Nevertheless, (2021)

Art , Romance , Toxic

How can I move on? I found a best tone controlling drama. OST are gorgeous. 10 episodes was too short for this relationship and because of female director, every frame and angles is so aesthetic. casting 박재언 and 유나비 is so flawless. their behind the scenes was cute too. My friend recommend this to me last year but I was busy, now I understand her why she crazy about this drama a lot.

I'm writer and artist. so every time, I love when two characters spend time together likes Jae-on and Nabi in Jae-on workshop or just lay down and drawing each others in Nabi apartment. That's very touched.

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An artist's romance. Nevertheless aptly describes Nabi.

In short, it was a steamy artist's romance. In my opinion based on artists I know, and my own life, we draw inspirations from our surroundings and how deeply they affect us. The more we feel, the better our artistic instincts awaken.

As this drama wasn't a sweet romance but realistic one, my take in judging it is different.
Slight spoilers here guys (if any)-

The endless rebounds, attraction, struggle to understand, openness to explore and get to know themselves and their romantic partners. Na Bi left her relationship with her ex-teacher who was an artist and got into a steamy open relationship with the ML- a guy who liked to flirt with anyone attracted to him. He could use it to his advantage and string them just enough he got what he wanted at his own pace, with a distance he liked to maintain. This story showed how such kind open relationship was hard to maintain as the relationship progresses over time. Very realistic behaviour when your body can't get on the same page with your logic and ignores red flags as Nabi faces an ambiguous relationship that had no boundaries with a person full of unspoken lines that she wasn't able to cross. Trying to juggle her studies, ambitions, and her unconscious nod to romance, she experiences how each important position in her life was interlinked- grew as a person, an artist, drew her boundaries and straight up finally gave ML a choice. Ofcourse during the course, she slipped, made mistakes and in the end, came to her own conclusion (be it right or wrong. Such is life). While I may not agree with her choices, but I appreciate her assurity, own interpretations, self worth and confidence while making them.

For the ML on the other hand, the progress was so sloooooow. I never got his deal, could never get fully invested in him. He used all the right words, right actions, his calculated thoughtfulness that mentally and emotionally linked, touches that simulated sexual awareness... He was fully in control of himself most of the time. Always aware. He lived like a butterfly. Yes he changed a bit, though it was minuscule enough that I felt his life and progression may have happened offscreen and thats why I couldn't understand his perspective, growth, pain. His whole character was built on vagueness in terms of decisions, until he released the butterflies and lightly asked for her back


They both finally entered into a relationship, with their eyes open. As people they wanted to give it a go. As artists, they both will gain from each other- through love, pain, attraction, heightened emotions, and when they split (they know they will), they'll gain further still. They just want to enjoy the now.

In a way Im glad the SL didnt get Nabi. I feel like the person she is nowouldn't have gelled well with him for long if they had. She would have been emotionally exhausted to be with him because she never gave me that vibe that showed interest and he would have put in a LOT of effort ( he already was) and he would have felt a bit insecure in the relationship. It's best it ended as a first love. She was always invested in the ML. He deserves someone else. In the webtoon though, I prefer that ending.

I agree with Bhoomi though, it was realistic enough to be queasy, and later on there was a lot of eye rolling on part. Became too repetitive with no development.
That saying, I loved watching the supporting characters more, especially in the 2nd half of the drama.

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My first review for a show I do not appreciate.

The kdramas I watch I actually like most of them. This one is my first that I loathe. I think it's nonsensical, the writing is abysmal where our main woman lead is walking around miserable for the last like 4 episodes of a 10 episode series, and she decides to get with the man who made her miserable and says she knows he'll cause her pain but she'll do it anyways. I guess that's supposed to be deep, but... it isn't. Not even slightly.

I love Han Sohee and Song Kang but this wasn't it.

What I will give it props for is basically EVERY other character in this show besides our two leads are pretty enjoyable. I mean all of them, they are all just fun or cooky or interesting.

