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Hana Yori Dango 花より男子

    Leaves drift in the wind, the air is quiet, and a girl cries softly. Victim to the ever present humiliations of high school society, she ponders what the future holds — eternal exile or eventual acceptance? Setting the stage early for what Japanese anime fans adore in high school-based series, Hana Yori Dango may seem like a typical teenage romance comedy, but as it unfolds, the series manages to break the mold that many popular precedssors have left behind.
The title of the show is "Boys Over Flowers," which is a pun on the well-known Japanese saying "Sweets over Flowers" ("dango" meaning "sweets" is replaced with a different set of characters, also pronounced "dango," which mean boy.) The original idiom emphasizes choosing practical things (food) over aesthetics (flowers). Certainly, Hana Yori Dango contemplates the issue of the title when it comes to high school romance; do we look at just how a relationship looks to others or do we ignore that and see it for what it truly is?
    Based on the shoujo manga series by Kamio Youko, Hana Yori Dango follows the exploits of Makino Tsukushi, the seemingly typical high school student — well, typical for an anime series. She shares secrets with her close friend Makiko Yuki, longs for a boyfriend and generally wants to be accepted at high school. Fate, or more appropriately the plot device, will not allow either of these to occur, though. F4, a gang of four regular-stock bishounen guys who rule Eitoku High School with a peer-pressure iron fist, have a run-in with Tsukushi and, after the leader is somewhat embarrassed (it is amazing what high school students take seriously), Tsukushi is thus "red tagged" and subject to the entire school's ridicule, taunting, and borderline hazing.
Any other girl would simply fold and then the series would be over. But the producers and sponsors of Hana Yori Dango cannot have that, can they? Tsukushi proves to be a strong-willed girl, fighting back at both the students and F4, notably Doumyouji Tsukasa, the leader. She marks her independence with a spirit that proves refreshing in a genre of series that usually showcase wishy-washy, two-dimensional lead female characters. Eventually, Tsukushi develops an admiration for Hanazawa Rui, the more introverted figure of F4.
The high school romance genre seems to have an inherent fascination with the silent, sullen and cynical male figure — standing out from a society which dictates uniformity, such character exudes a sense of rebellion and excitement merely with a look of half-closed eyelids and a sneer. Hanazawa Rui, from head to toe, fits the bill. Like other sullen rebels, Rui has his quirks. He sneaks off from the rest of F4 to play the violin, filling the air of Eitoku High with his graceful performance. Also, he maintains a long distance relationship with a half-French, half-Japanese model. These paradoxical personality traits enhance Tsukushi's feelings for him.
The artwork of Hana Yori Dango displays a palette of pastel colors and earth tones, being softer on the eye and exuding a different feel for the series than what bright, cheery tones would offer — a more sombre and emotional attitude. While much attention is paid to the animation of the characters themselves, the backgrounds are more ambigious, non-dimensional and just often blurry or non-existant. The effect is much like theater or even performance art; nothing's there, but something is supposed to be there.
The introduction sequence and its song play like a dance segment from West Side Story or Fame. But do not be fooled. And comparisons, however unfair, are bound to be made to other "teen against romance" anime shows. But once the superficial and expected elements are peeled away, Hana Yori Dango is a series worthy of support and perhaps even admiration.

Japanese name: Hana Yori Dango
English name: Boys Before Flowers
Dates: September 8, 1996-August 31, 1997
Number of episodes: 51
Production Company: Toei Animation
Creator(s): Kamio Youko
Series Director: Yamauchi Shigeyasu
Voice Actors (regular characters): Maki Mochida (Tsukushi Makino), Naoki Miyashita (Tsukasa Doumyouji), Kouji Yamamoto (Rui Hanazawa), Youta Mochizuka (Akira Mimasaka), Yoshihiko Akaida (Soujirou Nishikado), Kanako Tobimatsu (Yuki Matsuoka), Ietomi Yoji (Kazuya Aoike), Keiko Imamura (Shizuka Toudou), Fuuko Masaki (Makiko Endou)

The Story

    Hana Yori Dango is the story of Makino Tsukushi, a 16 year old girl from the wrong side of the tracks who is a new student at Eitoku Gakuen, a very exclusive school that is attended by the richest of society's children. Tsukushi, shy at first, already feels uncomfortable and out of place amongst the rich, snobby kids at her school and she cannot wait until the time, two years later, when she will graduate. However despite finding a new friend to talk to at school, Tsukushi's problems at Eitoku take a sudden turn for the worse when she crosses the path of the F4.

