Weak Hero Class 1 (2022)

Muito emocionante

foi a primeira vez que eu assisti um dorama mais de 2 vezes, fiz até minha mãe assistir tbm.
a atuação ta impecável, historia e trilha sonora tbm.
espero muito que tenha uma segunda temporada com episódios mais longos.
acho que o Jihoon encaixou perfeitamente no papel.
e agr eu viciei no doramakkk
Mas me impressionou muito como o bullyng é retratado, tipo, na maior parte dos doramas o bullyng é bem pesado, fico imaginando que deva ser assim mesmo na vida real e isso me assusta

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A concussive flurry that leaves you in anticipation of what's next

--Summary--
A provocative, in-your-face kidnapping into the disturbing world of Korean school violence. High quality production with excellent action scenes, visuals, and sound. Gripping and fast-paced story with convincing setup. Reasonable plot progression without major holes, but also some plot convenience and noble idiocy that I was able to overlook. Captivating acting from the impressive young leads and veteran supporting actors added to the realism. Though more a prequel than complete narrative, it's a thrilling prelude hopefully to a well-fleshed out story.

I give it 8 (+0.5), which is very good score reserved for one of the best shows of the year. But it's difficult to rate higher because we've only been given a partial story and the compact S1 doesn't leave room for greater thematic depth or connection to characters. I may bump the rating if future seasons are able to develop this into a high quality, fleshed out story.

--Detailed Rating--
✅ Plot (8.5) - The core of the plot is logical and moves the story along at the brisk pace. In the second half of the show, previously calculated and pragmatic characters like Ahn Soo and Yeon Shi both indulge in some noble idiocy and create a bigger mess for the very people they were trying to protect. In addition, Oh Beom Seok's descent into malevolence appeared too abrupt and unfounded as he betrayed Ahn Soo over minor slights while allying himself with bullies that have tormented him far more brutally. While these plot issues are not dealbreakers, they do stretch the plausibility and detract from the story.
✅ Theme / Message (7.5) -

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A gut-wrenching youth drama! The "Weak Hero" trope done right!

An excellent drama carried by brilliant actors with such a good and realistic acting. The story is portraying the strong friendship between young people confronted with the violence of the world around them...whether at school or in their entourage.

The episodes are short (about 40 minutes) and fast-paced; and yet at the heart of the action are more contemplative moments, full of sincerity with a sensitive OST giving an almost "old-school" feel. The brutal scenes are filmed skilfully and seamlessly, the strong images leave an impression of discomfort, the story is simply gut-wrenching: be prepared for a turmoil of emotions!

The trope of the hero who gets his ass kicked, the narrative of the weak who confronts the bullies, and who gets up to face adversity are here highlighted in a masterful and credible way. The spectator can only tense up in the face of certain situations and fears (often rightly) for the safety of the protagonists. The uncertainty regarding the survival of these characters to whom the viewer has become attached is one of the greatest strength of this show.

I would recommend this to people who like to read GTO or The breaker, love well-built youth drama and that are not triggered by topics such as bullying, domestic abuse and scenes of exacerbated violence.

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INTENSE AND DAMN GOOD

I generally watch k-dramas because they have a way of easing the viewer into topics, even though the topics dealt with in the shows might be intense and serious. This one does nothing of that sort, and it just continues to hit you in the face (in a very good way). And it's kudos to the actors, the director, and the writer for that. This has been an intense watch right from episode 1. The topics dealt with in this series are intense (bullying, drug abuse, parental abuse etc), but that does not mean that the show gets boring. It is the writer's credit for keeping the audience glued to the story despite having a pretty dark and gloomy setup, right from the get go. We have the protagonist, Yeom Si-eun, who is the topper of his class, but a loner; there's Ahn Soo-ho, who's always asleep in class, but the chirpiest (of the 3); and there's the newcomer Oh In-beom, who changed schools because he was bullied in his old school. The three become fast friends, and the rest of the drama is the story of their friendship. The first few episodes kinda ease you into watching the drama for the characters. The acting of all the characters are just top notch, each one packs a punch in their own ways. Anything more might appear as a spoiler, so this is all there is to it.
All that I can say about this drama is, the drama blurb is quite misleading. The story takes its own turns and gut punches you in its own ways. Was it a satisfying watch? Nope. Was it a quality watch? Fuck yes, absolutely. I am extremely glad that the director did not succumb to the demands of the formulaic high school drama, and stayed true to the characters till the very end. Kudos for having the courage to do that.
Overall, a 10/10.

