Boys Over Flowers
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
shōjo manga
series written 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 37 tankōbon
volumes. In 1996, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award
for shōjo. It has also been repackaged and released in deluxe editions with larger pages and color artwork reproduced from the magazine. Hana Yori Dango is the best-selling shōjo manga in Japan of all time, having sold 54 million copies as of 2005.
The manga has been adapted into five (5), licensed live-television drama productions authorized by Japanese publisher Shueisha
, in Taiwan, Japan and Korea; as well as two live action movies, an anime movie and an anime series.
on a Japanese
saying, "Dumplings over Flowers" (花より団子, "Hana yori Dango
" lit. "dango (rice dumplings) rather than flowers"). "Dumplings before flowers" is a well-known Japanese expression that refers to people who attend Hanami
, but rather than enjoying the beauty of the flowers, head straight for the food vendor booths, preferring tangible things like food and drink to the abstract appreciation of the flowers’ beauty. The author creates the pun by changing the kanji of the title to mean . Note that is normally read , but the furigana
indicates that it reads .
The violin
ist Hanazawa Rui, Tsukasa's best friend, becomes Tsukushi's first serious romantic interest. He is a quiet and cool guy, but he has a soft spot for his close friend and Tsukushi's idol, the model
Todou Shizuka, 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 a lot.
The other two members of the F4 are Mimasaka Akira, the laid-back peacemaker of the group, and Nishikado Sōjirō, 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 childish. 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.
is the leader of the F4, and comes to immediately fall head over heels in love with Tsukushi. Tsukasa is the heir to Domyouji Enterprises, and his family is extremely rich. They own various property around the world, including an island, a house in Canada
, and a house in New York City
where his parents live most of the year. Tsukasa spent much of his childhood with the rest of the F4; his parents were always overseas, and his older sister was always busy studying and eventually married and moved to New York. His mother, Kaede, is cold to him, and although she loves him, she wants to control his life for the sake of preserving the family name. Tsukasa often calls her "the old hag" and "witch," an opinion shared by most of his friends. Being leader or the F4, he uses his power to rule over the whole school. He would use the infamous red card by attaching it on anybody's locker who made the F4, especially him, upset. Once the victim got the red card, they would be bullied by the whole school until they left the school. When Tsukushi helped her friend, Makiko, who fell over Tsukasa, it makes him upset and she received the red card the next day. After being patiently bullied for some time, Tsukushi couldn't take it anymore and snapped. Tsukushi's attack on Tsukasa in the hallway sparks his interest, and he is becomes attracted to her strength and personality which are reminiscent of his older sister. Despite the harassment he puts her through to keep up appearances, he 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 has 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. He is shown on many occasions to be extremely possessive and protective of Tsukushi, and loses his temper when anyone tries to get too close to her. As time passes, he begins to mature and develops a greater understanding of how to interact positively with others, a consequence of his love for Tsukushi.
is Tsukasa's best friend who was Tsukushi's first romantic interest. He is generally quiet, but has a soft spot for his close friends and Tsukushi's idol, the model
Shizuka Todo, whom he has harbored feelings for since childhood. His character is a bit complex, and his feelings for Tsukushi are in a nearly constant state of flux varying from annoyance to love, but above all cares about her deeply. He prefers quiet places such as an emergency exit and other spots. While Tsukushi is being bullied by the F4, Rui does nothing to her and helps her with her problems. After he comes back from France, Rui was very frustrated and changed. He slowly falls in love with Tsukushi. When Tsukasa learns of the relationship between Rui and Tsukushi, he gets jealous and want to eject Rui from the F4. After learning that Tsukushi really loves Tsukasa, Rui takes revenge by telling Tsukasa that Tsukushi might be in love with him (Tsukasa) just before Tsukasa leaves to New York. Later, Tsukasa befriends Rui again. After Tsukasa's engagement to Shigeru Ookawahara, Rui grows closer with Makino, and he claimed that he loved her and that he was the one that would make her happy, not Domyouji. They eventually become very close friends and she depends on him as a confidant. According to Tsukushi, Rui is the only one who can heal her wounds and make her feel happy and calm again after she becomes upset by Tsukasa, and that Rui always comes to her rescue. Although he still loves Tsukushi, Rui eventually comes to accept Tsukasa and Tsukushi's relationship, vowing to stay by their side to make sure their love goes smoothly. It is suggested that while Rui will always care deeply for Tsukushi, he will eventually meet someone special one day.
