Hana Kimi rides again. Why?

[dangermousie]

I will never understand the seemingly universal obsession with Hana Kimi - it's cute but also eminently forgettable - nothing ever happens. Even if you like the girl-crossdresses concept, there any many more interesting ways to go, a lot of which have been done in other manga, anime or dramas. But I am clearly in the minority as this manga already had a Taiwanese adaptation, two Japanese adaptations and is about to get a Korean one.

Since SM has the rights, the two leads will go to two of their idols, Sulli (which my spellcheck wants to autocorrect to "Sullivan" lol) and Minho. The rest of the cast is a mix of idols and up-and-coming actors. Since I am only a few perms away from being an ahjumma at heart, and thus more likely to swoon over Choi Min Soo than a teen idol, I am unfamiliar with anyone in the cast except for Lee Hyun Woo, who will play Nakatsu and who was excellent as the younger version of Uhm Tae Woong's character in The Equator Man. (So excellent, in fact, that I wish he had a better drama than Hana Kimi in which to showcase his abilities).

As a rule, I am not keen on idols with little or no previous experience starring in a drama because being good at dancing and singing does not mean that one has the slightest ability to act (one has only to look at Yunho, Kim Hyun Joong and Son Dambi for confirmation). But I don't mind it here - Hana Kimi hardly requires some extensive acting chops and at least they will all be concentrated in one drama, drama I have no interest in, as opposed to being foisted on me in a drama or dozen I actually want to watch!

Anyway, this version will air on August and go against Nice Guy and Arang, which means its ratings are doomed (coincidentally, those are two of my three most anticipated dramas for the rest of the year).

And then, hopefully, the Hana Kimi ghost will finally be laid to rest. Until Mainland gets in on the act.

Comments

[timescout.livejournal.com]

I'm usually not all that keen on any manga adaptations as I've yet to see one I really, truly like.... well, Ouran is kinda an exception and CH was almost completely it's own thing.

I didn't watch either one of the Japanese adaptations. The Taiwanese drama was one of the first TW dramas I tried for size and gave up around ep 3 as I just couldn't take the OTT and Ella's mugging.

I was hoping Lee Hyun Woo would have picked something meatier for his next job. He really was excellent in TEM.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I've liked many a manga adaptation (though I agree, City Hunter is an adaptation in name only) and I still can't muster any enthusiasm for this. Its greatest contribution will be keeping idols too busy to be in dramas of interest to me.

I think Lee Hyun Woo is handicapped by bein too young to be a main character in most kdramas - youth drama are slim pickings. Hopefully in a few years it will be less of an issue for him because the boy is very talented.

[once-a-weaver.livejournal.com]

"and thus more likely to swoon over Choi Min Soo than a teen idol"

Yes. Yes, so would I.

I don't think I've seen any version of Hana Kimi ever.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

You are not missing much.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

As a rule, I am not keen on idols with little or no previous experience starring in a drama because being good at dancing and singing does not mean that one has the slightest ability to act (one has only to look at Yunho, Kim Hyun Joong and Son Dambi for confirmation)

Agreed. Some idols can surprise you and some do get better with each drama/film. But, most of the time they just aren't any good. I'm skipping this drama. But, I am looking forward to Nice Guy and maybe Arang.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, Nice Guy and Arang, together with Faith, are mt triumvirate of 'must watch' dramas. HK is, otoh, must skip, though I might check out the first ep out if morbid curiousity.

[spunspider.livejournal.com]

sulli was a child actress, the kid has experience and she's apparently pretty decent. she's also ridiculously pretty and i can't imagine a short haircut doing much to make her less feminine. minho... is super cute in an odd looking way and he's awful. i'd be surprised if the show wasn't horrible. i loved the taiwanese version, it was one of my first dramas and it was so much fun. i think as a premise it's definitely appealing for young girls, which i suppose would be the target audience.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I guess I am an old cranky ahjumma now.

I love ridiculous sparkly shoujo (witness my love for currently airing Bakaleia), but kdramas never pull it off properly somehow.

