The bullies at Yoo Hobin's high school are no ordinary trouble-makers: they are NewTubers, budding internet celebrities who force Hobin to partake in humiliating videos and host live-streams in his house. Hobin only manages to stay strong by reminding himself that he needs to work hard to support his hospitalized mother. However, during his classmate Woo Jihyeok's live stream, Hobin completely snaps after a humiliating incident. As a result, the two men engage in a grotesque fistfight that lasts until dawn.
The following day, Hobin discovers that the livestream of his fight went viral on NewTube, turning him into a celebrity overnight. After he realizes that making viral videos is a very lucrative endeavor, Hobin agrees to team up with Jihyeok to create a channel that features his martial prowess. However, Hobin needs to become a seasoned fighter and keep his distance from those who seek to use him for his newfound fame, unless he wants a lack of views to become the least of his problems. Thankfully for him, the unexpected discovery of a series of obscure self-learning videos might be just what he needs to survive in the content creation industry.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
KANLen09
Viral Hit - Making money on YouTube by engaging in fights in an alternate universe? Now that's the way on How to Fight...so like, share, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more videos and learn how to get stronger! In the history of anime, no overseas author has managed to get their work featured on the Japanese AniManga stage...not at least with different series under his/her belt. Enter Pak Taejun, the sole South Korean author being the first to have 2 of his manhwa works turned into anime: Oemojisangjuui a.k.a Lookism (which turned into Netflix's very first ONA WebToon series), and hailing from this season,Kenka Dokugaku a.k.a Viral Hit (lit. How to Fight), which is the manhwa-ga's 2nd most recognized series, and also the most recent work (in terms of popularity) that has recently wrapped up early this year.
Being bullied is not a good sight, and people want to express their dominance over others in all ways possible, even when they have to resort to violence to do so. And that's the life of the unremarkable Yoo Hobin: being a wiener in a class where the YouTube-derivative streaming NewTubu has taken his school by storm, with everyone doing what they know best, from beauty to pranks, and even picking fights on people just for the green $ monetization, gaining fame and recognition as they go. And he just has to be the target of humiliation and abuse by one of its famous streamers, Pakgo. The relentless big-sized bully who has a rather bigger-sized ego picking on the small fry, Hobin, is one of them, and he spends the daily grind being the play tool of Pakgo. On top of that, with his only family of a bedridden mother and having to take up a part-time job at a fast-food restaurant just to make ends meet, Hobin isn't having life easy. If being a target isn't good enough, his cameraman of Woo "Jiksae" Jihyeok a.k.a Snapper, is an addition to Hobin's woes, trespassing his house to stream his own gaming content, thus using up the former's electricity, which does not bode well with Hobin. An embarrassing Kimchi vegetable brawl of a fist fight ensued between the two...which was mistakenly uploaded, earning them both the accumulation of a viral hit, and the two boys had a brilliant idea going: use their newfound fanbase to initiate fights with everyone around them, no matter how strong their opponents can be, and test the limits of the video social medium to earn them lots of greenhorns in the process.
If you think that the characters are a literate joke, remember that this is the same author as Lookism, so Pak Taejun definitely knew what he wanted to incorporate his ugly-ass characters and fit them into a universe that's like a version of Rocky Balboa, but intentionally made in both funny and serious ways. If we are to compare character archetypes, Hobin would be the stereotypical lame MC who's made to be the sapling and the butt of all jokes against his detractors, but yet like a growing tree, he wants to always get stronger against people that he challenges, from the outwardly amateur to the realism of pros in martial arts like Takewondo, taking his lessons from a rather ubiquitous, but mystery person wearing a chicken head who's only known as Samdak with his How to Fight series and analyzing against the types of people that the beansprout will encounter to help him overcome and achieve victory. It's not easy for Hobin to rise up the ranks of being a fighter alongside Snapper (who switched positions to become his cameraman), but as long as the money keeps rolling, nothing is impossible for both weaklings to face the world of the strong, and that's all that matters.
