Photo source: http://mydramalist.com/article/2013/02/03/remake-hana-kimi
Hana-Kimi. Who hasn't heard of this jdrama? Or if not this one, perhaps the Taiwanese version. Or Korean version. Or the recent Japanese re-make. That's right, a show with 4 different versions has got to be a good one. I watched this back in high school. I remember bingeing this over a weekend and just feeling lost after the final episode. What was I meant to do with life now? I scrawled one of the shows quotes onto my mirror and kept it there for years. "Rather than wasting time regretting the past, enjoy the present to its fullest. Flowers in full bloom do not last forever." Still gets me.
Okay so as usual I am going to mention the themes of the show that convinced me to watch it in the first place. It's Japanese and I was ALL about Japan back in high school. It's a gender bender hell yes! It's a reverse harem. Not just like a hand full of guys, but literally a whole school full of guys. 3 dorms worth of guys! JACKPOT!
Hana-Kimi revolves around Ashiya Mizuki (Maki Horikita). One evening she goes to see her idol, Sano Izumi, a Japanese high jumper currently visiting the US. He gets injured while helping her escape from some gangsters, thus putting a halt to his high jump career. Riddled with guilt she chops off her hair, then packs up and leaves the US to pose as a male student at Izumi's school in Japan. Her goal is to get him jumping again.
That's basically the story line summed up. But this show is so much more than the main story line. If you want to see 12 episodes (and 1 Special) jam packed with your favourite Japanese actors from the early 00's, just having an all round outrageous time, then this show is for you. There is so much life given from each character that just makes you wish this was a real school you could attend. What I love about Hana-Kimi is you don't really get hit with drama, you just get hit with good times. You also get hit with the biggest does of second-lead syndrome.
SPOILER ALERT BELOW
Oh my goodness NAKATSU! I love this man. My heart just bled for him towards the end. He never stood a chance but I still rooted for him the whole show hoping Mizuki would realise that Izumi is actually a dick most of the time and that Nakatsu is her true love. After Hana-Kimi I watched dramas starring Toma Ikuta (Nakatsu) just to make sure he found love, even if he was a completely different character.
I would also like to give a shout-out to Kayashima Taiki (Yusuke Yamamoto) and Sekime Kyogo (Masaki Okada). Kayashima is such an adorable character. The school psychic. He gave me some of my favourite moments in the drama. While Sekime had to endure the running gag of everyone mispronouncing his name. This poor man was so pitiful in aspects of his life but I rooted for him to get a happy ending. Actually I don't think he did get that...that's the problem with being a minor character.
Now the dorms. The 3 dormitories of the school and their heads really make the show what it is. The competitive nature between these dorms create all the conflict you need in a show to make it amazing. Dorm 1, headed by Tennoji Megumi, focuses on martial arts and being manly. It was great to see them topless doing "manly" things. Dorm 2, headed by playboy Nanba Minami, is made up of the sporty guys, but in saying that, generally they are the normal guys in the school. Dorm 3, headed by Himejima Masao, are all performing art nuts. They always succeed at exaggerating the situation and acting completely insane.
Each episode generally revolves around a competition between the three dorms. Hilarity ensues. The prize at the end is always a let down. I suppose in a way if you're a fan of Running Man then you would probably enjoy this. It's not quite the same, and the competition definitely is not as intense but you just love to see how each dorm goes about winning in their own unique way.
Overall I wouldn't recommend this drama as one for romance, but one for comedy. I could probably write an entire book on how much I loved this drama and comment on each scene. Just remembering this show while writing this post has got me wanting to re-watch my favourite scenes.
8 stars out of 10. What? With that glowing review only 8? It would be 10 if there was a more believable romance and a fulfilling kiss at the end.
What did you think of the drama?
Until next time my drama queens and kings,
Sarah
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