Hana Yori Dango (Japanese drama)

This article is about the Japanese drama. For other uses, see Hana Yori Dango.

Hana Yori Dango
Series information
Directors	Yasuharu Ishii
Writers	Mikio Satake
Producers	Katsuaki Setoguchi
Based on	Boys Over Flowers by Yoko Kamio
Starring	Mao Inoue Jun Matsumoto Shun Oguri Shota Matsuda Tsuyoshi Abe
Companies	Tokyo Broadcasting System
Channel	TBS
Opening theme	"Wish" by Arashi
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Episodes	9 (List of episodes)
Aired from	October 21 – December 16, 2005
Followed by	Hana Yori Dango Returns
Related media	Hana Nochi Hare

Hana Yori Dango (花より男子 (はなよりだんご) , Hana Yori Dango) is a live-action Japanese drama based on Yoko Kamio's manga of the same name. It was produced by Katsuaki Setoguchi for TBS, and directed primarily by Yasuharu Ishii. Mao Inoue, Jun Matsumoto, Shun Oguri, Shota Matsuda, and Tsuyoshi Abe stars in the drama as Tsukushi Makino and the F4.

Hana Yori Dango aired from October 21 to December 16, 2005 for nine episodes. It was released on DVD on March 10, 2006 by TC Entertainment. The drama was followed by Hana Yori Dango Returns (2007), Hana Yori Dango Final (2008), and Hana Nochi Hare (2018). A special edition of Hana Yori Dango was broadcast in March 2016.

Tsukushi (Inoue), a normal girl, attends Eitoku Academy, where the F4's word is law. Life takes a turn for her when the F4's leader, Tsukasa Domyoji (Matsumoto) begins to like her. Tsukushi falls for his best friend Rui Hanazawa (Oguri), who is in love with his childhood friend. Tsukushi and Tsukasa grow closer, after Rui goes to France.

Summary

Tsukushi Makino (Mao Inoue), the daughter of a lower-middle class family, is a second-year at Eitoku Academy, a school for the heirs of the Japan's upper class. The F4 are on an even higher level and have the run of the school. The members consist of the leader and Domyoji Group heir, Tsukasa Domyoji (Jun Matsumoto); the mysterious man of a few words, Rui Hanazawa (Shun Oguri); a playboy and heir of a Japanese tea ceremony school, Sojiro Nishikado (Shota Matsuda); and Akira Mimasaka (Tsuyoshi Abe), the son of crime bosses, who enjoys the company older women. They often hand out red cards, which they use to terrorize the other students. One day, Tsukushi stands up for her friend Sakurako Sanjo (Megumi Sato), when she becomes a target. Tsukushi, now the mark, refuses to give in and punches Tsukasa, reminding him of his sister.

Tsukasa takes an interest in Tsukushi and attempts to impress her, which fails. Tsukushi starts to fall for Rui, who is waiting for his first love to return from France. A welcoming party is held for Shizuka Todo (Mayumi Sada), Rui's long-awaited love. Tsukushi, invited by Yuriko Asai (Saki Seto) and her cronies, Minako Yamano (Emiko Matsuoka) and Erika Ayuhara (Aki Fukada), arrives at the party. The girls bully Tsukushi until Rui and Shizuka step in to save her. A few days later, Shizuka announces her departure back to France. Tsukushi begs her to stay for Rui's sake, but Shizuka stands by her reasons for leaving. At the airport, Rui makes the decision to follow Shizuka and Tsukushi says goodbye to her first love. The next day, Tsukasa asks Tsukushi on a date and she contemplates whether to go or not.

Tsukushi, though extremely late, goes to meet Tsukasa, who has been waiting in the rain for several hours. On their way to a café, the two get stuck in a broken elevator and spend the night together. A photo of them from that morning circulates around school, leading everyone to believe they are dating. Tsukushi goes out to a club with her new school friends, where she meets a guy. She wakes up the next day at a hotel with no memory of what happened. Photos of her with that guy are posted at school. Tsukushi tries to tell Tsukasa that she was framed, but he does not believe her. Later, Tsukushi meets up with Sakurako, who kidnaps and takes her to Eitoku. Sakurako reveals that she had planned and calculated everything. She calls Tsukasa and has her men beat him severely, before leaving unsatisfied. Tsukasa then confesses his feelings to Tsukushi.