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It's not as bad as they make it to be, Nevertheless

To be honest, people are being too harsh on the drama although I haven't read the webtoon. I would be lying if I said i didn't watch this kdrama because of Song Kang, and it's true that the cast was better than the story line itself but I think it's fundamental to understand the fact that it's a friends with benefits plot/"girl is devoting her time into another red flag" and perhaps that might not be everyone's cup of tea which is probably why many don't like the drama.
I wouldn't say it's trash because personally I completed it and in fact re watched it. It's not a waste of time if you actually try to view and understand each character and their love lifes . It is different from your other romance collage plots but it's fun to once in a while watch something distinct, and also if you like the cast it's a big plus, because I think what really helped me get hooked on the plot and the show was the acting and the actors. If that's not what you're looking for, pretty understandable.

Also a plus, I loved the OST it encapsulated the vibe of the drama really well and gave it some good atmosphere.

Overall, I don't hate or dislike this drama, I think there's no such thing calling it a "disappointment" or a "waste of time" (at least in my book) so if you're looking for a spicy and fairly realistic plot, watch Nevertheless.

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yeah....

nevertheless, i actually liked it.when this drama was airing i heard so many bad opinions, about the project in general and the characters/relationship. i watched the first episodes and then dropped it because i wanted to prioritize others dramas that i liked more, but than this year i thought "why not" and i enjoyed it, the acting its really good with all the actors and actress, the cast is good and the couples matched perfectly, they all had the chemistry needed. but there some things that i didn't liked, obsviously.of course all the couples had their problems, ji wan was incredibly dependant emotionally on sol, so much that it was annoying. it's ok to like someone like she liked sol, but she didn't want sol to live like a normal person, having other friends besides her, going in places without her like GURL what the hell, your friend/lover have a LIVE, she wanted sol to live for her and in any point the drama talked about this.well, so going further to the other couple, bit na and the bald guy, i hate her chatacter, i hated her personality, she was arrogant, greedy and didn't like gyung hun for what he was, she just wanted to go back with him because she saw she was losing him for good and i bet, people like her (and like jae eon) they don't change, its really hard for a person like them change so fast like they tried to show on this drama. and going to the our main couple, i liked their chemistry and i liked both of them, but not together and not as a couple. i couldn't be mad a na bi for once because i'm a borderline person, so i can't judge her for her attitudes, i did the same as her so many times, with so many boys, i put myself in so many ridiculous relationships because of my problem. i really did envolve myself with guys like jae eon, some worse than him so i saw myself on her so many times. it was really annoying seeing how he manipulates her so she would feel wrong to treat him the way he needs to be treated at (like the time she "broke up" w/ him) and the times the story makes us feel pity for him when he starts to "really" like her and notice that HE was wrong all the time, but like i said, people like him, guys or girls like him doesn't change quickly like they tried to show on the story. or not. because until the end she says "i'll regret being with you, but i'll still do", she knew that, she was aware of that but the lack of self love it was her ending, when someone with this lack of love like she has and i do meet someones that doesn't want to envolve themselves in a relationship and just want to hang out with everyone, this happens. jae eon was romanticized by her the whole time, she knew but couldn't get out of their relationship because she was traumatized by her last relationship, a toxic one, and she put herself in another toxic guy, because when u get out of one, its so easy to put yourself in another closed to the last, so yeah, i couldn't blame her.and what i liked the most about this k-drama was not just the aesthetic pleasantly sets, places and the art, but how realistic the drama is, even hating some characters sometimes, the relationships, the friendships and everything was so real, i saw their groupd of friends, their personalities, the bad things they do and i can see clearly my coleagues, my friends. thats the world, the yound adult world. so yeah, i liked the drama for that and i don't recommend to everyone. and besides everything i think its so easy to romanticize jae eon chatacter because of song kang, its a good looking guy (that hardly you'll meet in your real life hahah but yeah...). so 7/10 because the production is good, the cinematography is so good, the art, the aesthetic and everything about it was cool to watch :) and the OST is amazing, definitely going to listen day by day.

