Reviews

First of all, the number one reason to watch Age of Youth is that it's the rare k-drama that's entirely female-driven and, on top of that, isn't driven by romance.

Of course, there are plenty of great k-dramas out there where women drive the plot; in those stories, though, the female protags usually share equal space with male leads. And there are a few gems I've come across that aren't about romance, but these examples are very much male-driven (Misaeng, SUFBB, White Christmas — all of these shows respect their women, but none of them are *about* the women).

Age of Youth, however, is an anomaly in revolving around a main female ensemble with all male characters being pushed down to supporting character rank (just check out the cast list here). This is in itself is a little bit momentous, and it's the kind of thing there should be more of.

Don't get me wrong, in general you can count on k-dramas for female characters with points-of-view. Still, the bulk of them follow the YA novel tradition of revolving around *one* girl, meaning that relationships between different women are rarely fleshed out (or at least, not as fleshed out as that of the female lead/male leads). Age of Youth, however, isn't about one girl. It's about five girls — five girls with their own inner lives, goals, and ghosts-in-the-closet (thanks to Jiwon for that unnecessarily dramatic metaphor). These stories might feature romantic subplots, but they're not the main event. The way these girls relate to one another is the real emotional core of the series.

Since I've sung my praise, for the sake of fairness I'll touch on a couple of the show's weaknesses.

Being such a short drama, AOY is definitely hurt by trying to do too much with a lack of time. The upshot is it suffers from the typical ensemble show problem of uneven character work. While some arcs are fully realised and flawlessly constructed (particularly, the growth of Hwayoung's character), a couple of others sadly fall to the wayside. (Han Seungyeon's character is the most egregious. If I didn't know there'll be a season two, I'd find the lack of time given for Ye Eun's post-traumatic arc absolutely unforgivable. Since there *will* be a season two, though, I aggressively expect this to be the #1 priority.)

My other gripe is about tonal inconsistency. Again with the trying to do too much, AOY teeters between realistic slice-of-life and... dark psychological thriller? Let it be said that it's much more successful at the former. Some of the darker story-lines work because they're *character-driven* (again, not sorry about Yina's narrative), but most of the show's dips into other genres are unfortunately half-baked. Considering that lack of time thing, AOY would have been more cohesive by cutting the excess.

THAT BEING SAID, these flaws stick out only because AOY is so quality in every other way. If you want a drama that actually cares about women's stories (and why wouldn't you), you arguably can't do better than Age of Youth.

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This is a strange one for me. As I was watching, I remember thinking constantly that many things didn't make sense, some parts were unrealistic, the mood was weird and some of the characters felt incredibly shallow. But even so, I still liked this. I looked forward to the new episodes every week and I always watched them the moment I got the chance. Missing 9 wasn't a perfect drama, in fact, it's far from perfect or even great but it had its moments.

Story: The basic premise of the story is simple. Nine coworkers from an entertainment company end up on a deserted island together and have to rely on one another to survive. But as it turns out, that's not even half the actual story. The plot jumps around in time and we get the uncover pieces of mystery slowly which was both confusing and intriguing. In the end I felt happy with the development of the story and the way it was concluded but I found myself doubtful on quite a few occasions.

Acting & Cast: I have no complaints. No one stuck out like a sore thumb, everyone did their part and some were simply sublime.

Jung Kyung Ho / Seo Jun Oh: A lovable, misunderstood character. I rarely like the main characters the most in a drama but this time there was no question. Jun Oh was cute, smart and funny, a very well built character. I don't know why I've never watched Jung Kyung Ho before but that's about to change, dammit. He was absolutely wonderful.

Baek Jin Hee / Ra Bong Hee: I used to not like Baek Jin Hee but she changed my opinion of her with this drama. What an awesome female lead! Strong, quick, smart and cute, there's nothing she can't do. Baek Jin Hee's acting was, in my opinion, flawless. While looking conceivably innocent, she packs a better punch than all the men in this drama combined.

Choi Tae Joon / Choi Tae Ho: I love Choi Tae Joon, I hated Choi Tae Ho. That goes to tell you how good he was. I was afraid they were going to completely neglect this character and leave him to be an empty shell but that wasn't really the case. The character wasn't great but they managed to somehow scrape the pieces together by the end.

Oh Jung Se / Jung Ki Joon: Such a sweet ahjussi. Trustworthy and caring. Again, great acting, and chemistry with Lee Seon Bin was great.

Lee Seon Bin / Ha Ji Ah: Now I finally understand why she is called the ultimate girl crush. She is beautiful and acts well, sings well, dances well. I'd date her. Ji Ah was also one of my favorite characters in the drama, she was stubborn, but loyal and strong-willed. I love how we got to see many strong female characters.

