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I have to admit first off, that I’ve never read any bit of the manga. I’m sure they left out a lot of things, as this is only 9 one hour episodes. 9!!! Not even 12…but still, since it’s relatively short - it’s not tedious to watch and it’s pretty light hearted and funny at times.

The title is translated as “Boys Over Flowers” by author Kamio Yoko. Although, the story is pretty typically shoujo, it’s still a very good story if you’re into that kind of genre. It’s about poor girl Makino Tsukushi, who’s family has saved up for her to go to the elite Eitoku Academy. It’s a place full of rich, snobby girls with expensive bling and snotty attitudes. Since that part is greatly exaggerated, you feel yourself rooting for Tsukushi right away and her spunk. The school is dominated by a group called Flower 4 or F4 (Personally, this is a really pansy sounding name…but what do I know) and anyone who offends them or they dislike gets a red slip in their locker. Tsukushi doesn’t want to draw attention to herself, but ends up standing up to the F4 and incurring their revenge in order to defend a friend.

Out of the F4, Tsukushi initially likes Hanazawa Rui - the soft-spoken and almost-kind member. But eventually, her spunk and boldness wins the heart of Domyoji Tsukasa - the self-centered, arrogant and bully; the leader of the F4. Then ensues, a quite “fantastic” tale of two young teens falling in love from two different worlds, a lot of guys fighting (each other, for a girl, etc) and the cruel scheme of Tsukasa’s mother of trying to keep Tsukushi and him apart. It’s fantastic because it’s obviously very skewed from reality, which isn’t a flaw - it’s just after you watch it, you realize that. Good thing though, it’s very entertaining throughout so that it gives you no time to scoff at its corniness, Tsukasa’s strange fur outfit and random wind blowing people’s hair in an overly contrived manner. Okay, I scoffed at the fur outfit, but once you see it, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

I realize there’s an older anime series which is quite long of this, which I have seen the first episode or so. I couldn’t however, get over the minimal amount of animation. It was just too poorly produced for me to stand and I’m not that picky about animation standards. The live action, for its style, is produced very well. It’s supposed to be a bit exaggerated to be comical and the outfits of the F4 never fail to amuse.

Inoue Mao does an excellent job of portraying Tsukushi and is very likable. The supporting cast is also very funny. I’m not a fan of Oguri Shun even though I’m aware he’s popular. He creeps me out. Matsumoto Jun is hilarious as well, although the fur outfit has really ruined him for me. All in all, if you don’t know the story already (like me) - it’s a very entertaining and easy-going series. If you are familiar with it, I think it’s still worth it to check out at least the first one or two episodes. The pace is a bit questionable as I realize it packs a significantly long series but don’t fear, there IS a sequel and I think it’s already finished, by now. The show doesn’t end with an obvious cliff hanger or a badly contrived ending, but you’ll be glad there’s a sequel. I found the music a bit overly corny at times and exaggerated but once you get lost in the drama, it heightens the sometimes ridiculousness in the air. The most important thing is that you find yourself rooting for Tsukushi. Recommended!

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Category: Live Action

A. Papillon is not amused.