Boys Over Flowers

Boys Over Flowers (花より男子, Hana yori Dango^?) 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.^[1] 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 December 2007, 27 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.

1 Title
2 Story
- 2.1 Anime Movie
- 2.2 Live Action Movies
3 Setting
4 Music
5 Characters
6 Relationships
- 6.1 Makino and Domyoji
7 References
8 External links
- 8.1 Official sites
- 8.2 Other sources

[edit] 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, lit. "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 "Boys over Flowers" (花より男子, "Boys over Flowers"^?), implying that boys, like food, maybe are a necessity to life rather than a luxury like flowers. Note that "boys" (男子, "boys"^?) is normally read danshi (だんし, danshi^?), but the furigana force the reading dango (だんご, dango^?)

[edit] Story

Tsukushi Makino, a working-class girl, attends an elite elevator school called Eitoku Academy (英徳学園 - Eitoku Gakuen), 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 laid-back peacemaker 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.

[edit] 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 who 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.

[edit] Live Action Movies

A first live action movie Hana Yori Dango (movie, 1995) was made in 1995 starring Yuki Uchida in the main role.

TBS announced in August of 2007 that there will be a new live action movie coming out on June 28,2008. The cast will remain the same than in the drama, but the script will likely be different. ^[2] The movie, now called Hana Yori Dango Final will take place four years after the events of Hana Yori Dango Returns. Apparently now Tsukushi has new problems to solve. It was rumored that a third season might follow after HYD2, simply called Hana Yori Dango 3. However, in the end the producers decided to do a movie which will mark the end of the series.

[edit] 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).

[edit] Music

The themes are listed in their respective feature order:

Hana Yori Dango

Opening Theme: "Wish" by Japanese boy band Arashi.
Insert Song: "Planetarium" by Ai Otsuka.

Hana Yori Dango Returns

Opening Theme: "Love so sweet" by Arashi.
Insert Song: "Flavor of Life" by Utada Hikaru.

[edit] Characters

Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

Tsukushi Makino (牧野つくし, Makino Tsukushi^?): Voiced by: Maki Mochida (Japanese), Kelly Sheridan (English); Drama actor: Mao Inoue; 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 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 sticks her neck out to defend her friend Makiko as she accidentally bumps into F4 leader Tsukasa Domyoji 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 Domyoji 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, Domyoji.

Tsukasa Domyoji (道明寺司, Dōmyōji Tsukasa^?): Voiced by: Naoki Miyashita (Japanese), Michael Adamthwaite (English); Drama actor: Jun Matsumoto; Tsukasa Domyoji is the leader of the F4. At the beginning of the series, he is Tsukushi's biggest enemy, but as the story progresses, he becomes her love interest.

Tsukasa is the heir to Domyoji 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.

Domyoji 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 Domyoji's interest, and he is immediately attracted to her daring and strength (the traits he used to admire in his older sister). Despite the harassing 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, Domyoji 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.

(Of note, actor Jun Matsumoto is a member of the Japanese boy band Arashi, which performed the opening song for both seasons of the live action drama.)

Rui Hanazawa (花沢類, Hanazawa Rui^?): Voiced by: Kouji Yamamoto (Japanese), Stephen Park (English); Drama actor: Shun Oguri; 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.

It's commonly mistranslated that he had autism as a child, however one cannot outgrow autism, and the 'when I was a child' is actually 'since I was a child.' He has Asperger's syndrome which explains why Rui holds grudges for many years, and often extracts his revenge after everyone involved has forgotten about it. He prefers sleeping at least 10 hours a day, has trouble socializing and can't recognise facial expressions (example in being trying to draw Tsukasa, he drew an expressionless egg with curly hair). These are all typical autistic personality traits he still holds.

Sojiroh Nishikado (西門総二郎, Nishikado Sōjirō^?): Voiced by: Yoshihiko Akaida (Japanese), Andrew Francis (English); Drama actor: Shota Matsuda; He is quiet and is very interested in the tea ceremony, which is his family's business. For the most part, he and Mimasaka are usually keeping peace within the group and following Domyoji. In season two, he reunites with his first love, who he believed had only loved his brother. Later he learns that she had truly loved him but she was already engaged to someone else. Makino's close friend, Yuuki has feelings for him and it is uncertain whether he feels the same way. He is also one of the two playboys in the F4.

Akira Mimasaka (美作あきら, Mimasaka Akira^?): Voiced by: Yuuta Mochizuki (Japanese), Alistair Abell (English); Drama actor: Tsuyoshi Abe; He is the kindest of the F4, also the most mature and his Family is very powerful in the Japanese underground (in the manga they own a large trading company). He is a man who keeps his cool and rarely displays his temper. Though when he does, even Domyogi has to run for the hills. Akira is also one of the two playboys. He is interested in older women mainly because of his mother's childish ways. He has two younger sisters who are twins. He is also the one F4 member who like to and only uses cash. Though it was revealed in a special chapter that he actually had romantic feelings for Tsukushi since she she sees him as the man that he is, and sincerely appreciates him to it. Tsukushi also makes him realize that since he helps balance F4 out, a supporter if you will; if he ever leaves then F4 will fall apart. However, he put a stopper on it due to the fact he cherishes his Tsukasa.

He also often joins Sojiroh in teasing Tsukasa about being a virgin.

Yuki Matsuoka (松岡優紀, Matsuoka Yūki^?): Voiced by: Kanako Tobimatsu (Japanese), Tabitha St. Germain (English); Drama actor: Aki Nishihara

Yuki 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.

