| “ | I've gotta be reborn. Like a larva that waits seven years to be born as a cicada... it's my turn to be that cicada. I will change! |
” |
Daniel Park (박형석 Park Hyung-Seok) is the main protagonist of Lookism. He is a student at J High School's Fashion Department. As a former victim of the "Lookism" he was judged and mocked due to his unconventional appearance until one fateful day he found himself in a perfect Alternative body. He found himself being capable of transferring his consciousness between two bodies at will, thus starting the story of Lookism. Currently, he is the crew head of Allied, with the goal being the downfall of the Workers, the last of the Four Major Crews still standing.
He is voiced by Han Shin in the Lookism Animated series. Kris Wayne Zhang plays Daniel’s original body and Lomon as Daniel’s second body in the Chinese Lookism drama. He is voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka in the Japanese Lookism Mobile game.
Appearance[]
Daniel has two bodies. His original body used to be short and overweight, now he's a lot more handsome, tall and muscular, and his second body is of tall height, thin and handsome and stated to be perfect.
First Body[]
In his original body, Daniel is usually bespectacled, and short to the point only Duke Pyeon and Crystal Choi's original body near his height. Daniel is extremely overweight, which is why Logan calls him "Pikachu" (Dog in the anime).
Daniel's first body is deemed unattractive by most, if not all, the exceptions being Crystal and Zoe. In this body, he's exposed to the true nature of society. Daniel uses this body at night to work part-time at a local mini mart, which is why it's usually seen in his work uniform.
Despite the difference in weight and height, his first body gradually begins to resemble his second. After his fight with Logan Lee and the incident involving the homeless man who broke his glasses, Daniel's face is more striking, and he's noticeably taller and slimmer, measuring up slightly taller than Zoe in height. After intense dieting and training with Sophia, he loses over a hundred pounds, so his original body is practically identical to his second body, though it is shorter. After Gun's training, Daniel has grown very tall; nearing his second body in height. Daniel has also put on more muscle mass, making him look more defined, he looks really similar to his second body in chapter (424). His face looks quite identical to the second body as well. It was stated that he resembles a younger Jinyoung Park, and even his grandmother confused him as Jinyoung Park
Second Body[]
Daniel Park first see's his second body
In his second body, Daniel has no glasses, and he's tall. He has a healthy, athletic build, being incredibly gorgeous and handsome - this being his most notable trait, usually leaving women infatuated and men intimidated. Daniel's good looks make people think he is a famous model, idol, or star (which he eventually becomes) as they go so far as to ask for his autographs and pictures with him, much to his shock.
No one has ever been stated to surpass Daniel's good looks, and no one retains the center of attention as he does (albeit unintentionally), as a result, his second body is the most popular student at J High. He uses this body to attend school and it's usually seen in his school uniform, unless elsewhere.
Personality[]
Daniel is a very kind and friendly person at heart, preferring to avoid unnecessary conflicts if he can, but will help those in need even in dangerous situations.
Initially, due to being bullied, Daniel would take out his anger on his mom. However, he began to realize just how much she sacrificed for his sake, filling him with deep feelings of self-loathing and regret for his actions towards his mother to the point of vowing to be a better person. He often cries whenever he is reminded of how he treated her, such as when in his second body, he was asked to act out a certain role as a test to see his acting skills only for Daniel to cry while reading the script as the part was similar to a part of his life, he regretted the most. So as to not trouble his mother financially, Daniel is very humble and responsible as he does not bother with materialistic things unless they cut down on his or his mom's living expenses (e.g., rice cooker) and is willing to work so he can pay his own living expenses.
Daniel is very sympathetic and protective of those mistreated, either because of their lack of strength or because of how unattractive they are, as he can relate to how both feel and is prone to stand up for them. Though it is implied in the Runaway fam arc he is respectful enough to not interfere in other affairs without permission.
Lack of self-confidence is often Daniel's biggest hindrance slowing his progress on his goal of trying to be a better person. In some cases, it leads to his being perceived as a pushover who is nothing but a coward. Fortunately, Daniel is constantly inspired by those who diligently work towards their goals, such as Euntae and Duke and is motivated to put more effort into overcoming his struggles to achieve his goals.
