About Youth (2022)

If Disney made an LGBTQIA+ series

This series isn't anything groundbreaking or unheard of, it's quite cliche tbh. I consider this to be a little gift for those who are looking for a light watch, sure, it was flawed and wasn't anything awe inspiring and the whole family situation of Ye Guang was heartbreaking to see, but it was cute. It felt like a breath of fresh air considering the amount of mature/heavy series coming out recently, so to me personally it was a nice step back from all of that. The music was cute and the settings were nice, it was very aesthetically pleasing so that's a plus.

The plot is fairly simple, just three teens and a barista hanging out and falling in love with some portrayal of the issues/problems teenagers face in their lives, it isn't hard to follow and there isn't any unnecessary love triangles, there were a couple of confusing moments/pointless scenes and the scene jumping had my brain reshuffling, but overall it was entertaining.

The cast is fairly young so their portrayal of high school teenage boys was believable, the main couple's romace definitely had a bit more depth compared to the other couple, the second couple felt abrupt and underdeveloped and tbf they added close to nothing to the plot, the main couple was slightly more developed, but their romance sometimes felt off, like one moment they're two teens with a crush and the other they're bros hanging around, it didn't bother me that much tho so I just brushed it off and continued enjoying it.

I honestly don't have much to say about this other than that it's a nice piece to kill some time, like you could watch it on the way to work or while waiting for your favorite series to begin, so if you're bored and don't really want anything that could potentially have your brain working, I recommend checking it out.

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Cute show when having nothing to watch

I was really looking forward to this series since its trailers came out a while ago, and honestly it didn't really disappoint, though I do feel its lacking in certains aspects thanks to how short it is. It was an overall fun watch to kill time and very cute and nice vibes.
The characters are all really likeable (ofc except the parents of Ye Guang but that's what the writers intended). I was really looking forward to seeing how the main and secondary couples developed, which on one side was a bit let down because of how lacking of depth the second couple was, I did felt like it was missing a bit more to get to know their relationship but it's nothing really serious. The chemistry of both of the couples was really great and I was really anticipating the kiss from the main couple, which was really cute as well.
It handles topics that can be heavy to an extent but its nothing too drastic, the characters act with a good level of matureness which doesn't make their conflicts last for long.
It's soundtrack goes hard especially in the intro, and it's rewatch value is great as it's easily digestible and entertaining overall. It's a nice series though I do feel like it was way too short for the story overall, I do recommend though!

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A Cute BL with a couple of plot holes left unanswered that thankfully don't ruin the experience

Now, don't get me wrong, I really do like this series and it definitely has a lot going for it, though sometimes certain points we were left guessing at what happened and it was never fully explored.

The plot occasionally jumped to some strange locations or jumped to another couple in a completely unrelated scene, though in saying that it was fairly straight forwards and didn’t deviate too much from the usual BL storylines and certain plot points were abandoned as the series went along, as well as a few of the characters that you felt would be major sticking points, but in the end were inconsequential, popping up just for a moment, such as the Head Boy line.

The controlling nature of Ye Guang’s family was something that I’ve seen a lot in dramas, but they were even harsher than most, and the sudden reversal of opinion they had seemed a little too dramatic. I felt like if there were more episodes, we'd be able to see a more gradual understanding of Ye Guang's feelings and have a more natural shifting of how his parents would react to situations. You can't unlearn controlling behaviour just on a whim.

The acting I felt was nice and sincere, even if occasionally their reactions felt a little out of place. But I feel like the actors for the two major couples did a great job, I also had no problem with how the music was incorporated into the series, even if sometimes i could be a little bit of a distraction to the scene, but it didn't harm my viewing experience at all.

Overall, I think this is a cute BL, but it could have done with a couple more episodes to allow time to explore some of the dropped plot points, but the acting help cover up some of these problems. Hopefully there could be another season or maybe a couple of extra episodes that go into these plots, such as if Xi Qizhang makes it to be head boy and onto Berkeley and if their relationship could survive such an adventure.

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Completed: 10/10/2022

I slept on it before writing this review, as I think I might be very critical if I write this right after I finish watching. “About Youth” is quite highly rated and has received a lot of positive reviews. However, I just find it “OK”. It’s not bad, but it’s not excellent either.

The drama focuses on two things: romance and familial relationships. We follow the development of the sweet and innocent romance of our two male leads, Xu Qi Zhang and Ye Guang. I enjoy the innocence and shyness of this couple. I feel their chemistry and I am also a sucker for longing and shy gazes at each other. On the other hand, we also witness the more complicated romance between Ray and Ah Jian. This romance provides a good contrast to the main romance. However, due to the limited episodes, this relationship is not developed or explored enough. It could be even more interesting than the main romance, but it just feels a little disjointed to me.

