Just Dance (2018)

When Your world populated by full of powerfull people, to the point your world makes you feel small, your dream seems so BIG and you seems unable to achieve with of what you have, you face real struggle and the weight seems getting heavier each step you take. The obstacle getting bigger and your small body and mind is no longer can handle it. Without knowing, you are looking the light in a dark of a cave , You seeks Opportunity and hope when you face full of pessimism people that almost take you down. Every people need escapism, These student find their escapism in dancesportsgirls, a club which almost getting eliminated in their school Girls commercial due to less people interested in, and getting overlooked by others. In the end, this club is the one who give them the happiness they crave even if it's just for a brief moment, and the little glory that give their hope up. For every reality you face : Money, powerfull and selfish people, pessimism, bad environment. There is Escapism, and someone/something you can rely on as your grip. Shie EUn has it in Dances sport girls club, Great Teacher, Seung Chan. In this worlds is hard to find it. But when you find it, , try and achieve your dream, so might be someday, you will be the one people could rely on, and become their hope among endless array of pessimism.

This drama have great message. Each episode, you will be an awe of each the storyline and the realism the writers put in each character. This is one of many aspect that makes a drama special. There is a lot of writers who seems excel to create a believable and cohesive story, but they lack soul and heart that make a good story become great. This drama has both from the first scene until the last one credit rolling. without giving us useless gimmick, more focus to the overall narrative . . The only aspect I think is lacking is I wish KBS give the writers more episode to give this drama more justice, so some conflicts would be unfold more subtle and believable. But overall, another great project from the writers among her other drama KBS Drama Special. I hope My Favourite writers will get another awsome project from KBS or any TV station despite the low rating this drama got. She is awesome.

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To say I was surprised is an understatement. I walked into this drama without reading the synopsis, but I figured it would be along the lines of Sassy Go Go or School 2017 ( which both leads had supporting roles in).

Story: Definitely real. At moments, heart wrenchingly real. I watched this all in one go, but I think if I had been watching it as it aired I might have had an issue with the pacing of it.

Acting: Superb. Honestly, I wasn't too surprised with the leads. Park Se Wan has always delivered in her support roles, she just has that presence? It was only a matter of time before she landed a lead. Jang Dong Yoon was amazing as well, he's kind of a veteran to the student role (Side Note: I really want to see him in a drama next year where he is not a student - A Poem A Day does NOT count, he's essentially a student). The chemistry between them was lovely. The supporting actors were impressive as well.

Music: Just so sweet. It melded really well within the scenes. The only reason I didn't rate it as a 10 is because there wasn't any song in particular that made me stop the episode to find and download it and then continue on to listen to it a million times.

Rewatch: I loved it, they did an excellent job with this drama. However, for me this isn't the type of drama I could rewatch.

Overall: Just an unexpected treat to find at the end of the year. The only minor thing is - I really don't care for the time skip trope as sometimes its used needlessly. However I think this drama could have made it work in the final episode.

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When I watched this drama I wasn't thinking of anything as significant that would make me stay. To be honest, episode 1 and 2 were like that. I don't really enjoy many slice of life variations of any kind. (Well i just haven't had the time to explore as much) But when I gave this drama some time and some effort i found myself enjoying it. It actually effected me more than I thought it would. I came to relate to the character Kim Shi Eun. At first she gave me vibes that I wouldn't like her because of how she was using people for her own personal gain. But then I thought, Isn't that how society is? We as humans, we desire so much, we do anything to get it. Which means we hurt others. I liked how as the story progressed the character matured, it was refreshing, inspiring.

In this drama the main focus wasn't just on this character it was on the other girls that were part of the Dance Sports club. Their struggles, their strengths, their shortcomings. It made me cry because their situations were almost similar to mine and it made me find comfort in this drama. On a personal level I connected with each character. It sounds cheesy I know but this drama really captured youth in a memorable and approachable way. One thing I also loved about this drama was the sweet little romance between Kim Shi Eun and Seung Chan. It was maybe a bit misplaced, but being a romance fanatic, with all the life situations going on i think it was a nice feature. It's the first time that a drama has ever come close in making me feel so reflective about my own life. I believe this has got to be one of the best underrated drama I have currently watched.

