The definition of a crack drama
DISCLAIMER: I have only seen Boys Over Flowers once, which was about 8 years ago. I got so frustrated with the amnesia and everything else that I skipped to the end. Therefore, I think I went into this drama with a mostly open mind, since I've heard that the Taiwanese version was better than Korea's.When I started watching this drama, I had no idea what a roller coaster ride I was in for. It made me cry. Dramas NEVER make me cry-- not even the melodramas or the tragedies. I was a mess when the leads were in London on their date (hopefully that doesn't spoil too much) and they were crying. I lost it.
Yes the drama is extremely unrealistic, but isn't the point of entertainment to take us away from reality? I guess people want to be taken to different places in their fantasies.
What's not to love about this drama? It's so feel-good. It left me with so many warm fuzzies. F4 has awesome chemistry together and yes they are all tall, handsome guys. Darren Chen and Dylan Wang I felt particularly nailed their roles. Darren Chen's Huaze Lei made me flashback to when I watched Boys Over Flowers. Also, he's adorable.
Dylan Wang... wow. I was blown away by his performance. Playing a character like Dao Ming Si would be difficult, especially showing the slow character development he goes through. Dylan Wang made the 180 switch of bad boy-turned-good Dao Ming Si completely believable. He and Shen Yue have AMAZING chemistry. When they were together, it felt like they weren't even acting at all.
I also loved how there weren't annoying misunderstandings keeping the couple apart. They were kept apart by outside forces, which was still frustrating but much less so.
Overall, the acting, writing, everything is just amazingly well done. I will definitely be rewatching this drama multiple times. This drama made me believe in love again.
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Could be WAY more better.......
So, all the episodes from 1-20 are very interesting and fun to watch, but then, they just put something weird that I always skip in most episodes. Basically, they want more episodes, so they're just wasting time. Some episode only have a few minutes of pure 'story' and some don't even have that! As long as it is interesting, it gets a bit boring. I recommend it, but make sure not to waste precious time by seeing the boring, dull moments, like the ones with Zhou Caina, Feng Mei Zuo, and that terrible 'Terence' who ruins the series with the other 2. :-)Was this review helpful to you?
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This is a really lengthy review. I’ve watched all versions of the show, even the manga. I purposely put myself off from watching the latest Chinese version because I thought it couldn’t compare to the Taiwanese one. But I believe this drama is beautiful in its own rights. Pros:
I have been obsessed with the characters and storyline of meteor garden since I was 13. But after rewatching both the TW and manga versions last year (I’m now 30), I found myself really disagreeing with the portrayed violence and bullying. I love that the Chinese version is a lot more mellow and tame. Like yes, there was still bullying but it’s not those dragging you around while attached to the back of a car kind.
The visuals of cast. They are all so good looking and tall. Even when they are wearing such ridiculous clothing, they still shine.
The casting of Dee Hsu. Though her acting is just ok, but her real-life personality actually makes her the perfect fit for Dao Ming Zhuang. And the fact that they got Barbie hsu’s (the original shancai) sister to play a part in this drama is brilliant.
The ost. Again, I love that the original music were also added to this show. And Wei Qi Qi’s “ love exist” is so hauntingly beautiful that my heart aches every time I hear it.
Budget. They definitely up their game here. The way it was shot, the locations, the amount of designer clothes was way better than the original.
Focus on others characters. They have expanded and added more depth to Yu sao’s relationship with Shancai and Ximen & Xiao You’s relationship. It’s not just about the leads growing as a person, but about everyone else around them as well.
The bro-mance and chemistry between the cast is strong with this one and I’m all for it! The scenes where they were just teasing each other, it felt like they broke free from their respective characters and were genuinely enjoying themselves.
Oh and the little tribute (to the TW version) at the end made me so happy. The last episode was so bizarre that I was laughing pretty hard through it and I kind of liked it.
Cons:
Acting skills needs improvement. For me, Hua Ze Lei is the best. Darren did a fantastic job bringing him to life. I’ve always been a Dao Ming Si’s bias so I never thought there would ever come a day where I’ll pick Lei over DMS. Though I believe Shen Yue is a good actress, I don’t find myself loving her version of Shan cai. It lacks the feistiness that Shan cai should possess. Dylan’s acting needs alot of improvement. He is however, endearing(and an absolute eye candy ), hence I could get through all the episodes.