The drama also continues to explore the pressure Asian parents have on their children to have good grades in school. Ye Guang battles (internally and externally) with his parents throughout the whole drama. However, the resolution is underwhelming, considering so much time is spent on the conflict. On the other hand of the spectrum, we have Xu Qi Zhang and his very supportive mother. Their relationship is so much healthier. His uncle’s scenes only provided the vehicle to create Xu Qi Zhang and Ye Guang’s first fateful encounter, and nothing more.

This seems to be the first acting roles for all four main cast members, and it shows. I would say out of the four, Shen Jyun/Xu Qi Zhang might be the best. Li Zhen Hao/Ye Guang got better towards the last couple episodes, but the first few ones were rough (except for acting cool and cute). The acting does affect my viewing pleasure a little. I like the title theme song, but it’s quite overplayed, especially for such a short drama.

Overall, the romance is light and sweet, and the more serious parts revolve around Ye Guang’s parents. It’s not a bad watch if you’re looking for a sweet and short romance and don’t mind the school/grades parts.

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Amazing for such a short drama

Just going to leave my notes here so you know how much I struggled because of Jian and Ray:

AHAHA Wilson Liu never fails on give me butterflies ahahah
I'm already loving Jian, he's so nice and he doesn't even know Ray
Okay hang on... I think Jian and Ray are going a little to fast but when Ray kissed Jian he was all on it too, so I didn't understand that rushed reaction Jian had
I'm seeing myself on Ray's characters I think that's why I like him so much and I understand what he feels
I don't have nothing to say about the main couple so far so good, they're good for each other...
Now about Jian and Ray I have a lot of things to say, they kissed, Jian asked for space Ray gave him that, Jian waits for Ray and apolagies but then again asks him to go have dinner??? Jian, babe Ray is giving you what you want, but with his conditions, you can't ask him for space but at the same time want him close to you, especially when he likes you so much. (I'm kinda pissed with Jian but he's so hot and cute at the same time I can't)
AHAHAHAHAHH JIAN SLEEPING IN HIS CAR BECAUSE OF RAY IS THE CUTTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN
FINALLY JIAN AND RAY MADE OUT YHASSSS I LIKE THEM SO MUCH AHHAH plus I want a Jian for myself
I need to focus on the main characters now ahahah so Xu Qi Zhang likes Ye Guang so much that is embarassing ahaha
AIHHH MY HEART CAN´T TAKE IT, THE PIANO SCENE, THE NOSE KISS AHAHAHA I CAN'T

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Good bl but rushed storytelling and abrupt ending <\3

I don’t have much to say about this bl other than it was very sweet. The characters for the most part well written, as well as portrayed just as well by the actors. The emotions of the characters also felt realistic, which I can appreciate because a lot of bls tend to lack a sense of realism. The music was also banger too id listen to that intro song any time of the day

Other than that, the bl felt too rushed for me. The pacing felt too fast at some parts, and it felt as though the story wasn’t giving the characters time to breathe. The situation in the last episode between Guang and his parents also felt that it was resolved a little too quickly to be realistic. We also didnt really get to see much development of Guang’s romantic feelings towards Qi Zhang. If im being honest, the kiss scene at the very end didn’t make much sense to me since the story never took the time to show Guang’s perspective of Qi Zhang.

The ending to it also felt extremely abrupt. It felt like it was missing an episode or two when I finished it. We never got to see if Qi Zhang was able to get the scholarship, we never got to see any sweet moments between Guang and his parents after they’ve become more understanding of him, and the story never told us if Guang remembered Qi Zhang from the first night they met each other, which I know that one is more of a nitpick but it would've been nice to know.

Putting aside the flaws of this bl, I’d still recommend it. The sweetness of it somewhat made up for it, at least in my opinion. It was also a pretty good time killer while waiting for another bl that im currently watching to release the new episode, so there’s that lol

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I guess I'm one of the few people who can't share the excitement for the show. The first hint for me, that a show won't catch me, is, if my concentration starts to suck. I had a hard time finding into the drama, because everything else was more interesting then watching the show. In episode 3 I tried to get my sh*t together and get fast through it. Wasn't that easy. The show is imho pretty boring.

We switch from Ye Guang, whose parents sucks, to Qi Zhang, who has at least a lovely, caring Mom and some nice bandmembers, to Ray and Ah Jian, who are suddenly close to each other and back again - on repeat. (Like ??? I don't even understand why Ray and Ah Jian like each other. What happened? I don't know.

There's no seeable development. They just present things as a fact, skipping all the development they could show us, without telling the story of the whole relationships, so we just have to deal with it as given.) In the beginning there were like two scenes with a little tension, which could've been used to build up more closeness for the outcoming relationship of the leads, but they dropped it right away and just went with: we don't show you any development. We just present the finished product.

