Jardín de meteoros (2018)

A car crash that I can't look away from

I've been wanting to watch a Chinese drama for quite some time and I just picked this one cause it was pretty famous. When I saw it was an adaptation of the same story of Boys Over Flowers I was ready to just give up right then and there, cause that drama is terrible and super problematic, but I didn't have any other thing to watch so I just gave it a chance and it's not as bad as I thought?

Honestly there were very few scenes of bullying that got me super irritated and where very unnecessary. Shancai and Si mostly just bickered back and forth and that was entertaining enough and created the tension needed. The writers could've just made the initial misunderstanding and made the both leads argue a lot and dislike each other. There was no need for Si to humiliate her in public or harass her, but since those scenes were scarce I managed to look past them and not drop this drama.

Aside problematic stuff, this drama has many issues. The story is pretty ordinary and full of clichés. You can tell the writers ran out of creativity to stretch the plot for 49 episodes cause they repeat the same plot line at least four times. I was just glad there was no amnesia plot in the end because I think I wouldn't be able to bear that.

Since there were so many episodes the drama could've explored the supporting characters much better than in Korean dramas, but they just ended up shoving characters that no one cares about in the story and making boring ships instead. Also the characters in this drama are always doing terrible stuff, never apologize and somehow are forgiven anyway.

Also, I've heard that Chinese dramas are dubbed over for some reason and that gave me a major whiplash. The dubbing is so artificial that initially I couldn't focus while watching, but I eventually got used to it. I guess another thing that I got used to was the poor acting in this. Seriously, almost all actors do a mediocre job in this, although I think I could give some credit to Dylan Wang and Shen Yue. I don't know about her, but I'd heard Dylan was still a fairly new actor and that Daoming Si was his first major role and I can say that he compensated his lack of experience with a very natural chemistry with the other actors and a lot of charisma. Many times him and Shen Yue seemed to be legit having fun while acting and I appreciate that. He also made me grow fond of Si, whom I hated in the beginning so props to him.

The music is also meh. I feel like most times the songs they used didn't really feel like were fit for the scenes, however I really loved River by Bishop Briggs.

I liked Shancai in the beginning, she actually stood up for herself, but with time she just became the bland and annoying female lead, like what happens with "strong" FLs in most dramas so I wasn't surprised. She was constantly meddling other people's business and I have to say she was probably the worst girlfriend I've seen in dramaland. She put little to no effort in her relationship for the majority of the runtime of this drama. I never thought I'd sympathize with Si so much, but the dude moved heaven and hell to be with her while most times she just brushed him off or started joking about it. And the worst thing is that the other characters acted as if it was Si's fault for not being persistent enough, when he was confessing and getting rejected/ignored right and left to the point I was convinced he had no self-respect left. Honestly, most of the time I was unsure if Si's friends (specially Lei) were trying to help him or sabotage him.

The last couple of episodes were super underwhelming and full of unnecessary flashbacks. That wedding scene was one of the biggest "????????" moments I've had while watching dramas. I think the writers should've just erased all of the flashbacks and just focused in showing more of Sancai and Si.

Nonetheless, watching Shancai and Si's love story was pretty entertaining and for the most part of this show I was totally hooked. As I said they have a lot of chemistry and they have a nice balance of fluffy, romantic scenes (although some are TOO cheesy) and angsty scenes. Even though Meteor Garden wasn't the best technically, it's still worth it if you have nothing else to watch and are in the mood for some romance.

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honestly when i first finished watching this drama, i thought it was great. however after watching a few other chinese dramas, i found this one of the worst among them. it’s still funny and the actors looked good but there’s others more worth your time.
first of all, the ending was really bad and confusing. i didn’t get what was happening at all. they had 49 episodes which i thought was pretty long for these kind of dramas but their ending felt so rushed and not properly planned.
second, they kept replaying many earlier scenes which i felt was too excessive and unnecessary as they could have just cut down on the number of episodes.
third, i’ll say this drama is alright for beginners as it’s dubbed and the chinese is very simple, but there are many others more worth watching where you can learn different lessons, but if you’re the kind who likes a rom-com then you can give this a try.

