Based on the Japanese manga Boys over Flowers and the 2001 Taiwanese Meteor Garden, this Chinese 2018 version takes place in Shanghai. After being on TV through Hunan Television and its online counterpart Mango TV, it was finally released on Netflix worldwide a couple of days later. With its makers more flashier and fuller approach in mind to the books and 2001 versions, a casting call was put out on social media in June 2017 and on November 2017 the full cast was revealed.
Native Title: 流星花园
Also Known As: Liu Xing Hua Yuan, Meteor Garden 2018, Meteor Garden Chinese Version
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Youth, Drama
Country: China
Type: Drama
Episodes: 49
Aired: Jul 9, 2018 – Aug 29, 2018
Duration: 45 min.
Rating: 13+
Synopsis
The story centers around an ordinary girl, Dong Shancai (Shen Yue) who is accepted to the most prestigious university in the country. She encounters F4, an exclusive group composed of the four popular boys from the institution – Daoming Si (Dylan Wang), Huaze Lei (Darren Chen), Yan Ximen (Caesar Wu), and Feng Meizuo (Connor Leong). Shancai is a girl from a family that is barely able to make ends meet. Due to the nature of her personality, she immediately clashes with F4, especially Daoming Si who is spoiled, arrogant, and a bully. She remains defiant even after becoming a target of Daoming Si and just when she’s about to give up, Huaze Lei always seems to show up to comfort her. Eventually, the four boys begin to acknowledge Shancai’s unyielding personality that is like her namesake; a weed that can never be brought down. She also begins to see the good in the boys, which paves the way for friendship and an eventual romance.
Cast
Shen Yue as Dong Shang Cai
Wang He Di as Dao Ming Si
Darren Chen as Hue Ze Lei
Connor Liang as Feng Mei Zuo
Wu Xi Ze as Xi Men Yan
Opinion
6/7 out of 10
I actually really enjoyed this, the way of it being filmed is truly Japanese but mixed with the Chinese way of acting. It’s over the top and I’m loving it (as always). The whiny-ness however of the main character gets a bit on your nerves at times. if you’ve watched Boys over Flowers you might get annoyed by it too, though I’m pretty sure the voices are dubbed over in some way or my netflix isn’t fully in sync which annoy me aswel but don’t let just that stop you from watching more and more. I got really addicted to watching it. The music in this series makes me really happy, I might even be able to find new artists to listen to.
I love me a romance, if you do aswell make sure you see this series.
