Hana Yori Dango

Ever heard of the Taiwanese series Meteor Garden? It was quite famous a couple of years back. Did you know it was based on a Japanese manga called Hana Yori Dango? Well, it looks like there's now a Japanese version of the drama as well. Currently airing in Japan, this drama stars Matsumoto Jun, Mao Inoue, Oguri Shun etc. [Those are the only names that I could remember hahah]

I've read the manga, but I haven't watched MG. So I can only make the comparison with the manga. So far so good. The story sticks to the manga. The actors & actresses seems to potray the character as depicted in the manga. And it has quite a good theme song as well.. the christmassy Wish sung by Arashi.

What's this story about? Well, to summarise, it's actually the love story between Makino Tsukushi and Domyouji Tsukasa. Tsukasa's the leader of F4, the rulers[or more accurately, the flowers- Flower4] of Eitoku Gakuen. Tsukushi hates her school and went up against Tsukasa when he tried to bully her friend. As a result, Tsukushi's high school life turned to hell as she was 'red-tagged' by F4. Unexpectedly, the bratty and baka Tsukasa began to fall in love in with Tsukushi, while Tsukushi has a secret crush on Hanazawa Rui[the cool member of F4].

This manga is funny because of the ways Tsukasa tried to win Tsukushi's heart. But it also has some endearing and heartwarming moments. Not to forget the fact that it has some moral lessons as well. The heroine is also not some brainless bimbo, but a strong willed and determined girl. I think that's what make it different from other shoujo mangas. The art in this story gets better at the end. You can actually see the difference quite clearly. Compare the drawings in the first volume and the last. Heh..it's totally different.

Back to the drama, Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui is totally cool hahah.. Inoue played Tsukushi quite well. And Matsujun..haha I can only laugh at his hairstyle..but his acting is not bad. The settings and costumes in this drama is also good. They really dressed the students up in branded goods[Omega watches, Chanel handbags etc] and have them drive expensive cars. Must have got lots of companies to sponsor them heh..Oh and I love the scene where Tsukushi punched Tsukasa..ahaha..