18 Again

I really love this drama and the cast a lot. Great work filming crew, making so good drama. People who did not watch it are missing out a fantastic drama. So watch it :)

This well made and carefully crafted series. The story takes the premise of the Zac Efron movie and goes way beyond to explore many angles of the family relationships between a man and his children, his wife and his own father. Every episode has something touching and the situations don't seem contrived but evolve quite naturally. Of course the element of suspense about who and when he will be discovered keeps things interesting. It also feels even quite deep when he ponders his life choices in giving up basketball and the sacrifices of an early marriage and kids and later divorce. There is quite a lot going on in the story both in school and at the wife's work in broadcasting. This keeps the 16 episodes filled and even includes a sports bribery thing. Lee Do Hyun is quite convincing at acting as an older man in a teenager's body. As the adults, Yoon Sang Hyun acts quite beaten down and sad at times. Kim Ha Neul does act like she had a hard life. Something in the Rain fans may recognize Wi Ha Joon as a baseball player. The kids are cute too. The soundtrack fits the emotional scenes quite well. They really did a better than expected job with this idea.

Except for Zac Efron's stunning smiles, I couldn't place the original film version of this series. Still, starting an adaption series is nerve-racking. Fortunately, the creators of 18 Again ensured that it would live up to the original by adapting it into their own plot.

The Korean version of the show takes a more serious approach to the main plot, focusing on Hong Dae-Young's relationships with his wife and children. Therefore, don't be deceived by the ludicrous, humorous trappings of this drama; it has so much heart that it never runs out of emotions. Fatherly love, familial love, romantic love, and even platonic love were all given equal time in the spotlight, resulting in a genuinely satisfying viewing experience that I didn't want to end.

In addition, the cast is fantastic. It's top-billed by veteran actors Kim Ha-neul and Yoon Sang-Hyun, and the main storyline was as expected well-acted. What surprised me was how good Lee Do-Hyun is in this drama.

I was concerned from the start about his ability to handle a lead part in this series with well-known competent actors. And he did it! His passionate performance has really blown me away.

My heart-eyes for Lee Do Hyun are completely unintended and most likely permanent.

So, if you enjoy slice-of-life/school/relationship dramas, I think you should give this a shot!

(PS- I'm still perplexed as to how 30-year-old Hwang In-youp can portray a "high school student" so well at the age of 30. WHAT IS THE KEY TO HIS YOUNG FOREVERNESS?)

Beautifully directed and very elegantly presented by all the actors. Soul touching and refreshing. It took me total 3 days to complete 16 episodes of this drama. Each episode is of about 1 hour. After completing this, one thing which I can very concretely say that this 3 days were really most beautiful for me since the start of the pandemic. The direction, quality of acting, script, screenplay, storyline, dialogues, each and every thing is a dimension beyond. A real stress buster and morally uplifting drama worth your time for sure. I will highly Recommended this to each and every individual reading my review. Please go watch this, you will witness the most beautifully crafted piece of art on screen. Deep, soul touching, full of concrete life lessons and heart melting !!

This series took me a while to finish, as I don't generally watch these type of slow, slice of life type of dramas.

With that in mind, let me say what I thought this got both wrong and right.

First of all, this is obviously based off the hit 2009 Zach Efron movie (which I really liked I might add). Enough time has passed that this felt like a fresh take on the idea. The first two episodes are like a carbon-copy remake in Korean, and then it moves into original territory. The show takes a more serious look at the base story, focusing on Dae-Young's relationships with his wife and children. The comedic aspects of the movie are almost completely traded in for a more morose and poignant tone, and for the most part this is actually a very good thing. I liked the way the show examined marriage and parenting and how Dae-Young was able to re-evaluate his life from the perspective of an 18 year old. There was a lot of closure for side characters that were totally blown off in the movie, and I really liked that they decided to get rid of the super cringey part of the 2009 movie where his daughter fell in love with him - wow did I hate that part!

This show also had a really great soundtrack, with some stand out heart breaker songs and some beautiful piano scores.

What this got wrong though is it really was too long in my opinion. The story could have been told in half the episodes, at the most 10.

Overall this is a sweet and serious story that was really pushed through by Lee Do Hyun as the breakout star of this - while I have seen him in almost every thing else he has been in, this is his first main role, and boy does he shine! If slice of life/school/relationship drama's are your thing I think you should definitely give this a try!