I am shocked that the writer/director of WHC1 wrote and directed this brainless, soulless thing. It lacks everything that made WHC1 unique: Philosophical implications, psychological depth and nuance, emotional connections between characters, etc. The few moments in which those aspects were attempted here landed with a thud far short of anything in the original. Mercifully, those moments are brief, and it's back to another throw-down fight.
I'm guessing the writer/director just didn't much care, had his mind on other projects, or forgot his original vision. Whatever the case, it is sad. I enjoyed WHC1 greatly and have watched it twice. I won't be watching its follow-up again.
WHC2 feels like what we normally get when a hit production is followed by a sequel the original writer/director wants nothing to do with. The studio then hires hack writers who work to reproduce what they see as having made the original a hit, but they completely miss the mark, the core reasons the first story resonated so strongly with audiences are left out. In this case, the writers forgot to give WHC2 a heart. It's all fight strategy and execution, with lots of hilariously cliche Yakuza boss/minions cosplay in between.
These characters smirk and chuckle darkly at each other, smoke cigarettes alone in dimly lit rooms, smile menacingly when challenged, etc., all the standard Yakuza schtick you've seen in a hundred other films like this one. I might have enjoyed it at least a bit more if I hadn't seen WHC1, and if I hadn't seen any other Asian Yakuza/Mafia/gang/high school/etc. series or movies. But, I did and I have.
I didn't believe the Si Eun/Hu Min connection at all; no chemistry between them. The two friends connections I bought involved our little nerd, Jun Tae, as in JunTae/Si Eun and JunTae/HyeonTak. At times, I thought the latter pair might spin off into a BL subplot, but that didn't happen.
Finally, I must mention the hilarity of the over-the-top fight scene sound-effects. If just one blow that sounded like every one of the fight blows did here, a normal person would drop unconscious, if not dead. Here we are presented with super human young men who take 50 bone-crunching blows to the head/face/body and get up for more. I was reminded of when my son was little and watched "Transformers" cartoons and movies; every blow sounded like a car crash. Same here, but what's believable when a giant semi-tractor trailer turned robot does it, is not so much when applied to high school boys.
Everything about this series is a Crows Zero-style cliche. I can't think of a single, original aspect of story or execution. I am tempted to list them, but I can't justify the time it would take.
6/10
On edit: I just saw the rating for this series above, lol. Typical. MDL loves everything I don't and vice-versa.
Miss so many characters that they left out. Plus that white truck accident was so unnecessary lmao.
White truck incident was right out of a low-budget boys love series.
Boys Love characters always stop in the middle of crosswalks, turn to face the oncoming vehicle that is going to strike, and freeze in place to await their doom. At the same time, the drivers of said vehicles see the pedestrian, lay on their horn, but somehow forget the vehicle they're piloting has brakes and that they should use them. Many beloved BL characters have ended up in urns this way.
i agree. the 1st season was more or less plausible. the 2nd season goes full webtoon fictional mode. and it immediately…
Yes, that is another layer of disappointment. I find the fight choreography and execution to be excellent. I haven't seen a single, fake-looking punch thrown. And I notice that kind of stuff. One obvious fake punch to a face, where the punchee throws his head back but you can see that the fist never landed, can pull me out of a scene.
The thought of the amount of hours these guys must have to put into learning and rehearsing those fights amazes me to no end. Every move must be drilled into the actor, then he has to perform it, like a series of dance moves, with whoever is attacking him as the partner. Only there is no repetition of moves as in dance; here every move is different, must be executed quickly in coordination with other actors. And if one person messes up one move, they have to start over.
Of course, quick cuts in editing can help a lot, but I have seen a minimum of those here, which is part of the reason I'm so impressed.
...became so stupid halfway through I had to take a rest. Thugs announcing and arranging gang fights over megaphones and school intercoms, not one teacher, administrator, janitor, accountant in sight...anywhere. The director has dropped any pretense of reality; well, I guess that happened in episode 1 actually.
These school gang shows don't have to be this stupid. Season 1 was not nearly so. The makers CHOOSE to make them stupid, which is annoying.
lol...meh. More of the same. Jun Tae and Hyeon Tak should get a room, already. :)
On edit: Oh, and I thought drivers of vehicles who see pedestrians in crosswalks and hit their horns but don't bother to hit their brakes only drove the streets of Boys Love dramas. I was mistaken.
agreed with the baekjin visuals opinion, he gave off this unsettling vibe but i was so drawn to him the more i…
Please correct your comment below to hide your spoilers. Oftentimes, a reader's eye scrolling down comments, will pick up the spoilers and be drawn to them before they see your "some spoilers!!" line.
