A celebration, eulogy, and reliving of youth
‒Overview‒Wind Direction is an exceptional youth drama that begins in the carefree wonderland of youth and ends in the bittersweet nostalgia of adulthood. The show draws you in with the youthful hijinks of its endearing young characters and takes you through the world of their parents and their own journey towards adulthood. Along the way, you will be laughing, fuming, crying, and learning with the characters.
While this show may have flown under the radar, don't hesitate to give it a try and let it grab you along for the ride. It could very well become a top youth drama that will stay with you for a long time.
‒Review‒
Like the typical youth drama, Wind Direction delivers plenty of laughs, cuteness, innocence, and friendship. But the show also goes far beyond that to deliver the profound, sometimes painful, but inevitable lessons that one can't avoid in life. The show is written with all the love of a letter to a younger self, with the fondness for the innocent days and the tough-love advice from lessons learned along the way. The Chinese title of the show is 迎风的青春, which has an extra layer of significance. It refers to the days of youth that's facing the wind, a nod to the characters embracing the world, and also to the opportunities and surprises that will be blown toward them.
The show starts out deceptively simple and innocent, and may not seem all that remarkable compared to the typical youth drama. Unlike Go Ahead, which is another favorite, we are not treated to immediate tension and conflict for the quartet of friends. But the show moves along methodically, almost sneakily, to weave together an ever richer tapestry of parents, classmates, teachers, and events that accentuate the theme of each episode. Tensions and mysteries that are introduced fade in and out of view like sections of a symphony. And the director always finds the perfect time to queue up the next big revelation in an unpredictable, yet fitting manner. Pretty soon, you find yourself cheering on a superb ensemble of characters,
crescendoing toward a dramatic finish.
There were so many superbly written and acted characters in the show in addition to the childhood friend group. There's the affable and understanding dad, played by Tian Yu, or more famously Wang Qinian from Joy of Life. He's married to Jia Daiyu (Liu Lin, LLTG and other shows), the firecracker Mom that's ready to give anyone an earful. There's Li Dahai, played by the always fierce-looking but funny Jia Bing. He's the short-tempered Dad ready to give his son Li Si an instant beating. There's Jia Baoshan, the man-child uncle that's always getting into trouble. And last but not least, there's Xiao Fang, the principal portrayed by the effervescent Jackie Li who steals scenes left and right.
The show culminates in a dramatic last six episodes that will tug at your heartstrings. For some, these episodes may be a surly wake-up call from the delicious revelry of youth, an abduction into adulthood, and the death of innocence. That's a completely understandable and natural reaction. But I encourage you to take a deep breath and embrace the pain, tragedy, and bittersweet moments. Because these episodes are the highlight of the show. These are the indispensable reminders that the show unyieldingly imparts, to those who has already traveled the road, and those who have yet to travel it, but eventually will, one way or another. And on the other side, you could recover the new you‒with a newfound appreciation for the innocence of youth, safeguarded and cherished in the memorial of your heart, powering you through the storms and scars suffered along the way.
And that's the spirit of Cheng Yaya, Yuan Shanqing, Qiang Xiaowa, Cheng Miaomiao, and Li Si. To bravely sail across the ocean and into the wind, even as they are soaked, battered, and blown off course. They are waiting for you on the other side, will you come along for the journey?
‒Component Ratings‒
> Overall [8.5 ‒> MDL 9.0] - One of my favorite watch of the year, last 6 episodes bumped it to 8.5 for me, same score as Go Ahead.
> Plot [8] - Logical and engaging, excellent pacing with no fillers
> Theme / Concept / Impact - [8.5] - A moving commemoration of youth with profound lessons along the way
> Acting [8.5] - solid acting from the younger actors that were further elevated in final episodes, veteran cast also excellent
> Visuals [8.5] - production, shots, camera language, aesthetics, editing were all pleasing and cohesive
> Audio [8] - live recording not dubbed, appropriate and moving music and sound effects, though few memorable tracks
> Rewatch [8.5] - excellent rewatch option for the comedy, comfort, and heartfelt moments; episodes can be watched independently though you may find it difficult to stop
> Accessibility [8] - the youthful friendship will have easy universal resonance. Though to fully appreciate the story of the parents and parent-child relationships may require understanding of cultural context.
