Imitation (2021)

Empezo bien, termino meh

Cuando el drama arranco con la presión que los idols tienen que sufrir para llegar a donde estan, los problemas que trae y como sufren los que no alcanzan este sueño me atrapo casi que sin querer porque me encontré empezando el drama muy tarde en la noche pero sin darme cuenta ya había mirado casi media historia pero a medida que avanza todo empieza a decaer y siento que no se da el peso que era necesario. Me pareció muy interesante el recorrido de tea party desde que era omega 3 hasta que pudieron debutar, ese sube y baja de emociones que pasaron ellas me lo hicieron sentir y creo que este fue el punto mas fuerte del drama.
En fin, no es el mejor de los dramas pero da una vista que creo q cada vez es mas conocida de la realidad de ser un idol y como estos chicos se apuestan la vida por este sueño en una sociedad tan competitiva como lo es la de corea del sur.
(Abro un paréntesis para hablar de jung ji so, personalmente en este drama la adore, ya la conocía de otros drama como the cursed y doom at your service pero en este como principal pudo demostrar todo lo que tiene y espero muchos proyectos de ella. Alguien mas encuentra un parecido entre ella y jang na ra? porque no pude dejar de notarlo en todo el drama osea hasta su forma de llorar me recordó a ella, también me parece muy pero muy cute pero también la veo en algunas escenas como por ejemplo cuando se vuelve caminando cuando trabajo de extra en la primer película que participa y sino supiera que es ella creería que tiene entre 12-15 años jaja)

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Una historia que prometía, lo logró, pero decayó.

Imitation es un drama que anticipé demasiado y vi sin falta cada semana.
Primero hablaré de las cosas que más me gustaron.

1. La realidad de los idols bien representada
Esto es más que nada al principio de la historia. Debo decir que quedé impresionada con la crudeza con la que mostraban ciertas dificultades por las que pasaban los trainees. Sentí el dolor y la frustración de los personajes con cada obstáculo que se les presentaba.
Algunos detalles de la industria del entretenimiento coreano que yo considero que supieron representar bien son las sasaeng, lo difícil que es ser trainee y poder debutar, y la nula privacidad con la que cuentan los idols en lo que respecta a sus relaciones amorosas y asuntos personales.

2. Los protagonistas.
En general, este par derrochaba ternura. Mi parte favorita del drama fue ver cómo se desarrollaba su relación. Eran muy tiernos y tímidos, lo que hacía que yo no dejara de sonreír con sus interacciones. En especial Ryeok, su personaje al prjncipio nos lo presentan como un chico frío y serio, completamente enfocado en su carrera y que no se inmuta con nada. Pero conforme ahondamos más en su personaje, nos damos cuenta que tiene un lado romántico, tierno y encantadoramente adorable. Me sorprendió gratamente ver los distintos colores que ofrece.

3. Personajes secundarios.
Personajes como La Rima, y el par de Shax, Hyeok y Dojin, mejoraron la historia cuando la trama principal decaía un poco.
La Rima fue un personaje que me hizo agarrarle más cariño y simpatía con cada episodio. Al principio no me gustaba que la metieran innecesariamente al romance de Ryeok y Maha, porque creía que ella tenía mucho más que ofrecer. Pero cuando nos mostraron más de su personaje individualmente, quedé satisfecha.
Hyeok y Dojin, por otro lado, me encantaron desde un principio. Me sacaron unas cuantas risas con sus ocurrencias y me encantó lo mucho que apoyaron a Ryeok en todo momento.

Ahora, hablaré de lo que no me gustó de este drama.

