High School Return of a Gangster is an interesting and delightfully new twist of the body-swap genre, incorporating qualities of drama, social commentary, and comedy into it. The premise of a middle-aged gangster that wakes up in the body of bullied high schooler is not only funny but also heartbreaking in its exploration of empathy, personal development, and the cruelty of the bullying phenomenon among youth. The role of a hard gangster Kim Deuk-Pal (played by Lee Seo-Jin) who has a vision of studying becomes funny and serious to tell at the same time as the hard gangster with street guts and attitude faces the world of high school, which is foreign to him. The show is a combination of intense emotional moments and breezy comedy and this aspect makes the show very interesting to watch.
The series is also strong in its character development especially on how Kim Deuk-Pal through the body of Song Yi-Heon gets to understand the struggle by the bullied and the survivors of domestic violence. The interplays with Deuk-Pal and the rest of the students such as the mysterious Choi Se-Kyung and the bad classmates are amusing and emotional. The domestic violence in the personal backstory of Choi Se-Kyung brings the emotional depth and complexities to the story, and the mystery of why and how Yi-Heon died, and the mentions of dark secrets of his family make the plot interesting. The social commentary in the show on such issues as parental neglect, social pressure, and the violence in schools will provide a nice touch to the comedic and action parts.
Although it is so short-only eight episodes-High School Return of a Gangster finds a way to impress with its energetic speed and quick narration. The humor with the touch of tenderness and analysis of social issues makes it entertaining and contemplative to watch. There are not enough episodes that would be considered leaving the viewers in need of more given the fact that the conclusion of the story holds potential rewards that would be worth the characters developing and being rewarded justice. On the whole, it is an inventive amusing series which has managed to blend humor along with inspirational themes efficiently creating a long lasting impression and excitement towards its successors.
