Hana Yori Dango Live Action - Season 1

4 Feb 2007 Hana Yori Dango

Also Known As: 花より男子, Boys Over Flowers, Boys before Flowers

Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Episodes: 9
Genres: J-dorama, Romance, Comedy, Live-Action
Directed by: Ishii Yasuharu, Yamamuro Daisuke, Katayama Osamu
Produced by: Setoguchi Katsuaki
Written by: Kamio Yoko (story by), Satake Mikio, Fujimoto Yuki, Takahashi Natsuko, Arai Shuuko
Starring: Inoue Mao (as Makino Tsukushi), Matsumoto Jun (as Doumyouji Tsukasa), Oguri Shun (as Hanazawa Rui), Matsuda Shota (as Nishikado Soujiroh), Abe Tsuyoshi (as Mimasaka Akira)
Release Date: 2005

Official Website: Hana Yori Dango Official Site
Theme Song: WISH by Arashi; Opening theme - “Love So Sweet” by Arashi; Insert song - “Flavor of Life” by Utada Hikaru

Additional Information:
The series is based on the Japanese shoujo manga “Hana Yori Dango” by Kamio Yoko. The story evolves about a poor girl who entered an elite high school where she met a group of 4 powerful rich boys. From then onwards, she had been encountering various troubles, and also started a piquant spring story.

Having a sale of 48 million copies, the comic was turned into movie in 1995 and followed by TV anime. It was also shot into Taiwan drama serial Meteor Garden in 2001, making it the 13th country to have a high viewership.

Plot Synopsis:
Makino Tsukushi is the only poor student at Eitoku Gakuen, the school of the ridiculously rich and privileged that is ruled by Flower 4 or F4, a group of four boys who come from extremely powerful families: Domyoji Tsukasa, the leader and heir of the Domyoji World Finance Group; Hanazawa Rui, the introverted son of a large company; Nishikado Sojiro, a player who is the heir of a tea ceremony school; and Mimasaka Akira, a madam killer with ties to the underground. If a student gets on the F4’s bad side, he/she gets a red notice and is bullied and driven out of school.

Makino is a girl from a working class family who managed to get admission into the socially elite school of Eitoku, she works hard on keeping a low profile amongst all the glamour and glitz of the wealthy teens there but she can’t help noticing the extravagance of the upper class. Makino hopes to pass her days quietly - without drawing any attention to herself - but one day, she stands up to Domyoji in defense of her friend. The next day, Makino gets the dreaded red notice. Even though she is harassed, Makino decides to keep going to school because she is a “tough weed”. She declares war right back on the F4.

Makino is as stubborn as her name suggests (Tsukushi generally refers to a weed) and when Domyoji makes a laughing stock of her bento (Packed lunch)and her family she declares that she wont be moved and is ready for war against F4 and promptly clatters Domyoji with a right hook which has Hanazawa grinning and everyone shocked including Domyoji. Her resolve gets the attention of her crush Hanazawa Rui and oddly enough, rouses romantic feelings in her worst enemy, Domyoji Tsukasa.