The Debut (2021)

An intriguing mystery

The storyline is really articulated. From the beginning we understand this has no overly sweet and sappy moments, but it gets darker and darker with each episodes as Fame discovers more and more about the truth. The story is so intriguing that I got obsessed with this and finished it in like one day, plus the next morning. There are plot twists at every corner and those cliffhangers are just too hard to ignore. What starts out as a mystery to be solved ends up in complete tragedy when Fame understands that her sister's death was just the tip of the iceberg.

Minor and Kla definitely got the best character development stories. Minor is probably the most despicable character in the bunch, yet she goes completely unnoticed until the last episodes. Kla at first looks like the most harmless character, until we discover that he too has a scandalous secret and in the last scene where the Newtype members officially resign, he really showed how unstable he can be.

I think the best actors in their roles were Ploypailin (Fame) and Cherren (Smile). The others did a splendid job, but these two stood out in particular to me. Smile is such an ambivalent characters, because she behaves one way towards Farn, another way towards Yui and Fame and in a still different way with the core members of the group. That adds a lot of depth to her. Also the relationship with her mother is ambivalent: she is extremely submissive, but as soon as her secret gets exposed, she changes completely and she doesn't even want to talk to her anymore.
Fame is just the perfect character to lead you onto this mystery. She collects each and every evidence she can, she tries to balance her professional and personal lives, but she ends up realising that revenge is not the answer and that Farn killed herself because she too was becoming a monster. She got out of that mess before she could become a monster too.

What I love the most is on how many levels the story can be interpreted. On a more superficial level, it's an intriguing mystery where the innocent characters aren't actually that innocent and the evilest characters don't even realise the amount of suffering they have caused (to Farn in particular, they don't even know she committed suicide).
On a more philosophical level, we can analyse how celebrities are objectified by their fans to the point of being punished for tiny mistakes, like when Minnie got beaten up and raped by Kla. We see how the obsession over those we idolise can compromise our judgement and lead us to unspeakable deeds, but we also see how Minor exploited her fame and manipulated Tun to get what she wanted. I also appreciate how they touched upon the concept of revenge: is it really worth it? Fame realises Farn didn't need revenge, because the monsters she got bullied by also became the victims of Farn's actions, but at the same time revenge was Minor's biggest motivator, it was her only source of satisfaction. We could also analyse how the rules the idols have to follow are actually the source of all the suffering: the idols didn't break the rules for fun, they did it because they wanted to be free to be themselves. This is exemplified by Smile when she says that the ropes she gets tied with in her fetish shows are her source of freedom (or something of that sort). Those rules are so strict, that they prompt the idols to break them.

I think there are some points that could have been explained further. For instance, they didn't dig too much into Kirin's past before the plastic surgery. Also I got the impression Smile's mother used to be an actress, but she couldn't continue her career for whatever reason. I would have loved to know more about these two aspects, but to be honest it didn't ruin the experience for me.

I recommend this to everyone. This is a must-watch. Also the OST is a guilty pleasure.

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worth watching, a story that idol fans will find interesting

even though the story kind of dragged in the middle, i think it recovered in the last episodes.
the show is a psychological thriller and since the start it makes you want to know what really happens in the group. it is interesting, suspenful and entertaining. some episodes weren't as good as others, i think the best episodes where the first six or so and the last two episodes, but i still think it is worth the watch, specially if you're into idol groups such as AKB48 and that sort of stuff. if you're into AKB48 you will find this group to be very familiar :)

i don't want to spoil anything, so i will just make a summary of why i liked this show: the thing i liked the most i that there is not good or bad characters, all of them are complex and you will find yourself very conflicted about their actions. there will be characters that you will think are likeable doing awful stuff and characters that may seem like awful people doing nice stuff, so it is pretty much like real life, there is no good or bad (in most of the cases) and i really appreciate that in a show. also, it gives you a glimpse of all the shitty stuff people in idols groups go through and all the stupid rules they have to follow in order to maintain this image of a perfect human being. there's no such thing as a perfect human being, and i think that's the moral of this story.

oh, and if you like anime or manga like madoka magica or magical girl site, you'll probably like this as well because there are cute girls with cute outfits but everything is fucked up.