Of course, what's the world of the weak without the strong people, and what's the incentive that Hobin and Snapper are willing to go the distance to become the viral hits that they've become? The strong fighters, from the likes of MMA fighter Kim Munseong to Takewondo ace Seong Taehun, are no joke when it comes to their martial art prowess, and you'd think that Hobin would be wise to steer clear of the strong fighters, but nope. The streaming demand for their NewTubu channel is always there, and thanks to Snapper's know-how of how to lead an audience, Hobin is always unceremoniously lured into the fights that everyone wants to watch, especially for a skinny weakling like him being watched by the eyes of many to defy expectations and more. That is what makes How to Fight, the (small) Viral Hit that it is, being both a manhwa and now an anime that you want to watch just to see the end results. And I'm not gonna lie, this is exactly the kind of perfect clickbait show that, like our obsession with social media, is the triggering synapse for all things possible, being so engrossing to watch that you don't want to put the source work down.
When it comes to Webtoon adaptations, I would say that this show is one of the most faithful adaptations that you'll ever get to watch the manhwa come to life on the small screen. And despite studio Okuruto Noboru's production being rather bare bones and lacking, I'd think that it's close to the feeling of reading the manhwa in its entirety, thanks to Sokushi Cheat director Masakazu Hishida understanding how to pace the original source material rather nicely. And considering that manhwa, like LNs, are likewise hard to adapt to, pacing is important, and this show has the substance to back up its long-paced content.
The music is rather noticeable, given that it's an action series that's all about fighting, and while its effect is rather distant, I'd wish that it had more kick to add to the substance of a series like this one. That said, MA55IVE THE RAMPAGE's OP is such a fit-and-finish banger of a song that has caliber, though the same can't be said for Crab KANI Crab's ED.
As usual, some people will whine why the names have been changed from Korean to Japanese-sounding ones, and if you don't understand the word "localization," then I don't know how to convince you. Still though, I thought that Kenka Dokugaku a.k.a Viral Hit was a nice change from Lookism, that at least not just looked better, but sounded better in a lot of ways, though it can't hold a candle when compared to the original source material, and just did decent enough to warrant its own thing at best.
It's worth trying for a pickle of its theme, which we don't see often...for someone who gets famous for picking up fights, not just for the streaming counterpart.
verbinflection
'Viral Hit' is a wonderful show no one watched about a Korean teenager who films himself getting into fights, and it proved to be thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish: twelve episodes of action, comedy, romance, and drama, fast-paced and well-balanced, with non-stop conflict, character growth, a satisfying conclusion, and zero filler. It's the type of show I look for every season, and it deserves to be better known. Picture 'Classroom of the Elite' — okay, look: I don't have a problem with 'Classroom of the Elite'. It's fine, except when it tries to play chess. But it's going to take some collateral damage today, becausethis is the analogy I landed on. Picture 'Classroom of the Elite', except instead of being told that the main character is an impossible genius who trivializes every challenge because of a plan he came up with offscreen that works perfectly every time, and because he trained really hard in his backstory and casually mastered every field of human endeavor from ornithology to badminton, and that he did all that despite not caring at all about any of it — right, instead of that, we're shown that the main character is a relatable guy with relatable problems; that he comes up with actual plans that sort of make sense and never work perfectly; that he trains really hard to get a little bit better at just one thing; and that he did all that for relatable reasons, like pride and money and teenage Korean girls, which is why it means something when he comes out on top once in a while. It means something without trying to seem important. I wanted to see what Hobin would do next, I wanted him to succeed, I laughed when he screwed it up, and I was glad to see him try again.
Action, as I have said before, is about conflict; it is not necessarily violent. Violence without conflict is just spectacle: another pointless tournament arc. Well, there are no tournament arcs in 'Viral Hit': just an unrelenting series of conflicts, most of which happen to be violent. Although its violence is tempered with comedy and the overall tone is fairly light, watching it does feel somewhat like waiting to get punched in the face, and you won't have to wait long. The plot moves fast: there are no beach episodes in 'Viral Hit' either, and if there were, someone would have to wrestle an octopus. It really is non-stop conflict: in the span of an episode, Hobin will fight a bully, which attracts a bigger bully, and while he's fighting the bigger bully, he forgets to buy his girlfriend a birthday present, and when he goes to apologize to her, he falls in the octopus tank at the Lotte World Aquarium, and — well, you see where this is going.
