[Why you should watch] Weak Hero Class 1 » Dramabeans MGG

[Why you should watch] Weak Hero Class 1

by Guest Beanie

By: @sunnysaturdays

I started watching K-dramas in 2016 at the beginning of my senior year of high school. For obvious reasons, it was a very stressful time and K-dramas were a perfect getaway filled with swoons and pastel colors. To date, I have watched over 100 K-dramas, mostly romc-oms. I do love romance and happy endings, but once in a while, I will watch an action thriller. I have watched many action movies because of my father, an avid Jackie Chan fan, who made me a lover of a good action story.

Not every action drama can deliver the right number of literal punches, be gripping, and still make me care about the characters. I would watch action movies, gasp at the fight scenes, and forget about the characters as soon as the credits rolled. All good action stories have something to keep both the characters and the viewers going in between the beatings: heart. Which is something that Weak Hero Class 1 has in spades. That is why I decided to listen to my instinct and convince more people to watch Weak Hero Class 1 for the following reasons.

First of all, the action scenes in Weak Hero Class 1 are well choreographed. As a lifelong fan of watching random people get beat up, it hits all the beats of a good action movie without excessive blood. Some action dramas can border on unrealistic characters that are ridiculously athletic. This is where Weak Hero Class 1 excels. The fights are gritty, messy, and hardly graceful — just like in real life. Every character even has a unique fighting style. But even then, there is no gratuitous violence for the sake of violence, and all of the action scenes serve a purpose to the story.

Secondly, the cinematography is another one of the drama’s strengths — it’s grimy and toned down, which is perfect for the story, and the camerawork is smooth and fluid which is very important for an action drama. Weak Hero Class 1 is directed and adapted for the screen by Director Yoo Soo-min, who has mainly directed movies, and that makes sense as the drama is filmed like a movie with a lot of long shots and silences. Even the first episode jumps into action without any introduction, which works perfectly and drags the viewer straight into the story. The editing is top-notch and dare I say it, flawless.

A drama with good action scenes and cinematography is nothing without a great storyline. The story of Weak Hero Class 1 is simple: high school student Yeon Shi-eun starts getting bullied by his classmates. It is a story that we have seen in many Korean dramas about school violence, but this drama takes a novel approach to it. Instead of isolating the main character, he gains allies to fight back. Additionally, the plot is quite fast-paced and each episode builds on the next. The story also has many twists and escalates so much that you are left wondering sadly, “How did we get here?” As a whole, the drama is extremely gripping and it is a story that will stay with you for a long time.

But Weak Hero Class 1 would not be such a good action drama without its cast. The drama boasts a stellar cast of young actors including Park Ji-hoon, Choi Hyun-wook, Hong Kyung, Lee Yeon, and Shin Seung-ho – all of whom I will be looking out for in future projects. These actors portray their characters with poise even in such a violent story. Even amongst all this greatness, Park Ji-hoon’s acting is exemplary. I really cannot imagine anyone else portraying the complex character of Yeon Shi-eun. It is thanks to the great work of these actors that the characters were able to come alive.

And that brings us to the final reason to watch Weak Hero Class 1: the characters. The characters are what makes Weak Hero Class 1 different from other action dramas, as it’s filled with characters that you will detest and adore to an almost comical degree. The main trio’s friendship develops organically and is the beating heart of the story. Watching these three loners become each other’s allies is genuinely heartwarming. The relationship between Ahn Soo-ho (played by Choi Hyun-wook) and Shi-eun is especially adorable, and the drama is worth it just for that. I winced when they got hit, and I smiled when they triumphed. This drama made me care more about its characters in eight episodes than some dramas have done in 50. After all, they are just high school students trying to do their best in an awful situation.

Weak Hero Class 1 presents a young man in a desperate situation, and the measures he is willing to take. It features complex emotions that explain why our characters act the way they do. It is a beautiful story about how violence begets violence, and the terrible cycle of school bullying — but it is also a story about how friendship can change your life. That is already enough of a reason to press play.

 
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