School rom-com with a bit of action and bromance
First of all if you are looking for great fantasy actions this is not for you. From the title of the drama I thought this would be an action based drama but unfortunately even though there are some action scenes, they were not great and there weren't too much of them either. It's mostly drama and romance and bromance in a school setup.The story and drama was good. The romance was cute and the bromance was interesting.
The story got draggy at the later half of the drama but the last few episodes picked up the pace with a satisfying ending.
Overall it was a unique drama and it was a slow but somewhat fun watch. If the pace was a bit faster it would have been a very fun to watch drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
This review will be short and sweet - I loved this drama so much. It was a perfect Spook-tober watch as it made supernatural elements with Shi Woo's mysterious power. But it is also the reason why I couldn't give this drama a 10/10. Nowhere in this drama did anyone discuss why he has these powers and no one seemed to care as if this is completely normal. Especially when the headmaster was trying to make make a connection between him and a childhood friend, but never did as if he has met plenty of kids with this kind of power. Besides that, this drama was a very simple and cute story about the bond of friends and coming together to fight for what they believed in. Shi Woo and Soon Duk has the cutest relationship build up - from miscommunication to understanding to respect to finally love. Their love for one another and the way they complimented one another was simple and cute and kind of perfect for the both of them. They were both level headed and calm and simple. Not going to lie, I thought that SOon Duk and Chi Ang were very cute in the beginning as I thought that them being opposites would bring a different element into their relationship, but as Chi Ang said at the end, the parts he found attractive about her, were the things he knew he was lacking as a person. That he was attracted to those qualities because he wish he had them. Chi Ang was very hot tempered which didn't watch Soon Duk whatsoever, and in this whole drama he was in this almost limbo trying to figure out who was good and who was evil and what side would give him what he wanted. Don't get me wrong, he was one of the good guys in this drama, but he was def one of the most evil good guys. He seemed to go back and forth between sides which confused me as a viewer. Plus, I get it, we want everyone to have a happily ever after, but he was so infatuated with Soon Duk the whole series, and then we get a 7 year time jump, the last 10 minutes of the series and we see Chi Ang and Sun Ah in a serious relationship. It seemed almost forced to me. Yes, they both deserve to be happy and I do think they were similar in a way that it would make sense, but really? Throughout the series, the only relationship besides a friendship that we saw was a mentor relationship. Their training montage did not seem as romantic as the one Shi Woo and Soon Duk had.
Other than that, this drama did seem a little predictable where I figured out who everyone was and what happened within the first few eps. There also seemed to be a lot of filler even though the drama was already short as it is. I feel like they could have added more story, but less filler.
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Story: The story's premise, subplots. over-all dialogue and pacing were balanced. It held me at the right amount of curiosity at what would happen next. While the main characters are gathered at Moorim School, the smaller plots are brought to fore simultaneously although piece by piece, step by step. Elements like romance, bromance, a little bit of action, trust and betrayal, friendship, love between a parent and his child -- these are what to expect in the story.
I think this deserves a 9 for the story only because it is, in my opinion, well-written.
Acting/Cast - I gave this a flat 7. Would have been an 8 however I can't ignore the fact that Hong Bin is a hit-and-miss. There are scenes where he can get pretty intense however for most of the time in the drama, I find that he is awkward with his facial expressions and gestures. (I sincerely hope he improves because he has potential.)
I make special mention of Wang Chi Ang's character because I felt he was more complex than Shi Woo. Whereas Shi Woo earlier formed his resolve and shifted from the hot-tempered idol to a calm savior mid-way through the drama, the character shift was a struggle for Chi Ang. His internal conflict was difficult to resolve because it involved his relationship with his father and friends, and his desperateness to feel accepted. However the execution certainly affected my watching experience in this case and even though the supporting cast were generally okay and the older cast (Prof Beop Gong, Wang Ha Oh, Shim Bong San, Dean Hwang and Chae Yoon -- they're all males and with the exception of the Prof Beop Gong, all four others are father figures).
Hyun Woo delivers the right feels for Shi Woo. although I felt that towards the last few episodes, Shi Woo took a backseat and Chi Ang became the closer.
Direction/Effects/Editing - I would have liked more martial arts. Fight scenes are so-so; don't expect epic choreographed ones. The best sparring I saw was the last one Shi Woo and Chi Ang had--it felt like they were letting all their frustrations out.
Ending episode was a good closure though and I mean for the much-discussed key and treasure.
Special Effects - not too many, and it was actually fine for me.
Editing - Had minor slips that could've been avoided but were noticeable in the drama. The dog/wolf and Soon Deok's wound!
The music is enjoyable and the main song is upbeat. Every time the piano intro played, you'd know you're in for a cliffhanger or something's going to go down or it's the end of the episode and the preview is up. ;)
Rewatch value - doesn't affect the overall rating. I seldom rewatch dramas!
Overall, still a good drama to watch!
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Find your treasure...
Why I watched this without hitting the fast forward button? It's refreshing specially for a nature lover like me. It's a story about friendship and the choice between this or the pursuit for power to conquer the world.I like the concept of shielding the school from the outside world in developing talents and intellects and yet it was never spared by the war between friends and collegues brought about by sheer greed breaching trust and loyalty sacrificing to the very last ounce whatever dignity that's left, stripping self of everything even life itself.
