In a society that favors good looks, a high school outcast leads a double life switching between his
two bodies that are polar opposites in appearance.
(Source: Netflix)
➤ story ➤ characters ➤ art ➤ music - op/ed ➤ extra ➤ my rating please keep in mind that **the final rating might be solely based on my personal enjoyment!!** the review itself is just me discussing all the factors mentioned above. **important:** all the spoilers are tagged, and a warning is written before those. if there's no warning, then inside the spoiler tag are just some screenshots. long story short, you can read this review even without watching the show. ╰┈➤ **story** well, the premise is not anything special; an ugly dude becomes handsome. i like the system of how it works tho, because it's not like his previous body just dissapears- spoiler ahead ~!if he falls asleep in his body no.1, he wakes up in his second body!~ at first it sounds like a wattpad story kind of thing, but it's not bad, really. some episodes end with cliffhangers and it's very binge-friendly (i watched the whole thing in a single day), but... undeniably, the story is really frustrating at times (especially in the 1st half of the show), for example dumb misunderstandings such as the one in ep4 spoiler ahead ~!where that bosco dude thought that he was using his no.1 body as an errand boy so he decided to start a fight with the protag?? !~ the plot of that episode was annoying in general, and it's not the only episode that was annoying in that way or another tbh- but somehow, it's still an interesting watch, in a way that i wouldn't be able to drop it... i was just curious what will happen next, and there were some episodes and moments that were really good, especially ep6 (that was one hell of a good episode, really moving). but, the story is undeniably not perfect, and the biggest flaw is obvious, at least for me: the fights. there was not a single episode when they weren't fighting. ik that they wanted to show how people get physically bullied just because they’re “ugly” but those fights were just boring to watch after some time-- maybe it's a culture difference (although i don't think that's the reason), but when kids in high school fight no one actually stops them?? and the other kids just start to record the fight?? really?? is there not a single decent human being out there?? and where tf are the teachers during breaks?? there was like only one time when a teacher actually stopped the fight... this isn't tokyo revengers for the love of god. with such a premise you don't need dumb, boring fights in every single episode. i'm not even going to mention that one of the fights was in a middle of a STREET and legit ADULTS just started recording it instead of trying to help the kid that was getting beaten up. like bro?? wtf-- spoiler ahead ~! and the protag in his 2nd body is OP anyway, so it's not even interesting to watch bc he will most likely win...!~ i get that the show wanted to like-- show how different life is depending on how you look-- and how people approach and treat you but-- some of the fights were really pointless, and they weren’t even intresting. well, maybe they would bE IF THEY DIDN'T FIGHT EVERY SINGLE EPISODE?? i'm sorry, but that's just so irritating. ╰┈➤ **characters** the cast is, well... sometimes great, sometimes not that great. in the first half of the show almost all of the characters were annoying and just shit. later on it turned out that Basco is a big dum dum, Jae-Yeol Hong is adorable, Soo-Jung Choi is kinda cute, the protag's mom was sweet from the beginning, and the protag's friendship with those 2 guys in the 2nd half of the show was cute too. ~! I literally love them sm what Img500(https://i.ibb.co/gSbYWC5/1-A3-EE41-F-FBF4-4671-9722-ACF63935-BF93.png) Img500(https://i.ibb.co/5GHbNtC/2607-D39-B-071-C-4100-A553-33-BEFDDA1-C9-E.png) oh and the bois hehe :> img500(https://i.ibb.co/BGDJtS1/3-D4-CE96-B-8-A45-4-AB0-82-EC-F600-F2088299.png) !~ but the 1st half of the show... welp, the flirty girl was unbearable, i really had enough of her. when it comes to other characters-- the worst thing about all the other guys is that most of them are really mean for no reason?? and it's not like only the secondary characters are shit!! even the background characters are assholes-- going back to what i said before,, >maybe it's a culture difference, but when kids in high school fight no one actually stops them?? and the other kids just start to record the fight?? really?? is there not a single decent human being out there?? ~! img500(https://i.ibb.co/D4jv42R/EE03-B2-A9-3-AE1-49-DD-915-C-87-D2-FCAFC1-F7.png) img500(https://i.ibb.co/0MSHyyw/D23-BE9-A3-EE68-4323-9-CBA-A3-D6-AC0626-BD.png) !