Hana Yori Dango (2005)

Hana Yori Dango is, as I understand it, practically one of the basics to romance drama. As a newcomer to drama overall I don't have that many dramas on my completed list, but I'm happy to say that I'm warming up to it and I'm getting into the groove of things. So basically, without knowing the cast and without having watched the anime before, I liked it!

Well, first things first, woah it kept me on my toes. My friend on skype can vouch for that - I was freaking out the entire time, like what the heck?! So many pretty boys, so little feels capacity. But I will say that I wasn't impressed at first... As the story started out, it felt very typical. Girl not that rich meet boys who are very rich - "OH how I wonder how this is going to play out" were my initial thoughts... As of yet I've noticed that I've ONLY watched dramas of this sort, and I've started to find it boring. But thankfully the story moves quickly, so I had enough interest in the circumstances to keep going. As it progressed I just couldn't stop. I almost finished it all in one go, and for someone with a short attention span I'd call that an achievement! Also, as I said, the story moves quickly, but without being confusing so rest assured.

I'd definitely recommend this to fellow romance enthusiasts, but if you're not that big of a romance fan you might just find it cringe-worthy. It's a bit cheesy and might get a bit immature at times, but it's very sweet and I think it's worth watching!
I hardly ever rewatch anything I've already seen... however, if it's for Rui, I'd do it any time of the day! Besides, it's not a very long drama, it only took me two evenings to finish. I could've finished it the first evening had I started earlier, easily! But you know, your poor heart needs a bit of a break too - it's hardcore romance, after all.

So, I give Hana Yori Dango an overall score of 9! I truly enjoyed it and I look forward to watching season 2. But for now I need a break from rich meets poor, it's getting kind of tiring... however, I'm coming for you Rui! You bet your sweet face I am!

Thanks for reading this review, until next drama!

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Hands down one of the best JDramas ever I have watch. The cast of this drama was excellent. Each episode is worth watching it was mostly unpredictable. There's characters you want to like and characters you want to hate so much in this drama. I didn't want to watch this drama at first but when I watched Gokusen with Jun Matsumoto I decided this drama might be as great as well. After watching this drama I now have 3 new favorite actors/actresses. I think the music in this drama is damn good. Jun Matsumoto played his part very well which is why this drama is worth watching. If you want to start watching JDramas start watching Hana Yori Dango.

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I have to admit that I haven't read the actual manga, Hana Yori Dango, so I still don't know which of its adaptation stayed true to it. But anyway, I guess that doesn't matter to a lot of viewers. Even if this only has few episodes as compared to the Korean and Taiwanese versions, it still managed to show the solid story. The flow of happenings are smooth. There isn't a dull moment -- or at least for me. The fight scenes might not be as good as the other version, though, but it's still acceptable.

Oh! And it's nice that Nishikado and Akira have their good share of spotlight in the series. The friendship between the four is good to see.

In my opinion, Inoue Mao did a great job portraying Tsukushi Makino. She didn't need to act too cutesy since she's naturally cute. Pretty, even. Her fierce look suits her, too! The four guys did great, too! It's funny to think that the "stupid Domyouji" role fits Jun Matsumoto. Anyway, he and Inoue Mao have chemistry and that's good. I was amused by the fact that Oguri Shun's good at acting like some sleepyhead. In my opinion, the cast is well-selected. All of them did great.

The music is lovable. I especially liked the opening song.

I would definitely want to re-watch this someday.

Overall, I give this a 9 because I really do believe that it's great. I recommend this to:
- people who love rom-com
- people who want to watch a series who isn't too long but is still good
- fans of the manga and anime which go by the same title
- fans of the Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean versions ('cause of the differences made)

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I've watched all versions of this drama, and I can assure you that this one is the best. Meteor Garden 2001 may be the first one to start it, but in my opinion, it doesn't stand a chance. Boys over Flowers the Korean version makes the the Korean version of Makino annoying. Meteor Garden 2018 is good but they just ruin it with the Joker Card. Hana Yori Dango kept the basics and out of all the versions, it gives you the most heart wretched feeling. Not to mention, that the cast had the best chemistry with each other the best, and for me that's what makes the drama great. It has season 1 and 2, it lasted about 20 something episode. But it does have a movie to it, so it may be a little long, but at least it's not as long as Meteor Garden and both of it versions (about 20 something episodes and season 2 has 30 something episodes. For 2018 the drama has about 50 episodes).