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a story that leads nowhere

the drama's story is not the best, but it could be a lot better if the script was better. the main couple (nabi and jae-eon) are literally the most boring characters, even so the side characters have more charm than them. nabi, initially, looks sane and all, but she's just SO confusing. to the point she looks kind of dumb, really dumb. she says to herself that she will not fall into jae-eon's tricks and later she changes her mind when he kisses her. there is no reason to why she likes him, he literally does something nice for her sometimes and that's it. his character is really annoying and touched her all the time, even when they just met, and it was a bit hard to watch them together because she looked too shy and uncomfortable. she knows that he's not committing to any closed relationship and it's sad about it, she knows he can't make her happy and still decides to stay with him at the end. he did a lot of bad decisions throughout the drama and said some manipulative things as well. at some point the two were unbearable to watch, they had no chemistry besides their physical attraction to each other. she just likes him because she finds him attractive, even though he's kind of a jerk and has no personality (except his quirky character trait of liking butterflies). she rarely looked really happy when she was with him, always with a distressed expression worrying if he's worth it. i don't understand the point in dating someone if you'll be worrying if they're a good person or not all the time and doubting them.
the good part of the show is the side characters. they have interesting and dynamic personalities that go well together and creates great chemistry. bit-na is very outgoing and social, she knows everyone. sometimes she was annoying but it's normal to have some defects. her actress made a good job incorporating the character. her boyfriend was ok too and they looked cute together (mainly towards the end). now, sol and jiwan; they're the best couple in the show, in my opinion. they're really cute and they seem really close (the actresses had so much chemistry and it didn't looked forced at all). their relationship is simple and adorable, and i liked pretty much every dialogue they had. sol was cute in every scene, her character is chill and she looked really natural all the time; she was kind of oblivious but it was cute. jiwan could be annoying sometimes but it's just the way she is, and she's really funny; sol likes her this way. their way of showing affection had me crying. sol is very subtle and kind, but she was always thinking about jiwan and doing something nice for her, even if it seemed small (getting her a plush of the character she likes, getting her candy, wrapping her with the blanket on a restaurant). she was just naturally attentive towards her. jiwan was always leaning towards her, too; but she showed it hugging sol and always taking care of her (even if it didn't look like it), she was easily jealous too but it was because she didn't know how to deal with her feelings for sol at first and was confused about it.
the other couples are fine too, the couple with the ones who both had glasses were so funny and really seemed like they were married. they had more chemistry and personality than the main leads.
to sumn-up, this drama was very hard to watch when the main characters were together on screen. it just got boring and they never had a great dialogue whatsoever. but when the side characters were on screen, it was very light-hearted and nice. do-hyeok and the other guy who also liked nabi were cute and they should've ended up with her, she was not as boring as she was with jae-eon.
also, towards the end, when jae-eon free his butterflies, i thought it would be a metaphor for him leaving nabi alone and acknowledging that he's not the best partner for her. but it was not and it was really just meaningless. the message of the drama is "even if someone is not making any good for you and actually making your life worse, if the person is attractive, it's ok" and nabi's life went downhill when she got to know him.

— story: 3/10; bad storyline that leads nowhere, really repetitive.

— acting: 7/10; it's good but didn't stood out that much.

— music: 3/10; really plain.

— rewatch value: 3/10; thanks to soljiwan moments.

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It’s not as bad as most reviews are making it seem!

This show is getting a lot of hate and bad reviews here, and I can see why. But I liked it. And I liked Jae Eon. Yes his character started out as womanizing and toxic, and yes he communication issues (like most drama couple leads lol). But he does change, noticeably, and obviously loves Nabi. I honestly disliked Nabi more. She also doesn’t communicate with Jae Eon, seems oblivious to his changes, and seems like she just wants a boyfriend no matter who. Everyone can say that Jae Eon is toxic for her but she’s just as toxic for him to me. She shows no faith in him, doesn’t directly ask him his feelings or what’s going on, and believes others without hearing from him.

