Weak Hero (2022)

Thrilling, Touching, Thought-provoking

Fans of Crows Zero and High&Low The Worst, assemble! South Korea is entering our favorite genre, "high school delinquents fighting and bromancing," to challenge Japan's supremacy in it, and let me tell you: the Koreans are starting with an absolute banger. Weak Hero Class 1 is action-packed, entertaining, thought-provoking, and will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions. It gives the bromance, friendship, and fights that are the genre's hallmark and at the same time presents a unique twist on the familiar story of high school rivalry.

What distinguishes this series from its Japanese counterparts is that its setting is more realistic. We leave behind the Japanese high schools from hell and enter an average school, in which teachers, ordinary students, and, sadly, bullying exist. Notably, the guys throw punches not like anime fighters, but like real high school students, and this is why the main character, Yeon Shi Eun, is so memorable and likeable.
Unlike his equivalents from Japan, he is physically weak, but he compensates for his weakness with his strength of spirit, bravery, and intelligence. He is a person whom I grew to admire over the course of the series because he reminds the viewers that courage does not mean lack of fear – courage means doing the right thing despite your fear – and this is precisely what Shi Eun does from the first episode to the last. Even when he and those dear to him suffer from the cruelty and injustice of others, he does not lose the kindness of his heart. In general, if I had to point out just one thing that the production team of this series did right, I would say that they gave us a main character who knows right from wrong and acts on his principles.

It is worth mentioning that the plot is heavier than those of the Japanese movies. While the delinquents of Japan fight to establish dominance, uphold the honor of their school, punish criminals, have fun etc., the focus of this series is definitely the exceptionally severe bullying. There are bad gangsters to be defeated too, of course, but they are present only in the first half of the story – keep this in mind.

Surprisingly for Korea, another hallmark of the genre, "bromance with no heterosexual explanation," is as recognizable here as it is in Crows Zero and High&Low The Worst. From finger hearts to calling your bro "cutie" and putting on your helmet on his head, to jealousy, to staring that makes the viewers exclaim "I want someone to look at me the way Shi Eun looks at Ahn Soo Ho," to sacrificing yourself to protect or take revenge for your bro, the familiar signs are all here. Who is open-minded enough to see it will see it.

This review will be incomplete if I do not praise the actors. They were all brilliant. It was Park Ji Hoon who stole the show with his great performance, though. I have been following his career since his days as a member of Wanna One, and I like him as an idol, but I had not thought highly of his acting until I saw him as Shi Eun. I believe that here he finally showed what he is actually capable of.

Overall, if you are looking for something that both is action-packed and has an interesting, well-developed plot without melodramatic romance, annoying characters, and unfunny humor, which seem to spoil many Korean series, this series is definitely worth the watch. I have not been so invested in a story in a while. Kudos to the production team.

Leggi di Più

Protect all 3 of them!! ALL 3!

I still have no words..
Words simply cannot describe the feelings i went through while watching Weak hero class.. the main trio and their friendship was so amazing and i honestly loved them all and wished them ONLY the best, but to end up in the gutter like that?? AND FOR WHAT??

Yeon Sieun and his character development was honestly THE BEST! This brave, smart guy is like no other.. and the loyalty he showed to his friends? AMAZING! I have nothing but respect for him and the way he stood up for his friends until the end.. I wish everyone at least one friend like him.. if only Beomseok realized his mistake and just said everything out loud instead of.. acting the way he did.

I can only say the same things about Sooho.. and i need to mention that Beomseok was not evil, he was simply lonely, alone and lost.. He never had real friends before so of course he couldn't open about his struggles and insecurities.. I wish people would not be so harsh on him. He did make a grave mistake and acted disgustingly.. his character is obviously very flawed and weak mentally.. but can we blame him after seeing his home life and his past school experiences? Everyone have the right to be angry at him and i just wish he will realize FINALLY how far he went in the rabbit hole and just wake up.

Their friendship might be broken, but is it too late to be hopeful at least a tiny bit?

I don't know how the webtoon goes, but i just want these 3 to meet again and make up... That's all i wish for.

Also this s1 was made SOOO well and just made freakin excited for the upcoming s2! I can't wait for my boy Sieun to appear again and do some damage on some bully bastards!

PLEASE SEASON 2 COME VERY FAST!!

Leggi di Più

THE ACTING AND ANGST HAD ME FLOORED

Okay so THIS DRAMA WAS IT!!! It served everything I needed from a kdrama. The ACTING, the plot, the cast, the cinematography, the music, the ANGST AND HEARTBREAK!!! I just can’t get over it.

