CBAW is an unexpectedly decent K-BL, and it could even be labeled better than that. I've noticed with K-BLs to keep my expectations below surface level so by doing so, I won't lose any hope I had. Even with CBAW, I read the manga (my first one ever) and I still watched the live adaptation and thought it was on point from its book form (kinda). CBAW took me only a day to watch, it piqued my interest, and kept hold of it throughout the episodes.

Let's Dive In.

Cherry Blossoms After Winter is a live adaptation of the manga following the same name. The basic synopsis is that Haebom lost his parents, so his mom's best friend takes him in as her own where he would live with Taesung, his best friend who indicates that he doesn't want Haebom to be his brother. Years passed and they're now seniors in high school navigating their strange feelings for one another. It's obviously a lot easier to tell a story full of detail in a book than it is in a dama, but in my honest opinion, I believe they did an impressive job at following along with the manga, even having the same lines said from the book. Add that on top of perfectly casted actors and you've got yourself an A+ K-BL.

What needed some work: I'm the type of person who usually doesn't read original work before watching the live adaptation, however, I wanted to give it a go here, and now I've unlocked a new hobby (great, something else to take up the time I don't have). But for the people watching without having read the manga, there are a few things that would seem very off and weren't given enough time for a thorough explanation. Like why Haebom just lets these bullies abuse him (and why they just vanish all of a sudden), or why Taesung is so standoffish and the reason Haebom thought he hated him. There are some other smaller implications, but those were the larger ones that needed more of a story behind them. If I wouldn't have read the manga, I would be partially confused throughout the series. Just a few fixer-uppers would've done the job.

I had to get used to the cinematography of this series that I've never (at least can't remember) seen in any other K-BL, let alone any BL. For a while, it looked like I was watching a vlog on Youtube and it kept throwing me off my wagon. Some of the scenes shot are a little shaky, I'm sure that's how they wanted to interpret the moment being shown, but if it's not fluent throughout the series, then those small moments when they do happen, it's a huge eye-catcher, and a bit of a bothersome. While the sets and the scenery were absolutely breathtaking, the color-grading and editing could use a lot of work. There were so many scenes that just got cut off in the midst, and it happens quite often, causing a stir of annoyance. There were a few very subtle ad placements that I appreciated for their subtleness, but by now, I can tell an ad from an actual motivated action.

Onto what I loved: The casting for CBAW was probably as accurate as I could imagine. Jinuk did an incredible job as Haebom, playing almost perfectly into his shyness, bubbliness, and everything in-between. I just wanted to pack him in my pocket and protect him for the rest of his life. Hui did an excellent job as well playing into Taesung's character. I'm also glad they decided to not make his character as stoic as the one in the manga, and this Taesung actually has some personality. Yonghee is hands down the best-casted character, and Gun did a fantastic job. Everyone else was really good too, even down to the guest roles.

The plot is handled very well and follows the exact same story. Obviously, some things are different (like Haebom working in a flower shop, or the friends all going on a camping trip) but their implications helped to move the plot along, and they were good anyways. Again, the story is about as accurate as they could've gotten it to the book, and it was fun catching all these different moments that I remembered from my read. The time jumps can be easily missed for someone not truthfully watching, but I think even those were done pretty well. The writers do a superb job at connecting the feelings and emotions of the characters in the story, which boosted its ability to give me the feels for everyone involved.

The chemistry wasn't as strong as it could've been between the main leads, but they still were able to give us a real relationship that wasn't full of forced touching and kissing. From the cuddles scenes all the way up to their more intimate scenes, both actors did a great job at making it look natural. I felt more of a connection closer to the end, but in the midst, it felt a bit lacking.

Not very important, but the height difference gets to me. Taesung was a whole ass head taller than Haebom. When he bent down to hug or even when Taebom reached up to hug, it was a-fucking-dorable. God, I can't explain to you how much height differences mean to me.

Ratings:

Story: 8 - Loved the story, also loved how accurate it was to the book. All the characters were genuine, everything flowed nicely, and I wasn't dissatisfied with any of it. I'll take off one star for some of the jumpy cuts and another for some of the weaker storylines.

Acting - 9.5 - Superb acting. everyone did an excellent job, but Jinuk was the best. Gun also put on a very strong performance that outshined the others.

Music - 5 - didn't pay much attention to it, meaning it wasn't distracting. Good.

Rewatch Value: 1 - Could come back and watch certain scenes.

Definitely recommend this K-BL. It's super cute, and if the story doesn't do it for you, the height difference will.