About Youth (2022)

This to myself and in my heart is definitely a 10. I have a special love for Taiwanese dramas and this being a youth BL one was just overall amazing. It was so short and sweet but a story that was just plain beautiful to me. It wasn't just boy comes across boy but it was 2 hurt souls that needed someone and in the moment they fell together and that just truly meant everything to me. The chemistry was wonderful, the sweetness was amazing, I loved the camera feel, I loved being able to witness such a sweet and casual love between these two boys and the 2nd couple was just a good spice. I think the family did great even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the dad per say but truly, I was just not disappointed. I could not stop watching once I had started and I'm thankful I kept going. God, the boys were just SO sweet to each other, I loved every single second of it.

So overall, acting was fantastic for newbies.

Music was BEAUTIFUL.

I would def rewatch it, I'm actually thinking about it now.

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A bit rushed and left unresolved

Unfortunately, this drama suffered from its limited amount of episodes. Only having eight 25-minute episodes ended up not only rushing the plot, but leaving a lot of things unresolved.

I'll start with the positives. First, the leads are sweet and I love their romance. I love how their beginning wasn't actually their beginning, but ties back to an incident a year before they actually started talking. Their chemistry was good enough and I loved the OST - it definitely added to the show.

While the second couple was also sweet and also had good chemistry, they had a few issues that were left unresolved. There was a misunderstanding between them, and instead of actually talking it out and clearing the air, they just skipped past it by saying "Well, it's all in the past now." I felt this could only lead to problems in the future of their relationship. But again, I think this is just a time restraint issue.

Lastly, and most disappointingly, the issue with Ye Guang's parents was left very much unresolved. As a queer person with controlling parents (who also had unrealistic expectations of me), I really related to Ye Guang's struggle. I had hoped I would be able to see some more resolution, whether it's Ye Guang standing his ground and the parents realizing that they value their son more than their reputation (or their 臉面), or the parents having an actual talk with their son. The parental issue was just glossed over at the end, and we could still see that it wasn't resolved.

Overall, the show really was hurt by the time restraint that it had. The writers, knowing how many episodes they had, could have chosen to have a more simple plot, allowing both sets of couples to flesh out their relationships. Or they could have started the resolution between Ye Guang and the parents sooner. Either way, I'm left feeling unsatisfied.

I did like the show, don't get me wrong, and I'm always happy to watch a Taiwanese BL, but I did feel like apart from Ye Guang and Xu Qi Zhang's relationship, nothing else was solved.

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it was super cute but...

honestly i was kinda upset about the fact that the ending was...well the ending. i didn't remember that there were only 8 episodes and i was not expecting that abrupt ending and definitely wasn't expecting ye guang and qi zhang to get together as quickly as they did. if the series was longer i would've thought that they wouldn't get together for another like- two episodes. i was literally commenting to myself that i liked how they've delayed them getting together because it's more realistic.
and i also wanted to see how ye guangs parents were going to act in the future and just a ton of stuff was left unsolved and loose.
it was overall like super cute and a little angsty which i liked but i would genuinely love for their to be a season 2 :c

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Cute and sweet without being frivolous

I was at first a little put off by Ye Guang's schoolmates fangirling over him in the first episode, but I was quickly hooked. There is a lot to love about this series. Yes, the story isn't very strong, but it manages to rise above fluff enough to be quite moving. The people behind it manage to do a rather good job when things could have gone quite wrong.

The scenes of the main couple are often beautifully shot. The tenderness between them and the developing romance is effectively conveyed without resorting to the exaggerations that mar many other series. In the scene where Ye Guang unbuttons Qizhang's shirt because the latter has been scalded, the scene could have been overly sexualized and Qizhang's shyness and fluttering heart could have been exaggerated, but the scene is suitably understated. It brings out the growing intimacy between the leads and their concern for each other without exaggerating the sexual undertones or the characters' emotions.

In another scene where Ye Guang falls asleep while getting a motorcycle ride from Qizhang, I can think of countless other series where Qizhang would just secretly plant a kiss on Ye Guang. However, we see him gently supporting Ye Guang's head and then placing Ye Guang's hands around his waist. This is one of those shows where the emotional intensity is powerful without resorting to sex scenes or non-consensual kisses, and the romance is so much cuter this way. The characters' behaviors are also very much in line with their personalities and the different "stages" of their romance.

I also love the part where Ye Guang says something insensitive to Qizhang when he agitated by his parents. While it could have easily degenerated into some childish quarrel, Qizhang looks fleetingly hurt but continues to try to console Ye Guang. Ye Guang also soon apologizes for what he has said.

Despite all the strengths, there are parts of the series where scenes seem to have been skipped and things are left unexplained. I think there is a lack of explanation of why Ray dresses up as a girl at the start but stops doing so: is he into cross-dressing, doing it to please a man or doing it because he identifies as a woman? The portrayal of Ye Guang's parents, particularly his father, is also a weak aspect of the series. I can take it that the father is rather awful in the sense that he is more concerned about the son's grades and achievements more than anything else and is guilty of rather appalling class discrimination. Yet, his awful behavior is glossed over as being motivated by concern that his son might do down the wrong path. Additionally, it is not clear why, after installing an app on Ye Guang's phone to track Ye Guang's location, Ye Guang still roams around without being tracked down.

