[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] Meteor Garden 流星花園

[enigmatic_zephy]

3 hours ago, joowonie said:

I’ve seen a few versions of this and to be honest they are all quite bad but some more than others. I mean the plot is over the top regardless of the version, so let’s get that out of the way. There have a few complaints on this thread regarding the leads having no more than a few expressions but the current cast are mainly rookies and they are doing their best.

The original MG cast barely had any expressions as well, and the BZ definitely overacts with her constant screaming. Jerry as DMS was very excessive and it was not believable at all how SC could be with him after all the bullying and assault (in one scene he slapped the s!?&&@ out of her). I’m thankful that the bullying wasn’t so excessive and DMS hasn’t smack her so far lol

personally, Cast wise this is at par..actors are not OTT

even plot wise this version is the best because it has done away with tons of nonsensical stuff..unlike all other versions

and overall character feel wise, i think hana yori dango remains the best (the other two boys in F4 hardly got much exposure in japanese version) .. but i honestly don't get the complaints..

 

Dylan is nailing it, hwaza lei - i am not sure what this drama wants from him- but that boy is at par or better than others (except oguri shun ofcourse.. he is best by leaps and bounds) .. shancai is also good..(noone can beat how pathetic GHS was in boys over flower.. that is bad acting personified)

 

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watched til ep 12.. this story has omitted a lot.. infact now can't even recall when is the precise moment she falls in love with him.. in other versions it was when he willingly gets beaten up by goons because of the condition that if he retaliates they would hurt the girl.. this drama they are not going that route.. 

[lan_lan]

48 minutes ago, enigmatic_zephy said:

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watched til ep 12.. this story has omitted a lot.. infact now can't even recall when is the precise moment she falls in love with him.. in other versions it was when he willingly gets beaten up by goons because of the condition that if he retaliates they would hurt the girl.. this drama they are not going that route.. 

 

I think that scene is coming based on this video @ 02:32 mark.

 

[kokodus]

I'm warning you guys, this is going to be one major fangirling post....

 

LOL, i'm sooo in love with Dylan Wang. I think they have a chosen a perfect boy to play Dao Ming Si. He makes me both hate and love him. Like that is even possible. I don't know maybe it's character itself but he is owning it. He is oozing with charisma...I just love the way he looks at her...like she is the only girl in this world. LOL. I like his pineapple head but I so love his after shower hair as well. I can confidently say that I won't have any second lead syndrome here. I was honestly feeling very sad for him during that scene in the beach when he saw them kiss. You know, Shan Cai didn't even say that she likes him or anything so it's kinda unfair for him to be mad at her, but I can't help but feel his pain. Sighhhh. Dylan Wang, where have you been all these days??? And to think that he is only 19.... I'm crying. Lolol.

 

@enigmatic_zephy I think she started having a soft spot for him since he waited for her in the rain for 3 hours. Also of course the elevator scene that followed helped her to see him in a different light. I think she just got a little confused when Lei came back. You are right though, I think we can't pinpoint an exact moment when she started having feelings for Ah si. That is the beauty of this whole story though, she falls for him slowly with every moment she spends with him and gets to know him better, she just is kinda stupid to not realize it soon enough and ends up hurting both him and herself. Sigh. 

[enigmatic_zephy]

58 minutes ago, kokodus said:

I'm warning you guys, this is going to be one major fangirling post....

 

LOL, i'm sooo in love with Dylan Wang. I think they have a chosen a perfect boy to play Dao Ming Si. He makes me both hate and love him. Like that is even possible. I don't know maybe it's character itself but he is owning it. He is oozing with charisma...I just love the way he looks at her...like she is the only girl in this world. LOL.

100% concur.. he has the same appeal as damouji from hana yori dango.. that fidgetiness, pure sincerity, the eyes.. when he is angry you know he is angry...  brilliant portrayal..  and credit does go to Dylan

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I like his pineapple head but I so love his after shower hair as well.

