Twenty Five Twenty One (2022)

I have love-(at some point)hate relationship with this drama

I have a few issues with this drama and yet I love it. I'm writing my review right after a rewatch, so it definitely isn't objective — treating this as a kind of love letter to the show.
First of all, the acting was amazing. It felt real with every single character and I enjoyed the performance of Kim Taeri so much, it might be my favorite aspect of the drama. Na Heedo and other characters were very well written for most of the time and I liked them all.
Second, the story was great. It didn't feel real all the time because they were pushing that "meant to meet" idea so hard, but it's fine, it's a TV show. And now I will say my very, very personal opinion — Heedo and Yijin as a couple didn't make sense. Why can't we have a male-female friendship? Do they always have to get together? I would give this show a 9 if it never happened. Yes, I did tear up during the altered break up scene but because it felt more as a summary of the whole show, not a break up. I think it's messed up they made a big deal of the "Yijin is a fencing reporter and Heedo is an fencer, what if he hurts her in the future because of this" but there was no problem with the fact she was still a teenager when they became a couple. They even admit she wasn't an adult yet in the last episode and that's just... I don't know. They made Heedo mad about his past relationships when she was like 17 and he 21. Why would she be mad if it wasn't because she was jealous? I don't get it. What I do know is that the romance was unnecessary.
Music was great and I'm not gonna lie, "Very, slowly" as the second version of the intro was the best thing in this drama after Kim Taeri's acting. I just love it so much! The rest of the OST was alright, sometimes the soundtrack bothered me a little bit, but that's nothing.
Overall, I love this drama. Yes, I hate the romance, but it didn't ruin the experience for me. This is a show about youth, passion, friendship, love (the love part wasn't that good though) and life and it was good! They did a great job. And, the fencing is the third best aspect of the drama. It was so entertaining, which I didn't expect. Also, it was visually stunning. I think I will rewatch it someday one more time.
Watch this drama! It's worth it:)

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In a class by itself

Even though i watched this drama while it was airing, i put off writing a review about it until i get over the ending. My initial reaction to the ending was a very emotionally charged response declaring it outright unacceptable. I absolutely couldn't believe it. I was invested in their story that the ending blew mind...... in a not so cool way.

But, even at that time, this one easily took a spot in my top ten kdramas. It is beautifully written and it is completely unpredictable. It managed surprise me every single time. Every week, there were countless theories on twitter and other social media but it is so unpredictable that most, if not all, got proven wrong. It was absolutely crazy. Even the ending, the writer managed to keep everyone on the edge until the last two episodes, and that is NOT some easy feat. So, kudos to the writer.

2521 might be the story of Na Heedo but the lives of the rest of the characters are also shown and its not just for some plot convenience. Their stories are also given equal importance. And all of them are so likable that you feel like rooting for all them. The cast did a wonderful job.

The only reason why i am giving it a relatively low re watch value is because I am still a bit bitter about the ending even though i have come to accept it. I watch kdramas to escape reality so realistic endings are a tad bit difficult for me to comprehend. But, on an overall, it is a must watch slice of life.

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Some Good, Some I Don't Understand

Let's do it by the numbers, starting from a baseline of 6.0.

+1 because Kim Tae Ri nailed the Na Hee Do character the energy and innocence of youth, along with the various mannerisms of a teenage athlete. I don't how she did it, but she earned some awards for this performance. She made the character a lot of fun.

+1 for the rest of tbe acting cast and characters. There are a couple of jerks in the script but no continuing arcs of bad guys. These are young, mostly likeable young people trying to make tbeir way through life. What conflict that emerges is from reasonable differences in priorities and from social circumstances.

+1 for the relationship between Na Hee Do and Baek Yi Jin, two people who were too young to be so alone like that. They helped each other through some dark times in their youth when nobody else was there for them. We all should have someone like that in our lives. The payphone scene was an effective way to express how important these two were to one another.

+1 for the relationship between Na Hee Do and Ko Yu Rim. A relationship like this between two young women just doesn't seem to happen often in the shows I have watched. This relationship has only the slightest hint of being part of a love triangle, and that hint dissappears quickly enough. The hug in Madrid and Hee Do saying "nobody else knows what we have been through" conveyed the special nature of their connection.

+0.5 for the introduction to fencing, a sport I knew nothing about. I do wish the series had done some more here. In particular I wish there had been some more slow motion shots and better camera angles, because there were a few times where I could not tell what thr heck was going on.

