Imitation (2021)

This is an alright show so far, worth a try.

This being based on a webcomic I view as my guilty pleasure & a nice, fuzzy reread, the kdrama is a bit iffy.

I think story wise it's pretty smooth! They changed details, added new, removed some, and it works well. Also, I'm a fan of stories about k-pop industry with its drama, concept, and music so it's no surprise I'm watching it. In this case, it wasn't bad; it was enough for me to continue watching, just not enough for me to be obsessed on any degree. It has its lighthearted, funny moments as well as some nice acting and singing scenes. Several of the side characters are likable or at least interesting.

On the other hand, I don't really like the leads (or a decent amount of the cast... La Lima/Ri-ma is my favorite character personality and acting wise; she's so good!). Anyways, maybe it's their acting, their appearance, their lack of depth, but a mix of all those aspects has caused me to like them a lot less. I'm all for "the cool guy falls in love with someone and is so endearing" but so far (and considering how this season is almost over I believe), the chemistry is weak and their moments are kept to a minimum (I wish we could've seen more of Maha falling in love with Ryoc).

I would say to give the show a shot but if you drop it halfway, that's totally understandable.

P. S. The drawing of Ryoc on that little notepad in one of the episodes was so cute -w-

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Como pode um dorama ser desse jeito?

Sinceramente, uns dos piores dramas do ano. As atuações nem chegam a ser medianas e tudo é muito morno. Nada de novo acontece e é desconfortável ter que assistir atores mal preparados para um roteiro fraco desse jeito. Sinto que hyparam demais o drama para ser o que ele é hoje.
Dizem que não estão gostando porquê estão demonstrando as coisas podres do K-pop, mas todo mundo sabe como a indústria é, e o drama não mostra nem metade das coisas que realmente acontecem.
A história é tudo que estamos cansados de ver, não acrescente literalmente nada. E além disso, parece que todos os episódios estão ficando iguais.

Enfim, péssimo demais. Espero muito, de coração, que melhore e essa review fique invalidada, porque esperei demais por esse dorama!

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Minor faults that can be overlooked for the intruiging story

Writing a review for this drama is really hard. After watching 4 Episodes there were definitely a few moments when I felt like "Oh they should have changed that, that costume looks weird etc.". The thing I most dislike is the female leads hairstyle which doesn't suit her at all... (Still hoping it will change in the upcoming episodes!)
But what can I say: All in all, I just like this drama!
I am no kpop fan, so it's not because of some idol I want to support.
I just think the story is intruiging and keeping the viewers on their toes.
"Why?" you might ask "isn't this just a cliché romance plot?" - Yes, some parts of it are but it is much more!
For example, some people - including me - complain that there's only one episode per week... but then after watching one episode I feel like I have watched more than one because there is so much going on: The past and the present - everything isn't as clear as it seems - who did what when and why? I find myself rewatching scenes to look for clues as to some characters true intentions...
So even if you are no kpop fan: This drama definitely deserves your consideration! Just ignore the weird hairstyle and focus on the story and hopefully you will like it as much as I do!

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keep up the good work

The first episodes are a bit slow but they don’t deserve 8.2 as a rating. I find it very interesting. I’ll keep whatching, I’m curious to see where it’s going. The FL is adorable and I’m rooting for TeaParty. I’m giving it a 10 to raise the rating. I’ll rate it again at the end. The fifth episode is really cute.
The acting skills of the various idols are so-so, but I'm liking the leads and overall it's all the actors are so good looking that you forgive them anything. The story so far is holding up and I find it very interesting to find out the behind the scenes of a world I don't know at all.

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A Glimpse of What Idol Stars May Go Through

When I saw the title "Imitation", I didn't have much thought about the meaning of it until I watched this drama. I'm not sure on the reasoning they chose this title but for me, it meant to imitate the livelihood of what an idol star or group might go through.

This drama had everything I can see as realistic. You have the most popular and well known group, groups that are trying to get their name out after so many tryout attempts and difficulties for the members to be in a group, the good fans, the so called "fans" who are stalkers and have no life, group members who are looking for love but are hesitant or private about it due to public image, psycho stalkers, and/or the public agency, the brotherly and sisterly bond of the groups, and of course the saddest part of the drama, suicide of an idol due to hardship in life that they couldn't take anymore.

The story itself is good overall but the pacing can be quite slow. There were some episodes that I felt like nothing important happened and then others are like, now we're getting somewhere. Also at times, I felt like the explanation to certain events in this drama weren't clear enough to understand, so viewers have to make an assumption instead. The final episode wrapped up okay. Happy ending but I felt like there were some lack of details for specific scenes. Worst of all, greedy bad guy got away with it and didn't get punished. This is frustrating. I hate when dramas take this route.