There are also some logical inconsistencies in the series. For example, when Qizhang is taken by Jian to meet his boyfriend (Ray), Qizhang seems surprised to see Ray and Ye Guang together. However, Qizhang should already by then know about Jian and Ray's relationship, having helped Jian convey a message to Ray earlier on. And Qizhang also knows that Ye Guang and Ray are close friends, so there is no reason for him to be so surprised.

Had the series been twelve episodes instead, some of the problems could perhaps have been avoided. It feels like certain things had to be left out or rewritten to fit the story into eight episodes. There is potential for a second season because there are still things left hanging. Despite the flaws, I love the main couple and side couple enough to want a second season.

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A PERFECT SHOW

I am usually quiet but i came out the woodwork to leave a review for this show. This show is perfect, the acting was superb, the actors handled the very big topic of sexuality and coming into one's own identity skillfully all the while showcasing their bashful and awkward teenage angst. What impressed me most was the writing and the telling of the story, allowing the characters to draw you in and letting the story breathe on its own. And what an ending.. the ending was what i expected shy awkward teens to do and look. The way they looked so clumsy is so adorable

PERFECT ENDING

There was no sex which i enjoyed. In this day and age watching a feel good story about youth being youth and finding pleasure in just being around each other is a rare treat. Lately every BL is trying to showcase who has the most sex scenes and which actors are willing to bare it all with little substance or care for the story and plot line. My only dislike is that it wasnt longer or has a season 2.. I will treasure this BL definitely my top 5

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Best Kiss + Finding your voice.

Some of us have grown up in the shadow of dominating people. When, in our heads, we ask ourselves what we should do, we only hear the voices of our parents, teachers or friends. We can't seem to find our own voice. This drama is for you. Queer and LGBT audiences will generally like this as well.

If you always knew what you wanted to do, have no patience with those who don't know, and just love a good action movie, go somewhere else.

This drama is full of tenderness with good acting by the leads, good scripts, good directing and professional production values. The music is fun and the sound track is fairly good. Musicianship of the characters within this drama is better than the average BL. The best reason to watch this is the completely realistic scene at the end of the last episode (19:43-21:29). So many BLs are ruined by terrible kissing scenes, unwilling lip mashing, or porn kissing. This was the best kiss scene (as in most realistic) that I've ever seen. It catches the excitement, nervousness, delight, enthusiasm, joy and pleasure of the moment. Especially amazing considering this is the first movie for Shen Jyun and Li Zhen Hao.

Story telling is a bit uneven and editing is a bit choppy. There are bits of a plot here and there, but despite this appearing to be a story about Xu Qi Zhang and his pursuit of Ye Guang, it is really about the personal growth of Ye Guang. Anything that happens serves to move Ye Guang through his development. While the drama around Ye Guang's parents is heavy handed, bordering on the unbelievable and could have been done with more finesse, the point of the parents within the narrative is to drive Ye Guang to his final awakening in the last episode (starts at 6:10-8:12 and 17:00-17:43).

Ray's gender fluidity is a nice touch, especially the scene in the cafe/tea house. Ray's fem presentation allows a broader audience to see themselves within the story. As its presented in a single night, it sort of begs the question if Ray's fem presentation was not a choice, but rather a necessity in order to be accepted by the older ("bad") boyfriend. In the real world trans people are sometimes fetishized / dehumanized. While I appreciated seeing more of my world, it made me wonder what the point of that scene was. A subsequent repeat of Ray's fem presentation would have been more affirming.

Overall maybe an 8, but with that fantastically well done ending, I'm calling this a 9.5. It makes up for all the terrible kissing scenes I've had to sit through in piles of other BL dramas.

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cute little story that felt a a bit shallow and rushed

About Youth was a relatively short story (8 episodes with each about 22 minutes long) with a lot of cute factor. Specifically the main couple Ye Guang and Xu Qi Zhang were great. This show was really shining in the first few episodes but like most shorter BLs it had too many plot points that felt either rushed or were dropped once the series progressed (e.g. Qi Zhang's uncle, Ye Guang's rival? bully? whatever-his-role-was?). The acting was okay, nothing outstanding, but not bad at all. 3 out of 4 of the main cast are still teenagers after all. I really loved Qi Zhang's mother and how she was so supportive of her son's passion. She also brought such a good vibe into every scene she was in. There is not much intimate scenes between Qi Zhang and Ye Guang but that's fine by me, since it is realistic for both characters to be inexperienced and move at a slower pace (also given the young age of the actors on top of that) their kiss was quite sweet and so was their whole journey; really loved them.

