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Dark Horse of Youth Dramas 2025
Reborn is the dark horse of 2025 youth drama, at least for me!
I did not expect such a dark, gloomy theme from this drama, granted it says thriller. To me it feels more like revenge, mystery, investigation type of drama. Youth is added because the main leads are in high school, but it shows people with a different family backgrounds and the hardships each family try to hide from others. I personally enjoy dramas that touches upon mental illness, or anything that's not normally talked about in c-dramas so this was right up my alley.
This drama is very much catered towards the Asian community, because it would be difficult to understand anyone or why they act a certain way unless you live through this culture. Saving face, and having a reputation is a major thing in the Chinese communities, anything involving less than the perfect portrait would be looked down upon. The mystery behind Qiao yu's sister's death is something that Qingyu's parents and entire Qiao family has been trying to hide. They believe what happened to her was a disgrace. In reality, it was deeper than what we saw on the surface, this is why Qingyu insist on bringing the truth to light. It was about giving her sister the justice she deserve instead of disgrace she was given post-death.
Initially we think the parents are at fault, or just have no empathy. But in reality, the villains were not the parents per say. I can even understand why Qinyu's dad was more obedient towards his parents instead of his wife. This is the Chinese community, being filial is a very important thing. Respecting elders is also very important, but this drama teaches us that there is a line one must not cross. There is a limit on how far you could push someone to doing something they don't want to do. I don't want to spoil much, but I really enjoy all the topics this drama touched upon. It brings light to mental illness, more specifically depression and suicidal ideations. Perhaps this could bring light to many viewers as well.
I really enjoyed the acting of all the actors here, they were all very natural. Both Zhou Yi Ran and Zhang Jingyi were so cute together! During the moments where they just stare at each other, I could see the longing they have for one another. I loved the fact that Ming Sheng would promise that he will always be by Qingyu's side no matter what happens, and is always reassuring her. Depite being pushed to the side and all, his love for her was strong. I didn't expect much romance from a youth drama, but I did wish we had more episodes of them together as a couple. When Ming Sheng (Zhou Yi Ran) was eating the bowl and crying.. I felt his pain.. :( He held it in for so long, and finally let it go. It was heartbreaking to watch. Another scene that stood out for me from Zhang Jingyi was when her character had to confront someone who kept harrassing the family, and she kept pushing him back - I was like, " YOU GO GIRL!" LOL You can see how much emotions she placed in every push and I had to repeat that scene a couple times just to see her expressions. Like damn SHE WAS MAD MAD!!
I must applause Liu Dan, who portrayed the mother Li Fang Hao. Her emotions felt so raw, it truly felt like she had to bury her child in real life rather than acting it out. The emotions she felt after the event, the depression she went through, and so on was very poignant, and palpable. I'm so glad she was able to slap the b*tch when she had the chance cause honestly she was talking too much for way too long. The audacity and self absorbed lady thinks her "son" is important than Qiao Family. I'd rather slap her to Mount Everest peak and leave her there. I think many people also misunderstood the father, he does love his children very much. You can tell that he was also depressed by the loss of his daughter. He also shows how much he cares by protecting his children from oncoming physical assaults; the little microexpressions on his face says a lot.
Let's just say many of the main characters have multiple layers to them. You will have to peel each layer to realize what they truly feel. I think this is why I enjoyed the drama so much, granted the support characters were great but they're weren't as developed as the main characters. The characters growth was very satisfying to watch... 10 out 10 would watch again. lol
Is this a happy ending? YES!
I would definitely recommend this drama if you like investigative dramas, a bit of thriller, mystery, high school crush type of dramas. If you're looking for romance, it's not the best romance youth drama as this focuses more on the mystery behind the death of Qingyu's sister rather than the leads' love for one another. It also focsues more on family dynamics, perhaps the audience could relate to, I know I did.
I did not expect such a dark, gloomy theme from this drama, granted it says thriller. To me it feels more like revenge, mystery, investigation type of drama. Youth is added because the main leads are in high school, but it shows people with a different family backgrounds and the hardships each family try to hide from others. I personally enjoy dramas that touches upon mental illness, or anything that's not normally talked about in c-dramas so this was right up my alley.
This drama is very much catered towards the Asian community, because it would be difficult to understand anyone or why they act a certain way unless you live through this culture. Saving face, and having a reputation is a major thing in the Chinese communities, anything involving less than the perfect portrait would be looked down upon. The mystery behind Qiao yu's sister's death is something that Qingyu's parents and entire Qiao family has been trying to hide. They believe what happened to her was a disgrace. In reality, it was deeper than what we saw on the surface, this is why Qingyu insist on bringing the truth to light. It was about giving her sister the justice she deserve instead of disgrace she was given post-death.
Initially we think the parents are at fault, or just have no empathy. But in reality, the villains were not the parents per say. I can even understand why Qinyu's dad was more obedient towards his parents instead of his wife. This is the Chinese community, being filial is a very important thing. Respecting elders is also very important, but this drama teaches us that there is a line one must not cross. There is a limit on how far you could push someone to doing something they don't want to do. I don't want to spoil much, but I really enjoy all the topics this drama touched upon. It brings light to mental illness, more specifically depression and suicidal ideations. Perhaps this could bring light to many viewers as well.
I really enjoyed the acting of all the actors here, they were all very natural. Both Zhou Yi Ran and Zhang Jingyi were so cute together! During the moments where they just stare at each other, I could see the longing they have for one another. I loved the fact that Ming Sheng would promise that he will always be by Qingyu's side no matter what happens, and is always reassuring her. Depite being pushed to the side and all, his love for her was strong. I didn't expect much romance from a youth drama, but I did wish we had more episodes of them together as a couple. When Ming Sheng (Zhou Yi Ran) was eating the bowl and crying.. I felt his pain.. :( He held it in for so long, and finally let it go. It was heartbreaking to watch. Another scene that stood out for me from Zhang Jingyi was when her character had to confront someone who kept harrassing the family, and she kept pushing him back - I was like, " YOU GO GIRL!" LOL You can see how much emotions she placed in every push and I had to repeat that scene a couple times just to see her expressions. Like damn SHE WAS MAD MAD!!
I must applause Liu Dan, who portrayed the mother Li Fang Hao. Her emotions felt so raw, it truly felt like she had to bury her child in real life rather than acting it out. The emotions she felt after the event, the depression she went through, and so on was very poignant, and palpable. I'm so glad she was able to slap the b*tch when she had the chance cause honestly she was talking too much for way too long. The audacity and self absorbed lady thinks her "son" is important than Qiao Family. I'd rather slap her to Mount Everest peak and leave her there. I think many people also misunderstood the father, he does love his children very much. You can tell that he was also depressed by the loss of his daughter. He also shows how much he cares by protecting his children from oncoming physical assaults; the little microexpressions on his face says a lot.
Let's just say many of the main characters have multiple layers to them. You will have to peel each layer to realize what they truly feel. I think this is why I enjoyed the drama so much, granted the support characters were great but they're weren't as developed as the main characters. The characters growth was very satisfying to watch... 10 out 10 would watch again. lol
Is this a happy ending? YES!
I would definitely recommend this drama if you like investigative dramas, a bit of thriller, mystery, high school crush type of dramas. If you're looking for romance, it's not the best romance youth drama as this focuses more on the mystery behind the death of Qingyu's sister rather than the leads' love for one another. It also focsues more on family dynamics, perhaps the audience could relate to, I know I did.
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