1. Una trama que prometía mucho, pero 12 capítulos no fueron suficientes.
Considero que este es el principal problema del drama. Abordaron muchos temas interesantes sobre la industria del entretenimiento coreano, pero casi ninguno me dejó satisfecho. Yo culpo de esto a la falta de tiempo. No sé qué fue lo que determinó que este sería un drama de 12 episodios, pero creo que con 16 o 20, habría la oportunidad de profundizar en más temas como las dificultades que sufrió Annie, el comportamiento horrible y cuestionable de Hyun Oh hacia sus novias, las sasaeng y la relación de Maha y Ryeok haciéndose pública.
Durante todo el drama uno de los principales problemas era que no se podía revelar la relación de Maha y Ryeok porque las fans locas de Shax harían pedazos a la pobre de Maha, lo que también afectaría a Tea Party y Shax. Incluso nos mostraron lo que son capaces de hacer por un simple suéter. Pero, después de hacernos sufrir tanto con este problema, queda completamente olvidado en los últimos capítulos, y aunque estaba muy feliz porque Maha y Ryeok estaban por fin juntos y sin obstáculos, debo decir que quedé un poco insatisfecha.
Sobre el CEO de NOG, y toda la historia de Annie, aunque no diría que lo dejaron como un final abierto, no me gustó la forma apresurada con la que contaron las cosas, creo que un tema tan delicado debió de ser abordado de mejor manera, y nos debieron de haber mostrado que ese CEO recibiera su merecido.

2. Redimieron a los personajes muy fácilmente.
Este punto está ligado con el anterior, y es que me molestó mucho que solucionaran los problemas tan rápido.
Yujin, aunque inconscientemente, lastimó mucho a Hyun Ji, y estuvo años enamorado de Maha. Pero de un capítulo para el otro, me salen con que Yujin ahora quiere a Hyun Ji, y con una disculpa simple, se hacen novios. ¿Qué demonios? Entiendo que Yujin nunca fue consciente de los sentimientos de Hyun Ji y por eso no se daba cuenta de que sus acciones la lastimaban, pero Hyun Ji se merecía algo mucho mejor.
Luego tenemos a Hyun Oh, un chico que no dejaba de soltar comentarios despectivos hacia Maha, que era un completo hipócrita, y además manipulaba emocionalmente a sus novias. Hizo tantas cosas que te hacen odiarlo, así que no entiendo cómo esperaban que aceptara tan fácilmente que se quedara en su grupo y todos le dieran otra oportunidad. No le tengo nada de empatía a ese personaje.

3. Una mala elección de pareja secundaria.
Ya hablé un poco en el punto anterior de por qué no me gustó ver a Yujin y Hyunji juntos, y el hecho de que les siguieran dando escenas no me gustó. Lo siento, pero no les veía nada de química y siento que ese precioso tiempo pudieron habérselo dado a Ria y Lee Hyun o Annie y Eun Jo, quienes eran mucho más interesantes.
No quedé satisfecha con la última interacción de Ria y Lee Hyun, ellos merecían más escenas juntos que permitieran un desarrollo de su relación.

4. Las actuaciones.
Entiendo que la mayoría de los integrantes del cast son actores novatos y en su mayoría idols que no tenían experiencia actuando antes. Aunque la actuación no es mala, sí sentía en ciertas escenas que me dejaban a deber.
Y es que es extraño, porque en los primeros episodios no me sentía así. En todas las escenas de Omega 3 sufriendo por la muerte de Annie y de su oportunidad de debutar siendo arrebatada de sus manos, me gustaron mucho las actuaciones de las chicas. Pero más adelante, sentía que esa chispa que había visto antes ya no estaba.

En conclusión, Imitation fue un drama que, a pesar de haberle encontrado tantos puntos negativos, me gustó. Lo disfruté cada semana, y siento que los puntos a favor que mencioné, de cierta forma compensan algunas cosas que no me gustaron (pero no todas).
Sí recomiendo este drama, porque a pesar de todo enseña una realidad sobre la industria del entretenimiento coreana que creo que todos deberían conocer. Sobre todo lo recomiendo a fanáticos del kpop, siendo una creo que lo disfruté y me impactó aún más.

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Este drama se volvió en uno de mis favoritos principalmente por el tema que trata.

La historia me parece muy cómica, si disfruté verla pero lo que más me gustó el sobre lo que puede ser la realidad de una persona que está dentro de la industria principalmente del kpop. Tener tales restricciones me parece atroz y que básicamente eres un objeto que si ya no sirve es fácil deshacerse.

