Review: Hana Yori Dango (Season 1)
A drama about a poor girl in a school for the ridiculously rich
Makino Tsukushi hated her school, full of rich brats.That was until she met the F4, who changed her life--or was it the other way around? 9/10
Summary
Makino Tsukushi is a student at Eitoku Gakuen, a school for the elite and rich. Unlike the other students, Tsukushi is from a poor family and has a difficult time relating to her classmates, who seem to get everything they can think of, and never experience any sort of hardship. What makes this school even more unique is that the student body is run by four ultra-elite students, a group called F4. No one dares to stand up to them, until Tsukushi has a run in with them, and defiantly refuses to back down to their bullying. Starting out as adversaries, Tsukushi slowly forms a friendship with the members of F4, who even stand by her when she debuts in the world of the wealthy, where the prejudiced and powerful think of her as just another peasant looking to leech off the goodwill of the four boys. To turn their world around, Tsukushi’s iron-will and treasured relationships are put to the test, as she fights to prove that money and status is not everything, especially in the fight for love.
Review
When a story like Hana Yori Dango is re-used over and over again, there is a danger of losing the initial lure of the whole idea behind the F4. A legendary group of four beautiful men, wealthy beyond compare, with the charisma to match the power they hold; it’s no wonder women everyone fell head over heels in love with this Asian Cinderella story. After all, there are four ultra-attractive men to go for, which makes the series that much more exciting. The danger, however, came as the live action series followed the immensely popular anime and manga—how would the actors fare when they attempted to re-capture the magic of the anime series? After all, it is not difficult for live action series to fall flat in the face of great expectations. All fans hope that a live series drama will bring the same emotions as the original cartoon, but the final product often disappoints. (Sailormoon and Prince of Tennis are two examples of anime series’ that simply did not convert well to live action cinema).
To quell all concerns and doubts of the Japanese debut, Inoue Mao puts on a spectacular performance as Makino Tsukushi from episode one. With her quirky expressions, her dynamic personality, and less than conventional speaking manner, she quickly captures the hearts of viewers. Tack on the all-star boys of Doumyoji Tsukasa (played by Matsumoto Jun), Hanazawa Rui (Oguri Shun), Nishikado Soujiroh (Matsuda Shota), and Mimasaka Akira (Abe Tsuyoshi) and you’ve got a drama for the ages. All five major actors are well casted and act tremendously well throughout the short, nine episode live action story, which really only covers a fraction of the original manga’s tale, but cuts off at a very appropriate time for a television series. The plot is compact and well executed by the director, with just enough twists to keep the viewer just in the loop at all times. It’s such a satisfying series that a sequel really wasn’t necessary, but all the fans of Hana Yori Dango will agree that it was a fantastic development when HYD2 came out, continuing this great drama, and keeping the amazing acting alive for another season. For fans of a witty comedy, with a dash of romance, this is an absolute gem.
