Aya

She really left for her career in France and getting married with someone there

One of the best scene in HYD s1 is F4 beating the shit out of each other XD it happens in eps 7. HYD doesn't have that sport match when F4 breakup

I don't want Gorya and Ren kiss, cuz who tf kiss his best friend's crush... It will ruin Ren and Thyme and F4 friendship

F4 Thailand and Hana Yori Dango only has the same plot points, but waayyy different message and approach. F4T are more similar to Hana Nochi Hare (HYD sequel) for me now, so I compare the two alot more than to HYD 😂


Aah thank you for visiting my blog ^^

Noo don't compare it to Matsumoto Jun 😂 ofcourse Bright isn't as good as MatsuJun in HanaDan 😂😂😂 No one could be as good as Jun, it's almost imposible.

Yes, I feel you too, I had high hopes for this one, but comparing it to HYD 2005 is like comparing orange to apple. They're too different. But yeah HYD 2005 is the best one for me too. I'm still curious how this version gonna be tho 😆

Since you're a HanaDan fan too, I'm gonna shamelessly promoting my blog. Curently I'm on project of reviewing HYD 2005 per-episode in detail. Seriously Jun is just... Such an great actor :")
https://hana-yori-dango-enthusiast.blogspot.com/

LOL they always released a rumor about their supposedly upcoming wedding every year, usually on the end of the year XD

I'm curently working on a project of reviewing Hana Yori Dango 2005 in detail, if anyone interested to read it you can check it on my blog. Thank you :)
https://hana-yori-dango-enthusiast.blogspot.com/

I honestly think it's not because pacing, it just the dynamic of friendship that are more like a team? Like they're not really friend, but more like people who have the same goal or same task or sumthin. Cuz the pace is the same in Hana Yori Dango, but by eps 5 in HYD I already know that F4 are really friends

Also her acting performance in this eps is just amazing, she definitely is the MVP

There are no kiss in Hana Yori Dango in that scene, so there's a possibility they won't do that too

I somewhat get what you're saying about devouring love. For me at least, if I want to explain it, it's the intense and strong feeling of love that's also selfish. Selfish in a sense that you could throw away the whole world just for this one love. This kind of love ofcourse couldn't happen if our leads is, hmm a genuine good person per-se. You need someone crazy and selfish enough to do so.

As for the violence, I think I'm kinda more leeway with it due to my exposure to shoujo mangas (some of them are batshit crazy, especially the shoujo smut LOL). I get it that it's something that people can't get past on, especially in 2022. Hmm but now I think about it, HYD 2005 is actually subverting alot of problematic shoujo trope that usually happens, hence why I really appreciate on how they made the character's motives making more sense.

Now, for F4 Thailand, it is self-aware, it's even too self-aware for me. But it's good cuz now even people in 2022, could still appreciate and enjoy Boys Over Flowers. But still for me, F4T sometimes trying too hard to make this "right" and "correct", sometimes it came of as a bit preachy. It's definitely knows it stance (condoning the "problematic" stuff that happens) and explicitly explain everything, leaving no room for ambiguity. This moral ambiguity is something that always exist in previous version

I'm somewhat agree? But for me I gotta say both HYD and F4T has the same amount of depth and realism (in a different way). HYD is a fantasy, especially fixing a bad boy fanstasy but also has depth and realism on how two people who madly in love with each other, changed without sacrificing and losing themselves. F4T has more grounded take that makes it more realistic. It isn't pure fantasy.

As someone who watched HYD as a fully grown adult, do I enjoy it and thinking it's a beautiful and powerful love story? Absolutely yes. Do I want that kind of love story in my life? Absolutely not. People who said they want a boyfriend like Domyoji are crazy, unless they're as strong as Makino (I think all HYD fans agree on this, the men in HYD are too much problem). Do I recomend HYD for underage teenage girls? Hmm idk, but I know that I don't want them to become warped and want that kind of love story HYD has. It's good as fiction, but not something that I want to be real.

So yes, if I want to recomend something for teenage girls to take example of in Boys Over Flowers franchise, it's either Hana Nochi Hare (sequel to Hana Yori Dango) or F4 Thailand (so far, but it's only been 4 eps).

Haha it's just people keep mentioning how HanaDan couldn't be replace just because of the nostalgia, I hugely disagree with it. It definitely a product of it's time *cough* the sexism and mysogonistic *cough*. It also definitely needs someone who at least familiar with Jdrama, shoujo tropes, and japanase culture in general to fully appreciate it. But if you can look past all of that, Hana Yori Dango 2005 is something magical.

I like how you describe it being SO wrong yet so right that makes it good 🤣 I think that HYD 2005 is first and foremost a love story of Domyoji-Makino. Take away the love story, you'll have the perfect villain in the name of Domyoji. But you know that quotes that said "a hero will gave you up to save the world, but a villain will gave up the whole world to save you". It's his nature to just protect his own than doing it for greater good that makes the love story so powerful. He doesn't waver, he doesn't care about what people thinks of him and Makino. I bet if someone ever hurts Makino, Domyoji would wreck havoc 😂 is this "right" in terms of moral and society? It's a bit ambiguous, cuz we supposed to be a good person who always tried to do good things for greater good, right? We can't be selfish, right? But HYD doesn't do this. They selfishly follow their heart despite their love is full of bad consequences. They deffy all and able to stay strong and endure all trial of love. If their love isn't so strong and selfish, will they be able to be together? I think this is also what makes it a classic and timeless. Moral and social views may change, but that rawness of love is something that timeless.