Notice how much gets done in a season of 'Viral Hit', because everything that happens is relevant to the plot. Notice how little gets done in a season of 'Wind Breaker', a superficially similar and much more popular show that doesn't have a plot because it replaced it with tournament arcs. Wasn't there an entire episode of that show where they decided to have a tournament, and then another entire episode where they walked to where the tournament would be held? Or did I dream that? I might have fallen asleep during one of its interminable mid-fight flashbacks to yet another tragic backstory. Since action is about conflict, it's generally preferable to know who the characters are before they start punching each other, rather than finding out mid-punch. For example, you can do what 'Viral Hit' does: establish the characters before the fight and allow them to learn and grow in unexpected ways after the fight. Notice also that one of these shows — the one no one watched — has a main character with a clearly defined goal who drives the story forward, and the other has a main character with a clearly defined hairstyle. Look, I tried to finish 'Wind Breaker' — I just couldn't be bothered. I will say, it gets better when you play the 'Viral Hit' soundtrack over it.
Anyway, you don't need to be a fan of combat sports to enjoy 'Viral Hit'. You can enjoy 'Rocky' without being a boxing fan. You can enjoy 'Keijo!' without being a fan of that sport, although I don't see why you wouldn't be. Granted, 'Viral Hit' is more about the fighting than either of those franchises, so let me say a few words about fight scenes.
What makes a good fight scene is not a mystery: Jackie Chan directed about a hundred of them. A good fight scene creates tension for the audience by conveying danger to the characters, and danger, meaning the risk of harm, depends on something more fundamental than choreography or cinematography: it depends on cause and effect. If Jackie Chan is in the Bronx, and he has to jump from one fire escape to another, what happens if he misses? He falls to the ground, he gets hurt, and the villain gets away with the suitcase full of diamonds or whatever. We hope Jackie Chan doesn't fall off the fire escape because we understand cause and effect. Or maybe he does fall, but he lands on a flatbed truck full of stuffed animals: that's fine; the man also did comedy.
To prepare for this review, I watched some fight scenes from a popular action show, which, to avoid further controversy, I won't name. In one scene, a pirate with three swords was in outer space or whatever, and he had to jump from one rock to another. Fine, so what happens if he misses? Does he fall in the ocean, or does he spin his swords around really fast and fly like a helicopter? I think at one point he actually was flying: can he do that all the time? If he does fall in the ocean, does he get hurt, or does he think back on how his friends are cheering him on, which gives him the courage to charge up a glowing yellow ball of energy that makes him immune to damage? There are no answers to these questions. You can practically see the hand of the animator at work: what happens next — in this unnamed anime — is whatever seemed coolest to him at the time. You can animate a jumping pirate and his glowing yellow ball as lavishly as you like, in sixty frames per second: it will not save your fight scene, which has no logic of cause and effect, so it can't convey danger, so it can't create tension.
In 'Viral Hit', every fight scene conveys danger: cause and effect are brutally clear. What happens if Hobin gets punched in the face? You don't need to speculate: I haven't seen this many hospital scenes since 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'. Combat is grounded, with a clear sense of time and space, action and reaction. No one carries on a lengthy back-and-forth discussion with their opponent in the fraction of a second before a punch lands. No one changes direction in midair. At no point does anyone's fist collide with their opponent's fist to create a glowing yellow ball of energy. Spare me the glowing yellow balls! Did you see how Taehun rotates his foot on the back kick? It’s perfect.
But make no mistake: 'Viral Hit' is not a work of literary realism. It does not attempt to accurately depict the day-to-day lives of street-fighting Korean teenagers. You will be asked to suspend your disbelief. Don't panic: this is a normal part of enjoying fiction.
Truthfully, 'Viral Hit' is the type of show I look for every season. I don't mean shows about Korean teenagers who film themselves getting into fights. And I don't mean charmingly awkward coming-of-age sports action-comedies, although I do welcome new entries in the 'Rocky'-meets-'WataMote' crossover genre. I have in mind the entire class of well-written low-budget genre fiction: fantasy adventures and death game thrillers and step-sibling romances alike — and you do need to go look for them, because you rarely hear about them, and what you hear about them is rarely good.
As I have said before, and as anyone can see for themselves, at the start of every season, the anime community, for remarkably superficial reasons, assigns certain shows to the must-watch trophy shelf and others to the guilty-pleasure dumpster. A well-animated fight scene in the trailer gives us a new anime of the decade at least twice a year, while the low-budget genre fiction sinks to very near the bottom of the dumpster. And if the content of the dumpster proves to be thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, if the anime of the decade proves to be unwatchable by episode three, any merits of the former can be dismissed, any defects of the latter can be excused.
