Saw
this one a bit after seeing Ode to Joy, and I wanted a light-hearted girly TV
fix. After it was done, it was anything but “light.”Dare I say it was my fave
South Korean series of 2016? Yes, I dare say so! It’s SO well done, it’s
ridiculous!
“The truth is
rarely pure and never simple.”
The Rundown
Behind
the name: The perfect name
for the coming of age of young women
Country: South Korea, 2016
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Coming of Age
Network: JTBC
Director: Lee Tae-Gon
Writer:
Park Yeon-Sun
Cast: Han Ye-Ri (as Yoon
Jin-Myung), Hwa Young (as Kang Yi-Na), Han
Seung-Yeon (as (Jung
Ye-Eun), Park Eun-Bin (as Song Ji-Won), and Park
Hye-Soo (as Yoo Eun-Jae)
Compare to: Ode to Joy
Hate it or Love
it? Love it! Very Much!
Synopsis in a Sentence: Five girls’ lives cross paths in a
“shared house” and they all get into one another’s business—two of them are
murderers (maybe three), the other’s an insecure girlfriend in an abusive
relationship and another’s forever alone—can they help fix one one another’s
issues?
On Writing: The Plot
The plot is everything!
It’s so good, it’s exceptional! It’s layered and complex and multi dimensional
and intriguing and fun, and like I said, everything!
Love, love, love the story of these five, very
different young ladies. The characters are relatable, and most of all, their
stories are real! In every episode
there were scenes so real and relatable.
The plot’s also deep, as it deals with too-real-for-TV
drama, and very relevant social issues, including abuse, death, young
prostitution (even male prostitution), sex and family secrets, while managing to
maintain a didactic outlook without the preachy righteousness of any specific moral
leanings, all with a comedic twist. Very, very excellently done!
And a thousand cheers to the writer, Park
Yun-Sun, this is absolutely one
of the best TV stories I’ve seen in my life! The writing is excellent and deep
and playful and complex and light-hearted and true-to-life all at the same
time. It’s unlike anything seen on South Korean TV in the last decade. Gorgeous,
gorgeous work!
(4.75/5)
On Acting: The Cast
The cast is beautiful and we just can’t
quite get enough of the characters’ quirks and cuteness!
We are first introduced to Park Hye-Soo, as Yoo Eun-Jae in the series and she’s so apprehensive and shy
and modest that we can all relate to her at least once in our lives. We watch “The
Shy One” become stronger, grow and even blow up a few times in the series, and
she’s a great actress for portraying all these emotions so well. There is also
much, much more to her character than meets the eye, but you’ll have to watch
the series to discover that!
Next, we
meet Han
Seung-Yeon, who plays Jung Ye-Eun, the “Boyfriend-Obsessed,”
almost-has-it-all girl with an adorable boyfriend, but we are almost
immediately introduced to her insecurities, masking itself under meanness and
feigned kindness. Han actually comes from the girl group, Kara, and it’s a delight to watch her here as she’s absolutely convincing!
Kang
Yi-Na, “The Hot One,” is Park
Eun-Bin in real life and we love the way
she portrayed her fearlessly confident, smoking hot, loose, reckless,
irresponsible and kind character. Park makes the typically hated role
completely relatable and she’s a star for making that possible!
Arguably
the coolest, Han
Ye-Ri defines Yoon
Jin-Myung’s character in the series, who is “The Tough One.” Han is to
hard-shell, icy cold, and yet so relatable it’s amazing. She highlights the
enduring spirit of her character that we’re inspired not to give up on life! A
fabulous, fabulous job!
Finally,
we get to know Hwa
Young through Song Ji-Won’s character in
the series. Hwa is “The Awkward Loner,” and Hwa is her in this series. We can
totally relate to the her friendzonability, but her character soon proves to be
the binding agent to this deep friendship, and Hwa does more than well through
Ji-Won’s character
An
overall great cast! Can’t wait to see this promising group of actresses in
other series! Manse!
(4.5/5)
On Production: The Creativity
Production is—dare
I say—the star of the series. The entire story, despite its fabulously talented
cast and its excellent plot, could have easily been a flop with rubbish
production. But with editing, transitions, music, shots et al, this one is pure
gold!
The opening shots
are gorgeously, artfully, perfectly done; I’ve really never seen anything like
it, especially in South Korean cinema! The opening themes are a production of
thematic videos beautifully edited together to set the tone for the start of
each episode. Production really is artful and absolutely gorgeous!
Transitions are so
beautiful and meaningful and… oh gosh, I could gush forever, but honestly,
exceptional work on the creative front!
(4.75/5)
On Resolution: The
Conclusion
The saddest thing is that the series ends only after
12 episodes! What a travesty! A production like this should go on for at least
20, or 24 if possible. But we know not all TV stations can afford the budget,
so we are at least glad we get to see a production like Age of Youth at all.
Great job everyone! And the ending is just as good too!
(4.5/5)
The Verdict: An absolute must
watch!
Even for you, guys!
Overall Score = 18.5/20
WATCH Age of Youth: https://www.viki.com/tv/32334c-age-of-youth?locale=en
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