This review may contain spoilers
I would like to start by saying, you do not need to watch the Korean version first if you want to watch this version, since it is exactly the same. Some scenes are the same to the exact second. But that didn't really bother me. Considering that Age of Youth is my favourite kdrama I have ever watched. However, Personally I preferred this version rather than the Korean version. Mainly because I preferred the actors/actresses that played the characters they did. I think they suited the role more than the original characters in Age Of Youth. STORY
I was really excited when I heard there was going to be a remake of this. The plot is really interesting and includes things such as gender norms, depression, suicidal tendencies, abusive relationships, PTSD, isolation, betrayal, sexuality, murder, eating disorders, child predators. These are elements that I like about the plot, since its something that (originally AOY) Korea wouldn't consider since they are quite picky or triggered about these things in general. For Korea (originally AOY) to make a drama including these elements is a big step for drama plots, in my opinion. These things are happening on a daily basis in real life, so i'm glad that they included as many things as they could and STILL made the story line interesting. A remake of AOY made me happy because it is shown that the impact of AOY's story line was being spread and recognised by the people in China and the viewers, wherever they come from, who don't watch Kdramas and more Cdrama's (or vise-versa) will be able to recognise these things and be aware of it. This impact made me be more noticeable of things in my everyday life because of the thoroughness and effort they made in this plot. Although I had already seen the original version of this drama, i still rated the story 10, because the plot in general is amazing and is played amazingly by both actors and actresses in both dramas that i couldn't rate it less.
ACTING/CAST
Some characters I found less intimidating in this version but that could just be because I watched AOY first and knew them first. However, I prefer the characters played by the actors/actresses in this drama than the original. This is because their overall appearance suited the character more, since i already got to know the characters in AOY, I was expecting the characters to be lower than my expectations, but I was wrong. I felt more of an attraction and connection to the characters in Youth, rather than AOY. But, If they remake season 2 of AOY, I hope they do not replace XiaoChun for another character, just because they replaced EunJae (AOY) for another actress due to the real actresses circumstances. However, this might affect some scenes in Youth 2, if they want to make it exactly the same.
MUSIC
I loved the music. The 2 minute long intro, i never skipped because the song was so good! The background music in the actual drama was amazing too and fit the scenes perfectly. I do not have any criticism for this.
REWATCH VALUE
I would definitely consider re-watching this anytime. Before watching this, many times I had considered rewatched the whole of AOY. But, now I had watched this completely, although having to stop watching for a while due to studying and exams, the Chinese remake is now my more favourite than Age Of Youth, and would consider re-watching this version rather than the original.
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Liked:
- I really liked the character of Zhang Sheng Nan and her story. Her perseverance is inspiring.
- I thought that Haha He did a really great job portraying a naive school girl character. She really sold it well in my opinion. She's got the "look"
Disliked:
- The story line of Han Yi Tong and her search for a man. This just felt so overdone and also seemed to miss the mark of a TV show that was focused on females and their friendship.
Watch if you're bored and want a change from the usual rom-com format!
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Not better than the Korean version
This adaptation actually stayed quite loyal to the original Korean series, so it had some of the same charms. However, I do think it was a little less endearing in terms of its characters and plots. I wasn't a huge fan of Xiao Chun (yes, her bangs are awful but even that aside), and the backstories for all characters felt a little less in-depth and all over the place.The only characters that I really loved were Sheng Nan for her backstory and character arc which is always a heartbreaker, and Yi Tong for her personality and playful banter with He Lin.
