Age of Youth (2016)

As a slice of life/drama about young adults coping with various issues in their lives, this show is quite genuine, fun and well done. Every girl is unique and down to earth. They all experience highs and lows in their life, and most important - they grow.
Everything would have been awesome if not some issues that seriously interfered with my enjoyment of the show.
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This show feels too long. I've never imagined, i would say that about a series of 12 episodes, but Age of Youth has an extremely uneven tempo, where in the beginning it is excruciatingly slow and overextended. Adding the fact that the episodes are all over 1 hour long, it really tried my patience at times. And it's not like i didn't enjoy what was happening on screen but seeing some situations almost on repeat (like Kang Yi Na talking with older dude in the bar again and again, seeing Yoon Jin Myung sitting in that store without much happening and so on) didn't leave a very great impression to me.
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The show feels bloated with unnecessary dark and heavy drama which fails to feel genuine and realistic, because it's just too much of it stuffed in the later episodes. I like that all girls were treated almost equally, but i dislike the fact that 4 of 5 girls has some dark, heavy element or secret in their lives. It made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief. Some parts like the latter stuff with Jung Ye Eun's boyfriend, felt really poorly written and ridiculous, thus making supportive cast quite unimpressive compared to main five. That's why Song Ji Won felt like a superior character to me, because her parts weren't bloated with dark past or heavy drama. And i am not saying that characters shouldn't experience any hardships or can't have any past that haunts then, but when every character is like that it makes the show feel really unnatural.
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Other minor complaints:
First episode was too melodramatic. Creators didn't manage to introduce a new girl without a pool of tears.
The story about previous tenant was basically forgotten and never brought up again after the first episode, thus feeling like an afterthought.
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CONCLUSION
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Age of Youth is at its best, when it's just genuine slice of life show depicting simple, yet unique stories of 5 girls living together. Unfortunately it fails with its uneven pacing in the first half and lots of unnecessarily dark drama at the second half.

P.S. Extreme praise to Park Eun Bin for the depiction of Song Ji Won - extremely funny, well acted and lively character.

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I think I had misaligned expectations for this drama. I thought it was mostly about navigating your 20s, deep friendships, and some romance. Which I think is true, but it was also crowded out with mysterious, dark plot lines (like SEVERAL ghosts, SEVERAL cases of sexual assault and violence, etc.). The change in tone gave me whiplash, and I didn't find myself feeling invested in each person's storyline.

Maybe the issue is that Korean 20-something issues are not the same as those here in North America. But I don't think that's quite true —  the struggles laid out among Joon-Hee's female friends in Something in the Rain felt very relatable, for example, as were the struggles of those in Because This is My First Life (although those were 30 year olds... am I just getting old? Eep!). I mean, the Belle Epoque house definitely made me feel nostalgic for the time I was in school, living with 7 housemates that became so ingrained in my day-to-day life. The first episode showed this best — how housemates naturally grate on each other through little things that add up. But after that, this aspect of co-habitation barely played a part in the rest of the story.

The friendship moments were the most gratifying, like the time the gang filled in for Yoon Sunbae's shift or went to beat up a certain kidnapper. The party prep scene was also hilarious. But they were too few and far between!

Romance-wise, our little maknae romance was THE BEST. So cute, except when there was a bit of hot-and-cold action. I wish this show did more to explore the idea of "firsts" during this formative period in life though. This relationship would've been perfect for that. I also loved Ye Eun's romance story, for depicting a completely different situation (one's first toxic romance). Yi Na's arc was wonderful as well, because it showcased a totally different way of living. Wasn't as big a fan of the other two romance stories. Also, we have to commend this show for depicting some good boy-girl friendships a well, although they were both hinting at something a bit more by the end (please no!).

I think this is one of the first shows that I've seen universal hype for. I came in with expectations through the roof, but ultimately felt that it played into a lot of common drama tropes (frozen kisses, kidnapping, murder mystery plots, wrist grabs, etc.) and was shockingly unrelatable, despite being in my early/mid-20's. Unfortunately, Age of Youth didn't quite hit the mark.

