This series might not deserve a ten-star rating, but it is so incredibly entertaining and feel-good that I cannot give it a lower one. Just as its sequel, High&Low The Worst, it had me glued to the screen and smiling. It brims with so much action, bromance, friendship, and humor that it is difficult not to binge it. The action scenes are top-notch, and the characters are likeable. But what else makes it so special?

I used to dislike action movies because those that I had seen were nothing but plotless violence. What distinguishes this series from movies of that kind is that its story has several different layers and is not only about groups of student delinquents fighting for the leadership position at Oya High.

Murayama, the eccentric but wise leader of the part-time students, is torn between his attachment to the school and his desire to open a new chapter in his life. His advice to younger and less experienced Tsukasa is one of the movie's most memorable quotes: "A man who stands around and says "I'll become number two" or a man who becomes number two after striving to be the best, but ultimately failing. Even an idiot would know which is better."

Fujio, Tsukasa's best friend, spends time with his grandfather in the countryside, learning valuable lessons about life. To live you have to fight against the obstacles that life throws at you, but not all fights are won with fists. Fujio and Grandpa's touching and thought-provoking conversations convey what being young means: "A frog in the well does not know how big the ocean is, but it knows how blue the sky is. Fujio, you know how blue and deep the sky is. I am not worried about anything."

Timid Jamuo faces the challenge of being the only weakling in a school in which your survival depends on how strong and precise your punches are and, against all odds, demonstrates that being a leader is not only about throwing fists.

Finally, Tsukasa, the sleeping lion of Oya High, struggles with a loss of confidence and purpose after his cru– best friend transfers to another school. The action aside, High&Low The Worst Episode 0 is essentially five episodes of Tsukasa pining after Fujio before finally reuniting with him in the sixth episode and fighting the built-up tension out under the rain as a ballad plays in the background. There is no heterosexual explanation for what Tsukasa has for Fujio in this series. Lines such as "I want to see that view with you" and "Fujio, I will be waiting for you. You can come back anytime," accompanied by fond looks and smiles, tell volumes. Who is open-minded enough to see will see it.

Each of these stories is interesting in its own right. It is up to the viewer to decide which one of them is the main one.

Overall, I think that if it does not interest you in the franchize, this series will at least entertain you a lot. It is also short enough not to take more than one afternoon of your time.