Ryu Won / Yoon So Hee: I didn't like her but I don't think I was supposed to. She was an important character for the development of the story but her presence still felt rather insignificant to me.

Yang Dong Geun / Yoon Tae Young: This feels like the first time I've ever seen a character like this one. A very interesting portrayal of a distressed brother and a professional prosecutor by Yang Dong Geun. I ended up enjoying his performance more than I thought I would.

Park Chan Yeol /Lee Yeol: From the beginning till the end, he was the most insignificant character in the drama. Without him everything would have turned out in the exact same way. Chanyeol's acting seems to have improved a little but his part was too small to draw any concrete conclusions. He was cast only to get viewers, let's accept that and move on.

The characters were definitely the driving force of this drama. Although the plot was quite dynamic, on its own it would have been completely disappointing. A successful casting was in the end the strongest point in this production. There were so many characters that I honestly can't bring myself to write individual comments on all of them. Kim Sang Ho and Kim Pub Lae were great as expected as was Tae Hang Ho. Song Ok Jook made me hate her passionately so I'll give her credit for that. Some of the actors in the smaller roles were hilarious and really freshened up the mood of the drama.

Rewatch value: I might consider watching this again because there were some really cute moments that made me laugh. The story in itself wasn't mind-blowing but the acting and humor made up for it quite well. I might recommend this if you're a fan of some of the cast or if you really enjoy light suspense with some comedy on the side. It's an easy watch, you won't have to think too hard.

In a nutshell this is simultaneously a frustrating and juvenile, but quite whimsical and fresh drama. I'm glad I watched it but I'm also glad it's over and I can move onto other things.

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I really missed The Mystic Nine after I finished it. Its one of those dramas that you miss because you really want to see the warmth and 'brotherhood' of the cast and their respective characters again. After every episode, there's always a BTS (and a bit of product advertisement) of all the cast and it never fails to crack me up.


The story of The Mystic Nine to me is quite a boring one. I never really liked tomb mysteries and I still don't. Some parts of the story are intriguing and cool, some boring and complicated. But what I really liked is the few gates all plotting on how to take the bad guys down that sort of thing. I'm quite a sucker for 'friendship' shows and the bromance in The Mystic Nine is very good plus its not just between two guys but a couple of them which is really what kept me watching.


The romance in this is a bit of a meh, the love story between Ya Tou and Er Ye is pretty boring. The scenes between Xin Yue and Fo Ye is very cute though albeit not frequent enough. So if you're watching only for romance/ Zhao Li YIng x William Chan, don't bother. But the scenes are still cute.


The cast is great I would say. I think everyone suits their roles quite alright and I love all their characters especially Lieutenant Zhang and Ba Ye !!!!! The on set and off set chemistry between the entire cast is good in my opinion. Some of the acting is off (esp with the caucasian actor maybe it was his accent that annoyed me lmao) but nothing THAT offputting.


OST is not bad. Really like the opening song, I listen to it every now and then.


All in all, although the plot is a tad bit boring with complex situations, the bromance and friendship of most of the characters (Fo Ye, Er Ye, Ba Ye, Lieutenant Zhang and Xin Yue) are really heartwarming. And with all the quirkiness of Ba Ye, you'll have a few laughs here and there. So if you have some time with nothing to watch, consider The Mystic Nine. You might like it.

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I'm developing a talent for being drawn to controversial dramas. Cheese in the Trap was a highly anticipated series that, while, being produced, gave rise to a cacophony of behind-the-scenes drama that escalated to such an extent that many now consider CITT one of the biggest disappointments of 2016. In light of that mess, my recommendation for enjoying this drama is to be as unfamiliar with the source material (the web-toon on which it's based) as possible.

Now that we've got that out of the way: Despite unevenness, Cheese in the Trap is a narrative success in my books, for many of the same reasons I've also defended that other 2016 YA drama with a bad reputation, Scarlet Heart: Ryeo. (Speaking of, MLSHR is one of the recs under CITT because it, too, has a "questionably crazy male lead." Hilarity.)

Anyway, k-drama romances tend to fall under two trends:

(1) Zany Disney-esque romcoms where love lifts everyone up where they belong (see: My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, To the Beautiful You, You Who Came From the Stars, etc. etc. etc. etc.).
(2) Toxic and imbalanced relationships that are glorified with undeserved happily-ever-afters (see: Boys Over Flowers, The Heirs, and so on and so forth).

