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The plot is closely following manga so don't expect some twist or turn. Casting is good, Dylan as Daoming si is simply adorable. His character goes through most transition. And he steals the limelight from the rest of the cast. His performance in epi 41 is best of the series. Shenyue is good I hated jandi characters in bof, but in this version she was bearable mostly because she shares amazing chemistry with Dylan and wasn't annoying like previous version . The characters of the shancai is itself quiet weak thats why many find her annoying. Darren as lei is amazing. He will caught your attention in the first epi itself because of his pretty looks and dimples. Rest of the cast is okay. Daoming si sister zhaung deserve a appreciation for nailing her character. She lights up the screen with her presence alone. Her scene with ahsi are hilarious to watch. Ost is amazing. I love instrumental bgm more than the song itself.
Overall a drama worth to enjoy. Keep your expectations low and enjoy this light fluffy drama.
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First of all, Meteor Garden's story is fun and super entertaining, but a bit too overly complicated at times. This would make the series very heavy, if it weren't for the "light-heartedness" that constantly looms over. I personally like this because I'm not too keen on unnecessary drama in fiction. Meteor Garden balances its comedy and drama aspects pretty well, actually. It has just the necessary amount of both.
As for the acting, it's mostly good. Shen Yue is awkward at times, but it kind of fits her character, so no problems there. Dylan Wang is good, no bad things to say here either. The supporting cast does a great job as well, mostly the F4. However, the best aspect of Meteor Garden is, by far, the music. The soundtrack is simply amazing and complement the scenes very nicely.
I think my only problem with this drama is the last episode. The resolution of the conflict is satisfying, but I felt that the episode was unnecessarily dragged with musical numbers and the like. That time could've been better employed with closing certain sub-plots in a more satisfying way.
Overall, I really enjoyed Meteor Garden. It was fun and interesting enough to keep me watching almost non-stop.
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so let me start with the story. i am quite glad that the newest version seemed to keep the original story that i've watched 17 yrs ago. although of course, there are minor changes like with the bullying & violence. everyone who watched the older versions know how shancai was extremely hurt physically by the bullies in her school & sexually harassed by dao ming si. but with the new version, those dark parts were changed into a softer ones. i guess the production simply considered their target audience which are the young ones so i think that's quite good. i also appreciated that they applied & showcased the modern way of how young people live & act nowadays involving social media, etc.
next is the cast.
• shen yue is undeniably cute in this drama! which is why her acting is somehow different in the original character of shancai who is supposed to be a boyish and a lot braver. her character as shancai turned out to be more of a cutie & innocent that i still see her character in her previous drama, a love so beautiful. maybe she needs to give more emotion to compete with barbie hsu's heavy drama acting skill. but i'm glad that shen yue showcased her talent in drama this time that is not much seen in ALSB.
• dylan wang, on the other hand, deserves a chance to prove himself as the new dao ming si. actually, his face really suit his character which is an arrogant spoiled brat, that when the pictures of the new cast appeared online, i somehow guessed that he would be the one for the role of DMS. i also like how this young actor tried to imitate & keep the remarkable & adorable facial expressions of the previous actors (JY, LMH) who played the role of DMS. there are actually scenes that i see jerry yan in him, especially in scenes where he tries to hide the kilig feels. though i wish he gained more weight before starting this drama since DMS should appear as very masculine, physically strong & someone to be feared.
• darren chen as hua ze lei is also good. like dylan, his angelic face also perfectly suit his role as the very timid & softest member of F4. i also noticed that he is able to imitate the clothing & movement (especially the walk) of HZL from MG 2001.
• the other cast are just okay for me. the other 2 members of F4 in the new version did well in acting although meizuo & xi men from MG 2001 are more playful and carefree. the mom of shancai in this version also seemed to be more poised compared to the veeeery talkative & naughty mom in MG 2001. and oops! i love the latest actress who played the older sister of DMS (who is barbie hsu's older sister in real life)! she added more personality to the character making it more fun to watch. the actor who played xhing ha is also good & perfect for the role!
lastly is the music. i was quite surprised that they included an english song (river) on the drama which is played everytime there will be a tension or fighting scene. i wish they just stick with their local songs coz it brings a different & unfamiliar feels and seem to eliminate the feeling that i am watching a chinese drama. but overall, i love the other songs used in this version. they are all catchy & and i do really get an LSS. also appreciated that they included ni yao de ai (ost of MG 2001) which really brings back the old feels of the heartbreaking scenes of the past.
overall, it's not that heavy drama just like the older versions but still a must watch drama esp if you prefer romantic, comical & lighthearted stories with a touch of drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
If sociopath had a child with narcissism, this would be their child and it's name would be toxicity!
