Feb 23, 2015

Hi! School- Love on(하이스쿨: 러브온) K Drama Review N 1



Hi! School – Love On (Korean: 하이스쿨: 러브온) is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Kim Sae-ron, Nam Woo-hyun and Lee Sung-yeol of the band Infinite. It aired on KBS2 from July 11 to December 19, 2014 on Fridays at 20:55 for 20 episodes.

It's a teen fantasy romance series about an angel who has no choice but to become a human after unintentionally saving a male student in danger. The now-mortal angel then interacts with teenage high school students and learns about love, friendship, and what it means to be human.
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Hey! Back with another Korean Drama review! Been slackin'! I just godda say before I get into this review that this drama is pretty cool! So if you don't want any SPOILERS, go over and watch it now! Otherwise, listen to me rant and fangirl. XD
Ok, so I was really captured by it the first few seconds I watched. No kidding. Because although no matter what company makes or actors who act in the dramas, or when it is released, there are SO many story repeats. Either a guy falls in love with another woman other than his fiancee or a girl is being pushed to marry some random guy she doesn't want to.

I know that it is hard to create something original so whatever, I understand. I'm just saying....
This one didn't feel soap opera-ish at all. It has a really interesting feel to it. It's based around high schoolers but the funny thing is, the two lead actors are well out of high school. They're both 23 in real life and they use their real names too. Though you wouldn't even suspect without looking it up. Korean guys tend to look really young and really...short. (Which I have no problem with AT ALL. Height is such a stupid thing to worry about...)

Here are the actors:

   (Did you know that he and I have the same birthday?! So awesome) XD 
     And she is 14.
I bet you guys can't tell the difference between the two guys. XD It's fine, it takes time.
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Anyway,  I guess since there is such an age gap between the cast, there isn't much romance. Like kissing or even hugging really. Ok, I take that back...there is a kiss scene but I think there's only one....
But it's very light and I guess you could say, fluff. I think they use that term when something is kid-ish. (I better be right.)
And because there isn't much romance, they had more time to spend on the plot.
The story basically spins around family issues and true friendship. Not gonna get into it because for one, it's complicated and I don't really care to explain. But  really, they are such little guys to each, the three of them.

Characters: 

1) Woo-Hyun

 I suck at describing characters, but he was the arrogant and loud one. Basically the lead male of the show. I didn't like him in the beginning but he grew on me. It was pretty cool how he handled things on his own, like his grandmother's shop and being there for his friends. And how he actually had FEELINGS.
He wasn't just trying to act tough, though he did dive head first into a lot of situations. During the first ep he actually tried to save a guy's life while on his way to school. So yeah, he's also pretty brave.

But he was also the first to find out that Seul-Bi was an angel, and keep it a secret so that she wouldn't disappear.
The two were together by then.
                                                He's tying her tie people. Don't worry! 

 He kicked azz too! There is a scene were he actually JUMP KICKS one guy! YES there is fighting in this drama. It's mostly because of the lame bullies at their school that mess with them EVERY episode.
But I'd put the kick scene here if I could find it. Someone please make a gif out of that please! XD 
(Yep I'm talkin' to you, Kelsey and Adaline!)


2) Sung-Yeol

The second male lead who should have been first. IMO
I like him a lot more than Woo-Hyun. He's so cute! And I love that he isn't mean to everyone just because he's supposed to be the smart and withdrawn one with suck parents. But for some reason, they put these types of characters as seconds and THAT is why it sometimes goes wrong. But another thing was, that he warmed up after a while, from having Seul-Bi as a friend. So that was cool...

I really loved this character but after a while, but they stopped focusing on him as much and kinda left him in the shadows. During the time he was hurt and trying to push everyone away, there wasn't much reaction from the other characters to the way he was acting. And I think they dragged it on for too long.
But you know, not all singers and preformers can act, because that's not really what they do on a day to day basis. So I was really surprised with how well he and Woo-Hyun did. They did really, really, really good. :D
(It was so difficult to find pics of him but I tried)

3) Seul-Bi

Many have an issue with how "dumb" they think she is, as she is supposed to be innocent and angelic. I agree that it would have been better if she was softer and not so goofy and clueless, because although she knew nothing of being a human and how to LIVE, I feel as though there's always a drama with a clueless girl.
So it was kinda the same as watching anything else with how she kept getting bullied and dragged around by Woo-Hyun. I actually started watching this alone when it first aired, but ended up having to stop because of how annoying it was to so the guys drag her around. But told Lil'Sis about it and later we watched and finished it together.
But she was fun to watch and I give her a big thumbs up, for doing such a good job. Especially at 14 years old!


4) The Step-Mom

 The mother/stepmom is SUPER LAME! She's Woo-Hyun's birthmother and Sung-Yeol's stepmom. She abandoned WH from her first marriage (when he was old enough to understand that she was leaving) and gave him some stupid necklace that matched hers, so that one day they'd be able to meet again.
                                          When Woo-Hyun finds out that she's his mother.

They didn't explain why she left him. Not even if her relationship with his dad was bad or anything. Even though they divorced. The only thing we know is that she left, the dad was randomly living in the States and Woo-Hyun was living in Korea with his Grandmother. Once they finally meet, there's so much drama it's painful to watch. She clinges and stalks him while neglecting her stepson. And keeping everything from her husband. (Who should have already knew, I mean come on...)

