Back to 1989 (2016)

The story kicks of without much fuss and the time travel happens within the first 20 min of the first episode. After that the story is engaging and has a good pacing and build up of relations and friendships all the way through. The actors are really good and their characters have a nice depth and dynamic. Around episode 10 the story gets a kick and plots start to speed up making it exciting to watch.

The main couple has really good chemistry. They suit each other well and their scenes are good. The angst in this romance is about them actually not supposed to be together, it was never meant to be. The butterfly effect has consequences. The second couple are also sweet and the romance plot is a tad angsty, I found myself worrying about the future I knew and wishing for a new future for them.

I have not noticed any big inconsistencies with this taking place in 1989. Even though the brands shown are of later date, I don't look at the brand names but rather the fashion style. I remember well all these horrible clothes, old technology and I feel myself being immersed. I am sure that if you really want to you can rip this show to bits finding loads of errors. I'm just not that kind of viewer. So far it feels like the 1989 that I remember.

All in all a well done drama, with the usual Taiwanese issues (low audio quality and at least one clown character). The extremely cheesy moments didn't bother me at all, I enjoyed them, squealed and cried my way through this very sweet story.

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I'm going to start off by saying that I don't usually watched dramas while they're airing, but I did with Back to 1989, so I feel as though I might be more bias in my review since I've watched the characters grow each week, which is much different from marathoning and seeing their growth in a few days.

I really fell attached with BT1989 and everything about it. There was a great blend of everything: family, first love, regrets, difficulties.. it was definitely my cup of tea. In my few years of drama watching, I've never heard of a plot like this drama. It's interesting, captivating, though quite confusing the more you think about it. It was so interesting to see how everything played out, and the writers definitely didn't let us down. However, TRIGGER WARNING for anyone uncomfortable with sexual assault. I did feel as though it got draggy near the end with the romance, but it was still an enjoyable watch. Many plot twists occurred that I didn't expect, and it had me on the edge of my seats with the different camera angles and shots. All the characters, as I've mentioned, I've become so attached with. While some were annoying at times, they each bring something important to the story. They made me laugh, cry, and shake my head in disbelief of how insane they were. We got your innocent and clumsy female lead and your smart and cool handsome male lead along with an adorable second couple and the awkward side characters that bring humour to any awkward situation, making it more awkward.

Some people really stood out with their acting, especially our second lead couple, which includes our second female lead Mini Tsai, and our second male lead Yorke Sun, both of whom I now adore their acting. It was nice seeing Ivy Shao play a different character from her cunning one in When I See You Again. However, I had mixed feelings on the main lead, Marcus Chang, though it was his first main role, so I still give him some credit. His crying made me laugh more than feel pity, but i could definitely see his improvement as the episodes progressed. Still not the best crier though, haha.

Besides the main theme song (you'll understand...), i loved the OST! I don't listen to them on a regular basis, but they suited the drama so well. They actually had hit songs from 1989, which was perfect for making it seem more realistic, along with a variety of songs that really scream Back to 1989. Besides Alien Huang, the rest were by more underrated or newer artists, so I was definitely intrigued. Now that I've finished the drama, I suddenly realize how amazing the soundtrack really is.

Overall, it has its flaws; it has a confusing conclusion with many issues still not explained, along with some draggy parts, but i loved this drama. It's what I looked forward to every Friday, and it was well produced, and it brought the feeling back of why i love Asian dramas. I'm so glad I found this, and I hope i persuaded some of you to watch it.

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