My biggest complaint with this series is the characters were really under developed, especially Jae Eon. There’s obviously a back story to him, we get a couple hints but nothing is ever explained. They could have made this drama much better and made the ending much better by telling us the whole story of these main characters. While most might say it’s a happy ending the way they set it up just makes you so incredulous at Nabi that at least in my case I couldn’t understand her decision to date Jae Eon (even though I wanted them to end up together). The side characters in this were amazing and definitely elevated the series for me. Bit Na was a bit annoying though and I wish the LGBTQ couple got more storyline.

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Nevertheless is definitely one of the most-talked about K-drama here in Malaysia during its broadcast. First reason, Song Kang and Han So Hee are the main leads. Let's admit it. Their visuals are no joke. Second reason, well, the 19+ scenes. When it was announced that Song Kang and Han So Hee will be having a show together, I was really rooting for it even though I don't know the story yet. I just want to see their chemistry together. I didn't even read the synopsis of the drama. So, I literally have no idea what the story is all about, which makes the drama more interesting to me.

Slow-paced series
A lot of my friends know that I am not really into slow-paced dramas. Because I easily get bored with those kind of dramas. But let this be an exception. The slow-paced storytelling made me connected with the characters more. I was able to feel the heaviness they felt.I really love it when there is an ample time for this kind of stare. Those voice-overs during these scenes makes me more immersed with the situation. And this one of the reasons why Nevertheless is a realistic one for me.

A realistic story
Although I really wanted to slap Nabi for her poor decisions in life, I can't totally blame her. She came from an abusive relationship. She was healing. She was lost. It's really easy for us to say who to choose and who will be better because we're not in her situation. We don't know what's really happening on her mind. Or what her heart really wants. Same goes with Jae Eon. I believe that he also don't know what he wants. He always say that he don't want to be in a relationship. But I think, deep inside him, he wanted to be loved. He's just afraid? I don't know. But that's what I feel for his character. It's just that, the way he reacts is on a toxic way.

Both characters are lost. And when we're looking for answer on another person, we'll end up hurting them or hurting ourselves. But that's the reality of life. We always get hurt with our decisions. Because even if we know it's going to affect us negatively, we'll still push through.
-- Spoiler Alert --
I remember the quote, "I'd rather have 'oh well's than 'what if's". This is a great example of that. Nabi knew that Park Jae Eon will eventually hurt her. But she decided to continue liking Jae Eon and be in a relationship with him. At least, they tried making it work.

Another second lead syndrome
The feelings I felt while watching Nevertheless was the same feeling I got when I watched "A Love So Beautiful". My heart goes for the second lead, the good guy that the main lead didn't choose. Aside from the fact that I liked Chae Jong Hyeop, (come on! Look at his pretty smiles) I really liked his character here in Nevertheless. Yang Do Hyuk knows what he really wants in the first place. He likes Nabi. He wants Nabi to be happy. He is honest with what he feels. And because he loves Nabi more, he decided to let her go at the end. I really feel bad for him for choosing someone who doesn't love him.

During the first few episodes, I really wanted to ship him with Nabi. But while the story progresses, I stopped shipping him because I believed he deserves someone better. Although his love life wasn't a success, his career is. We don't know what happened next to him but I just hope that he will also find his happiness.

The scene stealers
Aside from the main leads' story, we are also rooting for these characters. They have their own story to tell. They also have their own struggles. Nevertheless showed us that there are different kind of love stories, different kind of struggles. These pairs made Nevertheless more interesting.

Final Thoughts
For me, Nevertheless is actually a good drama. But it may not be everyone's cup of tea. It really depends on you if you would love the flow of the story. For me, the drama has ended well and I don't see the need for another season. To be honest, I wanted Nabi to not end with anyone. But the ending somehow was justified because at least she was able to voice out what she really wants. And that is to be with Jae Eon even if Jae Eon might hurt her in the future. She took the risk.With this drama, I learned to understand people more, especially with their life choices. We're all lost and we're still figuring things out. But I hope we can all be strong to face those struggles may it be in love or in life, generally.

This series is available on Netflix.

