Alternative title(s): Kenka Dokugaku
Manga Adaptation by Okuruto Noboru
Streaming on Crunchyroll

Premise

Yoo Hobin is a scrawny high school student who’s constantly being bullied and taken advantage of by his brawnier and more popular classmates, who have a habit of using him to rake in easy money for their YouTube NewTube videos. However, when Hobin finally snaps one day and fights back, accidentally going viral online in the process, he realizes there’s a wealth of untapped potential in his newfound fame. Now that he has a way of bringing down bullies while paying his mother’s hospital bills, Hobin is determined to transform both his life and his bank account, teaming up with a former aggressor to take on the streaming world – and possibly even win the girl of his dreams.

Artemis’ verdict: Paying Bills and Taking Names

I swear I only looked this up after viewing, but I watched this and thought, “This feels extremely similar to Lookism, and I feel extremely the same way about it in turn.” I assumed this was simply because both it and Viral Hit are based on webtoons, and maybe it was more a story format thing than anything else. Then I did actually look it up and realized the two stories have the same author.

I’m immediately dropping Viral Hit for the exact same reason Lookism didn’t appeal to me – it feels more than slightly over-the-top, way too on-the-nose, and honestly pretty tropey. Maybe that’s all intentional; I do understand there’s a somewhat comedic element at play here, and if people claim that’s an authorial choice rather than an unintentional byproduct, I’d be inclined to believe them. Even so, this premiere came across as more trite than amusing, and I’m heartily sick of the whole “Doing this because my mum/sister/other female relative is tragically sick and only I can pay her hospital bills” cliché.

I get it, I do – people like stories about bullied and/or otherwise societally ostracized figures reversing their fortunes and reclaiming their power, be that physically, financially, or mentally (or a combination thereof). However, the way Viral Hit goes about portraying that simply does nothing for me.

Jel’s verdict: Why So Serious?

This is basically nerd revenge porn. There is a black and white morality in play where our hero has done nothing wrong, all his problems are caused by external factors, and the only solution is to dominate the cartoon bullies around him. The only twist is rather than turn into the Joker and using his brain to trap his enemies, I guess main guy can just fight all of the sudden?

The only saving grace, intentional or not, is a shift to a more fun, comical tone once the fighting starts. I’ll admit I laughed at one bit where a disgraced bully attempts to fight a random nerd, and then proceeds to get pounded into the ground. A version of Viral Hit that doesn’t take itself too seriously might be tolerable, otherwise I want no part of it.