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 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 , three live-action television dramas (one in Taiwan called Meteor Garden, one in Japan, one in South Korea and one in development in Mainland China), 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. Plucky Girl 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 "Flower Four"), Tsukasa Domyoji, Rui Hanazawa, Sōjirō Nishikado, and Akira Mimasaka, whose parents have paid the administration a massive amount of money to allow their offspring free rein of the school. As a result, they lord themselves over the school and use their influence to get the entire student body to physically assault studentsfor 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 (Shrinking Violet Makiko Endou) after she accidentally offends Tsukasa, the F4's leader. This causes her to be alternately assaulted and ostracized by the entire school, with the exception of Tsukushi's crush Rui (who often steps in and saves her when he's not busy spacing off and Tsukasa (who is more intrigued than outraged). She eventually befriends the F4 and her influence seems to largely put a stop to their bullying ways.The series gradually changes focus to the Love Dodecahedron 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 Corrupt Corporate Executives, hers are increasingly insolvent) and thwarting the plans of Tsukasa's Evil Matriarch Kaede to separate them.For the page based on the Korean Seriesclick here.This show provides examples of:
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...
Accidental Kiss: 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 Sacred First Kiss to Domyouji.
Adaptation Distillation: The jDrama neatly compresses the sprawling plot of the manga into a much smoother, shorter story.
Adrenaline Makeover: Tsukushi goes through one when she decides to stand up to the F4. Most obviously shown by her taking down her pigtails.
Airplane of Love: 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.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: 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.
Arranged Marriage: 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).
And it actually comes up later in a humorous fashion 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.
A lot of Tsukasa's actions, however, such as attempting to rape Tsukushi, constantly hitting her and acting incredibly violent to her other friends do make him quite a huge asshole.
Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: 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.
The Big Damn Kiss: In the J-Drama, Tsukasa and Tsukushi have one of in both season finales. The first one is particularly epic.
Big Damn Movie: Hana Yori Dango: Final, the film conclusion to the J-Drama series, changes the plot from a melodramatic Will They or Won't They? to a globe-spanning quest for a missing tiara. Subverted when the whole thing is revealed to be a plot by their friends and family to test the strength of their relationship.
Big Fancy House: 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 several moreBig Fancy Houses around the world.
Brother-Sister Incest: 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.
Cannot Spit It Out: On both sides, but eventually Tsukasa tends to be upfront about his feelings, while Tsukushi still has some difficulty expressing hers.
Category Traitor: 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.
Chastity Couple: The Official Couple ends up being this, mostly due to Tsukushi's nervousness and much to Tsukasa's chagrin.
Conflicting Loyalty: Kaede's machinations eventually force Tsukushi to be torn between the well being of her friends and family and her relationship with Tsukasa
Cool Big Sis: Both Tsubaki Domyoji and Shizuka Todo serve in this role.
Dances and Balls: The party during Tsukushi's vacation with fellow students on the cruise.
Disappeared Dad: 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 until the movie.
Researching the Makino's financial situation, Kaede visits their home and offers them a suitcase containing ¥50,000,000 in cash in exchange for Tsukushi to never see Domyouji again. Tsukushi's mother - who has been the most vocal with her lamentations regarding their lack of money - goes to the kitchen, gets a bin of salt, and cooly proceeds to pour the contents over Kaede's head saying "Take your money ... and get out," making this her Crowning Moment of Awesome.
Grand Romantic Gesture: At the end of the J-Drama, Tsukasa hijacks Tsukushi's senior prom and turns it into a giant Wacky Marriage Proposal with thousands of people cheering in the seats of the stadium.
Heel Face Turn: Tsukasa, Sakurako, Thomas, Junpei, both of Tsukasa's parents, the list goes on. Probably the only "villains" who don't are the Terrible Trio; however, don't expect any of these to be perfect nice guys and gals after the switch.
Heel Realization: His relationship with Tsukushi forces Tsukasa to go through this. This becomes a Crowning Moment of Funny 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.
Heroic BSOD: Rui, as a product of his upbringing, tended to have panic attacks. Shizuka helped him get rid of them.
Tsukasa goes through this when he sees photos of Tsukushi in bed with another man. He's so out of it that he doesn't even notice Sakurako taking him to her house, or Tsukushi screaming for help from classmates brutally hazing her.
I Want My Beloved to Be Fashionable: Tsukasa's first act after developing an interest in Tsukushi is to have her kidnapped for an impromptu makeover
Karma Houdini: The F4's bullying borders on Kick the Dog 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.
