I'm glad I wasted my time just to watch this

Captivated By You is your typical feel-good drama. But what made me stunned and literally captivated by this is how simple it was, but the way they told the story of these two characters was endearing. It's literally just nothing but everything, a series of vignettes that tells the story of the two characters and the reason they are how they are.

Maybe at one point, you'll think why does Hayashi do all these meaningless things just to make himself think he "has time to spare", or why does Nikaido put in so much effort to not stand out because he was too handsome? These things seem really unnecessary and over the top at some point--but you know, that's youth. When these decisions although you may not know how much of it is right, just felt like they made sense during that time. This is a story about one's youth and the companionship that blossoms around it. Because at some point they were captivated by them and something about them gave out a lasting impact that changed the direction of their lives.

We all know very well that feeling of anxiety or uncertainty. Life seems so scary not knowing what you want to do and how you want to be--yet you march through it anyway. At some point in your own story, you meet people who will never glance at you ever, but you also get entangled with those who are drawn by you yet you never realize. I think this is what the drama wanted to present. It was so nostalgic and it actually made me miss my high school life, even if my past self wasn't as refined as who I am now, it validated that part of me because it's something that really does happen to everyone. Ah, youth.

It's not very straight to the point so for some it may seem confusing. Again, it's nothing but a narration of the lives of typical high schoolers. But if you're like me who likes to look into things a little bit more than what is shown in front of you, you'll realize how beautiful this drama is.

I want to commend the beautiful OSTs and the cast who (during this time) were still up-and-coming celebrities. This may look like a low-budget production with all the simplicity it held, but they made use of the cinematography to enhance the story, and the actors did a really great job portraying their characters.

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