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crazy mystery thriller!

Overall this is a good series with amazing cast. Plot is kinda interesting from the beginning and plot twists at the end was amazing. But for me ending is not kinda accepting. I mean they might have ended each character with a good note! characters who doesn't know many things were also got hurt in the end. This made me unhappy! Only one character is happy at the end(minor)! Minor was like "Sometimes you have to give people a taste of their own medicine " and she got her finest revenge at the end. I don't get it why the author gave her a happy ending! I mean she started it by exposing the privacy of Idols by selling their things which led them to punish her and also I agree that they went far in punishment, anyway it's really a mess for me to understand the last episode because it has a great plot twist. I know that idol world is competitive but this series has shown the worst part of a person being in a entertainment industry! This is series is an amazing Mystery thriller! Jealous can make people insane lol! Authors of this series wants each and every fans of any artists to understand the importance of privacy of the artists!
Crazy fans and fandom! I mean how can fans invade into privacy of any actor or actress!
Fans always forgot that even idols are humans and they have their own life too! I don't understand why fandom don't know how much our favorite idols have to cover up behind their bright smile! Why don't fans get it that their idols do lots of hard work to become the one like fans want! Invading into their privacy is insane! As fans we have the right to like, love and support the artists but it's none of our business about their personal life! Idols mistakes and faults are their private life and no one has right to point out their scandals. Even their scandals are real and dirty, we people have to mind our own business rather than jumping into conclusions. The artists do violate some rules because they are humans too and we have to question their faults only when they are doing false things in public and we have no right to enter their personal space to count their mistakes because everyone has their own private life. This series has shown me the best and worst part of Entertainment industries.

I love to recommend this series for one who loves mysteries and thrillers.

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Brutalmente honesta y desgarradora.

Vivimos en un mundo despiadado en el que todo lo que importa es el dinero. Los seres humanos pasan a ser productos que son adornados para parecer perfectos y servirnos de ejemplo. Sin embargo, esos propios productos no tienen derechos, ni son tratados como seres vivos. Son deshechables, intercambiables, su valor como personas desaparece por completo, así como su voluntad. Esta es la cruda realidad y día a día de un idol. No importa cuánto se esfuercen, porque nunca serán lo suficientemente buenos o perfectos. Y es que a veces olvidamos que los idols, antes que modelos a seguir, son personas, no productos. Es imposible que un ser humano no cometa errores.

El mundo en general es un lugar competitivo y feroz y la historia de este drama nos muestra todo esto y más. Se nos venden unos valores y unos ideales románticos, felices, idealizados: lucha por tus sueños, si quieres algo, puedes conseguirlo, etc. Esta es la base de todo buen grupo idol: animar y hacer felices a las personas que los siguen. Pero el error es esperar que los seres humanos detrás de esas voces que nos alegran se comporten como algo que no son.

La serie es una obra maestra; la banda sonora mezcla a la perfección dos mundos diferentes como el del pop idol más comercial, al rock indie de bares; la dirección es impecable, los personajes y su desarrollo te hacen sentir sus papeles como verdaderos, la trama se desarrolla mezclando flashbacks con el presente, de modo que vamos descubriendo tanto la trama de Fame (la hermana de Farn), como las vivencias previas de la propia Farn, mientras formaba parte del grupo.

A medida que vamos descubriendo más de la trama, vamos viendo lo bien entrelazadas que están las historias. Tal vez el único punto flojo de esta parte sea la relación entre Ble y Fame, que para mí es lo peor de la serie, por el simple hecho de que Ble es el personaje que peor me ha caido. De hecho he llegado a apreciar, querer, tenerle cariño a casi todos los personajes... menos a Ble. Desde el minuto uno, Ble se muestra como una persona cerrada que es incapaz de comprender las motivaciones de Fame. Nunca deja de reprocharle lo mala que le parece la música y el mundo idol, y, de manera muy egoísta, presionar a Fame para que deje lo que está haciendo. Sinceramente no he llegado a sentir que Ble haya sentido empatía o amor por Fame, pues si así fuera, comprendería y respetaría su decisión, cosa que nunca hace. También se porta como un imbécil con Dear, ya que si de verdad seguía pensando en Fame, que no se hubiera acostado ni hubiera salido con ella, así de simple.

