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Absolutely loved it!
Although I was disappointed with two things. Will get to that at the end of this review.A drama about the Kpop industry- the companies that “own” them, and the struggles they go through to become stars/ idols. First 3 episodes were boring, but it did pick up after that. The storyline was I guess what many trainees and idols have to endure these days- controlling companies and managers, being overworked, fanatic and obsessive fans, peer pressure and competitiveness between teammates, dating issues etc.. it’s kinda sad really that these celebrities don’t have or are not allowed to have their own personal life or freedom.
I did enjoy the dance performances by Shax and Sparkling- I thought Lee Jun Young who played the ML Kwon Ryoc was an excellent dancer, a class above the rest. His voice also was really good. I particularly enjoyed his jealousy moments :P which I found hilarious. Unfortunately I found the FL to be somewhat a disappointment. She was cute and all but I found her character lacked depth and gust. The outstanding female character would be La Ri-Ma, who we all hate in the first few episodes, but she redeems herself as the show moves along, looking out for her juniors and standing up for herself.
Now come the two disappointing factors:
1) The romance. I liked the initial tug and pull between the leads. Especially coming from Kwon Ryoc, I could feel the intensity and chemistry, the times when he said he missed her and wanted to see her. However after they started dating, it lacked PDA, and their two kissing scenes were, sorry to say, quite pathetic lol. Imagine sitting on a bench with your bf/gf, gazing at the stars and you are seated like 3 feet away from each other! I mean what the??!! The other couples also lacked any real connection and chemistry.
2) What happened to CEO Park? Was he still able to remain at his post after the email was released etc? And after Shax left NOG? I’m also not sure which company Shax ended up signing with- was it JH Entertainment? It was kinda rushed and unclear.
If you’re a Kpop fan, I reckon you might enjoy this. Not a real romance drama, more about growing up and discovering yourself. There are some life lessons to take from this, and an eye-opener for those who are clueless about the industry. Enjoy :)
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50-50
Struggling life of stars then run behind stardom and not allowed anyone to disturb this stardom. To save stardom become heartless and destroying someone important life unknowingly and then regret and wish to make the things as before but it is late, so apologizing is not enough but still try to clean the mess ,try to save which is in hand this had been shown in the drama.At some point leads were lack in acting , at some point story get bored . Good thing about story that the star didn't left the hand of love ones and fight for him ,his stardom and for his love.
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Fluffy drama with interesting plot
I really enjoyed the story. The first 2 episodes were a little boring, but from episode 3 on I was captivated. I didn't like the acting of the main female character, but all the other actors did a great job.I also really liked that there was no big drama or intrigue between the first/second female lead or the first/second male lead. The characters seemed to be more or less mature.
The music/songs were also really good.
Overall I really would recommend the show as it is a fun fluffy drama with interesting plot.
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MORE THAN YOU THINK IF YOU WATCH CLOSELY
Loved this. The music was spectacular as was the acting and the storyline well what can you say. It shows just how hard these guys work to follow their dreams being exploited , overworked, and no wonder so many don't make it and practically don't come out alive. I cried seeing they included the extreme bad in this and how the big wigs treat them as machines and products and not as human beings. Every human being has a dream and they should follow them but never be afraid of them because of blackmail, scrutiny, and money grubbers. I like that they showed these artists came together and that there were others out there helping ready to to give them their dreams the right way. I know there was SF9 in this and some other idols as well. Made it as iF this is what they went through. I believe they did. Love anD music were the main theme in this but in obtaining both it showed the shady side and the greed and shameful acts of those who had only evil dreams taking away the purity of the dreams of those starting out. I am glad we got to see the bad and good triumph over. My heart went out to the singer who wrote the 'Constellation' song and the story behind it and I loved how close these teams are and support each other. This is why teams like SHINee are still going. Actually this story in a way reminded me of theirs. This is a must see drama and I will again. I can honestly say watching this and other programmes like this you can see how so many have already paid their dues before they ever get on stage or in front of the camera. Well done. Never give up on your dreams. You will regret it. I know. I did. I do.Was this review helpful to you?
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When you look behind of the curtains...
I am sure most people came to watch because of your favorite idols in the cast and the chance of seeing something sweet in the middle of what we assume to be the showbiz, but let me tell you something: it's not about the romance.What actually hooked me from the beginning was the mystery, the real "why" EunJo left when SHAX was on their peak of popularity. From then, things only spiral.
Forget romance, forget the cliche brooding-male lead and over-optimistic female lead. The true beauty of this show is the background and how it influences on the lead's behavior.
Let me give you a run: there are 3 main points in the story about the idol groups themselves. 1) We have the privilege of a big company with SHAX and how, even with their inner struggle, they had a head-start to fame from the beginning; 2) We see the struggle to debut groups from medium companies, like what happened with SPARKLING. They had to work their asses off to stay on verge of disbanding. A medium company do not assure you any security unless you make it big; 3) Last but not least, we see TeaParty trying to break through from an almost non-existent company - JH Entertainment; aside from those 3 examples, we also have LALIMA, who debuted in a unknown company after leaving a big company behind. She carried Queen Ent alone with her success.
