What a blasting news it was when "Meteor Garden" got released in 2018 and it took me 2 years to find the right time to finally sit down and watch in on Netflix.I have been so much busy with studying and catching up with my life that i haven`t simply had the time.But watching this new version of "Boys over Flowers" and re-capturing all the moments of struggle,heartbreak,unrequited love,love-triangles and friendship and love between the main-heroine and the legendary F4 members was fun and entertaining and romantic!I never get tired of this story,as i have watched (and loved) the earlier korean,japanese and taiwanese adaptions of "Boys over Flowers".
This is a hate-to-love romance about the star-crossed lovers Daoming Si and Dong Shancai.The romance is high,and so is the drama.If you want high-school drama,love-triangles,irresistible male-leads,kidnapping,bullying,threats of Joker cards,main-leads stranded on a Island,attempted murderer,blackmail, competitions and a male-lead who swears that he will follow his heroine to the end of Mars if he have to...this 2018 version of "Meteor Garden" has it all..so look no further!
I was at first worried if Dylan Wang could pull off the beloved character of the bad boy heir Daoming Si like Jerry Yan,Jun Matsumoto and Lee Min-ho did in their adaptions of the character.But wow how he astounded me with his devilish smile and charm.Dylan did great in expressing his undying love for the first girl who have ever stood up against 4F,his beloved Shancai played by Shen Yue.Shen Yue is a incredible actress who pulled off the character of Shancai with honorable dignity and spirit.The chemistry between the co-stars are super,which really made me stuck with this story from the first episode.Dylan and Shen on-screen are fireworks and i never tired of watching them together!
"If apologies worked,why would we need the police" -Daoming Si (a famous quote this character uses in every version of BOF)
Daoming Si is rich,arrogant and impulsive and the leader of 4F.He is one of the most beloved Anti-heroes in Asianovela with his passionate outbursts in pain and love,his loyalty and devotion to the people he love.He is a guy who destroys everything against him,as he tries to do with Shancai before realizing that he loves this spirited girl early on in the story.His temper and cruel antics is what really hurts Shancai from the start,especially when he out of raging jealousy forcefully kissess her.Her tears makes him realize that he can`t go on that way anymore.In bullying and hurting her...he only made her hate stronger.Her love for his best-friend,the calmest of the F4 Huaze Lei (played by Darren Chen) is heartbreaking for Daoming Si to bear,but he insists on wooing Shancai and tries to win her heart in the only way he can.Its a beautiful journey where we watch Daoming Si redeem himself,with the guidance of his F4 friends and mostly his love for Shancai.He is defenitely my favourite character in this series!(AND in all the other versions of BOF)
"Because you`re the only one I`m willing to trade all the meteors in the sky for" -Daoming Si
Shancai is the perfect match for the mighty Daoming Si,but doesn`t know it until later on.With heR strong will and strength,she fights on toe to toe against Daoming Si and never surrenders.What she doesn`t know is that he will be the one to surrender due to his irrevocable love for her.Her youthful crush for Lei is painful to watch (in every versions) but the actress had good chemistry with Darren Chen and there are many cute scenes with them.And how glad i was when Daoming Si finally succeeded in catching Shancais heart!Shancai and Daoming Si are incredible characters that complements and are perfection together.They speak the same language,touch the same way,walks the same and breathes the same.They are in one bubble no one can destroy,and they are soulmates that are fated to be mated.So many challenges and heartbreak these two had to over-come...but Oh how bittersweet it was!I loved it!What a beautiful couple with a beautiful love-story!!!
I love the 4F gangs in all adoptions of "BOF",and the characters of Daoming Si,Huaze Lei, Yan Ximen and Feng Mei Zuo are all talented,handsome,seductive,irresistible young males that made my heart beat faster!I love Daoming Si`s childish nature..where he is the dark bad boy everyone fears but has a golden heart hidden deep down.Huaze Lei with his musical nature and looks of innocence,he smiled like an angel and i was done for!Yan Ximen with his casanova ways of charm and seduction swooned me with his uprightness and loyalty.Mei Zuo are kind of cheeky and fun with his ironic remarks and usually only dates older women.All these four men are absolutely amazing creatures and i envy Shancai for befriending them and stealing the leaders heart.
"Dong Shancai.I like you...i don`t know why.Even i am surprised by how much i like you.No matter where i go,you`re the only person i see...Shancai,i know that i am annoying.If you want to run away then i will chase after you.If you run to Mars,i will still chase you to Mars." -Daoming Si
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The storyline is not heavy and goes by slowly, the acting of the two main leads is incredible, most of all Dylan Wang performance is the best in the drama he portrays his role beautifuly. The only thing i don't like too much of this drama is the Ximen and Meizou stories takes a lot of storyline that could have been for Shancai and Daoming Si.
In overall i really loved this remake so that's why i give it a 10!!