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Nabi

I really liked this one, but it lacked a few things (like the ending, which wasn't the best), but other than that, the development of the main characters was good, the secondary ones were really good, the couples that didn't have as much focus as the main one still had a lot of things talking about them, that said 8.5/10, I don't give a higher score because of the ending that could be better.

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Can you handle story with indecisive main leads always breaking up and getting together?

firstly Han So Hee is one of mine fav actresses. This drama cant be compared to Soundtrack#1, but still its not as bad as ratings goes. Whole drama got quite nice cinematography its quite good to look at. At other hand it got alot slow scenes.

Whole drama is about college life at art school and relationships of students. For korean drama its surprise that they pushed into it mature content, but at least its some innovation.

Story of main pair is sadly, about guy which cant give girl he likes feeling of security, cause his own emotional immaturity. It makes whole story quite toxic and relationship going in circle get together X breakup. Still I got no problem with watching it.

plot - FL is art student in college and just break-up with her ex cause he cheated her. She soon got together with young man[ML] in bar, which as she gets to know latter happens to be student from same college.

genre - romance, college, art

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It’s realistically true, Nevertheless

Love has always been a complex topic which draws a great amount of interest in every audio visual art form. It is also the case with Nevertheless. The story revolves around multiple youthful, free-spirited, reckless love from diverse characters in a homogeneous college environment. The kdrama itself came in a short, seemingly compact 10 episodes which aired weekly (a short 6 episodes and held a difference from the usual 2 episodes per week usual Kdrama formats). Although with the unique format, the love adventure is not as solid as they making it out to be.

Disclaimer: Nevertheless is based on a webtoon from the same name, however I never read nor had any interest on the said e-comics. This review is based on my personal preferences.

Nevertheless tells the story of multiple Sculpture major students — emphasis on love stories — but it mostly focuses on a senior student, Yoo Nabi, and her junior yet-the-same-age-and-a-player, Park Jae-eon. Other than our main couple and the dynamics of Nabi’s friends, we also learn about an additional main character Yang Dohyeok which happens to be Nabi’s long-lost childhood friend (whom had a crush on her).

The premise of Nevertheless offers simplicity. Within all the relationships, every one of them has their own unique up and downs. Firstly though, let’s focus on Yoo Nabi and Park Jae-eon. The main couple of the story speaks to the audience as they were relatable to recent dating trends. Either you hate commitment, disbelieve in fate and coincidences, vent some sort of lust, or unconfidently stand on your own two feet of principles, they offer a realistic approach to all of those. While being realistically enchanting, the plot execution of Nevertheless fell flat especially towards the end. The early stages of Nabi and Jae-eon’s relationship felt nerve-wrecking. However, other than feeling anxiously excited for each other’s next moves, it comes off as jitty — thanks to Jae-eon’s over-the-top red flags in almost every love-related scenes. We also got a too-kind hopeless romantic second-lead — that the female lead seemed to be more comfortable with yet didn’t end up with. Out of many possible outcomes, if anything, Nabi could’ve been a miss independent in order to obtain her dreams and a stable life. Yet, she ends up with Jae-eon declaring her willingness to regret the relationship if necessary. Nabi’s plot is indeed, dryer than I thought it would be, except for that one time her piece being broken.

Fortunately though, Nevertheless showed redeeming qualities when it comes to the side couples. Although I would point out firstly how it felt a little too exaggerated that every single pairing is on a timid and homogeneous environment, a Sculpture Major in a university. Starting off with Oh Bitna (the Gretchen Wieners of the university) and Nam Gyuhyun (a decent guy, though he seems to do mansplaining to Bitna quite often) whom had the best friends turned lover trope. Being a side plot, their arcs didn’t do much but the simplicity revolving around them was enjoyable. A major downside when they edited the guy out of the frame on episode 8 and 9 due to his personal life scandal. Being best friends since childhood, the cute yet possessive Seo Jiwan plus settled and though Yoon Sol is another story. In the act of South Korea becoming slightly more progressive, the addition of this LGBTQ+ couple actually felt enticing as the characters didn’t overdo neither half-assing their actions. Last but not the least are the double decent seniors, Ahn Kyungjoon and Minyoung. I never really understood their presence in the university, lack of details there, yet this couple felt effortless and natural. Sadly, the duo didn’t really connect with the main plot and felt more like a filler. I might missed some couples but those four are the necessary ones. Aside from the characters mentioned earlier, the extended characters that were not affiliated with the main couples are lively — especially the bubbly assistant and Seo Jiwan and Yoon Sol’s witty male friend.

