cwk1997

# kisskh Review
**Headline:** A Disastrous, Cringe-Inducing Power Fantasy That Robs the Real Victims of Their Voice
**Status:** Finished Watching
**Spoilers:** Yes
**Language:** English
### My Ratings
* **Overall:** 1.0 / 10
* **Story:** 1.0 / 10
* **Acting / Cast:** 1.0 / 10
* **Music:** 1.0 / 10
* **Rewatch Value:** 1.0 / 10
### The Review
I completely forced myself to finish all 10 episodes of this show, and it is hands-down one of the most frustrating, poorly conceived dramas I have ever watched. If you are looking for a meaningful story about school life, bullying, or systemic reform, stay far away. This show is nothing more than an edgy, unrealistic adult savior fantasy that completely misses the point of what makes school stories compelling.
#### The "Cringe Teacher" Problem
The absolute worst part of this entire show is the Educational Rights Protection Bureau (ERPB). Watching Na Hwa-jin, Im Han-rim, and Bong Geun-dae crash into these schools like some knock-off Special Forces superhero squad is pure, unadulterated **cringe**. The show tries so hard to make these adult teachers look cool, badass, and dark when they interfere in student bullying. Instead, it just looks ridiculous.
Every time Na Hwa-jin stands in a classroom smirking, delivering an edgy monologue before physically assaulting a minor, I rolled my eyes. It feels like it was written by an adult who has a bizarre, power-tripping revenge fantasy against teenagers. The adult characters are completely unlikable, overpowered caricatures who never face real stakes because the plot completely bends over backward to make them look right.
#### The Victim Should Have Been the Protagonist
This show completely robs the actual victims of their agency. **I desperately wanted the victim students to be the actual protagonists of this story.**
Instead of watching a traumatized student find their inner strength, learn to stand up for themselves, navigate the harsh realities of school social hierarchies, or grow as a human being, the narrative completely pushes them into the background. The victims are treated like helpless, pathetic props just to justify the ERPB coming in to throw punches. We don't get to see the kids overcome anything; we just watch a grown man with Special Forces training beat up a bunch of high schoolers. It’s lazy writing and completely unsatisfying.
#### A Trainwreck of Cartoonish Plotlines
Every single arc across this timeline is cartoonishly exaggerated to try and make you root for the ERPB's extreme methods:
* **The Politician’s Son & Cyber-Clout Influencer:** The villains are completely one-dimensional. A teenager running a school like a military dictator? A girl destroying lives entirely for internet fame without any real nuance? The show lacks any understanding of real human psychology.
* **The "Monster Parents" and Drug Conspiracy:** Shifting the blame to toxic parents and underground academic drug rings just felt like an over-stuffed mess. The escalation from simple school bullying to a massive, multi-million dollar juvenile mafia run by Assemblyman Hwang Gi-tae was utterly laughable.
* **The "Going Rogue" Finale:** Episode 10 was the final nail in the coffin. The government freezes the ERPB, so these grown adults decide to go completely rogue and launch an off-the-books assault on a student-run syndicate. It completely throws away any realism the show pretended to have left.
#### The Toxic "Philosophical" Core
The show tries to pass itself off as deep by claiming that "true education requires accountability" and that the Juvenile Act just breeds monsters. In reality, it’s just an excuse to glorify violence and state-sponsored fascism in schools.
The acting across the board was stiff and over-the-top, the music was generic and forgettable, and the rewatch value is absolute zero. This is a massive miss. Avoid it at all costs unless you want to watch adults have a massive power trip over fictional teenagers.

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A Nationalistic, Cringe-Inducing Mess That Ruins a Classic with Modern Propaganda and Creepy Romance

What's most important to know?
​Tsui Hark completely strips away the soul, adventure, and organic growth of Jin Yong’s original masterpiece. By aggressively cutting out the first 33 chapters, the film rushes straight into heavy-handed, mainland state-style political propaganda about "serving the nation." Worse, the poorly paced, deeply uncomfortable romantic dynamic between the leads feels entirely unearned, creepy, and borderline predatory given how rushed and immature the character setups are. It’s a 1/10 disaster that swaps genuine wuxia chivalry for modern political pandering.

A absolute trainwreck that feels more like a mainland state-mandated lecture than a martial arts epic.
​The Story: Rushed Pacing and Blatant Propaganda
​By chopping off the entire first half of the novel, the film obliterates any actual character development. We are expected to care about Guo Jing and Huang Rong instantly, but their relationship comes off as incredibly forced and deeply uncomfortable. The adaptation completely mishandles the youthful innocence of the characters, turning what should be a classic coming-of-age romance into a cringe-inducing, bizarrely paced relationship that feels entirely inappropriate.
​Worse yet is the transparent political agenda. Jin Yong’s classic line, "A Great Gallant serves the nation and its people," is stripped of its historical nuance and weaponized as modern, heavy-handed Communist Chinese propaganda. The entire plot is narrowed down to blind nationalism and sacrificing family (like Li Ping’s forced suicide) for the state. Turning a beloved fantasy adventure into a mouthpiece for modern state ideology is utterly exhausting to watch.
​Acting & Cast: Zero Chemistry
​The acting is completely wooden. The lead actors have absolutely zero chemistry, making the romance feel even more unnatural and hard to watch. Guo Jing isn't portrayed as "pure-hearted and slow-witted"—he comes across as utterly brainless, making it impossible to believe that a brilliant character like Huang Rong would blindly follow him around. The legendary Ouyang Feng is reduced to a screaming, cartoonish caricature once he goes mad from the reversed Nine Yin Manual. There is no emotional weight to any of the sacrifices; it’s just actors shouting lines at a green screen.
​Production, Music, and Action
​Don't expect the classic, gritty Tsui Hark style of the 1990s. This film is bloated with cheap, over-saturated CGI that looks like a modern Chinese mobile game. The final battle at Xiangyang is just a messy barrage of special effects where the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms look like generic superhero energy blasts. The music is equally terrible—loud, overblown, and aggressively nationalistic, constantly telling the audience exactly when they are supposed to feel patriotic.
​Conclusion
​If you want genuine wuxia, skip this entirely. It is a cynical, state-pleasing product that completely ruins Jin Yong's legacy, butchering a classic romance and replacing it with unearned sentimentality and loud political messaging. Avoid at all costs.

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