This review may contain spoilers
Slightly Above Average
Am I uhh... Missing something? I'm seeing all these incredible reviews, so I decided to binge it one sitting as recommended and I'm feeling perfectly average.The first half is 10/10, great pacing love the characters and their relationships. The friendships are đź‘Ś. Honestly I want at least another 6-10 episodes of these three together, learning to fight, supporting each other. Instead we get a sudden massive tone shift and a heavy ass second half entirely driven by character conflicts that are underdeveloped. Frankly by episode 5 I didn't care about any of the characters enough to be ready for their heated conflict.
And then the ending(??) Beom hasn't developed in a single way and just f**ks off to another country after causing so much conflict, Soo Ho is in a goddamn coma after apologizing to Beom just because he has to not because he knows anything about how Beom' s feeling (not totally his fault but whatever), and our main guy Si Eun learns the value of friendship I guess, too bad his only friends are out of the picture and he's all alone and then it all ends like it began with him and a pen in his hand. I just... For a second half so emotionally heavy they sure love to not give us any payoff. This might make sense in the context of a 200+ chapter webtoon, but not in an 8 episode drama.
It's an 8 from me.
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A life changing, soul shattering must see masterpiece
Holy moly this show was life changing, soul shattering and most importantly a beautifully tragic masterpiece. The casting was spot on. As always Park Ji Hoon put his whole into his performance and delivery of Yeon Shi Eun. So much so that even in the most heartbreaking moments I could not look away, I didn't want to look away. This show will stay with me for a long time, if not forever. The way the story was written and directed, sheer brilliance. Every member of the production team of this show, deserves the world and more.When I started the show I knew the basics, but I was not truly ready for what it had in tale for me. The emotional rollercoaster speeding through the violence, the abuse, the pure bloody emotions that were ripped open for the viewers to see in all its ugly glory.
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Intensely Thrilling and Hard to Stop Watching
Weak Hero Class 1 is a gripping drama that packs an intense and violent punch, capturing your attention right from the start. The series thrives on its high-stakes environment and raw energy, consistently keeping you on the edge of your seat and eagerly anticipating what will happen next. Each episode is packed with action and emotional depth, making binge-watching incredibly easy.The show does an excellent job of blending tension with character development, ensuring that viewers are not only thrilled but also deeply invested in the characters' journeys. This intense action and compelling storytelling make it a standout drama for those who appreciate a more intense viewing experience. It's the kind of series you'll find hard to stop watching once you start.
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I rarely give 10/10s across the board but this IS A 10!
Wow... Just wow. I mean, really this show just has it all. An amazing plot, characters that you either want to hug or kill, impeccably choreographed fight scenes, multiple scenes that give you physical reactions, i could go on...The acting in this is so good that you feel the threat behind each word and you can almost see into their heads on what they're thinking. And the soundtrack was also so well chosen and made this even more enjoyable (no real repetitive songs like some kdramas (not that this is a bad thing but sometimes you get sick of it as the episodes go by hahaha)).
I really don't want to spoil anything for those thinking of watching it but if you need a sign to dive into it, please take this as that sign. This is now one of my top 5s and I'm probably going to give it another rewatch straight away tbh.
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Get ready with tissues, stress ball and enough sleep!
This series will give you a roller coaster of emotions from funny to sad to getting worked up on the intense fight scenes. Every character is on point and gave justice to their own roles. The feel of the entire movie also gets you more curious and drawn into the backstories of the main characters.Si eun was definitely destined for Park Ji hoon, he performed with everything he has to give justice to the character. One can never unsee him as an actor after even an episode alone.
I can only rewatch twice, I have to give it sometime, or else I can just keep dreaming about it all day!
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Good Enough
Korean Drama "Weak Hero Class 1 " is a school drama about school violence.The drama has some interesting main characters, which carry the drama through the very ending. Strong performances, in addition, complete a perfectly well done blend and enhance the entertainment of the story.
Likewise, the cinematography of the drama was spot on. The series didn't overdo it with the violence and the gore, even though the story is pretty dark. Rather, it focuses more on the friendship between the characters and their own life struggles.
So, overall, eight out of ten.
