Fighting Youth (2021)

Nothing new here

The typical dog blooded corporate drama about cosmetics, with the political and romance elements. Score of 5 is generous.

You should only watch this drama if you like the cast, else the dialog and dubbing is really very hard to swallow and digest.

Watching such corporate dramas, especially for western or korean dramas, there is always a theme. Schemes, politics, corporate espionage etc, but these are not elements thats fullfilled in this drama. Especially when its all about how Lin rui wants to be the CEO of this cosmetics company called SW. But when she finally got the position, she decides to resign, all of this happening in the last episode, so it felt very rushed and patchy, also in that last episode she then agrees to go back to the cosmetics company .... hey welcome to the carousel, more round about we go. On to the romance elements.

Romance spoilers Lin rui played by Yin tao ends up of cos with Jin xiao bei played by Zhang tao. While Zhang xiao yu played by Wu Jin yan ends up with Dan ding played by Hong yao. But its filled with the usual rollercoaster of does she likes him or likes him not, does he likes her or likes her not, yes, maybe, dont know, its happening. There is nothing wrong with such rollercoaster, only problem is this isnt an enjoyable rollercoaster ride, because it just goes round and round and feels more like a carousel than up and down. The reasons for breakup or not being together is soooo lame and the script dialog doesnt help.

Meng Zhe played by Peter ho has the hardest time I feel in this drama, he got to keep appearing in speedos (since they like to show that he is always swimming) and be the third wheel in both couple's romance. He got to have a kiss scene with lin rui and a proposal rejection from zhang xiao yu. So he is the ultimate desperado here.

So should you watch this drama?

Reason to watch:
Only if you are a fan of any of the casts.
Zhang tao /Jin Xiao bei as the perfect handsome and rich young kid falling for the older Yin tao /Lin Rui
Hong yao /Dan ding did well in his sad scenes but really the romance logic for him is so flawed
Wu Jin yan .... i feel she has too many ups and downs, that made me believe her character got some sort of personality disorder or she is just crazy, because she is suddenly cute, loud, offensive, intelligent, dumb, sales genius etc. This is not her best work or the right script for her.

Warning : Do not watch if you prefer intelligent and interesting story plot, this is not the drama.

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They should rename it to "Immature Youth"

I went into this drama thinking it would be terrible, but I kept watching it out of my love for Wu Jin Yan. I was excited to see her as an Office Lady in a modern drama. But the poster of the drama and the actual story were rather contradictory. The title of the drama is not fitting at all. Firstly- none of the cast seem "youthful" nor are they that young. They just confused me as a viewer a lot of times. I maintained a love-hate relationship with this drama from beginning to the end.

STORY:
Like many stories, it started out great. The story was a little farfetched and unbelievable right from the get-go but, why complain when watching fiction? This drama started as a rookie salesgirl with a lot of talent to a plot with backstabbing, office politics and boring romance lines. I remember reading a comment as this drama being a modern wannabe of Yanxi Palace drama and that fits the description of this drama somewhat. I think its main flaw was its length. It was unnecessarily draggy, repetitive and uninteresting towards the end. Had it been shorter, I would have appreciated it a lot more. The 47 episodes are a stretch and it would been decent as 30 episodes maximum.

ACTING:
I think this is one area this drama is strong in. I don't think Wu Jin Yan did an awesome job but she is a charming lady no matter how annoying her character was. I'd blame the writing and characterization here. The actress who played Lin Rui was awesome and she had me dreaming of being a badass boss lady like her at her age. All the other supporting cast was fine as well. I was surprised to see Peter Ho in this drama and looking as young and suave as ever. I think he will make the viewers have a SLS although he is much older than Wu Jin Yan in age. Her chemistry with Dan Ding was a lot more believable and I think it's due to the two stars dating irl.

WHAT WORKS:
The cast, some interesting plots till episodes 30ish, women being main players in the workforce and the premise. I really like the sisterhood between Xiao Yu and Lin Rui but Xiao Yu was unbearably immature and ruined their dynamics a lot of times. Peter Ho's portrayal was nice and funny- almost like a parody of CEO characters in dramas. His character never really fit in the drama storywise but still did his best as an actor.

WHAT SUCKED:
Lead girl was immature (her way of talking was very funny), bad people turned out good in an unbelievable way, the romance was meh after few interactions and the plot dragged on forever. It was a struggle to finish this drama.

OST:
Nice opening theme. Rest of OST was forgettable.

OVERALL:
Like I said- it was a challenging watch. It wasn't rewarding in the end but not completely pointless. I had some enjoyable moments and a lot of boring ones. I'd say it is not worth a watch but if you don't mind skipping some scenes, it isn't that bad. In the end, it is never a bad thing to see women being successful in real life or in fiction.

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Better than what i was expecting

The story revolves around the relationship dynamic between the mentors-mentorees but also other relationships ( love, obsession, colleagues and friends) while struggling to break the market sales and level up on the coorporation ladder.
Compared to other business focued dramas, i liked that they didn't stahl it to one specific plot twist but always kept the story moving, leaving the audience questioning what the next steps will reveal, or how will it end.

after reading some comments and reviews when i was halfway through, they scared me about the ending.
fortunately it was just their oppinion, as i found the ending to be a full circle.
they didn't end the story with the usual girlie trends, but it was plenty to make it clear.
the story is not about romance only, more like balancing relationships and finding one's true focus and interest and the struggles and twists life throws at you.