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How did I end up here?

After 2 years of suffering I managed to finish this masterpiece of a show.
I consider myself a lover of soapy trashy cliché shows, but this....this was something else. At the beginning of the show I liked it very much it was dramatic and weird (in a good way). But as the show progressed I couldn't stand the songs anymore!!!! It was soooo repetitive and some of the storylines were soooo unrelated to the main plot it was incredible. But the thing that really broke me inside....was the last episode. As I said it took me 2 years and what I get is this.
But to be totally honest I love lei so much, he was the only reason I could stand coming back to this show after very long breaks. The acting was a burning disaster and I'm not going to mention the cinematography. The special effect were horrible, and the cuts were random.
In conclusion, I have so much to say about this show, but I'm too shocked to actually put in into words. Please watch it, just to fully understand my emotional damage.
P.S the damage is not because the plot was good or emotional.

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Tudo perfeito, mas....

Eu simplesmente amei o Dylan Wang! A voz, o sorriso dele, a atuação..., cada momento era muito fofo, cada intensidade era muito de enlouquecer, saca? Achei perfeito! De fato, se fosse avaliado apenas a intensidade na fofura, esse dorama estaria em terceiro lugar no meu pódio!

Mas...

Eu odiei a protagonista. A Shancai é extremamente enjoativa. Suas ações são repetitivas, ela é feita para ser de personalidade forte, mas age como uma garota com zero atitude, não demonstra o que sente pelo Si e tampouco sabe o que sente. Ela é confusa, provoca muita briga desnecessária com o carinha, não impõe limites ao namorado dela (teve inclusive algumas cenas que o ciúmes dele era realmente desnecessário ao cúmulo, mas fazer o que?) e fica apenas como uma dessas garotas que se diz forte, mas se você for ver, ela é comum e toda sem juízo.
Cara, nada contra pessoas comuns! EU SOU COMUM, MEDROSA E INSEGURA, mas que custa os roteiristas não tentarem vender uma personagem "de personalidade forte e corajosa" quando, na verdade, ela custou muito a agir como tal.
Não vi grandiosas evoluções nos personagens, acho que ela só parou de se comportar como uma criança e o rapazinho parou de agir como um rebelde infantil.
Acho que ficou muito enjoativo até o episódio 20-30. Eu tive que pular para ver o final e depois ter ânimo para continuar ou iria realmente empacar no caminho. Mesma coisa de sempre! Casal vai-não-vai.
Sendo bem sincera, nesse quesito eu acabo preferindo o melhor amigo. Ele agia com maior prontidão do que o Si e era beeeeeem mais modesto, carinhoso e gentil. Apesar de tudo, a Shancai tinha que ficar com o Si porque os dois, apesar de serem duas crianças birrentas, têm um vínculo muito mais intenso do que o do outro shipp.

Personagens secundários são simplesmente legais, mas é aquela, né? Não atraíram a minha atenção.

Trilha sonora SUPER condizente e SUPER legal. Eu amei porque tudo veio a calhar bem com os momentos.

Mas então o que definiu de vez a minha decepção com o dorama?
O final.

Sério. O início é viciante, o meio fica um pouco enjoativo, mas tudo que você esperava da Shancai começa a surgir, eles começam a lutar de verdade para serem um casal e então, no final, tudo vira um cagaço de série.

Achei tudo muito nada a ver, muito personagem desaparecido aparecendo no final só para "aparecer de prontidão uma última vez", mas muito personagem que deveria ter aparecido no final nem ficou pro cheiro. Previsível, MUUUUUUITO SEM SENTIDO, parece que ficaram 49 episódios enrolando com detalhe besta e chega no final e fazem tudo na correria.... vai entender!