This show left me genuinely satisfied yet devastated. It’s been a while since I came across a show THIS spectacular.

Now let’s talk about the cast. PARK JIHOON..this guy made me cry blood..I mean, I knew he was an exceptionally good actor since I watched him in At a distance spring is green but in Weak hero as Si Eun, he just tore my heart out, made my jaw drop on the floor and left me shook, he is THAT EXCELLENT. I can’t stop thinking about that glass smashing scene, pure Trauma!!! HE DESERVES ALL THE AWARDS NOW 💔💔💔

Hyunwook..this cutie is a CUTE LITTLE BEAN WHO I WANNA PROTECT. He also did a great greattt job portraying such a lovely character Suho💔

Last but not the least, Hong Kyung, he also made me go through so many emotions..I didn’t know if I should pity beomseok or hate him at certain points💔

In a nutshell, this show left me in shambles, crying, weeping and craving for more! Need a S2 ASAP!!!!

Leggi di Più

The acting in Weak Hero is a 10

I binge this in one sitting and I'm shooketh the ef up, it's good but heavy 😳😮‍💨

❌️‼️WARNING‼️❌️
●violence
●school bullying
●physical (mental//emotional) abuse

3 MLs in middle school; The Smart One, The Athletic One and The Rich One and of course three different personalities and they became the best of friends.

Ep 1 started with the Smart One focus on his studies and grade, the Athletic One coasting through life calm and chill, the Rich One trying to avoid unwanted attention spiral into Ep 2 into one crazy fkkn mess.
This drama spiral so far into so many triggers in their life you miss (barely) their happy moments and it continues to spiral even more once the Rich One list of complexities,insecurities and LACK of communication comes in play and make one giant mess.

MY takeaway from Weak Hero is that all the adults and I mean ALL OF THEM are either absent, clueless, complacent, narcissistic, evil or self absorbs.

Only 8 episodes and(with plans of S2 as it should be) S1 ended on a Cliffhanger
(I'm also reading the webtoon)

Leggi di Più

it's a very good adaptation.

from someone who read the webtoon (didn't read all but the most):
I recommend it for the ones who read or didn't because it's reaaaally good.
I watched without noticing the "real context" of the story BUT at the end my mind could connect the story of the drama with the webtoon and realized that the drama is before the start of the webtoon.
so... the adaptation is really good and is beyond my expectatives.
the acting, music and story are all really good in general and because they "started from before" everyone can just watch it and be in equal aknowledge (about the actual story) with the ones who read it.

Leggi di Più

Quick and satisfying, binge worthy series

I just watched out of curiosity and had no prior expectation or knowledge of it being some sort of webtoons. Got hooked on it right away and accidentally binge-watched them, Superb story that leave so much satisfactions. The acting (casts) were great in conveying the story. No normal k-drama tropes that usually left you unfulfilled. The drama captured the mood, and probably what is going on with the younger generations and the complacent of the adults and society around. I guess if this is Korea they should be vigilant of the issues. This would not be tolerated in the US because of our "gun wielding" mentality,
Solid series and very satisfying. Hopefully they will be "class 2".

Leggi di Più

Park Ji Hoon never disappoint viewers

First of all, i'm aware there will be violence in the drama but not to the extent that i was expecting. However, it also shows the reality of life. There are no guidelines how violent it should be since it all depends on the character, how they feel at that time. When someone who mind their own business are being provoked for nothing, they can be forgiving and not do anything. However, when you step on their tail again, don't blame them for fighting back. Bullies will never understand the pain the weak suffered, sometimes human only understand the pain when they experienced it themselves, so i'm fine with the extent of violence in the drama.

This drama really have everything. Though only 8 episodes, but i love it. No dragging or makjang plot to extend it to 12 or 16 episodes. Directors chose the best cast for the roles, cast discussing with directors on the characters, scenes, etc. Actors professionalism to do their best for the drama.

Especially to Ji Hoon, you have done well, i do not shed tears easily, but from episode 7 onwards, even though si eun did not say anything, but your eyes expression tells everything, i could feel the emotions you were trying to convey. The scene of him visiting Suho at the hospital.. also the scene of the breaking the windows, i could see how helpless & frustrated he was with humanity, with life.. Why can't people just live and not create trouble? He deserved to win awards and i hope he will be rewarded soon.

Leggi di Più

Good choices.

