Oemojisangjuui

Significantly better than anticipated!
Netflix Anime's have a stigma of having bad animation and adapting source material in a questionable way, but for Lookism and some other recent projects that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

The adaptation has decent animation and isn't overly reliant on CG.

Artstyle-wise it fits the setting of the early chapters of Lookism very well. Characters are easily recognizable, though slightly less ugly as portrayed in the manhwa (which is a plus?). Only problem I could see is how heavy and griddy the later chapters of Lookism get and how they're going to fit certain scenes into this style. Considering that ... I doubt that this artstyle is sustainable in the long run.

The Soundtrack is nothing special but certainly not bad either.

It adapted the source material very well. From memory I believe they adapted everything faithfully except for leaving out the "beauty contest" during the school festival and some not too plot relevant bullying scenes.

The last Episode ends at around chapter 27 of the webtoon but does use somes scenes involving Crystal from later chapters.

For Manhwa readers there's a lot to look forward to! Our favorite characters like Jay, Zack, Tabasco and even Gun make their first animated appearances.
For newcomers it's not all that complicated and a rather light hearted kdrama-esque high school anime with bullying and fights.

Give it a watch and let's hope for season 2.

The title "Lookism", derived from the root word "look", suggests that the show is focused on one's appearance, which it is.

The show's premise is basically the segregation of the bad-looking ones and the good-looking ones, where those deemed bad-looking are at the bottom of the food chain, basically like trash, and have no rights to do anything, whereas those deemed good-looking are at the top of the food chain and have everything they could want. Viewers can see a clear disparity in how the bad-looking and good-looking are treated, with the former being beaten up, horsed around to do errands, and shitted on by the ... latter, whereas the latter are treated with high respect, can basically do whatever they want, and the others can't complain. This portrayal is far from realistic, surrounded by superficial characters, and it calls into question the values and morals of the show's characters.

This is where Park Hyung Suk enters the picture. A former bottom feeder whose life was transformed after he unexpectedly gained a perfect body and can go in and out of the body by falling asleep and switching bodies. The show's premise is fine, but the bullying aspect is excessive and unrealistic, and the way people behave doesn't make sense, leading you to wonder what the motivations are behind the characters' behaviors, both main cast and side cast. There are some feel-good moments and character development from some of the casts, but the execution of the premise simply does not work for me.

In terms of art, I suppose the show has a Korea manhwa feel to it, but it won't appeal to everyone. It takes some getting used to the art. There were a lot of exaggerated reactions as well as still frames in the animation. One can tell right away that the art and animation department's production value was not prioritized and is relatively low. And since the show is from Netflix, it is not surprising that the art and animation departments are subpar. The OP, in my opinion, is the true winner of the show. It is very catchy, and you'll be hooked after just one listen. However, the art style of the OP doesn't match that of the show. The voice actors did an excellent job though in portraying the characters they were assigned to.

This show, to be honest, isn't for everyone. The description of how people behaved based on appearances in the show is essentially incorrect, and the execution could have been far better. Exaggerations and how people behave frequently leave the audience scratching their heads. The show's main objective is to emphasize the importance of not passing judgment on people based on their appearance. However, the show fails to teach the lesson, since all I see are a bunch of immature children who believe the world revolves around them and that they are superior because of how they act, in other words, jerks. The show is a breath of fresh air though, so there's that.

There's a phenomenon in sociology called the 'Halo Effect'. It's all about how hot people are treated differently from ugly people. They make more money, experience less mental illness, and even live longer on average. When surveyed, most people see them as morally better. We all have this bias, even if we don't realise it.

Hundreds of anime use attractiveness as symbol of goodness. Villains are often ugly and heroes are usually good looking. Plenty of western shows try to empathise with ugly characters, but this rarely happens in anime. At best, they are the comedy side kick, but never the hero. No one wants to ... buy action figures of ugly guys, or masturbate to ugly girls. Go figure.

