KAD
This review may contain spoilers
Worth the watch - view it as the prequel to Season 2, which is where the meat lies
This was an enjoyable show, and I was willing to overlook some of the logic lapses because the entertainment value and surprises throughout the series kept me hooked.
The good stuff first:
1) The acting
I wouldn't say spectacular, but definitely good, across the cast. No cringe-worthy moments of awkward acting despite the average age of the cast. Definitely one of the better assemble of young actors and actresses I've seen!
2) The plot
Whilst a common plot for Japanese movies, I've not seen this type of plot much in a TV series - it's difficult to maintain the excitement and tension through the series. The plot twists kept me watching. Although some of them were given away early by rather obvious hints, a couple (esp in the final episode) surprised me.
Potentials not explored (pun intended :P):
1) Flow of logic throughout the plot
- How did the entire school forget about what happened post-Wave's attack?
- Why can't the director just manipulate the minds of the Ministry Board to get the funds he wanted?
- How did the director manipulate the minds of the school officers to capture Pang, without him touching them. In other scenes where he manifested his power, he had to touch the person. [Season 2 addressed this]
- Why did the director not erase all memories of Pang held by the Gifted class?
- If Pang was willing to go all out to fight the system, wouldn't it have been more effective to broadcast the whole thing to the entire country? [Season 2 addressed this]
2) Integrating the students' powers into the central plot
- I see two 'climax' in the series. One is the fight against Wave and one is the final fight against the director.
- But in both instances, the series failed to tap on the potentials of the students to make them relevant. The entire series is based on their potentials and the system they are stuck in. Had the two been more integrated, with each student using their potentials to work together and bring down the antagonist, it would have been more exciting. There was an attempt at this, but the possibilities brought about by the premise of special potentials was not utilised. What was the point of Korn's potential? Yes, it gives him extra time, but we don't see him using this potential at all. What was the point of Jack and Jo's potential? We never find out.
- Also, what were the 'costs' of the potentials held by Pang, Wave, Korn, Jack and Jo etc? It would have made an interesting conflict point/trade-off exploring the cost they need to bear whenever they use their potentials.
The good stuff first:
1) The acting
I wouldn't say spectacular, but definitely good, across the cast. No cringe-worthy moments of awkward acting despite the average age of the cast. Definitely one of the better assemble of young actors and actresses I've seen!
2) The plot
Whilst a common plot for Japanese movies, I've not seen this type of plot much in a TV series - it's difficult to maintain the excitement and tension through the series. The plot twists kept me watching. Although some of them were given away early by rather obvious hints, a couple (esp in the final episode) surprised me.
Potentials not explored (pun intended :P):
1) Flow of logic throughout the plot
- How did the entire school forget about what happened post-Wave's attack?
- Why can't the director just manipulate the minds of the Ministry Board to get the funds he wanted?
- How did the director manipulate the minds of the school officers to capture Pang, without him touching them. In other scenes where he manifested his power, he had to touch the person. [Season 2 addressed this]
- Why did the director not erase all memories of Pang held by the Gifted class?
- If Pang was willing to go all out to fight the system, wouldn't it have been more effective to broadcast the whole thing to the entire country? [Season 2 addressed this]
2) Integrating the students' powers into the central plot
- I see two 'climax' in the series. One is the fight against Wave and one is the final fight against the director.
- But in both instances, the series failed to tap on the potentials of the students to make them relevant. The entire series is based on their potentials and the system they are stuck in. Had the two been more integrated, with each student using their potentials to work together and bring down the antagonist, it would have been more exciting. There was an attempt at this, but the possibilities brought about by the premise of special potentials was not utilised. What was the point of Korn's potential? Yes, it gives him extra time, but we don't see him using this potential at all. What was the point of Jack and Jo's potential? We never find out.
- Also, what were the 'costs' of the potentials held by Pang, Wave, Korn, Jack and Jo etc? It would have made an interesting conflict point/trade-off exploring the cost they need to bear whenever they use their potentials.
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