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Okay, maybe season 2 might top it off?

I recently watched weak hero class 1 and I have to say, it had so much potential. The acting and emotions portrayed in this drama were exceptional, and every character was well-developed and easy to love. The show had a great concept, and it was executed brilliantly. However, I was left disappointed with the ending. Despite this, I'm hoping for a season 2 as I can't wait to see what happens next. The show's ability to capture the raw emotions of each character is truly remarkable..The drama was a rollercoaster of emotions, with moments of laughter and tears. Overall, this show is a promising drama that leaves you wanting more. If you're looking for a drama that will make you laugh, cry, and feel all the emotions in between, this drama might be for you.

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Led astray by good reviews

I wish there was a more official/critical Korean review website, as MDL has led me to another bad show with their strangely high ratings. I’m dropping the show at 4 episodes, because of many reasons:
1. Lack of plot - a lot (seriously a lot) of time is dedicated to action sequences, which aren’t bad but it leaves very little time in the episode for character/plot development
2. Inconsistency of plot - I understand that it is fictional, but a little too unrelatable for them to be having fights out on the street, gangs running around, knives everywhere, and no police presence at all. Even when the police does show up they simply hang back until the very last moment. It seems very inspired by some 70s action flick and I’m not sure how that is still being popularized in 2023, set in a country that is actually full of cameras and police on patrol. Also, the lack of the perpetrators wealth makes little sense in a very hierarchical society where the poor rarely act so openly.
3. Plot holes - One example is the fentanyl issue which was shown to be a big deal, but then simply disappeared from the story without any legal recourse over the next episode
4. Pacing - The show gives the illusion of being fast paced due to all the fights, but the actual story has a painfully slow pace and I’m failing to see any background/ character info (for none of the main guys) even going into the 5th episode.
*The only positive are all the ML’s and their acting skills.
I came here after Season 1 of The Glory which is based off of true events, in search for a similar high school bullying/revenge drama but this has been a strange experience reminiscent of the old action movies I’ve never been interested in. Overall, watch this show for entertainment but not for a deep or profound social commentary because Weak Hero Class 1 doesn’t have any substance to
it.

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It's OK.

(Edited - rating from 7,5 to 8,5 after season 2)

Not the most awesome drama in history but it's entertaining and very well acted. It contains one of my favourite scenes to watch in the history of anything I've ever watched and I think those who have watched this drama probably know which scene I'm talking about.

I have already read the webtoon it's based on but I am not comparing them. I see it as its own story. It's not a bad drama and saying I don't enjoy watching it would be a lie. I have rewatched it multiple time and I do like it. But the whole truth is that while it could have been the absolute masterpiece many people make it to be, it's simply not. Limiting itself to 8 short episodes was in my opinion a big mistake.

So my main issues with this drama are :

- I could barely stand Si Eun and found him very dislikable in the beginning. Personal preference. No hate. He honestly acts like an arrogant psycho without any real reason. Gets better afterwards and becomes more likeable as he gets closer to Su Ho and Beom Seok but his personality still doesn't make much sense to me. Backstory is understandable but lacking in realization.

