★★★★★
The 2018 Chinese drama starring Dylan Wang as Dao-Ming Si, Shen Yue
as Dong Shan-Cai, Darren Chen as Hua-Ze Lei, Caesar Wu as Yan Xi-Men, and
Connor Leong as Feng Mei-Zuo. Directed by Lin He-Long and written by Sharon
Mao, based on the Japanese manga Hana
Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) by
Yoko Kamio. It’s also a remake of the 2001 Taiwanese drama of the same title. 49
episodes, 45 minutes apiece.
Brief synopsis: Dong Shan-Cai starts college at Ming De University,
where she immediately runs into the school’s band of rich-boy bullies, F4.
Dao-Ming Si and Dong Shan-Cai instantly butt heads as both strive to prove that
they will not be taken down by the other. For Dao-Ming Si, this quickly turns
to attraction as he cannot stop thinking about Dong Shan-Cai. As Shan-Cai
spends more time around the F4 members, she sees redemptive qualities even for
the arrogant Si. But lurking behind Dao-Ming Si sits a powerful family that
could tip the scale for their futures.
This drama is the perfect addition to your Boys Over Flowers collection! Effort to connect the drama to the original
books (especially in terms of plot) combined with such an impressive cast make
it a show you definitely can’t miss.
Honestly, the best lines come from Feng Mei-Zuo. Sure, Dao-Ming Si
and Shan-Cai say a lot of sweet things like “I’d follow you to Mars if I had to,”
but those lines aren’t as thought provoking as Mei-Zuo’s. In episode 7 he tells
Li Zhen “There are many unfair things in this world, but that doesn’t mean you
should treat yourself unfairly.” Although Li Zhen was feeling pitiful for obvious
reasons, Mei-Zuo suggests that her state was partially her fault. She could
have resorted to actions other than sabotaging Shan-Cai and Mei-Zuo wanted that
clear. He remains an interesting character to end when Xi-Men leaves him for
New Years plans with Xiao-You. He says “I just need to wait longer.” This is
the part our hearts kind of break for him. Perhaps he and Lei are the only two
of F4 that stay single by the end, but throughout the drama we watched how hard
Mei-Zuo fell for Cai-Na. If we don’t have our happy ending or a new chapter
with a special someone, maybe we just need to “wait longer” as Mei-Zuo says.
Several people involved in the 2001 Taiwanese Meteor Garden made cameos and participated in this 2018 remake. For
example, Dao-Ming Zhuang is played by the sister of the actress who played the
original Shan-Cai. But I think we can all agree that the most impressive
character was Dao-Ming Si. For an immature rich kid, he was greater boyfriend
material than the “great Gu Joon-Pyo.” In episode 47, he sees right through
Shan-Cai even when there’s a door between them.
But I think we can also be impressed that Thomas was more than just
a passing character.
One of the first things to catch your attention in this drama is the
impeccable OST. It might be incredibly catchy, but the personal involvement
from the F4 cast makes it so much better! I downloaded all of it.
This drama was also very effective at conveying emotions. The scene
with the hot pot in episode 41 was so emotional that I couldn’t look away.
The pineapple seems to be a consistent symbol of Dao-Ming Si. For
the first part of the show, Si is “Pineapple Head,” although he changes his
hairstyle eventually. But the pineapples continue to remind Shan-Cai of Si.
When she goes to London, the ad for Eight Treasure Noodles in a hollowed
pineapple draws Shan-Cai to that restaurant where she gets the help she needs.
There are a few significant differences from the typical Boys Over Flowers. For example, the
story is set in the lives of college students instead of high school students.
There’s a lot of product/sponsor placement for a number of apps and marketing
products. It can be distracting, but it sure is better than watching commercial
after commercial. The 2nd Leading Male Syndrome is also practically
nonexistent. There’s not as much tension between Dao-Ming Si and Hua-Ze Lei
over Shan-Cai. Lei doesn’t have that strong of a presence, even though Shan-Cai
admits she had a crush on him first.
I love that Dao-Ming Feng turns human in the end. She gets a life of
her own away from the stress of her job, and even becomes someone that Dong
Shan-Cai can deeply respect. The final scenes of Dao-Ming Si and Dong Shan-Cai
were gold, although much of it just looked like the actors fooling around
on-set. I kept expecting the episode to end any moment because they all looked
like good endings (except for that green-screened Hua-Ze Lei. What was up with
that?). But the ending was different from what I’ve come to expect out of
Chinese dramas.
Perhaps I even liked this drama better than the Korean Boys Over Flowers (although Lee Min-Ho
is pretty hard to beat). I’m interested in all versions of the story, including
the preceding Meteor Garden from
2001. It might be nice to watch all of them back to back and calculate all the
differences and advantages of each. I really enjoyed watching this 2018 Meteor Garden, even if it is as much of
a roller coaster as Boys Over Flowers.
It was fun and I highly recommend it to anyone’s “For Fun” list! 5/5 stars!
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