Cheese in the Trap isn't either of those stories. Much like MLSHR, CITT is concerned with one overarching question: Can a person change another person? (Alternatively: Do people change *for* other people?) The show doesn't give a pat answer, and that's to its credit.

In short, this is a slice-of-life that isn't afraid to go dark (and not in an incongruous after-school special way — unlike Age of Youth, the darkness in CITT is fully fleshed out). If you're looking for light, escapist fun that delivers a straightforward message, there are literally hundreds of other dramas for you. If, otoh, you want a complex story about young adults that doesn't idealise its characters — but also, importantly, doesn't descend into nihilism — you might want to give Cheese in the Trap a shot.

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This is the absolute worst kdrama that I have ever scene in my entire life. Where do I begin? I don't even have a list of positives to give you. That's how bad it is.

Cons:

Acting: actually the acting was on point. But it was completely wasted on such a terrible and awful plot, that it makes me want to cry in tears of sadness.

Plot: What even...? It was all over the place, riddled with plotholes, made zero sense, had little purpose, was just awful.

Characters: THEY WERE SO STUPID! I could give you the biggest list of why these characters are the dumbest pieces of crap on the planet, but that would also give spoilers. Just trust me, they are really really really dumb. And not just the occasional dumb move, like it's more common for them to be dumb than smart. The biggest plot twist of ep 14? The characters used their brains. That should say something.

Tone/mood: Was it a comedy? Was it a melodrama? Was it a romance? A survival show? I don't know. It was basically a very awkward mix of all 4. My rule, if you're gonna be comedic, stick with comedy. If you're gonna be serious, stay serious. Don't make it super serious toned one episode (or even a string of episodes) and then slapstick the next couple string of episodes. It is very confusing

Ending: Can't say what the ending was, but basically I finished it and I thought to myself "wow, what a waste of time".

Message: Everything's find and dandy as long as you cry about it and look pitiful, no matter WHAT you have done. Not healthy.

Overall, this drama is honestly terrible, and I wouldn't even recommend it to my worst enemy. I would not recommend at all, it is a waste of time and will just leave you very frusturated. Basically this drama is like a drug, bad for you but you take it all the same. Just don't watch it.

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And the award fore weirdest out of left field ending goes to.....
Missing 9 is one addictive drama at least episodes 1-15 are. Episode 16, not so much. They could have made episode 15 about 25 minutes longer to tie up the story and end it. The final episode had too much obvious filler and not enough tension. And the last scene came from outer space. It's like a new director took over for a quick second. But I digress. The story is quite good. It's nothing like I thought it would be. Early comparisons to Lost were far off base. There's a plane crash and that's where the similarities end. Missing 9's characters all mostly know each other for better or for worse. They all belong to/work for the same Entertainment Agency. The writer(s) did a good job in character development and setting up a well layered mystery even where there didn't seem to be one. The characters had camaraderie and there were a number of humorous scenes. The cast as a whole did a marvelous job and they had great chemistry. They seemed to work well together. The incidental music did a great job of supporting the story and helping move it along. The songs were ok. I really didn't pay much attention to the main song that played throughout the drama probably because I found it uninteresting. I really did enjoy Missing 9, but I don't see a reason to re-watch it. To be honest though, it's rare that I ever want to re-watch any drama.. Overall, it's a solid well done drama and very much worth watching even with the weird, obvious add-on scene at the end.

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This drama was really random and unpredictable, but that's what I loved about it. I know people had mixed feelings about Missing 9. This drama, at its core, is a comedy. Never forget that as you watch. The island itself is a dark place that tests human nature. You will see common themes like Nature vs. Nurture and Survival of the Fittest. In fact, they even mention back home (Seoul) as the happy place, so it would make sense that the scenes shot in Korea are more comedic and lighthearted.

Yes, it's kind of flawed and has its plot holes, but considering the original writer dropped out and another writer had to come in and pick up the pieces, it's pretty darn good. At times it did feel like different writers were writing different parts. It would go from Comedy to Horror to Action, for example. However, in the end, I think the last scene represented the drama real well as a whole. Basically, bright and colorful, but one hot mess. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

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I think everyone has had mixed feelings about Missing 9 from the beginning. Whether you ended up loving or hating it, I think there's a lot to be said about this drama on both ends of the spectrum. Despite everything, I think it was worth the watch for the amazing characters we were given.

STORY

The story started out strong and was a very good concept. When it first began, I was getting Lost (one of my favorite American TV shows) vibes from it and I really loved that. It would have done the writers well to spend more time on the island and develop that plotline more because things started to twindle once they brought the story back to Seoul. Like many other comments mentioned, they tried to mix too many genres and sometimes it worked... but a lot of them time, I think the comedic efforts just seemed out of place and over the top in such an intense story. I still probably would have given the story a higher rating if not for the ending scene... I don't think I'll never be upset about it.