Due to his lack of social interaction with people around him prior to having his second body, he can be naive, much like Euntae, and is unsure how to act when placed under peer pressure. Likewise, he is easily deceived by perceived kindness. For example, he once accidentally agreed to become a host in a club and escaped the club while drunk. Moreover, he thought that Yui genuinely liked him for who he is while in his second body but was shocked when she treated him cruelly while he was in his original body. He also never smoked or intentionally drank before and didn't know how to refuse when putting under pressure to do so. However, this tends to create humorous situations and misunderstandings about him.
After temporarily losing his connection with his current body and being helplessly bullied by Logan Daniel regressed back into his old self before moving to Seoul. But after realizing that this world wasn't fair and how he needs to work harder to overcome that unfairness Daniel gets a way better appreciation for his old body and becomes more confident in it.
Daniel tends to become belligerent, overconfident, and apologetic when drunk.[4] In later arcs he is seen to also have an aggressive personality when in a tense battle.
History[]
Daniel was raised by a single mom, and they lived in poverty. In addition to his poor living conditions, Daniel was looked down upon due to his appearance, leading him to be bullied at school (mostly by Logan). No longer willing to put up with the bullying, Daniel's mother offered him a chance to transfer to a different school (Jae Won High). Daniel, unable to bear with his school troubles any longer, tearfully accepted.
Upon moving, Daniel's dreams of starting anew were quickly shattered by a humiliating defeat at the hands of Zack Lee, captured on video. With the video going viral, he cried himself to sleep only to awaken the next morning in a completely new body. He discovered the following rules:
- He has to sleep to change bodies
- If one body is forcefully awakened, the other body will go to sleep
- The sleeping body has to be cared for like an actual body
- He is conscious at all times (cannot have dreams)
- In a state of lost consciousness, he cannot change bodies until the other body recovers consciousness
- The sleeping body experiences all physiological phenomena normal bodies do
Fighting Prowess[]
Daniel is actually a natural-born fighter despite his lack of confidence and any formal training prior. Regardless of which body he is in, Daniel can memorize any technique down to its textbook mechanics after seeing it once and execute it with the same amount of competency as a skilled expert. In addition to this skill, he possesses incredible foresight in a fight, able to clearly see all attacks his opponents throw at him. Whether or not he is able to dodge the said attacks usually depends on his opponent and Daniel's current body. Daniels' ability to copy other people's techniques is so amazing that to others who fought Daniel felt like they were fighting themselves. Later on it was stated that Daniel’s ability to copy others Techniques were far superior to Johan Seong(Another copy cat genius) stating that Johan only imitates others while Daniel is the real deal (which correlates with him being as competent as a Skilled master in that martial art or field) In the more recent chapters whenever he copies a character his hair or physical appearance turns similar to them.Further his fighting senses were so accute that he was able to catch Gun (while in trainning) and DJ offguard while fighting them which proved his calm and levelheaded attitude even in strenuous situations. According to Gun, Daniel has the eyes to figure out his out his opponent, but he isnt able to use it to its full strength. If he focuses, he can see more
Original Body[]
Daniel's old body
While not on par with his second body, his weight does add an incredible amount momentum to his attacks unleashing them with such surprising force that he even forced Euntae (who possesses unbelievable strength) to resort to knocking him out when he felt he could no longer withstand his punches. He rarely ever fights in this body due to his lack of confidence while using it, but as the series progresses, he does become a more capable fighter, especially under Vasco's strict workouts and guidance despite him not being aware of it. In this body, he severely lacks the desired reflexes he gains in his second body. Despite being able to see the attacks (even once commented on how slow they were), he was still not able to physically dodge them due to this body's lack of agility and reflexes. It should be noted that if attacks are executed by non-skilled practitioners, even in this body, he has no problems defending against them. Despite its many shortcomings Daniel's first body still has impressive strength and endurance as he managed to take and multiple hits from Logan Lee and recover from the experience with no lasting injuries. even chairman hong was surprised that daniel took an attack from sophia and survived while most can not. With enough determination, his fat body could take out a person with little or no fighting experience.
