In this day and age, it's not easy to tell a story about growing up. If you don't grasp it well, it will either tend to be flat or full of exaggeration. However, the screenwriter Zheng Baoxun seems to be very good at depicting small people in a small environment. Four years ago, he wrote the amazing drama "Witty Prison Life", which launched another equally brilliant "Witty" series after TVN's "Please Answer" series.
It is said that this "Racket Youth League" was prepared at the same time as "Witty Prison Life", but in the end, "Witty Prison Life" began filming to meet the audience. Just last year, director Shin Won-ho revealed in an interview that he would continue to shoot the work with Zheng Baoxun. But in the end, zheng baoxun screenwriter and director Zhao Yingguang joined forces, and the premiere platform also changed from TVN to SBS, appearing in the moon fire file.
"Racket Boys" has aired 12 episodes so far, and it has been launched on Netflix at the same time worldwide. In South Korea's ratings rankings, it has been in the top ten of the weekly list since the first episode; in China, the first episode of Douban score has reached 8.6.
A TV series whose name seems to be about a young badminton player is not supposed to be an easy and popular popular genre, why is it constantly praised and addictive as soon as it starts? Warmth, blood, tears, touching, hilarious, humorous elements that can fully mobilize the audience's emotions will appear at any time in this play, natural and vivid.
Healing is my deepest feeling when I chase this drama. After 12 episodes, there is no doubt that on the best list of the year, "Racket Boys" is definitely a strong contender!
To be able to make such a niche drama into such a drama, I think, the following two reasons are the magic weapon for its victory.
Reason one: the main creators - strong can not drop the chain of the front and back of the stage, with strength to conquer the audience
I would like to ask, how many people watched "Racket Boys" because the screenwriter of "Witty Prison Life" and the directors of "The Accused" and "49 Days" joined forces? How many people watched "Racket Youth Group" because of Tang Junxiang, the actor of Han Kelu in "I Am a Relic Sorter"? "Witty Prison Life", "Defendant", "49 Days", "I Am a Relic Sorter", but anyone who knows Korean dramas should be full of respect for these dramas. The cast members associated with them have filmed a new drama together, which can't help but make people look forward to it!
However, looking at the title of the play to guess the plot, I initially only thought it was a badminton boy's dream story. Although I like Tang Junxiang and "Witty Prison Life", I still have doubts about the good looks of "Racket Youth League". Until after watching episode 1, I went directly into the pit and found that it was not easy to get out of the pit.
Zheng Baoxun, who became famous because of "Witty Prison Life", once again proved himself through "Racket Youth League", which is simply the next gold medal screenwriter booking. He is very good at portraying the emotions and personalities of the characters, delicate but not greasy. In the overall control of the story, it is also easy to retract, always able to properly string together many seemingly unrelated trivial things, and support the whole story with the clever ideas gathered together. Therefore, watching the stories written by Zheng Baoxun is always particularly comfortable, and tears and laughter coexist. Although there is no dog blood plot, it just makes you can't stop watching, and the rhythm control is simply amazing. Such a treasure screenwriter, his work is the rating guarantee ah.
Many people like director Zhao Yingguang because of "The Defendant" and "Thoracic Surgery", and I am because of his "49 Days". The works shot by director Zhao Yingguang are very varied, but they all have one thing in common, that is, the rhythm is compact, and they never drag mud and water. He always does a very good job of overall planning of the overall direction of the whole drama. And what is even more rare is that he pays special attention to the details of the laying out, and there is almost no waste pen.
In addition to the writers and directors, the actors of "Racket Boys" are even more worthy of a big book. There are no top superstars among them, but they are all acting schools, from old to young, from protagonists to supporting roles to passers-by, all acting skills online.
First of all, the young lead actors, the average age is only 17 years old! The youngest Yoon Hae-jin is played by Ahn Se-bin, who is not yet 8 years old, and Kim Young-hoon, who is played by Lee Young-tae, who is busy with the badminton team, is only 12 years old.
