Em Busca do Smash Perfeito (2021)

Cute and light

So wholesome! Even with themes that can be for mature audiences (e.g suicide), they tackle it nicely. As a sports drama, I think it shows quite a bit of strategy (This drama is making me want to play badminton right now!!) and shows a lot of what competitive sports would feel like for rookies of the sport.

I really enjoyed this light hearted drama. Really showed a lot of friendship, family, self-discovery, and most importantly character development.

I've seen a few of Kim Kang Hoon's dramas and most of them are great and he makes a great impression on me through the years from his lovable acting. He is a teenager now and this drama is so fitting and made me love him even more! From casting him as just a "kid of the mom extra" to "Teen who is lovable and treats his friends and family well", we see a little more depth and dialogue compared to his other dramas.

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Badminton Dreams

Racket Boys (2021)

Absolute gem!! ?

Likes:
1. I came for the sports themed dramas and stayed for the kids! Haekang, Yoondam, Woochan, Yongtae, Insol, Seyoon and Hansol were perfectly casted! I'll predict they are the new generation Kdrama prince and princesses in the making!!
2. I love the kids' friendship and romance. Esp Haekang's growth from hating the village life and his team and becoming passionate about the sport. And how he had found his real friends. Even with the other teams.. they maybe rivals on court but off court they were close.
3. Coach Yoon, Coach Ra, Coach Whitewolf .. sometimes as adults we think we know it all, but sometimes it's good to learn from the kids too.
4. The badminton matches. I read they all trained for 6-9 months.
5. Took me some time to warm up to the villagers but they were good people. And became family to the badminton team. Especially cried when grandma passed away.

Dislikes:
The only reason why I didnt give full 9.5 is because I didnt like the plot about the city guys trying to buy the village.

I'd like a season 2 but i'm afraid it won't be as good so i'll just rewatch this.

Rating: 9.25/10

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Recommended if you’re in the mood for something light, funny, and full of hope.

This show was so damn wholesome, I couldn’t stand it. Between the badminton teams (both boys and girls), the folks from the village, and just every damn thing – I was in constant love. I watched this weekly, as the episodes were releasing so I had a bit of a wait between episodes but that didn’t diminish my love for the storyline, the characters, and every dang thing about this show. I finished each episode, every week with a giant smile on my face because I loved it all.

There was a slight pause in the airing of a week’s worth of episodes due to the Summer Olympics and I was really bummed about that. I was watching both the Olympics and this show so I had a little attitude during the break but alls well that ends well and this show definitely ends well. It felt like every episode was a freaking season finale but we only had a week to wait between seasons.

I really adored the boy’s badminton team. Seeing them struggle to be taken seriously with the constant threat of shut down (of their program and season) and just overcoming obstacle after obstacle had me rooting like crazy for the whole lot of them. I loved how close they got to each other. I loved their ups and their downs and I absolutely loved the way that they teased each other and supported each other. I loved their truth bench and how different each of them were from the other. They became a family in the real sense and I loved it to pieces.

What I loved a lot about this show was how every character was a three-dimensional character with flaws and not cookie-cutter characters that fit a mold. I loved that each character had charms that were specific to them and they all had their own unique situations and struggles. On top of that, the village as a whole had struggles, and seeing each village member come together to bring the bad guys down just made this whole show that much better.

This show introduced me to new actors that I wasn’t aware of before and it also showed me that actors who played characters that I absolutely hated in other shows had what it takes to make me fall in love with them in this one. I couldn’t stand Choi Hyun Wook’s character in Taxi Driver but I adored the hell out of him as Na Woo Chan in this show. There’s a lot to love about this show. It has charm in spades and a cast of characters that you will come to adore with every fiber of your being. This show has grit and it has a heartwarming story that will hook you right from the jump. I absolutely recommend this if you’re in the mood for something light, funny, but full of hope. This drama doesn’t disappoint.

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A True Feelgood KDrama

This had been on my watchlist since last year when lots of viewers mentioned that it gave off a similar feel to the "Reply" series (which I loved). All I can say is I can't believe I put off watching this gem of a drama for so long! I had absolutely no expectations going in and by the time I finished all the episodes, I get why so many comments remark about the wholesomeness of this drama. This is one of the few dramas that I've actually watched more than once!

