Jardim de Meteoros (2018)

Took months to get through this one. I almost gave up at first though. The main male character was TOO aggressive. I know, I know...that's the point, he's supposed to be a jerk....all that. I know. I just didn't like it. At all. He assaulted the girl on numerous occasions and she falls for him. I had trouble with that. Quite a bit of trouble, actually.

But then Hua Ze Lei showed up like a knight in shining armor and just stole my heart and I had to keep watching even though SLS was written all over that poor boy. But seriously, I want his wardrobe.

The story takes a long time to resolve with too many I love him/her, I hate him/her, Let's date, let's break up, I love you, NO I love you episodes. It was tiring. The writers also seemed to forget some key points (the bridge club, Shen Cai's cooking) by half way through which makes it seem scattered and leaves you wondering why we lived through the drama of those things when they ultimately mean nothing to the plat. Headscratchers.

Eventually, as Dao Ming Si matures and recognizes he's an idiot, I warmed to him. The crying scene...lordy, son...breakin' my heart. I wasn't even mad at Shan Cai for liking him over the alternative. The heart loves who it loves. Happy endings and all that.

So, with reservation, I would recommend this show. The violence toward Shen Cai is triggering so if you have a sensitivity toward that, don't watch this.

Leia Mais

Spoiler Alert!

I have watched the original Taiwanese Version and after watching this I still love the original more. Here are my thoughts about this version. Dylan wang and Darren chen did a very good Job when it comes to acting. Dylan Wang as Daoming Si is so handsome even when he is angry. Shen yue is cute but I felt that she could've done better. She did much better in A love So beautiful and also Barbie Hsu's version of Shancai is classic . They didn't use shen yue's real voice. Someone dubbed for her and I think that this voice didn't suit her at all. sometimes it was too shrill. There are 49 episodes while the original 2001 version had only 27 episodes if I remember correctly. So as I expected, the story went off track.The first two episodes were so good ,as the story kept on progressing there were so many ups and downs. Everytime Daoming Si gets closer to shancai something bad happens and they keep on fighting. What was all that with Meizuo, Caina and Terrence. It was so boring that it nearly destroyed my interest to continue the show. episode 48 was so draggy. Again and Again, flashbacks of Daoming Si and Shancai's love story was shown which was not needed. The Ending? It was so confusing. Shancai Hit the butler and fainted lol. She wakes up dressed in a wedding gown and has a dream . when did the dream end? Why the hell was Thomas one of Daoming Si's best men? Why didn't Shancai's parents attend their only child's wedding? I was so confused. Anyways they got married and all ends well unlike 2001 version which continues with a terrible, horrible season 2 that broke my heart(eventhough daoming si and shancai reunite at the end). I really loved all the songs from the show. I think that it would've been better if they cut short it to like 30 episodes instead of 49.

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All great performances except one

I would love to have given this series a much higher rating but Shen Yue’s acting quite frankly ruined it for me. All the other actors were great, giving excellent performances but Shen Yue was uninspiring. Dylan Wang gave this cdrama credence with his heartfelt performance as a sort of Shakespeare’s Romeo as Dao Ming Si. But for all the effort he put into his character the opposite seemed true for Shen Yue’s performance as Dong Shan Cai. Even the ordinary girl she portrayed could have at least been played by someone a little less annoying who would never let her guard down even for a moment. It was exhausting watching her refusal to bend and begs the question, if the main character doesn’t really care why should we? Wanted to also make an honorable mention of the performances by Darren Chen and Caesar Wu who also added a sense of believability to their characters as members of the F4 group.

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This one’s a classic and I feel that many of the tropes from shojo manga or even romantic k-drama (plain cinderella surrounded by a bunch of good looking guys, rich guy/poor girl, evil mother in law, etc.) were inspired from this. In other words, it’s got everything people either love or hate depending on their personal tolerance or liking for these old tropes.


The male lead is very controversial. He’s downright mean in the first few episodes and almost does something unforgivable in the fourth episode (something I wish they had removed because the story would have worked just as well without it, IMHO) but I could see what the writer was trying to do with him…he’s a big sweetheart and probably one of the most devoted and unwavering MLs by the 30th episode onwards; almost like an entirely different person but it takes awhile for him to get there and maybe for others (understandably) a little too late.

The relationship between the ML/FL only work out here if* the viewer likes the trope where one character transforms after going through a lot of changes. I was loving the ML/FL by the latter episodes but again, it took a long time to get to that point and there’s a lot of angst a viewer has to wade through, brought on by their social status differences and his meddling evil mother.

