- "I-I'm sorry Tsukushi. I know you were helping me...but..."
- —Makiko apologizes to Tsukushi[src]
Makiko Endo (
Biography[]
Early life[]
Makiko was born into a typical middle-class family in Japan.[1]
High school[]

Makiko laughing with Tsukushi before their run-in with the F4
In high school, she was in Class 2-C at Eitoku Academy. She became friends with her classmate Tsukushi Makino. Makiko sometimes wondered whether Tsukushi actually thought of her as a friend. When Makiko confessed this to her, Tsukushi assured her that she felt the same way. Then, while walking down the stairs, Makiko fell and landed on the F4's leader, Tsukasa Domyoji. Makiko tried to apologize, but Tsukasa ignored her appeals. Tsukushi stood up her, resulting in her receiving a red card instead of Makiko.[1] Afterwards, Makiko began avoiding to Tsukushi as she was frightened of being bullied herself. However, she felt guilty while watching the other students harass Tsukushi. To apologize, she found Tsukushi's desk and returned it to her in secret.[2] Later, Makiko seemed to have disappeared from Eitoku.[3]
Physical appearance[]
Makiko had a bob hairstyle with short bangs parted to the right side of her face. She was a typical high school girl with a somewhat plain face. Makiko was only shown wearing the Eitoku Academy uniform.
Personality and traits[]
She had a naïve and sweet personality, seen in her interactions with other students. Unlike Tsukushi, Makiko admired her rich classmates, including Yuriko Asai. Makiko genuinely wanted to be friends with Tsukushi, but her personality was not strong enough to handle the wrath of the F4. She did show some courage though, as shown when she returned Tsukushi's desk.
Etymology[]
Makiko (真木子; まきこ) has three kanji. The first means "truth," "reality,"[4] while the seconds means "tree," "wood," etc.[5] The third means "child" and is a common suffix added to female given names.[6] Her surname, Endo (遠藤; えんどう) is the thirty-eighth most common Japanese surname. The two kanji together translate to "far-off wisteria."[7] The first kanji has several meanings, though the most common are "distant" and "far."[8][9] The second means "wisteria," referring particularly to the Japanese wisteria.[10]
Behind the scenes[]
Character notes
- Makiko, a minor character, appears in the first two chapters of Boys Over Flowers.
- As a joke in chapter two hundred and twenty-two, Tsukushi mentions that Makiko has "disappeared". It is a reference to Makiko's obvious absence after chapter two.
- Makiko is often combined with Sakurako Sanjo in the television drama adaptations. For example, some of her actions are performed by Sakurako equivalent characters in Hana Yori Dango (2005), Boys Over Flowers (2009), and F4 Thailand (2021), while versions of Makiko perform some of Sakurako's actions in Meteor Garden (2001) and its remake.
Portrayals
- See also: Category:Makiko Endo portrayals

Makiko in the anime
- Fuko Misaki provides Makiko's voice in the Boys Over Flowers anime (1996)[11] and the short film.[12] She is given a more prominent role and appears semi-regularly throughout the entirety of the series. Early in the anime, Makiko remains friends with Tsukushi following the incident with Tsukasa, albeit secretly. After gaining more courage, she is able to openly be friends with Tsukushi. One small difference from the manga is that Makiko has attended Eitoku since elementary, which likely means she is from an upper-class family.

- A version of Makiko, renamed Li Zhen, is portrayed by Ann Yeh in Meteor Garden (2001).[13] She is a combination of Makiko and Sakurako Sanjo. Li Zhen shares more traits with Makiko, such as her financial status and low-key personality. She is depicted as an overachiever who befriends Shan Cai (Tsukushi) since they are both from lower-class families. Li Zhen falls in love with Si (Tsukasa), which leads to her attempting to sabotage Shan Cai. Ultimately, she regrets her actions and leaves school as penance.

Asami Ishii as Makiko
- Makiko is portrayed by Asami Ishii in the 2016 musical adaptation.[14] Kim Seo-an portrays her in the Korean version. In the musical, Makiko nervously approaches Tsukushi to ask to be her friend. Things are going well until Makiko bumps into Tsukasa and then pours water on him by accident. Tsukushi stands up for her, but Makiko does not do the same. She later joins the others in bullying Tsukushi.
- Dong Xin plays a version of her, also named Li Zhen, in Meteor Garden (2018).[15] Like her predecessor, she shares some actions with Sakurako from the manga. Her background and personality are more similar to Makiko's. Unlike in Meteor Garden (2001), Li Zhen does not transfer out of school after betraying Shan Cai (Tsukushi).
Appearances[]
Boys Over Flowers | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 1, Boys Over Flowers
- ↑ Chapter 2, Boys Over Flowers
- ↑ Chapter 221, Boys Over Flowers
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/真
- ↑ https://jisho.org/word/木
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/子
- ↑ Endo on Wikipedia
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/遠
- ↑ https://jisho.org/search/遠%20%23kanji
- ↑ https://jisho.org/word/藤
- ↑ http://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/tv/hanadan/character/ (Japanese)
- ↑ https://movie.walkerplus.com/mv45881/ (Japanese)
- ↑ https://kknews.cc/news/56m9r3.html (Chinese)
- ↑ http://ameblo.jp/kato-ririka/entry-12119774543.html (Japanese)
- ↑ https://www.sohu.com/a/250962960_660974 (Chinese)
See also[]