Things In "Meteor Garden" That Makes ZERO SENSE For A Taiwanese Drama

 

The F4 tour is over. Honestly, I still feel like inwardly weeping because Barbie Xu died too soon in 2025. The F4 reunion concert had F4 (because Ashin took Ken Chu's place). As the tour concludes, I never realized I would be writing this. Right now, let's get into parts of Meteor Garden that operated on Manga logic -- because it was based on a MANGA! 

F4's ABSOLUTE DOMINION of Ying De (and why Ying De STILL SURVIVES) needs extra plot armor

The F4 or Flower Four are basically Manga characters with plot armor. Seeing Hana Yori Dango the Anime was basically enlightening. I always commented how Jerry Yan looks too much like Tsukasa or how Vic Zhou looks like Rui. The dynamics of Ying De (or Eitoku in the Manga) are basically a school where F4 reigns with impunity. 

F4's villainy is LOUD AND PROUD. Daoming Si or Ah Si reigns with 100% IMPUNITY until he was challenged by Shan Cai. In reality, Taiwan's very strict academic environment would've already shut down Ying De too fast. F4's move that could expel ANYONE without due process and the like is sheer cartoon logic. 

Ah Si's too obviously an A**HOLE. His real power isn't in his wealth. It's the sheer amounts of plot armor writers give him! Jerry managed to play Daoming Si too well though. I mean, I always thought Jerry's performance as the antagonist-turned-protagonist was good. But peel all the plot armor, Dao would've been broke too fast IRL. These guys always paid damages left and right. IRL, not even super rich kids can truly cover up damages 

Then again, Ying De is still too chaotic to be real. We've got those bad girls like Qian Hui and Bai He who are sycophant wannabes. Bai He was also crushing on Ah Si, which was really annoying him. It's amazing how Bai He kept surviving until she was no longer featured at all.

Shan Cai survives too much and recovers too fast even with serious injuries

Meteor Garden aired in the same year as Romance in the Rain (2001). Honestly, even after Barbie's untimely demise, I still wish she were Lu Yiping and Jerry were He Shuhuan instead of Vicki Zhao and the Leo Ku! Barbie had that ability comparable to the Taiwanese actress Leanne Liu. However, I thought that Yiping in Romance in the Rain (1986) was tough but more realistically tough than Shan Cai. Hey, Yiping got hurt and wasn't always a wild grass! Shan Cai? She gets hurt but stepping on her creates too many explosions!

There are many instances that honestly, Shan Cai should've been injured or even hospitalized. The incident where she was beaten at the field by HEAVILY ARMED GUY was just too much. Daoming Si rescues her and she's not even sent to a hospital? The absurdity level is there. Having tried watcing Romance in the Rain both the 1986 (Leanne Liu and Chin Han) and 2001 versions -- the main heroine Yiping was sturdy but not absurdly sturdy.

Perhaps that's why and eventually, Shan Cai just REFUSES to flat out break up with Ah Si! She's got incredible plot armor that somehow helps her survive an absurd relationship. It makes every interaction of Shuhuan and Yiping in the 1986 TV drama look tame. Shan Cai just lacks balance. Thankfully, Meteor Garden II started to depower her but kept her parents still as incorrigible as ever.

Shan Cai's parents have the durability of sitcom characters

I can always be thankful Shan Cai is NOTHING like her parents. However, she inherited their ABSURD DURABILITY. Come on, Shan Cai's parents are literally comedic characters with INCREDIBLE PLOT ARMOR. IRL given the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and Taiwan having certain econmic problems -- THEY WOULD'VE BEEN OUT IN THE STREETS.

What makes these guys really absurd? Consider Shan Cai's father aka Dong Papa for a start. The Anime logic is that he can work in the same factor for 20+ YEARS and not get fired, until he was laid off? Shan Cai's mother aka Dong Mama doesn't even think straight. Shan Cai is actually RIGHT about sending her to Ying De was a bad idea. But these guys have plot armor that somehow keep both these morons from collapsing UNTIL the writer says so! Dong Papa only got laid off. Honestly, I felt that if the factory owner was smart enough to FIRE DONG PAPA, the factory may have never had the need to downsize.

Meteor Garden II even added more absurdity. Sure, my other CAN get mad at Dong Papa getting drunk and not find Dong Mama's useless phone gossip funny. However, my laughter is often built on the absurd plot armor. Dong Papa drank LOTS OF LIQUOR and still went home safe despite being disoriented and PUKING? Dong Papa even stole a car from the car dealer he was working for. Seriously, that requires lots of plot armor to steal a car from a car dealer. The manager was probably even worse. Come on, the manager should be fired for hiring Dong Papa.

The main antagonist Daoming Feng is able to defy basic economics against EVERYONE INVOLVED

The actress Zhen Xiuzhen (and the appearance REALLY matches the Manga and Anime) played the titular role in Witch with Flying Head. I must confess that the actress does so much of a good job you forget what Daoming Feng REALLY is -- an antagonist who posssesses WAY TOO MUCH POWER. Feng already had committed too many crimes in Meteor Garden yet she doesn't land in jail. Not to mention, if the F4 have the ability to just pay money then they have damage then remember, their parents have it too. Feng has to have the biggest plot armor of all!

Anyone who watched traditional realistic Taiwan dramas can testify. For example, if you've watched Romance in the Rain, not even the main antagonist Wang Xueqin had that kind of plot armor even if her lover Wei Guangxiong was flaunting his newfound wealth. But for Feng? Her money is UNLIMITED like a Gameshark code. She may get terrifying until you realize her power isn't based on money but PURE PLOT ARMOR. How could she buy every last piece of land near Shan Cai's area without passig through the government code? How could she suddenly make Shan Cai's friends suffer because of a single phone call? Xiaoyu and Qing He suffered from JUST ONE PHONE CALL FROM HER. Those are incredibly absurd powers! Need I mention bringing a suitcase containing TWD 10 million is pure tactical error as it could GET HER MUGGED? 

Shan Cai called Feng an OLD WITCH. Honestly, the assessment is RIGHT. Feng's ability to show up unannounced is just one. However, the fact that she acts with almost to no impunity is another. Slapping her son Ah Si in front of hte guests is a bad PR move. A real monster mother would try to be the nicest person in publc. But for Feng? She's just too Pure Evil but in a very Manga way. Feng speaks too loud and honestly, her biggest enemy is her BIG MOUTH. Feng is hardly subtle unlike most realistic TV drama villains.

By Meteor Garden II, I still have to laugh that she wasn't able to prevent her own son Ah Si from leaving. Honestly? I imagine myself playing Ah Si and telling the actress how absurdly powerful her character is!