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I was thinking about two shows with some similarities namely Westside Story and The Outsiders. I think of Ady An who is eight years older than Esther Liu. Esther was still a teenager by then so I wonder how did she even finish school? Also, wouldn't she be JAIL BAIT that time? I remembered the joke of calling Mana as jailbait in Kamen Rider Agito considering I was still in high school when it first aired. Think about it - Westside Story aired in 2003, The Outsiders aired in 2004, and both actresses starred in Chinese Paladin in 2005! Then, I heard that Esther got a more demoted role due to her age (which I think was appropriate) since Ady had more acting experience. Ady was more professional by then to play such a tough character.
I watched both shows dubbed in Tagalog. What amazed me were the roles played by both girls. Ady is pretty much a Dawson casting (she was 24 at that time) because she was an adult but her role was that of a 17-year-old. Esther, on the other hand, was a year younger than her actual role. I always felt that both girls played similar roles. Both came from strict upbringings who fell in love with bad boys. Esther's character Yu Li fell for Ya Yu and Ady's character Yu Yan fell for Yu Yao. Though the difference is that Yu Li's father is way more reasonable than Yu Yan's father who nearly made her a puppet. Both leading ladies were also planned to be sent to Europe to study by their fathers. Though, I still think that it's much easier to obey Yu Li's father than Yu Yan's overbearing dad.
Both Westside Story and The Outsiders involve gangsters but not as violent. Westside Story didn't involve the same kind of bloodshed or gun violence that The Outsiders had. Sure, Westside Story had some fistfights and blood but it's tame in contrast to what The Outsiders had to offer. Westside Story seems to feature a redemption story. However, The Outsiders isn't afraid to tell you that it could be too late for you such as the death of two leading protagonists while giving one of the protagonists a chance to reform. I mean, Yu Hao does return to school eventually but what about Yu Hao? Too late for Yu Hao because hew as practically killed in an act of cowardice by the main antagonist Ah Bao.
Both shows are enjoyable though I think of a more fair comparison. Ady not being that pretty makes it easier for me to appreciate The Outsiders beyond the surface. Esther's being that hot of jailbait (I was 18 at that time which made me still a minor by legal standards) made it hard for me to enjoy the show. When I stopped caring how hot Esther is (though her beauty made me watch Boukenger because Haruka Suenaga resembled her in part) - I think Westside Story has more interesting characters. I felt that the gang of Westside was more entertaining. The trio in The Outsiders just doesn't turn out to have that much of the charm I had with Westside. Though, I'm still tempted to be stupid and say, "Westside is better than Outsiders because Yu Li is hotter than Yu Yan.", right?
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