Ying Feng (2024)

A celebration, eulogy, and reliving of youth

‒Overview‒

Wind Direction is an exceptional youth drama that begins in the carefree wonderland of youth and ends in the bittersweet nostalgia of adulthood. The show draws you in with the youthful hijinks of its endearing young characters and takes you through the world of their parents and their own journey towards adulthood. Along the way, you will be laughing, fuming, crying, and learning with the characters.

While this show may have flown under the radar, don't hesitate to give it a try and let it grab you along for the ride. It could very well become a top youth drama that will stay with you for a long time.

‒Review‒

Like the typical youth drama, Wind Direction delivers plenty of laughs, cuteness, innocence, and friendship. But the show also goes far beyond that to deliver the profound, sometimes painful, but inevitable lessons that one can't avoid in life. The show is written with all the love of a letter to a younger self, with the fondness for the innocent days and the tough-love advice from lessons learned along the way. The Chinese title of the show is 迎风的青春, which has an extra layer of significance. It refers to the days of youth that's facing the wind, a nod to the characters embracing the world, and also to the opportunities and surprises that will be blown toward them.

The show starts out deceptively simple and innocent, and may not seem all that remarkable compared to the typical youth drama. Unlike Go Ahead, which is another favorite, we are not treated to immediate tension and conflict for the quartet of friends. But the show moves along methodically, almost sneakily, to weave together an ever richer tapestry of parents, classmates, teachers, and events that accentuate the theme of each episode. Tensions and mysteries that are introduced fade in and out of view like sections of a symphony. And the director always finds the perfect time to queue up the next big revelation in an unpredictable, yet fitting manner. Pretty soon, you find yourself cheering on a superb ensemble of characters,
crescendoing toward a dramatic finish.

There were so many superbly written and acted characters in the show in addition to the childhood friend group. There's the affable and understanding dad, played by Tian Yu, or more famously Wang Qinian from Joy of Life. He's married to Jia Daiyu (Liu Lin, LLTG and other shows), the firecracker Mom that's ready to give anyone an earful. There's Li Dahai, played by the always fierce-looking but funny Jia Bing. He's the short-tempered Dad ready to give his son Li Si an instant beating. There's Jia Baoshan, the man-child uncle that's always getting into trouble. And last but not least, there's Xiao Fang, the principal portrayed by the effervescent Jackie Li who steals scenes left and right.

The show culminates in a dramatic last six episodes that will tug at your heartstrings. For some, these episodes may be a surly wake-up call from the delicious revelry of youth, an abduction into adulthood, and the death of innocence. That's a completely understandable and natural reaction. But I encourage you to take a deep breath and embrace the pain, tragedy, and bittersweet moments. Because these episodes are the highlight of the show. These are the indispensable reminders that the show unyieldingly imparts, to those who has already traveled the road, and those who have yet to travel it, but eventually will, one way or another. And on the other side, you could recover the new you‒with a newfound appreciation for the innocence of youth, safeguarded and cherished in the memorial of your heart, powering you through the storms and scars suffered along the way.

And that's the spirit of Cheng Yaya, Yuan Shanqing, Qiang Xiaowa, Cheng Miaomiao, and Li Si. To bravely sail across the ocean and into the wind, even as they are soaked, battered, and blown off course. They are waiting for you on the other side, will you come along for the journey?

‒Component Ratings‒

> Overall [8.5 ‒> MDL 9.0] - One of my favorite watch of the year, last 6 episodes bumped it to 8.5 for me, same score as Go Ahead.
> Plot [8] - Logical and engaging, excellent pacing with no fillers
> Theme / Concept / Impact - [8.5] - A moving commemoration of youth with profound lessons along the way
> Acting [8.5] - solid acting from the younger actors that were further elevated in final episodes, veteran cast also excellent
> Visuals [8.5] - production, shots, camera language, aesthetics, editing were all pleasing and cohesive
> Audio [8] - live recording not dubbed, appropriate and moving music and sound effects, though few memorable tracks
> Rewatch [8.5] - excellent rewatch option for the comedy, comfort, and heartfelt moments; episodes can be watched independently though you may find it difficult to stop
> Accessibility [8] - the youthful friendship will have easy universal resonance. Though to fully appreciate the story of the parents and parent-child relationships may require understanding of cultural context.
> Subtitle quality [8.5] - The few episodes I saw with subs were excellent and surpassed my expectations in representing the vibe and colloquial speech.

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A fun warm emotional relatable and nostalgic coming of age drama.

Wind direction is a coming of age generational drama about life, family, friendship, youth and more.

The plot of the drama is an emotional rollercoaster, it's inspirational, engaging, educational and also nostalgic, heartwarming and relatable.

The characters in the show each have their own interesting emotional and relatable stories, the characters are written to be complex and each with their own personality..which easily gets you attached to them as the story goes by..their growth and development is also reflected in the story as it progresses.

The acting was amazing..each characters did well in that category...the subtle yet impactful acting also left an impact.

The dialogue of the drama is well thought out, it's inspirational, it's educational and relatable in a way that could help screen shot most of the beautiful written lines by the different characters.

The drama goes ahead and adds in some comedy and comic relief characters to help balance out the heaviness of the plot and I must I did have a good laugh in some of the scenes.

The drama depicts growth, it depicts family, friendship, struggles and set backs people face and how they lift themselves up after those struggles..the drama continues to educate us on the different frames of life...it shows friendships, and sacrifices and more...

This was a show that unexpectedly touched me by how NOSTALGIC it was..reminding me of the good old days, it felt at home, it felt relatable and it was melancholic and emotional in a way that I felt connected to the story and it's characters as the show progressed.

Do I recommend it?

ABSOLUTELY! if you looking for a well written, relatable, nostalgic and fun story about your family friendship and more then you should give this a try...I promise you won't regret.

I learnt alot from this drama and I felt comforted by its story, characters and dialogues..this must as well be one of my most favourite dramas this year!!!

WARNING: Prepare a box of tissues for the last couple of episodes... because they were one big roller coaster 🥺

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