Likes:
-Tang Jun Sang as Yoon Hae Kang. Hae Kang lives as if he's the main character of his life and I aspire to have that kind of confidence. He's a bit whiny in the beginning but gradually warms up to his badminton crew and I loved the character growth! Besides that, Tang Jun Sang did such a great job with this role. I ended up watching "Move to Heaven" afterwards and you wouldn't believe that the same actor played two characters that are polar opposites of each other. I'm looking forward to seeing him in future productions!
-Badminton crew's friendship. They resolved misunderstandings and over time, they became like family to each other. It was just so wholesome to watch!
-It brought light to a sport that honestly doesn't have as big of a following compared to like baseball or soccer. The badminton smash shots were pretty good and accompanied with the on point BGM, it made the scenes all that more exciting. Sometimes it felt like I was actually there watching the match live.
-Gosh dang the romance was so pure and cute, my fan girl heart almost couldn't take how cute it was. Now whenever I hear that OST, I'll always think of that couple.

I know for sure there's little to no chance of a season 2 with how we basically got a mini epilogue anyway but I can't help but want to see what's next for the badminton squad!

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one of the best drama in 2021

I don't have anything to said but this drama actually a perfection for me. I don't even dare to skip any second in this drama.

My first impression about this drama is it will be boring sport drama but I'm totally wrong. The plot is focus on sport, friendship and the most important is the story of village people. Some people might complaint about the unnecessary romance part. But people need to chill, it's just a middle school lovey dovey.

For those people getting confused why this series only get around 8.5 in mydramalist but low than 2 in imdb, this is because a racism thing towards Indonesia during episode 5(?). Don't feel bother to watch this series just because it's getting low rating in imdb.

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Un très bon moment de franche rigolade accouplé à une émotion certaine

Jung Bo Hoon a peu écrit. Mais il a bien écrit.
Après "Prison Playbook" et les turbulences drôles et attachantes d'une cohabitation forcée entre prisonnier , le scénariste nous conte ici une tranche de vie à travers le regard de joueurs de badminton. Si on peut regretter que le badminton, qui sert ici seulement de scène pour nous retranscrire des relations humaines, que cela soit entre les joueurs ou entre les villageois, nous pouvons applaudir tout de même sur l'écriture brillante de ces personnages.

Ah le badminton, je me revois encore voler avec insouciance durant ma prime jeunesse vers le filet, raquette à la main, plongeant avec "classe" sur le volant capricieux... C'est une des raisons qui m'amènent aujourd'hui à écrire sur "Racket Boys", ça et aussi ma tendance naturelle à aimer les dramas traitant de sport (ne pas oublier que l'un de mes mangas de chevet reste encore et toujours "Touch" mais aussi "I'll Generation Basket"...).

C'est un sport loin d'être aussi populaire que le basket ball ou le football (chez nous) ou encore le base ball.
Du moins, c'est ce que je pensais.
Après quelques petites recherches (afin de ne pas me coucher trop bête), j'apprend que le badminton était assidûment pratiqué en Chine il y a 2000 ans de cela. Plus proche de nous, en Angleterre, le battledore and shuttlecock serait l'ancêtre du badminton. Le badminton moderne quant à lui est inspiré du jeu indien poona.
A ma grande surprise, le badminton, celui dont on ne parle jamais, est non seulement le sport le plus pratiqué en Asie ( j'ai toujours naïvement cru que c’était le base-ball…) mais aussi le deuxième sport le plus pratiqué dans le monde après le football, dont le nombre estimé de pratiquant s’élève à 100 millions. Oui, si c’est le sport le plus pratiqué en Asie, c’est plutôt logique….
Il est tout autant logique que les plus grands champions viennent d’Asie. Le pays avec le plus de médaillé aux jeux olympiques est la Chine suivi de l’Indonésie et de la Corée du Sud. Voili, voilou un petit peu de culture sportive.

