Study Group

Study group but where’s the studying??

This show was pretty good overall. The casting and acting were solid too. It was entertaining for the most part, but I didn’t really like how they focused on all these side quests instead of actually studying. The main character kept complaining about wanting to study, yet he was doing everything but that— like no wonder he can't get a good test score. My favorite part had to be the two villains. They didn’t do too much but were serving face card at the same time. The teacher lowkey annoyed me but another than that most of the characters were great, Would recommend.

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This Is What a Perfect K-Drama Feels Like !

**EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS DRAMA WAS PERFECTLY PERFECT.**
Not just good. Not just enjoyable. **PERFECT.**
The fantasy element was on a completely different level, the kind that makes you feel like you’re not just watching something, but *experiencing* something rare and powerful. It felt fresh, exciting, and honestly unforgettable. This wasn’t just a drama, it was a whole experience.

The **cast? INSANELY GOOD-LOOKING.**
The **acting? FLAWLESS.**
A huge round of applause for the entire crew, because *this* is exactly what we mean when we say, “You should watch a K-drama.” Every action scene felt sharp, intense, and cinematic. Nothing felt lazy or forced. Every move, every expression, every fight scene screamed quality.

Now let me scream about **HAN JI-EUN**, because WOW.
She is hands down my **MOST FAVORITE CHARACTER** in this drama. The director said *act*, and she said *SLAY*. Her presence alone elevated the entire series to masterpiece level. Her attitude was top-tier and stayed consistent till the very end. The confidence, the dominance, the energy, the aura—everything about her made it impossible not to fall for her.

She wasn’t just a character.
She was a **DIVA**.

Every time she appeared on screen, my brain automatically played this line on repeat:
**“A diva is the female version of a hustler.”**
And she embodied that perfectly.

And our hero? Let’s talk about him.
If Han Ji-eun was **slaying**, then **Hyun was absolutely NAILING IT**. Both of them ate their roles and left **NO CRUMBS**. Yes, he wasn’t academically smart, so what? I never expect a main character to be a weak, book-smart stereotype. I want toughness. Strength. Presence. And he delivered exactly that. My expectations were not just met, they were **fully satisfied**.

The side characters also did a fantastic job. This drama doesn’t just rely on one element—it delivers **action, fantasy, thriller, a solid plot, an amazing cast, and music that fits perfectly**. At no point did I feel like something was missing or needed improvement.

Everyone in this drama **SLAYED HARD**.
No exceptions.

As for my rating?
Sometimes **9/10 speaks louder than 10/10**.

So don’t hesitate. Give it a try.
**Trust me—you will NOT regret it.**

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Great Action, Strong Characters, but Villains That Fall Flat

Study Group opens with a strong first episode that immediately sets the tone for a fun and entertaining series. One of the aspects I enjoyed most was the recruiting process for the study group, which added an engaging dynamic to the story. The show also does a good job highlighting how people sometimes find themselves in situations where they must do things they may not necessarily want to do, simply because they feel they have no other choice.

Each member of the study group serves a clear purpose, and the series does a solid job of giving the characters moments to shine. Their development throughout the show contributes to the overall appeal and keeps the story engaging.

My main criticism lies with the villains. Unfortunately, I found them to be somewhat bland and one-dimensional. They lacked the uniqueness or depth that could have made them more memorable antagonists.

That said, the show still delivers where it matters most. The action sequences are well executed, the cinematography is impressive, and the character growth throughout the series is satisfying to watch. While the soundtrack has its moments, there were a few tracks that did not resonate with me as much as others.

Overall, I enjoyed the show. It’s important to approach it as a series meant purely for entertainment rather than something to take too seriously, just sit back and have fun with it.

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Is there a season 2??

Lets start with the webtoon story, it is a very unique shonen story days, it is quite unique to see this kind of story
a high schooler just only wanted to study but end up on a school with just a gossip, a very unique introduction
at the same time, the supporting lead ended up the same gossip, a very unique situation. story is just right, this could have been an easily 12 episode series, last episode in the last 25 mins feels rush.