Enter Lookism. Its protagonist, Hyung, is short, fat, and pig-like. He lives terribly and is cruel to the few people who take his side. The show really goes out of its way to drive home how disgusting and loathsome Hyung is. It's almost comical how vile everyone is towards him. That is, until he wakes up looking like a kpop idol. Lookism isn't really breaking any ground here. There have been 'glow ups' across anime and manga. Sometimes, like in Devilman Crybaby and Cyberpunk Edgerunner, it's used to show how strength and power can corrupt. Sometimes, like in FFXV Brotherhood, it's done to reveal the layers of a character's childhood insecurities. Sometimes, like in Mob Psycho and Attack on Titan, it represents a character's journey to self improvement.

And sometimes it's wish fulfilment. Actually, it's usually wish fulfilment.

Place yourself in Hyung's shoes, humble uggo, and you too can experience what it is like to be sexy (probably - I wouldn't know). But there's a catch. Hyung's original body still exists in parallel to his handsome one, and every time he goes to sleep, he switches between the two. A lot of the anime's runtime is spent on his hijinks as he exploits his newfound attractiveness (and lowkey super powers) to beat up bullies, protect nerds, and win girls. At its core, Lookism offers the same power fantasy as Spider-man, but boiled down to its most basic concept. There's no complex plot at work here. It's mediocre fanfic level, but makes for some easy viewing. Like narrative junk food. There's some fun to be found in watching him juggle his alter egos, but this is escapism first and foremost.

The inherent benevolence of being tall and ripped gradually starts to rub off on Hyung, who develops an inner beauty to match his outer. When you examine the show's deeper messages, they're pretty harmful, but you're not meant to look too hard. Its half-hearted criticism of society's treatment of ugly people collapses in on itself pretty quickly, because the show also wants to glorify the fuck out of attractiveness. It's really best to just let the pretty colours wash over you. Aside from its plot and characters, Lookism is well animated, with good music and a talented cast of voice actors. Studio Mir is known for its work on 'western cartoons' like Legend of Korra and Voltron, and that style carries through strongly here. Mir's animation is weaker here, with some wonky CGI in parts, but still good. Unfortunately, not even that can save Lookism from its mediocre... everything.

The manhwa is big in South Korea, so I might be missing something. Maybe the source material gets around to a good message in the end, but there are hundreds of chapters and this adaptation has only eight episodes.

Lookism is the sort of show you put on in the background while you're doing something else. It is best experienced from the corner of your eye. It's not bad. But it sure as hell isn't good. If you want to see a well executed glow-up, you're better off watching any of the other anime mentioned in this review.

As the manga messiah this type of content is a complete waste of time but I do this for the people that seek good content.

Basically its some obese kid that gets bullied and literally everyone hates him and thinks hes disgusting just because he is fat. They act like he cant have talent or do anything because he is fat. He will walk in the hallway and get his ass beat, girl look at him and get scared. He blames his mom for him being fat because she puts eggs in his ramen?? how about some accountability fatty go to the gym and prove them ... wrong. Anyways One day he gets beat so badly it goes viral on the twitter and his mom moves him to a different town in a one bedroom(YEAH JUST RUN AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS THX). He was excited running around the city and he ends up getting beat up again goes home crying wakes up in a different body with a six pack and super handsome(BTS rip off). His fat body is next to him and if he goes to sleep in the skinny body he wakes up in the fat body. got it? got it cool. So he goes to school in the skinny body everybody starts meat riding him "omg your so handsome" "hey want to be friends". SO YEAH thats literally it he keeps using the skinny body and using the fat one to work graveyard shifts at a gas station.
Also checked out the manhwa turns into some edgy demon fighting Bullsh*t that last for 400+ chapters. My question is who was reading this garbage ?? how did netflix say yeah guys this the one lets animate this

I felt obligated to write this review to defend Lookism because none of the top reviews accurately and objectively depicted what this show is about (some are so factually wrong that it makes me wonder whether they actually watched this show or not). If you're here seeking a revenge story, or a power fantasy, then this show isn't for you. Lookism is a story of growth, maturity, and the multifaceted aspect of society. Some think it's too over-the-top with its depiction of bullying and how judgmental the society is when it comes to appearances, but they forgot to take into consideration the cultural differences. This ... "anime" takes place in South Korea, where women are looked down upon for leaving their home without makeup, where having good looks is seen as the most important thing (hence the growth of the plastic surgery industry), and where bullying is a major issue in schools. So it's not a surprise that bullying and appearances are a major focus of this story (I mean it's literally called Lookism so what do you expect?).

