F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers
For fans of South Korean drama Boys Over Flowers (Netflix, Viki, Tubi, Hulu) or the Taiwanese Meteor Garden (Netflix) or indeed the original, Japanese Hana Yori Dango, there’s now a new version of the classic story on streaming channels straight from Thailand.
If you’ve watched Meteor Garden 2018 (Netflix – see mini-review here) early indications show F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers to have a similarly modern vibe attached to the classic manga story. To get closer to the source material, you can catch the anime version of Japanese Hana Yori Dango (translation: Boys Over Flowers) on Crunchyroll.
The story of F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, centres around a school for the elite reigned by four guys with an overabundance of privilege, money and good looks. So much so that they’re both feared and revered by those around them.
A girl who isn’t from within upsets their applecart, clueless about the rules and not interested in knowing them. She’s just there to go to school. Until she clashes with the leader of F4 which begins a series of battles that eventually shows glimmers of romance.
Directed by Patha Thongpan for Thailand’s GMMTV, he’s noted an interest in honouring the classic storyline, adding a ‘now’ freshness and displaying a unique Thai aesthetic that meets the original.
What does that mean for us? Thai drama is known for its way-over-the-top ‘da-da-da!’ portrayal of stories but has more recently, particularly at GMM, gotten closer to a familiar highly dramatized reality in contemporary series like The Gifted or Kiss the Series. It’s delivered in a more believable, less day-time-TV fashion that’s way more watchable than some of the old-skool offerings.
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Cast
If you watch Thai TV, you may have spotted the same faces cropping up regularly on the same channel. Many actors are signed directly to a station with long-lasting contracts. Notably, GMM, which has a dedicated BL (Boys Love) drama following, has previously paired two of the F4 leads in BL series 2gether. So, it will be interesting to see how they fare in a drama where chemistry is crucial in living up to the brand.
Vachirawit ‘Bright’ Chivaaree plays lead character Thyme (Tsukasa Domyoji/Joon Pyo/Dao Ming Si). His counterpart in 2gether, Metawin ‘Win’ Opas-iamkajorn is the playboy Kavin (Sojiro Nishikado/Yi-Jung/Ximen). Is it a miss that they’re not after the same girl?
It’s actually newcomer Jirawat ‘Dew’ Sutivanichsak, who plays Ren (Rui Hanazawa/Ji-hoo/Huaze Lei) in the love triangle. But content to date seems to throw more emphasis on the Kavin character than Ren, possibly indicating a slightly different balance in the storyline.
Hirunkit ‘Nani’ Changkham as MJ (Akira Mimasaka/Woo-bin/Meizuo) rounds out the Flower Boys, but in this version, he’s both playful and a fighter. And Tontawan ‘Tu’ Tantivejakul plays ordinary-but-forthright girl turned love interest, Gorya (Tsukushi Makino/Jan-di/Shancai).
According to the director, all of these actors exude their characters, so please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Where Can I Watch F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers?
This new series airs on GMM 25 on Saturdays for 16 episodes. It will simultaneously stream internationally through GMMTV’s official YouTube channel and on streaming platform Viu.
Episode 13 Release Info
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers are in the swing of a regular weekly schedule, so we expect Episode 13 to open on Saturday, March 19th at about 8.45pm (Bangkok Time) – 8.45am (ET) and 1.45pm (GMT). This week we started a few minutes later and we seem to be silently edging toward a slightly later start each week. The simultaneous international release on YouTube comes ready with English subtitles, so you’ll be viewing right along with audiences in Thailand.
Episode 13 Preview
We jump to a continuation of the ‘Secret Story of IRIS’ where MJ and team play against last week’s challengers. They shoot, they score. Later from the car, Ren notes that MJ hasn’t been around much. MJ claims boredom and diverts Ren with the KFC app. But he hides as Aum delivers to their car so Ren has to tease him about her.
This week’s F4 Thailand Preview is all about Kavin and Kaning. Gorya worries about her while she remarks that Kavin isn’t a guy who opens his heart. The guys note Kavin seems off and it looks like Mona, the customer who used to make garlands, is an ex-girlfriend. He tells Kaning that he did open his heart to a girl once and he’ll tell her about it if she wants to know. Will Kaning brave up for the challenge?
Catch the official preview video (without subs) here:
Watch Tips
If you happen to start watching a few moments late, be sure you’ve backed up to the beginning of each segment, so you don’t miss anything. YouTube automatically sticks you at the live moment, so you could be missing a scene or two. However subscribing to the episode seems to resolve this jump. Let us know if that works for you.
As we shift from one bit of story to the next, the link to the following chunk zips by super-fast. If you’re watching via YouTube, you can back it up a second to catch the box and save yourself the trouble of having to search for it.
If you’ve got further tips, please add them in the comments section. Here’s to a smooth view for all.
Is There a Trailer for F4 Thailand?
If you haven’t caught it yet, there is a trailer for the series:
In addition to the trailer, the team have released an official soundtrack featuring the main cast. It’s certainly channelling the vibe and seems to be right on target to deliver everything Director Thongpan has promised:
Opening song, Who Am I?
And the more energetic tune Shooting Star.
What Happened in Episode 12?
See the recap and review here: F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 12 Recap & Review. Watch for recap and review stories each week after airing where we share some thoughts and ideas about the story progress and what it means for our protagonists.
Read More:
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 11 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 10 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 9 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 8 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 7 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 6 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 5 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 4 Recap & Review.
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 3 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 2 Recap & Review
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers Episode 1 Recap & Review
Episode 12 Random Thoughts: Enterprising
Seeing the presentation of the meteor necklace reminded me of the flurry of ‘limited edition’ Meteor Garden necklaces that appeared in 2018/19. In fact, you can still find them now on places like Etsy and eBay in a variety of metals and prices. Of course, I had to wonder whether GMMTV would follow suit, particularly as they’ve clearly latched onto the Chinese version of the story. And lo and behold, here it is. The official F4 Thailand meteor necklace. It’s even inscribed with ‘GoryaThyme’ on the back with an F4 box to boot. Sweet. I’m not promoting it, by the way, and have not seen a real one. Simply marvelling at the quick capitalisation/devotee satisfaction opportunity. Which is it for you?
I think I’d prefer it without the inscription, as a pretty accessory rather than a memento of the show. Would love to know if you’re getting one. Please do chime in below.
We’ll continue to cover the series episode-by-episode, so watch along with us and tell us what you think. Any observations on the details that you’d like to share? Scribble ‘em below – we’d love to hear about it.
For more stories from this writer on all sorts of content, see the link here: Kristen Lazur.