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This review may contain spoilers
4 cute couples and 1 single potato haha
I like how they each stood out for each other, although Ni and Chen chen doesn't get along very well, Ni shows that she cares very much about chen chen like when she rescued her from drinking at the bar. Shengnan is my favourite, she is humble, nice, kind, fierce to her enemies, strong when her friends need help and definitely a workaholic. No wonder Heng would like her. Xiao chun gives off very soft aesthetic, she is very shy as usual, gets teased, and is funny and weird in a good way. I like how she built off strength and friendship with the four girls although they did not treat her well at first. Han yi tong is very optimistic, I like that about her, you can talk literally about anything to her no matter if its is relationship kind or grim stories. She is a good listener. Yi tong is the single potato haha. But she is very smart in her way, I wonder if she is still single lmao.I hate both Gao lin, and Shengnan's manager, although they both make me hate them so much. It shows me that they are good at acting it out. I definitely want a season 2 and I want to know what Shengnan's life wishes are when she said she was going on a break to rest herself from working so much. Shes the best girl, Love her. I wanna see more of her in main roles
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This review may contain spoilers
Story : Actually I watched awhile at first then I dropped cos I’m not into friends’s stories drama kind. Like got more than 3 main roles kind stories. I find it hard to keep it up I guess or I just the first couple or third lead role but I have to watch another 2 more leads stories so I don’t like it but in the end I still watched this cos there’s nothing much C-drama on-going. Story/Script Written + Acting/Cast : So surprisedly, I liked it. Mainly I’ll just talk about XC. I like XC’s innocent and pure kind because the way she going thru first time staying with stranger - all the cons that she have to endure - I find it she portray the expression & body language well. But her hairstyle....have to find faster way to get used it haha. I was looking forward for her improvement character or better of herself as she is the first role that introduced.
Unfortunate there’s not any scene show that she have become more out-going, socially to other aside her housemates. I found that her characteristic from time to time tend to be annoying because she still endure & keep to herself. Till she was too pressured to cope, only then she expressed it. She also tend to think negative about herself from beginning till the end. As the drama never show that she have positive thoughts. And her mother.....hmm no conclusion there. Left it blank... Towards her boyfriend - I was interested this couple but there’s not any improvement affection to Senior YY - same goes with Heng. Both of these male support roles - show more love towards female. And Helin too I guess.
Honestly I’m not familiar with these girls as main lead genre - perhaps it supposed to highlight girls’s characters as independent women but it does show that all the male support lead give more than take. Quite pity...aside CCC.
The rest 4 changes alot. You can see their improvement of mind thinking - solutions, know & admit the mistake, change ways of thinking & ways to better path, better way for their own.
Music : two songs. I’ll be okay :)
Overall : I’ll rewatch certain scenes especially funny one.
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LOVED IT!!
i have seen a lot of dramas, but there are only a few, which i would add to my ''best drama'' list and i would with this one.Its been a while since I have finished it, but it is still stuck in my head and I keep thinking about how much I loved it.
My favorite part was the romance of Lin Xiao Chunand. but I enjoyed all storylines.
i first watched some clips of this serie on youtube and i really enjoyed it so i decided to watch the full show and i fell in love. so if you're not sure, i would also recommend to just watch some clips on the channel ''asiancrush'' of this show and hopefully you will also watch it and fall in love like i did!!
( side note: if you're not sure if you wanna watch this one or the Korean, i would recommend this one. because I have seen both, but I liked this one more)
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This review may contain spoilers
I'm hesitant to say Youth is better than the original Kdrama, as it's been a while since I watched Age of Youth (I plan on doing a rewatch so I can do a comparison and analysis), but I'm confident in saying that this version is more strongly written and plotted. I adored the original with all my heart, but I would be lying if I said it didn't have flaws. Plotholes, plotlines that don't go anywhere, some story elements that come out of nowhere. Youth manages to address all of those issues while staying pretty closely faithful to the original story And giving it its own feel and vibe as a remake. This version fills in the plot holes, follows through on the dropped plotlines, and gives all of those random story elements purpose. I think I'll probably find I prefer the performances in Age of Youth more once I do a rewatch, but I have to commend this version for the way it handled the flaws in the original without losing what made the original so good.I’ll start with what is arguably the main character of the original drama, Eun Jae. I don’t remember a lot of the specifics around Eun Jae’s background, why she believed she was a murderer and what exactly actually happened, but I was impressed with how this version took her backstory and expounded upon it, giving us more insight into what was going on in Xiao Chun’s family, etc. I also think this actress gave the best performance of all the actresses in this version and that her performance most likely rivals that of Park Hye Soo from the original. (Will have to rewatch the original to confirm that.) I was really impressed with the way this version made Xiao Chun such a complex character. She’s shy, insecure, socially awkward and uncertain, but there’s a hidden strength that comes out when you don’t expect it. She’s fiercely protective of her mother, feeling (and often being) responsible for her mother’s well-being after her father’s death, and she’s the only one of the girls willing to square off with Gao Lin when he’s holding Chen Chen captive.
