This is based off the show itself, I never read the manga, but have seen Meteor Garden Chinese adaptation and the Korean version of F4.

LIKES:
Cast all of them had good acting and fit their characters well. Sure there was room for improvement, but they all did well with showing a range of emotion.

Writing: first half of the series, their adaptation was good, changing some of the angst and betrayal/lies moments. These four seemed closer as teenagers, without having to relay on too many past childhood memories to show that. The reason of the 4 being so elite was shown without being over the top. The element of humour was well handled too. I didn’t mind how Ren and Gorya’s relationship developed in terms of their friendship, compared to other versions of F4 B.O.F.
Also I liked how Thyme handled the bullying portion and the retribution for it. And Gorya’s parents weren’t as annoying and over the top with their acting, like in the Korean version.

Loved the chosen locations and general cinematography, especially for the most part film stabilizers were used. The colour palette was good too.

Wardrobe was for the most part well chosen to suit each character, and I liked it much better than the Korean version, especially for Kavin.

Music was good, didn’t over power the actor/actress voices and was appropriate. The theme song wasn’t over played like it was in the Korean version, and it if was played a lot, I didn’t notice it.

DISLIKES:
WRITING:
Some of the storyline was cut out, which made for certain moments to be less impactful as they should’ve been, especially when it came to Thyme’s “evil” mother. Thyme’s sister really wasn’t used well, compared to the Korean version and really didn’t even need to be shown in the drama, aside from the one business related screen that allowed Thyme to leave to handle another situation. Ren was portrayed as a loner and artistic, but not as in depth of a character as the Korean Boys Over Flowers version of that member of F4. MJ being the Mafia Boss’s son, seemed to blur between him and Kavin. Almost as if their script was mixed up. Even in the end with the Iris moment, once more Kavin seemed more like the Mafia Boss’s son. Also the second half of the series seemed more rushed and timing or pacing became an issue to get the whole story across within the 16 episode limit. Would’ve been better if there had been 20 or 25 episodes, especially to show each character’s growth and conclude their individual storylines better. Also missed that Gorya’s best friend, wasn’t involved more. Even Kaning’s own love story, especially in second half of the drama, was very down played or lacking. Finally in regards to what the main characters grew up to become, was very vague except for Thyme. In the Korean version we saw what jobs/careers they’d chosen as adults.
There was more violence it seemed between the characters in this version, especially against the girls, than in the Korean one or Meteor Garden.

DIRECTING:
Some times the character’s reactions were way too slow. Too much time spent on driving and running around.

WARDROBE: They sucked at choosing clothing for Kaning, to the point of being tasteless. Sometimes for Ren’s character, it was like they forgot he’s supposed to be rich.

Product Placement: The IRIS moments were fine, but as is the norm in Thailand the constant product endorsement became annoying.


OVERALL: It took me a while to finish watching this show, because I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I was in other versions. I have yet to watch the Japanese version, so I’m hoping that will be the best one. It’s a decent watch, but better in the first half of episodes. I would recommend it to people who like this genre. The romance was VERY low key and I found it more about friendship and loyalty than about love and romance. I won’t watch it again and no scenes stood out, that I want to revisit.