Responde 1988 (2015)

An ode to youth and friends

Reply 1988 is like a cup of warm tea on a cold morning, the kind of drink that warms your soul. Nothing can compare to all the emotions that you feel while watching this drama. Let's talk about the drama now (It'll be a little long :D)

CHARACTERS:
The main reason why this drama feels like home is because of the whole cast who does exceptioanlly well in portraying their respective characters. And that includes all the members of Ssangmun dong neighborhood. My favorite character in this series has to be Jung hwan cause he is the type of person who may not be vocal about their love but will show it through their actions and I can relate to that. Tbh, I fell in love with him. The confession scene and all the scene he had with Deok sun made me cry so much cause there was so much love and hurt in his eyes that my heart ache for him. And that is the reason I initially dropped this series in 1st episode. Talking about Deok sun, Hyeri is perfect for the cast. The funny, carefree and loving nature she had in this drama was so heartwarming. Taek is just so pure and innocent. He was well loved and taken care by everyone and he was very steady about his feelings fro Deok sun too. Sun woo is the ideal son who cares so much about his mom and sister. Although he had some hard time accepting Moo-sung, he never hated him or Taek. And lastly, one of my favorite character of this drama which is Dong ryong literally did so good cause he is funny yet emotionally mature given he doesn't receive much attention from his parents. Whenever he popped up in any scene, I just laughed cause his acting and role is so fit for each other. Though most of you might have hated Bora during first episodes, she is not evil or aloof. She is just that way cause she has to be a strong independent woman to make her family live a good life in future. Also she softened alot in later episodes. My next favorite character in this series is Jung Bong. He's hilarious and his dumb yet fascinating hobbies made the series really funny. And kudos to Miran, Il-hwa, Sun-young, Moo-sung, Dong-il, Seong-gyun and Jae myung for being the perfect cast ever.

STORY:
The story of this series is about youth and friendship of 5 people who grew up together in the same neighborhood and the changes they face as they grow up. It was really heartwarming to see how 5 of them were so close to each other. The bond they had was so wholesome. Also, I loved how Miran and Seong gyun never thought of others as inferior although they were well off. They always helped the others and made sure everyone was fed. That is what I loved about this drama. The three ladies of Ssangmun-dong: Miran, Il-hwa and Sun-young sharing so much love and food with each other and never having any evil thoughs towards each other.
Also the love triangle in this story is heartbreaking but you will never ever hate any of them. I dropped this drama in first episode cause JH and DS was not the end game. But as I picked up the drama and continued to watch it, I realized that it was never about them really. Yes, there was plot of romance, but this drama is much more than the love triangle. This drama navigates through friendship, relation between parents and children, moving out of the house, financial issues and romance. Everything that we experience in our youth is what is shown in this drama. And I bet you will cry so much in most of the episodes. I have never cried so much in a drama before. And especially the last scene of last episode is such a tearjerker. And I just relaised that the last scene of last episode and first scene of first episode is same. The way I cried so hard during both is unimaginable. Also when whole neighborhood moves out, I felt so empty inside as if I was the one moving away from them. But this is life, we cannot be around the same people forever. Eventually, some will leave and some will stay.

This drama is a must watch cause this drama has perfect balance of happiness, comedy, sadness, anger, hesitation and love. Nothing will stay same in our life. We will pass our youth age and when we look back, we realize that it's the people that made our youth the way it is. Cheers to our youth where we made new friends, fell in love for the first time, had rebelling thoughts against our family and experienced a heartbreak. Now as we pass our youth, we have left some people in the past but carried their memories with us. But we all remember our youth, the memories we created and the love we had. This drama reminisces about our youth and maybe that is why we feel empty once this drama finishes.

Lastly, thank you to Reply 1988 for giving us such a heartwarming drama where we rememebr our youth, which will never come back but we'll revisit it time and again. Thank you to all the casts who gave justice to this drama and the crew involed in this drama.

Leia Mais

Checklist on why “Reply 1988” deserves 10 Stars:

1. CAST - Every actor, whether main or supporting, junior or senior, adult or child, wholeheartedly portrayed their individual roles with depth and realism.
2. SCRIPT - Five families living and thriving on the same street. You will laugh and cry with them throughout their many milestones and ordeals, and feel that you’ve become a part of their family by the time you wipe away your tears on the final episode.
3. MUSIC - OST is comprised of upbeat tunes and melancholic melodies that stick to your head like a catchy LSS. They’re played subtly in the background, making the scenes more heartfelt and pronounced.
4. SET DESIGN - South Korea in 1988 gradually transitioning to 2015. From the hairstyles and fashion, furniture and gadgets, to the lingo and trends - the production crew astonishingly enabled the audience to go back in time.
5. LESSONS IN LIFE - Watch and learn!

Leia Mais

This is one of my most fav drama! It is a very slow drama and tbh I don't like slow drama's .But after watching this I really really thank the writer for writing such a beautiful and heartwarming story...I just cannot express HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS DRAMA .....All the scenes in these dramas has meanings behind it and i cried so much because the scene's were SO heartwarming. The Characters in these drama was the most amazing part because if there were other characters in these drama it would not fit them well as much as this characters did ,every single one of them did their role so beautifully even the characters who just appeared for 1min or for a short amount of time was just perfect .....I realized that this moment is going to fly away and I won't be able to come back to that beautiful moment that passed away which i learned from this drama - REPLY 1988.....I CAN just watch this drama AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN WITHOUT HAVING ANY REGRET.....

