Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007)

I love everyone (EVERYONE) in this drama. They're all so random and so goofy! And Fun! Like, they don't sit around even for a second. Always creating nuisance, fighting each other, following ridiculous plans. xD I can't choose anyone. All of them ARE HILARIOUS! Well, except Sano (RUI.RUI.RUI.) who is kinda shy. But he has funny moments too. And he's so CUTE! And athletic! :o

And I think while Koreans are best at making dramas about love, Japanese are the best in making dramas about friendship. :)

Special credits to Nakatsu and the times when he's talking to himself with gestures. AHAHAHAHA. Gets me every single time! And the Panty-On-The-Head-I'm-Not-Homo dance. OH GOD!! Super special credits to the the dorm leaders' reaction on seeing a girl in the school. EPIC!!! xD xD xD

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I guess that this is one of the dramas, along with You're Beautiful and Hana Yori Dango, that got hacked in here.



Hana Kimi was one of the first dramas that I've ever saw. I've watched it complete 2 times and my favourite parts at least 10 times. It's a really must see in the drama world. It's not the best drama with the best story and the best acting, but it's really entertaining and cute. If you are in your teens, then you'll definitely enjoy it. If you are older, you'll probably won't like it because you'll think that it's way too over-the-top.



The story is not really that original in the girl-dresses-as-boy thing, the original part is how develop it and why she does it. Also the side stories are pretty funny, like the competition between the rooms and all that.



The acting is pretty good, I love Maki, she's one of my favourite actresses. The whole cast is great, you can notice that there's chemistry between them, that they really bonded and friends throughout the filming of this.



The music was good, it was funny and according to the moments, also I love the theme song, I have it as ringtone on my cell.



On the rewatch value it is definitely a 10. I've watched 2 times and will probably watch it another 20. It is a funny light drama that cheers me up when I'm down.



Overall, although it isn't extraordinary, Hana Kimi is a classic and a must see for us drama fans, it really is something.

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What? I finished it already?? I don't watch too many Japanese dramas - this being only my second; but from my brief excursions into a new culture, I have to say there's something almost magical about them, especially Hana Kimi.

Where do I even begin? Hana Kimi is equal parts about building friendships, falling in love, hot boys, and over the top goofiness (the kind that's so overboard it's insane, and I don't realize how stupid it can be until I'm so stunned I can't help but giggle ridiculously hard, so that my husband comes running to see what's the matter!). This is one of the few dramas that could move me in ALL of those categories: The fuzziness, the adorableness, the pretty, and the hilarious. I was miserably sad to finish this... guess I'll have to watch it again someday... soon.

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I previously wrote a review for this drama but it got deleted when the site got hacked. Gives me the chance to write an even better review for it though (:



Hana Kimi was my first ever drama and I absolutely loved it! I originally read the manga and it became one of my favorites and I stumbled across this live-version. The drama was loosely based off of the manga, but there was so many things about this drama that made me not care about it. The funny, hilarious, and random events that happened, I still rewatch those scenes over and over again. I've watched this drama twice and my favorite parts a hundred times. The story might not seem that original nowadays, but there's something special about Hana Kimi.



The acting was great, especially Ikuta Toma as Nakatsu Shuichi! He was my favorite character in the manga and he felt more real in this version, and plus he was downright funny! I loved Jiro in the Taiwan version, but Toma plays the best Nakatsu [in my opinion] (: Horikita Maki was a good Mizuki, I don't have any complaints about her. I wasn't a fan of Oguri Shun as Sano, only because his character seems a bit dark while the original Sano is more like Wu Chun in the Taiwanese version. That's my only complaint. Not that he acted his part badly, but how his character was written for this drama just didn't win me over.



I loved all the music to Hana Kimi! From "Ikenai Taiyou" to "Peach" to all of the instrumentals. I absolutely love "Ikemen Boogie" and it's one of my all time favorite instrumentals.



I've watched this drama twice and I plan on watching it more than that!