is quiet and very interested in the tea ceremony, which is his family's business. For the most part, he and Mimasaka usually work to keep the peace within the group and following Domyouji. But, he usually loses his temper when everything is not going the way it is supposed to. He reunites with his first love, Sara, whom he stood up and missed his chance with during his freshman year in high school. Later they confess their love for each other, but the relationship is unsalvageable (in the manga they both recognize that they missed their one chance to be together, and in the drama she has become engaged to someone else). Makino's close friend, Yuuki has feelings for him and it is uncertain whether he feels the same way. He considered one of the two playboys in the F4.
is arguably the kindest and most mature member of F4. His family is very powerful in the Japanese underground (in the manga they own a large trading company). He keeps his cool and rarely loses his temper, although when he does, even Domyouji has to run for the hills. Akira is also a madam killer. His taste tends towards older women, mainly due to his young mother, who is only 38 years old. He has a pair of younger sisters who are twins. He is also the only F4 member who only uses cash. He had secretly resented that he had to be the peacemaker every time something went wrong within the F4, and sometimes doubted that the F4 was truly a group of friends, but eventually Tsukushi makes him realize that since he helps to balance the F4 out by being a support to the others, if he ever leaves them, then the F4 will fall apart. With that, he comes to accept his role in F4.
is Tsukushi's best friend as well as a childhood friend. The two work together at a dango shop after school. Tsukushi and Matsuoka also went to kindergarten, elementary school and junior high together. She cares a lot about Tsukushi's feelings and doesn't want anybody to hurt Tsukushi. Yuuki offers Tsukushi a lot of encouragement and advice about her situation with the F4. Once, she had a double date with her first boyfriend who turned out to be a player, and invited Tsukushi and Tsukasa in order to test how good Tsukasa matched with Tsukushi during a commoner's date. As she becomes more familiar and closer with the F4, she develops romantic feelings for Sojirou, who helped her when she was upset about her ex-boyfriend. Having romantic feelings for Soujiro, she wanted to know a lot about his life and found out about his first love. After this, Soujiro slowly sees her as interesting girl and begins to develop feelings for her.
is a rich heiress and a childhood friend of the F4. She and Rui particularly are very close; she was the first person who was able to get him to come out of his shell, and the two were inseparable for much of their childhood. She began a modeling career during her high school years, but shocks everyone at her twentieth birthday party by announcing that she plans to give up her career as a model as well as her position as the Todo heiress to move to Paris and become a human rights lawyer. She was very kind toward Tsukushi, as she sees her as Rui's romantic interest. In the drama, Shizuka was the inspiration that convinced Makino to attend Eitoku, and later to pursue a legal career. Rui initially accompanies Shizuka to Paris at Tsukushi's request, but their relationship suffers as Shizuka spends more and more time at work. Eventually, Rui returns to Japan in frustration. Shizuka remains in Paris and eventually marries to a lawyer there, giving her bouquet to Tsukushi.
is another 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 distinction 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 Kazuya's safety if he continues to hang around her. She is particularly worried about Domyouji, who clearly considers Kazuya a romantic threat. This was shown when Tsukasa gave him a red card on the first day he went to Eitoku because of his close friendship with Tsukushi. Kazuya is fiercely loyal to and harbors romantic feelings for Tsukushi, but is also relatively clueless and not very quick to pick up on things. Although he is not featured in the live dramas, his role and Makiko Endo often merged with Sakurako Sanjou. .
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. After Tsukushi become best friends with the F4, Makiko seems to stop being afraid of being seen near Tsukushi. She cares about Tsukushi's feeling, and helps her when she is in a bad condition. In the live-action versions, her character is merged with Sakurako Sanjou.
was the object of torment of the children she went to school with because she was born "ugly". When she confessed her love to Domyouji, he traumatized her by making fun of her looks. She was friend's with Makiko when they were still in Elementary school, but moved to Germany because of her family's business. Sakurako undergoes plastic surgery and returns to Eitoku, determined to use her new beauty to take her revenge on Domyouji by making him fall in love with her. She met Tsukushi when she asked for help at Shizuka's birthday party. 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 Tsukushi finds out that Sakurako is behind of this, Sakurako tells Tsukushi that she only used her in order to take revenge on Tsukasa and that she doesn't need any friends and says that ugly and average people like Tsukushi shouldn't be near handsome men like those in the F4. When Domyouji eventually refuses Sakurako's advances and sees through her plans, Sakurako becomes remorseful. She is then bullied by the whole student body because of her plastic surgery, but Tsukushi defends her. Tsukushi then says that she still can't forgive her. Sakurako also takes advantage of the situation to be near with Tsukasa when Tsukasa breaks up with Tsukushi because of her romance with Rui. But Tsukasa only pretends to be close with Sakurako to make Tsukushi jealous. At first, it's unknown whether Sakurako and Tsukushi can still be friends or not, because Sakurako becomes cruel when she is with Tsukasa. But, as the story progresses, Sakurako seems to be more friendly and sometimes defends Tsukushi from other people with malicious intent.
