. The two main leads Kim Tae Ri and Nam Joo Hyuk were amazing and I look forward to watching more of their acting skills in other Dramas. Not all love stories have a happy ending and I wished this story for the two characters did. I loved fencing, I am a fan of sword dancing, and love martial arts with swords. So those visuals for me were perfect and it also reminded me of Jimin of BTS. I thank everyone to was part of this drama team. Hopefully, the writers will change the ending.

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2521....

Fist I should say this drama is super cool. Even I have watched so many dramas I didn't want to write a review cuz I watched them only for entertain my self. The reason why I forced my self to write a review for this drama is this is beyond that entertainment level. This is really a slice of life. I was curious what is the meaning of this drama name before I watched. 2521 means how they facing to there lives at the ages of Yi jin is 25 and Hee do is 21.

As everyone wants to see at the end that Hee do and Yi Jin should be with eachother, but Can they live happily? Exactly they can't. There paths not cross anymore, so they should move on. That's what they want to show with this drama. Goal of this drama as I think is "How should get correct decisions in realtime although how hard they". From this I gained ideas about friendship, love and life goals.

I want to say people who still watch this you need to have so many tissue papers with you. Cuz this is sooo emotional....

-Good things-
The way they understood each other without ruining their lives.
Friends were with each other until the end.
How they achieved their goals, specially Yi jin.

-Bad things-
The ending part, there should be Hee do's husband without only showing her daughter.

All the things I've include how I felt about this drama and not everyone feel like this. 2521 is something best for life. Every character did their best for the drama. Cheers!

If someone asked, do you rewatch this? My answer is 'Definitely' cuz I love this drama that much 💜

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Mature and real drama

It heals you, and then crushes you in pieces.

The story is real life. I saw myself in every character in different moments. I learned so much with them, I laughed and I cried so hard. What a masterpiece. There's so many thing that were really incredible in this drama: the chemistry between the main couple, the acting of Kim Tae-ri is profound, the music, and the development of each character.

The end is very difficult to watch, but it made sense for me that Hee-do and Yi-jin went in different paths, but it hurted me so much. That's why it's like real life.

"In this world there anren't many things that we can do as we want". - Hee-do, Twenty Five Twenty One

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A beautiful story, start to finish

I just finished this drama last night. I had been putting it off since I first started my foray into K dramas about a year ago after hearing of how devastating the ending was. I want to just say that the show absolutely lives up to the hype. This is one of those dramas where after the end your left both full and empty at the same time because you don’t know what you’re going to do to fill that gap in your life that the show occupied. It was a beautiful, poignant coming of age story about life, going after your dreams, falling in love for the first time, and having your heart broken. While the ending was not your typical K drama ending, it was absolutely something we were prepared for from episode one and an ending that I believe to be the most fitting and satisfying. I would say that it absolutely was still a happy ending, despite what other people have said. Besides, I don’t really believe that the romance between the two leads was the main focus of the show anyway. I don’t regret waiting as long as I did to watch the show, because I think that this is not an ending I would have appreciated as much 8-12 months ago as much as I do now. With all of that said, I absolutely recommend giving the show a try to anyone who is on the fence. I was hooked from start to finish!

P.S. One of the most impressive aspects of this series, however, is its remarkable OST. This show probably has the best OST of any that I have ever seen

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Its just not a drama its everything means everything..(Little bit spoilers, WORTH WATCHING)

This is the most beautiful, meaningful & one of my most favourite kdrama.
This drama is all about love, friendship, support, goal, ups and down, everything.. The storyline, dialogues, casting, acting, ost, background music, cinematography everything's top notch.
This love story is about having right person but wrong timing and the relationship that will last forever even not didn't end up together.
It's not about having good times together as well as facing hard time together.
At the end all remains are the memories but that memories u didn't want to be fade out.

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drama (finalmente) quasi perfetto

attori da 10 e lode, bravissimi tutti, con i due protagonisti principali in stato di grazia, veramente magnifici.
Storia scritta bene, con molti dialoghi che rispecchiano il desiderio, le sconfitte, la ricerca di felicità piena nell'amore e nell'amicizia, che tutti noi (credo) abbiamo vissuto nell'adolescenza e nella prima giovinezza e che sono il perno della vita adulta e senile.
La fotografia e le musiche sono bellissime.
Le attese del cuore, del compimento della propria vita, che attraversano tutte le circostanze dalle più dure alle più noiose della crescita, sono raccontate con una fortissima sottolineatura che è l'INCONTRO CON ALTRO DA SE' che dà compimento e sviluppa la nostra vita di oggi. Comunque vadano a finire le storie, quell'Incontro segna e sostiene la realizzazione e il compimento del proprio io, e quindi, tutto va riconosciuto, di tutto bisogna esser grati.
Fino a che si riconosce che tutto ci appartiene perché le cose più importanti (la coscienza di sé, del proprio valore, l'Amore, l'Amicizia, la Famiglia, la capacità di attraversare tutti i tunnel che la realtà pone) ci è dato gratuitamente da ALTRO da noi, gli sforzi e la crescita che ne conseguono sono allora pacificati.
Il primo episodio non mi aveva convinto molto ... l'attrice principale era raccontata un po' troppo sopra le righe ... ma poi la scrittura e la bellezza di recitazione e sceneggiatura, mi hanno catturata e portata fino alla fine.