Cast is unique and very interesting cast, a lovable, funny cast,
pair it with the backpacker OST whenever they made their entrance during a fight, someone on the music crew is a big fan of Kill bill, the slow walk makes it good while in uniform,

There is cons but minor parts and camera shots
each episode is only 40 mins, some 38 mins take the intro and outro out, they could have used this minutes not to feel rush the last 25 mins of the series.
Ga Min Master was not introduce, could be saving for season 2??? but could be a good thing because the story is about Ga Min,
Ji Woo brother just showed up on the last episode, not much screentime aside from the classroom fire fight with Ga Min
Last 25 mins was patterned with MOVING, c'mon, unless there will be a planned crossover??

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There is also a lot of lessons that was used and i think it was used in subtle way but useful,
importance of parents, importance of teachers, culture when studying on a school tag as school of bullies, students who want to study but to circumstances unable to go on,

A lot of fun and hope there is a season 2
because this is a auto rewatch for your holiday marathon

I wish i have a class like this in high school,

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Fun premise, lost me halfway through

Dropped at 4.5 episodes cus I just lost interest, the protag's lack of emotion during fighting just didn't interest me, I love op protagonists, but I just couldn't connect to him when his face is a cool as cucumber during what's supposed to be emotional fight scenes (⁠´⁠⊙⁠ω⁠⊙⁠`)

Then there's the fighting app (my favorite detail) which was talked about, and then protag immediately skyrocketed to the top of his year in like the third episode and already defeated the top student in the grade above? Which, that's kinda boring? Maybe I'm judging the show too soon, but it would've been cooler to see him slowly climb up while defending his Study Group, I hope they did something more with the app and the protagonist cus then what a waste of a fun plotline

What ticked me off most tho was that the school was known for FIGHTING yet characters in the background were leading a pretty peaceful life TT life SHOW ME the chaos of the school, idk, I guess I just didn't see enough of the protagonist experiencing the school in the beginning to feel the tension

And lastly, I hate the antagonist, and not in a "wow, such a good actor for making me dislike him" way, but in a "please remove this man from my screen because he's seriously annoying me" way

Maybe I'll pick it back up if I'm itching for something with these vibes, I get it's more of an easy going show, but for now it's just not doing it for me in the emotionally connected or humour department so no point in watching 乁⁠|⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠〰⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠|⁠ㄏ

Not a terrible show, just not my vibe

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The one thing I can't stand is bullies. However, the one thing that I absolutely love is bullies getting owned. This series reflected a lot of that. I will say I know the actress who played the teacher was in Bad And Crazy and I liked her character because she was strong in that but was kind of dismayed because she was weaker in this drama. I guess I'm spoiled. Whenever I see a Korean actor who can fight I expect to see them doing so in every drama they play in. Shame on me for being like this but I can't help it. I'm all for the male heroes in these dramas but when I see a female who can stand on her own it gives me some glimmer of hope that females portrayed in dramas aren't so weak after all. So yeah I whooped and clapped for the one lonely female student who held her own.

This drama stayed true to it's roots. The MML wanted to study and he stopped at nothing to do so. I felt so bad about his studying skills though.

What I can't get over is how my portrayal of Korean schools are. Are they all portrayed as being schools for bullies?? I will say some of the actors looked a little too old to be in high school. You could see the age on these actors faces close up.

I truly liked this drama until the last episode. Most of the scenes I watched gave me goosebumps. I even yelped and applauded out loud in one particular scene because I wasn't expecting what I was expecting.

Now why did I not like the last episode? Because some scenes were drawn out longer than they should and it was wrapped up rather quickly. I guess I wanted to see more justice done and wasn't satisfied hence the 9 score. I'm a bit leery about giving things a perfect 10. I don't do that unless I truly truly enjoyed a drama that gives me closure at the end. A lot of Kdramas don't do that.

