MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS
4.5 stars (series rating: 5 Stars)→What's it about? Romance 101 is about a studious girl named Bareum, who always lives her life by the book and plans out her next steps. While many admire Bareum, there are also many who view her as an AI sort of person who never chooses to have fun. Bareum then realizes that she has been striving all her life to get to the next step: first getting good grades, then getting into a good university. She doesn't know what she truly wants in life, what her passion is. When Bareum's blossoming crush on Jaehyun leads her to join the programming club, she meets a group of people with unique and bubbly personalities. Bareum encounters Jaehyun's calm but determined best friend, Yuyeon, whom Bareum discovers a secret about. Then begins an alliance between the two that starts with banter, becomes friendship, and perhaps something more. A love story begins that brings the characters together in laughter and love.______________________________→The plot:Throughout the 158 episodes of Romance 101, the story is consistently intriguing. With a perfect mixture of laugh-out-loud moments, moments that devastated me (and still do), profound lessons underlying the storyline, and likeable characters, Romance 101 is definitely a favorite webtoon of mine! While the title might indicate something that reads like a self-help book with textbook lessons, it is quite the opposite. Namsoo spins her own unique tale using beloved romance and k-drama tropes to make for a heartfelt and emotional journey. Each character is tied together in its own unique way. Returning to my statement from above, this is a love story, but it isn't just a romantic one. It's portraying the cycle of love and how it varies for everyone. We see Bareum, who has never allowed herself to act upon her romantic feelings and chose to avoid it due to her studies. Bareum's journey is a lot about her learning to fall in love and let herself love herself just the way she is. Jaehyun's journey was different. While he eventually had feelings for someone, that wasn't what he needed. Dealing with a lot of difficulty, stress, and past feelings, he wasn't ready to move on. Yuyeon's was about him coming to terms with the hardships in his life, learning to dedicate himself to a relationship, and moving on. Ahreum's was about her leaving a relationship and learning to give herself the love that she wasn't getting from her ex. Hanam's was about the pains of love and learning to wait for the one he truly loves. Lastly, Doeun's was about extricating herself from a toxic relationship and learning to heal from it. All of these characters have their own personal relationship with their well-being and love, something explored throughout the book. I absolutely loved each arc in the story as each story arc got progressively stronger. The morals of the stories were up for interpretation rather than being served to the reader with long, cheesy dialogue.____________________________→The relationship/characters:♡Bareum & Doeun: Their friendship was absolutely a relationship goal. I loved that Namsoo decided to focus on friendship. For both Bareum and Yuyeon, while love was important to them, they also made time for friendship, which was a priority for them as well. Doeun was such a queen. She was wise, mature, protective, and caring towards Bareum. I love that the two care for each other but don't overstep into each other's lives. While they give each other advice and step in when necessary, Bareum gave Doeun the time she needed to cope until she was ready. The cave metaphor😫👏 love the way these artistic metaphors are used to further extend the character's emotions!! The adorable way the two cheer each other up or make time to spend time together makes me so happy!♡Bareum & Yuyeon: WOW. Okay, I probably shouldn't even start with this, so I'll try to limit it to a paragraph. I loved them. I loved Yuyeon and Bareum. They were everything. Yuyeon was such a green flag who respected Bareum. I love that he: -asked for consent-didn't overstep boundaries and meddle in Bareum's life. He let her control what she wanted, and assisted her if she needed help-loved her the way she is-didn't stop other people from interacting with Bareum. There was this one really frustrating moment where this dude kept on trying to get in between them, but Yuyeon treated the other guy with respect without letting emotions like jealousy or anger make him make rash decisions.-made time for her and always tried his very best to cheer her up and help her explore her emotions.-He has her on his phone as "Lord Bareum" 💖😭👑. -Bareum was so sweet and respected Yuyeon as well. She never made misassumptions about him or other women, and she always talked to him before assuming anything. She accommodated Yuyeon's needs but was straight-forward when she wanted something in the relationship to change.-COMMUNICATION!-loved each other and their flaws and strengths♡Yuyeon & Jaehyun: Their friendship really spoke to me. Throughout the webtoon, we see them as close best friends as they slowly drift apart. It was heartbreaking, but true to life. While many friendships strengthened, there were also ones, like this one, that started to deteriorate slowly. There was a vulnerability that both people showed, which helped the reader to understand both guys. In Yuyeon's dedication to one relationship, he neglected another, and while not intentionally, it wasn't what Jaehyun needed in his mental state. I love that Ahreum and Bareum took matters into their own hands. That one scene between Yuyeon and Jaehyun was really visceral. It was sad to see both of them hurt a lot by this friendship,and things changed as they grew older. The flashbacks that were scattered throughout the story depicting their joy and sadness really made their relationship more complex. The conclusion that Namsoo reached about their relationship was realistic.♡Jaehyun & Ahreum: Honestly, I loved their friendship and the way Jaehyun was with Ahreum when she needed him, and the same for her. Both were supportive and gave each other the support they needed through difficult times.♡Ahreum & Bareum: Such a sweet relationship!♡Bareum & Hanam: Honestly, they're personality twins, especially their reactions, which I need to be an emoji set.♡Hanam & Doeun: This hurt. 😅. The depth of Hanam's emotional metaphor had my emotions going crazy because, wow, that was really sad. However, their relationship stayed true to each character. Doeun isn't ready for a romantic relationship, and it isn't a priority of hers. I loved watching her find new hobbies and her sweet friendship with Hanam. I will forever grieve what could have been, but I still hope for the future between the two. Hanam was honestly such a great guy who was very compassionate. I love that he decided to be what Doeun needed at the time—a friend—despite his deep feelings for her.♡Jaehyun & Bareum: This was honestly such a beautiful relationship. While it was quite clear why things wouldn't have worked out with one person investing more than the other, the way things were between them in the end was well done. Both decided to stay how things were, and although not as close in the beginning, the two were still kind and respectful. ♡Lastly, the sibling relationships + Yubyeol & Jaeyun: Jaeyun and Yubyeol were so perfect for each other. I loved seeing Jaehyun and Yuyeon's shocked expressions. I also adored the relationship between Yuyeon and Yubyeol, which showed what a sweet and caring brother he was. Jaehyun was also a good brother to Jaeyun, really carrying a lot on his shoulders. This webtoon perfectly captured loving, learning, grieving, hurting, and moving on.✅PLOT✅CHARACTERS
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