You can find many examples of what I'm talking about on internet. Groups that debut and disappear, groups that barely make it, and groups that barely debut but break records because of the name of their companies.
Not just that, but we see about the diets, about the blackmail, about the fanservice and the fact that many idols don't have control over their own lives. Their fans do. Everything is for the fans. Everything is for the sake of making money.
Plot line aside, I know that the production wasn't the best, but I really don't blame the production channel. They had to do it in a rush (it was supposed to air in late July, not early May, but a fake (? i'm not sure) scandal with an actor from the drama that was supposed to air first made them remove that drama from the grade, moving Imitation's release date) and I assume it affected greatly what they had planned to record and edit to put the drama together in time, same with the marketing movement and such. That on top of the cast having a lot of idols means that their schedules may conflict sometimes (it's known within the fandom that the ATEEZ members, especially Yunho, barely had time to sleep during the period of Kingdom's recordings, and I assume the same happened to Chani).
If you can ignore the cringe romance that fills the foreground, the story is quite interesting and keeps you wondering about the real life behind the cameras and the idol life (a few things even sound ironic if you research about the cast and make connections with the show itself).
It's not the kind of drama I would re-watch, especially because it talks about certain heavy topics like suicide, low self-esteem, power manipulation and such, but it's definitely worth the shot if you can look past the cringe-y things that they shove in your face and look for more subtle traces of the real idol world behind all the make-up.
PS: Shax are amazing, they really are, but I'm stuck listening to Diamond since the damn release
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While it's titled 'Imitation', it is pretty original!
I really enjoyed watching 'Imitation'. I wasn't sure what to expect from the moment I started it but I'm glad I made the decision to watch it. Whilst the story could be considered rushed in places, and in other areas unfinished or unexplored, the story that was shown was really good. This is one of those dramas where I wished the usual 16 episodes were given, as I think the extra 4 episodes would be needed, and it would've probably boosted the overall score to at least 9/10. I am unfamiliar with the majority of the cast, except the ML who was great again (no surprise there) - he plays the outside cold/inside warm type of ML very well indeed. The acting/cast section was rated lower than usual, I think this is because there were a couple of notable actors who I thought were quite unconvincing in their roles, but I don't like to name those people (after all, we are all human beings!).Re-watch value... well, the first half of this drama was addicting! I was watching multiple episodes a day, something I haven't done in literal years. However, the second half was quite draggy, the pacing just felt off and awkward. The OST was phenomenal however. All songs were just perfect in their own way, and were made to fit the groups in the little fictional K-Pop world created by the people of 'Imitation'.
Despite the draggy second half, the first half was addictive, the drama is still really good, and the OST is addictive. Therefore, I strongly recommend watching this drama.
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WHY DID I LIKE THIS SO MUCH? LOL
I really can't fathom why or when I was hooked onto the show but the unique story was really getting to me for sure. I've watched a lot of dramas, especially featuring idols but this is the definition of idol drama. Like die hard from trainees until they debut type of stuff and I just can't wrap my head around the concept but I was obsessed. Lol. It showed us everything we think we know how the idol world and how being a celebrity is and the struggles of it not always being rainbow and butterflies. It's not always 6 years in the making or never been on a stage before but there's drama in between, things taken out of context and of course you're gonna fall in love in your lifetime, why not? It all is just one big clash that I can actually really dig. And that's what it is; with a hidden story behind, boy and girl know each other, love each other but how do you make it work when your whole life is everyone else's life? Especially when you're on 2 different spectrums of "idol"; it do be like that.I absolutely LOVED the acting, they clicked all so well, between the ML and the bandmates, I ordered them so much.
Adored the music, MAHA's song If We Were is def my number 1 right now.
Overall, if I need a level of comfort, I would definitely watch this again. This was definitely the definition of IDOL drama to me.
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What in the publicity-
Imma start off with this, I think this drama is very much geared towards kpop fans, which isn't necessarily a bad thing given that the entire drama is about the kpop industry. But if you are a seasoned drama watcher I wouldn't highly recommend this one.I watched this at a time where I was just getting into dramas and found it pretty entertaining, but I don't think I would like it as much now.
I think that it does do something to address the toxicitiy and sometimes the barbarities of the kpop industry but doesn't make it the center focus.
This would also be fine if the main romance was more interesting and less for a lack of better words... bland?
Like I get it you're 2 kpop idols who like each other but can't really be together because of the industry and you like this other guy whos better. (Love ya Yunho) It might just be that love traingles aren't for me, but this one wasn't greatly executed plot wise.
I feel like they did try to address the problems in the industry but did it in a way that was very tone deaf and attempted to shove a romance in there.
