Weak Hero Class 1 (2022)

I have zero idea why this series has such a high rating

Pls don't waste your time, people. The whole movie from top to bottom was full of unnecessary violence that never ended. It was a never-ending loop that was far from satisfying. The brotherly relationship between the cast started well but fell off the rails for no good reason. No closure was given. Overall, this was one crappy movie that I wasted my time watching.. . . . . . . . . . .
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Rating: 10/10

Review:

Storyline: 10/10
- Weak Hero Class 1 portrays bullying in Korean schools – harsh reality checked!
- Plot twists kept me hooked till the very end – unpredictable and chilling
- Themes of trauma, revenge, and morality – deeply thought-provoking
Acting: 10/10
- Park Ji Hoon as Yeon Si-eun: PERFECT casting – his acting chilled me to the bone!
- Supporting cast – impressive performances all around!
Character Development: 10/10
- Yeon Si-eun's transformation from weak to strong – mesmerizing character growth!
- Every character's story resonated deeply – no flaws found!
Overall Experience: 10/10
- Kept me awake till dawn – addictive storytelling!
- Emotional rollercoaster – felt EVERY emotion alongside characters

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Retractable pen

We are at a fight scene in a high school.
And this is basically continuing throughout the whole show. This drama does not shy away from violent scenes.
Verbal abuse, mistreatment, bullying as well as physical violence, such as beating up, ganging up as well as a decent amount of stabbing.
Among all those, we get to see three friends, who stick together to help and support each other.

The story itself could have been divided in two parts. The first four Episodes were amazing. We got to see how the friendship between Shi Eun, Soo Ho and Beom Seok was formed.
Honestly, it felt so fresh and natural how those three found together and what they are willing to risk for each other, while the plot is developing.
But sadly, the second part lost my interest. Not because it was not interesting, but more because we got literally thrown into a villain arc. There was little to no transition from the first four episodes to the last four.
And suddenly, a more or less important side character became the main villain.

The only thing that kept me there and not dropping the whole show was the character Soo Ho.
Choi Hyun Wook played his character so perfectly. He was dorky, charismatic and was just adorable in the entire drama.
He as well as Ji Hoon managed to portray the bromance of Shi Eun and Soo Ah in a way, where they do not have to speak much, to understand and care for each other.

Park Ji Hoons character is a hard one to play. You need to find the right/ decent amount of indifference, coldness as well as anger and joy in your facial expressions.
And to be honest, I am not really sure, if he managed to do so.
I have been waiting for some major character development, and even when I got it, it still did not satisfy me.
One thing I have to give him.
He can portray anger quite well. Paired with the retractable pen and the monotone sound, the emotion came off well.
I was shocked to see the last Episode and wished he would have shown more of this potential in former episodes.

Hong Kyung managed to deliver that, what the director gave him. His story plot was rushed, yet he put on a convincing show by convincing us of his current anger and hate.

Overall, a short, fast-paced little series. Interesting characters, compelling plot and a friendship, you wish to have.
I am excited, what season 2 will bring us.

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Beyond perfect.

Heart wrenching, so raw and beyond perfection. It’s been ages since I’ve watched a drama that touched me that much emotionally, I haven’t felt that since Move to Heaven. I cried so hard, you know like the crying in which you think your heart will give in. It’s a pure 100/10 for me. Won’t be able to think about anything else for ages now.

The cinematography, beautiful. The acting, beyond perfection honestly. The main character’s face and eyes are graved in my mind. Park Jihoon did an intense and perfect job. The script, the directing, just perfect. So emotionally raw, intense and cruel. Held my breath the entire time when watching this.

I finished it in one setting. A pure work of art. And now, along Move to Heaven, it’s my favorite piece of media ever. And now I’m counting the days for the second season.

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Steers away from the comics enough to keep its readers entertained, but pales in comparison

I'm going to again start out by mentioning how ridiculously high scores are on MDL - it's like, if something was good, it has to be a 9 or 10, and if something is 5, that means it's God-awful!
NO! 1 is terrible, 5 is middling a 10 is the best sh*t you've ever seen in your life!
That said, my rating reflects my honest opinion of this, based on a RELIABLE rating system, and I by no means hated it.

After the first episode of this, I was worried that it would be a direct live-action copy and paste, although the beating at the end of the episode was nowhere near as satisfying as it was in the comic.

Luckily, the creative team behind this chose to alter things, so that those who have read the comic wouldn't feel like this was a waste of time; paradoxically, that also ended up costing this quite a bit. You see, there's this really stupid sub-plot for a few episodes about how the gang takes down some loan-shark... yeah, kind of like Scooby Doo but with some violence tossed in! It was a really, really weak and unbelievable arc that, thankfully, was quickly brushed aside to focus on the main story.

I'll point out now that the acting in this was damn good!
I don't usually comment on the acting so much, but this would've failed utterly had the cast not pulled off their roles so well.

I won't go too much into things and risk ruining it all, but I ended this being, extremely disappointed that a certain recording wasn't spread online and the abusive scum-politician exposed because of it, which really left a sour taste in my mouth of how the absolute root cause of everything got away completely! It also meant that the main villain escaped too, and also the vigilante-style justice that only one of the antagonists actually properly received. So that was incredibly disappointing too, wanting to see certain people being unable to ever hold a pen again(!), or at least ending up in juvie, thanks to the aforementioned clip not being circulated.

In the end, it was a pretty good drama I'd recommend to younger adults, but a bit too immature and unrewarding for anyone older, or those who have already read the comics.