    The F4 are the 4 richest guys at Eitoku Gakuen, and for all intents and purposes, they rule the school. They wander around the campus unchallenged by teacher or student, they flaunt the school dress code by not wearing their uniforms, and never seem to go to class.

The F4 are:

    Doumyouji Tsukasa is the leader of the F4, and the one with the shortest temper. He rules the school by intimidation. The entire student body is either afraid of him or in awe of him. Doumyouji has been known to terrorize any poor student is who is unfortunate enough to fall in his path. What he does (with the support of the F4) is place a red tag in the locker of the intended victim. The red tag is a sign to the rest of the school that the victim has somehow offended the F4 and is now a target for their abuse. The whole school unites to make the victim's life hell. Just such a thing happens to Tsukushi
    Tsukushi stands up to Doumyouji while defending her friend Makiko, who had fallen down some stairs and had landed on the angry Doumyouji. Doumyouji decides to red tag Tsukushi's locker, and this prompts the entire school to heap abuse on her. At first, Tsukushi is afraid of Doumyouji and is intimidated by the F4. She runs away from her attackers. However when she is confronted by Doumyouji, her fighting spirit comes to life, and she decides to do the unthinkable: Challenge the F4! Tsukushi declares that she will not take any crap from the F4 and the rest of the school, and vows to fight back. She declares war on the F4 with a red tag of her own. Tsukushi is a strong girl, not given to backing down from a challenge!

    Tsukushi's unexpected resistance piques Doumyouji's interest. Her strength proves to be attractive to him, and he ends up having a crush on her, even though they are 'at war' with each other. Tsukushi, on the other hand, does not seem to be that impressed with the rich, arrogant Doumyouji, and instead finds herself attracted to another member of the F4, the quiet, sensitive violin player, Hanazawa Rui. This sets up an explosive triangle of love and hate relationships, as Tsukushi finds herself in the middle of a tug of war between Rui and Doumyouji. Tsukushi has to face the pressure of the school's rapidly shifting opinion of her, her status as a poor girl in a rich school, and her attraction to a cool but mysterious guy (Rui) while at the same time dealing with the advances of Doumyouji.

The Characters

• Makino Tsukushi

• The F4:

  • Doumyoji Tsukasa

  • Hanazawa Rui

  • Nishikado Soujirou

  • Mimasaka Akira

• Friends:

  • Matsuoka Yuki

  • Aoike Kazuya

  • Toudou Shizuka

  • Endou Makiko

  • Doumyoji Tsubaki

• Troublemakers:

  • Sanjyou Sakurako

  • Thomas

  • Junpei

  • Ookawahara Shigeru

  • Asai, Ayuhara, and Yamano

   

The F4:

	Doumyoji Tsukasa Doumyouji Tsukasa is the 17 year old leader of the F4. He is the heir to the incredibly wealthy Doumyouji corporate empire. Doumyouji is tall, with black hair that curls close to his head. His funny hairstyle is commented on by just about everyone. However it was only when Tsukushi twitted him about it that he made any attempt to straighten it it. His hair only goes straight when it is wet. Otherwise it takes several hours to straighten the mess out, and even then it usually does not stay in place. Doumyouji has a very strong personality. Because he has been raised in wealth, he is fairly spoiled, and his attitude is one of arrogance and superiority. He has a huge ego and uses his large size and substantial wealth to bully everyone around. Doumyouji has a quick temper that causes him to lash out angrily at anyone in his path. Because of this quick temper, everyone in Eitoku Gakuen is afraid of him. Doumyouji has been known to beat people up over trifles. Doumyouji has been living alone with the servants in his huge mansion for a very long time. His parents have been living in New York for the past two years, and his older sister has recently gotten married and now lives in Beverly Hills with her husband. Thus Doumyouji is all alone in his big empty house, and can get quite lonely. He covers up his feelings with bullying and anger. Also, because of his wealth, Doumyouji is constantly the target for opportunists who try to use him to get at his wealth or to his father in the company. Doumyouji knows that most of the people around him are not interested in him as a person, but are only interested in his wealth. Doumyouji has a hard time expressing his feelings. His arrogance often gets in the way, as does his temper and his pride. He tends to not respect authority, considering himself to be above that sort of thing. Doumyouji gets jealous easily, which causes Tsukushi all sorts of problems. Of all of his family members, Doumyouji is closest to his sister, a strong woman in her own right, who is one of the few people Doumyouji can actually be afraid of. Tsukushi has many of the same qualities as Doumyouji's sister.
	Hanazawa Rui Hanazawa Rui is the quiet, sensitive guy in the F4. He is 18 years old, and is next in line to inherit his father's company. Because he is the heir, Rui's father was always very strict with him as a child, grooming him for his future position. This has left Rui an introvert who expresses his emotions through the beautiful music he plays on his violin. Quiet and secretive, Rui spends most of his days out of classes, and sitting on a school staircase, staring off into space, lost in his own thoughts. Rui is the most calm and serious of the F4. He also seems to be the most compassionate of the guys as well, helping Tsukushi out of trouble several times. While Doumyouji always tends to get Tsukushi into trouble, it is Rui who is like the knight in shining armor who appears to aid her. Hanazawa Rui is the object of Tsukushi's affections, however Rui's feelings for her are hard to discern. His introverted nature makes him difficult to talk to sometimes. Tsukushi has a hard time reading what he is feeling. Sometimes it seems Rui is interested in Tsukushi, while at others it appears that she is merely a source of mild amusement. Rui seems to be in love with a girl from his youth, Toudou Shizuka, an incedibly beautiful and famous idol girl. She is two years older than Rui, but they grew up together, and a special bond formed between them. Rui's exact feelings towards Shizuka are somewhat hard to fathom as well. At some points he seems utterly infatuated with her, while at others he seems interested in Tsukushi. It takes something highly amusing to crack Rui's solemn expression.
	Nishikado Soujirou Nishikado Soujirou is the playboy of the F4. He's rich is rich and good-looking, and he knows it. He grew up as a playmate with Doumyouji, Rui, and Akira. Nishikado is playful, and likes to hit on all the pretty girls he sees. He is quick to hit on Yuki, Tsukushi's friend from work. He has said that he never forgets a pretty face. Nishikado also likes to tease Tsukushi by calling her 'virgin girl'. This is in reference to something that happens in episode 2. In general, Hana Yori Dango tends to focus on Tsukushi, Rui, and Doumyouji. The other 2 F4 guys, Soujirou and Nishikado, are not really in the spotlight as much. Soujirou stays by Doumyouji when there are in-fights between the F4, but his loyalties are really for all of the F4 as a whole.
	Mimasaka Akira Akira has always seemed in my mind to be "that long-haired one". He's the 4th member of the F4, and as far as I can tell, he has the least differentiated personality. The one thing I can say about him is that he is somewhat of a playboy like Nishikado is. However, unlike Nishikado who likes to have several girlfriends, Akira tends to only have one, but he prefers older women. Akira always hangs out with Nishikado. The two of them team up a lot to tease Rui and Doumyouji, and are currently trying to get Tsukushi and Doumyouji together whether they want to be together or not. Akira has the long wavy hair which he wears loose, or occasionally tied back into a ponytail. Akira is 18 years old

Friends:

Troublemakers:

	Sanjyou Sakurako Sakurako is a freshman at Eitoku Gakuen. She first met Tsukushi as Shizuka's party when Tsukushi helped her get away from a drunken man who was pestering her. Sakurako is very cute. She also grew up around the F4 boys and has had a crush on Doumyouji since she was very little. Sakurako still has that crush, and is jealous of Tsukushi's closeness to him. Sakurako attempts to get Doumyouji back away from Tsukushi (if such a thing is possible, considering the question of how close Doumyouji and Tsukushi are in the first place). Sakurako's cute looks hide a muddled character than can be sweet and nice, or mean and spiteful. Sakurako also has a hidden secret in her past that she goes to great lengths to prevent people from finding out.
	Thomas Thomas is a handsome blond German guy that Tsukushi meets one evening while at a dance club with Asai and her two friends. Thomas is very good looking, and Tsukushi is very surprised when he askes her to dance. While dancing, Tsukushi notices that Thomas bears a resemblance to Rui, and thus seems to like him. Thomas treats Tsukushi to some drinks, and this leads to a situation that causes trouble for everyone. Thomas also seems to be connected somehow to someone else Tsukushi knows. Oh, and he has absolutely horrible table manners... I don't know if he is behaving that way deliberately, or if he really has no manners whatsoever.
	Junpei Junpei is a freshman at Eitoku Gakuen. At first he wears some very ugly glasses to conceal his face. When Tsukushi is harassed by Asai and her friends, Junpei helps Tsukushi out by throwing his books down the stairs ontop of the girls. Junpei has a secret though. He wears the large glasses to conceal his looks because he is really a popular male model. Junpei decided to become Tsukushi's 'protector' and tries to become her friend. He recruits her into one of his photo shoots. However Junpei is still not quite what he seems. He has a dark plan behind everything he does.
	Ookawahara Shigeru Shigeru is introduced in episode 37. She is Doumyouji's fiance through an arrangement made by his and her parents. Shigeru is very rich and very cute. Her personality is a bit odd, but tough like Tsukushi's. Shigeru wasn't thrilled about the idea of marrying Doumyouji either at first, but soon got used to the idea. . Shigeru is like Tsukuhsi in that she yells right back at Doumyouji and is not afraid of him. She calls him by name (Tsukasa!) and can cheerfully punch him out. Shigeru can get a bit wild though. In one example, Shigeru jumped on Doumyouji and bit his ear! (Gee, I wonder if she watches boxing...^_^;) Shigeru cozies up to Tsukushi and tries to be firends. And Tsukushi finds herself not hating Shigeru, despite the strong rival she is. Shigeru causes a serious split in Doumyouji and Tsukushi's relationship!
	Asai and Friends Asai Yuriko, Yamano, and Ayuhara Eriko are three girls who go to Eitoku Gakuen with Tsukushi. They are in her class. These girls are very self-centered and snobbish. They have no loyalties whatsoever except perhaps to each other. They are ambitious girls who are doing all they can to snare rich guys (F4 guys in particular) for themselves. They are devious, mean, and cruel. Asai and her friends constantly 'change sides' throughout the series, pretending to be peoples friends when in reality they are plotting against them. Thse girls have gone out of their way to make Tsukushi's life miserable. They are jealous of the attention such a poor girl is getting from the F4. They play many mean little tricks on Tsukushi in their attempts to put her down. Some of their anctics even go so far as to be life-threatening.

The Manga

    The Hana Yori Dango is written and drawn by a woman named Kamio Youko, and it runs in a bi-weekly shoujo manga compilation called Margaret, which is published by Shuueisha. Anyway Hana Yori Dango has been running in Margaret since 1992. There are currently 32 tankoubon of the HYD manga available. Quite a long series!

    The anime and the manga are quite similar in story and in look. Well, not at first. I think in the manga, everyone looks a little odd (well, very odd in Doumyouji's case, his hair is wierd even for him) but everyone slowly evolves to looking like how they do in the anime. Many of the details and scenes are done in the exact same way in both anime and manga. Clothing is the same, scenes are layed out the same, etc. It seems to go 3 TV episodes per volume of manga, but not always. Also, there are some differences in the manga. There are some subplots and storylines in the manga that the anime has either skipped, or not covered yet. The most noticible one to me right now is the beauty queen contest thing in volume 11.