I went in with little expectations since the last two webtoon adaptations (GoHS and ToG) were disappointing, and I have read some parts of the manga (stopped at where episode 7 took place) and it was good but not good enough to make me binge it. So I couldn't believe how good this adaptation is when the voice acting, animation, and OST of the first episode alone got me teary-eyed at certain scenes since even the webtoon didn't move me to tears. It only got better and better as the episodes went on. I went from "I have some spare time so I'll watch another episode" to "I'm binging this and finishing it tonight!" The last series that got me binging was ARCANE, not even Chainsaw Man or FMAB got me to binge them, which is saying something (not saying Lookism is as good as ARCANE I'm just saying it's definitely not as horrible as the top reviews made it out to be). (PS I binged the manga right after this and holy shit it gets insane!! The anime isn't even the tip of the iceberg!!)

I've never seen any "anime" with Korean voice acting but the VAs did such a great job in Lookism that it never felt weird to hear Korean instead of Japanese. In one particular scene, the mother was saying something and she choked up, and the emotions in her VA's voice were so palpable that I was instantly moved to tears. And the OST, man, as soon as I heard him open his mouth and sing that first line in like episode 5 or smth (I forgot, it was in the empty classroom), I got literal goosebumps and rushed to youtube the song.

Lookism is a story where everyone should be able to relate, whether you're a bully, victim, or bystander. Sure, the bullying you witnessed (or went through) may not be as terrible as the one depicted in Lookism, but we all know what it's like to judge someone and be judged based on our appearances. And this, judging and being judged, is a main theme in this series, so I'm certain you'll find some parts of the story to be relatable.

I don't want to spoil the whole story to you so I'll just leave you off with this. If you've been bullied, you've been judged based on your appearances, or you want to stop the tendency to judge others based on their looks, then you need to watch Lookism. It's the story of someone who experienced both sides of the spectrum and became a better person as a result. It has no romance, but instead has familial love and friendship. It teaches you what true friendship is, how true friends would act, and why family is the one thing you should never turn your back on. We’ve all met people who are superficial and judgmental. Sometimes all it takes to gain a real friend who would accept you for who you are is stepping out of your comfort zone and saying “Hi” to someone you’ve never talked to before.

Edit: I forgot to mention this one thing I love about this show. It not only showed people judging ugly people and looking down on them, but it also showed these ugly people judging good-looking people and thinking anyone who are nice to them are being superficial due to how rare it is for them to receive kindness from good-looking people. I like how the author showed that this judging aspect of society goes both ways, and that both sides can be victims to it.

“Lookism” is what happens when You take the idea of the halo effect and turn up the absurd to 11.

Ever heard of the halo effect?
In short (and in simplification) it’s a psychological phenomenon where You attribute positive qualities to someone just because You find them attractive. Yeap. That’s the premise of the show. Well not entirely but I’ll get to that.

Look… there is no other way for me to say it so I’ll just get this over with. This show uses cheap tricks to induce emotions and make You think it’s deeper than it is. It’s full of slow moments with slow music, ... over acted scenes of cheap bullying, inner monologues that pretend to be deep but in reality, when You stop and really think about them they are deep as a puddle and the MC acting like a shy saint. It’s so bad it’s not even funny. Calling this show cliche would be an understatement. Apart from the premise of switching bodies (that part is cool) there isn’t an original thought in all 8 episodes.

