Youthful Glory

Weak FL character in constant need of rescue

Song Weilong has rekindled his career so I watched this show with interest to see how he's progressing. Unfortunately, the story is not well written, making the show a poor vehicle for his talent.

The story is quite weak in the beginning, with the FL character showing only a brief flash of independent, forward thinking but (literally) falling back on needing to be rescued repeatedly. I knew things would be bad when the FL prayed for her ideal husband as someone who is tall & good looking. Really, that's all she wanted in life. The arranged, strategic marriage of a noblewoman to a prince was presented in a much better show: The Prisoner of Beauty. In Youthful Glory the principle couple was so bland that the 2nd and 3rd couples had far more interesting story arcs.

The first 2/3 of the drama featured constant flashbacks to previous scenes, obvious time wasters, filling in for a very empty 1st couple arc. The story finally picked up in the final third with the usual political intrigue and the FL showing her one instance of independent thinking before reverting to rushing wide-eyed into dangerous situations & needing rescue once more. Very irritating to watch.

There's a 15 min special final episode which was another waste of time, focusing on the FL's first pregnancy. What was the point of this?

Read More

For traumatized viewers

This drama is a breath of fresh air . I watched it after watching 34 episodes of legend of zang hai and so you can imagine how much rest my brain needed .
This isn’t a review for legend of zang hai so I won’t talk much on it .
This drama was light hearted and very cliche with the marriage contract but I liked it still .
Initially I didn’t want to leave a review or comment but after reading what others wrote I felt the need to write something .

I’ll address the popular complaints first .
“The ml’s acting was stiff”. this is such a ridiculous take . The ml was a general that stayed outside the capital constantly fighting. I don’t know what type of expressions other than what he showed that he was supposed to have . He was soft when necessary and strong willed when necessary as well .

Secondly “the fl can’t act”. I understand that opinion is subjective but seriously guys ?
Her acting was great and she was just fine .

Her reaction after everything that happened to her father was very logical . No matter how calculative you are , when you lose something or someone you love, it’s hard to still be conniving or think straight . So her actions were justified and the ml never left her during that time .

As someone that has been a victim of ctraumas, I really love this series . All the good guys stayed alive. No unnecessary last minute sacrifice. The king was also very smart .
The romance started early too . First kiss scene was in episode 14 . The ml protected the fl several times without fail .

The side characters were cute too although I wasn’t really invested in their relationships . The drama did well by ending it within 30 episodes.

I hope my review is enough to get even one more person to watch this masterpiece of a drama .
Watch it and judge for yourself.

Lastly someone also complained about the marriage not being consummated till episode 27. I mean they gave us several kiss and hug scenes before that that I didn’t even notice .

I may rewatch this drama in future because I really liked the leads.
If you’re tired and need a place to rest, this drama is a place to rest .

Thank you and see you in my next review! :)

Read More

A Light Watch of a Cliché Plot

Youthful Glory is a drama about Jiang Xu, Prince of Dingbei, and Ming Tan, a general's daughter, who agreed to do a contract marriage for political reasons but ended up falling in love as they work together to fight corruption.

With its simple and rather cliché plot, this drama has a high entertainment value. It has a good blend of romance, family, politics, and action. Although the writing was a bit sloppy at times, the pacing was great! I finished all 30 episodes in one sitting without ever feeling bored. I admit I had some prejudice before watching this drama. I saw the preview and thought that Ming Tan would be a cute but dumb character who constantly relies on the male lead however I was proven wrong. It turns out she was not only beautiful but also very smart, tactical, strategic, and independent. All the characters were well written, even the supporting characters were memorable.

The actors did a great job at bringing their respective characters to life. Bao Shang En was perfect for Ming Tan. She was able to portray her as a beautiful and intelligent young lady. Her styling and makeup were also great at supporting her character's personality and characteristics. Song Wei Long also did a great job at portraying the vigorous Jiang Xu. Although I think that his standing posture lacks the aura of a martial arts expert.