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I was so good!!!!! This is actually one of my first anime shows that I watched that was turned into a live action drama. So I could definitely be a little biased with my review. But it was really good. I loved the characters, music and of course the storyline. It was a really good series to be watching, there was a dream like storyline that was taken from the anime but the live action added their own style and twists. And I felt that each of the characters/actors took the initiative to add in their 2 cents in as well.
I can't even put into words on how much I loved watching this series and I still come back to this to watch every now and again.  

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I give the lowest score for the korean version. I thought i will give this one the same score since it older than korean.
But it beyond my expectation. I give this drama the highest score..

Story : this is what i like from japanese dramas. they are short but straight to the point. so every seconds in this drama is very important, interesting, and not wasting my time. The love story, I understand the reason why the falling in love. I understand why the event happen. And I understand about their feelings.

Acting/Cast : unlike korean version, I dont hate any character in this drama. I feel annoyed by main character in korean version, but it shocked me that I like the main character in this drama. The girl and shun oguri in first episode is the best part.

Music : I always like Japanese Music, Including this one.

Rewatch Value : After I finish of all season in this version, I think its fine for me to re-wacth it again..

Overall : This is how it should look like.

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I came to watch Hana Yori Dango waiting for the worse. It couldn't be something good, I thought to myself, after wasted precious hours of my life watching Boys Over Flowers, the Korean version. God, that one was so bad I wish I could erase it from my memory. So, I don't even know why I picked it up to watch. I think I was just lazy to find something else. What I big surprise. I feel like Korean spoiled Hana Yori Dango, you know, the similar feeling when they make a movie out of your favorit book, and turns out to be a big piece of crap? That's the feeling I have now, after watching the korean verson, and now this one.
Even though it's the same plot, the feeling is completely different, I feel like they picked up Hana Yori dango and mixed up the most annoying korean cliches in it, put a lot of filling episodes, again, filled with korean cliches and ta-da. Boys over flowers. Sorry if I'm comparing too much these two versions, is just that, I'm surprised that this one turned out to be good, out of my expectations.

The main male lead was cute, as if he was hiding his true heart and that was pretty clear, unlike the Korean version. The Korean version, from what I could tell, he was just a bully mean guy that have fallen in love with a girl and that was it. I just couldn't like him. The whole point was lost. Hana Yori Dango made it clear, that inside that scary guy lies a cute spoiled boy.

The main girl, she played strong and played well, the acting, I must say, way, but way, but waaaaaaay much better than the Korean's which didn't had that strong concept Hana Yori Dango had, it was mostly like she was somehow random, crying whatever. Let's not talk about her goofy acting. Ugh

And the best thing in comparision to the korean version, was that there was no actually space in the story for the damn second lead syndrome. Sure Rui had a crush on her, but his role, spacing and development was nothing compared the main lead, which get us rid of those hated love triangles, that we always end up shipping wrong. So, one more point to the script. It was well written. Good.

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My thoughts after re-watching this series are...that I'm not entirely sure I should have re-watched it. A part of me wishes that I had let it remain as a pure memory full of admiration and love.

And to be perfectly honest, I DO still adore this show. Also, this review is based purely on my re-watch of the first season as I have not gotten to the second season or movie yet.

Hana Yori Dango has a special place in my heart for two reasons:

1. It was the first Japanese drama I ever watched (along with "Nobuta wo Produce" as they were airing at the same time) and

2. I watched this while I was studying abroad in Japan, as it was airing.

Since then, I have re-watched the series a few times but it's been years now since my last re-watch and I definitely notice some glaringly poorly executed qualities.

To explain--I have had this idea for a while now that Japanese dramas are not what they used to be. I always refer back to Hana Yori Dango as kind-of being the headliner for the "golden" days of J-Dramas. They were SO good...and then they were not. And I could never really put my finger on why.

After re-watching HYD, I have come to the realization that it's not necessarily the fact that Japanese dramas have changed for the worst so much as I have just out-grown them. This is because many of the issues that I have when watching Japanese dramas nowadays (inconsistent story, silly and unrealistic characters, over-done humor) are all present in HYD, and I think at the time I initially watched it, I just didn't care...or know any better.

So, because of nostalgia, HYD still makes me "EEK" like a silly fangirl. It's still epic in my heart. However, if I were to watch it now without the memories and attachment I have associated with it I think I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much.

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(Before I start, I just want to stress that I am particularly biased when it comes to the two lead actors Inoue Mao and Matsumoto Jun (my OTP, yes), but I will try to critically assess this series to the best of my ability.)

This is actually the show that pulled me out of my Korean series comfort zone and pushed me to the Japanese one.

