I would like to start off with the show’s weak spots. After this I can say with full confidence that the show is definitely dragged out more than it needs to be. It got annoying hearing the same soundtrack playing in the background over & over again at unwarranted times. The acting was pretty decent too considering it’s a drama; however, I think the more intimate scenes seemed awkward enough with the slow-motion stare downs it did not need to add sound effects. Another thing was the transition between scenes & the timeline itself. Ex. the younger sister. According to the beginning, the main female character moved during her junior year & by the time the story ends (with her graduating) 6 years have passed. 6 years & her younger sister hasn’t aged a day. Now, I understand if they wanted to keep her because she does have great talent, but they completely brushed off time & accuracy entirely which threw me wayyy off. The supporting characters’ problems & situations seemed rushed too sometimes revealing choppy cuts & just appearing out of nowhere. I also noticed a subtle hint at Asia’s beauty standard (aka excessive stabs at darker skinned Asians & glorifying skin whitening/lightening products). Spoilers ahead>>>they didn’t even give the “chubby” female a love interest yet the main female lead gets about 3–how typical of them. I am still uncertain whether the writers/directors purposely tried to point out Asia’s colorist/fatphobia problem orrrr ignorantly followed the social stigma.
Anyways, I definitely enjoyed the dynamic characterization of the main female lead who grew from this very timid, hopeless romantic to a somewhat confident, driven & potentially successful young woman. The drama & wardrobe change each “year” kept me on my toes during from time to time. It is indeed an innocent show & I would recommend it to anyone who has time to waste (pretty predictable ending with no major plot twists like death, teenage pregnancy, etc). Not enough eSpice, if you will.