After School War Activities (2023)

This is the happiest you’ll be. -Kim WonBin

Brutal, right? That’s the world of Duty After School feels like when you are watching the everyday mundane moments and those especially packaged in an epilogue.

Duty After School can be likened to any SHTF drama like All of Us are Dead or Sweet Home, but here, the 3rd year high school students and also the adult main characters are given the weight of responsibility for numerous people, not just your family and friends, which you’ll probably feel while watching. It has a couple of interesting characters and relationship dynamics that include friendship, competition and innocent love lines that makes their situation feel lighter.

The lines from the drama, not the web toon that I haven’t read yet, may sound too cliché especially when adults really want to impart ‘a lesson’ to the teens. It also felt like it is really adapted from a webtoon, because of some moments, especially in the first 3 episodes, wherein I do not feel as emotionally invested yet in the characters, but expected some despair to their outcome. There were also times that it tried too hard to give the viewers a laugh, when it is not the right atmosphere. It could have been the acting too, but as it went on, I (and probably the actors too) have warmed up to enjoy the camaraderie among the them. Having said that, there are a couple of promising rookie actors here too and I look forward seeing them in more dramas.

For the music, the first OST song played is kinda disorientating in the beginning but I think I’ll enjoy it better listening to it individually. Apart from that, I have nothing to complain.

I am not very keen in rewatching but will probably scan the last episodes before Part 2.

Leia Mais

Just the title itself.

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I know for sure that the moment I saw the trailer of this drama or series, it already piqued my interest. It was something I haven't watched before so that's a plus. But yeah, just the trailer itself already got me on the edge of my seat and that's how I had expectations with this drama/series so as soon as they released it, I didn't think twice about going for it and immediately watched it despite how busy I am.

Starting with the plot or the storyline, I'm aware that it's based on a webtoon so I'm quite sure that it's going to be great. . . and I was right. It didn't disappoint me because it was something I definitely wanted to see. It was able to balance the amount of scenes that it was supposed to have ─ from the build-up to the intense part/s which includes blood/gore or killing the monsters and vice versa as well as the funny/comedy, drama, romance, etc. aspects of it. The only downside that I could think of in relation to this is the logic or common sense of the characters which I believe was lacking. There were tons of dumb/stupid and annoying moments where-in I couldn't help but curse and wished that they could've just died. A lot of them also had screen time which felt infuriating. However, the positive side of it, it pushed the realistic view(s) of how these students react to such situations. Just like one viewer who commented here says "no character (or even a person) can be strong all the time" and I agree. The one I disliked the most became one of the reasons why I also love this drama or series. (Of course, if you don't have the patience and understanding, I don't think you would survive watching it but as someone who can empathize, I believe you can see where they are coming from. . and that's what I was able to realize as time went by)

About the casting, acting, and the CGI, everything's on-point. Glad that I was able to discover more talented actors/actresses. I, for one especially, love/d Lee Chun Ho (Shin Hyun Soo) ─ the platoon leader of the class. I'm not that familiar with him but when I checked his profile, he was on Waikiki which shocked me because it's one of my favorite dramas of all time and yet I couldn't remember him. Still, because of DAS, it proved that he deserves more recognition.

Lastly, if you're gonna ask me, I prefer this more than AOUAD, Sweet Home, and other zombie/apocalypse dramas/series.

Leia Mais

Exaggerated portrayal of how we failed the youth.

Starting from the message, that for me was completely overshadowed by the pure entertainment that the killing aliens brought.
What this show tries to present is how we as society created a false sense of security, purpose and goals for the teens - a path that is supposed to guarantee success and happiness. That path being higher education. The extent these teens were willing to go to get just a few more points that will help them get into a university - it showed how they truly believed that’s the only way to live a fulfilling life, to have it easier as an adult. The empty promises, the use of the pressure teens feel about their future was used to manipulate them to make dangerous choices and control their behavior. Exaggerated in the drama, but sadly truly happening in real life.

While the teens willing to risk their safety for a few points is believable, the fact teens were able to survive and fight better than train military was not. Did this completely lackluster and stupid take on the army annoyed me? Not really. They clearly showcased how delivering solid entertainment was the biggest goal and they aced it in that aspect. You just have to turn off a few neurons in your brain as you watch.

As long as you won’t question every unrealistic aspect, you will have a blast! The show is great at creating tension and keeping the viewer entertained with great pacing both in overall story, but also the episodes themselves. It had great comedic moments, good action sequences, solid character development, friendship and bonding, and some truly touching and heartbreaking scenes.

Did a lot of people die? Yes. Not enough from the main cast if you ask me. And not the right ones… Not gonna lie, the show got my blood boiling a few times when some of the most frustrating and annoying characters kept surviving against all odds. I also wish a few more students would die to make the stakes a bit more real. This is the luckiest group of teens I have ever seen and at some point I stopped being worried about them dying, because it seemed like they would be able to survive even with a nuclear bomb being dropped directly on their heads.

