Meteor Garden (2018)

What in the LSD trip did i just watch

It started off pretty solid. I immediately felt the chemistry between the actors was on par especially F4s friendship. Daoming Si is portrayed as a bad boy but not was entertaining. I laughed when they said they were polite to females when in fact they really werent. Huaze lei was pretty rude to well. Everyone. Daoming si literally threw a cake in a girls face, on top of force kissing, insulting, pushing and other things to shancai. Ximen was a literal playboy. Dropping women quick after leading them on. Disregarding peoples feelings when he acknowledged he led them on etc. The only half gentleman was Meizou but i kind of got stalker vibes from him.

The plot started off hilarious. The face kick scene then following mummy scene still makes me giggle. The roses was very romantic and made me jealous no ones ever given me 520 roses but i feel that would probably be extremely expensive and a waste of money if im being honest. The show did drag on in the middle. We could have did without the whole cooking show part since it didnt even matter to DS's mom since she didnt come in first and lets be honest, even if she did it probably wouldnt have mattered.

I feel a lot of the misunderstandings could have been avoided with communication. Why is this a recurring theme in dramas? Lack of communication causing unnecessary problems. Like i get it, if you didnt have the argument or what ever the plot wouldnt move forward but its so reliant on the lack of communication aspect i feel a better show could be produced if we didnt have that whole thing going on.

The whole parent breaking up relationship issue is probably cultural to me. Also not born in that class to understand so while it annoys me, i probably just dont understand enough to go into it.

Music choice. Could have had a few options other than the one sad song (say something). The other sings used were nice but say something im giving up on you was just overplayed to the point of annoyance when it started to play.

I liked the relationship between shancai and the housekeeper (her name is lost to me at the moment) and how the housekeeper had the kids wellbeing in mind more than mom did. I just wanted to lock mom in a room and torture her for all eternity but thats cause she was a b who meddled too much.

London was a mess.. who would forgive people who stole your phone and a very important item from your love? Like seriously. An apology and shes perfectly fine? We got food and booze? Alls well!? No. Not even close. Plus her money / cards. Etc. I dont know what she brought money wise but logic dictates you dont bring cash to a foreign country and only have cash. Plus she was smart enough to hide her passport, she would /should have been smart enough to hide some spare money or cards. Ive been to other countries, went to the pitpocket capital of the world in 2017 (barcelona spain) and i took precautions and did research on the country i was going to prior to going. So maybe this just falls on a dumb and niave female lead, but her friends had been in other countries so you would think they would warn her. Maybe im just putting too much logic into this.

The kidnapping island thing was cute and i appreciated their attempt however having a backpack with a fishing rod and water? Lol. Also why did they just abandon the two of them but everyone else had tents food etc? Did the friend want them to suffer? What if they didnt search for anything? Why was someone sneaking around taking pictures? What happened to those photos? So much undisclosed info. Survival instinct would have me looking for a fresh water source almost immediately. Then shelter. Also if you didnt know, in most instances wildlife cant climb. So if you are ever in an instance where you are stuck in the woods or on an island. Climb a freaking tree to sleep. Find vines or build a temporary platform out of branches but get off the ground. If you cant, and you have fire starter or know how to start a fire build a massive fire. It will keep predators away. Keep that baby well stocked. Water is #1 priortity though. You can live a while without food but as stated above not so long without water.

Then there is the ending.... im still not 100% certain i didnt take some hallucinogen or something that made me dream of that ending. Lets gloss over the fact most humans cant live without water for more than average 3 days. On top of that you cant physically stand for that many days without collapsing. I think the world record of standing was like under 40 hours and thats super dangerous because blood will pool in your feet and can cause blood clots etc. Im still not sure if they just glossed over the whole food and water strike of ds and sc and thats why mom slept for 7 days and maybe the dr they had visit mom took care of the kids or the kids died and it was their crazed brains happy ending before nothingness. But lets say that happened. Did mom pee the bed, get ivs, have compression socks etc during that time? Am i putting too much logic into things because again. Cant live usually more than 3 days without water... and if they have ivs your kidneys and intestines still function in that time.... lets move on.. then the whole walk into someone and pass out thing after the prank of ds getting married to someone else and moving to london prank. Just to get her in a wedding dress (strong as hell drugs apparently) and then the dance scene?!!?!? Let alone inviting people to the weddind that made no sense. Thomas? Uhg.

Overall i loved the show mostly for wang hedi but it had its flaws. I had to google an ending and read tons of peoples take on it and im still not 100% sure about it. This was the first show ive ever had to google an ending for.