Daniel trained his body becoming unrecognizable to most people in this new form looking closer to his second body than his first, even Zoe Park and Logan Lee did not recognize him as the transformation was extreme. The weaknesses his body had are now gone as his body is faster with the addition of Systema. he has high tolerance to drugs that the drugs that were in the cookies were ineffective. Later on, he is trained by Gun as a potential successor, making him a far more fearsome fighter, he is shown to easily beat a Workers Executive and even throw Xiaolung, who is known for being a powerful opponent to many. He is also seen countering Yuseong's attack by blocking his fist and using the other leg to kick him into the ground. He has gotten so strong to the point where Eugene even compares him to a First Generation King.
Original body after training (Episode 411)
In chapter 438, he was able to use "Self-Hatred" mode in his Original Body just like his Second Body.
In chapter 439, Daniel was barely able to copy the moves of James Lee, but he was not as fast as him. Jichang praised his strength and said he understood why seokdu lost and why taesoo got fired up. This may imply Daniel was on the level of Taesoo or Seokdu
In Chapter 439, Gun Taught him about Subconsciousness by choking Daniel on the neck and gains an ability to use Ultra Instinct again just like his Second Body.
In the current arc as of chapter 453 it is known that he can take on someone on the level of Jichang Kwak (being superior to the same only when using the Ultra Instinct), who himself is stated that brute strength wise is on par with Gun Park (stated by Daniel Park himself), and Jichang Kwak was someone that even Elite (Charles Choi) was interested in becoming his bodyguard before he took Jichang's life.
It is also shown in the recent chapter that Gun mentioned that Daniel's copy ability was inefficent in his old body earlier as he could not generate the same power while executing the techniques that he copied, but after his training with Gun his body became strong to such level that Gun mentioned that he could now easily imitate all the moves of Gen 1 Kings almost perfecly (including Taesoo Ma's Fist techniques).
In the recent chapter he copied Kwak Jinchang's Hand Edge Technique perfectly while fighting Logan Lee and pulverised him thus defeating him easily.
When he used ultra instinct against his second body, it was stated that he and his second body was moving so fast that not even Warren could keep up. If vasco, warren and jerry steped in the fight, they would die. He and his second body were using every fighting technique under the sun, and given that they had the same movements and techniques, they could be mistaken as the same person. However, little daniel was being pushed back due to the experience gap between the two.
Second Body[]
Second body in UI mode
In this body, Daniel is among the strongest in the entire series. Even before he developed his technique and skill, he was able to defeat most opponents, solely relying on reflexes and instinct and is one of the few characters to naturally be on the level of skilled fighters with no prior formal training, the other being Johan. This, coupled with Daniel's ability to instantly replicate any fighting skill he sees just once, makes him one of the series' most formidable fighters by outdoing many others with their own fighting techniques.
It seems Daniel has become used to his abilities and immense fighting prowess in this body, able to dodge attacks merely on reflex with extreme ease, even while in deep thought. In some fights, he has found some attacks to be annoying.
His biggest testament to his fighting prowess is being one of the only people (the other being Euntae) that Jong Gun, a fighter of legendary status, acknowledges even once. Gun stated that, although Crystal was heading for a dangerous situation, if she is accompanied by Daniel and Euntae, then she's not in any real danger. However, he is not yet on the level of Jong Gun or Joon Goo, as he was easily defeated by Gun. Meanwhile, Euntae, his fighting equal, was soundly defeated by Jake Kim, who Gun promptly defeated.
So far Daniel's biggest weakness is that his compassion can often lead to unfair or synchronized fighters like Chuck Kwak and Justin Peng to overwhelm him. He also can't copy the determination that comes from the moves he copies, which makes opponents like Zack hard to fight.
Daniel's last trick is when he enters a state known as "Ultra-Instinct," in which he is rendered in a state between conscious and unconscious. He is able to maximize his fighting potential by utilizing every single move of his knowledge without hesitation. In this state he is so powerful that he is able to suppress Jerry Kwon and even able to break one of Gun's arms in their one-on-one fight. He was able to defeat 2 Crew Head (Jake Kim and Samuel Seo) simultaneously. He then proceeded to easily defeat Jerry Kwon and Lineman. After that, he completely dominated a raged Johan Seong in their fight. Although, he was not able to defeat Goo because he suddenly passed out, he still inflicted a huge damage on him. The downside of this state is that he is unable to control himself, making it difficult to discern between friends and foes.
