Daisuke

I was expecting a comedy. How wrong could I be? But over the whole series there was in fact quite a lot of comedy mixed in. The huge contrast of comic and tragic in the same drama seems quite strong feature in Korean dramas like this. The plot of corruption in high places was not original: the idea of mom becoming a student is ridiculous but to my knowledge is original. Both heroes ・heroines and villains played well, with special mention for Kim Hee Sun with stand-out performance as mom and the dastardly villain Park Young Kyoo as Chairman Hong Sang Bok~~ almost a caricature villain ~~ who kept up the shouting to the end and came to a fitting end. Go Soo Hee as Han Gong Joo and her cross-dressing minions were hilarious right to the end. Really there was not one character who did not act well. One very interesting theme I noticed in this drama was the transformation of "nasty" characters to good ones as the story developed. I am thinking especially of the students Go Bok Dong and Hong Sang Tae ~~ which I found very hard to believe. Bad characters do not suddenly change to saints in real life. Applies to some adult villains too. But the villains who stayed villains were far more convincing [especially Hong San Bok]. There was great suspense and I watched last 5 episodes in one go, which is a first, so it must have been good. Not so happy with the music which I found too hyper emotional and intrusive, except the music for the comic parts was good. Knowing the story, not one I would watch again but highly recommended.

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I cannot praise this highly enough, it's great. It has sci-fi, medical, saeguk intrigue and plotting, adventure and memorable characters all in one. All good-looking leads to sweeten the eye. Song Seung Heon still looks very young and handsome here considering he was in his thirties and comparing his still good but more rugged look in Black only 5 years later. The only (slight) disappointment was the Joseon ending, which left the story hanging in the air. The attempt to tidy it up through Prince Heung Soon's appearance (those who watch will know what I mean) for me was unsatisfactory. Apart from that I am really sorry to have finished it. Will almost certainly re-watch, like Black, with Song Seung Heon, one of the few I have re-watched with equal pleasure as first time round. I cannot understand the low rating on this series. Lack of good taste I assume.

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Excellent. Stylised Samurai epic ~~ crisis of end of Tokugawa era crossed with crisis in lives of warriors and tragic resolution. Typically this presents series of images with limited action including shots of flower representing beauty in transience, like human lives ~~ especially those bound by code of honour. May be difficult for non-Japanese to appreciate, but similar to Greek classical tragedy. This is NOT in tradition of "action" samurai movies. The actors are good here, though the relations between characters could be made clearer, story of individuals quite difficult to follow. Not great, but still cathartic.

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Watching for second time and 5 episodes in one week, this covers some serious issues facing young adults in school in a convincing way, with a different one in every episode focusing on each character but there is also a running mystery theme about a girl who took her own life and the waves she left behind. It's well acted, I like Hong Jong Hyun's serious, taciturn character as a good guy but some may find his character a bit too forbidding. All the actors portray their different characters very well I feel. Like others I feel it is SERIOUSLY UNDERRATED, maybe because it is such a "hard-hitting drama", with little or no comedy to relieve the tension. My only regret is that the series is so short.

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Episode 1 violent intro but this grew into something of an epic. Wonderful martial arts - historical with plenty of memorable characters. I found Sword Saint more convincing as a martial arts master. The contrast of light-dark with Heuksa Chorong was well done. Excellent political intrigue woven throughout with Hong Dae Joo a memorable villain and built up the tension to spectacular finish. I am not a great lover of "epilogues" but it was well written, allowing for the fact that they are always somewhat predictable. It's a mighty effort to make and a mighty effort to watch, so I am sure I will come back to it again in time but not for a while. It's a commitment to watch but one I always looked forward to daily. The only drawback for me was that the music got very repetitious and intrusive sometimes. Otherwise brilliant all round. 11/10

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Nice old-fashioned school/mystery story for teens and "teen adults". The idea of a 15 year old graduating from MIT and going back to school in Japan is of course crazy i.e. pure manga~~~but I like Nakamura Aoi, though he really needed a hair styling makeover when he did this (or perhaps that was part of the old-fashioned setting). If I was him I might feel the urge to kick her ankle now and then, but it was an endearing show, it really felt like a school story, though a really old-fashioned school, the clothes were pretty awful. I loved the end music. I especially liked the episode with time travel. I may well watch again in future.

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Near perfect

As near perfect of its type as you can get, this drama. It certainly grabbed my interest, with good mystery and acting from the start, although I really do not like dramas with psychopathic characters~~they cause huge damage, not just at the extreme end of murderers, but to other human beings in day to day life. Seo in Guk in character totally different from King of Hi School and works brilliantly. Also Jang Na Ra, I did not at first associate the teacher in School 2013 with her in this setting, though the character is similar. There are lots of comic interludes between the murder and mystery and the support characters of the crime team are good fun. I like the "team leader", with his self-confident bravado and his mournful look when things do not go quite according to plan but his character also developed in the course of the series. My only reservation was how the romance "on-off" worked and the end, which did not seem realistic to me. Apart from this, the plot was worked out at the end in a very accomplished and masterful way. The music was very moving. I do not usually re-watch, but putting this at 9 as this may be an exception in the future. Congratulations to actors, producer, director but above all the brilliant writer.