Pineapple is rocking.. i see it being the next trend.. this series is the only series to get the BAD HAIR right!  .. its b'ful "bad hair"

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I can confidently say that I won't have any second lead syndrome here.

In every single drama, i have really liked second lead (but that doesn't mean  i hated first lead because manga character of 1st lead is very pure and passionate in his love..so you can't exactly hate that..) ..and focused on his pain so much more but this drama.. i agree.. SLS seems improbable (50% dylan effect, 50% seems drama is not going to focus much on sanchai-hwaza lei...ah! this we will know only later)

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I was honestly feeling very sad for him during that scene in the beach when he saw them kiss. You know, Shan Cai didn't even say that she likes him or anything so it's kinda unfair for him to be mad at her, but I can't help but feel his pain. Sighhhh. Dylan Wang, where have you been all these days??? And to think that he is only 19.... I'm crying. Lolol.

Ya.. you were in a rush to take birth  ... patience is a virtue for a reason

 

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@enigmatic_zephy I think she started having a soft spot for him since he waited for her in the rain for 3 hours. Also of course the elevator scene that followed helped her to see him in a different light. I think she just got a little confused when Lei came back. You are right though, I think we can't pinpoint an exact moment when she started having feelings for Ah si. That is the beauty of this whole story though, she falls for him slowly with every moment she spends with him and gets to know him better, she just is kinda stupid to not realize it soon enough and ends up hurting both him and herself. Sigh. 

So, i was talking generally , not specific to this drama.. but the manga or actual plot

 

Soft spot - Agree - happens after the first date ( when he waits.. across all versions and manga.. which this drama showed us)..

 

But the true, strong feelings happened -  after  the goons kidnap shancai and si allows them to beat him up...

 

Confession - shancai's confession happens when male lead and second lead fight after that 3 match bet and they tell shancai that male lead is hurt.. she comes rushing to him.. right?)

 

( Drama has shows soft spot scene, omitted the other two - second scene is replaced with si traveling abroad and sanchai missing him and realizing she likes him.. third scene don't know how will we get it)

 

Also, when hwaza lei came back, the kiss was very real for him but then during the kiss he realizes that shancai is no longer into him... he just wants to make her realize that she has already started to love Si. So, he takes her out on a date, purposely shows how noncaring but polite he is.. as in no one can be as attentive as Si... and he does everything to drive them to a point where si and shancai can understand each other's hearts.. ( lei's character arc is painful.. i don't even want to remember)

[enigmatic_zephy]

1 hour ago, lan_lan said:

 

I think that scene is coming based on this video @ 02:32 mark.

 

Yes you are right.. thanks for this.. has a lot of anticipated scenes..

 

thank god, i thought hwaza lei story won't happen.. but guess we are going to see the painful moments..

 

Too many kisses ahead .. aww.. Dylan is totally owning it in every scene..

 

TOo many heartbreaks lined up  ( good news, we probably won't have stupid memory loss track)

[enigmatic_zephy]

also just a note, 

 

going by random videos on youtube, it appears that casting happened keeping their basic personalities in mind..

 

like the boy playing lei generally seems slow and quiet on all variety shows, Dylan is very active.. the other two too..

it was similar in jerry yan's and vic zhou's case..

hana yori dango (well everyone else is quite similar in personalities to these characters.. except shun.. but that's why he is a brilliant actor  .. shun's a total playboy and as bad as bad boys come  )

 

BOF (don't know about Lee min ho, but others are again similar.. KHJ is the cold , hard to read, very smart and observant, the others have the strengths of their character)

 

 

I am guessing specially with new/rookie actors (which all of these people were when they did their respective dramas) having a match between actor's real personality and some basic character traits enhances the performance and probably in lot of such cases, we can see that similarity (e.g. Doek sun in reply 1988, taek in reply 1988, infact all reply series have that in common)

[lan_lan]

@kokodus and @enigmatic_zephy

 

Dylan's the first one to ever make me favor Doumyouji over Rui in all the versions I've watched.  I love his hawk-like eyes.  It can look so scary and intense when he's angry but kind of sexy at the same time haha.  He really embodied the character too, childish and spoiled but still makes me have sympathy for him.  Also so funny when he's being a doofus too.  And his hair is amazing, like a male shampoo commercial waiting to happen   I like the actor they chose for Lei as well, he fits the character's feel.  In fact, I think physically this is the best looking cast all around of all the versions made.