The Movie

    There have been three Hana Yori Dango movies, two of them are from japanese movie, and the other is from taiwan version, which actually is a drama series. First was a live action film that was released in 1995. It stars Uchida Yuki in the role of Makino Tsukushi. The movie is pretty interesting and the plot quite follows the storyline that runs in the anime, although it happen in different order, or things happen at the separate time in the anime occur at the same time and place in the movie. Some characters from the anime, such as Kazuya, Makiko-chan, Tsukushi's family, are not present at the movie. Sakurako is present, but her role in the movie seems a lot like Asai and friends' role in the anime. The abuse Tsukushi takes in the live action action movie is very similar to what she gets in the anime, however there seems to be even more of it! Some of the more severe incidents that occur in the anime do not happen in the movie, but the opening credits of the movie alone show Tsukushi being hazed in all sorts of ways. Some other details differ between the anime and live action movie. The movie has Shizuka just returning from America, not France. The actress who plays Shizuka (Marie Eguro), speaks perfect English, with no trace of an accent. It is kinda neat to see Shizuka make her long speech in English. The F4 in the live action movie are very similar to what they are like in the anime, behavior wise, though I think Rui comes off as being a bit nicer in the movie. It is difficult to explain. Doumyouji is appropriately arrogant. (But please, can someone buy that actor a shirt?? :p Or at least anything but those Speedos ^_^;;;) He is pretty cute though! His name is Shosuke Tanihara.

    In spring of 1997, an anime Hana Yori Dango movie was released to theaters in Japan. This time the movie is an anime version. Instead of following the plot of the TV series, this movie changes gears a bit and begins a story of its own. The cast of the anime are all now in New York, working on some sort of musical production. It is like an alternate HYD timeline. Tsukushi is a poor girl who works in a theater building as a cleaning girl. At the theater, the rest of the HYD gang are dancers who are rehearsing for the big show. Tsukushi watches them and practices on her own at night. She dreams of becoming a dancer and is waiting to get her big chance. This movie was OK. I was a bit disappointed. the movie is only 30 minutes long, and I was hoping for more romance. The one nifty thing about it is the sequence that mirrors the TV series op song. Now you can see where that off-the-wall TV anime op animation came from.

    In 2001, Taiwan Chinese Television System (CTS) produced a drama based on Hana Yori Dango, named Meteor Garden (MG). In this movie, the background scene is different. They are not students of High School, but students of the elite university named Ing Te University. Their names also change to chinese name. Makino Tsukushi is Shan Cai (played by Barbie Hsu), Doumyoji Tsukasa is Dao Ming Shi (played by Jerry Yan), Hanazawa Rui is Hua Zhe Lei (played by Vic), Nishikado Soujirou is Xi Men (Ken), and Mimasaka Akira is Mei Zhuo (Vanness Wu). Sakurako didn't show in this drama, but her characteristic is mixed in Makiko's (named Li Zheng). This drama much follows the storyline of the manga instead of the anime. The acting are good enough and those F4 guys are sure pick on the right persons (^-^). The story takes place in a prestigious school which is established by the 4 top notch families for nurturing their descendents, F4. F4 is made up of Dao Ming Shi (Jerry) Hua Zhe Lei (Vic) Xi Men (Ken) MeiZhuo (Vanness). In this school, no one dares to defy the F4 until one day, Shan Cai (Barbie) appears in front of them and challenged them. Shan Cai, is a girl from a low income family who was forced by her parents to study in that prestigious school with the intention to marry some rich guys there. Shan Cai existence changed the whole situation. One day, Shan Cai's best friend Li Zheng accidentally fell onto Dao Ming Shi and infuriates him. Shan Cai defended Li Zheng and got herself into trouble. The F4 blacklisted Shan Cai with the red card. The whole school start attacking Shan Cai and none defended her. There is this incident whereby 2 guys ordered by Dao Ming Shi to teach her a lesson but instead they tried to molest her but luckily Hua Zhe Lei appeared to rescue her. Shan Cai can no longer tolerates the nuisance and decided that its time she retaliates and declared war to the F4 with her own red card! This attracted Dao Ming Shi and attempted to use his wealth to lure Shan Cai becoming his but Shan Cai take no crap of these. Shan Cai's classmates Bai He and Qian Hui are jealous of Shan Cai and pretended to be friend with her but this is actually a plot! They lied to Shan Cai that the party they are inviting her is just some casual gathering and the attire is T-shirt and jeans. But when she turned up the party, she found that this is not true and in fact her dressing is similar to those of the waitress'! Her so called friends tried to make fun of her but Shan Cai is not someone to be trifled with either and she retaliated! In a trip, Shan Cai was invited by Theng Tang Jing to attend the party on the cruise. In the party, Shan Cai kissed Dao Ming Shi! That's just the few of first two episodes of the drama. (click here to get a wallpaper of F4 in manga n drama version)

