This review may contain spoilers
The Weakest of Heroes (Affectionate ) <3
I actually tried this show months back but gave up after 5 episodes. Boy was I being impatient. This show was beyond my expectations after I dropped it. I'll get straight into my Pros list (yes, just pros as I think there is barely enough cons to even warrant a list for it).
Pros:
- This show was entertaining as fuck. Seriously, I like was barely ever even feeling a semblance of boredom throughout it. This is why some kdramas truly don't need to overcompensate for something but double its episode length instead of working with what you have. I'll take quality over quantity ANY day.
- The acting was fantastic; especially from Park Ji-hoon. That man is going places with how he can express so many emotions through a seemingly emotionless character. The other two's actor also played them very well. To be honest, majority of the acting was amazing.
- The show wasn't ugly to look at; the color filters truly fitted their scenes and I loved to see how they were linked with emotions. Si-eun's fantasies being a warm yellow sunset only to then turn into a bleak gray once he awakes to reality is truly heartbreaking to watch (is this why his name translates to "Gray"?)
- The fighting was insanely over the top and out of reality yet it didn't upset like it usually would because of how well choreographed it was and how genuinely painful they made the hits look and sound. I was wincing when Si-eun bonked people over the head and stabbed Yeong-bin in the shoulder with a pencil. That kid is a menace in sheep's clothing.
- I really liked how much depth they gave Beom-seok as an antagonist. He is insanely insecure, clingy, possessive, spiteful, and impulsive. He truly did put Su-ho on a pedestal of what his dream friend would be like, but the moment he couldn't live up to that he snapped and viewed him the same way as all the other controlling people in his life. Yet, I honestly pitied him more than hated him by the end because of how destructive he was toward his own future and the people around him. He loved putting the blame on other people too.
- Liked how they showed how different styles of parenting can be damaging to children. Beom-seok's father was blatantly abusive and controlling and this made Beom-seok aggressive and spiteful as a person. Su-ho's grandmother (though we don't see a lot of her) can be seen as kind and nurturing, which in turn made Su-ho a protective and confident person. Si-eun's parents were distant and put a veil over how they really felt which in turn made Si-eun distance himself from others and hide his emotions until they boiled over in destructive ways as he was never taught how to cope with them healthily. Yeong-bin's mother was one of those "my son can never be the one in the wrong and he is a perfect little sunshine" kind of parent, which made Yeong-bin selfish and feel a false sense of egotism and security. This is easily one of my favorite parts of the show.
- Dissed on the police system a bit when it came to those gangsters but made sure that they weren't painted as being 100% incompetent by at least arresting some people associated with the crime. Not everything is always black and white.
- Had some truly heart-touching moments; especially when Park Ji-hoon portrayed Si-eun's first wide smile when Su-ho was in the hospital for the first time. That touched my soul. I could sense his relief and happiness that he had bottled up and he looked genuinely glad to be alive for once (this was probably the happiest he ever was in the entire show).
- The music wasn't half bad. It contributed to emotional scenes well and didn't make me feel the wrong emotion. I was only slightly caught off guard by english lyrics when it's a Korean show. But this is one Netflix so I'm not really *that* surprised. The song itself wasn't bad either so it didn't really impact how I rated the soundtracks.
All in all: I liked this show quite a bit. Is it perfect? No. Will it be to just about everyone's liking? Probably not. Was it still entertaining as fuck despite any of its flaws? Hell yeah! To be honest, I'd take an entertaining show with a decent plot over one with style and little substance any day (don't @ me Flower of Evil enthusiasts).
Should you watch it? If you like action, friendship, betrayal, portrayal of youth struggles and a decent production; then yes! Why not? It's only half the episode length of the average kdrama, and packed with 200% more to appreciate!
Pros:
- This show was entertaining as fuck. Seriously, I like was barely ever even feeling a semblance of boredom throughout it. This is why some kdramas truly don't need to overcompensate for something but double its episode length instead of working with what you have. I'll take quality over quantity ANY day.
- The acting was fantastic; especially from Park Ji-hoon. That man is going places with how he can express so many emotions through a seemingly emotionless character. The other two's actor also played them very well. To be honest, majority of the acting was amazing.
- The show wasn't ugly to look at; the color filters truly fitted their scenes and I loved to see how they were linked with emotions. Si-eun's fantasies being a warm yellow sunset only to then turn into a bleak gray once he awakes to reality is truly heartbreaking to watch (is this why his name translates to "Gray"?)
- The fighting was insanely over the top and out of reality yet it didn't upset like it usually would because of how well choreographed it was and how genuinely painful they made the hits look and sound. I was wincing when Si-eun bonked people over the head and stabbed Yeong-bin in the shoulder with a pencil. That kid is a menace in sheep's clothing.
- I really liked how much depth they gave Beom-seok as an antagonist. He is insanely insecure, clingy, possessive, spiteful, and impulsive. He truly did put Su-ho on a pedestal of what his dream friend would be like, but the moment he couldn't live up to that he snapped and viewed him the same way as all the other controlling people in his life. Yet, I honestly pitied him more than hated him by the end because of how destructive he was toward his own future and the people around him. He loved putting the blame on other people too.
- Liked how they showed how different styles of parenting can be damaging to children. Beom-seok's father was blatantly abusive and controlling and this made Beom-seok aggressive and spiteful as a person. Su-ho's grandmother (though we don't see a lot of her) can be seen as kind and nurturing, which in turn made Su-ho a protective and confident person. Si-eun's parents were distant and put a veil over how they really felt which in turn made Si-eun distance himself from others and hide his emotions until they boiled over in destructive ways as he was never taught how to cope with them healthily. Yeong-bin's mother was one of those "my son can never be the one in the wrong and he is a perfect little sunshine" kind of parent, which made Yeong-bin selfish and feel a false sense of egotism and security. This is easily one of my favorite parts of the show.
- Dissed on the police system a bit when it came to those gangsters but made sure that they weren't painted as being 100% incompetent by at least arresting some people associated with the crime. Not everything is always black and white.
- Had some truly heart-touching moments; especially when Park Ji-hoon portrayed Si-eun's first wide smile when Su-ho was in the hospital for the first time. That touched my soul. I could sense his relief and happiness that he had bottled up and he looked genuinely glad to be alive for once (this was probably the happiest he ever was in the entire show).
- The music wasn't half bad. It contributed to emotional scenes well and didn't make me feel the wrong emotion. I was only slightly caught off guard by english lyrics when it's a Korean show. But this is one Netflix so I'm not really *that* surprised. The song itself wasn't bad either so it didn't really impact how I rated the soundtracks.
All in all: I liked this show quite a bit. Is it perfect? No. Will it be to just about everyone's liking? Probably not. Was it still entertaining as fuck despite any of its flaws? Hell yeah! To be honest, I'd take an entertaining show with a decent plot over one with style and little substance any day (don't @ me Flower of Evil enthusiasts).
Should you watch it? If you like action, friendship, betrayal, portrayal of youth struggles and a decent production; then yes! Why not? It's only half the episode length of the average kdrama, and packed with 200% more to appreciate!
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