Casts:
Inoue Mao as Makino Tsukushi
Matsumoto Jun as Doumyouji Tsukasa
Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui
Matsuda Shota as Nishikado Soujiroh
Abe Tsuyoshi as Mimasaka Akira
Sato Megumi as Sanjou Sakurako
Nishihara Aki as Matsuoka Yuki
Seto Saki as Asai Yuriko
Fukada Aki as Ayuhara Erika
Matsuoka Emiko as Yamano Minako
Synopsis:
Makino Tsukushi is the only poor student at Eitoku Gakuen, the school of the ridiculously rich and privileged that is ruled by Flower 4 or F4, a group of four boys who come from extremely powerful families: Domyoji Tsukasa, the leader and heir of the Domyoji World Finance Group; Hanazawa Rui, the introverted son of a large company; Nishikado Sojiro, a player who is the heir of a tea ceremony school; and Mimasaka Akira, a madam killer with ties to the underground. If a student gets on the F4’s bad side, he/she gets a red notice and is bullied and driven out of school.
Makino hopes to pass her days quietly– without drawing any attention to herself– but one day, she stands up to Domyoji in defense of her friend. The next day, Makino gets the dreaded red notice. Even though she is harassed, Makino decides to keep going to school because she is a “tough weed”. She declares war right back on the F4. Her resolve gets the attention of her crush Hanazawa Rui and oddly enough, rouses romantic feelings in her worst enemy, Domyoji Tsukasa.
The series is based on the Japanese shoujo manga “Hana Yori Dango” (Boys Before Flowers) by Kamio Yoko.
This is honestly the first Japanese drama I’ve ever watched in my life (not counting A Million Falling Stars b/c I never finish it). This drama is also the reason why I am so into Japanese drama right now. I admit even though it is a little late for entering the world of Japanese drama, I really don’t mind the catching up since I will have lots of drama to watch. My friend told me a lot about this Japanese version of Meteor Garden but I never pay any mind to it because honestly speaking, I don’t really like Meteor Garden. Being a typical teenager that I was when it first came out, I admit I was really hype about it but then when I really take time to think about it, I realize how crappy Meteor Garden is. I wonder how F4 gets so famous after the released of Meteor Garden since they’re not even “hot”. But that’s not the point, the point is, I found this version 10x better than Meteor Garden minus the chemistry of F4 in Meteor Garden.
Inoue Mao as Makino Tsukushi
I’m not really sure why but I was never a fan of Barbie Hsu regardless of which character she plays so when I saw Inoue Mao playing the same role, there is no doubt I would think Inoue is better. On the physical appearance, I think Inoue fits the character more because Barbie is too short compare to F4 whereas Inoue has a lesser difference in height. Barbie always show this irritating and annoying look on her face whilst Inoue has this adorable and innocent look. I know it’s not fair to compare them since i’m pretty sure there is difference in the script description of their character but I can’t help to enjoy watching Inoue’s acting.
Matsumoto Jun as Doumyouji Tsukasa
When he first appeared I couldn’t hold onto to my laughter because my first impression of him is “how gay.” His curly hair makes him look gayer too and worst when he smiles. It took me quite sometimes to get used to his face and his acting but because his character is likable, I didn’t dislike him for long. beside from better acting, I think Jerry fits better with this role. But if I have to pick, I would pick good acting over good looking any day.
Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui
As much as I like how Oguri Shun portrayed Rui, I have to admit Vic Chou is hotter and way cooler when he doesn’t talk. They both have a special personality that if I were to pay the main girl, I would too fall for them. In the beginning, I really hope Makino would end up with Doumyouji but after how badly Doumyouji treated her and how Rui is so caring I was hoping she would develop feeling for Rui instead. But that’s beside the point since it occurs frequently in season 2 than it is in season 1. This character doesn’t require much acting so I think Vic would be best to play this role.
Other characters:
Maybe it’s just me that the F4 in the Taiwanese version have better chemistry than the F4 in this version. When I watched Meteor Garden, I actually feel their friendship as if they knew each other for sometimes but when I watch this version, I don’t feel anything. it seems to me that Tsukasa beats the other F3 whenever he feels like it whereas I don’t remember when Jerry hits the other F3. A drama will grow on me when the characters are interacting with each other and by the end of this drama, I saw that the relationship between the characters develop a little bit.
I like the fact that this drama is a lot shorter than Meteor Garden because if I remember correctly, Meteor Garden is a little bit lengthy. I like how this drama doesn’t waste any time and go straight to the main storyline. There are several minor differences between the dramas but not a drastic change that will deviate the main plot.