Si la recomiendo ver, las canciones son lo que más me gustó, y ciertos capítulos como cuando Tea Party se suben oficialmente a cantar, las escenas de celos, la escena de la playa, cuando van a un concurso de canto y el capítulo final. Y otra cosa que realmente me pareció genial es en la parte del marketing real, si buscan Tea Party en youtube te va a salir su presentación de Music Bank, o su entrevista para Music Bank, o si buscas el dance practice de Show Me te va salir; así como busques a Sparkling te va a salir la canción de Diamond; otra cosa es que si busca la música por ejemplo en Spotify la tienes que buscar por lo nombre del drama como SHAX o LA LIMA y una de las canciones la tienes que buscar con el nombre de Maha y así.

PD. Recuerden, todos somos espectadores y no sabemos la realidad de las cosas de nuestros artistas, y este drama muestra un poco lo que realmente puede ser el lado oscuro del kpop.

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Me ha sorprendido gratamente!!!

Actualizado al final: Estoy por el capítulo 7 y no puedo parar! Qué drama juvenil tan bueno!!! Las actuaciones son de calidad, la trama te engancha y la química de los protagonistas es muy bonita!!! Es muy interesante como el drama retrata el mundo del kpop desde dentro de manera bastante realista. Pues aunque el tono de la serie es de comedia romántica no deja de denunciar ciertas aspectos oscuros que existen detrás de la apariencia idílica de la vida de los idols: La presión a la que están sometidos, los comportamientos de algunos fandoms, las exigencias de los productores, su limitada vida privada, etc. La recomiendo muchísimo!
FINAL: Me reitero en las impresiones que tuve de los primeros capítulos, Imitation es una serie juvenil muy buena con interpretaciones de actores bastante noveles que dan la talla, momentos dramáticos muy bien hechos y una trama que te engancha. El final perfecto!!! Además es corta, perfecta para ver cuando uno ha acabado otros dramas más heavys o oscuros. Te deja bien calentito el corazón.

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Steady story with a simple plot; not bad.

To be very honest, I assumed Imitation would be a musical Kdrama just because I saw that the major cast are all singers, but to my utter disappointment it turned out to be a drama on the life of kpop idols which casts real kpop idols. But anyways, judging as a drama, IMITATION is not a bad drama and I actually liked it even though it had nothing much to offer. I mean the plot, story and screenplay are in fact not something very new to the industry of Kdramas.

STORY & PLOT:
As the synopsis says, Imitation is all about the life of Kpop idols, on individual levels as well as a group, the kpop industry, it's management and also the kpop fandom culture. The major plot involves 2 kpop groups: "SHAX", a 6yo boy group of 5 members who are well established and considered the best kpop band AND "Tea Party" a rookie girl group of 3 members who go through back to back mishaps to debut and struggle in the huge ocean-like industry of kpop. They have some past, separately and together and they help each other grow while facing odds from the management, industry happenings, media and their fans. While the 2 lead characters fall in love and go forward in their relationship secretly, they also find unsaid truth about their pasts and with the help of their fellow teammates, try to resolve it through music.

CAST & ACTING:
Well, I am not sure about others but I honestly did not expect much in regards of acting since the people casted for the major characters are either rookie actors or are with less experience in the industry. So judging from that pov, they've actually done an moderately average job playing their respective roles. SF9 Chani despite playing small roles in many dramas has actually improved a lot and I loved him the most in the drama. After him was Park Ji Yeon noona (T-ara) who is somewhat experienced
also did good in her supporting role. I have seen Jung Ji So in some other dramas and I actually like her acting. Lee Jun Young (U-kiss) and Jung Yun Ho (Ateez) as main characters were good if not more.

I think Danny Ahn (Ji Hak) is the most experienced actor in this drama but he had very less scope to perform. I was a simp for this drama because. Additional character actors like Choi Jong Ho (Ateez), Im Na Yong (IOI), Hwi Young (SF9), Kim Min Seo, Ahn Jung Hun, Park Seong Hwa (Ateez), Lee Soo Woong (Boys Republic), Choi San (Ateez), Park Yu Ri, had very less role to play and they were not actually bad but I won't judge their acting, haha.

I night actually look funny while mentioning all these names but I am a kpop hardcore multifan as well and this drama is like an eye candy for me, particularly because of my love for ATEEZ (cries under the blanket).

