After seeing the Korean version, I had to see the version from the originators of the story, and Hana Yori Dango didn’t quite disappoint.
“It’s Japanese manga in action.”
The Rundown
Behind the name: Pun on Japanese saying, “dumplings before flowers”
Country: Japan, 2005
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Distributed by: (TBS) Tokyo Broadcasting System
Director: Yasuharu Ishii
Cast: Mao Inoue, (as Makino Tsukushi), Jun Matsumoto (as Domyouji Tsukasa), Shun Oguri (as Hanazawa Rui), Shota Matsuda (as Nishikado Sojiro), Tsuyoshi Abe (as Mimasaka Akira)
Compare to: Boys Before Flowers, Meteor Garden
Hate it or Love it? Love it.
Synopsis in a Sentence: Makino Tsukushi is a poor girl who attends Etioku Academy, an affluent High School in Japan, where she gets mixed up with rich guys and a love trapeze begins.
It’s started the Asian wave of the decade. First the Japanese maga, then the Tiwanese series, then the Japanese series, then the Korean series. Hana Yori Dango incorporates some originality in its plot.
On Writing: The Plot
It’s a good story. It’s not one f those overly lovey-dovey stories and its not one of the mindless ones either. It’s uniquely Japanese, inspired by the best selling Japanese Shojo Manga of all time. The series stays close to the manga, maintaining the names of the characters. The writing’s unique too, with some extra-special parts, and the plot’s easy to follow. Overall,
(4/5)
On Acting: The Cast
Good actors. They seem to mesh well together. Overall,
← Mao Inoue, who plays Makino Tsukushi may be the best actor of the group. She’s just right for her character, but she’s not quite the most convincing tom boy. Besides that, she’s all good; very convincing, and will win your trust by the time the series is over.
Jun Matsumoto plays Domyouji Tsukasa. Overall, he’s a good actor but comes off a bit like a hooligan—think wealthy careless jackass, minus the gorgeous arrogance displayed to effortlessly by Gu Jun-Pyo (Korean version). If that’s how rich, powerful, Japanese boys are supposed to be, then he plays it well, if not, then his rendition of the characyter comes off very unrefined.→
← Shun Oguri relays Hanazawa Rui’s actions, and he’s good. In this series, I actually rooted for him, rather than the main male character. He’s real, relatable and refined. What’s not to love?
Shota Matsuda is Nishikado Sojiro in the series, and he just might be the best looking of the group. His character doesn’t show as much, but when he’s on, he plays it well. →
← Tsuyoshi Abe acts as Mimasaka Akira in the series. Quite honestly, he looks a bit too old for his part, but he’s a good one overall. He plays up his character’s role as the voice of reason in the series.
(3.5/5)
On Production: The Creativity
The production was good, with beautiful angles and good symbolism. As far as fashion goes, the buildings outshined the clothes… come to think of it, the clothes were almost a flop, considering the background of the characters. The music is not award winning, but it’s okay. It included music by Arsahi and Utada Hikaru. Overall, it’s a good production.
(3.5/5)
On Resolution: The Conclusion
Ahhh. The end… might have been the best part—was actually the best part of the entire sries, which makes a good story even better. Some knots seemed untied, but that’s probably to keep you guessing. Nice symbolism, nicely wrapped up. You’ll love it because of the end.
(4/5)
The Verdict: A great story, good actors, a great production, but when it all comes down to it, the Koreans did it better. L
Overall Score = 15/20
See Hana Yori Dango [http://www.mysoju.com/hana-yori-dango/]
Posts
0 comments