[spunspider.livejournal.com]

haha, i'm so amused by ppl like you being all, "at least they're contained!!!" it's just that they're kids, i mean, a lot of idols famously can't sing and just use their idol careers as a leg up for acting. like, technically eric is still an idol boy!

for me a lot of ridiculous sparkly shoujo in jdramas is too over the top, so as to lose me completely. i think kdramas are unused to it just bc the industry as a whole is so used to melo convention. it's so good that they've finally started playing with genre and actually thinking about things like sequels in the vein of vampire prosecutor, but part of me misses well done angst! i was rewatching snow queen last week, it's my favourite ever and the ending is fucking brutal but oh boy, well done angst is the best.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

If someone is both an idol and a good actor, more power to them, but idols trying to act and getting lead roles off the bat because they are idols result in horrible dramas. If a nobody who is not an idol gets an important role, they are usually good because they come from theater or acting school and know what they are doing - see Joo Won in Baker King or JJS in What's Up. If an idol gets a leading role with no dramas on his/her resume, you can bet he/she is going to be awful and drag the drama down - sure, there are some exceptions, such as Yoochun, but overall, I wonder why I must suffer the idol's learning curve? (And some of them like Yunho never get better).

[usisblog.livejournal.com]

I hardly know any good Japanese Idol Drama. The actors are good, they have money but the scripts are utter crap. I really hated the HanaKimi Dorama since it was so laughtable bad. I really liked 2/3 of the manga but seems the mangaka run out of want to end it.
So I'm not against the idea of another version as long it isn't lifeless like the Korean HYD. I really need something to burn the Dorama out off my brain -_-.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love Taiwanese and Japanese Hanadan but the Korean one, while it entertained me to no end, was neither a good drama nor a good adaptation (as far as adaptations went, it was actually horrific). I am glad it started Lee Min Ho's career, but in retrospect, that is about the only thing it has going for it.

I guess I never loved the manga, either. It was a pleasant read but I was never obsessed. I wish they'd adapt some of their own manhwa instead. I mean, titles like Snow drop or 100% Perfect Girl are pretty much a hit makjang romance melo in manhwa form already!

[usisblog.livejournal.com]

Taiwanese HYD (S1) was nice. And it was the first kiss I ever saw in a asian Drama. No awkward lip peck. Never watched S2 since the story never appealed to me. To much suffer.
The Japanese was awesome. They kept the slapstick as low as possible and the script was very good. IMHO it was the best what could happen to this average manga.

I do not read manwha since they hardly publish anything good here. The only one manwha I ever loved was Shi Hwa Mong (about tripples) but the German published dropped it and I don't understand any French or Italian. Maybe the publisher dropped it too since it is the same. Germany IMHO is mostly Shonen manga and Boys Love when it comes to money making *d'oh*. Manwha is dead.
But I do not think it would work out as normal Drama anyway since there are too many protagonists. Maybe as Daily Drama but I do not think it has enough "story" to fill a 50+ series.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Wow, the manga situation sucks over where you are. You can find some on line though.

[rectherapyfreak.livejournal.com]

i wish they would do Snowdrop too!
Neck and Neck is another great Korean Manwha I would like to see in drama form!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God, yes.

[rectherapyfreak.livejournal.com]

yay you read that one too! I loved that one a lot! have you read the manwha of Goong? I love it WAY more than the show that I enjoyed greatly too! I have not finsihed it yet though. Not even sure if it is finished yet!

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

And then, hopefully, the Hana Kimi ghost will finally be laid to rest. Until Mainland gets in on the act.

Famous last words, those. ;)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Aahahahahahaha the horror!

[quaggy]

Given Korea's love of cross-dressing heroines, I'm surprised it's taken them this long to do their own Hana Kimi! You would think that someone would have tried to adapt it sooner to ride on the coattails of Coffee Prince or Sungkyunkwan Scandal.

As for me, I read the entire manga series. Not brilliant, but it's a nice fluffy bit of brain candy. Far preferred the cracky, plot-in-a-blender version that was the first Japanese adaptation to the much more faithful Taiwanese adaptation. I totally love humor that's basically about being weird for weird's sake... and that was totally the first J-adaptation. Never bothered with the second, because different actors would have been weird-and-not-in-a-good-way.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The manga was not really my thing, but I preferred the twdrama to the jdrama which just set my teeth on edge.

I think it's just not my bag so it's just as well they didn't cast anyone I am a fan off.

