Boys Over Flowers (2021)

A refreshing version of Boys Over Flowers

I started watching k-dramas/c-dramas because of Boys Over Flowers (the Korean version). So, this story has a very special place in my heart. When I heard about the Thai version, I was excited, yet I was fearful of how the story would be portrayed, since it's quite a problematic love story in theory.

Nevertheless, I decided to try and watch it. This version became my favorite. I loved the way they followed the basic storyline but also made it their own. This version turned the series into a coming-of-age story, with complex characters and an interesting and coherent narrative. The friendship between the F4 members was really well portrayed. I could see how they supported each other and how much they cared about their friendship. This series also has a lot of character development, which, in my opinion, wasn’t really there in the Korean version (specially regarding the romance/male lead’s attitude). Thyme was a really likeable character. He truly started to behave differently, treating people better and took responsibility for his actions.

The romance was much healthier and believable. How they fell in love and how Thyme actually acknowledged the fact Gorya wasn’t dating him in the beginning and that he wanted her to like him, but he wasn’t going to force her into a relationship was really refreshing. I could understand why he loved her and why she loved him.

Highly recommend watching this version, whether you have watched the previous ones or if you are new here.

Leggi di Più

One of my top favorites of F4 versions

At least for me, it shot to the top pretty quick.
I'm not going into details of the plot we already know about for approximately 20 years or so. I'll just write my opinions and thoughts on it.
Disclaimer: I'm a stubborn bias for the original drama version, Meteor Garden 2001, because it was my childhood and I was a huge fan of F4 aka JVKV. Henceforth, I would always compare any version to the original with bias views. Nothing would ever replace that top spot for me.
I would say Thailand version officially tied for second along with Japanese version.
Why? Thailand version took a slight turn with the modern twist - cyberbullying and all the social media obsession gossip, cancelling, etc. Ofc, the physical bullying is worse and wrong as well. Definitely showcases how toxic people can get no matter what age we're in.
Other than that, I feel this F4 was openly loving towards one another - MJ literally says "we love you, that's why we support no matter what." It feels liike you don't see that often in dramas for men, at least, to be affectionate towards their friends. Male or female, or whatever gender, friends are kind of like relationships where you show case your love for one another platonically. I really appreciate this show for showcasing that. The connection between the boys were definitely strong! In terms of F4 ranks, they're my second favorite honestly.
As for the acting, they're not the best actors or actresses, it's passable. Then again they're new just like most F4 shows it seems. The side characters like the mom, sister, and fiance were actually good actresses - seemed realistic to me. I notice Gorya screams a lot, and if I were to compare it with Shancai(MG 2001), she wasn't screaming that much, she was stern with her voice, and strong. Gorya's screaming got a bit too much towards the end, I didn't realize how much she was screaming when she's mad, but I suppose that's normal at least to those who give in to their emotions. Unable to control it through the way they talk. Regardless, would I recommend this show? Yes, definitely because its quite heartwarming. I even cried through some of the episodes, it was quite relatable with my emotions and what I've been through. I really enjoyed the drama and would recommend to anyone. Albeit, do not expect a lot of romance, its like a teen show.

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One of the best casting!

F4 thailand: boys over flowers has the best casting amongst all the adaptation of the series. Every character is given equal importance. Thyme (Bright) & Gorya (tu) has the best chemistry. Background music is og. The sequence of events were shown logical compared to other adpatations which were bit confusing. The character of Ren is justified here. MJ defines us what friendship is actually all about. Though wanted more of Kavin And Kanning they played their part beautifully. Thyme and Gorya is a perfect couple and cute fights b/w them makes it A must watch. Already watched it thrice ♥️ I hope we get
to see them together again 🌾🐯

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Downhill we roll, as the quality drops with each episode.

Here’s the thing - I was extremely vocal on feeds and while talking to my friends about how this will be my favorite adaptation of the story and how much they improved with making it more realistic and less over the top toxic. And then, slowly, with every episode my enthusiasm started to drop. A show I started with genuine love, I finished as a hate watch. I cried watching the last episode, cried from laughing so bad.