Among them, Tang Junxiang is just popular, and he is now less than 18 years old, he is simply an acting genius, and his future is really too much to look forward to. I am in the "I am a relic sorter" Fengshen 2021 the most touching Korean drama, why cry while chasing 1 day 10 episodes? Tang Junxiang was introduced in this review. To be honest, I also noticed the drama "Racket Youth Group" because of Tang Junxiang. Mature acting, slack, delicate is the label of Tang Junxiang, he is strong enough to always be able to shoot to the end of the NG! Unlike Han Kelu ("I Am a Relic Sorter") who plays Asperger's syndrome and Kim Jin-dong, a small soldier who plays the Korean People's Army ("The Forced Landing of Love"), this time, Yoon Hae-kang, played by Tang Jun-sang, is his third TV series role, a teenager who is both middle-aged and hot-blooded, who does not accept defeat and explodes when he loses. As I said before, Tang Junxiang is not a handsome man, he even looks a little rustic, but also a little bad. But his face has a magic that can be unforgettable, and it is still eye-catching in the crowd. The small eyes and thick eyebrows added a lot of cute and ignorant innocence to Tang Junxiang. Such a contrast is simply prepared for Yin Haikang.
The 12-year-old Kim Ison-hoon is a famous child star, and compared with his older brother and sister, he is the predecessor who has starred in the most works. Moreover, most of them are masterpieces - "Chief Jin", "When the Camellia Blossoms", "Spying", "Mr. Sunshine", "Druna Hotel", "Kingdom", "Eighteen Years Old Again", "Memories of Tomorrow", "Appendix to the Romance Book"...
The handsome man Luo Yucan is played by Choi Hyun Wook, a baseball player and a classmate of Kim So-hyun. He is the male protagonist of the hit web drama "Real: Time: Love1", and the bad student Park Seung-tae in "Model Taxi".
Sun Sang-won, a 19-year-old brother of the badminton team and a popular player, is Jiang Yijun, a VIP patient at Ishigaki Hospital in "Romantic Doctor Kim Master 2", and he is also a teenager who played Chi Changxu in "Strange Partner".
The school's hero Jeong In-il is also starred by the same 19-year-old Kim Min-ki, who is the younger brother of Jiaying, Chinese "Goddess Descends", oh, do you recognize it? He is even more a character who has aroused heated discussion because of his super high appearance like Jin Minzai!
Han Shirun and Li Hanli of the badminton team of Hainan No. 1 Girls' High School are played by 17-year-old Li Zairen and less than 15-year-old Li Zhiyuan.
Lee Jae-in won the Best Newcomer Actress Award at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards at the age of 15 with "The Mother of the Mother", and it was Lee Jeong-jae and Park Jeong-min who played against her!
And the public seems to be more familiar with Li Zhiyuan, yes, she is Jiang Yibin in "Castle in the Sky"! She is also Lin Zhuyan in "Exorcism Noodle House"! She is also Hong Jae-hee in the Appendix of the Romance Chronicle!
Even An Shibin, who is less than 8 years old, is already an "old" actor who has starred in 5 works!
Such a young starring group, placed in today's Korean showbiz circle, can also be regarded as the top match of the ceiling level of this age group.
In addition to the new generation of actors, the adult actors in the play are also properly recognized as powerful factions!
Kim Sang-kyung, 49, plays badminton coach Yoon Hyun-jong, who is also the father of Yoon Hae-kang and Yoon Hae-in. Jin Sang-kyung was nominated for the Blue Dragon Award for Best Actor.
Yin Haikang and Yin Hairen's mother Luo Yingzi, who coached the badminton team of Hainan First Girls' High School, has always been a legend in the badminton world. This character is played by our Ms. Wu Nala! Chen Zhenxi, who she played in "Castle in the Sky", must be familiar to everyone, in fact, she was originally a musical theater actress.
In addition, An Neixiang played Coach Peng of the national team, Shin Jeong-geun played the head coach of Hainan Western Middle School, Park Hyo-joo played the urban female painter, Jeong Min-sung played the husband of the female painter, Baek Ji-won played Ms. Shin, Kim Mi-kyung played by Grandma, Yu Hyun played by Hong Lichang, An Shangyu played by Boss Lu, my mother, which one is not vivid?