The Episodes

The Toys

    Not since Marmalade Boy or Kodomo no Omocha have I seen an anime that revolves so much around the toy merchandising as Hana Yori Dango. It is absolutely amazing how much part in the story the toys play. Bandai is one of the sponsors of the anime, so you can guess how many toys there are for the series. As of episode 30, I have counted 6 different little gadgets used in the course of Hana Yori Dango. And the toys aren't even that cute. They seem pretty ugly to me, yet oddly funny too. Perhaps they look so funny because they must conform to the muted colorpalette that is used for the anime. There aren't very many bright colors to choose from in the series. And not only do the girls have thecute little gadgets. Even the guys introduce some of them. At least one of the toys is used without fail in every episode, sometimes playing a very important part in the action of the story.

    The first of the toys is introduced in episode 1 by Tsukushi's friend Yuki. It is this orange heart monitor that can be usedto anwser questions. Ask a question, and then place your fingertips on the sensitive buttons, and the toy lights up. This toy is used constantly by Tsukushi. Tsukushi also, at some point or other, makes everyone else in the show try it too.

    The second toy is also introduced in episode 1. It is a little voice memo given to Tsukushi by Makiko-chan. The voice memo may be something familiar to Marmalade Boy fans. Miki, Yuu, and Meiko used one of these a lot. You press a button on the memo, say something, and it records your voice for immediate playback. Sana-chan in Kodomo no Omocha uses one to rap with. In Hana Yori Dango, the voice memo is used by Tsukushi and Makiko to pass messages to each other. However Tsukushi also uses it to record things she says to herself as well. 

    Also introduced in the first episode are the bath supplies. For a long time these items were seen only in the anime's eye catch, in which Tsukushi is seen in a bubble bath with the F4 peeking in on her. I was pretty impressed to see them advertising for the items that weren't even used in the actual show, but only in the eye catch. Finally the bath supplies (a device that pumps soap bubbles into the tub and an automatic scrubbing brush) finally make an appearance in the course of the actual show in episode 17.

    While on a date with Rui, Tsukushi sees some girls crowded around a toy vendor selling even more ugly/cute gadgets. In a show of kindness, Rui buys one for Tsukushi. This gadget is also a question answerer. It has a section of 'answers' layer out in a grid with with light-up dots along the x and y axis. When a question is asked, and fingertips are pressed on the buttons, the dots light up, eventually leaving only 1 dot on the y axis and one on the x axis lit. By following the spot where the coordinates cross, whatever answer is in that square is the answer to your question. This toy provides some very funny instances in episode 29. (One of the possible answers has to do with doing something "H").

    Makiko-chan once again is a supplier of a toy on the show. This time she leaves in Tsukushi's locker a secret message written in invisible ink. Next to the message is this little light that will make the writing visible when shined on the paper. This gadget is used by both Makiko-chan and Tsukushi.

    Doumyouji is the provider of the next two toys. After the events in episode 17, he gives Tsukushi a pink pager so that he can contact her at any time. This pager plays an important role in the relationship between Rui, Tsukushi, and Doumyouji when it is lost and then found.

    Finally, the second toy Doumyouji gives Tsukushi is vital in saving her very life. This toy is a little message screen that willdisplay one kanji/hiragana/katakana character at a time, spelling out messages. Doumyouji uses it at first to spell out the word for 'clumsy idiot' to show to Tsukushi. The characters appear lit in little led lights on a screen. The glow of the letters on the screen end up meaning the difference between life and death. Later on, Doumyouji tries to write another message on it to show Tsukushi, but she fails to notice it.

    In the drama, only one toy used in, just in two scenes. The little voice memo, but in other style. It comes in a little Teddy bear doll, which is given by Li Zheng to say sorry for Shan Cai at the first episode. The next appearance of the toy is when Shan Cai and Li Zheng get confronted, Shan Cai gave back the toy to Li Zheng, to show that she never forget her as her best friend ever. If in the anime Doumyoji gave Tsukushi a pink pager, in the drama Dao Ming Shi gave Shan Cai a cellular phone! Well, since the drama is sponsored by Nokia, all the type of cellular phones in that drama is Nokia's brand (^-^).

HYD Official Link: Toei's Hana Yori Dango Page