Lookism the animated series debuted on Netflix on Thursday, December 8, 2022.
This show was actually written on the calendar for me to view, but I fell behind and I wish I hadn’t because Lookism is such a sweet treat.
I should have watched it the day it debuted. I absolutely adored it. I laughed. I cried. Dear God, I cried a lot during and even after it ended.
Lookism is a webtoon that was released on June 3, 2017, and created by Taejun Pak. Netflix adapted episodes 1-27 into an anime series for us to watch.
The story is about an overweight male high school student that is severely bullied. One day this young man wakes up and he is no longer overweight. He is stunning. He is so unbelievably attractive that everyone believes he is a celebrity.
A Warning About Lookism
In this post, I will give you a deeper overview of what the anime is about, what were the peak moments along with what just fell flat. Also, before I jump in, I want to let you know that I do not do spoiler free. So, stop right here if you do not want the show spoiled.
spoiler alert — stop if you do not want the story spoiled
Lookism — A Deeper Overview
Daniel Park is the lead in this story. He is overweight, short, and called a vile pig. The students call him names and inflict physical pain upon Daniel Park/Park Hyung-Seok. He eventually asks his mother if he can be transferred to another school. Originally his mother says no because she doesn’t have the resources to move again along with paying for a different school.
Daniel’s mother has a change of heart and ends up going to his school to look into transferring her son yet when she is leaving the school she sees Daniel being bullied. She tries to stop the bully, but Daniel who is so upset about everything instead of standing up for himself or his mother, Daniel tells her to stop because she’s so embarrassing.
Despite her son’s hurtful remarks and treatment towards her, she ends up getting Daniel/Park into a school. It ends up being a fashion school, but it’s a different school nonetheless. His mom stays behind to work 2 jobs to assist with sending Daniel money and pay for the new school he is attending.
Upon arrival Daniel accidentally bumps into a fellow student’s girlfriend which enrages the boyfriend. He immediately unleashes by punching Daniel. The next day Daniel wakes up in his second body which is tall, attractive, and lean.
Daniel immediately becomes popular due to him being extremely attractive, but even though he is no longer being bullied in his second body, he is still bullied when he is in his original first body. Also, other classmates are being bullied which is upsetting to Daniel. He ends up befriending two other classmates who are bullied and one of them being Duke Pyeon/Pyeon Duk Hwa, who doesn’t understand why Daniel would do such a thing.
Duke Pyeon ends up entering the school’s talent show because he is a rapper. Yet, one day after he was beaten up laying outside on the ground he heard Daniel singing and runs upstairs to ask him to enter the talent show with him. Daniel will sing and Duke will rap.
The song that Daniel Park/Park Hyung-Seok and Duke Pyeon/Pyeon Duk Hwa sing together is absolute magic. I suggest that you don’t look up the song until you have either read the webtoon or watched the Netflix series because it doesn’t hit without knowing the entire story.
I replayed that scene so many times while crying. All my emotions were hitting me straight in the heart. I seriously couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.
Daniel Park/Park Hyung-Seok vs. Duke Pyeon/Pyeon Duk Hwa
In Lookism Daniel becomes lucky as he now has a second body that he can use to attend school. This body is glamorous and prevents him from being a target because everyone either wants to be him, be his friend, or they are jealous of him. Yet, Daniel still feels the same. He hasn’t changed on the inside. He is still caring. He still sings when he is in pain. His self-esteem and self-confidence were still fractured.
When Daniel is in his original first body working (that he uses to work at the convenience store at night while his second body goes to school), he gets attacked several times while working at the store. He doesn’t try to fight back and he holds onto his anger and it manifests in him thinking he isn’t good enough. He also believes it is his mother’s fault and he basically blames everyone for his circumstances instead of trying to better himself.
Whereas Duke Pyeon/Pyeon Duk Hwa uses the anger that is unleashed by the school bullies to motivate and push him to succeed. Even when he believes Daniel is just being nice to him to eventually end up like those that attack him he tells Daniel. That it doesn’t matter what he does to him because he will spur on! He has a fighting spirit that he uses to put his all into his music.
Daniel cannot deny this as when he sees Duke’s home he couldn’t believe how resourceful, talented, and motivated he was even though they have the same exact background. A background of poverty and limited resources. Duke cares about his grandmother who is raising him, their place, and what they have. Daniel resented his mother and felt nothing was good enough despite everything his mother was trying to do for him.
In this world are you a Daniel Park or a Duke Pyeon?
Do you just wish for things and hope that they happen or are you someone who makes the best of what you currently have like Duke Pyeon? We need more Duke Pyeons in the world.
The Talent Show
This is the part that got me. On the day of the big performance, Daniel is nervous and feels he cannot perform the song. Duke encourages him throughout the day letting him know he’s got this. Right before they get on the stage he tries to ease Daniel’s nerves because he is overwhelmed by how big the crowd is. Duke tells Daniel to think of someone he loves and then he will forget about the crowd and everything else around him.
The song starts and Daniel doesn’t start off on a good foot. Immediately everyone is thinking wow he sucks he thought he was good because of his looks. Duke goes into his rap giving Daniel more time to think about the person he truly loves.
It was like God opened the heavens to let the angels sing!
Once Daniel realizes he truly loves his mom he sings flawlessly. It was like God opened the heavens to let the angels sing. The song is gorgeous, warming, and filled with love. I replayed this scene so many times and ran online to find the song and soundtrack to add to my music playlist.
I loved how Daniel’s love was for his mother unlike in most shows and/or books it is always a girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, or partner of some sort. It was his mother. As someone that loves their mother, it was a great way to highlight a different type of love.
Love isn’t just romantic. Many people often forget this.
Seeing Daniel’s mother holding Daniel as a baby and her being a young woman is making me cry again as I type this. This anime has turned me into a mess!
More Lookism Highlights
I loved Vasco! He is a justice vigilante who believes that Daniel is a bad person and wants to pummel him, but finds out he is good. He cries a lot even though he is a leader and is considered the tough guy.
Jay Hong- Park/Hong Jae Yeol the character with the cool blonde bangs that cover his eyes. He is elegant, stays on brand, and is silent. He ends up gifting Daniel a large amount of clothing and accessories on his birthday, after hearing people talk about Daniel Park’s clothing being tattered and worn. The smile he gives when Daniel says a friend gave him the stuff melted my heart. Also, Jay Hong coming through with fresh threads for Duke Pyeon and Daniel Park for their talent show performance was amazing too!
Lookism Season 2
If you finished season 1 of Lookism, the ending leaves it open for season two, but we all know this isn’t a guarantee. We all have more questions such as will Daniel keep his secret of having two bodies? Also, we find out he isn’t the only person with two bodies and we want to know more!
Currently, Lookism Season 2 is under production. There hasn’t been an announcement nor a date release statement from Netflix nor the creator of Lookism. So, keep talking about the show if you loved it! Share this post with your friends and/or anyone interested in Lookism.
Lastly, what are your thoughts about Lookism? What were your favorite parts? Your least favorite parts? I am dying to know! Feel free to leave a comment below or send me a message on Twitter, Instagram or directly from the website.
Until then I will continue reading the Lookism webtoon and singing along to Fly Up by Park Hyung Seok & Pyeon Deok Hwa.
