A True Feelgood KDrama
This had been on my watchlist since last year when lots of viewers mentioned that it gave off a similar feel to the "Reply" series (which I loved). All I can say is I can't believe I put off watching this gem of a drama for so long! I had absolutely no expectations going in and by the time I finished all the episodes, I get why so many comments remark about the wholesomeness of this drama. This is one of the few dramas that I've actually watched more than once!Likes:
-Tang Jun Sang as Yoon Hae Kang. Hae Kang lives as if he's the main character of his life and I aspire to have that kind of confidence. He's a bit whiny in the beginning but gradually warms up to his badminton crew and I loved the character growth! Besides that, Tang Jun Sang did such a great job with this role. I ended up watching "Move to Heaven" afterwards and you wouldn't believe that the same actor played two characters that are polar opposites of each other. I'm looking forward to seeing him in future productions!
-Badminton crew's friendship. They resolved misunderstandings and over time, they became like family to each other. It was just so wholesome to watch!
-It brought light to a sport that honestly doesn't have as big of a following compared to like baseball or soccer. The badminton smash shots were pretty good and accompanied with the on point BGM, it made the scenes all that more exciting. Sometimes it felt like I was actually there watching the match live.
-Gosh dang the romance was so pure and cute, my fan girl heart almost couldn't take how cute it was. Now whenever I hear that OST, I'll always think of that couple.
I know for sure there's little to no chance of a season 2 with how we basically got a mini epilogue anyway but I can't help but want to see what's next for the badminton squad!
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one of the best drama in 2021
I don't have anything to said but this drama actually a perfection for me. I don't even dare to skip any second in this drama.My first impression about this drama is it will be boring sport drama but I'm totally wrong. The plot is focus on sport, friendship and the most important is the story of village people. Some people might complaint about the unnecessary romance part. But people need to chill, it's just a middle school lovey dovey.
For those people getting confused why this series only get around 8.5 in mydramalist but low than 2 in imdb, this is because a racism thing towards Indonesia during episode 5(?). Don't feel bother to watch this series just because it's getting low rating in imdb.
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my heart is full
I have never felt this comforted by a kdrama ever before. This show is the DEFINITION of comfort drama. I feel so empty now I don't know how I'll go about my days without seeing my comfort characters everyday. Definitely a kdrama I'll rewatch again and again. The story was so rich, so many lessons about loss, love, family, sickness, friendship, age... I got attached to every single character and I truly felt my heart aching for them. I'll never forget Haenam. This show deserves so much more recognition. Aaaa I can't say goodbye to them what do I do now...Was this review helpful to you?
Life full of Hardships that is Wrapped with Purpose
This show does not only show you the reality of what life truly is and how it is dealt with or endured, but it also shows you that there could be enjoyable things living in that kind of life. This show may seem predictable at first, but its predictability contested my expectation and gave me a surprise that I never thought I would receive. It was a very nice 18 hours and 43 minutes of time that I spent. Worth the watch, so please give it a try. :)Had a few doubts when I started this series, but oh man, talk about not judging the book by its cover!! First off let me just say, a very well-written series and although its main theme is sports, it tackles all the themes of life and society very well, with some great highlights on real-world issues. The kids are superb and their dialogue delivery makes all the difference in adding an extra punch to the humor! Some episodes are a real emotional roller coaster and you will end up crying in a few of them, but that just goes to show how well the series has been written. The chemistry between the cast is great and some do put up very convincing performances. The writing makes you connect with every single character and I thoroughly enjoyed all the episodes. This is one of the best Kdramas I have watched so far and highly underrated. A must-watch for all!
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One of the underrated drama
I found this drama on Netflix and did not expect much from it as most main cast were new actors. The story and supporting actors are the backbone of this drama. The direction was fab too.Story - simple with not many twists and turns but the way of delivery is unique
Acting- young tae , coach yoon and coach Ra with national team coach are a delight with on point acting. Head coach and Hae-in as well as villagers from neighbourhood are good at acting their part. The only thing I felt missing were lead players acting it left lots to be desired.
Direction- it’s well presented story and delivery is its strong point
A must watch if you want those nostalgic school memories or you need a shot of inspiration.
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Top-Tier Slice of Life/ Coming of Age Drama
What I love about racket boys is how they portray each story and each life substantially. The illustration of everyone's life story is important and meaningfully special. You can pick any plot in an episode and, there is a moral to be learned. The plots are so emotional and hard-hitting, showing support within the family, friends, and the community. The flow of narrations is so smooth that time slipped every time you watched racket boys. The casting was so great, the bond of racket sonyeondan is so wholesome, you can say they are having so much fun, off and on cam. The cinematography is top-tier! Racket boys haven't been done airing yet I can say it is on the top list of a slice of life/coming-of-age drama. yeoksi Shin PD!Was this review helpful to you?
Review on drama itself and not on the Indonesia controversy.
Besides the low ratings the drama got on portraying Indonesia in bad way, I would like to do actual review on drama itself.The drama is very light hearted and light paced one, at certain times I felt it as too slow and boring. It only been racist in one episode, and leaving that aside, the drama was good at initial episodes but later episodes I didn't feel much thrill. I didn't expect thrill since this not an action drama, but I expected it to be more entertaining which it failed me. So if you are someone who is completely ok with a very slow paced and completely light hearted drama, than this is good for you.