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Aged Like Milk

There's an obvious case to be made around the exploration of the ups and downs of being a young adult, but this drama was an excruciating exercise in superficiality, offering nothing but a hollow shell of what could have been a worthy experience. From its cardboard characters to its cringe-worthy dialogue and moments, the drama failed to maintain an attractive hook, opting instead for a glossy, saccharine portrayal that felt more like a caricature than a digestible imitation. The stories were equally pretty shallow as well, its attempts at drama fell flat, overshadowed by its overwhelming lack of substance, conviction and commitment between most of the characters, relationships and dynamics. Its surface-level approach with everything left no room for any proper investment to be had. By every metric possible, the 2nd season was a significant downgrade to what was an already struggling piece. Yoo Eun Jae was undeniably the weakest link in season 1, recasting her actress to someone who's struggling to play it, made things 10 folds worse. The replacement was trying really hard to mimic the original while the actress facial expressions, fluency and intonations were the polar opposite. It doesn't take a blind man to be appalled by the comparison, not like the original was any better. Unfortunately, things got even worse, her continuous story, background, conflicts, motives, and character writing were a nauseating concoction of utter literary incompetence and creative bankruptcy, a slap in the face to anyone with even a modicum of taste. To be fair, both Ye Ri & Eun Bin brought a much needed improved performances into the 2nd season, their characters as well had a better fit. Overall, the drama was a disappointingly bland and forgettable entry that failed to leave any lasting positive impact. If you care, streaming services like Netflix cut off any inner songs/tunes/humming/reading-lyrics-out-loud, the first episode is +3 minutes shorter than TV.

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Fantastic ensemble cast, relatable stories and rewatchable moments

Story: This series is very character-driven and I liked that almost every character had an arc and a development. The series ending left me satisfied and yet wanting more. (thankfully there was season 2) Watching this drama felt as though I know these characters in real life. (although in real life I don't have such friends, which is a good thing I guess?) I could relate to the trials and joys of these characters who are about the same age as me, even though my life experiences are no where as dramatic as theirs. (spoiler alert? but it isn't too dramatic vs other k-dramas)

Acting: Perfect. All of them were best characters, even the supporting cast.

Music: The opening theme makes you look forward to watching their lives unfold. The other songs were pretty solid as well, it supported the different moods/scenes. I especially love 'on your collarbone' by jordan klassen. (I generally like acoustic-ish songs haha)

Rewatch value: As the ending credits roll with the opening song, I really felt like I wanted to rewatch the series or thought that it wasn't the last episode. Did I forget to mention that this series has a lot of life lessons/teachable moments? (lol that sounded serious) Besides that, there are hilarious moments in this drama, making this a very rewatchable series :) There are clips in YouTube to rewatch if you are lazy like me haha

Conclusion: I really don't have much to critique... maybe it might seem a bit slow-paced/less melodramatic? But so is life...?

TLDR: I think the main message of this series is that navigating this messy thing called adulthood, which brings about maturing/romance/heartbreaks/accepting oneself, doesn't have to be a huge burden when you have a close group of friends, not necessarily sharing same interests/hobbies/personalities.

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I love sex in the city with the four girls living independently and taking on the world. This is like that but Korean and the age range is young cause these guys are in college. But it’s all so so good. It’s so funny and the girls are adorable and relatable. Makes me excited to get to their age and live life so youthfully. They make you feel like your 20s are hard but they can also be the best time of your life if you surround yourself with the right people.
Also it seems like a happy go lucky show but it has its own mysteries and that’s actually fitted and written well in the show.
Ive already rewatched it twice and I probably will rewatch it again soon lol.
It’s so good, so precious and so youthfully.

