Jaya P
Decent drama about life, brotherhood, love, family, and principles
First half is my first impression of the drama.
8 episodes in and this is my first impression. The Youth Memories is about a group of friends in 1970s Beijing navigating life. The main themes are: family. love, friendship, brotherhood, duty, familial obligation, and pursing one's dreams.
The good:
1. It feels like an ensemble cast, and not just the two main leads and a bunch of supporting throwaway characters
2. The main supporting casts have interesting storylines of their own
3. XZ's really suited for optimistic, cheerful, sometimes cocky role who puts other people's happiness over his own
The bad:
1. The music seems out of place sometimes. The character would be saying something sad, and there's cheery background music
2. Some overacting from supporting cast members even with XZ. I don't know if it's cultural or a sign of the times (setting is in 1970s)
3. Bad styling for Li Qin. The pigtail braids make her look older and less attractive
4. Few meaningful scenes between XZ and LQ. There's more interactions between the ML and FL2. I'm assuming that their relationship will develop later on
Neutral:
1. So many men want to be with He Hongling. And so many women are jealous of her.
I'm assuming that the slow burn relationship between ML and FL will develop later on so I may keep watching to see how that love story unfolds.
Edit: final review
Just finished The Youth Memories. Things that stood out to me.
1. The character of He Honglin, the writers managed to portray her as sympathetic despite her inherent selfishness. From time to time, she has moments of self awareness and humility.
2. The character of Xiao Chunsheng. He's too perfect, too idealistic, and too forgiving in this drama. His childhood friends betray him multiple times, but he continues to turn the other cheek. It became frustrating to watch him get used over and over again.
3. There's no satisfactory conclusion for the bad guys in this drama. Their final scenes consisted of them being taken in by investigators, but there's nothing about their punishment or outcome.
4. This is one of XZ's best character to date, only second to Wei Wuxian. And like Wei Wuxian, Xiao Chun Sheng stayed true to his values, his ideals, but grew as a person.
8 episodes in and this is my first impression. The Youth Memories is about a group of friends in 1970s Beijing navigating life. The main themes are: family. love, friendship, brotherhood, duty, familial obligation, and pursing one's dreams.
The good:
1. It feels like an ensemble cast, and not just the two main leads and a bunch of supporting throwaway characters
2. The main supporting casts have interesting storylines of their own
3. XZ's really suited for optimistic, cheerful, sometimes cocky role who puts other people's happiness over his own
The bad:
1. The music seems out of place sometimes. The character would be saying something sad, and there's cheery background music
2. Some overacting from supporting cast members even with XZ. I don't know if it's cultural or a sign of the times (setting is in 1970s)
3. Bad styling for Li Qin. The pigtail braids make her look older and less attractive
4. Few meaningful scenes between XZ and LQ. There's more interactions between the ML and FL2. I'm assuming that their relationship will develop later on
Neutral:
1. So many men want to be with He Hongling. And so many women are jealous of her.
I'm assuming that the slow burn relationship between ML and FL will develop later on so I may keep watching to see how that love story unfolds.
Edit: final review
Just finished The Youth Memories. Things that stood out to me.
1. The character of He Honglin, the writers managed to portray her as sympathetic despite her inherent selfishness. From time to time, she has moments of self awareness and humility.
2. The character of Xiao Chunsheng. He's too perfect, too idealistic, and too forgiving in this drama. His childhood friends betray him multiple times, but he continues to turn the other cheek. It became frustrating to watch him get used over and over again.
3. There's no satisfactory conclusion for the bad guys in this drama. Their final scenes consisted of them being taken in by investigators, but there's nothing about their punishment or outcome.
4. This is one of XZ's best character to date, only second to Wei Wuxian. And like Wei Wuxian, Xiao Chun Sheng stayed true to his values, his ideals, but grew as a person.
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