I’ve seen several versions of HYD/MG. It was a huge hit when it aired in my country; in fact, it started the asian drama wave in the 2000s. I think this might be the best version because of how closely it follows the manga. It does something better in that it manages to soften the characters even further and inject more sweet moments between the ML and FL, which I didn’t see much of in the HYD comic. I could actually tell that they liked* each other here, compared to other versions where they just bickered most of the time. It also handled the amnesia arc from the comic very effectively…I didn’t like that trope.

Also, casting is on point for all the characters here, especially the F4. I’ve always thought Lee Min Ho from BOF and Bright from the Thai F4 were too soft and pretty to be Domyouji/Dao Ming Si..but they would have been perfectly cast as the 2nd ML. IMHO, only the Japanese, Taiwanese and now the Chinese versions cast the ML right. So far, the only San Cai/Tsukushi I like are the ones played by Barbie Su and Mao Inoue. The one here is just alright. It’s a nice touch that they made her a chef.

The only thing I didn’t like about this version were the episodes that focused on a made up character named Zhou Caina, who was not part of the comic..and also the last episode which seemed rushed and out of the place.

Leia Mais

the story some times gets boring specially when the main character Shancai always get in trouble. The acting of the cast is really good, specially Darren Chen, his performance is really natural.
About the music, it is very outstanding.
In general is a nice story you will love it and watch it more than once. You haver to take note that the subtitles are in english and in spanish, also you listen some english expression during the serie this helps to get the main idean of the scene.
What I dislike from the serie was that sometimes the main love story of Shancai and Daoming Si gets bored because the actors some time you can see that the acting of the actor were very forced was no natural.

Leia Mais

Problematic and fun... two words that only go together in fiction

I've seen the Korean adaptation but none of the others. The actress's portrayal of the MFL in the Korean version made the character so pathetic, I wasn't able to finish the series. I honestly only watched this version for Dylan Wang. As an aside, I didn't realize they dubbed his voice in some of his drama until I watched Only For Love and heard his real voice (which I actually prefer). Anyway, enough about voices.

This story is problematic-ish. I add the "ish" because it's based on a comic book and everything is always over-the-top in comic books. Since this version seems to follow the original faithfully, the over-the-top scenes don't translate as well to TV/film as a medium. The acting is rather cartoonish (except when Dylan Wang does that eye thing, where he communicates all his thoughts with a single look; that's impressive as always).

This show is also addictive. Something is always happening until about episode 12, then it slows down a bit, which was good. I was getting exhausted from all the back and forth. The romance is drawn out to the N-th degree, thus I found binging 5 episodes at a time to be the right amount.

Basically, if you enjoy watching cartoonish, fun shows with over-the-top reactions by the ML and FL, this one is for you.

Leia Mais

Review from someone who had no exposure to any of the previous versions

I watched this series because a friend showed me the first 20 minutes on Netflix. When I came home, I reluctantly tried to watch the first two episodes. After all, I dont speak any Mandarin, and was questioning the subtitles. I speak several other languages, and in my experience with Netflix, it doesn't provide great translation.

I was hooked after two episodes, and have now watched ALL the episodes.

Great casting job! Having come to understand, it was first job for many of the young cast, I'm impressed. Especially Dylan Wang and Darren Chen. Im sure Shen Yue knocked it out of the park, but her character had me, a woman, wanting to reach into my TV and knock some sense and shake her at times.

I grew up on Bollywood entertainment, and have a South Asian background. So I understand the cultural restraints to great story telling. The conservative nature greatly restraints the story I find, and the actors. Every cliché to dating and relationships is played out, and even made fun of in the story.

My biggest disappointment is the normalization of violence against women, and the acceptance of it. I understand that this version greatly reduces the violence by introducing a card game as a tool that F4 uses, but there is no remorse or acceptance of responsibility from the characters who mete out the violence, even Dao Ming Si.

Also concerning is the women, who dont look out for themselves. I was totally shocked at the bar scenes and women. There are no cautionary measures introduced, and friends seem content to leave their drunk female friend with a stranger. As someone with sisters, daughters, nieces, i was just floored. Please understand, I moved out on my own when I was 17, and had to learn some survival skills on my own. If I was at a bar, I watched my drinks, and we generally had designated driver, who stayed sober.

The ending felt rushed. There ought to have been more foreshadowing of financial struggles and Dao Ming Feng's desperation to keep the company afloat earlier. I felt jarred to go from two young people in need need of medical care to a waking Dao Ming Feng. I didnt care that she got some sleep finally.