, Jocelyne Loewen
(English)
is a kohai of Tsukushi's that saves her from being bullied after she gets back from her trip to Canada. He first appears as a nerdy boy, with glasses and an oblivious attitude. He is actually a famous model for a well-known magazine, hiding his identity in school through his glasses. Tskushi sees him as the only other person at school who thinks the way she thinks after he says he only needs to endure two more years. Junpei's real motive is to lure Domyouji for revenge for his older brother who got sent to the hospital by Domyouji in middle school, using Tsukushi as bait. Both Domyouji and Tsukushi end up in the hospital after a hostage situation where Domyouji gets his ribs broken. Junpei later apologizes to Tsukushi, having developed feelings for her, but she denies his apology.
is the princess of the Okawahara Corporation. She is extremely tomboyish, examples of this being when she bravely punches Tsukasa and when she bit his earlobe, but is sometimes girly. Shigeru befriends Tsukushi and often asks her to help her get Tsukasa, not realising that Tsukasa likes Makino and Makino in return harbours feelings for Tsukasa. At first, Tsukushi is very angry with her because of her engagement with Tsukasa, but after Tsukushi sees her innocent and kindness toward her, she accepts and helps her, although she sometimes gets mad seeing Tsukasa and Shigeru together. In the end, she realises that Tsukasa will never love her and so decides to get her two friends together. On the surface, Shigeru seems aggressive and boyish but she is actually quite femine.
is Tsukasa's sister. She is four years older than Tsukasa. When she and Tsukasa were little, she cared for Tsukasa and tried to teach him to not act naughty because their parents were always overseas. When she was a student in Eitoku, she did some modelling in Paris, which made her an idol at Eitoku. After she graduated from Eitoku, she dated a man of common wealth, which led to her mother forcing them apart so that Tsubaki could marry a wealthier man. She is one of the few people who is not afraid to stand up to her brother, a trait that Tsukasa secretly admires in her. After struggling to date the man she loved, she finally gave up and married the wealthy heir to a hotel company and moved to Los Angeles with him. Although she has obtained a degree of happiness in her marriage, she often gets sad and travels home to Japan when her husband is busy overseas. She begs Tsukasa not to make the same mistake in love. She sees Tsukushi as a younger sister, and always helps with her relationship with Tsukasa. According to people near Tsukasa besides his mother, her character is similar to Tsukushi.
is Tsukasa's controlling mother. She is the chairwoman of Domyouji Enterprises. She is very clever and devious, and hatches many schemes to break apart her son and Tsukushi, whom she sees as an "insect" that must be squashed for the sake of the family. She meets Tsukushi at Tsukasa's birthday party when Tsukasa is going to introduce Tsukushi to her. She saw Tsukushi as a stepping stone for her son's future. Once, she paid Tsukushi 50 million Yen to get her to agree not to see Tsukasa again. However, her mother refused the money and poured salt on her head because she thought that Kaede had insulted Tsukushi. She refused to give up, trying to force Tsukasa to marry Shigeru. When she found out that Tsukasa was going to break up with Shigeru, she got mad and forced Tsukasa to marry Shigeru quickly. Tsukushi was thrilled at first, but she was insulted after Kaede tried to buy her off again. When her relationship with Tsukasa was back on, Kaede became angry and forced Tsukasa to forget Tsukushi. Eventually, Tsukasa lost his memories about Tsukushi after having an accident. After knowing that Tsukushi truly cares about Tsukasa and everyone else, she began to accept their relationship.
magazine.
and broadcast by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
. It ran from 8 September 1996 to 31 August 1997 with a total of 51 episodes. The storyline is based on the manga version with little skipping in storyline. The opening title of this anime series features Tsukushi is dancing with F4 and the whole students.
An anime movie was also produced in 1997, however, it deviated from the plot of the actual manga, as it was set in an alternate universe, and the characters were placed into new roles to suit the movie's new story. The anime movie is reminiscent of the American film Flashdance
: Tsukushi is an aspiring dancer attempting to win a role in a large stage production.
:
as main character Makino Tsukushi.