The first episode (hold on it’s not that much of a spoiler) starts with Hyung Suk - our resident MC, being bullied. He’s shown as an absolute victim but in a very, VERY, lazy and comedic way. If this was supposed to make me sympathise with him it failed miserably. As a bonus for me not caring about him is the fact that he’s an asshole to his mother. As far as I can tell he’s a piece of shit to her all the time (the show doesn’t really show us their previous interactions so it’s just speculation on my part) so him being bullied is, at least partially, karma. The show wants me to think that he’s the only “good” person in a school full of assholes but he’s not really any better than the people that bully him. He can’t punch up so he punches down and lets out his frustration on his mother. Why the hell should I care about him again? For the most part of the first episode I wanted him to suffer. He’s an asshole and not really that different from his bullies. The worst part? In the end this mofo gets what he wants. So let me get this straight, to get what You want You just have to act like a sack of shit and play victim. Got it…
Second thing. His mother barely had money for a shitty apartment in one city and somehow she is able to afford another shitty apartment in the slums in another city and the moron never questioned this situation? He was told that she doesn’t have money and yet not once asked how she’s able to afford this? Son of the year.
Granted, he does have a moment of reflection but it doesn’t really change much about him as a character and the way he gets his epiphany is so lazily written that it was almost funny.
The bullshit doesn’t end there. The first interaction he has in the new city with a random person ends up with him getting his ass handed to him and people just watching and recording it. It’s just another attempt to show Hyung Suk as a victim and sympathetic but it’s all so heavy handed and inorganic that I really don't care. It just made me laugh at how bad the writing is. You want me to believe that not one person would help a kid being assaulted on the street in broad daylight? No one. EVERYONE would just watch, record or comment on the phenotype of the victim? I guess this world doesn’t have any type of law enforcement and You can just go Alex Mercer on everyone.

The world building in this show is one of the worst I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some really bad anime.


I think the worst part of the whole show is the way Hyung Suk gets his new body. He just does. He doesn’t earn it, he just gets it. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a moment like in Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” but it doesn’t work. For one thing Gregor Samsa suffered because of his transformation. Hyung Suk just won a free ticket to win-town. For the whole time we see him he hasn't done one thing that would earn him a reward and yet, he does. No, being bullied isn’t a reason to get this kind of reward. He didn’t stand up to his bullies, he didn’t get bullied as a consequence of trying to help someone. Nothing. He just got bullied. It’s a weak, pathetic self indulgent fantasy where You get things just because. Did I mention that the writing in this show sucks?

The problem with him getting his new body that fast in the show is that we don’t get a contrast of what he’s like when he’s not bullied (or being an asshole to his mother) so we don’t know if his actions change that much. This is a problem. If the message is that people treat You better when You are attractive despite how You act, we should get some scenes that show the same type of actions getting different results. As it stands we could assume he’s acting like he always did but there is no definitive proof of that.
I’m not ever going to get into the bullshit of the fight scenes. They are pathetically slow, have bad, and I do mean BAD, choreography and the explanation of why he’s so skilled in fighting is just ass. It’s the most stupid, nonsensical and brain dead explanation I have ever seen. Shitty isekais with OP MCs have better once.


I want to believe that this show is a criticism of the vanity culture of the last few decades and not judging a book by its cover, and to a degree it is, but it turns up the absurd to the 11 and not in a thoughtful way. Furthermore, if the point is to not judge a book by its cover, why are all of the actions that lead to a change in characters done by the “handsome” Hyung Suk? It would be much more impactful if at least some of them would be the result of the “ugly” one.

My main gripe is that almost all the show wants to tell is heavy handed, bland and lacks originality. The use of hyperbole in people's reactions would be fine if it was used so often and in a very bland way. If You don’t want to watch anything new and just want the same old thing You saw a thousand times just with a new coat of paint I guess You can find entertainment in this. If You care about world building, story and plot, stay away from “Lookism”

I enjoyed this series a 10/10 in my book plus for the first time in a long time I watched this series in Spanish and gotta say it hits differently plus love the messages of how society treats each other by looking like if a handsome guy works in a store then the manager, the manager will think of a great way to make a profit of the store but if a non-attractive dude works then the manager will be like ok well good luck on your first day.

This is just nuts but hey in the world we live in it is like that ... I had an experience like this and I wasn't the best-looking guy but I accepted who I am and live the best life I can do and anybody can achieve their goal if they accept themselves for who they are.

