Imitation

I'm a 2nd generation k-pop fan and I started to watch this just because of its k-pop genre

Yes!!! I was a SONE and I supported almost every k-pop groups back then when k-pop fans stan for multifandom. For some reasons, I was far away from k-pop since around 2013 and so the only one cast I know in this drama is T-ara's Ji Yeon.

Let me talk about my first impression.
As I mentioned above, I watched this drama without even knowing who are the main leads. So I felt complicated while watching the 1st episode. I couldn't remember who is who. At first, I thought the female lead doesn't suit with the character as a k-pop star. She is quite short and I don't feel comfortable with height difference among the members of Tea Party. But I don't feel anything with her hair. For the male lead, I realized that he is the main lead just at the end scene of the first episode where his car passed by walking Lee Ma Ha in the dark. My bad :-(

As I continue to watch, when I can recognize all the casts, I have fun watching the drama. The plot is not very special yet addictive and I progressively fall in love with the character Kwon Ryok. I thought he is tough at first but I melt down whenever I see his smile. I did a deep search for him and found that he is multi-talented.

I want to praise the female lead for her hard work for the dances. She is not a k-pop idol but she manages to be one. Also I feel a good chemistry with the male lead. Second leads are also good too. OSTs are also catchy.

One thing I feel annoyed by this drama is that just one episode per week is not very satisfying.

I want to thank this drama for letting me know that a man called Lee Jun Young exists and I feel like I found another talented guy to support. I become his fan and waiting for his next Netflix film with my SNSD' Seo Hyun, Moral Sense.

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so slow so pointless

is this the result of "fangirls only care for the male lead so the fl is ignored as a human"?
she's so obsessed with him, she's practically a saesang. she idolizes him so much but worse she belittles herself more. "he's too good for me", "there's no way he would like a lowly person like me", "he's a star that I dared to sit next to" like girl chiiillllll

in skip beat, Kyoko idolizes Ren as an actor not as a person, and when she thinks "how dare I like him" it's becasue she has issues with love in general. she didn't want it to change her so she was more reluctant to like him.

here, this is just a mess done for fangirls. your oppa is hot and everyone love him.. I mean yes, my oppa is hot, jun was the best part, after he started to chill and show his cute side that is.

again, who even stans a cold jerk? I personally like my idols because they're humble, sweet, sometimes awkward and dorky, on the screen of course, they might be calm and chill with their friends, but in front of the camera and worse in front of the staff they all need to show their "respectful" side

there was an older idol maybe from suju that said if you don't greet the staff with kindness you won't make it long in the industry


but in dramas they always like to show idols as jerks, and worse the 2nd fls are obsessed with a guy that clearly is not interested. girl you deserve better!!!

ALSO, THE WORST part, the car accident.. she was just STANDING there, she was not in danger, she was not kissing someone else, she was just there, what a dramatic waste of time.. then her overreaction in the hospital, like again girl chill

the only things I liked were jun's smiles, the 2 members who supported him and Ri Ah's potential love interest Jae Woo (?). atleast that girl knows self worth and she cares about her dream, plus the guy is sweet from the start and he's cutely awkward when he's trying to show interest


and that's the button line, a guy mistreating you, yelling at you and judge you "for your own good" is not a love interest, that's the horrible misconception of idolized male leads and the hallyu wave..

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Absolutely loved it!

Although I was disappointed with two things. Will get to that at the end of this review.
A drama about the Kpop industry- the companies that “own” them, and the struggles they go through to become stars/ idols. First 3 episodes were boring, but it did pick up after that. The storyline was I guess what many trainees and idols have to endure these days- controlling companies and managers, being overworked, fanatic and obsessive fans, peer pressure and competitiveness between teammates, dating issues etc.. it’s kinda sad really that these celebrities don’t have or are not allowed to have their own personal life or freedom.

I did enjoy the dance performances by Shax and Sparkling- I thought Lee Jun Young who played the ML Kwon Ryoc was an excellent dancer, a class above the rest. His voice also was really good. I particularly enjoyed his jealousy moments :P which I found hilarious. Unfortunately I found the FL to be somewhat a disappointment. She was cute and all but I found her character lacked depth and gust. The outstanding female character would be La Ri-Ma, who we all hate in the first few episodes, but she redeems herself as the show moves along, looking out for her juniors and standing up for herself.

Now come the two disappointing factors:
1) The romance. I liked the initial tug and pull between the leads. Especially coming from Kwon Ryoc, I could feel the intensity and chemistry, the times when he said he missed her and wanted to see her. However after they started dating, it lacked PDA, and their two kissing scenes were, sorry to say, quite pathetic lol. Imagine sitting on a bench with your bf/gf, gazing at the stars and you are seated like 3 feet away from each other! I mean what the??!! The other couples also lacked any real connection and chemistry.