In chapter 467, Gun has stated that Ultra Instinct was able to control (Gun Park can control UI) and the one who can control it can "adjust" their strength whatever they want. The one who aren't able to control UI will "adjust" their strength based on the opponents. For example, if the opponent is weak, UI will adjust its strength being weak for that opponent. If the opponent is strong, UI will just adjust its strength being strong for that opponent.
While he and his real body had the same techniques and movements, warren states that Big daniel had more experience using those techniques. Its as if hes more practiced and that little daniel was simply copying him.
In chapter 470 Jinyoung Park said that Daniels strength is on the level of the ones whom the Gapryong fist was fighting against and he is way past the level of the 2nd and 1st generation and also said the he wanted to see Daniel and Gapryong in a fight this implies that he is around the level of Gapryong Kim.
Martial Arts Used In Both Bodies[]
- Boxing
- Muay Thai
- Kyokushin Karate
- Taekwondo
- Systema
- Sophia-style
- Wrestling
- Capoeira
- MMA
- Aikido
- Invisible Attack (while he himself doesn't have the speed for it to be truly invisible and on the level of Sinu, James and Elite's when it comes to speed with the attack, but he has copied the concept)
- Hand Edge Technique
- Hard fist
- Kim Gitae style
- CQC
- Kim Gapryong style
Quotes[]
- "I've gotta be reborn. Like a larva that waits seven years to be born as a cicada... it's my turn to be that cicada. I will change!"[5]
- "Such a mess after that beating. But still, good work. You're the real me."[6]
- "You were right about one thing. I want to make a lot of money and I have a lot of things that I want to protect. But if I have to abandon what I wanted to protect to get that power, what good would that do? In the end, you'll be left on your own." [7]
- "A lot happened. The illegal lottery tickets and the fake bank accounts... so many of my friends got involved. A lot of them got hurt and one of them even went to prison. And it turns out those four crews were behind everything. I will not sit idly by and do nothing anymore. Fighting might not be the solution to everything. But I want to protect my friends."[7]
Trivia[]
- Daniel is based off Taejoon Park’s Younger Brother Hyungseok another Ulzzang whom he is also named after in the original Korean version.
- Whenever Daniel gets drunk, he becomes very aggressive, cynical, and angry. He also gets stronger; at one point, he was able to crush a phone into pieces with one hand.
- He bears a lot of resemblance to Yu Narukami in the first chapters of Lookism. In that, the two of them wear similar hairstyles and personalities to one another.
- He has a beautiful singing voice, as seen in the Festival Arc in both the manhwa and anime, everyone was in awe hearing his performance alongside Duke.
- Furthermore, his singing voice was given life by Hwang Chang young for the anime song "Fly Up".
- Due to his handsome and athletic looks, he becomes the most popular guy at his school.
- Daniel's Japanese name Keisuke means "firefly" (蛍) (kei) and "help, assist" (介) (suke). Keisuke's surname Hasegawa means "long, chief, boss" (長) (ha), "valley" (谷) (se) and "river, stream" (川) (kawa/gawa).
- In Korean, it literally translates to a Night, Mold seat (it also refers to him changing bodies at night and morning)
- He experiences the lookism (discrimination against people of certain looks)
- Old body: 160cm to over 170 cm (Much[8] taller than[9] Zoe Park and[9] also[9] Crystal Choi) to Unknown (much taller after being trained by Gun; estimated between 5'9 to 5'11)
- Second body: The official Japanese game information itself stated the height is 182cm[2]; originally, it was guess around 181cm or 182cm[10]. Some guess the height is probably higher now, around 188 cm, after being shown to be taller than Zack Lee in multiple[11] panels from growing like Zack.
- According to Gun, when Daniel (original body) goes into his ultra instinct mode he is able to defeat a First Generation King.
- Tom Lee has seen Daniel’s wiener on both his bodies.
References[]
- ↑ Episode 122
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Listed in the Japanese Profile
- ↑ In Episode 4 it is stated to be September and Daniel's birthday is in Episode 20
- ↑ Webtoon, Episode 78
- ↑ Webtoon, Episode 2
- ↑ Webtoon, Episode 198: Daniel Awakens
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ep. 212: God Dog (Finale)
- ↑ Webtoon, Episode 250
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Webtoon, Episode 251
- ↑ Ep. 4
- ↑ Ep. 353