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Brilliant historical/sci-fi mystery drama

Brilliant. Very intriguing drama, but some violence~~ primitive period. You get enough hints to relate it to scientific developments of advanced civilisations without losing the period atmosphere. Sort of historical X files. Oh, and the romance is slight, with a nice twist at the end, assuming I am right in how I interpret it. Would a woman be in that position in Joseon period, though? Ah, but there's the twist at the end again that explains it. I do not know much about Korean history but as the Joseon dynasty lasted 500 years, which period is this? Never dull, plenty of different story-lines and characters you can identify with. The stories are only around 40/45 minutes but seem to pack in more than hour long shows with slow patches. For anyone who likes a mix of drama, sci-fi, supernatural, mystery in historical setting this is highly recommended. Even if you do not like historical, still worth watching, it converted me to looking at historical shows.

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I liked the dramatic opening. After a slow start in episodes 1 and 2 , where it was very unclear where this was leading, I found it riveting - as much for the characters as the mystery, plot and supernatural interest. I also liked the way it still managed to inject comic moments into what was basically a very dark story. I have rarely come across a story with so many twists. Just when you think all has been revealed another twist arrives. I am still not clear who was the ultimate villain. A very unexpected ending, nice but illogical in view of the fate outlined just before. I think the main (or perhaps only) reason I would re-watch a series is not for the story but from feeling for the characters - and this is high on my re-watch list for that reason. Highly recommended for anyone who likes supernatural mystery with some romantic interest without it completely dominating the drama.

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First thing to note is that although Hi School is in the title, this is not a school drama. Plot sounds very dubious but really works quite well, VERY funny, very inventive and a real good satire on corporate managers and their sycophantic making up to the boss, stabbing-in-the-back/downtrodden subordinates, Hyuk is really convincing in his role. Don't know why reviewer above thinks there's no villain - there is [well, for a lot of it - in fact two] and how could the interest be sustained otherwise? Jo Han Chul is also very funny in his OTT neurotic team leader role, I think some people are really like that in companies. Love angle becomes too heavy, ep.11 very complicated, not so funny, I lost interest a bit in the middle [I think you say it "sagged"] and it was on hold for a while, but really picks up after that and I positively wanted to watch it. Lee Soo Hyuk looks much better with a schoolboy haircut. Lots of feel good in the end, but deduct a point for loss of interest in middle which may have stopped me finishing it. Music so-so, ok for this show. Not one I think I'd watch again.

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This sounds good reading the reviews but I found most of episode 1 boring, just the usual police thriller with nasty murders and I can not see much sci-fi. Then it gets interesting as he looks like catching the criminal and you are hooked into wanting to know what happens next. I find Choi Jin Hyuk's acting "wooden", but I suppose there's meant to be a contrast between him as the rough cop and Sun Jae as the cool, arrogant graduate cop. Much better with episode 2. The "transition" to the future was well handled. Others comment it is not convincing but you have to have some "suspension of disbelief", not work out every detail of how someone would adjust in that situation. Some of the violent scenes are too gory for me, I must say. But glad I stuck with it as it gets better with every episode. Sci-fi element at first seemed to be just a way of giving a twist to the story, then about half way it takes a central role again, as the way the characters' lives interact with each other in past and future becomes clearer. Very cleverly done. The only thing that bothers me is I wish they could do these shows without zero-ing in on the ghastly murders "as they happen" or the grisly photos afterwards. They look all too real for my liking. How about just a foot with the detectives turning away and making a terrified face? Anyway, leaving aside my sensitivity, what started as apparently just another plodding police thriller turned into a clever and riveting drama. Very moving finale, I wasn't quite sure what would happen until it did..Once again teaches me not to ditch shows based on impulsive reaction to first episode or two. Finally rates a 10/10*.

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Great action, too much sentimental romance

I tried this out because of Lee Joon Hyuk from "Are you human too?" I like his cool, dark looks here. But this felt slow, slow at the start and then half of it was taken up with (yawn) romance and I wasn't sure if it was worth waiting for the 10 minutes of action at the end of the episode to find out what happens -the "targets" have more lives than a cat. Lee Min Ho jumping about looking pretty does not compensate. I could really not take seriously Park Min Young as a top state bodyguard? bang!! aaaaaagh - the president just got shot: ( Not a terribly original story - revenge and romance. This was on hold with me about half way through but in the second half it improved hugely, so I'm glad I stuck with it. Still too much sentimental romance for me got in the way of the plot but they certainly hooked me with the cliffhanger endings! They could have cut out the romance and taken 10+ minutes off the episodes or reduced to 16 episodes and it would have been much better all through imo. Really good towards the end. Well it got to the end and it was very well worked out, although in one respect not the ending I would have wished. Can not quite give this a 10/10 due to the above problems, but in the end a very good 9+ .

