Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (2024)

Second Couple

Whoever did the casting for this series and the Director deserves a large bonus. They did an amazing job. When tis series originally aired the Censors in Mainland China had it cancelled after only 4 of the 12 episodes aired. The streaming service GaGaOOLaLa pulled off a miracle and was allowed to buy the rights to broadcast all 12 episodes.
The 2nd couple of Tan Lin and Lau Lu are amazing. Tan Lin has a hearing problem and can not hear people speak. He communicates through sign language They met in a bar. Tan Lin was pouring drinks and lining up the empty bottles. Someone offered him a drink, but had emptied a bag of white powder into when he thought no one was watching. Lau Lu was sitting at a table drinking and saw it happening. He called to Tan Lin a few times, telling him not to drink it. When Tan Lin was getting ready to drink it Lau Lu rushed over and grabbed the drink. Lau Lu walked Lin home. So began their relationship.Lau Lu's kindness and gentleness with Tan Lin is what makes you fall in love with them.
The Main Couple are both studying art at the same school.

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Once more YouTube fishing brought me to another drama. This very interesting drama. Even though looked like a calm & easy drama, turn out hide so many dark inside.

Story about Qi Lu (QL) who raised under his father's strict artistic guidance, joins Liu Ming Yang (MY)'s studio during his senior year, where he meets Qin Xiao (QX), a talented painter who balancing family responsibilities & his dream.

Originally, QL wasn't supposed to joins MY studio, but upon discovering that QX as the online artist "Lan" (Blue) he admires, also studied at MY studio, he decided for the first time to rebel against his father arrangement & just joins MY studio. When QL's dad know, at first he angry, but turn out MY not a bad name in artistic world, so in the end QL's dad agreed to let QL studied there.

Being in the same class with QX, QL slowly but sure be friended QX. And after sometimes QL decided to confess his feeling for QX, but only facing rejection from QX. But that rejection not really a rejection, cause of course QX also feel something more for QL. And as their bond deepens, QX in the end also encourage QL to really break the strict yet abusive relationship with QL's dad. So, how in the end their relationship forward, will QL really successfully break his father cocoon...

That's pretty much the story without giving any spoilers. Now what I like & don't

What I like:
+ The chemistry of QL & QX and also MY & Tan Yin
+ The cute Tan Yin

What I don't like:
- The ambiguous ending

Overall this a good drama to watch.

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I have a bone to pick

This series defies everything one could expect from china, and so because of that I'm rating it pretty high, taking the music and visuals into consideration, as well as the chemistry between the actors. They managed to portray longing and love through their body language as well as with their gaze, and I hope to see them all again in other productions as well.
BUT! As a hearing-impaired watcher who has spent all her life in the deaf community, I do have a bone to pick with the writer of Tan Yin... the actors portrayal of a deaf/HOH character was good, but the script for Tan Yin is very much full of dreams and wishes. I was OVER THE MOON when I saw them speak sign, as it is a big part of my life, and I was happy that my community is being represented. But there are a few points where the script is wishful thinking, and honestly infuriating to some degree, as it totally disregards the challenges we face. Such as:
- Being able to understand spoken language IMMEDIATELY after getting a hearing-aid when in reality it takes months or even YEARS of practice to filter and comprehend all these new sounds
- Not using sign after being able to speak (my heart was crushed by this tbh. His first language, just tossed aside...)
- Being able to speak fluently so soon after receiving a hearing-aid
Besides this, the story was very well written, though I wish we could've gotten a more in-depth ending and a better explanation of how they managed to resolve all their previous issues now that they're back together again.
But, for a Chinese BL, they set the standard HIGH, and I can only assume that they were rushing to finish the show before they would be forced to stop production. So with that in mind, and considering the other parts of the series, this could've been the best of the best had they not been under so much pressure to finish.
But the actors did an amazing job, and I was especially fond of Qin Xiao, as the actor managed to portray emotions in such as way I haven't seen in a long time. The way his eyes look at Qi Lu with such love and care, as well as his body language when he cries. I can see a bright future in acting for him.
I hope more people begin to defy Chinese censorship and begin to produce more BLs of this caliber<3

