History Manga / HanaYoriDango

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HanaYoriDango.jpg]]

->''Don't be so full of it!''

''Hana Yori Dango'', western title ''Boys Over Flowers'', is a Japanese {{shojo}} manga series written by Yoko Kamio. It ran for [[LongRunners thirty-six volumes over a period of eleven years]]. It has enjoyed massive popularity in Japan and Asia. It has been adapted into an anime, ''nine'' live-action television dramas, two of which are sequel seasons [[labelnote:In order of production:]]''Meteor Garden'' in Taiwan (2001); ''Siapa Takut Jatuh Cinta'' in Indonesia (2002); ''Meteor Garden II'' in Taiwan (2002); ''Hana Yori Dango'' in Japan (2005); ''Hana Yori Dango Returns'' in Japan (2007); ''[[Series/BoysBeforeFlowers Boys Over Flowers]]'' in South Korea (2009); ''Meteor Shower'' in Mainland China (2010); ''Güneşi Beklerken'' in Turkey (2013); ''Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan'' in India (2014)[[/labelnote]], an animated movie set in a parallel universe, and a live-action movie.

The story varies a bit from continuity to continuity, but the basics are thus. PluckyGirl Tsukushi Makino is the sole middle class student attending the {{Fiction 500}} prep school Eitoku Academy. The school is presided over by the F4 (short for "[[GratuitousEnglish Flower Four]]"), Tsukasa Domyoji, Rui Hanazawa, Sōjirō Nishikado, and Akira Mimasaka, whose parents have [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney paid the administration a massive amount of money to grant their offspring free reign over the school]]. As a result, they lord themselves over the school and use their influence to get the [[PeerPressureMakesYouEvil entire student body to attack students physically]] [[DisproportionateRetribution for such transgressions as "accidentally squirting lemon juice into our leader's eye."]] For about a year and a half, Tsukushi tries to preserve her safety by being ignored, but steps in to protect her only friend at school (ShrinkingViolet Makiko Endou) after she accidentally offends Tsukasa, the F4's leader. This alternately causes her to be assaulted and ostracized by the entire school, with the exception of Tsukushi's crush Rui (who often steps in and saves her [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} when he's not busy spacing off]] and Tsukasa (who [[LoveAtFirstPunch is more intrigued than outraged]]). She eventually befriends the F4, and her influence largely seems to put a stop to their bullying ways.

The series gradually changes focus to the LoveDodecahedron surrounding the main characters, and eventually focusing on the main couple of Tsukushi and Tsukasa. The latter half is largely composed of them working around their massive class differences (his parents are [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corrupt Corporate Executives]], hers are [[PerpetualPoverty increasingly insolvent]]) and thwarting the plans of Tsukasa's EvilMatriarch Kaede to separate them.

See also ''Series/BoysBeforeFlowers'' for the KoreanSeries based on this manga.

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!!This show provides examples of:

* AbusiveParents: Tsukasa's FreudianExcuse is the unbelievable neglect coming from Kaede. See the main page.
** Some mention should go to Tsukushi's parents. While they're generally flighty but loving, one chapter has her coming home from school to find them and her brother packing their things: they were moving out to the city, not taking Tsukushi, or planning to tell her until that very day. Keep in mind Tsukushi is in school and has no job... Her parents promise to send money for her, but when she finally gets a letter from them, it says that they don't have money to send her yet, so here, have some strips of seaweed. Tsukushi honestly thought she'd starve, and probably would have if not for her friends. They are also incredibly stupid, want Tsukushi to be a gold digger and keep losing money on pointless things like pachinko resulting in their poverty... Ultimately, less abusive and more just plain [[AdultsAreUseless useless.]] Thankfully, most of the live-action adaptations avert this.
* AccidentalKiss: Happens in the live action version between Tsukushi and Tsukasa due to an unlikely trip-fall-catch.
** In both the Manga and Anime, this was how Tsukushi lost her SacredFirstKiss to Domyouji.
* AdaptationDistillation: The jDrama neatly compresses the sprawling plot of the manga into a much smoother, shorter story.
* AdrenalineMakeover: Tsukushi goes through one when she decides to stand up to the F4. Most obviously shown by her taking down her pigtails.
* AirplaneOfLove: Twice, and both more literal than most cases. First when Tsukushi watches the plane in which Rui is flying to Paris take off, then when she watches Tsukasa's jet take off for New York.