Honestly it exceeded my expectations and I really liked it. What most stayed in my mind after watching it was Bryce. There's one scene in episode 4 which was top-notch cause that's when something clicks and he starts feeling this uncontrollable fury against Stephen. It will remain my favourite scene. His character both in the drama and in the webtoon is despicable and in my opinion it was very well portrayed, the acting is a 10/10. The rest of the cast was awesome and Park Jihoon was honestly a great choice as the main lead. The dude's eyes are really Something.
Regarding the action scenes, I loved how Real it looked, for example the blood was there and it wasn't exaggerated, and also the bruises/haematomas looked realistic enough. I totally LOVED that director/writers added some of Gray's tricks when fighting, like the use of the pen, the book, the curtain, etc. and his calculations and mental notes when thinking what will be his next move.
Music? I don't really remember anything special. I think I was too focused on the story that I couldn't pay attention.
Rewatch? Totally.

Leggi di Più

POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!

This is one of the best dramas I've watched around this time. No drama piqued my interest until this aired. Though I like dramas that have something to do with romance, this drama made me reconsider my preferences. It is action-packed and I also love the revenge act they are going with it. It is so satisfying to watch the bad guys getting punished.

I can see Yeon Shi Eun and Ahn Soo Ho's immaculate friendship even though the drama didn't fully show how close they are.
This is the first ever drama I've watched that I cried because of the pure friendship they had. This drama is a 10/10 on my Nth in my drama list.

I'd totally recommend this drama to my peers if they haven't watched this cause it is a MUST for the drama is really great.

Leggi di Più

Outstanding in many ways

I just finished it and I will make it short—the story, the fighting scenes, the soundtrack, the visual effects, and especially the acting: Everything is perfect. There must be a season 2. The storyline has so much potential and they didn't waste it. The drama ends where the original webtoon starts. I really really hope there will be a season 2.
Park Ji Hoon is remarkable. The perfect casting, he is on point in delivering this character, and so is the rest of the cast. But he really outstanding. The fighting scenes never get boring and you root for him in every single one. I've read that some of the production team members are also involved in D.P. which is also one of my all-time favorites, I especially felt it in the overall vibe. Even tho the topic is serious, brutal, and heavy there is also something comforting about the show (like it was with D.P.). The intro was also wonderful and is a no-skip. I can really recommend the drama, especially if you like revenge storylines. This show has one of the most satisfying revenge storylines I have ever seen. 11/10. Perfect.

Leggi di Più

Violence Begets Violence

I've been wanting to write a review for some time and have only gotten around to it now.

Honestly, I would rate this lower but I think the great acting of the ML and SML offset my low rating.

I want to first start off by saying I binged watch this in one day because I wanted to see how everything unfolded but I think that there were a few things left to be desired.

First of all, I think everyone could relate to the bullying that the ML, Shi Eun, faced when he finally had enough, and finally fought back, there was this gratifying, sweet taste of revenge that every viewer cheered for. You wanted to see those bullies beaten back and every time they got what they deserved, it was oh so fun to watch. As morbidly disgusting, savage, and violent as it was, you felt the rage and the vengeance the ML was feeling.

But I think also that the storyline was a bit too violent and too far-stretched. With a con man trying to kill teenagers, with teenagers using bats and other weapons against each other, where a father beats his kid with a golf club, and where kids didn't know when to stop the beating, the violence almost became unrealistic and too much at times. Also, the only way to beat the bullies was to resort to even more violence or bullies getting bullied by other bullies or just because there's that one dude, like Soo Ho, that no one wanted to f*ck around with. You shake your head at the one friend, Beom Seok who never really learns what true friendship means until he's full of regret. Seriously.

I think, in the end, there's no real moral compass and everyone gets away with everything except of course the ML and his buddy Soo Ho who ends up in a coma. The one really good guy in the whole show, ends up in the worst state. Let's not forget the assemblyman gets away with being an abusive father, while his adopted son, Beom Seok, the friend who put his one real friend in a coma, has and gets to leave the country not really paying for his crime, Soo Ho remains in a coma, the one female friend Young Ki, leaves and disappears and the ML gets blacklisted from all the good schools only to end up in a school that looks like he's in juvie and starting in the same cycle of bullying all over again. All he wanted to do was focus on his studies and now what? He's put back another year with more bullies to pick on him?

Nothing turns out good for any of the good characters. Nothing. And unfortunately, that just means that even though some of the bullies got their own share of beatings, they really still won in the end.

This is a story of how violence begets violence, and how revenge is double-edged sword.

For me, the ending left a lot to be desired.

Leggi di Più