One thing that was a minor miss but left a huge impact on me was during the scene when Jiang Xu rescued the king, we can see that the figure actors acting as the army in the back were just softly clashing their weapons with one another. Some did not even fight. It gave me the cringe and ever since I saw that, I began to pay attention to the figure actors in the fight scenes of other dramas as well.

Despite so, I really enjoyed this drama. If you're watching for a light drama that you can watch after a long day, this drama would be the perfect option to go for. Youthful Glory will make you smile, squeal, addicted, and kick your feet against the air!

Read More

Decent one time watch

Alright so I finally finished watching this drama. It was a happy ending.
I like that it has a refreshing take on FL character who is exactly what and how you would expect a maiden from a rich family of that era would be. At times it was annoying because you will find her shallow, specially her pray for a husband and the type she wants but then you have to remind yourself that this is a normal for that era.
The ML is handsome and his friends are a joy. I did enjoy scenes and character of the second FL and ML more, pity there was not much of them in the later episodes.
Towards the end though I really started to get annoyed with the FL. Like seriously woman you are a self proclaimed delicate darling then just let the soldiers and people who knows how to fight fight. Why the heck would you want to get yourself in situations where people have to get distracted to save you aswell. Like it was so obvious that I must have rage quit atleast a few times in same episode.
Also getting getting jealous drunk while on the main plot mission almost made me want to slap the ML.
Conclusion:
It's a good one time binge watch. You will cheer and enjoy the second pairing more than the original pairing.
I don't regret watching this drama, but there are definitely better ones out there.

Read More

Warning : Song Weilong looking smoking hots in this.

I actually started watching Youthful Glory because of Song Weilong — he’s just too handsome and absolutely swoonworthy. Every time he appears on screen, it’s impossible to look away. The female lead, Bao Shangen, looks a bit too childish at times, but she’s undeniably a good actress — cute, adorable, and full of life.

I really love how Jiang Xu (Song Weilong) is portrayed — a cold, distant general who looks heartless on the outside but quietly sees everything. He doesn’t care about fame, power, or people’s opinions, yet when it comes to Ming Tan (Bao Shangen), he notices things no one else does. He falls for the real her — not the polite, perfect lady she tries to be, but the small, lonely girl who carries too much responsibility for her age.

After losing her mother and being left by her father, Ming Tan tries so hard to act proper and maintain her family’s dignity. Most of the time, she hides her sadness behind manners. And yes, sometimes she can be so childish 😅 — her sulks and little tantrums make you think, “Girl, he’s out there managing wars and royal orders, and you’re pouting again?” 😂 but I get it gurl. When your man looks that good, who wouldn’t throw a little tantrum for attention? 😩💘

That’s exactly what makes her stand out. She’s not the typical Cdrama strong, outspoken heroine. She’s soft, cutesy, emotional,relatable— yet still smart,useful and capable in her own way. And that’s the beauty of Youthful Glory, I think.

But the real surprise for me was the second couple! 😍
The second male lead, Bai Shu, used to play a villain in The Legend of Female General — and honestly, I already liked him back then. When I saw him appear here as the second male lead, I couldn’t help but fall for him all over again.

And his love interest, Dai Luwa, was the villainess in Moonlight Mystic. I loved her in that drama because she’s incredibly beautiful and charming. So when these two came together in Youthful Glory, their chemistry was off the charts!

Their banter, playfulness, and sweetness — it’s all over the top in the best way. Sometimes, I even found myself enjoying their scenes more than Jiang Xu and Ming Tan’s. They were just too cute together — a total scene-stealing couple! 💕

I have no complaints at all — just a solid, worthy three-day binge watch that left me smiling.

⭐ Rating: 9/10 — Beautiful chemistry, soft emotions, and swoonworthy couples!