-1 for the framing of the story as primarily a giant flashback from 2022 to 1998-2002. The times play a key role in the relationship between Hee Do and Yi Jin, so i understand why the story would start in 1998, but I don't understand the point of the bits of dialogue that take place in 2022. It feels like the primary purpose was to give us some hints on how the story will turn out, but judging by social media, a LOT of people did not get the hint. Adding the daughter character led to a cute "breaking of the fourth wall" scene but it also led to an obvious but futile question about the daughter's connections with the main narrative. There is another question -- is Hee Do happy in the present day? -- which gets almost completely ignored, which leads to...

-1 for the story gaps. So we get heavily invested in this character Na Hee Do, and we get little hints about her present day life, and, er, that is it. Just felt weird. I don't want to go into spoilers, but there are obvious questions about Mr. Kim that went completely ignored. The bigger gap though is what happens near the end of the main narrative, where the relationship between Hee Do and Yi Jin just... breaks down? Yi Jin made a decision that in some respects is true to his character, but also seems to violate his personal prime directive of not hurting Hee Do. That conflict needed to be presented explicitly on screen, and it wasn't, and a LOT of viewers were frustrated as a result. The other gap is what happened in the later years between Yi Jin and Hee Do; while it is easy to guess, it feels odd that we have to guess given the narrative framing mentioned above.

-0.5 because my wife thought the story didn't seem to have an underlying point. There is some discussion about impermanence and youth, and there is some discussion of "the times", that the forces of history at work on our little lives. But these themes seem to waft in and out rather than driving the story.

I am neutral on the ending. Some people were offended by it, but i thought it felt natural and true to the characters. If you are the type of person who will fall in love with an attractive actor like Nam Joo Hyuk, you will be frustrated with the ending, but I thought the presentation of the character made clear how this story would turn out. As mentioned above, the writing could have been tighter with the resolution, so no positives from me.

One aspect of the series that it is unclear to me is that Hee Do's mom was a well known journalist who completely fails to acknowledge in public that this extremely successful and prominent athlete is her own daughter. This is held out as a basic tenet of professionalism, but it is foreign to me. Is this common among Korean journalists? Or is this woman weird? For that matter, is her successor as UBS news anchor also similarly pathological during an interview with a close friend?

Finally, the idea that the best fencer in the world might be 18 years old and then retired by age 29 (or earlier) puts some additional negative vibes on the ending. The series has some uplifting moments at the start and then... well, we're past our peak at 25. There is a vague sadness around the older Hee Do, that she was done writing "her story" even when she still had more Olympic gold medals ahead of her. That does not seem true to the younger Hee Do, and again I will attribute the inconsistency to the clumsy present day framing.

In summary the plot was good, not great. The characters, their relationships, and the acting carried the series. It is a good watch, but clearly not for everyone. 8.0/10.

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2521 is a poetic adaption to our daily lives

This melodrama revolves around the life of once three time gold fencing medalist of South Korea, Na Hee Do.
Hee Do, now in her mid 30s is raising a daughter who is currently at the rear edge to quit ballet. Her daughter stumbles upon her diary containing memories of Hee Do from her adolescent years. I loved how the cinematography had flashbacks parallel to the current events. It helped highlight one of the overall themes of this drama which was the importance of memories.

The female Leeds character was quiet alluring to me. Her character upheld qualities similar to myself, such as her integrity, quirkiness, and majestic attitude. She ends up meeting our male protagonist Baek Yi Jin, who just moved in town after his family went bankrupt. At that time they were both 2219. The two grew a platonic relationship that would later blossom into something more serious. Hee Do would end up being the influence that pushed Yi Jin to keep going in life and eventually earn a position as a reporter, and Yi Jin would be the person that taught Hee Do what love was, as well as what a breakup was.

The love they had for each other during the period of episodes 7-11 was very evident as they showed they deep cared for each other. Around the latter episodes however, Hee Do got open about her feelings and Yi Jin seemed pretty taken aback. From the beginning it seemed as though he wasn’t ready for the relationship. He told her he loved her but didn’t quite elaborate on what kind of love specifically. so towards the finale, the question erupted from Hee Do if he really loved her. Hee Do however, told him frankly of her feelings and that gave him the courage to open up. Their relationship from then on seemed happy. They spent time together and made lots of memories. Hee Do would go on to win one gold medal in Madrid and Yi Jin would climb the ladder from a reporter to a news anchor after receiving a position from New York.

