Also Known As: Hana Yori Dango 2, Boys Over Flowers

Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Episodes: 11
Genres: J-dorama, Romance, Comedy, Live-Action
Directed by: Ishii Yasuharu, Tsuboi Toshio, Takei Atsushi
Produced by: Setoguchi Katsuaki, Mishiro Shinichi
Written by: Kamio Yoko (story), Satake Mikio
Starring: Inoue Mao (as Makino Tsukushi), Matsumoto Jun (as Domyoji Tsukasa), Oguri Shun (as Hanazawa Rui), Matsuda Shota (as Nishikado Sojiro), Abe Tsuyoshi (as Mimasaka Akira)
Release Date: 2007

Official Website: Hana Yori Dango Returns Official Site
Theme Song: Love So Sweet by Arashi

Plot Synopsis:
This second season of Hana Yori Dango picks up right after Domyoji leaves for New York. After confessing to Domyoji, Makino has not spoken to him for a year. Rui and the other members of F4 try and help Makino meet Domyoji again by going to New York for the christmas holidays. Though F4 and Makino meet Domyoji again, he has become a completely different person, and so they leave for Japan.

Some time later, Domyoji’s mother annouces that they will be returning to Japan. There, they hold a giant super-rich and classy birthday party for Domyoji and announce something very important. Domyoji, like in the first season, is engaged to a rich girl and heir. The only difference is that they are to be wed soon. What will Makino do? On the side, Rui begins to fall in love with Makino… will this become a love… square?

Hana Yori Dango-2 also features side stories like that of Soujiroh’s first love, Yuki’s efforts to make Soujiroh like her, and a peek at mafia boy Akira’s family life. It finally managed to provide clear, character descriptions of the main players because in the first season fans of manga were mostly confused with the exact personalities of Akira and Soujiroh. In HYD2 those two guys began coming out of their sidekick roles and taking on the main scene like they should be in the first place.

The production team did impressing scenes in downtown New York and used a lot of foreign extras.The glamour and posh of the wealthy lifestyle was always shown in a good and sometimes, hilarious way. The drama even attempts to showcase some of Japan’s nice spots in the city. The production quality sure is high, and the editing is very good.

I’m particularly impressed with the way that characters sit in the background, growing more and more colorful and then finally being inserted into the plot as necessary.

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