Rich guy with family issues falls for a poor girl with financial issues - we all know the stories like that, most of us watched at least one adaptation of F4. Was this a fresh and groundbreaking take on this cliche plot? No. It started really well with a more realistic approach to the characters - Gorya was less in your face superhero bully fighter and Thyme, while still rude and cruel, had some type of limits to how far he is willing to go. I truly enjoyed how it was more grounded in reality - they managed to make me like the female lead more, and hate the male lead less. Then it lost that spark as it played into all the toxic over the top semi-makjang ideas.

Honestly speaking, the biggest issue was Thyme. To people saying he got amazing character development, where? There was one episode left for the drama to end and he still needed his friends to tell him what is good and moral and what is not. Dude literally threw a chair in Gorya’s direction when he was angry. How was I supposed to root for him, when I saw close to zero improvement in his behavior - every time things got tough or he got angry, he went back to his old abusive and impulsive ways.

Saying it’s realistic that he did not change so easily would make sense if the drama was realistic as a whole - it was not. They clearly did not care about realism, so why try to excuse the character with that logic?

Gorya was fine during all scenes, except the ones with Thyme. They both used violence against each other and sometimes it was played as a fun little comedy bit. On the other hand, she strived for better and grew as a person when she was with Ren.

And here we face the biggest issue - they made Ren too good to be true. Yes, he made one mistake and acted rather toxic towards Gorya with the misguided actions based on his good intentions, but he learned from that and never did that again. He was so fine. That’s that.

Then we have that completely useless and not developed romance between Kavin and Kaning. I am not going to lie, the side couple was my favorite part of the Korean version - the story was interesting, the conflicts were well built, the resolution was satisfying. Here, we’ve got none of that. They made zero effort to convince me why Kavin was hesitant to start things with her. They were just in the background, occasionally being cute.

I don’t even want to talk about M.J. getting his plot thanks for KFC commercials at the end.

I did enjoy the friendship of F4 a lot. Their scenes, excluding the bullying ones, were fun to watch. They always had each other’s back and tried to solve issues as a team - well, the 3 of them tried to solve Thyme’s issues while he acted like a moody toddler either turning them down or running away.

Putting characters aside, the show did attempt and made some good remarks about the social differences, the responsibilities and struggles people might have depending on their social status. I appreciated how it was not all black and white - rich people have all the privileges and no real issues, and poor people are the only ones struggling.

Acting wise I don’t really have complaints. I’m not the biggest fan of Bright’s acting, but he was truly born to play this role. Thyme was rather dumb of a character, and the faces this guy was making just elevated it, making me crack a smile quite a few times. Tu did an amazing job as Gorya - I bought everything she was selling on screen. I would say, the only performance that was questionable was Win as Kavin - his delivery was a bit on one note and the lines just did not sound natural at times.

Production wise though, probably one of the best quality we have seen from Thailand for some time. The show was simply beautiful. It was impossible to watch even one episode without taking countless screenshots. They played with angles, depth and light and I appreciated that alot.

Music was fine? I honestly cannot remember one song from it. They were not that memorable, but if they were bad, I would for sure remember them not fitting the scenes.

Overall, what a journey it was. By the end I was rooting for Thyme’s mother to keep them apart. What a badass she was. Might be evil, but with a class. The most terrifying mother of all the adaptations.

I don’t regret watching, I enjoyed it a lot during the first half, and had fun making fun of it during the second half. It’s like, slightly better than Boys Over Flowers? In some aspects… but not all.

Leggi di Più

Well Worth Watching !!!!

This drama is so dam good that i literally binged watched twice after the last episode aired this past weekend.

I loved everything about the cast the music the story line the plots the twists the tears and the exceptional funny moments between Gorya and Thyme.