The story line was good. It did lack in the romance department, but in a way that's understandable since they were still trying to build the foundation of Tsukushi and Tsukasa's relationship. Additional points also for tackling issues such as bullying, violence, high school hierarchy, and such, although this may be credited to the original manga rather than the series itself. The actors weren't as good-looking as that of the Korean version, yes, but their protrayal of their characters are outstanding. I'd say there was no one who could play Makino Tsukushi better than Inoue Mao. She was perfect for the role! And Shun Oguri was also the right choice for Hanazawa Rui. At first I was a bit hesitant with Matsumoto Jun being Domyouji Tsukasa (prolly because of that perm, lol) but as the series developed I couldn't imagine any other Domyouji other than him. It probably did help that Inoue Mao and Matsumoto Jun has this undying chemistry that was enough to keep me watching (I told you guys, I'm biased towards these two). I have to be honest, you know how there are series that that you like more and more because of the main characters? That's how this is to me. The series was good and worth watching, but it grew on me more and more because of these two actors. If they weren't the couple that portrayed Tsukushi and Tsukasa, I might give off a different response. I might have still loved it, but probably not up to the extent I am in now, so it's a good thing that it was them who portrayed Makino and Domyouji.

As for what version is the best, I don't think there's such a thing as 'better' than the other. It all just depends on people's preference to be honest. As for me, I've seen the different versions in varying timelines. The first one I saw was the Taiwanese version. It was during the peak of the series, and the hype was just insane. So if we're basing it on the excitement I felt to watch the series, the Taiwanese version wins. It's the biggest hit, imo. If I haven't seen all the versions yet and I'd try to watch them now, I believe I'd like the Korean version best. It came out way after the Taiwanese and Japanese versions, which explains why the series is definitely favorable to the current audience (eye candy guys, beautiful sceneries, romantic-comedy genre... at this time, who wouldn't love that, right?) However, up to this date, the only series that I had watched for countless times and never got tired of was the Japanese version. I've grown to love this series more than I'd ever imagine.

Furthermore, I gave it a 10/10 rewatch value because once you've loved this show and the actors, you'd love it for the rest of your life. I've seen it for more than 10 times already and I still enjoy watching it every single time.

P.S. You definitely should proceed to Part 2 ASAP once you finish this.

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How to bully a girl into falling in love

Hana Yori Dango was my first contact with Asian dramas, and I was not ready for this type of silly, over-the-top manga/anime live-action adaptation. I did not watch the anime or read the manga, so I really cannot compare how faithful to the source material this drama is. I went into this while I was looking for something to immerse myself in the Japanese language. As the reviews were good and it seemed popular I thought it would be a good choice. That was not so.

This seems to be your typical rich boy who falls in love with a poor girl story, but only worse. The female lead is at first portrayed as this strong, both mentally and physically type of person, that is not about to be pushed around by the school bullies. But turns out that she is actually this naive and gullible girl that is constantly harassed and mistreated by the male lead. And we, the audience, is somehow made to have empathy for this person, because he, as it turns out, really likes her. There is little to no character growth for the male lead aside from this poor attempt at a sad backstory, and he is never held accountable for his actions. Unless you are really a fan of the manga/anime or the actors, you can skip this.

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I think all the other reviews are blinded by their nostalgia

I watched the korean adaption in 2010. As a kid I fell in love with it and all of its weird cliches. People always talked about how the Japanese version was superior and as someone who has recently fallen into this hole of watching japanese dramas, I had to check out Hana Yori Dango.

Strong Parts:
This is a VASTLY superior version than the Korean Boys Over Flowers. Why? The acting and the chemistry between the two leads were off the charts. It was wild, they were electric whenever they were on screen. The ML's acting was pretty damn impressive, making you actually grow to love such a jerk of a character. The FL is awesome. What complaints could I give? She's not whiny or annoying. I found her to be pretty honest and extremely lovable. The acting was natural and not over dramatic.

This version has only 9 episodes while the original has like 20+ so it doesn't have that much filler in comparison. The Their hair was also better lol.

The family is also hilarious and has clever writing whenever they were involved. I loved them.

Negatives:
This plot is kind of ass, I mean it's a drama from 2005 so I'm not expecting a masterpiece nor is the original manga a masterful plot so what am I expecting. However, if I'm putting time to watch a drama, I have to keep the story in mind. It's a plot full of tropes left and right. And as someone who watched the BOF version, I remember everything so I just ended up bored. But I did laugh whenever there was something absolutely ridiculous happening.

Overall:
Better than BOF but was it worth it? No.

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