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WTH
this will be the shortest review i wrote ever
VERY SHALLOW & WEAK DRAMA WITH VERY LAME ROMANCE

it wasn't romance nor suspense

the directing  is bad  insufficient,  sequences, with imperfect events
& the story doesn't explain much

two characters  bothered me soooooo Han Ye RiYoon Jin Myung

(THE FRIDGE GIRL Park Hye Soo) & THE NAIVE GIRL

there is no even character improvement  

EXCEPT for (Ryu Hwa Young) i saw her really the best character in that mess

as if the writer didn't had enough
from that mess so he decided to dazzle us with  season 2 which was much worse than season 1

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Age Of Youth is a very interesting take on the coming of age drama.

My biggest issue with this drama was it's plot. The strongest and most interesting storyline was of course Yoon Jin Myung's, who's tale of overworking, romance and character development was definitely the best to watch. Yet very quickly her inner and outer conflicts are resolved, which is the same for all of the other storylines. The slow, gradual plot development which was so strong in the beginning is very much rushed towards the end. Some storylines are disjointed and strange, especially the kidnapping. Some storylines should have lasted longer, and some characters deserved better ones - most notably Song. However, it must be said that this drama does deal with a view important issues and I admired that. Plus there was a lovely mix of comedy and dark storylines too.

What carried this drama the most was 100% it's characters. They were the main reason I kept watching; they held up the plot. You feel really connected to the protagonists and their experiences - while they all have major flaws, they're still ALL likeable. Plus, their relationships with each other as well as their romantic relationships had a lot of chemistry. Props to the actresses.

Age of Youth also has a perfect OST!!! It has a very homely feel - very indie style. Each character had their own theme which fit them perfectly. You can't really listen to any of the songs from Age of Youth without thinking of the show afterwards. They couldn't have picked a better soundtrack to be honest.

I would rewatch this drama, mostly because of the humor and my attachment to the characters. However, it's not one of my favourites, nor is it exceptional. Overall, it's a soothing but dark drama with good characters and storylines that are a little weak at times.

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A Soulless Trainwreck that Wastes Viewers Time

This is quite possibly the worst drama I have ever had the misfortune of watching. Normally I'd write an indepth review but this drama wasted enough of my time as is with it's nonsensical garbage plot that was completely all over the place. From murder to domestic violence to sexual assault it seemed like the writer wanted to throw in as much shocking plotlines in a story that could have just been a normal coming of age story. It's a completely emotionally flat drams that sucks the life out of you.

Outside of the horrible script and plot the only saving grace for this drama is the cast, they really did a solid job in navigating this mess of a drama.

I held on for so long with this drama and it continued to disappoint even more so than the previous episode.

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refreshing and relatable!

I typically go for more romance-themed dramas rather than slice-of-life, but Age of Youth had me HOOKED. Watching this made me cherish my existing friendships even more. I love the differences in each characters' personalities. It was also nice to see that it wasn't a "hello here are the characters! they just met and oh look they're all best friends now!" type of scenario. Each of them go through miscommunication, arguments, and disagreements and along the way, they grow together. It provides an accurate representation of relationships in real life because you DO get into arguments with your friends and loved ones; it's not just a smooth road and this drama proves it. Additionally, the struggles each character goes through is very well thought out with a raw portrayal.

If you feel lost in living through the beginning of "adulthood," this is a good drama to watch then. It makes you feel less like you're navigating situations (good or bad) alone and more like everyone goes through these things in one way or another too.

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This Kdrama is mostly slice of life with simple realistic daily life settings, but I gave full pts cause the story is very unique, dark but bittersweet and full of flavors.. The story also develops really good until the end, no draggy. Wish I'd have such a deep friendship like that too, that's really not easy... the men are mostly so so.. tbh I like the first guy with the long sleek hair and tacky fashion more, why is there a stereotype that she has a bad taste if she like that kind of guy, I wish she would have gobek to him directly at the beginning and not believing in the other guy. All the girls are experiencing very intense life and all of them turns out to be very weird in their own way, but they inspire me! <3

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