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FEELS LIKE A HALF HEART WORK

This drama has a different approach of a story , it is not of those other BL drama out there with the same plot and almost same endings .. the story was deep and the emotions needed was there and could almost make me wanna love this drama but it feels like everything here is a halfheart work.
I liked how XIn Lu approached Qin Xiao at the first parts , I was so excited hows Lu gonna make Xiao's heart soft , it was good but when they became fond of each other I felt like something was not lacking , there was no much romance felt with them , they were just like a friends fond with each other.
I liked better the story of the second lead couple, their love has a more warmth, it was more than being fond of each other , I also liked the fact that creators here made a character who needs a hearing aid .. if was really something new ..
The acting was great but this drama lacks romance on the main lead . All in all it was a nice , warm drama even though I said it feels like just a half work.. that's just what my feelings was watching this, but I believe all the creators of this drama did their very best .

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Beautiful set up of the main leads story, but ending execution is disappointing.

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75 (rounding up to show support)

Watching “Blue Canvas of Youthful Days” is to show my support for uncensored Chinese BL, even though I knew this drama is not perfect. Hopefully, the success of this show will encourage more uncensored Chinese BLs to be picked up by other countries to be distributed. Also, what a lovely drama title!

I agree with many reviews and comments that the first half of the drama is great. I enjoy the set up of how the leads met and their school interaction. Was it a little stalkerish on Qi Lu’s part to be clinging on to Qin Xiao? Probably. But I also applaud his courage to do so, knowing the consequence of when his father finds out what he’s up to. The growing friendship and affection between the two are developed nicely and convincingly. Xiao’s desire of having his own family is strong, but not enough to withstand his love for Qi Lu. However, we do have two young adults who are still quite innocent about first love. The ending would be different if they had talked to each other and figured things out together. But well, they were young.

I was not as invested in the secondary couple, possibly due to the age gap. Tan Yin just acts too young and naive compared to Liu Ming Yang’s maturity and as a teacher to our main leads. But I can see why Tan Yin would fall for Teacher Liu, and how Liu would eventually fall for Tan Yin. I just enjoy the dynamics between the main couple more. I also personally don’t like the blonde hair (LOL) and find Xiao Zi Zhou’s portrayal of Tan Yin to be the weakest of the cast (though not horrible).

Speaking of acting, I generally enjoy it. I was surprised to find out that this is everyone’s debut project. If that’s really the case, their acting is quite good. I especially enjoy Zhang Xuan Yu’s performance as Qin Xiao (I also find him to be the most attractive one 🙂). I also enjoy all the scenes related to art and the art school. We actually see students painting/drawing and not just pretending to be students.

Unfortunately, there are still quite a few things for me to pick on. The second half is definitely not as strong. Tan Yin’s hearing loss and the ease of him speaking fluently in just a few minutes is unrealistic. The last couple episodes are jam packed with different plotlines. Everything crashes down on our main leads in a matter of minutes. I was disappointed in the ending. The drama wasted a lot of time in showing Tan Yin and Liu Ming Yang’s happy moments, and failed to show the audience Qin Lu and Qin Xiao’s story. I want to know the ‘HOW’ and not just the ending result. Because of the somewhat blurry filter used in the last episode, I was wondering if that’s really the ending or was it one of those dream-like endings that happened in an alternate universe.

I did have a decent time watching “Blue Canvas of Youthful Days”, and especially in the earlier episodes of the main leads. Their story and acting are both good. If you have time to kill and want to support this drama, it’s worth checking it out. I watched the YouTube consolidated version and binged it all in 5.5 hours. The drama could have been better with editing and storytelling in the end, but that could have been a result of censorship.


Completed: 12/7/2024 - Review #525

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A great young love story with a side of small tweaks needed.

