Akuma to Love Song (2021): A Review
Prepare yourself, F4 are arriving on screen again next year in the new 48 episode Taiwanese Meteor Garden drama adaptation of the popular shoujo manga Hana Yori Dango!
The cast which fans had been teased about in a photo spread from Harper’s Bazaar magazine was officially announced in Shanghai earlier this month, in a wave of anticipation for the series that projected the original cast to South East Asia superstardom back in 2001.
The Original F4 The New F4 |
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Harper’s Bazaar Photo Spread
 | Meteor Garden 2018 is part of a successful group of Hana Yori Dango adaptations including Meteor Garden 2001, Hana Yori Dango 2005 and Boys Over Flowers 2009.  |
MG 2018 MG 2001 HYD 2005 BOF 2009
Shan Cai Shan Cai Makino Jan-Di
Dong Shan Cai aka the loyal and tough Makino (Mao Inoue) aka Geum Jan Di (Gu Hye Seon), is a Chinese rookie actress Shen Yue, in her second drama role following A Love So Beautiful. The initial role of Shan Cai was performed by Barbie Hsu.
MG 2018 MG 2001 HYD 2005 BOF 2009
Ming Si Ming Si Doumyouji Gu Jun-Pyo
Dao Ming Sì aka the one and only maddening and loyal Doumyouji (Jun Matsumoto) aka Gu Jun Pyo (Lee Min Ho) will be played by a newbie actor Wang He Di, a regular member of a Chinese reality show Hyper Dimension Idol. In 2001 Ming Si was performed by Jerry Yan.
MG2018 MG 2001 HYD 2005 BOF 2009
Hua Ze Lei Hua Ze Lei Rui Ji-Hoo
Guan Hong will be in charge of bringing to life the quiet and wise Hua Ze Lei (Vic Zhou in 2001) aka Hanazawa Rui (Shun Oguri) aka Ji-Hoo (Kim Hyun Joong) on screen. The actor is known for his main role in a 2016 Youku’s drama Proud to Love/ Proud to Love 2.
MG 2018 MG 2001 HYD 2005 BOF 2009
Mei Zuo Mei Zuo Akira Woo-Bin
Mei Zuo, aka Akira (Tsuyoshi Abe), aka Song Woo-Bin (Kim Joon), the Don-Juan playboy will be performed by a Chinese model/actor Liang Jing Kang with two supporting roles in Midnight Food Store and upcoming Huang Fei Hong. Mei Zou was initially performed by Vanness Wu.
MG 2018 MG 2001 HYD 2005 BOF 2009
Xi Men Xi Men Nishikado Yi-Jung
The last but not least member of F4, Xi Men aka Nishikado (Shota Matsuda), a playboy, tea connoisseur aka So Yi Jung (Kim Bum) a talented potter, will be acted by Wu Xi Ze in his debut role. The original role belonged to Ken Chu.
With a reported budget of NT$720 million (US$24 million), approximately this new production is approximately 30 times higher than the NT$25 million budget of the 2001/2002 original hit series seasons 1 and 2.
Just to give an idea, should the drama be filmed today at the current inflation rate it would have cost approximately US$1.158 million.
It will be interesting to see how the new Meteor Garden will map out, whether it will be just an upgraded version of the 2001 drama or a more faithful fresh adaptation of the manga. It will also be interesting to see how the new actors performances compare to the other versions, each with a cast of approximately similar age to the current one at the time the dramas were filmed.
The new Meteor Garden is slated to premiere sometime in 2018 and will be produced by Meteor Garden original creator Angie Chai.
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