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Be prepared for a emotional rollercoaster ride through a very realistic and logical plot!

Just completed the drama today and am currently feeling so empty after watching such a "emotional rollercoaster ride-like drama"... Honestly I won't say the ending is bad or what, I'd say it's a rather down to earth and realistic ending given the time period it was set in for the story.

A lot of viewers kept spreading unfounded rumors that Baek Yi Jin "committed suicide" due to growing depression symptoms but please watch closely in the scenes... He is not dead because if he did, it would have been a big news and Na Hee Do's daughter who read the diary would have known as well when she searched him up on the internet. In fact, it was implied in one scene when Hee Do encourage him to receive therapy when he's in the US showing that Baek Yi Jin wasn't aware he was showing depression symptoms... The moment he realized his mental issues and finally knowing why they should break up is when he cried and told Hee Do shall not put each other through suffering anymore. The current Baek Yi Jin is more like someone who is living in the memories of the diary.

I think it's a very true reflection of our lives and the society. I cried a lot when Yu Rim and Hee Do prepared a cake for the two friends who quitted school on the same day telling them it's a fresh start to their new live instead of what our society always telling young people like them that there is no future once they gave up what they have to been doing.

Highly recommended to watch and I really love all the casts' chemistry and the completeness of this story!

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It gives us a sentimental values above all...

1. GENRE — it's kinda slice of life drama which balances romance, sports, comedy and i bet tragedy. 🥲 it's a show that gives off warm feeling and where you can literally relate with every character bcos they represent all the natural encounters that youth experiences once in their life.

2. PLOT — set on the year 1998, this drama gives off historical and retro vibes which would definitely brings you nostalgia and an exact amount of refreshing energy. 2521 also revolves around the beautiful friendship between five youth, how they pursue their dreams, surpassed their struggles, how they become each other's support system and how their friendship evolves into something more.

3. CINEMATOGRAPHY — this drama features aesthetic and relaxing sceneries, warm tones and very pleasing in the eyes settings! certainly an add-to-bucket-list destinations!

4. ACTORS — the actors are all brilliant in portraying their own character! high-caliber talents that would make you sooOOO invested and simped! watching this drama would make you immensely absorbed by how good the actors are in playing the unique personality of their characters. (yijin, the walking green flag. heedo, the very extra and persevering fencing prodigy. seungwan, the intelligent and quirky homeroom president. yurim, the charismatic fencing gold medalist. jiwoong, the pretty boy who does pretty things!) together, they are so chaotic yet powerful. literally a squad goals! <33

5. LINES — striking, comforting and timely exchanged of lines between characters are present!!! VERY QUOTABLE SCENARIOS AHEAD, ISTG!!! 😭

6. CHEMISTRY — pURFECT chemistry between the male and female leads, check!!!! honestly didn't expect the nam joo hyuk and kim taeri pairing but they complement each other so well, I'M IN TEARS 😭 the second leads has the same great chemistry as well! in short, perfect pairings so true!!!

7. OSTS — although 2521 is just in it's 4th episode, the first few osts featured were already so gooood. (especially starlight by taeil 🥺) it suits with every scenes shown in the drama and it would definitely make you listen to it countless times.

ISTG, THIS SHOW IS ANOTHER HEALING DRAMA IN THE MAKING. Y'ALL SHOULD WATCH THIS IF YOU NEED A NICE BREATHER FROM YOUR DEMANDING LIFE! WATCH #TwentyFiveTwentyOne

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El camino es más importante que el final, es un drama inolvidable

A muchos no les gustó porque pensaban en un final que les hiciese justicia a los protagonistas, pero te invito a disfrutar del proceso que sin duda fue más enriquecedor y hermoso que la resolución.

Na hee-do empieza desde abajo, con muchas complicaciones pero su poder es su fuerza de voluntad. Kim-Taeri se hace con este papel como si fuese la propia, su voz y gestos siempre expresan esa energía del personaje, que no se deja vencer, que busca la manera. Cada vez que se ve una escena de ella entrenando te crees que es deportista y no va a parar hasta que se haga de madrugada, o cada que ocurre un PARTIDO, dios. Que forma tan sencilla de hacer que te cautive la esgrima, y la entiendas. Esa expectativa cuando sientes que esta perdiendo porque esta desconcentrada, frustración, todo eso se plasma.