In my opinion, this is only a one time watchable decent drama.
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Warm, cozy comfort
This is such a fun sports drama. I’m usually not a fan of sports dramas, but they really outdid themselves with this. It had a good pacing, and was rather insightful and motivating, not to mention that the story was great.I had a lot of fun watching this show. The main badminton plot was interjected by the stories of the lives of everyone in the village, which was a welcome respite and somehow didn’t take away from the show at all. My favourite villagers have to be the city couple, watching them grow and bond together with the villagers was extremely sweet.
This is a show about growing up and getting better, about outdoing yourself, sportsmanship and class.
It was wonderfully written and executed.
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definitely love it
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This review may contain spoilers
It takes a village to raise the best junior badminton team
Watching this show is like eating a whole tub of ice cream by yourself. It is a little naughty but so satisfying and a guilty pleasure. You almost feel a little embarrassed to admit you liked it so much.This show has all the things that you'd decried about tropey, over-the-top scripts with questionable story telling but it has so much charm and energy that you didn't realise until you are hooked and it is too late to bail.
A lot of that energy came from the young cast. There are a lot of testosterone, teenage angst and bravado on display and sometimes it can feel monotonal but most of the time, the young actors, especially the Racket Boys, pulled it off. A special mention goes to Tang Jun Sang. He was impressive in Move to Heaven and he did not disappoint in this show. One to watch as his career develops. Kim Kang Hoon was a joy to watch, a mix of cuteness and determination. The veteran actors provided the glue that gave the show cohesion and a nurturing environment for the youngers to grow and be themselves. To be honest, some of those roles are from central casting and there is not a lot of depth to their characters but the fact that they are instantly recognisable is also comforting within this dramaverse.
As you can imagine, humour is central to a show like this but some of it is pretty crude and they are served with extra cheese. The show can be cringy as it farmed all the clichés and set up tropey situations just to milk the laughs/tears. What made it worked is the ensemble cast (both young and old) and the fast pacing so that you are never given enough time to analyse each scene. For much of the show, there is a definite coda, see setback -> overcome obstacle -> plot advances/character grows -> rinse and repeat. The show also tapped into many other themes beyond sports, found family, friendship, romance, dislocation, alienation and many more. Even a bit of supernatural towards the end which you can only shrug and say "why not". You would think it is a mess and it was but you are too invested to care (or you'd have dropped the show a long time ago). You'd forgive a lot of their trespasses just to see what happens next. However, this is a doubled edged sword as you knew things will never get too rough and the reward is always a few scenes away.
However, not everything can be dismissed offhandedly. The way the show dealt with antagonists can be quite tone deaf and lackadaisical. Foreigners and city dwellers are easy foils. Bad people will do bad things, end of story. The whole land developer subplot was heavy handed and farcical.
Romance was a big part of the show and a source of minor frustration as the teasing and push/pull goes on and on. There is little skinship to talk about but it is rated PG15+ more for other contents.
I have read some comments on the badminton games were not realistic. I beg to differ. I doubt any sport based drama has ever portraited their sport 100% realistically. Drama and plot development must come first so tight editing and a bit of CGI are used to create tension and magic. I think the young actors did their best to impress us on how physical and challenging the game is at elite level and I'm sure they'd have sweated through tough training sessions as well. They deserve a bit more credit.
One thing that did irked me was how Kang Tae Seon gets to play in the national team selection match against the ML. According to the show, Kang has not played badminton for 10 years. Putting aside his fitness and skill retention there must be some kind of ranking system so that people have to demonstrate a certain level of merit to earn a wildcard entry but to go straight to the top seemed to take the mickey out of the system, Consider his character was introduced late in the drama and probably will not show up again (unless there is a season 2), it served little purpose other than to take the ML down a notch and to humanise the head coach.
Even with the questionable subplots, I definitely enjoyed this show and it demands very little from you. The less critical you are, the more enjoyable this show will be. Like I said, it is a guilty pleasure that you can binge watch easily.
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Wholesome & Lighthearted
The wholesomeness of this show has led me to post my first ever review of a Kdrama series and whilst I am more of a fan for romcoms this show has warranted special recognition for its natural and comforting story. I loved each character and the way in which friendship grew between the boys. Although, I loved the sports aspect I wish there was more of a focus on the competitive side of sports and also more sport action would have put the cherry on top. Regardless, this was a show that I would 100% rewatch again as it had everything you could ever ask for in a hit show. I hope they make a second season. Otherwise... I am craving for more sports kdramas! Give this show a try! You'll love it quirkiness!Was this review helpful to you?
Comfort Drama
I started watching this drama after my friend recommended this to me. I started watching this drama when it's already halfway through the entire series. I'm not really into sports drama before this but I become super invested in this drama and I keep on watching the current episode multiple times while waiting for new episode. I love their friendship and also the side story of the supporting cast. This drama is so warm and each episodes gives me comfort. All the young actors are so talented... love all of them.Was this review helpful to you?