Then in 2008, Hana Yori Dango Final was released in theatres on June 28, 2008 to end the Japanese TV series, all the original actors reprised their roles. The movie focused solely on Tsukasa and Tsukushi's adventure to retrieve the precious family heirloom: a tiara called "Smile of Venus" which was stolen by a mysterious man in black. The film has proven to be a huge success in Japanese cinemas remaining at #1 at the box office for several weeks, earning over US$ 70 million. The DVD for the drama is currently the #3 Best Selling Japanese Film DVD of all time after a mere 4 weeks of entering the charts, having stayed on top of them for all 4 weeks. The DVD was also the #1 best-selling DVD that was released in 2008. A cameo appearance was made by Naohito Fujiki
, who played Hanazawa Rui in the original first live action movie, Hana Yori Dango, which was made in 1995 starring Uchida Yuki
as Makino Tsukushi.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
shōjo manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written by Yoko Kamio
Yoko Kamio
is a Japanese manga artist and writer. She is most famous for , for which she received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1996. Her work has been translated and distributed in Asia, Europe, and North America.-Biography:...
. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine Margaret
Margaret (magazine)
is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...
, which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and was collected into 37 tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes. In 1996, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...
for shōjo. It has also been repackaged and released in deluxe editions with larger pages and color artwork reproduced from the magazine. Hana Yori Dango is the best-selling shōjo manga in Japan of all time, having sold 54 million copies as of 2005.
The manga has been adapted into five (5), licensed live-television drama productions authorized by Japanese publisher Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
, in Taiwan, Japan and Korea; as well as two live action movies, an anime movie and an anime series.
Title
The title Hana yori Dango, is a punPun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
saying, "Dumplings over Flowers" (花より団子, "Hana yori Dango
Dango
is a Japanese dumpling made from mochiko , related to mochi. It is often served with green tea.Dango are eaten year-round, but the different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons...
" lit. "dango (rice dumplings) rather than flowers"). "Dumplings before flowers" is a well-known Japanese expression that refers to people who attend Hanami
Hanami
is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms or ume blossoms. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa...
, but rather than enjoying the beauty of the flowers, head straight for the food vendor booths, preferring tangible things like food and drink to the abstract appreciation of the flowers’ beauty. The author creates the pun by changing the kanji of the title to mean . Note that is normally read , but the furigana
Furigana
is a Japanese reading aid, consisting of smaller kana, or syllabic characters, printed next to a kanji or other character to indicate its pronunciation. In horizontal text, yokogaki, they are placed above the line of text, while in vertical text, tategaki, they are placed to the right of the line...
indicates that it reads .
Plot
Makino Tsukushi, a working-class girl, attends an elite school called , populated by children and older youths 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, Domyouji Tsukasa, takes an interest in Tsukushi because she is the only girl at Eitoku who does not 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 (Hanazawa Rui).The violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Hanazawa Rui, Tsukasa's best friend, becomes Tsukushi's first serious romantic interest. He is a quiet and cool guy, but he has a soft spot for his close friend and Tsukushi's idol, the model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
Todou Shizuka, 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 a lot.
The other two members of the F4 are Mimasaka Akira, the laid-back peacemaker of the group, and Nishikado Sōjirō, 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 childish. 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.
Characters
is the main female character in Hana Yori Dango, and is one of the very few students at the prestigious Eitoku High School to come from a poor family. While her family can barely afford to pay Makino's tuition, her parents push her to continue at the school so she can seduce 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 defends her friend who accidentally bumped into the F4's leader Tsukasa Domyouji on a staircase. The next day, a red tag is found hanging in Tsukushi's locker, which is the F4's "declaration of war", officially marking her for future torment by the F4 as well as 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. Because of this unexpected retaliation and steadfast resistance to the hazing that he had never encountered from a victim before, Tsukasa develops a crush on her. Initially, Tsukushi hates all of the F4 except Hanazawa Rui (for whom she harbors romantic feelings). But, as Rui goes off to chase after Shizuka, Tsukushi slowly falls in love with the hotheaded leader, Domyouji. 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 best friends. In the end, Makino and Domyouji become a couple and it is hinted that they will get married when the time is right.is the leader of the F4, and comes to immediately fall head over heels in love with Tsukushi. Tsukasa is the heir to Domyouji Enterprises, and his family is extremely rich. They own various property around the world, including an island, a house in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and a house in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where his parents live most of the year. Tsukasa spent much of his childhood with the rest of the F4; his parents were always overseas, and his older sister was always busy studying and eventually married and moved to New York. His mother, Kaede, is cold to him, and although she loves him, she wants to control his life for the sake of preserving the family name. Tsukasa often calls her "the old hag" and "witch," an opinion shared by most of his friends. Being leader or the F4, he uses his power to rule over the whole school. He would use the infamous red card by attaching it on anybody's locker who made the F4, especially him, upset. Once the victim got the red card, they would be bullied by the whole school until they left the school. When Tsukushi helped her friend, Makiko, who fell over Tsukasa, it makes him upset and she received the red card the next day. After being patiently bullied for some time, Tsukushi couldn't take it anymore and snapped. Tsukushi's attack on Tsukasa in the hallway sparks his interest, and he is becomes attracted to her strength and personality which are reminiscent of his older sister. Despite the harassment he puts her through to keep up appearances, he constantly tries to do things to impress her - such as trying unsuccessfully to straighten his hair
Hair straightening
Hair straightening is a hair styling technique which involves the flattening and straightening of hair in order to give it a smooth, streamlined, and 'sleek' appearance. It may be accomplished by using hair irons and hot combs, chemical relaxers, Japanese hair straightening, or Brazilian hair...