DIRECTION:
Not sure whether I can tell much about it but I think it was moderately average because there was no scope in the story to begin with. It's not bad but as a Kdrama fan I can't say it's something very good as well. It could have been unique if it were a musical Kdrama and they had that chance because of this huge kpop idol starcast but I think they somehow failed to utilize the resources well. But for the screenplay editing, I'd say it's okay-okay and not flawed. One episode in between (don't remember which one now) felt a bit off, like slow development but manageable.

OST and Edits:
Ummm, yeah! OSTs are good; some are catchy, some are heart touching and some are melodious but again, not something I can call very great. I am happy with the SHAX tracks though and I have grown fond of "If We Were". The bg score and OST edits in the drama are good and have been done properly. Screenplay edits and organization are okay too.

CONCLUSION:
I actually don't know what else to say because it didn't have much content either. It is a 12 episode drama with almost nothing new or unique to offer but It was at least a good watch. I won't come to rewatch it ever but it's definitely worth a one time watch. I started because of the kpop idol full starcast and thinking it would be a fun musical which it actually wasn't hence the disappointment but go ahead and watch it if you're into Ateez or a hardcore multi. At least this ended well and didn't feel rushed.

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Starts boring, then interesting then boring again??

The first time I watched Episode One, I was bored. Not really bored but just bored, but since EP2 was coming out in two days I said "let's give this drama a chance." And it was amazing! For the first part...

The story is suppose to be a life as a idol, or at least that's what I think. Does this drama portrayed that? I'm not an idol so how would I know? But I could say the drama handled it pretty okay? I was thinking the show would put limelight into the idol life and how hard and stressful it is. I mean it did that, but only for some scenes. Most of this turned into a rom-com.
But that's not my main problem. It's just some relationships I don't like and have a problem with.

MA-HA AND RYEOK (Main couple)
I could say they're pretty cute. The only problem I have with them (well really Ryeok) is how Ryeok breaks up with her (Ma-ha) EP9 because he's worried about Shax's. Then literally the NEXT. The NEXT episode, they get back together? I get they're 12 episodes but come on, what the hell was the point of the break up then? For tension? If so, their was barely any. I get the breakup's are suppose to be like a "Oh my gosh NOOO!" for the viewers moments but if they broke up, at least give them 2 episodes to get back together? The romance with them felt kind of force? I did admit they're pretty cute but the first few episodes I couldn't really say 'aww" to a lot of their moments up until EP4 or EP5.

RI AH AND LEE HYUN
I personally can't say much about them, they barely get any screen time soo... They would look cute together though. Don't really love them but don't hate them either.

HYUN JI AND YOO JUN
Oh my gosh does this couple suck. No offense to any of you guys who like this couple nor any disrespect to the actors but I see no chemistry at all. It's obvious Hyun Ji has feelings for Yoo Jun but him? No. It looks like he doesn't even like her romantically. They barely even had interactions together, unless it was just him asking about Ma-ha. I really didn't like these two, by EP9 I was hoping they would get more development as a couple but nope. nope nope nope, did they not.

LA LI MA
I love her so much! Her character AND her actor! At first, you probably think (if you didn't read the webtoon) that Li Ma will be the antagonist/jealous SFL (second female lead) of the show. But it's really not like that!

FLAWS
Only flaw I can find (other than some of the actors acting) is the relationship between Hyun Ji and Yoo Jun. And some more duration time into the episode would've been great for character/relationship development. I mean that's a lot of problems with 12 episode shows, character development.

SHAX'S FANS
Oh my gosh do I hate the main three fan girls. So annoying! But they also do show something, They show a lot of real fans out their of real idols. Some fans actually do stalk their favorite idol and get way to much into their personal lives. As much as I hated the Shax fans, I'm glad they got showed.

EUNJO AND ANNIE
Honestly, yes they have a sad story but their plot reminds me of At a distance, Spring is Green with Yeo Jun's family problems barely being apart of the plot even though there's a lot of flashbacks. The same thing with Eunjo and Annie, their plot is barely brought up and resolved easily by 2 episodes.

Honestly when it starts getting boring is around EP10. Even though their was some REALLY GOOD ost in that episode!

The acting was good! I willingly just watched this because it was an upcoming drama, knowing none of the actors! Some scenes had some average acting, some bad and some good.

