100 % physique!

Wasn't too sure about this but once I started watching I couldn't let it go.

First thing that struck me was the politeness and general culture of the participants, unlike the overly dramatized, gladiatorial American productions with the ever edgy narrator that's capable of turning a kindergarten chess match into a third world war experience.

In this show there is little narration or sports-like commenting, instead the series focuses on the reactions of the fellow participants, which are generally supportive and encouraging in a true show of sportsmanship (a lot of them are actual athletes or former athletes).

While there is real grit and competition there is also a whole lot of sportsmanship, which is extremely refreshing to see.

It will probably appeal more to someone who had done some sort of a dedicated physical workout at least at one point in their lives though as you can appreciate the effort and strain involved in the challenges.

But this is decidedly not one of those American steroid-induced-super-aggressive cage fighting bloodbaths and I'm glad it isn't.

I hope Netflix continues with bringing these kinds of productions from all over the world as I very often find them refreshing, enriching and enjoyable.

This show has me on the edge of my seat rooting for the under dogs and/or women each event. The level of strength and agility some of the men have is awesome to watch. It's interesting how the voiceovers sort of match what you would expect the person to really sound like. My one gripe is that they should identify what the person does or is known for - more often. There were several scenes where only the Korean words were put on the screen so I had no idea which person I was watching because of my bad memory. Hopefully they will let us know who each person is better going forward the way they did in the first couple of episodes as the season goes on. I definitely would watch a season 2 of this.

Considering I have never seen a Korean reality drama before , I dont even know why I started watching this. Wanted to check it out and it drew me in for 3 main reasons.

1) Korean culture is not something that I am exposed to and it was nice to see how people interact and greet each other in a natural setting 2) The wide variety of athletes assembled here was nice . There were sports I am exposed and biased towards and I found myself rooting for them 3) Good looking people with physiques they been working on for year.

I kept watching and the show was unlike any reality show I have ever seen. I found myself rooting for people I had no connection. Sometimes it is like you are rooting for everyone and the general tone of the show is also of a strong sense of camaraderie.

Then there are these battles . Which are often battles of wills and people from different backgrounds with different skillsets. Almost felt like watching and anime battle.

Cant wait for the rest of it !

I loved the premise and how friendly and respectful most people were with each other. I'm glad there wasn't anyone edited to be a "villain" for drama. I also appreciated how they seemed to want to showcase different strengths and body types, breaking stereotypes about what strength is and looks like.

The challenges were interesting and while I'm glad we were able to see everyone participate and get to know each contestant, the filming of some challenges felt really dragged out. One challenge covered multiple episodes and I was just waiting for it to end.

The final battle was also a disappointment. I was expecting something big that encompassed all types of strength like an obstacle course, something that the contestants could do together. The little games they did instead were very lackluster following all the much more complicated stuff they did previously. And if the rumors are true about the re-filming controversy with the last challenge, that would be even more disappointing.

This has a really different feel to other competitive physical reality series, mostly due to the utmost respect the contestants have for each other, regardless or their strength or ability.

Even when contestants had to make decisions on others perceived "weakness", you could tell that decision didn't come lightly nor did it always rely on stereotypes.

The challenges were an excellent mix of physicality and teamwork, and designed so well that the diverse range of contestants had a fighting chance.

I found myself being quite emotional at times, feeling for these people as they gave everything they had to succeed in the competition. The editing didn't overdo the emotional impact either, it was up the viewer to decide how they felt about it.

The only downside is the constant repetitive and highly distracting replays throughout the episodes, which served no purpose and slowed down the pace of the show.

A truly amazing series that redefines what reality competitions should be.