Don't Leave After School (2021)

A RARE GEM

I 'm a long time c-drama watcher and I've never written a review for any drama before.

But after watching this show, I KNEW THAT I HAD TO WRITE A REVIEW!!!!

STORY: 10/10
This isn’t your typical high school romance drama. Yes, the FL and ML meet and become friends which turns into something more like in all school dramas. And yes, there are other typical high school tropes/cliches. Honestly, I was fully expecting this to be just another regular high school romance. But, this drama was so much more than that. This drama is really about a bunch of high school students that due to different reasons, weren’t able to pass/take the college entrance exam to get into university. These students ended up having to sign up and join a class together to repeat a year of high school in order to prepare for the next college entrance exam.

The story was realistic and the acting was so natural. It really captured the life of a high school student and the pressures and struggles of studying well to get into a good university. But it also really showed the support that the students got from their peers, families, and teachers as well! Being a university student myself, the story and characters really resonated with me!

There was romance in this drama, but it definitely played a smaller part. However, overall it was pretty cute! :)

There were 24 episodes which was a great length! I usually skip a lot of episodes in c-dramas as they get long and draggy. BUT I DIDN’T SKIP A SINGLE MINUTE OF THIS DRAMA. I had to binge watch all the episodes until I finished it. It was truly a refreshing show.

CHARACTERS: 10/10
All the characters had great chemistry! Especially the FL and ML!

This drama also did a great job dedicating episodes to focus on various side characters. It didn’t take away the story from the main leads at all! I seriously loved every single character and their addition to the story. Mostly every important side character had a great backstory and displayed their own high school experience. Lots of important topics were showcased through these characters including mental health, bullying, family issues, different passions/dreams, etc.


PRODUCTION: 10/10
Loved the unique style of this drama. Every episode began differently with different montages, comedy scenes, etc. While the ending credits included videos of characters or real life high school students sharing their thoughts.

It felt like the director and the writers really put in the effort and thought to make this show really meaningful!


OVERALL A 10/10 AND A MUST WATCH!

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A SLICE OF LIFE!!

To begin with, this drama has an unique concept, re- entrolled students. Let me promise you, this is not your typical high school drama with usual love triangles or leads chasing eachother or childhood sweethearts. This drama is quite different and portraits about the real student crisis and how they deals with it. They are scorned by their peers and even teachers because they're repeaters.
The main leads are Fang xue and Wei lei. I really liked their chemistry. Their subtle romance is endearing.They are very comfortable with eachother. This drama focused on each student and not just the main leads.The story of all students are perfectly blended together without poisoning the whole atmosphere. You can feel their friendship and you may feel like you are one among them.
Since, they are repeaters they had more pressures than a regular student. But, they got the best class teacher who supported them endlessly.

SPOILER ALERT!!!
Now talking about the main leads, they have a different bond. The romance here is mild but is strong enough.I love how much wei lei has changed for his fang xue. One of my favourite moment is when he was not ready to sing for her in ep13 v/s how he himself danced and sang for her later in ep22 . He did that only for her, even though it was quite embarrassing for him. We can see how their relationship grows. It is slow, but kinda cute.
I have to say, everything about this drama is top notch. Much much much better and more realistic than any other high school dramas.( I found it similar to 'when we were young' . Both are highschool dramas and realistic ones.) Right from the intro to the very end of this drama is stellar and well made. The intro is really creative. Also, there is a small interview at the very end of each episodes. They are either real students or characters in this drama.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!
Ending is an open ending. I had a hunch it would end somewhat like that. Just because this drama is so real, a slice of life!! Even though i'm not a fan of these type of ending, in this case i think i can understand them. I understand why they decided to separate. A long 10 years had passed. But, their love towards eachother remained the same. They seperated not because they don't love eachother. They really love and care eachother. That's why when fang xue suggested to separate, wei lei agreed. Not because he don't love her, but because he loves her and respects her decision. He believes whatever she decides is the best and good for both of them. Even at the end wei lei assured that he loves her, no matter where.
Moreover it's an open ending not a sad ending. There is hope, a hope that they will meet again. Because ,a separation is a new beginning. They both hopes that they will meet again for their NEW BEGINNING!!

FUTURE VIEWERS TRUST ME, THIS IS WORTH WATCHING.
Pls don't mind the ratings here. Okay, i guess, I'll no more believe in these ratings. This drama deserves a better rating.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, why??
-Absolutely amazing cinematography, direction and natural acting. Ofcourse 10/10.
-A high quality drama with well written script.
-Realistic approach of the drama.
-No unwanted misunderstandings
-No usual cliches
-No love triangles (i hate that)
-OSTs are excellent and soothing
-Their friendship is pure and strong
-And definitely our main leads, their chemistry and their sweet moments are adorable. We can see how much they feel for eachother even without no skin ships and kiss scenes.
-Overall this drama is sweet and refreshing.