ACTING/CAST

The cast and characters were the saving grace of this drama and the reason it still has such a high rating and special place in my heart. Ra Bong Hee is one of the most wonderful and beautifully written female characters I've ever watched in a drama. I love everything about her. So Joon Oh was a pleasant surprise as well because I expected him to be the typical, arrogant, asshole celebrity but we got to see he was so much more than that and one of the most kind and caring individuals in the whole bunch. Their relationship was so subtle and sweet. Their moments were small and fleeting, but the love and admiration between them warmed my heart. And even though we never had a big scene with them officially getting together... it felt like they were the whole time. The supporting cast was great as well. All the different bonds and relationships were beautiful to see. Like I said, the characters were the saving grace of this drama and my attachment to them will live on for a while.

MUSIC

Honestly, I just didn't find the OST super memorable... but I didn't hate it.

REWATCH VALUE

With all the plotholes and that ending... I wouldn't recommend a re-watch... I would only do it for Bong Hee.

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A lot can be said about Missing 9, but whether you liked it or not one thing is for sure, it was addicting as hell! Missing 9 is a particular drama, part comedy, part mystery, part aspiring thriller. Genres that don’t really blend and that was why missing 9 was an adorable mess, but such an enjoyable one!

Story
Missing 9 revolves around a plane crash on a deserted island. Effectively the story can be split into 2 parts that are unfolded at the same time as the drama continues. First part, the flashbacks, are centered in the past as we see the aftermath of the plane crush. Part 2 takes place in the present and talks about what happens after a survivor is found. The drama develops as a mystery: “what the hell actually happened on that island?”

Missing 9 is not a drama to be taken seriously. It tried its best to be original and different and while that is a definitely a plus for me, what actually made it stand out was the peculiar combination of mystery and comedy.

The drama doesn’t know what it wants to be, a thriller about 9 people trying to survive while reevaluating their lives or a hilarious comedy about a plane crush. Answer is both, and the faster you embrace it the more fun you will have watching.

I read a lot of comments claiming that the plot is a trainwreck. I sincerely disagree. I could call the plot tryhard, absurd, ridiculous but also quite intriguing and interesting. What I appreciated the most was that even in its completely ridiculous nature, the story was there from start to finish, implicating murders, mystery, questions and twists that will make you keep watching, hence the addictive part. However, there were countless times I rolled my eyes and giggled at how absurd the script was, how convenient and silly. The comedy isn’t for everyone but for me it was golden.

Best thing about it? The transition between comedy and seriousness was nonexistent. The drama throws intense situations at you and then it mocks itself by ridiculing them all the way, without making itself unwatchable at all. It’s amazing how they made it work. I am the first person who dislikes serious situations being made fun of, but here, I loved it. This is the first time I’ve witnessed a drama doing this so, even if the results aren’t perfect, I give points for originality.

The drama doesn't want to be serious, it wants us to have fun. Therefore, it would be advisable for everyone to just dismiss your logic while watching this and just buckle up and enjoy the crazy ride. I understand this is not for everyone, but what i don't understand why we need to blame this drama for its irrationality when we've accepted countless unrealistic and stretched dramas (with less plot than this one), dramas about time travel, mythical creatures, comic characters ect. Either judge them all or accept them all, they all come from the same imaginative place.

Romance wasn’t present in the drama; there is some kind of romance developing between the leads that was not explored and didn’t need to be. Romance, with the heavy sense of the term, would have been redundant. The couple did look great together and had amazing synergy especially in their comedy scenes.

Overall, Missing 9 was immensely entertaining and one of the better dramas for escapism. Completely mind-numbing, but oh-so amusing! It was this distinct characteristic the drama had where it just made fun of itself completely that I found so provoking and creative that I just fell in love with it. The drama knows it’s silly and absurd but instead of trying to avoid facing that, it builds and thrives on it! Commendable! Not a drama one would rewatch but for what it was it was extremely enjoyable.

Acting
I came here for Jung Kyung Ho, and he was flawless, especially acing his comedy scenes like never before, but the actresses that made the drama for me were Baek Jin Hee and Lee Seon Bin.

For… reasons, I had low expectations from Baek Jin Hee even if I had never seen her before. The girl positively surprised me and proved to be a very strong female lead. Her acting was spot-on and tip-top, being funny, cute and emotional when needed. I'm looking forward to her future projects!