* AirVoyance: At least three times.
* AllAmazonsWantHercules: The cause of Shigeru's attraction to Tsukasa.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Tsukasa is definitely the most rough-edged and morally questionable member of F4, and the one who gets the girl (although Tsukushi was initially turned off by his {{Jerkass}} ways and preferred the more subdued Rui). Also a possible factor in Yuki's feelings for Sōjirō.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: In the first half of the story, at least. [[LoveDodecahedron Tsukasa wants Tsukushi who wants Rui who wants Shizuka, and that's not even getting into all the minor characters]].
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Tsukushi gets a lot of this.
* AlphaBitch: [[TerribleTrio Yuriko, Erika, and Minako]]. [[VillainDecay They start out pretty malevolent, but get closer to]] ButtMonkey [[VillainDecay status as Tsukushi's position with F4 solidifies.]]
** Sakurako is this too, but becomes GoodIsNotNice later.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: A few of these, notably when Tsukasa is first confessing his feelings, then later when Tsukushi reciprocates (it's still an anguished lash out, because [[{{Tsundere}} that's just how Tsukushi rolls)]].
* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: None of the F4 ever seem to run out of money, at least until Kaede cuts Domyoji off
* ArrangedMarriage: Kaede Domyoji succeeds in forcing Tsubaki into one of these and tries and fails to force Tsukasa into a few, specially with the ''very quirky'' Shigeru Ookawahara).
* AttemptedRape: Poor Tsukushi...
** And it actually comes up later in a humorous fashion [[spoiler: Tsukasa and Tsukushi are close to making love, but Tsukushi is so nervous that she starts crying. It remains an awkward moment for them until Tsubaki walks in on them, sees Tsukushi crying and thinks Tsukasa ''is'' trying to rape her. Even Tsukushi trying to reassure her doesn't stop Tsubaki from once again kicking Tsukasa's ass.]]
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Par for the course with BelligerentSexualTension.
* BastardBoyfriend: Depending on the adaptation, Tsuakasa's behavior [[NearRapeExperience borders on this.]] Also, he gives orders (how deliberately varies on the adaptation) that lead to another NearRapeExperience via the hands of bullies. Some of this [[{{Jerkass}} jerkassitude]] may have something to do with the fact that [[FanPreferredCouple he wasn't originally]] supposed to be the romantic lead.
** However, Tsukushi doesn't fit in the archetypical ShrinkingViolet girlfriend so they fit better into the dynamic of BelligerentSexualTension.
* BatheHerAndBringHerToMe: Tsukasa once asks his maids to give Tsukushi a bath and change her clothes since they were ruined. Tsukushi, however, believes he's going to rape her and attacks him.
* BeautyContest: The Teen of Japan competition is a cross between this and a TalentContest.
* BelligerentSexualTension: All over the place with Tsukushi and Tsukasa
* BetaCouple: Sōjirō and Tsukushi's friend Yuki, to a varying extent depending on the continuity.
* BettyAndVeronica: Rui (Betty) and Tsukasa (Veronica) to Tsukushi (Archie)
* TheBigDamnKiss: In the J-Drama, Tsukasa and Tsukushi have one of in both season finales. The first one is particularly epic.
* BigDamnMovie: ''Hana Yori Dango: Final'', the film conclusion to the J-Drama series, changes the plot from a melodramatic WillTheyOrWontThey to a globe-spanning quest for a missing tiara. [[spoiler: Subverted when the whole thing is revealed to be a plot by their friends and family to test the strength of their relationship.]]
* BigFancyHouse: Several. We see Shigeru's, Sakurako's, Shizuka's, Akira's, Sōjirō's, Rui's and ''three'' of Domyoji's, but particular focus is given to the Domyoji primary Tokyo residence, which is ''enormous''. Every wealthy character is actually implied to have [[UpToEleven several more]] [[BigFancyHouse Big Fancy Houses]] around the world.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Sakurako wrote the book on this trope. See her entry on the page.
* BreakTheCutie
* BrotherSisterIncest: Sort of, one-sided. One of the first things that attracts Tsukasa to Tsukushi is that she treats him in the same manner his older sister Tsubaki did... '' 'kay.''
* BumblingDad: Again, Tsukushi's father.
* ButtMonkey: Tsukushi and Kazuya.