after she tells him that she can't stand his curly-top. Because he has 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. He is shown on many occasions to be extremely possessive and protective of Tsukushi, and loses his temper when anyone tries to get too close to her. As time passes, he begins to mature and develops a greater understanding of how to interact positively with others, a consequence of his love for Tsukushi.
is Tsukasa's best friend who was Tsukushi's first romantic interest. He is generally quiet, but has a soft spot for his close friends and Tsukushi's idol, the model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
Shizuka Todo, whom he has harbored feelings for since childhood. His character is a bit complex, and his feelings for Tsukushi are in a nearly constant state of flux varying from annoyance to love, but above all cares about her deeply. He prefers quiet places such as an emergency exit and other spots. While Tsukushi is being bullied by the F4, Rui does nothing to her and helps her with her problems. After he comes back from France, Rui was very frustrated and changed. He slowly falls in love with Tsukushi. When Tsukasa learns of the relationship between Rui and Tsukushi, he gets jealous and want to eject Rui from the F4. After learning that Tsukushi really loves Tsukasa, Rui takes revenge by telling Tsukasa that Tsukushi might be in love with him (Tsukasa) just before Tsukasa leaves to New York. Later, Tsukasa befriends Rui again. After Tsukasa's engagement to Shigeru Ookawahara, Rui grows closer with Makino, and he claimed that he loved her and that he was the one that would make her happy, not Domyouji. They eventually become very close friends and she depends on him as a confidant. According to Tsukushi, Rui is the only one who can heal her wounds and make her feel happy and calm again after she becomes upset by Tsukasa, and that Rui always comes to her rescue. Although he still loves Tsukushi, Rui eventually comes to accept Tsukasa and Tsukushi's relationship, vowing to stay by their side to make sure their love goes smoothly. It is suggested that while Rui will always care deeply for Tsukushi, he will eventually meet someone special one day.
is quiet and very interested in the tea ceremony, which is his family's business. For the most part, he and Mimasaka usually work to keep the peace within the group and following Domyouji. But, he usually loses his temper when everything is not going the way it is supposed to. He reunites with his first love, Sara, whom he stood up and missed his chance with during his freshman year in high school. Later they confess their love for each other, but the relationship is unsalvageable (in the manga they both recognize that they missed their one chance to be together, and in the drama she has become engaged to someone else). Makino's close friend, Yuuki has feelings for him and it is uncertain whether he feels the same way. He considered one of the two playboys in the F4.
is arguably the kindest and most mature member of F4. His family is very powerful in the Japanese underground (in the manga they own a large trading company). He keeps his cool and rarely loses his temper, although when he does, even Domyouji has to run for the hills. Akira is also a madam killer. His taste tends towards older women, mainly due to his young mother, who is only 38 years old. He has a pair of younger sisters who are twins. He is also the only F4 member who only uses cash. He had secretly resented that he had to be the peacemaker every time something went wrong within the F4, and sometimes doubted that the F4 was truly a group of friends, but eventually Tsukushi makes him realize that since he helps to balance the F4 out by being a support to the others, if he ever leaves them, then the F4 will fall apart. With that, he comes to accept his role in F4.
is Tsukushi's best friend as well as a childhood friend. The two work together at a dango shop after school. Tsukushi and Matsuoka also went to kindergarten, elementary school and junior high together. She cares a lot about Tsukushi's feelings and doesn't want anybody to hurt Tsukushi. Yuuki offers Tsukushi a lot of encouragement and advice about her situation with the F4. Once, she had a double date with her first boyfriend who turned out to be a player, and invited Tsukushi and Tsukasa in order to test how good Tsukasa matched with Tsukushi during a commoner's date. As she becomes more familiar and closer with the F4, she develops romantic feelings for Sojirou, who helped her when she was upset about her ex-boyfriend. Having romantic feelings for Soujiro, she wanted to know a lot about his life and found out about his first love. After this, Soujiro slowly sees her as interesting girl and begins to develop feelings for her.