Leia Mais

Flag on the play ;do not pass go

Before I give my review i wanted to say that I am fan of Park Bo Gum, he's one of my fav actors. However the writers bothed the ending. with DeoSuk husband (love intrest) . The writers fumbled the ball, "flag on the play", " do not pass go, do not collect $200, go straight to jail," Did they change their mind to who sould have been her husband (b/c of how popular my fav actor is) .. I thought Choi Taek was more on the reseved end for his personalitky. Or does Choi Take has Mulitple Personalilty disorders. How he is depicted in present time is completley differnent person. The esscescnce of who Choi Taek is as a teen changes to the esscscence of Jung -Hwang. I mean reall, Make it Make sense". I cant even watch the last 2 episodes b/c of how they writers do Jung-hwang toward the end of this series: A carppy confession to someone he's been in love with since High School// hidding his feelings for the sake of freinds ship. Blows my mind.. I can keep going on & on about this so I will leave it there. my raiting is relfelceted in the writer's error. I think I will boycott the last 2 episodes

Leia Mais

painfully beautiful

so well done that it makes my heart hurt

this drama is heavily family based and focuses on the day to day situations they each have, whether its the parents or the kids. what i really like about this so far is how normal it is and yet it can make me feel so many emotions. it's the perfect blend of everything — comedy, drama, slice of life. reminds me of home. it makes me think of all those good times i had as a kid with my family with no worries or responsibilities. crying as i write this LOL1!!!!

the characters are really easy to fall in love with — they all remind me of someone i know and i see myself in all of them at the same time. the parents are naggy and caring and it makes me miss my parents. it makes me miss the carefree days i had when i was younger where my biggest worry was homework. tbh idrk what to say because i dont have the right words but this show , that i'm not even finished, is a masterpiece. its nostalgia as a show. its heartbreak and joy and love and loss. its everything :(

Leia Mais

Great story about every part of our little group of friends. Brings back the same spark as the earlier seasons did in its own way.

Really well made, lovely acting and all around fun to watch. They pushed it a little with the length of each episode. Faster pace and some scene-cutting could have done wonders. Of course, I was in the wrong boat (Damn it junghwan!!) so in the end I felt a bit cheated personally. So close, yet so far... Damn you, second lead syndrome!

Watching this live really does you in. I wouldn't rewatch, but I'll always remember its magic.

Leia Mais

Nothing will beat this

I pretty much dislike every show I come across - but Reply 1988 was a top-tier, incredible drama. The stories were filled with laughter, food, togetherness, emotion, pranks, heartbreak, youth, resolution, soju, scolding, family, conflict, burning love, comedy, growth and more.

Every episode was like a valuable lesson. I watched this with my mother who grew up in a community very, very similar to the one on-screen and it was wonderfully nostalgic and relatable for her.

Because the plot revolved around multiple families, there was never a *truly* dull moment and many of those milked scenes I remember toughing through in Reply 1994, I didn't have to deal with here. Things were always happening and the characters were always thinking, speaking, reflecting, riding the waves.

The drama is not perfect and that's okay. There are certainly faults here and there - things you notice that don't make sense, like the different older actors or how certain people's stories felt incomplete by the time the show's last episode ends... but this is as close to a golden 10 as I think anything will get.

Reply 1997 was a great start. Reply 1994 did well for what it's worth. But Reply 1988 easily takes the cake for me.

Leia Mais

It’s not a drama, it’s more of a life lesson.

Honestly speaking, I was not as charmed by it as many people, but I still see the value this show has and its perfect execution. It was not an exciting roller coaster that made you want more. It reminded me more of a cup of hot tea that you crave after an exhausting day.

There is no real plot, and the whole show focused on the characters and their daily lives. One could assume it’s boring, but the realistic problems they are facing, the true emotions shown through the acting, and the inspiring dialogues serves all that one could ask for.

Turning on the episodes just felt like hanging out with friends - I laughed with them, cried with them, was frustrated and happy when they were. The show had this magical quality that made you feel part of it, included in whatever was happening on screen.

Realistically speaking, romance was the weakest part of the show. With Hye Ri and Joon Yeol dating in real life, their on screen chemistry has been just too strong. Personally, I was team Taek, with how the characters and the story was written, they just made more sense. That said, I could clearly see why so many people suffered from Second Lead Syndrome.

On the other hand, Reply 1988 gave me one of the realest representations of teenage crushes. The intense emotions, lack of maturity that goes into it. How one day you might like one person, to fall for someone else the next day. It all reminded me of my first crushes and how ridiculously over the top it all was back in the days.

My favorite stories did not even include the main teens. I was in love with all the ajummas and their husbands. Even the possibility of any of them getting hurt made me cry.

One complaint I would have - the episodes were too long. I’d rather have 24 episodes and none of them being longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes, than having some of the last episodes almost 2 hours long. Especially since it was a show I enjoyed watching before sleep, and sometimes I truly struggled to finish the episode without falling asleep.

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. It’s hard for me to describe why. It’s just dear to my heart without me being able to verbalize why.

Leia Mais