Meteor Garden (2018) Review: The F4 Return in Style

Is Meteor Garden (2018) worth watching?

Yes. The 2018 Meteor Garden is a bright, funny and hugely addictive retelling of one of Asia’s most famous campus romances, powered by the sparky pairing of Shen Yue and Dylan Wang. It modernises a well-worn story without losing the rich-boy, poor-girl tension that made it a phenomenon, and it has more warmth and humour than many remakes. The main reservation is that the length stretches the romance thin in places, and the hero’s possessive behaviour will not sit comfortably with every viewer.

What is Meteor Garden about?

Dong Shancai (Shen Yue) is an ordinary, outspoken girl from a modest family who earns a place at the most prestigious university in the country. The campus is ruled by F4, a clique of the four wealthiest and most admired young men in the school: the arrogant, hot-headed Daoming Si (Dylan Wang), the quiet, gentle Huaze Lei (Darren Chen), and their friends Ximen and Meizuo (Caesar Wu and Liang Jingkang). When Shancai refuses to bow to them, she becomes a target, and her clash with Daoming Si turns into an unlikely, turbulent romance, complicated by her friendship with Huaze Lei.

Meteor Garden is a Chinese series in Mandarin, first broadcast on Hunan TV, based on Yoko Kamio’s manga Boys Over Flowers and produced with involvement from Angie Chai, who was behind the celebrated 2001 Taiwanese adaptation. This review covers the complete drama: a single season of roughly 50 episodes, with a finished story.

A remake that knows its legacy

This story has been adapted many times, most famously in Taiwan’s 2001 Meteor Garden and South Korea’s Boys Over Flowers, and the 2018 version wisely leans into the pleasures that made those versions beloved. The F4 are introduced with swaggering music-video style, the campus is glossy and aspirational, and the story beats, from the class conflict to the love triangle, are delivered with confidence. It also updates the setting with modern technology and a slightly softer edge to the bullying, making it more accessible to a new generation.

Shancai’s family and friends supply much of the humour, and the show keeps returning to her working-class world as a grounded contrast to the F4’s excess. That balance gives the fairy tale some substance.

Shen Yue and Dylan Wang’s chemistry

The drama’s success rests on its leads, and both are well cast. Shen Yue gives Shancai a fiery, cheerful stubbornness that makes her a satisfying underdog; she is funny without being a pushover, and her refusal to be impressed by wealth drives the story. Dylan Wang, in the role that made him a star, plays Daoming Si as a spoiled, volatile young man who is also endearingly clumsy with his feelings. His transformation from tyrant to devoted suitor is the show’s main arc, and he makes it believable.

Darren Chen brings a melancholy stillness to Huaze Lei that makes the triangle feel like a genuine dilemma. The other two F4 members are more lightly sketched but add bromance and comic relief.

The limits of a possessive hero

The drama inherits the problems of its source. Daoming Si’s early behaviour includes bullying and possessiveness that the story sometimes treats as romantic, and even as he grows, some of his jealousy is played for charm. The long running time also means the relationship goes through repeated cycles of misunderstanding and reconciliation, and a few mid-series arcs feel like padding. Viewers who dislike the rich-man, poor-woman formula will find little here to change their minds.

Who should watch Meteor Garden?

It is ideal for fans of youth romance, campus dramas and enemies-to-lovers stories, and for anyone curious about the version that introduced the F4 to a new generation. The long run makes it a commitment best enjoyed over several weeks. There is mild violence, bullying and emotional conflict, but it is largely suitable for teenagers.

If it sweeps you away, try these:

• Hidden Love, a gentler, more recent Chinese youth romance with an equally loved lead pairing.
• Eternal Love for a sweeping Chinese romance on a grander, fantasy scale.

The verdict

Meteor Garden (2018) is a vibrant, crowd-pleasing remake that captures the charm of its classic source while giving it a modern polish. Its hero’s possessive streak and its length are real drawbacks, but Shen Yue and Dylan Wang make it one of the most enjoyable Chinese romances of its era.

Rating: 4.5/5