is a rich heiress and a childhood friend of the F4. She and Rui particularly are very close; she was the first person who was able to get him to come out of his shell, and the two were inseparable for much of their childhood. She began a modeling career during her high school years, but shocks everyone at her twentieth birthday party by announcing that she plans to give up her career as a model as well as her position as the Todo heiress to move to Paris and become a human rights lawyer. She was very kind toward Tsukushi, as she sees her as Rui's romantic interest. In the drama, Shizuka was the inspiration that convinced Makino to attend Eitoku, and later to pursue a legal career. Rui initially accompanies Shizuka to Paris at Tsukushi's request, but their relationship suffers as Shizuka spends more and more time at work. Eventually, Rui returns to Japan in frustration. Shizuka remains in Paris and eventually marries to a lawyer there, giving her bouquet to Tsukushi.
is another 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 distinction 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 Kazuya's safety if he continues to hang around her. She is particularly worried about Domyouji, who clearly considers Kazuya a romantic threat. This was shown when Tsukasa gave him a red card on the first day he went to Eitoku because of his close friendship with Tsukushi. Kazuya is fiercely loyal to and harbors romantic feelings for Tsukushi, but is also relatively clueless and not very quick to pick up on things. Although he is not featured in the live dramas, his role and Makiko Endo often merged with Sakurako Sanjou. .
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. After Tsukushi become best friends with the F4, Makiko seems to stop being afraid of being seen near Tsukushi. She cares about Tsukushi's feeling, and helps her when she is in a bad condition. In the live-action versions, her character is merged with Sakurako Sanjou.
was the object of torment of the children she went to school with because she was born "ugly". When she confessed her love to Domyouji, he traumatized her by making fun of her looks. She was friend's with Makiko when they were still in Elementary school, but moved to Germany because of her family's business. Sakurako undergoes plastic surgery and returns to Eitoku, determined to use her new beauty to take her revenge on Domyouji by making him fall in love with her. She met Tsukushi when she asked for help at Shizuka's birthday party. 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 Tsukushi finds out that Sakurako is behind of this, Sakurako tells Tsukushi that she only used her in order to take revenge on Tsukasa and that she doesn't need any friends and says that ugly and average people like Tsukushi shouldn't be near handsome men like those in the F4. When Domyouji eventually refuses Sakurako's advances and sees through her plans, Sakurako becomes remorseful. She is then bullied by the whole student body because of her plastic surgery, but Tsukushi defends her. Tsukushi then says that she still can't forgive her. Sakurako also takes advantage of the situation to be near with Tsukasa when Tsukasa breaks up with Tsukushi because of her romance with Rui. But Tsukasa only pretends to be close with Sakurako to make Tsukushi jealous. At first, it's unknown whether Sakurako and Tsukushi can still be friends or not, because Sakurako becomes cruel when she is with Tsukasa. But, as the story progresses, Sakurako seems to be more friendly and sometimes defends Tsukushi from other people with malicious intent.
, Jocelyne Loewen
Jocelyne Loewen
Jocelyne Loewen is a Canadian voice actress working with Ocean Productions, known for her roles in the English dubs of anime series, mostly that of "spunky" young girls....
(English)
is a kohai of Tsukushi's that saves her from being bullied after she gets back from her trip to Canada. He first appears as a nerdy boy, with glasses and an oblivious attitude. He is actually a famous model for a well-known magazine, hiding his identity in school through his glasses. Tskushi sees him as the only other person at school who thinks the way she thinks after he says he only needs to endure two more years. Junpei's real motive is to lure Domyouji for revenge for his older brother who got sent to the hospital by Domyouji in middle school, using Tsukushi as bait. Both Domyouji and Tsukushi end up in the hospital after a hostage situation where Domyouji gets his ribs broken. Junpei later apologizes to Tsukushi, having developed feelings for her, but she denies his apology.
is the princess of the Okawahara Corporation. She is extremely tomboyish, examples of this being when she bravely punches Tsukasa and when she bit his earlobe, but is sometimes girly. Shigeru befriends Tsukushi and often asks her to help her get Tsukasa, not realising that Tsukasa likes Makino and Makino in return harbours feelings for Tsukasa. At first, Tsukushi is very angry with her because of her engagement with Tsukasa, but after Tsukushi sees her innocent and kindness toward her, she accepts and helps her, although she sometimes gets mad seeing Tsukasa and Shigeru together. In the end, she realises that Tsukasa will never love her and so decides to get her two friends together. On the surface, Shigeru seems aggressive and boyish but she is actually quite femine.
