For the love of Second Leads
I’ve watched nearly all versions of this classic story, including the unofficial ones like Moon River, and Let's Go Watch Meteor Shower. The only one I haven’t managed to get through yet is the original Meteor Garden. There will inevitably be some comparisons, but I’ve tried to keep it to a minimum. This is neither a recommendation or criticism, but rather an aid in deciding if you should give Meteor Garden 2018 a try or not.
Warning: Very minor spoilers ahead if you’re not familiar with the story.
THE SHOULD NOTS
1. The Acting
It’s somewhat amateurish, not the worst I’ve seen by a stretch. But if top-notch acting is a must have then, maybe this one is not for you. Though they do grow more comfortable as the drama progresses, there is no finesse or naturalness to their expressions.
2. The Dubbing
Whilst it might not be a deal-breaker for some, for others the over-the-top voicing and the atmosphere of knowing its not the actual actor’s voice, can sometimes kill the vibe and feel of the show. Particularly when it's so clearly dubbed.
3. The Length
It is forty-nine episodes long and so this means a lot of going back and forth. Meteor Garden is riddled with indecisive characters, misunderstandings, and repetition. Despite this, they never spend long enough on any one action or decision to get any real depth or sadness to their choices.
4. The Fighting and Product Placement
This is really two small annoyances wrapped into one. First, for the fighting, it looks like some kind of old-school combat movie, Dao Ming Si especially, seems to be programmed like a video game and so it was hard to take his fight scenes seriously.
As for the product placement, I know Meteor Garden 2018 isn’t alone in its advertising, however, it's distractingly aggressive. This might be a feature of Chinese dramas, but regardless, it's to the point where the characters say and do weird things just to advertise a product.
5. The Kissing
It's lackluster. I don’t think I need to really explain any more on this. It's not alone in its dilemma, many of you will already be used to this. Whilst, not the biggest deal, it’s definitely a little disappointing.
THE SHOULDS
1. F4
F4 here is a good representation of friendship and loyalty, and their dynamics as a group is wonderful. One of the better examples of the airtight F4, who, though they have their ups and downs, truly cherish each other. They were a brilliant echo of Hana Yori Dango’s F4.
2, Dao Ming Si + Huaze Lei
This Dao Ming Si was a less volatile, less violent version of Domyouji, sort of like a Domyouji s2. The portrayal of a warm and soft-hearted person wrapped up in a selfish, and violent shell was definitely there, and he did the character credit. Plus, he’s as cute as a little puppy.
Huaze Lei – i.e Hanazawa Rui. Nobody in my books will ever beat Oguri Shun’s portrayal of this character, but he comes in as a close second. He managed to pull off that cool, chilled, slightly strange persona, that none of the other versions have gone by. They also didn’t emphasize solely on his relationship with Shan Cai/Makino, but also on his bromance with Dao Ming Si.
3. The Soundtrack
It's not something I’m usually that bothered about, but I really did like the songs they used. I’m hooked on the song River by Bishop Briggs and thought it fit perfectly with the scenes they used it in. Even now just listening to it conjures up the image of Dao Ming Si slo-mo walking or being angry. As for the others, Say Something has always been a favourite, and For You was catchy and a nice opening. Basically, they're all super catchy, which is a bonus in my book.
4. The Short Pay off Times
So, this one was also included in the cons because I think it can be both depending on what you prefer. There is not much development of the conflicts, but it definitely makes for a less stressful and draggy watch, because even if a misunderstanding occurs it is normally resolved within the next episode, only for another one to occur soon after. The whole drama seems to run like this, instead of one big separation, or one big fight, we tend to have lots of little ones. For me, it sped up the pace and made the forty-nine episode runtime easier to swallow.
5. The Flirting
I would go as far as to say that Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s couple interactions make up for their lack of kissing finesse. They are cute as hell and come in wonderful abundance. Unlike its predecessors, Meteor Garden doesn’t fall short of sweet moments, and whilst they argue non-stop it actually feels like flirting, and that both of them are enjoying themselves.
That's it from me. Of course, these are all my own opinions, but I hope if you’re undecided on whether to dive back into the world of Hana Yori Dango/Meteor Garden/Boys Over Flowers, then this article has helped you a little.