Sure, 'Viral Hit' might be a decent little cartoon, a fun watch on a Wednesday night, but 'Solo Leveling' is a timeless masterpiece — and, being a timeless masterpiece, it doesn't need minor details like character development. It has video game mechanics! It has glowing yellow balls in sixty frames per second! Never mind pacing: just make sure it's slavishly faithful to the source material. We'll animate each panel of the web comic and play the clips one after another. Wasn't there an episode where they interrupted a fight to the death to show three random women eating brunch? Or did I dream that?
Year after year, the trophy shelves are crowded with timeless masterpieces with a shelf life of twelve or thirteen weeks; revolutionary achievements for the medium that rarely go through the formality of actually being fun to watch. If it's so good, then why isn't it good? Do you like being served fish bones and coffee grounds on a silver platter? I'd rather eat real food out of a dumpster — well, no: I'd rather those weren't my choices.
All art is dedicated to joy, said Schiller. 'Viral Hit' may not be popular, and it may not be pretty. I think it was animated on a laptop, in a weekend, by an intern, in exchange for a gift certificate to Panda Express. I suspect it was sponsored by Korea's powerful taekwondo lobby. And I'm certain no one will ever call it a timeless masterpiece or a revolutionary achievement for the medium. Nevertheless, it manages to achieve in any given scene what fish bones and coffee grounds and lavishly animated glowing yellow balls have failed to deliver in a double-length season: it's really enjoyable to watch.
PhoenixA
What an unexpectedly amazing and inspirational anime. I originally planned on watching Kenka Dokugaku weekly as the episodes came out, because I was intrigued by the synopsis of the show early-on. However, after already getting caught up with a bunch of other weekly animes airing during Spring 2024, I ended up dropping it from my watch list up until yesterday - the day before the show's last episode of this season dropped. And let me tell you, this has been one of the greatest and most rewarding binge watches for me that I have done in a long time. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't watch thisshow weekly, because I could NOT put it down, once I picked it up.
By far, the two most impactful things about KD is its story and its character development. Throughout 12 episodes, I have gone through a roller coaster of hating characters, of being frustrated with them, or being second-hand embarrassed by them, to absolutely LOVING them. The main character himself is a down-on-his-luck loser, who is socially awkward and physically far below average, who ends up using whatever means necessary to build himself up, while throwing away every shred of shame and pride he has to do so. In rebuilding himself this way, he eventually reaches all of his current goals.
This show is like a shout out to underdogs, who climb their way up the stairs of success through blood and sweat and tears. And while doing just that, it makes you laugh and cheer and really root for the main team on screen. In episode 10, when the three main characters came out in their matching black drip, I about lost it, it was so good - them and their perfectly arrogant swag, well-deserved and obtained after ten episodes (even if part of it was a show for the fight lol).
But at the same time that this show is a shout out to underdogs, it also shows you that every person, no matter how famous or good-looking or talented someone may be, can have the same problems as someone who's poor or unattractive or unskilled. It really breaks down how people who once hated each other can end up gradually building the best of bromances or romances. And while some of the material in the show seems a bit exaggerated (I think this is mostly for the comedic element), it is also a good representation of what people can be like under an online personality versus what they are in real life, showcasing how two-faced many people can also be.
Originally, I planned on giving KD a solid score of 8, but with the last 4 episodes of the show, it definitely skyrocketed to a solid 9 in my opinion. This is all thanks to incredible storytelling and the feel-good wrap-up of an amazing beginner arc- no questions asked. I'm not going to tell you that KD has the most amazing art and animation; it's still reasonably good, nonetheless, and it apparently matches the manhwa art style pretty well (according to readers). I'm not going to tell you that the OST is the next Made in Abyss OST; but it IS pretty dang good, especially with some of those beats dropping during the more intense fights. What I AM going to say is that everyone should try this anime at least once - and try to make it at least 2 episodes in, because after that, that's when the real hype starts building up.
Genuinely hoping that a second season for this anime gets the green light, because they already had a great build up/teaser to what could be the next storyline after this season. And NOW, I'm off to the manhwa, because I refuse to wait on future animation to see what's going to happen next.