* CannotSpitItOut: On both sides, but eventually Tsukasa tends to be upfront about his feelings, while Tsukushi still has some difficulty expressing hers.
* CatchPhrase: Tsukushi's "Unbelievable!" ("''Arienai-tsu no!''")
* CategoryTraitor: A big tool in the F4's corruption of the student body; if you don't at least seem to actively participate in the public shaming and bullying they assign to those who they "red card," then you're likely to be the next recipient.
* ChastityCouple: The OfficialCouple ends up being this, mostly due to Tsukushi's nervousness and much to Tsukasa's chagrin.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Rui and Shigeru.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Kaede's machinations eventually force Tsukushi to be torn between the well being of her friends and family and her relationship with Tsukasa
* CoolBigSis: Both Tsubaki Domyoji and Shizuka Todo serve in this role.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Kaede Domyoji, and implicitly the parents of the rest of the F4.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Domyoji is incredibly clingy.
* DancesAndBalls: The party during Tsukushi's vacation with fellow students on the cruise.
* DisappearedDad: While Tsukasa's father is referenced occasionally in the manga, he is never seen and it's stated that Tsukasa himself hasn't seen him in years. In the drama, he is simply not mentioned at all [[spoiler: until the movie]].
* DistractedByTheLuxury: Tsukasa ''tries'' to pull this on Tsukushi in order to get her to drop out of Eitoku. It [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules doesn't work.]]
** Researching the Makino's financial situation, [[spoiler: Kaede visits their home and offers them a suitcase containing ¥50,000,000 '''in cash''' in exchange for Tsukushi never seeing Domyouji again]]. Tsukushi's mother - who has been the most vocal with her lamentations regarding their lack of money - [[spoiler: goes to the kitchen, gets a bin of salt, and coolly proceeds to dump the contents over Kaede's head, saying "Get your money and get out!"]] making this her CrowningMomentOfAwesome.[[note]] This is extra impressive if you know the meaning behind the act- Tsukushi's mom is basically telling Kaede she thinks she's a snail.[[/note]]
** This is even better if you know that dumping salt on someone is considered incredibly insulting in Japan, where it's a way of telling someone you think they're as slimy as slug.
* TheDogBitesBack: A couple of Tsukasa's previous bullying victims, including [[spoiler: Sakurako]] in particular manage to get some rather brutal revenge on him, both directly and through his relationship with Tsukushi.
* TheDutifulSon: Sōjirō, Tsukasa himself when [[spoiler: he decides to return to New York even without his mother's intervention]] because of his father's illness.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Tsukushi goes through so much crap, to hell and back, before she gets to her HappilyEverAfter. [[BrokenAesop Most of this is Tsukasa's fault]], but [[KnightInSourArmor she never gives up on the world despite how terrible it is]], but in the end, things turn out alright, and you might say, good.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Tsukushi does this to Rui and Tsukasa several times during the manga.
* FemmeFatale: Sakurako, especially after her HeelFaceTurn
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: F4 fits with Tsukasa as choleric, Rui being melancholic, Sōjirō being phlegmatic, and Akira as sanguine.
* GenderBlenderName: Shigeru is a girl. Just a heads-up.
* GenkiGirl: Shigeru, full stop.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In the movie, Tsukasa and Tsukushi are having a somewhat sexually charged conversation in a hotel bedroom when a third character bursts in on them. Tsukasa [[RagingStiffie immediately starts grabbing for a pillow to put on his lap]].
* {{Golddigger}}: Tsukushi's family wants her to be this, although she technically qualifies as an aversion.
* GoodIsNotNice: Sakurako, after her HeelFaceTurn.
* GrandRomanticGesture: At the end of the J-Drama, [[spoiler: Tsukasa hijacks Tsukushi's senior prom and turns it into a giant WackyMarriageProposal with thousands of people cheering in the seats of the stadium.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: Tsukasa, Sakurako, Thomas, Junpei, both of Tsukasa's parents, the list goes on. Probably the only "villains" who don't are the TerribleTrio; however, don't expect any of these to be perfect nice guys and gals after the switch.
* HeelRealization: His relationship with Tsukushi forces Tsukasa to go through this. This becomes a CrowningMomentOfFunny in at least one continuity where, after having allowed himself to be brutally assaulted to protect Tsukushi, he writes her a letter thanking her for teaching him what it's like to get beat up.