Ainda sim, isso não anula o fato de ser um dos melhores doramas no que se diz fofura e amor intenso. Aqui vemos um amor levado às últimas circunstâncias.

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I feel really gifted to be able to watch Dylan Wang (Dao Ming Si) in the first Drama he acted in. His mother and father are blessed to give birth to a very talented son! What a great actor. He did excellent playing the character “Si”. Shen Yue (Dong Shan Cai), I felt this wasn’t the right role for her, don’t get me wrong, but I really didn’t see any chemistry between her and Dylan Wang. There was a little bit toward the end but that’s it. I loved her in “Mr. Bad”, she became more experienced in her acting skills after her role in Meteor Gardens and it was her third role in a drama. Darren Chen (Hua Ze Lei), where was he all this time… I need to see more of him. He is of perfection besides Dylan Wang. Caesar Wu (Xi Men Yan) is excellent! Leon Leong (Feng Mei Zuo) is very good.

The storyline was cute. Again, Dylan Wang’s wardrobe I loved. I love that roughness in clothes. Wardrobes for CW and LL were also great. The young girl's wardrobe could’ve been better. The visuals were okay. Thanking the team for bringing this story for public viewing.

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Fabulous-worth the watch

I came across this drama by accident, this is my first ever C Drama ---- I had previously watched the Korean version. Frankly, I preferred the C- Drama version much much more. The story twists brought in this C- drama was much better than the K version. Dao Ming Si (Dylan W) & Shan Cai (Shen Yue)- the lead pair is absolutely adorable, just epic, one of my all time favourite couple...the looks Dao Ming Si gives her, his character comes as a very confident, passionate, fiery yet so innocent (like a man-child), both of them gave an excellent performances.

This drama had everything romance, love, angst, trust, friendship separation, sacrifice - all elements were there in exact right amount... F4 (Dylan Wang, Darren Chen, Ceaser Wu & Leon Leong) was so cool, all them gave wonderful & memorable performances- wouldn't mind having them at my Uni.

I specially liked Hua Zai Lei's (Darren Chen) character - calm, caring, composed yet intense. Its hard to actually determine whether he genuinely liked Shen Cai and gave her up for Dao Ming Si, at some points I felt like that - he certainly is Shen Cai's guardian angel, always there for her. His story too remained unfinished.

Ceaser Wu's character Xi Men was so suave and sophisticated - wouldn't have minded a bit more screen time on his love story. Leon Leong's character Mei Zuo was ever so charming and delightful too bad the one he fell in love left him and he was all alone (during the meteor shower) at the new year...

This is a great watch, would highly recommend.

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Not for everyone

I like this show but I just like show because of the actors. There are a lot of thing I don't like about the show

my review is mostly why I don't like the show

Story:
I already watched Korean and Japanese version before watching this show, So I already know the story but there are a lot of changed in this show ( mainly because of Chinese censorship i think )

*spoiler*

-The main story where the 4 boys play game changed into card game.
-Male lead seem so aggressive. in some episode he is very aggressive to Female lead, one time he even kissed FL without her permission but this is how F4 character should be. (main thing why I am not really into this show )
-story doesn't bring the whole thing where the ML become good person but it seem like he change little bit.
if you are into possessive boyfriend type (not for me). This is good to watch but if you like more chill and realistic type of romance, This is not the best. This show is not definitely not chill vibe.

acting:
I don't really have big dislike with their acting but sometime it's little bit overacting. Cast did great job

Music:
There only one thing I dislike about music part is
"say something " .Music is not the best but not bad.

Rewatch value:
depend on you!

overall:
I don't have big dislike with other thing but the story. Story is very important. That's why I give this 6.5

hope this helpful to you.

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I've been following the development of this version since May 2017. Its been a long time coming since they announced the cast last November and finished filming last spring. However, it was definitely worth it and I fully enjoyed the two months it took to air. I'm gonna miss it now that it is over.

