2010-08-27 一起来看流星雨

This drama actually surprised me in a good way. I remember watching a few episodes last summer, when this started airing in China. I thought it was going to be like every other lame Taiwanese drama except this is mainland. And I thought the guys were very ugly and everything was really childish compared with the Japanese version of Hana Yori Dango. Of course, I never watched the Korean version so I can't really compare. Then a few weeks ago, I decided to watch UTV on my iTouch and found HunanTV re-airing this. I got interested and decided to watch it. Finished all 36 episodes in 3 days! =D and of course, to my surprise it was actually good!

Although many elements of the plot was all very familiar with the original, this plot is still different. Firstly, H4 are not childhood friends. In fact, in the beginning, Yunhai and the other three competed with each other in proving that Yunhai is indeed better than them and is worthy to be friends with them. I love it when they compete with each other. kekeke.

I also really like the fact that the story is not only about Yunhai, Yuxun, and Duanmu but it's also about the relationships associated with Yunduo, Yeshuo, Xiaoyu, Shangguan, and Yuxin. However, one part that really bothered me throughout the whole show is that Yuxun didn't know she truly like Yunhai until the very end. For around thirty episodes, Yuxun was dating Duanmu. o_O Sure I know that according to the manga, it was like that too but she doesn't need to be with him for such a long time out of the entire drama! And she is always arguing with Yunhai to the point of annoyance for me. And of course, the ending was the most frustrating: he just had to lose his memory and forget about her, and his mom just had to get another girl to replace Yuxun's place. Ahhhhhh. I totally didn't watch all of those episodes for those @-@. Thank goodness there's season two.

Now I know this is probably the first time mainland produced teen dramas like this and obviously, compared with the other ones, it contained many elements only mainland will have. For example, all the products of the spongers are constantly repeated. Some of the obvious ones are: the shampoo...many obvious and deliberate placements as well as lingering in the scenes so everybody can see the brand. I remember there was one scene where we first met Yuxin, the piano teacher, who was watching Yuxun's hair and saying her lovely hair needs special care and this brand of shampoo is perfect for you. LOL *roll eyes*. The milk tea...the character owns a milk tea shop and they basically drink it like water. Though I got to admit, I'm craving for milk tea these days, after watching this drama. =D The car...although they are suppose to be the uber rich H4, I have to say, they have crappy cars. Everybody drives those cars and kept saying, omg I have to have that car/ that's the best race car ever, etc. *roll eyes* yeah right. That is a Chinese brand which sucks compare to western brands.

Despite the obvious brands, I can see why this teen drama is so acceptable to produce in mainland: because the main girl is the total ideal Chinese student who is respectful, responsible, and honest. She is super hard-working, doesn't take everything for granted (unlike her uncle...though he's hilarious), and is not afraid to stand up for herself. Now with this kind of a role model, Chinese parents probably are more accepting to have their kids watching dramas. LOL But seriously, it kind of make me want to study more too rather than finishing the drama. hahaha

k, now the cast. I remember last summer, I thought they are all really childish and everything and Duanmu was really ugly. But after watching the first few episodes, I started to like them because after the first few scenes, their acting got better, and the audience got to know more about their characters. However, one thing that just bothered me the entire series was Duanmu's hair. Soooooo ugly. And because of that, I thought the actor himself was really ugly, and so everything it was just Yuxun and Duanmu, I tend to zone out. But after watching the series and watched the actors on game shows, I realized that the actor wasn't bad looking. It was indeed his nasty hair that kind of shadowed his awesome acting. Also, Yunhai's hair was wayy to spiky in some. It made him look like a little kid....of course the character is like a little kid which is why it's so adorable. =D I have to say, overall the four of them are better looking than the Japanese cast and obviously better than the Taiwanese version. And they are all so tall too. ^.~

See, comparatively, the mainland cast looks the youngest -- not as tough or as manly as the other ones. Though I really like those four guys, especially after watching a bunch of variety shows featuring them. Zhu Zi Xiao is hilarious. And Wei Chen and Yu Hao Ming are also really talkative an fun, maybe because they have the experience from Super Boy, the singing show. I was actually surprised at how quiet and reserved Zhang Han is. I sometimes get the feeling that he isn't very confident with himself when compared with the other three during variety shows because he's not really famous nor does he know a lot of other celebrities. But I think it's just the sudden fame and knowing that he finally starred in a breakthrough piece was just a lot for him to experience. I think as he grows more experienced, he'll open up more.

As for the main girl, Zheng Shuang. She's pretty but in reality shows, she's too talkative about random, boring things...and can't explain things probably. Again, probably because this is her first time doing this kind of things. I recently watched Happy Camp starring the cast for Season 2 and she's a lot better there...but she can't really sing. I'm glad she doesn't have to sing in Season 2.