Lo importante de la serie es la critica que hay en ella. A muchas cosas: a la sociedad por consumir personas como si fueran productos, a las empresas por convertir en productos a esas mismas personas; a los fans, que pueden llegar a sobrepasar los límites aceptables, olvidando que sus idols no les pertenecen, porque volvemos a lo mismo: no son productos, son personas.
Esas personas comenten errores y son duramente juzgados por ellos. Todo debido a que se busca vender una imagen imposible: un ideal de belleza, pureza, perfección inhumanos. La critica a la doble moral de los fanáticos es brutal: por un lado desean y enaltecen esa falsa idea de perfección; por otro lado, inventan rumores, los consumen, compran cosas que no deberían. Es decir, a la vez que las purifican, las mancillan. Este será un tema recurrente durante la serie, y nos hará replantearnos cómo de moral o inmoral es nuestro comportamiento hacia los famosos a los que admiramos.

Sobre el bullying, que es otro de los temas principales, se nos enseña cómo se puede convertir en un arma de doble filo. Al igual que una persona puede recibirlo, puede, de forma consciente o no, provocarlo en otra persona. No importa lo buenas que sean nuestras intenciones si hacemos daño a otros en ese proceso. Creo que esto es lo que nos quieren explicar a través de la historia de Farn. Fame supera muchos obstáculos para llegar a descubrir la verdad y cuando lo hace, siente que todo ha sido para nada. Pero no es así. Tanto su viaje como el nuestro, nos hacen darnos cuenta de lo importantes que son nuestras acciones y omisiones y cómo podemos influir en la vida de los que nos rodean.

Las actuaciones más reseñables para mí son las de Fame, personaje central de la historia y que está magnificamente interpretado, con toda la cantidad de situaciones que vive y sus diferentes relaciones con el resto; Farn, una actriz muy jovencita que conocí en The Comment, serie donde también brilla con luz propia, y Yui, actriz a la que conocí en The Judgement y a la que le tengo mucho cariño desde entonces. Para mí vuelve a bordar otro papel más, al igual que ya hizo en la citada serie con su personaje Som. Smile, Yok, Kla y Minor son otros personajes destacables del elenco.

Como persona a la que le gustan muchos tipos de música diferente, he disfrutado de lo lindo de los temas musicales, tanto de los de la banda de rock, como los del grupo New Type. He notado el detalle de que los temas de los que se hablan en las canciones no tienen diferencias: al igual que en las canciones idol se habla de manera positiva del futuro, cumplir sueños, etc, en las canciones de Double Shot, Ble escribe una canción que, aunque con diferente música, usa la misma idea; una llamada hacia un reencuentro con un amor que más que perdido, está diluido. Además, Ble también quiere ser famoso, por lo que no se niega a responder o hacer cosas que normalmente no haría cuando lo llevan al programa de televisión. Y al final le dicen que le escribirán las canciones y él acepta. Tal vez la idea es que entendamos que no importa la música que nos guste, cuando se vuelve comercial o cuando queremos que sea muy conocida, tenemos que convertirla en un producto vendible y entonces perderá su esencia, sin importar si es rock, idol pop o jazz indie.

Si quieres ver una serie de misterio con buenas actuaciones, buen guión, música, con momentos tiernos, divertidos, también su poquito de tragedia y giros argumentales, y todo hecho con mucho cariño y mimo, tienes que verla. Una historia que te llena de sentimientos y te hace pensar, con una calidad en todos sus aspectos sobresalientes. No perdáis de vista al elenco protagonista, lleno de grandes actrices a las que merece la pena conocer y seguir. Una de las mejores series que he visto.

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