GOOD JOB EVERYONE
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Story- Can't describe how they beautifully made each & every episode interesting.Plot of this drama was Very Good.I never felt any exaggeration.They show lovestory of each member of f4 equally, impressed me a lot.About Shancai I'm very Happy that unlike almost every Chinese drama they show girl???? strong . It was good to see male chases female first.But it was awkward when she was with both Lei & Daoming Si, I felt exhausted that time.
Acting - No words!!! Whether it was Lei, Daoming Si, Dong Shancai , Meizou,& Ximen.They all are amazing. Especially Daoming Si he was just FABULOUS ????. Main reason of watching this drama was he. And Lei I don't know what should I say about him he impress & amazed me time to time.
Music- In every situation they have particular song Specially River & Say something these two songs are my favorite.???? How brilliantly they're used. Because of these songs & music of this drama I cried, Smile , got goosebumps sometimes (" river "song????????) .
Lastly I want to tell you that this drama is Worth watching .You'll laugh , cry , smile , & you'll love this one.They peacefully ended this drama.10/10⭐
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i can only submit this review if i reach 500words? ok then
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This review may contain spoilers
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!i cant help but compare this drama with boys over flowers! since that's the only other version that i've watched... there are some things that i liked and some that i didn't...
what i liked...
the cast of F4 is is cute and soo adorable! i hadn't liked ji hoo in BOF but i fell in love with huaze lei in this... his smile is the sweetest and cutest smile ever... his relationship with shancai was one of the most beautiful and pure relationship i've ever seen on reel.... and i really liked wu xize and connor leong in this drama! i also liked how they kept the matter with yuanzi short and simple... and also the amnesia part... i was so not looking forward to that.. but this drama provided a wonderful twist... i liked the relationship between ah si and shan cai... the ending was way better than the ending in BOF... and i was so glad that the characters were in university and not in high school like in BOF.. the rest of the cast did a pretty amazing job too... daoming feng may have been a bitch but she was the coolest bitch i've ever seen.... and jing is sooo pretyyyy!!! i was expecting boys over flowers again with a different cast... but this drama although has a similar plot and a few similar scenes it had many unexpected twists and turns... so it felt like a completely new drama... xiaoyou and xiemen's chemistry was good... their first kiss made me feel like butterflies were flying around in my stomach... The osts are really good!
what i disliked...
i expected a better actor for the role of zhuang and she also had very little appearance in the drama.. for some reason i felt that ah si and shan cai were awkward with each other...idk if its bcoz of their acting.. and at times i felt they were immature.... and shancai pissed me off soo much in the 1st half of this drama... it took her soo long to realize that she's in love with ah si! dylan wang's acting wasn't that great either... and i hated his pineapple hairstyle!!! he looked better in the 2nd half of the drama... the last 3 episodes were completely unnecessary... they were a tad too dramatic... and that whole wedding scenario had sent me into shock mode...
overall its a drama that's worth a watch! i'd recommend this to everyone who wants to try out the different versions!
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Sexual Assault Warning!
PLEASE READ BEFORE WATCHING!There is sexual assault in this drama. I know many people are unable to watch that and its important to warn them about it.
This is such a hard drama to watch. I remember feeling the same way when reading the manga, Boys over Flowers, this is based off of. The male lead and main romantic interest, Dao Ming Si, is so difficult to root for. On multiple occasions he assaults the female lead, Shan Cai, threatens her, manipulates her, bullies her, and is an overall jerk. He shows so many signs of being abusive towards her (and normalising this kind of behaviour can be very dangerous to the people who watch it. It’s a very toxic representation of romance) that I'm really considering dropping it, just like I did with the manga. There are many times when you're supposed to feel sorry for Si but I really just couldn't because he didn't deserve to be pitied. Actually, all 4 boys used Shan Cai for their own means, and she was the only character who I actually felt sorry for.
However, the acting is fantastic on all accounts. All actors portrayed their characters well, especially the male and female leads. There was also a great variety of music, so it wasn't just the same 2 songs playing on repeat like so many other dramas have. I would never rewatch it though, because of the reasons above.
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Also, I'm just expressing my opinion, I'm not dissing anyone, actors, writers or whatever.
I probably let some minor spoiler slip away, but I've seen only 17 eps so you know.
First of all a note: I know this story was written in 1992 but if they found the necessity to update the time in which the drama is set (a smartphone is the symbol of the main leads first encounter), why not updating or cutting some very very crappy scenes? There was a scene that I found very uncomfortable to watch, especially knowing at the end the two people will end falling in love to each other...I imagined them in a future married telling their friends "oh dear, do you remember when I almost punched you and I kissed you by force? Holy moly the good old times". I mean...no. Forcing yourself to a girl is not the best move... but okay I get it: he's spoiled, he's arrogant, he doesn't know what a "no" means and he doesn't know girls or love and he has some anger issues but still, times are changed, there's that #metoo stuff and are oversensitive about it... there are other ways to let the audience know he has those issues.