 

But my favorite thing is the two leads' chemistry.  They're even super cute off cam so it's like when I watch them being sweet onscreen I don't even see the characters anymore lol

 

 

[kokodus]

I'm going by the Netflix schedule, so I guess I'll always be behind you guys who watch the raws. So we have raws up to 12 now. Netflix has 10 eps, not much of a difference I guess. Shan Cai still hasn't realized her feelings. Sighh. I want me some sweet moments. Si's sister is badass as expected. Nothing new. Always have liked her character. I'm dreading the appearance of mom though. Let's see, how evil they are going to make her to be. Lol. 

 

2 hours ago, enigmatic_zephy said:

 

TOo many heartbreaks lined up  ( good news, we probably won't have stupid memory loss track)

How sure are you about this one?? Amnesia plot is kinda annoying, I admit it, but I kinda like what it brought to the story. It showed how much Shan Cai also loved him. She put so much effort to make him remember her, and gets heartbroken when nothing works out. Also love how he eventually remembers her inspite of everything and the sweet moments that followed. Didn't someone here feel that his love for her is more that hers. I think this amnesia plot serves to let us know that she loved him as much as he did. 

 

@lan_lan I always have loved and rooted only for Domoyouji in all the versions. I had a soft spot for Rui in HYD only because Oguri Shun portrayed it with such perfection. I hated Ji hoo in BOF, meh. I still don't know how I feel about Lei here. Let's see. I agree about Dylan's powerful eyes and the chemistry between him and Shen yue. They are way too adorable on and off screen. Hu Yi Tian, who??? LOLOL. 

[lan_lan]

@kokodus Ahh can’t wait until Netflix uploads all the episodes for this week.  From episode 11 up to episode 14 there is so much sweetness I think I got cavities

[viktormani]

1 hour ago, kokodus said:

 

How sure are you about this one?? Amnesia plot is kinda annoying, I admit it, but I kinda like what it brought to the story. It showed how much Shan Cai also loved him. She put so much effort to make him remember her, and gets heartbroken when nothing works out. Also love how he eventually remembers her inspite of everything and the sweet moments that followed. Didn't someone here feel that his love for her is more that hers. I think this amnesia plot serves to let us know that she loved him as much as he did.

Yeah i always felt that he loved her more in all versions so hopefully we get that Amnesia plot

[maisquared]

7 hours ago, kokodus said:

I'm warning you guys, this is going to be one major fangirling post....

 

LOL, i'm sooo in love with Dylan Wang. I think they have a chosen a perfect boy to play Dao Ming Si. He makes me both hate and love him. Like that is even possible. I don't know maybe it's character itself but he is owning it. He is oozing with charisma...I just love the way he looks at her...like she is the only girl in this world. LOL. I like his pineapple head but I so love his after shower hair as well. I can confidently say that I won't have any second lead syndrome here. I was honestly feeling very sad for him during that scene in the beach when he saw them kiss. You know, Shan Cai didn't even say that she likes him or anything so it's kinda unfair for him to be mad at her, but I can't help but feel his pain. Sighhhh. Dylan Wang, where have you been all these days??? And to think that he is only 19.... I'm crying. Lolol.

 

@enigmatic_zephy I think she started having a soft spot for him since he waited for her in the rain for 3 hours. Also of course the elevator scene that followed helped her to see him in a different light. I think she just got a little confused when Lei came back. You are right though, I think we can't pinpoint an exact moment when she started having feelings for Ah si. That is the beauty of this whole story though, she falls for him slowly with every moment she spends with him and gets to know him better, she just is kinda stupid to not realize it soon enough and ends up hurting both him and herself. Sigh. 

