Itaewon Class (2020)

Revenge by accident. And romance to distract you.

If you are looking for a satisfying revenge story, don't watch this! Watch "The Glory" instead - it is also not perfect, but a more satisfying watch. Here, in Itaewon Class, the ML is driven from the very beginning to get revenge, but he has no plan. He is successful in the end but only because he is lucky and somehow stumbles into it.
It feels like the narrative they wanted to push is: you just have to be a nice guy, then success will come to you. Also, it is very slow moving, the actual revenge only happens in the last episode. And even then we don't get a big finale with a bang.

The romance that is woven into the story gets a bit too much at times and is also a bit weird, especially the unconditional love the ML shows to the b*tch character for the longest time. Speaking of characters, the character development is quite weak in general, but two characters stand out to really behave erratically:
- The young heir: obviously a nice guy, he turns evil with the snip of a finger and hates himself for it all the while. And that while being the second character after the ML who should have the highest interest of getting revenge on the old scrooge, given his awful childhood.
- The second FL, the childhood "friend". She is an awful person from the very beginning and has no growth till episode 16. And all the while she seems to hate herself, judging by the single sad face expression she displays throughout the series. I'm surprised how many reviewers rooted for her.

The series was praised a lot for its diversity: a trans girl and a black guy. Well, the creators were probably meaning well, but it ended up being quite transphobic and racist. Both characters lack depth and they get no time to explore their stories. We have 16 slow-moving episodes and the black guy speaks what, maybe a total of 10 minutes? And while I don't think that only actors from the matching minority should play minority roles, I woudn't be surprised if they didn't find a trans actress who was willing to take on this simplistic role.

Some smaller observations:
- The story spans over maybe 15 years, starting in high school. But the appearance of the ML doesn't change at all - not even his hairstyle changes :)
- Of course, severely hurt people run from the bad guys following a street, instead of hiding in bushes. And of course the bad guys chasing them by car take forever to catch up. Enough time to stop for a little romantic scene. And of course, when you have the choice of running away by car or by foot, you choose the latter. I was screaming at this stupidity.
- What are the odds of running into your unknown grandma by coincidence in a country of 50 million?

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GIVE IT A SHOT!

To start off, this story is a complete cliche. Just a normal revenge plot with a complicated love triangle. But that's where the negative aspects of the show end. (even though many might consider it enough to drop the show, I suggest all give it a try)

I absolutely loved Itaewon Class as a whole. It had everything I was looking for in a Kdrama and more. First off, this drama isn't much on romance. Even though I mentioned earlier that it has a complicated love triangle, the romance aspect of this show is close to nil, which I really appreciate for some reason (considering the fact that I'm a huge romantic, it surprised me that I came to like it). The charm of this show lies in the bonds of friendship and trust the characters share among themselves. The loyalty, the hard work and the genuine nature of each character won me over and what topped it all off was the perseverance of the main lead. The female lead was so cocky and imperfect but so raw as a human being. No one is perfect with the way they think and the character of the female lead proved that right. I had mixed opinions on various characters throughout the course of the drama but in the end, I was able to make a firm decision on all of them.

The acting was definitely incredible. Especially the actors who played the antagonists were really good at what they did. The OST of this drama is worth going on everyone's playlist that every track suited the scenes they played it along with.

The plot could have been better but the number of laughs and smiles that came out of me and the anxiety the show gave me makes up for all the plot holes I came across.

Definitely worth a watch.

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Mais... cette claque !

Je me suis longuement demandé si je devais faire une critique sur ce drama, car, vu sa note élevée et les commentaires que j'ai pu entendre dessus avant de l'avoir vu, je me disais que tout le monde allait forcément sauter dessus. Ensuite, je me suis dit que j'avais tout de même envie de partager mon ressenti et me faire plaisir à moi aussi pour, ne serais-ce que pendant le temps de cette écriture, replonger dans les souvenirs de cette série.

Je n'ai pas trouvé beaucoup de points négatifs, j'ai du même me creuser la tête car le drama est presque parfait d'après moi, je vais ici vous détailler mon impression sur les différents niveaux que j'observe dans un drama:

l'histoire :

Bon, je ne vais pas me lancer dans un résumé car vous pouvez lire la fiche du drama. Je vais plutôt vous parler de l'histoire au sens général. Iteawon Class nous emmène à travers un parcours initiatique, celui de notre héros Park Sae Roy. Il nous montre de quelle façon il change et grandit à travers ses rencontres, ses épreuves et ses combats. On est, dès le premier épisode, complètement immergé dans la vie de notre héros et on ressent les choses comme lui le fait. Le drama a cette force que jamais on ne sort de l'action et je dirai même qu'on ne sort pas indemne de ce visionnage.