With its incredible source material (written by PTJ), catchy opening K-pop track (ATEEZ), and stunning animation (Studio Mir—same studio responsible for Korra), Lookism has easily become one of my favorite winter anime series. It has a unique balance of lighthearted slice of life moments, drama from misunderstandings and betrayals, and action-packed street fighting scenes. At times, you may feel uncomfortable with second-hand embarrassment from the extreme bullying scenes. However, don’t let your first impressions fool you. PTJ has a plan for each and every character including the MC’s bullies. From the bratty MC who yells at his mom for being embarrassing to the superficial classmate ... who shamelessly flirts with MC, main and side characters alike in the Lookism universe are all blessed with a compelling storyline. Some of these backstories will be comedic, while others will absolutely crush you and break your heart. This is the charm and beauty of PTJ’s Lookism. It’s a story that goes beyond just badass street fighting and delves deeper into the complex relationships between its characters.

It’s frustrating to see so many low ratings from people who don’t want to give a Korean manhwa a fair chance. If you can’t handle the grittiness of a quality series like Lookism, then please go rewatch Sword Art Online and simp after those one dimensional Mary Sue waifus and Gary Stu husbandos. Lookism isn’t meant for the simpleminded and weak-willed.

I have heard that the comic for this was very popular so decided to give the anime a try. The first couple of episodes were pretty good with good intro to the characters but it soon got very unrelatable. The story is very stereotypical, every stereotype is very exaggerated like, bad looking mc everyone hates him once he is good looking ppl start liking him instantly. A lot of the plot in the story comes from misunderstanding because the characters don't speak for themselves but let the things happen to them keeping their mouth shut and then weep internally. The characters are not at all ... relatable as they don't behave like normal humans. Example- Oh I'm born ugly so I will be that for the rest of my life and blame it on my fate and give up on life not trying to be better in other things. The story feels like it is written by a adult with a child's brain. It doesn't give any life lessons that you won't get from a 2nd grade story book. This show really infuriated me and I will recommend you to spend you time elsewhere.

Very very good anime. Characters were very relatable and the song in the last episode was amazing, very catchy and heartfelt. A unique anime.

I think you can only properly relate to some of these characters if you've actually been through something similar. But the way it is written really helps to sympathise with the characters and understand their point of view.

But I thought it was really good. The art style was great, characters seemed realistic enough for an anime and reactions were spot on. I think others should like this anime if your into "redemption-like" stories.

Netflix did well with this series, I hope there is ... a 2nd Season.

Quite possibly one of the most unintentionally hilarious animes I've ever seen. Lookism follows the story of a young Park Hyung Seok, a fat and ugly nerd who gets bullied at high school in the most oddly cruel and pathetic ways. Eventually he can no longer take it and angerly explodes at his mom and asks to transfer schools to get away from his problems. She manages to buy him housing near a new high school so that he can start a new life. After moving new housing (and also being punched in the face in front of thousands of people on the internet on ... his first day), he magically gains the power to switch between a hot body and his normal self whenever he falls asleep. Park begins to start using his normal self to work part time jobs at night while sending his hot alternate self to school.

The concept is cool in theory and I'm actually a big fan of how it works. Park switching between tangible bodies that people can see is a way better idea than just magically turning hot at day and ugly at night. It creates good scenarios in the show where he has to sleep to get into the other body or save his other body in person. However, the concept in practice ends up being disappointing as all potential with this concept is wasted because it was given to quite possibly one of the most undeserving people to use it. Park has goldfish memory and constantly forgets which body he is in when he talks to people, which leads to really annoying and obvious plot points whenever he needs to interact with a character he knows in his other body. He also is just really spineless and shallow even after becoming good looking by doing things like hanging out with people who BULLIED him. Despite gaining these powers, Park squanders a lot of it by also barely doing anything to stop the bullying going on in his school. There are times where he is actually just complicit in it and just thinks eating lunch with the victim instead of being active in confronting the bully is somehow helping the victims. There's a moment where someone humiliates one of his friends on stage by asking him if they're even the same species because he's ugly and Park just nervously laughs and says nothing about it. Like how the fuck does he not just instantly say "hey man that's really fucked up" or something? His complacence with bullying makes no sense considering his past and how much his normal life sucks because he just constantly gets bullied by random high schoolers and pedestrians.