It is also worth mentioning that the unusually strong cameo lineup of "Racket Youth League", which is extremely rare in Korean dramas, shows how good the writers and directors are.
For example, Lee Shi-yan, Kim Hyun-seok, Lee Joon-hyuk, Cho Jae-yong, Heo Sung-tae, Choi Dai-hoon, this string of names may not be very familiar to you, but their appearance must be no stranger to you, they are all famous actors of the hit series.
In this drama, you will also see many actors in "Witty Prison Life", all of whom made cameo appearances because of their friendship with the screenwriter: Park Hae-so (Kim Ji-hyuk) starred as Hyun Jong's high school and college classmate Lee Jae-joon, Kim Sung-chol (Fazi) starred as Park General Secretary on the construction site, Park Ho-san starred as Park Jeong-jong, seniors who suggested Hyun-jong to work at Hainan School, and Jung Min-sung (Dr. Ko) played the husband of a female painter who lived from the city to the countryside. In particular, WINNER captain Jiang Seung-yun (Jean Valjean) made his final appearance in the 12 episodes that had just aired, which directly increased the ratings. I guess he most likely made a cameo appearance as the previous badminton genius Kang Tae-sun.
Reason two: the story itself - firmly grasp the king of ratings, with content and wonderful people to capture people's hearts
The story takes place in a super remote mountain village in South Korea called Jiwei Village, which is located in Hainan County, Jeollanam Province, the most backward and impoverished village in southwest Korea, and the southernmost point of South Korea's land. There is a bus stop in the village, which provides direct access to the nearest Hainan Western Middle School. And this school is the junior high school where badminton teenagers study. They go to school during the day to practice and return to the village at night.
The screenwriter puts the story in such a small broken place that means a little "end of the sky" for urban people, which is actually quite flattering, because it can leave a lot of room for the story to develop and reverse, and it is easier to make the story tense.
As it turns out, the same is true of the results.
Yoon Hyun-jong, who was originally a badminton coach in Seoul, lent money to friends and helped each other guarantee, but instead made his family destitute. This directly led to his inability to pay for all the necessary living expenses, especially the cost of his son Yin Haikang's baseball training, which deprived his son, who was full of love and talent for baseball, the most important opportunity to practice. The younger daughter Yin Hairen's asthma is also frequent, which also costs a lot of money. No way, Yin Xianzong gritted his teeth, accepted the proposal of his predecessors, and went to the remote Hainan Western Junior High School as a badminton coach, and rented a house in the nearest Diwei Village.
Unexpectedly, first of all, there was no indoor bathroom and the house surrounded by bears at night, which made the family panic and helpless, and even more made his son Hikkang angry and speechless, and immediately clamored to move back to Seoul. Then Hyunjong discovers that the badminton team he will coach actually has only 3.5 players, and those 0.5 players are a foreign boy who will leave at any time. Sure enough, the team ended up with only 3 people left: two juniors - Fang Yuntan and Luo Yucan, and one junior - Li Tairong. However, a team of only 3 people cannot even participate in the competition, and at least 4 people are needed. In addition, the team's dormitory was cancelled due to financial problems, so coach Hyunjong had no choice but to take the team's children to his rental house in Jiwei Village. Later, his wife Luo Yingzi also came here with her two female disciples. At this point, all the badminton players have appeared.
Thus, the first reversal of the story came - Yin Haikang's past was opened for the first time with a small corner. It turned out that Hikvision was the most promising badminton genius in the country when he was a child, and he won numerous awards. Then one day, he suddenly said that he would not play badminton anymore and was determined to play baseball. The reason was not disclosed at this time, but it was a strong preparation for the appearance of Yin Haikang, the fourth man of the badminton team.