That situation was what really tested their relationship. Whether or not they could be long distance. However, their relationship first shattered when he accepted the position without telling or considering her feelings. Then he took a cowards approach to hurrily leave. Yi Jin had a lot of personal problems and it seemed as though their love, or specifically, Hee Do’s love was not enough to sustain the relationship. They went through a series of three stages of breakup. First being denial, Hee Do already felt Yi Jin drifting apart once he was in New York however, in a way Yi Jin still held onto the relationship. The second stage, which was anger occurred when they came together told each other mean things to express how hurt they were. The third was acceptance, they knew that the paths they were to take would require them to let it each other go. They knew they were made for each other but it just didn’t seem to be their time.
The messages they left for each other towards the end really touched my heart. I couldn’t help but to shed tears. All though their romance came to an end, they recognized and highlighted the good they did to each other’s lives. They did this while being teary eyed and I couldn’t help it. The ending was pretty satisfying to me. It was very realistic because not everything in life will be a happily ever after and their breakup was portrayed in a very healthy and poetic fashion.

This drama has definitely topped as one of my favorite kdramas of the year.

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Twenty-Five Twenty-One Review - ZyKuu

"A journey about a girl and her fencing career" - The story was well written and accurately depicted the tragedies that the world suffered between 1998 and 2001. Through the lives of the cast, we were able to gain knowledge upon the realities that people may have experiencing during these hard times. This drama was excellent at creating emotional moments as there were a couple touching scenes that brought tears to my eyes. The main lead Hee-do did a great job in her role. Yi-jin played his given role to a tee. The romance between Hee-do and Yi-jin was initially endearing but then later on becomes complicated, demonstrating the harsh realities couples may face. The sidecast was the standout for me. Ji-Woong was the comedic relief of the drama. I enjoyed the dynamic Yu-rim and her family had. I found the relationship between Ji-Woong and Seung-wan heartwarming and innocent. Seung-wan was a character that I did not expect to grow on me as much as she did, but her actions led me to admire her. The OST was amazing! Unfortunately, the ending of the drama was underwhelming. Overall this is a great introduction drama that I recommend for new viewers.

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This isn't a love story, this is a real story!

I know, a lot of Kdrama fans wants happy ending, or at least a real conclusion, but real life isn't about that. 2521 is about real life and real people with real problems. If you want a typical romcom with the same story and stuff, this isn't your show.

This show is about young kids, and how they try to live their own lives in the past and in the present as well. Some people said, the scenes in the present are not important. Well, that's 100% untrue! The whole point of the series is to teach Heedo's daughter that not everything is black and white. This isn't about who's the father, I don't even understand why people keep talking about that.

The writing was top-notch, almost perfect. I was going back and forth, because sometimes I loved the characters, and sometimes I disliked them. What I really loved about this show is that most of the time, the writer didn't go overboard, but didn't shy away from the important topics either.

Like I said, this isn't a love story, this is a real story. In my eyes, the real main "couple" are Heedo and Yurim. How their friendship evolved over the years was amazing, and entertaining. This show proved that friendships are more important than a romance. Most romantic relationships ends, because people give up, even if there's a simple solution, but real friendships are not like that. With every problem, it's getting stronger, and the relationship between Heedo and Yurim is the prime example.

Kim Taeri and Bona carried the whole show.

It's not a perfect, because the last 2 episode wasn't that good, I think they focused too much on the romance. I don't think Heedo and Yijin were good together, and in my opinion, Taeri and Joo Hyuk didn't have a good chemistry as a couple. At first, they were like brother and sister, and later I didn't think they're a real couple. They were fantastic as friends, but not as a couple.

Yurim and Jiwoong were MUCH better! They were a typical teen romantic couple, sometimes cheesy, and cute, but later they proved they actually care about their relationship. They are the polar opposites of the main couple, even tho both had the same issues, basically. Yurim and Jiwoong proved that most romantic relationships ends, because people don't work hard enough to make it work. Just like Heedo said, they only loved each other when everything was good, but Yurim and Jiwoong remained together when their lives were hard too. That's why they were a better couple.

I think 2521 is a fantastic show that actually deserve the hype, and it's teaching you important lessons about life.

