Ranked #321

Hana yori Dango

The shoujo romance genre is littered with countless series with predictable formulaic plotlines, bishies, and uninteresting characters. Often we are left with a terrible non ending or one in which usually one side can’t express their feelings for the other until the credits start to roll. Hana Yori Dango completely captivated me from the beginning and left me with a rewarding ending that restored my faith in the romance genre.

The premise starts out in a way that you wouldn’t expect much romance to develop from. Tsukushi Makino is a middle to lower middle class student at an exclusive high school attended by mainly wealthy students. Tsukushi is not particularly happy with her high school life nor does she really even want to be at this school. But she attends because of her parent’s insistence and because they have sacrificed a lot to send her there. The school is controlled by the F4, a gang of 4 guys from extremely rich and powerful families. Basically the entire school lives in fear of getting on their bad side and getting the "red card", which basically means your school life becomes hell on earth until you transfer out. Tsukushi goes about her day just trying to be unnoticed until she graduates, leading a fairly miserable existence. This all changes when the only real friend has accidently incurs the wraith of the F4, she jumps to her defense and finds herself given the red card. But she’s not the kind of girl who's going to back down and she declares war back on the F4 herself. As Tsukushi fights back and starts to gain the respect of many classmates and even begins to befriend the F4 and we learn that they are not quite as bad as initially thought.

I found the story to be quite moving and powerful and found myself experiencing the full range of emotions. The portrayal of the bullying, which becomes quite intense at times was often very difficult to watch. There will be times you will cringe and times when you will jump out of your chair and cheer. Eiktoku High School may just be one of the 4 or 5 worst places on earth. It truly was a hell on earth and it doesn’t exactly paint a pretty picture of high society and the people who populate it. I’m not sure I would have had to strength of character Tsukushi had to stick things out and not let them win. It’s difficult to talk about the romance aspects of this anime without giving away spoilers. Though it will become pretty obvious fairly early where they are going and who she’s going to end up with. The journey to this revelation though is quite the ride. The ending differs completely from the manga version, since this anime was completed several years before its run had finished. Despite the original ending it is still very satisfying and believable.

Tsukushi Makino emerges as perhaps the best shoujo heroine of all time. I really cannot give her enough praise for how I felt about her as a character and how much I would love to have a friend like her. She is tough, practical and no-nonsense type of girl in a world full of shallow materialistic bitches. Viewers will be drawn to her both her likeable nature and the sheer torture she has to endure over the course of the series. The things that are done to her and the torment she is put through are both frightening and inspiring. Seeing the events of the story told through her inner monologue made me feel even more connected to the plot and her emotions felt even more intense because of it. Though perhaps she is in the end a bit more forgiving than I personally would be if I was in her place, she is overall a very inspirational character.

Tsukasa Domyoji is the leader of the F4 and one of Tsukushi’s love interests. He has all the classic elements of a shoujo love interest. He’s fabulously wealthy, handsome, and an asshole. I have mixed feelings on him. Initially he is an extremely frightening character. His menacing demeanor and the adjunct terror that Tsukushi often feels in his presence makes him initially almost impossible to like at all. However as the series progresses he becomes less and less the horrible boogeyman he begins as and actually turns into a decent and even sympathetic human being. While I tried my best to keep hating him, he wore me down not unlike Tsukushi into believing someone could actually fall in love with him. As a character, Tsukasa makes a huge amount of growth. He changes from selfish and egotistical brat into a much more humble and likeable guy while still maintaining the essence of who he is.

Rui is another member of F4 and another main love interest. He is almost the complete opposite of the hotheaded Tsukasa. While still from an enormously wealthy family and suitably good looking, Rui is far more introverted and shy. I liked him far more at first than any of the other men in the cast but he really isn’t any nicer that Tsukasa is. While not physically violent his cold nature and inconsistency in when he does or doesn’t jump to Tsukushi’s defense doesn’t exactly win him any feminist awards. My feelings for him are pretty much the reverse of what I felt for Tsukasa. By the end of the series I grew tired of his personality and while he does manage to change a little, his nature just gets more and more annoying. He was also just a bit too bishie for me.

Most of the remaining supporting cast is pretty detestable. The two remaining members of F4, Akira and Sojiro are not very well developed as characters being their basic personality archetypes and never emerge as serious love interests. Tsukushi’s childhood friend Kazuya is likeable and provides comic relief, often at times when the story can really use some. While he is in love with Tsukushi he is more of a friend to her and he provides her with a much needed friend at times when she really needs one. Shizuka also is one of the rare decent characters who also provides Tsukushi with plenty of support and encouragement in times of need. There are plenty of absolutely spoiled rotten waste of skin bitches and assholes to get mad about. But despite the anger you’re likely to feel every time one of them appears on screen or plots against the heroine they do serve a useful purpose in the growth of the main characters and in the development of the romances.