Other than the love stories, I found Nevertheless to be lacking in plot with the corresponding settings that it had. The drama clearly had potential with exploring the life of university, specifically art department, multiple students which basically means multiple personalities and lives, yet they didn’t explore those much. The writers should have given opportunity for the viewers to learn about sculptures and art rather than leaving the topic as a bypassing. A few times Nabi and other students had to present their projects or art related materials but those were left unseen. The background stories of everyone except Nabi were not explored at all: their families, earlier education or experiences, etc. Moving on, some gatherings or group hangouts being offered, although the act of group talks while eating felt too repetitive throughout the series. Though with the negative points I had mentioned, the glimpse of university life depicts a proper life without pandemic very well.

As I have had mentioned by the show having a great potential, it truly did when it comes to the supporting elements. The OST is terrific, definitely one of the best among this year’s Kdramas. All of songs are notably easy-listening while adding flavor to the stories (special mention to Sam Kim’s Love Me Like That, Kimmuseum’s We’re Already, and J.UNA’s Butterfly). Another excellent point is the cinematography. Every single shot expresses the situation, expressions, and additional meanings of the characters’ actions immensely. Although I found many vents on social media regarding Song Kang being lacking in acting or other stuffs, the portrait shots are excellent. Another thing I would like to point out are the sets that felt natural whether it comes to the studio, the hostel when the students went to another city, or many others.

The story of Park Jae-eon and Yoo Nabi might have left mixed impressions among the viewers. However, the whole journey was quite enjoyable. I watched Nevertheless mostly as a side drama and just once a week while watching other series that were “darker”. So this one was a nice fresh breath of air. Perhaps, one of the reasons I quite enjoy this drama was because I never really take things as seriously and overly passionate as heavier series. This drama can be classified as just *another* kdrama with the final result, nevertheless it had a cute run.

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loved the side characters more, Neverthless

ahem ahem finally...like you wouldn't believe how crazily I waited for this show to air with only one ep a week yep if was difficult.
So the thing here is that this is most probably the first and only show where I was shipping our second male lead so hard cox obviously our potato boi deserved it all.
I was more invested in the side couples than the main couple.
Sol and ji wan yes HELL YES they made me crazy for them, I always had my heart eyes while watching them in screen:)
Oh Bit na and Nam Gyu had the whole wattpad I am in love with my best friend trope going on as well like sol and ji wan but man oh man we all need a guy who looks at us like Gyu looks at Bit na!!! Like honestly it was so obvious from ep 1 that the guy was madly, hopelessly in love with her and it broke my heart when I saw them part ways but it was soo funny seeing both of them pretending that they don't care about each other and then doing everything possible for each other's affection.
Now now coming to our seniorssss this couple of my so underrated I swear, I searched for idek how long to find their edits on YouTube like seriously watching them made my heart flutter and even made me scream that how more obvious should the other person be for the one of them to understand that they are in love with each other ;_;
Nabi and Jae Eon were two individuals which I think made us feel like being in a spiral. Nabis desperation to hold onto him wasn't something that I felt was wrong. It is what it is in real life as well, it's hard, hard to the point that one can lose themself in order to hold onto that one person and I respect that about the actors as they were able to potray it so well.
I wanted Nabi to be happy and end up with our potato boy as i thought it's for the best but honestly yes was deeply in love with our butterfly boy so yeah one is senseless in love and we get it but it ended with literally like no visible character developed just the sheer need and vulnerability to stay with Jae Eon and honestly out side couples having a happy ending mattered more to me than the lets date ending of our main lead.

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