I honestly don't get why this and mischievous kiss (itazura na kiss) are so popular...why abusive rich brat x naive girl is so shipped?? Because I didn't felt any chemistry/romance vibe at all, I just wanted to beat up both of the main characters all the time.
The major element of my anger tho is the girl. She's supposed to be the typical anonymous girl with no breast (because that is widely emphasized LOL), naive, that find something good in everyone and everyone ends up falling for her (we have a record that is absurd even for dramaland tho...I counted at least 7 people who fallen or felt attraction to the girl!) and maybe (that's optional) with a bit of attitude - which she had, but just for three episodes. Then she declined to become the dumbest human alive. She just went with the flow every time, letting all sort of things (mostly bad) happen to her.
The worst thing is that she must have some sort of selective amnesia because she plays dumb about the guy's feelings even tho he clearly expressed the words "I like you" in her face and he kissed her (with consent). So what game you're playing girl? You don't like him but you like strolling around the world (they went on vacation like four times in 17 episodes) and she's not even intentionally toying with the guy so I felt like there was an error in the chronological order of the storyline (?). One minute they are a couple, the other minute they're back to square one. And repeat. And repeat
I liked the culinary competition and the fact they decided to gave her some ability! That was interesting and even if it was a bit cringey, the support of the male lead was cute.
The most interesting characters were the second fem lead, the chef guy and the chef girl. I enjoyed their storyline but they seemed a bit too mature for the standards of this show LOL the second male lead seemed a real zombie, he was so passive and everytime I watched him I tought of a sloth LOL
At the end I decided to surrender at episode 17, there's a limit on the quantity of shit I could've taken and if I am not enjoying, I don't see the point of watching it anymore. I was expecting a bit of renovation... more "based upon" than just "transcribed as it is" but okay, let's just say the leads really deserve each other xD
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I’ve seen the other versions of this story, and I’ve always had a problem with some of the physical violence. So, I knew that going in. I hate to see women being treated roughly. What I found in this one is that the male lead likes the female lead but he’s immature. He acts like a young boy with the girl he likes - picking on her and just being an idiot. However, there are moments where he’s incredibly sweet, and those make my heart flutter.
What I love is that - in this version - I can actually tell that the male lead really likes the female lead. He’s clearly got personality issues and doesn’t know how to communicate (not a surprise if you’ve seen the other versions), but I find myself liking him a bit more. He’s also good-looking! Like - REALLY good-looking!
The female lead is cute. I like her and find myself rooting for her a lot.
I can’t stop watching this show. I’m kind of obsessed. So, if you can get past some of the violence, it’s an addictive drama with moments of real sweetness.
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Beyond frustrating FL, Unnecessarily long,.... still addicting
My GODDDD, I am at episode 35, and I have to take a break from watching this drama because Shan Cai is annoying me to no end. At the beginning of the drama, Dao Ming Si was the toxic and dislikeable one. But as the drama continued, DMS was redeemed into my favorite character, and SC went from being independent and kindhearted to absolutely stupid, cowardly, and dense. WHY does she never show any expression or affection to DMS. He deserves better. She just stands there like a potato through all their kisses, all his heartfelt confessions, and she is also the worst communicator in history. PLEASE VOICE YOUR THOUGHTS.Sorry that this is more of a rant than a review. I will revise this after I finish the drama to give some more civilized criticisms.
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I have enjoyed this drama so far. If you liked the original or even the South korean (Boys over flowers) adaption of the comic then you should give this a go.
Pros- Overall budget of the show helped to show interesting and realistic sets and locations
-Great acting
-Fun story - funny and at times ridiculous
-The dialogue was great, loved the sassiness Dong Sacai brought
Cons-
-Daoming Si's styling is often distracting! That hair and some of his outfits left me like WHY?
-Around the halfway mark found myself getting tired of Daoming Si and Dong Shancai's constant bickering. Now I know this is the story and that they are both stubborn ect but after a while I was just needing some relief. Like at least 2 episodes where things were smooth sailing you know? There were moments where I was like this is NOT a healthy relationship. He was too controlling/forceful. Found myself needing a break after a few episodes.
-Awkward blocking of actors - Huaze Lei in particular. Few odd scenes where he would stand not facing anyone for a long period of time, not realistic even for a brooding guy.
-Music - after a while got a little tired of the repetitive scores. Can't listen to the f4 song "For you" every episode.
-The english spoken by extras is often jarring and cringey. Episode 16 - These Canadian rescuers that come to the lodge - like what? It was so confusing, you'll understsnd when you've seen the episode.
Look its rough around the edges, at times infuriating- you just want to take characters by the shouldees and shake them.
But the story is fun. So if your not looking to take something seriously then give it a go!
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