Our Youth

It could have been better

Our Youth isn't a bad drama. It's a perfectly decent watch, but it quickly went from "Oh this is interesting" to "Oh. Okay." for me.

My main gripe with the story is that Minase wasn't really allowed to be a person. As a pov character he felt more like a blank slate than anything. We're told that his grades matter but he never gets in trouble for slacking. We're told that it's bad that his grades are getting lower but nothing comes out of it at all. We're told that he doesn't want to go abroad to study, but he ends up going anyway and we don't see his feelings on going after all. He gets no new friendships or relationships and doesn't grow as a person in the five years we don't get to see.

Haruki gets development. He gets to decide to not be like his father, he gets to choose to go to school, he gets to choose when the relationship starts and ends. Minase is passive throughout it all. The plot happens at him but nothing changes. He still gets the job his mom wants, he doesn't get a better relationship with his father, we're told his parents' divorce weighs on him but that's all. Nothing happens to him that isn't Haruki, he doesn't fight for what he wants and he doesn't overcome his outsider pov of his own life. He's a vessel for Haruki's story and character growth, that's about it.

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in this moment, we can be happy forever

Our Youth traces the relationship between a delinquent and a promising student in a Japanese high school.

After watching Minase getting ruthlessly beaten up by his father without retaliating, something shifts in the air between them. Minase develops a curiosity for Haruki that quickly turns into an inexplicable attraction. Haruki, despite his best efforts to remain distant, is pulled into Minase’s gravity.

The boys build a clandestine relationship that’s difficult to describe. Is it friendship, love, or is something ambiguously in-between?

The series takes its time with the story, something which I appreciate greatly. In its 10, 20-minute episodes, the series can really focus on developing the relationship between the boys. Doing otherwise would try to cram too many messages into one series, diluting the impact of the story.

The tension is just right, and doesn’t feel overly manufactured for the views. Nothing is rushed, and yet nothing is too slow. Everything unfolds naturally as their dynamics shift over time, at a pace that it should.

Most importantly, the visuals are impeccable. The series unfolds with metaphors and symbolic moments, which make the storytelling even more beautiful. 

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How Our Youth Captures the Fragility of Growing Up?

I still have a huge amount of tolerance for time-lapse or time-jump stories, maybe because I’ve seen much worse (yes, looking at you, “Reset” 😅). But honestly, Our Youth surprised me in a good way. My friends keep telling me I haven’t changed much in the past ten years, and maybe that’s why I connected so easily with the whole “time passing but people staying the same” vibe this series carries.

First of all, the chemistry between the two leads is absolutely undeniable. Minase Jin and Hirukawa Haruki feel real and raw. Their dynamic moves from hostility to curiosity to something deeper, and it’s so subtle yet emotionally charged that I found myself completely drawn in. The acting, especially Minase, was just chef’s kiss. His eyes literally told the story before his words did.

What makes Our Youth stand out among 2024 BL series is its balance between tenderness and pain. It doesn’t romanticize trauma, but it doesn’t wallow in it either. Instead, it lets the emotions breathe. There’s this quiet sadness under every soft moment, like the characters know their happiness is temporary, and that makes it even more beautiful.

Now, I do think the series could have gone a bit further in showing how their relationship exists within the world around them. (This is the part I struggled to explain before, I meant how their love connects to other people’s perspectives.) We see a lot of their private, intimate side, but not much about how their friends, families, or classmates perceive them. I would’ve loved to see more interactions that reflect the challenges they face as a couple in a society that doesn’t always accept them. That external lens could’ve added another emotional layer and made their bond even more meaningful.

Still, everything else like the cinematography, the music and the pacing work beautifully. The use of water throughout the story as a metaphor for cleansing and connection was brilliant. And that final episode did not give us a fairy-tale ending, but something more grounded. A quiet promise of love despite the odds.

So yeah, Our Youth might not be perfect, but it hits deep where it matters. It’s poetic, tender, and brave in how it portrays queer love with honesty rather than spectacle. 💙

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Not bad, but didn’t stick to me

This was a series that was recommended to me by multiple people, with one person claiming it to be the best jbl ever made. However, after binge watching these last couple of days, I have to say my opinion on it is quite different. I am fairly new to the bl world, so I take most of the shows that are recommended to me as top priority to watch. For this show, I’m not entirely sure what it was, but it was almost a little…. Boring? I’m not sure how to put it… Sorry.