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This review may contain spoilers
One of the Most Brutal K-Dramas that Ever Existed
Back in late 2023, I happened to find this show as a very high-rated show in MDL, so I decided to give it a try. However, I only watched until ep 6 then stopped, never touched it again, and marked it as completed in my watchlist.To be honest, the plot and storyline is not that bad, and I like all of the fighting scenes and violence depicted in this show. Nonetheless, I started to lose my interest when the third male lead popped up amidst the show. I never understood why he should turn against his two buddies who had protected him at the first place - it's like biting the hands that feed you, if I must say. Other than that, I don't seem to have any troubles regarding this show.
Acting is superb and most of the casts have done their best to bring out the essence of their characters (I only realized that Park Jihoon is one of Wanna One's former members wkwkwkwk).
Overall, a nine out of ten from me. Highly recommended for violence, bullying, gangster tropes' lovers :)
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A bullying story breathtakingly retold
I liked the seriousness of the series, but I did not like its ethics. The idea of revenge is something I am against in terms of making things right yourself. Also, the first 4 episodes seem like a completely different show than the last 4: while the first half focuses on a typical kind of conflict (with unexpected touches), the second half is more emotionally oriented - it deals with trauma and the unexplainable things it gets you to do. I would appreciate it more if the characters took responsibility for their actions rather than just treating everything as the world forcing it onto them. The only character that does that to some extent is Yeon Si Eun. Moreover, the ending of this season made me feel cold, sad, distressed and confused.I am going to watch the second part as well, but it gave me a very weird impression and I can't really decide to what extent I liked it compared to which I simply got emotionally wrecked because of the continuous conflict of the show. Overall, I do believe it's a good series because of the effort to take on such a contemporary problem with new twists. Even if I do not agree with the way things are solved throughout the series, the fact that it's so messed up made it feel crazily real. That, I believe, is rare and it's what I most appreciate about Weak Hero Class 1.
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Trigger Warning needed!!!
All in all I really enjoyed this drama. It shows the struggles of teenage boys in Korea I assume who might have to fear the possibility of getting bullied. However, some aspects of the story seemed a bit over-exaggerated to me. Also there were some things that just didn’t make sense to me or made me so angry and confused.First, the good things were the overall story and the beautiful friendship that was being told. This drama also showed the reality of loneliness and how different people dealt with it differently and somehow all became friends. In general I also really liked all the different characters we saw.
Now to the not so good things about this drama and why I “only” gave it an 8.
First of all tho, ! TRIGGER WARNING ! People having a hard time watching shows that show bullying and domestic violence should probably not watch this drama.
So at the beginning the drama was going well. Basically up until Gil-su was caught the drama was a 10 for me. After that, when Beom-seok started acting out I was getting a bit frustrated with him. Did he really get jealous of Su-Ho because of the girl????? I just don’t understand! He should have used the money to pay the fighter to beat up his fake father! I did feel sorry for Beom-Seok too but thats not a valid excuse to try to injure or even kill one of your old best friends!!! just because he was giving some attention to a girl and following her instagram etc? Idk I got really annoyed and he kinda destroyed the drama for me a bit. His behaviour was so childish I just couldn’t comprehend…
I think the producers should have continued the Gil-su storyline maybe by involving some other gangsters. This waa maybe we could have seen the bullies and the three boys working together to fight for justice and then somehow overcome the bullying. Maybe the handsome cousin could have appeared more too (I was sad he didn’t show up anymore…)
Also tbh some scenes were too exaggerated and confusing especially towards the end. What happened to Su-Ho??? Did he die??? I didn’t really understand it!!!
I will be watching season 2 for sure hoping for some old faces to come back. I really really liked Su-Ho tho so if he really died then I will be SO sad…
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This review may contain spoilers
Amazing!!
This might be the best drama I've ever watched!!
I don't even know how i'm going to start reviewing this because it's that good!!
Also, sooo excited for pt.2!!
Spoilers ahead~
You were warned
First off i just want so say, Park Ji-Hoon's acting is INCREDIBLE!!! I was even scared something actually happened to him (i hope not) because the ending scene where he broke the window?! Wow...I also saw the bts of this series and i think the other actors and staff (and PD) were genuinly shocked too... (Someone give this man more awards ffs)
Secondly I've actually not read the webtoon so I don't really know who to credit for this amazing story cuz...wow.