Dans cette série, on ne souffle pas une minute, pas forcément à cause de l'action mais également à cause de la charge émotive contenue dans de nombreuses scènes.
Certains râlent disant que la romance n'a pas sa place dans ce drama et bien, je ne suis pas d'accord, Itaewon Class raconte la vie, non seulement du héros mais aussi de son groupe d'amis, et la vie est pleine de plein de choses et notamment d'amour.
D'autres voix, disaient que la fin était bien mais que « comme d'habitude » il fallait sacrifier à l'habituel happy end. À ceux-ci je répondrais que d'une, Ben oui on est dans un drama, faut s'y faire et on a assez de problèmes de nos vies pour se réconforter avec un « roudoudou », pour certains c'est manger un chocolat, pour d'autres c'est regarder un drama avec l'assurance d'avoir un fin qui finit bien (moi je combine les deux, d'où l'effet « roudoudou » comme je l'appelle) et de deux, j'emprunte les mots de notre cher écrivain Jack London : « Ce n'est pas la destination qui compte, c'est le voyage »

Enfin, ce drama est connu pour cela, il met en avant des sujets tabous en Corée (comme dans d'autres pays d'ailleurs) comme la représentation à l'écran de personnes métisses, de couleur ou faisant partie de la communauté LGBTQIA+. Ce qui est bien, d'après moi c'est qu'elles ne sont pas mis sur le devant de la scène comme le font nombre de productions (notamment en France) comme pour dire « Vous avez vu, on en a mis! On en a mis! Félicitez-nous! ». Non ici, elles sont simplement intégrées au groupe, on raconte leur histoire, on développe les personnages, on explique leurs difficultés mais comme pour tous les autres personnages.
Mais, ici réside aussi l'un des seuls points négatifs que je reprocherais à la série. C'est le fait de n'avoir pas pris d'acteur de couleur coréen ou un véritable acteur transgenre mais l'effort déployé n'en ai pas moins fort louable.
Ce qui m'amène à la catégorie suivante:

Les personnages :

Alors, je ne vais pas présenter Park Seo Jun (Park Sae Roy), c'est un fabuleux acteur et il sait tout aussi bien jouer dans Itaewon Class que dans What's wrong with secretary Kim ou She Was Pretty.

Je voulais plutôt parler des rôles de méchants, et ici, on en a deux beaux! Tout d'abord Yoo Jae Myung (Jang Dae Hee) qui possède un palmarès impressionnant et qui nous plante un méchant qu'on a tout de suite envie de détester mais aussi un méchant particulièrement intelligent et stratège, c'est pourquoi, je pense, il joue au jeu de Go dans le drama.
Ensuite le deuxième, et non le moindre, Ahn Bo Hyun (Jang Geun Won) qui sait se rendre tellement détestable que j'ai envie de rejouer la scène de l'œuvre HunterXHunter où je serais Gon et lui incarnerais Neferupitô (les fans comprendrons). De plus, il plante un personnage tellement écrasant de bêtise qu'il ne faut pas être un surdoué comme le personnage de Kim Da Mi (Jo Yi Seo) pour réussir a le tromper.
Ces deux là sont tellement exécrables qu'on ne peut pas éprouver ne serais-ce qu'une once de compassion pour eux et d'ailleurs, quand, à un moment, ils se font une accolade père-fils, j'ai eu autant d'émotion que quand je range deux cuillères dans le compartiment à couverts de ma cuisine.

Enfin, je dédie une mention spéciale au personnage incarné par Kim Dong Hee (Jang Geun Su), c'est le bon gars, le second lead mais je suis vraiment désolé.e pour lui.

