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is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine ''Margaret'', which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and was collected into 36 tankōbon volumes. In 1996, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo. Recently, the series has started to be released in a deluxe edition (larger pages and with all the color artwork from the magazine reproduced). This manga is the best-selling shōjo manga in Japan of all time (54 million copies in 2005).[1][2]
By 2003, the story had been adapted in Japan into an anime television series, a live-action television drama, an animated movie set in a parallel universe, and a live-action movie. It has also served as the basis for a live-action drama TV series from Taiwan called ''Meteor Garden'', which has spawned off an idol-singer group, F4. Also, an all-new Japanese live-action drama series premiered on October 2005 on TBS. Season one of the live-action drama ended in December 2005, spanning 9 forty-minute episodes (with an hour-long final episode special).
By Summer 2003, both the manga and anime TV series were available in English in North America from VIZ Media as ''Boys Over Flowers''. As of August 2007, 26 volumes of the manga have been translated in English. In January of 2007 TBS began airing season 2 of the live-action drama, which spanned 11 episodes and concluded in March.
In July of 2006 a Yomikiri (short story) was released in issue 15 of ''Margaret magazine''.

Contents

Title

Story

Anime Movie

Live Action Movie

Setting

Characters

Trivia

References

External links

Official sites

Other sources

Title

The title ''Hana yori Dango'', literally "Boys ''before'' Flowers", is a pun on a Japanese saying, "Food before Flowers" (花より団子, more exactly "dumplings rather than flowers", see ''dango'' 団子). "Food before Flowers" refers to the fact that food, being more practical and more necessary to survival, should be chosen over flowers, something pretty but not essential to life (and the real reason most people today attend Hanami). The author furthers the pun by changing the kanji of the title to mean , implying that boys, like food, maybe are a necessity to life rather than a luxury like flowers. Note that is normally read , but the furigana force the reading

Story

Tsukushi Makino, a working-class girl, attends an elite elevator school called Eitoku Academy, populated by children from rich, high-society families. She is the "weed" of the school surrounded by all the rich kids including the "Flower" Four (F4). The F4 leader and son of the wealthiest, most powerful family in Japan, Tsukasa Domyoji, takes an interest in Tsukushi, because she is the only girl at Eitoku who doesn't fawn over him. However, his hot-headed nature and bullying ways are originally a major turn-off for Tsukushi, who has her sights set on someone else.
The violinist Rui Hanazawa, Tsukasa's best friend, becomes Tsukushi's first serious romantic interest. He is a quiet and cold guy, but he has a soft spot for his close friend and Tsukushi's idol, the model Shizuka Todo, whom he harbored feelings for since childhood. His character is a bit complex, and always has changing feelings for Tsukushi, but above all cares about her in a friendly way.
The other two members of the F4 are Akira Mimasaka, the laidback peace-maker of the group, and Sōjirō Nishikado, an unrepentant playboy. They both usually have at least one girlfriend at any one time; Akira prefers older women because the women of his household (his mother and two younger sisters) are quite silly. Sojiro is happy to be in casual relationships with many women, although we later discover that at one time he was in love with a childhood friend.
Over the course of the series, however, Tsukushi's feelings evolve, and she begins to appreciate the degree of change that occurred in Tsukasa once he fell in love with her. He becomes fiercely loyal to Tsukushi and believes in her beyond all doubt, and slowly gets her to see him in a different light. The physical obstacles and emotional challenges of their rocky high-school courtship form the basis of the story. Other themes include Tsukushi's attempt to fit in at the school, the problems of her family's lifestyle and income, and the decadent lifestyle of upper-class Japanese girls.

Anime Movie

The movie, known as ''Hana Yori Dango: The Movie'', changes things considerably by recasting all of the characters in new roles and is effectively set in an alternate universe. This movie, which is only slightly longer than the average anime episode, casts Tsukushi as an aspiring dancer that lives in a small trailer attempting to win a role in a large stage production. The other characters take on similar roles such as performers and stage crew. The film is reminiscent of the American film ''Flashdance'' which similarly features a blue-collar woman attempting to work her way into an upscale dancing school.