The male lead of F4 is freaking crazy - he's literally a sociopath. I am currently watching episode 4, and I had to stop to write a review about this crazy character. I hope EVERYONE who decides to watch this drama, understand not to copy the behavior of any of the members of F4. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM ARE ALL TOXIC, in their own way! The reason why I gave this drama a 8.5 is because the storyline is good, meaning the concept of this drama is actually interesting. I believe if this drama was a thriller instead of a romcom, then it would have had the potential to be a 10, and wouldn't have been seen as toxic if the character was a sociopath stalker-killer because we would expect it.. However, in this drama the male lead of F4 is portrayed as a cool rich senior kid that everyone likes.Kudos to the female lead character who doesn't take the male lead of F4 bullying. However, she allows the quiet one of F4 to manipulate her. How is it okay that he openly and publicly declare his love for his friend that's a girl, while kissing and flirting with the female lead? Just because he isn't aggressive like the male lead of F4, doesn't mean he isn't toxic. I hope that she doesn't end up with anyone from F4, and that she choose to be with her male best friend who obviously likes her. I am now on episode 8, and all I can really do is sigh at this moment lol. The second male lead of F4 is back in the picture, and while him and the female lead are at the beach, she's pouring her feelings to him. He literally says, "how come I don't love you," and then proceeds to kiss her, while he depressed over the one he loves. Can someone say rebound? Toxicity? Girl, he really didn't do that much for you to like him. Matter-a-fact, he rejected you more than he actually showed you any interest. I am starting to like the male lead of F4, better than the second male lead.
Whewwww child!
I like the Taiwanese version the best, then the Chinese version, and then the Korean version. I haven't watched the Thai version yet.
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I loved it!
Finally I can review this beautiful drama.So, first of all you need to know that I've never seen the original story, I've only seen this 2018 remake.
All I can say about it is that I loved it. It's even more special to me because it was the first Asian drama I've watched and from then on I was in love:D
This drama is actually really long (49 episodes), but if you're really into the story then it will be over in a second.
Also, I loved the cast! They were perfect and played their roles very well. I didn't give the highest rating for acting, though, because there was a thing that really got on my nerves: The kisses of the lead couple. They seemed so unrealistic, no mouth movement and it didn't seem passionate.
I loved the plot, I really did, but sometimes I felt like I was emotionally torn because in one moment everything seemed allright and then suddenly, it wasn't. And as I said the series is quite long, so there was a lot of it.
But what was perfect were the OST! I listened to them 24/7 after I finished it. The music was just so fitting.
And last, but not least, the ending. I won't spoiler you, but the ending was just perfect. No open ending, no confusion. It was really good.
I really recommend this drama to you, if you are into Rom-Coms and heartbreaking plots.
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Having many past adaptations of the same story, Meteor Garden 2018 kind of did set the bar high to me and for all the people who are familiar with the other previous versions probably does so as well. I was quite interested on how they are going to adapt Hana Yori Dango in their own way hence so, after seeing the trailer on Netflix, decided to give it a go.
What I really like about this series is the fact that it was quite lighthearted and just full on mellow. It didn't include any severe bullying or any rape/sexual topics of any kind as oppose to BOF or in the original manga for example. It's something you can gladly watch around younger people and to be honest, it gave it an honest and innocent feel to it that I quite like. It's like one of those love stories that I love to watch as a young girl and fawn over (yes, I'm cringy af).