[jamieguo48.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen any of the Hana Kimi, but yeah its like Boys Over Flowers in that everyone wants to remake it. I don't get why they just don't look to manga that has a similar concept, surely there's lots out there.

And I think its generally a bad idea to have the two main leads be newbie actors. Sulli has some experience, but replace Minho with someone with more experience. A better actor will make a bitter drama better, even if only by a little bit.

And you might want to add the Philippines and Thailand to that list. Thailand is coming out with a remake of Coffee Prince on the 22nd!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Word to everything :)

I don't watch dramas from the Philippines and not that many lakorns so they can remake away :)

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Yeah I kind of wish korea (or japan even) would adapt mars, instead of another hana kimi adaptation. the manga itself is pretty stupid and i read it when i was like 14 for shits and giggles. but I'll probably watch it...for shits and giggles lol. I love Minho he's a doll but he is not a good actor, and if we're being honest he's not all that great at singing and dancing either lol. but he's hella pretty, and a sweet dude and he's actually really athletic so he can probably do his own high jump scenes (he can jump pretty damn high actually) lol. I suspect its his cool manly persona and athleticism (and lets face it good looks) that got him the role. since its certainly not his acting ability XD
Everyone tells me Sulli was a good child actress, so I have hopes for her. and I dont know anything about Hyun Woo but if he's a good actor they did right casting him as Nakatsu since Toma is a pretty hard act to follow. Honestly the jdrama was so stupid and pointless but i watched it for Toma cause he was great and perfect and I love him. Also Kwanghee (also an idol) is being cast as Oscar and I couldnt be happier. Its srsly perfect casting. I hope they get some half korean/half white actress to play Julia. I wanna see her in an adaptation sometime. and Kdramas are longer so there is no excuse! poor Nakatsu deserves a love interest and she was his in the manga.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Korea is never touching Mars with all its rape/abuse/mental illness issues. It would have to be permanently censored. Still, there is a medium ground between Mars and brainless fluff of HK. Oh well...

[december-clouds.livejournal.com]

I never got Hana Kimi either. Didn't like the manga, didn't like the Japanese drama. The Taiwanese one seemed OK but couldn't really get into it either.

I like girls crossdressing and being surrounded by guys, but in the times that it appears in Kaicho wa maid-sama! seem better to me.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, pretty much. It's pretty but the fuss is weeeeeird.

[rectherapyfreak.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha. Love your last sentence.

I loved the Tawain HanaKimi more than the manga itself! I love it because for one thing I am a huge fan of the gender bender shows. I also love it because its so cute and goofy that it just makes me feel good while watching it like My Girl does. I feel happy and rejuvinated after watching it. I will say after 5 minutes of watching the japanese verison I was horrified. It was too nutty for me as were parts in the manga.

I consider myself an ahjumma (I'm married, a mother, and will be 30 soon) which is why I almost did not watch Shut Up Flower Boy Band! So glad I watched this drama!!

I will give this one a chance too. L who was in SUFBB and the actor who played the lead in Creating Destiny is in it too so hopefully they will make it pleasing!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heh, I am an ahjumma too - married, Mom, early 30s :) But I like my share of silly fluff. HK is not one of it though :)

[rectherapyfreak.livejournal.com]

yup yup. We all have our own personalities!! I hope my comments/replies don't make you feel like I am trying to push my opinion on you!! My writing skills are crap compared to yours and sometimes things don't come out exactly as I mean them to!! I just can never keep my mouth shut and love stating my opionion but totally respect others!! i love debating!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love debating too! :)

We should form an ahjumma club :P

[rectherapyfreak.livejournal.com]

ahjumma's only!! It is so nice to have older Kdrama friends! :D

[jennyhime.livejournal.com]

Honestly hanakimi the Japanese version was my summer drama crack when it aired, my japanese friend and me were so hooked. It was just hilarious mainly thanks to Ikuta Toma's portrayal of Nakatsu.
I'm getting tired of how idols are getting all the major roles in both Korea and Japan, some can act yes but many honestly can't.
Ugh, don't talk about the korean version of HYD it was just, well bad is the nicest thing I can say about it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah - with on on k-HYD.

Idols should sing and dance and leave my dramas alone.