Sensei wo Kesu Houteishiki (2020)

This series has a madcap quality to it, so although there are some intense scenes there's an outrageousness to the whole enterprise that takes the edge off. You might even find yourself chuckling here and there.

All of the scene-chewing comes from the two adult leads and the student ringleader of the little gang of nasties in the classroom. This is a decidedly evil bunch of kids -- by the end of the series most of them have attempted murder -- but in accordance with the wacky rules of Asian drama and this series in particular, none of them has to account for their crimes, and in fact by the end we are meant to sympathize with them. (They are even forgiven by their chief victim, who sincerely tells them that he loves them.)

In addition there are jaw-dropping plot developments that I haven't even hinted at. You will have to watch the series to experience them -- and I do recommend that you do that, although I caution fans of hardcore thrillers that most of what you see is so over the top that it's hard to take seriously.

As entertainment, though, this series does the job and will keep you watching. I binged it in one afternoon. In my book that deserves an automatic 8/10.

Read More

Not what I expected but still fun

I went into this expecting a completely different type of story but still wasn't disappointed.

-STORY- 6.5
The story was definitely not on the level of plottwists that I expected from the first episodes onwards. The situation of the class wasn't very complicated, likely due to the limited episodes. It does have some unexpected moments but the way they are resolved feels more like lucky occurances. I guess this drama teaches that trying to be smart is a waste when luck determines most outcomes.

-ACTING/CAST- 8
If you're looking for a reason to watch this drama, this is it. The actors start off kinda quirky but when they have their moments they shine in sheer insane acting. Highly entertaining. At some point I started thinking some characters were underacting but they were really just being normal humans in comparison to some of the most insane ones.

Yoshizawa was honestly an amazing character and despite some of the more insane acting I could really feel his emotions shine through his performance when needed. The students are okay, ranging from interesting to just normal acting. Asahi certainly has a lot of energy and I enjoyed his performance, sometimes it was a bit too much but I mostly thought it was funny. The acting from these characters made the drama very fun to watch at times.

One thing to mention is that I could never take the scary moments serious. There are some scenes that are supposed to instill fear but thanks to the extreme expressions of some actors I never quite felt any real threat in the show. The scary moments became more like funny moments at times to me as unlikely events happen a lot. Sure there are some genuinely serious scenes but those aren't nearly as memorable.

-MUSIC- 8
Music fits the scenes very well at all times. One of the BGM tracks with violins was my favorite, it would always play when the teacher just made some impressive statement.

-REWATCH- 6
While I would rewatch some of the more iconic dramatic scenes, not much more than that. Especially episode 6 has some great scenes for rewatching.

-OVERALL- 7.5
Story kept me entertained throughout. Went differently than I expected but I don't mind the chaos of the last few episodes since the acting is so fun.

Read More