I am not going to compare to the others, but for me personally, this adaption was the absolute best , the cast was so amazing and they all got along very well, and were well matched for there roles. They wonderfully modified the story. I really liked how they portrayed Thyme's character in terms of other versions. Gorya 's character was top notch. She nailed it. Ren 's character is also my favorite since he was the bridge between Gorya and Thyme. for me they way portrayed Thyme's mother was like on another level, wow she was extremely nasty and so cunning espically towards the last few episodes. she was right there till the end, she was like a villainess to me. I also loved how the story shows the strong friendship between Gorya and other F4 members. In 16 episodes ,they really covered the whole story. But it would be great if they had the wedding part, but it definitely ended on a nice note and did it justice.

F4 friendship- it was a good amount of screen time to show how close and strong their friendship is and they had their bromance moments. Kavin and MJ were a funny pair! You can see how close the F4 are super close to each other. these two were good and well matched and they had funny moments, I would like to see kavin end up with Kanning and MJ with his iris story at the end of every episode was also a nice touch. Ren was the best version from the others in my option He supported Gorya whenever he could., and was always there for her and encouraged her to never give up, the chemistry between the leads - I loved it! the casting choice was well done. Bright's acting; he was able to portray his character pretty well by pulling of a variety of wild emotions from acting angry, sad, confused dork, and love he gives Gorya takes a lot of energy to pull of this character.

The Music OMG was the best in this drama, I loved every single song that was done, and each song was well matched to what was going on, this is absolutely on playlist!!

Overall: THIS DRAMA IS WELL WORTH THE WATCH and the Leads and the Music!! Urgh Just go watch this!!!

Leggi di Più

The best version

Trust me. To me who have seen all the versions of Boys over flowers, the thai verdion is the best one. I really really loved it. With no matter how the plot moved forward, the base or the essence of their character doesn't change but they only get deeper and deeper. And damn, the way the actors protrayed it is a cherry on top, especially P'cindy. She just nailed it. She is my first favorite cast in this version and then comes others.

The fact that gorya doesn't change from start to end, how the layers and depth of each characters and why they are like this are so detailed.

The best part is the innocence of thyme which is hidden so deep inside himas he never got to enjoy that in his lifetime but longed for it and when he get to enjoy it he is just a gaint baby.

I loved the fact that they didn't dragged the memory loss track much. He crying for hurting gorya after getting back or I must say reliving their moments once again in his memory and the way thyme's mother, Roselyn realizes her way of loving thyme is dragging him away from whst his true happiness is and shouting open the gate to let her son get the happiness he want. And that showed that she loved thyme in her own way.

Over all, this is the best.

Leggi di Più

A worthy remake

I am one of those who have watched (and obsessed over) Meteor Garden Taiwan 20 years ago. It might have something to do with it being a phenomenon in our country because everyone and their mamas knew who Dao Ming Si and San Chai was. I was so young back then I didn't know all the red flags the series have. I also watched Hana Yori Dango but it was aired right after the F4 fever so it wasn't that memorable for me. The last version I watched was Boys Over Flowers Korea and I hated that show. So my last memory of this remake is so long ago I can't recall clearly if some scenes were better or not from the other versions.

I am familiar with Bright and Win . The other actors are all fairly new so I won't be that critical of their acting. This is about F4 but we all know this series is focused and hard carried by the two main leads. Bright and Tu have chemistry. Before I started watching the series, I saw some promotional videos of them endorsing couple stuff and I saw that potential in them. I think they missed a lot of opportunity to show that chemistry. Bright has definitely mastered that infatuated and in love gaze. As for Tu, she looked uncomfortable in those long staring. I was convinced of Thyme's feelings but I wasn't really convinced of Gorya. Bright also improved on his acting. He nailed the comedic parts just right although he still needs improvement on some melodramatic scenes. Tu did her best as a newbie and she actually embodied the strong-willed Gorya really well. The other F4 members have delivered what they have to. It wasn't much work but they did their parts okay.

This franchise has been remade gazillion times so there is really nothing much we didn't see from the other versions. The times have changed though and there are a lot of parts that are already frowned upon.  I liked this modernized version and I think the show really delivered. I know they cannot go all out and fancy like the other versions (e.g. travelling to abroad) because of the pandemic. It's a pity how the show could've had a grander production but it did its best with all the restrictions. Thyme and Gorya needed more moments together. The only thing I liked in the K-version was Yi Jung and Ga Eul's story so I had high hopes for Kavin and Kaning. However, they felt so forced to me because the writers decided to wrap up their love story all in one episode. I'm not familiar with Prim but out of all the female characters that the show introduced, her portrayal of Kaning feels the weakest.

