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autumnleafspice

autumnleafspice

About Youth taiwanese drama review
Completed
About Youth
2 people found this review helpful
by autumnleafspice
Jan 2, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

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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