Rui returns from France and Tsukasa begins acting like he and Tsukushi are dating. Tsukasa's sister, Tsubaki Domyoji (Nanako Matsushima) suggests for Tsukushi to take Tsukasa on a double date. Tsukushi and Tsukasa meet up with her friend, Yuki Matsuoka (Aki Nishihara) and her boyfriend. Yuki's boyfriend irritates Tsukasa several times, before Tsukasa punches him. Tsukasa refuses to tell Tsukushi what happened. Tsukushi runs into Rui, who hugs her. Tsukasa sees them together and kicks Rui out of the F4. That weekend, Tsukasa follows Tsukushi and Rui on a date. Tsukushi later meets up with Yuki and they see her boyfriend with another girl. Yuki runs away and Sojiro finds her. He helps Yuki get revenge by embarrassing her ex. Tsukushi catches up with them and Yuki's ex reveals what he said to Tsukasa.

After apologizing to Tsukasa, Tsukushi's family and friends find themselves in dire straits. Tsukushi stands up to Tsukasa's mother, Kaede Domyoji (Mariko Kaga), who is behind her troubles. Tsukasa and Tsubaki suggest that Tsukushi enter the Teen of Japan in order to win the prize money to help her family and friends. Tsukushi agrees and begins training for the contest. She manages to make it to the final round against Tsukasa's fiancée, Ayano Kurimaki (Ayana Sakai). Meanwhile, Tsukasa promises his mother that he will go with her to New York if Tsukushi loses. He decides to leave without saying goodbye, when Ayano wins the competition. Tsukushi hears about him leaving from Rui, who encourages her to "go after" him. At the last second, she meets Tsukasa at the airport. Tsukushi admits that she loves him and they share a kiss.

Cast and characters

This page is an archive of a site feature which is no longer active. It is preserved here for historic record and possible use in the future.

Starring Mao Inoue as Tsukushi Makino (9/9) Jun Matsumoto as Tsukasa Domyoji (9/9) Shun Oguri as Rui Hanazawa (9/9) Shota Matsuda as Sojiro Nishikado (9/9) Tsuyoshi Abe as Akira Mimasaka (9/9) Costarring Megumi Sato as Sakurako Sanjo (9/9) Aki Nishihara as Yuki Matsuoka (9/9) Saki Seto as Yuriko Asai (8/9) Aki Fukada as Erika Ayuhara (8/9) Emiko Matsuoka as Minako Yamano (8/9) Mayumi Sada as Shizuka Todo (4/9) Takako Kato as Sachiyo Sengoku (9/9) Satoshi Tomiura as Susumu Makino (9/9) Susumu Kobayashi as Haruo Makino (9/9) Mako Ishino as Chieko Makino (9/9) Mariko Kaga as Kaede Domyoji (9/9)