Speaking of Chen Chen, I was very pleased with how the writers chose to handle her story in this version. When Ye Eun’s boyfriend held her hostage in the original, viewers were in general agreement that it came out of nowhere. We all remarked among themselves about how unexpected and unbelievable it was, even though the writers were ultimately able to make it work. In the original, Doo Yeong comes across as nothing more than a jerk, a user, someone who would gladly toss her to the side if given the opportunity to date someone he considered ‘better.’ He certainly wouldn’t be happy with Ye Eun breaking up with him, but kidnapping and assault seemed like a bridge too far, even for his jerk self. But when Gao Lin holds Chen Chen hostage in Youth, it doesn’t come out of nowhere. There’s a natural progression to that moment, dropped hints here and there that he feels intensely jealous of her family’s wealth, of how well-liked she is by others, and of his own destructive insecurity and selfishness. You understand what drove him to kidnap and assault her, and when it happens, you’re not completely thrown for a loop and wondering how we got here.
There is one moment in Ni Jin’s story that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, however. Namely when Zhi Qiang attempts to choke her to death in a fit of rage, and for some unexplained reason, she continues to meet with him. Its already illogical for him to blame her for his daughter’s death, as there was nothing she could have done, and it’s not like she herself was trying to drown his daughter. It was simply a sad situation that left many dead and many more devastated. But I can at least understand his motivation, the way his grief would drive him to such desperation. What didn’t make sense was why she continued to meet with him after his attempt to kill her. I think they could have given her a logical reason for doing so, namely her guilt over his daughter’s death and feeling like she deserves to die, but the writers never tie any of this together, so the character choice leaves you scratching your head. I like how their story concludes, however, so I chose to overlook it.
In the original, Ji Won doesn’t get any real backstory or central conflict to work through until season 2, something viewers greatly lamented at the time. And when it did give her that backstory and conflict, it was a real dark downer and not really what the audience was expecting or hoping for. This is perfectly fine for a drama to do, of course. Just because a character is feisty and peppy doesn’t mean they can’t have serious trauma. But the writing choice had the unfortunate result of taking a really fun and feisty character and zapping the life out of her for the majority of season 2. It also inspired the writer to give what was probably the crowd favorite character of the series a premature death in the future (something I refuse to treat as canon, because how dare you). This version takes a different tack with Yi Tong, dropping the dramatic (and traumatic) backstory for something a little more simple but still just as painful for a young person to go through. In this version, Yi Tong has had a habit of telling exaggerated stories since she was a kid, initially as a bid for attention from her often-absent mother, then later as a response to some genuine trauma from being accused of lying about plagiarism when she was actually telling the truth. I honestly think I prefer this backstory/central conflict more, not because I have a problem with stories that address serious topics such as child abuse/assault, but because this version does the work to give this backstory/conflict purpose and meaning. It makes sense that Yi Tong would lie to get her mother’s attention, and it makes sense that she would later use it as a coping mechanism/way to avoid things that make her uncomfortable.
This version does leave three of the four romances on a somewhat open-ended note, which will probably disappoint viewers (it disappoints me), but the way the romances are left is mostly appropriate. All three couples end on a positive note with hints of things progressing in the future (where we, the audience, can’t see them). My one frustration is that we still did not get a conclusion for our feisty Ji Won/Yi Tong and her news club buddy. After the disappointment in the original series, the way the writer set up such a comically intriguing couple only to break all of our hearts by revealing Ji Won’s eventual death and NOT at least compensating us by having the characters get romantically together in the present, I think it was more than fair to expect this version to give the couple a happy ending this time around.
The one thing that I think stops me from calling Youth my favorite version is the performances from the lead actresses. All the performances in this version are solid and strong, but with the exception of the actress for Xiao Chun, I do think I will find myself preferring the performances in the original. I think the performances by Park Hye Soo and He Lan Dou are comparably wonderful and which viewers will prefer will end up being a matter of personal preference, but I have a feeling I’ll equally love both after my rewatch of the original drama.