The constant product placements are so irksome and in your face. I understand that they need to get sponsors what they want, but still, it kind of breaks the story. Like Lei asking Shancai if she have booked her lodging and her pulling out her phone to show an app. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I did however had a good laugh at Zhuang’s scene with the dandruff bodyguard as well as those in the last episode.
Draggy. 49 episodes were definitely too long. Though I did get sucked in and enjoyed the drama, I wish it could be more straightforward. Like meizhuo’s story line wasn’t necessary for me and I often find myself fast forwarding those parts. I know I said I like that there was more focus on other characters, but honestly I don’t care for Caina as she’s totally a new character. Too much back and forth between the leads. They are always back paddling. It’s the same with the original but because there are so many more episodes in this version, it becomes a little tiring. Also, there were far too many slow mo running and flashback scenes.
Inconsistency. Little things like Caina’s bruises are initially on her left cheek then suddenly it switched over to her right. There are others as well, but I’ve lost count of them all. I wished the crew paid more attention to that.
Verdict:
This drama is worth a watch. Though not my favourite version, but the plot has too many merits to miss. Just know that it is long , so brace yourself for that.
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Story
The storyline is not very impressive, yet not very bad. But some of the sloppy scenes really get on my nerves. Things like mother being over-scheming, and some unnecessary breakups make the storyline worse.
Cast
Though I was not very impressive with the plot, the casts are not that bad. Shen Yue ( my favourite girl) did the best , Dylan Wang and the other three male leads are not bad too.
Maybe the casts saved the plot.
Music
Surprisingly, the theme songs are very good. New songs combined with old songs from Meteor Garden (2001) are all ear-appealing.
Rewatch Value
Maybe , “no”. Though I will miss Shen Yue, I can’t watch this sloppy plot and unsweet romance again.
After all, it is okay to watch but I prefer “Accidentally in Love “ as a Comedy Youth Drama.
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First of all having watched all the previous versions of the drama, Boys Over Flowers (Korean), Hana Yori Dango (Japanese), Meteor Garden (Taiwanese) and having read the comic book, I have to say it's not up to the mark.1. CIANA TERRANCE nonsense!
2. Way too many songs and repetitive flashbacks.
3. Toxic push and pull bipolar relationship of Doaming Si and Dong Shancai!
4. Portrayal of Shancai makes her seem cold and bipolar. And I always felt that Makino's character was overrated even in the manga. Not a big fan of Makino here.
5. LOVED HAUZE LEI????????
6. Shen Yue has a beautiful voice. But after dubbing voice it's hard to watch her especially after we've seen her ALSB.
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Exagerrating
1. Too many episodes (49 episodes) in which I think they should stop by making 20-25 episodes only. Why? The longer the episodes, the ridiculer it will become.2. I rarely enjoy the female lead with other casts (except for the main leads), but in this series, I prefer her (Shancai) with the second lead actor (Lei). I found both of them more chemistry, more loving, and more pleasure to watch rather than the main lead (Daoming Si).
3. I started to skip most of the scenes (Xiaoyou, another two guys in F4 SORRY I FORGOT HOW TO SPELL THE NAMES lol, and others) from episode 20 something because they were all unnecessary and exaggerating. I only watch Lei's related scenes most of the time. (yes, favoritism there lol)
4. Shancai's male best friend is really childish. I don't know whether in the OG version there's a character him but anyhow, his character is not necessary and does not contribute to the plot at all. Should not exist in the first place.
5. Compared to other versions of Boys Over Flower, this one is the one that I won't rewatch.
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Gonna brief this hut I HATE THIS DRAMAA
Okay, so meteor garden is a sequel to the 'Hani Yori Dango' which there were other dramas such as 'Boys Over Flower Korean, 'Meteor Garden Taiwan' and etc.At first, it was fine in the beginning until it was just chaotic-The storyline was all over the place, leading to nowhere.
The lead couple always get in a fight, then back together, get in a fight, get back together like literally what happens in the next few episodes-
I sometimes skip them just for the supporting character couple. (love them so cute)
As well shanchai.... Ughhhh her voice is so annoying Idk why but it makes me mad. Not only the character but the ACTRESS is probably one of the only actresses that I despise. Practically I stopped watching Cdrama because of the VOICE OVER like WTF let them have their own voice it's ridiculous!!
