6
1
1
Resurrected my love for the genre
Over the years, I have always loved watching the delinquent/troubled highschoolers/found family/unlikely friendship genre.
That being said, it is very easy for this story trope to get repetitive. There are only so many things that can be done to make the story interesting (and to be honest, Gokusen has probably done it all anyways). That's why I haven't found any drama of this genre interesting to watch for a long time.
Study Group managed to grab my attention, though. With everything it brought to the table - the perfect blend of absurdist comedy, serious topics usually present in "school" dramas that just make you /feel/ things and, of course, fights.
First, let's briefly address the allegations of this drama being unrealistic. Yes, not many highschoolers are able to throw a human across the room. Yes, regular highschoolers probably don't have 5 liters of spare blood to bleed so much. Yes, one 17-year-old probably can not rule over the whole city district... That's not the point of this drama, though. The exaggerated situations (be it superhuman fights or the fact the main lead actually studies and fails at school where majority doesn't care about studies) are one of 3 key elements of the success for this drama. I think especially the comedy gags are able to shine and have a greater impact when executed like this. The absurdist/dry comedy is, for me, the highlight of this drama. If this show was any more normal, it would be just another Gokusen/School 2013.
The second pillar of this drama are, of course, the characters. The found family/dream team trope is so fun in this show and characters AND actors mesh together amazingly. Characters are interesting and fun to root for. I really appreciate that everyone, be it villains or main leads, had some amount of depth and development. This is, of course, the testament of how well written the original story (probably) is.
Last, but definitely not least, is the fight choreography. I think nearly 50 % of the screen time was dedicated to fight scenes and I just want to note; the fights were so much fun. Together with great videography and fun OST (including that one song that was NOT Darude - Sandstorm :( ) the fight scenes fulfill the teen fantasy of being the badass shonen manga main character to a T.
Even though it is just February, I am not afraid to claim this is one of the top 10 dramas of 2025. I am deducting 0,5 points in my rating for a slightly muddled story telling. Now I'm off to read the webtoon, because even if we ever get a season 2, Hwan MinHyun will be back from the military only at the end of 2025 and I can't wait that long.
That being said, it is very easy for this story trope to get repetitive. There are only so many things that can be done to make the story interesting (and to be honest, Gokusen has probably done it all anyways). That's why I haven't found any drama of this genre interesting to watch for a long time.
Study Group managed to grab my attention, though. With everything it brought to the table - the perfect blend of absurdist comedy, serious topics usually present in "school" dramas that just make you /feel/ things and, of course, fights.
First, let's briefly address the allegations of this drama being unrealistic. Yes, not many highschoolers are able to throw a human across the room. Yes, regular highschoolers probably don't have 5 liters of spare blood to bleed so much. Yes, one 17-year-old probably can not rule over the whole city district... That's not the point of this drama, though. The exaggerated situations (be it superhuman fights or the fact the main lead actually studies and fails at school where majority doesn't care about studies) are one of 3 key elements of the success for this drama. I think especially the comedy gags are able to shine and have a greater impact when executed like this. The absurdist/dry comedy is, for me, the highlight of this drama. If this show was any more normal, it would be just another Gokusen/School 2013.
The second pillar of this drama are, of course, the characters. The found family/dream team trope is so fun in this show and characters AND actors mesh together amazingly. Characters are interesting and fun to root for. I really appreciate that everyone, be it villains or main leads, had some amount of depth and development. This is, of course, the testament of how well written the original story (probably) is.
Last, but definitely not least, is the fight choreography. I think nearly 50 % of the screen time was dedicated to fight scenes and I just want to note; the fights were so much fun. Together with great videography and fun OST (including that one song that was NOT Darude - Sandstorm :( ) the fight scenes fulfill the teen fantasy of being the badass shonen manga main character to a T.
Even though it is just February, I am not afraid to claim this is one of the top 10 dramas of 2025. I am deducting 0,5 points in my rating for a slightly muddled story telling. Now I'm off to read the webtoon, because even if we ever get a season 2, Hwan MinHyun will be back from the military only at the end of 2025 and I can't wait that long.
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