J2C
"Viral Hit season 1 is an absolute thrill ride from start to finish!. The action scenes are brilliant, intense sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat. The opening theme is a wonderful highlight, perfectly capturing the energy and excitement of the show with its catchy music. In the beginning I didn't expect too much but after a few episodes it completely changed my mind. The characters are engaging, the MC show remarkable development throughout the season. Watching the protagonist grow and evolve in response to the challenges they face is incredibly satisfying. Each episode builds on the last, combining a compelling storylinewith humor and heart. I highly recommend this anime. I can't wait for season 2!"
Winnah_Daniels
This shit was fire. Plain and simple. I normally hate the weak boy with no courage trope, but the MC in this one was strangely likable to me. Every episode ends on a cliff hanger. Great show to binge. Some cool insights into fighting if you're just a casual. And some genuine big laughing moments. There was an unhealthy amount of cringe moments, but overall I enjoyed it and I was upset when I realized we were on the last episode. Story wasnt very unique other than the way it combined so many of the tropes that we already love in anime.
Smilomaniac
9/10 based on my enjoyment of the show, not meant as an 'objective score' - The novel concept of following an unfortunate high schooler's trials through bullying and social media (YouTube or 'NewTube') is fun and interesting, full of fun and flawed character types and while the show isn't episodal, it plays on mini-arcs (why shows still insist on cliffhangers when we have the internet now and don't have to tune in, no one knows). It's nice to see a story that revolves around the classics, working towards something, satisfying moments and getting (along with) the girl. The YouTuber aspect of it is interesting, albeit notthat realistic, the concept of monetizing bullying and fighting might've been possible 15 years ago, but now these sites are so strictly regulated that we very rarely get anything that isn't completely censored, monetized or not, even on less savory sites.
Regardless, it's a good story and while the fights are hammed up, they're entertaining.
I don't know if I was watching fan subs, but someone's decided that the English subtitles should use the Korean names of the characters, while the Japanese voice acting uses different names, which is very confusing. Maybe this isn't an issue with official subtitling, but I suspect there are localization shenanigans going on.
Please make sure to vocally oppose localization and contemporary references, language and activism. If you pay for sites like crunchyroll or funimation, be sure to email them a complaint with specific examples, to let them know that these things are a detraction from the show.
Rian_Rahmat
When I heard the opening song of this anime, I immediately became interested and started to focus on seeing what the contents of this anime that had a good opening song were like. This anime adaptation of Manhwa has a quite interesting storyline, because there are rarely anime that tell about life today, especially advances in Internet technology. What often appears and is made into anime is always office people dying going to Isekai, being hit by a truck going to Isekai, middle school kids dying going to Isekai, and the like! It's as if these authors don't see the potential of today's life to be used asa story.
Telling about NewTub or a play on the name of an application which of course I don't need to mention, to be honest this is quite an interesting story to watch.
Because what actually happens in this anime is what happens in today's life, for example making videos and attracting lots of viewers to make money.
The MC here was also created using a realistic process, who at first was just an ordinary schoolboy and didn't have any abilities, but still tried to become strong in order to earn money.
Of course, MCs don't suddenly become strong, or become handsome and muscular in one day and then attract the attention of women, something like that is just another author's imagination!
The graphics and character design are also good as they should be, the music, soundtrack, everything is done perfectly.
Because quite a few anime adaptations are ruined or don't live up to expectations, even though the source is good (Manga/Light Novel)
There is also a comedy part, so the audience doesn't get bored watching it.
The point is, I really recommend watching this anime, apart from everything I mentioned, it's better for you to watch it immediately and give your own opinion on this anime.
RinMieku
I'm probably going to geek out with this review since I've already read the webtoon, which completes the story. Because of that, I know everything that will happen in this anime. The story of the first episodes (1-25, both webtoon and anime) is good in my opinion. I enjoyed watching it because I like stories about overcoming obstacles, like how the main character pushes forward despite his limited resources. If you enjoy the story and are pumped to see what happens next, I highly recommend reading the webtoon on the app with the same name. The story starts off light-hearted but gradually shifts towards suspense, thriller and dramagenres. Personally I don't have enough confidence that the rest of the plot will be adapted into the anime.
