Because It's the First Time

Because It’s the First Time

6/10

Because It's the First Time

Genre:                            Episodes: 8                                Year: 2015

Romance

Synopsis:

Five teenagers have been friends since childhood. As they grow older, they begin to become more aware and interested in romance. Relationships between the friends begin to become more complicated as the dynamics between them change.

Cast:

Choi Minho (Yoon Tae Oh)

Park So Dam (Han Song Yi)

Kim Min Jae (Seo Ji An)

Jeong Eu Gene (Ryo Se Hyun)

Lee Yi Kyung (Choi Hoon)

Cho Hye Jung (Oh Ga In)

General Thoughts:

It’s a sweet and entertaining youth drama. Emphasis on the youth. The awakening of feelings and the ensuing confused emotions beautifully captures the choppy waters of adolescence. 

Said every 20-year old ever

The five friends are cute and have an easy, relaxed chemistry between them that makes for some wonderful relationships. Plus the drama is a step in the right direction for SHINee’s Minho- who encountered a bit of a conundrum in his last drama. 

It's not super exciting- but it is cute

‘Because It’s the First Time’ is a much more humble project- with a less known cast, less promotion, and overall less hype. Which is awesome as it sets us up more to be delightfully surprised rather than bitterly disappointed. I wouldn’t exactly say that the series is delightfully surprising- but it does deliver what it promised. A short and sweet watch about how relationships change once friendship starts hinting at romance. Beyond the relationships, there’s absolutely nothing going on plot-wise, but that doesn’t really matter in such a short series. That being said, adding Se Hyun into the mix provided a much needed shake-up, both for Tae Oh and his friends. Adding in new blood brought out the biggest question for Tae Oh- does he want a girl that’s new and exciting, or close and comfortable? All in all, it’s a sweet little watch about friendship and growing up. 

What Was Great:

All Those Relationships:

Seeing as it was the whole point, it was nice that the writers were able to interweave all these relationships so smoothly and intricately.

The magic of friendship. And beer.

Very early on we learn to understand the differing dynamics among our group of friends and how those dynamics change depending on who is present. I loved the way the relationships were set up, and adored all of the pairings. The writers really displayed their manipulative magic in the way they set the viewers up on the path for the final pairings they had planned. The cast was wonderful. While the actors are far from seasoned veterans, they also didn’t reek of inexperience.

The only time it's okay that our leading man didn't get the girl. Or any girl.

The drama’s plot was easy and relaxed, as were its characters, which let the slightly green cast settle into their roles easily.

This is where it's at

The End: 

So rarely do I enjoy open-ended conclusions to K-Dramas, but it this case I really appreciated the inconclusiveness.

Being that it’s a drama all about youth, it would be mildly unsettling if the writers tried to make out that our characters’ lives were all wrapped up and concluded. Some people may have been disappointed at the wrap-up for our hero, but I actually liked that our main guy didn’t get the girl. In the end it wasn’t really a story about romance, but a story about friendship. Tae Oh needed the time-out and a bit of space to try and figure himself out, and he would have had to go to the army eventually anyway- so why not now? It was a wonderfully bittersweet conclusion to our very youth-filled drama.

What Wasn’t:

A Little Slow:

Seeing as there was basically no plot, the drama wasn’t exactly fast-paced. But it also didn’t drag too much. It was entertaining enough to watch as a simple slice-of-life drama, but looking back…nothing actually happens.

Have some more friendship

Re-watch?

Probably not. It was simple and relaxing, but kind of gave off a one-time-only vibe.

Worth the first watch though