catherine
Age of Youth had been recommended to me by a friend multiple times, but I had kept putting it off for one big reason: I knew that the story didn't focus on romance, and I was ALWAYS in the mood to watch romance.
And when I finally got around to watching it, that was still a problem, but not in the way I'd expected. There was enough romance—the problem was that it wasn't for the characters I wanted, Yi-Na and Ji-Won.
Those two were my favorites, followed by Jin-Myung, and then Ye-Eun and Eun-Jae. Let me go over my thoughts on each character separately.
Yi-Na: I loved her. Her character was the perfect blend of tragic backstory, badassery, and self-reflection, and her character development throughout the season was extremely strong. I loved how straightforward she was, yet how subtle she could be in her support for her friends. I so wish she had a romance plotline, especially how we were teased with it near the end.
Ji-Won: I loved her too! Her character had a little less depth than Yi-Na's which is the only reason she's second. Otherwise, her personality would be ranked first for me. She was always so adorable and upbeat, yet surprisingly insightful when it came down to it. It pained me that the character who wanted to find love the most was the one kind of left without it—even though there were some hints for this as well that I'm hoping are expanded on in Season 2.
Jin-Myung: This character really had to grow on me, but when she did, I grew to love her a lot as well. Even though she was a little bit of the cliche, tragic character, I thought she was extremely strong and her character development was great to watch as well, especially when she was connected with Yi-Na. Her romance plotline was nice too, but predictable.
Ye-Eun: I'm sure a lot of people were annoyed with this character, and I was too. She was very whiny and shrill. I will admit though that I really appreciated her plot and development, and she was surprisingly strong and logical about what a healthy relationship should be—which I'm glad wasn't dragged out.
Eun-Jae: Ugh. My least favorite of the five, and the one who got the most screentime and was the MAIN MAIN character. She was frustrating to watch at first because she never spoke up—understandable. But as the series went on, something about Eun-Jae just never sat right with me. I kept feeling secondhand embarrassment, the acting was a little awkward, and her entire personality was just the least interesting. Because of her, I couldn't really enjoy her romance plotline, which sucked because the love interest was the kind of teasing, playful male that I'd been looking for in kdramas. One scene that I did enjoy, though, is the one where she finally calls out her mom—another character that annoyed me to death. I know that the actress for Eun-Jae is different in Season 2...I'm partly thankful, partly worried that it'll throw me off.
Overall, it was still really refreshing to watch a drama with strong sismance, which kdrama doesn't usually have a lot of.
And when I finally got around to watching it, that was still a problem, but not in the way I'd expected. There was enough romance—the problem was that it wasn't for the characters I wanted, Yi-Na and Ji-Won.
Those two were my favorites, followed by Jin-Myung, and then Ye-Eun and Eun-Jae. Let me go over my thoughts on each character separately.
Yi-Na: I loved her. Her character was the perfect blend of tragic backstory, badassery, and self-reflection, and her character development throughout the season was extremely strong. I loved how straightforward she was, yet how subtle she could be in her support for her friends. I so wish she had a romance plotline, especially how we were teased with it near the end.
Ji-Won: I loved her too! Her character had a little less depth than Yi-Na's which is the only reason she's second. Otherwise, her personality would be ranked first for me. She was always so adorable and upbeat, yet surprisingly insightful when it came down to it. It pained me that the character who wanted to find love the most was the one kind of left without it—even though there were some hints for this as well that I'm hoping are expanded on in Season 2.
Jin-Myung: This character really had to grow on me, but when she did, I grew to love her a lot as well. Even though she was a little bit of the cliche, tragic character, I thought she was extremely strong and her character development was great to watch as well, especially when she was connected with Yi-Na. Her romance plotline was nice too, but predictable.
Ye-Eun: I'm sure a lot of people were annoyed with this character, and I was too. She was very whiny and shrill. I will admit though that I really appreciated her plot and development, and she was surprisingly strong and logical about what a healthy relationship should be—which I'm glad wasn't dragged out.
Eun-Jae: Ugh. My least favorite of the five, and the one who got the most screentime and was the MAIN MAIN character. She was frustrating to watch at first because she never spoke up—understandable. But as the series went on, something about Eun-Jae just never sat right with me. I kept feeling secondhand embarrassment, the acting was a little awkward, and her entire personality was just the least interesting. Because of her, I couldn't really enjoy her romance plotline, which sucked because the love interest was the kind of teasing, playful male that I'd been looking for in kdramas. One scene that I did enjoy, though, is the one where she finally calls out her mom—another character that annoyed me to death. I know that the actress for Eun-Jae is different in Season 2...I'm partly thankful, partly worried that it'll throw me off.
Overall, it was still really refreshing to watch a drama with strong sismance, which kdrama doesn't usually have a lot of.
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