Maybe language skills could've helped with the ending and the bizarre wedding scene. Also, what could help is translating the songs. The songs were cheesy, but i find they help understand the characters and their motivations.

Would I watch it again? Yes. Would I recommend to others? Oh yes!

Leia Mais

We know how famous a meteor garden is and how contradictory it is, but it is undoubtedly memorable.

I see positives and negatives, among them eps, I particularly love that it has 49 episodes as it opens up the drama universe in a great way and shows us developments that are really cool to see, but I know a lot of people for their time hates this big episode number


One of the strongest points is the difficult protagonist and his temperament, but because he didn't know what love was. , he was raised in a troubled situation and without the affection and teachings about love, he loved her the way he learned, which is unfortunately hostile

One of the weakest and most frustrating points for me was secondary couple, the tea master with the cafeteria worker I thought it was terrible, he didn't want her, he never did, didn't know how to treat her and she in the drama , it was frustrating to see... .

The ending wasn't so good and it's debated MT among the fans, because it's very pointless to see the couple randomly entering their own wedding without even knowing what was going on, I probably got confused and questioned myself, but no makes the kdrama bad this fact

Their relationship walk becomes something pleasant to see, mainly because of the improvement they show with each other.

The village of the series is memorable for how bad it is, without many comments, but it is remarkable and a reference

It's a very good drama, but it's a nice and exciting MT to watch.

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EVERY THING IS NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE

Okay, so finally I just finished this drama, and I actually feel its such a beautiful story and drama to watch. It shows the beauty to true friendship. You accept a person the way they are and you try to change them for good without giving up on them because of any reason. It shows how to hold-on on a person you love against all odds. It shows that the person's status has nothing to do when its about love.
CORE DRAMA REVIEW : The development of the story was good, but the way the love story started.... honestly it was weird, it just started to develop out of no where. And frankly speaking, I literally remained confused up to few episodes after the love story started. Like I was not able to connect what was happening and how. But then everything started to fall in the line, the story started to make sense, the flow became great and then I started to love it. This story was quite a bit different then the other stories I watched and may be that's why I liked it even more.
The determination towards love that is showcased in this drama is so overwhelming. Like if you actually get someone who is ready to give up on anything just to be with out... what can be more beautiful than that. And he just only don't talk about it... but actually show how much he is determined towards his love.
Honestly, I was crying in the second half of episode 41 and in the episode 47. It was so touching.
ACTING : I loved the acting and I feel that DYLAN WANG ( as Dao Ming Si) is a really good actor, as when he was doing his character as a arrogant person with full of anger, I felt like kicking on his face but then when the character changes..it became so sweet and nice and romantic. And only a good actor can bring so much chance in the same character. Also this was his first series and I feel that he did a good job.
SHEN YUE ( as Dong Shan Cai) was just perfect. She was really looking like girl with strong willpower even though she was not having a strong financial background. She is courageous, knows to fight for herself and others. Do not take anyone's shit no matters who is it.
And the other character also fit really with the person and their looks. Let it be Mrs. Dao Ming Feng, the woman with strong aura who was leading the entire Dao Ming Group. Or its Shan Cai's mother who is a lively women running a small business and supporting her family with love and care.
SHAN CAI : The girl who have got the guts to stand against the powerful F4. Who is not influence by their good looks. The girl who have a differently beautiful relation with HUAZE LEI.
THE MEMBER OF F4 : Its so nicely balanced.
DAO MING SI : He is the angry, impulsive one; who is always ready to beat anyone. The most handsome among the four. With strongest will power and a heart full of love for his girlfriend.
HUA ZE LEI : The sleepy head according to DAO MING SI. A person who is always cool, calm in any situation. Never got impulsive apart from few incidents and which was actually justified. The person who speaks less and specially only when asked to do so. But when he does, no one can cut his point. The person who is closet to SI among the four; although all of the 4 are really close to each other. The person who is by SHAN CAI's side in all the situation, who fell that she is his pet. Always ready to protect her from anything.
FENG MEI ZUO : The one who is balancing the the group. A normal guy, with a brilliant mind. One to the topper and outstanding student of the college. Who likes women older than him in age.
XI MEN YAN : The fourth pillar of the group. Who is balancing the group along with MEIZUO. The normal guy among the two weird ones. The one with loves to be with different girls.
THE SOUND TRACK : I feel a special attraction towards the song of this series. Its something different. And honestly I am listening to it in loop.

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