Being the most recent adaptation of the story after BOF back in 2009, this is the most modernised adaptation of Hana Yori Dango we have seen so far. When I watched the 2001 version and the manga for example, I didn't have the connection that viewers at that time would have because I wasn't born at that time lolol. It was the norm back in the days but not today, so having watched this adaptation gave me some kind of relatability because I'm someone who lives at this time and age. It was pretty refreshing to see a story that was probably made 20 or so years ago become so modernised like this. It incorporated some aspects that I quite like for example the fact that the series included some Western songs as their Ost for example 'River' and also the amount of diversity shown and that for me, made it quite meaningful. I fell in love with the soundtrack oml. Among all the other versions I had seen, this series by far is my favourite in terms of the soundtrack. I often listen to the playlist of the songs because it's that good and I was very pleased they included songs in which I was familiar with already and that people know off.
I do like the Cast chosen, I find Dong Shangcai to be quite similar to Geum Jan Di from BOF which is really not a problem though I wouldn't mind if the character would be a bit more unique and different kind of like the 2001 and 2005 version and not stick to the same concept. The rest of F4 is just pure gold, they're all equally as adorable to me especially Lei sjdjdnfnxxn. However, in terms of acting, I do think it could have been better. There are some moments where it feels out of place and that it didn't exactly resonate to the audience what the actors are trying to portray.
The story/plot of course is not anything special of some kind. To those who are not familiar of the previous adaptations of the manga would have thought differently however seeing as I'm familiar with the storyline already, it did lose that excitement and appeal since we basically know what is going to happen in the story anyway. The fact that I stuck this long was merely the fact that I was curious as to how they'll go about it and see how they will adapt the manga. Of course seeing the same storyline over and over again would have certainly bored people to death, however it is probably something I will never get tired off after seeing the same storyline so many times.
But anyway, it's a good show to watch. I haven't see the rest of what the series has to offer yet so we'll just have to see but it seems to be a pleasure to watch so far. It had managed to kept me excited and motivated when waiting for the new episodes to arrive on Netflix so I can say it is certainly on my good list of shows. It's not the best but it's not awfully bad either. Who knows, it might be on par with its predecessors which I'm certain it will.
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I find this new series "cute" because the story has it's own twist. Of course, they should add a new flavor based on the trend today.
Overall, I love the 3 versions I've watched so far (Taiwan, Korean and MG2018).
All the characters from these 3 versions give justice on what they portray. Aside from they are all good looking, yay!
Looking forward for another remake in the future! :-)
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I loved lei and jing's characters they probably is the reason I even lasted until ep6. But the fl and ml are not carrying me further in this drama. I don't get the high ratings and rave reviews of the show.
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From the start, I am looking forward to this drama. I am updated with the casting and how the story will go on so when it was release I was so excited. Though many are comparing MG and MG2018, it can really stand on it's own. The cast is superb, Dylan makes a great Dao Ming Si and Shen Yue's cute even if she acts tough. Darren can be cool yet adorable. F4 is indeed handsome and acts like teenage idols in school lol. The story is refreshing and the new faces which matches those of college students can really make me cry and smile.
Watching it makes me wish for my own Ah Si and Lei. Even the side characters' story is a total pinch in the heart! I love this version so much!
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This review may contain spoilers
*mild spoilersSpeaking as a general fan of HYD adaptations but a greater fan of the original manga/anime (I've gone through the Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese and Japanese adaptations but barely remember them), this adaptation was generally enjoyable!
Despite some strange pacing (particularly at the start of the drama) and rookie acting, the series managed to hook me for a couple of months during its running (until real life pulled me back and I couldn't find the time to follow it, not of the drama's own fault). The drama is eyecatching (locations, actors, etc), which helps, but I was drawn in most by how closely it aligned to the manga's original plotline. Watching the newest episodes always prompted a rereading of those corresponding chapters in the manga, and then some in anticipation of the next few episodes. Plus, the caricature/ridiculousness present in the manga (which is the nature and norm for manga like HYD) helped me stomach the caricature and sappiness of the drama.
(Likewise, the weakest points of the story (so far) have been moments when they've diverged away from the manga: ex: replacing Shancai's reflective character development in the fishing village with Caina/Terence, removing Daomingsi's double (and with that, character development for Shancai).
Overall: Watch this if you enjoy seeing HYD adapted--enough to accept some flaws. Watch this while reading the manga to appreciate the closeness of the adaptation + how iconic scenes from the manga are adapted to a more modern/contemporary setting. (and help you deal with the flaws)
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