Imitation focuses on the life of the K-pop idol groups and tells a story of love, life and hardships they face to make it to the top.

Adapted from the webtoon of the same name, Imitation has a lot of real-life idols from our favorite idol groups. They all come together to highlight the harsh reality of the K-pop industry.

  • Main cast: Jeong Ji So | Lee Jun Young | Jeong Yun Ho | Park Ji Yeon
  • Streaming site: KBS2 | Viki
  • Thrill/addictive meter:
  • Overall rating:
  • Rewatch value:
  • Kdramas of Similar Vibe: So I Married an Anti-Fan | Dream High | Dream High 2 | Hit The Top |

imitation

Imitation Quick Plot Recap

New K-pop girl group Tea Party is formed by CEO of JH entertainment Ji Hak. He was the manager of the famous boy group SHAX in the past. He resigned after the sudden disappearance of one of Shax's members Eun Jo in the middle of their comeback performance. Lee Ma Ha is a member of the new idol group Tea Party. She is previously a member of the idol group Omega III, which disbanded on the day of their debut due to a tragic incident involving a former trainee at the group's company.

Following the incident, Ma Ha had to support herself by mimicking the popular solo singer La Li Ma, gaining her public dishonor. Starting afresh with Tea Party, she finds herself frequently crossing paths with Kwon Ryeok.

Ryeok is the most popular member of Shax and has also dabbled into acting. He is Eun Jo's best friend and is still haunted by his disappearance even after three years. Ryeok and Ma Ha started off on the wrong foot as he disliked her for imitating Li Ma.

But the two gradually develop an interest in each other and start a secret relationship that could put both of their careers at risk. Meanwhile, Lee Yu Jin who is Ma Ha's loyal friend and the center of the rising boy group Sparkling, harbored a crush on Ma Ha since their idol trainee days.

When he realized the growing fondness between Ma Ha and Ryok, he is determined to protect her from Ryeok and lead Sparkling to dethrone Shax as the most popular boy group in the industry.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Imitation Series Peak Points + Drawbacks

Lee Maha is packaged as the focal role in the series, Her underdog story is a picture She also dreams that her group can have a successful debut. These traits were easily likable but the initial introduction didn't quite embody her role. At some point, her character became a bit disinteresting. Her chemistry with popular boyband Shax member Ryeok was also a little bland.

Lee Jun Young is a really good actor and so is Jung Ji So but due to a lot of clichés, the romance between them was not showcased properly. Like Ma-Ha, Ryeok's character was also really interesting. He had his own goals and motives and in contrast to Maha was successful yet under a lot of emotional burdens.

Rather than connecting these characters with the similarities they had so that they could support each other during their transition from hate to love relationship, the drama tried to present too many differences between them. Nevertheless, both Maha and Ryeok are strong and ambitious characters and that was shown well to the audience.

Unpolished Narrative That Leaves Pensive Moment

Another poorly-written couple is Hyun Ji and Yu Jin. Hyun Ji is by herself a lovely character alongside fellow member of Tea Party Yu Ri-Ah. However, her pairing with Yu Jin seemed to be a forced one. Hyun Ji's crush for Yu Jin is fairly unrequited as he hardly reciprocated it back.

Their screen presence was also very minimal and finally, when they got together, the story shifted its focus on Maha. It would have been better if the drama allowed developing this couple more. Also, it could have shown a little bit more about the budding chemistry between Ri-Ah and another Shax member Kang Lee Hyun.

Surprisingly, the character whom anyone will like as a viewer is the solo singer La Li Ma. She broke the stereotype of a malicious second female lead that was shown in the initial episodes. It was truly reviving and enjoyable to see how her character grew in the show.

The shortcoming of this show is evidently ignoring the base of the storyline around Eunjo and Annie. Now, this was an intriguing part of the show. However, it was not given much importance. It was shown for a few seconds when it was needed and then insignificantly solved the case within two episodes.

Presenting the Shax Fins as an annoying constant throughout the show somehow highlights the reality of the toxic fans of idols so it was okay.

Imitation

Average But Engaging Cast Portrayal

The cast for the major characters is mostly rookie actors who are real-life K-pop idols. Through that perspective, they actually did a moderately average job in playing their respective roles.

SF9 Chani who have played support roles in many dramas can be seen improved a lot in this drama.

Jung Ji So who was recently seen in Doom At Your Service did her part well as the lead of the show. She was able to showcase the struggles of an idol to make it big.

Lee Jun Young (U-kiss) and Jung Yun Ho (Ateez) who debuted with this show, were also the other leads and did their job fine.

Park Ji Yeon (T-ara) did exceptionally well with her role. She did not disappoint at all throughout the drama.

Danny Ahn who played Ji Hak is the most experienced actor in this drama but he didn't have much to offer to this show. It would have been better if he was given more screen presence.

The rest of the cast including Choi Jong Ho (Ateez), Im Na Young (IOI), Hwi Young (SF9), Kim Min Seo, Ahn Jung Hun, Park Seong Hwa (Ateez), Lee Soo Woong (Boys Republic), Choi San (Ateez), Park Yu Ri did well in supporting the show.

Soundtrack

Since it is a show about K-pop idols with a lot of real-life idols in it from popular groups, then the music of the drama has to be great. The OST of this drama is good. Some songs are catchy, some heart-touching and some are melodious.

All the tracks by Tea Party, Shax, Sparkling and La Lima are nice but the most soothing song has to be Eun Jo and Annie's song "Constellation". It is a song for all the dreamers who struggling to be successful in the K-pop industry. It gives a sense of hope and positive energy and comfort to everyone.

Imitation Series Musings

The drama definitely draws attention to some hard-hitting issues about the K-pop industry but also failed to create an impact as it disregarded some major plot lines and character growth. The acting is also mediocre.

Overall, it is a 12 episode drama with almost nothing new or unique to offer but it was at least a good watch with a happy ending and was not rushed. It is definitely worth a one-time watch with some good music and also favorite idols from popular groups Ateez, SF9 and others in it.

Watch Imitation on iQiyi!

Photos: KBS