2) What happened to CEO Park? Was he still able to remain at his post after the email was released etc? And after Shax left NOG? I’m also not sure which company Shax ended up signing with- was it JH Entertainment? It was kinda rushed and unclear.

If you’re a Kpop fan, I reckon you might enjoy this. Not a real romance drama, more about growing up and discovering yourself. There are some life lessons to take from this, and an eye-opener for those who are clueless about the industry. Enjoy :)

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50-50

Struggling life of stars then run behind stardom and not allowed anyone to disturb this stardom. To save stardom become heartless and destroying someone important life unknowingly and then regret and wish to make the things as before but it is late, so apologizing is not enough but still try to clean the mess ,try to save which is in hand this had been shown in the drama.
At some point leads were lack in acting , at some point story get bored . Good thing about story that the star didn't left the hand of love ones and fight for him ,his stardom and for his love.

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Left me nonplussed. Somber topics &

While there are some definite make you smile moments , this drama just didn't inspire me to care about it to a high degree. Little things combined to dampen my enthusiasm.
1) the female lead was insipid. her stature & very young look gave her a childish air.
2) the group being called Tea party , thier songs & choreo were cringy childish
3) people getting really upset with group members for dating, [& pretty much forcing them to stop,] then they themselves date with clear conscience !?
4) unclear resolution for the over arching problem.
5) made fans look creepy obsessive & objectifying, but never addressed that as the real problem
6) makes you feel like the idol life sucks -which was true but depressing
7) Suicide topic was a depressing plot device
8) yay ! for the way SHAX chose thier own path, but what exactly is that path ? This & how a male idol just left the business & went roaming about about- very unclear in the logistics
9) only the male lead & Hwi Young were really interesting & Hwi Young's part wasn't that well fleshed out
10) Kim Min Seo's part was too strong a personality, she [& her great singing voice] over shadowed the female lead

the last episode was basically all a music showcase for all the music groups that had been introduced. It showed off thier talent, but it bored me.

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MORE THAN YOU THINK IF YOU WATCH CLOSELY

Loved this. The music was spectacular as was the acting and the storyline well what can you say. It shows just how hard these guys work to follow their dreams being exploited , overworked, and no wonder so many don't make it and practically don't come out alive. I cried seeing they included the extreme bad in this and how the big wigs treat them as machines and products and not as human beings. Every human being has a dream and they should follow them but never be afraid of them because of blackmail, scrutiny, and money grubbers. I like that they showed these artists came together and that there were others out there helping ready to to give them their dreams the right way. I know there was SF9 in this and some other idols as well. Made it as iF this is what they went through. I believe they did. Love anD music were the main theme in this but in obtaining both it showed the shady side and the greed and shameful acts of those who had only evil dreams taking away the purity of the dreams of those starting out. I am glad we got to see the bad and good triumph over. My heart went out to the singer who wrote the 'Constellation' song and the story behind it and I loved how close these teams are and support each other. This is why teams like SHINee are still going. Actually this story in a way reminded me of theirs. This is a must see drama and I will again. I can honestly say watching this and other programmes like this you can see how so many have already paid their dues before they ever get on stage or in front of the camera. Well done. Never give up on your dreams. You will regret it. I know. I did. I do.

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When you look behind of the curtains...

I am sure most people came to watch because of your favorite idols in the cast and the chance of seeing something sweet in the middle of what we assume to be the showbiz, but let me tell you something: it's not about the romance.

What actually hooked me from the beginning was the mystery, the real "why" EunJo left when SHAX was on their peak of popularity. From then, things only spiral.

Forget romance, forget the cliche brooding-male lead and over-optimistic female lead. The true beauty of this show is the background and how it influences on the lead's behavior.

Let me give you a run: there are 3 main points in the story about the idol groups themselves. 1) We have the privilege of a big company with SHAX and how, even with their inner struggle, they had a head-start to fame from the beginning; 2) We see the struggle to debut groups from medium companies, like what happened with SPARKLING. They had to work their asses off to stay on verge of disbanding. A medium company do not assure you any security unless you make it big; 3) Last but not least, we see TeaParty trying to break through from an almost non-existent company - JH Entertainment; aside from those 3 examples, we also have LALIMA, who debuted in a unknown company after leaving a big company behind. She carried Queen Ent alone with her success.
You can find many examples of what I'm talking about on internet. Groups that debut and disappear, groups that barely make it, and groups that barely debut but break records because of the name of their companies.

Not just that, but we see about the diets, about the blackmail, about the fanservice and the fact that many idols don't have control over their own lives. Their fans do. Everything is for the fans. Everything is for the sake of making money.