PS If you are expecting a typical highschool romance drama. Then, this is not for you. And because of that it may not be everyone's pick. But, if you're looking for some realistic good dramas then, this will never disappoint you.

YOU WILL DEFINITELY LOVE IT, DON'T MISS THIS !!

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Weren't it for a coupla things, it would've been a real gem

I have somehow mixed feelings about this "Don't Leave After School", as there were things I really, really liked about it but unfortunately also a coupla things I really disliked...

What I liked:

1) Li Ting Ting: in my 15+ years of honorable Asian-dramophilia, you can guess I've watched my fair share of high-school themed dramas, and seen many actresses playing the role of a high school girl; well, never have I found a performance more convincing, more strikingly natural, more beautifully "realistic", than the one delivered here by Li Ting Ting! She almost made me believe for a while that I was actually watching a real high school girl, with all the quirky details of a not yet fully matured individual, the weird faces here and there, the goofiness etc.; my virtual standing ovation to an actress who doesn't care about "not looking good" all the time, if that's what it takes to fully portray a character! BTW, the fact that some people here criticized her precisely for that, while other people (or maybe the same people, I'm too lazy to check that detail now, LOL) went so far as to actually praise Tan Song Yun's "performance" in "Dear Mayang Street" (which I, on the contrary, just couldn't stand: that one didn't convince me in the least and, as far as I'm concerned, should be a perfect example of how NOT TO portray a high school girl, what with the annoyingly constant Mona Lisa faint smile and the clear "let's give the cameras my best profile all the time" attitude) is just another proof of how true Clint Eastwood's überfamous quote about opinions is, LOL

2) The subplot with Stephanie Xu's and Li Jun Ting's characters (together with Li Ting Ting's and Xiao Yang's, they were my absolute favorite characters, all beautifully written and masterfully portrayed, BTW), which actually got me more emotionally involved that the main plot regarding the leads, honestly;

3) The OST: not only are the credits songs beautiful (particularly "It's Nice That The Wind Blows" by SIS), but the score is top-notch throughout the entire drama, and adds a lot of value to the whole thing imho!

4) Some of the very creative intro scenes were little masterpieces, really! ^_______^

Were it only for these points, I would've given this a perfect 10, seriously!
Alas, the drama also had a coupla thing I disliked, as previously mentioned, and namely:

1) Not all the characters were so well written, quite a few of the rest (like Fiona, Da Meng, Qiao Mai, Li Da Lai, and the blackmailing creep >___<) were actually basically bidimensional, and that actually pissed me off greatly 'cause it showed some lazy writing in what would've been, otherwise, a real gem.../.__.\

2) The constant use of hand-held cameras; I understand it was meant to kind of "bring the watcher inside the action", but it mostly gave me motion sickness...O___o

All in all, the good points beat the bad ones, so I'm giving this a well-deserved 8...and I'm surely gonna watch more of Li Ting Ting's works in the future! ^___-

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Definitely must watch!

Overall this is a great story focusing on the struggles the youth are facing, especially those who are having difficulties in finding their dream or studying. It has great life lessons you can learn from, I enjoyed watching the casts as they did a very well job portraying the characters. The chemistry is (*0*), they can send the messages just through eyes and gestures. I'm just broken with how they ended the series and left an open ending between the main leads. I honestly feel bad for the FL in the end parts. There are things that's left unanswered between the casts too, especially Fiona. It felt like the last 2 eps were rushed but their whole middle school moments ep1-22 are wholesome to watch.

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came for yaochi, stayed for the story

i'm gonna be honest i did not think i'd like this show as much as i did as i only watched it because yao chi is one of my faves, but the story was really engaging and theres a good amount of everything. this show has romance, comedy, angst, drama, etc., so much or even all of it can be applied to basically anyones life because of how unique the characters friendships are and how different the lives and struggles each character lives through are. its a really good show to watch and i would definitely recommend it if you're looking for something that won't have you feeling the same emotion all the way through each ep.

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Another of my highlight dramas of 2021

I’m someone who feels nostalgic when it comes to school youth dramas. However, it's not a genre that I'm particularly drawn to. So I had no expectations going into this drama. But, Don't Leave After School managed to make such compelling stories that are both heartfelt and fun to watch. What I liked most about it is that it feels personal, even though it’s not or maybe I just took it personally.

Watching this feels like watching the stories of people that I knew when I was in high school. The characters all felt alive that it’s honestly believable that these people exist in real life. Their experiences, although different from mine, felt too raw and honest, and I loved it. I find myself, unexpectedly, feeling touched or crying by the small simple moments in the drama.That is how effective the storytelling was to me.

