If you are looking for a beautiful stress free youth drama. Look no further

Short Synopsis:
When the new transfer student Su Zai Zai falls for the cold, aloof & introverted Zhang Lu Rang, she knows her work is cut out for him and with the help of her best friend Jiang Jia she tried various cringey scenarios to win him over which usually hilariously backfires. While Zhang Lu Rang usually keeps to himself due to his inferiority complex and has created barrier around him because he is constantly being pressured and ignored by his family as he is being always compared to his genius younger brother. But soon it becomes harder for Zhang Lu Rang to resist Su Zai Su Zai's charm when she starts to feel like a sun to his cloudy days because she is always there for him and can't help but smile because of her silly tactics and her straight forward & bubbly nature. And soon Su Zai Zai along with Jiang Jia and Zhang Lu Rang's friends Gu Ran & Guang Fang helps Zhang Lu Rang to get out of his shell and they forge new friendships and lifelong memories.

Reason to watch this drama :
1. Short, sweet, stress free & beautiful
2. Follows the character's journey through school , college to university and their adult life which will make you nostalgic about your youth and friendships.
3. The characters are all green flags. All the characters are fleshed out and has their own individual stories and goals
4. The female characters are strong, intelligent and does not fall in the damsel in the distress trope.
5. Though the main female character pursues male character at first , she respects his boundaries and is not clingy.
6. The relationship between the main characters is very healthy, there is no misunderstanding, love triangle or angst. Whenever they encounter any problems they trust each other and get through it. Also it builds on the concept of 'She fell for him first but he fell for her harder'.
7. This drama has some really great & beautiful quotes and life lessons which will be engraved in you and you will think back to this moments.
8. The actors and actresses were perfect for their roles and had great chemistry.
9. The OST is also really beautiful, you will lose yourself listening to it and will be again reminded of the beauty of this drama
10. Happy ending.

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...the emotions they displayed just with their eyes were enough to make me curl up & cry

PLOT :
Choi Ung & Yeon-su were high school sweethearts who suddenly broke up 5 years ago and have not been in contact since then but when a documentary which they did about the daily lives of 1st ranked high school student Yeon- su & last ranked student Choi Ung whose personalities completely clash with each other at that time becomes suddenly viral again in the present, the two ex-lovers are re-united again reluctantly and due to some circumstances they are asked to do another documentary about their present lives. As old wounds re-surface again, we get to explore the journey of their past which shaped their present, how they are coping with their adulthood which turned out different what they hoped it to be, their insecurities, their bickering, petty jealousy and revenge and if they are ready to move on from the past, grow up, forgive and maybe give themselves a chance again.

My REVIEW:
The premise of Our Beloved Summer is simple but what it excels at is character development, the chemistry & the art of subtlety. Rather than bombarding us with grand displays of emotions, it slowly nudges our heart and let our heart do the rest of the work because they know we will be able to relate to it and can feel what they are going through rather than trying to make us understand it to feel for them. And this art of not doing too much is risky because it can be hit & miss as many actors can't pull it off, so usually dramas take the other route. But, my God, Choi Woo Shik (Parasite) & Kim Dami (Itaewon Class) were up for it. The emotions they displayed just with their eyes were enough to make me curl up, cry and keep me awake at night, I don't think any other actors could pull off this beautiful imperfect characters and their chemistry was off the charts. The anguish of their heartbreak & yearning for each other yet unable to move on from their past can be seen plainly by us, the viewers within their subtle ticks and features but yet we can see how they hid it from everyone else.

There is no one dimensional antagonist in this series. All the other characters are also normal humans who are also going through their pain and struggle and trying to cope with it, and live their life. We can probably relate to each characters because we can see that all of them are inherently good persons just dealing with their demons like the rest of us. I wish some of them had more character growth but still it was a better representation of the secondary characters than some other kdramas who are just there as a catalyst for the main characters.

The unique documentary styled editing with the combination of showing a same flashback of past from multiple perspective was ingenious, it showed multiple facets of different character’s point of view which has also enriched the viewing experience of this drama. I also loved the minimalistic indie approach by the director as in, they didn’t go in the direction of display of grandeur with a huge iconic scenic backdrop or soundtracks blaring every second when there is an iconic moment, instead they toned it down, let the actors do their part, used silence or slow song to drive the important turning point scenes so that it feels like we are in the moment with them and we are paying our full attention to them.

And if this drama is not already worthy to be a must watch, it hits off the park with the soundtrack. All the songs in the soundtrack are exquisite, they perfectly compliment the scenes they are used in.

I would like to end my very long review with the parting words that I absolutely loved the journey that I went with the characters of this drama, I cried and laughed with them and always rooted for them. This drama is definitely not for everyone but I will miss Yeon-su and Choi Ung a lot and my Mondays and Tuesdays will feel empty without them.

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