I love the camera work and what they all did to make it more emotional! Especially the hospital bed scene, maybe i'm sensitive but i couldn't get over it 3 days after finishing whc1 (idk if that's the correct abbreviation I apologise). Every time i looked at the scene tears started rolling down my cheeks on command even so good job to everyone who made this series work.
I think the best accomplishment this series has achieved is the emotional connection between the audience and the series.
I literally felt the sensation of revenge but also the sadness of the pain...the happy friendship but also the fall of it. Every single scene made this binge worthy.
So basically, just sit down and watch it.
Thank me later.
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Not for the Weak
I was interested to watch this because of Choi Hyun Wook but I didn’t like the topic, which is about school bullying. However, since i read so many good reviews about this drama, I decided it to watch it also!Wow! This drama is so brutal! Why does Korea have so many bullies in school? Is it just exaggerated in kdramas or is this norm in every school? I think in my country, there are some bullies of course, but generally not a lot. I asked my nephews and nieces as well as my friends’ children, they do not have bullies in their school (thank God!)
I think what’s striking in all the bullying cases (kdrama or in real life) is that these children had a sad childhood. Whether they were directly unloved, neglected, abused, or indirectly affected by family events like death, divorce, etc, it really impacts the children’s lives and their outlook. So I think parents should really be careful in raising their children. Not just raising, but actually decided if they want to have a children or not. Like in Si Eun’s case, both parents are working and had no time to care for their one and only child. Or Bum Seok who didn’t want to be adopted, but ended abused by his adoptive father. Or how about Young Bin, whose mother always let him get away with his misdeeds through money. And interestingly, it is Soo Ho, who didn’t have parents, but was lovingly brought up by his grandma, who had more integrity than the rest. So I guess, LOVE makes a whole lot of difference.
Si Eun was a loner but ended up having a really good friend in Soo Ho. He was willing to fight and die for his friends. Soo Ho, who always knows his boundaries, but always get into fights trying to save his friends from jealous people. Ugh! I didn’t know if I should hate Bum Seok or feel bad for him. Logic would think that he would be nicer since he knows what it’s like to be bullied, but usually anger and hatred makes you do things you don’t want to do.
This drama also showed how adults fail these children all the time. The parents who starts the neglect and abuse. The teachers who do not do anything, even turn a blind eye to the bullying. The bad men who put these children to labor or to crime. The police / government officials who also not able to arrest these bad guys.
Rating: 9/10
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Friendship isn't always expressed in words
I suggest you check it out for yourself, words cannot properly describe this drama. as everyone else said, binge it.I myself am not so good at writing reviews but I decided to still summarise my thoughts as this drama left quite an impression on me. I just finished the last episode and everything I have to say is....wow, I did not except this going into the drama.
I do not typically watch these types of dramas so it was honestly quite different from my usual romance. One thing I should say is that there should be more dramas like this, I do not see a lot of great depictions of friendship like here. And although it m,ight not seem like a friendship drama, deep down it is.
STORY:
I did not have any specific expectations going into this show and at a certain point I just thought that it was about teenagers learning about friendship and fighting. And although it wasn't boring, the same actions starting repeating, but I quickly came to realize that it was intentional and helped properly set the ending. Bullying is like a chain.
But overall I really cannot properly describe how well the story was done, it smoothly avoided clichés, the directing of this drama as a whole was very original and unique.
I already thought that this drama was good but when I saw the last episode, the bars that I set for it were raised by so much.
ACTING:
tbh this was my first time seeing Ji Hoon acting so I was not familiar with him, in fact I was not really familiar with most of the cast except for Hyun Wook and Seung Ho. Through the story I of course noted everyone's incredible acting skills but that was until I saw the scene in ep 8 when Si Eun was walking out of the classroom. I was stunned, shocked and most of all impressed as hell. I have not seen such expressive acting in a while.
MUSIC:
I will stay silent for this topic. I am a highly musical person, I love music and I ujst have to say that while this drama did not have so many OST's they definitely checked the boxes for me. IT is impossible to explain how well they compliment the story and the acting, whoever was in charge of the music thank you so much!
As a small warning......do not be fooled, you WILL need tissues.
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