First of all, the propaganda. Yes, it's there. But when I compare it to many American cop/crime procedurals (NCIS or NCIS LA in particular come to mind), both patriotism and military propaganda are quite moderate. Surprisingly so, especially for a military sponsored drama. If you don't mind it in said procedurals, you should be fine with it in The Glory of Youth.

Even the title is misleading. Did it make you think of young people performing heroic deeds? Yeah, me too. But instead it refers to the chances and possibilities that come with being young and having the time and means to choose one's path in life.

This is a very character driven drama. Apart from the four main recruits, we follow the squad leaders, the company commander and his instructor, the brigade commander and his political officer, and many more. They are well rounded characters, not two dimensional templates, and the drama gives us time to get to know, learn to like, and understand them.

Conflict is mostly about clashing values and different personality types. That doesn't mean that this drama is boring, or that there's no action. But instead of creating a fictional enemy country or terrorist, we get different brigades competing against each other in training drills, or things like industrial espionage, or natural disasters.

Last but not least, yes, most of the cast is male. There are several female characters, but they don't have much screentime. This probably reflects reality for the Rocket Force, and it doesn't go unaddressed in the drama, beginning with finding a private living space and bathroom for a female doctor, to some characters dealing with their prejudice towards her chosen field of study (psychology). And so much more.

Originally, I started watching solely for Li Yifeng, but for me, this drama was the surprise success of the year (so far). Story, acting, and music were really good. I liked it so much, I started watching from the beginning again right after I finished the first time. :-)