Ever watched a drama which had an amazing child cast and then there was a time jump and it just wasn’t the same feel? That is the topic of Day 23 as we fangirl about our favorite younger casts.
DAY 23: Drama where the child portion of story was better than the adult one.
CLKYTTA: Angel Eyes. I loved the first couple of episodes, the chemistry between the younger actors was so strong and the story flowed and flowered so well. Then we had the time jump and I really didn’t like the characters anymore. Now don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of tragedy for them to get past, but when they were kids they seemed to deal with things like adults and then when they were adults, it was like they were kids. Gu Hye Sun’s acting seems very wooden to me and while she’s really pretty, her face always seems blank. Not even Seungri as Teddy was able to save this one for me.
Drama Geek: Let me preface this by saying I usually hate the child portion. I’m watching a drama to see the main actors and I feel like most stories could be told starting from adulthood and then we learn what happened in their past as we go. Mine is The Moon Embracing the Sun. It’s not the older actors fault, I liked them, but if you look at the younger cast for that drama you’ll find almost all of them are IT actors now. Kim Yoo Jung was just breathtaking and Yeo Jin Goo totally stole my heart. When you add in Lee Min Ho (the other one, LOL) Kim So Hyun, Siwan and Lee Won Guen you just can’t argue that it was a STELLAR younger cast. And for me Han Ga In never captured my heart the way Kim Yoo Jung did. Don’t get me wrong, Soo Hyun, Ill Woo, Jae Rim. Yeah, LOVE them all. But there was something lost when they switched. At least for me. (Hides from Jennie B.)
KMUSE: UGH…. DramaGeek stole mine. I guess that is what happens when I procrastinate and put my thoughts last. Thankfully, I have another great young cast to throw onto the pile. I started Wild Chives and Soybean Soup and LOVED IT! That is until they switched the cast and then it all went tragically wrong. The older leads felt nothing like their younger counterparts (the leading guy even lost a couple inches in height as he aged SMH) and the girl had no charm. So much so that the drama canceled around 20 episodes once the time jump occurred and ratings tanked. But I loved the younger cast so much that I would actually suggest watching this show…. until the time jump and then just use your imagination to give them a happy ending. Your fantasy would be better than the rushed mess of a finale the writers created.
I suddenly have the urge to rewatch some dramas. What is your favorite youth cast? Be sure to let us know in the comments and check back tomorrow for another drama challenge.
See you tomorrow,
The Fangirls
Wild Chives & Soybean Soup – SOOOOO much!!! I LOVED the younger cast – those two leads were so awesome and the story so heartwrenching, then to have the older leads just be WRONG – the missing 2 inches on Nam Goong Min wouldn’t have been so noticeable if they’d bothered getting the comparative height of his FRIEND correct! But the chemistry wasn’t there for the adult leads, nothing like it had been for those kids!
Moon Embracing the Sun. That drama catapulted the younger versions’ popularity into greater heights. I stopped watching after they grew up.
Inspiring Generation. Though they cast younger part perfectly similar to lead it was not just as interesting after flashback ended to me.
I remember really liking that one as well
Jung Da Bin in The Flower in Prison was wonderful as the young Lee Seo Won; she was energetic and spunky. The adult actress, Jin Se Yun, has none of those characteristics. I am getting used to her, but it seems the writers even switched her personality. Why?
Yay, I wasn’t the only one that felt that way bout TMETS.
Inspiring Generation aka Age of Feeling. Not the whole young cast, but Kwak Dong Yeon was amazing. He looks a lot like Kim Hyun Joong, but he is a much better actor. I can’t stand Jin Se Yeon, and Kim Hyun Joong was disappointing. The drama was a mess (what did they do to Kim Jae Wook?), but I watched the whole thing for the supporting cast like Song Jae Rim, Kim Sung Oh, and Yoon Hyun Min.
I really liked the youngest cast of My Love Eun Dong. They were so sweet and genuine.
The kids from Yun Zhong Ge (song in the clouds) were great. The young version of YunGe – Jiang Yi Yi – was especially good. I wish that part had been longer.
I haven’t watched many dramas with childhood portions, but I did like Nam Ji-hyun as the young Queen Seon-deok. She had more spunk than her older counterpart.
And how much do I love that Lee Won-geun is featured in two out of three of your choices 😀
The Moon That Embraces the Sun. Hate to say it, but I didn’t want the child actors episodes to end. I would have been fine if they just kept the child actors to play their adult selves.