Cheer Up!
Synonyms: Starting Now, Cheer Up!, Sassy Go Go
Episodes: 12
Country: South Korea
Aired: Oct. 5, 2015 - Nov. 10, 2015
Network: KBS2
Duration: 59 mins.
Genres: Drama, Romance, School, Sports, Youth
Viewers Rating: 8.5/10
My Rating: 10/10
Synopsis: Set in a highly competitive school that emphasizes achievement and scores above all else, the drama will lay bare the absurdities and hypocrisies of the education system while also featuring the growth stories of the students who struggle to move forward, one step at a time.
Cast: Jung Eun Ji - Kang Yeon Doo
Lee Won Gun - Kim Yeol
Chae Soo Bin - Kwon Soo Ah
Ji Soo - Seo Ha Joon
N - Ha Dong Jae
Kim Ji Suk - Yang Tae Beom
Review
Contains a lot of spoilers!
General Impressions:
As soon as I heard that Cheer Up! was going to be a drama based around cheerleading in a school that solely focuses on their students getting good grades, my excitement levels dropped. I would rather have school dramas not have any sport related themes and not use the excellent grades cliche. However, I was so very wrong. This drama went to so many deep levels that not many writers can do, and it became extremely influential and inspiring. This is was one of the best dramas this year to date (this is my opinion, so don't judge me) and I felt extremely attached to watching Cheer Up!.
Story: 9.0/10
The story was the only thing lacking in this drama, but not even by much. The only problem that occurred was that there was barely any cheerleading whatsoever. They used the sport as a background setting, and only ever included two performances in total (excluding the practice trials). But besides that, I want to thank the writers for so many things. For saving a perfectly salvageable villain who didn't understand any other way of dealing with her problems, for making the love triangle all so lovable and making me ship all three of them together with each other (yes, I shipped not only the end couple and the second-lead couple, but also the bromance), and for making all the characters so cherishable. And also, thank you for showing great character development with every single character, especially Seo Ha Joon and Kwon Soo Ah. I thought there couldn't be a single school drama that would beat Who Are You: School 2015, but here we are, half a year later, with an ever better school drama.
Acting/Cast: 10/10
I think all of us can agree that the cast did a superb job, and all agree that when Ji Soo gets a role in another romance drama, he needs to win over the heart of his crush so all of his fangirls don't internally die. Anyway, Ji Soo did an amazing job and I felt so emotionally attached to his character. Angry Mom is a definite watch for me now. Moving on, Lee Won Gun. My new-found bias. I had previously watched his supporting role in Hyde, Jekyll, Me, but I never took much notice of his character as I always had my eyes on Hyun Bin. I never realized how well done his acting is. He is awesome, and my god, that smile of his! I found myself squealing every time he even so much as smirked. Anyway, Jung Eun Ji and N have definitely broken the idols-can't-act stereotype, and I am looking forward to watching more of their works. Finally, Chae Soo Bin. Her character was extremely irritable, but she was the first ever antagonist that I could never fully hate. Deep down, she was just a down-to-earth character who was trying to learn from her mistakes in the wrong way. And with that, Soo Bin had better rise to stardom very soon because she is a spectacular actress.
Music: 10/10
All of these soundtracks are just too lovable and I can't pick a favourite. There is Fly Like An Eagle, Rely, Shooting Star and Flower. They are all so amazing, I could listen to them all day long. Seriously, look up the playlist online and you can just sit there and listen to them.
Rewatch Value: 10/10
Yes, oh god yes. I would do anything to have this series on disc so that I could carry it anywhere with me and just rewatch over and over again. Everyone has that one show that they could always watch, and Cheer Up! is one of them for me.
Final Verdict: 10/10
Overall, this drama was almost perfect, with only the flaw of not having enough cheerleading featured. Every single acting choice was amazing, the script and writing was brilliant, and the music is flawless. Please make more good quality school dramas like Cheer Up!.
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| Yeon Doo, Yeol, Dong Jae, Soo Ah + Ha Joon. |
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