~ yeah, i don't think i have to say anything more... now, about the main character. he's okay, really. but sometimes- sometimes he makes choices that just make me want to throw my phone to the other side of the room. but that's alr, we're all human, we all make mistakes, and i guess i could understand at least some of his bad choices. none the less, he had some cute/cool moments, such as spoiler ahead ~! the part where he realised he could "see" the punches due to being bullied a lot in the past, that was swaggy ngl !~ so he's not a bad protagonist i think, i've seen worse. ╰┈➤ **art** not much to say here. it's not bad, but i'm not a huge fan of the artstyle either. animation is okay too. ╰┈➤ **music** music is... existent. it's just the kind of opening/ending you would always skip, so nothing to say here. ╰┈➤ **extra** want to watch something with cool fights?? just go watch [tokyo revengers](https://anilist.co/anime/120120/Tokyo-Revengers/). it's not similar but somehow it's in the "recommended" section for lookism?? either way, it's a cool show, so go watch it if you haven't yet. also, don't get me wrong, i don't think lookism is a bad show - watch it if you want, but don't expect it to be a 10/10 masterpiece. as long as you're not very picky with anime you can give it a try, it's only 8 episodes long so why not? and it gets really good after ep5,,, ╰┈➤ **my rating** a flawed show that is trying to make us acknowledge an issue that is very simple yet so important and somehow suceeds, but sometimes exxagerates things a bit and tries too hard - a 7/10 for me.
# ~~~Why Lookism is really good :~~~
Lookism is anime from South Korea, first on my list. And it did not leave a good impression. This show took a well known trope "in the world where looks rule, the ugly MC has it hard. but then..." and absolutely butchered it. I do not know what the main goal of the author was with this work, but it definitely wasn't accepting yourself the way you are. Main character Hyung-Suk Park is fat, short, and wears glasses. That is the recipe for an ugly person in this show. Having even one puts you automatically on the bottom of a social pyramid. By his classmates, he is treated like a slave almost, and he gets beaten up for almost everything. (Even breathing wrong sometimes.) So he convinces his mother to transfer schools. In a new city though, he wakes up in a body for a tall, slim boy with no glasses. That makes him climb up and become the best person in the whole world. His appearance shakes up not only his class, but the whole school. Suddenly, everyone knows and loves him. (Without Hyung-Suk Park saying a single word.) We do not know who the body belongs, if it's the reflection of his inner self or he stole someone else. It might have miraculously spawn to help MC live a better life, for all we know. And so, from being bullied and unhappy, he becomes a whole different person. The story goes as follows: Hyung-Suk Park has two bodies. He uses the ugly one to work a part time job and earn his living, and the pretty one to go to school, make friends and tackle various issues. As an ugly body, he still gets beaten up and not taken seriously - but as a pretty one, he fights for good cause and talks to "unpopular kids" (you guessed it - fat, short, glasses wearing students). Even though other attractive people talk behind his back about how weird he is or try to make it seem like he is using them as his minions - Hyung-Suk Park doesn't listen and insist he wants to be their friend. Why? Well, because he is just like them. The anime looks great visually. The animation is great, and the art style really is beautiful. The character design especially is pleasing. The opening and ending songs are really good, and the opening animation is funky in the best way. In the matter of quality, I cannot say one bad word. It's done tastefully. Story wise, it's just not... it's nothing. There is no message that you would expect. He literally just lives two lives. Sometimes something happens - like pretty Hyung-Suk Park talking to his mom as a friend of the ugly Hyung-Suk Park. Telling her he has friends and finding out stuff about his mom he didn't know (like working more jobs to keep her son alive), and gains more respect for her. Then there is a lot of fighting. Some don't even make sense. Well, not to me. In Bucchigiri or WIND BREAKER they fought less than here. And for what? Just because they are bullies, or fighters for someone's rights? It makes no sense to me. Mainly because we don't get a single "beating up someone is bad". We just see it happen and then they move on. I guess a story that is touching something so sensitive (that being looks and being ostracized in class or society because of them) needs some message or work. It doesn't work for me to just see it. It's not even a warning of "this is happening in the world". They are just using it as a part of their story. I dunno. It missed a mark for me. 4/10