Speaking of bully behavior, nearly everyone in this show including random pedestrians are comically massive douches. I feel like the person who wrote this show has no actual idea what bullying is like. People just randomly call Deok-hwa and Park fat pigs and are insanely cruel for the smallest reasons, you see Deok-hwa get beatup on like 6 different occasions for just existing and it just feels so pathetic to watch over and over again. All the bullying in this show doesn't even build up to teach a moral or send a message, it's just nonstop assholery. The only good looking character who's genuinely nice to ugly people is Basco because he actually DOES something to confront bullies in this show and help the victims. WHICH IS DEPRESSING BECAUSE HE ISN'T EVEN THE FUCKING MC!!!

One thing I will say about Lookism is that it's so exaggerated in the bullying and victim behavior that it becomes very unintentionally hilarious. Half the time I catch myself saying "who would say something like that?" when a pedestrian just randomly chimes in about how ugly someone is. Deok-hwa telling Park that bullying makes him stronger and fills his head with lyrics just like his favorite hero Eminem, and then cutting to an actual poster of Eminem legit had me in tears. When Park and Deok-hwa start practicing and Park's voice just COMPLETELY changes I just could not believe my ears, the audio was mixed so horribly on that song it doesn't even sound like he's singing it outside. Watching them convert to 3D animation for the ending song was so out of place and awkward to watch.

As much shit as I could give Lookism for its fanfiction tier writing, at least it was entertaining. I did enjoy the soundtrack and some of the fights even if they were really stupid and don't explain why Park is an MMA god who can do basically everything in fighting and in life. Overall I don't regret watching it just because I think it's one of those "so dumb its enjoyable" kind of shows where you can yell at the characters for being fucking stupid. I do really like the intro though, but sadly Lookism isn't really my cup of tea.

If you have read the WEBTOON and enjoyed it you will most likely enjoy this anime. I wasn’t expecting much since Netflix is usually a hit or a complete miss and it definitely exceeded my expectations. Don’t watch the dub thought it’s awful in my opinion.

Art: 8/10- it looks pretty good! There are some cgi moments when they fight but they aren’t that bad.
Music: 7/10 its alright nothing that stood out good or bad
Plot: 7.5/10 I’ve read part of the WEBTOON so I knew what to expect. It’s nothing amazing but it’s a decent of enough plot to continue if they make another ... season.

Do watch it if you like MC beating crap out of bullies doing body switch at school. New thing to see animated is actually good stop watching battle shonen and have thsese tastes you guys. Stop expecting much more of this series its okish the way it is.
I have read its manhwa like few chapters and that time i personally felt it was good. So after it got the announcement of getting an anime adaptation i was looking forward to it and yeah it did make me enjoy it so i would even recommend to atleast try it. I was looking forward to some references ... which they didn't include. Animation is kind of plain and slight CGI and 2D mix caught my eye but i focused to enjoy the show as however its made. Why even look at animation art style , when it is enjoyable. The music and songs are actually great and i quite enjoyed the fight compared to the manhwa so the adaptation really paid of for the people who even gone through the story and the game. Honestly when i checked out the game animations it made me think why its not adapted like that instead of Netflix keeps making animes rized off badly it could have been better. I am happy the emotions of the characters really showed through proper expressions which i didn't expect.

Reading some of the comments I dare to think that the people who write this do not really know life.

First of all, the violence that is shown here is unfortunately true in our time as well as before. it is not exaggerated because unfortunately it is, if you do not lick someone's ass, you are not rich or you do not look good, you are pushed to the second margin of society and you become a victim of physical and psychological violence, first of all.

Secondly, some people are irritated by the lack of action of the main character, I was ... also irritated at the beginning, but now let's stop and put ourselves in his situation. the boy has always been harassed mentally as well as physically and humiliated to such an extent that he pretended to be pigs and allowed himself to be pushed around so hard. he didn't have much to talk to about it because he had no friends and his mother worked hard to give him some sort of education.