In terms of acting, what can I say? I am not worried about the future of Korean cinema. With this large cast of great young actors who can deliver a versatile performance, the future of movies and dramas is in good hands.

Production value was phenomenal. I love the design of the aliens, I love how they look, how they move, even the sounds they make. For some strange reason I always thought that if aliens exist they may look like fancy sea creatures, and this is exactly how the spheres look like. I have no complaints about the filming, editing, sound effects, lighting, set design. I only wish the female characters tied their hair, that was a bit so unrealistic even I could not ignore.

Overall, what a fun and exciting watch. With such a large cast they still managed to make all the characters memorable. The level of entertainment and engaging characters (be it for their awesomeness or how annoying they were) allowed me to ignore any possible flaws and just enjoy they ride. I cannot wait to see the second season.

Leia Mais

Heart-poundingly fantastic

I was a huge fan of All Of Us Are Dead and that's why I jumped at the chance to watch this; despite that, I went into it with middle-of-the-road expectations, and was actually really surprised by how much I ended up loving it!

I think the biggest hurdle for me was just the sheer load of characters there were. In other ensemble dramas like AOUAD, Alice In Borderland, or Squid Game, characters are either split into different groups with different subplots, or the big group is very quickly whittled down to about five, and then new characters are introduced gradually. Here, we're following the entire class, and even though there are some losses along the way and the occasional split-up, the cast is gigantic and there's about 20 characters you need to pay attention to. A few stand-outs are easy to remember but the rest blur together for a few episodes. Even as I got to learn everyone, I don't think I found a "favorite" the way I did in other shows and that's just mostly because our knowledge of backstories are still pretty thin.

As a result, the drama is more plot-driven, as opposed to character-driven — and whether or not you enjoy that will just be up to personal preference.

After a while, however, I really grew to appreciate that it was a big group because the dynamic of everyone sticking together and growing up in unison was so interesting. You see common classroom dynamics come out in a high-stakes situation and it exemplifies everything I love about the high school survival genre.

For this genre, the show is surprisingly heartfelt. I didn't expect this show to make me emotional but it definitely did by the end. Anxiously awaiting part 2!

Leia Mais

Part 1 ending (ep 6) was messed up

The show is good. Definitely recommend anyone to watch it. Deserves good ratings. It's just one thing that bothered me. Its not the extra emotional screaming and crying all the time like some people are saying. I found that this made the show alot more realistic. Because thats how people would really react if their friends were cut to pieces by aliens😂. The thing that bothered me was the ending of part 1 (ep 6) how he died in that building. I understand he hurts his knee but I think it would have been better if he died trying to get out instead of staring at the walls. He could have scaled down the building from outside and maybe die dramtically. All soldiers know at least basic parkour. Or maybe jump right before they blow the building so that the force of the explosion would throw him somwhere. I dunno something like that. I didn't like the way on of the main characters that was one of the strong ones too died standing doing nothing. Other than that I really enjoyed the show and will be impatiently waiting part 2 and hopefully season 2. Def recommended for everyone. Although the show is very fictional they made the fiction quite realistic which is why I enjoyed the show so much. The way unlike other K-dramas many of the main characters that appeared in the beginning of the show died quickly and realistically and not magically dodge all the aliens or always make it out alive of tight corners. So once again don't keep pushing this show for tomorrow because its unequivocally worth your time and I'm sure like everyone else you will enjoy it. Happy binging 😉😁

Leia Mais

Eye rolling galore...

Oh look it seemed like it might be fun , I gave it a go but 4 episodes in and I just want all these whiny brats to die, please just end my suffering and kill them all off already.. Maybe I have to be a teenager to appreciate this story. I can forgive that they are supposed to be teenagers thrown into a war with an alien species and they are just innocent little kiddies but really they have been living with these things floating above them for a year and they are all falling apart when the aliens finally make themselves known and start eating the humans. Honestly if my eyebrows raised any higher they would disappear into my hairline. The sheer dumbness of this group is astounding, baffling and just f-ing annoying personally, not to mention the so called adults of this series and their ineptitude. If I shouted at my computer screen any longer i'd be hoarse,my forehead has keyboard indents in it from every time a character did something mind-numbingly stupid. I cannot connect with any of these characters and I simply don't careless about any of them. Good luck to those sticking it out for part 2, I certainly won't be. Give me more of "Sweet Home or "All of Us are Dead" those were so much better.