- The trio, relationship and characters, should have been WAY more developed. If it had, it truly could have been an exceptional drama. But in fact, we barely see them actually interacting with each other before it got dismantled. What do they actually love in each others ? What do they each bring to each others ? What do they see in each other ? This is all very superficial and fleeting... I wished we could have actually learned more about them through one another and see them change positively thanks to their bond - way before it started to break down and regress because of the inherent character flaws they had (well, especially Beom Seok's character flaws). Here it was brushed way too quickly, so it didn't impact me that much. I didn't have enough material to actually feel involved and really care about their relationship. The characters in general needed so much more development. They had so much potential. That's a shame. The reason their relationships broke wasn't developed enough either. Because of Young I ? Beom Seok was insecure and got jealous + the return of those bullies that traumatised him (as if he wasn't enough with his dumbass father), I got that, but because it happened too quickly, it didn't really matter to me honestly. It being the core element of the story, it should have been deepened.

- I didn't really like the OST at first but after multiple rewatches it kind of grew on me. Some of the lyrics are too cheesy though. Just isn't fitting imo.

Other than that, acting is definitely good and natural, Hong Kyung and Park Ji Hoon in particular have talent (Ji Hoon in THAT freaking scene, woah) - Choi Hyun Wook is great as well but his character here was emotionally more repressed/balanced in what was shown to us so he doesn't bless us with a wide range of expressions compared to Kyung and Ji Hoon -, characters are interesting (yes even though Si Eun gets on my nerves in the beginning, I think he's still interesting). Beom Seok in particular is a very good, very flawed and very tragic character and I can't really hate him. Fights are awesome. I loved watching them. Ending is good, heart wrenching but appropriately done, I think.

So yeah. I liked it but I didn't love it the way I could have if it had a bit more development and it's too bad.

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The Reviews are Skewered fo sure

What’s with the high rated reviews? I was actually really looking forward to this. And yes at the beginning the acting and the story was going really well. However somewhere between episode at five and seven there was a huge leap without any character development or character storytelling or character angst to back up what ended up happening in the last two episodes. It made no sense whatsoever. And then even with the video footage it again made no sense as to why the protagonist lost when there was video footage. Honestly, the buildup was great but then it was just silly and stupid at the end. I can see why a lot of people were not happy.

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10/10

actually worth the wait, I just want season 3 now bc I’m more hooked than I already was .😭 The acting was amazing (like always bc you can’t go wrong with jihoon) and I liked the storyline even though it was different from the webtoon , but to be fair they did have to adapt it a bit to be more realistic. Overall I loved this show since before season one came out , and now watching season 2 I only like the show more. I would definitely recommend this kdrama to people (I already have). And I’ll probably be rewatching it a few times bc this show just genuinely makes me happy.

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Another day another Ktruama

I really enjoyed it! The acting was great, and the casting was amazing. I loved most of the characters, and Su Ho and Si Eun's friendship was fantastic. Beom Seok really pissed me off; I hated how he betrayed them for basically no reason. Seriously, just because he was jealous that his little boyfriend made a new friend? I don’t care if his dad beats him—that’s no excuse to turn on your friends and literally “kill” them. I honestly wished Si Eun would have taken him down instead of the others because he was the main problem. But overall, I really liked this show and the friendships in it and can’t wait for season 2!

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Heartrenching, enraging masterpiece

Tbh I’m a fan of the manhwa that happens to also watch kdramas etc, and let me tell you this was 100% it for both.
Plot wise it doesn’t cover the story of the manhwa but tells the story before the beginning of it. Bits and pieces of the drama have appeared in the manhwa in flashbacks and such but not, well, not THIS.
They took a story about a teen who facing tough times and his own genius, ends up making actual friends ready to stand by his side through everything and making the best casting choices I’ve seen to date brought it to life.
Every single actor have their moments and they all make you actually connect. The scenario is built in a way that kills your insides at the end but also makes you understand the manhwa in such a different light. Every reader have their own suspicions when reading but actually coming face to face with such a story and that, done through such acting, directing, everything is perfection.
Idk what else to say, honestly I’ve seen this one too many times.

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