Another thing I loved in this show are the women. F4 is the star but I think the female casts were scene stealers. Cindy is impeccable in her role as Thyme's mom. She screams power not in the crazy mom obsessed way. She just reeks of sophistication and intimidation. I think the casting team did amazing because Cindy, Bright and Maria all looks ridiculously gorgeous as one family. Maria did a softer interpretation of the big sis role and it was refreshing. Fah caught my eye and I think I found a new girl crush. She appeared only for a very few scenes but she made her impression. Milk also has a really strong screen presence and her chemistry with Bright is also palpable. I wish we could she them reunite in another drama too.

Overall, I think it's a great remake. Definitely worth watching if you are a fan of the franchise.

Leggi di Più

I’ve said it in the live chats during the premiers and I’ll say it here too. It is really distracting for me to watch BrightWin in a drama where they are Bright and Win with other people. I’m hoping truly that this adaptation takes an entirely different approach and lets Gorya and Ren be together and puts Thyme and Kavin in a different type of role. However, since we all know how this Manga series ends, we know that won’t be the case and I’m attempting to mentally come to terms with that fact. I do love the entire cast, although in line with the Mandarin versions of this series, our female lead is too cute. She’s supposed to be very average and only the Korean version has done an adequate job of portraying that. Obviously this series is only a third of the way finished airing so there is a lot of artistic creativity still to be seen. I appreciate the real social issues that have already been addressed and I’m looking forward to seeing the direction the screenwriters and director take this.

Leggi di Più

Happiness comes in various shapes

F4 Thailand is one of its kind.

Story:
The story picks up at a school, where bullying is severe and seem very dark.
Poor girl meets rich arrogant guy, who eventually fall in love and become a couple, facing the issues of their social standards.
The story is nothing new, it is basically every cliché put in a drama, yet F4 Thailand managed to do it in the most intriguing and charming way.
Especially the usage of social media as bullying medium is implemented phenomenal and just shows how fast a little spark can turn into a huge wildfire.

Each episode was build to have its own arc, making me go on a rollercoaster ride of emotions every time and anticipate every week.
Within' the episode, the antagonists got introduced.
We get to learn about them during the episodes, making them coming alive and emphasis with them.
The director and screenwriter did an excellent job creating those characters and make them not feel one dimensional only.
But that came with a price.
As much as I liked to get to know the side characters, they took away the screen time of the main cast and their story, which already had to be cut down to 16 episodes.
Making the F4 Thailand a fast-paced drama, that sadly, did not go in depth with the main story arc.

The cinematography is outstanding.
Every shot picked out carefully, showing a lot of symbolism and really emphasizes the story and the feelings of the characters.

Acting/ Cast:
- Main Cast:
The main cast is chosen out perfectly.
I could not imagine any other portraying F4 and Gorya now.
The cast showed multilayered characters, who were portraying the emotions in a raw and vulnerable way.
Making me laugh, cry and at some point trying to hit them.
The bond the cast share was natural, and you could tell, that all of them cared for each other.

- Family:
Goryas Family is a safe place for her.
Whenever she felt down, she knew that her family can and will cheer her up in the most loveable and fun way.
The characters were portrayed nicely. Fun, supporting, and just a joy to watch.

OST/ Music:
The music itself is great. I really love the "Who am I" which perfectly describes breaking out of your habits and go on a journey to find yourself.
Other than that I like all the other OSTs too, except some were used in odd places, which led to the score.

Overall, F4 Thailand is a modernized approach of the other BoFs.
It started really well, and I was intrigued, showing off to my friends as one of the best dramas I probably have seen in a while, but that excitement slowly faded away at the last quarter of the show.
It might be due to the fast progressing storyline, but I missed some crucial parts and was not really satisfied with the ending, like I was supposed to be.

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