This review may contain spoilers
Pros: Daoming Si: I really liked Dylan Wang's portrayal of Daoming Si. It was a much more playful version of the character than the other "bad boy" versions. I saw a few reviews stating that the character was "weaker" or "watered down" but I disagree. This interpretation isn't worse than the rest, it's just different. Honestly, I liked the playful version much more than the bullying version. I think it just makes a lot more sense and it seems more plausible as they were also in university. It also fueled the chemistry between him and Dong Shancai.
Ximen and Meizuo: I think that they were good supporting characters and portrayed very well!
Music: The soundtrack was great and I found myself really liking the songs. But it was really annoying when there was just a random English song with nothing to do with the story being put in...
Cons:
Dong Shancai: Guys, I could not stand her. Oh my goodness it was SO hard to see Daoming Si with this stubborn girl! I completely understand that she is supposed to be "stubborn", but she took this to another level! When Daoming Si literally saves her from DYING, he had to ASK her if she was going to thank him. I REPEAT HE HAD TO ASK HER. This is honestly not stubbornness, it's called being rude! I think the director really needs to contemplate the line between stubbornness and rudeness.
Ximen and Meizuo's Side Stories: Personally, I found it very hard to watch their side stories. The way Xiao You was chasing after Ximen is kinda ridiculous and I could not understand it. In the middle of watching I literally forgot why she likes him in the first place...
For Meizuo, his love story was kinda out of no where? I think it's pretty sad seeing him be alone even though he's such a sweet guy. I could have done without his heart break. Although it wasn't a bad story, it was random and sad.
I really loved this story overall. Sure, it was definitely a struggle to watch it (and get through how annoying Dong Shancai is) but once you do, it will definitely become something on your rewatch list.
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One of my favourite drama
As a viewer I must say that even though it's Dylan's first drama he gave his best while acting and also no need to mention about Shen yue as she is amazing when she acts.Her acting is very natural . Their chemistry is very childish off-screen and on-screen. This is one of my favourite drama I have rewatched this many many times and I must say that it's worth it for watching many times .I watched the original one after watching this . It can't be compared because of the story and how the actors projected it.
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One of my favorite dramas of all time!
Meteor Garden is actually one of my favorite dramas of all time! The actors, the sets, the OST, all of it was so appealing; plus, I'm a sucker for any drama that has the main leads go through a hate-to-love relationship. The chemistry between the ML and FL is so great. Dylan Wang and Shen Yue pull off their roles almost too good. Watching their relationship from beginning to end and how they grew independently and together was satisfying!The famous leader of the F4, Dao Ming Si (Dylan Wang), where do I even start with him? He's so handsome! His personality at first, being that arrogant rich kid, made me love to hate him in the first few episodes. Once it got further into the story, I fell head over heels in love with his character. Beneath all of that arrogant, tough guy personality was a big goofball and softie who just wanted to be loved. Plus, all of that flirting with Shancai was adorable! I had plenty of moments between the two of them that made me swoon! His outfits were pretty cool too and definitely made a statement.
The one and only Dong Shancai (Shen Yue), our FL who lives up to the meaning of her name, "the weed that won't break/bow down". Oh my, from beginning to end, I was rooting for her the whole way through! In the first couple episodes, when she stood up to Dao Ming Si, I was so impressed and happy too. Especially during a certain scene (no spoilers, you'll have to watch) that happens, I jumped up from my couch and cheering. No matter who Shancai came across, she left an impression on everyone; especially Dao Ming Si *wink, wink*. Shen Yue did such an amazing job portraying Shancai at her best and worst moments.
The other members of the F4, their side stories were nice as well. SML, Hua Ze Lei's story was sweet, but I also cried tears for him as well (I'm not spoiling anything, you'll have to watch the drama). The other two, Mei Zuo and Ximen Yan, I enjoyed to a point; they were nice to watch, but I did fast-forward a bit in some parts of theirs. Mainly because I wanted to get back to Dao Ming Si (ML) and Dong Shancai (Shen Yue).
The OST, oh my god, the OST! IT IS SOOOOO GOOD!
The story overall is one I thoroughly enjoyed.
As far as rewatching this, I've rewatched it 3+ times! I even bought the complete series on DVD too. It's definitely worth watching for sure! I'd highly recommend it, especially if you're into the hate-to-love relationship dynamic, school/college romance.
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And of course F4 is absolutely Amazing. Daoming Si, Lie ,Ximen & Meizu defines true friendship.???????? I love Daoming Si's character, Shancai's character is strong...i really appreciate acting of both lead characters. Lei's character is soft & cute but strong & loyal too. and of course Zhuang, she is so perfect sis..! All supporting characters are superb. Music is enchanting... especially Like A river & say something...theme song's music is really awesome but I don't understand Chinese so i regret it.
You'll cry during some of the episodes. I definitely suggest it to anyone who hasn't watched it yet! ❤️❤️
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Overall, this adaptation was really good. In a lot of ways and in a lot of story arcs, it stayed true to the source material. The characters, for the most part, were true to character. I was truly impressed by how well done it was.
The beginning and middle of this drama was strong and good and addictive. There were some story arcs that I felt were a complete waste of screen time (some of which is original to the drama; I will never understand why it was added), but mostly it was all entertaining.
I will say, the ending, definitely was not as strong as this drama's beginning. Watching some of the last few episodes left me scratching my head and asking "why".