ATTENTION SPOIL :
à la fin, il repart un peu une main devant, une main derrière. Il aura tout perdu pour finir, et je suis tout de même triste, j'aurai aimé une meilleure fin pour lui.
FIN DU SPOIL

La réalisation :

Le drama nous emmène dans des quartiers de Séoul souvent bien différents de ce qu'on voit habituellement et c'est dépaysant même si on reste dans la même ville. J'ai beaucoup aimé également la façon de filmer durant les chutes ou quand les personnages courent on est vraiment inclus dans l'action.
Ensuite, il faut parler des regards. Très souvent dans le drama tout se fait, se dit par les regards et pas besoin de décodeur ou d'explication les acteurs ont cette capacité à tout transmettre et c'est une des force de la série, pas besoin de paroles et ces échanges, même s'ils durent, ils ne coupent pas l'action ou le cours de l'histoire car la tension est plus que palpable.
Enfin, je ne sais pas si c'est volontaires, mais j'ai remarqué que très souvent la caméra se fixait sur les mains des personnages qui faisaient comme une transmission de leurs émotions, leur ressenti par ce biais.

L'OST :

Voilà pour la dernière rubrique, la musique, alors je ne suis pas ce qu'on peut appeler quelqu'un de mélomane, j'écoute de la musique (notamment quand j'écris, que je cuisine ou sous la douche) mais j'ai une mémoire de poisson rouge mort pour retrouver les titres, les noms des chanteurs ou même les paroles (vive Chazamme, je l'écris comme ça pour ne pas faire de pub). Mais je dois avouer que plusieurs musiques d'Itaewon Class m'ont donné envie de faire comme le héros, d'aller courir (j'ai une relation durable avec mon canapé pourtant!), m'ont donné la pêche! Donc mention spéciale pour Start Over de Gaho et surtout Diamond de Ha Hyun Woo

Voilà, cette critique arrive à son terme, j'espère ne pas vous avoir endormi sous mes écrits mais plutôt vous avoir donné envie de voir ce petit bijou comme il devrait y en avoir plus et ce dans tous les pays.

Maintenant à vous de vous faire votre avis.

Leggi di Più

Great idea. Average execution.

I think I should begin by of course applauding this drama for its activism, if it can be labelled as that. Kim Tony was a surprising addition to me, as I've never really seen a kdrama get so far into how black people are treated in SK. It was interesting, but only really dealt with in like 1 or 2 scenes and then Tony's character was doomed to fade into the background. I then have to talk about Hyun Yi, the transgender MTF character in the series. The actress is stunning, and was very good at making me feel for her character too. I loved her scenes, although I think at the end she ultimately met the same fate as Toni and faded into the background, as I guess her character was not deemed as important to expand on as the dreaded love triangle (square? more?). Another shame.

Onto the main actors. Park Seo-Joon did amazingly well from the very start. His "crying" scenes pulled me out of it at times, but that's a minor criticism. The revenge plot is what had me so invested in this drama and what ultimately stopped me from dropping it a few episodes early, and it was ultimately the acting chops of Seo-Joon, Geun Won and Jang Dae Hee that had me on the edge of my seat at many times. The two villains were excellent at making me want to punch them both in the face. Perhaps a bit lame in how typically "evil" they were, but a joy to watch all the same. I only wish the drama had focused a little more on their storylines, especially towards the very end of the drama.

Jo Yi Seo and Oh Soo Ah. When Yi Seo came on the scene, I honestly loved her. She seemed very bad-ass. Shame they completely destroyed her character and made her into a lovesick fool, much like Sae Ro Yi. I don't even want to talk about the love triangle too much, as it annoyed me to no end. It took over all other plot by the end and made everything else seem unimportant. Sae Ro Yi rejects Yi Seo all series long and shows no genuine interest in her, then in the course of 30 minutes falls irreversibly in love with her and coldly rejects the woman he's held on a string for the past 15 years, proceeding to have flashback upon flashback of their time together (I've already watched the series - I don't need to see it all again in flashbacks when we're reaching the climax of the show?) and seemingly leave all his dreams of revenge behind for her all of a sudden. The actors also show no real chemistry, making the pairing cringe-worthy to say the least. I actually ended up wanting him to be with Soo Ah, especially after finding out she'd spent the last 10 years compiling information to help the guy who just threw her to the side like she meant nothing lmao.

I can't keep going on like this or I'll be here all day. To summarise, the revenge plot is a great one and the drama starts of very well, but as usual with many many dramas, the awful romance overtakes it and ruins the character development of all characters involved (I refuse to discuss Geun Soo, my baby). I definitely wouldn't re-watch this, although i will say i rated it so highly for its really good start. plus the ost.

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이태원 클라쓰

조광진 작가님 : 축하하고 감사합니다!^

이태원 클라쓰(2020)를 봐야할지 고민이신가요?