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First ever Mandarin Series..

So Here's a confession, I have never watched read or anything manga, I have no clue about what this drama was when I went to watch it, so for me, it was a fresh start.
This is also my first Asian Series, Here is my take.

Casting: - All the guys were solid lookers and had the right attitude, Loved Shen Yue, Dylan Wang to bits and actually crushed on Darren Chen for his smile. Come to think of them as newcomers, they have done a fairly good job

Soundtrack: - Rivers and Say something tracks were played at the right moments, I don't know much of the mandarin songs, but seemed right too, however, the best was the soundtracks when F4 was up to some mischief

Chemistry: - Lead Chemistry mesmerizing, the initial hate, then slowly changing to like, then love was quite the journey. I got hooked to the series, becoz of the flying kick...
Darren Chen and Shen Yue - chemistry which changed was shown beautifully too
F4 Teams chemistry and coordination was awesome in the beginning, however nothing in the middle and came back together towards the end
The friendship chemistry of Dylan Wang & Darren Chen was good, but nothing compared to Ceaser Wu and Leon Leong, their comic timings and mimicry at crucial times were a saving grace
The brother-sister chemistry was very entertaining too
And last but not the least Shancai's parents had a good arc

Acting: - Loved the arrogant bad boy with Rivers playing in the background and the pineapple head. He was immature, to say the least fiercely loyal, and crazy tempered, though never a big bully, his pranks were childish except for the cake scene and occasional bumping off people.
Enjoyed the doe-eyed innocent looking naive girl, with so many random and simplistic thoughts, it felt like she belonged to school rather than college and had a sheltered life, though her crying skills can put professionals to shame.
Darren Chen - I can write a sonnet on his smile... enough said.

Best Scenes - The flying Kick for sure, Teaching Dao Ming Si to Date, Throwing the joker card to Hau zei lei, Getting beaten up by Gangs, to save Shancai, the scene that made me come to tears was the London date scene and the conversation with the door in between. Loved Dee Hsu's dance on Rivers.

Could have been better - The female Antagonist Wang Ling wasn't scary enough, she did too many behind the scene activities but nothing very direct. More focus on F4's achievements.

Disliked the product placements for sure, but nothing like the last episode, it was plain pathetic, could have made it at par the other episodes, MeiZuo and Caina's story line, wasn't needed at all

Overall I would say, I am a big-time Crime and thriller person, who has no interest in Teen drama at all, and for me to be hooked to the scene and watching the dialogues in subtitles and still enjoying enough to write a review, deserve serious kudos to new bees...

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Rewatching Meteor Garden 6 years later : did this classic already get old ?

As you may or may not know, Meteor Garden won't be available on Netflix starting from the 30th of November. Of course, I'm weak and couldn't resist watching it again. My story with this drama is pretty simple : it's the first Chinese drama I've ever watched and one my first dramas. I watched it in 2020, 2 years after it was released. And I loved it. I watched it again, sometimes only some parts. Anyway, Meteor Garden holds a special place in my heart.

But now that I grew up and that im not a middle school student, I changed a lot and and the drama did too.

*" I would never force a women to do anything"
If Si says this honorable sentence in episode 8, he doesn't quite respect it. Indeed he kisses Chancai by force multiple times and enterprises physical contact with her without consent many times, sometimes with violence ( episode 3 ). Not to mention Lei also kisses her without her consent.

* "Lei became a real man"
toxic masculinity in the drama

Being "a real man" means hanging out with girls Lei doesn't like ( no offense kiki ), and drowning his heartbreak into women and alcohol.

* getting out of " the shadows of autistic"

" I was a bit autistic " autism can't be cured

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all people! let's watch this drama!

This drama is verry verry good!. This drama contains love story, friendship, family etc. Dao Ming Si and Dong Shan Chai are sweet and cute couple 💘🥰. I'm very like this drama!!!! 💅👑❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

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One of my fave!

Ive re watched this series 3 times!!! It just reminds me of my first love and how pure and intense our first love can be! This was super cute and enjoyable to watch! I love how there wasnt too much angst in the love story, it was just enough to keep you hooked!I really love the brotherhood in this series as well. I really love the chemistry between all of the actors and actresses. I feel they did a great job in their casting! I hope they cast Dylan Wang and Shen Yue in other projects together! This my 2nd romcom ive watched and it pushed me to continue watching others. Hopefully, I will enjoy more of these!

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It was a beautiful story

This was my first 'Boys over Flowers' adaptation that I watched. I was hooked on the first episode.