 

3 hours ago, kokodus said:

I'm going by the Netflix schedule, so I guess I'll always be behind you guys who watch the raws. So we have raws up to 12 now. Netflix has 10 eps, not much of a difference I guess. Shan Cai still hasn't realized her feelings. Sighh. I want me some sweet moments. Si's sister is badass as expected. Nothing new. Always have liked her character. I'm dreading the appearance of mom though. Let's see, how evil they are going to make her to be. Lol. 

 

How sure are you about this one?? Amnesia plot is kinda annoying, I admit it, but I kinda like what it brought to the story. It showed how much Shan Cai also loved him. She put so much effort to make him remember her, and gets heartbroken when nothing works out. Also love how he eventually remembers her inspite of everything and the sweet moments that followed. Didn't someone here feel that his love for her is more that hers. I think this amnesia plot serves to let us know that she loved him as much as he did. 

 

@lan_lan I always have loved and rooted only for Domoyouji in all the versions. I had a soft spot for Rui in HYD only because Oguri Shun portrayed it with such perfection. I hated Ji hoo in BOF, meh. I still don't know how I feel about Lei here. Let's see. I agree about Dylan's powerful eyes and the chemistry between him and Shen yue. They are way too adorable on and off screen. Hu Yi Tian, who??? LOLOL. 

i hope they don’t cut out the amnesia scene! to me it felt more important than the arranged marriage part in BOF. I only watched the korean version so I don’t know if the same plot is in the others. yah hu yi tian whooooo?!? lolz during all of ALSB i just wanted someone to shake her! and be more vocal about his love for her. whether it have been bo wusung or jiang chen. everyone was just too dang subtle lol so this is a great change to see someone so into her character.

 

 

i have only watched the korean version and although the lei character counterpart wasn’t as well acted in the korean version, i def had 2nd lead syndrome. this version i am always rooting for ah si and for shancai to find her way to him sooner. the lei character arc has really been important (only comparing to the korean version ) because you can see that lei realizes that shancai is amazing as a person and does truly understand why ah si loves and fights for her so. he also can understand that she does have that growing seed of love for him ah si and just doesn’t want to admit it. the bluff game of their card lesson was a good one haha for both of them i think.

 

i also think he meant the kiss when he said ‘why can’t i love you’ was that the correct translation? i don’t think he  tried to take advantage of her feelings and emotions. and like in the korean version, he admits that he can easily talk to her and confide in her. he is more at ease with her than she is with him though. and it goes back to what shancais bff says about how liking someone doesn’t matter if you’re attracted to them.. or something to that point.. i think lei and ah si realize this early that though she’s ‘plain and ordinary and doesn’t have a good figure’ lol that she matches with their personalities well. for lei he can confide in her in ways he can’t with f4. he loved jing because she was always there for him, but obviously she loves someone else. how much of those memories we saw are real or part of his imagination? i can’t tell. with ah si she doesn’t put up with his childish ways and kind of reigns him in. like his sister said, he never learned to properly express himself so he buys her things and tries to use money to impress her. obvi is doesn’t work and that’s prob what makes him like her apart from all the other girls who fawn over him.

 

is season 1-24 eps? i never saw meteor garden 1 or 2 so not sure how closely they’re following that timeline. and what season 2 is supposed to be about but excited. not so excited about how much time it will suck from my dayz haha i am supposed to be moving! 

[enigmatic_zephy]

4 hours ago, kokodus said:

Didn't someone here feel that his love for her is more that hers. I think this amnesia plot serves to let us know that she loved him as much as he did. 

lol.. isn't that the point of all/ most love stories.. atleast definitely the teen ones.. the man being unconditionaly in love because its catered to women audience

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@lan_lan I always have loved and rooted only for Domoyouji in all the versions. I had a soft spot for Rui in HYD only because Oguri Shun portrayed it with such perfection. I hated Ji hoo in BOF, meh. I still don't know how I feel about Lei here. Let's see. I agree about Dylan's powerful eyes and the chemistry between him and Shen yue. They are way too adorable on and off screen. Hu Yi Tian, who??? LOLOL. 

