Okay - We understand, being bullied for your appearance is hard.

But what else?

I recognised Lookism from its popularity on Webtoon and even back then, I remember taking a look at its title, banner and summary, and thinking wow, this looks flat. By judging a book by its cover, my intuition was right all along. Yes, indeed ironic considering the point of the story is that it is the personality of a person which matters, regardless of appearances.

Hyung-Suk Park is a young man who gets ostracised by his classmates in a school which follows the cliché popularity hierarchy with the richest and hottest at the top and those deemed unattractive pinned at their command. Our main character is the prime example of the bottom of this pyramid. As a short, fat and glasses-wearing person, he gets labelled a pig, relentlessly beaten and forced to submit to the 'popular' circle's sick games.

The fighting scenes were certainly overdone and eventually they became predictable and dull. The first episode got the point across that he was the social outcast of the school; I am all for dramatisation, but the bullying scenes were just not convincing. The eventual turning-point was Hyung-Suk getting beaten in front of his own mother.

After this, he decides to move neighbourhoods to live on his own, that is when the supernatural strand of the plot commences. His body splits into two, with his new half being a slim, tall and handsome version of himself. In fact, this new half radiates celebrity-status, as with every room he walks into, heads turn to admire. Without saying a word, people flock to him for validation. The only rule is that when one body is active, the other has to be asleep. This split is used to divide his labour: When he is at school, he uses the new body, and then he uses his original self to work night-shifts at a convenience store. Now what message does that leave us with?

We don't learn that much about his relationship with his mother or know anything about his past. Actually, the only thing we know he enjoys is singing, which isn't explored until it's convenient for the plot - and with little impact. Disappointingly, his newfound confidence in his attractive half does not transfer to his original self, despite it being repeatedly hinted that he has evident strength. We only see his strengths being put to use in his new body - now, that was disappointing. Actually, as I am writing this review, I am thinking of less positive points. The more I think about the potential of the plot, the more frustrated I get. I suppose the point of it all was that there can be no fairy-tale change in societal prejudices; if this is what Lookism was trying to achieve, that was done poorly.

Although Lookism is undoubtedly aesthetic in style, I would summarise it as: Underdeveloped, no direction, could have been a short move.

If you would like to watch an alternative which explores a similar theme, I would recommend The Tatami Galaxy, which explores parallel-universe possibilities in University student life. The main character also struggles with dissatisfaction in every-day life and forming friendships.

Otherwise, if you are a fan of horror films, The Substance (2024) was fantastic, also featuring a body-swap experience. The plot follows a fading celebrity who takes a black market drug which promises to make her look young again.