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Episode 1 - lovely intro countryside and "Indian Summer", then (thinks) is this meant to be surreal or just a mess of bad acting? As to "the beauty and body" of Gil Ra Im, is the above summary for real? it's extremely well hidden. But the production values are good…….As at ep.2 is this rather ridiculous - the idea that not-bad looking Hyun Bin (especially as s super rich CEO) would fall for plain Jane penniless Ha Ji Won defies credulity - plus I don't like the snide reference about "gays". Ep 3 why am I still watching this? the fashion? interior design? Oska? - oh, I forgot Lee Jong Suk……..are you there?? Ep 5 strangely magnetising, beginning to get into this but mainly for the side stories and bizarre characters of Kim Joo Won and OSKA, I like bizarre characters, but regrettably still not Gil Ra Im. ep 7 - well with a mother like that I now understand why he became so twisted, whew. This drama lit up with the gender bending, I'm not sure if Hyun Bin deliberately meant his transformation to be so camp, but either way it's quite funny. I like Hyun Bin here, he has a difficult character to portray but he in particular has managed to keep me watching. I would like to watch more by him but the dramas covered here don't sound appealing. The soundtrack of this drama is also really good. Ep. 13 Gil Ra Im's evening dress is -ahem- a little "de trop". I do love that house, the architecture and interior design are stunning [that library! but where did he get the time to read all those books?) Ep17/18 really an unexpected twist (not entirely liked by me) but SG now passes my excellence test of putting it on hold because I don't want it to finish. Having now finished the series I think it should have ended with Episode 19 and left the rest to our imaginings. What was a stylish, classy and intriguing series raising some real questions about identity and the penetration into this world of other dimensions was spoilt by - there's a good English word - sentimentality of a common romantic drama. Better to stop when it was still ahead. Maybe this stuff appeals to many people, but I feel it was a major error of judgment by the writer/producer. This is not to take away from all the good things in the series. I plan to re-watch as I suspect I missed many details the first time around. But I shall not be watching the last episode.

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Intriguing start, somewhat far-fetched with two people with precognition just happening to live next door with intertwining lives. Plus a lawyer with paranormal powers? Not in my experience. I was initially irritated that just when I'm enjoying the comedy it gets really heavy, but now I'm into it, I find the mix of comedy, tragedy and supernatural enjoyable and keeps me watching. As it goes, it looks like half of Seoul have precognitive dreams. But in my opinion the big flaw in this drama is the connection between the central characters between present day and back story. It really is completely unbelievable, although everything does come together quite powerfully as between the different characters then and now. Still stretches the imagination, though. It also has a "split personality", as it can't make up its mind if it is a supernatural drama or realistic law/court drama - it starts with the supernatural element very prominent but from about half way to me this fades to the background. Also it sags in the middle with too much soppy romance. But it totally recovered as the action picked up later on, when it was edge of the seat stuff and passed the test of being not easy to stop from going on to the next episode. I also loved the comedy, like the office politics and the young brother constantly put upon by LJS. IMO LJS looks far better in casual than formal clothes. Music for the romantic scenes is good. I also have a soft spot for the villain, although he's a really nasty one, which I suppose is evidence of Lee Sang Yeob's good acting. These dramas would never work without a bad guy and the audience wanting to know how the good guy gets the better of him (if he does). The very end nice but so OTT. The idea could have carried over to another series but it was obviously packaged only for one. Not one I'm going to re-watch, once you know the story it's pointless and there are too many romantic stretches in between at some points. But I don't like to over-analyse when reviewing, so 10/10 as a really watchable drama when the action took over.

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I prefer this to the recent version. Maybe it's because the 1990s version is so different from the current trends in schools where you wonder if there's any limits on students at all in many cases. I agree with the other reviewer that Onizuka's character is based on an amazing bond with his students, admittedly larger than real life. My usual lament: if only teachers were like that in the real world! Mine certainly weren't. Yes. it's sometimes over-the-top (on one occasion definitely surreal), but mostly during the course of the story the background is believable and GTO's remedies may be bizarre but not absolutely impossible. I personally prefer my school dramas to have realistic backgrounds, not twenty-somethings dressed in school uniforms. Their problems are different from school students'.

This is fun but also not avoiding some serious issues. Despite the fantasy, there is no quick fix to solving the problems during the course of the series. So this GTO pushes and leads but it's the students who make the decisions in the end. But there's plenty of comic relief in the continuing battle between the stuffy professionals and Onizuka. It's great when he gets the better of them despite their constant plotting. You almost feel sorry for Uchiyamada and his co-conspirators trapped in their small worlds. Can't say much about the ending for fear of spoilers. Let's say it goes back to its manga roots in terms of fiction departing from real life. The particular twist which is what really brings things out right is frankly unbelievable. But that's manga. The ride is probably better than the arrival.

I agree it can lift the spirits, yes it's corny as someone else said, but there's no harm in that sometimes. the tendency these days is for these dramas to get way too heavy. GTO is a positive force, I like the passion of his character. Sorimachi Takashi is also not only an attractive character but a charismatic person to my mind.

Story not that original but with plenty of twists and turns so you don't lose interest - I watched it right through, with no "on holds", so it must be good. Acting very good, with larger than life Onizuka and the others performing good character acting, not to mention the kids. Music OK for the background. Re-watch definitely. There's enough in most of it to attract without the ending being important.

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