I thought this was amazing. I loved the emotional journey it took me on and how the characters developed. I truly connected with the story and the romance that unfolded.

However, I did have a few issues. There were some plot holes and minor production limitations.

For instance, I would have liked to better understand the relevance of the guys selling the fake drugs and how that tied into the story. I think I have an idea, but it felt like parts of that storyline were missing. the painting of the mural on their building and the friend making the documentary seems random and unfinished.

I also found the use of fireworks a little excessive, though that’s a small detail to critique.

Finally, my biggest concern was the lack of resolution with the father. By the end, I felt emotionally invested and wanted to see him face consequences or know if he was able to break away. The ending felt abrupt and left me without closure.

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Light Hearted BL

I gave it 7.5 stars out of 10, due to 3 things, 1) due to the lack of growth and everyone still dealing with the same issues all the way to the end after a while it got tiring and wanted them to move on from the trust and thinking they are helping each other instead of talking to each other for better understanding. 2) I also wish for better kissing and intimate moments but having come from China a bit hurt by it. 3) I was not a fan of the ending and wish it was done better especially for the 1 pairing, a bit of a disappointment for them. However I love the actors they did a great job and the chemistry was there. The storyline was great and it made you feel all the emotions of hate, love, laughter and tears. I would recommend this series as it is beautiful lighthearted for a BL.

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Falling in Love under Complicated Circumstances with a Delayed but Happy Ending

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇᴍ: 9.5 = [ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ɪᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ, ɢᴏᴏᴅ ꜱʜᴏᴡ]

This BL will not appeal to anyone who doesn't like/appreciate a bitter note of angst and reality in their BLs, but for those of us who do, it's a great watch, and closed on a satisfying note for me personally. I cannot give it a clean 10 because it had its drawbacks for sure, which I will note down below, but the drawbacks were few and not actually a surprise considering this BL managed to finagle its way out of no-homo China in the first place. Alright, on with -

*THE GOOD:
1. Zero disappointment on the acting/casting front, especially not from the two MLs, really, they brought their A-game, particularly in emotional scenes and even the fluff scenes. Qin Xiao is a gem, he managed to express a lot what was lacking physically between the MLs with some of his looks and actions.

2. The filming/cinematography side was to my taste, the music didn't contradict or overwhelm the scenes which was a win. The LUT of this highlighted the coldness of winter with it from start to finish, very suitable for the theme. The budget was probably not that high for a small production like this but they managed to apply whatever funds they had to bringing the characters to life very well.

3. The show touched on some interesting and lovely, but also disheartening and realistic facets of being gay in China. In the first couple, we meet Qin Xiao who was raised basically solo by a grandparent (not uncommon in modern China even when parents are alive), but even so, he's the adult, he's the responsible one, the one in charge, and his sick granddad is in his care, so he's quite independent, and as a result he's influenced by a mixture of modern life and wanting freedom versus traditional family values, expectations and responsibilities. We saw him have to work through developing feelings for someone of the same sex and how it made him question himself and worry. Then we have Qi Lu, who is openly gay to himself (and presumably to some other people he trusts since we see him confiding in his senior online friend, Bai, confessing to liking Qin Xiao and saying he's worried about the same thing happening as before, eluding to him having tried to confess to a boy he liked previously with negative results). We see him rather directly and certainly pursue his feelings for Qin Xiao. In the second couple we have Liu, who is independent as a grown, working man, but who is emotionally and mentally bogged down with family trauma and drama, and Tan Yin, another openly gay character who is likewise bogged down a history of abuse and disownment/abandonment from his family on top of his disability. We get to see how their situations play out differently, how differently they strive to be closer to each other and accept each other according to their different circumstances. It can all, in essence, be picked apart and discussed ad nauseum, as to how the issues with how even in modern China 'children' still have trouble escaping the reach of their parents/family influence and how it affects their adulthood in good and bad ways. But I think Blue Canvas highlighted what it needed to and moved forward and past topics well enough without overdoing it on those complicated themes. A good balance for only 12 eps.