> Subtitle quality [8.5] - The few episodes I saw with subs were excellent and surpassed my expectations in representing the vibe and colloquial speech.
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A fun warm emotional relatable and nostalgic coming of age drama.
Wind direction is a coming of age generational drama about life, family, friendship, youth and more.The plot of the drama is an emotional rollercoaster, it's inspirational, engaging, educational and also nostalgic, heartwarming and relatable.
The characters in the show each have their own interesting emotional and relatable stories, the characters are written to be complex and each with their own personality..which easily gets you attached to them as the story goes by..their growth and development is also reflected in the story as it progresses.
The acting was amazing..each characters did well in that category...the subtle yet impactful acting also left an impact.
The dialogue of the drama is well thought out, it's inspirational, it's educational and relatable in a way that could help screen shot most of the beautiful written lines by the different characters.
The drama goes ahead and adds in some comedy and comic relief characters to help balance out the heaviness of the plot and I must I did have a good laugh in some of the scenes.
The drama depicts growth, it depicts family, friendship, struggles and set backs people face and how they lift themselves up after those struggles..the drama continues to educate us on the different frames of life...it shows friendships, and sacrifices and more...
This was a show that unexpectedly touched me by how NOSTALGIC it was..reminding me of the good old days, it felt at home, it felt relatable and it was melancholic and emotional in a way that I felt connected to the story and it's characters as the show progressed.
Do I recommend it?
ABSOLUTELY! if you looking for a well written, relatable, nostalgic and fun story about your family friendship and more then you should give this a try...I promise you won't regret.
I learnt alot from this drama and I felt comforted by its story, characters and dialogues..this must as well be one of my most favourite dramas this year!!!
WARNING: Prepare a box of tissues for the last couple of episodes... because they were one big roller coaster ?
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A Nod To Yesterday’s Youth
My first review on this site because I could not stop my tears after finishing this.The story starts off quite simply and I went into this thinking it is a nice wholesome family slice of life. While that is true for the most part, there are storylines that I never would have expected, such as domestic abuse, violence and untimely death. The raw emotions of the actors really came through, particularly by Sun Qian (playing Cheng Miao Miao), Zhai Zi Lu (playing Li Si), Li Qing (playing Cheng Ya Ya), and Qi Yu Chen (playing Yuan Shan Qing).
As somebody who grew up in the 90s as an overseas Chinese, I can relate to some aspects (like listening to popular Canto songs). But some others are not so familiar, like growing up in a village/compound like the petro fields. This adds to the nostalgia feeling from this drama, but what sets it apart is that it does not just show all rainbows and good times. The ending was shocking to say the least and I think it will leave me a while before I can get over this show.
Watch this for a blast to the past, a realistic view of 90s nostalgia, and the overarching theme that tomorrow is never guaranteed so you need to appreciate and value today.
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama about youth, friendship, family
What started off as a drama about youth and friendship utterly broke me in the last 3 episodes. This drama highlights almost everything that happens in real life from making friends to family issues like divorce. In the later episodes there are mentions of death, the scriptwriting and way the scenes are filmed really brought tears to my eyes. The emotions they manage to evoke in just episode 29 alone is amazing.Overall, this drama perfectly displayed events of our youth and growing up. It also shows that no matter how perfect our childhood was, it will end one day. We will eventually grow up and have to face the harsh reality of the adult World but we have friends right beside us and families that have our back to face these difficulties.
