Dear. M

While the whole love triangle trope set in high school or university has been consistently done in many K-dramas, Dear. M still somewhat feels like a breath of fresh air. In an array of dark, suspenseful, political, and thrilling K-dramas, this series is exactly what we need.

Of course, there are still tons of K-dramas out there that have a similar plot, but one thing that stands out in Dear. M is the fact that it is told in a different point-of-view. Other series with the love triangle-in-a-campus plot often features a wealthy, heir, and smart male lead who has all the chance to win the heart of the female lead. Meanwhile, the second lead is characterized as the one closer to the female lead, but fails to become her "happily ever after". This series portrays the male lead, Cha Min-ho, as the seemingly hopeless romantic best friend of Ma Joo-ah. Here, he competes with Moon Joon, the son of a wealthy CEO. In other words, it seems like their roles have been switched.

Performance wise, I want to praise the main cast for giving such natural performances. What makes it all so different is how it doesn't feel forced and cringey; the actors are portraying their characters in such a natural way that perfectly fits the lighthearted theme of the series. Also, kudos to Jaehyun, Jinhyuk, and Eunbin for their acting despite being known more as K-pop singers.

Dear. M features a coming-of-age romantic story that we have seen before; just in a different perspective. This drama is an ode to the classic K-drama love story archetype, giving us a new story while still sticking to what we are already familiar with.

Just not enough.

This is okay, but too unidimensional characters, nothing special or deep about any of their personalities. The FL is just silly, innocent and sweet, the ML is smart, loyal and secretly in love.... And so on. Filled with stereotypical clichés and doesn't really have enough push.

Good for teenagers I guess.

Best thing about this K-Drama is that it is Jaehyun's (Jeong Jae-hyun) debut as an actor. He is member of South Korean boyband NCT. He plays the main lead Cha Min-ho as a college student as a Computer Science. Major and an app developer who falls for the girl who has been his 12 year friend. It is just one of the love relationships showcased in this short 12 episode series with a mystery of who confessed love anonymously. There are clues along the story that could fit to different situations and actors, so it keeps you guessing. The script itself it slowing and boring at times, no fault of the actor, and Jeong Jae-hyun did a great job on the role and look forward to seeing him more!!!

Korean Drama " Dear. M " is a Global Playlist drama, in the series of the Love Playlist.

However, it is nothing like the previous ones. The main problem with it is that it's boring and predictable. Pretty much nothing happens, with the characters simply going through their college life, with some ups and downs in their romantic lives. The big mystery with the mapple posts, often being forgotten when it didn't serve anything to the plot, was not interesting to keep things entertaining and its final conclusion was nothing to get excited about.

Probably the only thing that was interesting was the rivalry between the two ex classmates, but that's about it. No surprises when it came to the romance, some half baked plots, and a few unlikable characters. Especially the main lead was too much of a plain jane acting like a child all the time.

The performances, moreover, were decent.

So, overall, three out of ten.

Before we head into Jaehyun's acting, I will briefly say why I gave this kdrama a 10/10 rating. I loved it. Simply as that. Quite cliche but it doesn't affect my opinion. Now about Jaehyun, he is GOOD, contrary to what I saw on twitter from people who never even watched the series. He still has room for improvements and that's just right since this is his first acting experience. But take note: THAT DOES NOT MAKE ONE A BAD ACTOR. Honestly, he is way too good for a first-time idol actor. As a common viewer and a non-Jaehyun stan, I say I'm impressed even though it's his first time. His acting isn't cringey like other kdrama male leads, it's very in-character. His eyes show so much that he doesn't need to open his mouth or scream "I'M SAD! I'M GONNA CRY!" for me to feel the pain his character feels. I empathized with his character because of Jaehyun's acting, I applaud him for that one. Not every actor can do that without providing a white actor's Oscar-winning scene. Congratulations actor Jaehyun!