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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not familiar with the story, be forewarned that the story is based on a 20–30 years old manga, so there are still many outdated tropes and clichés even in this modern take; not to mention that Meteor Garden 2018 is way longer than it needs to be (and the last ten or so episodes suck,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.
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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