Reply 1988 has got to be one of the best dramas in 2015. It takes you through the 80s' where you get the chance to appreciate their struggles, humour and subsequently, growth. It was a nostalgic watch and every emotion was raw and genuine. I love the the drama format, in which we have an episode that unveils a different story (but still related to the rest of the story so that the plot flows smoothly) and each episode is a bundle of joy at between 1 and a half hour to almost 2 hours long.

The characters were golden. I truly enjoyed the brilliant acting of the adults, how they portrayed their friendship and family ties between one another. Throughout the series, I was amazed at how close the families were together, and how every time something happened, the first people they would tell to are one another. It was always a heartwarming sight to see the families (especially Junghwan's family, Deoksun's family and Sunwoo's family) together. When they were together, there would always be something hilarious going on and then cue the awkward goat sound would set in. As much as I feel that the adults' acting is golden, I honestly think that the children's acting is on par too. When you watch them, you can really feel for them.

In the end, Reply 1988 is a family drama. It highlights the importance of family, friendship more so than romance. The romance factor is here and to be honest, I really wish the scriptwriter did not change direction mid way (elaborating on this would reveal spoilers so I shall not). Nevertheless, I never once regretted watching this because there are so many great characters here.

Music: Well with a total of 11 original sound tracks, each to add to the nostalgic vibe to it, I must say that the music is definitely the best of the best. My personal favourite is Hyuk Oh's ?? (A little girl).

I know there was an uproar after around episode 17-18 and some comments I saw on Reply 1988's tvn official twitter were extremely nasty. I was kind of shocked reading them (if you could understand Korean, you would too)... and then after the last broadcast, I saw the comments on articles on Naver, many Koreans were upset with the ending because it felt incomplete to them. Personally, I wasn't all too happy with it either but I could understand that in the end, we must know that Reply 1988 is really just a family drama. This drama, I believe, will always remain as a drama that is dear to my heart.

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Damn MBC should release more of such mini dramas!!! I mean from a mini drama which only has two 1 hour long episodes, you shouldn't expect much from it right? But boy I was so wrong! This mini drama gave me so much emotions than I could have ever hoped for and I really felt as though I was watching a normal full length drama, which is definitely not something that can be easily accomplished, so credit to this drama :)

Story: Really really good. I have watched 2 korean dramas based on time-travel and I really like them (especially Queen In Hyun's man) so I guess I have a soft spot for such dramas but objectively speaking, SSL was executed perfectly in terms of story line so really, it's just darn good.

Acting: Having watched Let's eat, I acknowledged Yoon Doo joon's acting ability but in here, he really seemed like a king. KIm Seul Gi has always been known for her supporting roles in dramas (more notably, Flower Boy Next Door and Oh My Ghostess) and she was great in both dramas so this drama is a confirmation that she can handle the lead role as well. Looking forward to her future projects ^^

There's a reason why people (INCLUDING KOREANS) are demanding a second season of SSL and I am sure the reason will be unraveled once you watch this ~~

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For a low budget drama series like this, I did not have much expectations when I first chanced upon this. It all happened when I was like really bored and looking for a show to watch but little did I expect that once I started watching, I couldn't stop! I know I have a soft spot for time travelling dramas but this plot was kind of refreshing to me because a man's soul time traveled to the past in a female's body! I read the synopsis and was curious about how he(she) was going to get out of this mess especially since he was a playboy in modern times.

Plot: Hilarious yet sad at times. I can't believe how pretty the drama is shot even thought it's a low budget one. The female actress carried the plot with her acting and she's really beautiful in the show. It helps that the female character had a male soul in a female body so she didn't care about the crown prince at the beginning while the crown prince slowly became intrigued by her new personality.

Acting: 10/10 Props to the cast for displaying such good performance to carry the plot when the budget is this low.

Music: It didn't particularly stood out to me but there are more than enough things to distract you from it. (:

Rewatch: I just finished this drama and I heard there's going to be a third ending?? I am definitely going to rewatch this sometime in the future.

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Lan ling Wang...

This drama started out strong and fortunately, finished on a strong note too. The plot was tight, well-written and followed closely real Chinese history.

Ep 1-20 was the highlight for me. These episodes kept me on my toes and I sacrificed my sleep to watch 'just one more' episode each night. And yes, these episodes were what pulled me into the series.

However, from ep 20 onwards, things started to take a sudden turn at the appearance of an antagonist but what made me annoyed or even infuriated was that the main characters' personalities were not like before (strong and smart) and I started to feel that they became dense, Lan ling Wang especially.

Nevertheless, that too, was soon over and things became more politically complex from that point on.

I have to admit, the beginning of the series was a lot better than the middle (which caused it to lose its steam) and the end but I sat through all these 46 episodes for Feng shao feng and Ariel lin which was, in my opinion, worth it. Since it was a Taiwan-Chinese production, Ariel lin was a bit awkward with her Chinese accent and could sound somewhat strange but the acting for both the main characters was the key point for me to finish this series.

The love triangle between the 2 male leads and Xue wu was great. Both deserve her and love her dearly but I can't help but feel sad for the second male lead, Yuwen yong, because time after again, it was him who saved her without caring about his status or even his life. Second male lead syndrome is strong in here.

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I was looking for something easy and light to watch and then I chanced upon this and was pleasantly surprised. The usual me would not care about other characters other than the leads but I found myself getting emotionally attached to many of the supporting characters, including even the antagonistic girl, Kwon Soo-Ah. Really love eunji's character here, kang yeon doo. She's strong-willed, brave and really really adorable. It's easy to see why she's so lovable in the show and how Kim Yeol fell for her...

Plot wise, I absolutely love it. It tackles real life issues that need to be addressed. I love the sweet romance between the two leads too and the bromance and friendship between the cast members. This drama really has a lot of heart and is hilarious yet touching all at the same time.

It's sad that it only has 12 episode though... I really wanted more of this drama :( but the pace and tone is perfect 10/10

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