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| Actors Song Geon-hee, left, and Park Se-wan pose during an online press conference for Watcha's original series "Ultimate Weapon Alice" in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Watcha |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Watcha's new original series "Ultimate Weapon Alice" features a rather unusual mix of action, humor and teen romance.
It follows the story of Gyeo-wool, who hides her identity as a trained assassin when she enters high school. There, she befriends a traumatized student named Yeo-reum, who gets beaten up often by school bullies. The pair grow emotionally closer as they get chased down by a mysterious criminal organization.
The original script was co-written by Lee Byoung-heon of the 2019 hit comedy film "Extreme Job" and director Seo Sung-won of the short film "I Go through The Summer."
Seo said he wanted to depict the dark side of teens to subvert traditional high school drama cliches. "The drama showcases action, but at the same time, has a romantic arc in it and vice versa," he said during an online press conference for the series, Friday.
"I tried to make the story as fun as possible. There's definitely homespun humor and everyday pathos."
Park said she is excited about "Ultimate Weapon Alice," which gave her the opportunity to try her hand at the action genre for the first time.
"Nobody has given me action to do before this one. Gun, blades and blood were all new to me and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. It feels like presenting another version of myself," she said.
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| A scene from Watcha's original series "Ultimate Weapon Alice" / Courtesy of Watcha |
Actor Song Geon-hee, who gained popularity after appearing in JTBC's "Sky Castle" (2018), said he clicked well with Park. "We trained together at a boot camp, which helped us prepare to be comfortable enough to perform ambitious action sequences," he said.
On playing Yeo-reum who believes that life has no meaning until he meets Gyeo-wool, Song said he was able to empathize with the character.
"At first, I thought we have nothing in common. But the more I analyzed the character and tried to understand Yeo-reum's emotions, I was able to feel his pain and understand his decisions," he said.
Actor Kim Tae-hoon, who stars as the terrifying serial killer named Spicy who goes after the two teenagers, said he was intrigued by the role because it gave him an opportunity to step outside of his comfort zone.
"When I read the screenplay, it seemed like a really good genre drama to me. And I thought that the character was something I'd never done before," he said.
Kim Sung-oh, who plays Gyeo-wool's secret guardian Mr. Ban, explained he showcases paternal love in the series. "The drama deals with an important story of love, loss, fatherhood and pain. The unlikely romance between the two teenagers make the series so unique and charming," he said.
The eight-part series premiered on Watcha on June 24, and will release two episodes every Friday.
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