What’s not to like about this drama
Took me a while to find it but I did so on UK’s YouTube channel ‘kk cdrama’.The story follows four icons of the student body at MingDu University and international champions of the bridge card game, who call themselves collectively F4. A bookish, slightly autistic and very talented musician (Hua Ze Lei), a playboy with a hidden past who loves tea (Zi Men Yan), a fun and flirty boy with cute looks and a penchant for older women (Feng Mai Zuo) and the most drooled over of them all, a bad boy who is very protective of those he cares about with a monster for a mother (Dao Ming Si). Life is an easy one for these guys - all over 6 foot tall, with brains, big hearts and even bigger bank balances - until they cross paths with a female pint sized whirlwind (Dong Shan Cai) and her motley crew. She’s not impressed by their fan base or their aloof attitude and turns the world of at least one of these young men on its head.
There are twists and turns, high and lows, laugh out loud moments and tears aplenty in a story of how a pairing of complete opposites go from absolute haters to a couple so deeply in love that they are prepared to sacrifice themselves for each other.
The story takes us from the uber rich elite lifestyle of Shanghai to the impoverished one-step-above-the-breadline daily grind of musicians in London, from the lower working class areas of Shanghai to a sleepy little fishing village in rural China and the beauty of the best of London landmarks. (However the London pad of the Daoming dynasty was probably shot in rural Surrey but let’s not let the facts get the way of a good story).
The production values are first class, the songs beautiful and appropriate to the scenes and the actors utterly brilliant though I do think that the scriptwriter could have given sister Yu more of a backbone and thus a more interesting part to play in the drama.
Would I watch it again? Absolutely as the chemistry between the characters and the ‘will they, won’t they’ plots of the main characters and their love interests was so well written.
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This review may contain spoilers
Absolutely phenomenal
This was one of the first Asian dramas I ever watched, so it holds a special place in my heart. Honestly, the acting was fantastic, and I felt every emotion on screen. I watched it years ago, and even now, I still sometimes think of certain scenes and get excited all over again. I loved the plot of this drama, and the romance it potrayed is one of my favorites. I love how they go from enemies to lovers, and the fact that there was some teasing and bullying in between is also nice. A love triangle will always be right up my alley and this drama didn't disappoint.Was this review helpful to you?
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Took me FIVE YEARS to slog through this drama
In the time it has taken me to scrape and crawl through this drama I have:– Lived through 5 Covid lockdowns
– Changed jobs 4 times
– Moved house 3 times
– Learnt 2 semesters of Mandarin, and
– Breathed the 1 biggest sigh of relief when I reached the credits of the final episode.
Class dynamics, who even is she? I'm a hard agree with Graeme Smith who describes this version of Meteor Garden as "unwatchable". In his article for The Interpreter, he says, "A drama about class divisions set in present-day China – where class divisions aren’t up for discussion – was never going to work."
It's true. Everyone in the series looks like they're acting in a laundry commercial. The sets are sparkly clean, all the actors have amazing teeth, and there is no way Shancai would be able to survive off the occasional shift she does at the bubble tea store.
By removing the class tensions that drove the Taiwanese version (and that was still relatively sanitised – it is a soap opera, after all), the creators gutted the life out of the drama.
It's also just hella boring. I felt no chemistry in any of the romantic relationships. I didn't particularly care about anyone's fate. And I say this as someone who *loves* championing an underdog. But because the class divisions "aren't up for discussion", Shancai isn't really an underdog. And so I found it hard to care much about her so-called struggles.
It got to the point where I was using diversions to keep myself watching. One fun game was tracking the disappearances and re-appearances of Daoming Si's earring/s. It was like playing Spotto with continuity errors.
For the sake of pushing through the last dozen episodes, I put the playback on 1.5x speed (as fast as Netflix would let me), which added an unintended comedic element. It also demonstrated how much screen time went to waste.
However, I'm going to be reeeeeally nice and end on a couple of (backhanded) positives. I did appreciate the music covers and the cameos from the Taiwanese version (but this is nostalgia and should be attributed to the 2001 series). I did also enjoy bits of Darren Chen's performance as Huaze Lei. He made the character seem almost complex, particularly in comparison to the cardboard cutouts that accompanied him on screen.