Romance wise, our leads got together for 1 ep, broke up the next episode, then get together again in the next episode like the second half. Although I have to say, it did felt lacking for our main leads. I just couldn't feel the chemistry. Even until the very end, they weren't holding hands or hugging. Eh. I say the secondary couple had more chemistry and cute moments than our lead couples. Shoo, even our last minute third couple had a bit more chemistry than our lead couple. Kinda disappointing.

Music wise, well it is an idol drama, featuring great singers. Of course the music is going to be great (5 stars easily).

Last words about this drama:
I really hope this opens the eyes to the viewers, fans of idol singers/groups, and even to the entertainment agencies. Remember, they're not money making machines. They are human beings just like you and me. They're doing what they love and enjoy as their job. As a job, they too have a life outside of music/acting too. They have a right to find love, relax after their hard work, so they won't burnout, enjoy life, and most importantly, they need to be surrounded by those who are close to them and support them. Let's build them up not bring them down. It's going to be a difficult but I can only hope there will be more Entertainment Agencies in the future who will run it like CEO Ji Hak, caring more about the person/group and not on money.

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Come closer to their stage but stay further from their life

This drama was good. At first I thought it was really cliche and I wasnt much into it. However when they started to talk about the relations between trainees their resentment towards each other, their dreams and how far some could go to carry that dream I got interested. Its not just a romance between the main leads... maybe at first it is but I felt like it was simply a trigger. Like the key to the pandora box.
I really like the character development:
- La Rima is surely one of the sweetest character in there, she's supportive smart and strong.
- It feels like Tea Party is the link between all groups involved however you realise that they already had so.e connections out of Tea Party...
- the last song was so beautiful..
I got so surprised because I may listen to SF9 and Ateez sometimes, but not the others or i may have one of 2 songs of them... i got so impressed by the main leads voices... especially Jeong Jiso. I'd never though this girl could sing and honestly she has for me the best voice out of all girl singers in that drama.
I feel like this drama isnt all about what's wrong behind the kpop industry but more about this is what trainees want to achieve... it's a long and difficult road... they could lose everything with a single "mistake" (like a dating scandal) however their solidarity and strength among the team members and their will to succeed can make them stronger. I hope fans could see the real message behind that drama: the stars they're idolizing are humans with feelings and not just commercial products. They have a life, a dream and they worked hard to achieve it. Like Lu Sicheng said in Falling Into Your Smile: "Come closer to their stage but stay further from their life"

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Good drama but fell short overtime

I was looking forward to this drama since it revolved around music. Although I'm not a kpop idol, but this drama does show a slice-of-life type of feeling about the struggles kpop idols go through when it comes to fame, conflicts between members, and their romantic relationships or friendships. For example, it showed how idols, especially if super famous like SHAX, struggle in having to hide their romantic relationships due to the fear of how it'll affect their group and the person they are with. It showed realistic scenarios of how idol couples usually have their dates at night in either their cars, their house, or even at a hiking area wearing as many layers as possible in order to not be seen by paparazzi. Other than idols, it also presented the struggles of idol trainees who dream of debuting but many obstacles prevent them from doing so and how it affects them. All in all, it's kinda like giving a message to kpop fans about how we should understand kpop idols and to respect their lives. I think these were one of the good pros of this drama.

However, as of storyline goes, it was good at first but after awhile it just fell short. The first few episodes of the drama were quite interesting because of the sudden disappearance of Eunjo, the death of Annie, and the struggle OMEGA (before they became Tea Party) had gone through to debut. They eventually were able to debut after a few eps and it was a bit of a struggle for them to get noticed at first but eventually gained success. But as the drama progresses, I felt like the story started turning in a diff direction as it began to focus more on the romance between Ryoc and Ma Ha than what was originally. Like don't get me wrong, the romance was cute but because of it, I felt the story suddenly went somewhere else for a while than having to balance the romance with other storylines.

The storyline about Eunjo and Annie was completely put to the side until the last minute like literally an episode or two before the end of the drama which was weird. The pieces about Annie's death and Eunjo's disappearance all started to come together last minute which kinda threw me off guard because they could've slowly developed that storyline throughout the drama than just cram everything into 1-2 eps. I did sympathize both Eunjo and Annie bc of what they've gone through.