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a MUST watch

i started this kdrama a couple of hours ago and i finished it all in one sitting. its very rare nowadays for a kdrama to catch my attention like this, but jesus christ this was one of the most interesting eye catching kdramas ever. not one episode was boring and each cliffhanger ending made me want more. such a difficult watch because of how the violence and sometimes you get frustrated watching it— but it’s just something you can’t keep your eyes off. acting was phenomenal especially from the actor of sieun, the performance when he finally brokedown and yelled in school before punching the window in the corridor struck my heart with pain. everytime he would express sadness i would feel it with him…just amazing casting. on a side note: what i felt was unnecessary was youngyi’s sudden involvement into their friendship? perhaps thats why i was on beomseoks side for a while even though at some point i just stopped defending him and slowly started to dislike him, i still feel zero connection with youngyi…her character feels so unnecessary if we don’t look at beomseoks jealousy. but i guess she was only needed for stirring stuff up with beomseok for the sake of the plot but still it just felt so random that they befriended her…overall such a great show. sieun and sooho have the best chemistry out of everyone in the show. you can just tell they care for each other a lot…love those two the most<3

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Violence with an art form and a touch of reality

As someone who enjoys kdramas, I come across dramas I love quite often. But never have I felt compelled to write a review on them before this one. Most of the time I see dramas that I really enjoy but rarely find one that has me hooked from start to finish, unable to take my eyes off the screen and obsessed. This one is the latter.

The story revolves around friendships, the dark side of school life and other real life issues. The action and violence is a plus. The numbness, helplessness and rage are so vivid.

Yeon Si Eun is an unique ML that I don't think I have encountered before. Park Jihoon deserves all the attention and applause for his acting here. The way the character starts getting more comfortable with Soo Ho and Beom Seok and developes friendship with them, quelling his long lived loneliness.

The ending took the cake for me. After he almost lost someone dear to him, we see the rage and hurt from betrayal encapsulated in Yeon Si Eun. When the moment arrives where he is supposed to take out his emotions on the perpetrator, he is overwhelmed by a sort of helplessness and understanding which leads him to not execute his 'revenge'.

Jealousy, miscommunication and many misunderstandings later, they all parted their separate ways but Si Eun's story hasn't ended. We're all left to wonder what else will unfold, a bittersweet longing in our hearts.

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One of the best dramas I have ever watched. The actors portrayed their characters so realistically that I was able to understand them on another level.
The dynamic of the friendship between the main characters could be seen. I really enjoyed the fact that they were willing to do any and everything for each other.
Communication is always the key. A lot of the scenarios could have been dealt with differently with a proper conversation.
This showed that no matter how much some else values you, It really depends on how you value yourself at the end of the day.

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Broody and gripping

Weak hero class 1 was a refreshing take on the bullying system and school violence in Korean high schools. It came off as vaguely relatable and unusually intriguing. It showed an unique dynamic between three students who got into A LOT OF SHIT and showed their vulnerability as teenagers.

The cute bromance made up for the intense action-packed fights and adrenaline rushes. Sometimes, there's too much going on the screen and I ate up all that chaos wholeheartedly.

With one of the best pilots ever, it built a lot of expectations going ahead. The writing in the first ep was on point structurally. The screenwriter knew exactly what she wanted us to get introduced to in the first ep. Regretfully it immediately took a U-turn and started to be more plot-centric. Followed by some letdowns the focus changed to a controversial character who sadly wasn't that interesting to watch.

Shi Eun's nuance was skillfully incorporated by the writer and portrayed by the actor Park Ji Hoon. He was visibly blue, dull, and gloomy but his sudden outbursts and piercing words without a single emotion hit hard like that book he threw at Yeong Jin. Giving him chapped lips and a pale look delivered so well. I was very INTO his character and thought we would get more layers of him (which we didn't) so quite disappointed by that. It suddenly abandoned building his character and focused more on the plot.

Soo Ho was likable and cool. Hyun Wook played this character with charm and made him particularly memorable.
Isn't Bum Seok the new nation's enemy? Just kidding! I appreciated his arc and enjoyed scrutinizing his character. A big shout out to Hong Kyung's acting; he nailed it by making the character extremely unappealing.

The production value uplifted the whole show. The intro smoothly goes into my list of "unskippable intros" and the entire aesthetic it went for was so awesome. Still, I think the first two eps were far more well-executed than the rest. It was a shame that the entire concept of the latter half of the drama failed to deliver. My emotional investment in the show was not as high as I had expected.

Overall this was a contemplative show with some great acting though a slight letdown through the later eps.

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MY FAVORITE TYPE OF SHOW

I am leaving this review after my 3rd rewatch of this show. It's so freaking good. The way the friendship started, the way it developed one side and slowly fell apart on the other side - just the perfect blend for me. And the action scenes? Brilliant. Anyone who saw even the first glimpse of the first episode should be intrigued by it. And the acting is chef's kiss 💋. I absolutely had no expectations for the acting since it is a mini mkdrama and the first seven episodes were even available on YT but from the first episode the brilliancy of their roles could be felt. I don't know why I felt like crying from the first episode. Maybe because it was just the story I was looking for? But nevertheless I loved this. the only actor I knew at first was Choi Hyunwook (from 2521) but damn now I love Park Jihoon. Outstanding actor!!! He even won the *BSA Best New Actor Award 2023* unanimously for this exact role! So proud of him. Everyone played so well. Now patiently waiting for the season 2 which has confirmed to start filming this year.

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