To close this review. I would like to say that If you are stumbling upon this drama, I think you should give it a go. It's a nice change, especially for all the young people (like myself) who are struggling either on their dream or life itself. It helps us relate and not feel like were the only ones feeling like this. In the last episode, when Kim Shi Eun was in her interview she talks about how a movie is like a fake fantasy to give those a chance to have a small bit of happiness, so they can escape reality even if its for small amount of time. I found that beautiful. As someone who inspires to create the same type of fantasy for someone to have even just for a small amount of time using the power of words, that description stuck with me. And that's what this drama has achieved in my opinion. Opened a window for me to be understood and related to by using fictional roles. That alone has given me a small bit of happiness and made me feel more determined, and that's why I believe you should try this drama out.

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Barely Danceable

The drama was much better than what its synopsis, title, poster or cast selection might entail, the same can be said about some of the initial scenes. The drama itself turned out to be decent despite taking sometime to kickoff, it took over 3 episodes. However, it was a bit dry sometimes and was missing the necessary link to tie everything together. The romance was an awful addition to the mix, really wasn't needed. On the bright side, it was only half the length of a typical 16 episodes drama. Yet, the drama could've worked better in a 120-150 mins movie format with better production. Speaking of which, the production value was really rocky and barely serviceable.

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I have grown out of school dramas. I don't enjoy them much, but

Wow! this drama is so my type. A beautiful and melodramatic friendship and life story. Plus, an artistically portrayed cinematography. Every episode is shot like a movie. It has music that you think ‘this is not wow’ but it greatly grows on you. I really cried so much for this drama both when it felt sad and happy. really so many hot tears. And smiled so wide so many times. I’ve grown to understand and empathize with everyone so deeply. My heart feels so full when I watch it. And though the main character’s personality and actions may not be understandable by many, I can personally relate to them. This drama is all about the feelings it gives.

The story is short, simple and have some holes, but the honest emotions and the way the story was told makes up for it that I didn’t mind it very much. It is something that I would have loved to watch when I was in school but I don’t think I would have understood and appreciated it as well as I do now.

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I came to watch this drama because of Jang Dong Yoon (his role in The Tale of Nokdu made me curious about his acting skills and now I confirmed it that he is really a gem in acting) but while watching the drama I was hooked by each characters' story.

I hated the female protag just like everyone else but I wanted to know her reasons. I disliked the other girls but I came to like them because of the beauty of their pain and their story. While watching this drama, I often point it out to myself that "yeah, I was once like that, too" and "yeah, I thought like that, too, somehow". The reality of the drama is very convincing that I found myself in the shoes of the characters and made me thought "I was like that when I was younger".

Life is really hard and full of hardships...just like what the drama depicts but it is also full of overcomings.

I hope you'll consider watching this drama and may you go for your dreams and not let the obstacles stop you. :)

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Love how this drama showcased real struggles that teens face, marginalized or not. Some kids are just strong-willed while others need a lot of handholding. I liked how the mother-daughter relationship was so honestly portrayed although I really can’t wrap my head around the reason why mom was so against her daughter’s college education. I find it contradicting that she fought for the principle that her husband is not a selfish person to take his own life and leave his family. She went through hell and high water to prove that his death is the company’s fault, and yet she won’t let her daughter go to college because they would be separated? Isn’t that SELFISH? I sincerely hope the subs may just have lost the real meaning in translation.

I love love the acting! Some folks have mentioned the FL was so disrespectful to mom. I agree she was but that was partly brought about by her frustration. It gives her no excuse to judge mom (the slap from sister is well deserved) but mom should have been more supportive too. How would you feel if your older sibling was given the opportunity and just because unnie chose a different and not so glamorous path that the only one option for a better life was pretty much forced on you? Because of her youth, the FL’s idea of happiness was initially naive and immature, I was glad she concluded that no matter how little happiness it is still happiness in the end, so it’s okay to pursue it for whatever it’s worth. It’s just heartbreaking how many times she broke our sweet ML’s heart in the process.

I DID NOT LIKE the ending, it was definitely rushed. The writer could have easily added another 2 or 4 more episodes. There are so many loose ends that it is confusing! What about Hye Jin? Did Eun Shi ended up in Geoje (she opened her window to the familiar shipyard view in the last scene)? Was she really told not to date the ML? Did mom and the manager just continued hating each other till the end,? The writer did not really show how close her husband was to the manager, I could have understood the mom better if the backstory was told but I guess I could read between the lines. The short-lived happy and sweet couple moments made up for my frustration but if this was real life, I don’t think those two would end up marrying each other.