In my opinion, this drama was way better than Weak Hero Class and yes, I did love that drama as well but this one was better.

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Study group or Korean version of fight club?

It's such unrealistic show. Kids from high school suddenly wants to start study group and they're all the time involved in every kinds of battles. While watching this series you can feel like watching fighting kids with older people and winning, because of kid from 10th class with supernatural power. Moreover after taking the blows they didn't even looked injured and they still fought like nothing happend while most of people in real life would be seriously injured. I know that this series wasn't supposed to be realistic, but why doesn't it has tag fantasy for people who don't enjoy this type of series?

I think the director should develop a little bit more the characters rather than giving this much scenes of fighting. It would be more interesting to know better about the characters than watching all the time how they were beating or getting mad. However the big plus was the teacher. She was very gentle for the students and also she has very good motive to join this school, so this made viewers thinking how her story would end. Also I think Pi Han Ui should have more screen time to get to know better him.

I think the last episode was irrational and the ending was too much predictable, so I don't feel any satisfaction after ending this.

Honestly I don't think that show was bad, of course it has a lot of disadvantages, but I still had fun watching this despite embarassing scenes. The big plus was the music and cast.

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one of the best dramas

This drama is enjoyable enough, the cast is incredible i just wish we knew more about the characters, what's their back story and the reasons behind the way they act this way. I have to admit i loved the villains.I enjoyed the fights i want to fight like that too. I'm begging for season 2.❤️
This drama is enjoyable enough, the cast is incredible i just wish we knew more about the characters, what's their back story and the reasons behind the way they act this way. I have to admit i loved the villains.I enjoyed the fights i want to fight like that too. I'm begging for season 2.❤️

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Anime Live Adaption Turned Kdrama

Okay. So let’s start at the very beginning—Study Group episode 1. My expectations? Decently high. My feelings by episode 5? Flop era. I genuinely debated dropping it because it felt like the characters were aimlessly walking through an edgy webtoon backdrop with the emotional range of wet cardboard. But then… THEN… the drama pulled out a sneaky little Uno reverse card on me and episodes 6 to 10 came in swinging like Gamin's kicks—aggressively, illogically, but undeniably effective.

• EPISODES 1-5: THE “WHY AM I HERE” ARC

This was Study Group’s weakest stretch, and honestly, I was bored. The character introductions felt scattered, the stakes felt low, and the only thing being studied was my patience. Characters like Heewon felt undercooked, the “study group” aspect felt weak and goofy, and the fights were already reaching anime-level dramatics with zero emotional weight to justify them.

Rating for these eps? 6.5/10 at best. It was like being promised an intense academic-turned-battle drama, and instead being handed anime filler episodes with mid pacing and teen rage.

• EPISODES 6-9: THE “WAIT THIS IS KINDA FIRE??” ARC

Then something miraculous happened. Episode 6 hit, and suddenly I was invested. The pacing picked up, the character arcs deepened (finally), and the fights? Still ridiculous—but now they had emotional context, which made them 10x better.

Characters like Sehyun got fully fleshed out. Jiwoo became more than just a pretty face (though she still deserved more depth), and even Heewon, annoying little gremlin that she was, had a moment of comedy gold with the “I have Gamin’s baby” line. Give her a tiny slay for that.

Oh, and let’s not forget: Yun Gamin's plot armor is literally made of vibranium. Like bro broke down a digital security door with some light cardio. I don’t care if he trains like Saitama, that door should’ve held up. Plot convenience was served hot and fresh every single time.

Rating for these eps? A solid 9.2/10. They carried the whole show.