Special appearance Nanako Matsushima as Tsubaki Domyoji (5/9) Guest starring David Ito as Nishida (9/9) Ayana Sakai as Ayano Kurimaki (2/9) Kento Handa as Ryuji (2/9) Shugo Oshinari as Nakatsuka (2/9) Minor roles Takayuki Takuma as Okami-san's former lover Kazuma Sano as Takayuki Kimoto Hina Matsuoka as young Tsukushi Haruhi Mizukuro as young Tsukushi Kosuke Takeda as young Tsukasa Takumi Ueda as young Rui Amon Hoshino as young Sojiro Kaishi Watanabe as young Akira Ayana Moriyama as young Sakurako Yoko Mitsuya as Nakatsuka's date Kazue Itoh as Minako Yamanaka Kazuaki Hankai as TOJ moderator Monta Mino as Haruo's boss Tomohiro Kaku as Shingo Sawatari Class 2-C students Ai Saikawa as Honoka Kikuchi Hiroki Wakabayashi Hiroshi Yoshihara Jun Kobayashi as Koichi Sugihara Kaori Ikeda as Mizuki Morioka Koji Tashiro as Tetsu Chiba Kyohei Oyama as Yusuke Obata Masei Nakayama as Atsushi Terada Manabu Omura Naoki as Tomohiro Mori Risa Yamaguchi as Ayano Hayashi Sayaka Yamada as Arisa Murakami Tamaki Matsuda as Haruka Takasaki Taro Sekikawa as Kentaro Tanaka Yoshiki Kusanagi Yuka Noguchi as Moe Kobayashi Yukari Yamaguchi as Karen Nomoto Yuji Ikeda as Ryu Inagawa Yuki Hoshino as Erika Shiraishi Yuya Mori as Yasuhiro Nakajo

Staff

• Original work: Boys Over Flowers by Yoko Kamio
• Series composition: Mikio Satake
• Series composition cooperation: Shuko Arai
• Screenplay: Mikio Satake, Yuki Fujimoto, Natsuko Takahashi
• Music: Kousuke Yamashita
• Stunt coordinator: Keiji Tsuji
• Planning cooperation: PPM
• Producer: Katsuaki Setoguchi
• Directors: Yasuharu Ishii, Daisuke Yamamuro, Osamu Katayama

Episodes

Main article: Hana Yori Dango (Japanese drama)/Episodes

No.	Title	Air date
1	"Declaration of war!! The thing which is absolutely more important than money" "Sensen fukoku!! Okane yori zettai ni taisetsuna mono" (宣戦布告!!お金より絶対に大切なモノ () , )	October 21, 2005
2	"The worst first kiss!!" "Saiaku no Fāsuto Kisu!!" (最悪のファーストキス!! () , )	October 28, 2005
3	"Tears!! Good-bye to the person I like" "Namida!! Sayonara daisukina hito" (涙!!サヨナラ大好きなヒト () , )	November 4, 2005
4	"First time coming home in the morning!?" "Hajimete no asagaeri!?" (初めての朝帰り!? () , )	November 11, 2005
5	"Confession of a life-threatening love" "Inochigake no ai no kokuhaku" (命がけの愛の告白 () , )	November 18, 2005
6	"A love triangle of up-and-down crises" "Daiharan isshokusokuhatsu no sankaku kankei" (大波乱一触即発の三角関係 () , )	November 25, 2005
7	"Battle F4 breaking up!" "Batoru F4 kaisan!!" (バトルF4解散!! () , )	December 2, 2005
8	"Now the deciding match of Japan's top female high school student" "Iza joshikousei nippon ichi ketteisen" (いざ女子高生日本一決定戦 () , )	December 9, 2005
9	"The best last present" "Saikou no Rasuto Purezento" (最高のラストプレゼント () , )	December 16, 2005

Production

Matsumoto and Inoue on the cover of Weekly The Television

Producer Katsuaki Setoguchi decided to adapt Yoko Kamio's Boys Over Flowers after finding the complete edition in a bookstore. Hana Yori Dango was the second television drama adapted from it after Taiwan's Meteor Garden (2001). Production was announced in early September 2005. Mao Inoue and Arashi's Jun Matsumoto were cast as the series' leads, Tsukushi Makino and Tsukasa Domyoji along with Shun Oguri, Shota Matsuda, and Tsuyoshi Abe as the F4. Inoue was then best known her performance in the Kids War series as a child actress. A press conference for Hana Yori Dango was held on October 13, 2005. It was attended by the main actors and Setoguchi.

Following the drama's popularity, production on a sequel began in mid-2006. Hana Yori Dango Returns began airing in January 2007 with a two-hour premiere. It was followed by a film Hana Yori Dango Final (2008), which served as the series' conclusion. In 2018, Katsuaki adapted a spin-off of Hana Yori Dango from Kamio's Boys Over Flowers Season 2. It featured cameos from several Hana Yori Dango actors, including Matsumoto, Oguri, and Matsuda.