1 
1 
And are you telling the truth when you say that IT is what IT is? Wow, that's remarkable. You are deeply insightful. Are you a monk?
WHC2 alternate title: "Crows Zero 3"
I am shocked that the writer/director of WHC1 wrote and directed this brainless, soulless thing. It lacks everything that made WHC1 unique: Philosophical implications, psychological depth and nuance, emotional connections between characters, etc. The few moments in which those aspects were attempted here landed with a thud far short of anything in the original. Mercifully, those moments are brief, and it's back to another throw-down fight.
I'm guessing the writer/director just didn't much care, had his mind on other projects, or forgot his original vision. Whatever the case, it is sad. I enjoyed WHC1 greatly and have watched it twice. I won't be watching its follow-up again.
WHC2 feels like what we normally get when a hit production is followed by a sequel the original writer/director wants nothing to do with. The studio then hires hack writers who work to reproduce what they see as having made the original a hit, but they completely miss the mark, the core reasons the first story resonated so strongly with audiences are left out. In this case, the writers forgot to give WHC2 a heart. It's all fight strategy and execution, with lots of hilariously cliche Yakuza boss/minions cosplay in between.
These characters smirk and chuckle darkly at each other, smoke cigarettes alone in dimly lit rooms, smile menacingly when challenged, etc., all the standard Yakuza schtick you've seen in a hundred other films like this one. I might have enjoyed it at least a bit more if I hadn't seen WHC1, and if I hadn't seen any other Asian Yakuza/Mafia/gang/high school/etc. series or movies. But, I did and I have.
I didn't believe the Si Eun/Hu Min connection at all; no chemistry between them. The two friends connections I bought involved our little nerd, Jun Tae, as in JunTae/Si Eun and JunTae/HyeonTak. At times, I thought the latter pair might spin off into a BL subplot, but that didn't happen.
Finally, I must mention the hilarity of the over-the-top fight scene sound-effects. If just one blow that sounded like every one of the fight blows did here, a normal person would drop unconscious, if not dead. Here we are presented with super human young men who take 50 bone-crunching blows to the head/face/body and get up for more. I was reminded of when my son was little and watched "Transformers" cartoons and movies; every blow sounded like a car crash. Same here, but what's believable when a giant semi-tractor trailer turned robot does it, is not so much when applied to high school boys.
Everything about this series is a Crows Zero-style cliche. I can't think of a single, original aspect of story or execution. I am tempted to list them, but I can't justify the time it would take.
6/10
On edit: I just saw the rating for this series above, lol. Typical. MDL loves everything I don't and vice-versa.
Boys Love characters always stop in the middle of crosswalks, turn to face the oncoming vehicle that is going to strike, and freeze in place to await their doom. At the same time, the drivers of said vehicles see the pedestrian, lay on their horn, but somehow forget the vehicle they're piloting has brakes and that they should use them. Many beloved BL characters have ended up in urns this way.
All of the above in slo-mo, of course.
I find the fight choreography and execution to be excellent. I haven't seen a single, fake-looking punch thrown. And I notice that kind of stuff. One obvious fake punch to a face, where the punchee throws his head back but you can see that the fist never landed, can pull me out of a scene.
The thought of the amount of hours these guys must have to put into learning and rehearsing those fights amazes me to no end. Every move must be drilled into the actor, then he has to perform it, like a series of dance moves, with whoever is attacking him as the partner. Only there is no repetition of moves as in dance; here every move is different, must be executed quickly in coordination with other actors. And if one person messes up one move, they have to start over.
Of course, quick cuts in editing can help a lot, but I have seen a minimum of those here, which is part of the reason I'm so impressed.
...became so stupid halfway through I had to take a rest.
Thugs announcing and arranging gang fights over megaphones and school intercoms, not one teacher, administrator, janitor, accountant in sight...anywhere.
The director has dropped any pretense of reality; well, I guess that happened in episode 1 actually.
These school gang shows don't have to be this stupid. Season 1 was not nearly so. The makers CHOOSE to make them stupid, which is annoying.
I have seen numerous commenters on MDL who delight in placing spoilers in comments for all to see. It is annoying and entirely avoidable.
lol...meh. More of the same.
Jun Tae and Hyeon Tak should get a room, already. :)
On edit: Oh, and I thought drivers of vehicles who see pedestrians in crosswalks and hit their horns but don't bother to hit their brakes only drove the streets of Boys Love dramas. I was mistaken.
Oftentimes, a reader's eye scrolling down comments, will pick up the spoilers and be drawn to them before they see your "some spoilers!!" line.
Use the spoiler button please.
And if it really "won't work" for you for some miraculous reason, then change your comment accordingly.