I saw another review saying something similar, so I’m glad I’m not alone in this feeling. It’s not a horrible series at all, it’s just feels like it had all the elements of being a great series, but utilized those elements incorrectly.

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Our Youth: an absolute masterpiece.

In a industry where the relationship between people of the same sex is extrapolated, superficial, cheap, misinterpretaded and souless, "Our Youth" comes as a reminder that there are people out there whom are actually working to embrace the art of the complicated love thats upon two young, confused boys in the real world, with real problems and relatable feelings.

As the series keeps being swinged between past, present and future, Minase, a polite, quiet student, finds out the truth about Hirukawa, the so-called school's rude and problematic boy who's actually a sweet, needy boy who deals with a alcoholic father, a distant mother and no references of being good at all, at least until Minase steps into his life.

That's what kept me going the most, the way the storyline manages to feel delicate, quiet almost, subtle and soft in every single take, even when portraying heavy themes and profound emotions. It's an absolute proof that the care of the filmmaking team was really there, that the actors were exploring their characters, that everyone involved in this project were in synergy while producing the whole thing. It's something you can feel.

Junsei and Kenshin acting still keeps me speechless to this day. They're young actors yet so talented and a hardworking duo. When the timeskip came and a suddenly-smoker Minase glances to nowhere, I knew instantly that everything had changed, yet everything was still the same. It's Junsei's prime in this series, the hability to portrait the loneliness, the sadness, the emptyness and the longing without saying a single word. He's just walking by the beach where his father had filmed his first love's favorite movie in silence, yet you know everything.

Kenshin's acting keeps up with Junsei, no doubt. Hirukawa's beach confession were probably one of the most emotional scenes that I have ever seen. He's talking about how he were in the dark, and how he felt afraid of being alone, but when the moring came, he thought of Minase, he thought of their love and contemplated how it warmed his heart. It's heartwarming and heartwrecking at the same time, it's unbelievable. We go from a reckless punk to a birth of a new Hirukawa, who smiles more, who talks more and who's finally happy and chasing a good life for him.

I must say, "Our Youth" it's a beautiful series that tells the story of how love found two lost, empty boys. It's the kind of show that makes the watcher sit and wonder after finishing the last episode. It's the kind of show that has lots of details, of little hidden things. The kind of series that's interested in the emotions, in the art and in the message. It's quietly stunning, gentle and deep. The realization of it finds me at the very end, when they're in the sea, playing and laughing together and they understand each other, and there's pure love and tenderness in the sound of the waves, their glances and the silence. Makes me think about lots of things, which is the purpose of art, to provoke and wake feelings up, and "Our Youth" does it perfectly in its every second. An absolute masterpiece.

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The magnetism is so yummy

It was an absolute delight watching the main character's relationship evolve and blossom. From disgust and indifference, to curiosity and pity, to attraction and confusion, to passion and recklessness, and finally trust and respect. I liked how both characters were such polar opposites yet fit each other so well, and thoroughly enjoyed their chemistry and the magnetism of it.

Hirukawa is such a fascinating character, seemingly brash and crude on the outside, but an absolute romantic and fierce protector at his core. Minase on the other hand is seemingly emotionless and goal-driven on the outside, but is actually insecure and caring. He shed the most tears in the series (and what beautiful tears they were). The actor playing Minase masterfully pulled it off (standing ovation), and my only gripe would be that i wanted Hirukawa's character to be more gritty and "bad-boy", instead of one that just dressed up as a bad-boy. And also, what happened to Minase's parents? or maybe that was a the whole point...

Some of my favourite scenes include the ice-cream kiss scene, the scene in which Hirukawa breaks down after his father's death, and the final scene where Hirukawa comforts Minase at the beach and reassures him that even though they cannot be officially married in the eyes of the law, and in the eyes of their friends and family (which is even sadder), they belong to each other in their own hearts, and that is enough.

For someone who doesn't usually binge-watch, this is a binge-worthy series and I regret not waiting for all the episodes before start because it broke the flow for me.

