This Attacked Me to My Core

When I first came across this on Netflix I don't know why but I felt attacked by the title. Even the leads said that they picked this show because of how jaw dropping the title is. Now why would I need to include this, I mean I'm reviewing the show not the title. So why on earth am I emphasizing how the very title of "It's ok not to be ok" attacked me on a personnel level. Well that is just the beginning my friend. Just the beginning of all the tears and laughs I felt after watching this series. This series is not only a great drama but a drama that attacks so many issues that people face. The idea that showing others that your vulnerable seems foreign to some. However, the leads in this drama broke down countless times after experiencing love, hate, and despair. Which I can now proudly say made me cry a waterfall as big as the eerie cannel. To be honest, I wouldn't have rated this so high if I only watched this for the emotion. Because when i said this was an emotional roller-coaster I meant that one moment I could be laughing my but off at the witty female lead. Or crying at the male leads suffering, which to be honest didn't faze me at first. Seo-Yi Ji's character is probably one of that baldest b's I've ever seen in my entire life. Aside from the fact that she legitamently has no filter, she attacks the male lead to the core which attacked me to the core. Now onto one of the things that attacked me the most which was mang-tae or gang-tae I can never remember which one. However, the older brother character made watching this series all the more worthwhile. As he is one of the most accurate portrayels of an autistic adult that I've ever seen in my life. To be honest, I didn't like him at first because of how posesive he was of his brother. However, overtime he matured and became more Independent which I loved in terms of character growth. I forgot the other girls name but the nurse got on my nerves at first but she grew on me good for her. And the crazy character who I will not say due to spoilers is one of the biggest plot armors I've ever encountered in my life. How on earth did that person survive? That is all my friend, watch this you will not regret all 16 hours of it. :) :D

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Great and Good

To be honest, I watched this when i was first starting to get into K-dramas and I loved the story, cast, acting, and ost. The entire story behind Itaewon class is honestly incredibly inspirational as it taught me a lot of life lessons that a lot of people are not willing to teach me in real life. The reason that I titled this great and good is that I couldn't help but feel that their were some points to the story that were lacking. To avoid spoilers I wont go into specifics. However, the first 10 episodes were just chefs kiss and so satisfying to watch as the plot unfolded. However, after the time skip I felt that there were some inconsistencies with the plot. Nothing to do with the actors just bad writing as I guess my expectations were incredibly high because of the amazing first 10 episodes. Only to be slightly disappointed with an adequate but not quiet right end.
Now onto the specifics

Great
First, Actors amazing all around as even though the characters varied and there were so many different emotions showed from dense, psychopaths', sociopaths, butterfly (transformations), and dirt on the bottom of my shoe(people who have watched this know which characters I'm talking about :D) A lot of people often say that the hype behind this show was because of Park Seo Joon. However, I can't really say that because I was new to K-dramas at the time and didn't know anything about him. So I can say this as a neutral and uninfluenced party I loved this shows acting. The actors were all talented and there was incredible chemistry between the two main leads even in their darkest of time

Second, as someone looking to work in the film industry I found the behind the scenes work to be soooooooo satisfying to watch. The actions shots, profiles, angles, and even some discreet pigeon shots (distorted) were all included. So If you are worried about the shots and camera quality, there's no need to because It was Immaculate.

OST- Great, don't know much about music production so I can' get into the details

Inclusivity: I just had to put this in as a black member of the LGBTQ+ community (Biromantic). There inclusion of a black and a trans character in the main cast is something honestly unprecedented in Korea which I will always always always be grateful for. To be honest, the black character did indeed have a meaning to the plot but I feel like he needed more screen time. However, just the fact that he was in the main cast PERIOD will always have a special place in my heart.
The last scene was so satisfying toooo :)
Now onto the Good
I say good because it was just ok, nothing special

Story and script: The writers did a phenomenal job on the script and storyline in the first 10 episodes and I will always consider it to be some of the best intros that I have ever seen in my life. Just the last 6 episodes were underwhelming. They started out so great, but instead of reaching higher heights or plateauing even, the writing just plummeted. Not drastically but there were obvious changes in the script and storyline which tells me that the writers had cooked up a great intro but realized that there were 6 episodes left and were like "oh f*** we have to end this soon what are we going to do? Oh Ik how about a hospital scene those are always good! Oh how about a kind of but kind of not satisfying ending." I don't know if they changed writers at the end, but the close and personal touch i felt at first went away a little at the end because of how rushed it felt.
HOWEVER, I am not dissuading anyone from watching because of the rushed ending as overall this was a great show, that just needed a little more time to develop.

