VeggieEverything
Watch it if you must
The "core" story of Boys over Flower is powerful. It's a story about violent school bullying to the extent of leading children to attempt suicide, a story about class struggles and the rich viewing the poor as not only a different class, but altogether less than human. While many take issue with the way that bullying is portrayed here, I believe at the time of release it was good to put these issues out in the open. Bullying is happening and it is terrifying. Poor people are not less than.
I watched original Meteor Garden (way too many times, and probably last time was in 2007) as well as Hana Yori Dango. Leaving aside the 2018 Chinese Meteor Garden than I hope to never watch, the Korean version was the worst in my opinion. The Japanese version has the edge simply on being short (only 9 episodes!) and having better chemistry between the leads. Original MG had a stellar cast, great chemistry between Barbie and both Vic and Jerry. Also, 12 years later I still hum the opening song randomly and remember lines from it.
Concentrating solely on BoF now, it was too long with too many unnecessary twists and heartaches. JanDi was unbearable. All the screaming, all the crying. You still root for her, of course, because she's being stepped on and is the only one with enough guts to stand up, but wow was the role miscast. The second ML also didn't sell me. I know he was a broken character, but unlike Hua Ze Lei from Meteor Garden there was nothing approachable or vulnerable that made him attractive. Then there's Goo Joon Pyo, the terrible rich bully that has no conscience. He'll send someone to beat you bloody, but then he'll save you. And he'll be so loving as he saves you. He has grown a lot as an actor since then, but he was still great in this. It was hard to not like him, even as he fully personified toxicity, which was the point. The best characters though were the two minor F4, Kim Bum who actually showed growth and Kim Joon, the mafia boss son with a ridiculously funny dancing sequence.
At the end of the day, this is a drama you watch to cross of your list because it's a classic. You may even really get into it, the way that a train wreck sucks you in. Or, you may decide that you're not into the bullying, which drags on and and on and is very draining.
I watched original Meteor Garden (way too many times, and probably last time was in 2007) as well as Hana Yori Dango. Leaving aside the 2018 Chinese Meteor Garden than I hope to never watch, the Korean version was the worst in my opinion. The Japanese version has the edge simply on being short (only 9 episodes!) and having better chemistry between the leads. Original MG had a stellar cast, great chemistry between Barbie and both Vic and Jerry. Also, 12 years later I still hum the opening song randomly and remember lines from it.
Concentrating solely on BoF now, it was too long with too many unnecessary twists and heartaches. JanDi was unbearable. All the screaming, all the crying. You still root for her, of course, because she's being stepped on and is the only one with enough guts to stand up, but wow was the role miscast. The second ML also didn't sell me. I know he was a broken character, but unlike Hua Ze Lei from Meteor Garden there was nothing approachable or vulnerable that made him attractive. Then there's Goo Joon Pyo, the terrible rich bully that has no conscience. He'll send someone to beat you bloody, but then he'll save you. And he'll be so loving as he saves you. He has grown a lot as an actor since then, but he was still great in this. It was hard to not like him, even as he fully personified toxicity, which was the point. The best characters though were the two minor F4, Kim Bum who actually showed growth and Kim Joon, the mafia boss son with a ridiculously funny dancing sequence.
At the end of the day, this is a drama you watch to cross of your list because it's a classic. You may even really get into it, the way that a train wreck sucks you in. Or, you may decide that you're not into the bullying, which drags on and and on and is very draining.
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