My niece Mau told me she find it off and unrealistic with people having majical powers, but then it doesn't bother me at all, I guess I believe each one of us possesses such powers unknowns to us, and in our frenzy to possess such powers we become shortsighted to the realities around us so even with seeing eyes we tend to become blind, we shield ourselves from pain, neglecting the lessons and eventually become calloused to the pain of the world.
There are different paths for all of us and we decide which to choose but no matter how far we'd go we will always find ourselves anchored to that solid foundation we have nurtured all these years. Ourselves. In the final test how are we going to fare?
There at the peak of Moorim Mountain they found the treasure that would make them the most powerful in the world.
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The drama is beautiful. The plot, the acting, the action, the story-line, everything was on point. The drama was a bit slow at first because I (as a fan girl) wished so much could happen but it did not happen right away. I cringed at some parts but despite cringing, I loved the scenes.
There are many characters that I disliked, but I eventually grew to love them. Expect a lot of hating towards a character(s) and eventually grow to love them because there is a reason to their actions and ways of thinking.
This drama teaches and shows so much of our society in a fictional storyline. It can teach life lessons as well (lol). Other than the slow development in the first few episodes, it is a wonderful drama. I think in the first 8 episodes, there's a bit of a slow development, but watch those developments because it is worth it. It's not slow as in badly slow because the slow development is what makes it good. This is actually the first drama I've watched and actually enjoyed the development.
The ending is beautiful.
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Did Moorim fullfill all my expectations? Yes and no. Yes because I wasn't disappointed neither was I depressed most of the time and no because I wanted those 4 episodes I felt KBS denied us viewers of due to the appalling ratings to put it mildly. I also wanted a Big Bang concert in Europe and that didn't happen either. On the other hand 'A', 'D' and 'E' were brilliant. After all 'If You'...'Let's Not Fall in Love'!
I bought into the premise of the story as much as I bought into the premise of 'MADE' being released in parts, I always had something to wait for and it was going to be totally worth it but it wasn't, not in the beginning. I thought the drama had a slow start and 'M' was too far off my reality and I couldn't identify myself with any of it, regretfully. Supernatural, adventure, martial arts, quests...great but what about the rest? What about the pace? What about the dynamics? What about the connection with the viewers? With the audience? It wasn't there! The beginning was simply bland for Moorim School.
Then came the intangible metamorphism like new personal discoveries, personal development... knowledge. Moorim School seemed different from the usual trademark of K-dramas so I was flabbergasted with the criticism, the ratings and the reception the drama had.
I liked the story, I still like the story albeit still mulling over the rushed end and the lack of pace in many episodes considering it was know far ahead of time that the drama was going to be shortened to 16 episodes, giving the writers ample time to kick-start the drama's dynamics and elevate it, proving critics wrong, proving KBS wrong, proving themselves wrong but they didn't. They seemed resigned to doing 16 episodes as if the drama was still going to have 20 episodes and giving us viewers who spent 16 hours of our time glued to the screen, an understatement drama that was just passable perhaps due to their defiance towards not reinventing the last episodes and make it 'Bang Bang Bang'. There was no 'wow Fantastic Baby', almost as if each of the writers felt like a 'Loser' in Bae Bae's music video which in the end they probably were.
The acting was average, nothing special but to be brilliant would be to expect Big Bang to sing Opera in hypothetical attempts. With practice it's achievable without it, well 'Haru Haru'!
Overall it's an enjoyable drama for those that like the story and relate to the characters, otherwise 'MADE' DVD will be a nice alternative to it. Add the music videos, the interviews, the extras and so forth and you can spend 16 hours of your time being a VIP. The choice is yours!
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I really enjoyed watching this! It is really funny,it has action,it has romance,the music is amazing,the acting is perfect and many unexpected things happen! Yes it does have some supernatural things but they really fit to the story!!The plot was really nice.It isn't just about martial arts and fights,it teaches you the importance of friendship,the hardships that many people go through etc
I finished this drama in 2 DAYS!! This is how much I liked it! And now here I am again (2 days later) to watch it again.
I highly recommend this drama! You will enjoy it for sure.This is my favourite kdrama now :')
Have fun while watching it :) ^^
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I`ve seen an oppurtunity for season 2 so writers pls think about it .
New generation .......... discovers that it hasn`t been ..... destroyed ......
pls work on it
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The end...predictable, happy ending, win-win. But... yeah in the other hand it teach about love, friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, family. By the way, Lee Hyun Woo killer smile is an important point to watch until the end this drama.
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Amazing!!
This was an Amazing show! I am on a Seo YeaJi binge and she did amazing here! I also found some new characters, im watching this 2023/2024 so this show is currently 6/7 years old. This is an older work for her and I loved it! This storyline is just great! There is so much mystery and suspense! I couldn't get enough! 4 friends come-together and build such an extraordinary bond. They go through so much together, grow and overcome so much and they find themselves and love along the way. They also work to uncover the truth and protect their own. This show is so slept on. I highly recommend. I also loved how it ended! I didn't want to be done with these characters!Was this review helpful to you?
I found it quite hard to sit and watch after some point. I found the plot and story very boring and dynamic between characters (actors) average.
I was super interested as soon as the story started following Sun Ae. But I realized Soon Duk was the focus I started loosing interest, then I started getting tired of their characters by the end of episode 2. I stuck it out finished the 5th episode and added it to my dropped list.
Over all I wont revisit this drama considering I know how it ends, and what happens between the main chars.
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