Mais revenons à nos moutons….Ce drama parle donc de badminton. Du moins, le cadre de ce drama est le badminton. Il faut avouer que le badminton sert ici de base pour nous conter les amitiés d’une bande d’adolescent ainsi que de leur relation avec le monde des adultes à travers leur coach.
C’est un des points négatifs de ce drama : la pratique du sport n’est qu’un prétexte et est donc survolé. Il n’y a aucune explication dudit sport en question. J’aurais aimé, un peu comme dans « Ping Pong Life », des petites touches d’information sur le sport, les règles, les techniques. Nous voyons peu d’évolution au niveau des joueurs, que cela soit durant les compétitions ou dans le peu d’entrainement qui est mis en scène. Yoon Hae Kang est doué, on nous le répète sans cesse, tout autant que Han Se Yoon, ils rencontrent donc très peu d’adversaire qui peuvent réellement les mettre en échec. Il y a donc peu de suspense et peu de remise en question sur leur aptitude sportif. Les autres membres sont plus ou moins talentueux, avec quelques minutes éparpillés sur leur avancement sportif, mais rarement en profondeur, juste assez pour nous rappeler que leur rêves restent tout de même leur sélection nationale et la victoire nationale.
Les affrontements que cela soit amical ou lors d’une compétition sont mis en valeur esthétiquement mais ne sont pas assez passionnants, sportivement parlant. Le spectateur n’assiste pas réellement à une tension lors de ces fameux matchs. Ce qui n’enlève en rien la valeur émotionnelle de ces jeux. Malgré tout ,on y prend du plaisir.

Deuxième point négatif : Si l’amitié des garçons et filles est brillamment mise en valeur tout au long du drama, j’aurais aimé un peu plus d’emphase sur leur relation familiale. Hae Kang est le seul adolescent en relation directe avec sa famille. Bien que l’entente soit bonne avec des fluctuations classiques parents-enfant, au final cela ne durera que le temps d’un épisode. Il y a donc peu d’évolution ou de démonstration entre les protagonistes et leur famille. Juste un liseré, comme Se Yoon et sa mère ou Woo Chan et son père. Touchant mais si peu comme In Seol et son père. Ou inexistant comme Yoon Dam ou Han Seol.
Un parti pris du scénariste qui plaira. Ou pas.

Troisième point négatif : La narration un peu brouillon. Sûrement volontaire. Mais je n’ai pas réussi à m’adapter et à apprécier les nombreux aller-retours entre les nombreux protagonistes. Cette impression, un peu comme un échange de volant, où la caméra saute entre les événements, ces coupures volontaires afin de donner plus de poids à un suspense, que nous devinions au final assez rapidement, étaient frustrantes, de mon point de vue. Un peu comme les réalisations, caméra à l’épaule, volontairement choisi, mais qui ne plaira pas forcément à tous.

Mais alors, me direz-vous….Malgré ces défauts, qui n’en seront pas pour d’autres, c’est un drama qui reste de qualité. La réalisation comme souvent est claire et fluide, avec des images naturelles et une mise en scène esthétique.
L’écriture des protagonistes est plutôt réussie et il vous faudra peu de temps pour vous attacher naturellement à chaque protagoniste. Les liens, que cela soit entre les adolescents ou les villageois, sont émotionnellement bien construits. On rit souvent devant les répliques fantasques de Hae Kang ou devant les actions puériles des divers protagonistes. Actions qui cachent bien souvent une générosité débordante d’affection. L’amitié entre les différents adolescents est mise au devant la scène servant ainsi de moteur à leur désir d’avancer et de grandir. J’ai particulièrement apprécié le fait que cette franche amitié fut rapide à se mettre en place et faisant front face aux obstacles sans jamais faiblir. Il n’y a donc pas de place à la frustration des éventuels malentendus ou de problème relationnels.

Les romances sont mignonnes, on apprécie aussi ici la drôlerie et la chaleur de ces romances, qui correspondent bien à l’idée que j’ai encore en mémoire de l’adolescence et ses premiers amours.