Overall: If you're looking for something light and funny I recommend this drama if you haven't already seen it. There are many funny moments and you might find yourself replaying them over and over again (:

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When i first heard about this drama, i thought it was stupid. I always kept wondering why everyone loved this drama and why it was so popular. Now i understand.
This is probably one of the best dramas ever! At first the storyline sounded weird and childish (a girl dresses as a guy in all-male-school, please!) but after two episodes i take my words back. It was hilarious and yet somehow touching. Every minute was exciting and some parts i had to watch twice even tree times :)
The actors were incredible! They are cute and hot. One of my favorites was the dorm leader Nanba Minami (played by Mizushima Hiro). Horikita Maki was ones again great in the leading role. And Ikuta Toma was so good and funny. Every character was carefully planed and all actors did really good job.
I haven't read the manga and i probably won't, because i loved this drama and this is enough :)
One minus was the music. Well there wasn't it. Music had such a small part, which is kind of sad because japanese music is really good (not just j-pop). But on the other hand the silence was better choise.
Anyone who has any doubts about this drama, i recommend this to all of you who want to laugh out loud (and wathc some really hot guys :D). This really was extremely magnificent drama.

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Hana Kimi was my first J-drama and I can honestly say I couldn't pick a better one for an introduction to the world of dramas.

STORY 7/10
This show is a crazy comedy with occassional serious moments. It has a romantic subplot (several of them actually) but in my opinion, the romance isn't particularly well-explored/well-developed here. Which is not a necessarily a bad thing, since it's a show about friendship among schoolboys, just be warned that if you expect a typical rom-com, you should probably look elsewhere.

I could go on and on about superlatives here, but I feel I should at least briefly address some of the problematic aspects of the show. There is an ever-present homophobia, despite the fact that the show has (at least) 2 canonically gay characters. On the one hand, there is Nakao with his crush on Nanba-senpai, which is more-or-less ignored by the other boys. On the other hand, there are scenes (like the one in the Special) where the boys are openly disgusted with the idea of two of them being in romantic/sexual relationship (one of the boys even says that he would lose all respect for Sano and Ashiya if they were in a homosexual relationship).

This goes hand-in-hand with bi-erasure - nobody ever in this show acknowledges the fact that it's possible to like more than one gender. If someone shows affection for a person of the same gender, he is immediately labeled as 'homo'. Not cool.

Sexual harassment is another issue. Nakao constantly harasses and stalks Nanba. Doctor Umeda, otherwise sympathetic character, often sexually harasses people he meets. And he himself is constantly harassed by his 'nemesis', photographer Akiha. It is even suggested that she forced herself on him (in other words, raped him) the only night they spent together. And all of this is played off as a joke. Ugh.

ACTING/CAST 10/10
The cast is outstanding and hilarious, especially Ikuta Toma as Nakatsu who practically steals the show for himself. His inner monologues are legendary and they make Hana Kimi a true gem among dramas.

MUSIC 10/10
I admit that the Hana Kimi soundtrack is probably one of my favorite J-drama soundtracks. Maybe its melodies are not as 'powerful' - as HYD main theme for instance - but the whole OST has such a happy, energetic feel that it never fails to cheer me up (and it's a great background music for cleaning up). The opening and ending songs are both great and the music in general is definitely one of the strongest points of the show.

REWATCH VALUE 9/10
The rewatch value is really high for this one thanks to the fast pacing, unforgettable moments and the hilarity in general.

OVERALL 9/10

WHAT KIND OF FEELS THIS SHOW GAVE ME
Hana Kimi never fails to make me laugh. It's hilarious, happy and optimistic and one of the top comedy J-dramas out there. I only wish the ending was more satisfactory in the terms of romance, but I guess it could be a lot worse too.

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I don't usually watch Japanese dramas, but somehow I was convinced to watch this one.