At this point the main lead couple's cute sweet moments are meaningless... It just looks forced.
I highly don't recommend this drama.
The only exception I can make is:
- the second lead couple
Way better than the first lead couple. Their storyline was clear and made so much sense. I felt the emotion and character development between both characters. When they had their kiss scene I actually felt their love for each other.
- the music/ost
First, most of the music I grew up with as a kid since some of them are old famous songs.
Though the story was chaotic and made no sense, I only gave it stars for the original storyline. ALL THE OTHER SEQUELS except boys over the flower(don't cancel me, their relationship was toxic tbh) and this drama, were really good and stuck to the storyline and everything was good compared to the other two I mentioned.
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Classic!
Story - 10/10This has such an amazing story. Happy, sad, funny, and mad moments are all in this drama. The life of the characters are very interesting and is worth knowing. The sequence of the plot was on point.
Acting/Cast -10/10
Attractive casts plus good acting? Too good to be true. The casts did an amazing job in this drama. I truly felt every character's emotion while watching.
Music -10/10
The music made the watching experience more enjoyable and emotional.
Rewatch Value -8/10
This drama is very long so it may be difficult to rewatch it.
Overall - 9.5/10
The dubbing of the voices ruined it but I guess they had no choice. This drama is a masterpiece and you will not regret watching this drama. In fact, I believe that this drama will play a huge role in your life when you experience being in love yourself.
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MY FIRST EVER LOVE C DRAMA
THIS IS MY FIRST EVER LOVE C DRAMAMany people like this and some are not. But for me this drama is perfect.. Taiwanese version when I was young and BOF or Korean version during college days and this MG2018. Different casts, different locations, different OST but for me this Chinese Version makes me "kilig' like I was also a college student.. This drama for me is very good.. BOF also was good. Since we are in a millenial time so this MG2018 is highly recommended... promise you won't regret watching this even in its 50 eps... just skip the advertisement scene... ??? surely u will enjoy esp when HuaZeLie and ShanCai story... can't stop my tears from falling.. and DaoMingSi also fight for ShanCai.. i wish ShenYue and DylanWang will fight for life in real too.. ?? I also like the friendship of F4 in the drama...hopefully in real also..
To be honest, i watched this 20x already.. during the time of pandemic this drama is on the TOP of my list... even now i never get tired in watching these and the OSTs are also on my PlayList....
So what are you waiting for... those who can't start watching this.... this is your time to watch.
And those who already watched this like me, I'm sure you watched this many times.... high five! ✋
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This drama is a No No No!!!
As soon as I started I realized that I shouldn't expect much from the ending, the two main leads irritated me with the constant bickering through the drama, one minute they see like good friends and the minute it washes down the drain.I'll say if you're someone with a zero patience level like me this drama is a no no ??♀️
because honestly it will frustrate you the chemistry between literally everyone in the drama is not really give for me.But sadly I was still watching because I found Dony shancai a bit cute but the male leads behaviour made the drama more of a turn down for me because I'm certainly not interested in plot where bad boy suddenly turns good after tormenting the girl in ways I find very disrespectful ,which is why I was a bit happy she didn't just suddenly fall in love with him even after his one too many confessions.
And dont get me started with some of the very unnecessary characters that were pulled up along the way of the drama because a lot of the were quite unnecessary so I just had to keep on skipping their parts.In the end I couldn't bring myself to finish watching because it was a total waste of time and data for me.
That's all I have to say right now let me now if you have had this similar experience with me while watching
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I didn’t like it
So, this was my first official Chinese drama back in 2020, and I couldn’t get behind the toxicity of the male lead, or the romantic relationship. I now know that modern dramas are not my thing, so that may have influenced my rating.I saw their relationship as toxic because the male lead seemed to force the female lead into liking him, of course, she chose him in the end, but it left a queasy feeling in my stomach.
I also didn’t love the OST. I usually adore OSTs in Chinese dramas, but this one did not do it for me.
If I could say good things about it, all the actors and actresses are attractive, and the locations in the show are fun to watch.
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