The Music. OH. MY. IS IT GOOD! I love ALLL of the ST (sound tracks) played in this show! This is mostly why I'm giving it what I gave it. I’m mostly biased here since I'm a huge k-pop fan.

Am I rewatching? Yes but not all episodes. As I did state I didn't like a lot of the relationships here. I'll rewatch episodes like EP4, EP7 and more.

SUMMARY
In total, the show is about a rising girl group, a popular boy group, and an average boy group all trying to make it bigger and bigger into the industry while obviously having a bit of drama and relationships on the side. I recommend to stay for the music if you hate the relationships as some relationships suck/have no development or are just average and have cute moments.

Anyway. Consider yourself lucky if you didn't watch this while it was airing, the torture of waiting every Friday for 1 episode. ONE.

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Idols With A Twist…

With a predominantly idol actor cast ( aside from actual actress Jung Ji So) and respectfully a lot of hyped fans of these idols watching the drama, it does objectively brand the question for a lot of drama-watchers ( especially those who aren’t interested or a part of idol fanbases), whether ‘ Imitation’ is actually worth watching as a storyline , or is a waste of time.

There is a balance of good things and more critical points when it comes to ‘ Imitation’. On a strong note ‘ Imitation’ has a prominent message about problems with the idol industry and does not shy away from tackling themes such as corruption, the media, toxicity present in idol fanbases , mental health and hardships . What resonated even further was undeniably having a predominantly idol-cast playing in those roles. However, the show often did fall short with how consistent it was trying to be with conveying these messages through writing and character writing also.

Let’s start with the main female lead Ma-Ha. Ji-So is a good actress, however, although initial introduction wasn’t terrible, it didn’t quite embody her role either. It had nothing to do with Ji-So not being an idol. After all she takes on roles in order to adapt herself to becoming someone else onscreen whilst the cameras are rolling. That’s her job. Instead, its rather the fact that Ma-Ha was always a character who you should’ve felt sorry for with her hardships, but often it was easy to grow detached from the FL with Ji-So’s lacking vitality invested with her given - performance. This isn’t entirely the actress’ fault, as this was also sparked by screenwriting problems also .

As viewers there’s a lot we are supposed to like about Ma-Ha. She’s not only the female lead of the drama, but the “ underdog” archetype who takes a central position as a member of her girl group and desperately yearns for the group to become famous. These goals were easily likeable traits, but then when we actually exposed to her reasons for “ becoming an idol” as well as her “ will they, won’t they?” lacklustre onscreen chemistry with popular Shax boyband member Ryeok ( Jun from U-KISS), her character simply became uninteresting for the most part. This is because rather than depending Ma-Ha’s own sense of purpose outside of the group in early episodes , the female lead’s entire being was pretty much defined by romantic tropes, than actual character development.

Oh boy, this leads us onto the romance elements and setups of the show. Tackling this topic in a drama about idols evidently isn’t a crime. After all, a lot of idols have love lives and date in secret but the problem with “ Imitation”’s depiction of the turbulent love lives of idols was that it lacked a lot of depth. There were multiple opportunities for us as viewers to perk up and take note of what really happens in the lives of idols, when the spotlight and cameras aren’t rolling. However, instead “ Imitation” was focused nearly entirely upon bringing in pairings which were fairly dull.

This is even case and point with our main pairing between Ma-Ha and Ryeok. Jun is a really good actor alongside Ji-So but the tropes and cliches soon diminished a lot of onscreen chemistry between them. This was because similar to Ma-Ha, Ryeok’s original character was fairly interesting. He had clear goals and motives, as well as presenting an evident contrast to Ma-Ha due to being successful and suffering under a lot of emotional burdens. Yet rather than connecting these characters under their similarities and learning to symbiotically “ lean” upon one another gradually from their “ hate to love” relationship , the drama attempted to present too many cliche “ differences” between them, which often fell short due to questioning why on earth these characters should have been together if this was all their relationship equated to.

Similarly one of the most poorly-written couples in this drama was Hyun Ji ( Lim Nayoung )and Yoo Jun ( Hwiyoung). Hyun Ji was by herself an interesting character alongside fellow member of Teaparty Ri-A ( Minseo). However, her pairing with Yoo Jun? It was incredibly enforced to say the least. Hyun Ji’s feelings for Yoo Jun were fairly unrequited as Yoo Jun, rarely reciprocated them romantically. Their screen time interactions were minimal and when they were together, the topic was usually just about Ma-Ha. If the show had developed this couple more, or had just disregarded entirely and explored Hyun Ji’s relationship with her fellow members then it would have been a lot more coherent than the pairing we were presented with onscreen .