Live Action Movie

TBS announced in August of 2007 that there will be a live action movie coming out in the summer of 2008. The cast will remain the same, but the script will likely be different. ^[1]

Setting

Modern-day Tokyo, Japan is the main setting, with a focus on its current social flaws and economic problems. Atami, Japan; Paris, France; New York City, United States; and Canada are also featured in the story. All of the characters are normal humans, and most of the main cast are high-school students in the 10th to 12th grades (ages 16 to 18).

Characters

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:''Drama actor'': Mao Inoue
:''Taiwanese Drama actor'': Barbie Hsu
:Tsukushi Makino is the main female character in ''Boys Over Flowers'', and is one of the very few students at the prestigious Eitoku University to come from an 'unwealthy' family. Her family is so poor that they can barely afford to pay Makino's tuition, but her parents push her on to continue school because they have a dream that she can 'snag a rich man' and take them out of poverty.
:Tsukushi is not thrilled about being stuck at Eitoku, and is determined to remain as invisible as possible until graduation. However, she sticks her neck out to defend her friend Makiko as she accidentally bumps into F4 leader Domyouji Tsukasa on a staircase. The next day, a red tag is hanging in her locker, the F4's "declaration of war." This officially marks her for future torment from the F4 and the rest of the student body. But, unlike most of the F4's targets, Makino stands up for herself, showing how strong a 'weed' can be. She attacks Domyouji in the hallway and presents him with a red tag of her own.
:In this process, she lets her fierce determination and her stubborn, hardworking ways show through, and in the end turns all of the F4 into her friends.
:At first, Tsukushi hates all of the F4 except Hanazawa Rui, (whom she has romantic feelings towards). But, as Rui goes off to chase after Shizuka, Tsukushi slowly falls in love with the hotheaded leader, Domyouji.
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:''Drama actor'': Jun Matsumoto
:''Taiwanese Drama actor'': Jerry Yan
:Domyouji Tsukasa is the leader of the F4. At the beginning of the series, he Tsukushi's biggest enemy, but as the story progresses, he becomes her love interest.
:Tsukasa is the heir to Domyouji Enterprises, and his family is extremely rich. They own various houses around the world, including an actual island, a house in Canada, and a house in New York City where his parents stay.
:Domyouji spent much of his childhood on his own; his parents were always overseas, and his older sister--as loving as she could be--was always busy studying and eventually married and moved to Los Angeles. His mother, Kaede, is cold to him, and although she loves him, wants to control his life for the sake of preserving the family name. Tsukasa sometimes calls her "the old hag" and "witch," an opinion shared by nearly all of his friends.
:Tsukushi's retaliation in the hallway sparks Doumyouji's interest, and he is immediately attracted to her daring and strength (the traits he used to admire in his older sister). Despite the harrassing he puts her through to keep up appearances, he also constantly tries to do things to impress her - such as trying unsuccessfully to straighten his hair after she tells him that she can't stand his curly-top.
:Because he's grown up in luxury and is used to always getting his way, Domyouji is initially not very good at interacting with Tsukushi. He frequently makes fun of her family's poverty and responds angrily when she refuses to do as he says. As time passes, however, he begins to mature and understand how to interact positively with others.
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:''Voiced by:'' Kouji Yamamoto
:''Drama actor'': Shun Oguri
:''Taiwanese Drama actor'': Vic Zhou
:The violinist Rui Hanazawa, Tsukasa's best friend, becomes Tsukushi's first serious romantic interest. He is a quiet and cold guy, but he has a soft spot for his close friend and Tsukushi's idol, the model Shizuka Todo, whom he harbored feelings for since childhood. His character is a bit complex, and always has changing feelings for Tsukushi (varying from annoyance to love), but above all cares about her in a friendly way. In season two of Hana Yori Dango, he grows very close with Makino. They eventually become very close friends and she depends on him.
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:''Drama actor'': Shota Matsuda
:''Taiwanese Drama actor'': Ken Chu
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:''Drama actor'': Tsuyoshi Abe
:''Taiwanese Drama actor'': Vanness Wu
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:''Drama actor'': Aki Nishihara
:''Taiwanese Drama actor'': Rainie Yang
:Yuuki and Tsukushi were best friends at school before Tsukushi's parents decided to send her to Eitoku. The two of them still work together at a dango shop after school. Yuuki offers Tsukushi a lot of encouragement and advice about her situation with the F4.