Im gonna address the other big thing in here... using Ateez and SF9 for what I believe is mostly publicity. Here I am mainly just talking about San, Seonghwa, and Hwiyoung. Because Jongho and Yunho did have major parts. I think they kinda shoved the 3 of them in there just to get fans to watch it. This is by no means saying they are bad actors but they showed up occasionally not doing much for the plot. Obviously this isn't the first time cameo's have happened but they legitimatley had almost nothing to do with the story and felt like they were there for the soul purpose of the Ateez and SF9 brand to get people to watch.
I also completely lost why the drama was called Imitation after a while. Like I understand that Maha wants to be like another idol she looks up to. But all the sudden it kinda just gets lost in the plot and it became really confusing? The idea of wanting to be like her comes back at random points and is supposidly forgotten again. Idk its very strange
Finally, I found the pacing strange. The beginning was dramatic and then by episode 2 it got really slow. And then all the sudden mid show it hits the ground running with plot and drama, and at the end it slows down. Like its werid because I remember thinking about dropping the show and then all the sudden its interesting. But that only lasts so long and gets boring.
I think if you're a fan of kpop its an ok watch and I think it still has the capability to be enjoyed.
Stan Ateez and SF9
This show made me a Jongho bias
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So far... the best drama about idol world
The drama is a very good one, I really love the script, some lines (best quotes from Larima , who litterally stole the show) and for me the ending is very satifying, I think kpop and music fans should watch it. I have not given 10 for those reasons:- akward camera movements and poor makup/ styling, the music videos from Music bank are much better than in the drama
- lack of chemistry of the FL and ML though they are good actors, we don't undestand why they love each other, the high school moment are pointless
- not great kiss scenes too and many convincing good stage scenes at the beginning
BUT for me, this drama is a VERY GOOD for thoses reasons:
- a very honest drama and kpop reach for stardom
- lots of light and funny moments, not too much angst
- great chemistries between the idol members, the secondary couples are much more relatable
- good supporting roles, the idols here act well, nice female chemistry... I really the scene where Larima tells the producer how an artist is important to the production world, singers are not sheer tools.
- nice music moments, I especially love the duet music scenes where the leads'love story is resumed in 4 or 5 songs. KBS have done a good job in showing ambitious final stage scenes
- the final song "the sign" a very emotive ensemble dedicated to those trainees who give their youth for music without being known.
Just read the webtoon which is really good and more focused on the romance part.
It was an entertaining drama for me and I will surely rewatch it.
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Very touching and entertaining
As soon as I started watching the first episode, I couldn't stop. I binged this show in two days and honestly don't regret it at all.I feel like I learned a lot about the kpop industry. I already knew all of it, but I think it hadn't really hit home how horrible some of the kpop practices were until this show really highlighted them.
My favorite story was by far EunJo and Annie. While they didn't have as much screentime as the rest (since their story was mostly told in flashbacks), it was the story that had the greatest impact on me. Of course I loved watching MaHa and Kwon Ryok's romance bloom, but EunJo and Annie made me cry - I felt their love in a very real way. I will say though, I really enjoyed the comedic relief that Kwon Ryok provided (especially when trying to figure out his feelings). I found myself laughing quite a bit during some of his scenes :)
Yes, this show has some loop holes, but its pros very much outweigh its cons, at least for me. I really loved that each character wasn't perfect; they all had their weaknesses and strengths. I felt like it made the story much more realistic when, for example, we see that Kwon Ryok didn't handle EunJo's situation as best as he could have, because it sends this message of "No, these people aren't perfect. But they're trying." It also reminds us that to err is to be human, and as long as we're trying to be good humans, that's all that matters.
I'm actually glad that real idols were a part of this. I feel like it adds to the authenticity, and also to maybe the weight of this story. These idols are shining a not-so-positive light on the idol industry, and I think that's really cool.
Of course, the ending might not have ended in the most realistic way (Shax was able to get off pretty scotch-free; we didn't see any backlash from MaHa and Kwon Ryok's relationship being public), but honestly after the emotional rollercoaster episode 11 took me on, I think I needed that ending.
All in all, I say good job. It might not be everyone's cup of tea (see what I did there? Tea Party?) but it was definitely mine.
(By the way, the only reason my rewatch value rating is so low is because EunJo and Annie's story, although very beautiful and touching, really did a number on me emotionally, and I'd need to be in a very specific mindset to watch that again).
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her hair...
I'm a Kpop idol fan, so I'm often interested in watching idol-themed dramasbut dramas about idols are sometimes not satisfying to watch. Maybe because the budget is low or something else.
In this drama, the actors' acting is OK, but not good either.
Apart from that, what is very disturbing is the female lead's hair which looks like it hasn't been taken care of. Her original hair was short and then connected to make it long according to the time in the drama, but the connection was still clearly visible. It's really disappointing how the drama team didn't provide wigs to make this issue look presentable.
There's also nothing new about the concept of romance in this drama, so it's quite boring.
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