Boys Over Flowers

 Title: Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers)
 Creator(s): Yoko Kamio
 Publisher(s): Shueisha Inc., VIZ Media
 Year: 1992
 Genre(s): Shoujo, comedy, drama, romance
 Length: 37 volumes
 Reviewed by: Yukari on July 07, 2010

Synopsis

Tsukushi Makino is a student at Eitoku Academy, a prestigious school for the rich. There she met F4, the richest and most popular boys in school. They have fun bullying other students, enjoying their power and absolute rule over the school. Tsukushi couldn't tolerate seeing them harass other students and declared war against them. No one has been able to stand up to these boys... until now.

Review

"Boys Over Flowers" by Yoko Kamio. The series that caught Asia by storm, spawning two live-action movies and numerous live-action dramas in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and China on top of an anime series. In 2005, 54 million copies were sold, making it one of the best-selling shojo manga in Japan. What makes "Boys Over Flowers" so popular?

The basic plot is intriguing and fun. The author's quirky personality shines through the wild and hilarious facial expressions of the characters. Tsukushi Makino's resilience is inspiring and her comparison to a weed oddly makes her a worthy heroine. The male lead, Tsukasa Domyouji is not your typical bishounen due to his bad hair, uncontrollable temper, and spoiled personality, but readers will grow to love him for his honesty and strength to fight for what he wants. Despite his appearance, readers will find that his amazing determination makes him very attractive.

Reading about this couple led to many frustrating, hair-pulling moments every time something goes wrong and each time they're presented with an obstacle. It was funny, exciting, and entertaining, if not a little nerve-wracking. But after twenty-something volumes, the story does get stale. I actually started to dislike the heroine - her personality was no longer admirable, only annoying. The plot ran in circles, dragging the series along unnecessarily when all I wanted was a conclusion. I grew bored halfway. All the characters did was reminisce about the past - there was no longer anything more to say. Toward the end of the series, Kamio focused a bit more on Sojirou Nishikado and Akira Mimasaka, the two F4 members who were neglected throughout most of the series. However, their stories concluded with somewhat lame endings that initiated the response, "...so what?" I originally thought the final volume was 36, until I discovered a 37th volume. The 37th volume includes a one-shot story seen through second male lead, Rui Hanazawa's perspective. I actually thought this little extra was more conclusive and provided a better ending for the series than volume 36.

One thing that I did get a great kick out of was how drastically the Kamio's style changed during the period that the series was being published. Since it took just a little more than a decade for the author to complete "Boys Over Flowers", the clothes the characters wore in the first volume are also considerably different from the last volume. And yet, the characters remained in high school throughout the entire series.

Maybe "Boys Over Flowers" lost my favor because the long stretch of time I read it over. Maybe if I read the entire series in one go, it would have left a more positive impression on me. This is one of those series that start out fun and ended up boring.

Overall Rating: 3/5