Also, i am fan girling Lin Rui's mad skills! it's been years since i felt my heart skip a beat or grabbing the screen when seeing a show,
Amd last but not least, there were plenty of words of wisdom to be heard by anyone working in the sales field.
I recommend watching it and rewatching it for sure :)

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Only Watching for Lin Rui

The first half of the show's plot was fantastic in my opinion, I enjoyed it very much. However, the second half of the show's plot is when it let me down. Zhang Xiao Yu was portrayed to be a smart character, but her IQ seemed to decline after Lin Rui became the President of the China Region.

Zhang Xiao Yu's character development was pretty decent at the start, with her starting to mature under the guidance of Lin Rui and showing proper respect to her teacher, Lin Rui. She took in the advice of Lin Rui very well, even when being scolded pretty harshly. She also always went back to Lin Rui even when there were disagreements. However, after Lin Rui became CEO, Zhang Xiao Yu started to waver and give an attitude to Lin Rui.

The argument regarding the Vice President (VP) position was very stupid as well. Zhang Xiao Yu already said it herself when she told Cai Cai that she felt that she was undeserving of the VP position but then suddenly started to feel that she deserved it after a couple of hours? She admitted that she already climbed the ladder very quickly and her qualifications are not enough to be VP, which I bet most of the audience agreed to. She knows it herself, but still insisted on arguing with Lin Rui at the Wei Wei Bar?

The issue regarding her having to leave for L&D was reasonable since her family had financial issues and she was taught growing up to never borrow money from others. However, she did not bother to give Lin Rui an explanation and instead had an attitude with Lin Rui in the meeting with Meng Fan. Zhang Xiao Yu still had the face to call Lin Rui her esteemed teacher after that even when she didn't explain her reason for having to leave for L&D. She could also have tried to ask Lin Rui for an advance of salary like she did with L&D but she did not... Guess it was the plot that was forcing her to make such irrational decisions. Honestly, I think this part was the most aggravating part in the entire show since Lin Rui deserved an explanation and yet did not receive any, and was even given an attitude.

The actor, Yin Tao, was very good at showcasing Lin Rui's calmness and I have rewatched the show about 10 times now in this week alone, skipping to parts with Yin Tao after the first 2 runs. Without Lin Rui, I would not have finished the show even once. The only part of the show that annoyed me regarding Lin Rui was how the authors normalised Jin Xiao Bei stalking Lin Rui and insisting on his actions despite Lin Rui saying no multiple times.

Jin Xiao Bei was a typical selfish and arrogant 富二代 (sorry, don't know the English term for this). As mentioned previously, he was practically stalking Lin Rui and was always pretty forceful in his actions. An example of this is when Lin Rui wanted Jin Xiao Bei to give up totally on her and kissed Wen Zhe in front of him, and Jin Xiao Bei dragged her out forcefully and got angry at her despite her having already rejected him multiple times. In my opinion, this character was very bad as it pretty much advocated for males to stalk their crushes as a way to earn their love.

The ending felt very rushed too. Why did Ling Xiao Xiao suddenly become close enough with Zhang Xiao Yu to help her pack her belongings to move? What happened to Selena? Why was Lei Ya (Vice-President of SW HQ, Competitor with Alan) dismissed by the Board of Directors when the culture he has been advocating had gone on for years? How did Lin Rui and Zhang Xiao Yu repair their relationship enough such that Lin Rui was happy with knowing that Zhang Xiao Yu applied to be her assistant? Also, in my opinion, that fake Li Ke Si arc was not needed at all. I think that the fight between Lin Rui and Zhang Xiao Yu over the Rentai centre was much more enjoyable and exciting than that 3 to 4 episodes-long fake Li Ke Si arc.

Honestly, it would have been epic if Zhang Xiao Yu joined SW again but as a 柜姐 (Sales Counter Girl? Sorry, don't know the correct English term.. Salesperson sounds off.) and then the sales there goes through the roof and Lin Rui finds out about it and visits the centre re-enacting their first meeting.

Honestly, the entire show was ruined by the plot after Lin Rui became President of the China region. I frankly want a season 2 very, very badly just to see Lin Rui more. However, if there is a season 2, I hope that the storyline will actually make sense.

TLDR of the Review; Show ruined by the latter part of the storyline. The first part of the show was very good, watch till about Episode 35 if you don't want to be annoyed. The saving grace of this show is Lin Rui, acted by Yin Tao.

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Pretty young Girl Fighting for her Place in the Corporate World

Xia you was dumped by her high school bf and in the quest of getting him back. She landed a job at SW and she realized that her purpose in moving to Shanghai changed. She came from a rich family and was not exposed to the harsh reality of life. She slowly adjusted to her new adventures, despite being a book smart, she can read 10 sentences at a time and remember everything she reads. She excels in everything she puts her mind into. She attracted a rich man about 13 years her senior and a smart IT coder her age. Juggling work and romance may not be that easy.

I enjoy watching this although I am not interested in the side stories of other characters. Subs on Viki.com is good, but it's about 5 episodes wait to see up to date episodes. I'm dine with 12 but no subs for 13 to 17 so far

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