Let's Go Watch Meteor Shower (2009)

As a fan of Zhang Han, it has already been written in the stars that I would watch the drama that launched his career. It really made me wonder why this unofficial Chinese adaptation of Hana Yori Dango had such a low score here and also negative comments in different blogs. As I watched every episode of the drama, it also made me wonder how it became an unofficial adaptation when it followed the basic elements of the original story. Although I completely agree with others when they said that this was more like an adaptation of Meteor Garden compared to Hana Yori Dango. So we can basically call this an adaptception (I hope you'd get what I was trying to say here ;). I have also long accepted the fact that I would definitely come to love any version of Hana Yori Dango because I'm just so in love with the story no matter how cliche it is already now. I can honestly say that the first few episodes were quite boring and ridiculous (in terms of acting maybe) and definitely different from all HYD adaptations.

However, one must be patient in watching in order to enjoy it fully. One major thing that made me love this drama was the chemistry of our main leads, Chu Yu Xun and Murong Yun Hai. No wonder Zhang Han and Zheng Shuang ended up dating in real life! In terms of acting, Zhang Han playing the Domyouji character really made my fangirl heart jump out of happiness. I believe he played it so well next to Jerry Yan's Dao Ming Si. I also can't believe that Zheng Shuang was just around 18 or maybe even younger when she acted in this drama and she was just really adorable and fierce at the same time. The only thing that I could complain about her was that she was just too pretty to play the Makino character but this is hardly even a complaint. I have always been a fan of Hanazawa Rui (both in MG and HYD) but the one here really disappointed me in terms of acting and looks (sorry for being shallow!) but he just grew on me as I continued watching. I also found the other F4 members really cute and they actually had decent storylines.

I gave the music section a perfect score because I really love the OSTs that I'm even listening to them now as I type this. My favorite ones are Love's Waltz, Let Me Sing A Song For You, I Want to Soar, etc and most of them were sang by the cast members! It was a chance for me to actually listen to their real voices as they were all dubbed in this drama.

I gave a low score to the rewatch value because I feel that it would be dragging to rewatch everything all over again. I would also be unfair and say that nothing can beat the rewatch value of Meteor Garden which is why I gave such a low score. My apologies for writing such a long review but it only means that I'm very passionate because I believe that more people should give this drama a chance. A bit of chance that would entail just enjoying the drama alone and forgetting the other adaptations even just for awhile!

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I personally don't understand why people are so critical? This drama is something really special. Despite the fact, that it is a numerous interpretation of 'Boys over flowers', it remains one of the best among the others. From the first episodes I became fascinated by this drama: actors, plot, music - everithing was perfect. It was my first Chinese drama, and I can't compare it with other Chinese creations, however, the first impression was completely positive. The new ideas in the plot make this drama unique, create 'new waves' and I even can't tell, that it is only a version of something, it is an independent drama. The acting is on the high level. Actors did great job. It was truelly sensitive and gripping. Despite the number of episodes, you move quickly throug them and I can't say, that there were some needless and boring moments. All in all, it IS a masterpiece, GREAT JOB!

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