Aside from the romantic factor, the biggest flaw in this show was undeniably disregarding the seemingly “major” established storyline around Eunjo and Annie. Now this was an interesting part of the show, however, it was nonsensical and seriously bad writing to disregard these characters, bring them up for a few seconds when it was called for and then anticlimactically solve the case, without rhyme or reason .

Perhaps the one character who you surprisingly grow to love as a viewer is solo singer La Li Ma( Jiyeon from T-ara). Ji Yeon really gave a dynamic performance as the soloist, and her character takes some surprising turns away from the stereotypical “ catty second female lead” trope that she was presented within in the first few episodes. It was oddly refreshing and enjoyable to see this character grow.


So, is “ Imitation” worth watching? The drama presents some fairly hard-hitting issues about the idol industry, but sometimes struggled to convey these meanings due to the heavy investment of romance as well as disregarding major plot lines and character development also. The acting is a mixed-bag. There are times where the acting front is really good, and other scenes where it is questionable . The OST is okay also -a little generic, but certainly nothing wrong with it either. Overall, certainly not a bad show but dependent on what you’re looking for. If you’re watching for the idol cast and themes about music, idol and cutesy couple moments, then you’ll absolutely love this one. If you’re not a major fan of them and where enticed by the darker storyline topics, then you may be a little disappointed.

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Interesting Premise that Ends Up Falling Short

When I first heard about this drama and the influx of supporting idol actors, I was very skeptical.
The beginning was extremely painful and it only got interesting around episode 4/5.
I think the storyline could have discussed Eunjo and Annie's circumstances for longer, especially focusing on the mystery of Eunjo's disappearance.
Maha and Ryok's romance was lackluster, they had chemistry but the writer's skills were lacking a bit. I was far more interested in the friendships of the different idol groups than the romantic relationships. Certain things were not making sense, but it seemed that the writers' purpose was tie everything into a pretty bow which ending up leaving a lot of plot holes.
The music production was terrible for almost all the groups except for Tea Party which was disappointing but I'm assuming that budget was smaller than they had anticipated.
Overall, it was better than I thought, but the ending was lackluster and I probably would've rather binged the show that spending 12 weeks watching each episode.

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Don't waste your time

The two leads created the most depressing characters I have ever seen. I don't think either of them smiled until the end of the last episode. I was smiling then, too, because I didn't have to watch any more of this. I hadn't realized it was only 12 episodes, so I'd decided to drop it. The music was unremarkable, although the finale song was nice.
I suppose the point of this is to shed some light on the abuse of trainees, especially sexual favors demanded. It's a retelling of the tragedy of Sunny, Jang Ja-yeon. If you are new to K-drama, look her up on Wikipedia. As such, this show brought no new insight, and it's a retelling of something that happened 12 years ago. It offers no solutions or productive actions. Between the borrowed (stolen) plot, dismal performances and so-so music, this isn't worth your time. It certainly wasn't worth mine, and if there had been much else to watch while this was running, I wouldn't have bothered.

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Failed to become what it really could have been

The reason the drama failed for me is, because the main plot of the drama was Eun Jo's side of the story but the majority of drama was focused on the rom com genre(romance between Ma Ha & Ryok). So when I watched the whole drama I just couldn't have idea of what this drama is actually about. The main leads romance is not that much interesting whereas Eun Jo and Annie's side of story is not really focused much to feel connected with it.If they wanted to show struggle of what Eun Jo and Annie had gone through, by making main couple go through similar experience, I think they failed to do so. It could have been better if the main couple had taken more time to breakup their relationship and also taken more time to reconcile ( through series of realization of what Eun Jo and Annie must have gone through.) Their reconcilation after break up could have been used as an act of rebellion against the industry's system and practice and against injustice towards Eun Jo and Annie. The problem is that the problem gets solved too easily leaving no space for an interesting plot twist. Overall I just couldn't connect with the story.

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