Our Youth

? Our Youth — My Late But Honest Review ?

I know this is coming a bit late — I actually watched Our Youth right after it finished airing, but I’ve only just had the time to review it. So here we go ✨

First of all, I already knew Jin was going to be that type of person — so sweet, so attentive, and genuinely caring. He’s that rare kind of character that makes you believe people like that can actually exist 🥺

As for the production, I have to give them credit. The visuals were beautiful, the acting felt natural, and even the subtle moments hit hard. Some of the reactions were hilarious too — like I actually laughed out loud a few times.

Now let’s talk about Haruki. That boy has been through it. The pain in his eyes, the way he carries himself... it’s like he doesn’t even recognize when someone’s being kind to him. He’s so used to being alone and unloved, he just assumes no one cares.

So when Jin started showing him real affection — offering him not just love, but also a safe space, a home, a sense of belonging — that’s when everything changed. Their bond started to grow slowly and beautifully.

Honestly, this story touched me more than I expected. It felt real, soft, and healing all at once. I’m giving it a solid 10/10. No skips. No complaints.

If you haven’t watched Our Youth yet, please do. It’s worth every moment.

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quietly, beautifully, but intentionally told

first off, i need to express how quiet this story is. it builds the story around itself. not once does it assume the audience is stupid -- that is its strength, overall.
everything that happened, happened exactly the way it needed to. this series very quietly but intentionally created two beautiful, complex characters. the cinematography was amazing and minase and hirukawa were a delight to watch. so so good at subverting expectations!

also, the way they look at each other is INSANE omg. now that i've seen the story unfold, the rewatch is gonna be insane

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so. fucking. good.

for a japanese BL series, i was thoroughly impressed. especially with the intimacy. it was just enough, satisfying, and made sense.

the storyline was tasteful. set largely in high school, yet still unique from other series'. their chemistry was beautiful, everything felt from the heart which isn't something you see everyday.

every episode is about 20 minutes, so extremely easy to binge in one go, which i really like.

i have no notes. the characters and their actions made sense, there weren't any unnecessary discrepancies, and we got our matured, confident love in the end. very good series and one i'm sure i'll find myself coming back to.

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Beautifully Poignant.

I dropped this drama twice back while it began airing as it made me fall asleep 2 minutes into the story. The overall bleak atmosphere and the inner monologue did not help, as it reminded me of Eternal Yesterday.
Setting that aside, I began to watch it after people who follow Japanese LGBTQ+ works kept posting about it.

Minase Jin, a paradigm model student who stays away from trouble and leads a carefully planned monotonous routine, has his life shaken when he accidentally stumbles upon a secret harboured by Hirukawa Haruki, the infamous delinquent of his class.

I think the charm of this drama lies completely in how the emotions are slowly built up and conveyed across the screen in that simplistic fashion that Japan has. The story is not groundbreaking by any means – but as someone said, this drama is not looking for fans, it is an art.
Both the leading actors pulled off their roles beautifully. Especially Motojima Junsei in the last three episodes, where he had to cry a lot. Though, I was a bit surprised that they cast someone who had played the younger counterpart of a character just the previous year. (Tokyo in April.)

Almost everything is from the point of view of Minase, who is a rather unconventional male lead, had he not been the narrator. Eight out of 10 episodes is a series of flashbacks where he recounts his times with Hirukawa Haruki as he pens a poetic letter in which he relates his emotions akin to being lost in the very vast sea.
Hirukawa was a much more easier character to understand.
But, I liked how they portrayed the emotions of both the teenagers – it was not all pretty and polished, but rather gritty and bumpy.
It doesn't just focus on the romance, but how it affected both of them and shaped their lives in some way - the good or the bad. I could relate to moments where characters repeatedly ask Minase to stay away from trouble. Minase himself uses the word "bystander" to describe his part in Hirukawa's life, something that he could not easily control.

I've read the webtoon, but liked the changes made for the live action.

A round of applause for everyone who worked on bringing Miseinen to life, because, honestly, it would've been one of the most boring dramas in existence if anything had gone wrong.

Yes, it's a very simple drama, but the emotions and hard work that went behind it is evident.
I hope that this drama somehow manages to reach somewhere or the right person amongst its journey in the deep ocean.

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Good drama, bad actor

Let me first clarify that my positive review of this show in no way means I condone the actions of Kamimura Kenshin. It is of course often very difficult to separate the art from the artist, but since he only represents one part of this whole production, and the rest of the cast and crew are not at fault, I think it is possible to judge the show on its own merits.

This show is a lovely look into the difficult lives of two very different teenagers and how they find solace and connection with one another. It's very well written, the performances are all spot-on, and I really enjoy the tight editing and well-thought out pacing. It's also an interesting (if sometimes unfortunately shallow) look into the cycle of abuse and those who perpetuate it.
The highlight for me personally though, is the relationship development between the two main characters. Their intense fascination with one another, the anxiety-inducing see-sawing between open affection and closed-off guardedness, their tentative yet earnest attempts to support one another - it all comes together perfectly into an achingly realistic depiction of the lives of two lonely queer teens which will certainly hit close too home for many queer viewers.

The one thing I wish they had done differently is the fact that none of the abusers in the show ever face real consequences for their actions, nor do we get to see the characters ever directly stand up to them. However I am also aware that that would have left less time for building the characters' relationship, so I can't begrudge the film-makers this choice.

All in all I highly recommend this show to anyone looking for a good romance drama which touches on some deeper, more difficult topics, or to those looking for a touching, yet largely realistic coming of age story.

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A beautiful masterpiece

Absolutely the best drama I've ever watched. I loved every second of this series and cried multiple times throughout the whole thing.

I especially love how this series took the bad boy and nerd kid trope and switched it up by turning the personalities and dynamics around with the bad boy being the golden retriever and nerd kid being the black cat. It brought a refreshing perspective into the pretty overused (but still amazing) trope.

The cinematography in this was so breathtaking and I loved the soundtrack so much.

10/10 experience would recommend.

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