• EPISODE 10: THE “LIVE. LAUGH. ANIME LOGIC.” ARC

I have so many feelings. Let’s be real: the ending was satisfying for what it was. If you weren’t super invested, it gave enough closure to walk away happy. It tied back old characters, delivered emotional climaxes, and wrapped up arcs in a clean way. But if you really cared about the characters and needed resolution to some of those unspoken things (cough Jiwoo and Lee Jun cough, I was robbed of their dating era), then you’re left staring at the screen like: “That’s it???”

Also. We need to address the final fight scenes. The punches-colliding-breaking-windows trope? The walls crumbling from impact like we’re in Dragon Ball Z?? I get that it’s supposed to be stylized, but sweetie, this is high school. These are students. Why did a classroom wall collapse like someone summoned a Jutsu?

Still. There was something kind of heartwarming about the ending. Heewon's entry with all the characters of past episodes was insanely cold. Everyone showed up for that one big dramatic happy moment. It gave that classic “we’ve targetted eachother throughout the whole show but gotta come together to save our teacher" camraderie, and I ate it up.

Rating? 9.5/10 for vibes, 7/10 for logic.

THE MAIN CHARACTER MISSING HIS DEPTH?? YUN GAMIN.

This needs to be said: Yun Gamin, our protagonist, seriously lacked backstory. I’m talking zero family dynamics, no clear insight into his past, and no clear reason for his desperate want to ace his studies. Why does he have a 10 p.m. curfew? Why is studying his only personality trait? What drives him? None of it is explained. He was reduced to this “I fight for my friends” + “I love studying for mysterious reasons” + “I’m too dumb to get into college but I still try” blueprint. And like… that’s not a character, that’s a motivational poster.

I’m sure the webtoon probably did him more justice, but for first-time viewers like me, Gamin felt like a hollow lead—especially when surrounded by side characters who had actual arcs. His development was more implied than explored, and that’s a major miss.

THE ACTUAL BEST ARC? SUN-CHEOL SUPREMACY.

Listen. Blonde Boy ate. His entire arc—trying to prove himself, fighting to study and succeed for the sake of his grandfather’s pride, to become a great man for him—was genuinely moving. It’s the only part of the show that made me cry, and I don’t mean like a casual sniffle. I mean I was bawling. That scene hit so hard because it was grounded. Relatable. Human. His struggles weren’t about absurd fight scenes or anime logic. They were about wanting to be enough for someone you love. He deserved every minute of screentime, and honestly? He carried emotional depth for the whole cast.

SHIPS THAT SUNK BEFORE THEY SAILED: JIWOO x LEE JUN

The slow-burn, the DIALOGUES, THE LOOKS—everything was giving “rivals to lovers.” Lee Jun literally lived rent-free in Jiwoo’s mind during her final battle. His words were her motivation. His words were her anchor. Her epiphany. And you’re telling me… NOTHING came of that? After all that flirtation?? I feel robbed. Like genuinely pickpocketed by the writers. Just give me a hand-hold or something. A shy smile. A nod. ANYTHING.

This was such a missed opportunity, and I will never not be bitter about it.

FINAL VERDICT

Study Group started off like an underwhelming school fight drama and transformed into a full-on live-action anime experience. Once you accept the absolutely bonkers logic and lean into the over-the-top style, it actually becomes… fun. Heartfelt. Even powerful at times.

BUT. It’s also flawed. The plot armor is real. The group dynamic never really fully came together. It was pretty endearing but I would have liked to see them hangout once in a while outside the study group, maybe a small montage would have nice. The romance was non-existent despite all the baiting. And let’s be honest—there’s still too much left unsaid.

If it gets a Season 2 (which seems unlikely as far as I have read), it could fix a lot. But even if it doesn’t, I’ll remember this one as a messy, ridiculous, unexpectedly gripping drama that made me yell at my screen multiple times.

Rating: 8.0/10
Vibes: 11/10
Physics laws broken: 78
Deserved ships sunk: 1
Emotional whiplash: Severe
Would I recommend it? Only if you're ready to watch a drama that lowkey thinks it's One Piece.

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