This version probably has the most care put into it. Angie Chai, who also produced the original 'Meteor Garden', was very careful about adapting it to a millennial audience while staying true to the manga. It shows. 'Meteor Garden' (2018) by far covers the manga's plot better than all of the others. This is both a good and bad thing. It allows the character's to fully develop, but feels kinda draggy towards the end (the manga has the same effect). It is 49 episodes long after all.

I loved the chemistry between the leads, Dylan Wang and Shen Yue. All of the supporting characters were enjoyable, though some were better than others (>_< ugh Caina). Like the other adaptations before it, this version has its good points and bad points. It's inevitable that 'Meteor Garden' (2018) will be ruthlessly compared to the other versions. I suggest to all fans to check it out since you'll probably like it if you give it a shot.

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Everyone knows the story that this is based on but I think the story itself is a little out dated to be remade.

My main issue with the story is the moral ambiguity of the main characters and their actions.
Take one of the first episodes, for example when Dao Ming Si forces himself on Shancai. She is assaulted by him, is very upset afterwards and then she writes him off lightly as a pervert.

I don't think these kind of actions should have a place on TV today.

Further, the shows feeds the idea that it's okay to be treated badly by someone who likes you, for them to treat everyone around badly as long as they make it up with grand gestures.

The actors did their best with the plot and script they were given - for many of the actors, they do not have too many previous credits but are all very watchable.

Overall, the show is toxic. Seeing people fawn over the Dao Ming Si character is worrying - people are buying into the emotional abusive relationship that is shown in the show and writing off what could have been a nice relationship between Shancai and Hua Ze Lei.

I get that people may say, well it's fiction and show be taken with a grain of salt but a show this popular with as many brand advertisements should not be spreading such a message in my opinion.

The only redeeming feature of this show is the random shots of Darren Chen's face throughout the episodes but unfortunately they couldn't help get through 50 episodes only 31..

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Uma das piores obras da existência e não existência, o próprio conceito de desgraça está na obra e pode até ser considerado a obra em si, personagens horríveis, o MC por um motivo fútil, apenas porque era destratado na infância pela irmã e não recebia amorzinho dos pais, mesmo sendo ultra mega rico, achava que podia tratar os outros como lixo, e passa a série como um babaca, agressor de mulher, otário e tudo de ruim com a protagonista e no final, a que foi humilhada por ele, por várias vezes, fica com ele.

Linda lição, seja otário, mude e você terá seu final happy ou seja, você terá sua recompensa.

Não seja otário, seja uma boa pessoa, esteja com a pessoa, escute ela, seja um ombro amigo e no fim a única coisa que você irá toma é no cu.

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Meteor Garden 2018

Here's my review on Meteor Garden Remake 2018.
I love the original story because of it's depth, simplicity and story telling which the remake couldn't reach at some level. It is still a great series and somehow it ended way better than the original. It has great drama mixed with comedy and action. It is also considerably more fun. The lasting iconic moments also resurfaces in the series. I have reservations about the directing of the original series. Like for instance, when Dao Ming Si was punching a certain character multiple times there was no sign of brusing on his face. On the remake, the directing was better but I guess some scenes was still better depicted in the original. Like, Dao Ming Si getting beat up was more dramatic in the original.
On a good note, I like the casting choice especially Dylan Wang as Dao ming Si and Shen Yue as Dong Shancai. It felt like they were a real couple based on their acting. I also with like to point out that the progression of the initimacy between Shancai and Dao Ming Si is more convincing. I also love the additional characters point of view because it diverts the attention of people who are already familiar with the Original story. Also, their are point of views that is far too long to get into.
It is a great remake because the writers added more thrill compared to the thrilling scene in the original where it's going back and forth. The visuals are also more authentic and creative. Overall, I love how it ended. I still have great respect to the Original Series but since the series is also produced by the Original's writer Angie Chai it still holds a great story telling.

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