While watching "So I Married the Anti-Fan", another idol-type drama has been airing too, and that is Imitation. I recently have been watching dramas that has an idol character as the main lead. The other drama that I'm watching is The Day of Becoming You, but I haven't finished watching it yet.
Anyway, going back to Imitation, the main reason why I started watching this drama is because of the casts. Lee Junyoung (also known as Jun) is the main lead here. Plus, other idols like SF9 Hwiyoung, Chani, ATeez Yunho, Jong Ho, San, and Seonghwa, Lim Nayoung, and more, were part of this drama. With the cast line-up, this made me remember Dream High.
About Imitation
Title: Imitation
Episodes: 12 episodes (around 1 hour each)
Characters:
Tea Party Members
Jeong Ji So as Lee Maha
Kim Min Seo as Yu Ri Ah
Lim Nayoung as Shim Hyun Ji
SHAX Members
Lee Junyoung as Kwon Ryeok
SF9 Chani as Eunjo
SF9 Hwiyoung as Lee Hyun
ATeez Jongho as Hyeok
Yuri as Dojin
An Jung Hoon as Jae Woo
Sparkling Members
ATeez Yunho as Yujin
Boys Republic Lee Suwoong as Hyun-O
ATeez Seonghwa as Seyoung
ATeez San as Minsoo
T-Ara Park Ji Yeon as La Rima
Review of Imitation
A typical idol rom-com story
Before it started airing, I was excited for this drama because I'm sure they'll be talking about the life of a Korean idol. Not only about their fame, but also their hardships as trainees, how they deal with scandals, company issues and stuff.
During the first few episodes, although the first episode was a bit boring for me, it somehow tackled those things. Omega-3 wasn't able to sing their debut song because of an issue. They were tricked by their management. A famous member of SHAX suddenly left the group, and more. But it eventually turned into a rom-com drama.
The next episodes suddenly focused on the love story of Maha and Ryeok. It was okay at at first since idols really do date but their chemistry wasn't so appealing to me. I prefer Ria's and Lee Hyun's pairing.
This is the reason why I felt a little disappointed with the drama. I was looking for more hardships towards their dream. More inspirational lines. Or maybe I kept on comparing it with Dream High.
The ending made me cry
Spoilers alert (although the story is really predictable)!
I made the right choice of watching the drama until the last episode even though I felt bored in the middle. The ending satisfied me. In fact, it made me cry. The song they performed at the last part was really so heart-warming. And of course, when Eunjo went up the stage, my heart stopped.
I have expected it already. But it still feels different when you watch that scene yourself. Eunjo performing the song he made along with the other artists is really so satisfying to watch. It's just a good way to end the show.
The KPOP idols in the drama made me feel like they were real
SHAX, Tea Party, Sparkling, La Rima? Although they were fictional characters, they made me feel like they are a real group. Why? They also have their official Twitter accounts. Fancams were uploaded. There were also comeback teaser updates. They even performed in music shows.
But the thing that almost all collector fans want, their album. Yes, they also have pre-orders of their albums. The physical albums. In fact, I have already ordered it (special thanks to my friends for financially supporting my fangirling haha). I can't wait to receive mine.
Favorite scene
Aside from the ending performance, my favorite scene is when Lee Hyun was talking to Ryeok about "A & B". It really made me laugh. I even tweeted about it. It was really funny. Even other fans thought it was cute. Look at their conversation here:
Conclusion
Will I recommend this drama? Well, it depends on the person. If you're looking for some kind of idol romcom drama then I will. But if you're not into that kind of drama, probably not since you might get bored with it.
Imitation will give you a glimpse on how the Korean entertainment industry is. It's not always the happy things. Our idols are going through a lot. So, the least we can do is to show them our support without demanding them that they should do this or that. At the end of the day, they are still people who works.
Imitation is available on iQIYI.
