Jardim de Meteoros (2018)

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...

Leia Mais

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!!!! 💅👑❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

Leia Mais

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!

Leia Mais

I first saw this show on Netflix. Netflix kept suggesting it to me, so I gave it a try. I tried watching the kdrama one as well, but I liked this Chinese version better. This was my first Asian drama. I thought the acting was natural and the chemistry between Dylan and Shen Yue was very natural and real chemistry! I would love to see them in another drama together some day. The chracters were not super deep, however, there were deep topics in the story. I think the characters and story were fleshed out well. It flowed smoothly in my opionion and did not just focus on the main leads, but gave some story time to the other characters as well.
I also loved the frienship of F4 and seeing how Dylan's character, Doming Si, grew up and learned to love and what being in love meant. I loved seeing the growth of the other characters as well. I loved seeing Shen Yue's character learn to trust and love as well. It was a bit Pride and Prejudice, but there are a lot of stories that are. I am a huge fan of Prode and Prejudice and a huge fan of the Chinese version MG 2018. This is definitely one of my favorite Asian dramas. I would recommend this drama to anyone, which I have. It is still on Netflix in my country of the USA and is almost always trending. I am glad that I get to rewatch it. Dylan and Shen Yue did a fabulous job portraying their characters as well as the other actors and actresses.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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!!

Leia Mais

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!

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

Meteor Garden the remake

Most of the lead actors, including the supporting cast, were chosen quite well. But I believe we can mostly agree that DiDi stole the show on this one. Darren Chen, real name Guan Hong, or the actor portraying Hua ZeLei actually gave him a run for his money. Where Didi was the spoiled bad boy who initially bullied the girl he fell in love with, Darren was the angelic good boy who was introspective and someone who knew how to value a long-standing friendship. Where Si was the one who threw food in ShanCai’s face, Lei was the one who helped her wipe it off.

For the full review, please link to this: https://thislifehappened.me/daoming-si-and-hua-zelei/

Leia Mais

A beautiful story with amazing casting

Meteor Garden (2018 version) was the first cdrama I watched so it is very nostalgic for me, and might even cloud my judgement of the show as a whole lol. That being said, I honestly do think it is a masterpiece, from the visuals, to the story and the acting and honestly just all of it. It's that one show I always keep coming back to. I have to warn you, this show really takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. You're laughing and crying, sometimes both.

The story to me is really interesting, and even though it's a little violent in the beginning it does get much better later on. That is actually one of the charms of the show. It starts off so dramatically with a very flawed male lead, that throughout the show has a lot of character development. It honestly is one of the reasons why Daoming Si still to this day is one of my favourite characters in cdramas in general, because he goes from downright awful to an adorable guy. One of the reasons why I think this show is so good is because the characters are in my opinion written so well, that all the main characters are likeable, and there isn't like an annoying female lead or anything. Daoming Si and Shancai are both written well, and even the rest of the main characters are likeable and I find myself rooting for all of them. That does not include those two girls that constantly try to sabotage Shancai lol.

The plot to me is interesting and never draggy or slow. Something is always happening, which to some may seem like a lot, but to me works out perfectly. This show definitely isn't one of those chill fluffy romance dramas, where nothing that drastic ever happens, because this show really throws some plot changes at you from time to time. Nothing too drastic though, but enough to keep it interesting. Meteor Garden is very dramatic, so if that's not your thing, then this might not be for you. It does have a lot of adorable romance too so it's not lacking in that department. I also find that many dramas have the characters do something horribly cringe where you just want it to be over, but Meteor Garden really never did that to me.

The casting in this show is AMAZING, like every one of F4 went on to be male leads in their new dramas, that's how iconic this was lol. F4 was casted so well in my opinion, they all portray their characters so well, and I find myself watching their other dramas as well just because they're the leads. Shancai and her friends were also casted so well, like I literally can't think of one actor in this show that I thought didn't play their role well. Also, Shancai and Daoming Si's chemistry is so good, it feels like it's almost real and not acting. Those dramatic scenes really hit different, and I'm not even gonna lie I cried multiple times watching this it's so good and captivating. Their emotions are so real it gets me every time.

I've seen some people complain about the music, about how it seems as though they didn't have a budget for music or something lol, but in my opinion the music really fit the story. Like I don't know what it is but "Say something" really got a new meaning through this show and now every time I hear that song I get nostalgic because of Meteor Garden. That song was perfect for those sad scenes, and you knew you were gonna cry when the song started playing.

I have watched Boys over Flowers, the korean version of this, and I've also watched a part of the Japanese version. To me Meteor Garden (2018) really is the superior version, it just brings me the feels every time. I know this might upset some people but to me Boys over Flowers was just way more cringe, and way more rushed than this version of Meteor Garden, and for that reason it doesn't rank nearly as high for me as this one. The Japanese version however, is a solid contender, where I have to admit it is alright, nothing wrong with it, I just happen to prefer this one. That might be because I watched this version first, and it's nostalgic to me. Keep in mind I haven't watched all of te Japanese version but I'm hoping to finish it at some point.

Meteor Garden is one of those shows I always go back to. I watch it every day, and then I take a break from it and come back again in a few months. It's that one nostalgic show to me. That's why it has a lot of rewatch value, and even though I've seen it so many times, I still keep coming back for the memories of this masterpiece. It is quite long, but all in all if you're thinking of watching it, I think it's worth it. And once you're at episode 10 you'll be hooked and can't let go anymore lol.

Leia Mais