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MUST WATCH! This is my obsession
Im shocked to see the rating here. This drama brought me into the asian drama world when i was 16 years old. And i know it sounds weird but i watch this every year repeatedly. This is my go to comfort drama and i may have re watched it over 50 times now. Dylan wang is still my no.1 actor and this drama will forever have a special place in my heart. Im about to rewatch meteor garden right after posting this review .Was this review helpful to you?
Worth to Watch..!
I’m very mad and crazy about the Korean series, Boys over flower is one of my favorites which I watched around 2013 while I’m doing my college. Now after 9 years in 2022, my eyesight moved for the Chinese Series and I watched Meteor Garden💫💫. Meteor Garden theme (Especially F4 concept) was quite similar to Boys over Flower. Still Meteor Garden has many different stories and cute scenes compared to its Korean version. In meteor Garden, F4 boys are lovely, cute and handsome🕴🕴🕴🕴. Each one will have equal parts and we can’t compare one with another. Especially Dylan Wang😍😘- I love you Man…! I loved Dylan Wang scenes with Bishop Briggs – River background Song and fell for it. Dao Ming Si's attitude and love towards Dong Shancai was too cute😍, I liked Shancai the way she called Si by his full name and while she argued with Si it was too cute. Huaze Lei ‘s care and friendship towards Dong Shancai has no words to explain. I loved Ximen Yan and Meizuo while making fun of Si love. Especially I liked Ximen with Eyeglasses😎😘 and Dao Ming Zhuang😘 while caring and hitting her brother. Zhaung is really a cute devil. I loved her role. The way He Xiaozi give-up her love for Si and helps Shancai. I will say each and every cast of Meteor Garden is well performed.People who are beginning to watch Korean series, I would suggest watching Boys over Flower, similar to Chinese series. I would suggest that people watch Meteor Garden. No other words to explain.
I would say this, if anyone asks me, Boys over Flower or Meteor Garden which is better? I vote for Meteor Garden. I loved it…. I enjoyed, loved each and every scene and seconds of Meteor Garden. I was totally into the Meteor Garden while watching it.
Meteor Garden Episode 30(Meteor Necklace searching and lei consoling Shancai)😥😥 and episode 40 (Si ask Shancai to London and go back to Shanghai) made me cry. Lei's performance with London friends in a restaurant was wowwww and I was filled with tears. Episode 41 Si and Shancai last date in London and having hot pot together and those eyes filled with tears dialogues “ If apologies work, why do we need the police? “ made me cry aloud 😥😥😥and in episode 48 Zhaung's performance for river song is unexpected and wowwwww. Even though I hate episode 47 but loved the happy ending of the final episode. I felt satisfied with eyes filled with tears and Meteor Garden is worth watching.
I could give 100 out of 100 for Meteor Garden😇😇😇😇.
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recommend 100000%))
почему такая шикарная дорама рейтинг низкая… актерский состав сыграли очень хорошо . Химия между г.г очень даже хорошо смотрелась. чистая любовь 😻 мне показалось они любят друг другу 💯 если они женятся я не восторге буду потому что я вижу в их глаза искра любви 😇🌙🌝 мен сендерді жақсы көремін , болашақта үйлену тойларыңның куәсі боламыз деп ниеттенемін😜Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I just finished the drama and I'm really
happy it ended well after what happened
on ep 47-48 and the actors really did well
on the drama.The drama was obsessive especially how the actors play their role,the lots of kisses and fighting scene.The cinematography was pretty awesome too.I really like the character of Shan Cai and Dao Ming Si and how their relationship is slowly turning out well even tho the circumstances are pretty obvious.I expect those cringey,cheesy
and sometimes OA acting because what
can you expect from a remake/reboot of
an old drama and live adaptation from an
old manga right? I really like the chemistry
of every couple in the drama and not
expecting Xiaozi ending up with Thomas
lol.The drama was sometimes boring and
dull and they added another storyline from
other actors that are not includes in the
Taiwanese version, I mean what can you
expect on 50 episodes and they finished it
like that no more sequels and expect that the main plot is slowwwwly progressing and bare and really wait for good things to happen on episodes 40 and so on unlike the original
one because it's more direct to the point
to the plot and I feel nostalgic really (hey
I'm not THAT old but yeah I watched the
2001 drama long time ago sksksk) but
the chemistry between the new casts
are unique. I would like to thank and
appreciate how they include those original
theme songs I really feel nostalgic hearing
that remembering my childhood watching
the taiwanese version; the final scene
seeing Harlem Yu singing with the cast is
really the plot twist of the drama sksksk
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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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