Hana Yori Dango // Meteor Garden // Boys Over Flowers

So, I'm currently in the midst of watching Boys Over Flowers, the Korean version and fourth remake of the same manga. Seriously, is this manga that good? So good to the point where it seems like every Asian country needs its own F4 and interpretation of the drama? I ono, the actual storyline is still a bit bleh to me.

So, since sadly, I've seen all three of these, I just wanted to share some thoughts about it. It's very hard for me to decide which one I like better, the Japanese or Korean version. I really, really like the casting of the Japanese one and overall, just really enjoyed the drama- much better than Meteor Garden (Taiwanese version). It was fast-paced, short and sweet. Have yet to watch the sequel and movie though. But this Korean version definitely wasn't a big disappointment. Honestly, going into it, I just felt obligated to watch it because it was so popular, but I also wanted to see what all the hype was about and whether or not it was worth all the attention. At first it was just meh, ok, then this is gonna happen again and blah blah, but then I got really into it! Finished like 12 episodes in 3 days.

In this Korean version, Lee Min-ho totally steals the spotlight. I really didn't expect so much goodness from him, acting and looks wise. He deserves the newcomer award that he won, but looking him up on dramawiki, he isn't as newb as I thought. He's been around for a while, just hasn't had his big break till now. He's definitely my favorite character in the drama because of his acting and the best Domyouji or whatever you want to call him out of all the versions. Jun-san to me still lacks a bit in the looks department - too short and mousey looking. He also doesn't do the romance scenes as well, methinks. Jang-di (Goo Hye-sun) is mediocre in all of this, I think. My ears hurt after watching this drama because of her; it seems like all she can do is yell in a really loud and annoying voice. I'll have to see how her next drama project is though to get a more accurate sense of her acting. And Kim Bum is pretty good to; although I still think that the Japanese version of his character is cuter :D

So out of all three remakes I've seen so far, it's a tie between the Japanese and Korean one. If you can't tell, I don't care for the Taiwanese one at all. lol. It was the first drama for all the F4 people, which made it unbearable to watch, and only Rui was cute. Also, it was one of the director's first dramas; I can't say that he did a bad job of casting though because I think all the people in his dramas have grown to become pretty good actors. And Black and White? That is definitely the most well filmed Taiwanese drama to date. So anyways, that's my rant on this drama.