Laser-Guided Karma; 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.
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.
Important Haircut: 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.
I'm Not Pretty: Sakurako, to the extent of getting plastic surgery because Tsukasa relentlessly bullied her due to being merely plain in looks.
Lap Pillow: In the japanese television series, when Tsukasa gets sick and Tsukushi takes care of him. Twice.
Large Ham: Sachiyo, the owner of the okashi shop Tsukushi works at.
Last Name Basis: Typical in Japan, but rather unusual in that it continues between the main couple even once they're in a relationship/ engaged.
Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: The rest of the F4 and company often engineer to put Tsukasa and Tsukushi in these situations, occasionally locking them in if they thing the concerned parties will object.
Likes Older Women: Akira, having been turned off of younger women by his mother's behavior.
Love at First Punch: Why did Tsukasa fall for Tsukushi? Because she didn't take his crap.
Love Dodecahedron: 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 Official Couple.
Malaproper: Tsukasa. "Anyway, the point is, you sleep-talk during RAM sleep!"
Mafia Princess: Akira's a bit of a male version in the jDrama, and his little sisters qualify.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: 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 Shipper on Deck and get him and Tsukushi together instead.
Meaningful Name: "Tsukushi" really is a stubborn weed (a type of horsetail, to be exact), and the character holds herself to it.
Mood Whiplash: 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.
Pair the Spares: Sakurako and Kazuya might be in their way to this, in the end of the anime.
Yuki and Soujirou are teased as a potential secondary love duo in the Japanese live action version, though it never comes to fruition. Their Korean live action counterparts — Ga Eul and Yi Jung, respectively — do end up paired up in the end.
Parental Marriage Veto: Kaede spends most of the second half of the series trying to exercise this.
Parental Neglect: All members of the F4 (except 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 a turn for the worse.
Pretty in Mink: Male example; Tsukasa wears a fur-trimmed coat to the zoo.
Pun-Based Title: 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".
Shizuka was flat out flattered that Rui felt strongly enough about her that he would attempt to rape her. This turned into a Near Rape Experience when he stopped to puzzle out just how wrong it was that she was entirely accepting of this.
Second Love: Although Tsukushi initially loved Rui, she ends up with Domyoji.
Sheltered Aristocrat: 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).
"Shut Up" Kiss: Tsukasa gives one to Makino in the J-Drama right before he leaves for New York.
Stock Shoujo Bullying Tactics: 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.
Sure, Why Not?: Rui was originally supposed to be the romantic lead, but Tsukushi ended up paired with Tsukasa when that ended up being the Fan Preferred Couple.
Team Dad: 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.
The Teaser: Used in the J-drama. There might be a recap mixed in with it, too.
There Are No Therapists: 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.
This Is Reality: (Paraphrased:) "Falling on top of your worst enemy and kissing her? This isn't a manga, you know!"
Through His Stomach - Attempted by Umi on Tsukasa when he was suffering from Amnesia and had forgotten all about Tsukushi. In a potential Crowning Moment of Awesome for Tsukasa, he rejected the romantic upstart because her cooking wasn't like Tsukushi's.
Traumatic Haircut: Tsukushi gets her hair ruined by a bunch of bullies and has to get it cut, first by her mom and then by Rui.
What the Hell, Hero?: 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.
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 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 , three live-action television dramas (one in Taiwan called Meteor Garden, one in Japan, one in South Korea and one in development in Mainland China), 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. Plucky Girl 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 "Flower Four"), Tsukasa Domyoji, Rui Hanazawa, Sōjirō Nishikado, and Akira Mimasaka, whose parents have paid the administration a massive amount of money to allow their offspring free rein of the school. As a result, they lord themselves over the school and use their influence to get the entire student body to physically assault students 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 (Shrinking Violet Makiko Endou) after she accidentally offends Tsukasa, the F4's leader. This causes her to be alternately assaulted and ostracized by the entire school, with the exception of Tsukushi's crush Rui (who often steps in and saves her when he's not busy spacing off and Tsukasa (who is more intrigued than outraged). She eventually befriends the F4 and her influence seems to largely put a stop to their bullying ways.The series gradually changes focus to the Love Dodecahedron 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 Corrupt Corporate Executives, hers are increasingly insolvent) and thwarting the plans of Tsukasa's Evil Matriarch Kaede to separate them.For the page based on the Korean Series click here.
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