The relationship between Dao Ming Si and Dong Shancai was phenomenal, although I wish there had been more 'drama' in it. The acting was amazing, but I know a few scenes had left me wanting more. From the very first 'date' when Dao Ming Si was waiting in the rain for Shancai had me in all of my feels. From that moment, you could tell that he was already starting to fall for her.
I love a good enemies to lovers story, and this one certainly took that cake to new standards. I felt every emotion that the characters felt and the entirety of the story was beautifully done.

Although, some people will say they didn't like the ending, I found myself to enjoy it very much. I love that they had written in that they had gotten married and the way that Dao Ming Si's mother had became accepting of them, it was an un-expecting surprise to see.

To be honest though, the whole Caina storyline was a bore to me. I wanted to skip every scene.

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If you watch this first, you're gonna love it

I read many reviews of this drama and more than half were negative. Many ppl preferred the previous versions of the drama but I'd say if you haven't watched any of the earlier versions you will definitely like this one!
I too watched this drama for the first time and was new to the characters and the story. I think the drama is a bit too long with a lot of ups and downs which is frustrating sometimes. But once you start it you'll enjoy,all the cha are very well portrayed by the actors especially Darren Chen as huaze lei is a treat to watch with his amazing sense of humor and rather cool expressions!
Daoming si is hot af!!
Shancai's character was a bit annoying in the beginning but then I loved her cz she was not the typical shy girl but she was strong and her priorities sorted...
Overall the drama is good with nice chemistry between the leads as well as the f4!!

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Meteor Garden 2018 is the best Hana Yori Dango version

I loved watching this and the version . The casting is fantastic in both! I adore the 'manga' like reactions and the storyline is very drama / romance with hilarity thrown into the mix. I can't get enough. It's a perfect Netflix add but I need MORE!I really love this new version. i know nothing can top the original meteor garden but it's the cutest version of hyd, so fresh and modern. they stick with the plot of the manga but with less violence and less bullying which is the best part of mg 2018, they even stated at the beginning that the F4 respect woman, and this F4 is popular because they're really smart and talented, not only because they're rich and handsome. and it makes them more lovable. I love it and for me, it's the best version!

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this drama is too dramatic

Jardim de meteoros is an adaptation of a story that many already know, for this reason I don't understand why this drama has 50 episodes, and this same story has already managed to be told in 25 ep. One thing I cannot deny, Dao Ming Si manages to captivate the public with his charisma at various times, unlike Hua Ze Lei who is undoubtedly one of the most dull and charismatic characters of recent times, Dao Ming Si's mother manages to overcome tyranny and become one of the worst mothers ever seen. For me, this drama stops halfway, I can't hate someone, but I can't love either. Oh, I forgot to mention how bad the ending is, but random than that would be impossible.

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Muito problemático

Já tem um tempo que assisti e não me lembro de muita coisa. Esse foi o primeiro Drama que eu assisti na vida e quase desisti da Dramaland depois dele, apesar dos atores serem muito bons.

Pra começar que a Shan Cai é muito chata e irritante. Achei que ela fosse ser aquela protagonista forte e até tentaram, mas passou longe disso. Toda a vez que ela tinha atitudes de uma criança, e deixava que o Dao Ming Si a tratasse como um lixo minha vontade era de segura-la e manda-la reagir! Dao Ming Si era outro chato, e cheio de atitudes infantis, violentas e doentias. Tive que respirar fundo muitas vezes pra não desistir, mas pelo menos deu pra perceber a evolução dele ao longo do drama. Gostei muito mais dos personagens secundários do que dos protagonistas, com exceção da Li Jia Qi, que meu Deus que menina emocionada demais.

Eu achei extremamente problemático e senti uma vergonha alheia o drama INTEIRO desde a agressão e o menino plantando bananeira pra não chorar até o casamento que foi um evento totalmente aleatório e sem noção kkkkkkk

Não sei o porquê, mas apesar de tudo isso foi interessante assistir, mas mais por curiosidade mesmo e 50 episódios foi um exagero, poderia facilmente ser reduzido pela metade.

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Refreshing take on a well-known story

This adaptation has everything that one would expect a HYD adaptation to be: on one hand it's naive, exaggerated, melodramatic and silly, on the other hand it's highly entertaining, fluffy and extremely addictive. Watching this was like turning back time to 2008 when I fell in love with the Japanese version Hana Yori Dango 1+2.