So he had no sense of security and so what if he has a new body as in his head he is still the same person as he is. so he won't suddenly turn into a super hero if he doesn't help himself to sort out his emotions and build his self-esteem first. Therefore, if someone thinks that it is too exaggerated, unfortunately, but probably lives in some beautiful bubble and has not really seen anything but his own ass. I think the anime is good and will touch many sad threads such as violence, toxic society that instead of helping it records a video just to get a thumbs up, lack of good upbringing from parents and judging others without really knowing the truth. remember that not only physical but also verbal violence can hurt someone a lot.

I rate the anime 8.5 because there are a few shortcomings, but the message is still great.

8/10 anime, If the animation was actually good this would of been 9/10 for me, but in the end, in this anime they show both sides on how bad it can be even if you are popular or when you aren't, I think the characters showed emotions very well, storyline was very good too, idk how to put it, it was just a good watch... enjoyed every episode!

But yeah like I said about the animation, I kind of wish some big studio would of picked this anime, I don't like the cgi work so much in animations, but for example in Chamsaw man they did ... it very well, and the animation was still super good, hopefully 2nd season will have some more improvement if they do happen to publish one ofc 😂

Lookism is something I hold close to my heart because it was the first Korean manhwa/Webtoon that I read. And this animation does a great adaptation of the manhwa.

What I enjoy the most about Lookism is the theme of the story. It's coming of age, and yet it's not edgy, and it's not full of drama. It's the story of a kid who constantly got bullied because he was ugly that got catapulted towards success due to his unique second body who looks like a supermodel. Yet, as he relinquishes in the glory that he gets from other people, he realizes that he became just ... as shallow as the others. Even when he was ugly, he lashed out at his mom for the stress he got from bullied. When he's handsome, he also judges people based on their appearances. He makes friends with other bullies, and the story is about learning to become a better person, both inside and outside. I kind of REALLY hate that the show and the manwha never address the main character actually losing weight in his fat body, but alright I guess. I'm also very glad that the anime ended when it did, since the show completely devolves from a charming slice of life story into a garbage mindless fighting shounen. You can read my review on the manwha for more information there.

The art is definitely something different. Yeah sure, there are a decent amount of still frames, and there is some CGI involved. However, the tradeoff is that the art looks good. Backgrounds are rendered realistically, and characters look good! It's a bit of western and anime, and it blends both styles well. The art style is not really Japanese, and it really takes in the original manwha's look, except it takes away that crappy mass produced Clip Studio look and makes it's own artstyle. The faces and bodies just look more realistically proportioned. There's more detail than Japanese character models, and the faces and fair look better too. The eyes don't take up half their face, and the structure just looks like more a human than an anime person's. It's a good change of pace, and you can clearly tell that its Korean in a good way. Even the CGI looks better than anime CGI, but that's not saying much. You can still clearly tell when Basco or Jeoi Hyun Suk are CGI, but the blending between 2D and 3D is less harsh. The way the realistically rendered backgrounds blend with the more realistically proportioned characters makes it stand out, and obviously makes it have much better production value as well.

Hello⁦(^^)⁩ Please read my opinion if you have doubts, well, my English is not very good, anyway I want to say that I liked this anime, unlike many people who had harsh criticisms. Please give this anime a chance!

I have read almost 200 manhwa chapters of it, and I tell you guys, I enjoyed this anime! I suggest you to watch it, I know the quality is not very high, And many weaknesses but...)

please pay attention that cultures are different, I've never been to South Korea, but I've heard from some friends that looking or wearing branded clothes is very important to people ... there. (But is it really necessary for our clothes to be a brand? Well, in my opinion, if the quality is good, it doesn't have to be a famous brand)

My philosophy of watching anime is to learn life lessons or to be entertained, you or I don't want to look at the flaws of an anime like an expert, right?! So, my friend, let's just enjoy, I really enjoyed, especially the stage song was great I really connected with it

Thank you for reading my comment so far⁦:^)⁩

The main character in Lookism is an outcast, but not the typical, average-looking loser we are often presented in media. He is the type of outcast whose appearance evokes revulsion and disgust, whose development socially and emotionally has been stunted from years of relentless bullying and degradation, whose human need for connection and belonging conflict significantly with a world that demands he be silent and invisible, and mercilessly beats him down when he fights for the right to exist and for the right to his dignity. This story gives such an outcast everything that he lacks: good looks, physical strength + extra time that eases ... the burden of having to financially provide for himself in addition to attending school. Suddenly, he is given agency, and power over himself and others around him.