Leia Mais

Tired of MDL users inflating drama scores

I made an account on MyDramaList today because I'm tired of the inflated scores reviewers give to these types of Dramas. There are dramas that definitely match their score and deserve their high rating like Signal, My Mister, Prison Playbook, and a handful of others. But sadly what I see is that there are way more dramas that have inflated scores even though they have blatantly large plot holes and this drama is definitely one of them. I understand Korean culture highly values education, but to value it to the point that the students in this show values it makes them look autistic, not smart. Why would anyone assume the CSAT meant anything during an apocalypse? Sure, it's only after several months of military training that they realize the true motivations behind their training but how would anyone still choose to stay in the military primarily for CSAT scores rather than training to fight aliens(I'm speaking of the second ranked student that wanted to continue military training after finding out they were fighting aliens). The other thing is why did the class have to move as a group? If people want to go back home they should go back home. It felt like the staying as a group idea was just lazy writing. Also, how did the students not see any bodies during their trip to their first marksmanship test? The streets are littered with bodies and destroyed buildings. Do these students just lack common sense? I don't know how this drama got a rating of 8.6. The cinematography is good but the characters are unbelievably dumb and the plot is riddled with as many bullet holes as there were in this show.

Leia Mais

Not as good as people say.

Duty after school is a subpar drama. If youre looking for something that 1. makes any sense, and 2. is serious, then I would not recommend this. The premise is really interesting but the execution is awful. The characters are unlikeable in the worst way and most of them show 0 development or awareness despite the things they go through. Their motivations are also really odd and dont really add up with what is going on around them. Basically they feel and are very surface-level, like someone wrote two paragraphs for each one and left it at that. Also they kept adding "funny" scenes that severely interrupted the flow and feel, especially because they were bizzarely edited with upbeat music despite the characters being in a literal warzone and fighting for their lives.

The worldbuilding is not very good either, things dont make much sense, the military act very strange and it makes it difficult to be immersed.

The acting was fine, thats about it.

(DO NOT be fooled into thinking this is ANYTHING like All Of Us Are Dead. It is NOT.)

Leia Mais

It's ok, but if you read the webtoon you could enjoy it more

English isn't my first language but I'll try hard to make this understandable.
To summarize the review I just wanna say that while this is an entertaining action show about an ensamble of funny and quirky kids getting surviving the apocalypse while showing a lot of cute moments between them, the best part about it it's that it made me want to read the webtoon, and it's much better in all senses, a beautiful but depressing ride and that's why I think they made changes to be closer to Sweet Home or All of Us are Dead(Specially this one).

It's the second time i write a review and my thoughts are similar to my first one (Sweet home), these webtoons might be fictional apocalypses with a lot of action but what made them good was the psychological and character building aspect, while their drama counterpart makes changes to make them more entertaining for the public but throws away the essence of the original work. Like in Sweet Home, I think some people will say that it's not fair or that you shouldn't say the drama is bad just because it's different from the webtoon. The problem isn't that it's different, but that they changed it for the worse.

On the good side the CGI and action sequences were really well done, I liked the casting for the characters and most of them felt close to the webtoon inspiration, also both of the main soldiers are more fleshed out here and I liked that .
Now to start on the bad side, the first thing i have to say is don't try analyze things too much because you will realize about how a lot of scenes and situations don't make sense at all, I guess the director and writer side was lacking because they went too hard on the immature brats that are too preoccupied with their grades and their dialogues can be very cringy at times, they changed the spheres to fit their action heavy show but then made them feel like billions of were attacking at every time while the kids ammo was infinite, I read comments saying that the aliens treated the kids different from adults and honestly it shows a lot.

I will spoil a bit of the webtoon because after the changes made to the show, I think the second half won't follow the original. In the webtoon the plot armor for the main cast isn't as obvious, some of the kids die and they aren't the dramatic beautiful sacrifice kind, they are fast, unexpected and have 0 beauty. The webtoon is more about how this group of kids are thrown to war and the scars that it leaves on them physically and mentally, but also how they learn to normalize what's happening around them and how scary that is.

Leia Mais

Just another overrated show.

This show doesn't deserve the 8,7 mark. I'm not the one who can watch a film while blocking my logical sense. The synopsis written here is much better than the storytelling in the show. They need much more details to show us the importance to draft the schoolers as reserve soldiers. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense. Start from ep2, things got worse, the plot was pure garbage. A student died, but the military & the teacher tried to keep it secret? They didn't even inform his parents? Wth was that? Where was the responsibility? LoL. And suddenly, when they went outside, the streets were empty with no one. I was confused to see how they remained calm, asking "why it's so empty?" Did they evacuate the city? No detail at all, we were left guessing ourselves. In ep3, all the students opted to go home, but they were forbid. No details of how critical outside was. They were warned to be shot if they run. This is insane, it's not a duty but forcing to fight against their will. What government do that to their citizens, especially young & untrained ones? All adults go to the shelters, students fight the aliens. Oh, how sweet. 😂
Watch it if you like all the screaming & running, maybe seeing pretty girls shooting guns. But if you care about logical story, avoid it. This is one of the worst kdrama in terms of the story.

Leia Mais