Read More

Decent Historical Fluff

I basically binged this entire drama while extremely sick but here are my two cents. It was an off to a really good start, it had a typical plot of corrupt officials and the emperor's trusted right hand man who helps him get rid of them. It's not like a unique storyline but I don't mind. The female lead was cute, very feminine which we don't see very often these days, it's mostly strong independent women (which I also love) but this was also a great portrayal of a strong female lead who's still very in touch with her femininity! First time seeing bao shangen in a drama and I thought she did really well. Song weilong, not my first time watching but basically my first cdrama I've watched of him. I enjoyed his character at the start, but after things started getting more lovey dovey, I can't say I enjoyed their romance as much. Chemistry was sort of there at times but idk something about it didn't sell it to me, I think it's lowkey cause ml turned into a soft simp LOL. While there was fluff and happy endings all around, really wish there was more scenes with romance!! I swear I saw someone recommend this as a romance drama but I felt it lacked a bit in that aspect, especially because fl being mad at ml lasted so many episodes and there were so many misunderstandings. Anyway, im glad her evil step sister and step mom got dealt with early on, and was actually really nice to see a father care so much about his daughter for once. Also the side couple was really cute lol I think their banter was great. Nice to see an episode dedicated to fluff and romance at the end too. Not a bad watch for something lighthearted, but I'm definitely used to seeing more exciting plot points.

Read More

Total Fluff and a Comfort Watch

This drama can be a good palette cleanser if you recently watched something heavy. This drama is unabashedly a fluffy romance. All you need to do is forget logic and not compare it with others in the genre.

I proudly own that I am shallow. Eh. Whatever. The USP for me was the handsomeness of the ML. I loved his initial broody stares and overall menacing aura in the first half more than his lovesick puppyness in the second half. I did not hate it. But his presence in the first half was more commanding IMO. SWL is a one good looking dude, no argument there. He also has a presence. It all worked really well for his Prince of Danbei (I’m pretty sure I messed up the spelling). His costumes were not too stylish but suited him well. His fight scenes were well performed. I didn’t think there were any deep moments that got him to flex his acting chops. Don’t get me wrong. He did well with what was given to him. But then he anyway always does that. The drama did not make him go an extra mile.

One request though. Please please please let him lose that plum lipstick. Initially I had a hard time focusing on anything other than his lips. Believe me, it was not as naughty as this sounded. It was distractingly unnatural. His handsomeness was undermined by that ridiculous lip colour. I got used to it. But boy, was it weird!

Our FL was exactly what you’d expect to see in a fluff. Playful, smart, a paragon of goodness whom everybody loves. She and BFF were a funny pair. Once I got over her bunny ear hair style, I was good. She was cute with the usual and the annoying and the silly and the unrealistic and totally blech baby voice (but nothing compared to Esther Yu. Esther is my yardstick against which I measure all the baby voices. Bao Shengen does not come close. No hate on EY. I adored Orchid in LBFAD). Anyhoo. What in the name of hairpins was that hair style? It looked like a cross between pastry and bunny ears. Once I got over those, I enjoyed her Ming Tan. Her rich girl behaviour without any snootyness was adorable to me.

Side couples. The side couples is the next best thing, you guys. They are funny, precious and have good chemistry (well at least one of them is)

There were scenes which made me LOL. There were some scenes which made me RME. But I knew what to expect going into it. So it did not disappoint me. I was entertained and that’s all I wanted there, that and I wanted me some SWL handsomeness. Thus I mark this one with the green ink in my entertainment ledger.

Read More

Typical romance in a historical setting

Overall:
The show was really a normal one for me personally. It had potential but I don't think it was able to reach that. The story was kinda simple and predictable for a regular drama addict like me. It is enjoyable to some extent if you can let go of overthinking.
Acting:
The acting was satisfying until half . When the romance started going up the acting started going down. Both ml and fl are very good looking. If you want an eye candy romance it's good. The emperor was a sweetheart.
Story:
The story is said to be a investigation. But it goes to other paths as it becomes predictable. The historical setting is not explained well. The emperor is shown as an easygoing man. But the relationship between Prince digbei and emperor still confuses me. Are they brothers or just sworn brothers. Certain elements are not explained well.

Try it if you want a romantic drama to kill time. It's not bad but don't go in expecting something very thrilling or that excellent.

Read More