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What's Life All About When They were 17-18
I am always lazy placing review here but this time I won't pass because I need to tell the world how this drama touched me so much.I love all the characters here and how the SW made effort to give to them their own time and moment to shine. And when they are in the spotlight you will find sympatizing to the characters. Ep1 made an impact already in my mind wc made me decide to watch continuously. How Miao2 Mama was tough to run away with her boyfriend who later betrayed her and as the story was reaveling I concluded that Miao2 characteristics were taken majorly from her Mama. She is a person with full of 10000 ideas and always persistent aside from being book smart wc she is really her weak side but her intrapersonal skill is very good . All characters here made an impact on me while watching all the episodes. I love the smart type of Yaya but can join the antics and emotions of her sister, although they were fighting un the beginning. I love Tao and Min siblings, they really love each other. I love Taos wisdom and how he delivered his lines. I cried, I bawled on this scene. I love LiSi, how he is always ready to fight for his loved ones. I love how Yuanqing love her baby sister and give everything for her. I love the pure relationship of Yaya and Yuanqing; how they wanted to protect each other. The Ayis and the Shushus were all good. They were not perfect but they would always be willing to be with each other., support each other. I love uncle Baoxian how he has so many ideas in everything and Xiao Feng Turen, how she is fighting for the students. I love the two teachers who sincerely helped their students especially Xiaowa. I love the family of Xiaowa although they are poor they r open minded and supportive family. I love Laola how she is telling her wisdoms to the people around her.
This drama made me cry and laugh because I feel every lesson it wanted to convey to in every episode. I love every episode, the scene where Min would jump off the bridge wc had an amazing finale and that's her mother didn't hesitate to jump off with LiSi trying to help Mins Mama not to fall and at the end they were rescued by Xaiowa and Teacher Gao. I love how Teacher Gao eradicated the ranking system , telling all the parents about his hope that the home of their students should be a place that they would always be comfortable to stay in and would have their peace whenever they r with their parents. Teaxher Gao is an awesome teacher (clap clap clap)I hope that this world will have teachers like Xiao Fang, Teacher Gao and Teacher Han.
I will surely miss my Wind Direction cast and I also get sad when all the episodes were you. I just want to emphasize that I get so sad about LiSis passing but I believe that the SW made the correct decision for doing that because in life the storms will not always have a success result but a result that we will just need to accept because we can't do anything about it. Life is a series of success and failures and just accepting what is in the choices.
This is the BEST DRAMA of the YEAR for me and hoping it will be recognized in China. I love slice of life drama and this one etched a very good memories in me and btw, they r the same age of me. Our HS years are in the same year and I believe so if they are all true characters they r all in their at least 43 or 44 years of age. I cant say all here but all the episodes are golds and I didn't skip any scenes. Highly recommending this drama to all. Please watch it so you will know what's life is all about when they were in 16, 17, 18. Life aint that great but it is still the life that will make you smile when you reminisce the past. Goodbye, Wind Direction, goodbye LiSi, goodbye Linqi Oilfield village, goodbye fishing village, goodbye Linqi2 HS, goodbye youth, goodbye memories of the past. I will surely miss this drama ?????????❤️?❤️?❤️?
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Very happy respectful Family and Youth drama with bitter taste at the end
This drama is The most respectful Retro Family drama I've ever sceneYou can watch it with any family member,, It's 100% family youth drama that has no romance at all , Zero romance but it's 100% about LOVE
Love of family, friends, colleagues, the wronged people, the poor people, and love of oneself
This drama for me was a Therapy
I felt so good watching it and it's positivity towards relationships and life
You will fall in love with each character,, even the ones that seem not lovable at first
It gave great lessons about love for education and fighting for it, love for our childhood friends and love for our new friends newcomers who are poor and live hard lives
so it's a very educational and very heartwarming drama that has everything pink and floral, No dark about it
just a few cases of family disputes, the normal ones
and one case of a girl who has a criminal father but she found family to love and protect her and her sister
even the teenage kids they didn't have teenage problems
No bullying, No fighting over a girl or a boy, No romance Just love and friendship
ALL that I've said until now was that it's the greenest flag drama you could ever watch in pink bubble until the last four episodes
Warning!!!!!!!
REALITY HITS HARD
LIFE FIGHTS BACK AT THIS PINCK PICTURE
and suddenly the last four episodes became all about pain , sadness, despair , sickness, death
I'm so distraught by the last four episodes that I write this review with bad taste in my mouth and tears in my eyes
why the writers ruin a perfectly peaceful cheerful comedic family drama like that
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