There isn't really a storyline. We just see the different people living their life. Ye Guang is either with Qi Zhang, or his parents, who constantly tell him that he's a disappointment. Sometimes we see him with Ray. But nothing exciting happens. The part mentioning in the synopsis just takes a little little little spot in the story.

The acting is okay, but that's it. Nothing more. It's okay to watch. But it doesn't make me feel anything. I just sit through the show and did wait to be finally finished, lol. I felt zero chemistry between anyone. So underwhelming.

My fave character is Qi Zhang's mom, because she's really heartwarming. But the rest? I couldn't care less. I watched the trailer before and expected a cute story with some hardships, but good chemistry and I got nothing. Guess this show is for me what Ye Guang is for his parents. :'D

The music is quite fun. But.. having a sidecharacter as fave and the music being the only thing to enjoy, is a bit too little to have fun with a show. Especially if the same song is played over and over again. Made me a little tired of it.

I wouldn't even recommend it, because it was just so boring to watch, if you can't care about the characters, because you literally don't get to know them. They have no personality. I know literally one thing about each character and that's it. Nothing more to build on. Geez. How should I connect with characters when I don't get to know anything about them, expect one stereotypically characteristic?

After episode 6 I just wanted to drop it so badly, but having only 2 more episodes left, made me sit through it...

There were a few scenes I actually enjoyed, because the actors are really pretty and seeing them kissing each other is still fun, even when the rest of the show was just exhaustingly boring to me. Overall it was more a flop for me.

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kinda boring

I have to find every single one of these episodes, oh my god. I finally finished with this; it took me forever. I am going to average it and then explain my rating by episode. 8 stars out of 10.

I started watching because of some sketchy YouTube video, and it started on May 30th, 2023, so it has been a while because it was October 10th. I mentioned that it was short and it shouldn't take me that long because its short. Boy, was I wrong? So very wrong.

Fan Rui Hao started dressing up as a girl, and I was just really confused. There was an extraordinary band thing with Ah Jian and Xu Qi Zhang, and it was really random but a really big part of the show. And Fan Rui Hao was the sexist person in the show. Oh my god, his victims were grogeous, and he is just oh my god. He got cheated on by his older brothers. I don't know why he attracts older men, but that was really weird.

I have a faint memory of watching this because of the dad scene, but then again, there are too many parts that I do not remember for me to have watched this. It's very nostalgic, and I'm enjoying it. I don't remember his name or how to spell it, for that matter. But the guy with the glasses and the dead dad are played by three different people: him with glasses, him without glasses, and him without glasses with wet hair. I am liking this show so far; it's cute and fun and very laid-back. You know it's going to be good when one of the main characters has one dead parent or two dead parents. It was not good, but what can you do? I am copying and pasting stuff from my reviews because I actually cannot remember this show.

The actors look older than they actually are.

Boring episodes. It took me forever to finish, and mainly because this sh*t was really born. I just couldn't really get into it because there was more plotting than actual plotting. Too many sad moments and background filler than actual content. It just got on my nerves. Theres a lot of potential with the misunderstood kid, the perfectionist, the double live kid, and some random musican, less potential for our second couple, but it was not reached, and it made me really disappointed, and its going to take forever to find all the episodes. I have nothing else to say besides that it was bad. That's it. I would not recommend it, but do what you want. Okay bye!

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Прекрасно

Смотрела первые серии и такая мысленно готовила отзыв: ой ребята, посмотрите, отдохните, такая легкая дорамка и трали вали... Но все оказалось не так просто. Здесь правда все мило и многие очень милые. Но здесь еще очень много психологии. Глубокой такой и в конце я рыдала уже, понимая насколько болезненные моменты подняты. Я не знаю как будет в озвучке, есть ли перевод текста песен, поэтому настоятельно рекомендую посмотреть в субтитрах из-за перевода текста песен. Впервые за последние года два, я вижу настолько потрясающе грамотную проделанную до мелочей работу. От начала серии и до конца - здесь "с вами говорят" с экрана буквально всем - текст песни, записка на бирке и т.д. Подняты моменты как быть другом, любимым, возлюбленным. Семья и дети. Психологическая болезнь родителей и зеркало их дети. Сюжет. Сюжет кстати довольно интересен и может и не нов, но свеж по особому. Отличный каст актеров. Молодые ребята играли отлично. И если это их первые роли - то я кричу БРАВО, МОЛОДЦЫ. Музыка. Я буду искать эти песни. Они очень классные, влюбилась с первых нот. Вокал до мурашек. Я думала будет только сладость, готовилась к диабету, но нет - будет и горько, и больно, и солено. Дораму в любимые, пересмотрю еще много раз точно.