Is Meteor Garden 2018 for you?
Honestly, if you enjoyed the original Taiwanese Meteor Garden (2001–2002) or Hana Yori Dango (2005–2008), you will likely enjoy the Meteor Garden 2018's new (extremely cute) take on the well-known story and occassional references to the older adaptations. I know I did!
However, if you are not familiar with the story, be forewarned that the story is based on a 20–30 years old manga, so there are still many outdated tropes and clichés even in this modern take; not to mention that Meteor Garden 2018 is way longer than it needs to be (and the last ten or so episodes suck, just saying), so prepare for a long ride if you attempt this.

THE GOOD
- First and foremost: the ML, Dao Ming Si, is much less violent and agressive person than in the previous adaptations. I do believe that the writers of Meteor Garden 2018 gave him more depth by emphasizing his unusual upbringing (he was more or less brought up by his sister who had no idea what she was doing and blames herself for how he turned up), lack of love and care from his mother and zero social skills he's trying to compensate for with aggressiveness and childish pranks. He is not a flawless, he is not completely unproblematic character (some possessiveness is still present), but he never seriously bullies the FL. That's a big plus and an improvement from the previous adaptations.

- Shan Cai is as loveable FL as ever. Shen Yue is joy to watch and actually reminded me of Inoue Mao in HYD at times. It was a great move to make Shan Cai into an exceptionally good cook who studies nutrition in order to help with her parents' food delivery business. In previous versions, her ambitions got mostly sidelined, here her cooking plays more prominent role. And while we're at it, Shan Cai's parents are actually cool and loving here, nowhere near as insensitive and embarassing as their counterparts from earlier versions.

- I know that Shan Cai was criticized for being supposedly "indecisive", but I think it's portrayed very realistically and goes hand in hand with her being self-reliant and concerned for others. She makes her feelings clear from the beginning, never leads DMS on, when she believes he cares about her more than she about him, she tells him so. It takes a long time for her to proclaim her love for him but I didn't mind it; not everyone knows their own heart after one meeting like our ML :).

- This might sound weird, but I appreciated that the writers made Shan Cai more pursued by the opposite sex than Dao Ming Si. Like, I never understood why he was so wanted by every single random girl in HYD, even though he was terrible to everyone except the FL. I was like: girls, your school is full of rich guys who are actually NICE, why don't you choose someone else than this psycho? On the other hand, it's perfectly logical that pretty and friendly Shan Cai has many admirers to pick from throughout the show.

- Setting the story in university campus was actually a good move, even if the childish behaviour of the main characters is still of high-school (sometimes elementary school :P) variety. The writers also highlighted that the F4 are first and foremost exceptional students, not just rich eye-candies. The "worship" by other students is still present, but it is toned down a lot.

- The chemistry between the main couple is very nice and they have plenty of cute, fluffy moments in the series. It is not exactly a steamy show though, so don't expect excessive snog fests.

- The secondary couple, the ML's friend Mei Zuo and the FL's friend Xiao You had a nice storyline, I am pretty content with how the writers handled this potentially unhealthy relationship. The actors though...I felt no chemistry there, sorry.

- The writers said a big "fuck you" to the infamous amnesia storyline. I respect that.

- The music is nice and the songs are actually memorable! How many dramas can say the same?
(no, not the River song, I want to erase that one from my mind)

THE WEIRD
- The product placement was so blatant that I laughed out loud every time a new product was "introduced". The scene in which the ML's sister notices her bodyguard's bad hair and hands him a shampoo to "represent well" was comedic gold.

THE BAD
- The show is simply too long. Around 30 episodes would be sufficient.

- In the middle of the series, while the main leads are separated, there are several filler episodes in which we mostly follow the ML's friend Mei Zuo's crush on Cai Na, a girl who previously competed with the FL in a cooking show. Cai Na's romantic entanglements, and the love triangle with her old love and Mei Zuo, are extremely boring, the storyline is badly written and it doesn't even help Mei Zuo's character development. You will want to kill them, I know I wanted to.

- The last ten or so episodes are really bad. The main couple tries to convince the ML's mother to accept them by going on a hunger strike? What?! How did the screenwriters think this was a good idea and good image of a healthy relationship? And the ending is terrible. Oh, don't worry, it's a HEA but the writing is nightmarish. Read about it in the comments or in other reviews, I don't have the heart to recount that.

- I think that the main actors, Shen Yue and Dylan Wang did a pretty good job. That can't be said of the other members of F4 or plenty of side characters. There are many newcomers in this drama and it shows. The dubbing of the ML is not ideal either.

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