Now let’s go to the interesting part, the opening sequences. This is something that sets this drama apart from the other school dramas that I have watched. I love how they choose carefully each opening sequence, each one telling the subject and character focus for each episode. It’s creative and refreshing. A brilliant move from the creators. Also, the cinematography in this is really good.

This uses a simple yet effective story-telling, a combination that is hard to do and doesn’t come along too often in tv shows. So, I say this drama is definitely worth your time.

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Not the fluff you may be used to, but one of the better portrayals of student emotions in a c-drama

If you are in it for the c-fluff, you may want to look elsewhere, this drama is very different from the typical happy, fluffy, together we can do it vibe many school c-dramas otherwise give off, Here we get to learn that the world is unfair, things do not always go as you wish and actions have consequences. Mind blowing, right. The students here also tend to spend time studying as well being youths with impulses, emotions and a tendency to mess up their future.

What I loved about this drama was the lack of sugar coating, and the real feel to it, the drama made me both infuriated and sad as well as made me appreciate the friendships portrayed. This drama did a good job at showing the importance of friendship and supporting each other but also the importance of having at least one teacher who believes in you and cares- Especially in a system that seems to have a bunch of people in power who are just selfabsorved meanies using kontrol and fear instead of trying to find the good in ever student. Those types of people scare the h*** out of me and should not get near students let alone teach or run a school.

This drama also shows how wrong valuing students and treating students differently based on their performance is. Showing how schools enlarge the gap between students instead of offering all students the help they deserve. It also shows the importance of second chances and finding motivation within. Not to mention how dangerous pressure can be for a student.

What it failed to do was make my heart flutter, thought there is plenty of build up for puppy love and several couples the drama stays more real then cater to romance and cliches (I love cliches), the relationships are overall healthy and actually manage to keep clear from toxicity but they also stay clear of the good stuff. So if you want to see puppy love and fluff you will probably end up disappointed. However the growth, the friendship and the issues in this drama are definitely worth watching.

Also, the actors did a great job, the OST did its job and I would say the quality of this drama is overall pretty good.

This is definitely a rare gem among the manny school dramas out there, and is most certainly worth watching, just do not expect fluff or feel good while watching. it is more of a feel sad get mad kind of drama.

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Chinese Youth Dramas can be GOOD...?!

Have you ever watched "School 2013"? "Dream High"? Or the Jdrama "LIFE"? These shows are popular classics known for going above and beyond when showing youth's struggles, aspirations, and desires. While their genres may differ, the strong themes of friendship, growth, retribution, forgiveness, and character development make them superior to many popular East Asian shows.

Now let's get into the review title. As a veteran that has watched many Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Taiwanese dramas, I know it's not controversial when I say China has produced some of the most cliche and unbearable school/youth dramas....to the point that I stopped watching them.

1.) Serious themes or important issues are usually mishandled.
2.) The side characters are often one-dimensional and only serve to push the main plot.
3.) Their dramas are usually overly obsessed with romance.
4.)They usually have the whiny, dumb FL pining after the ice-cold, super-smart, ML that's fawned on by the entire school populace. Eventually, after many misunderstandings and rude interactions between the main leads, the FL's persistence is 'rewarded' by the ML slowly (and subtly to the point of annoyance) falling in love with her.

THIS SHOW DOES NOT TOLERATE THAT

SIDE CHARACTERS:
We meet a range of characters from Erbao to Cheng Jing. Almost everyone has equal importance to the main leads. We are exposed to these characters' motivations, fears, and pasts with care and quality. Rather than have surface-level actors who we cannot root for or understand. the audience is exposed to almost REAL people, young adults with troubled existences that we can relate to. If there is an episode where the ML/FL wouldn't appear, the audience would still be immersed and engaged with the story of a side character. All of their interactions with each other, whether malicious, wholesome, or sad, are RAW. They are not sugar-coated or pushed aside with a wand of happiness. You and the characters are forced to reconcile with the consequences of their emotions and actions.

CHARACTER GROWTH
It's no surprise that there are character archetypes. There is the textbook mean girl. the supposed 'SL' that always cares for the FL, and there are the nerdy or bullied klds that bottle things inside. But as I said before...THIS SHOW DOES NOT TOLERATE THAT. These supposed one dimensional characters break out of their shells and restrictions of self over a realistic period. The numerous interactions they have with others and the problems they face make them into stronger people. The audience is not toyed around with this growth, as it is sincere and occurs within a natural time frame which cancels out fears of regression. Students you despised at first you eventually grow to love (cough cough, the bully squad in School 2013)

BALANCING MATURE/IMPORTANT THEMES
While this drama has a cute intro and a FL lead that seems strong enough to solve anything, it's not afraid to let characters suffer as they understand the brutality of the world. Important themes such as mortality, scarring, masculinity, forced promiscuity, poverty, sexuality, and parental abuse are depicted as truthfully as possible. Characters that suffered through events do not just spring back to happiness and support the leads. They have their ups and downs, and complex emotions as they not only deal with fellow students but other parents and societal beliefs that they cannot control. While some scenes are hard to work on and may make you turn away, you care enough about the characters and the event to keep watching.