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Sangat remaja scenery banget.

Sebenarnya ada dua main role di series ini, namun menurutku series ini sangat terfokus pada satu main role utama ; yaitu Xu Qi Zhang dan Ye Guang. Menceritakan dua remaja ini dalam mencari apa yang mereka inginkan, karena keduanya sebenarnya punya masalah mereka masing-masing ; namun ketika mereka dipertemukan - mereka bersama-sama saling bertukar ide dan bahkan beberapa pengalaman hidup untuk saling memecahkan konflik mereka masing-masing ; semua masalah ini terjadi dalam fase perpindahan antara masa remaja menjadi dewasa. Kurang lebih series ini berpusat pada konflik itu. Resolusi dari series ini menurutku masuk akal ya, selain itu sederhana dan mudah dimengerti - seperti judulnya "About Youth" menurutku ini benar-benar membahas mengenai masa remaja secara umum, dimulai dari dengan siapa kita berteman, bagaimana respon dan reaksi orang tua kita ketika kita sudah remaja, dan beberapa masalah remaja yang biasanya terjadi. Dari segi dialog dan alur menurutku mudah dimengerti ya walaupun terkadang alurnya terbanting ke masa lalu. Over-all menurutku ini sangat rekomendasi banget karena series ini benar-benar punya cerita yang ringan.

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Não foi melhor por falta de tempo

Eu como fã incondicional dos BL's de Taiwan, fiquei encantada em ver depois de um tempo, uma temática mais jovem, vibe estudantil. De cara me encantei com abertura, com atores, com sinopse. E graças a Deus, não me decepcionei.

O roteiro fala de dois jovens de mundos bem diferentes que acabam se cruzando ao acaso. Um deles é rico, cheio de privilégios, mas não se sente amado pelos pais, que apenas o cobram perfeição de forma incessante, sem que ele possa se divertir como qualquer jovem. O outro é pobre, órfão de pai, mas tem uma mãe amorosa e se diverte com seu hobby, que é cantar, inclusive ele é tímido, mas no palco ele se transforma, fazendo parte de uma banda de música com seus amigos. Eles se cruzam e depois se reencontram na escola, mas apenas um deles lembra desse encontro, aliás, eu penso que ele se apaixonou à primeira vista.
O roteiro mostra que o mais rico se encanta pela vida livre que o mais pobre leva, inclusive percebendo que mesmo ele sendo livre, podendo se divertir e ajudar a mãe, é extremamente inteligente e é seu rival na disputa pela chefia da monitoria, que para ele traria status para a família, mas para o outro significava a bolsa de estudos que iria garantir seu futuro.
A história mostra um contraste interessante entre as duas famílias, uma é milionária, vive de status e massacra o filho com atividades para que ele seja um milionário de sucesso, mas não existe demonstração de afeto, não existe intimidade, o que existe é um filho frustrado por ver sua juventude se esvaindo. A outra família, que não e padrão, pois tem uma mãe viúva e pobre que cuida de seu filho sozinha, dentro de sua simplicidade é muito mais feliz.
Cada um dos jovens tem um melhor amigo. Xu Qi Zhang tem seus amigos de banda, mais tem mais apreço por um deles, e esse amigo vai se apaixonar perdidamente pelo melhor amigo de Ah Jian, um jovem homossexual que se veste de mulher em algumas situações. A série não deixa claro se ele é uma mulher trans ou apenas se sente bem ao se vestir de mulher, mas com certeza é clara em mostrar o preconceito que ele sofre até mesmo da pessoa com a qual se relaciona, eu realmente gostaria que esse ponto tivesse sido mais aprofundado. Enquanto um sabe bem o que quer, o outro está se descobrindo, e que bom que eles encontram a resposta juntos, assim como nossos protagonistas, que vivenciam seu primeiro amor.

Algumas coisas ficaram soltas, eu gostaria de ver a reação dos pais de Ah Jian ao saber sobre a homossexualidade dele, já que eles estavam começando a modificar seu modo de pensar. Também queria ver quem ganhou a disputa para monitor, se Xu Qi Zhang ganhou a bolsa de estudos, quem sabe não vem uma segunda temporada depois?

A atuação é de milhões, os temas abordados são interessantes, o desenvolvimento dos casais é coerente com o pouco tempo de série (8 eps de minutos + ou -), a fotografia é fantástica, inclusive, bati palmas para a cena do primeiro beijo dos protagonistas, quando mostra o espelho d'água. A ost é maravilhosa e a filmografia também.

Com certeza irei rever várias vezes, e super recomendo essa maravilha.

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