is Tsukasa's sister. She is four years older than Tsukasa. When she and Tsukasa were little, she cared for Tsukasa and tried to teach him to not act naughty because their parents were always overseas. When she was a student in Eitoku, she did some modelling in Paris, which made her an idol at Eitoku. After she graduated from Eitoku, she dated a man of common wealth, which led to her mother forcing them apart so that Tsubaki could marry a wealthier man. She is one of the few people who is not afraid to stand up to her brother, a trait that Tsukasa secretly admires in her. After struggling to date the man she loved, she finally gave up and married the wealthy heir to a hotel company and moved to Los Angeles with him. Although she has obtained a degree of happiness in her marriage, she often gets sad and travels home to Japan when her husband is busy overseas. She begs Tsukasa not to make the same mistake in love. She sees Tsukushi as a younger sister, and always helps with her relationship with Tsukasa. According to people near Tsukasa besides his mother, her character is similar to Tsukushi.
is Tsukasa's controlling mother. She is the chairwoman of Domyouji Enterprises. She is very clever and devious, and hatches many schemes to break apart her son and Tsukushi, whom she sees as an "insect" that must be squashed for the sake of the family. She meets Tsukushi at Tsukasa's birthday party when Tsukasa is going to introduce Tsukushi to her. She saw Tsukushi as a stepping stone for her son's future. Once, she paid Tsukushi 50 million Yen to get her to agree not to see Tsukasa again. However, her mother refused the money and poured salt on her head because she thought that Kaede had insulted Tsukushi. She refused to give up, trying to force Tsukasa to marry Shigeru. When she found out that Tsukasa was going to break up with Shigeru, she got mad and forced Tsukasa to marry Shigeru quickly. Tsukushi was thrilled at first, but she was insulted after Kaede tried to buy her off again. When her relationship with Tsukasa was back on, Kaede became angry and forced Tsukasa to forget Tsukushi. Eventually, Tsukasa lost his memories about Tsukushi after having an accident. After knowing that Tsukushi truly cares about Tsukasa and everyone else, she began to accept their relationship.
Manga
Recently in July 2006, a short story was released in issue 15 of MargaretMargaret (magazine)
is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...
magazine.
Anime
In 1997, an anime series was produced by Toei AnimationToei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
and broadcast by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
is a regional radio and television broadcaster headquartered in Osaka, Japan, serving in the Kansai region.-Offices:*Headquarters: 1-30, Fukushima Itchome, Fukushima-ku, Osaka-shi, Japan...
. It ran from 8 September 1996 to 31 August 1997 with a total of 51 episodes. The storyline is based on the manga version with little skipping in storyline. The opening title of this anime series features Tsukushi is dancing with F4 and the whole students.
Episode list
| Episode | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | "Declaration of War!!" |
| 2 | "No-Brand Woman!!" |
| 3 | "I Won't Get Hurt!!" |
| 4 | "The Ordinary Duo" |
| 5 | "Him, Me, and That Guy" |
| 6 | "One Night Cinderella" |
| 7 | "Night of Love in Atami" |
| 8 | "Nightmare of The Fall Term" |
| 9 | "Domyouji Tsukasa Snaps!!" |
| 10 | "The Woman Who Gave Up Everything" |
| 11 | "Love Flies Over The Horizon" |
| 12 | "A Date in The Snow" |
| 13 | "Love Moves Too Fast" |
| 14 | "Sakurako's Secret" |
| 15 | "Get Lost!!" |
| 16 | "Please Believe Me!!" |
| 17 | "Mine at Last" |
| 18 | "Will You Go Out With Me" |
| 19 | "Be Still My Beating Heart" |
| 20 | "Warm Night of Betrayal" |
| 21 | The Crime and Punishment of The Kiss" |
| 22 | "First Date at The Seaside" |
| 23 | "The Arrival of Tsubaki Domyouji!!" |
| 24 | "Love's Tempest!! Being Expelled??" |
| 25 | "Two Ways of Love" |
| 26 | "Sleepless Night" |
| 27 | "Tsukasa Goes to New York!!" |
| 28 | "Tsukushi Goes to Canada!!" |
| 29 | "His Body Against Mine" |
| 30 | "Do You Want a Friend?" |
| 31 | "Shock!! Horror!! Another Red Card?!" |
| 32 | "Tsukasa.. Won't Come?!" |
| 33 | "Someday We'll Laugh..." |
| 34 | "The Woman in My Life" |
| 35 | "Lovers on The Run" |
| 36 | "Tsukasa's Mother's Secret Plan" |
| 37 | "It's Showdown Time!!" |
| 38 | "I Will Tame You!!" |
| 39 | "Love Triangle From Hell" |
| 40 | "The Turning of Love's Tide" |
| 41 | "The Dawning of New Day" |
| 42 | "Surprise!! Double Date!?" |
| 43 | "The Heart's Wounds Intensify Feelings" |
| 44 | "It Can't Be You!!" |
| 45 | "Be Honest, Won't You??" |
| 46 | "Within The Approaching Hurricane!!" |
| 47 | "Exchange Student - Shigeru's Ripple!!" |
| 48 | "Study Abroad??" |
| 49 | "The Couple's New Connection" |
| 50 | "We Shouldn't See Each Other Anymore" |
| 51 | "Never Ending" |
An anime movie was also produced in 1997, however, it deviated from the plot of the actual manga, as it was set in an alternate universe, and the characters were placed into new roles to suit the movie's new story. The anime movie is reminiscent of the American film Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
: Tsukushi is an aspiring dancer attempting to win a role in a large stage production.