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:Kazuya was also one of Tsukushi's childhood friends. He enrolls at Eitoku after his family comes into money through some real-estate deals. The other students at Eitoku draw a sharp distiction between Kazuya's "new money" and their "old money." The F4 in particular mention this difference fairly often.
:Tsukushi is both relieved to have a friend at Eitoku, and worried for Kazyua's safety if he continues to hang around her. She is particularly worried about Domyouji, who clearly considers Kazuya a romantic threat.
:Kazuya is fiercly loyal to Tsukushi, but also relatively clueless and not very quick to pick up on things.
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:''Drama actor'': Mayumi Sada
:''Taiwanese Drama actor'': Winnie Qian
:Shizuka is a rich heiress who grew up with the members of the F4. She and Rui became very close; she was the first person who was able to get him to come out of his shell, and the two were inseperable for much of their childhood. She began a modeling career during her high school years, but announced shocks everyone at a birthday party that she had plans to move to Paris to become an advocate for poor people.
:Rui initially accompanies Shizuka to Paris at Tsukushi's request, but their relationship gets rocky as Shizuka spends more and more time at work. Eventually, Rui returns to Japan in frustration. Shizuka initially remains in Paris and even becomes engaged to another man, but later returns for Rui as she realizes that he's the one that's meant to be with her.
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:Makiko is one of Tsukushi's only friends at Eitoku in the beginning of the series. Tsukushi rescues her from inevitable torment after she collides with Domyouji on the stairs. Although she's forced to break off their friendship to prevent becoming a target of abuse, Makiko finds ways to help Tsukushi, sending her secret messages of encouragement or to warn her of impending danger.
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:''Drama actor'': Megumi Sato
:Born a very ugly child, Sakurako was the object of torment of the children she went to school with. When she confessed her love to Domyouji, he traumatized her by making fun of her looks.
:Sakurako undergoes plastic surgery and returns to Eitoku, determined to use her new beauty to take her revenge on Domyouji after making him fall in love with her. She acts sweet and innocent, but lets her true colors show when she thinks no one is watching. When she hears of his growing attraction to Tsukushi, she conspires with her friend Thomas to destroy her. She has Thomas drug Tsukushi at a club and then distributes photos of the two of them in bed together around the school, causing the student body to turn on her for betraying Domyouji.
:When Domyouji eventually refuses Sakurako's advances and sees through her plans, Sakurako becomes remorseful and she and Tsukushi become friends.
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:''Drama actor'': Nanako Matsushima
:Tsubaki is Tsukasa's sister. She is one of the few people who isn't afraid to stand up to him, a trait that Domyouji secretly admires in her. She marries a rich company-heir and moved to Los Angeles with him, although it's clear that she is not truely happy in the marriage and simply did what was expected of her at the request of her mother. She begs Domyouji not to make the same mistake. It's hinted that she may have had a secret relationship with Eitoku's school nurse Urara-sensei.
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:''Drama actor'': Mariko Kaga
:Tsukasa's controlling mother. She is the chairwoman of Domyoji Enterprises. She is very clever and devious and hatches many schemes to break apart her son and Tsukushi, who she sees as an "insect" that must be squashed for the sake of the family.
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:''Voiced by'':
:''Drama actor'': Susumu Kobayashi
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:''Drama actor'': Mako Ishino
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:''Drama actor'': Satoshi Tomiura
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:''Drama actor'': Saki Seto
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:''Voiced by'':
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:''Voiced by'':
:''Drama actor'': Takako Kato

Trivia

★ The opening themes of both seasons of the live-action drama were sung by Japanese boy band, Arashi, which Jun Matsumoto (Tsukasa Dōmyōji) is a part of.

References

1. Hana Yori Dango 2 Returns official site

External links

Official sites

★ Official TV Drama Website from TBS

★ Official TV Drama 2 Website from TBS (

★ Toei's Hana Yori Dango website

★ Official Viz site here you can sample the manga online

Other sources

★ IMDB link to the Japanese TV Drama

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