Twenty Five Twenty One

Top-notch actress, Kim Tae Ri, is perfect for the character "Na Hee Do". She is not overdoing the character's outbursts but at the same time, she is not under performing those scenes.

And her facial expressions, those are simply perfect. You can clearly see how she owned the character. She stopped being an actress and starts to live as Na Hee Do the moment the camera rolls.

She has many faces in this show and yet her character have a solid background. Only Kim Tae Ri can do that.

No matter how many times I watch it, my heart always ends up breaking into pieces every time. My recommendation is that you don't see it, it's terrifying.

Regardless of how things ended, this was one drama that beautifully depicted life, love, friendship and family. It really takes us back to times when things were simpler, and we could afford to feel things fiercely and risk it all.

Taeyang Squad fighting!

what a ride. 💯 would recommend. the entire show is a journey of emotions. extremely satisfying ending.

WHAT KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT?!!!! I NEED CLOSURE

> Reply 1998 meets School 2022

You could have mistaken this show for another Reply series if you were in reddit or twitter ... the fandom were endlessly theorizing who is Kim ? Min Chae's father but this story is not about endgame this is about First Love ... not the attractions but Real Real First Love that most people would never have experienced.

STORY
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More than anything #TwentyFiveTwentyOne being centered to Na Heedo & Go Yurim's narrative as two young athletes who have different backgrounds who find comfort in each other presence. The drama showing us how we can be carefree as youth & be hit by reality as we enter adulthood. It also shows how some are forced to group like Yi-Jin and by placing with carefree kids to experience the contrast in life .

There was no definite plot to being with, that was made clear; the progression made it clear that 2521 was an awfully accurate "coming of age" story with bag full of "slice of life" elements. However, after the midway, the writer tricks the audience by setting a definitive goal; the flashbacks of the future comes as a storm to the audience creating confusions and curiousness, thereby bringing more interest and attraction towards the show. I am sure, it was not just me, who was getting anxious with the ending of each episode; it's like I was walking on the eggshells with concerns about a lot of things. I would like to inform that, that anxiety reaches it's peak as the show nears its ending. I can noway forget how painful yet exciting it was to wait for a week to get my answers and be allayed.

I should wrap up by saying that the ending was not convincing although realistic ; we watch dramas to escape the reality. The reason of..... felt very stupid; well, I am disappointed, not sad. It does hurt for why it happened, than what actually happened ; the writer was not thinking right. Not gonna disprove the entire thing because of what happened at the end, but yeah, it will definitely affect my ratings.


CAST
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Kim Tae Ri (Na Hee Do) and Nam Joo Hyuk (Baek Yi Jin) have given a performance of life time ..

Being a 31yo woman, she has done the most accurate representation of a 18yo immature teenager, that, I am sure nobody can level with. Also distinct 20yo who matured with love and a 28yo who has seen all the life's ups down . Been a fan of hers for years, I know that, as a person of cinema, she isn't someone who rashly accepts any drama making it to her home, and 25-21 is the living proof of why I'm saying that.

With NJH you can just see the in his deep eyes the sadness , the adult and the kid trying to break-free when he is with Hee Do ; I feel this particular character was made for him.

Bona is a blooming actress and judging her improved skills from this show, I truly wish she goes up and up in the drama world, because I have witnessed the way she has evolved even with handful of experience.The same goes for Lee Joo Myung; I didn't really remember seeing her elsewhere before checking her bio but what an impressive character and what an amazing performance she has delivered throughout, I am impressed. Special mention to Choi Hyun Wook; being the youngest among the 5 main actors, that too only 20, when others are 26+, the way he could establish himself at the level of such amazing acting, he deserves all the appreciation. I wish Joo Myung and Hyun Wook had more screentime, but I guess whatever they had, they definitely brought the best outta it.

And the remaining cast have performed really well although i can't shout out all the names ..each character was written to the point and lovable except maybe the random PD ( former Mr.Sunshine samurai) who tried to injure Heedo and Yurim for a TRP .


Music & Production
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The OST were classic but nothing strikes out and catchu like in OBS . The production quality and attention to detail was really well done.