he he.. i am with ian.. was always for rui but dylan is truly nailing it (despite me liking lei here.. maybe his track needs to start for me to comment on whom i really like)

 

also talk abt her luck.. 2 beloved series - HYD adn INK.. and she leads both of them.. that's dream freshman year in acting industry

[lan_lan]

1 hour ago, maisquared said:

 

i hope they don’t cut out the amnesia scene! to me it felt more important than the arranged marriage part in BOF. I only watched the korean version so I don’t know if the same plot is in the others. yah hu yi tian whooooo?!? lolz during all of ALSB i just wanted someone to shake her! and be more vocal about his love for her. whether it have been bo wusung or jiang chen. everyone was just too dang subtle lol so this is a great change to see someone so into her character.

 

 

i have only watched the korean version and although the lei character counterpart wasn’t as well acted in the korean version, i def had 2nd lead syndrome. this version i am always rooting for ah si and for shancai to find her way to him sooner. the lei character arc has really been important (only comparing to the korean version ) because you can see that lei realizes that shancai is amazing as a person and does truly understand why ah si loves and fights for her so. he also can understand that she does have that growing seed of love for him ah si and just doesn’t want to admit it. the bluff game of their card lesson was a good one haha for both of them i think.

 

i also think he meant the kiss when he said ‘why can’t i love you’ was that the correct translation? i don’t think he  tried to take advantage of her feelings and emotions. and like in the korean version, he admits that he can easily talk to her and confide in her. he is more at ease with her than she is with him though. and it goes back to what shancais bff says about how liking someone doesn’t matter if you’re attracted to them.. or something to that point.. i think lei and ah si realize this early that though she’s ‘plain and ordinary and doesn’t have a good figure’ lol that she matches with their personalities well. for lei he can confide in her in ways he can’t with f4. he loved jing because she was always there for him, but obviously she loves someone else. how much of those memories we saw are real or part of his imagination? i can’t tell. with ah si she doesn’t put up with his childish ways and kind of reigns him in. like his sister said, he never learned to properly express himself so he buys her things and tries to use money to impress her. obvi is doesn’t work and that’s prob what makes him like her apart from all the other girls who fawn over him.

 

is season 1-24 eps? i never saw meteor garden 1 or 2 so not sure how closely they’re following that timeline. and what season 2 is supposed to be about but excited. not so excited about how much time it will suck from my dayz haha i am supposed to be moving! 

 

I really like your analysis  

 

I've seen the K version, J version season 1-2, and read the manga.  But all this was so long ago that I've forgotten most of the details.  But so far, up to episode 14, there have been some events that I don't remember seeing in the other versions so I think they are following more closely to the manga's plot lines.  Which is good seeing as this will be 48 episodes long.  We won't have to worry about it dragging because many side stories happened in the manga.  I think although the SLS hasn't hit and I don't think it will for me with the main lead having such a strong pull, our hearts will still be torn once his mother arrives in town and causes chaos.  I think around this time is when Rui/Jihoo/Lei really stepped up to be there for Shancai because Dao Mingsi had to push her away to protect her from his mother's meddling.

[enigmatic_zephy]

wow, raw schedule is awesome.. is it 2 episodes per day?

ep 14 is also out.. and schedule says 2 more on friday

[ForgottenSoulx]

I hate lei so much .. go away already.

[kokodus]

I'm tempted to watch the raws but I'm restraining myself from doing so...Not like I can't tell what's going on without the subs, but I just want to understand their conversions thoroughly and not just guessing in what they are speaking. Sigh. 

 

@enigmatic_zephy @lan_lan What is Lei's story arc?? Enlighten me. Once Domoyouji and Makino got together, I didn't feel any threat from Rui at all. I didn't think for once that she would go back to him. Hence why I felt that his character's purpose gets over once he makes Shan Cai realize her feelings for Si. Of course after that he becomes this daddy long legs and helps her a lot. Always pushing her towards Si. 

 

 

[lan_lan]

@kokodus  Hmm maybe my memory is being affected by the K version?  I just remember feeling a lot of pity for that version of Rui because he started to love her for real.

