Despite coming off as a Slice of Life anime, following Hyeong Suk’s transformation in high school, even working out at night in his original body to improve his life, music, and fighting end up playing a crucial role in the plot’s progression. This is clear from his first fight with Jin Sung Lee, a boxer and bully at Hyeong Suk’s new school, winning through his newfound athleticism and learned behaviours from being hit so often, eventually becoming friends after drinking together.

Music is the more interesting, and surprising story point, foreshadowed by Hyeong Suk’s excellent singing and humming in the first episode in his small flat with his mother. The whole arc around music culminates with Hyeong Suk putting on a performance with Duk-Hwa Pyeon, a classmate that is constantly bullied by a group of guys in his music class.

Despite being bullied, Duk-Hwa still aims to become a rapper like Eminem, getting his family out of poverty through poetic bars. The two put on a stellar show at the school festival, but Duk-Hwa is ignored by a record label representative for Hyeong Suk due to his looks, really nailing home that Lookism’s titular main theme runs consistently throughout with no narrative happy endings for the sake of keeping the audience feel-good.