Hikvision was pushed into the badminton team completely reluctantly, saying that he would only play one game for them before leaving, and he was going back to play baseball. In this way, Hikvision's whereabouts and Hikvision's past have left great room for the story to progress, and the line of badminton teenagers chasing dreams has also been carried out smoothly. Until now 12 episodes, the 16-year-old Yin Haikang, who is competitive and does not accept defeat, has been in the competition and training of badminton, and in the day and night with his peers, from the initial perfunctory help, to the participation in order to defeat Huang Mao, to the first place in the country to defeat Park Can, and finally to finally recognize his heart - his ideal is to be able to become a badminton national player, along the way, accompanied by the teenager's ignorance, pity, crush, remorse, entanglement, and blood. Among them, it is also interspersed with his green love line with Shirun.
The Badminton Team of Hainan West Junior High School has also become more and more powerful in the bumps along the way. Since the addition of Ren Li, the teenagers have not stopped the pace of growing up in their dreams. Yucan, a handsome man who likes hip-hop but is good at singing soulful songs, his military father from the beginning of the resolute opposition to today's silent support and understanding, so that the pressure has been huge Yucan is very moved, pistachio Rong is too naïve and optimistic, there is no lack of warm and delicate thoughts, even if he was inadvertently betrayed by his friend Eun Hao, he still has the greatest goodwill, Yun Tan is as mature and calm as ever, and he also gains the love of the cold rate, Ren Rate is really fond of badminton, and will use his brain to play ball, helping the team and teammates to contribute countless good ideas , the strength of the mind of the bully is really not covered...
The lovely sage and legendary White Wolf Pei head coach, with his love and persistence, has become the strong backing of the children.
Xianzong also from the beginning only concerned about whether the salary can be paid on time whether his job can be kept, and now he still chooses to stick to his original intention, he seems to only stare at "money", a little unreliable, his behavior is still very funny, and he even missed the game because of drinking before the game, but in fact, he is very loving and responsible, and is a kind person to the extreme. Otherwise, he could not guarantee his friends to borrow money, he was obviously already very difficult, seeing more difficult friends, or silently endured everything. He held his mobile phone all day and giggled, others thought he was playing games, but in fact he was recording videos of children training and competitions, and he was analyzing the records late at night... And his family anecdotes and love affairs with his wife Luo Yingzi, who coached in the badminton team of Hainan First Girls' Middle School, are also useful adjustments for TV series. And this kind of treatment is the typical application of Zheng Baoxun's comedy performance method - using an extraordinary contrast to carry out "killing".
Not to mention the head coach of White Wolf Pei, he is a legend! Endure humiliation and burden, do things silently, stick to the original intention, is a real man.
At the same time, what happens in the village of Jiwei forms another line of the story. Some people call it the side line, but in my opinion it is not, it is actually a cross line with the badminton teenagers, which is equally important.
The villagers in Diwei Village are very colorful——
Hong Lichang, who looks funny and confused, actually cares more about the village and the villagers than anyone else, does everything big and small, and everyone is eager to help with everything - driving, moving cement, repairing the roof... He seemed to have easily taken everything with jokes, in fact, he was like a mirror in his heart, so that the village could bear the burden of humiliation by retreating into the future, for example, when he saw the unreasonable mountain enterer, he obviously collected evidence, but only to finally take it out, not to punish how severely, but only to warn the two people to retreat, because the village needs popularity and peace.
The grumpy Ms. Shin was full of resentment towards the people in the city because of her own experience, and she glared and roared, and the whole village was afraid. She is particularly determined to guard the village, and opposes the appearance of all people or things related to the city in the village, which makes people feel picky and aggressive. Therefore, when she saw the painter couple in the city come to the village, ten thousand disdain; when she saw the littering into the mountain, she was even more mad; even the unpalatable curry sent by Haikang, her performance was different from others, directly scolding and questioning... She always frowned and was angry all day long, but in fact, she was a very kind and filial daughter, jealous and hateful. The older brothers and sisters lived in the city, never caring about the 90-year-old mother, and after the mother's death, she only wanted to share the inheritance. Ms. Shin is the youngest daughter in the family and has been guarding her mother all her life. She was very bitter in her heart, but she didn't know how to express it. Until after her mother's death, looking at the several boxes of her favorite water radish kimchi left by her mother, thinking about the help of the villagers, especially the warm-hearted actions of the painter couple, she finally opened her heart. It can be said that Ms. Shen is a very brilliant character in "Racket Youth League", which is extremely impressive.