I think that the casting was PERFECT! Though sometimes I don't know if the acting should be that bizarre or is just exaggerated for some of the characters, everything just seemed to fit together. Nakatsu was adorable and he was portrayed very successfully, as he could be funny most of the time but when he's serious or feeling down, you can really feel it and it makes me just want to cry with him :(
The acting of Ashiya was okay, it wasn't bad, but if I were in that drama I would totally know that 'he' is a girl. Shun Oguri as Sano I think fit perfectly but he could have showed more emotion at times. And I noticed that he's so skinny, probably too skinny to look like a pro high jumper.
None of the characters/actors felt awkward or out of place which I find rare and this drama has impressed me with that

I haven't read the manga, but people said that the taiwanese version followed it more accurately. Whether this one followed it or not, it was great and it had a good balance of funny and romance. While some parts of the storyline are so random(like random dorm competitions) I think that that's probably what it's supposed to be and that's what sets the mood of the drama, light-hearted, warm, and funny. It never failed to make me laugh during funny parts and I was never bored.

there should have been more intimate scenes >.<

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Wow. What a fantastic drama. I usually don't find myself going crazy over school-based dramas, but this is definitely an exception.

So far I've only seen this version and the Taiwanese version, and I have to say that this version is definitely the superior one.

The story itself isn't all that original. In fact, it's something that has been done many times over. However, that doesn't really spoil anything. The main charms of this drama are the characters. Whether it's the main characters, supporting characters, or even the guest characters, I found myself caring about every single one of them. In comparison to the Taiwanese version, they focused a LOT more on the supporting characters and yet never seemed like they neglected the leads and the story was very cohesive and together the entire time. They did very well with balancing the subplots with the main plot. I also loved how Hibari, the closest the show had for an "antagonist", was not a traditional villain. Excellent job to the writers for leaving out that stereotype.

The casting was simply outstanding. I honestly have no complaints. While Oguri Shun and Horikita Maki certainly did justice to their characters, out of the main 3 Ikuta Toma was definitely the stand-out. While in the Taiwanese version Nakatsu/Xiu Yi was a goofball and had very little "meat" to her character, the Nakatsu of this version made you laugh and cry, embrace him and strangle him. I felt his pain and wanted so badly for him to find happiness, even if it wasn't with Mizuki. His performance was simply amazing. I also have to give shout-outs to Iwasa Mayuko and Kyo Nobuo. They were both highly entertaining as Hibari and Himejima, a true joy to watch. This goes for practically the entire rest of the cast as well.

One of the things I think J-Dramas as the best at is fitting the music into the show. Not only the theme songs were excellent, but also the insert songs. The songs painted the mood of every scene so perfectly. I wasted no time with getting my hands on the OST.

Overall, the drama was fantastic and the only reason it didn't get a 10 was due to a slight lack of originality plot-wise as well as one thing I haven't mentioned: the chemistry between the two main characters. It was there, but not as strong as I hoped. That is probably the only thing the Taiwanese version did better.

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Story: I thought the story was really funny. In real life I would consider Ashiya a crazy fan stalking her idol and wonder why Izumi would like that. But this isn’t real life and that’s what makes it funny. The drama is meant to be crazy and funny, not realistic. I really enjoyed watching the fights that Ashiya and Sano would get into, as well as the drama that went on in the school: the dorms fighting, teachers accusing students of cheating, competitions. You’re never bored with this drama. You’re always going to wonder what the hell will go on in the next episode? What other oddities will be displayed? What else can go wrong?

Music: I liked that the music was instrumental. It added a very upbeat feeling to the scenes.

Cast/Acting: I started watching this show because of Oguri Shun, my favorite Japanese Actor. I had seen him in Crows Zero, a bad ass fighting movie, as well as Hana Yori Dango, where he didn’t get the girl, and was extremely curious as to how he would do as the main love interest in a very funny romantic comedy. He didn’t disappoint.

Neither did Horikita Maki. She did just as good here as she did in her other dramas (Innocent Love, Atashinchi no Danshi). The best, in my opinion, was Ikuta Toma who played Nakatsu. He really fit the role of his character and honestly, he is the most funny out of everyone.

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