The romantic storyline between Ryoc and Ma Ha was okay. Their storyline was good at first because I liked how it was in the first few episodes of a few flashbacks of Ma Ha and Ryoc pre-debut and then sunbae/hoobae relationship they had prior to getting together. A lot of cute/funny moments between the two as the story progresses. But it did throw me off how the directors made Ryoc break up with Ma Ha bc of not wanting to damage SHAX and then like 1 ep later they get back together. I guess they wanted to put some kind of "conflict" between the couple to put some intense moments in the drama. But it's completely pointless if they're just gonna get back together that quick. Also, the love triangle between Ryoc/Ma Ha/Yoo Jin wasn't really interesting either since most of the time Yoo Jin and Ryoc were just being passive-aggressive to each other and Yoo Jin gave up shortly after and then went for Hyun Ji. And maybe it's just me but I personally didn't like Ma Ha as much as a character. She just didn't seem to stand out for me as other characters like Ri Ah. Speaking of Ri Ah, I was really hoping for a romantic storyline between her and Lee Hyun (Hwiyoung) but it never went further than that despite the small signs that show of interest.

The last episode with their tribute performance was very moving for me because the lyrics really were heartfelt. And when Eunjo showed up I was like what?! But I knew for a fact that just because he showed up, it doesn't mean he's officially back in the group... I'm not sure if it's just me but I felt like there were still questions unanswered despite the ending of the drama. The ending just didn't sit right for me because of how sudden everything was and it still felt like Annie didn't get justice for the people that did dirty. And where did SHAX go after they left NOGO? I'm assuming they went to Tea Party's agency seeing how they were there at the end? Not sure.

ALso, I was expecting that they'd make Li Ma an antagonist in this drama based on how she personified herself in the beginning. However, she turned out to be a good character which isn't bad! But I felt the drama would've had some sort of stressful kick or intensity to the drama if they had an idol antagonist where she'd go to great extents to bring a person down or whatever else just like Hye Yi from the other music drama You're Beautiful.

Lastly, I do LOVE the music. If they had an OST album for this drama, I probably would buy it!

All in all, it's a good drama but not the best either due to some flaws. I don't think I'd rewatch the drama again but only come back to watch clips or listen to the music. I'd still recommend the drama though if u like music and romance!

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Something Kpop fans should watch, especially die-hard ones

This is the second Kpop-themed Kdrama I watched so far - the 1st being Dream High ofc! This cannot be compared to Dream High tho, as this one kinda realistically touched the Kpop idols' off-stage lives and the dark side of the Kpop industry. I'm already aware of most of the issues discussed here, but seeing them in a drama setting... I don't know; I felt really bad for Kpop idols. Living the Kpop star dream is like climbing mountains - it requires hardwork and sacrifice to climb up, but if you aren't careful enough, it's easy for you to tumble down. So, as stated on my headline, this drama could serve as an eye-opener to fans. Fans should be aware of their limitations and give idols a breather from the pressures they're going through.

Okay, enough with that..

The casts did a fine job with their acting tbh. I'm saying this 'coz I've already seen a lot of idol-actors who did way worse. I don't know most of them, but after seeing this drama, I began searching for Ateez and Nayoung haha! Jung Ji So really surprised me because I have no idea she can sing and dance! There are times when it's evident that she isn't an idol tho 'coz her moves isn't as flawless as them. Nevertheless, I should make no comparison - idols experienced years of hard training. Moreover, Jung Ji So reminded me of Song Ha Yoon. They look similar, especially their eyes! Given that both of them got paired with Junyoung in a drama, I suddenly decided to finish Please Don't Date Him after putting it off for months haha!

Ryoc and Maha's chemistry is just... Okay. Nothing grand. Actually, I think I felt more excited watching their push-and-pull relationship before they dated than when they're already dating.

La Rima and Ria are the characters that stood out to me the most in this drama. I really like their attitude - strong, sensible, empathetic, on top of being talented, pretty women.

I guess my biggest disappointment about this drama is the ending. It's way different from what I pictured. Btw, I never read the webtoon. I must say that, I lost count how many times I cringed from watching the last episode. I can still remember it till now. Geez.

Overall this is an okay drama. I don't regret watching it 'coz I had fun one way or the other. But then, I don't think I'll rewatch this any time in the future. I'll just keep the emotions I felt as it is.

P. S. Out of all the songs, I only had one fave - Constellation, i.e., that last song they performed. It's actually going straight to my playlist now. :)

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When comic ist better than drama...

Currently I'm reading the manga and I like it more than a live version. My opinion ist that the writers have been more focused on idol's daily routine: difficulties they face each day, struggles, k-pop industry and the love stories between the charachters are very superficially presentend. In manga they are waaay better! I think that they just put some love sweet-flirt-realationship stories just to satisfied us watchers but didn't work on it better. Some charachters were very good portrayed (La Ri-Ma, Yoo Ri-A, Ji-Hak...) and I find it better in drama then in manga or opposite. My favorite charachters in drama were Hyeok and Do-Jin, they were to funny. I laughed to every scene where they were. I like the bromance between those two guys and Ryeok. It was hillarious. xD
Le Ma-ha... Hm... I don't know what to say about that charachter and the actress. She was just ok. Nothing special.
Yi-Hyun and Yoo Ri-A where cool. Although they didn't have much scenes, but they were really good. I liked the chemistry between them. It's sad that they didn't have more scenes togheter.
Ryeok - the actor did a great job. He was hillarious,
The chemistry between ML and FL was too weak.