Television series
Hana Yori Dango has been adapted into several live-television dramas authorized by Japanese publisher ShueishaShueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
:
- 2001 - Meteor GardenMeteor GardenMeteor Garden is a 2001 Taiwanese drama starring Barbie Hsu, Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Chu. It is based on Japanese shōjo manga series, , written by Yoko Kamio...
on Chinese Television System (CTS)Chinese Television SystemChinese Television System is a broadcast television station in Republic of China .-History:Founded on October 31, 1971, CTS started off as a joint venture between the ROC's Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education. At the time of its establishment, CTS was the only VHF-supported...
, Taiwan - 2002 - Meteor Garden IIMeteor Garden IIMeteor Garden II is a 2002 Taiwanese drama starring Barbie Hsu and F4: Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Chu. It is the sequel to 2001 Meteor Garden and is based on Japanese shōjo manga series, , written by Yoko Kamio...
on Chinese Television System (CTS)Chinese Television SystemChinese Television System is a broadcast television station in Republic of China .-History:Founded on October 31, 1971, CTS started off as a joint venture between the ROC's Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education. At the time of its establishment, CTS was the only VHF-supported...
, Taiwan - 2005 - Hana Yori DangoHana Yori Dango (TV series)Hana Yori Dango is a Japanese television drama series, broadcast on TBS in 2005. It is based on Japanese shōjo manga series, , written by Yoko Kamio. The series is the third television adaptation of the manga following Meteor Garden and its sequel Meteor Garden II in Taiwan. It also resulted in...
on TBSTokyo Broadcasting System, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
, Japan - 2007 - Hana Yori Dango ReturnsHana Yori Dango Returns (TV series)Hana Yori Dango Returns is a Japanese television drama series, broadcast on TBS in 2007. It is the sequel to 2005 Hana Yori Dango TV series, based on Japanese shōjo manga series, , written by Yoko Kamio, and followed by movie adaptation Hana Yori Dango Final.-Synopsis:Hana Yori Dango returns for...
on TBSTokyo Broadcasting System, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
, Japan - 2009 - Boys Over FlowersBoys Over Flowers (TV series)Boys Over Flowers is a South Korean television drama series starring Ku Hye Sun, Lee Min Ho, Kim Hyun Joong of SS501, Kim Bum, Kim Joon of T-Max and Kim So Eun. It premiered on January 5, 2009 on KBS2 and ended on March 31, 2009 after 25 episodes....
on KBS2, South Korea.
Films
In 1995, the manga was first adapted into a Japanese movie length feature: Hana Yori Dango, starring Yuki UchidaYuki Uchida
is a Japanese actress, and a popular 1990s Japanese idol, model and singer.-Biography:She practiced fencing in high school, and ranked 3rd in a tournament in Tokyo in 1991....
as main character Makino Tsukushi.
Then in 2008, Hana Yori Dango Final was released in theatres on June 28, 2008 to end the Japanese TV series, all the original actors reprised their roles. The movie focused solely on Tsukasa and Tsukushi's adventure to retrieve the precious family heirloom: a tiara called "Smile of Venus" which was stolen by a mysterious man in black. The film has proven to be a huge success in Japanese cinemas remaining at #1 at the box office for several weeks, earning over US$ 70 million. The DVD for the drama is currently the #3 Best Selling Japanese Film DVD of all time after a mere 4 weeks of entering the charts, having stayed on top of them for all 4 weeks. The DVD was also the #1 best-selling DVD that was released in 2008. A cameo appearance was made by Naohito Fujiki
Naohito Fujiki
is a Japanese actor and singer.- Singles :# [1999.07.07] 世界の果て ～the end of the world～# [1999.11.17] 虹 ～waiting for the rainbow～# [2000.07.19] パーフェクトワールド # [2000.11.01] コズミックライダー # [2001.04.18] 2 HEARTS# [2001.08.01] anon...
, who played Hanazawa Rui in the original first live action movie, Hana Yori Dango, which was made in 1995 starring Uchida Yuki
Yuki Uchida
is a Japanese actress, and a popular 1990s Japanese idol, model and singer.-Biography:She practiced fencing in high school, and ranked 3rd in a tournament in Tokyo in 1991....
as Makino Tsukushi.