* HeroicBSOD: Rui, as a product of his upbringing, tended to have panic attacks. Shizuka helped him get rid of them.
** Tsukasa goes through this [[spoiler: when he sees photos of Tsukushi in bed with another man]]. He's so out of it that he doesn't even notice [[spoiler: Sakurako taking him to her house, or Tsukushi screaming for help from classmates brutally hazing her]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners - Akira Mimasaka and Sojirou Nishikado. [[DeusSexMachina Extremely]] [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday hetero]]? Yes. [[ThoseTwoGuys Always together]]? Yes.
* HighSchoolDance: The J-Drama ends with one [[spoiler: combined with a WackyMarriageProposal of all things!]]
* HollywoodPsych: In the anime/manga, Rui tells Tsukushi he ''used'' to have autism. He got over it.
* HurricaneOfPuns: The F4 pull off one in a flashback of Rui grating apples.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: Domyoji becomes this for a while when Kaede cuts him off.
* InterClassRomance
* ItsACostumePartyISwear: In the television series.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeFashionable: Tsukasa's first act after developing an interest in Tsukushi is to have her kidnapped for an impromptu makeover.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Pretty much everyone who's in love in this series pulls it at one time or another, but special mention goes to Rui, who pulled it on Shizuka, and then fell in love with Tsukushi, who was already falling in love with Tsukasa, meaning Rui had to pull one ''again.'' Poor guy [[DidNotGetTheGirl can't catch a break.]]
* KarmaHoudini: The F4's bullying borders on KickTheDog territory at times, up to and including Tsukasa authorizing some underlings to ''gang-rape Tsukushi'' (though varying media have different levels of how explicit the authorization was). They never particularly suffer any consequences.
** LaserGuidedKarma; Tsukasa does get beaten nearly to death on one occasion and is stabbed almost mortally on another, add to that all the emotional tolls he goes through throughout the series. It does occasionally suck to be Tsukasa.
* JadedWashout: Tsukushi's father falls into this.
* JerkAss --> JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tsukasa, so much.
* KickTheDog: F4, and especially Tsukasa, start doing this in their first appearance, wherein they are shown [[PeerPressureMakesYouEvil ordering their peers]] [[DisproportionateRetribution to bully a student into dropping out]].
** Rui also gets this treatment, when he is vocally dismissive of Tsukushi's worries and safety despite being the only other semi-sympathetic character shown at that point.
* KnightInSourArmor: PluckyGirl Tsukushi. She lives in a [[CrapsackWorld Crapsack School]], but she almost never gives up, and [[YouCantFightFate isn't allowed to]] [[BrokenAesop when she wants to]]. Partially subverted as that she [[EarnYourHappyEnding gets her happy ending, though she has to work for it]].
* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: very much the reason underlying Tsukasa's initial infatuation with Tsukushi [[LoveAtFirstPunch when she clobbers him]], and this developing into a real relationship later on. Throughout the anime series, Tsukushi gives as good as she gets from her upper-class oppressors (including the girls) and refuses to take any crap from anyone despite her lower-class status. As she puts it in one episode, she's the "no-brand" girl: nobody else gets to define her as his "brand" of girl no matter how much money and status he might have, which is why she shrugs off Tsukasa's "generosity" in ordering that makeover for her, which in turn just intrigues him all the more.
* ImportantHaircut: Shizuka gives herself one as a symbol of her resolution to leave showbiz and become a lawyer.
** Also, after Yuuki gets over Nishikado she gets a new short haircut.
* ImNotPretty: Sakurako, to the extent of [[spoiler: getting plastic surgery because Tsukasa relentlessly bullied her due to being merely plain in looks.]]
* LapPillow: In the japanese television series, when Tsukasa gets sick and Tsukushi takes care of him. Twice.
* LargeHam: Sachiyo, the owner of the okashi shop Tsukushi works at. Tsukasa has his moments too.
* LastNameBasis: Typical in Japan, but rather unusual in that it continues between the main couple even once they're in a relationship/[[spoiler: engaged]].
* LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone: The rest of the F4 and company often engineer to put Tsukasa and Tsukushi in these situations, occasionally [[LockedInARoom locking them in]] if they thing the concerned parties will object.
* LikesOlderWomen: Akira, having been turned off of younger women by his mother's behavior.
