Imagine yourselves returning to your younger days, to the youth you long for once adulthood welcomes you into a newer sense of reality. If you want an escape to that reality and if you want to return to the past via nostalgic feelings, Reply 1988 is a drama that you should watch. This drama is the third installment of the "Reply" series, and like its predecessors, it tackles different stories of family and youth in a certain timeframe. In my opinion, among the three installments, THIS IS THE BEST. Allow me to explain:

This drama might have many similarities in terms of its theme and topic to other dramas, but this drama has a different way of presenting the stories of friendship, family, and romance. There are points in the drama that you'll laugh hysterically, then suddenly you'll weep without you noticing your tears are already falling. The drama does not attain to be deep, but it attains to be relatable. It doesn't push you to think very hard, but it pushes you to relate to the emotions of each  and everyone of the characters. The story telling  is superb for it enabled the viewers to get a clear glimpse of the past and reality without compromising the story. Another thing is that even though most of the contents in the drama speak to the Korean viewers, it enabled overseas fans to feel that nostalgia even if the scales work differently. The story was put up together very well and for that I gave it  a 10 out of 10.

Characters and character development? GREAT. Characterization? EXCELLENT. Throughout the drama, the script was able to develop the characters well. It was able to present the struggles, and the innate feelings of the characters with their dialogues and actions.  Without bringing out spoilers, I would like to commend the  character development of the parents and the four main characters, but unfortunately, I had dilemmas in terms of the character development of the lead girl, Dukseon, for the simple reason that the lack of character build-up intensified the debate regarding the plot (I wouldn't want to expand on it for I might give spoilers unconsciously.) The acting is just so great that it was able to capture the hearts of the viewers. Like what I said awhile ago, the drama appeals to be relatable, and the acting is that key component that made the drama MUCH relatable. ALL OF THE ACTORS DID GREAT that I actually want to commend everyone who acted in the drama.  So in terms of the Characters and acting, I would give this drama a 10 out of 10.

The music scoring? Well, I can't find an adjective worthy for its soundtrack and OSTs. The soundtrack of the drama is so reminiscent of the 80's sound and the soundtrack was able to mirror the sounds of Korea during the 80s. It added greatly to the vibes of the drama thus making the drama more nostalgic. It helped in highlighting the emotions in each scene and not only that, the OSTs were so close-knitted to central themes of the drama. Personally,  my favorite OST of the drama was "Don't Worry" by Lee Juck, and "Hyehwadong" by Park Bo-ram. I personally loved these OSTs for it enabled me to reminisce the happenings and the emotions that I felt while watching the drama. The music was able to intensify the emotions and it was able to set the mood greatly thus giving it a 10 out of 10 is just righteous.

The drama is easy to watch, and the drama is that drama that'll give a lasting impression to its viewers. This is the kind of drama that you would like to watch again and again. Unfortunately, for someone who has many things to do in life, it'll be hard to watch this drama again due to its length. Because of that reason, I gave it a 9 out of 10 in terms of its rewatch value.

The Reply series has been a great series ever since it was created. I'm not saying that 1997 and 1994 weren't great, it's just that 1988 was more superior in my opinion. I'm so glad that I gave this drama a huge chunk of my time and I promise you, you won't regret watching this drama :D.