OST - that is the only part that I can give a ten star. I love the music and performances.

Overall, this Kdrama is very good. It introduce you to the k-pop industry and shows some negative sides of being an idol. The plot is interesting, each episode makes you wanna watch more, but I think that the writers could have done it better according to comic version. Some actors/actress-singers did a great work, but some charachters were not good potrayed (like Sim Hyun-Ji and Lee Yoo-Jin) and I think this Kdrama could have more episodes or maybe second season.

Rewatch value: yeah, but some scenes...

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Everyone Should Watch Imitation

Story - 9/10
A very interesting premise finally being executed correctly! The characters are interesting and suspense has been built up right from the first episode with Eunjo's disappearance. As a kpop fan who's been around for a decent amount of time (since 2016), they've depicted the industry very realistically! From the difficulties of being from a small company to the entitlement some fans think they have, 'Imitation' has covered many important topics within just 3 episodes. The only problem I have is with the male lead but that's more of a personal vendetta because I can't stand the cold, brooding mysterious male leads in k-dramas. I'll give the male lead this though, Ryok seems like he'll have an interesting character arc because of his 'trauma' regarding Eunjo. It's refreshing to see that the male lead for once isn't traumatized by an abusive family but rather the loss of an important friend. Also, I adore Maha, I'm so glad she's not an overly aggressive 'bad bitch' female lead, those were fun the first few times until female leads started looking more and more abusive and unlikeable just like overly aggressive male leads. Maha's not a complete doormat though, she voices her feelings and is upfront about stuff when the situation allows for it. (e.g while she might not like being La Lima's younger sister and forces herself to put up with it for the sake of her own success, when it comes to Ryok's confusing behaviour she outright tells him he's being weird.)

Acting/Cast - 10/10
God bless the cast consisting of actual kpop idols. Picking Yunho of ATEEZ as Yujin was probably the best decision ever, he emits such strong best boy energy just like Yujin. Jeong Jiso as Maha was a great casting decision too, she has a sweet look to her that really fits Maha's vibe. Park Jiyeon as La Lima was another amazing casting decision, it was either her or someone like Sunmi. Park Jiyeon looks like the kind of performer that could carry an entire stage on her own with her strong presence which lines up with La Lima who's a popular soloist. Her sharp expressions match La Lima well too, it's why I wouldn't be able to imagine someone like IU or Chungha playing her.

Music - 10/10
I don't need to say much here, just listen to MALO by SHAX and No Answer by La Lima.

Rewatch Value - X/10
Unfortunately can't tell what the rewatch value would be like for this show yet since only 3 episodes are out! The plot will probably stay consistently good from here on out but all the other factors can really change this up. I think direction effects rewatch value the most because you can't rewatch something that isn't interesting visually, you'd be skipping through 90% of the entire show to just see the key plot moments if camera shots and the directing is boring after all. But for now, I give the first 3 episodes an 8/10 rewatch value as the direction is pretty okay so far. The plot is still carrying.

Overall - 9.2/10
I don't have anything else to say other than it's a really good show. I think all kpop fans should watch it as an eye-opener, especially the delusional fans.

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Great drama so far!

There’s only a few episodes out so far but I have to write an initial review because I don’t want anyone to be discouraged from watching this drama because of the low rating. Some people are mass giving this drama a low rating because several of the actors are participating in a competition show.

That being said, after watching the first episode, I’m already hooked on this drama! The story is very interesting so far and shows the ups and downs that come with being an idol, from the story of the actor-idol who deals with extra schedules and tension from the other members to the failed groups from small companies who work hard to rebrand and never lose sight of their dream. The actors are very well chosen, and so far they’ve all played their parts really well.

I’ll definitely write a full review after I’ve finished watching but I want to encourage everyone to give this drama a chance! It’s very high quality.

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REALLY GOOD!! Needs more attention from people.

This show has so much potential. The reality of how idols live their life is shown here and it would really make the viewers think and get to know that living as an idol isn't really all about just the fun, fame, and glamour but there are tons of other hardships they go through behind the scenes that not everyone can witness. The cast is all great and they all fit their characters so well. It is very interesting to at least get a sneak peek at how idols live their everyday lives through this drama. Yes, there may be some exaggerations and add-ons since of course, this is a drama but we can't ignore the facts and reality mixed in there too. It feels unfortunate that there are not many people giving this attention and it's probably because they only show 1 episode for a week which is a bummer. Not everyone has the time to wait THAT long. Hopefully, this drama goes well in the long run and people would start noticing how good this is too, it really deserves a lot of viewers and attention!

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