4. Qin Xiao and Qi Lu are just really great individual characters with different strengths and weaknesses that they portrayed wonderfully.

5. The 'dangers' and 'drama' were not over exaggerated or blown out of proportion, from the side story of the small time drug dealers, to Qi Lu's abusive father and Qin Xiao's grandfather's death, it was all quite tidily handled and emphasized enough to show its importance to the plot.

6. The pace was good for 11 eps, 12 however rushed a bit, even so, the flow of events was clear and not confusing.

There is no 'bad', so I'll just do-
*THE DRAWBACKS:

1. As previously mentioned, episode 12 was rushed, and I do think this could have been avoided if some of the second couple and art school filler had been shortened or removed in order to play the more plot final relevant scenes out fully. Several scene choices were not very wise and used up valuable time.

2. There is a lack of couple-esque moments between the two pairs post 'getting together'. This is not surprising, and not a big issue because the fact that we have openly gay characters who blatantly confess, kiss and establish their same sex relationships, and go on to be together happily, in a Mainland Chinese BL, is already a big deal. Unfortunately, it does take away from some scenes where small things like kisses hello or good bye, or eluding to/implying intimacy would have done more for the actual realism of the two pairs being couples. Pity. That said, I do personally think that the reason any more overt physically romantic scenes were avoided after the first kisses was because these actors do still have to live and probably hope to have acting careers in China in the future, so they didn't want to overdo it and risk too much backlash, if any, from the government and entertainment industry. And I'm okay with that, small steps for the LGBTQ media in China.

3. The second couple fell off. It was weird, because their dynamic seemed quite mature and enjoyable BEFORE they became a couple, after that, I'm not really sure what the producer/director was going for with the excess play-fighting thing they were doing, it was almost nothing like Liu and Tan Yin had been prior to becoming a couple, so that was a bit 'okay then'.

5. The misunderstanding/miscommunication trope went very hard there at the end. Literally, a single line of explanation from Liu or Tan Yin to force the two to talk to each other could have fixed the need for them to separate, of course, it would also have meant their individual futures would have worked out differently, but I don't think any less positively and definitely in a shorter fucking time.

That's all for 'drawbacks' from me, onto
*THE HIGHLIGHTS:

1. The build up to Qin Xiao accepting his feelings and the moment he admitted it to Qi Lu and then kissed him was just EXCELLENT. Best 'confession' scene of 2024 hands down for me. Had to put on my profile under 'scenes that live in my head rent free' because it was just so damn good.

2. The scene in ep 12 where Qin Xiao steps in so he gets hit by the bottle to defend Qi Lu, I LOVED it. It was well done too, not over dramatic, not him foolishly letting himself get hit in the head so there could be some unnecessary head injury, instead he raised an arm and with his leather jacket on he avoided getting cut but had an impact injury and it made sense, it was filmed well, such an important scene too to show his feelings for Qi Lu, well written and executed.

3. Qi Lu and Qin Xiao arguing after Qi Lu confronts him the second time about trying to kiss him, great scene, feels feels feels.

4. Qi Lu standing up to his sperm donor TWICE. My guy Qi Lu was no little bitch, had it not been for the power his father held over external factors that could affect Qin Xiao, Qi Lu would obviously have stood up proudly for his relationship. I like that message, I like that clarity in that character's development.

OVERALL:

9.5/10 with 5 points deducted for some wasted screen time resulting in a rushed final episode, the second couple's ooc dynamic after getting together, and also for making the time Qi Lu and Qin Xiao were apart be 6 whole years. When it comes to the 'lovers separated' trope, less is always more.

100% recc this as a watch, but ONLY if you can handle or have a taste for angst, otherwise you'll just end up being upset.
This show checked all my boxes though, since angst feeds me! Great stuff, no regrets in 12 eps and definitely rewatchable!
✌️ 😁

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