Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Title of Work: Twenty-Five Twenty-One (Korean: 스물다섯 스물하나)
Genre: Romance
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes, 16 episodes
Type: Drama
This review contains spoilers.
Synopsis:8/10
In a time when dreams seem out of reach, a teen fencer pursues big ambitions and meets a hardworking young man who seeks to rebuild his life.
Na Hee Do is a member of her high school fencing team. Because of the South Korean financial crisis, the high school fencing team gets disbanded. She gets through all the difficulties and becomes a member of the national fencing team.
The South Korean financial crisis also causes Baek Yi Jin's father's business to go bankrupt. This leads to a life change for Baek Yi Jin, from living the life of a wealthy person to a poor person. He works part-time jobs like delivering newspapers. Later, he becomes a sports reporter for a broadcasting network.
World Building: 9/10
The story is set in two timelines, 1998 and 2022, and compares the COVID-19 scenario now and the IMF Crisis in Korea in 1998. Through the use of nostalgic objects like cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and 90s clothing, it successfully compares the changes in lifestyle and technology from 1998 to today. This supports the story's efforts to link the two timelines by demonstrating how some feelings and experiences carry over from one generation to the next. It not only highlights how Na Hee Do's perspective on her mother is still developing today, but it also mirrors what Min Chae is experiencing now as she deals with a current Big Event, just like Na Hee Do did in the past.
Overall Impressions 8.5/10
The narration is insightful and delicate, and when combined with good casting and delivery, the characters come to life with such vitality and heart, their relationships feel Genuine, and their journeys feel so familiar and relatable that I couldn't get enough of it all. The characters were described and portrayed so beautifully, showing the transformation of rivals into best friends and the friendship between all five students and Yi Jin. The contrast between the first pair and the second couple showed how life is more about the journey and the memories we make than it is about a happy or sad finish. It was Fresh, nostalgic, and bursting with emotions. The lesson learned is that neither good nor negative things last forever, so live in the moment and enjoy life.
Extra: The OST music is pitch-perfect and excellently applied it suits the drama theme well.