Given the age of this series the animation and visuals are understandably dated. Unfortunately they are bad enough that it’s possible that it will discourage some people all together from even giving this series a chance. That is a real shame. While I can’t say that I loved the artwork, I did eventually develop some appreciation for it as the series progressed. The color palette used is very drab and the hairstyles and fashions are also extremely dated. The character designs are true to the manga and are realistic body types which adds to the overall sense of realism. The settings and backgrounds though are strength are all look pretty good.

The audio is also a bit of a mixed bag. While the voice acting performances are all top notch, I didn’t much care for the music at all, especially the lame and uninteresting OP animation sequence. The incidental and background music is also very dated.

Ultimately Hana Yori Dango is a series that should not be missed by serious romance and anime fans alike. It’s a very intense series likely to stir up just about every emotion there is for the viewer. Though as much as I loved Tsukushi and the story, I just can’t give this series the perfect score I wanted to because of the uninspired art and music. I highly recommend it.
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If there's ever a protagonist in shoujo anime you want to be friends with, it's Makino Tsukushi.

Hana Yori Dango follows Tsukushi's enrollment to a rather posh, elite high school for wealthy or well-off students. Tsukushi's parents want her to have great opportunities (and a great opportunity at finding a rich boyfriend, too), so they pretty much empty their pockets to send her and the family lives in a spirited but ever-pressuring lower middle-class lifestyle. And from the very first episode, we hear Tsukushi lamenting that all she wants to do is get through the next few years at school quietly. But that's impossible. For she soon becomes the target of the school's hotshots and bullies: the F4. The wealthiest, most powerful, highly influential teenage boys in that part of Japan. And when Tsukushi attracts the unwanted attention of the F4's leader, Domyouji Tsukasa and falls for his best friend Hanazawa Rui, her life suddenly and drastically changes. Suddenly, high school isn't going to be all that quiet for her.

The story may seem a little tired now, but back when this was first created, I would have to consider it a rather intriguing and absorbing storyline.

The art definitely looks dated now, but it isn't bad. The character design is extremely simple but it has a very unique style. The anime is riddled with consistency problems, a severe lack of animated scenes (most of the time the characters move minimally so the animators can avoid more work) and detail. There is however a rather good use of watercolours for the backgrounds. The environments sometimes are soft and look like paintings, and it really evokes the atmosphere of the dramatic side of the anime.

Sound is very good. There are a lot of violin and piano pieces. The classical score adds a lot to the overall feel of the anime. Especially when set during the extremely dramatic/romantic scenes, it works rather well.

What will keep you reaching for episode after episode of Hana Yori Dango are its characters. Hana Yori Dango has a great cast. Tsukushi is rather clever even if she's not that smart, she's hardworking and it's truly admirable how persevering she is when facing such strong adversaries. Being the subject of a bully is one thing, but constantly being bullied by the entire school is another, and she takes them all on. Her spirit is extremely inspiring. And she's got a sense of humour as well. Then there's the villain/hero Domyouji. He instigates most of Tsukushi's problems. He is a mean guy who is not very nice. Or maybe he is a nice guy. Domyouji is characterised well as a young man who is spoilt, used to getting his way who encounters a girl who won't ever let him have his way. Tsukushi and Tsukasa's interactions are hilarious, electric and will definitely leave you craving for more to see how the both of them will act around one another.

Hana Yori Dango is melodrama. It is excessively melodramatic, to be exact. But it never gets you tired and always grabs your interest and pulls you right into the story. This is one of the few anime where I actually craved to see the next episode. I think an anime that manages to that can be called 'entertaining', can't it?

There are problems with the anime, yes. The art, the tremendous amounts of repeated scenes, the semi-slow pacing at times, the melodrama. But this anime manages to be quirky, fun and rolls drama, comedy and romance all into one to make a highly enjoyable watch.

Hana Yori Dango is a great vintage title. If you like shoujo romance, you should definitely take a look at this pioneering series.

It should be noted though, that the anime was made prior to the completion of the manga. Characters, events, situations have been either altered or left out completely. Also, the ending is totally different in the anime than how the actual manga ends. If you happen to enjoy this anime, I would definitely recommend that the manga be read as well. read more