Drama Review: K-pop Extreme Survival

Hello everyone! Okay, so remember my post about the new dramas I was watching? This drama is one of them and it has come to an end last week, sadly. 

Title: K-pop Extreme Survival / K-pop Ultimate Audition

Genre: Musical, comedy, cross-dressing

Episodes: Supposedly, this was meant to be 16 episodes but I don't know what happened that it ended at 14. That is the reason why I just did the review now and not last week coz I am  hoping that it will still have  16 episodes. 

Broadcast Network: Channel A

Broadcast Period: March 19 - May 1, 2012

Air Time: Monday - Tuesday @ 8pm

Synopsis: This is a story about Ji Seung Yeon (Go Eun Ah), a great pianist who wanted to do hip hop music. She is a tomboy and was able to join an audition to become a K-pop star. The catch? She needs to stay as a boy in order to stay in the audition because the winner of the event will be part of a famous all-male idol group, M2.

Kang Woo Hyun (Park Yoo Hwan) is the charismatic leader of M2. He hides his bad attitude and selfish personality from fans through his killer smiles and gestures. He is conflicted whether to stay in M2 or go solo because he doesn't like to be part of a group.

Kwon Ji Woo (Kwak Yong Hwan) is the best friend of Ji Seung Yeon. They grew up together and are very close. He is very shy and have a strong stage fright even though he is a very talented singer. He always depended on Ji Seung Yeon ever since they were children and that is one of the reason why Seung Yeon needed to stay in the competition until the end...to give strength to her best friend so he can reach his dream of becoming a singer.

And the other important roles in this drama are the M2 Junior members. This consist of 8 members including Ji Seung Yeon and Kwon Ji Woo.They are the contestants fighting for the spot in the M2 idol group.

You can check the complete info about this drama in D-Addicts. Just click here.

If you want to check this out and watch it with English subtitle, just click here. That is the site where I watch my Korean and Taiwanese dramas. I so love Kimchidramas,net hehe ^_^

If you want to check my initial impression on this drama, feel free to click on this link ^_^

Now, moving on to my actual review. 

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DRAMA:

- It has a very light story line and has very few drama scenes. So it makes me feel good after watching an episode and I keep looking forward to the next one.

- It is comedy so there's a lot of  laughter and fun scenes. Even the "romantic" scenes between the two main characters is fun to watch.

- I think the casting team really did a great job in choosing these actors for the role. Everyone is great and they really portrayed their role very well.

- I love the soundtrack! My favorite is the one called "Stand Up". It is sang by the M2 Juniors and it has a great meaning and the melody is catchy. Check it out below. I chose a video that is English subbed so you can see the lyrics too ^_^

- The other supporting characters are great too. I can't believe that they were able to find great actors to be part of this drama. Even the idols like Kevin (ZE:A), Tagoon & Maeng Se Chang (BoM), and Kim Eun Jung (Jewelry) did great.

- The cast are either idols themselves or siblings of an idol so it is a great combination in my opinion because they are talented in the first place and they have personal experience of being/ or being related to a Kpop idol. They can really show the feelings and hardships of becoming an idol in the Kpop world. Very authentic information.

- There is character development with everyone. It is not just focused on the main characters. They allotted one episode per member of the M2 Junior, the administration and of course Woo Hyun and In Young.And after the series, as a viewer, I was able to get to know them all a lot better.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

- The ending is so bad! Since this is meant to be a 16 episode drama, I think they squeezed 3 episodes into 1. Episode 14 is so all over the place and it really feels rushed. I was unable to see any closure in the different conflicts that happened in episodes 12-13. 

There is no closure in:

1. How did the fans reacted when they knew Ji Seung Yeon is a girl?

2. Did the CEO and Team Leader Han ended up together?

3. What happened to M2 Junior members? Did they debuted?

4. What happened to Ji Seung Yeon's career?

5. What happened to Sunny Entertainment after the scandal?

There are a lot of unanswered questions because the ending, Episode 14, is  so rushed. I really don't get it why they needed to cut 2 episodes when it is already ending. If they really needed to cut 2 episodes off, they should have started compressing the story starting Episode 11 so that they can still finish with a complete story.

Aside from the ending, I love this series. I think acting wise, this is better than You're Beautiful. Although the two dramas are quite different, I just loved the fact that everyone here can act. Soundtrack wise, I like You're Beautiful better coz there's a lot more songs that I loved. So if you like YAB, check this out too coz you'll probably like this too ^_^

- I can't find  good English subbed videos. I think each episode was subbed only 83-90% unlike other Viki subbed videos that every part and dialogue has subtitle.

OVER-ALL RATING: 4/5 - If only the ending is right, I would have given this a higher rating. I really enjoyed watching this drama until Episode 13. Very fun and light and is really a feel-good drama. The characters have chemistry together and is really believable that they are a couple.

If you wanted something that is not full of crying and tragic problems, then I suggest you try checking this out.

Till my next post. Thank you for dropping by. Bye! ^_^