Home media

Cover	Release date	Contents
Japan (DVD & blu-ray)
	March 10, 2006 (DVD) July 2, 2008 (blu-ray)	Set details 5-disc set 16:9 aspect ratio Language: Japanese Subtitles: None Running time: 427 minutes Dolby Digital 2.0 Special features Production announcement Making-of Cast interviews Makino Family Corner Nishikado Vocabulary Tsuyoshi Abe's Chinese Lesson Special video Crank-up Spot collection Textless opening credits

Music

Cover of the soundtrack

Main article: Hana Yori Dango Original Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Hana Yori Dango was released by Sony Music on December 7, 2005. It consists of background music from the drama, all of which was arranged and composed by Kousuke Yamashita. Original author Yoko Kamio drew the cover art for the soundtrack.

Arashi's "Wish" served as the drama's theme song. "Wish" rose to the top of the Oricon charts and sold around 178,000 copies. "Planetarium" by Ai Otsuka was chosen as the image song of the drama. It became her second #1 hit.

Merchandise

Main article: Hana Yori Dango (Japanese drama)/Merchandise

Kewpie phone chain

TBS released only a single item for Hana Yori Dango, a Kewpie doll on a phone chain modeled after the heroine, Tsukushi. It was released in December 2005, shortly before the series' end. The item cost ¥1,806 and continued being sold when more merchandise for Returns and Final were released.

Reception

Ratings

Video Research Ltd.
Episode	Kanto
1	18.3%
2	19.3%
3	20.5%
4	20.7%
5	19.0%
6	19.7%
7	17.3%
8	19.9%
9	22.4%
Average rating: 19.76%

Accolades

Recipient	Category	Result
47th Television Drama Academy Awards
Mao Inoue	Best Actress	Won
Jun Matsumoto	Best Supporting Actor

Gallery

Boys Over Flowers Wiki has a collection of images on this topic. (view gallery)

Boys Over Flowers Wiki has a collection of screenshots on this topic. (view category)

Videos

File:Hana Yori Dango TV Spots

Notes

• Due to rules set by Johnny & Associates, pictures of Jun Matsumoto's face could not be used on certain promotional materials. Pictures of Tsukasa from the manga were used in some cases.
• Takayuki Takuma (Mikio Satake), who wrote for the series, played Okami-san's various boyfriends in flashbacks. The fact they are all played by one person hints at the revelation in the finale.
• Nanako Matsushima's husband Takashi Sorimachi portrayed Makoto Edogawa in Hana Nochi Hare (2018).
• A specially edited version of Hana Yori Dango was broadcast on March 12-13, 19-20, 2016 during spring break. It was followed by a rebroadcast of Returns in April.
• The Takarazuka musical, Hana Yori Dango, is partially inspired by the 2005 drama.

See also

Hana Yori Dango (2005-2008)

Hana Yori Dango episodes (2005) Episode 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 Hana Yori Dango Returns episodes (2007) Episode 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 Hana Yori Dango Final (2008) Hana Yori Dango Final (novel) | Hana Yori Dango Final: Photo Book "Hana Yori Dango Special" Music Hana Yori Dango Original Soundtrack | Returns Original Soundtrack | Final Original Soundtrack "Flavor of Life" | "KissHug" | "Love So Sweet" | "One Love" | "Planetarium" | "Wish" Events Hana Yori Dango Final Completion Preview | Hana Yori Dango Final Event Related pages Filming locations | Gallery | International broadcast and release | Merchandise | Promotion

External links

• Hana Yori Dango official website (archive)
• Hana Yori Dango on Wikipedia
• Hana Yori Dango on Japanese Wikipedia
• Hana Yori Dango at the Internet Movie Database
• Hana Yori Dango at the Anime News Network

← Previous	Next →
None	Hana Yori Dango Returns (Episode 1)