Beside this narrative, yes HYD 2005 has that magical combination of Mao-Jun chemistry, amazing acting from all cast, the right director, the perfect music score, that whole team. It can't be recreated easily. Take away all of that, you wouldn't have the magic. I also still firmly believe Mao-Jun chemistry has the strongest chemistry ever in a drama.

I agree F4 Thailand does a much better job than it's 2 predecessor. But to be able to top the romance in Hana Yori Dango? It can't.

Oh also, currently I'm writing review and deep analysis per-episode of Hana Yori Dango 2005 drama. If you're interested, please check my blog.

https://hana-yori-dango-enthusiast.blogspot.com/

For me it's a little different, I have no nostalgia reasoning for Hana Yori Dango 2005 cuz I watched it in 2021 XD I was so surprise myself on how HYD tugs my heartstring sooo much. That's why I'm analyzing so much to come up with the reasoning behind why I'm hooked so much with Hana Yori Dango 2005. HYD isn't my first Jdrama, it isn't something from nostalgia cuz I watch it in 2021 when I'm already a fully grown adult. It also isn't my first BOF drama cuz I did watch some Boys Over Flowers kor ver in middle school but I dropped it. It also isn't my first encounter with shoujo stories, cuz I grew up reading and watching shoujo. At that time I watched HYD 2005, I'm a fully grown adult and already aware of the problematic stuff that often happens in shoujo stories. What HYD 2005 did, was magic. The star has alligned at that time and perfect team was met, creating the one of the most powerful love story with emotional intensity and chemistry beyond grasp.

I think at first I'm expecting F4T to have that emotional intensity that HYD had, but F4T doesn't have it. Does it make F4T bad? Ofcourse not. Now I'm already fully aware F4T is a whole different takes, F4T definitely is interesting and good in it's own way. I also get the rave reviews it gets for addressing alot of "problematic" things that happen on previous version.

Now onto the "problematic" story Hana Yori Dango has. I personally thinks it's not "that" problematic. Rather than it appeals because of the problematic things, I think it's more like it appeals because of the extremeness it has. Domyoji and Makino extreme personality, the extreme trial of love they had to face, the extreme and intense love they have for each other, all of these extremeness is part of why Hana Yori Dango is endearing. No love story could achieve what Hana Yori Dango had achieved, especially if they only took the superficial of it and hopes it works the same way Hana Yori Dango 2005 did. Did these extremeness could be translated as problematic? It definitely can.

PS: YES! I love Otsuka Ai's Planetarium! I also love all HYD 2005 ost, Arashi's Wish and Love So Sweet, Utada Hikaru's Flavor of Life, and all the music score 💜

I found this review which is so interesting that makes me realize on why F4 Thailand can't seem to live up to Hana Yori Dango for me. Gorya-Thyme dynamics are way different than Makino-Domyoji, the latter romantic relationship purely based on chemistry. How Makino-Domyoji drawn and pulled to each other, something that Domyoji said it's fated. Whereas Gorya-Thyme doesn't take this direction.

Also something that I think I'm missing is the dramatic moment in F4T that makes me feel the way when I watch HYD. Maybe it's the direction F4T took to take this ship slowly, whereas HYD makes you feel that emotinal intensity from the get go. It's the convincing acting, the music score, the cinematography, the way they weave the scene, the overal "show and not tell" that makes HYD grabs your heart.

It's not that F4T bad, just because it doesn't go the way I want to. It has good story, but I just prefer Hana Yori Dango cuz it makes me feel so much I can't comprehend. It's the emotional intensity, the way it gave me so much feels that hooked me forever to Hana Yori Dango despite it's flawed story. I think it's a reflection for other people too, what's that hooked you to Boys Over Flowers universe? Is it the pretty cast? Is it the drama trope? Is it almost fairytale tropes? Whatever it is, it's good that F4T exist, cuz now we got BoF story for every mood and every weather hahah.

I wholeheartedly agree. I hope Gorya is okay tho, she doesn't deserve this. I think that's one of the reason why for this Hana arc thing, I like the japanase version the most. Let's see where F4T goes..

What the FL does that you mean? LOL too many itteration I'm confused XD

But at particular Hana/Sakurako thing, he only get beaten up in japanase version tho. But yeah, he deserve what's coming from him. I hope Hana gets whats he wants from Thyme too and I hope no one defend what Thyme did cuz he did horible things

You guys, you realize Thyme had done terible things right? You know what's coming for him right?

It's the same with Japanase and Korean version too XD in korean version, FL calls Jihoo (2nd lead) by sunbae (upper classman) and Junpyo (ML) just by name. It's even hillarious in japanase version 🤣 in Japan it's VERY RUDE to call someone name without adding -san to people you just met, especially to your upperclasman AND someone older. FL never calls Domyoji with -san, she just calls his name like that 🤣🤣🤣 and always using very very casual languange with him. LMAO the ML deserve it tho 🤣

I like this thai version going that route too 🤣 it's hillarious