My main problem was with the second couple. I wish the script allowed them a little more screen time to develop them a little more or at least give some context and maybe explain their actions a bit better. There was this whole plot point where Ray kissed Jian and the latter said he needed time and Ray stormed off. We never know why, if he was just a little overwhelmed by the sudden kiss, if he was questioning his sexuality, if he was not sure if he felt the same way for Ray, etcetera. Jian just decides that he now is ready to be with him out of the blue and starts following Ray around and keeps sending him messages, Ray is not willing to hear him out and it seems like he is not interested to be with him anymore, which makes their dynamic a little...icky (also given the age gap in real life and I assume in this show as well?) So, in the end they never talk about it again and just get together. Which felt very abrupt and not like a well deserved pay-off.

The music was great. We got two bangers and whenever I could hear the piano version playing in the background of a sad or happy scene it felt really natural and beautiful.

The ending was fine on page but let me feeling like there was something missing. Like I said, the second couple doesn't get any big moment after their get-together, so they are just hanging out and chilling without talking about anything. And Ye Guang's parents just magically realise that they should treat their son better after he sent them a little video. We never find out how that will look like or if they will actually change. The show ends with Ye Guang and Qi Zhang getting together and having their first kiss, this also means that we never see them do much as an official couple. We don't know what will happen once they finish high school, since one has plans to go to a fancy school and the other one just started finding himself. We also don't know if the parents would be accepting of their children if they ever found out about their relationship. So many unanswered questions. But I guess this show was never really about these things to begin with. Just a cute little show about four friends finding themselves and their boyfriends. Which is fine, just not what I expected and therefore it felt a little lackluster to me.

But there are many cute moments to make up for most of it. So, if you are looking for a cute little show without having to thinking too much and great music this is it for you.

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A Fluffy Teen Romance Surrounded by Adult Pressures

I think this is a story that anybody who has grown up with strict parents can relate to. And it was acted so well that I found myself wanting to cry along with Guang - in part because of what he was going through, and in part because of my own memories with those emotions and fears.

Thankfully, the romance served as a counterbalance and reprieve to these tough topics, rather than a further source of angst. And it felt natural and easy for them to get together.

The music also served this purpose and was quite enjoyable. But, there were only a couple of songs so after a while it didn’t really do much.

The second couple (and the individual characters of the couple) felt really underdeveloped. I dont think the main storyline should be cut at all, so perhaps they should’ve left the second couple out altogether, had them established from the beginning, or left us with mere teasing breadcrumbs. Because what we got just didn’t consistently hit the right notes. There were several other elements that felt underdeveloped and/or rushed as well.

Although an absolutely terrific story with a great cast, this really wasnt suited for just 8 20-minute episodes. And it’s to its detriment.

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Promising but ultimately underwhelming

If I had to describe this show in one word it would be 'underwhelming'.

Thats the general feeling I had watching most of it.

I wanted more from the characters & the story. I wanted to love this series & enjoy it like many others but all I feel is underwhelmed.

From ep1 until like ep7, the 3 main characters had this all encompassing aura of sadness around them. Even when the smiled, laughed or genuinely enjoyed themselves it all still felt so sad.
In that sense alone, I found it so overwhelming/stifling.

Xu Qizhang's bandmates and mom were honestly a breathe of fresh air & most of my favourite scenes from this series involves them.
My favourite character is definitely Xu Qizhang's mom. I actually grew to kinda care about her more than any other character in the show.

Character descriptions:
Qizhang - word vomit.
I've never seen anyone who offers up so much information that wasn't asked for. You could ask him a yes or no question and he'll tell you his whole life's story😭

Guang - shallow.
I don't know much about him other than he has strict parents, is best friends with Ray & likes Qizhang. I don't know what he likes, dislikes or even who he is. I sympathise with him because of his situation but I couldn't connect with him as a character.

Ray - frivolous.
He is the most interesting & unique character in the show... on paper. The two best friends suffer from the same character flaw. We didn't actually get to learn much about them. Why was he dressed like woman for his ex? Does he like dressing prettily? Who is he?

Jian - love interest.
That's kind of it. He is Ray's love interest and is in a band. How old is he? What are his interests? Why's he in a band? Why does he like Ray? None of these are answered.

Also Ray & Jian's first kiss was laughably awkward & Idk that was the intention.

Basically I can relate to what they're going through and I can even relate to what they're feeling but I just struggle to relate to these characters. You could swap the characters around & not much changes because they have such little characterisation. Their lack of depth leaves me with nothing other than sympathy for them.

It was promising but ultimately underwhelming.

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Cute…

I think this Taiwanese BL was very cute and I liked it more than I thought I was going to. I randomly started watching it on Youtube and next thing you know, I finished it in one night. It is very easy to watch and the plot is enjoyable. Definitely could’ve been better plot wise with more depth but it was still good. The characters all had their stories which made them more interesting and appealing. The plot was simple but easy to understand so it was never really confusing. The music was amazing for this drama, which is something that stood out to me when I was watch it. Overall, it is a good BL and I rated it highly because it was good and I would watch it again. It is an easy show to watch and it is very cute but does has moments where the plot does try to get more deep. I would recommend it if you need more Taiwanese BLs to watch.

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