This animated adaptation is good but it could have been great. The most important mistake of this adaptation is that it does not take the risks the webtoon did. Every single plot has been altered to make the main character more sympathetic and the story more light-hearted. There seems to be a disconnection between its tones, and it feels like the show cannot decide if it wants to be a slice of life, action, or a psychological horror, like they were trying to appeal to the largest audience possible. As a result, Lookism loses its charm and depth in the animated version. It is still a good series - just pales in comparison to the webtoon.

Honestly enjoyed it overall, I had read most of the original WEBTOON before and then watched this in the original Korean with English subs because though I’m technically Korean I’m way better with english. (Just in case you guys don’t already know, this is a Korean animation not Japanese.)

STORY: Engaging with drama, some action, and a hint of supernatural. The bullying parts are tad hard to watch because that’s always uncomfortable to see. I’ve seen some reviews criticizing the bullying aspects as being too extreme and unrealistic but the thing is even though it is exaggerated it’s also not that far from how bad real ... bullying can get in Korean high schools.

I’ve not been to Korean high schools myself but I’ve heard about how bad it can be, even causing victims to suicide. Also your appearance really is actually a huge thing in Korea, I can attest to this myself. Literally all women wear make up whether it’s because they genuinely like it or they feel pressured to wear it. I’m not great at explaining things but, Korea as a society is really into trends, and beauty is a huge trend. Doing little bits of plastic surgery here and there is seen as normal and all that. Of course the issue of judging people for their looks is in every country but Korea more severe than the U.S in general I’d say. Don’t get me wrong though, what’s shown in Lookism is much more exaggerated. South Korea is an awesome place, I love visiting there when I can! I went on a long tangent LMAO

ANIMATION: Pretty good, nice colors and visuals. A lot of love and effort was put in. A tiny bit 3D sprinkled in places. The only thing I can nitpick on is some facial expressions could be a tad more varied.

MUSIC: Good music— putting it in my playlist lol

NOTE: I doubt this is the end of the story. The ending suggests another season, probably.

Firstly, I need to say that Lookism is a great story, and a good adaptation.

It has one glaring negative - that being the pacing. As the 8 episodes attempt to distil 27 chapters of the Manhwa. I think the adaptation could have been better if they went about fitting the major characters in a different order. A smaller cast would have let us get to know the characters better.

Now for the mostly spoiler free review. Lookism is a story about how your appearance and social status affects how people treat you, it's done through a pretty unique supernatural twist of the main character ... having two bodies (the only spoiler here I promise). His real body which is short, fat and unattractive. And his second body which is basically a post plastic surgery super star/athlete. The story flips around from body to body and gives a brief insight into how the different people see and interact with the two different faces of the MC.

It's a look into a very real societal double standard, and how it can affect people. There is a big portion of the inner text about how the MC ends up releasing his anger on the people close to him in a similar way to the bullies that was rushed in the adaptation. But I think there's enough there to at least understand. It can seem somewhat cartoonish in how bad certain characters are - but it's something that really happens.

Finally, I think Lookism is really to easy hate/misunderstand. Especially if you see it as just a story about a kid being bullied that turns his life around once he looks better and is more athletic. I can't invalidate that opinion, it is exactly what happens. But I think that opinion misses the main point of Lookism. The story is supposed to make you angry, it's supposed to show how horrible, and unfair life is to certain people. For things that are completely out of their control.

I hope this gets more seasons. So everyone can see the characters grow, without having to buy into reading 400+ chapters.