Plot line aside, I know that the production wasn't the best, but I really don't blame the production channel. They had to do it in a rush (it was supposed to air in late July, not early May, but a fake (? i'm not sure) scandal with an actor from the drama that was supposed to air first made them remove that drama from the grade, moving Imitation's release date) and I assume it affected greatly what they had planned to record and edit to put the drama together in time, same with the marketing movement and such. That on top of the cast having a lot of idols means that their schedules may conflict sometimes (it's known within the fandom that the ATEEZ members, especially Yunho, barely had time to sleep during the period of Kingdom's recordings, and I assume the same happened to Chani).

If you can ignore the cringe romance that fills the foreground, the story is quite interesting and keeps you wondering about the real life behind the cameras and the idol life (a few things even sound ironic if you research about the cast and make connections with the show itself).

It's not the kind of drama I would re-watch, especially because it talks about certain heavy topics like suicide, low self-esteem, power manipulation and such, but it's definitely worth the shot if you can look past the cringe-y things that they shove in your face and look for more subtle traces of the real idol world behind all the make-up.

PS: Shax are amazing, they really are, but I'm stuck listening to Diamond since the damn release

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"Imitation" is a drama about idol groups. I honestly don't know why this drama had such low ratings, because I loved it.

The story is interesting and captivating. I love musical dramas, especially those that focus on bands, and here we have three: Tea Party, SHAX, and Sparkling. Oh, and I can't forget La Ri Ma, who is a diva! HAHA'

The songs are great, totally addictive, after listening to them once, you find yourself singing along without even realizing it. In addition, we see the reality of the trainees, everything they go through to achieve their dream of being on stage, how the journey is not easy and even after, success is not something they can maintain, how much they have to fight for and everything they can lose in the process. Eun Jo and Annie are proof of this, since all they wanted was to be together and, after all, fate was cruel to them. Eun Jo gave up on his dream when Annie killed herself. This part could have been better explored in the drama, but the tribute they did by singing Eun Jo and Annie's song was beautiful, so moving.

The romance between Ryoc and Ma Ha is sweet, it really is a cute and innocent style, which suited the actors well. What stands out in both of them are the funny moments, since it's hilarious to see Ryoc's jealous fits. When Ma Ha was filming the sitcom, I died laughing at Ryoc getting so jealous and wanting to kill everyone, when the director asked to redo Ma Ha's kiss scene. HAHA'

For me it was a delightful drama to watch, light, fun and that still manages to convey a very beautiful message, I recommend it <3

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While it's titled 'Imitation', it is pretty original!

I really enjoyed watching 'Imitation'. I wasn't sure what to expect from the moment I started it but I'm glad I made the decision to watch it. Whilst the story could be considered rushed in places, and in other areas unfinished or unexplored, the story that was shown was really good. This is one of those dramas where I wished the usual 16 episodes were given, as I think the extra 4 episodes would be needed, and it would've probably boosted the overall score to at least 9/10. I am unfamiliar with the majority of the cast, except the ML who was great again (no surprise there) - he plays the outside cold/inside warm type of ML very well indeed. The acting/cast section was rated lower than usual, I think this is because there were a couple of notable actors who I thought were quite unconvincing in their roles, but I don't like to name those people (after all, we are all human beings!).

Re-watch value... well, the first half of this drama was addicting! I was watching multiple episodes a day, something I haven't done in literal years. However, the second half was quite draggy, the pacing just felt off and awkward. The OST was phenomenal however. All songs were just perfect in their own way, and were made to fit the groups in the little fictional K-Pop world created by the people of 'Imitation'.

Despite the draggy second half, the first half was addictive, the drama is still really good, and the OST is addictive. Therefore, I strongly recommend watching this drama.

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WHY DID I LIKE THIS SO MUCH? LOL

I really can't fathom why or when I was hooked onto the show but the unique story was really getting to me for sure. I've watched a lot of dramas, especially featuring idols but this is the definition of idol drama. Like die hard from trainees until they debut type of stuff and I just can't wrap my head around the concept but I was obsessed. Lol. It showed us everything we think we know how the idol world and how being a celebrity is and the struggles of it not always being rainbow and butterflies. It's not always 6 years in the making or never been on a stage before but there's drama in between, things taken out of context and of course you're gonna fall in love in your lifetime, why not? It all is just one big clash that I can actually really dig. And that's what it is; with a hidden story behind, boy and girl know each other, love each other but how do you make it work when your whole life is everyone else's life? Especially when you're on 2 different spectrums of "idol"; it do be like that.

I absolutely LOVED the acting, they clicked all so well, between the ML and the bandmates, I ordered them so much.

Adored the music, MAHA's song If We Were is def my number 1 right now.

Overall, if I need a level of comfort, I would definitely watch this again. This was definitely the definition of IDOL drama to me.

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