Also, if you love sports, like myself, you're gonna enjoy it even more. All the hardships Heedo and Yurim, and every side character had to face to be the best athletes worth to watch this 17 hour long show!

My only problem with the show is the last 2 episode and the credit scene. That was unnecessary, but other than that, this is a MUST WATCH!

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A Kind Introduction to Adulting

It took me a long time to finish the drama, the issue is due to its pacing that is slow for me and also the compactness of feeling this drama has on me. I am going to be 25 this year, I have a lot of friends who are younger than me, the existence of Back Yijin makes me realize a lot of silent things happening in my life. The things I choose to ignore or the things I didn't know yet. The romance, I don't expect it to be that way but honestly, I want to thank this drama to highlight the platonic feeling. I just think in our age, those kinds of affection have slowly been underrated due to the social pressure we have as an adult. Ah, this drama has made me believe once again in the softness of our hearts to endure the world that isn't going softer. To rely on love a little bit more too. Also to believe that things will change and we won't be stuck in a situation forever. The OST are magnificent! Not just it is sung beautifully by well-known artists, but the timing and theme suit perfectly. The scene was also taken beautifully. Mundane places that also seem like belong to our memories as well. I am satisfied with the drama though I think they don't need to be realistic that hard for the ending though (let us live in daydream a little bit!) but yeah, time well spent!

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Hoy no voy a hacer una reseña, voy a hacer una pregunta que por favor necesito una respuesta urgente: CÓMO SE SUPERA ESTE DRAMA POR FAVOR?? CÓMO VUELVE UNA A SU VIDA NORMAL DESPUÉS DE HABER VISTO ESTE DRAMA??

Una vive contenta porque por lo general, los dramas coreanos suelen ser países de fantasía donde reina la felicidad, sino en todo el tiempo, en gran parte de la historia, donde una puede vivir tranquila. Sin embargo, llegan algunos a veces a mover esos cimientos y sacarnos de la zona de confort. ¿Está mal? No, pero después de dramas como estos es complicado volver a nuestra vida normal y volver a confiar en los dramas, en el amor, en los hombres, en el mundo, en el universo y en todo.

En fin ... .poco más que decir. Es un drama que comencé a ver sin muchas ganas ni expectativas, principalmente por toda la publicidad que veía en redes sociales. Sin embargo, se convirtió en un drama de esos que te estrujan el corazón de felicidad y de color de rosa, hasta que después te da la patada y te desequilibra tu vida para siempre.

Aún así recomiendo mucho ver este drama siempre que se tenga presente que tu vida no volverá a ser igual que antes jajajajajaja.

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ENJOY YOUR YOUTH THROUGH THIS DRAMA

Anneyeong , I'll keep it short and simple . It is for the readers who are going to watch this drama !!

Everything was perfect many viewers were disappointed by the ending but there is something I would like to mention , through this drama you are going to experience different phases( sweet& sour both) of life . Every episodes will teach u something valuable . So , having concept like that how can u expect the ending to be like a fairy tail !? which is not the part of the reality .😒

You will going to experience love, hate , friendship , hardship , priority, goal and many more ..... which you will adore .

**UNLIKED PART **
I was only dissappointed that if they included the love life of female lead (NA HEE DO) then you must show a little glimpse of his present partner too . I understand the present partner was not much important in the entire drama but you included HEEDO's mom & daughter na. Do you think it is fair for the viewers??

Wait wait ... ..... If there is going to be second season who knows!! 🤭🤭 ( just an assumption)

*** BTW I ENJOYED THE DRAMA AND I THINK YOU WILL ALSO GOING TO EXPERIENCE SOME NEW SIDE OF YOURS ****
GUMAWO !!!!!

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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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Storie di vita

E’ stato uno dei miei primi drama e forse anche per questo mi ha lasciato il segno. La storia è semplice, lineare, con pochi cliché, gli attori empatici. Importante è il valore dello sport come passione e riscatto esistenziale. Il valore del gruppo, dell’amicizia è forte. Nam Joo è straordinario. La storia di questi ragazzi è una storia di vita, una storia che si può verificare per qualsiasi persona viva appieno la propria esistenza.
Molti si aspettavano un sequel , ma se così fosse il drama perderebbe il suo realismo e la sua autenticità.
Una menzione particolare alle OST che, oramai mi accompagnano quotidianamente nella mia playlist.
Consigliato per chi crede ancora nei rapporti veri

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