* LockedInARoom: In the television series, the OfficialCouple ends up locked in an elevator.
** Happens on a few various occasions in different locations in the manga as well
* LonelyRichKid: Rui, Tsukasa and Sōjirō .
* LoveAtFirstPunch: Why did Tsukasa fall for Tsukushi? Because she didn't take his crap.
* LoveDodecahedron: Very much so in the first half of the series. Less so in the second half, but still with the obligatory shojo set of unrequited lovers surrounding the OfficialCouple.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Sakurako's FreudianExcuse.
* LoveRedeems: Tsukasa starts acting less of a JerkAss as he develops feelings for Tsukushi.
* {{Malaproper}}: Tsukasa. "Anyway, the point is, you sleep-talk during RAM sleep!"
* MafiaPrincess: Akira's a bit of a male version in the jDrama, and his little sisters qualify.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Shigeru tries to become one of these for Tsukasa. When he makes clear that he doesn't like her that way, she resorts to play ShipperOnDeck and get him and Tsukushi together instead.
* MeaningfulName: "Tsukushi" really is a stubborn weed (a type of horsetail, to be exact), and the character holds herself to it.
* MoodWhiplash: The serious tone of the story gets interrupted with commercial breaks marked by humorous sitcom style antics of the guys trying to peek at Tsukushi in a bubble bath, especially jarring when it is seen in the middle of an attempted gang rape.
* NotWhatItLooksLike / ThatCameOutWrong: When Tsukasa is telling his buddies about how his rather abortive first date with Tsukushi went horribly wrong, they don't realize he's complaining, and he doesn't catch on to their [[InnocentInnuendo interpreting everything he says to mean that he and she had a really wild and kinky night]]; mainly because when he tells them that "she strangled me all night long" he neglects to explain that she was wrapping a leek around his neck to bring down his fever because he was getting sick; and when they ask him what hotel they were using, and he says they were not in a hotel but in an elevator, he neglects to mention they were ''trapped'' there by mistake. They're all impressed at his "exploits" and one of them even remarks "Wow! ''My'' girlfriend's never tried [[CasualKink anything like]] [[ElevatorGoingDown that]]!"
* OncePerEpisode: That insert song they use in the drama.
* {{Oranyan}}: Tsukasa.
* PairTheSpares: [[spoiler: Sakurako and Kazuya might be in their way to this, in the end of the anime]].
** [[spoiler:Yuki and Soujirou are teased as a potential secondary love duo in the Japanese live action version, though it never comes to fruition. Their [[BoysBeforeFlowers Korean live action counterparts]] -- Ga Eul and Yi Jung, respectively -- ''do'' end up paired up in the end.]]
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Kaede spends most of the second half of the series trying to exercise this.
* ParentalNeglect: All members of the F4 (except [[OnlySaneMan perhaps]] Akira) seem to display this to some extent, but Tsukasa seems to have been the most negatively affected by it. Ironically, when his mother ''starts'' paying attention to him, his entire life takes [[FromBadToWorse a turn for the worse.]]
* APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy: The party on the yacht in the manga, during which Tsukushi stumbles from room to room and finds that nearly everyone but her, Tsukasa, and Kazuya are having sex with each other.
* PeerPressureMakesYouEvil: This trope gleefully shoves the entire student body over the MoralEventHorizon.
* PennyAmongDiamonds: Tsukushi being this is the main conceit of the story.
* PerpetualPoverty: Tsukushi's family.
* PlotInducedIllness: This happens a few times but the most ridiculous example is when Tsukushi falls into a swimming pool in a warm, tropical setting and instantly gets a bad fever. This prevents her from getting physical with Domyoji when they are finally alone together.
* PrettyInMink: Male example; Tsukasa wears a fur-trimmed coat to ''the zoo''.
* PunBasedTitle: The title is an old Japanese Idiom: "Sweets before (are better than) flowers." (The practical beats the purely emotional). Except they use a different "Dango" character (a fairly obscure word for boys) instead of the character that means "sweets".
* RomanticRunnerUp: Rui for both Makino and Shizuka.
* RunningGag: Domyoji has a tendency to mispronounce certain words.
* SacredFirstKiss: Given the SeriousBusiness treatment (ominous music, freeze frame) after Domyoji kissed Tsukushi in the dark during a party. [[{{Narm}} It's as if everyone just found out that Domyoji was a murderer or something.]]
