Kenka Dokugaku

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]

Yoo, Hobin Main

Niwa, Satoshi Japanese

Lee, Gaeul Main

Fairouz Ai Japanese

Choi, Bomi Main

Ishikawa, Yui Japanese

Woo, Jihyeok Main

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Seong, Taehoon Supporting

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Samdak Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Yeo, Rumi Supporting

Aoyama, Yoshino Japanese

Kim, Moonsung Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Pakgo Supporting

Takeuchi, Shunsuke Japanese

Hwang, Mangi Supporting

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Mori, Akitoshi Producer

Otokawa, Masashi Producer

Yonemori, Hiroto Producer

Hishida, Masakazu Director

Reviews

Jun 26, 2024

KANLen09

Recommended

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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 26, 2024

ST63LTH

Mixed Feelings

Hobin Yoo is a high schooler who falls victim to bullying and humiliation from his classmates. While slaving away at a part-time job to pay his mother's medical bills, Hobin discovers a faster and more lucrative way to earn money: NewTube, a social networking site where streams and videos that go viral turn financial situations. He sees his classmates, like Pakgo and Rumi, uploading content daily and is compelled to start his own.

Under the guise of a channel named "Viral Hit," Hobin challenges bullies, armed with effective fighting techniques learned from a mysterious NewTube channel. Determined to turn his life around no matter the ... cost, Hobin dives into the world of content creation prepared to put his life on the line. Will his efforts be in vain, or is there still hope for Hobin's career as a content creator?

Story & Character: 5/10 & 6/10
Viral Hit does well to articulate struggle and wit through its narrative, but it lacks depth and intensity. Any attempt to develop the story deeper is met with cheaply executed humor. The power scale is so arbitrary that battles with powerful foes don't feel suspenseful, and to make matters worse, the action sequences lack any form of animation whatsoever. Conflict slowly becomes more predictable as Viral Hit adopts battles of attrition, making them less interesting as the opponents become more prominent.

Viral Hit maintains a set of unique characters fairly well within a short time frame. There are delinquents, stoics, schemers, and many in-between. As the main character, Hobin feels like a convincing representation of an everyday high school student with his degenerate lifestyle and sly persona. His character execution was done a little too well to the point where I started to loathe his existence as the lead because his growth is belittled by fragile self-confidence. The drama felt more dynamic due to the shifts in each character's agenda to grow their following, which was a welcome inclusion despite being the only prominent source of drama in the series.

Art & Sound: 4/10 & 6/10
For a series that prides itself on its fights, there seems to be a major discrepancy with its animation. The consistent use of panning stills, re-used animations, and lack of movement limited the viewing experience. Character proportions, especially faces, fell apart whenever the character wasn't facing directly ahead or in profile view, which we see in characters like Rumi, Bomi, and Taehoon. However, the character designs were visually appealing when done right, with attractive eyes, hair, and teeth.

I enjoyed some of the soundtracks used in the background of the episodes; they featured punchy Korean rap in many of the conflict scenes, which set a wild and rebellious mood. Beyond that, there weren't many great attempts at thematic soundtracks or theme songs used in the series. The voice acting and sound effects met modern standards, so there weren't many gripes against either.

Overall & Enjoyment: 5/10
Viral Hit had me dying of second-hand embarrassment for lack of a better explanation. It was designed well in that regard, but it didn't have much impact visually or narratively, which made the progression and milestone events more or less unsubstantial. It was a decent watch, nothing spectacular in terms of art, character development or its plot. Not even an underdog style story because it lacks much of the assured growth you'd expect from constant self-sacrifices.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 23, 2024

Anthony786

Not Recommended

Informative

Preliminary (5/12 eps)

I have been waiting for this to be animated for so long. My friend was hyped about it. However, we were very disappointed when we were 2–3 episodes in. My friend started talking about how they did this show dirty. I was confused for a while, but then I decided to read the manhwa and have been absolutely loving it; it's great. They did such a bad adaptation of this; I understand that they want to rush it, but this show could have about 3–5 seasons. People would actually enjoy this show if they let it slow cook instead of just rushing through with characters.

This ... isn't even a show about Hobin Yu, it's about Kota Shimura. I recommend reading it instead.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Is this just because it's Korean manwha? J2C - Jul 21	18 replies	by SNgKrv »» Nov 19, 6:09 AM
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