Pero ella no es la única personaje, está Baek Ijin, que si Na-Hee-do es un ejemplo de esa energía abrasadora que vence, este chico es el ejemplo de alguien al que pudieron arrebatarle vitalidad pero tampoco deja de intentarlo. Alguien al que le duele muchas cosas, que a veces cae en reflexiones profundas y se desalienta porque la vida es amarga pero vuelve a levantarse, siento que eso definiría un poco lo que es y haciendo gran esfuerzo porque es más que eso.

Los dos se complementan al máximo, como si pudieron ser grandes amigos al principio o su amor evoluciono pero no tendría porque tener nombre, porque ambos sabían que sean lo que sean igual estarían para el otro. Son apoyo.

Y los amo, aún siendo que no termina convencionalmente nadie quita los momentos que pasaron juntos. Felices, cómicos, de confusión, de es contradictorio pero igual quiero que estén de tu lado, de no estamos juntos pero estamos.

Y esto solo hablando de ellos dos, luego están Moon Jiwoon, Jin SeungWan y Go Yurim, que hablando de ellos y todas su cualidades y todo lo que aportan no acabaría o quizás no lo leerían, pero hacen que 21,25 sea LA serie. Porque a lo largo de la historia se hace énfasis en que estado se encuentra cada personaje, como piensa hasta una parte importante de su familia, como es su relación, y empatizas. No son solo un alivio cómico.

Hay arcos que te hacen lloran con ellos, un gran ejemplo... Adolescentes, pero sus convicciones son tan fuertes como para revelarse contra una figura de poder que perpetra algo que afecta al que quiere, a sus compañeros en general. Y sacrifica tanto por eso. Son cosas dichas entre líneas por las que deberías de verlo.
Igual que cada momento feliz junto lo vale, O CADA PARTIDO DE ESGRIMA, que de todos sacas una emoción que te hizo no querer despegarte de la silla, como, esta chica trabajó tanto y está dándolo todo.

Sobre los demás aspectos, tenemos que los lugares donde transcurre son los correctos, la ambientación, cabinas telefónicas más conmovedoras que celulares, y el contexto del FMI, interesante. LA MÚSICA es genial, y no es por ser comeflor, pero tiene canciones con un sonido que se te queda y quieres repetir, les agarras cariño: Starlight es un tema principal que no olvidas, que es perfecto, su coro, lo que significa, y Your my existence de Wonstein tiene ese momento de descarga en el que solo suena la instrumental que es mágico, te hace sentir mucho, como si fuese una explosión de algo y tuvieses emoción de esa parte, una canción de dorama que no es comparable. La canción de bibi también, y se hace una mención especial a esa canción "With" que trata de pura amistad, que cantan todos los actores del elenco principal y de verdad, es hermoso, real.

Encuentros, momentos felices, conflictos, partidos, pérdidas, reencuentros, estrés, dolor, realización. Somos la niña del principio leyendo el diario de su madre y no puedes esperar a que sea más genial aunque siempre quisieses que hubiesen sucedido otras cosas.

Si llegaste hasta acá, muchas gracias y espero que puedas disfrutar de esto tanto como yo y todos los que les tocó esa fibra, el camino acá es the most important y sobre todo, velo lento, aseguro que será lo mejor que puedes hacer (No olvido el nombre nahedoo y baekijin desde que los vi ayuda). <3

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what does happy ending mean to you?

So far, my favorite k-drama of the year. As an avid fan of Kim Taeri, this is another refreshing role of Kim Taeri that moved me. But before I start talking about how much I love her as Na Heedo, I will talk some other aspects of the drama first.

I found the show a bit slow and draggy at certain places but nevertheless it really kept me expecting what’s next. Overall chemistry between the casts feels pretty good. The story is well built and balanced perfectly with comedy, romance and dramatic events. I’m not history nerd so I’m not sure if the props used in the drama are accurate to details but they really won that nostalgic factor for me, another point would be incorporating big cultural events that happened back then into the drama.

Now moving onto characters, most of them are created really well, I especially enjoyed the friendship between Na Heedo and Ko Yurim as much as I enjoyed the romance between Baek Yijin and Heedo. Kim Taeri’s portrayal of Na Heedo is very youthful and energetic, which takes audiences with her to witness the struggles and happiness Na Heedo went through in very lovely way. I cried and laughed a lot in most parts. My favorite was when Heedo and Ko Yurim had a dramatic fight at the press when she won her first gold, as an audience, I want to sympathize with heedo but later learning about yurim’s struggles, i couldn’t hate her either and in fact grows to sympathize with her. That kind of balance is achieved in 2521. Nam Joohyuk’s portrayal as Yijin was also quite good. I didn’t have much opinion on him before but this drama really proved that he can do well.

And finally, the ending. I don’t understand why people call this sad ending or bad ending, I think it’s realistic and achieves what the story wants to tell; youth also ends one day. I’m aware people think they kind of broke up really fast and their romance part was rushed, however the drama clearly foreshadows how the two aren’t meant to be since the very beginning. All in all, I love the portrayal of friendship and sportsmanship here. I think I won’t look at the fencers the same way again.

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