** Makes some more sense once you recall the ValuesDissonance in regards to close physical contact in Japan.
** Not too mention the class difference, which the school body takes fairly seriously.
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Tsukushi, in spades. Part of what draws Tsukasa to her.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: The F4 are certainly not above using theirs. Akira's {{Yakuza}} ones come particularly in handy.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: '''AND HOW!'''
* SecondLove: Although Tsukushi initially loved Rui, she ends up with Domyoji.
* SecondPlaceIsForWinners. Tsukushi enters a fashion contest where (due to nepotism) the 1st place winner has been preordained. She wins second place, but since that was the highest spot that hadn't been "reserved," it effectively makes her the winner of the contest.
* ShelteredAristocrat: The F4 and assorted minor characters. Notably, all of the common subtypes are represented in the F4 (Sōjirō and Akira are clownish but charming buffoons, Tsukasa is the pompous, arrogant meanie (who is also a buffoon), and Rui isthe composed, reserved and usually highly intelligent one).
* ShrinkingViolet: Makiko.
* ShipperOnDeck: Shigeru is a Tsukushi/Tsukasa fangirl. The rest of the F4 joins in sometimes.
** And Tsukushi tries her damnedest to ship Rui/Shizuka.
* ShipTease: Considering how many volumes the mangaka got out of leaving open whether or not Domiyougi and Tsukushi, the OfficialCouple could count as this early on. But there's also liberal FanficFuel for any YaoiFangirls [[http://mangable.com/hana_yori_dango/chapter-76/16/ who wanted to ship Akira and Sojiro]], [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday in spite]] [[TheCasanova of the]] [[DeusSexMachina obvious]]
* ShutUpKiss: Tsukasa gives one to Makino in the J-Drama [[spoiler: right before he leaves for New York.]]
* StockShoujoBullyingTactics: Tsukushi is subjected to graffiti on the wall saying that she's had 'two abortions' and photos of her and a boy in a compromising position.
* TeamDad: Akira is this to an extent. He doesn't particularly care about forcing morality on the group (and probably couldn't if he wanted to) but is the general mediator for conflicts and seems to take it upon his shoulders when the group isn't getting along, eventually leading to him getting in a fistfight with Tsukasa when the latter won't stop stirring up drama with Rui.
* TeamMom: Shizuka seems to have formerly filled this role for the F4, and [[MoralityChain her absence may have something to do with]] [[KickTheDog the extreme levels of jerkassery they've fallen to by the beginning of the series.]]
* TheTeaser: Used in the J-drama. There might be a recap mixed in with it, too.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Tsukasa has displayed ''serious'' behavioral problems his entire life, Rui was said to be pretty much mute and uncommunicative as a child. Neither of their sets of parents, despite being of considerable means ever sought professional help to address this.
* ThisIsReality: (Paraphrased:) "Falling on top of your worst enemy and kissing her? This isn't a manga, you know!"
* ThroughHisStomach: Attempted by Umi on Tsukasa [[spoiler: when he was suffering from Amnesia and had forgotten all about Tsukushi. In a potential CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Tsukasa, he rejected the romantic upstart because her cooking wasn't like Tsukushi's.]]
* TraumaticHaircut: Tsukushi gets her hair ruined by a bunch of bullies and has to get it cut, first by her mom and then by Rui.
* {{Tsundere}}: [[SlapSlapKiss Both Tsukasa AND Tsukushi.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: Tsukasa [[http://www.citymanga.com/hana_yori_dango/chapter-81/19/ will hit a girl]], and has, just like he'll hit anybody else, whether it's his LoveInterest [[BastardBoyfriend for ticking him off]] ([[MasochismTango who is more than happy to return the favor]]) or some {{Rich Bitch}}es who need it.
* UnderdressedForTheOccasion: At the "betrothal party" in the anime.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Sakurako and Kazuya.
* WhatTheHellHero: A significant part of the second half of the story is about Tsukasa having to face up to the consequences of all the lives his bullying and carelessness ruined.
* WillNotBeAVictim: Makino.
* WomanScorned: [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yanyansakurako.png Oh man, Sakurako.]]
* YouMustBeCold: It seems as though Domyoji is constantly giving Tsukushi his coat...
** Genderflipped on at least one occasion, when Tsukushi gave Domyoji her scarf after he caught a cold.
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