Overall
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**This might have been declared as a Healing Drama ; sure it did heal for 14 episodes and broke us down to pieces on the last 2 episodes**


I am gonna copy a famous tweet and send message to writer-nim
[spoiler]**If A North Korean (Hyun Bin) and South Korean(Son Ye Jin) are able to marry why can't u bring a reporter/anchor and athlete together**[/spoiler]

[spoiler] May be if this was written by Hong sisters we would have an closure even without an happy ending but despite being realistic this kind open ended dramas are what i hate the most but i can't dismiss the tensions and pleasure i felt following this show for 10 weeks. [/spoiler]

It's suspense drama with its unpredictable plot. Definitely a must watch and already the best of 2022 despite [spoiler] it's ending, which I am not taking into consideration anyways. Putting it in my all time favorite list, without a second thought, but i will probably never re-watch it unless they redo the ending or release extra scenes in BluRay .. this is like Scarlet Heart Ryou .. All over again .. I need answers .. I need closure
[/spoiler]

My theory on who Mr.Kim is [spoiler] the lost last diary is delivered to Baek Yi Jin by Kim Min-Soh ? Kim Eun-su and since he read the diary he used it to make Heedo fall and marry her but he could never compare to Yi Jin and so they divorced. [/spoiler]

I loved it soo much and it was gonna be one of my top fave dramas BUT what was that ending?

A romance unfolding between the then 18-year-old Na Hee-do and 22-year-old Baek Yi-Jin—you'd think. But it is also a romance of life. Dreams against the currents of hardships, in a boat of newfound friendship and love. The most beautiful element of the story is the character growth witnessed throughout the series.

Min-chae portrayed by Choi Myeong-bin is shown going through her athletic prodigy of a mom's high school diary just as she is about to give up on ballet. It transports us to an earlier world, where youth and caprice filled Hee-do's world. Na Hee-do, a gifted fencer, played by Kim Tae-ri, is on her way to take on the world—and she is not going to let anything stop her—not even her discouraging,, belittling mother. Her performance is nothing short of amazing. I did not particularly love Baek Yi-jin's cowardly character, portrayed by Nam Joo-hyuk. Ko Yu-rim (Bona), Moon Ji-woong (Choi Hyun-wook) and Ji Seung-wan (Lee Ju-myoung) were incredibly beautiful characters where the casting was the icing on the cake. Nearly every single character surprised me with their arc. It puts an emphasis on how one should never be too quick to judge a book by its cover.


There is no particular plot that unfolds here in Twenty-Five Twenty-One—just life that seems to be happening. Fictitious, yet so real. Charming, yet raw and moving. The shots feel like a slice of watermelon in the middle of summer. Fair warning—if you just want a dorky, unrealistic, romantic fantasy, this one is not for you.

I don’t know why this is true, but with Asian series, it takes me awhile to adjust to the level of melodrama they seem to like to frontload. However, the tone of the series usually finds grounding within a few episodes. This one begins with Kim Tae-ri on overdrive probably trying to establish that her character is young.

The story telling of the series is both heartwarming and heart wrenching. Most of the time I caught myself smiling while I watched this. Yet, there are these really poignant moments. Until it hit, I had no idea the title was an ominous warning.

I am always educated by Kdramas. Even though they often follow a romance, they take their subject matter very seriously. I learned about the IMF crisis as it impacted Korea, the Gold Collecting Campaign, international competitive fencing, and, even, the educational rigour in finding employment (exams for professional jobs).

The performances are wonderful from the leads to the supporting cast. I followed Kim Tae-ri’s filmography to this, and, as expected, her performance was not a disappointment. I was also struck by the quiet strength of Bona’s performance and I will begin to watch for her work.

I give this series an 8 (wonderful) out of 10.

I've never watched a K drama before, but this one came strongly recommended from Tom Merritt (via Cord Killers). Honestly, I loved it. It had emotional ups and downs and it really made me care about the characters. I really loved getting to see the characters grown and mature over time, and the main love story felt like real love, not just some infatuation. The relationships feel real, with turmoil, passion, friendship, unexpected connections, forgiveness, and shared joy.