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Low expectations with tons of praise

As someone who has been watching Japanese BL for more than 15 years, I've pretty much seen it all in terms of how good or how head-banging a show can be. Up till now, even the most well-loved shows of mine, I always end up somehow having some issues with *Yes, I'm talking about those shaky-ass camerawork that ruin the beauty of the scene and acting*. But even so, aesthetics and a solid OST have always been very successful traits amongst Japanese BLs. And if you're lucky you get that together with immersive acting, or splendid directing, or a smooth editing and production, but it's only ever one or the other. Now couple that with a manga/webtoon adaption, the bar is set even higher.
I remember looking at the poster of this drama back in September and having absolutely no expectations. Honestly, I was probably suffering from the trauma that is Happy of the End (another very painful adaption, I might add), and in combination, with 2 very fresh actors tackling their first few main roles, I think I wanted to play it safe.

I am so ecstatic to say how beautifully wrong and surprised I am about this drama. The actors Junsei and Kenshin are absolutely stellar in their roles as Minase and Hirukawa. The direction is fantastic, the editing and the pacing of the scenes and episodes make perfect sense. Even the most painful of episodes were painfully good. I am in awe of how this gem of a show just swept me off my feet just like that. Perhaps chasing this show back to back since its first episode release also contributed to the longing I had for each episode thereafter. It’s just that good.

As someone who had read the webtoon, the show did a great job of talking about difficult topics (after story spoilers?) that Japanese BLs generally move away from, particularly since it ruins the fantasy image that the majority of them aim to achieve. Our Youth artfully tackles realistic topics in the settings of present society but still manages to mix in the fate-esque aspect of relationship development. There is a lot of callbacks in this show, and re-watching it from the beginning almost brings you a second layer of answers to questions that you carry during the first watch.

This show is not absolutely perfect in every way, foremost, I definitely wished they put in an extra episode or two after the time jump to really reel in the story development but honestly, the extra story just capped off all my worries ( I highly recommend to watch ). The execution of this drama is really a compilation of a stellar team production to push this through (FYI, one of the directors was a director in some of the best episodes in I Hear the Sunspot too), and a lot of heart. An absolute gem in one of the most competitively good Japanese BL years ever..

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PLEASE GIVE US ANOTHER SERIES THAT BOTH OF THEM ARE THE MAIN CAST

Recently I'm more into Japanese bl series' since I'm a bit bored and almost every plot in thai bl has been repeated. I really enjoyed watching japanese bl since the aura and the overall boot of the story is mostly cute, but this series " OUR YOUT" really exceeded my expectations, the cast , the story, the plot, the acting, everything was perfect, not to be a bit over exaggerating but I'm just starting favts, it was actually fresh since this was the first time i encountered a series that has that kind of plot. The acting was natural and the chemistry was there. I HOPE WE CAN GET ANOTHER SERIES' FPR THE BOTH OF THEM PLSSS😭

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I REALLY LOVE THIS!!

Another good JBL has given to us!!! I think some parts of this story is familiar to me, it's from a jbl that I've watched before or a manhwa, but still it's so good. Their stare and chemistry are 💯💯 You can really see their love through their eyes, its like they are really connected with each other. There are scenes that is cheezy for my likings, but its kinda okay to me, even though I'm not a fan of it HHAHAH. I think other people will enjoy it, that's why I still given thus a 10/10. Japanese BL are so good, I hope they continue on creating masterpieces like this one.

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UNFORGETABLE, SMITTEN

This is the first Jbl series that I'm giving a 10 rating. It's that good! I'm drawn to its touching, gorgeous storytelling, at times brutal and yet filled with so much tenderness... beautiful production and cinematography, great ost, unforgettable scenes, top notch acting, the actors playing Minase Jin and Hirukawa Haruki are just perfect in their roles with sizzling chemistry leaves me with a warm lasting impression long after I finished the show, that I had to rewatched. There's a line in episode 3, after beaten by his father, Haruki waited for Jin, he asked purposefully, "If I get hit, will you feel sorry for me again?" such rawness and desperation on Haruki's part for attention, Jin's orderly life started to unfold and slowly being intoxicated as their relationship develops. And in the very next episode, another scene, (Think it's a first for me) Haruki's response to Jin's cold, "Infect me" before he dived in for a kiss, Astounding! As if it wasn't enough, Haruki licked his hand afterward... I'm speechless. Sorry if I spoiled some viewers' joy but believe me, there are many beautiful poignant scenes, all 10 episodes plus 1 special, you will be spoilt.

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