One: High School Heroes

Had potentials but lacked something along the way!!!

Episodes 1 to 4 were hands-down the best! The fight scenes had real intensity, and the male lead’s emotions were everywhere. In these episodes, EuiGyeom’s desperate struggle for survival was clear, his ability to learn his opponent’s moves added flair to the drama, making every fight feel meaningful and purposeful.

The masked era felt like it came and went in the blink of an eye, I expected more battles and hidden identities, but it ended too fast, leaving a sense of loss.

The worst father of the year? Absolutely. He treated EuiGyeom just like his own father treated him, despite losing a child. You’d think he’d be more lenient, but nope! His mother wasn’t much better, she stood by and watched her eldest son suffer, but at least she came through for the younger one. Maybe that’s a step toward redemption?

EuiGyeom endured torment from his brother, father, and grandfather, which took a serious toll on his mental health. Fighting was his only release, and he did it brilliantly.

The SML, he seemed like he’d be the stronger one, but in the end, he lacked the will and ability that his early portrayal promised.

Some fights were just unnecessary, like the one with the guy in the cap. His presence felt pointless, like they were stretching out the story for no real reason.

There were some golden moments too. One scene in 8 was so wholesome, the way he looked at his father before stomping on the bad guy’s leg was perfect. And during the fight, the transition showing everyone who had ever angered him? Masterful.

But wasn’t the trip supposed to be a rehab? Instead, it was more like a survival ground for a high school student battling mental health issues. Are they hinting at a Season 2 with this?

Overall, Episodes 1–4 were peak storytelling. I might just pretend 5 and 6 never happened, but the backstory in 7 was solid, and 8 was passable. If they had kept the intensity of those first four episodes, this could’ve been a truly great drama!

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Heavy on The Fighting, Light on the Substance

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

I'll watch anything with school bullying. Recently, Study Group was a miss for me, but Weak Hero Class 2 was a hit. However, this drama is more comparable to Study Group - It has an anime vibe (although not as much as Study Group) and it has a similar plot point (ranking in school via fighting).

Acting/Cast: The casting really hurt this drama for me. They look so old in this one. It's like they only had one qualification for casting actors, and that was whether or not they were good in fight scenes. I've seen the male lead (Lee Jung Ha/이정하) in Moving and I really liked him in that, but his acting in this drama was off. I think he may have been over-acting at times. The acting wasn't necessarily bad in this drama...it was just cheesy? Like everyone was just trying way too hard to seem cool. It could have been the comic book style of the drama, but either way, I didn't like it. It did get a bit better towards the end though. 2.5/10

Writing: Psychological is my favorite K-drama genre, but this was just messy and weird. It takes way too long for the male lead's psychology to be uncovered after having to watch him choke himself out a million times. Can we do something else to show that he's going crazy? The psychology aspect of the drama is actually not too bad toward the end, but the ultimate ending is odd. All I can say is don't expect realism from this drama. It's more like a darker comic-book style story. It doesn't go in a fun direction, even though it made me think that in the beginning. It, instead, leans more into the dark, crazy side. It could have worked if the writing was much tighter. For instance, fleshing out characters instead of throwing in a bunch of fight scenes. The flow of the drama feels very disjointed; some things happen too quickly, other things almost feel like filler. This drama feels like it's a big set-up for the actual story...and if that's the case, then this first half of the first season is too dragged out. If that's not the case, then this drama feels unfinished. There's a whole character that is introduced late and I'm not even sure why he's in the drama except to participate in more random fight scenes. There's so many fight scenes that feel unnecessary. Why do we have to watch this barefoot clown fight so often when he's not even good? This is why I say this drama is more comparable to Study Group; it feels like they just want to have as many fight scenes as possible with little story. Along with the acting, the dialogue is also very cheesy. A lot of one-liners for the purpose of being "cool", but it's not. 2/10

Direction/SFX/Music: The style of the drama (the anime or comic-book feel) is not my style at all. The drama doesn't flow well. The sound effects really bothered me - cracking sounds as if bones are breaking when they're not, moaning sounds added in...not a natural feel at all. It may be intentional, but like I said, cheesy is not my style. However, the fighting scenes did look good. There's one fight where I was like 'hell yeah, this looks sick" and that was a sequence that would go into slo-mo during impacts. This only happens during that one fight scene though... The special effects look good. The intro is cool, but it's not a scene from the drama, unfortunately. 4/10

Entertainment Value: Although this drama was weird as hell and just as cheesy, it was decently entertaining. The cliff hangers weren't great though. The story got better as it went. I liked the psychological stuff with the male lead and the dad. The ending...I can't really make a judgment on it because the ending actually seems like it's supposed to be the beginning. 6.5/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 4/10. The cheesiness of the directing style and dialogue writing coupled with the casting of obviously grown ass men as high schoolers is what mostly ruined this drama for me. But, I also had an issue with the messy writing. I would say to go into this drama without expectations. This drama is very different from anything I've seen before...it's like a mix between Study Group and Extracurricular. Although, both of those dramas are better (especially Extracurricular).

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