 

You’re right to wait for subs, the scenes are much better enjoyed with understanding of the dialogues.  The development is starting to get so good by episode 14.  And then the preview for episode 16 makes it torturous to have to wait until next week.  I hate being a drama addict lol.  

[joowonie]

19 hours ago, kokodus said:

I'm warning you guys, this is going to be one major fangirling post....

 

LOL, i'm sooo in love with Dylan Wang. I think they have a chosen a perfect boy to play Dao Ming Si. He makes me both hate and love him. Like that is even possible. I don't know maybe it's character itself but he is owning it. He is oozing with charisma...I just love the way he looks at her...like she is the only girl in this world. LOL. I like his pineapple head but I so love his after shower hair as well. I can confidently say that I won't have any second lead syndrome here. I was honestly feeling very sad for him during that scene in the beach when he saw them kiss. You know, Shan Cai didn't even say that she likes him or anything so it's kinda unfair for him to be mad at her, but I can't help but feel his pain. Sighhhh. Dylan Wang, where have you been all these days??? And to think that he is only 19.... I'm crying. Lolol.

 

@enigmatic_zephy I think she started having a soft spot for him since he waited for her in the rain for 3 hours. Also of course the elevator scene that followed helped her to see him in a different light. I think she just got a little confused when Lei came back. You are right though, I think we can't pinpoint an exact moment when she started having feelings for Ah si. That is the beauty of this whole story though, she falls for him slowly with every moment she spends with him and gets to know him better, she just is kinda stupid to not realize it soon enough and ends up hurting both him and herself. Sigh. 

I totally get what you mean that you love/hate DMS all at once. DW is the perfect DMS imo! I can really feel how much he cares about her but at the same time,  wanting to possessed her, which isn’t right and it’s something we hopefully get to see him work on in this version of HYD.

He’s so handsome! I saw an interview where he was asked how he felt about SY and he says that he sees her like a brother but the next sentence he also  says that maybe he doesn’t have much experience with girls and therefore treats them like his buddies! haha I think he is very smart and gives very interesting interviews. He doesn’t come off as someone whose fake so if I see news of him being either a pervert(like a certain co-star of SY) or fake I will be so sad lol

 

I originally watched MG for SY and to all the haters who says she isn’t pretty/skinny enough, SY is super pretty and has a ton of charisma, which is quite rare these days with the current generation of C-actresses. 

 

 

[kokodus]

@joowonie I like Shen Yue. She is being very natural. Like a girl next door type. She is super adorable, I loved it when Si called her tiny girl at one scene. How perfect, she is indeed so tiny. Hahaha. Cute as buttons. I don't care about actor's real life as long as they are serviceable onscreen. But of course I'll squeal and scream if my OTPs get together in real life. Lol. 

 

About Rui/Jihoo, I think I was very much biased and obsessed on Tsukasa/GJP to really see the motivations behind his acts. In case of Ji hoo, I would say it's the actor's fault for not conveying the emotions properly. I only found it creepy that he would really fall in love with his best friend's girlfriend. Meh. As for Rui, I felt his pain. I admit that at certain scenes I even cried for him, but never once thought Makino should be with him. Oguri shun is brilliant in whatever he does. I wish they had chosen a guy with some mature air for Lei's character. He is someone who has supposedly gone through a lot, but I fail to see the depth in his character. Hmmm. Also that boy is way too skinny. Everyone of F4 boys looks skinny, but he particularly looks malnourished. 

 

[lan_lan]

1 hour ago, kokodus said:

Hmmm. Also that boy is way too skinny. Everyone of F4 boys looks skinny, but he particularly looks malnourished. 

 

 

I wonder if this is the trend of their generation now, tall and lanky lol.  Someone commented how they do look like the manga versions come to life, tall and skinny with small heads haha.  The drama is definitely aware as it will make jokes about their skinniness in some of the upcoming episodes.  It also makes fun of itself for the product placements.  Make me love this show even more.