Kazuya Aoike (, Kazuya Aoike^?): Voiced by: Ietomi Yoji (Japanese), Brad Swaile (English)

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 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 Domyoji, who clearly considers Kazuya a romantic threat.

Kazuya is fiercely loyal to Tsukushi, but also relatively clueless and not very quick to pick up on things.

Shizuka Todo (藤堂静, Tōdō Shizuka^?): Voiced by: Keiko Imamura (Japanese), Nicole Oliver (English); Drama actor: Mayumi Sada

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 inseparable for much of their childhood. She began a modeling career during her high school years, but shocks everyone at a birthday party when she announced that she planned 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 remains in Paris and gets married to a lawyer there, giving her bouquet to Tsukushi.

Makiko Endo (遠藤真紀子, Endō Makiko^?): Voiced by: Fuuko Misaki (Japanese), Nicole Bouma (English)

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 Domyoji 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.

Sakurako Sanjo (三条桜子, Sanjō Sakurako^?): Voiced by: Mikako Sakurada; 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 Domyoji, 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 Domyoji 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 Domyoji.

When Domyoji eventually refuses Sakurako's advances and sees through her plans, Sakurako becomes remorseful and she and Tsukushi become friends.

Tsubaki Domyoji (道明寺椿, Dōmyōji Tsubaki^?): Voiced by: Chiho Ohkawa; Drama actor: Nanako Matsushima

Tsubaki is Tsukasa's sister. She is one of the few people who is not afraid to stand up to him, a trait that Domyoji 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 truly happy in the marriage and simply did what was expected of her at the request of her mother. She begs Domyoji not to make the same mistake. It's hinted that she may have had a secret relationship with Eitoku's school nurse Urara-sensei.

Kaede Domyoji (道明寺楓, Dōmyōji Kaede^?): Voiced by: Mika Doi; 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.

Haruo Makino (牧野晴男, Makino Haruo^?): Voiced by:; Drama actor: Susumu Kobayashi

Tsukushi's father. He often cannot hold a job and this puts pressure on Tsukushi to earn the family income. He often states that he will work harder and stay devoted so that Tsukushi will not work as hard, but he never does. He, along with his wife, respect Domyoji and treat him like a god. He also wants Tsukushi to marry someone wealthy so that they will not have to live in poverty.

In the live-action, he, and the rest of the family, excluding Tsukushi, end up moving to a fishing village to make a living.

Chieko Makino (牧野千恵子, Makino Chieko^?): Voiced by: Rumi Watabe; Drama actor: Mako Ishino

Tsukushi's mother. She is very comical and while sometimes she seems to care very little for Tsukushi's feelings, it is later revealed that she will not allow her daughter to be insulted. She dreams of having Tsukushi marry someone wealthy and constantly tries to get Tsukushi together with Domyoji.

She, along with her husband and son, end up moving to a fishing village in hopes of getting a better life there.

Susumu Makino (牧野進, Makino Susumi^?): Voiced by: Takayuki Inoue; Drama actor: Satoshi Tomiura

Tsukushi's younger brother, he is determined to go to the cheapest highschool so that Tsukushi can continue to attend Eitoku. He eventually ends up moving to a fishing village with his parents. He plays a larger role in the live-action version than in the anime.

Yasukichi Makino (牧野安吉, Yasukichi Makino^?): Voiced by: Nobuaki Suzuki

Yuriko Asai (浅井百合子, Asai Yuriko^?): Voiced by: Yoshiko Shimizu; Drama actor: Saki Seto

One of the three girls that bullies Tsukushi throughout their high school years, she believes that Domyoji only has a passing interest in Tsukushi and resolves to make her life horrible. She often sucks up to the rest of the F4 more than the other students.

Minako Yamano (山野美奈子, Yamano Minako^?): Voiced by: Nami Sato

Erika Ayuhara (鮎原えりか, Ayuhara Erika^?): Voiced by:

Sachiyo Sengoku (Okami-San) (千石幸代, Sengoku Sachiyo^?): Voiced by:; Drama actor: Takako Kato

[edit] Relationships

[edit] Makino and Domyoji

Their relationship has varied from the start. In the beginning it was one of hatred and physical violence, due to the fact he wages war against her all the time. However as Domyoji gets to know her, he slowly falls in love with her though he has always held a cold heart. Due to this, he attempts to make advances on Makino, but always ends up fighting with her. In the manga they go through many hardships to be together. His stubborn mother, Makino's friendship with Rui, Makino's constantly changing feelings, and also Domyoji's frequent anger outbursts (as wells as many other problems) are always keeping them apart. In the end, their love wins out. Towards the end Domyoji makes an announcement to the media to go to New York for 4 years in order to take over his father's company. During this announcement period, Makino is troubled but later says that she will not go with him and that when he comes back she'll be waiting for him and will make him a happy man. The story ends with Domyoji going to New York and Makino watch his plane leave in the sky.

In the short story published after the series had concluded, Domyoji and company goes to Paris along with Makino to go to Shizuka's wedding with a French lawyer. Domyoji told Makino that he already paid for her four years of university to keep an eye on her. They agree to wait until Domyoji was done in three more years.

During the countless times that they break up, Domyoji goes crazy and returns to his "evil" and violent ways. However when he is with Makino he is tamed and kind. Due to this, everyone around them is always saying that he is no good without Makino.