                                                   Step-mom and Sung-Yeol fighting....
Now bonding finally....


5) "Stupid Deer!"

We call him "The Deer", because...come on, you can see it can't you? XD He was so random and aggrivating in the end, trying to get Seul-bi to turn back into an angel and be with him. He kept appearing and making chaos. Despite his annoying appearances he was hilarious though.  
                                              Deer trying to kill one of the guys yet AGAIN. 



Here's what I dislike:

1) How things were rushed in the end. I know you hear this a lot with drama reviews. But they waste episodes on the stupidest and most useless scenes and then throw something together at the end like we're supposed to understand what's going on. Seo-Yeol and Woo-Hyun randomly get into an accident and then it skips to 2 years later when the're in university. BUT the family was finally happy, so that was good.


2) That Seul-Bi didn't end up with Seo-Yeol. I'm sick and tired of the girls falling for the guys that make fun of them, annoy them and are always mean to them. It's SO played out. Even if they meet a really nice guy that always seems to be there for them when they're hurt, they ignore them and go for the other one that didn't do XXXX for them.
Am I the only one?! Things are a lot more interesting and rewarding when they pick the person that isn't as confident or open, or has a troubling past or something. Not always the cocky ones. It happened in Vampire Knight, Tokyo Mew Mew Power and a bunch of other things.
So yeah, that was annoying. I thought they would switch it up. I have yet to see something where they end up with the OTHER guy.
But it's prob my fault. I have a thing for the silent and mysterious types and stuff. You should have seen Lil'Sis and I cheering him on. Hahaha!


3) How in the last episode, LITERALLY THE LAST EPISODE, they showed the other cast and completely ignored the main characters. I know that side characters make up the story just as much (if not more) as the main characters do, but why would they start showing what the rest of them were doing, LAST MINUTE?!

I really hate when the writers do that. But at least they were entertaining and I actually like a lot of them. But I just wanted the leads to have a good ending before the rest came in.

Annoying fangirls in their class.
                                                Sung-Yeol and Woo-Hyun with the other guys.


7) Ms. Gong
WH's grandmother left him clueless about her illness and died, without him knowing XXXX about what was wrong with her. What is with people not telling their loved ones that they're gonna die soon? I mean, I understand they don't want them to worry but really? So what, you'd rather them be heart broken and feel guilty at how they should have known? That's so weird.
They could have had fun during her last days but whatever....


What I like LOVE: 

1) For one, the BROMANCE IS REAL! It's like nothing I've ever seen! The friendship between the two guys is so heart warming (as gushing as it sounds) there aren't many shows where the guys actually have a real brotherly love for each other. Even if they are rivals for the same girl they were friends first and stood by each other's side. And in the end through all the tough moments, their friendship remained.
I love the scenes where they were crying about letting each other go, because they found out about they had the same mother.
  Sung-Yeol, putting his hand behind Woo-Hyun's head to keep him from banging it against the wall. They were at his grandmother's funeral. 
                     Fools ended up cuddling while they were sleeping. This was SO funny!



2) THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE THREE

                                        They are SO cute! 


3) Sung-Yeol's dad.
Though I did say Sung-Yeol had suck parents. I meant his stepmom alone. His dad was pretty cool throughout the whole thing, he listened to his son, handled his wife when she didn't want to be apart of the family anymore and was causing trouble, and always comforted his son. It's RARE you see a dad doing anything for his kids in KDs, SUPER RARE. So I liked that he was actually there for him.
              He's a cop, so he handcuffed them together for some father-son bonding time. 


5) The music is literally the cutest! Makes me smile everytime I listen to it, so heart warming and innocent. PLZ give it a listen, especially the last song!
If the video doesn't load correctly here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr5BFQ-Y3LY


                                                     MY  RATING

 I loved it and would have given it a 4 out a 4 if the ending had been solid. I felt like something was missing. BUT IT IS DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY A FAVE!


Wrap-Up: 

Yeah, I know there's only 3 things I can recall liking but overall, it was great. Or IS great. I like the characters more than the story itself. But in MY OPINION, I'd only really recommend it for the "Fresh-meat K drama-watchers"
(Yes, I just made that up....) I could tell Lil'Sis enjoyed it more than I did, probably because the ending through me off. Ok, I lied I was squealing too lol.
But who knows, you might love it even if you are a hardcore drama-er lol. BECAUSE I DID!

This was or is my review for Hi! School - Love on (Don't even ask about the title because I have no idea) . I know I didn't give much detail of the story and what not but I didn't feel like it was one I could write about without falling asleep or giving up on. It's not very plot given. If that makes sense. And it's kinda too hard to explain. And plus, if you REALLY want to know go watch it yourself! :D
But I hope it inspired you to watch more KDs. And if you're wondering, I finished it January 27th....I think...
Because maybe you're obsessed with knowing the exact date and time you start and finish things, like I am.

Let me know if you've watched it, will watch it or read the full review without any intention of watching it. HAHAHA
Confusing? Don't tell me something I already know...
And oh, so many pictures, hahaha!

I don't own ANY of these pictures...I got them off google....except for the heart rating thingy, I made that...

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^__________________________________________^ Annyeong!