AZN Television has started airing episodes of the Taiwanese drama Mars, based on Fuyumi Soryo's mega-soapy manga series. Here's the official plot description*:

"Asia's most popular group F4's Vic Chou continues the ideal romantic pairing with Barbie Xu beyond Meteor Gardens II**, in the extraordinary new Taiwanese drama, MARS!

An adaptation of popular Japanese manga MARS, the television series is directed by the acclaimed Cai Yue Xun. Vic plays two characters, a pair of identical twins with an exploding dark, tragic passion. Zero is reckless, brutal and passionate, losing himself in the speed thrill of motorcycles. Saint on the other hand is quiet and reserved, lives in satisfaction and peace, delivering his passion into drawing. They are a pair of loving brothers until the arrival of Saori, and when Saint cannot accept the fact that Saori loves Zero, he committed suicide. Zero is destroyed by the guilt of Saint's death, and ended up in a mental institution for two years...until the arrival of Kira (Barbie Xu), who managed to find the deepest wound buried in Zero. Kira suffers from autism after a traumatic event from her childhood, can she discover the most beautiful thing in the world, love, again?

The production for the series is taken very seriously, and shots for the thrilling motorcycle racing is shot on location in Japan. Both Vic and Barbie received rave reviews for their performances, and with other young stars in support, MARS is undoubtedly one of the best Taiwanese television shows of 2004!"
[Source]

Well, if you're looking to blow an idle hour on some serious melodrama, I suppose you could do worse.


*edited very, very lightly to fix one or two spelling errors
**The Taiwanese version of Hana Yori Dango

Labels: manga, TV