Overall, I have to sing Youth’s praises for managing to take an already beloved drama and not only not screwing it up, but actually improving upon it in some respects. Many will probably still prefer Age of Youth to Youth, and for understandable reasons. It was such a standout drama for its time with performances that really stick with you. But I think Youth is a remake worthy of a watch and worthy of being loved, regardless of which ends up being your favorite.
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I have not watched the Korean version, so I can not compare the two. However, I can say that this version is amazing! The actors were all great and the plot is interesting! The downside is that I can only watch a few episodes at a time because it takes a lot of brain power to process all the things that happen between the episodes. (There are only 26 episodes, so things tend to flow fairly quickly) It is very interesting to see the progression of the roommates' relationships between the people around them. It is also very heartwarming to see the roommates get closer to each other.
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the acting was a bit questionable and cheesy, and i was somewhat put off by the character Haha He played and her barcode bangs, however she plays her role almost perfectly as a somewhat 'pathetic' university freshman and thankfully later develops her character into an outgoing and sympathetic roommate.
the drama is jam-packed with comedic scenes, carried out by characters like Han Yi Tong and her desperate search for a man. there are also an immense amount of heart felt scenes between the roommates which develops their characters and friendship on a deeper level.
i'd strongly recommend this drama if you're looking for a light hearted watch or if you're just bored :D
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This review may contain spoilers
Primeiramente eu não vi a versão coreana, então não temos o que comparar. Just saying.Eu ando amando cada dia mais os dramas chineses, porque misturam tantas coisas que tu acaba se apaixonando pela estória.
Youth me surpreendeu muito - muito mesmo!! Nunca achei que aquele drama com a sinopse bobinha ia ser tão maravilhoso.
Lin Xiao Chun e Yang Yu: Sinceramente, não curti a Xiaochun não. Tem muitas coisas na personagem que me revoltam e não achei que ela teve tão desenvolvimento quanto as outras. Sua história de vida é confusa, e não dá para saber se tudo que ela "imaginava" era real ou não. Já a parte dela com o Yu era um amorzinho, mas talvez porque ele é tão amorzinho. É um casal tão água com açúcar, bem parado, nada emocionante, mas que mesmo assim tu acabo torcendo por eles.
Zhang Sheng Nan e Jiang Heng: Achei meio confuso tudo. Mas eles tiveram um ótimo desenvolvimento como casal. Pra mim, são o casal que mais chega perto da vida real. O jeito que eles lidam com os problemas, a tentativa de aproximação e romance. Sofri com eles, serio.
Ni Jin e Ma Ke: o drama não termina com o casal ficando junto, literalmente, mas dá a entender. A Ni é uma personagem muito difícil, e por diversas vezes queria estapear ela. Foi uma das personagens que mais teve um desenvolvimento e sua história é conturbada e bem triste.
Han Yi Tong e Zhang He Lin: MEUS DOIS AMORES!! Sério, deveria ter uma side story só pra eles. Que casal meus amigos! No fim, não mostra que eles ficaram juntos, mas eu acredito que sim. É tão legal a parte deles, eu ria muito, é tããão amorzin <333 Não tem o que falar, só que são o melhor casal.
Chen Chen Chen e Gao Lin: Ninguém atuou tão bem nesse drama quanto esse casal. O melhor desenvolvimento de personagem. É um assunto tão cruel e real que abordaram que me fez sentir um pouco mal. Normalmente não se costuma ver em dramas os relacionamentos abusivos e cara, não existe ninguém mais abusivo que Gao Lin, sério. No inicio até gostava do cara, e surpreende o final. Pensei que ele iria virar "do bem" e ficar pra sempre com a Chen Chen, mas não. O fim do casal é muito trágico.
Resumindo:
A vida adulta é uma merda. E cada minuto dela é tão cansativa. E esse drama mostra isso. Mostra que cada minutos com a família ou amigos são valiosos e que devemos sempre mante-los por perto.
É um drama para se olhar e sair pensativo.
A vida não é colorida, quem colore ela somos nós.
Por isso, eu desejo a você que está lendo, muita cor na sua vida <3
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