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This drama was literally a workout for my emotions. My eyes kept on sweating.

This drama is not just about some high school girls and some random drama going on between them like it is in other dramas. This is a 100% wholesome drama that teaches you life lessons. After watching too many dramas, I start to see a pattern which is that there are people who are all good and people who are all bad and the story becomes the conflicts between them. Those are people who are just unnecessarily mean by nature and it is nearly impossible to reason with them. However, reality is not like that. Reality is about people who have their own perspectives. Everybody has a reason why they act the way they do and I feel that this drama depicts that extremely well. Every person in this drama has their own flaw and their own different personality that is full of colors. After experiencing that emotional roller coaster, I personally began to realize how fortunate I am to live the life I am right now. Through this drama, I became every character. When the character was sad, I would cry for them and when they were happy, I would still cry of happiness. Although this may seem cliche, this drama is well worth watching. The character development is real.

Overall, I feel that this drama deserves more than it got. It depicts the unrepresented suburb population of Korea that is rarely ever shown and it warms my heart to watch such a drama. It is a drama that I will probably never forget. I recommend all users, no matter who you are, to watch it.

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Disappointing

This drama was a mess.

It couldn't decide on a tone, so the parts that were fun and chaotic clashed really harshly with the super serious moments. I don't think the story progression was properly executed for the plot to have the impact it could have had. And the main character was quite unlikable. She was manipulative, kinda selfish and tended to take out her emotional struggles on other people. There was too much broodiness and moodiness going on for my liking. Still, there was some truly exceptional acting, so at least there was that.

I found the directing to be sort of off-putting, too. Some shots were awkwardly framed; awful, cloudy filters kept being put over shots and the tone temperature kept shifting. There were also scenes that looked almost like they were being done with a sort of fish lens because the edges of the shot were all rounded and out of focus. It was so weird.

And for a show literally called Just Dance, there was very little dancing involved. It was the same few shots of the same exact choreo done multiple times, but never in a satisfying way where you could actually appreciate the dancing and choreography.

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A great slice of life drama. It's short, it's dramatic, it's about innocent teenage love and hardships, so it's just perfect if you like more realistic dramas. The only fault is the leading lady, at first. She was annoying and too egoistic, thinking only about her own gain and using everyone. However, she overcomes a major character development and she grows up. Being a part of the dancing team helped that. The later was such a clever way to introduce the girls and their lives, as well as backgrounds and their friendship. The final concusions of their stories were satisfying as well, except of the love story that had a weak ending. The cinematography, moreover, was perfect for the mood of the drama.

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Short and sweet

I don't usually watch slice of life coming of age dramas cause they can be too realistic for me and I watch dramas to escape but this one is worth the watch, it's short and sweet with a nice message and heartwarming characters.

The positives: The romance was very freaking cute cause Jang Dong Yoon is so freaking cute. The relationship between the teacher and the girls was so wholesome and heartwarming and the relationships between the girls felt realistic and relatable so I liked them a lot.

The negatives: The mother-daughter relationship was too strained for my liking, I really disliked the mom most of the time. The protagonist changed her mind too many times too quickly till it became annoying, but overall I liked her.

Story - 8.0 - The story is very simple yet poignant, I think we've all been in similar (not quite the same) situations or experimented the same feelings as the girls (and boy) in the drama, which made it very relatable for me in some aspects. But at the same time, it has a very positive, sweet and feel good vibe and the fact that it is based on a true story makes it even sweeter.
BUT! It has its annoying, repetitive and draggy parts though.

Cast - 9.0 - Overall the cast did a good job.
Jang Dong Yoon (ML) is just the cutest EVEEER but most important than that, he is such a good actor, my favorite kind of actors are the ones who emote really well and oh boy! does he know how to emote, I don't need the show to spell it out for me to know what his character is feeling.
Park Se Wan (FL) was good too, as always.
The only weak point for me was Lee Joo Young (Hye Jin), is not that she was awful or anything but she could have been less wooden.

Music - 6.0 - It wasn't the best nor the worst, not memorable enough for me to rate it higher but not necessarily bad.

Rewatch value - 7.0 - Since it's fairly short and a feel good story it's possible I'll rewatch it eventually. Also, the romance scenes are so cute that I'll revisit them fairly often for sure ^^

Watched on December 2020.

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