캐릭터 박새로이(박서준) - 그에 대한 부정적인 댓글을 읽었다. 하지만 그의 캐릭터는 이렇습니다. 당나귀, 슈렉입니다! 전체 시리즈의 유일한 결함.

캐릭터 오수아(권나라) - 그녀는 우리 모두를 속였고 확실히 모두가 의심했습니다. 아름답고 황홀한 모든 사람이 생존해야 하지만 모든 것에는 대가가 따릅니다. 이기심은 결국 비용이 많이 들 수 있습니다.

캐릭터 조이서(김다미) - OMG! 그것은 조용히 쇼를 지배했습니다.

바보 같은 드라마를 만드는 대가는? 무능력.

PERFECT 드라마를 만드는 데 드는 비용은 얼마입니까? 존경.

왜 완벽한가요? 대부분의 드라마를 보면 시청자를 존중하지 않는데, 어떤 사람들은 픽션이라고 하는데 왜 나쁠 수 있습니까? 아니면 파괴될까?

여기 이 드라마에서 나는 끝까지 존경받았다.

두 번째 시즌은 필요하지 않습니다. 모든 것을 파괴할 수 있습니다.

내 평점은 10점!

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So going in i guess i wasn't expecting anything.I watched this drama without knowing what all the hype was about. I won't make this review super long.Just the main points.
STORY:It was a refreshing break from the usual rom-coms and a pretty impressive story i would say. Though some elements of the story may seem unrealistic (like come on how convenient that a ex-convict with little education ends up finding a bad-ass genius who willingly helps him) , it's a show after all i guess. I did find what happens in the last few episodes wholly unnecessary though i guess the makers decided to wrap up the very long revenge saga in this way. I do wish it had been done better but we can't have everything.

CHARACTERS: I actually love the characters. There are the good ones ,the straight out villains,the struggling with conscience villains and the gray characters that belong nowhere,much like in reality. I did feel like some of the characters had potential to be much more(Yes I'm talking about Kim Da Mi) . But overall they did a pretty good job of showing the struggles and development of most of the characters.

MUSIC: If the osts aren't wholesome and true to the theme of the drama i don't know what is. I honestly still listen to the playlist to this day. It's my go to when i want to give up and need to push myself. I love the music. The ending song being sung by V is just another unexpected sweet addition to an already spectacular playlist.

So a lot of people had problem with the romance track in this drama. But i personally liked it. For the most part atleast. You guys have to remember that romance is not the main theme. So obviously there wasn't much of it. A lot of people said that the good story was ruined by needless romance but one of the things i actually admired about this drama was the fact that it didn't let romance interfere with the characters goals. Ambition always took the front seat and the romance was mostly bonding. Overall i would say it's a good watch.

As to rewatch value, I will definitely go back to watch the revenge sequence if not the whole drama whenever i want to get all fired up

Leggi di Più

Très contemporain et réussi.

Génial !
Je l'ai regardé avant tout pour Park Seo Jun (un de mes acteurs favoris, qui peut tout assumer, même une coiffure ridicule ).

L'histoire est complexe (revanche du ML) et J'ai beaucoup aimé l'héroïne, débrouillarde, effrontée, sûre d'elle. Cela change agréablement de la "naïve / pure et innocente" trop fréquente dans les dramas.

Les personnages multiples et complexes. Mais tous sont bien développés.
Par contre, la 2nde FL (auto-centrée, manipulatrice, etc.) est insupportable !! De même, les villains sont machiavéliques, cruels, psycho... Un peu trop caricatural !

Les thèmes abordés sont durs : harcèlement scolaire, meurtre, transidentité, racisme,... Mais c'est fait avec finesse et tolérance.

Les OST sont superbes, et la chanson titre chantée par Gaho, restera longtemps dans les mémoires.

En résumé, une série très contemporaine et réussie.

Leggi di Più

ok! i must admit. this drama was on my watch list and i only wanted to watch it because of the transgender character but once i watched the first episode i fell in love with the actors. the acting was 10/10 and the storyline was not something out of mind. i mean i normally don't like korean romantic dramas cause i think they're cheesy a lil bit but this one had the balance and more real. there wasn't any rich and spoiled boy character only the self-made ones and seriously i learned so much from this drama. i study business and successful people's lifestyle and for sure the storyline was so good and real.
not to mention the soundtrack. Gaho is the best and i think he deserves more acknowledgment.
i already rewatched it 2 times since november and it's worth it!

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