Ms. Shin's mother is the oldest man in the village, and her father will not speak after he leaves. In fact, she was a girl who had studied in school and had culture before. The property rights of most of the houses in the village are also hers. Although she could not speak, she could write, and many things she knew. When she asked Haikang about her heart, when she firmly believed that her daughter loved to eat water radish kimchi the most (in fact, it was only the love of her daughter when she was a teenager, and her mother remembered it for a lifetime), when she saw the images of her hometown Busan prepared for her by the teenagers, when she handed over her will to the painter couple, when she insisted on waiting for her daughter who bought her scones to come back before she finally took her breath, when she finally took her daughter's hand and said" at the last moment of her life, Although the old man has almost no lines in the TV series, he has brought the audience infinite touch and warmth.
The old couple in the village who usually talk about each other all day is a very drama-stealing existence. The grandfather behind the ear usually does not talk much, but in fact, he also has his own cute little temper, such as the angry grandmother always let him help take pictures, and why the angry painter only puts the grandmother's single photo when painting the mural. Grandma seems to be a bit pretentious with her mouth, but in fact, what she says is the opposite, and her heart is very kind and simple. The mysterious little room she didn't let the kids in at first was the city room she had prepared for her grandchildren in the city, with super good WIFI and all kinds of toys, just so that the grandson could stay here a little longer. People are old, afraid of loneliness, afraid of loneliness, and miss family affection even more. So she always warmly entertained the teenagers, gave them the city house, and made them a lot of good food, because in this way, her life could be full of vitality. When she first met the painters and couples, she was full of complaints and all kinds of pickiness, but at night, afraid that they would not have any dishes to eat when they first arrived, she personally made kimchi and sent them to the door. During the day, she always seemed to summon the painter's husband and make the painter angry enough, but in fact, she was teaching the painter's husband to do farm work. On stormy nights, she sneaks into the painters' chili fields to help them reinforce the protective devices. She said that she wanted to see the flowers, but when she heard that Hairen had asthma, she immediately let the car turn around and go to pick up the child to the hospital...
The painter couple played by "Dr. Ko" Jeong Min-sung and Park Hyo-joo, who have been married for 10 years, are typical urbanites who have fled here because of the oppression of urban life that is about to suffocate, and they want to find opportunities here, either to continue, or to stop (suicide). So, with a disheartened and lazy guard, they almost never communicated with the villagers when they first arrived. Especially the wife, always locked the door of the heart. However, on the first night of their arrival, Hikvision brought curry, although it was unpalatable, they did not taste it at all, but they were moved to cry, thinking that it was the best curry in the world. Then, the grandmother who was still talking with them during the day also brought kimchi. In the days that followed, the governor and grandmother had been helping them, although on the surface it seemed to be a call. Even Ms. Shin's mother is working to ease her relationship with her daughter and them, and trusts the will to them. In the home with almost no furniture, in the isolated and remote mountain village where there were not many villagers, they gradually felt the breath of fresh life. They helped their grandparents paint family portrait murals on the walls of their own yard, their cars almost became the buses in the village, they silently contributed wholeheartedly when Ms. Shin's mother died, and finally the female painters in the city and the authentic village woman Ms. Shen became friends as sisters... So they decided to continue living here. At this time, they who were sentenced to infertility were actually pregnant.
It is these warm plots, there are no magnificent waves, no ups and downs, but it really makes the audience feel the infinite beauty of life. In this beauty, healing is everywhere: whether it is the city people or the country people, whether young people or adults, they have been healing each other and gaining strength. The two lines naturally intersect, without the slightest separation or violation, and harmonize into a perfect circle. I have to say that the screenwriter's control of the story is really great.
Good works can always hit people's hearts, even small productions, can still turn out, and "Racket Boys" proves this again.