L’histoire des villageois, sans être exceptionnellement bouleversante, reste vraiment agréable à suivre. Chaque personnage a sa propre histoire. Celle qui m’aura la plus émue est celle des citadins, Shin Phil Ja et Kim Tae Ho, leur évolution a été la plus flagrante et leur implication la plus bouleversante.
J’aurais aimé un peu plus d’interaction entre les jeunes et les adultes, le peu qui a été montré m’ayant fait stupidement sourire.

Un drama qui aurait mérité plus de profondeur certes, mais avec un indice émotionnel assez élevé vous obligeant à sourire tout le long, voire parfois a retenir subrepticement vos larmes. Si vous recherchez un drama simple à suivre, sans aucune frustration, avec beaucoup d'amour, n'hésitez pas.

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Life full of Hardships that is Wrapped with Purpose

This show does not only show you the reality of what life truly is and how it is dealt with or endured, but it also shows you that there could be enjoyable things living in that kind of life. This show may seem predictable at first, but its predictability contested my expectation and gave me a surprise that I never thought I would receive. It was a very nice 18 hours and 43 minutes of time that I spent. Worth the watch, so please give it a try. :)


Had a few doubts when I started this series, but oh man, talk about not judging the book by its cover!! First off let me just say, a very well-written series and although its main theme is sports, it tackles all the themes of life and society very well, with some great highlights on real-world issues. The kids are superb and their dialogue delivery makes all the difference in adding an extra punch to the humor! Some episodes are a real emotional roller coaster and you will end up crying in a few of them, but that just goes to show how well the series has been written. The chemistry between the cast is great and some do put up very convincing performances. The writing makes you connect with every single character and I thoroughly enjoyed all the episodes. This is one of the best Kdramas I have watched so far and highly underrated. A must-watch for all!

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One of the underrated drama

I found this drama on Netflix and did not expect much from it as most main cast were new actors. The story and supporting actors are the backbone of this drama. The direction was fab too.
Story - simple with not many twists and turns but the way of delivery is unique
Acting- young tae , coach yoon and coach Ra with national team coach are a delight with on point acting. Head coach and Hae-in as well as villagers from neighbourhood are good at acting their part. The only thing I felt missing were lead players acting it left lots to be desired.
Direction- it’s well presented story and delivery is its strong point

A must watch if you want those nostalgic school memories or you need a shot of inspiration.

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Top-Tier Slice of Life/ Coming of Age Drama

What I love about racket boys is how they portray each story and each life substantially. The illustration of everyone's life story is important and meaningfully special. You can pick any plot in an episode and, there is a moral to be learned. The plots are so emotional and hard-hitting, showing support within the family, friends, and the community. The flow of narrations is so smooth that time slipped every time you watched racket boys. The casting was so great, the bond of racket sonyeondan is so wholesome, you can say they are having so much fun, off and on cam. The cinematography is top-tier! Racket boys haven't been done airing yet I can say it is on the top list of a slice of life/coming-of-age drama. yeoksi Shin PD!

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Review on drama itself and not on the Indonesia controversy.

Besides the low ratings the drama got on portraying Indonesia in bad way, I would like to do actual review on drama itself.

The drama is very light hearted and light paced one, at certain times I felt it as too slow and boring. It only been racist in one episode, and leaving that aside, the drama was good at initial episodes but later episodes I didn't feel much thrill. I didn't expect thrill since this not an action drama, but I expected it to be more entertaining which it failed me. So if you are someone who is completely ok with a very slow paced and completely light hearted drama, than this is good for you.

In my opinion, this is only a one time watchable decent drama.

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Warm, cozy comfort

This is such a fun sports drama. I’m usually not a fan of sports dramas, but they really outdid themselves with this. It had a good pacing, and was rather insightful and motivating, not to mention that the story was great.

I had a lot of fun watching this show. The main badminton plot was interjected by the stories of the lives of everyone in the village, which was a welcome respite and somehow didn’t take away from the show at all. My favourite villagers have to be the city couple, watching them grow and bond together with the villagers was extremely sweet.

This is a show about growing up and getting better, about outdoing yourself, sportsmanship and class.
It was wonderfully written and executed.

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