The biggest gripe I have with this drama is the use of songs. More specifically during emotional points in an episode. Music should be a nice accent piece to an emotional moment. Yet in this drama, sometimes, the music was too much. I get there's a lot of emotion happening at this one time, but the music actually doesn't add anything to it. If anything, sometimes the music choices made me laugh, which ruined the moment.
I sound negative about this drama, but I truly enjoyed it. It is one of my top Hana Yori Dango manga adaptations for sure. Plus, who hasn't fallen in love with Dylan Wang because of this?
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This review may contain spoilers
I just want to let everyone know that this is the first meteor garden drama I have seen than all the rest of the other ones.Just from watching from this perspective only I can say that I actually enjoyed this series quite a lot. I was fond of the main actors and actresses. I loved the chemistry between Daoming Si and Sancai. I thought that the plot was really good, however at some points during the drama, it annoyed me so much by how Daoming Si acted the way he was. I felt like his character could've added a more patient and understandable point in the beginning. I also thought that Sancai was too hidden, she couldn't express her feelings, and that really stalled the whole plot for this drama.
I can tell you that the music was good, I liked how they incorporated both english and chinese songs. This was the first drama I watched that did that and I thought it was cool.
Rewatch value: I would recommend it if you don't mind the stress of waiting for the girl to confess her true feelings and also how you can handle such an impatient and non-understandable guy (Daoming Si at first, he evolves into a better man with the help of Sancai.
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Was nice but extremely long
I watched this series many years ago. I have heard of Meteor Garden, but never watched the original one. This is my 1st Meteor Garden series watching. Firstly, I would have to say, I extremely love the soundtrack / OST of this series. They are indeed beautifully paired with the movie. Next, the casts all did a very good job including all the main actors and actresses. Length wise, I would say that the 50 episodes are very very long, especially the "remembering the past" bits, after a while gets quite tiresome. The "drama" is also quite the killer, sometimes I feel like dragging that rich woman (DMS's mom)'s hair just to torture her xD It is definitely good to watch at least once, but ..... rewatch? I would think twice.... if I would want to go thru all the unnecessary drama, long windedness etc ;)Was this review helpful to you?
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Surprising Great
I was surprised when China took on the re-make of this Drama. I literally watched all the versions out there. Surprisingly in my opinion this was the best version out of all of them. One can argue that the male leads behavior exhibits violence, anger and cruelty. But have in mind, this is just one of the most common traits in behavior in manga's and dramas. It's one of those common school dramas. In this one it it starts off with your happy go lucky main girl who starts college with her friends. She ends up have a bad first meeting with the male lead and lands herself out of favor with the male lead of the F4. She ends up with common the red card notice. The male lead exhibits his cruel bullying behavior, especially towards the main girl who challenges him. But in this version, it's more watered down compared to the Korean and Japanese version. She later on shows him that she's not going to take his crap and high kicks his face which triggers the 'oh she's different and interesting.' Proceeds to be in denial at first but realizes he actually likes her. One of the common manga storylines of a love hate relationship. Every version has their own way of telling the story, but it was refreshing that instead of going with the cheesy high school start, they went with college, a more appropriate setting for the mature like content. For me it helped with all the adult themes that the F4 were exhibiting with the drinking, women, etc. Also in this version, the students were different, just more indifferent and less toxic which was more logical . Overall the the characters fit their age, progressively matures and have good endings. A couple things for me to pick on was the picking of the same few songs going on over and over for 50 episodes. A few sung by the male cast. They were good, but used too much. There could have been more neutral music for the mood direction of parts. Another is I wish the main girl had a bit more justice like the Japanese version 'Hana Yori Dango.' Overall, this drama is my favorite version. I'm sure many can disagree or might enjoy it, but that's why we all have our own opinions of favorites. I hope you take a chance to watch and judge it for yourself and if you don't like it, that's fine. Enjoy.Was this review helpful to you?
Simple, feel-good generic university love
I watched this in a few days as background while studying and I enjoyed it because for most of the time it's pretty simple so you don't have to stay 100% concentrated at all times.Plot is rather simple and typical. I'm not going to lie, it was a bit slow in the beginning as expected and the conflicts were the same over and over again until episode 30 I would say. Got a bit tiring after a while, but it slowly got better and the characters started to grow on me too, although I originally really found Si rather despicable. I did however fully enjoy the small side plots and the backstories of Lei, Meizuo and Ximen. Xiaoyou is the sweetest character too! Really like Jing and Xiaogeng as well!
Not the best, and you could definitely skip it, but it's still rather sweet and feel-good. I do not regret finishing this show and it truly made me miss Shanghai a lot.
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a rollercoaster of emotions!!
Meteor garden became my all time comfort drama just when i started watching it. I do agree that this is unnecessarily long and a bit cringe too. But for me, this was everything. The way the scenes flowed was crazy. The unbreakable love between Si and Shancai made them to never give up on each other. Daoming Si is like the biggest red flag guy ever but the way he loves Shancai made him greener than a green flag. I was so hooked up on the drama. Other love stories was beautiful too. I sometimes cried, smiled, laughed and thrilled. That was a literal rollercoaster. I will never get enough of those mixed emotions. The actors did a great job! And the osts were so amazing i still listen to em. Whenever i have a free time, i rewatch it. This drama made a huge impact on me.I do recommend it but i cant make sure that you will love it.
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