HANDLING ROMANCE
The ML may be smart in some areas but is not an all-around ace. Meanwhile, Fang Xue (FL) is a strong-willed, assertive person. She is a great friend that goes through many episodes sticking up for her friends and solving their troubles, as chaos ensues. TheML falls in love with her first, and thoroughly and gently cares for as a friend as he builds up the courage to confess. Their interactions are wholesome and cute. There are times where you'll be screaming at the screen because of how cute they are. Things take a while to build up, but it's not in a forced slow way that makes you hate the writers. Other pairings too have this sizzling chemistry and strong bond. Friends to Lovers >>>>> Enemies to Lovers (so overdone)

I especially like how the ML has huge ups and downs as a character. There are constant moments where he is embarrassed in front of the whole school, struggles with grades and certain subjects, and does clumsy/weird things out of embarrassment.

I started this show on Episode 3 and was using it as background noise as I did my hair. Unexpectedly, I found a rare gem.

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High school graduates would love it!!

This drama had a lot of potential to be one of the best, only if last 3 episodes had more depth instead of just some random scenes. I liked the beginning of the drama a lot since I was completely hooked, fang xue and her friends have such good chemistry that you'll actually believe they have been friends for a long time but that wasn't actually the case they've only come to know each other after getting re-enrolled. This drama tried almost everything to cover every kind of school issues that high school students face that's what makes this drama a bit special in someway. I really liked the home room teacher he tried his best to give his students best one year of their high school life. It's actually really important that students get to enjoy last year of their high school life's but only few teachers actually acknowledge it most teachers are ignorant and biased towards one particular student that piss me off. I loved the way Wei lai give his time and affection to fang xue even though they weren't in a relationship or such he did every possible thing to make her happy and wanted. This was definitely really different from other cdramas I highly recommend it to those who have completed their High school and still wants to replenish the memories of their high school life.

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Unexpectedly emotional

What I liked:
-The episodes in the middle. Some of the storylines were delved into more deeply and I really began to care about the characters.
-The friendships. The show started with each character being sort of an island unto themselves. They didn't care about one another, there were a lot of people being mean to each other. I liked how the show focused on one specific character and showed how the others came alongside that person to help them.
-A special teacher that cared about the students and helped them.

What I didn't like:
-I almost dropped this show early on because the FL was such a mess.
-The irrational storyline. The ML doesn't go to college and stays another year in high school, why? His father, I'm sure, had to pay for his schooling, yet he had no idea what his son was doing?
-The unprofessional, bullying teachers and administrators.
-The kids live at school, and it keeps getting drilled into us how much time they have to spend studying. They'd have more time for schoolwork if they didn't have to clean the classrooms/hallways, sweep the sidewalks, and handwash their clothes in the sink. Oh, and eating standing up?
-Unnecessary rival shows up for a few episodes.
-There were so many characters, and some of the storylines were never fully fleshed out.
-Abrupt, 10-year time jump
-THE ENDING, my gosh the ending!!!! I know that the romance was secondary, but the ending broke my romance-loving heart.

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Prepare yourself for plot twists

It's a kind of drama worth watching, worth my tears but... it's just to real. The ending is shocking, it's realistic. I am watching Cdramas to escape the reality but the final was just a slap in me that tells me even in dramas, I can't still escape real life. #Petition for Season 2 pls...what will happen in 3 yrs...hoping that it will not be like this. The drama was great. Can't move on. I want s2 so bad, it's hard but yeah, it overall wonderful, hurtful tho. I wish there would be season 2 for this beautiful drama. It's an open ending. Everyone can end it in any way they want because there is a 3 years separation. For me, the ending would be...
Inside these 3 years separation, reaching their dreams, pursuing the things they want to get. For the last 3 months of the three years separation, they will meet accidentally but can't recognize each other, but after sometime when their friends arrive they will surely kind of remember each other. Few days later, the other one needs to go back to work while the other one stays and enjoys temporary work break. 3 months past, there would be a reunion for their batch and the video and recording tapes would be played. The leads will then remember how much they have been through and realized that they shouldn't give up and forget about what they had fight for in their youth and come to a conclusion to try to get together again. There is no perfect relationship. Quarrels and misunderstandings still in the relationship but through these the solidarity of the relationship gets even stronger until they decided to settle down.

Imagination 😭

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