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Acting Good, Writers need to be fired

When I started this series this was officially the first Taiwanese drama that I had watched and finished. I saw the preview on Netflix and thought hey this looked cool. I even saw how it was only 6 episodes so my hopes for this show was extremely low. Yet, for some reason I am still baffled by the mere premise of this show. To be frank, I did not like the writing or story one bit and felt like this was a missed opportunity. However, the reason that I was able to finish this entire train wreck was because of how good the actors were so if you just wanna watch something for good acting then go right ahead. However, if you want to watch for enjoyment or satisfaction i recommend you try another series. This review will get extremely specific so hold on tight.

Story:
First, the whole concept of this show was pretty fun and amusing. I mean a gangster heir and an actor wow what a plot twist. The funny part is that the main issues stem from her father and the actors (character) pure stupidity throughout the show. I do not remember names because of how forgettable this series was so I'll just say it as it is. Concept God, however I think the people who wrote this script need to find another profession. Not only does the whole premise of them falling in love over a game initiate the cringe factor inside of me. However, it also displays the emotional immaturity of the writers of this film. I understand this is comedy and I'm not trying to sound like a hater. However, PEOPLE DO NOT RANDOMLY FALL IN LOVE WITH EACHOTHER WITH AN ENTIRE 180 on their personality this easily.
Now onto something that really annoyed me, I was actually enjoying the beginning of this series (until the romance) and then things did a complete 180 in like 2 seconds. No cap the events of this series were so rushed and made this extremely uncomfortable to watch. I'll refer to this again i only survived because of the incredible acting despite their terrible script. Why did they have to cancel this like I would have given this a higher rating for it not have been the pacing, story, and overall script.

Script:
The story was pretty good at first aside from the pacing issues and such that I witnessed whilst watching this. One thing that I can never get over is the romance and chemistry as the entire premise of it is just stupid. One thing that I found to be out of the ordinary was the whole fangirl thing, I did get a lot of secondhand embarrassment from the things she did during this series, but that didn't stop me. It's the actor character guy whos name I continuously forget that really got on my nerves. The writing for him was so underdeveloped, vague, and just disinterested. And then the moment he had experienced something good in his life he does some dumb stuff and just does and complete 180 over events that lasted for what 2 days. The other characters including the gangster, the goons, and the mother lady had fairly written lines aside from how cliché they were. However, the romance between the leads just made this a terrible experience on my mart

Missed opportunity:
As stated before this was such a missed opportunity to make one of the wittiest and comedic shows in all of Taiwanese history. However, the writing and jokes really fell short on this one. The overall plot line was subline, and the gangster romance was heavily undermined. I have some fixes that I would make to the crypt but as this isn't my show I couldn't care less. As someone who works in the film industry I found a lot of the action shots to be insulting and there were tome blocks here and there with the camera rigging. The picture quality was good, but again a missed opportunity for something great and cinematic

Overall, great idea, great actors, terrible execution, and writers who need to find new professions.
That is all take my words however you want.

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I don't know

There are so many I don't know why's as to the aspects of this show. I don't know why I binged it for two days straight. I don't know why I wanted to see certain characters get hit by a truck. I don't know why I dislike the second lead so much. However, what I do know I that this was an ok show with an ok plot, that just hit the spot for me. The story in general is pretty basic, there isn't much conflict faced by the lead except for what the main antagonist caused him when he achieved his dreams. Even though I understand how basic this show is I couldn't help but feel attracted to this. Coming from someone who does not know Park-bo gum I did not come for the hype. I just saw a cute little show pop up on my recommends that I ended up binging. This show does not have a deep plot, but its pretty attractive especially with how the main lead prioritizes his beliefs over fame even if it means looking bad in front of the media

Now onto the negative stigma on this show and why I understand why this is rated so poorly
First of all this last part of my review spoils whether or not there is a happy ending so pls proceed with caution



The last episode was so satisfying for me to watch. To be honest, I was mad at Jeon-Ha's decision, but we kind of had it coming. I mean this story's whole idea is about growth and acceptance and I felt that everyone was so much more mentally stable in the finale which was so much more important than whether or not she accepted. Yes, it would have been nice but I'm not complaining.
As to the second lead I just felt like he liked Jeang-Ha because she was his bestfreind's girl. Since, out of nowhere he began to feel things for her. Which only occurred after the lead got more famous than him and his inferiority complex began. I do feel bad for him in terms if the bs that his mom put him through. However, I still can't come to liking his character, even with all of his crying scenes I can't empathize with him.

Remember at the top when I said I wanted a few characters to get hit by a truck.
Well, hahahahaha you'll meet them :\

All in all, basic plot, basic score, amazing acting, amazing expressions all around. Such a satisfying show to watch, It's not to intense, romantic, or just anything really. I don't know why but I found it to be nice.

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