Lee Seon Bin is definitely a new favourite for me, not only because she’s certifiably hot but because she’s a very promising young lady with a bright future.

The cast was mostly unknown-at least to me- but I sincerely enjoyed watching them as a whole.

Recommend
Missing 9 sounds amazing from the synopsis but it would be wise to drop your expectations a bit. It is not anything groundbreaking as a drama, but it is unique in terms of script-idea and development. The combination of thriller and comedy and the ridiculousness of the whole thing really clicked perfectly all together for a unique experience. If you are into comedy, want to watch something light and would like some thriller on the side this is not a bad watch at all.

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When I first came across the drama I thought, that the plot sounded interesting and that I should watch it asap. And then I read some reviews, many about how the ending wasn't great. And as I'm a sucker for happy endings, I didn't watch the drama right away. It took me some time, but after watching some other dramas I kept coming back to this one and I finally started watching.

And what should I say? I really really really liked it! And I think that the ending is perfect as it is because it fits the drama AND leaves the possibility for a sequel (I would really love that).

I liked the cast and characters, although the character of Hong Seol could have been a little braver and have more confidence (I know it's based on the webtoon and that's how she is). And Lee Sung Kyung showed her acting skills by being the ultimate crazy bitch - damn annoying but really hilarious at times.

So overall it was a pleasant drama with the right wrap up in the end. I would really like a sequel!

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ok, i really wanna say only good stuff about this but im still mad about how it ended.

the good stuff:

amazing production set - you can tell that they spend money for this drama. from the location to costumes and extras. i love the palace that they used in this drama, its the biggest one ive seen so far in all the period drama that ive seen. also it impressed me how many horses they used during those war scenes. they also used a lot of location here, mostly outdoor. im not sure if they have a very big studio in china or this places actually exist in there.

acting is great - the cast itself is proof that you can expect something from this.

story is not perfect but still entertaining. its meant to be taken lightly. Hu Ge's did a great job in displaying the character development in his role. He started as this happy go lucky guy then turned into badass kung fu master general. Chang Shih also did great being the main villain. at some point i was empathizing with him but as he becomes more evil all i wish is for him to die in the drama haha. Bai Michelle's character is the least i like. she did nothing here but cry. and she only brings trouble and suffering to HuGe's character lol.

since there's fantasy tag here, expect some CGI, but dont expect hollywood quality CGI. last episode were entirely shot in chroma/green screen lol and its bad very very bad. bad cgi puts me off from getting the right emotion for that scene.

there were lot of plot holes here but i won't mention it since it might spoil some parts of the drama. what i can tell is the last episode ruined everything for me. i enjoyed all of 50 episodes except for that one last episodes where it made me regret and made feel i was cheated and robbed of my precious 50 hours. 50 effin hours that i wont be able to get back.

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This is the review of the drama story that tried too hard, the main female character wasn't too bad but kinda weird and awkward, the main male lead I have seen in other dramas and i've seen better roles out of him so I know it wasn't specifically his acting. The writer of the story tried way too hard to make this have several different flavors to the story but, it honestly isn't it at all. The story feels awkward, pushed together and even rushed places...the drama makes me think of a gone bad/weird version of the drama Let's Eat which is actually a pretty good food drama, this story here was poorly execution of a potentially good story idea. If you have nothing else to watch and want to just watch anything even if it doesn't make a lot of sense then try this drama, if not just keep going...there are better dramas to invest your time in out there.

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The story is alright, the idea behind it was good it just seems to have strayed creatively along the way. The actors were pretty good although I found a few to be distastefully annoying and it was probably just the character they were portraying but other than that, not bad. The music was not bad, I just didn't notice it too much except for a song here or there, I would most definitely not re-watch this but then again I don't I have ever re-watched any drama i've seen so far. One of my biggest peeves in general whether it's a kdrama or not, is a bad/confusing/ridiculous ending...it just doesn't sit well with me and while the ending for this drama wasn't the most terrible, it was certainly not the best either, throughout the story many things were said and answered all was fairly well until there was a point about midway towards the ending that started to raise questions that by the time the drama was done were left unanswered.

I just shrugged off the ending for the most part but I was annoyed that I ended up with more questions than answers by the end of the drama and the ending itself was a hot mess in it's own way which is probably one of the most parts that left many questions without an answer.

If you are looking to watch something that has action, revenge and some romance then this is not too bad of a watch although some of the plots don't really develop as you would be used to in other dramas like the romantic side of it, there is a lot of back and forth throughout the episodes about the revenge thing and the action scenes were not bad at all, a bit cliched but not terrible.

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